Biggest Factor For Tribe? Games Aren’t In The Bronx

Tomorrow night, the Indians start the new “Wild Card” round of the American League playoffs, necessitated this year (we hope only this year) by the shortened regular season.

Because of the regional schedule for the year, Tribe fans haven’t seen the Yankees this season, and vice versa. This we do know, New York had a 33-27 record this season, going 22-9 at Yankee Stadium and 11-18 on the road.

By the way, all three games of the series will be played in Cleveland at Progressive Field.

Because the Yankees get on national television more than most teams, certainly more than the Indians, baseball fans know the names: Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, D.J. LeMahieu, and Gary Sanchez.

And they signed Garrit Cole, who won 20 games with the Astros last season, helping to pitch them to the AL pennant.

Their closer is Aroldis Chapman, who Tribe fans remember very well from the 2016 World Series.

However, in looking at the statistics for the Yankees this season, it has a Jekyll and Hyde feel to them.

You see, in the Bronx, the pinstripers have a team batting average of .273 with 67 home runs as a team, and a 907 OPS.

As a comparison, the Indians team statistics for the entire season has them with a .228 batting average, 59 home runs, and an OPS of 689. That’s for both home and road games.

LeMahieu, the AL batting champion, batted .448 at Yankee Stadium with eight home runs. Luke Voit, who led the Junior Circuit in long balls, swatted 16 at home. Four other Yanks hit six dingers in the Bronx, meanwhile the Tribe had four players who hit more that a half dozen for the entire season.

However, away from the famous short porch in right field, New York has at least according to the numbers been a far different team.

On the road, the Bronx Bombers have a .220 batting average with only 27 home runs, and a 668 OPS. They hit like Cleveland did all season long away from the House That Derek Jeter Built.

LeMahieu, who is a great hitter (we wanted the Indians to sign him when he was a free agent), batted .283 on the road, but had just two dingers. Voit, who had 22 homers for the season, hit just six away from the Bronx.

Stanton (14 for 49, 3 HR) and old friend Gio Urshela (21 for 65, 12 RBI) were the most productive New York bats away from home this season.

What is odd is the Yankee pitching splits at home and on the road. NY pitchers had a 3.87 ERA in the Big Apple, with Cole having a 2.09 mark, winning four games. Masahiro Tanaka, the game two starter won three at home, but with a 4.40 ERA.

The weird stat is they had a 4.88 ERA on the road. We understand their road games were at hitter friendly parks like Fenway Park, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and Sahlens Field in Buffalo, where the Blue Jays played their home games, and it was very much a pitcher’s nightmare.

Tanaka pitched well on the road (2.33 ERA) which isn’t good news for Wednesday night’s contest.

As for the Tribe, they hit .233 at home (compared to .222 on the road), but hit 34 of their 59 home runs on the road.

Jose Ramirez (who else?) was the best hitter at Progressive Field, hitting .317 with 19 extra base hits. Cesar Hernandez hit .313 at his new home park, and Carlos Santana belted five of his eight homers in Cleveland.

The Indians’ pitchers had a 3.67 ERA at home vs. 2.90 away from Progressive Field. It didn’t matter for game one starter Shane Bieber, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner, who had 1.23 ERA and struck out 44 hitters in 22 innings at home.

Game 2 starter Carlos Carrasco had a 3.03 ERA, and Game 3 hurler Zach Plesac is at 2.08 along the shores of Lake Erie.

What does all of this mean? Not much, because it’s baseball, and a three game series doesn’t really determine a lot. However, ignore the names wearing the New York uniforms. They are television personalities because the networks want the Yankees.

The numbers show the Indians can compete and win the series if (and that’s a huge if) their beleaguered offense can cobble up some runs. That’s the biggest question of the week for the Tribe.

Altman Says Cavs May Take A Guard. We Say No Way.

It is anybody’s guess as to when we will see our professional basketball team again, as it has been reported that the NBA season may not start until after the calendar turns to 2021.

