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  6. article_body => "<p>Tom Ricketts actually got more than halfway through his Cubs Convention session before Sammy Sosa was finally brought up.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>You see, the Sosa question has become an annual staple at Cubs Convention, particularly in Ricketts' panel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sosa may be undergoing <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/chicago\/cubs\/sammy-sosa-status-update-yep-hes-officially-entered-upside-down-stranger-things\" target=\"_blank\">some bizarre physical changes<\/a>, but he still resonates with fans of all ages after delighting the Wrigley Field faithful for a decade.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\"I know people won't recognize him...\" the fan qualified while still asking Ricketts when Sosa might make his way back to the Cubs Convention.<\/p>\n<p>Ricketts declined to talk about Sosa specifically, but mentioned the Steroid Era as a whole.<\/p>\n<p>\"Yeah, I've talked about this a lot over the years and it seems to come up every year,\" Ricketts said. \"I really believe that all the players from that era, who went through that performance-enhancing, steroid era, I think we owe them a lot of understanding.<\/p>\n<p>\"I think we have to put ourselves in their shoes and be very, very sympathetic to all the decisions they had to make. And, as it turns out, after testing began in 2002, a large number of players tested positive.<\/p>\n<p>\"So I think we all need to be sensitive and understand their situation. But I also believe that players from that era owe us a little bit of honest, and I kind of feel like the only way to turn this page is to put everything on the table.<\/p>\n<p>\"And I think that's kind of a better answer. So that's kind of the way I feel. We'll see what happens in the future.\"<\/p>\n<p>In a media session after his panel, Ricketts was asked again, specifically about Sosa.<\/p>\n<p>\"I'm not gonna talk about Sammy in particular,\" Ricketts said. \"I'm just gonna talk about the whole era. I just think we need to put everything on the table and move forward.\"<\/p>\n<p>OK, so if Sosa admits to PED use, he can come back to the Cubs \"family\"?<\/p>\n<p>Ricketts wasn't the owner of the Cubs during Sosa's tenure on Chicago's North Side, but \"Slammin' Sammy\" brought countless millions&nbsp;to the organization, whether he took PEDs or not. (For the record, Sosa <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/news\/story?id=4264062\" target=\"_blank\">reportedly tested positive for PEDs in 2003<\/a>, but he was never suspended.)<\/p>\n<p>Sure, he's <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/chicago\/cubs\/sammy-sosa-status-update-yep-hes-officially-entered-upside-down-stranger-things\" target=\"_blank\">officially entered the Upside Down now<\/a>, but the Cubs Convention is for the fans and there certainly seems to be no shortage of fans interested in seeing Sammy Sosa...even if people won't immediately recognize him.<\/p>\n<p>Sosa's fellow late-'90s\/early-2000s sluggers Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds haven't exactly come forward with any admission of PED guilt and neither guy has any trouble finding a job or role in today's Major League Baseball.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ricketts and the Cubs don't employ either McGwire or Bonds, but they did boast Manny Ramirez \u2014 a similar product of the era who was suspended for PEDs twice during his career&nbsp;\u2014&nbsp;as a hitting instructor for three seasons through 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the end of Sosa's Cubs tenure had more to it than just the suspicion of steroid use, with the slugger not leaving on the best terms with the team and his teammates before getting traded away to the Baltimore Orioles.<\/p>\n<p><em>This has been your yearly Sammy Sosa Cubs Convention update.<\/em><\/p>\n"
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Tom Ricketts actually got more than halfway through his Cubs Convention session before Sammy Sosa was finally brought up. 

You see, the Sosa question has become an annual staple at Cubs Convention, particularly in Ricketts' panel. 

Sosa may be undergoing some bizarre physical changes, but he still resonates with fans of all ages after delighting the Wrigley Field faithful for a decade. 

"I know people won't recognize him..." the fan qualified while still asking Ricketts when Sosa might make his way back to the Cubs Convention.

Ricketts declined to talk about Sosa specifically, but mentioned the Steroid Era as a whole.

"Yeah, I've talked about this a lot over the years and it seems to come up every year," Ricketts said. "I really believe that all the players from that era, who went through that performance-enhancing, steroid era, I think we owe them a lot of understanding.

"I think we have to put ourselves in their shoes and be very, very sympathetic to all the decisions they had to make. And, as it turns out, after testing began in 2002, a large number of players tested positive.

"So I think we all need to be sensitive and understand their situation. But I also believe that players from that era owe us a little bit of honest, and I kind of feel like the only way to turn this page is to put everything on the table.

 

"And I think that's kind of a better answer. So that's kind of the way I feel. We'll see what happens in the future."

In a media session after his panel, Ricketts was asked again, specifically about Sosa.

"I'm not gonna talk about Sammy in particular," Ricketts said. "I'm just gonna talk about the whole era. I just think we need to put everything on the table and move forward."

OK, so if Sosa admits to PED use, he can come back to the Cubs "family"?

Ricketts wasn't the owner of the Cubs during Sosa's tenure on Chicago's North Side, but "Slammin' Sammy" brought countless millions to the organization, whether he took PEDs or not. (For the record, Sosa reportedly tested positive for PEDs in 2003, but he was never suspended.)

Sure, he's officially entered the Upside Down now, but the Cubs Convention is for the fans and there certainly seems to be no shortage of fans interested in seeing Sammy Sosa...even if people won't immediately recognize him.

Sosa's fellow late-'90s/early-2000s sluggers Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds haven't exactly come forward with any admission of PED guilt and neither guy has any trouble finding a job or role in today's Major League Baseball. 

Ricketts and the Cubs don't employ either McGwire or Bonds, but they did boast Manny Ramirez — a similar product of the era who was suspended for PEDs twice during his career — as a hitting instructor for three seasons through 2016.

Of course, the end of Sosa's Cubs tenure had more to it than just the suspicion of steroid use, with the slugger not leaving on the best terms with the team and his teammates before getting traded away to the Baltimore Orioles.

This has been your yearly Sammy Sosa Cubs Convention update.