An Eventful Sunday For Tribe

Sunday was an eventful day for the Cleveland Indians, although not all of it was positive.

First, their modest four game winning streak was ended by Kansas City, so the team returns for a nine game home stand after a 5-2 trip.

They come back for a series against the American League’s best team, the Houston Astros, trailing the Minnesota Twins by two games in the Central Division, and leading the wild card standings by three games over Oakland and 3-1/2 over Tampa.

Oh, and one of their starting pitchers threw a conniption fit on pitcher’s mound.

Was it the big deal it became on social media? No, but it wasn’t a good look for Trevor Bauer, who threw a baseball against the screen between the Royals’ dugout and home plate, and fired another one over the centerfield wall.

The right-hander showed remorse almost immediately, apologizing to Terry Francona as he reached the mound, and doing the same in the dugout and after the game issued a statement saying he had no excuse for his actions.

Still, is this any different than a pitcher punching a wall or knocking over the Gatorade cooler after a bad performance? We believe Bauer is being truthful that the frustration was directed at himself and the sport, not at any of his teammates.

We would think everyone in the clubhouse knows Bauer and gets that he cares about performing his best above everything, and he feels he let his team down.

Our guess is this: If you like the competitor in Bauer, you don’t have a huge problem with what he did, and if you dislike him for his off the field beliefs, you think he is the locker room cancer.

And it is doubtful this changed his trade value, other teams know about this personality trait, nor does it change our mind about dealing Bauer. We still wouldn’t unless you can get a legitimate starter in return or in another deal.

Besides the loss and the Bauer stuff, the Indians also made a minor deal, sending Class A OF Ruben Cardenas to Tampa Bay for relief pitcher Hunter Wood and infielder Christian Arroyo.

Wood, who will turn 26 in a couple of weeks, is a righty, and has a lifetime 3.20 ERA in a little over 70 innings pitched with the Rays, and strikeout close to a batter per inning. He will be sent to Columbus for now.

Arroyo is a former top 100 prospect as recently as 2016, while in the Giants organization, but has been plagued by injuries the past three years, playing 59, 68, and 49 games the past three seasons.

He has a 984 OPS in AAA this year, and never struck out more than 73 times in a minor league season.

We look at this move similarly to the move which brought Oscar Mercado here at the trade deadline this time last year.

If he can stay healthy, and he’s on the 60 day injured list right now, he could be in the mix for a big league job next season, particularly because it is doubtful Jason Kipnis will be back.

He just turned 24 years old, and is a right-handed hitter.

It’s not the big move people wanted (they still have time), but it’s the kind of under the radar move the Tribe front office has made in the past.

So, for the last day before the schedule starts to get tougher, it sure was eventful for the Cleveland Indians.

Other AL Contenders Have Dominated Vs. Bad Teams Too

The Cleveland Indians, thought by many to be out of the playoff competition in mid May, start today’s game against Kansas City 20 games over the .500 mark at 62-42, and have a four game lead over the second wild card spot ahead of Boston and Oakland.

Where they once trailed by 11-1/2 games in the division standings, they are today just one game behind Minnesota in the Central Division standings.

They have accomplished this by simply dominating the lower echelon teams in the American League. The Tribe has gone 37-11 against the five worst teams in the AL: Kansas City, Detroit, Baltimore, Toronto, and Seattle.

There are those who will say this is fool’s gold. The Indians aren’t really contenders, they are the product of a soft schedule and cannot compete with the best teams in the league.

This ignores their 10-9 record against Boston, Houston, Minnesota, and the New York Yankees, all of whom Cleveland will play in the next three weeks.

In the interest of fairness, the Tribe is 2-8 vs. Oakland and Tampa, two other contenders for the playoffs, but all of those games came before this resurgence started after a loss to Boston on Memorial Day.

Since then, Cleveland has gone 36-15 in a stretch that included two games with Boston, three with the Yankees, and six with the Twins.

Going 37-11 against any five teams is a challenge. Heck, it’s Major League Baseball. It isn’t supposed to be easy, no matter how bad the competition.