The Cavaliers are currently getting some work in at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, as part of the program for teams that were not invited to the “bubble” in Orlando.

So, coach J.B. Bickerstaff gets his first look at his team in six months, although Andre Drummond and free agent to be Tristan Thompson are not taking part in the workouts.

Bickerstaff does get his first look, on the court at least, of rookie first round pick Dylan Windler, who missed the entire 2019-20 season with a stress fracture in the leg, and subsequent surgery to repair it.

The next big order of business for the franchise is the draft, which will be held on November 18th, with the free agency period apparently to follow, although that is not confirmed.

The Cavaliers have the fifth overall pick, and GM Koby Altman has said the wine and gold will take the best player available at that spot, even if it is a guard.

Don’t believe that for a second. It is pure rhetoric unless the roster is overhauled before the draft occurs.

The Cavaliers have drafted guards in the top ten of the draft the last two years, and both are primarily point guards. With only five players on the floor at one time, you cannot have this kind of duplicity on the roster.

In addition to Collin Sexton (2018 first rounder) and Darius Garland (’19), Altman also used the last pick of the first round, which he traded for, to take yet another guard, and Kevin Porter Jr. showed signs he can be a starter in the Association long term.

So, while saying you are going to take the best player available, which is typical GM-speak going into a draft, you don’t want your organizational leader saying “we really don’t need this position, so we are going to reach to take a lesser player”, if the Cavaliers take another guard at five, it would be a colossal error.

It has been reported that Altman doesn’t want to move either Sexton, who looked much better after Bickerstaff took over as head coach, or Porter, who averaged 12 points per game after December 1st, and is the bigger guard the team needs.

That would leave the organization open to moving Garland, although they would be selling low on the second year guard, but could package him and the fifth pick this year to get a young, veteran, and yes, taller player.

Remember, the Cavs were the smallest team in the NBA a year ago, and even though they made the deal for Drummond, they lost another tall player in Ante Zizic, and Thompson could be gone by the time training camp opens.

The Cavs already have a logjam in the backcourt with Sexton and Porter the likely starters, with Garland needing minutes to develop, and don’t forget Dante Exum, a bigger guard who was the fifth overall pick in 2014, and will be only 25 years old when the next season opens, provided it opens before next June.

Don’t panic about Altman’s comments, because they are purely rhetoric, draft speak. It would be a shock if he took another guard in this draft. More likely, they will take a big man or a taller wing player.

That makes the most sense.

Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose…One Of The Game’s Best (Even If He Is Unknown Nationally)

New Indians’ pitcher Cal Quantrill said it after Jose Ramirez’ game winning three run homer to put the Tribe back in the post-season. He said if there is such a thing as an underrated top five player in the game, Ramirez is one.

It is difficult to believe Ramirez is still underrated, perhaps it is the slump he suffered through at the beginning of the 2019 season, but we feel some fans, even those who follow the Indians, don’t remember that the switch-hitter has two top three American League MVP finishes (2017 and 2018).

Perhaps it is the presence of Francisco Lindor, who has become the face of the franchise, but even nationally, you don’t hear enough about Ramirez being one of the best players in the sport.

There is no doubt that he is though. Still, since he became a regular midway through the 2016 season, only Mike Trout, recognized by everyone as the best player in the sport, has more top three finishes in the most valuable player voting than the Tribe third baseman.

The other players who have two such placements are household names nationally: Jose Altuve, Mookie Betts, and Christian Yelich.

Perhaps part of it was he was never regarded as a great prospect. Heck, he didn’t even appear on the Tribe’s Top 10 Prospect list until 2014, after he made his big league debut.

Cleveland got their first glimpse of Ramirez in the drive for a wild card spot in 2013, when the organization promoted him, primarily as a pinch runner after he hit .272 (674 OPS) with 38 stolen bases at Akron, playing mostly second base.

His keystone combination partner in ’12 at Lake County was Lindor, and they made for quite a duo up the middle.

