so I don't know how reliable a source they are...but I did hear from some Philly people and saw a report over at the
over the last couple of days that rumors are starting to kick up involving a return for Curt Schilling to the City of Brotherly Love after season's end.
This makes a lot of sense for both the Big Schill (a move to the NL would do wonders for him next year) and the Phills (their need for starting pitching is well-chronicled as the bashing by the Rockies in the NLDS would attest), so this bears some watching.
Stay tuned to this one.
With big offseason plans dancing in their heads, the Phillies will closely monitor how the Joe Torre saga plays out in New York.
If Yankees owner George Steinbrenner makes good on his threat to fire Torre as manager, closer Mariano Rivera is threatening to use his impending free agent status to leave the Yanks. And if that happens, “Enter Sandman” could be playing before the ninth inning of Phillies games next summer at Citizens Bank Park.
How does Brett Myers setting up the great Rivera sound for a bullpen upgrade?
How about a starting rotation headed by current ace Cole Hamels and former ace Curt Schilling?
Although their season hasn't been over a week, the reigning NL East champion Phils already have talked about making runs at Schilling and Rivera when the free-agent signing period begins next month, a team source told the Courier Times.
If the Phillies land Schilling, Myers would stay in his new role as closer. If they sign Rivera, Myers probably would return to starting. But if the Phils hit the jackpot and sign both, they could set up a dream back end of the bullpen headed by Rivera, Myers and Tom Gordon.
Regardless of what happens with Rowand and Burrell, the Phils' main offseason focus will be on improving their pitching staff, and it appears bringing back Schilling is high on their list.
Schilling, who will turn 41 in November, has expressed an interest for years in finishing his career in Philadelphia, his home from 1992-2000. He was a three-time All-Star and MVP of the 1993 National League Championship Series with the Phils, then added to his impressive postseason resume by helping the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks and 2004 Boston Red Sox win World Series championships.
No longer a power pitcher, Schilling pitched well when healthy in 2007, going 9-8 with a 3.87 ERA in 24 starts for the Red Sox.
The Phils find Schilling intriguing, the team source said, because he'll probably settle for a one- or two-year deal while younger free-agent pitchers with less impressive pedigrees — the Kyle Lohses of the world — will be after four- and five-year contracts.
Rivera figures to have a lot of suitors and won't come cheap, even though he'll turn 38 in November and is coming off a down year by his standards. In 2007, he finished 3-4 with a 3.15 ERA — his highest since his rookie season in 1995 — and 30 saves, his lowest total since his injury-plagued 2002 season.
