Just let McGwire pursue record

   Brian Anderson
   Special to the Republic
   Aug. 27, 1998
   
   I'm a little disturbed, kind of ticked off.
   
   It seemed like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa kind of went into a little
   lull with the home run chase, then they lit it up and got hot. So when
   we're in New York, I go down to buy a paper and there on the front
   page of the New York Post, not the sports page, is the headline in
   giant, two-inch letters, "McGwire in Drug Uproar."
   
   You've got to be kidding.
   
   McGwire has done nothing but positive things for the game. He's a
   great ambassador for the game, a positive role model, and it figures
   that somebody's got to drag up this drug thing.
   
   It's absolutely absurd. It's just a shame someone has to go out and do
   that. I could see if it was an illegal substance or if it was
   something that was banned. That's newsworthy. People say, "Well, it's
   banned by the International Olympic Committee." Well, what isn't
   banned by that group? You could probably get tested positive for
   taking Flintstone Chewables.
   
   Not only that, but people say it helps him hit home runs. But he hit
   49 home runs when he was a rookie. The bottom line is he can hit the
   baseball. Arnold Schwarzenegger is as big as they come. Throw him in
   the batter's box and I guarantee he's not going to make contact, let
   alone hit a home run.
   
   McGwire's a strong man. He has been a strong man since he stepped into
   the game, and he has hit home runs since he stepped into the game.
   
   Another thing was a column I read out of Chicago, I think, where the
   guy suggested that maybe (Houston's) Jose Lima grooved a pitch to his
   fellow countryman, Sosa, to hit a ball out of the park. At what
   lengths will people go to try to taint things?
   
   I guarantee you that late in the game, when you're up, 13-2, you
   challenge guys. Jose Lima does not want to give up another run. I
   guarantee he wants to get Sammy Sosa out. That's the mind-set of a
   pitcher. And even if he was grooving it, it's not that easy to hit
   home runs. It's not like, "Hey, if I want to give up a home run, I
   can."
   
   I just think we should let these guys be and let them go at it, and
   hopefully, one can get it. And the ideal thing would be if one could
   get it in 154 games. Then no asterisk, none of that stuff.
   
   OK, enough of that. I want to talk about our catchers, Kelly Stinnett
   and Damian Miller. It's not really a platoon situation because you
   don't have one left-handed bat and one right-handed bat. So it makes
   it hard because every day, you don't really have an idea who's
   playing. It's really difficult on these guys, I would imagine, coming
   to the park every day not knowing whether they're in there or not.
   
   It's a real testament to the job they do. They come to the park not
   knowing. They have to be mentally prepared. They have to know who's
   pitching for the other team, who's pitching for us, how we want to
   work.
   
   And the thing is, they've gone out and done the job. It's been real
   fun this year to throw to them. They've done a real good job calling
   games. I feel comfortable with both of them. Sometimes you don't get
   Miller for a few starts or Stinnett for a few starts, and you spend
   the first couple of innings getting back on the same page. But they've
   done an outstanding job handling the pitching staff. They're just
   performing at a major league level.
   
   They've worked their tails off. The other day, Miller made a great
   block on a pitch in the dirt to save that 4-3 win. They're out there
   every day working with (bullpen coach) Glenn Sherlock, blocking balls,
   doing catcher-type things. It has just been fun to watch.
   
   Diamondbacks left-hander Brian Anderson shares his comments each week
   in Baseball Extra.