GOODYEAR, Ariz. -

makes no predictions. He's too smart and he's been around too long to do such things.

But if there was a clock inside him, the ticking would be getting louder.

Bourn, 31, hasn't been himself for two years, which just happens to be the only two years he's worn an Indians uniform. He was spiked on the right hand in 2013. Last year he was on the disabled list three times with a strained left hamstring.

When he met with reporters Saturday morning after arriving at spring training early, the last thing he wanted to do was talk about hamstrings. Guess what he was asked about?

Bourn cut the question off before it fully escaped a reporter's mouth.

"We good," said Bourn, concerning the state of his hamstrings. "Cut that off. That's where I'm at with it."

Another question from another reporter went like this, "Have Cleveland fans seen the best Michael Bourn can be over the last two years?"

"You know better than that," said Bourn. "Why ask me a question like that?"

He wasn't surly, but the first two years of Bourn's $48 million deal with the Indians have not gone as expected.

Bourn hit .257 last season. He had a .314 on base percentage and played 105 games, the fewest since his first full season in the big leagues in 2007.

"I've been a little banged up the last couple of years," he said. "The first year I wasn't hurt, I was just banged up. Last year I was injured.

"I missed a significant amount of time. I think the hardest thing about it was to get a rhythm when you come back into play. You're back playing, but you haven't been facing that kind of pitching and that kind of talent the whole time."

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The Indians asked Bourn to work with University of Houston track coach Leroy Burrell over the offseason. Bourn is a Houston native and played baseball for the Cougars.

At one time Burrell was the fastest man in the world. He won a gold medal as a member of the United States 4x100 relay team at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

Bourn at one time was one of baseball's fastest men and best basestealers. He led the NL in steals from 2009 to 2011. In two years with the Indians, Bourn has been successful in only 65 percent (33-for-51) of his steals. New and old wave stats alike say if you're not successful 75 to 80 percent of the time, it's not worth running.

"Joe Kessler (Indians strength and conditioning coach) asked me if I'd be willing to do it," said Bourn, referring to working with Burrell. "I said no problem. I'll do anything to get my body in the best running form shape for the long haul of 162 games."

Manager Terry Francona was delighted.

"It's phenomenal that he wanted to do that," said Francona. "He's a veteran guy. Shoot, they play all year and they want to be able to take a break.

"He's trying to get back to that guy who can disrupt games. We're so proud of him and I hope it equates into a lot of stolen bases, but just the fact that he's willing to do it is going to pay dividends for him."

Bourn and Burrell worked together a couple of times a week for three months.

"It's a totally different style of running than baseball," said Bourn. "The best sprinters are in track and that's all I was trying to get a feel for. They know how to run it."

The idea was to get Bourn's hamstrings as strong and healthy as possible. Did it work?

"We'll see," said Bourn.

He added, "It's a long season. You want to have your body prepared to play and I play a demanding position. I think I'm built for it and I'm ready to play."