Thank God it's almost over...

Source: NBC Sports

It's been a miserable year, at least if you're a Cubs fan.

Going in, we all knew it would be bad. Many of the stars from the last 10 years such as Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Carlos Zambrano, Sammy Sosa are long gone, either retired or shipped off to other destinations. The division winning years  of 2007 and 2008, not to mention the 2003 season where where the Cubs were an Alex Gonzalez error and five outs away from their first World Series since 1945, are distant memories.

No, with the new regime of Theo Epstein and company, it was going to be a rebuilding year, and no promises were made. Sure, we still have Alfonso Soriano roaming left field at Wrigley Field, but he never lived up to the promises of the 8-year, $126 million contract he signed before the 2007 season that has him making $18 million a year now through 2014. That fact alone scared off any trade prospects unwilling to take on even part of that salary, even with him having 29 HR and 101 RBIs following Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Reds.

That has led to the Cubs not being able to draw 3 million fans to Wrigley Field for the first time since 2003, according to the Chicago Tribune. Besides a dreadful 58-90 mark with 13 games left (nine of them at home) that in a normal year would have left them in last place (see the Houston Astros, who won't even be around to beat up on as they move to the AL West), the Cubs kept the third highest average ticket price in the majors at $46.30, behind the Red Sox ($53.38) and the Yankees ($51.55).

Will things improve in 2013? The Cubs' youth movement showed some signs of life. 1B Anthony Rizzo, called up mid-season from AAA Iowa, has hit nearly for a nearly .300 average and 14 HR in just 73 games. SS Starlin Castro kept up his hot career, hitting about .280 after leading the NL in hits (207) last year. The rise earned him his big contract last month as he signed a 7-year, $60 million extension. And his double play partner, 2B Darwin Barney, has been consistent as well.

Is Epstein the genius everyone says he is? It's a game of wait and see as year 104 since the 1908 World Series champs ends without another title.

Sammy Sosa juicing confirmed?

A New York Times article released Tuesday said that former Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was among 104 baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

Citing lawyers with knowledge of the test results, the article claims Sosa, who helped reignite interest in baseball during 1998's pursuit of the single season home run record with Mark McGwire, tested for an unspecified drug. He joins McGwire, current home run champ Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez as current or recent stars who have been linked for PEDs.

Assuming this is true, the revelation does serious damage to Sosa in two ways. One, the possibility of his being inducted into the Hall of Fame is seriously diminished, despite his being sixth on the all-time home run list with 609 dingers. McGwire, who finished with 583 home runs, including a then-record 70 in 1998, has been rejected in each of the three years he has been on the ballot. It also puts Sosa in danger of being charged with perjury following his denial of using PEDs in a Congressional hearing in 2005.

What does the article mean? Sosa has been linked to PEDs for some time during the last several years, especially after the 2003 season in which he served a seven-game suspension for using a corked bat, yet helped the Cubs come within five outs of making it to their first World Series since 1945. Whether this report confirms those suspicions remains to be seen. The sad thing is nobody is really shocked by the report, ranging from players to former Cubs broadcaster and current White Sox announcer Steve Stone.

The biggest problem with this report is that it is anonymous. No one is cited on the record as saying that Sosa did indeed test positive for the drugs. While this has been used in previous newspaper reports to great effect (see Watergate, for example), it does have some problem because of the possibility that, like an poster on an Internet forum, any person can say anything about anybody or anything and still remain anonymous, regardless of whether they are telling the truth or not. In this case, it might be best until Sosa is formally charged or confirmed that he did indeed test positive.

Regardless, the report is another black mark on what was supposed to be the rejuvenation era of baseball following the 1994 strike that cancelled the World Series that year. It also will continue to cast suspicion and doubt on who really is using PEDs and who is actually clean and doing things the way they're supposed to.

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century.