BOSTON — During a pregame news conference Wednesday, was asked about the history of Fenway Park, which includes a statue of Cy Young and the fact that a young Babe Ruth pitched there in the World Series.
“Well, none of them are pitching for us, unfortunately,” Schilling said with a laugh.
Even if the two Hall of Famers were alive, they’d be really, really old and probably wouldn’t have their best stuff. Which is kind of where Schilling, Boston’s Game 2 starter against the Rockies, finds himself these days. No longer one of baseball’s premier power pitchers, Schilling is forced to rely more on guts and guile to get by.
During the regular season, the 40-year-old had a 9-8 record in 24 starts. Schilling has started three times in the postseason, and while he carries a 2-0 record into tonight’s contest, outstanding run support – the Red Sox scored nine and 12 runs in his first and third outings – might be as big a factor as his pitching.
Because of his change in approach, using more off-speed stuff than in the past, Schilling says facing the Rockies won’t be the same as it was when he toiled for Philadelphia and Arizona in the National League.
“Now it’s having to find multiple ways to do things to different hitters, for a Todd Helton, for example, that I faced literally 80, 90 times,” he said. “I’m a very different pitcher now.”
In June, Schilling gave up six runs on nine hits over five innings in a 12-2 loss to Colorado.
On Wednesday, Schilling said that means nothing in the context of facing the team again in the World Series. Conversely, the Rockies might counter that Schilling’s reputation as a big-game postseason pitcher – his .833 winning percentage (10-2) is the best winning percentage in history for players with at least 10 decisions – doesn’t mean much when he throws his first pitch tonight.