At the end of June, the Indians lost a series on the road to Baltimore, a team certain to lose more than 100 games this season.

We looked at the other playoff contenders to see how they fared against the five teams Terry Francona’s squad has dominated.

The Yankees have piled up a 10-2 record against the Orioles and overall is 25-8 against the lowly five. They lost two of three to Detroit, where the Indians have won 12 out of 13.

Houston has played the least number of games against this group, mainly because only one of them is in the Western Division. The Astros have fared similar to Cleveland, going 18-4, winning nine of ten vs. Seattle.

Minnesota has the same number of losses (11), with 27 wins. They won all six games against Baltimore, but are a combined 16-9 vs. KC, DET, and TOR, where the Indians are 28-7.

They have a lot of games coming up against the Royals and Tigers, playing them in a combined 20 more games.

Boston has played the second most games against the quintet, but they haven’t fared as well as Cleveland, going 30-16. They’ve lost six games against the Blue Jays and five more to the Orioles. Perhaps they have an issue against birds.

Tampa Bay is 20-10, going just 4-3 against the Royals and 8-4 vs. Baltimore. They have yet to play the Mariners, and have 18 games left vs. the Orioles and Blue Jays.

Oakland caught Seattle early in the year when they were hot, so they are 8-7 with four to play. Toronto has also been tough, taking all six from the A’s, leading to a 17-14 record.

So, outside of Oakland, all of the contenders have beaten the living daylights out of the also ran teams.

The difference for the Indians, is they only have nine games remaining against the Royals and Tigers, and are done with the other three squads.

The Indians shouldn’t be condemned for beating the “bums”, they simply are doing what they should.

If they can hold their own through the middle of August after playing Houston, Minnesota, Boston, and the Yankees, they should be just fine.

And that’s assuming everyone else can match Cleveland’s dominance against the lowly five.

The Only Way A Bauer Deal Makes Sense

The rumors keep swirling around Major League Baseball about the Indians trading Trevor Bauer, and quite frankly we don’t understand it.

Yes, we understand that Bauer is going to get a significant increase in pay for 2020 through the arbitration process, and is going to be a free agent following that season.

We hear the arguments about dealing Bauer and improving the team now, and if you can do that, we are all ears. We have said it many times before, we would trade anyone for the right price.

And maybe someone will pay that price for Trevor Bauer, we just don’t think anyone will.

That’s because the right price for Bauer would include getting a major league starting pitcher in return. That’s what the Indians need unless they decide to do the mind boggling task of giving up on a season in which they are on pace to win more than 90 games.

No one has been more critical of the Indians’ offense than us, and the series against the Twins showed the need to fill holes in the lineup, even with Jose Ramirez starting to resemble the guy who finished in the top three of the MVP voting the past two seasons.

However, trading Bauer for someone who can impact the lineup right now and not getting a MLB caliber starter as part of the package is just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

If you deal Bauer, you have a shortage of starting pitching in our opinion.

One of the reasons the Indians are in possession of a playoff spot right now is their pitching, which ranks second in the American League in ERA, and the strength of that staff recently is the ability to trot Bauer, Mike Clevinger, and Shane Bieber out there every three of five games.

Moving Bauer creates a void in that strength. Without him, your rotation is Clevinger, Bieber, Adam Plutko, rookie Zach Plesac, and who? Another rookie in Aaron Civale?

Can you win enough games to make the playoffs with this rotation?

And spare us the “we’ll get Corey Kluber and maybe Carlos Carrasco back soon” talk.

If you can tell us how Kluber will pitch when he comes back, then please supply us with the next numbers for the MegaMillions drawing. Kluber was up and down before he was injured, and he is basically starting his season over.

Could Kluber be the pitcher he has been for the last five years? Sure. Is it worth gambling a playoff spot on that chance? Of course not.

We understand the offense is still below par, so go out and get a rental bat, even though we know the front office doesn’t like to do that. Let’s say you can get a Nicholas Castellanos for a prospect not currently in the Cleveland top ten?

That way you boost the offense without touching the rotation.

Or you can get a young starter with some big league experience in exchange for Bauer. We don’t think a team will do that with Bauer eligible for a big payday in ’20 and free agency in ’21.

