A COMMON PROBLEM

This isn't as big a problem as it used to be, but it's still with baseball, which is the fascinating habit of players whose vital statistics just aren't legit. Steve Garvey was for many years listed as 5'11'' in media guides, for example, but he was much closer to 5'9". Who really believes that Bartolo Colon is actually a mere 245 pounds, for that matter?

But perhaps the most egregious whoppers are the birthdates, and these are typically perpetuated by Latin ballplayers. Phony birth certificates or names changed to match the (younger) birth certificates of other countrymen, etc.----this is just the way business has been done in certain countries, for a long time. Anyone who believes that 1981 Rookie of the Year Fernando Valenzuela was actually 20 years old at the time...well....I've got a bridge to sell 'ya.

Now, of late baseball has changed its policies on assisting foreign nationals obtain visas to play in the United States, which in turn is a response to tightening of immigration policy in the wake of 9/11. As a result, a few years ago, quite a few young Latin ballplayers became...well....older, overnight.

So this confession, on the part of S-Mart's new shortstop, is hardly unexpected. They say that confession is good for the soul. Now that we know this guy fiddled with his age along with his biochemistry (as the Mitchell Report indicts), we can no doubt wrap him in the arms of forgiveness. Seriously, though, where is the outrage? Everyone was P.O.'ed when Rafael Palmeiro threw Tejada under the bus, but apparently that particular cheater knew something.