Is Michael Bourn the key to jumpstarting the Indians offense?

Off days during bad stretches are agonizing in some ways. Waiting an extra day for the chance at redemption is difficult. We've got nothing to do but wring our hands about the crappy play as of late. On the other hand, we don't have new losses to wring our hands about, so we got that going for us. So here's what's going on around baseball while we're patiently waiting:

Indians news & notes

The Cleveland defense is a different kind of problem now | Fangraphs - The Indians defense is, as expected, bad. Despite all the supposed focus on defense this offseason, it doesn't seem to have made an impact. But it isn't the same kind of bad as it was last year - even the pitchers and reserve players are terrible.

Bourn on offense: "If I get going, we'll get going" | Cleveland.com - When Paul Hoynes asked Michael Bourn what it would take to get the Tribe offense going, Bourn took the question to heart. He's hardly the only Tribe hitter struggling, but he's certainly one of the highest paid. Bourn says he feels confident, though, that he can get things going. But would it be enough? Note: Bourn makes no such promises about getting his defense going.

Inbox: is it too early to worry? | Indians.com - Jordan Bastian regales us with reader questions and tales of spilled drinks aplenty in the Indians press box. I don't want to draw any unwarranted comparisons, but note the types of questions Jordan chooses to respond to and how he responds to them.

Drawing Tribe Town's perimeters | Waiting For Next Year - The New York Times recently released an interactive map showing the breakdown of every area of the country based on their favorite baseball team. WFNY analyzes the data by county, digging deeper into the divisions between Indians, Reds, Tigers, and Pirates fans in Ohio.

Indians needs back of pen to step back to forefront | Did The Tribe Win Last Night? - Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen were rocks at the back end of the Indians bullpen last year, but those rocks have been sinking so far this year. It's too early to give up completely, but what can we realistically expect from them for the rest of the season?

Tidbits from around MLB

Royals, Sox have bench-clearing fracas | Hardball Talk - The Royals and White Sox traded hit batsmen, then Yordano Ventura acted like a child while throwing out Adam Eaton, and the benches emptied. Five players were ejected. As Lukehart said in one of the comments sections yesterday, the Royals are doing their damndest to solidify their place as the A-holes of the division.

Amazin' tales of Bartolo | Sports On Earth - Yesterday, Bartolo Colon chased down AJ Pierzwhatshisdouche in for the rare, unassisted pickoff. Seems like the older he gets, the less he actually ages. Has Bartolo reached Chuck Norris levels of internet famousness?

Taking stock of early stat races | Sports On Earth - It's too early to start worrying about bad Indians players, but it's not too early to start discussing who's gonna lead the league in homers! And other stuff. Spoiler: no one on the Indians is going to be in the running for the top five in "defensive runs saved."

Ranking the home uniforms of all 30 teams | CBS Sports - Which one team ranks lower than the Indians?