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Is there any more disappointing sports story on the season than that of the Orioles Rafael Palmeiro testing positive for steroid use? The Oriole hitter, rumored to be a steroid user before the season in the tell-all, Jose Canseco book, had testified before Congress that he had never been involved with these banned substances.

Palmeiro had quietly been putting together one of the greatest careers in Major League baseball history when the story broke in the spring. The left-handed hitting star had snuck up on baseball history and he was still poised for the rarest of feats, having already accomplished three thousand hits while seeking to hit his 600th homer when he was suspended for the illegal use this past week. Only Willie Mays and Hank Aaron had managed that accomplishment in the entire history of major league baseball.

The positive test actually came before Palmeiro recorded his 3,000th hit last month, meaning he had reached that major league milestone knowing full well that he had failed his drug test. Unfortunately, the positive test calls into question the accomplishments of this great hitter and will seemingly lead many voters later to forgo casting a Hall of Fame ballot. After all, if Pete Rose has been denied entry because of his behavior, Palmeiro should as well.

On another negative note, the Red Sox have to be tiring of the Manny Ramirez saga. Like a fifteen year old boy who is angry with his girl-friend one day but ready to make up with her the next, Ramirez seems to have the same affliction relative to playing for the Sox. One day he wants to be traded, the next day he loves Boston. Sports fans refer to him as the game's best right-handed hitter. That reason is the only reason that he is still a viable member of the Red Sox at this time and that Sox management is willing to put up with his childish behavior. That and the fact that he has hit three run homers in each of his first two games after the latest issue.

On the flip side, how about Curt Schilling? Already a part of Red Sox lore for the gutsiest pitching performance in Sox history with his quality pitching in the post-season a year ago with a stitched up ankle, Schilling willing took over the Boston closer role. It is not often that a baseball star will take a risk, play out of position, and put his reputation at risk. But Schilling has simply added to his sense of team commitment and desire to win with his willingness to replace an injured Keith Foulke as the Boston bullpen ace.

Speaking of the positive, how about the season that Derrek Lee of the Chicago Cubs is having. Lee is having a season reminiscent of the great triple crown season of Carl Yastrzemski in the sixties. The Cubs first baseman is a lifetime .275 hitter and is coming off his best major league season a year ago when he had career bests of 32 homers and 98 ribbies. But just 100 plus games into the 2005 season, Lee has matched the 32 homers and has driven in 83 runs. Even more impressive is his .360 average this late into the season, especially since he has never hit .300 for a full season before.

Yet another player having a superb National League season is Andruw Jones of the Braves. He too has hammered out 32 homers and driven in 80 runs. But in a great contrast to the amazing season of Lee, Jones is batting in the .270 range. Only Albert Pujols can match the average, power and RBI totals that can compete with Lee in 2005.

And Jones Braves' team has finally begun to hit its stride. The perennial National League power and Eastern Division champions are now 5.5 games ahead of the Washington Nationals. After a relatively slow start, the Braves have been getting it done in recent weeks. The team has won eight of its last ten and went 18-8 in July to move on top of the division.

And speaking of hot teams, how about the Oakland Athletics? Once again, using the Billy Ball concept, the team has stumbled early in the season only to crank it up as the games pile up. The A's have won nine of their last ten and went an impressive 20 and 6 in July. The most impressive aspect of their performance was taking five out of six from the best team in the American League, the front-running Chicago White Sox.

And at the bottom, well there is the National League West or NL Weak. More than a hundred games into the season no team has been able to win even fifty percent of its games. Ouch.