It was one of a flurry of questions about David Price's sarcastic "I'm soft" quips from the day before. This one stemmed from the idea that some players might thrive off the kind of negativity Price's one step forward, two steps back existence has seemed like.
"There are a lot of guys in the big leagues that do that. I saw a big guy (Houston's Justin Verlander) yesterday in New York that tipped his hat when he got booed. I played with one here, Curt Schilling," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "He loved it. If that's what gets (Price) going, so be it. One thing is for sure: (Price is) healthy, he's throwing the ball well, and he'll be in Houston Saturday competing. We love the way he competes."
So, it seemed logical to put in a call to the guy Cora separated from the rest.
"I smile at the fact that I remember playing with people like that," said Schilling of those who made the most of playing among the verbal slings and arrows. "I thrived on the negativity of Yankees fans. I thrived on the negative of hatred from people. I recognize that the people in this town that were rooting against me in the media didn't know me. So I loved to make them look stupid. But the game is too hard to add all this other stuff to it.
"Ultimately I always looked at it as on my day I pitched there was nothing that penetrated what I was trying to do from a thought process. It was always hitters, sequences, preparation, and gameplan. If sat there and thought, 'I'm going to show Rob Bradford,' that's not going to work." And what about those who are distracted? "It's part of your make-up. You're so insecure that you can't believe people would be against you," he added.
As Schilling talked it appeared more and more that he was motivated to steer Price in another direction.
As Cora pointed out before Tuesday night's game, a few sarcastic quotes from the starter isn't going to derail the Red Sox' clubhouse for a minute. But what it does do is once again open up the conversation regarding what it takes to pitch in Boston, a narrative that the former Sox ace wanted to jump into.
"I've always liked David and respected him. People don't understand winning a Cy Young isn't a fluke, it's being exceptional for an entire MLB season," Schilling noted. "But pitching in Boston is a different animal, always has been. In some ways, you need to bring some of your own animal here, let the fans see it. They'll jump on your bandwagon if they know you leave it all out there if they know you don't make excuses. But I will caveat that all by saying you have to perform here. Nothing else matters in the end. The expectations are to win the World Series here, now, every single year. If that's a problem then go play in Oakland or Tampa."
Regarding Price, Schilling added, "I am not sure what he thought the expectations were going to be when he came here. Thirty million per year is a 20-win, October stud sort of contract. He hasn't lived up to that. He is accountable or not. That's his decision. But the fans don't want to hear boo-hoo stories and this media rarely if ever is going to give you the benefit of the doubt. This city requires big boy pants."
The former Red Sox pitcher is direct when identifying what makes for a good fit in Boston, with examples of those who came to town for the wrong reasons easily identified by Schilling.
"(Edgar) Renteria was a great example," Schilling said. "He was a great guy. But this city, it was too much. He wasn't thinking about routine fundamental defense and fielding ground balls. He was one of those guys thinking, 'Don't hit the ball to me.' Now every time you get a guy who pitches in a game that matters he's not thinking, 'I have to pitch Donaldson this way.' His whole thing is, 'I'll show these (guys).' That has nothing to do with pitching and can make the game much harder than it already is."
So, for the guy who most would suggest had the proper temperament when it came to living life as a baseball player in Boston, what should be the approach?
"I would say two things," Schilling said. "One, on game day don't allow a single thought in your head except what you want to do on the mound other than how you're going to execute pitches. Then after the game make sure everything that went wrong was your fault. That's your job. All the guys you're suiting up with, they know the truth. If you go out there and throw eight scoreless and you give up one and you lose, they know they didn't come through for you. You don't need to say it. And that goes with fans, as well. If you take responsibility and you're accountable, fans don't get pissed as long as you fix it. It's very refreshing to for a guy to be accountable, but at some point, you have to start pitching really well."
