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.

Gehrig Schilling was getting restless. He stared briefly at the scoreboard, then took some choppy, unsteady steps across the baseball diamond toward his locker, which he came perilously close to overturning during a brief burst of mischief. For someone who celebrated his first birthday May 27, Gehrig Schilling sure has a feel for the game. In the Schilling home in Chester County, it's hard not to, because Gehrig's dad, Phillies pitcher Curt Schilling, is doing his best to make certain his towheaded son is raised with a deep appreciation for the tradition and history of the game.

A little voice inside Curt Schilling is urging him to go straight. It's telling him to quit this feud with Mitch Williams. It's reminding him that all the griping he did about his arbitration case didn't win him friends in the Phillies organization. It's trying to convince him that while his teammates respect his ability, they are often weary of his words. Briefly, he seems to heed the advice. "I'm going to try to be more careful about what I say," Schilling vowed. But the Phillies' best pitcher is a controversy addict.

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.

Had things gone differently, Curt Schilling's dramatic strikeout of Larry Walker in the fifth inning last night might have gone down as the most memorable vignette of this Phillies season. With runners on second and third, two out and the Phils leading by a run, Schilling iced one of the sport's most deadly hitters with four 98-m.p.h. fastballs, an extraordinary feat considering the season Walker is having, not to mention his .433 batting average with two out and men in scoring position.

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.

Pete Incaviglia's left knee is sore. Really sore. But his swing is healthy. Really healthy. Incaviglia knocked in three runs and Curt Schilling pitched 8 1/3 solid innings as the Phillies defeated the Houston Astros, 6-2, before 31,146 fans at Veterans Stadium last night. The crowd gave the Phils a single-season Veterans Stadium attendance record of 2,777,967, topping the old mark of 2,775,011 set in 1979. Schilling was hit on the right calf by Eddie Taubensee's liner with one out in the ninth.

The Phillies did some major reshuffling of their beleaguered pitching staff yesterday after No. 2 starter Tommy Greene was placed on the 15-day disabled list, where he joined much of the rotation that was expected to return the team to contention this season. Phils manager Jim Fregosi dropped Danny Cox (2-2, 4.63 ERA) from the rotation and added reliever Curt Schilling (2-2, 3.20 ERA). That left the Phils, 13-19 after last night's loss to the Giants, with a starting five of Terry Mulholland, Kyle Abbott, Cliff Brantley, Schilling and Brad Brink, who was recalled from triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to fill Greene's roster spot.

The number of able-bodied Phillies was down considerably yesterday. Blame it on the Phillie Phlu. Fifteen players missed part or all of the team's workout at Carpenter Complex as a bug swept through the team like a tornado. "These things can happen when you have a bunch of guys in one clubhouse," manager Terry Francona said. "But I've never seen this many guys sick in one shot. " Even assistant general manager Ruben Amaro was struck down by the illness. From a sick bed, Amaro managed to put the final touches on shortstop Desi Relaford's contract.

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.

REPEAT AFTER ME: "I, (your name here), do confess to being a front-runner. " There. Now, don't you feel better? Admit it, Philly. We are front-runners. So is every other sports-loving town. And there's nothing wrong with it. You pay good money, you want to be entertained, you will go elsewhere when you are not. Just ask the Sixers. Or the Knicks, Nets, Wizards, Pirates, Indians, Florida Panthers and, of course, the Marlins. The Phillies have sold out 84 straight home games.

Wendy Fonseca's son was loud. He spun in a circle, unable to sit still, and spoke in sounds and grunts, not words, as about 75 people sat quietly listening to what Shonda and Curt Schilling, a hero in these parts, had to say about their boy, who has Asperger syndrome. Wearing a blue Boston Red Sox T-shirt, Wendy sat in the back row, her husband, Richard, one row up. Their 3-year-old son, Aiden, who does not talk, was found to have autism three weeks ago, and the couple have been struggling to cope with the diagnosis and its ramifications.

THERE'S LITTLE DOUBT whom Curt Schilling is backing in today's election in Massachusetts to fill the U.S. senate seat previously held by the late Ted Kennedy. Hint: It's not Martha Coakley. Last week, during a radio interview, Coakley mentioned that her opponent, Scott Brown, had been campaigning in Boston with former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, whom, she reminded listeners, is a hated Yankees fan. The interviewer then mentioned that former Phillies and Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is also campaigning for Brown.

THE OUTLOOK was bleak. It always is when a team is down by three games to one in a best-of-seven series. Coming off two straight losses at home, including a heartbreaker in Game 4. Listening to all the statistics about how few teams have dug themselves out of such a hole. That was the situation the Phillies found themselves in . . . against the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series. It was then, on the night of Oct. 21 at Veterans Stadium, that Curt Schilling did several things.

IN THE final days of July, everything changed for the Phillies and everybody knew it immediately. The evidence would not be examined until October, until now, but everybody knew what happened the day the Phils acquired Cliff Lee. They had ridden Cole Hamels to the world championship last year, they had ridden him hard, and this was now going to be different. They knew it from the first night Lee took the mound, a four-hit complete game at San Francisco. They knew, they hoped, that he was going to be a game-changer.