Curt Schilling

Bill Giles swung out onto the concourse at Dodger Stadium from the private box from which he had just witnessed the Phillies nail down a 3-0 Opening Day win, a win made possible by an overpowering pitching performance by Curt Schilling. When reporters approached, the Phillies president smiled and clamped his hand over his mouth like the speak-no-evil monkey. Giles realized, of course, that the newshounds wanted to know about the negotiations for Schilling's contract extension, talks that seem to have gone on longer than it took to get the Blue Route built.

IF CURT SCHILLING really does run for the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts left open by the death of Ted Kennedy, it will be the race that launched a thousand quips. That much, at least, became crystal clear as the Boston Globe collected Red Sox reaction to the political musings of their former teammate. "He would be good at filibustering," general manager Theo Epstein wrote in a text message. Most of the players preferred not to have their names attached to their zingers.

Curt Schilling was unusually pensive before last night's start. Where were the wisecracks? Where was the opinionated commentary that resonates through the clubhouse, regardless of the topic or time of day? After losing his previous two starts and giving up 10 earned runs in 11 innings, Schilling had his game face on early. The man-on-a-mission approach - not to mention a blazing fastball - helped the righthander post his first victory in 15 days as the Phillies held off the Houston Astros, 5-1, at the Astrodome.

It is, by now, the dance of the dumbfounded. A Phillies batter swings, takes a few small steps while briefly watching the ball's flight, flips his bat in disgust and, head down, spins toward the dugout. Increasingly, as after last night's 3-1 loss to Chicago at Veterans Stadium, these now-familiar steps are followed by the sound of Philadelphia, a throaty boo. Afterward, in a sparsely populated clubhouse where questions about the long-vanished offense easily outscore the answers, there is little sound but the muted voices of frustration.

As prankster-in-chief Brett Myers poured a bottle of Moet inside the back of a teammate's pants, Brad Lidge stood for a moment in the Los Angeles Dodgers' visiting clubhouse and reflected on what Cole Hamels had just accomplished. The Phillies' closer talked about how the Dodgers had just tried everything against Hamels in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series - "it just seemed like Cole was so in command, it didn't matter. He's a true ace. " Hamels, the NLCS MVP, doesn't have a bloody sock to add to his legend.

George Steinbrenner must be salivating. If the New York Yankees owner is about to open serious bidding for a pitcher who can get his club into the World Series for a third consecutive year, he surely would have had his satellite feed tuned to Veterans Stadium last night. Two sturdy righthanders who could get the Yanks into the series were matched up in a terrific pitching duel, and both of them were electric. Unfortunately for the Phillies, the Baltimore Orioles' Mike Mussina got the better of the showdown with Curt Schilling.

This road trip, so promising when it started, is quickly turning into a disaster for the Phillies. Never mind that the Phillies had their ace on the mound last night. Never mind that Todd Zeile continued his torrid hitting. Or that Mendoza Liner Kevin Stocker socked his first homer in nearly three months. None of it mattered. The Phillies, betrayed by their defense, dropped their third straight, a 6-3 setback to the New York Mets before 18,478 at Shea Stadium. "We gave away five runs tonight," Phillies manager Jim Fregosi said.

Curt Schilling, the one Phillies pitcher who has truly dominated the Atlanta Braves' lineup, today gets the call to try to put the Phils ahead in the National League Championship Series, which is tied at two games apiece. "I could be pitching for our season tomorrow," Schilling said yesterday, before the Phils' 2-1 Game 4 victory. "Whether it's 3-1 or 2-2 (in the series), it's going to be a big game. " Reporters asked Schilling what it felt like to know he is being counted on to do what he did in Game 1. "It makes you feel good," Schilling said.

After he hit over .300 and played stellar defense throughout his first month with the Phillies, it seemed inevitable that Bobby Abreu would have a bad game sooner or later. He just wishes that it hadn't come against his old club. The 23-year-old rightfielder made two costly defensive miscues in the third inning, and both led to runs as the unusually sloppy Phils suffered a 4-1 loss to the Houston Astros at the Vet despite another strong pitching performance by Curt Schilling.

Sitting on a stool in front of his locker, Curt Schilling looked as if he had been through a war. His forlorn eyes never left the carpet in front of him. His voice, usually strong and certain, was soft and cheerless. The only thing worse than squandering a four-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning is recounting the carnage. This was the uncomfortable position the Phillies ace found himself in early last evening after he was ambushed for five runs in the final inning of a gut-wrenching 5-4 loss to the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.

