Well, now it’s official.  LeBron James stuck it to the city of Cleveland, northeast Ohio, and Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert.  He’s decided that he would rather be part of an ensemble cast than the star of the show. 

 

Too bad he didn’t let everyone know that before he left.

 

Really, Gilbert did everything he could to build a championship team around James.  He brought in players he wanted like Larry Hughes, Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamison to help bring a title to the city and to the man formally known as The King.  In return, James gave him the back of his hand.

 

And, we understand the media of today and the globalization of ESPN, but the way James handled the situation was wrong.  He didn’t need to have a one hour special to tell everyone he was leaving Cleveland.  A simple press conference would have done.  He showed up the whole area, including his beloved Akron.  He’s entitled to make his decision, but he didn’t need to rub our nose in it.

 

Also, the ESPN commentators made the Heat the instant favorites to win next year.  Those of you who are my age will recall the Los Angeles Lakers of the late 1960’s, who teamed a triumverate of superstars in Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Wilt Chamberlain.  Guess what?  They didn’t win, and the hope here is James, Wade, and Bosh have a similar fate.

 

The NBA puts too much emphasis on rings.  Remember that guys like Robert Horry and Steve Kerr have a handful of jewelry, while Charles Barkley and Karl Malone do not.  Does anyone really think those guys aren’t great players?

 

In the end, this mentality got to James, and he didn’t want to wait to win a championship.  He’s no better than a Vince Carter, who when the going got little tough, he got going tough, decided to bail.

 

It was nice of James to mention loyalty as he was bolting out of town.  Also, how he threw his Cavalier teammates under the bus too.

 

People will compare his departure to Art Modell taking the Browns out of Cleveland.  This is worse.  In the past decade we have watched players like Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome leave for more money.  This time that wasn’t an issue, and the great player still left.  And it is not as though the Cavaliers are a losing team, either.  He left for a team that was eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

 

Cleveland is a strong city, and will get over this jilting one day.  However, LeBron James deserves the villain status he will have in this city.  He publicly humiliated the area he grew up. 

 

Instead of the king, he’s the backstabber.

 

JK

 

Professional athletes are always talking about how they want to win.  However, there are degrees.  All players want to win, but how many hate to lose? 

 

Michael Jordan’s most important attribute might have been his competitiveness.  The man simply hated to lose.  So does Kobe Bryant, but at times he doesn’t trust his teammates to get the job done.

 

Free agents talk about how they want to win, but most decide on the financial aspect of free agency.

 

Following the 1995 baseball season, Roger Clemens said it was important for him to win a World Series ring.  However, instead of signing a contract with the defending champion Cleveland Indians, he went for the biggest paycheck with the non-contending Toronto Blue Jays.  Guess winning wasn’t as important as a bigger contract.

 

This brings us to Chris Bosh, who has said in the past he would love to play with LeBron James, but apparently not if James wants to stay in Cleveland.  He falls in line with others who claim they want to win, but really they want to make the decision most beneficial to themselves. 

 

In case Bosh hasn’t noticed, the Cavaliers have had the league’s best record in the regular season the past two years.  And if Bosh is as good as advertised, and make no mistake, he’s a tremendous player, doesn’t it stand to reason that his presence would make Cleveland the favorite to win a title? 

 

Now the all-star big man wants to play with #23, but only in Chicago, Miami, or New Jersey.  Oh yeah, and he wants a max contract, which would necessitate a sign and trade with Toronto.  Therefore, it appears like there are more important things to Chris Bosh than winning a championship.  If playing with James and winning was the goal, why not accept the trade to Cleveland that apparently the Raptors management would agree to?

 

Unless this is a negotiating ploy on Bosh’s behalf, he come across as a guy who talks like a guy who wants to win, but really wants things his way.  If he goes someplace else and James stays in wine and gold, his best chance to win may have just passed him by.  Perhaps, he doesn’t care about that.

 

JK  

 

MW

 

Tonight at midnight is the moment we have been hearing about since the Boston Celtics eliminated the Cavaliers about six weeks ago.  LeBron James will become an unrestricted free agent, and can negotiate with any NBA team. 

