CHICAGO _ The red carpet won't be rolled out at Wrigley Field for Sammy Sosa until he comes clean.
Chairman Tom Ricketts had a lengthy but vague reply Saturday at Cubs Convention to a fan's suggestion that the former Cubs slugger be welcomed back.
"I just think we need to put everything on the table and move forward," Ricketts said of Sosa and others who played in the steroid era.
Sosa, who hit 545 of his 609 career home runs with the Cubs during an 18-year career, never was suspended or charged with use of performance-enhancing drugs. But the New York Times reported in 2009 that Sosa tested positive for use of a PED in 2003.
Ricketts has remained firm in his stance regarding Sosa, who played 13 seasons for the Cubs but wore out his welcome after the 2004 season.
"I think we have to be sympathetic to that era," Ricketts told an audience. "But the players owe us some honesty too.
"The only way to turn this page is to put everything on the table. That's the better answer in the long run."
Slugger Manny Ramirez, who tested positive for PEDs, served a few years ago as a special hitting consultant with the Cubs. But that came only after Ramirez took responsibility for his actions, President Theo Epstein said three years ago.
