Indians Add Chris Colabello

The Indians have signed a first baseman from the Toronto Blue Jays but he's probably not the one fans wanted. During the winter meetings the name on many fan's lips was Edwin Encarnacion but the Tribe have opted for his teammate Chris Colabello, signing him to a minor league deal today.

Colabello is a 33 year-old right handed first baseman who will add some depth to the position, rather than solve the problem outright. In 2015 Colabello had a very impressive start to his career in Toronto, slashing .321/.367.520 (BA/OBP/SLG) over 101 games, with 15 home runs. It was good enough for a 138 OPS+ but things came crashing down in 2016.

Early into the season, Colabello was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Was this the cause behind his breakout 2015 campaign? Possibly, although Colabello himself adamantly denies ever taking PEDs.

Speaking to Sportsnet, Colabello said: “I would never, have never and will never compromise the integrity of baseball. Ever. In my life. And whether that means taking a performance enhancing supplement—I just wouldn’t do it. I don’t do it. I haven’t done it. I won’t do it.”

On his return to action following his suspension, Colabello was sent to the minors and never recaptured his 2015 form, slashing .185/.254/.293 over 45 games between A+ Dunedin and AAA Buffalo. It was not a triumphant comeback to say the least, and did nothing to sway his critics.

The sceptic in me thinks Colabello won't match that 2015 output, not playing clean anyway. However, now he's been given another chance in Cleveland and by all accounts he comes across as a good locker-room guy and well-liked player. I'm hoping he can turn things around and if it's going to happen, it might as well be in Cleveland. The Indians have had some recent success resurrecting the careers of fading veterans, giving them the chance to shine one more time. Maybe Colabello can add his name to that list.

Let Chief Wahoo Go

Chief Wahoo is a divisive topic among Indians fans, and fans of baseball and all-around taste in general. For a while now the grinning cartoon upon our team's caps and jerseys has caused all manner of controversy. It was brought to the fore once again during the postseason. And now the Chief is back, but with a much bigger bang.

It was reported last week that the Indians had taken the decision to finally retire the controversial logo once and for all. This turned out to be incorrect and in actual fact the logo was only being taken off the caps that go with the alternate navy uniforms. The Chief was alive and well for a little bit longer, but the news triggered another round of debate nonetheless.

Look, I'm not from Cleveland. I didn't spend my early years with this team, I didn't grow up with them. I came to baseball relatively late in my youth, in 2007. So I don't have any personal connection to Chief Wahoo. Honestly, it kind of put me off when I first chose the Indians as my team. As a Cavs fan since 2003, when I got into baseball I wanted to keep my Cleveland connection but the Chief very nearly made me choose someone else (I won't tell you who, but they're from New York... shhhh). It wasn't even because I hated what it stood for, or the connotations connected with it. I simply thought it was an ugly logo.

And I fully understand that there are a great many fans who love the Chief, especially if you grew up with that successful nineties team. I'm sure the uniqueness and longevity of the logo may even be financially beneficial to the franchise in some way.

But guys, the logo isn't cool anymore. I mean, it never was to begin with!

And it's racist.

A very large group of people find it offensive and rightfully so. I more than anybody love and value the tradition and history associated with baseball, but there are times when change can be a good thing.

I think Matt Lyons said it best at Let's Go Tribe when he wrote, "Whenever we talk about the Cleveland Indians removing their controversial Chief Wahoo logo from their merchandise, the most frequent analogy is ripping off a bandaid. There’s going to be backlash, it’s going to hurt, but in the long run it’s for the better. You don’t want to leave that bandaid on your wound until it festers, and you don’t want to leave an antiquated logo festering on your franchise for the next millennia."

I for one really like the block C design on the caps, particularly the navy edition, although I know that's not a popular opinion. I also found it strange and a little bit puzzling why the team insisted on the Wahoo caps in every playoff game recently.

It's safe to say the Chief has had it's day. As we enter 2017, the world is very different to how it was in 1947, when Wahoo was created. It's time to bury the Chief and let him rest.