 

What will James do?  No one knows at this point, but his reputation will be tarnished if he doesn’t resign with Cleveland. 

 

LeBron James is the “man” in the Cavaliers organization.  Dan Gilbert may own the team, but all basketball and marketing operations revolve around James.  And why not?  The only team in the past thirty or so years that has won an NBA championship without a superstar is the Detroit Pistons in 2004. 

 

Look at the teams who have won.  They have been led by Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and the trinity of stars with the Celtics in 2008. 

 

By the way, all of those guys, except for O’Neal played their entire career with one team. 

 

Critics say seven teams have won without James since he entered the league, which is true, but history shows you have a better chance to win if you have great players.  That is undisputable.

 

Since James is that player for the Cavs, isn’t he responsible for the wine and gold winning a title?  There is no doubt it’s not easy to accomplish, but it’s his job as the best player to elevate the performance of his teammates.

 

If he leaves, he is the same as guys like Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, who wanted to go to teams that were winning.  Those two, and others like them, never realized it was their responsibility to make the squad they were playing for better.  They were supposed to be the leaders.

 

Also, it’s not as though management hasn’t tried to win while #23 was with the team.  Gilbert and former GM Danny Ferry put players in place to give the wine and gold a shot at winning a title most seasons.  The only time the team won less than 50 games in Ferry and Mike Brown’s tenure was the 2007-08 season, and that could partly be attributed to Anderson Varajao’s holdout.

 

Can you imagine if the Cavaliers’ management had done to James what the Miami Heat did to Dewayne Wade?  The Heat basically stripped down the roster the past two years so that they were no threat for a championship.  Yet, Wade is hinting that he wants to stay in south Florida despite this.

 

The reason Cleveland has little flexibility in regards to the salary cap was their effort to keep improving the team to win a title, with James as the best player.  Now, the superstar is going to use that against the organization? 

 

If James departs, not only did he not deliver a title, he also put the team in a terrible position to rebuild because they are so far over the salary cap.  That doesn’t look good when people look back at this era in the franchise.

 

LeBron James doesn’t owe anybody anything.  He’s also entitled to be a free agent; it’s his right as an NBA player.  However, if he is really interested in his legacy and place in basketball history, he needs to stay in the wine and gold. 

 

Otherwise, he’ll be looked upon as a guy who didn’t get it done.  The other players on the modern NBA’s Mt. Rushmore (Bird, Magic, Jordan, Bryant) played for one team.  Yes, they had other great players on their teams, but #23 needs to give Dan Gilbert an opportunity to do the same without the constant threat of leaving.

 

JK

 

After losing seven straight games, the Cleveland Indians ended interleague play with a 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, and also traded 1B Russell Branyan once again, this time back to Seattle where he played last year, for a couple of minor leaguers. 

 

This should be the first of several roster moves by the Tribe between now and July 31st, the deadline in which any trade can be consumated without needing waivers.  The next Indians to go could include 3B Jhonny Peralta, RP Kerry Wood, and perhaps starter Jake Westbrook. 

 

The Branyan deal meant that Matt LaPorta was recalled from Columbus and will be in the lineup everyday at 1B.

 

Rumors are swirling that OF Michael Brantley is the next youngster to be called up, which means another deal is on the horizon, unless the team decides to DFA Andy Marte. 

 

The guess here is Marte is still around because GM Mark Shapiro and heir apparent Chris Antonetti are trying to move Peralta, which would make Marte the third baseman, at least temporarily.  If a deal can’t be worked out, then Marte will be released, thus opening a roster spot for Brantley, who has been hot at Columbus, and is starting to show signs of being able to drive the ball, as his slugging percentage has climbed above the .400 mark.

 

This is unless both Peralta and Marte are moved and Jared Goedert, who is hitting .327 between Akron and Columbus with 15 HR and an OPS of 988 for the season, takes over at 3B for a look see. 