Ramirez started the following season in AAA, hitting .302 (801 OPS) in 60 games at Columbus before being called up to play shortstop during the second half of the 2014 season with the big club, batting .262 with 2 HR, 17 RBI and 14 extra base hits in 266 plate appearances.

He started the ’15 season at shortstop (keeping the spot warm for top prospect Lindor), but was hitting just .180 (487 OPS) before being demoted to AAA. Lindor came up a few days later.

Upon getting recalled, he batted .259 with a 775 OPS, mixing in 16 extra base hits in 182 times at the dish. He played all over the diamond when he came back, playing some third base and leftfield. At that point, Jason Kipnis was fully ensconced at second base for the Tribe.

The switch-hitter started the following season in the same role, but with Juan Uribe not hitting at the hot corner, Ramirez started getting regular playing time there and started to hit with even more power, batting .312, with 11 homers, 76 ribbies, 46 doubles, and an 825 OPS.

He probably would have won the MVP in 2017 if not for a terrible September (.174 average, 637 OPS) that some attributed to being home run happy. He entered the month with 38 dingers.

Even with the increase in power, Ramirez was still an excellent base runner, stealing 17, 34, and 24 bases in the last three full baseball seasons, and he is an great defensive third baseman too.

There has been speculation he will eventually move back to second base to make room for prospect Nolan Jones, but we believe he’s not moving, his body type now makes him more suited for the corner spot.

He has a engaging personality too. Fox Sports’ Andre Knott calls him the heartbeat of the team, and his comments about “home run pitches” have caught on throughout the fanbase, and so, of course, are the “Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose” chants that resonate at Progressive Field when he comes up with a big hit.

People around the game know how good Ramirez is. He’s one of the 10-15 best players in the game, a great combination of power and speed, and a very good batting eye. He really doesn’t have a weakness.

As for the lack of national recognition? Who cares! Fans in northeast Ohio know how good Jose Ramirez is. And he could be the AL MVP in 2020.

This Week Is About Tribe Getting Ready For Next Week

Within the next couple of days, maybe even today, the Cleveland Indians will clinch a spot in the expanded eight team American League playoff field.

So, Terry Francona, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Carl Willis are tasked with getting the Tribe ready for the wild card series, which begin either Monday, October 5th or Tuesday, October 6th.

The team changed its starters for the series against the White Sox, with Shane Bieber being moved back to Wednesday’s game so he will be ready to go in game one of the first series. Cal Quantrill will get the start in what is essentially a bullpen game.

Apparently, the brass already made the change with the batting order, and hoping the new configuration, with Francisco Lindor leading off, and Jose Ramirez moving to the #3 slot, will provide more runs.

It’s not the style of the Indians’ leadership to make another change at this late date unless there is an injury.

Who would start game two? If the Tribe is involved in a series that starts Monday, it would be difficult to see anyone but Zach Plesac getting the nod. If Cleveland starts on Tuesday, Carlos Carrasco could make his next start on Friday night, and still take the hill in the second game of the first round series.

These last seven games will also be a trial for the bullpen, as Willis and his crew try to firm up the pecking order. We know Brad Hand is the closer, and James Karinchak will be the guy the Tribe uses in the 8th or in the “Andrew Miller” role, the highest leverage situations.

But who would pitch the 7th inning if a reliever is needed in a close contest? We would bet the staff will take a long look at newcomer Quantrill, particularly because he could go more than one inning if needed. He and Nick Wittgren would seem to be the arms that take care of the 6th and 7th innings.

Where does that leave veteran Oliver Perez? He would come on for a tough lefty bat, or maybe for a full inning if two left-handed hitters are scheduled. We believe the coaching staff has high confidence in the southpaw.

And Phil Maton could be used in a similar role vs. right-handed bats.

With the Wild Card Series being a best of three series, it means there is seemingly no role for Aaron Civale and/or Tristan McKenzie. We don’t know how Civale’s stuff plays out of the bullpen, unless it is in a long relief role, but we could see a rested McKenzie coming in for an inning or two if the starter can’t get through five innings.

