Chris Colabello’s suspension highlights a big problem: Blue Jays aren’t hitting

6:56 PM ET

There’s no positive way to spin this story. Chris Colabello got caught, and while his statement says “The only thing I know is I would never compromise the integrity of the game of baseball” and that he doesn’t know why or how a banned substance was found in his urine, his statement also doesn’t directly deny using an illegal PED. It’s couched in carefully worded lawyer speak. Steroid users are still batting 1.000 when it comes to the “What, me?” defense after failing a test.

Colabello, who on Friday was suspended 80 games without pay for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, had been one of the best feel-good stories in baseball. He’s a guy who went to tiny Assumption College in Massachusetts, went undrafted and then spent seven seasons toiling for Worcester in the Canadian-American Association. It’s the kind of league that let former Red Sox hurler Bill Lee pitch in a game in 2010 when he was 63 years old … and he allowed just two runs in 5.1 innings.

The Twins signed him in 2012 and he reached the majors in 2013. He hit .214/.284/.365 in 401 plate appearances with the Twins over two seasons but it was still a story of perseverance. The Toronto Blue Jays claimed him on waivers after the 2014 season and he exploded with one of the most surprising seasons in the majors, hitting .321/.367/.520 with 15 home runs in 333 at-bats. We know …

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