How many games has Francona blown by leaving Schilling in an inning longer than he should? He’s got three all-star relievers in his bullpen, yet he just sits there and lets Curt give up a three run home runs after his arm gets tired out. It seems like it happens every other game, and he just never learns.

This capped off an exciting month for Schilling. First, he botched his last chance for a no hitter by shaking off Jason Varitek twice during the last at bat so he could throw his non existent fastball. Then came word he actually is willing to negotiate a contract extension during the season, even though he claimed that would be an impossibilty during spring training. The icing on the cake came in his last two starts, during which his fastball was topping out at 88 MPH and opposing teams seemed to be taking extended batting practice against him as he stubbornly threw that same fastball three or four times in a row to the teams’ best hitters.

On the plus side, now that he’s going to have more time on his hands, there’s an increased chance he might entertain us by saying something stupid on his blog or a radio show. Usually when he’s playing that only happens twice a year, but with him not traveling with the team, the sky is the limit.