Maybe you make two deals, one for a starter, say Marcus Stroman, and then move Bauer somewhere else.

That would be more prudent so you can continue to compete this season.

The Minnesota Twins are a good team, but they no longer have a 10 game lead in the division, it’s now three. You can’t weaken the strength of this team, which is starting pitching.

If you make the team better, then make the deal. But if you are going to weaken part of the team to fix something else, that doesn’t make sense.

Tribe’s Remaining Schedule Could Get Easier After Trade Deadline

For the last couple of months, we have focused on the soft schedule the Cleveland Indians were facing starting on June 11th, and the opportunity it gave them to get back in the post-season chase.

It doesn’t necessarily mean the Tribe will be facing a brutal schedule once the Houston Astros come to town next Tuesday night to begin a three game series, though.

We understand that between then and August 18th, Cleveland will play three against the Astros, four games at Target Field against the Twins, three home games vs. Boston, and four more at the bandbox called Yankee Stadium.

In between the Houston set and the trip to Minneapolis, there are six home games against the Angels and Rangers.

Of course, those games will be played after the July 31st trade deadline, so what will those teams look like when they arrive at Progressive Field?

Both teams are on the edge of the race right now, 5-1/2 (LA) and 6-1/2 (Texas) games behind Oakland for the second wild card spot.

It’s quite conceivable that one, if not both, organizations will be sellers before the calendar turns to August, meaning their rosters could be weakened by the team the Indians play them.

That’s the state of the American League the past couple of seasons, there are the have’s and have not’s.

The National League has 14 of the 15 teams within 7 games of the second wild card spot, the AL has nine.

What does this have to do with the Indians?

It means that after the Yankee series is done on August 18th, Terry Francona’s crew could go another month where the only contending teams they play are Tampa (August 30th-September 1st) and Minnesota (September 6th-8th in Minneapolis, and September 13th-15th in Cleveland) until the last nine games of the season.

While the Indians have done a remarkable job against the also-rans on the schedule, going 24-7 against the Reds, Rangers, Tigers, Royals, Blue Jays, and Orioles, and they still have six vs. Toronto and Kansas City before Houston arrives, it’s not easy.

Just last week, we witnessed the Twins losing two games to the New York Mets, and heck, the Indians themselves lost a series to the lowly Baltimore squad.

You just can’t take for granted that you will consistently beat the bad teams, so you have to give the Tribe credit for seizing the opportunity to right the ship and put themselves in position to make the post-season.

We don’t care who you are playing, but 29-11 in a 40 game span is very impressive.

Remember the last week of the 2005 season, when the Indians won just one game against a bad Tampa team and a White Sox squad that had the division wrapped up.

It is true the Tribe struggled against the A’s (1-5) and the Rays (1-3 to date) in 2019, but they did split with Houston on the road, and took a three game series against the Red Sox on the road and did the same in Cleveland against New York.

The old saying about beating up the bums, and splitting with the contenders very much applies to the Indians.

It is weird that people are complaining that the Tribe is beating the bad teams. Would they rather they lose to them?

Plus, if it was easy, wouldn’t every good team go on 10-12 game winning streaks all the time?

It isn’t easy, and give the Indians credit for dominating these teams. However, the rest of the schedule isn’t daunting once you get past the middle of August.

If you wanted to experience a pennant race, you will have that opportunity.

Will The Tribe’s Culture Allow For Tough Decisions

The Cleveland Indians’ front office faces some tough decisions between now and the July 31st trading deadline.

No, we aren’t talking about buying or selling, that should be fairly evident by the Tribe’s place in the standings. They are 15 games over .500, just three games out of first place in the American League Central Division, and if the season ended today, they would play Oakland in the wild card game.

What we are talking about are tough decisions about where roster improvement should come and evaluation the status of some veterans who have been with the organization for awhile.

The Indians pride themselves on loyalty. It drives fans of the team crazy at time, but we are sure it’s a selling point in the locker room. It is their “culture”, kind of a family atmosphere.

On the other hand, sometimes you have tough decisions to make with your children.

