Ugly Numbers Continue For Tribe Offense

We thought the offense of the Cleveland Indians might struggle this season even with Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis in it. Needless to say, not having them available would be a problem.

However, no one could have foreseen this much of an issue.

After five games, the Tribe has scored just 13 runs. What’s even worse, is that 10 of those 13 tallies have occurred in the eighth inning or later. And of those 10, half of those have come with Cleveland on the wrong side of a lopsided score.

So, the vaunted starting pitching isn’t getting a chance to hold a lead, because the offense isn’t scoring any runs.

In the season opener, the Indians were shutout, and in game two, they scored a run in the 4th inning and Trevor Bauer allowed one an inning later.

Opening Day in Cleveland saw Mike Clevinger get one run of support in the seven innings he was on the mound.

What this means is the starters have been under immense pressure not to give up any runs. Think about this, no Tribe starter has taken the mound with more than a one run cushion through five games.

It hasn’t been a matter of clutch inning thus far for the Indians, it has been hitting period. Only two position players, Carlos Santana and Hanley Ramirez have batting averages of over .200.

H. Ramirez and Leonys Martin are the only Cleveland hitters with more than one extra base hit. Ramirez has the only two homers hit by the team, while Martin has two doubles.

And the strikeouts continue to pile up, with 58 in the five games, and what’s worse, only 16 walks drawn. Five of those walks came in the home opener, in which the Indians scored five runs, their high water mark of the season.

On the good side, the hitters did make the White Sox’ Carlos Rodon work, getting to the 100 pitch mark in just six innings. But they only had one walk to show for it.

Since the extra base pop hasn’t been there, you might think it would be a good idea to play small ball, do some bunting, play some hit and run. However, there isn’t anyone (besides Santana) getting on base to start some runners, and of course, you have the whole contact issue.

Hanley Ramirez has fanned seven times, but he has the two dingers. Martin and Eric Stamets have also struck out that many times, and the latter doesn’t have a hit yet. Max Moroff has 10 at bats, and has been punched out six times, while another player with limited at bats, Jordan Luplow, has seven AB’s and has whiffed five times.

Those numbers are unbelievable.

It’s not as though the team is hitting in bad luck, they just aren’t hitting period. When almost half of your outs are coming by not putting the ball in play, that’s a developing problem.

If they were putting the ball in play, and opponents were either defending the hitter perfectly or hard hit balls were being converted into outs, it would be a different story.

The pessimism is based on a lack of track record for many of these guys. No one know what Jake Bauers can do, nor Luplow for that matter.

Putting the ball in play would be a start though. The strikeouts are very alarming.

A Little Patience Needed For Tribe Hitters and Fans

First of all, it’s way too early.

The Cleveland Indians have played all of four games in the 2019 season, and depending on who is doing analysis, you can’t reach any conclusions about a baseball team until they’ve played at least 27 games (1/6th of a season) or 40 games (1/4th of the schedule).

Still, it’s not as though the Tribe allayed people’s fears after an opening series against the Twins in which they scored five runs, had three extra base hits, and struck out a total of 39 times, which for you math majors is 13 times per game.

You get 27 outs, so fanning 13 times in a game is almost half of the outs are coming without making contact.

To calm everybody down, the 1995 defending American League Champions, a team that featured Albert Belle, Carlos Baerga, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, and Kenny Lofton, also started the year scoring three runs in the first three games of the season.

They had one run and four hits in the opener, a single tally and nine hits the next game, and a run and six hits in game three. The difference? That team struck out 12 times. In the three games combined.

Right now, one of the issues is the lack of walks. The Indians had just 10 in the three game set vs. Minnesota. And if you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know we don’t like hitters who have high strikeout and low walk rates.

Imagine an entire team doing that. That’s as good of an answer as any as to why the Indians couldn’t score runs against the Twins.

Yesterday, at Progressive Field it was a different tale. Cleveland hitters struck out just six times and drew five free passes, including two in a four run eighth inning which gave the Tribe the victory.

