Was that blood or red paint?

Sox's backup catcher allegedly says Schilling's sock from '04 was staged

Jim Baumbach

3:17 PM EDT, April 26, 2007

More than two years after the fact we still don't truly know whether that really was blood on the sock of Boston's pitcher / publicist Curt Schilling during the 2004 postseason. Last night, however, we received an interesting second-hand admission that it was staged with - get this - red paint.

Red Sox officials are incensed this morning it's even a question, and Yankees fans surely have to be bothered by this, as well. Every time that darn Schilling sock is mentioned, it reminds Yankee fans of perhaps their worst week in franchise history, when they became the first baseball team to blow a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series, to the Red Sox, no less.

The latest sock controversy came about during the Orioles' telecast of their game against the Red Sox last night when Gary Thorne said on the air that the bloodied sock was in fact red paint. Thorne, the former Mets broadcaster who also does work for ESPN, even outed Red Sox backup catcher Doug Mirabelli as his source.

So why would Thorne lie about this, especially on the air? When the Boston Globe's Red Sox beat writer Gordon Edes approached him in between innings, Thorne stood by what he had said, telling the reporter, "Go ask him."

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That makes us believe Mirabelli did tell Thorne the blood on the sock was in fact paint. But was he saying it in jest? Messing around with Thorne, thinking the broadcaster knew it was a joke? Or perhaps he was serious?

Mirabelli vehemently denied that to Edes, saying, "What? Are you kidding me? He's --- lying. A straight lie. I never said that. I know it was blood. Everybody knows it was blood I honestly don't know who Gary Thorne is."

But, seriously, why would Thorne lie? Makes no sense. Of course this story is more believable because of the man involved. Schilling has always loved attention. He calls into a Boston sports talk radio station, has his own blog and has been known to post comments on both Red Sox and Yankee fan message boards.

Schilling, manager Terry Francona and GM Theo Epstein all seemed incensed by what they deemed absolutely false accusations, according to this morning's Globe story. And Red Sox owner John Henry, wh o is almost always willing to offer comments through e-mail, was noticeably mum today. "I have no information on this subject," he said.

Dr. Bill Morgan, who was the Red Sox's team physician at the time, released this statement this afternoon:

"It's hard to fathom where a statement like this would come from. Obviously, we put sutures in Curt Schilling's ankle right before he went out to pitch in a professional-level baseball game. Sutures will pull with movement, and we completely expected a certain amount of blood to ooze from the wound. Socks are like sponges, and even a small amount of blood can soak a sock."

What I found interesting about that statement is that Morgan did not address whether the sock did in fact have blood on it, only saying he expected there to be blood. There's a difference.

Maybe former Red Sox players Johnny Damon and Mike Myers, who both crossed over to the dark side and signed with the Yankees before the 2006 season, will speak publicly about this later this afternoon. Yankees first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz also was on that Red Sox team.

But probably the only way to put an end to this may just be to test the sock, as silly as that may sound. There were two (allegedly) bloody socks, from Game 6 of the ALCS and Game 2 of the World Series, but only one sock exists today.

Because Game 6 of the ALCS played at Yankee Stadium, the bloodied sock was handled afterward by Yankee Stadium visiting clubhouse attendants. They have no recollection of what happened to it, so they believe it was tossed away into the garbage, where surely many Yankee fans believe it belongs.

But the bloodied sock from World Series Game 2 is still on display at baseball's Hall of Fame, according to its Web site. So then maybe it's time to take a day off from drug testing and do some sock testing. Because if it is paint, as Thorne insists Mirabelli said, wouldn't it be fun to see Schilling explain that?

Alas, there's no plan to test the sock, according to Jeff Idelson, spokesman for the Hall of Fame.

"We've never had a doubt in our mind that the sock he has on it has blood on it," he said. "Three years later the sock being on exhibit in our museum, the red splotches have turned brown, which is what happens to blood."

Oh, and by the way, Schilling and the Red Sox visit the Bronx for three games beginning tomorrow night.

Good timing, eh?