That would seem to mean Cam Hill and Plutko would be used in mop up roles.

We also believe Delino DeShields will be the primary centerfielder in the playoffs. We wish Oscar Mercado would have received the bulk of the playing time after he was recalled, but he hasn’t, and he hasn’t exactly torn the cover off the ball when he has played (5 for 31).

Will Mercado platoon with Josh Naylor in LF or Tyler Naquin in RF though? We know Jordan Luplow will be in the lineup when a lefty opposes the Tribe, but does the skipper, whether it be Francona or Alomar, platoon in both corner outfield spots.

Another question is will the Indians carry 13 pitchers for the post-season? With no off days, it may be necessary, but if they decide to go with 12, who among the extra players at Lake County gets the call?

The Tribe hasn’t made a lot of moves during the shortened season, but would bringing up a left-handed bat off the bench make sense, particularly if whoever would get the call hasn’t faced big league pitching in awhile.

We understand a spot hasn’t been clinched as of yet, but the Mariners aren’t playing well, so it may be over as early as tonight.

But the Indians still have plenty to play for, including passing Minnesota to hop into the 4th or 5th seeding spot. We are anxious to see how the team approaches these last seven games.

Tribe Couldn’t Afford A Poor Season From Santana.

When you are second to last in a league in runs scored, there is clearly no one person to blame. It’s clearly a team effort.

We have pointed out in previous pieces that the Cleveland Indians have four positions (catcher and all three outfield spots) that rank in the bottom three in the American League in WAR. The front office took a “wishin’ and hopin'” approach to the outfield during the off-season, and has paid the price for it.

Because of that, there is an enormous amount of pressure on the top five hitters in the batting order to produce. Francisco Lindor, who has an OPS of 786, which is third on the team (behind Jose Ramirez and Franmil Reyes) has certainly heard his share of criticism because of his batting average with runners in scoring position. He is 9 for 51 with 13 RBI’s this year.

However, among those players being heavily counted upon by the Tribe this season, perhaps the most disappointing is 1B Carlos Santana.

The switch-hitter was coming off a career season, so maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by a drop off. And we don’t want to say Santana has no offensive value, because he leads the league in walks and still has a .355 on base percentage.

But his slugging percentage, a career high .515 in ’19 has dropped more than 200 points to .296 in this COVID shortened 2020 season.

We didn’t feel there would be a huge regression for Santana because he clearly changed his approach at the plate last season, going from a full out pull hitter to a player who used the middle of the field more and had more success.

And for all of Santana’s struggles, what does it say about the Indians’ management that they continue to hit him in the cleanup spot in the batting order, a position where power is most definitely needed.

This isn’t to denigrate Santana, who has been a very good player for the Cleveland franchise for ten years. He is starting to appear on the club’s all time top ten in several categories, including 8th in home runs (213, one behind Andre Thornton), 2nd in walks behind Jim Thome, and 10th in times getting on base.

However, it does point out two things.

First, the extreme amount of pressure the organization put on the top five in the batting order to produce. The Indians couldn’t afford any of them to have off years, and Santana has had one.

Second, the lack of depth on the roster, which doesn’t allow them to give the veteran switch-hitter to have a day off to refocus. Let’s say, the manager decides to play Josh Naylor at first base, who takes Naylor’s spot in the outfield? Or can you imagine the outrage on social media if they decided to play Mike Freeman at first?

Santana’s lack of production power wise does make it curious as to when the Indians decided to shuffle the lineup a bit, they left him in the #4 hole. Why not move him up in the order? After all, he does get on base, even this season. As we said, he leads the league in walks.

We would have put him, not Francisco Lindor, in the leadoff spot, and shuffled from there. That would put an emphasis on what the hitter is doing well this season.

It also calls into question what the organization will do with the option on the first baseman’s contract for 2021 at $17.5 million. We always figured the front office would try to restructure it, since Santana likes it in Cleveland, but now, even that should be up in the air.

