McGwire

CHICAGO -- Mark McGwire missed the All-Star Game with a sore right knee and now it's landed him on the disabled list for the first time since 1996.

The St. Louis Cardinals placed their home run star on the 15-day DL Thursday, a move retroactive to July 7, because of patella tendinitis, a condition that has bothered him since spring training and worsened over the last seven weeks.

"It's just gotten to the point where it's unbearable," McGwire said Thursday. "The last two or three or four home runs, I've limped around the bases. We're improving, but it's still there. Going back out and pounding on it would put me back to square one."

McGwire, leading the majors with 30 homers, missed the last three games before the All-Star break and and then skipped the game in Atlanta so he could undergo therapy.

He said he hated missing the All-Star Game.

"But I'm very happy I stayed home. I got my two, three hours of therapy a day and I did the best I could to get prepared for today," he said. "It's not well enough to go out there. I've made some strides but not enough."

McGwire is hitting .303 with a major league-leading 75 walks.

His last trip to the DL came with Oakland when he missed the first 18 games with a foot injury in 1996.

"I've dealt with adversity my whole career. The thing is I've had a bad back since 1988 and been dealing with that," he said. "This is the first time in my whole life I've had any serious problems with my knees. I'll be back, I'll be all right."

McGwire hit a record 70 home runs in 1998 and followed with 65 more last season.

With McGwire unable to go, the Cardinals used Craig Paquette at first and Shawon Dunston at DH as they began their longest-of-the-season 11-game road trip Thursday night against the Chicago White Sox in a meeting of divisional leaders.

"It's one of those things you deal with during the season," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

"But we've gone through a lot of adversity and our club's really handled it. And we have a good attitude about that. Still, I'm not going to disrespect Mac by saying that we're as good a club when he doesn't play. That's stupid. But the games still count."

Eduardo Perez was activated from the disabled list to take McGwire's spot on the roster. He'd been on the DL since June 25 with a sore right hamstring. Another injured Cardinal, J.D. Drew, will miss the next few games with a sprained left ankle, but will not be placed on the DL.