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Giovanny Urshela continues to battle for his health and his job

Morning news & notes for Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

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I'm young, scrappy and hungry and I'm not throwing away my shot.
I'm young, scrappy and hungry and I'm not throwing away my shot.
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Another day, another solid start from Corey Kluber.  If you didn't catch yesterday's game, Klubot threw 4 more scoreless innings, bringing his shutout inning total up to 9 for the current spring campaign.  It's been said before, but our top 3 pitchers (Kluber, Carrasco, and Salazar) are primed to carry the rotation into a very exciting season.  If the pitching holds up and the hitting is consistent, 2016 could be a great season for the Cleveland Indians.  Obviously, it's only March 15, so this is all wishful thinking and hopeful conjecturing at this point; but, isn't that what Spring Training is for?  Anyway, onto the news!

Indians news

  • Kluber carries scoreless spring to top Texas | MLB
    Kluber, despite putting up zeroes throughout the spring up to this point, admitted to be fighting his mechanics during the game against the Rangers.  Luckily, his offense came through for him in the form of a Yan Gomes home run and a Mike Napoli RBI single (side note: Napoli, through 23 ABs this spring, is currently slashing .391/.440/.652.  SSS and all that, but it's nice to see that he isn't completely falling apart as many thought he might).
  • Terry Francona sends Jose Ramirez into the light of center field for Cleveland Indians | Cleveland.com
    It sure looks like Jose Ramirez is going to be utilized in the same super-utility role that was formerly occupied by Mike "Golden Calves" Aviles.  If Ramirez continues to hit like he has this spring (highly unlikely), I'm positive that no one would have an issue with him playing anywhere on the diamond.  With that being said, keep in mind that the Angry Hamster has played a grand total of 2 MLB games in the outfield.  But who knows?  Maybe Jose will pull a Chisenhall and become a defensive wiz out in center field.  One can dream, right?
  • Feeling strong, Urshela putting up healthy numbers | MLB.com
    Another man on the team whose future hangs in the balance, Giovanny Urshela is doing everything he can do to stay healthy and earn a starting role as the team's third baseman.  His goal is to stay healthy for the entire season which, if his bat comes around, will be huge for the Tribe.
  • On Corey Kluber's tug-of-war and 8 other keys from Cleveland Indians' victory over Texas | Cleveland.com
    Our favorite mustachioed journalist, Paul Hoynes, takes a look at the win over Texas yesterday as well as eight things that could be a focus for the Tribe going forward.  Spoiler alert: #2 is about the team's propensity to utilize the sacrifice bunt.  Why Kip, why?!

  • Around The League

    • NL Cy Young of the decade Clayton Kershaw is still unfulfilled despite being video game good at his job.  Hey, if Kershaw ever wants to surround himself with others who may be unfulfilled with their sports teams' lack of a championship, I have a travel suggestion for him.
    • Apparently, Chris Sale and I share the same diet.  Does this make me a Cy Young contender?
    • Finally, it's Bartolo Colon's world, we just live in it:


    Today's /r/baseball question comes from /u/macgroobs:

    Which team has the best chance of going 81-81 in 2016?