We know Santana is a team player, and his struggles bother him to be sure. But quite frankly the Indians weren’t set up for an important player to have an off year.

And that’s troublesome in itself.

Hard To Ask A Browns’ Fan For Patience, But…

If you are a fan of the Cleveland Browns, it is hard to be patient. One playoff berth since 1999 isn’t anything to brag about, but patience is exactly what is needed with the new coaching staff.

The NFL schedule makers didn’t do new coach Kevin Stefanski any favors pitting the Browns against the Baltimore Ravens in the lidlifter for both teams. Yes, the Kansas City Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champs, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the Ravens are the next best team in the league.

So, the first argument for patience is the first week opponent. This goes for any team because we don’t know how good the other team is. For example, the Steelers looked good on Monday night, but maybe, the Giants are the worst team in the NFL.

To put it simply, no one knows yet who is good and who is terrible, although based on last year’s 14-2 record, we assume Baltimore is pretty good.

Now, for other things that were obvious to us in watch the blowout loss to the Ravens.

Odell Beckham Jr. continues to be a polarizing figure in Cleveland. His dropped pass late in the second quarter was glaring because not only cost the Browns’ offense a touchdown (the now departed Austin Siebert missed a field goal), it allowed the Ravens to tack on another TD before the end of the half.

We hear the national media telling us what an athletic freak Beckham is, but is he still that? We’ve really seen no evidence since he arrived in town a year and a half ago.

And we have written this before, we don’t think the former Giant is a bad teammate and he isn’t causing problems in the locker room, but for whatever reason, he doesn’t fit here. When he is on the field, both head coaches (to date) and the quarterback seem to make a conscious effort to get him the ball, at the expense of the game plan.

If everyone can’t come to a happy medium, Andrew Berry may have to say this is a situation of addition by subtraction, and get what he can for the wide receiver. And it won’t be anything close to what his predecessor paid to get him.

The other thing that stood out was the defense. Again, Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson was the league MVP in 2019, but the Cleveland defense was disappointing. Yes, we know there are a lot of injuries on that side of the ball, but you can’t let a team go 99 yards on one drive, and then convert a touchdown after getting the ball past midfield with less than a minute to go before the half.

Cleveland was 20th in takeaways a year ago, and had just one last Sunday, which occurred in the red zone, otherwise they would have given up 45 points.

The good news is the run defense improved, but again, bringing up the fallacy of the one game sample, it could be because the Ravens found it so easy to pass the ball, they really didn’t spend a lot of time trying the ground game.

We would anticipate seeing plenty of improvement tonight, but part of that could be feeling it couldn’t be any worse. Anyhow, the Cincinnati Bengals also lost their opener, and the odds are they aren’t as good as Baltimore.

However, an 0-2 start and more than a week to talk about doesn’t bode well for the Cleveland Browns. The angry mob could start forming earlier than anyone thought.

Tribe Roster Needs More Versatility

With the shortened training camp for Major League Baseball, teams were allowed to carry 28 players on the roster, instead of 26, which would have been one extra player than in previous seasons.

Somehow, the Cleveland Indians have a lot of duplication among those 28 players, and with so many struggles offensively, it seems like the front office should give Terry Francona and Sandy Alomar Jr. some options.

First, look at the catching position. We know and understand the organization values defense and handling pitchers above everything else at that spot. It has worked for them since Francona took over, as he’s used primarily Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez.

However, right now, the roster has three catchers who basically do the same thing. When healthy, Perez is the primary backstop, and we would say he’s the best hitter of the bunch, hitting a career high 24 home runs last season.

Right now, he’s hitting .167 (494 OPS) in 22 games. He’s not walking as much as normal, and hasn’t driven the ball, but that could be because of his shoulder problem, which put him on the injured list once this season.

The primary backup is switch-hitting Sandy Leon, who is hitting .150 (568 OPS) although he has drawn 12 walks in 2020. They also added Austin Hedges, another defensive whiz, in the big San Diego trade at the deadline. He’s batting .156 with a 559 OPS, and has fanned 22 times in 78 plate appearances.