Philadelphia's Top 50 Baseball Players By Rich Westcott University of Nebraska Press. 272 pp. $24.95 Reviewed by Larry Eichel   According to local baseball historian Rich Westcott, someone named Bob Johnson is one of the top 50 baseball players in Philadelphia history. Never heard of him? The man known as "Indian Bob" (he was one-quarter Cherokee) played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1933 through 1942, spending most of his time in left field.

ATLANTA - Mind over matter. Stamina over stuff. Brain over brawn. For Roy Halladay, perhaps it won't be all that difficult to continue his evolution as a major league pitcher. He was burned at an early age and rebuilt, in part with an overhaul to his mechanics and in part to the power of positive thinking. If the last 12 months are any indication, Halladay doesn't have the $20 million arm that made him baseball's best pitcher for the majority of the last decade. But he still has the tireless work ethic and meticulous game preparation.

THE NEW YORK Yankees set a record for baseball's highest Opening Day payroll at $230.4 million, almost 10 times what the Houston Astros are paying their players. After all the talk of spending restraint during the offseason, the Yankees began the season well ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are at $214.8 million and only the second franchise to break the $200 million barrier, according to a study of big-league contracts by the Associated Press. Houston was last at $27.3 million, less than the major league-leading $29 million for the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez.

Curt Schilling said Friday that the collapse of his 38 Studios video game company has probably cost him his entire baseball fortune, and he placed part of the blame on Rhode Island officials, including Gov. Lincoln Chafee. During a 90-minute interview on WEEI-FM in Boston, Schilling said he put more than $50 million of his money into 38 Studios and that he's had to tell his family that "the money I saved during baseball was probably all gone. " Schilling said he hopes to return to work soon as an analyst for ESPN.

LAST WEEK, High & Inside colleague Ed Barkowitz suggested several places where the Kings' Jeff Carter, who owns a house in Sea Isle City at the Jersey Shore, could take the Stanley Cup. Lest you think we were joking, consider that Sunday the silver grail was seen sunning on a California beach. Philip Pritchard, the man with the coolest job title in the world — Keeper of the Cup — posted the accompanying photo on his Twitter account Sunday along with the tweet, "Making the rounds....at Venice Beach.

The jury in the Roger Clemens' perjury trial did not sit on Tuesday, but Judge Reggie Walton and the lawyers for both sides conferred on Walton's unusual practice of allowing jurors to put questions directly to government witness Brian McNamee. The jury submitted the extremely high number of 29 questions and Walton decided which could be asked. One went to the heart of the government's case that Clemens lied to Congress in 2008 when he said he never used steroids or Human Growth Hormone.

THE PHILLIES HAVE revealed the 12 names on the Wall of Fame ballot, with Curt Schilling seeming to be the front-runner. Schilling was on the ballot last year in his first year of eligibility, but the selection committee of team executives and media members selected John Kruk. Schilling went 101-78 with a 3.35 ERA in nine seasons in Philadelphia before demanding a trade and winning World Series titles in Arizona and Boston. His numbers, however, are impressive: sixth in wins, eighth in innings (1,659 1/3)

In a stunning development, Curt Schilling will not be inducted to the Phillies Wall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Instead, the honor this year will go to a another member of the 1993 team who left town on slightly better terms. The Phillies announced yesterday that they will honor John Kruk as the 33rd member of their Wall of Fame in their annual induction ceremony, scheduled before the Aug. 12 game against the Washington Nationals. Kruk was one of the stars of the 1993 postseason, hitting .298 with five extra-base hits, 11 walks, nine RBI and eight runs scored before the Phillies' magical season ended at the hands of Joe Carter and the Blue Jays in Game 6 of the World Series.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - These days, the Phillies are considered one of the elite teams in baseball. It wasn't that long ago that they were called a lot of things that couldn't be said out loud in polite society. Even relatively rapid change is difficult to grasp when observed closely. Look in the mirror and the face staring back at you seems exactly the same as the day before. Look at a 10-year-old photograph and the difference can be startling. In that sense, yesterday's orchestrated lollapalooza in which all five starting pitchers ?

Former Phillies ace Curt Schilling has never met former Eagles fullback Kevin Turner, even though their careers here overlapped for several years in the 1990s. But Schilling, who has been deeply involved in helping raise money to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, feels that he knows Turner, or at least what he's going through since Turner was diagnosed with ALS several months ago. "We shared space at the old Vet, but we didn't have any personal moments, so to speak," said Schilling, 43, whose 20-year career ended when he retired as a member of the Boston Red Sox after the 2007 season.