Guardians Good At Saving Cash, Now Need To Spend It.

The Cleveland Guardians made another logical move in shedding payroll trading some international pool money to the Toronto Blue Jays, who were trying to sign international free agent Roki Sasaki.

In order to make the transaction, the Jays had to take Myles Straw’s contract off their books. The veteran outfielder was designated off the 40-man roster at the end of spring training in 2024, received just four big league at bats, and the Guardians owed him $13.8 million over the next two years.

Including the deal of Josh Naylor, who was to be a free agent after the ’25 campaign, it was the third move based on saving money made by the front office after winning the division.

They also moved Andres Gimenez, owed almost $100 million over the next five seasons to Toronto.

Depending on what kind of deal Naylor would have settled for on a one-year basis, let’s say conservatively $10 million for him, the Guardians would have had to be this trio almost $27 million in 2025.

They moved that money out and signed veteran Carlos Santana to a $12 million deal for the upcoming season.

For the mathematically challenged, that’s a $15 million savings in payroll, and the biggest question for fans of the franchise is will the ownership put that saving back into the team?

And our question is this: After a season with a significant attendance boost and a run to the League Championship Series, we would say matching last year’s expense on payroll simply isn’t doing enough.

Again, we agree with the Straw and Gimenez moves. We have said several times in the past 12 months that the Guardians as an organization overpay for defense. Both of those players are very good defenders, Gimenez is without a doubt the best second baseman in the game, but neither are good enough with a bat in their hand.

Getting out of being on the hook for almost $100 million for a below average bat at 2B makes total sense, and as noted, Straw wasn’t even on the 40-man roster anymore.

The problem, as is always the issue with the Dolan ownership is they frequently make these smart moves to save payroll, but too often the cash saved goes into their pockets, not in order to help the ballclub.

The 2025 Guardians are not some rebuilding team. They won 92 games and once again were one of the four teams still playing at the end of the season.

The also have a superstar player who took a hometown discount to stay with the franchise who is getting older. Jose Ramirez is 32 years old and is no longer in him prime, and not to be maudlin, we don’t know if he is going to keep putting up MVP-like seasons.

It would be nice if the ownership would give the green light to spend some money to give Ramirez some help in winning a World Series, and by the way, Cleveland’s drought in this regard is 76 years, the longest of any current franchise.

Not only hasn’t the ownership not added payroll from last season, it seems they are going backwards.

Yes, we know…boo hoo, the local TV revenue, etc. The Guardians could have shopped for their own deal, and no doubt they will get money from somewhere. But let’s also remember that attendance is up, the 6th highest increase in the sport from 2023 to 2024.

There’s about a month to go before players start spring training. It would be nice to help the players who helped your fan base love your team.

In Praise Of Garland

We have been very critical of Darius Garland’s playoff performances each of the last two seasons. Opponents were physical with him, and he responded by not being very careful with the basketball.

In 2022-23 Garland averaged 21.6 points in the regular season with 7.8 assists and 2.9 turnovers. In the playoffs, his scoring was comparable at 20.6, but the assists were down to 5 per night while turning it over 3.6 times per game.

Last year, we knew Garland battled injuries all season long. His scoring dropped to 18 points per contest, and his assists were down to 6.5 and his turnovers up to 3.1.

In the series against Orlando and Boston, Garland’s scoring fell to just 15.7 points with 5.8 assists. His turnovers did improve to just 2.3 per game.

We have wondered if the Cavs can get to where they want to be, champions, with a smaller backcourt of Garland and Donovan Mitchell.

The way Garland has stepped up his play this season, we are now anxious the see this guard tandem in the post-season.

Since Garland has been with the Cavs for six seasons, it’s hard to realize he’s still only 25 years old. He concentrated on getting stronger and so far, the results are tremendous.

Like most of the Cavaliers, his minutes are down (33.5 for his career, just 30.2 this season), but his scoring is comparable to his best seasons of 2021-22 and 2022-23 when he averaged about 21 and a half per night. He’s at 20.9 this season.

