unless you believe what Kevin Millar yelled over to Schilling on his way out to the field today. “It was paint! It was paint!” All kidding aside, it turns out the whole bloody sock issue was just a misunderstanding of what Gary Thorne thought he had heard.
“It was miscommunication,” said Thorne of the remark he said Mirabelli made that led him to believe the sock was painted and not bloody.
“I was doing a (Red Sox) game. I don’t remember when it was, but it was well after the (Sox’ 2004 World Championship) fact. It (Mirabelli’s remark) was joking or being sarcastic in the clubhouse that I took to be serious. We were talking about something else and my last question was about the sock really being bloody,” said Thorne, standing around the batting cage, surrounded by TV cameras and other media members as the Orioles took BP.
“I never really thought much about it at the time (of uttering the remark). It came up, a comment was made (Wednesday night). I didn’t think it was a big deal. It’s a non-issue. It (2004) was a great year (for the Sox). It was a tremendous playoffs. Schilling was outstanding. He did the warrior stuff. So, okay. I guess I don’t get it. Obviously this is much bigger than I thought,” said Thorne.
Doug Mirabelli, who probably never has to speak to the media, again met with them today after talking with Thorne.
“Any time you’re associated with something like that it came damage relationships with friends and teammates,” said Mirabelli, who said he didn’t even know who Thorne was until seeing his face in the Orioles media guide.
Schilling assured him there was no damage control that needed to be addressed.
“(Thorne) said he assumed from what I said that (the sock was painted). By no means was that what I meant. He said I said to him, “We got a lot of publicity out of that.” That’s all he can recall,” said Mirabelli.
Mirabelli is known for his dead-pan style, which, in the context of what passes for clubhouse humor, makes it likely this is all a case of two plus two adding up to be eight.
“This is a non-story, childish,” said Mirabelli. “The media made it up and is running with it, keeping this stuff going. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”
Terry Francona, who normally gets to sleep in while the team is on the road, got woken up nice and early by members of the media who wanted comments on the situation.
“I’m disappointed this happened,”
“That (Schilling’s performances on a sutured ankle) was one of the most miraculous performances I’ve been around,” he said. “I’m disappointed there are factions of people who want to believe (it was paint and not blood). That’s a shame. It’s not true. Gary’s a great guy. I’m hopeful it was just wires getting crossed and we’ll move on.”
Hopefully now this whole mess is over with and everyone can move forward. It’s a shame that a joke got taken this far. If you’ve ever been in a clubhouse, you would know that there is a lot of joking around that goes on. Unfortunately, Thorne never confirmed the story with Mirabelli, but rather reported what he thought he had heard. He did the right thing by apologizing and hopefully this is the end.
Oh by the way if you’re watching the game, check out Millar’s right sock. It seems to have some blood paint on it.
A big thanks to Anthony from the Oriole Post for the pictures.
