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As the weekend approaches and the weather forecast for Vancouver continues to look bad, I'm drowning myself in thoughts of spring training baseball. Here are your Friday news & links:
Tribe news
Lindor's humility matches his talent levels | Indians.com - Francisco Lindor is a consensus top 10 prospect, yet he's not afraid to carry his team's dirty laundry. I'm no seasoned scout, but I imagine that's a pretty rare thing for somebody with his pedigree. Tito has some good things to say about him in the embedded video, which is hardly a surprise lately.
Indians infield reliable but lacks range | Fangraphs - An exploration of players that make a large percentage of defensive plays that "should" be made includes everyone on the Indians infield except for our third basemen. Problem is, every one of those guys - Nick Swisher, Jason Kipnis, and Asdrubal Cabrera - is rated poorly by UZR.
Raburn's adjustments yielding early returns | Indians.com - Ryan Raburn is using more of his lower half lately, which apparently helps him play baseball better, too.
Kinsler not sharing his sour grapes with Murphy | Cleveland.com - Dave Murphy is a big fan of Ian Kinsler, but doesn't share Kinsler's strong negative feelings about the Rangers organization. Great shot of Nick Swisher's new spikes in the slideshow at the top here, also.
How much could Masterson's hometown discount be worth? | Indians Baseball Insider - Jim Pete explores the possibility that Justin Masterson may actually be motivated more by comfort than money when and that will dictate how low he and his agents are willing to go on an extension. Elsewhere, Fangraphs isn't convinced a potential Masterson extension would be much of a bargain. Bastian notes that Masterson still isn't letting the talks affect his game, as Thursday's solid outing against the Cubs shows.
Around the league
Manny Ramirez not ready to retire, looking to make MLB comeback | ESPN Deportes - Ramirez, last seen floating around in AAA, says he can see himself playing a Jason Giambi-like role in MLB this season. For the love of the game, I'd be happy to see Manny come back in some capacity.
Red Sox might have a gem in Sizemore | Fox Sports - My god, it physically hurts to see Grady Sizemore smiling in a Boston uniform.
Marlins feel cheated by crappy Red Sox lineup | South Florida Sun-Sentinel - After charging "super premium" prices for the game, Marlins fan got to see a lineup even more full of jobbers than the standard Spring Training lineup.
Ken Griffey Jr gives one of the worst interviews ever | CBS Sports - He was always my favorite as a kid, but this was incredibly difficult to watch. Good lord.
Pioneer of Tommy John Surgery passes away | MLB.com - Dr. Frank Jobe was 88 years old and had been working with the Dodgers for half a century.