His shooting has never been better, hitting a career best 49.8% from the floor and 42.9% from three, also his best mark as a pro. His assists are down from his highest mark of 8.6 per game in his third year in the league, but he’s still dishing out 6.7 helpers, while his turnovers are at a career low of 2.4.

Better shot selection for Garland, as well as his assist numbers being down are both the result of Kenny Atkinson’s offensive scheme with players and the ball moving quickly. And credit Garland for flourishing in the attack.

No doubt, the proof will come in the playoffs. The way the Cavs’ offense runs, they aren’t depending on just one player initiating it, sometimes it’s Garland, at times Mitchell, and we’ve even seen Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen being asked to do it.

That will likely mean the trapping Garland saw from the Knicks in the first-round loss won’t occur often in this playoff year.

We are sure teams will attack Garland on the defensive end of the floor, which isn’t a new strategy. Heck, the Cavs used it in the 2016 Finals when they repeatedly targeted Stephen Curry. Can the improved offense of Garland make that a strategy that doesn’t pay off the way opponents think it will.

Atkinson has challenged him in certain game, most notably the second match up vs. Boston when he told Garland he had to rise to the challenge of guarding Jayson Tatum.

Good health, maturity, and a new offense have guided Darius Garland to his best season, without a doubt. Hopefully, it pays off in April, May, and hopefully June.

Browns Trying To Right The Wrongs They Inflicted On Themselves

The NFL playoffs started this past weekend, a grim reminder that it was only one year ago the Cleveland Browns were participating. Yes, it might seem like eons ago, but it was only 12 months.

While others want to sound the woe is us card when it comes to the Browns (as usual), we can’t get past the point that the organization did this to themselves. They replaced several offensive coaches, in essence tearing apart something that needed building upon.

The Charles Barkley quote keeps ringing in our ears, “if it ain’t broke, don’t break it”.

We questioned a few times why when offensive line guru Bill Callahan went to Tennessee to coach with his son, the front office simply didn’t hire his assistant, Scott Peters, to succeed him. This would have been perfect sense, continuing the blocking scheme Callahan brought to Cleveland.

In an interview after the season ending loss to Baltimore, after hearing the news that Andy Dickerson was fired as the O-line coach, Joel Bitonio and Jack Conklin wondered out loud why the Browns made the change in scheme. They said they would like to go back to that.

It’s something else we always say. The players know when the coaches or the front office does something dumb. And nothing erodes the relationship between a coach and the players like doing something that doesn’t work and keep sticking with it.

And all these moves were made to justify the biggest mistake the Browns made in the last 10 years (perhaps in franchise history), the trade for Deshaun Watson. And compounding a mistake is always worse than just moving on from it.

Remember, Watson ruled out the Browns before the deal was made and only agreed to come to Cleveland when they fully guaranteed the contract. That should have sent a message that he really didn’t want to be here. And let’s face it, he still doesn’t want to be here.

It’s akin to being unemployed and taking the first job offer you get even though you know it’s not a good fit for you. Watson felt he could make it work, but his heart really wasn’t in it.

And the organization did not show Watson any tough love. Instead of telling him to conform to Kevin Stefanski’s offense, which has been proven, they instead decided to breakdown what was working, and try to make it more “Watson friendly”.

We guess the best news out of this is the organization decided to try to reverse the course after one season, a 3-14 disaster true, but they didn’t stick their heads in the sand and pretend everything was okay.

They hired a new offensive line coach, Mike Bloomgren, who lost his job as head coach at Rice University. Who did Bloomgren coach with earlier in his career with the Jets? That’s right, Bill Callahan.

The candidates for offensive coordinator also seem to have Stefanski’s offense, which means running the football in mind. It will be interesting to see who gets the gig, but it won’t be a pass first coach like Ken Dorsey.

As for Watson, his re-tear of the Achilles’ tendon virtually assures what was always thought to be true. His career in Cleveland is over.

The worst thing about it? The loss of draft picks and wasting three years of the careers of so many players.

