Falling star

Mark is a rabid Dodgers fan, and I am not. His favorite player up until last year was Manny Ramirez; mine was not.

"He's a cheater," I told Mark. "He takes drugs to play better. That's cheating."

And because I didn't watch my words, I had to explain the drugs were actually steroids, not street drugs, but that didn't make them any better. I also explained steroids harm your body just as much as street drugs, and they take away the sporting aspect of baseball.

"You think Hank Aaron took steroids to make him hit farther?" I asked. "What about Babe Ruth? Jackie Robinson? No, they played fairly, using their own strength. They didn't take shortcuts."

Then Ramirez was traded away from the Dodgers, ending our debate. Until last week...

"Your favorite player retired from baseball today," I told Mark, the day the news broke.

"Manny?" he asked. "Why?"

"He had a drug test, and it came back with an 'issue,'" I said.

Mark nodded, knowingly. "Oh," he said. "More asteroids?"

Took me a minute to realize what he meant, then I started giggling.

"Yup, he tested positive for asteroids," I said.

I've heard of baseball stars, but that was the first time I'd ever heard of baseball asteroids.