09:32 AM EDT on Thursday, April 28, 2005

BOSTON -- So, is it really a surprise that two aging pitchers have been "booted" out of the Boston Red Sox' starting rotation already?

Is it any shock that 38-year-old Curt Schilling, only a relative few months away from serious surgery to reconstruct a tendon in his right ankle, began the season on the disabled list and now, only three starts into the season, is on his way back to the DL because of right ankle problems?

Does it come out of the blue that 41-year-old David Wells' body has betrayed him yet again, forcing him to the DL for the fifth time in his 18-year career, this time for what general manager Theo Epstein called a "sprained plantar fascia?"

Is it a coincidence that these are two pitchers for whom conditioning (read: weight) is an issue, no doubt contributing to extra stress on the feet/ankles?

Certainly, while Schilling hasn't been svelte for a long time, he showed up at camp looking a few pounds heavier, at least partially the result of the inactivity he was forced to endure because of the ankle surgery.

Wells, meanwhile, is listed at 248 pounds. You think his right foot doesn't groan every time he lands on it after delivering a pitch, or every time he tries to field his position by going after a roller down the third-base line, as he did Monday night against the Orioles, leading to his new and clunky footwear?

While the party line from Schilling and Epstein is that the right-hander's bone bruise in the

right ankle is not related to last fall's surgery, and that it was the result of one pitch to Tampa Bay's Travis Lee last Saturday night, there has to be at the very least an indirect cause-and-effect relationship. It's too coincidental, especially given the fact that the right foot is the one Schilling uses to push off the rubber.

AP photo

News yesterday that Curt Schilling is joining David Wells on the disabled list leaves Boston scrambling to fill a huge void.

Schilling's foot was placed in a boot, which he will wear for at least two weeks.

And while the party line is that Wells' injury is not a stress fracture, the Sox admitted he has been treated for plantar fascitis already at times this season. The bottom line is the foot will be immobilized for at least three weeks.

That's all part of the risk/reward philosophy in dealing with older pitchers who have many, many innings on their respective résumés.

Old bones don't heal as quickly as young bones.

And while any pitcher, no matter how old or how young, is always one pitch away from a season-ending or career-ending injury, the odds of an older pitcher wearing out have to be greater.

So here we have the Red Sox, in late April, minus their $14-million ace, their 2004 World Series hero who pitched on one leg in leading Boston to its first World Championship in 86 years.

They also will be without their $4-million war horse, Wells, who was signed as a free agent to help fill the hole in the rotation that developed when the Sox lost Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe to free agency.

That they have broken down should not be a shock. That they broke down within a few days of each other, this early in the season, is bad luck. And it is going to test the Red Sox' mettle.

"It's a significant short-term challenge, a real serious challenge," general manager Theo Epstein said yesterday.

"It wouldn't be a baseball season if we didn't have one, so we'll have to deal with it. It's the type of adversity that really defines a team. It's unfortunate to have a couple of pitchers go down, but we can withstand it."

Schilling acknowledged the strain placed on the Sox' pitching staff.

"It's an early gut-check," said Schilling. "I don't doubt we have the character and the talent to do what we have to do."

The Sox also have had the foresight to account for the fact they had an aging rotation. In the offseason, Epstein signed left-hander John Halama, an eight-year veteran who has started games for four other big-league teams.

Epstein also signed right-hander Wade Miller, hoping the Sox could help him overcome the frayed right rotator cuff that prompted the Houston Astros to let him walk as a free agent after the 2004 season. Miller is on the DL now, and will make his third rehab start tonight, for the Pawtucket Red Sox.

The Sox will not rush Miller, insisting they won't use him until they think he is healthy enough to pitch at the major-league level. Maybe that will be sooner than later, but most likely it will not.

"We have enough depth with Halama and Miller that we can weather the storm and call on our guys in Triple A," said Epstein. "We need all the pitching we can muster. It's more important than ever that our bullpen step up and pitch well."

Beginning with a seven-game road trip that starts tomorrow night in Texas, the Sox are going to find out more about themselves with Schilling and Wells on the shelf.

"If we go play well and overcome this, then it makes us closer as a ballclub. I believe that a lot," said manager Terry Francona. "If we go and lose, then we weren't good enough. You never really want this to happen, but if we're as good a team as we want to be we'll find a way to get through this and get on a roll at some point."

At this point, though, the Sox may be sending out Halama and calling up either Abe Alvarez or Jeremi Gonzalez to see what they can do to pitch in. The hope is that neither Schilling nor Wells is out for too long.

But only time will tell, which is an age-old problem for the Red Sox.