Choking Up At The Plate

If you didn't juice, tell us. If you did, tell us. Americans forgive everything but lies. We need to know. The family of the late Roger Maris needs to know. The guys you passed like a roadside Denny's on the home run list need to know-- Carl Yastrzemski (182 pounds), Stan Musial (175), Ernie Banks (180). And teenage boys like my 17-year-old son, Jake, need to know.

He used to be so skinny that you could fax him places. But he's been lifting the last six weeks. Hardly misses a day. A couple of his friends, though, are taking creatine and blowing up like a California governor. He wants to know why I won't let him take the supplement. Creatine messes with your kidneys and sends you on a slip 'n' slide toward steroids, I tell him, and steroids could send you to your funeral. But it would be nice if he could hear it from you, Mac.

In '98, when you tied Maris with your 61st, the late, great Cardinals announcer Jack Buck said, "Pardon me while I stand and applaud."

Well, right now, pardon us while we sit and cringe.

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