Time Is Running Short To Improve The Guardians

The calendar has turned to 2025 and the holidays (and winter meetings) has passed, so we think it is appropriate to ask exactly what is going on at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Besides the construction on Progressive Field.

We understand spring training hasn’t started yet, and a big move could occur tomorrow, but as of right now, it doesn’t seem like the Cleveland Guardians are building on their success of last season.

This is a team that went to the American League Championship Series. They won 92 games and beat Detroit in the Division Series. But honestly, we don’t think anyone could say the Guardians are a better squad than the one that was eliminated in five games by the Yankees.

Although we understood the major moves made by Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff, the truth is the Guardians who were 7th in the AL in runs scored in ’24 traded their third best hitter in Josh Naylor for some magic beans.

And they moved their Gold Glove second baseman in Andres Gimenez, but in that deal, they did get a much-needed starting pitcher in Luis Ortiz

They did sign veteran Carlos Santana for a third go round with the franchise, but his numbers from the last three seasons suggest he should be a platoon player, with the bulk of his production coming from the right side of the plate.

According to the messages being put out there by the front office, the Guardians view him as an everyday player, and we wonder how quickly a sub 700 OPS vs. righties in the lineup each game will get old. Perhaps as old as Santana, who will be 39 next season.

Even with the deal with Pittsburgh for Ortiz, who should be in the rotation to open the season, the rotation is filled with question marks outside of Tanner Bibee.

Gavin Williams has the look of a top of the rotation pitcher, but he has 32 big league starts and 4.06 ERA. Ben Lively was solid last season but has the profile of a journeyman.

And the organization cannot have any true idea what they have in Triston McKenzie, who battled elbow issues in ’23 and control issues in ’24.

Of the everyday players, there is the incomparable Jose Ramirez at 3B, Steven Kwan in LF, and ????? Lane Thomas should hold down another outfield spot, but he’s kind of a platoon player, great vs. lefties, so-so vs. RHP.

Kyle Manzardo and his 145 big league at bats should be a regular. Brayan Rocchio has a great post-season but had a 614 OPS in the regular season. And at 2B and RF, we are sure this will be a spring training competition.

Right now, the biggest strength of the roster is also the most volatile, the bullpen. We believe it’s a reach to think Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith, and Tim Herrin will all perform on the same level next year.

Once again, the ownership isn’t investing in the team. We understand the situation about the local broadcast revenue, and we know the Dolan family cannot spend like the Dodgers and the Yankees, but they have the cash. They simply choose not to put it toward the ballclub.

We sometimes feel that the Guardians’ ownership doesn’t deserve the great fans they have because they do nothing to build excitement. Heck, they even cancelled the winter meet and greet with the players this off-season.

Yes, there is still time, but it is under 50 days until spring training starts. On paper, the Guardians are a team full of more questions than answers.

With Pick #2, Gotta Go QB

The Cleveland Browns will have the second overall pick in this spring’s NFL Draft. No doubt the area’s sports talk show will devote hundreds upon hundreds of hours discussing who the team should take with that selection.

The Browns need to draft a quarterback. They have to find the right person after all these years and properly get him ready to be the starter for many years to come.

We aren’t going to pretend we are football scouts and tell everyone who should be the choice. And if the Browns would have stayed around the fifth overall pick, we would have advised trading down because the team needs to get younger and faster.

Currently, the organization has 23 players 29 or older on the team. True, two of them, Dustin Hopkins and Charley Hughlett are specialists, and another, Rodney McLeod, is retiring, but there are many key players in that group.

Among them are Joel Bitonio, who may retire, Jack Conklin, Wyatt Teller, Ethan Pocic, Juan Thornhill, and Nick Chubb. And of course, the best player on the roster and the best defensive player in the league, Myles Garrett.

Another one is Deshaun Watson, but he likely will never play another down in the brown and orange, so there’s that.

When you finish 3-14 you have holes in your roster, but in listing those players, you can see more holes are about to pop up in the not-too-distant future.

But since they moved up to second, you have to identify and draft a quarterback and then be patient enough to probably not use him for the 2025 campaign.

