Bill Conlin: Schilling in total control until the end

And the Phillies would not have another one until Cole Hamels came along. He won 101 games over 8 1/2 seasons that swung wildly between All-Star level brilliance and career-threatening arm miseries. Wilmington orthopedic physician Dr. Craig Morgan saved his career with surgeries in 1995 and 1999. Schilling bypassed the Phillies' medical staff on both occasions. The second surgery was a procedure considered radical at the time that repaired a torn labrum with minimal cutting.

From that surgery until the shoulder deterioration that caused him to refuse surgery last year, which the Red Sox hoped would permit him to at least pitch late in the season - he collected $8 million while missing the entire season - Schilling was about as good as pitching gets. And during the Octobers that followed 22-6 and 23-7 seasons in Arizona, and a 21-6 in Boston, Curt established himself as one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time. Certainly he has been the best of the three-tier playoff era. His October record, including the 1993 World Series with the Phils, was 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 starts.

I'm not going to dwell on the man's grating persona. The consummate control freak also controls one of the most successful and dedicated charities in the history of athletes giving back as a way of sharing their special gifts with the less-fortunate or dreadfully afflicted. The work he and wife Shonda have done in Philly on behalf of ALS research has raised millions.

Curt Schilling is as complex as a snowflake and it is dramatically correct that this master puppeteer chose to blog his retirement announcement. And why the hell not? He was the first professional athlete to use the "Dear Diary" of his generation as a means to make himself perfectly clear without fear of misrepresentation. *

Send e-mail to bill1chair@aol.com. For recent columns, go to http://go.philly.com/conlin.