TIPPING THE SCALES

We challenge David Letterman to apologize to Terry Forster!

The once Braves now Angel relief pitcher has dropped from a peak 277 pounds to a mere 230, and is still plummeting (“Two pounds a week,” said the 6-3 1/2 Forster) until he levels off at 215.

Recall last June when lanky “Late Night” Letterman called Forster a “fat tub of goo”? Forster told us that “my initial reaction was to sue the heck (or words to that effect) out of the guy. Then I saw myself in a mirror.”

Forster appeared on the show for some riposte, cut an album called “Fat Is In” with a girl group dubbed the Love Handles, and a “Fat Is In” video (profits to charity).

Then he spent two weeks at La Costa and came away with a new attitude about nutrition and exercise--and eventually an Angel contract.

Thing is, we notice that Letterman has been thickening a bit himself. We noticed especially when we saw a thinner rerun from a while back. But when we tried to talk to Letterman about these weighty matters, well, “He doesn’t do comments about the show or who’s on,” said an NBC spokesman. “His attitude is, the show speaks for itself.”

(Letterman might take note of Forster’s regimen: no meat, dairy products or fried foods and a half-hour jog every morning.)

Meanwhile, Outtakes will be watching for that apology.