We are aware two rookie QBs have guided their squads to the post-season in Jayden Daniels with Washington and Bo Nix in Denver. And yes, C.J. Stroud has guided the Texans to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons.

Still, more often than not, rookies struggle at the most important position in sports, so getting an opportunity to sit and watch and be mentored should be the plan.

Everyone talks about two passers in particular, Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward.

Sanders played two years at Jackson State and then two years at Colorado, while Ward started two seasons Washington State, before transferring to the Hurricanes this season.

Both have played a lot of college football, much like Daniels and Nix.

There are others who could and probably will put their names in the conversation.

We aren’t sure who will be deemed worthy of the selection by the Browns, but we do know we will hear ad nauseum about their personal workout days when they throw passes without a defense present, and media folks and fans will ooh and aah about guys completing 63 of 65 passes.

We could do the same in our backyard.

A former college quarterback once told me the most important thing a QB needs to do if read defenses. It doesn’t matter if you have a big arm or not, or how mobile you are if you know what the defense is going to do and can counter it.

As for the Browns, they can’t keep trying to patch a flat tire at that position. Many people thought they solved the problem when they drafted Baker Mayfield, but for whatever reason, the organization soured on him.

It says volumes that the last “franchise” player at the spot was Bernie Kosar, and he was drafted in 1985.

It’s time to identify and pick a player who can handle the spot for the next ten years. It just has to be done.

Mercifully Football Is Over, Now The Changes Begin For Browns

The NFL seemed to be merciful in ending the Cleveland Browns’ season before any other team’s this season.

A year after a playoff year, finishing 11-6, the Browns went 3-14 following a 35-10 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.

The ownership has said time and again GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski will be back next season, but we would guess we would see news about any changes to the coaching staff or in the front office this week.

We are going to go against the norm and say this should not be the start of a long rebuilding process. There is talent on the roster, particularly probably the best defensive player in the game in DE Myles Garrett and a Pro Bowl shutdown corner in Denzel Ward.

And sorry everyone, Garrett should not be traded for a bunch of draft choices who will never be as good as he is. He is only 29 years old and has plenty of great seasons to come. Give him a new contract and 3-4 years from now, if things still look bleak and the future Hall of Famer wants to go to a winner, the Browns can do right by him and trade or release him.

There is an entire cottage industry of chronicling the misfortunes of the Browns over the last decade. (Did you know Bailey Zappe was the 40th starting QB since 1999?).

Some of it is deserved. If we were in the front office, we would put a muzzle on certain members of the coaching staff and some executives. Why would people leak word of Deshaun Watson competing for the starting QB job next summer or have Ken Dorsey say Dorian Thompson-Robinson has potential?

Dorsey was let go by the organization pretty much immediately after the season ending loss, along with offensive line coach Andy Dickerson.

What’s the comment about being silent and having people think you are stupid?

Cleveland must get better quarterback play. That is first and foremost. And any talk of bringing Watson back is dumb. He has played 19 games with the Browns and has played probably less than 10 decent quarters. At this point, thinking a change in offensive strategy or coordinator will make him regain the skills he had prior to the trade is lunacy.

If they like one of the passers coming into the league via the draft, they should draft one, but they should not feel the need to force-feed that player onto the field.

They also need to get better at running back. We would love to see Nick Chubb back, but they need to find a younger version of the back who wears #24.

And they need an offensive coordinator who understands the importance of running the ball and is willing to make a commitment to doing it.

The defense isn’t bad. True, they played much better a year ago, but they allowed the least first downs in the league. Even yesterday, until the fourth quarter, they kept Cleveland in the game. Remember, the first Baltimore TD was an interception return, a too common sight in 2024.

On that side of the ball, some younger players stood out. DT Mike Hall, injured in the finale, looks like he can play. Second year DE Isaiah McGuire looks like a player, so does LB Mohamoud Diabate, CB Cam Mitchell, and don’t forget DE Alex Wright, who was injured after week four.

Offensively, we would be remiss in not mentioning WR Jerry Jeudy, who also made the Pro Bowl catching 90 passes this season, amazing since he played with one professional passer.