The shame of the win was that Mike Clevinger didn’t get the victory. We know the new age baseball people have devalued the win, and we guess their point is made by Clevinger getting a no decision despite throwing seven innings of one hit baseball, striking out a career high 12 batters.

Some of the negative statistics simply cannot continue. Tyler Naquin is 1 for 10 with six whiffs, Brad Miller is 2 for 11 with five punch outs. And as a team, the Tribe has just six extra base hits, getting three yesterday, and only one of them is a home run.

As for walks, Leonys Martin has three, and Carlos Santana (Mr. Walk), Hanley Ramirez, and Greg Allen, who hasn’t played much, all have two.

We said before the season started the walk was going to be to have to be a big weapon for the Indians, and we are sure they will start coming more frequently.

The problem is the start of the season magnifies things, especially if it agrees with your preconceived notions. And we felt the Tribe’s offense was going to be a problem even with a healthy Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis.

In the meantime, let’s all take a deep breath and relax and let the season play out a bit. Almost all hitters go through these stretches as we showed with the 1996 Indians, who were as good a hitting team as there has been in the last 50 years.

More patience would be good for both the Tribe hitters and their fans.

Cavs’ Season Ending On Upward Note

The Cleveland Cavaliers have just five games remaining in the regular season, three more on this western swing and then home for games a week from tomorrow and the following Tuesday.

And really, the season couldn’t be ending any better. The better case scenario for the Cavs is to play very competitively and then lose in the end, so their odds in getting the first overall pick do not lessen.

Outside of yesterday’s blowout loss to the Clippers, the wine and gold’s fifth straight loss, three of the other four defeats were close games until late in the fourth quarter, and were to playoff teams, the Clippers, Celtics, and the Spurs.

By the way, Monday’s game at Phoenix is a big game in the reverse standings. A loss would move Cleveland within a game of the second worst record in the league.

Despite the record, the front office and coaching staff should be commended for the effort of the squad despite the terrible record.

Larry Drew has held the team together through a series of changes to the roster and injuries. Kevin Love has missed more than 50 games, and you would have to be devoid of basketball knowledge not to see what a difference he makes to the team.

David Nwaba, another keeper for next season, has missed 30 games, and Larry Nance Jr., who continues to show what an all around talent he is, has been out of the lineup for 15 games.

Drew also deserves some kudos for the development of rookie Collin Sexton, who is going to end the year, averaging over 16 points and shooting over 40% on three pointers for his season, marks no one saw coming in November and December.

The front office deserves a shout out because they’ve assembled a roster without knuckleheads. After JR Smith was asked to stay away, there hasn’t been any complaining about playing time or frustration about losing among this group.

That said, it is doubtful Drew will return next season, and that will be a mutual decision. The Cavs want someone to guide a young team for the next two to three seasons, and at 60 years old, Drew probably wants to be somewhere winning is ready to happen.

We would want and expect the front office to bring in at least an assistant coach with a defensive mindset because that has been a huge weakness for the team over the past three seasons.

There is no reason to get into a long diatribe about Mike Longabardi, who is supposedly in charge of the defense, but the team’s inability to defend the most basic basketball play, the pick and roll, effectively, has to be addressed at some point.

If we were GM Koby Altman, we would want to find our version of the Nets’ Kenny Atkinson (20-28-39 wins in three seasons) or Orlando’s Steve Clifford (Orlando won 25 games last year, this year they have 38) to guide a young team through a growing period.

Don’t forget, it is very likely the Cavs will add another young, talented player through the draft, even if it isn’t Duke’s Zion Williamson. There are still players like Ja Morant, R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Jarrett Culver from Final Four participant Texas Tech, that look like they should be able to help.

It also says here that having guys like Love, Nance, and even Matthew Dellavedova, veterans who play the right way and have a good attitude will make the new coach’s job easier.

It is true the record isn’t good, but much of that has to do with injuries. If Love were available most of the year, the Cavs could have been just a notch below the 6th to 8th seeds in the East.

So, the future does look bright with the right moves. It’s up to Altman to make those moves.

What A Day, It’s Opening Day!

Today is the most special of days for a baseball fan, it’s Opening Day.

