Kazmir Continues to State Case for Rotation Spot

First up, the News from the field at Optimism Central:

Scott Kazmir throws 4 scoreless innings as Cleveland Indians and Angels play to scoreless tie | cleveland.com :
Scott Kazmir continued his push toward a spot in the Indians rotation with a strong effort Monday against the Angels. Daisuke Matsuzaka, meanwhile, leaves game with cramping in right calf.

Scott Kazmir is sharp against Angels, his former team - latimes.com: Cleveland Indians left-hander, released by the Angels after a disastrous 2011 season, gives up three hits over four innings in a scoreless Cactus League game.

News from off the fields at Optimism Central:

Cleveland Indians do their version of the 'Harlem Shake' | cleveland.com: Engineered by Nick Swisher, who called it a team-building exercise, the Cleveland Indians reported to the clubhouse early Monday wearing various costumes to film the video.

Anthony Castrovince: Tribe sure to be fun on, off the field | indians.com: News: This Cleveland clubhouse is cohesive enough that 50-something guys were willing to put on ridiculous costumes at 8:30 a.m. in the desert and shoot the silly video at Nick Swisher's behest.

Controlling running game on Ubaldo's to-do list | indians.com: News: Bastian notes article, featuring several stories, including Ubaldo Jimenez woorking on controlling the running game. Last season, baserunners ran wild when Jimenez was on the mound.

Slow start for Cactus League; Snow, a full slate of rained-out games and even international baseball have disrupted the easy rhythms of spring training in Arizona. The smallest crowds so far this spring have been at Goodyear Ballpark, which averaged 3,091 fans for the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians games through Sunday.

ICYMI yesterday, the Indians made several roster moves, detailed here. Ben Francisco was not out of work for long, though.

And finally, marketing meets sabermetrics:

Baseball Prospectus | Overthinking It: The Not-So-Secret Sabermetrics of Marketing: At the SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix, the Indians introduce a new sort of sabermetrics, without some of the usual secrecy.