 

The Branyan move is a no-brainer.  One, he is a one dimensional slugger, who strikes out at a high rate, and lately has been hurting the team defensively.  After Saturday night’s game, Justin Masterson indicated he thought Branyan should have handled a pick off throw in the fifth which contributed to a two run inning for Cincinnati. 

 

Signing the slugger drew head scratches from nearly everyone when it occured, and giving him at bats at the expense of LaPorta made it look even more strange since the young slugger was the key acquisition in the C.C. Sabathia trade in 2008. 

 

One of the players picked up in the deal could also impact Brantley’s recall.  Ezequiel Carrera, 22, is a CF, who last year led the Southern League in hitting at .337.  He doesn’t have much power, but does have good speed.  He is currently injured with a hip pointer, but when he is ready, he could replace Brantley in center for the Clippers. 

 

The other player is 21 year old SS Juan Diaz, who is hitting .295 with 7 HR and 41 RBI at Class A High Desert in the California League, which is a huge hitters league.  Carrera is regarded as the better prospect, but he has limited pop in his bat, although he is still very young and could develop it later.  Ironically, Carrera came to Seattle from the Mets in the same trade which brought Joe Smith and Luis Valbuena to the Indians.

 

Speaking of Smith, can we all agree he needs to go back to the minors?  Let’s take a look at Jess Todd again, or anyone else who can throw strikes consistently.  In his two appearances since he’s been back, he came in to face a right handed hitter (Jayson Werth) and walked him, and Friday night, he came in after the Tribe scored to make it a 5-2 game, and immediately gave up a solo homer to Scott Rolen, and then four more hits. 

 

Manny Acta said his bullpen has been a trouble spot, but the front office isn’t giving him any help.

 

Let the trading begin, Mark Shapiro.  And Matt LaPorta, the pressure is on you to show us what you can do.  You will now have an opportunity everyday.

 

KM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the Cleveland Indians limp their way to the halfway point of the season, it’s a good time to review the performance or lack of it regarding this baseball team.

 

Yes, there have been injuries to key players Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore, but that doesn’t excuse the poor fundamentals, poor situational hitting, and lack of strike throwing we have seen from the team all year long.

 

It’s also time to take a look at Manny Acta’s managerial style, and quite frankly he has been as disappointing as his team’s record. 

 

It was thought Acta would not tolerate the mistakes that seem to occur daily with this baseball team.  However, the same players keep going out there every day, seemingly without a penalty. 

 

They complain about pitchers who don’t throw strikes, and then they promote someone who has walked 20 and struck out 13 in AAA like Aaron Laffey. 

 

This is a team that needs leadership.  There are no veteran players with a history of winning or who seem vocal enough to communicate with the young players to tell them this losing isn’t acceptable.  It seems like the culture of losing has infected this organization, and that has to change.

 

Acta has also disappointed because he still seems to follow the company line on certain matters.  For example, why is Kerry Wood still closing games?  Is it because the owners are paying him a ton of money?  He certainly hasn’t earned that spot with his pitching.

 

Wood has pitched in 17 games so far this season.  He has recorded a 1-2-3 inning exactly three times in those 17 appearances.  That’s not a guy who should be closing games.  The Tribe is trying to showcase him, but no one will want him as a closer, so why not use him in a set up role, and let Chris Perez close. 

 

Wednesday night’s game was a perfect example of Wood’s problems.  Brian Schneider led off for the Phillies and he came in with an average around .220.  Wood promptly walked him on a 3-2 pitch. 

 

Dude, you throw 97 miles per hour, why not fire a fastball right down the middle and see if the guy can hit it?  Even if Schneider hits one out, which he did earlier in the game, his first of the year, it’s still a tie game.  You cannot walk a hitter like that.

 

The defensive has joined the lack of hitting and pitching as things that make this ballclub hard to watch.  Russell Branyan compounds his lack of contact (48 strikeouts in 161 at bats) with abysmal defense at 1B.  He charges bunts at the wrong time, he throws to the wrong base, he doesn’t catch balls thrown to him.  Why did we sign him again?

