Looks like safe money means $8 million plus incentives, because Curt Schilling is officially a member of the Olde Towne Team for what he figures to be his final year as a professional baseball player. Schilling goes into the full details of the contract, including the $2 million weigh-in-based incentive he made the team add, in his blog, but what really makes this deal (which I didn't think was possible a few days ago) really interesting is that it slides another successful piece into place. (Speaking of which: congrats to Youk!)As I talked about in my last post, the biggest difference between 2004 and 2008 is the lack of dismantlement. To be sure, the end of the 2004 season saw the expiration of more big contracts, but the spirit this time around seems to be different, and Schilling's resigning underscores that feeling: Red Sox management isn't going to be satisfied with another two years of near misses, or another set of experiments; they want to repeat in 2008. Giving Curt Schilling, Big Game Pitcher, another year in a Sox uniform means this team has taken the Yankees comparison to heart: they're going for dynasty numbers, establishing a championship pedigree before Schilling gets too old, or Manny's contract expires, or they lose any major components to the market.
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