Schilling as a free agent?

Apparently the Red Sox brass have decided to wait until the end of the season to sit down with Curt Schilling and try to hammer out a deal. Schilling on the other hand has decided to file for free agency. Of course he can't do this till NOVEMBER. Distractions gravitate to the Sox like Sizemore to meth (Hollywood's Tom, not Cleveland's Grady). This will be no exception as every start by Curt this year will inevitably have some sort of reference/discussion by the media as to whether this will be his last year for the oldetowne team and so forth. I'm really on he fence about this one. My gut tells me to sign him as 13 million seems paltry (what Curt was asking) when someone like Gil Meche who has never pitched over 200 innings in a season and has a lifetime ERA of 4.65 gets 11 million a year? I do however see Theo's view that they want to see how he pitches in 07' before they commit to a 40 year old dude. He did put his career on the line for the Sox in 04' and obviously has enormous pride in his work so we know he won't slack off. On the other hand I think that waiting and seeing how he pitches is a good move when people like Carlos Zambrano will be available at the end of the season. Regardless of the distractions (see Manuel Aristides Ramirez) this year, I'll still be in the bleachers on opening day (thanks to my boss), April 10 supporting my dysfunctional family as I do every year. They're the only one I've got.