The worrisome part of this is the first thing that needs to be done is recognizing who can play and who can’t. The talent evaluators thought DTR was better than Tyler Huntley. They started DTR in two games when based on yesterday, Bailey Zappe is better.

And we have our weekly mention of trading a second-round pick for WR Elijah Moore.

They have to correctly evaluate what changes need to be made. If they are honest with themselves, we think they can win. Next season.

Cavs Giving Some Vibes Of “Miracle” Team

Think about it for a bit…29-4

The Cleveland Cavaliers started this season with a 15-game winning streak, but right now, they’ve won eight in a row, and started an always tough west coast swing the Friday after Christmas, and won handily against Denver, Golden State, and the Lakers.

One of the indicators of how good a basketball team is their margin of victory, which is second in the NBA at 11.88, just behind Oklahoma City’s 12.0. The only other team over ten points per game are the defending champion Celtics (10.73).

At this point of the season, the NBA is kind of lopsided. There are only six squads that sit 10 games over .500, while there are five teams that still have not reached the 10-win mark.

If you look at teams who have a legitimate chance to end the season by hoisting the Lawrence O’Brien Trophy, there is no doubt the Cavaliers are one of those teams. It is remarkable to think that it was just the 2018-19 campaign where the wine and gold won just 19 games, and they followed that with the same number of victories in the COVID shortened season.

The national media talks about Kenny Atkinson’s club, but they haven’t really been a huge story in the Association to date. One reason is the people who cover the NBA seem to have an agenda on what stories will be important before the season starts, and it is hard to break into that realm.

The other reason is playoff success. This iteration of the Cavs (Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley) have only one a single playoff series, the seven-game victory over Orlando last season.

However, the darlings of the Western Conference, Oklahoma City have done the same. The only difference is the Thunder did not make the progression from also ran to the “play-in tournament” to losing in the first round, to winning in the first round like Cleveland.

And despite this tremendous start to the season, the reality is the real season for the Cavs starts in the playoffs.

These Cavs remind us a bit of the “Miracle at Richfield” team from 1975-76. That team had nine players who averaged over 15 minutes a game, whereas Atkinson plays ten players regularly and when injuries have occurred, other players have stepped in to take their place in the rotation.

We have talked about how Mitchell, the team’s star, is playing a career low 31.5 minutes a night. The ’75-’76 Cavaliers had a former All-Star in Nate Thurmond anchoring the second unit, and the star of the franchise’s early years, Austin Carr, also came off the bench.

Both teams could shoot from outside. The ’76 team, who got to the Eastern Conference Finals, had outside marksmen like Carr, Bingo Smith, Campy Russell, and Dick Snyder. This year’s squad lead the NBA in three-point shooting, making an absurd 40.7% as a TEAM!

The next best percentage is the 38.8% being made by the Knicks.

We have seen people saying nothing should be done by president of basketball operations Koby Altman at the trade deadline. However, we disagree.

Yes, this group has amazing chemistry, but they still need another post presence in case of an injury to Allen and/or Mobley. And we also think that could use another wing defender with some length.

This team has amazing depth, particularly at the wing position. With Max Strus’ return, Atkinson now has Strus, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Georges Niang, and Sam Merrill to play on the wing.

And we haven’t mentioned rookie Jaylon Tyson, who when pressed into service has done a solid job.

The one thing Altman has seemed to always prioritize is character. The Cavs haven’t really had a “knucklehead” or “diva” on their roster for a long time. So, we have no doubt if a deal is made, the addition will fit right into what is working right now.

In a week, the Cavs and Thunder get together in Cleveland. That just might be an NBA Finals preview.

Another Loss Brings More Puzzling Questions For Browns

It was another mind-numbing, head scratching performance by the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, capping their home schedule with a 20-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

If you thought it couldn’t get worse from the early season offensive struggles with Deshaun Watson at the helm, the Browns have now scored in single digits the last three contests, the last two with overmatched Dorian Thompson-Robinson calling signals.

At least Watson would put up at least 10 points per game. His low was the 13 scored against Washington in week five.

