Red Sox, O's broadcaster at odds over bloody sock  —  BALTIMORE — The story of Curt Schilling's famous bloody sock from the 2004 playoffs is turning into a bloody mess after a prominent broadcaster claimed one of Schilling's teammates acknowledged the blood wasn't real.

April 26th vs. The Blue Jays  —  Man, it seems like it's been forever since that big comeback win against the Indians.  Talk about a long week.  —  When you factor in his age, and the way he was rushed to the big leagues, and the fact that it was his big league cherry today, I thought Phil Hughes was impressive tonight.

Smoltz agrees to extension with Braves (AP)  —  ATLANTA (AP) — John Smoltz is likely to spend his entire major league career with the Atlanta Braves after agreeing to a contract extension Thursday.  —  Smoltz, who turns 40 next month, will return for a 20th season in 2008 with a deal that will guarantee him about $14 million.

Sosa has two HRs, Rangers fall to Tribe (AP)  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Sammy Sosa hit two homers to reach 594 for his career, but Paul Byrd and the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers 9-4 Thursday for their fifth straight win.  —  Sosa's 439-foot drive into the left-field seats leading off …

Think A-Rod won't opt out?  Think again … This week's bulletin from the Alex Rodriguez Opt-Out Watch was this save-for-future-reference quotation:  —  "I want to stay in New York, no matter what."  —  OK, let's hold that laugh track for a minute.  No matter what.  That's what he said.

Under The Knife: Prior Mayhem Makes a Long Wait Longer by Will Carroll  —  I spent most of Wednesday waiting and wondering, like most baseball fans.  It was the day we'd all finally have some closure on Mark Prior.  Was he pitching through a damaged shoulder?

Ace dealt another injury  —  Strain might derail Sheets' next turn  —  Chicago - It was an upper-Midwest excuse for a spring day - raw, rainy and hardly ideal for baseball - and Ben Sheets had this uneasy feeling that somebody would get hurt.  —  Sheets just never imagined it would be him.

Credit Stealing  —  Predictably, the analysis of last night's game is showering Jarrod Washburn with praise.  Washburn himself called it "one of the best games I've ever pitched".  Mike Hargrove said he didn't "know that he left a ball out over the plate all night long."

Twins beat Royals 1-0 in 11 to end slide (AP)  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mike Redmond hit a run-scoring single in the 11th inning and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 1-0 Thursday to end a four-game losing streak.  —  Justin Morneau and Jason Tyner had back-to-back singles off Todd Wellemeyer …

As the A-Rod Turns  —  I wrote a two-part piece on Alex Rodriguez last year when he was supposedly washed up, struggling, could not hit a thing.  What a difference a year makes.  Now A-Rod is rewriting the American League record book and is apparently a different person.

Leyland on Casey: He'll hit  —  CHICAGO — With some players, the slump all but announces itself with bad swings, bad pitch selection, bad decisions.  —  But with Sean Casey, hitting .186 in the first 21 games, it isn't an obvious combination of the above.  In fact, he's not sure what it is.

Bobby Valentine's Super Terrific Happy Hour  —  With his progressive and creative baseball mind and his Veeckian flair for showmanship, the controversial former Mets manager is a national hero — alas, halfway around the globe  —  The Most Hated Man in Baseball is now adored.

Old Mike, new Christine  —  During my 23 years with The Times' sports department, I have held a wide variety of roles and titles.  Tennis writer.  Angels beat reporter.  Olympics writer.  Essayist.  Sports media critic.  NFL columnist.  Recent keeper of the Morning Briefing flame.

Mets want to trade for Haren ... not Harden  —  ORLANDO, Fla. - The A's pitcher coveted by the Mets is not right-hander Rich Harden, but right-hander Dan Haren, according to major-league sources.  —  Several reports have indicated that the Mets want to trade for Harden …