We aren’t going to wax poetic about it, that has been done by some of the great sportswriters who have ever put pen to paper.

However, if you are a baseball fan, you have Opening Day memories. Some of them are great, and being born and raised in the Cleveland area, some of them are about freezing your butt off.

The opening of then Jacobs Field was an amazing day. After a lifetime watching baseball in dilapidated Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the city had a new park for the Tribe. It took several years for the feeling of newness to wear off.

Randy Johnson flirted with a no-hitter, carrying it into the 8th inning, before Sandy Alomar Jr. broke it up with a single, and rookie Manny Ramirez tied the game later that inning with a double.

Wayne Kirby, who will throw out the first pitch Monday in Cleveland on the 25th anniversary of the ballpark, won the game in the bottom of the 11th with a single.

With the passing of Frank Robinson this winter, our biggest memory is that of 1975, Robinson debut as the first African-American manager of a major league baseball team. In his first at bat as a player-manager, Robinson homered off Doc Medich, while we sat in the lower deck between home plate and first base.

In 1973, we were one of the still Opening Day record of 74,420 in attendance to see Gaylord Perry outduel Mickey Lolich and the Tigers, 2-1, making a Chris Chambliss first inning two run homer stand.

The immortal Gomer Hodge sent us home happy in 1971 with a walk off single in the bottom of the ninth, beating Boston, 3-2. Hodge had only 17 major league hits, but was a folk hero early in the season, collecting hits in his first four at bats.

He started his career going 6 for 10, mostly in a pinch-hitting role. Unfortunately, he went 11 for 73 for the rest of his career.

Other games are memorable for another reason.

In 1986, newly acquired Phil Niekro seemingly went to 3-2 on every Detroit hitter on a very cold Friday afternoon, and the Indians went down to a 7-2 loss. It may have been the most frigid game we had ever attended.

1992 saw the home opener go 19 innings, before a Tim Naehring homer gave Boston a 5-3 victory. The game went six and a half hours, although most of the 65,000 who were there at the start of the game remained.

And of course, the 2007 opener in Cleveland featured the game that fell just short of being an Indians’ win because the falling snow made it impossible for players to see. The snow didn’t stop, forcing the Tribe to play a series in against the Angels in Milwaukee because the field was unplayable.

We do have one more memory we would someday like to have. That would be when the Indians players line up to get their World Championship rings and raise a banner commemorating a World Series title.

Perhaps next year can be that year. All Indians’ fans can hope for that.

Tribe Fans Get Doused By Dolan’s Cold Shower

Man, it is tough to be a fan of the Cleveland Indians right now. The team has lost its last six post-season games, and after three straight division titles, the aura around the team is negative.

With Opening Day coming up on Thursday, and the home opener arriving in just six days, the thoughts of northeastern Ohio should be that of anticipation of another post-season berth, and a chance to end a 70 year World Series drought.

Instead, the focus is on the team’s finances. In the past few weeks, Paul Dolan has done several interviews with local media, and in each one, has pointed out the team is losing money on a yearly basis, and the organization made a conscious decision to cut the payroll for players after the 2018 season.

Keep in mind, last year’s roster had arguably the best starting pitching in the game and two MVP candidates (and top ten players in the sport) in Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.

This flies in the face of the famous statement from the Dolan family that they will spend when it is appropriate. Isn’t it appropriate now?

We have said this before, but Paul Dolan isn’t good at doing the whole media thing, so it would behoove the front office not to have him make the rounds.

Whether it is true or not, and quite frankly, we find it doubtful that an owner of a major professional sports team is losing money in this day and age, fans don’t care. The owners don’t announce when they make a profit, so they shouldn’t announce when they are losing money.

If that is the case, then sell the team to someone else, and let them worry about it.

What is very odd to us is the support around the city the ownership gets from some fans. Those people do understand they are taking the side of a multi-millionaire claiming to be losing money.

Dolan told fans in a piece in The Athletic that Tribe fans should enjoy Lindor while you can, a clear indication the franchise was not going to try to keep him on a long term deal when he becomes a free agent following the 2021 season.

