OK, I think there may be some serious smoke and fire here for our Tribe. Those 2 transactions the Brewers did give them a serious glut of RH hitting outfielders and 2 of them (Domingo Santana and of course Braun) are real hitters. Needless to say the Brewers would have to eat serious salary for any team to want him.

Danny Salazar - S - Indians

MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports that the Brewers have shown some interest in Danny Salazar this offseason.

It comes on the heels of Castrovince's colleague Jon Morosi noting that the Indians and Brewers could be partners for a potential trade, with Domingo Santana being a possible target for Cleveland.

Whether it would be a straight up one-for-one deal or part of a larger trade isn't known, but the fit does seem to make sense from both sides. Salazar has often frustrated with inconsistency and injuries, but he just turned 28, misses a ton of bats and is under team control through 2020.

Still remember watching both play minor league ball. I was at Ramirez's first minor league rookie league game in Burlington. Probably 75 fans.

Thome played in Burlington in 1990 and Ramirez in 91. Talk about different times. Team stayed at a Holiday Inn in the middle of one of the largest outlet centers in the US that was on every bus tour route through North Carolina. Ramirez was known to spend every off hour standing outside the hotel in the phone booth on the pay phone calling back to NYC. Local newspaper did a huge write up on it.

This is how small the BAP (Burlington Athletic Park) was ? Fans would order from local Domino's and you could hear the delivery guy call out the persons name when he pulled up. You could actually sit directly behind the bench. There was no dugout at the time.

Only two Indians farmhands on the top 100 prospect list. Not overly impressive.

Really cool pic floating around social media of Kluber and Max Scherzer playing catch in Central Park over the weekend.

but the two are both in the top 1/3 of the top 100.

Baseball America ranks Mejia as No. 20 and the top catcher.
Triston McKenzie ranked as No. 33

They are going to remove Wahoo logos.

finally

Snap up some Wahoo gear. Going to be worth more than the freakin' Block C in the future.

In order to keep the trademark the team is still going to sell gear with Chief Wahoo on it. Team is just not going to wear it on the field. If they stopped selling it other people could start using and selling it.

Hypocrisy at it's finiest.

civ ollilavad wrote:finally

Let's just get one thing straight here.

In 2016 the Washington Post did a poll of Native Americans. 9 out of 10 were NOT offended by the team name Redskins, and there was very little offense to imagery as well.

Public Policy Polling asked Ohio voters in 2016, "do you approve of the Indians' Chief Wahoo?". 66% approved. 52% of Hillary Clinton voters approved, only 17% disapproved.

I've mentioned before, I am literally surrounded by reservations out here in Montana. I never leave the house out here that I do not see Native Americans. Any store, restaurant, park, or casino I go to. Wear my Chief Wahoo cap and shirts all the time. Never drew a complaint or so much as a dirty look. I see more Mariners caps out here than anything but I swear Chief Wahoo has to be fighting for second most.

So this was never about not offending Native people. If I really thought they were offended I'd be the first to say get rid of it. But I just have never seen proof of that. The same few people picket in front of the ballpark on Opening Day every year. This is just about being PC and giving into the grievance industry that will now just move on and bitch about something else. So I am sad to see the Chief go. From the field at least. I will still sport him all the time.

RIP Oscar Gamble:

Former Cleveland Indians OF Oscar Gamble passes away at 68
Gamble played in Cleveland from 1973-75.
Author: Ben Axelrod
Published: 12:45 PM EST January 31, 2018
Former Cleveland Indians outfielder Oscar Gamble, known for his free-flowing afro and left-handed power, has passed away at 68-years-old, his agent, Andrew Levy confirmed to MLB.com on Wednesday.

An Alabama native, Gamble arrived in Cleveland in 1973 following stints with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. In three seasons with the Indians, he batted .274, hitting 54 home runs and 148 runs batted in.

Gamble would go on to spend seven seasons with the New York Yankees, where his big personality was a hit with the New York media. In 17 seasons in the major leagues, Gamble totaled 200 home runs and 666 RBIs to go along with a .265 batting average.

In addition to his power at the plate, Gamble was well-known for his afro hairstyle, which made for some of baseball's most memorable trading cards and photos.

After retiring from baseball following the 1985 season, Gamble returned to Alabama and spent several years as a player agent. A cause of death has not yet been reported.

HB will be doing cartwheels:

Michael Martinez - 2B - Indians
Michael Martinez underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Martinez suffered the injury to his left Achilles tendon while performing offseason agility exercises in the Dominican Republic. The rehabilitation will reportedly take at least six months, which puts the 35-year-old's entire 2017 season in jeopardy. Cleveland re-signed Martinez to a minor league contract in early December.

Time for Mike to consider a new profession.

Hate to see anybody get hurt but if you're going to get hurt, it's nice to be under contract and have your employer pick up your medical bills.

Call him Mr.Lucky

Our buddy J.R. used to fill us in, so I will take up the slack this year. The equipment trucks left this morning for Goodyear!