Offensively, Cleveland had a decent day running the football, gaining 114 yards (their 4th best of the season) on 28 attempts. And although we understand the Browns were trailing most of the second half, they still decided to have their inexperienced, ineffective QB put the ball in the air 47 times.

Thompson-Robinson completed 24 of those throws for 170 yards, and had an interception, the 10th of his career vs. just one touchdown pass.

The Browns said they wanted to take a look at the second year QB when he has time to prepare for games, and if true, they can’t like what they’ve seen. Jameis Winston has a reputation for throwing interceptions, and his career percentage is 3.5%.

DTR in his 14 games, including five starts, has a percentage of 4.4%. Add that to a career completion percentage of 52.4% and you can see he’s not ready to be a starter in the league, and really, you have to question whether or not he should be on a roster.

Which leads to another question. Why did the Browns cut Tyler Huntley in order to keep Thompson-Robinson? It leads us to believe there is an agenda, in that case being the GM drafted one and signed the other as a free agent.

We understand general managers have a fondness for players they drafted, but good organizations (note, we said good) make evaluations based on how people play, not where or by whom they were drafted by.

Is Huntley a better quarterback? He’s played 24 games in the NFL with 13 starts and has completed 65% of his throws with 10 TDs and 8 interceptions (1.8%). Yeah, he’s better without a doubt.

Which leads us to this question. Should Andrew Berry be making the draft picks this upcoming spring? It’s hard to make a case for him.

Yes, he’s been without a first-round choice for the last three seasons. However, he’s only selected one player who has made a Pro Bowl, LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The first round picks he did make; T Jedrick Wills and CB Greg Newsome aren’t cornerstones of the team.

He’s made some good trades, like the ones for Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy, but he also dealt a second-round pick for Elijah Moore, whose roster spot is tenuous at best.

Does anyone trust Berry to change the landscape of the Browns in this draft where they likely will have a top five pick? It’s difficult to make that argument.

The Browns’ front office makes too many errors trying to justify bad decisions which is a twofold problem. The best thing to do if you mess up is to admit it, move on and get better.

There was another report this week about Watson competing for the QB job in training camp. If it is not true, then the powers that be should say nothing about him, so apparently someone is putting that out there.

Why? The guy doesn’t want to play in Cleveland.

By next Saturday night, this nightmare season for the Browns will be over. We still think Kevin Stefanski should be the coach next year, but someone needs to be held accountable for Watson and the offensive coaching staff firings.

Running it back with the same group shouldn’t be an option.

Still Concerned About Guards’ Off-Season

Yes, we know spring training for the Cleveland Guardians doesn’t start for another six weeks, but as the calendar is ready to change to 2025, it does appear the franchise is continuing with their frugal ways, forcing the front office to continue with their Dusty Springfield philosophy (Wishin’ and Hopin’).

After winning 92 games and advancing to the American League Championship Series last season, the Guards have dealt two mainstays of that team, Andres Gimenez and Josh Naylor.

We supported the Gimenez move as Cleveland owed him $97 million over the next five years, a lot to pay for excellent defense and a mediocre bat.

We understand the Naylor move too. Naylor is eligible for free agency following the season, and much like Prince Fielder twenty years ago, there is concern about how his body type will age.

The problem is so far, the front office (and we include ownership here) has only spent the savings from trading Naylor and did it by signing 39-year-old Carlos Santana.

Santana has been a very productive player in his career, but it seems like Cleveland is banking a lot on A). someone who is 39, and B). someone who hit .219 with a 676 OPS vs. righties last season.

Do they view Santana as an everyday player or a possible platoon partner with Kyle Manzardo?

Many fans have a poor opinion of the current ownership because they have been reluctant to push the chips in the middle of the table. After a 92-win season and a spot in MLB’s “Final Four”, it would seem to be the time to loosen the purse strings.

As of today, the Guardians still have a starting rotation with a lot of question marks. They have Tanner Bibee, but Gavin Williams hasn’t made the jump to reliable starter yet. They did trade for Luis Ortiz, who should open the year in the rotation, but who is the other proven starter?

