Curt Schilling spoke to the media today for the first time about his ailing shoulder. The bacon-laced one made it clear that he would prefer surgery on the joint from personal physician Dr. Craig Morgan, which would apparently have him back by the all-star break. But the Red Sox instead have prescribed a strengthening program with the thought of having him ready for Opening Day and the entire season.

Despite his pledge to invest himself mentally into the Red Sox plan, Schilling made it clear that the only reason he isn’t having surgery is because he has no choice - if he wants to keep his salary.

Schilling: “I have to. I don’t have any choice. If their course of action doesn’t work, I don’t pitch this year, and I may never pitch again. I don’t have a choice. I have to mentally get behind it and do everything I can to make it work.

“It certainly isn’t the best spot to be in. When you hear ‘five and 10 percent’ and ‘never pitch again’ and those things . . .I’m disappointed that after 21 years my career might end like this. But it is what it is. And if I never pitch again, as disappointing as it may be, I have no regrets about everything that I’ve been able to experience.”

The Red Sox course of action tells us that the club has no intention of extending Schilling after this year. We know, that’s not exactly a newsbreaker. From what we’ve heard from sources inside baseball, the club has forever been disappointed by Schilling’s lack of conditioning, and somehow believes that is to blame for his shoulder woes.

Yes, Schilling is a slob more worried about a fake green monster than the real thing. But last we checked, shoulder health probably isn’t connected to #38’s possible bacon cheeseburger-borne colon polyps.