Can you imagine the outrage if Jimmy Haslam said Baker Mayfield would likely only be a Brown until his rookie contract was up? Or Dan Gilbert said he was going to let LeBron James walk away without a serious contract offer?

Yes, James left twice, but not because the Cavs owner wanted him to go.

The other thing about the comments is the timing. Why make these comments right before the season is about to begin? We don’t think Dolan is trying to destroy interest in his team, but the outrage we’ve seen over the past two days cannot be construed as positive.

We have always thought the reasons for people to own a sports team are to win, to make money, or to have fun. Dolan admitted it was fun after the ’16 season, in which the Indians made it to Game 7 of the World Series.

But if you are losing money and aren’t actively trying to win, what kind of fun is it?

We also doubt that the attitude in the clubhouse will be the same as it was toward fictional owner Rachel Phelps in the movie Major League. It has already been reported that players found Dolan’s comments to be disingenuous.

Fans of the Tribe want a winner. They’ve enjoyed the past 25 years of good baseball since Progressive Field (nee Jacobs Field) opened. But there is one thing missing, and that hasn’t happened since 1948.

They would like the owner to want what they want. Oh, and for the franchise to keep Lindor.

Despite Criticism, Tribe Still Team To Beat In AL Central

We haven’t been fans of the off-season the Cleveland Indians had. We thought their plan was to reallocate the payroll, moving from higher paid older players to some younger players with upside.

Unfortunately, only the first half of that equation was true. Gone were Michael Brantley, Edwin Encarnacion, Yan Gomes, Andrew Miller, and Yonder Alonso. In their place appeared the return of Carlos Santana, and a bunch of players with pretty much unproven track records.

So, a team with World Series aspirations is depending on guys like Jordan Luplow, Jake Bauers, Tyler Naquin, and others to provide enough offensive production to get back to the post-season.

It says here that Terry Francona will use his managerial magic to manipulate the batting order to score enough runs, and the Tribe will win their 4th consecutive American League Central Division title.

Last year, the top five teams in the AL in runs scored made the post-season, and although that may not be the case this year, there is no question that although pitching is the story in the playoffs, you have to score runs to get to the post-season.

There is no question the strength of this squad is the starting pitching. With the emergence last season of Mike Clevinger, and the expected improvement in second year hurler Shane Bieber, Francona can put a starting pitcher out there pretty much every night that gives his team a chance to win.

We also believe the bullpen will be improved, probably because it can’t be much worse than a year ago. Brad Hand is the closer, and we think Jon Edwards will emerge as a solid set up man.

Dan Otero should be better than in 2018, and Tyler Olson was very good after returning from the disabled list a year ago.

Offensively, the Indians will have to be carried by their two MVP candidates, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez, and the return of walk machine extraordinaire, Carlos Santana.

Hopefully, Lindor won’t miss too much time with the calf injury suffered prior to spring training, because opening the year with a keystone combo of Eric Stamets and Max Moroff doesn’t seem optimal.

So, early in the season, the Tribe may have to win their share of low scoring pitchers’ duels, and take advantage of the ability to draw walks that many who will start the season in the lineup will have.

The keys could be what Leonys Martin can contribute vs. right-handed pitching and is Greg Allen’s development in the second half of the year for real.

The switch-hitter batted .307 with a 783 OPS after the All Star Game, and right now, figures to be an everyday player for Tito.

Bauers and Luplow have very good minor league numbers at the AAA level, and the Indians need one of them to have those numbers translate to the big league level to have an acceptable offense.

And the last reason we feel the Tribe will win again is the state of the division. Cleveland won by 13 games a year ago, and really underachieved according to their run differential.

Their profile was that of a 98 win team, and they won 91. And although Minnesota has improved their offense (they were 6th in the AL in runs scored), they were still 9th in ERA, and the pitching still is questionable.

No doubt, it will be a tighter divisional race, particularly if Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff can’t pull off a move to improve the hitting during the season.

However, the Tribe should still have enough to get to the playoffs once again. And that would still be considered a successful season.

