Curt Schilling: Staying in Boston. And staying fit.

Word has just come down that Curt Schilling (and family) will be staying in Boston. No sooner had the news leaked out than I saw that the man known as Big Schill will be slightly smaller next year, or (literally) pay the price:

ORLANDO - Curt Schilling’s new 1-year, $8 million deal with the Red Sox (which is pending results of a physical) will include $2 million worth of incentives if he meets weight requirements. The team hopes to insure that Schilling will be fit when he comes to spring training, a source close to the negotiations said moments ago.

But just as I was wondering “How in the heck did they ever get Curt to agree to that?!” I learned that the Weight Watchers plan was the hurler’s own idea:

I inserted the weigh in clause in the 2nd round of offers, counter offers. Given the mistakes I made last winter and into Spring Training I needed to show them I recognized that, and understood the importance of it. Being overweight and out of shape are two different things. I also was completely broad sided by the fact that your body doesn’t act/react the same way as you get older. Even after being told that for the first 39 years of my life. Now I can’t get on Dougie anymore, which sucks, and I am sure the clause will add 15-100 more jokes to Tito’s Schilling joke book.

Other performance incentives include $3 million based on innings pitched and another $1 million if he gets a Cy Young vote (any vote). So while the AP reported a total of $5 million in potential bonuses, it actually adds up to $6 million, even if that final million is rather unlikely. In short, unless he misses serious time or gets seriously husky, Curt will make the same as he did last year and finish his career in Boston. The other teams who called, according to Schilling’s blog, included Philly, St. Louis, Houston, and Arizona.

For a list of reasons why I’m psyched about this, click here.