We did a Twitter poll yesterday (yes, we understand that is not exactly scientific) and asked if the Indians had the stomach to move on from Jason Kipnis at second base.

82% of the respondents thought they did not.

We aren’t going to get into the whole bashing of the veteran second baseman again, we believe everyone knows where we stand on that, but it is clear the Tribe needs an upgrade at three positions: 2B, LF, and DH.

Cleveland second baseman have a -1.3 WAR on the season, the lowest of any position on the field.

They have a -0.9 at CF, but Oscar Mercado will be correcting that as the season goes on, and they have -0.8 in left field and at designated hitter.

For those who don’t know, a negative WAR means you are producing at a level less than a replacement level player. So, basically, the average major leaguer at that position is better.

Kipnis has been with the organization since he was drafted, a true home grown player, drafted in the second round in 2009, and made two All Star appearances and of course, has made four post season appearances with the Tribe.

He’s been a good soldier too.

When he was injured in 2017 and the Indians went on their historic 22 game winning streak with him out of the lineup (Jose Ramirez moved to 2B, while Gio Urshela and Yandy Diaz shared third), Kipnis moved to the outfield when he returned to keep those guys in the lineup.

Last season, when Josh Donaldson was acquired in late August, again Ramirez was moved to second, which meant Kipnis was displaced to the grassy section of the field again.

Kipnis isn’t the only player who can be affected either.

Dan Otero has been a part of the bullpen since 2016, and was very good that year (1.53 ERA, 2 ER in 6.2 IP in the playoffs), and was solid in ’17.

Right now, the Indians’ bullpen has done a very good job, and what they need most is a power arm at the back end, which Otero is not.

Does the Tribe try to string this out until the rosters expand so they don’t have to release the veteran, or worse, send someone out who is doing their job to make room for Otero?

We understand these are tough decisions to make. Fans don’t get these guys are people too, and in both cases, guys who have been around the organization for a long time.

However, the other players understand that everybody has to do their job, and they know, in their heart of hearts, who isn’t getting the job done.

The front office has to do what’s best for the other 23 or 24 guys in that clubhouse. Let’s hope they make the best decision.

Pressure To Win Should Be Welcoming To Browns

Losing isn’t any fun, but it also doesn’t bring any pressure. That’s what the Cleveland Browns have dealt with for much of the last 25 years.

This year is different. This year the Browns are expected to contend for a playoff spot if not win the AFC North.

It all starts next week when training camp commences in Berea.

GM John Dorsey has put together a solid roster, and winning five of the last seven games the prior season puts expectations at a higher level than they’ve been since Cleveland came off a 10-6 season in 2007.

The 2008 squad, coached by Romeo Crennel, started the season losing their first three games, but rebounded to 4-6 after a Monday night win over Buffalo.

They lost their last six games as the offense fell apart, scoring no more than 10 points in any of those games, and were actually shutout in the final two games, losing 14-0 to Cincinnati with Ken Dorsey at quarterback, and dropping a 31-0 decision to Pittsburgh with Bruce Gradkowski at the controls.

From there, the Browns have been largely irrelevant as a franchise.

After the 2016 and 2017 seasons produced just one win combined, things could only go up, right?

Following those two disastrous campaigns, the organization drafted what should be franchise cornerstones in Myles Garrett and Baker Mayfield, a pass rusher and a quarterback, arguably the two most important positions on the field.

Add in the acquisition of All Pro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and suddenly the Browns have a national buzz around them. But can they live up to the hype?

New coach Freddie Kitchens, never a head coach before, understands the expectations and repeatedly says the players have to know they haven’t accomplished anything to this point, and he is there to remind them if they start believing it.

Yes, the Browns went 5-2 to end the season, but they didn’t beat any teams with an above .500 record in that stretch. In fact, there only win over a playoff team last season came over the Ravens, and Hue Jackson was the head coach!

Fans shouldn’t expect the division to be a cakewalk either. After all, the Browns didn’t beat the Steelers last year, and the Ravens still have one of the game’s best coaches in John Harbaugh, even if they have a QB who can’t pass.