 

It seems like Acta is afraid to do something different, although his hands are tied by the dormant front office, who continues to act like they are smarter than everybody else.

 

Why is there a middle infielder on the roster that is hitting .150 in over 100 at bats?  Why is Andy Marte on the roster if he is going to play once a week when the Tribe faces a southpaw?  Why are there two ineffective left-handed relievers on the roster? 

 

It really doesn’t help the skipper when he is hamstrung by what he has to work with from the GM.

 

Still, it wouldn’t hurt if Acta took a sterner approach with this group of players.  Without a veteran leader on the club, the manager and coaching staff should take more of a role in teaching these young players what is right and what is wrong.

 

MW

 

This space has been very critical of the Cavaliers’ offense under Mike Brown.  He relied too much on LeBron James’ ability to get to the basket, draw defenders, and find open teammates.  When a team like Boston stopped James’ penetration, the attack was ground to a halt.

 

However, how much of that was the wish of #23, who perhaps wanted the ball in his hands at all times. 

 

Remember, the Mo Williams that played in Milwaukee was a much different player than the one who played here the past two years.  The Williams who played against the Cavs and gave them fits, was a guy who would break down a defense, get into the lane and cause problems.

 

That’s not the guy we saw in Cleveland the past two seasons. 

 

Either James or Brown made all other offensive players spot up three point shooters.

 

The same thing said about Williams can be said about Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon.  When the wine and gold were forced into a half court set, they stood in one spot, waited for penetration, and were expected to make threes.

 

So it’s the chicken or the egg.  Did LeBron James dominate the ball because there was no good game plan in half court situations, or was there no good game plan in the half court because James dominated the ball? 

 

If it’s the former and #23 remains a Cav, then a new coach can greatly impact the offense.  If it’s the latter and LBJ stays here, no matter who new GM Chris Grant trades for or signs, Cleveland will look much the same on offense.

 

Without a difference in the offensive game plan, the Cavaliers can keep James, trade for Monta Ellis, and sign Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson, and there is still going to be problems when the wine and gold have the ball in the half court. 

 

NOTE:  We understand that will not work under any salary cap.

 

Recently, WKNR’s Michael Reghi has suggested that if the problem is James wanting to monopolize the ball, then the Cavs should go ahead and make #23 the point guard and pursue other options at small forward.  However, they will still need some motion in the attack.  It cannot be LBJ with the ball and everyone else hanging around the three-point line.

 

And if James needs to have the ball whether it is in Cleveland or somewhere else, it limits some of the teams he is supposedly looking at. 

 

Chicago has Derrick Rose, who also needs the ball.  Miami has Dewayne Wade, who needs the ball.  Heck, Baron Davis is used to having the ball with the Clippers.  If LeBron James goes to any of these places, it’s not going to be a good fit, basketball wise.

 

Regardless of whether James stays or not, the Cleveland Cavaliers need a change offensively.  In the playoffs, you have to have the ability to get the ball to people where they need it to be effective.  The current set up of a guy in the post, a guy with the ball, and three guys around the arc don’t work against the better teams. 

 

Getting a different point guard won’t change anything; neither will getting a power forward.  The scheme has to change for players to be effective.

 

JK 

 

The Cleveland Indians tried to fool us by knocking off Boston the last two games of a four game series, and then winning the first two games against the Washington Nationals last weekend.  That made four straight wins.  Maybe adding Carlos Santana would somewhat salvage this hopeless season?

 

Since then, the Tribe has lost six of seven to the Nationals, Mets, and the horrible Pittsburgh Pirates mostly by playing awful defense.  That goes along with an offense that ranks near the bottom of the American League, and a pitching staff that ranks the same.

 

Hitting, pitching, and defense…this team is terrible at all of them.

 

Shouldn’t there be something Manny Acta can hang his hat on?