They seem to be basically the same player, the only discernible difference is Leon has the ability to hit left-handed.

The same seems to be true in centerfield, where the Tribe is carrying two right-handed hitters whose primary job is to provide good defense in the middle of the diamond.

Delino DeShields Jr. has received the most playing time out there, and quite frankly, he can’t hit, batting .247 with just two extra base hits and a 587 OPS. Oscar Mercado had a decent rookie season in 2019 (761 OPS), but this year has just 63 at bats, with a .143 batting average.

Mercado is two years younger, and his rookie season was better offensively than anything DeShields has done in his five major league seasons with Texas.

Our point in bringing this up giving more options for the Tribe manager, either Tito or Alomar. Wouldn’t the team be better off having a left-handed hitting option in center, maybe giving another shot to Daniel Johnson, who went 1 for 12 in five games early in the season?

Also, Johnson is 24 years old, and perhaps he could lay some foundation for a roster spot in 2021. And as we always ask, what are the odds he would be worse than the duo currently patrolling that position for the Tribe?

As for the catching situation, is there a need for three, especially since the Indians rarely pinch-hit for one of them early in a game. And if there would be an injury, they can always bring Bo Taylor back as a second catcher.

What could be done with that extra spot? You could have a second reserve infielder. Last week when Jose Ramirez’ hand was bothering him, Mike Freeman played third base, and the Tribe was left without another option.

Or perhaps another outfield bat to choose from, especially with the club platooning at least at two spots. It could give the skipper an alternative for a favorable matchup earlier in the contest.

Again, none of this would probably be necessary if the outfield was providing any type of production, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and more options.

We are sure the Indians would love for someone to emerge with a hot bat, even if it’s just for a couple of weeks. It doesn’t hurt to have more choices for who that will be.

Blaming Lindor? It’s Because We Will Miss Him If He Leaves.

We have lived in the Cleveland area for a long time, longer than we care to remember. And we have seen how people in northeast Ohio deal with their sports grief, and in many cases, preparing themselves for the sadness.

Right now, supporters of the Cleveland Indians are doing this with their all star shortstop, Francisco Lindor.

If you are a regular reader of this writer, we have made it abundantly clear how we feel about the Tribe shortstop. We believe if he plays the majority of his career with the Tribe, he will be recognized as the best position player ever to wear an Indians uniform.

The prevailing thought is with 14 games remaining in this shortened regular season, the days of seeing Frankie Lindor’s smile are coming to an end. It has been speculated by national baseball writers that the four time all star will be traded this off-season.

We are very much against such a trade and would pay the man the market value for someone who if he isn’t one of the ten best players in baseball, is certainly one of the top 15 players.

Keep in mind, Lindor will not turn 27 until after this season ends, and has hit 30 or more home runs three times, 40 or more doubles three times, scored 100 runs twice (he led the AL in 2018), and has won two Gold Gloves.

While there is no question Lindor hasn’t played up to his normal levels this season, he isn’t the only superstar you can say that about in the 2020 season (see Christian Yelich’s or Javy Baez’ statistics), blaming him for the Indians’ anemic offense is simply not right.

And yes, we know Lindor has struggled this season and last season in hitting with runners in scoring position. You know who is aware and probably putting too much pressure on himself to come through? Yes, Lindor himself.

We get it though, fans are cushioning the blow of Lindor leaving after the season. So, he is becoming the poster child for Cleveland’s offensive problems. We hear fans saying he’s checked out on the Tribe because he knows he’s out of here after the season, and point out his 6 for 45 performance with runners in scoring position as the example.

Actually, we think it is just the opposite, and we believe Lindor and his longtime teammate and the Tribe’s other megastar, Jose Ramirez have themselves believing if we don’t do it, no one else will either.

Tribe television analyst Andre Knott has said many times, Lindor is the Indians’ leader, but Ramirez is the team’s heartbeat.

