Being Curt and other observations

The writing is on the wall.

Curt Schilling went on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tendinitis after an MRI showed nothing. The move was made retroactive to June 19. That means Schill was elligible to come off the DL yesterday.

Yesterday the team announced the rotation through July 16. Schill is not part of it.

When the team comes back from the All-Star break, the rotation is likely to be Wakefield, Tavarez, Matsuzaka, Beckett, and Gabbard. While the Sox might expect Schilling back sometime in July, it looks to me like the Red Sox are trying to prepare for life without the hero of the 2004 World Series.

What this is saying to me is that the Red Sox are trying to look at the future now. With a ten game lead they have the option of taking a longer look at Kason Gabbard and Jacoby Ellsbury. They might be looking at either as trade bait, or to see if either merits consideration for tomorrow's team and whether or not they can help down the stretch.

One thing it definitively says to me is that Schilling and the Sox part ways at the end of this season.

Resurrection
I have been following whispers about the Women's United Soccer Association coming back under a different name. As a former beat writer covering the Philadelphia Charge back in 2001 and as the father of a five year-old girl, personally, I think this is pretty cool.

According to the Boston Herald, the Boston Breakers are soon to have try-outs for the new league sponsored by the Women's Soccer Initiative, Inc. The WSI has announced that the reincarnation of the WUSA will have eight teams which includes Washington (playing right down the street from me in Germantown, MD), New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, St. Louis, and according to some rumors, Philadelphia.

While I covered the league, I had the chance to talk to a number of the World Cup players like Kristine Lilly, Katie Sobrero, Lorrie Fair, and Heather Mitts. These women were superb athletes, I'm glad they and those who have followed in their cleat-steps will once again have an opportunity to make a living doing what they love.

Congrats
Hideki Okajima has made the All-Star game, joining team-mates Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Josh Beckett, and Jonathan Papelbon. While I wouldn't have complained about most of the other candidates making it onto the roster, Okajima has been deserving of the honor.

The man has been virtually unhittable since coming across the Pacific as an afterthought in all the Matsuzaka hype.

With the limited space, it's a shame that Matsuzaka couldn't have made it as well as Kevin Youkilis who has been having a better year than Ortiz.