Yes, Sosa still gets my Hall vote

So, the plot sickens.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Sammy Sosa tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003.

Hey, Sammy, gotcha! Folks, tell me, who knew that Flintstones vitamins were on the list of banned substances?

Anyway, what a great rain-delay/rainout story as the first game of the White Sox-Cubs series miserably failed to beat the weather in Wrigley Field.

Even on a warm, sunny day, news that Sosa allegedly flunked a drug test would take precedence over a cosmic Sox-Cubs game.

All sorts of social, political and economic questions were raised by the Sosa bulletin.

First of all, do chicks still dig the longball? Second of all, did 1998 ever really happen? Most of all, does this disqualify Sosa from Hall of Fame consideration?

"Thank God I don't have to put myself in that place," Guillen said of voting for the Hall.

Listen, some people want to turn Cooperstown into a simple yes or no, black or white, night or day argument.

The only true truth is that the subject is as complicated as anything swirling around sports could be these days.

I take my Hall ballot seriously and don't know a voter who doesn't. Yet talk to 10 and you'll get 10 "my question is" - and all 10 questions about steroids, the Hall and their vote will be different.

If you have been paying attention to this space the past few years, you already know that I voted for Mark McGwire every year he has been on the ballot.

Unless something changes, I plan to vote for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez - and, yes, Sammy Sosa.

This will shock you, but not everybody or even the majority agrees with me.

Take Steve Stone, who was a broadcaster on Cubs games during the Samminator's tenure on the North Side.

Stone was asked whether he thinks Sosa belongs in Cooperstown and quickly, definitively, said, "I don't."

But then there's Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, who worked in the organization during Sosa's glorious, uproarious stay.

Hendry issued reluctant approval to Sosa's Hall candidacy by saying, "You have to judge people for the era they were in."

That means that players should be judged by their numbers, by whether they dominated and by what your overall impression was while watching them play.

All three of those factors should be considered. Like, Rafael Palmeiro's career numbers are great, but to me he didn't dominate or look like a Hall of Famer.

Naturally, Guillen has opinions on the Hall of Fame generally and Sosa specifically.

Guillen said Sosa indeed belongs in Cooperstown because he "did a lot for baseball." He also said he was amazed that former Sox player Pablo Ozuna recently tested positive in the minor leagues. He finally summed up what most of us are thinking about the whole story.

"It's really sad," Guillen said. "We all (in baseball) should be embarrassed."

Guillen is tired of the whole steroids story and of every week or two having to talk about another alleged user.

He wants it to be over.

Unfortunately for the game, the plot figures to sicken even further before that can happen.

mimrem@dailyherald.com