Curt Schilling

Schilling showed his age in 2007, and so did his fastball. No longer able to blow his heater by hitters, Schilling had to rely on locating his pitches, but wasn't always able to do so effectively. A mid-season injury forced him to rest and preserved him for later in the season when he posted a 3.34 ERA and 1.059 WHIP after the All-Star break. He'll be Boston's third or fourth starter in 2008, and the team will likely find extra days of rest for him on occasion.

While he is no longer the Curt Schilling of 2002 or 2004, Schilling remains a quality pitcher at the age of 40. His impeccable control yielded a nearly 6:1 K:BB in 2006, and kept his ERA below 4.00. One point of concern is the 28 home runs that Schilling allowed, but his low walk rate mitigated the damage. Barring injury, he should continue to strike batters out, keep his bases on balls down, and win games with a potent Red Sox lineup backing him. We wouldn't suggest grabbing Schilling in the early rounds of fantasy drafts, but he should make a very solid mid-round pickup in 2007.

As heroic as 2004 was for him, Schilling's 2005 was disappointing. His famous ankle did not recover from offseason surgery nearly as quickly as expected, and he worked primarily out of the bullpen. Make no mistake about it, Schilling is still considered Boston's No. 1 starter, but we need to get a good look at him this spring.

The biggest and most obvious concern with Schilling is how his ankle responds to offseason surgery. He could miss the start of the season, but will be Boston's No. 1 starter when he returns. At 38, Schilling is not experiencing any significant decline. If healthy he's one of the top starters in baseball, so watch his status closely this spring.

Schilling lost about a dozen starts to injuries in 2003, and he got awful run support (only three runs per game) when he did pitch, so if you just look at the won-loss numbers, you'd think Schilling was over the hill. However, remember that his 2003 injuries weren't mechanics-related (an appendectomy, and then a broken bone in his hand while fielding a liner), so all of the important components of Schilling's motion -- elbow, shoulder, plant leg -- are all just fine. In addition, we think the ultra-competitive Schilling will love his new environment in Boston, where he'll get to face his two favorite dancers, Destiny and Aura, as many as six times a year. Bid high with confidence.

Counting the postseason, Schilling is a combined 49-13, 2.96 over the past two seasons, averaging 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Schilling turned 36 in the offseason, and had some less-than-stellar outings down the stretch in 2002 that led to whispers that he was either hiding an arm in jury or tipping his pitches. However, after the season Schilling admitted that he'd simply worn down late in the year and that he'd let his weight creep over 230 during the season. He undertook a more intensive workout program in the offseason, and if he's healthy, that's good enough for us. We'll caution you Schilling has pitched 560 innings over the past two years, including the D-Backs' 2001 World Series run.