The reasons for optimism are real though. Mayfield showed signs he can be one of the sport’s premier signal callers, and as everyone should know by now, if you have that quarterback, you have a chance in every game you play.

On Thursday, the pressure to succeed starts for the first time in over ten years. The Browns are supposed to be good. A playoff berth is expected by the fan base, although playoff contention should be a more realistic goal.

Kitchens knows it, Dorsey knows it, and Mayfield and the rest of the roster knows it.

They know, barring injuries, that a 6-10 record will be viewed as failure. There can be no excuses.

That’s the new challenge for the Cleveland Browns. Gutting the roster is easy, the first chore is to acquire talent, and next thing on the checklist is to convert the talent to victories on the field.

Finally, the Browns have the pressure to be an NFL playoff team.

Sell Mode For The Tribe? Ridiculous!

It is funny to us that we hear many people, both fans and media, talk about whether or not the management of the Cleveland Indians wants to chase a playoff spot if it happens to be a wild card.

Why try to make moves to get you in a one game playoff? Well, if you win that game you advance to the Division Series, which is a best of five series.

Secondly, if you make the wild card game, you have a chance to win the World Series. Heck, in 2014, the Royals beat the A’s in the one game winner take all event, and actually were trailing late in that game, and they went to the seventh game of the World Series before losing to the San Francisco Giants.

If you don’t make the playoffs, even a wild card game berth, you have no chance to win.

To a sporting person, it is crazy not to take a shot at getting in, even if it is for just one game.

This isn’t the NBA, were probably at most five of the 16 teams to make the playoffs have a legitimate chance to win the title, so if you finish 6th or 7th in the conference standings say, three years in a row, you would likely be better off to miss the post-season festivities.

But the nature of baseball is if you can play in October, you have a chance to win.

Did anyone really think the Indians would beat the Red Sox in the 2016 Division Series once Carlos Carrasco went down? Remember, the Tribe started Josh Tomlin in Game 3 at Fenway Park.

Then, they beat Toronto in five games using Ryan Merritt to start one game, Tomlin started another, and a third game was a essentially a bullpen game because of Trevor Bauer’s bloody finger.

If you get into a series, anything can happen.

We understand the Indians lost to New York in ’17 after being up two games to none, but folks forget the third game was a 1-0 loss. That’s how close the Tribe came to a sweep.

As for last year’s sweep at the hands of the Astros, here were the scores of the games going into the 7th inning–

Game 1: Houston 4, Cleveland 2
Game 2: Houston 2, Cleveland 1
Game 3: Cleveland 2, Houston 1

Not playing coulda, shoulda, woulda, but it wasn’t like the Astros dominated right from the word go.

The point is the Indians had a chance to win each game late. They didn’t, but with a better bullpen and a tad more hitting, people might have a different viewpoint.

Besides, we have a hard time giving up on a season, particularly when you are 11 games over .500, which the Indians are right now.

We lived through the drought from 1959-1994, when hitting the .500 mark was considered a good season. When you have a good team, and you have a chance to make the post-season, you have to take a shot.

Now, we wouldn’t mortgage the future for a one game playoff, but the Indians do have some depth in the farm system and we wouldn’t be opposed to moving a middle of the road prospect for someone who can improve the roster now.

Baseball is a different sport. Using the same strategy and thought process used in football and basketball is ridiculous.

Getting to the post-season gives you a reasonable chance to win. The Indians should take advantage of that chance in 2019.

Tribe Still In Race, But Identify Problem Areas

After last night’s loss to the Minnesota Twins, the doomsayers were out in full force concerning the Cleveland Indians.

They dropped to 7.5 games behind the Twins. They dropped out of the second wild card spot. It’s time to start trading off assets because they should look toward 2020.

But going into the series, we felt getting one win was all that was needed. Certainly, it would have been better to win the series or sweep it for that matter, but the reality is the Tribe only lost one game in the standings, so they are still very much in it.

This series should send a clear message to the front office as to what needs to be addressed between now and the end of the year if you want to make the playoffs and once you get there, make a run.

