Piss off, Curt

Flashback to 1997: July 7th to be exact. I'm at Jacob's Field, lucky enough to be at one of the most entertaining MLB moments of the season: the festivities the day before the All Star Game, specifically the Homerun Derby. One of my father's friends hooked our family up with seats between the Tribe dugout & home plate, about 8 rows up from the field.

The day included a celebrity softball game which pitted Jonathan Silverman and LeAnn Rimes' squad against Zack Morris & co. Plus, we got to watch the All Star workouts. Ever show up 2 hours early for a baseball game and watch them teams stretch, play catch and take BP? Ever do it twice? Right, so what makes you think you'd want to pay to see it without them playing an actual game? These are the days when Jeff Blauser, Royce Clayton, Tony Womack, Bobby Jones, Brady Anderson, Joey Cora, Jeff Cirillo, Pat Hentgen (Toronto's Charles Nagy), Justin Thompson & Jose Rosado were making "All Star" appearances.

Anyway, Tribe fans, during the run in the '90's, what was it that everyone said the team needed to win it all? Pitching. Nagy would never be able to it on his own; Dennis Martinez & Orel Hershiser were successful, but long past their primes; Bartolo Colon came on too little, too late & Jaret Wright was busy plowing his way though Brush's cheerleaders. Dammit, if only there were one more guy. one more person wanting to take the ball on the biggest of stages and win a championship, if not always for the noblest of reasons. Enter the slobbish prick I'm watching most of the day's workout.

In 1996 & '97, Indians fans were teased with the constant rumors of bringing young stud Curt Schilling to town. This week's honorary punch in the face goes to John Hart for acquiring Ken Hill instead of the future Hall Of Famer. Really, the rumors of getting Curt Schilling were frequent and, at times, convincing. Imagine for a second, having a selfish, young Curt Schilling on the mid to late '90's Indians.

The 1997 All Star break may have been the climax of the trade rumors & even though I think at the time I realized it wouldn't come to fruition, I couldn't help myself from taking pictures of the arrogant bastard wearing number 38. Watching this SOB walk around the field like he owned the place (chest puffed out, looking down his nose at everyone), I realized that it might not be worth it. Do I really want to sacrifice the pride of my team for a guy who I can't stand but might help win it all?

This tub o' lard has proven himself to a self absorbed hired gun, worried more about his "legacy" than the larger reality of what he's really accomplishing. Am I jealous that he brought a WS title to another long suffering area? Yes and no: sure, I wanted to win, but not with him. After having another decade of this guy behind us, we get to look back and see what could have been. From the desperation of jumping from winner to winner, to the spokesman deals, to the bloody sock, to his manipulating blog and need to always be available for interviews & TV appearances, he has proven to care more about the name on the back of the jersey than the one on the front.

Would I want to Browns to win the Super Bowl if it meant taking Terrell Owens with him at his worst? Probably not and the same goes for the Tribe & Schilling. I can't stand the guy. Had Slider or Brady Anderson choked Schilling like an Asian with Lexington Steele I'd have been ok with that.

You know what, Curt Schilling? When I'm talking to my friends' kids about baseball before they were born, your name will probably come up. Want to know what I'm going to tell them, what your legacy is going to be? You were a prick. Yea, you won, but everyone hated you. I'm glad you never pitched for my team, even though we could have won with you. Piss off, Curt.