BOSTON - While Curt Schilling was having surgery yesterday, Red Sox manager Terry Francona was in the midst of a discussion with the local media about whether Schilling should be a Hall of Famer.

“I should be better informed because he’s pitched for a long time,” said the manager. “I think it’s more of that I’ve never stopped and thought about it. I kind of get the sense because of the timing of everything — with the surgery — that argument is starting to go up. It’s a fun argument for baseball people and people who care about baseball. I need to look at it better,” Francona said.

Schilling pitched for Francona while the two were in Philadelphia in the late 1990s, and again in Boston. So it’s safe to say Francona is hoping some day the big-game pitcher has a plaque hanging in Cooperstown.

“I would be a cheerleader for him because he’s pitched for me for so long,” Francona said.

Discussing the history of the game comes naturally for Francona. He has spent his entire life involved in the game.

“Our game is the greatest game to talk about in the world,” he said. “There’s so much history, and that’s part about being a baseball fan . . . There’s so much to argue about, maybe argue is the wrong word; it’s part of what makes our game so special.”

jmcdonal@projo.com