 

Last Sunday (in the Steven Strasburg game), Trevor Crowe took a bad route to a ball hit to centerfield to turn a 4-1 deficit into 6-1.  In the first game of the Mets’ series, the Tribe parlayed bad glove work into a five run inning, when New York hit just two balls out of the infield, and one of those was Ike Davis’ two run homer. 

 

In the past week, opponents have scored from second base twice, TWICE!, on infield hits to Jason Donald at shortstop.  Donald should be playing 2B with Anderson Hernandez at SS, and Luis Valbuena being sent to Columbus to regain his confidence. 

 

At first base, Russell Branyan is showing that perhaps a statue would be better defensively at the position.  In the Met series, he charged on a bunt in front of the plate that Santana easily fielded, and yesterday missed a throw from Justin Masterson that wasn’t even in the dirt. 

 

When you don’t have a pitching staff that has a lot of swing and miss capabilities, you better be good defensively, and the Cleveland Indians aren’t.  Yes, Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore are both good gloves and are out of the lineup, but doesn’t the organization have replacements that can make the basic plays?

 

And speaking of not having power arms in the rotation, did anybody check out Aaron Laffey’s outing Saturday night for Columbus?  Laffey, who may replace David Huff as a starter this weekend against Cincinnati, walked seven in 5-1/3 innings against Pawtucket.  When you don’t have overpowering stuff, you must throw strikes.  This continues to elude the southpaw, who should not be the alternative for Huff.  Make him get in the strike zone consistently before he gets promoted.

 

Call up Carlos Carrasco instead or even Josh Tomlin.  Tomlin would require being added to the 40 man roster, while perhaps Carrasco’s up and down performance in AAA is due to being bored since he’s been at that level for a year and a half. 

 

Tomlin deserves the promotion more.

 

However, it’s not going to make a difference who pitches unless a better defensive club is behind him. 

 

KM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s tough to own a professional sports franchise.  Yes, the people that are owners have a considerable amount of money, and that’s not tough at all, but these people thrust themselves into the public eye when they get involved in professional sports.

 

Who had ever heard of Dan Gilbert and Larry Dolan before they purchased the Cavaliers and Indians, respectively?  Do you really think Randy Lerner likes picking up a newspaper (or looking up stuff on the internet) and reading that he’s an idiot because the Browns aren’t winning?

 

Of course they don’t, but they put themselves into that position when they bought in.

 

There is also a double standard when it comes to getting involved for owners.

 

Currently, Gilbert is under fire from some corners for being the driving force behind the dismissal of coach Mike Brown and the resignation of GM Danny Ferry.  Meanwhile, the Dolan’s get heat for trusting the judgment of GM Mark Shapiro. 

 

It seems they can’t win on how to handle their franchises if their teams aren’t winning.

 

The ideal thing is for the owner to hire the right people and then step back and let the qualified staff run the team.  This worked for Dick Jacobs with the Indians.  When Jacobs bought the team, he brought in the highly regarded Hank Peters, who hired someone who worked with him in the Oriole organization in John Hart.

 

Hart proved to be the man who turned the Tribe from a laughing stock into one of the sports’ best teams from 1994-2001.  Jacobs let Hart do his thing, he was successful, and the owner was very popular with the fans.

 

Dolan puts his trust in Mark Shapiro, who hasn’t had the same record as his predecessor.  So, the fans want to know why the owner gives his GM so much rope.  At some point, the guy who pays the bills has to step in and make a change.

 

Granted, the Cavaliers have been very successful over Ferry and Brown’s five years together.  They got the wine and gold to the NBA Finals once, and had the league’s best regular season the past two seasons.  But they didn’t accomplish the one thing the owner wants more than anything, a world championship. 

 

And you could argue that Brown’s coaching in the playoffs was one of the reasons the Larry O’Brien Trophy hasn’t been hoisted in Cleveland the past two seasons. 

 

Odd defensive alignments hurt the wine and gold against Orlando in 2009, and the lack of an offensive game plan didn’t help the team versus the Celtics this past season.

