SFGate sports scribe Henry Schulman rises above the fray. In fact, we love his work on The Splash. And so should you. For example, today asks, should noted Giants pitcher Brian Wilson should shave his beard? We say yes. Oh yes. Check it:

I’ve heard from lots of Giants fans who think it’s time for Brian Wilson to shave the beard.

For the faithful, it was a wonderful and wacky part of the 2010 World Series run, but some believe that by shaving it Wilson symbolically can move forward, toward the next title run, while putting 2011 behind him. (He was having a heck of a year until he got hurt.)

I have an idea: Hold a charity auction online. Top five bidders get to meet Wilson at a public event and take the first snips off the beard before a pro shears off the rest of it. I’ll bet it would raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Giants Community Fund and Wilson’s military scholarship fund.

Shaving that gnarly beard (which must be riddled with split-ends and fly-aways by now) would be ideal. For starters, Wilson is a gorgeous slab of a man sans beard. With the beard too, yes, but his is the face you want to wake up to in the morning. He's hiding both a chiseled mug and glacial blue eyes with that scene-stealing black beard. For fantasy's sake, it needs to go.

Homoeroticism notwithstanding, we agree that a symbolic follicle change could do wonders for 2012. Like the final scene in Elizabeth when Cate Blanchett cuts off all her hair and becomes The Virgin Queen. (Oh brother, do we love that scene. And how. "Cut. I have become a virgin." Glorious.) And that's what the Giants need next season, a final-scene-in-Elizabeth moment.

The cons? Wilson scored loads of endorsement deals (e.g., Taco Bell) with that beard. Might be a good idea to keep it until fanfare dies down.

What do you think: keep it or shave it?