Theo's Epistle to the Schillings

I've started to read Curt Schilling's blog a bit. Given Schilling's colossal self-involvement, you get the feeling that he's enjoying the attention of free agency more than most, and I suspect he'll drag it out longer than need be, not necessarily to extract the last dollar from the most ardent suitor but to keep the adulatory phone calls, letters, e-mails and gift baskets coming.

I'm still on the fence about whether or not the Phillies should try to bring back their one-time ace. His stuff is clearly on the decline, the arm has a tremendous amount of mileage on it, and while the one-year commitment seems palatable, that's only true if Schilling gives you something like what he did in 2006-2007. Add in his elephantine ego and evident inability to hold an unspoken thought, and I just wonder if it's worth it.

But he did post a fascinating item from the last time he changed teams: a letter sent to Schiling and his wife by Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and club president Larry Lucchino in November 2003. It's really a masterpiece of flattery and argument both, and it's cooler for the fact that, strictly speaking, it wasn't needed; the executives were already on their way to the Schillings' Arizona home where they were set to make their offer.

It would be nice to believe that the Phillies front office has the same level of engagement and rapport with their players. To be fair, they well might; we know that Pat Gillick spent a couple days with Brett and Kim Myers last offseason and left that experience comfortable enough to give Myers a three-year deal. And Charlie Manuel's players seem to genuinely like and respect their skipper. But if you read the letter and conclude that there's a qualitative difference between Gillick and Dave Montgomery on the one hand, and Epstein and Lucchino on the other, I wouldn't argue with you.

Take a look.