After all these years, he makes his first start for Boston against the Orioles, for whom he made his major-league debut against the Red Sox.

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, April 6, 2004

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BALTIMORE -- When he takes the mound this afternoon, Curt Schilling's career will officially come full circle. Eighteen years after being drafted by the Red Sox, Schilling will finally make his first start for them.

Talk about delayed gratification.

What's more, Schilling will be pitching against the Baltimore Orioles, the team he was dealt to by Boston in 1988. Some two months after the trade, Schilling made his major-league debut -- against the Red Sox.

Almost two decades later, neither Schilling nor the Sox could have envisioned that he would again wear a Red Sox uniform, and do so against the Orioles.

Following career stops in Houston (one season), Philadelphia (eight seasons and part of another) and Arizona (three-plus years), Schilling is back where he srarted.

"I'm excited," said Schilling. "A lot of stuff has been going through my mind. It's tough to get a day off (yesterday) and wait. I can't wait for (today) to get here."

Dealt back to Boston from the Arizona Diamondbacks at Thanksgiving, Schilling got a look at the Red Sox schedule and almost immediately began planning for the sixth American League start of his career.

"I started looking at video in

late-December, early-January," Schilling said. "All through spring training. As spring training went on, I got a chance to see (the Orioles). I talked to Jason (Varitek) about them, talked to Pedro (Martinez) about them, Dave Wallace, guys around the league.

"We're going to face them 19 times, and I'm probably going to face them three to six times. I spent the winter trying to get ready for everybody."

As a young pitcher, Schilling took his considerable physical gifts for granted and freely admits he didn't prepare nearly as hard as he should have. But as if to make up for lost time, Schilling has since become one of the game's most dililgent workers.

"I prepare for the first spring-training game the same way I would for Game 7 of the World Series," Schilling said. "You work all winter. I try and make sure that I pitch the way that I pitch, make the adjustments that I need to make to stay atop the game, and make sure it all works. As I've gotten older, I've done different things to try to make sure that I stay good. Now we start finding out."

At least for this season, Schilling will team with Martinez to give the Red Sox arguably their best starting pitching tandem since Roger Clemens and Bruce Hurst.

Schilling gracefully says Martinez is the one who sets the pace for the Boston rotation.

"That's Petey's job," said Schilling, "He's the ace of the staff. It's a different day when everybody else pitches. Everybody else in the rotation tries to follow suit. That's what good rotations do. They compete in a good way."

After his time with the Diamondbacks, Schilling is accustomed to sharing the spotlight with top starters. In Arizona, it was four-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson. Now, it's Martinez.

"Two of the top pitchers of my era are at the top of the rotation that I'm in," said Schilling. "That's a great spot to be in, to watch and learn, or to watch and enjoy. To be able to converse with someone who pitches on that level is a little bit different than most guys in the big leagues.

"I tried to use my time in Arizona with RJ (Johnson) the best way that I could, and I'm going to try to do the same with Petey. RJ set a different bar. The same thing with Petey. The've done things that nobody's ever done before. Every time they take the ball, you've got a chance to see something you've never seen. I did things in Arizona that I'd never done before I got there. And I believe that's because of the things that RJ did and said. And I believe the same thing will happen here."

An ardent student of the game, Schilling has immersed himself in Red Sox lore since the offseason deal. Never has he experienced the intensity and fan passion that he's seen since rejoining the Sox.

"There's a lot of anticipation," he said. "There are a lot more expectations here. There's a lot more history here. So yeah, I'm going to be a little more worked up than normal. But once the game starts, no. The same as every other game.

"The first one is a little bit different, obviously, but I'm pretty worked up for all of them. I can't wait for it to get here, and I can't wait to get it over with."

Eighteen years in the making, one day more won't be too long to wait.