Curt Schilling came right out and said it today: He believes he needs surgery.

No NESN for me down here in South Carolina, but I watched the portion of the interview posted on the Globe page. The video cut off after 10 minutes and 44 seconds, which makes me wonder how much longer reporters asked the same questions over and over about Schilling’s shoulder. Granted, I know we haven’t heard him speak about the shoulder before today, but I think the media session would have been much more productive if someone had just brought a karaoke machine and handed Curt the microphone. "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, ‘no, no, no!’…"

Many New Englanders think Schilling is a donkey’s butt, and will promptly tell you so, as they do when they give their opinion on all things Sox related. In reality, Schilling just tells it like it is; so do most people from the North, so I find their disliking of him strange. I think the dislike has more to do with Schilling publicly professing faith in Christ (GASP! How dare he!) and being Republican. It is almost more than a good Democratic from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can stand. I happen to pretty much adore him, from a baseball and from a personal standpoint.

In short, while he saw three different doctors, and got three different opinions, Schilling says he still trusts the opinion of Dr. Craig Morgan, the orthopedic surgeon who operated on his shoulder back in 1995. Schilling spoke of "medical egos," citing how he was cautioned against going to Morgan in 1995, but Morgan is the "Papelbon of his profession. He’s a specialist. The shoulder is what he does." However, due to the legal ramifications of his contract, the Sox basically own the rights to decide what course to take with Schilling’s shoulder health, and Curt has chosen to believe the team approach will work. “You might find it hard to believe,” Schilling said with a smirk, “but I really don’t think I’m the smartest guy in the room when it comes to medicine.” The rehab program is currently not strenuous, but it should be clear within the next month or so whether it will work.

Schilling seemed pretty down hearted about the whole ordeal. Because he is a professional athlete and has fought against much adversity, he is trying to be optimistic and mentally get behind what the Sox want him to do. He realizes the mental aspect, the attitude, is almost just as important as the physical work. However, all the positive thoughts in the world will not fix his shoulder. He seems to be facing the fact that realistically, he could never pitch again. While he seems depressed about the possibility of that happening, he also seems to have accepted it. "It is what it is," he told reporters.

I think Schilling might be done. He sure is talking like he’s done. I wish he had just let last year be it and at least gone out in a blaze of glory. The interesting question is, if he does have end up having surgery sometime within the next couple of months, will he be able to pitch again this season? If not, will he try to pitch again next season, and if so, with what team? I have a hard time seeing Theo sign him again after this mess, but I can almost bet some team would take a chance, most likely in the National League.

Eric Gagne apologized to his teammates today about his name on the Mitchell Report in a publicly issued statement. His teammates are right there at Spring Training; don’t know why he had to issue the statement publicly, but I digress. In his statement, Gagne said, "[My name on the Mitchell Report], that’s a distraction that shouldn’t be taking place. I’m just here to help the Milwaukee Brewers get to the World Series and playoffs, and that’s all I really care about." Hmmm. Who really thinks that will happen, especially if he’s anchoring the bullpen?