It's the nature of being a sports fan that you put yourself in certain scenarios.

What kid hasn't dribbled a basketball and acted as if they weren't hitting the game-winning shot for a state championship?

When practicing on the putting green, it's routine to imagine the putt being for the Masters.

Make a good pass on the highway and suddenly you're feeling like a NASCAR driver zipping through traffic at Daytona.

A whiffle ball game isn't official until someone has mimicked hitting a World Series-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth.

But there's one place no sports fan would dare dream about: Imagine for a second that you're a shortstop for your favorite Major League Baseball team. Cool, huh? Then imagine this: You have to defend Albert Pujols and he's just hit a screaming liner right at your noggin.

What do you do? Put your arm up, close your eyes and pray the ball goes in your mitt? Drop to the ground and go into the fetal position to get out of the way of the missile headed your way? Ask for a new dream because this is a nightmare?

Think about it. Have you ever seen Pujols hit a duck snort down the right-field line? It seems like every ball that comes off his bat is a rocket. He rarely gets ripped off when he makes contact. That was never more evident than on Thursday night when he took the "i" out in Big Mac Land in the Cardinals' win over the Chicago Cubs.

According to hittrackeronline.com, Pujols' shot left his bat at 110 miles per hour. All 14 of his home runs this season have left his bat at least 102 miles per hour, including an MLB-best 119.6 mph bomb against Houston's Roy Oswalt on April 11. Six of his homers are in the "no doubt" category.

He went into Saturday's game with 14 home runs, 38 runs batted in and a .329 average. He's in the top five in all of baseball in HRs and RBI and he's in the top 25 in batting average.

Just 29 years old, Pujols already has two National League MVP awards and a world championship to his credit. The best is yet to come, which should scare the living bejeezus out of every pitcher in baseball.

Most important, Pujols has achieved his power the right way -- so far as we know. Thanks to dolts like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, et al, you just can't assume everyone is on the up and up. I believe Pujols is, but there is always that little cloud of doubt out there.

The last time St. Louis was in love with a slugger, it got burned by Big Mac. After knocking out the lights, here's to hoping Pujols can continue to knock out any doubt that his power is legitimate.

-- dobrien@whig.com/221-3365