The Twins have the second best ERA (3.92) in the American League, much better than the teams the Indians have played over the last month: Baltimore (15th-5.70), Kansas City (12th-5.03), Detroit (11th=5.00), and Texas (8th-4.80).

Cleveland scored just nine runs in the three games, so really, they were kind of fortunate to win one.

That’s because they simply don’t have enough solid bats in the lineup. Against good pitching, guys like Jake Bauers (although he had a key double today) and Jason Kipnis struggle.

Bauers was 1 for 10 in the series, Kipnis was 2 for 11 with both hits being squibbers to the left side of the infield. The only multi-hit games in the set by Indians’ players were Jose Ramirez’ two hit game on Friday and Tyler Naquin had two hits today.

Ramirez was an offensive bright spot with four hits, including a double and a home run.

And while everyone loved Bobby Bradley’s long home run on Saturday, the truth is he went 1 for 9 in the three games.

It’s nothing we haven’t said all year. The lineup needs to add some solid bats. Perhaps one can come from the farm (Daniel Johnson, Yu Chang?) and the other through a deal.

With Ramirez showing signs of good things to come and the right field being a solid platoon these days (Naquin and Jordan Luplow are doing well), the targets should be 2B, LF, and DH.

Another weakness that showed was the lack of bullpen depth.

Cleveland was the better team through six innings, but outside of Brad Hand and Adam Cimber, the rest of the relievers struggled.

Nick Goody, AJ Cole, Oliver Perez, and Tyler Clippard all allowed runs in the late innings to either give Minnesota a lead or let them extend a lead.

The Tribe needs another power arm to pitch in the 7th or 8th inning. Again, maybe some help comes from Columbus (James Karinchak, Cam Hill) and you can get another in trade.

One other thing that came from the series is maybe the Tribe discovered another ace in Shane Bieber. In kind of a must win game, Bieber was sensational today until some odd calls by replay umpires kind of did him in.

Bieber needed to keep the Twins off the scoreboard and he delivered six shutout frames, and maybe could’ve given them seven if not for the hit by pitch fiasco.

He made the All Star team, and could be the new 1-2 punch going forward with Mike Clevinger who also was very good in the series’ opener, and also has ace stuff.

So, the Tribe is still in the Central race, just 6.5 out and very much in the mix for a wild card. Keep in mind, they are also 11 games over .500.

It’s not like they are hovering around .500. Their starters can stop good offenses, the ones they will see in the post-season.

Now, it’s up to the front office to get Terry Francona what he needs. This could still be a fun late summer baseball-wise in Cleveland.

Tribe Front Office Shouldn’t Be Satisfied With Recent Winning.

The Cleveland Indians resume play on Friday night, and they go right into the fire with a three game series against the division leading Minnesota Twins.

The Tribe is 5-1/2 games behind the Twins at the All Star break, and while it is a big series to start the second half of the season, unless they get swept, it shouldn’t change what their plans are going into the trading deadline.

Even if Minnesota takes two out of three, the Indians will be 6.5 games out, and will still be very much in the wild card race, and with the following schedule filled with games against Detroit, Kansas City, and Toronto, Terry Francona’s squad should still be in the think of it when the calendar turns to August.

Last season, the top five scoring teams in the AL made the playoffs. Looking at the runs scored in the league right now, the top four teams are squarely in the race, with Seattle being an also ran, ranking fifth.

Tampa Bay and Cleveland rank 9th and 10th, respectively, meaning if history holds true, the Tribe front office should still be looking to improve the hitting.

In our opinion, although the Tribe’s offense has been much better the last 30 days, the front office cannot be complacent or satisfied.

Jason Kipnis had a very good stretch in the middle of the month, but has gone just 4 for his last 23, and is a liability against southpaws right now. He also struggles against power pitchers, hitting just .176 against them.

Jose Ramirez has slashed .353/.514/866 over the last 28 days, but can anyone be convinced he has returned to the guy who finished in the top three of the MVP voting in each of the last two years?

And then you have the young guys, can they hold up after opposing pitchers make adjustements?

