Haters hate, players play, but what do the player haters do?

I'll be the first guy to admit that Curt Schilling, 6'5" 235 lbs, is a tough guy to love. But he earned a lifetime pass from me in fall 2004, when he had the Red Sox doctor twice stitch a loose tendon to his ankle bone so he could pitch in the American League Championship Series (above left) and the World Series.

But I guess not everybody goes so easy on Big Curt. Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne said during the broadcast of last night's game (Sox 6, O's 1, Schilling 7 IP 1 ER) that it was paint, not blood, on Schilling's sock that night.

Thorne claimed Sox backup catcher Doug Mirabelli told him so, leading to a diplomatic response from Mirabelli: "He's %$#*ing lying."

This isn't the first time naysayers have cast doubt on the Legend of the Bloody Sock, notwithstanding the fact the stinky footwear is currently hanging in the National Baseball Hall of Fame (above right).

I say we put these questions to rest with some DNA testing. Send Gil Grissom into the Hall with his little flashlight, send the sock to the lab, and we'll have an answer before the evening news.

Think I'm nuts? There is precedent. The Hall tested some of Sammy Sosa's bats from his historic 1998 season, after he was caught corking in 2003. Sosa was cleared.