Why Dealing A Tribe Starter Is Smart

The 2019 baseball season will start in a week (yeah, we know Seattle and Oakland are playing in Japan), and the rumors about the Cleveland Indians trading one of their starting pitchers won’t go away.

It was reported earlier this week that San Diego is still talking to the Tribe front office about a starter, presumably either Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer.

You can make plenty of reasons to justify trading either of (not both) the men who figure to be at the top of the Cleveland rotation in 2019.

Kluber is certainly the more accomplished of the duo, with two Cy Young Awards (the only Indians’ pitcher to win more than one) and two other top three finishes.

On the other hand, the right-hander will turn 33 in a couple of weeks. He has club options worth $17.5 million in 2020, and $18 million in 2021 in addition to the $17 million he is reported to make this season.

So, trading him saves the team more money this season as Bauer makes $13 million in ’19, and gets the franchise out of a $35 million commitment for the next two seasons.

For the talent scouts, they have to figure out whether Kluber is starting the decline phase of his career. His velocity dropped towards the end of last season, and his arm angle was noticeably lower than earlier in the campaign.

If the Tribe has seen the best of Kluber, it makes tremendous sense to move him now, despite the backlash from the media about trading another Cy Young Award winner.

The argument for trading Bauer is we know he is going to test free agency after the 2020 season, and if he pitches like he did in 2018, he is going to cost $20 million for ’20.

Now, dealing Kluber and shedding his salary for 2020 helps pay for Bauer to be sure.

And you can make a pretty good case that Bauer will be the better pitcher in the next two seasons. Heck, Bauer proclaimed this winter on social media that he had a better 2018 season than the guy who finished third in the Cy Young voting.

He may have been correct too.

However, moving Kluber means by the end of the 2020 season, you won’t have either Kluber or Bauer. The Tribe would still have Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, and Shane Bieber to head the rotation though, and other options (Triston McKenzie, Sam Hentges, Luis Oviedo) working their way up the system.

San Diego is a good choice to deal with too. They have an overload of outfielders and the deepest farm system in the major leagues. That gives the Indians an opportunity to add someone who can be put in the lineup everyday, and another player in the upper minors, where the Tribe is a little light.

Would a deal getting a Hunter Renfroe, a right-handed power bat, who is not arbitration eligible until next year, and won’t be a free agent until 2024, along with a top tier prospect and another lesser one, be worth the squeeze for the Tribe?

Let’s say the deal involves Kluber. Would a rotation of Bauer, Carrasco, Clevinger, Bieber, and say Adam Plutko, or heck, you could sign James Shields as a free agent, be good enough to win the AL Central?

Of course it could.

If you think with your head instead of your heart, it makes a lot of sense for the Indians to pull the trigger on this type of deal. If they feel they need a bat to score enough runs to get to the playoffs, it might be the best way to make that happen.

Tribe’s Winter Inactivity Coming Back To Haunt?

All throughout the off-season, media and fans alike were questioning what the Cleveland Indians were doing offensively, particularly in the outfield.

It appears that these people were correct in asking these questions, and now it seems the front office has joined them.

Since spring training began, the Indians inked Hanley Ramirez, who was released by the Boston Red Sox in May last season to a minor league deal, and over the weekend, the club signed Carlos Gonzalez, late of the Colorado Rockies, to the same type of contract.

Whether either will help is up for debate.

As we said, Ramirez was released relatively early last season and no one signed him, and Gonzalez’ numbers away from hitter friendly Coors Field don’t scream “solution!”

The 33-year-old Gonzalez hit .276, with 16 homers and 64 knocked in last season (796 OPS) with look good until you see he batted .241 with 4 dingers and a 719 OPS away from the thin air in Colorado.

In fact, here are his numbers on the road for the last three seasons–

2018: .241/4 HR/17 RBI/719 OPS
2017: .203/6 HR/15 RBI/606 OPS
2016: .276/7 HR/36 RBI/744 OPS

Compare those numbers to another late signee, Adam Jones, who inked a deal with Arizona put up away for Camden Yards last season. Jones batted .276 with a 714 OPS in 2018 on the road.