Look the reason the Indians’ offense is struggling is they are getting pretty much no production out of four positions: All three outfield spots and catcher. If they were getting hitting out of those spots, Lindor’s struggles wouldn’t stand out as much.

And when the top of the order has games where they don’t hit, you get games like Thursday night, when rookie Brady Singer of the Royals gave up one hit in eight innings.

Lindor ranks third on the team in OPS (784) behind just Franmil Reyes and Ramirez. He’s in the top five on the Indians in both on base percentage and slugging percentage.

He ain’t the problem, folks.

Is Lindor having an MVP type season? No, he’s struggled early, but hit .282 in August and has actually improved that mark in September so far, at .293, and he’s cut down on the strikeouts as well, just five in 11 games this month.

Lindor is taking a larger portion of the heat for the poor performance of the offense because he likely won’t be with the team much longer, because ownership doesn’t want to pay for great players, and it’s easier to say goodbye.

The fans are pushing his away, they don’t want to admit the Indians are better with him. We understand that’s how it works in our town. However, it doesn’t mean the blame is being properly placed.

Cavs Should Use Heat As A Model

As the people of northeast Ohio are well aware, the Cleveland Cavaliers made four straight trips to the NBA Finals from 2015-2018.

However, another team from the Eastern Conference did the same thing in the past ten years. Of course we are talking about the Miami Heat, who were also led by LeBron James. The Heat made four consecutive trips from 2011-2014.

We bring this up because the Heat have recovered post-LeBron and will be in the Eastern Conference finals beginning in a few days against either the Boston Celtics or the defending champion Toronto Raptors.

They accomplished this even though they didn’t bottom out or hope for the top pick in the NBA Draft by getting lucky in the lottery.

Maybe the Cavaliers should take a look at how Miami did it, instead of hoping for the Oklahoma City model of hitting it big in the lottery, something that happened just one time.

The year after James left Miami, the Heat dropped from 54 wins to a 37-45 record. They still had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, although he played just 44 games. They signed Luol Deng and Danny Granger as free agents, and signed second year big man Hassan Whiteside as a free agent.

At the trading deadline, they made a move with the Suns, dealing Granger, who played in only 30 games for guard Goran Dragic.

In the next draft, they selected Justice Winslow with the 10th overall pick, and signed Amar’e Stoudemire as a free agent. With Bosh returning for 53 games, they won 48 games (#3 seed) and lost in the conference semi-finals to Toronto.

They took a step back in 2016-17, finishing with a .500 record (41-41), missing the playoffs (9th in the East). Wade and Bosh were both gone, and so was Deng. The roster was now centered around Dragic, Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, and James Johnson, signed from Toronto in the off-season.

And they hung their hat on the defensive end, ranking 5th in the NBA on that end of the floor.

They added to that by drafting Bam Adebayo with the 14th pick in 2017 draft, and added another big man, Kelly Olynyk as a free agent.

A 44-38 record was achieved along with the 6th seed in the East, but they lost their first round match up with the 76ers, four games to one.

They missed the playoffs last season with a 39-43 record, but signed Derrick Jones Jr. and Duncan Robinson as free agents, and drafted Tyler Herro with the 13th overall pick in the 2019 draft.

They also signed Kendrick Nunn as a free agent during the summer and added the final piece they needed to contend trading for Jimmy Butler, with the biggest piece being moved being Whiteside, who lost playing time to Adebayo.

There were no 15 win seasons, no 20 win seasons, no falling to the depths of the NBA gutter. The franchise’s worst record was 37-45. They didn’t even use themselves as a destination place for NBA free agents.

One thing they have is a clear identity for the franchise in Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra. There’s a hint for Dan Gilbert.

They also have a defensive mindset. After the first year post-LBJ, Miami hasn’t ranked lower than 11th in defensive rating.

They also have a keen eye for talent. Jones Jr. and Robinson have been key contributors this season, and they were found on the basketball scrapheap.