 

After Tom Izzo turned down the Cavs’ job, Gilbert’s critics said he shouldn’t have fired Brown without having a better candidate.  They are wrong.  Brown deserved to be let go because he did a poor job of getting his squad ready to play a good defensive team, and not utilizing some talent (read:  Antawn Jamison) properly.

 

Brown’s dismissal led to Ferry’s resignation, make no mistake about that. 

 

So basically, Dan Gilbert saw what everyone else did regarding the coach and decided he had to do something.  Which is his right to do as the guy who signs the checks.  The GM was stubborn and didn’t want to go along with it, which is his right. 

 

Now Gilbert is regarded as a meddling owner, and is being compared to Daniel Snyder, the Washington Redskins owner, who is the poster boy for guys not understanding the sport he is involved in.

 

The Cavaliers’ owner should get the benefit of the doubt here.  He gave Ferry and Brown five years.  That would be a lifetime for guys like Snyder and the George Steinbrenner Yankees of the 1970-80’s. 

 

Sometimes these guys have to make tough decisions, but there is a fine line between being too active and being too passive if you own a professional sports franchise.

 

MW 

 

Now that Tom Izzo has spurned Dan Gilbert’s advances to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers, what is the next step for a franchise that is being characterized as in chaos?  Who will be the next candidate to step forward as the next coach of the wine and gold?

 

First, the franchise is not in disarray, it’s just being run differently.  Gilbert is being portrayed as impetuous, but really, he allowed Danny Ferry to run the organization one way for five years, and he didn’t achieve the ultimate reward, a championship. 

 

It’s Gilbert who stands to lose a great deal if LeBron James decides to go elsewhere in free agency, so why shouldn’t he roll up his sleeves and try to make a bold move.  The value of his investment is at stake, so why wouldn’t he want to be heavily involved.

 

However, the pickings are slim as far as coaching candidates are concerned with Izzo out of the picture. 

 

Many have suggested the owner’s next target is former Net and Hornet coach Byron Scott, but he may be waiting to see if his dream job, head coach of the Lakers, opens up before making a decision.  If Phil Jackson were not back, Scott would be a prime candidate for that job. 

 

Still, Scott has been fired twice in the past seven years.  Is a retread candidate the best fit for the Cavaliers?

 

It would be preferable to hiring an unproven assistant coach, but is Scott the correct choice?

 

Scott has handled star players (Jason Kidd and Chris Paul), took New Jersey to The Finals twice, but you can’t forget that when he was fired by the Nets, Lawrence Frank took over and directed the team to a long winning streak.  Obviously, Scott is a guy who burns bright right away, but the players seem to tire of him very quickly.

 

So, who else is there?  Mo Cheeks is two games below .500 for his coaching career, and has taken three teams to the playoffs, winning 50 games once with Portland in second year at the helm.  He was relieved of his job with the Sixers last season after 23 games.

 

What about Mike Dunleavy, whose record is below .500 lifetime (613-716), but led the Lakers to The Finals in 1991, and even took the Clippers to the playoffs and a series win in 2006.  He has had three 50-win campaigns. 

 

What about Mike Fratello, the Czar of the Telestrator, who is 667-548 for his career, and has four 50 win seasons, all with the Dominique Wilkins led Hawks, but also took the Grizzlies to the playoffs in 2005 and 2006.  He’s now 63 years old, but anyone who watches him on TNT or NBA-TV knows he is fully in touch with today’s game. 

 

The one assistant who has been mentioned is Lakers’ aide Brian Shaw, whose future is also tied into what will happen with Phil Jackson in Los Angeles.  It is doubtful that the Cavs will turn to another first time head coach with the uncertainty of James’ future, and the need to make a big splash.

 

Jeff Van Gundy talks a good game on television, but was known more for a slowdown style with the Knicks and Rockets, which isn’t a good fit if James re-signs.

 

The ball is clearly in Gilbert’s court.  He accepted the burden of keeping his team a championship contender, and his choice of a coach could ultimately be enough to keep the franchise player in town. 

 

Dan Gilbert has the most to lose by making a bad decision.  My guess is he wouldn’t want it any other way.

 

JK