Sniping Sox?

"When he comes into the game, people cheer him like he's the Pope?
You think they'd let Pedro get away with this? Why does he get a free pass?"
-- Anonymous Red Sox player on Curt Schilling

Curt's Hurt By Teammate's Criticism

"Somebody on this team wants me to get booed to make them feel better, and that really bothers me a lot. Those are the kinds of things that really make me look at this game and understand that when I'm done in the game, I'll be done with the game." -- Curt Schilling on "somebody who's not wired right" in Bob Hohler's Boston Globe story

Theo's Not Surprised

"Not really (surprised by reading that teammate criticized Schilling). If that person is going to speak anonymously to a writer and address it that way, you have to kinda discount it because I don't give that source that much credit. I don't think that person can be a major influence in our clubhouse if that's the way he's trying to address it. No, I'm never surprised, when you have 25 guys living together for spring training, six months in a season, and the offseason, you're never going to have 25 guys to get along perfectly. There's always going to be some conflict and we do a pretty good job in avoiding that and our guys do care about each other." -- 9.27, Theo Epstein on WEEI's Dennis and Callahan

Howard's End: Teammate Talks to the Herald

”He seeks the spotlight, a charming personality trait at 21-6. It's not so adorable when your ERA is three full runs above your career mark and you have an ankle that requires rigorous rehabilitation, yet show up to spring camp, as one player said, ‘looking like Santa Claus.’ … During the last homestand, one player asked, ‘Since when did he anoint himself lord and master of the 617 area code?’ A visiting player wanted to know if it is true that Schilling actually calls in to talk radio shows and lurks on the Internet to make his points (yes, it is). One manager listens intently that Schilling is immune because he delivered the Big Prize.

‘I sort of disagree with that,’ the manager said. ‘Schilling was big, especially psychologically, but to me the difference in that team last year was Keith Foulke. Foulke made it hard to come back against those guys. And he hasn't been spared a thing.’" -- 9.21, Howard Bryant, Boston Herald (subscription only)

Hey Anonymous Teammate: Schilling Gets a 'Free Pass' Because of This and This, While Pedro was Being Pedro

"Still, added Schilling, it was difficult to ignore Martinez's absence in Yankee Stadium for Game 6 of the ALCS. Martinez stayed behind in Boston, ostensibly to work on his own in preparation for a possible appearance in Game 7.

'We were in the middle of the greatest eight-game run in the history of baseball and he wasn't there,' Schilling said. 'What does that tell your teammates? But that's just the way it was.'"
-- 12.18.04 Providence Journal

Johnny Rotten: 'Now There's No Hometown Discount'

"You know, it wasn't up to me to wait all this time. I said I always wanted to be back. The ownership just had their own agenda about how they take care of things. That's fine. They're entitled to wait, they own the team. Now there's no hometown discount. They do their own thing, so once the offseason comes, I guess I have to do it, too. I had to play the year with the risk of [being] hurt. I've been banged up all year. I know it could be [my last days with the Red Sox]; I don't want it to be. We'll just have to see about winning these last seven games, and get back to the playoffs and win the World Series and then I can write any ticket I want to write... They even told me to buy a home this offseason and I did. Now I'm kind of torn in between whether or not to put the house on the market, because I bought more than my means because they said I was going to be here for a long time." -- 9.27, Damon to NY Post