It appears the Tribe braintrust is watching Jordan Luplow, Jake Bauers, and Tyler Naquin and isn’t liking what they see.

Luplow is 4 for 31 with 12 strikeouts, Naquin is 8 for 36 with 10 punch outs. Bauers is just 8 for 34. Let’s just say none of them have been overwhelming.

Our fear is Hanley Ramirez and Gonzalez won’t be either.

Which comes back to the organization not having a fallback plan after deciding not to pursue Michael Brantley during the off-season.

We said time and again (and we weren’t the only ones) the Cleveland lineup was very top heavy a year ago, and they lost maybe their most consistent bat in Brantley, and seemingly didn’t do much to replace him.

They traded Edwin Encarnacion too, but received Carlos Santana in return to cover that spot in the lineup.

While we understood getting younger players with a bigger upside in the organization in place of players like Melky Cabrera, Encarnacion, and yes, even Yan Gomes, they didn’t have a contingency plan in place.

Sure, they signed Matt Joyce just before camp started, but really, he’s in the same place in his career as Hanley Ramirez and Gonzalez. Those are low risk, high reward moves, but for a team with an excellent chance of making the post-season, they aren’t good enough.

It appears Terry Francona and the front office have realized the season opener is less than two weeks away, and they are worried about how they are going to generate any offense.

And yesterday, MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal said the trade talks between the Indians and the Padres involving Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer are still going on. San Diego has a surplus of outfielders.

As it is, the two best hitters during spring training have been Greg Allen, who came into camp as part of a platoon in centerfield, but may now be in there everyday, and Oscar Mercado, whose next major league at bat, will be his first.

Add in the possibility of Francisco Lindor’s absence for the first week or so of the regular season, and Jason Kipnis’ nagging injuries, and Tito can’t help but be concerned.

Unfortunately, with a little forethought, this situation could have been rectified during the off-season, but for some reason, it wasn’t.

Now, they are grasping at straws. It didn’t have to be that way.

Our Shot At Who Is Making Tribe Roster

It is amazing to think that Opening Day for the Cleveland Indians is less than two weeks away. It is crazier to think the season in opening in Minneapolis on March 28th, but that’s a different discussion altogether.

Who will be making the trip north with Terry Francona is still up for grabs, at least when it comes to the outfield and the bullpen.

Here is who we think should make the 25 man roster, and who we think will make it.

Starting Pitchers: Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, and Shane Bieber.

This is fairly easy, although it would not be shocking if Bieber didn’t open the season with the big club, because Francona won’t need a fifth starter until April 7th. That could open up a spot for an extra bullpen arm.

Bullpen: Brad Hand, Oliver Perez, Tyler Olson, Adam Cimber, Alex Wilson, Jon Edwards, Neil Ramirez.

We would keep Nick Wittgren over Ramirez, whose proclivity to allowing home runs scares us, but as we said previously, both may make the final 25 man list because Bieber may not.

Catchers: Roberto Perez, Kevin Plawecki.

Another easy one

Infield: Carlos Santana, Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Max Moroff, and DH Hanley Ramirez

It’s pretty obvious that Hanley Ramirez has made the roster. He is getting regular at bats in an effort to make up for his late start.

For purposes here, we are assuming Lindor is ready for the opener. If he’s not Ryan Flaherty probably makes the team as the utility man. He may make it anyway if favor of Moroff, but we are keeping the former Pirate, because he’s primarily a shortstop.

If Lindor is ready to go, he will probably need some time off early, and we would rather not give up as much defensively, as Flaherty is primarily a 2B/3B.

Outfield: Leonys Martin, Jake Bauers, and Greg Allen are locks in our opinion, and the other two spots are up for grabs.

We don’t think newly signed Carlos Gonzalez will be ready for the opener.

So, we would project Tyler Naquin to take one of the spots, likely holding it until Gonzalez is ready.

Naquin is only hitting .222 with 10 whiffs in 36 at bats in Arizona. So, it’s not like he’s earned the position.

