01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, January 25, 2006

BY ART MARTONE
Journal Sports Editor

Curt Schilling, one of the heroes of the Red Sox' run to the 2004 World Series championship -- and whose inability to recover fully from offseason ankle surgery contributed to the Sox losing that title in 2005 -- says he's finally healthy again and he'll head to spring training next month "in as a good a shape as I was at the beginning of the 2004 season."

Schilling spoke publicly yesterday for the first time this offseason, appearing on WEEI Radio's "Dennis and Callahan Show." Schilling is regular contributor to the show during the baseball season, with the station making payments to Schilling's fund for the treatment and cure of ALS in return.

Schilling touched on a number of topics during the 15-minute interview, including:

His health.

"I'll be in as good a shape as I was when I went in at the beginning of the 2004 season, there's no doubt about that."

His ankle, which was surgically repaired after the 2004 season and hampered him throughout 2005.

"About 14-17 days ago, I woke up and my foot was normal. Going through workouts and doing the stuff I'm doing here [at his Arizona home] . . . I don't know what the combination was, but it feels right again. It feels normal. It [feels] normal for the first time in a long, long time."

On his weight, which was up last year because of his inability to work out after ankle surgery (the question was prompted by a photo of Schilling at a recent Phoenix Coyotes hockey game in which he looked noticeably slimmer).

"I don't know, [I'm down] a couple of pounds. Being able to run and being able to move extensively to do workouts has changed my body [composition] dramatically in the last month, month-and-a-half. That's something I haven't been able to do for a year."

On the front-office turmoil this offseason.

"[General manager Theo Epstein's] back. That's all I care about, and that's all any of the players care about. . . . Because of the kind of person he is, the confidence I have in him . . . I know there's not a minute goes by in the day that he's not trying to make this team better. As a player, that's all you can ask for. As a player, it's up to me and the 24 other guys to win a world championship. . . . I was probably as upset, if not more, about changes in other areas of team, the clubhouse personnel. But we understand this is a business and if [principal owner] John Henry wants to make changes in clubhouse personnel, that's his right."

On the 2006 Red Sox.

"It's going to be a tremendously different team chemistry-wise, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing." [When asked to elaborate later in the interview] "You can't put a value [on] what [we] lost. Doug Mirabelli was one of the leaders of the team. Johnny Damon, at 7:05 [the normal game time], was one of the hardest-playing people I've ever been around. Kevin [Millar] was Kevin, and all that that entails. But your chemistry [is built] by what you do on the field. I just think that the guys that I know [joining the Sox] are going to be very comfortable making the transition [to Boston]."

On new teammate Josh Beckett.

"I'm biased, I know, but you're talking about one of the top five arms in the game. That, to me, is huge. He's the kind of guy who's [going to have] a plaque at [the Baseball Hall of Fame in] Cooperstown waiting for him if he stays healthy for 10 or 12 more years. I fully expect that kid to come in and win a whole lot of games this year."

On second baseman Mark Loretta and third baseman Mike Lowell, both of whom he knows.

"You could not find two more quality human beings. I've never heard a bad word said about either one of them. I fully expect Mike Lowell to have a Mike Lowell-type season this year. Loretta fits right in with the [offensive] philosophy here. He's a fantastic ballplayer."

On the pressure for the new players in Boston.

"Boston is merciless if you [stink], but I don't [think] any of the guys coming in here [are going to stink]."

On the strength of the team's pitching staff.

"I think the pitching staff is phenomenally deep, very, very strong with a ton of power arms. The thought of making [Jonathan] Papelbon a reliever . . . he's a potential No. 1 or 2 starter-type guy. You don't get near the value of his worth in 60 innings [as a reliever] instead of 200 [as a starter]. I look at guys on their potential best days, and Jon's potential best day is a no-hitter. . . . We have power arms up and down the staff."

On whether or not Theo Epstein could have prevented the loss of Johnny Damon.

"Damon wanted to go after someone who was going to pay him the most money. I don't think the Red Sox were going to offer him as much money as he got from the Yankees, so he was going to leave here anyway."

On teammate Keith Foulke, who struggled worse than Schilling on 2005.

"Foulkie's probably in the best shape he's ever been in. I think he'll bounce back and have as good a year as he had in 2004."

On the upcoming season.

"I'm nervous, I'm excited. There's a lot of things to hopefully make up for from last season, both personally and as a team."

This story was originally posted yesterday morning on projo.com's Red Sox blog.