We have seen some great individual days in Cleveland sports this year. I recall the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend when the Cavs beat the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Indians completed a sweep of the Tigers in Motown. Alas, yesterday was not one of those days. Too many mistakes by both the Browns and the Indians led to a pair of defeats.
The Browns. Our city’s football team is improving, but not enough to overcome three turnovers against one of the elite teams in the NFL. The offense moved the ball well at times, but Derek Anderson’s poor decision on the first drive of the game loomed large in a 34-17 loss at New England.
We have to remember that Anderson has made less than ten starts at quarterback, and hopefully he will learn from his errors, but his interception on the doorstep of the Patriot end zone was not a good decision. Cleveland could have tied the game at 3, but instead came away with no points, and Bill Belichick’s crew moved out to a 20-0 halftime lead and cruised to a win. Anderson’s other interceptions came off of deflections, one while being hit trying to throw, but the first pick set the tone.
On defense, the Browns put no pressure on Tom Brady as the three time Super Bowl winner picked the secondary apart going to other options with the defense doubling on Randy Moss. The lack of pressure stems from the fact Todd Grantham’s squad still cannot stop the run. You can’t blitz if you are facing a 2nd and 5 defensively. That tactic has to be used in long yardage situations.
The Indians. The Yankees avoided a sweep by capitalizing on some Tribe mistakes and a poor outing by Jake Westbrook to claim an 8-4 victory and force a Game 4 tonight in the Bronx.
Mistake #1: Victor Martinez picking up Melky Cabrera’s harmless roller in front of the plate and trying to get Hideki Matsui, who was not forced, at third. At that time of the game and the Indians leading 3-0, Martinez should have taken the sure out. Without a man on first, Johnny Damon’s single through the hole that produced the first New York run, might have been fielded by Ryan Garko, who was holding Cabrera. Westbrook did minimize the damage by getting Derek Jeter to hit into a double play.
Mistake #2: Jhonny Peralta has to throw out Alex Rodriguez on a ball hit to the hole to start the sixth inning. It was a routine play and the Tribe SS double clutched the ball, and then threw high and late to Garko at first. If the Indians get that out, then maybe mistake #3 doesn’t come into play…
Mistake #3: Trot Nixon overruns Robinson Cano’s single to right allowing three runs to score. It’s quite possible two runs would have scored anyway, but these two mistakes were a big reason for the three run sixth that effectively put the game away. Eric Wedge’s hunch to play Nixon did pay off from Trot’s solo home run against Roger Clemens did pay off, but let’s face it, Nixon is the Indians’ third best defensive right fielder, behind Franklin Gutierrez and Jason Michaels. It did come back to nip, not bite, the Indians in their collective backside.
So, tonight it’s Paul Byrd’s turn to try and get the Indians to the AL Championship Series, and with the Browns’ next two games against the winless Dolphins and Rams, they could be 4-3 and very much alive in the playoff race in the AFC. Try looking toward the sun; it has to be a brighter day than Sunday for Cleveland sports fans.
JD/MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 