Oscar Mercado has been a big boost to the lineup, but he had a rough week going into the break. Is that the beginning of hitting a rookie wall? We can say the same about Jake Bauers, who despite some early patience at the plate, now has a 80:28 strikeout to walk ratio.

That doesn’t bode well down the stretch.

If Mercado slumps, does the lineup have enough length to continue to put up the runs required to win in the AL?

That’s why we would still look to add at least one bat at the deadline. A veteran hitter would be nice, so that if Mercado continues to hit, and Bauers keeps providing some pop, then the added bat can be much needed depth.

We are also worried about the back end of the bullpen, especially with Brad Hand’s struggles (yes, we know he was damned near perfect up to this point) recently.

Nick Wittgren has done a fine job, but over the last month has allowed six runs in nine innings, serving up three of the five home runs he’s allowed this season.

And we still are worried about Tyler Olson’s effectiveness.

Nick Goody has looked good recently, but in today’s game, where the power arm out of the bullpen is king, the Indians don’t really have one. They could use a guy who can pitch the 8th (moving Wittgren to the 7th) who can blow away hitters.

What will the Indians do? We don’t know, but Frankie Lindor did kind of put pressure on the front office to add to the roster.

The point is, the organization shouldn’t and can’t be satisfied. They shouldn’t make a bad move, but they do have some depth at the farm to be able to help the big league club.

While NBA Players Have Power, Who Is Worrying About The League?

The NBA off-season reached its zenith Friday when Kawhi Leonard made his decision, going to the Los Angeles Clippers as a free agent, after the Clippers made a trade bringing Paul George to LA from Oklahoma City.

So, there aren’t any “superteams”, like the Golden State Warriors the past few seasons, nor like the Boston Celtics of the late 2000’s, or the Miami Heat earlier this decade.

But there are a decided shifting of great players to major markets. The five players who made the NBA’s top three all league teams and moved this off-season, all went to big market teams.

Now, some were already on big city squads, like Kawhi Leonard going from Toronto to LA, and Kyrie Irving going from Boston to Brooklyn.

But George went from Oklahoma City to the Clippers and Kemba Walker went from Charlotte to Boston.

So, the only players on small market teams remaining on the first, second, or third team All-NBA squads are Nikola Jokic (Denver), the reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee), Damian Lillard (Portland), Rudy Gobert (Utah), and Blake Griffin (Detroit).

The year before, Anthony Davis and Jimmy Butler were listed and both of them moved to big markets (Lakers and Heat, respectively).

This is not meant to criticize the players. They have earned the right to free agency, and because of that, they earned the right to play where they choose.

The question is how this affects the league, which the players don’t and shouldn’t worry about.

The NBA is without a doubt, a multi-billion dollar business, and the players are the reason for that. They are the league, and the names are recognizable by first name or nickname: LeBron, Kawhi, Steph, KD, Giannis, etc.

However, if all of the league’s superstars gravitate to big markets and warm weather climates, how does that affect the Association?

Part of the reason the NBA makes a lot of money is it has 28 markets (two teams in Los Angeles and New York). Now, the younger fans are more attracted to players rather franchises, but the league is helped by those stars traveling to 28 cities around North America.

What would happen if eventually, four of those franchises went away because attendance fall off, mainly because the people who can afford tickets to NBA games figure out their franchises don’t have any chance to be competitive in the long term.

Or four of those teams relocated to let’s say, southern California or the New York metropolitan area, again reducing the number of markets to draw fans?

Is that good for the health of the NBA?

Again, the league has become global, so maybe it doesn’t matter, and perhaps they will eventually relocate smaller American markets to Europe, Mexico, or other countries, growing the NBA in that matter.

We aren’t going to say the championship the Cavaliers won in 2016 will be the last one by a smaller market because the Bucks still have Antetokounmpo, and that makes them a threat to get a title.

But the growing number of players looking to get out of smaller cities continues to grow. And let’s face it, if James isn’t from northeast Ohio, does he come back from 2014-15 to 2017-18 and the Cavaliers get to raise a banner?

As we said, it’s not the players’ job to worry about the league, but someone should be concerned. Shouldn’t that be the commissioner? Again, maybe he just doesn’t care about the middle of the country.