They did re-up with Shane Bieber, but he won’t be ready until mid-season.

Pitching wins in the post-season, but you have to score runs in the regular season, and last season, the Guardians were 7th in runs scored, ahead of only Detroit among playoff teams.

But they traded their third best offensive player in Naylor.

Right now, the lineup has just two proven everyday hitters in Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan. We view Santana as a platoon piece. Lane Thomas is a little above average (741 career OPS) and still has a concerning strikeout to walk ratio.

No matter how high people are on Manzardo, Jhonkensy Noel, Brayan Rocchio, and even Chase DeLauter, none of them have a proven track record in the big leagues.

To have a productive batting order, we feel you need six to seven solid bats. Perhaps Manzardo and Juan Brito can give Steven Vogt’s lineup some length, but how can they feel that way for sure?

We have always felt the front office’s job is to have a contingency plan should the young players not be doing the job. We don’t see that right now. The lineup has too many large questions.

As for ownership, once again they are failing their fan base. Attendance was up last season, and the franchise gained a lot of buzz as the season went on because of the way they played. But it appears they are still holding on to money with a tight fist.

Perhaps by the end of January, they will make a financial commitment and bring in some players who can fill in some holes.

Hope is not a plan. The Guardians need to do better.

Garrett Is In Concert With The Fans In Saying Get It Fixed

Myles Garrett caused quite the commotion last Friday in his weekly chat with the media, telling the Browns’ front office to get their act together.

And as usual, there was a lot of overreaction from the media and Browns’ fans.

First, Garrett did not ask to be traded. In fact, he said he wanted to finish his career with the Browns. He said he did not want to be part of a long rebuilding program such as the one the team started in 2016 when they stripped it down and rebuilt from the ground up.

Garrett was the first pick in the ’17 draft after Cleveland went 1-15. He played on a team that went 0-16 in his rookie year.

He will also be 29 years old next season and understands his NFL future isn’t going to be lengthy.

We compare it to LeBron James’ second tenure with the Cavaliers in which he continually put pressure on the front office to put a winning team on the court. He didn’t want to be on a real good team, he wanted to be with a group that can compete for titles.

Garrett has played for the Browns eight seasons and has participated in three playoff games, winning one. He will likely be named to his sixth Pro Bowl this season, and of course was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year following last season.

And when he retires, he will likely head to Canton to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Since 1960, he’s the greatest defensive player the Browns have ever had. He’s just would like to see how the team is going to compete next year and the following seasons. He’s tired of wasting his talents on what has turned out to be a mess of a season.

In a way, Garrett was talking for the fans. He was on a squad that made the playoffs a year ago, with coaching and leadership that guided the team through four different quarterbacks.

After the season, the front office decided to make wholesale changes to that coaching staff and overhaul an offense that proved to be pretty effective.

Gone were people like Alex Van Pelt, Bill Callahan, and Stump Mitchell. Since Cleveland’s first run to the playoffs in 2020, the Browns have been a running team, led of course by Nick Chubb. In the defensive end’s comments Friday, he talked about the lack of a running game this year, and how that impacts his side of the ball.

He probably can’t believe after all these years; wholesale changes were made to a winning season. Frankly, we thought the same.

And all the changes were made to suit a quarterback who came here with great numbers but hasn’t really produced since he arrived in town.

As the best player on the team, he feels it is fair for the powers that be show him what the plan is going forward. Maybe he saw the reports that they were planning to give Deshaun Watson a shot at the QB job next year, and he knows that’s not going to work.

Perhaps he just wants to be reassured this isn’t going to be another total rebuild again. Teams in the NFL go from fourth to first place every year, why can’t the Browns do the same thing next season?

That 1-15 team that Garrett and David Njoku arrived to play with didn’t have players like Denzel Ward, Grant Delpit, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Jerry Jeudy, and Wyatt Teller on it.

We are sure the front office’s plan didn’t include making their best player upset.

Garrett is with the fans on this. He’s saying to the front office, “get it fixed”. He’s earned the right to make that comment.