Schilling Cy Young/MVP Watch

Schilling didn't get his last start on Friday vs. the Orioles since the games were meaningless after the Yankees clinched the division on Thursday and the Red Sox were already in as the Wildcard. He finishes 21-6, with 3 20 win seasons in the last 4 years. One of the knocks on Schilling in years past when it has come to the Cy Young is that it was difficult to vote for him as the best pitcher in the league when he wasn't even the best pitcher on his own team (ie, Randy Johnson). Similar criticism was, or could have been made earlier this year. But in the year he has been with the Sox (and with the decline of Pedro), Schilling is the undisputed ace of the Boston staff. Check out ESPN's the "Sports Guy's'" column on the Sox and his high praise for Schilling (note: the Sports Guy is a Boston native who is a diehard Red Sox fan). In fact, here's a little sample: "The torch has been passed: Pedro to Schilling.
At dinner last Sunday, my father mentioned that he liked our chances in October because we had "two aces." I patiently explained to him that Pedro wasn't an ace anymore; Dad vehemently disagreed.....Classic Pedro had another gear on his fastball. Aging Pedro rarely makes guys swing and miss in big spots. Against the Yankees in Game 7 and last Friday, both nail-in-the-coffin singles came on dink hits, mainly because Pedro can't fall back on that 97-mph heater to save his ass anymore. He's just a different pitcher, a No. 2 starter with a B-plus ceiling. He's certainly no Schilling.
My first Schilling/Fenway experience coincided with his 20th victory, which came against Tampa, a team we played 78 times this season. Of every development this season, the connection between Schilling and the Fenway fans has been the happiest. He's one of us. There's no other way to say it. If he wasn't a professional athlete, you can imagine him posting on message boards, calling radio stations and gulping down flat beer at games. For that reason, he resonates with the locals in a "Bird and Neely" kind of way. "