FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- Curt Schilling's ankle is in good shape and so are his rebuttal skills.

The recovering ace of the Boston Red Sox faced a tough season on the mound and an unflattering magazine article in the offseason. Now he's healthy and ready to throw his first bullpen session Sunday during the first official workout for pitchers and catchers.

"For the first time since April 2004, there really is no physical limit to getting ready for me," he said Saturday, "so that's a big difference and I'm excited about that."

He wasn't so thrilled about a recent article in GQ that listed the 10 most hated athletes in sports based on interviews with their peers. Schilling was No. 4, in part because of his love for the spotlight.

"Refresh my memory," he said when asked about the article. "Oh, oh, yeah. I was actually talking to my wife about that because I thought maybe she had some input on the article."

Turning serious, Schilling spoke about Pedro Gomez, a reporter quoted in the article who had covered the pitcher when he played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"You just kind of have to realize that there are people that don't like you and, unfortunately, sometimes those people have a voice," Schilling said. "Disliking me probably matches my dislike for him (Gomez), but I have a problem with people who don't have integrity and principle so that stuff happens. You just kind of just let it go."

The article also raised the issue of whether the red-stained sock Schilling wore on his injured right ankle in two postseason games in 2004 had been doctored to appear like blood.

"I don't know what I can say to that. I know what happened," he said. "The 24 guys I suited up with saw it so I'm all right with it."

That ankle bothered him most of the 2004 season, but the severity of the injury wasn't public knowledge until September.

Schilling pitched Game 6 of the ALCS and Game 2 of the World Series with the torn sheath of his ankle tendon sutured into place so it wouldn't flop over the bone when he pitched. The Red Sox won both games and their first World Series championship since 1918.

On Nov. 9 that year he had surgery, but his ankle never was at full strength all last year. He spent 76 days on the disabled list, part of the season as the closer and finished with an 8-8 record with a 5.69 ERA in 32 outings.

"From a personal standpoint, it was excruciating," Schilling said. "There were times last year when walking away seemed like the smart thing to do and the right thing to do given how badly I was performing and how hard it was to come to the park.

"The thing I tried to really emphasize from a personal standpoint was not dragging anybody down with me."

He said there wasn't any one development in the offseason that told him he was ready to come to camp to prepare for the season rather than continue his rehabilitation.

"One day I was moving better than I was the day before and without pain and without repercussions," he said, "which was a big change."

The Red Sox have seven potential solid starters in camp and two possible aces -- Schilling and newcomer Josh Beckett.

"I really believe that in our division, the team whose rotation and pitching staff stays off the disabled list is going to be the team that's on top at the end of the year," Schilling said.

He seems to be off to a promising start.

"Schill's never going to be a male model (but) he looks terrific," manager Terry Francona said of his full-bodied starter. "I think he's too good to allow what happened last year to happen again."

He was 21-6 with a 3.26 ERA in 2004, his first year with Boston, then starred in the postseason.

"I'm ready to be good again," Schilling said.
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