As for the last spot, that of a right-handed hitting outfielder, the candidates are Jordan Luplow, Trayce Thompson, and Oscar Mercado.

If all things were equal, Mercado would get the nod. He’s had the best spring.

The 24-year-old outfielder, obtained from St. Louis at the deadline a year ago, is batting .410 with 3 dingers this spring, but if he can’t get regular at bats in the majors, it probably makes sense to give him those at bats in AAA.

Thompson has been better than Luplow (3 for 28, 12 K’s), but he is not on the 40 man roster, meaning someone would have to be outrighted to make room for him.

The Indians could put either Danny Salazar and/or Bradley Zimmer on the 60 day injured list to make room for Thompson and Alex Wilson, another not on the 40 man who will likely make the roster.

Flaherty is another player the Tribe would have to make room for, and possibilities there could be Eric Stamets, or a relief pitcher like Ramirez, assuming he doesn’t make the final roster.

The players on the bubble should be watched this week as to how they are used. Likely, they will get plenty of at bats vs. MLB quality pitchers.

A week from now, it should all come into focus. And in 11 days, they will be playing for real…hopefully.

Deal For Beckham Ushers In New Browns’ Era?

In 1970, the Cleveland Browns had a problem. Sure, they won the NFL title just six years earlier, and went to the championship game in ’65, ’68, and ’69, but after Bill Nelsen’s knees were starting to fail him, and the Browns needed someone to turn the reins over to.

They made a decision that would haunt them for several years, when they traded All Pro receiver Paul Warfield, who averaged over 20 yards per reception the previous four years to the Miami Dolphins for the 3rd overall pick in the draft, which they used to take Purdue QB Mike Phipps.

Warfield became an important piece to two Super Bowl titles for the Dolphins, made five Pro Bowls and two All Pro teams with Miami, and eventually went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Phipps played seven years in Cleveland, going 24-25-2 as a starter, but did guide the Browns to the playoffs in 1972, throwing five interceptions in a loss to, you guessed it, the Dolphins.

That was the only playoff appearance for the Browns, an NFL power from 1950 to 1970, until the Kardiac Kids season in 1980, with Brian Sipe at the helm.

Now, the Browns have their quarterback in Baker Mayfield, and made the reverse Warfield trade Tuesday night, getting WR Odell Beckham Jr. from the Giants for a first round and third round pick in next month’s NFL Draft and former first round pick Jabrill Peppers.

You can make an excellent case that Beckham is the Warfield of today.

His first three years in the league, he averaged 96 catches for 1374 yards and 12 touchdowns. He missed much of 2017 with an injury, but played 12 games last season, catching 77 passes for 1052 yards.

Remember, that his QB, Eli Manning, is on the downside of his career, while Mayfield is ascending.

We heard the rumors that it would take two first round picks to get the wide receiver, so in our opinion, getting him for just one, is a big win for John Dorsey and the Browns.

We will not minimize the loss of Peppers, who played very well in the second half of last season, but remember, his big supporter, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has departed, and new coordinator Steve Wilks may want something different from his strong safety.

Besides, don’t forget Derrick Kindred is still on the roster, and he was a starter when Peppers was playing free safety during his rookie season.

And the third round pick Dorsey moved wasn’t even the Browns’ choice, it was New England’s, as a result of the Danny Shelton trade.

Look at the weapons at Mayfield’s disposal when training camp starts in July. He has a solid running game in Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson, and that’s not even taking Kareem Hunt into account, because he will likely be suspended to start the season.

He’ll have Beckham, who is a threat to take any play to the house, with Jarvis Landry and Rashard Higgins at wide receiver, and David Njoku, who we feel is a budding star, at tight end.

The defensive line has been bolstered with the trade for Olivier Vernon, and the free agent signing of Sheldon Richardson. The linebackers and secondary could still use some depth, but the Browns still have a lot of picks in the draft too.

Make no mistake, the Browns have entered into “win now” mode. Anything short of a playoff berth in 2019 should be viewed as a disappointment, not just to Dorsey and coach Freddie Kitchens, but to the fans as well.

You can’t help but be excited.