The point is there are many ways to build a team, you don’t have to bottom out, which always seems to be the plan in Cleveland, and unless you sign LeBron James, it hasn’t worked out.

Hopefully, there is a clear cut plan with Koby Altman and JB Bickerstaff and it can work out like it did for Miami. Nothing but admiration here for the job Riley and Spoelstra have done.

More importantly, the constant change at both the GM spot and the head coach has to end. And that comes from ownership. Hire the right people and let them do their jobs. We understand they won’t have the championship pedigree that Riley has, but there are people out there who are capable of building a solid basketball team.

You have to have complementary players and an organizational mindset of defense and toughness. It’s been awhile since the Cavaliers have had that. The time to start is this off-season.

Who’s Tribe’s #2? Might Just Be Plesac.

Prior to the Major League Baseball trade deadline, there seemed to be a clear pecking order to the Cleveland Indians’ starting rotation.

Shane Bieber, who is the favorite for the American League Cy Young Award in this COVID shortened season is the clear ace, and would start Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs if and when Cleveland qualifies, unless he was needed to start a game so the Tribe could qualify for the post-season.

Right now, by our calculations, the magic number is 15 to clinch a berth in the eight team field.

Before the megadeal with San Diego, it would have figured that Mike Clevinger would pitch game two.

After all, Clevinger was 26-12 over the past two full seasons, and a 2.90 ERA and 376 strikeouts in 326 innings. And in his lone playoff start, he pitched five innings in Game 3 vs. Houston in the 2018 Division Series, allowing just one run, striking out nine.

So, although we don’t want to put the cart ahead of the horse, who takes the ball in the second game, and perhaps most pivotal game of the first round best of three series, a game in which the Tribe could advance or have to win to force a deciding game.

A couple of weeks ago, Aaron Civale would have been the odds on favorite, but since his complete game win against Pittsburgh, he hasn’t pitched as well.

Prior to that start, Civale pitched 25 innings to a 3.60 ERA, allowing 25 hits. Four of the ten earned runs he allowed came in a game against the Tigers, where he gave up three runs early before settling down.

In his last three starts, he’s allowed 10 runs in 18 frames, a 5.00 ERA. His usual impeccable control has been reduced as well. Before the Pirates start, the right-handers had struck out 26 hitters, walking just three.

The last three starts have yielded 17 whiffs against six walks, and 20 hits allowed. There has been a lot of traffic on the basepaths.

Terry Francona could also pick veteran Carlos Carrasco, who has rebounded from a tough three start stretch by allowing just a single run in his last two starts, spanning 12 innings, with 13 strikeouts and five walks.

Carrasco has made two very good post-season starts, the first in game three of the ’17 Division Series vs. the Yankees (5-2/3 scoreless innings, seven whiffs), and the other in game two of the ’18 ALDS against Houston (5-1/3 innings, two runs) where he left the game with the lead.

However, the guy we would consider is Zach Plesac, who stuffwise might rank right behind Bieber. The second year right-hander, who missed time because of his ill advised night on the town in Chicago, has a 3-1 record and a 1.32 ERA.

He’s allowed just 23 hits in 34 innings, striking out 34 hitters, while walking just two. He’s faced the White Sox, one of the league’s best hitting attacks twice, pitching 14 scoreless innings, fanning 18 batters, while walking just one.

He is scheduled to start in Minneapolis this weekend, so we may have a clearer picture of what he can do after that start. If he can control the Twins bats, he could emerge as the game two starter once the post-season starts.

That’s amazing because when the season started, Plesac was the #5 guy in the rotation. But starting with his first start against the White Sox, an eight scoreless inning performance with 11 strikeouts, he’s shown a great improvement from his rookie year.

Obviously, there will be 3-4 starts remaining for the rotation depending on how Francona, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Carl Willis want to line it up for the playoffs. However, Plesac has thrown his hat into the ring for the second spot in the rotation.

Just another surprise in this crazy 2020 season.