Boston Pee Party?

I don't know what came first –- my sometimes skeptical, cynical nature or my interest in becoming a journalist, but I know that they do (gulp, bad cliché coming) go hand in hand. One often breeds the other.

I am indeed a skeptic, particularly when it comes to our children's heroes -- those who bash home runs and throw for 300 yards and beat the buzzer with game-winning three-pointers.

So after Boston Red Sox lovable slugger David Ortiz hit homers No. 51 and 52 last night, there was a press conference that felt a little like a celebration of the feat, judging by what I've read so far this morning.

"This (record) is something that might change people's minds," he said. "I know there are some guys who have been caught using illegal things, but people should know that not everyone is like that."

I'm actually not skeptical here. I believe Ortiz is all natural and his power is legitimate. Which is why he should do what Sammy Sosa said he'd do but never did several years ago, which was take an impromptu drug test.

Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly blind-sided Sosa in the Cubs' dugout before a game several seasons ago, urging him to go in the clubhouse and whiz in a cup right then and there. Sosa skipped the offer, and Reilly drew mixed reviews for his tactics. But at some point somebody had to do something. Major League Baseball certainly wasn't and really still isn't keeping a close eye on things. So leave it to the sportswriters. Then badmouth them for putting the slugger on the spot, the hot-weather hero whose productivity sharply declined after MLB implemented just a soft testing upgrade. And guess who's no longer playing baseball anymore?

But now, the teddy bear in Boston has become so popular around the league for reasons well beyond his talent. Which is why he needs to submit right now to an MLB- or even a Reilly-administered test. He needs to overlook what Sosa interpreted as an attempted violation of privacy, an effort to undermine his personal dignity, blah blah blah. If you're clean, then just do it. The negative test result won't do much for your supporters; they already love you. But it could restore a little bit of faith in the league and the idea that a star can hit 50 homers without steroids. Such faith has been lacking for quite a while.