N&N: Baseball is back!

The last time that the Tribe played a baseball game, the date was October 4, 2015.  Salazar went 5.1 innings to get the win and complete the sweep of the Boston Red Sox.  Sadly, the postseason would be played away from Cleveland.  It's been a long winter, but now, on this fine Tuesday, the Cleveland Indians will take the field again to kick off the 2016 campaign!...well, kind of.  Sure, this is just a spring training game that will, in the grand scheme of things, have minimal impact on the success or failure of the Indians in 2016.  But, regardless, we'll get to kick back and listen to Hammy call some more Indians baseball as we all get excited for the prospect of another magical run.  Here's to a fantastic season, Tribe fans!

Indians news

• First lineup card of the Spring has Tyler Naquin in center field | Let's Go Tribe
  The first Tribe game of Spring Training will be on MLB.tv later today at 3:05pm EST.  The lineup card for the first game (well, at least the first few innings of the first game) has been released, and the Little Cowboy will be the first starter to make his case for a spot in the MLB rotation.  Call in sick to work and celebrate, everyone!
  
  
• Gomes aiming for big bounce-back season | MLB
  The Cleveland Indians may have stopped playing baseball in early October last year, but one member of the Tribe continued to hammer away in the batting cages for a few more weeks.  Yan Gomes, sidelined in 2015 by an injury, is working overtime to get back to being one of the best offensive catchers in baseball.  Thankfully, it will be almost impossible for Rajai Davis to slide into the Yanimal again this season.  But, it is Cleveland, so anything is possible.
  
  
• Cleveland Indians unchain closer Cody Allen so he can prepare for regular season | Cleveland.com
  Last spring, closer Cody Allen was held back during spring training in order to protect his arm from the immense amount of innings that he was sure to log in the regular reason.  This time around, Commander Cody is hitting hard and fast right out of the gate.

• Indians GM Mike Chernoff will be doing an AMA in /r/WahoosTipi on Tuesday, March 8 @ 11am | reddit.com
  It would seem that, this season, the Cleveland Indians are really going all in in terms of connecting and communicating with fans.  Similar to when the social media team did an AMA, Indians GM Mike Chernoff will be online on Reddit to answer some questions from fans next week.  My hope is that the #DolanzRCheep crowd misses the memo.

Around The League

• John Farrell of the Boston Red Sox has returned to the dugout for the first time since announcing his cancer diagnosis in August of 2015.  Baseball feelings/rivalries aside, I'm extremely happy to see that Farrell is back and healthy.  Cancer is a hell that no one should have to deal with; welcome back, John.
• It looks like Troy Tulowitzki may still be a little bitter about the "country club" he left in Colorado.
• It looks like the Yankees are puzzled in trying to figure out their newest bullpen acquisition, Aroldas Chapman.

Darvish through 15 bitches off before mound felt good

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) February 29, 2016

And now, let's get ready for the 2016 Cleveland Indians!