The Cleveland Indians are an organization under fire.  The team has been a disappointment the past two years, and their fans are angry.  They have played well since the all-star break for the second straight year, but that is fooling no one.  The fans want answers, but all we are getting are excuses.  That might be biggest reason for the angst.

 

The organization is in full cover your butt mode.  They can give you all kinds of reasons as to why the 2008 and 2009 seasons went down the toilet, and they can tell you how the system is unfair.  However, they haven’t told you that they are going to change the way they do business. 

 

Since there are a lot of bad feelings out there among the fans, the front office, including the owners, should be laying low and waiting for the public’s attitude to become less edgy.  In other words, stop the spinning and the talk about revenue streams.  The Dolans should be kept quiet.

 

No one wants to hear about the $16 million they are losing this year.  In fact, I would be asking them how much money they made in previous years.  They certainly didn’t have a press conference to announce profits since they’ve owned the ballclub.  If they are going to cry about the losses, then tell us how much has been made over the years.

 

Nor should the front office tell us about the team playing better over the past three weeks.  Once again, the Tribe is winning when it doesn’t matter.  The Indians are still fifteen games under .500 when being at that mark would make them contenders.  There aren’t many people getting excited about winning series against the Central Division leaders.  In fact, it’s depressing because it just shows that those teams aren’t very good.

 

Also, stop patting yourselves on the back about the high ceiling of the prospects obtained in the recent deals.  You traded a Cy Young Award winner and an all-star!  You should have at least received some good prospects.

 

Following a 93-win season in 2005, three of the last four seasons have been disappointing.  Most of the players have changed.  The only regulars remaining from that ’05 team are Grady Sizemore, Jhonny Peralta, and Travis Hafner.  The manager is still there.  So, when the front office tells you they have tried everything to see why the Indians haven’t played to expectations, they haven’t.  Sometimes, firing the manager works (see:  Rockies, Colorado).

 

The folks at WTAM (the Indians’ flagship station) will tell you what a great baseball man Eric Wedge is, and their afternoon drive time host will say Wedge will get a job instantly if Cleveland lets him go, but the reality is the guy has been here for seven years and has a .500 record.  He’s been to the post-season once.  That host even said Paul Dolan called him after a comment that Mark Shapiro lied to him.  Think the Dolans want to control what’s said about their team?

 

Why isn’t Matt LaPorta on this team?  Don’t the Indians need to find out if he can help them before next April?  The company line is that the team needs to find out about Andy Marte.  If this is so, why isn’t Marte in the lineup everyday? 

 

Those are the questions the fans want answered. 

 

I hope I am wrong about the Indians.  I want them to be good.  I still watch the games.  I want them to be contenders in 2010.  However, I’m tired of hearing excuses and spin.  Make the team better.  We want results, not clichés and rhetoric.

 

KM

 

 

Cavaliers’ GM Danny Ferry isn’t afraid to take a gamble, a refreshing difference from the other people who run teams in this city.  He went out and acquired Shaquille O’Neal after the disappointing loss to Orlando in the conference finals. 

 

He gambled on Mo Williams last season when many thought he was just another shoot first point guard, but he was the correct piece on a team that has LeBron James setting up much of the offense.

 

Now, it appears that Ferry has done it again, signing free agent forward Leon Powe to a two year contract even though Powe will not be able to play until after the All Star break. 

 

It seems like one criteria that the Cavaliers use in judging talent is how they play against the wine and gold, which when you think about it is pretty smart.  The Cavs are one of the league’s best teams and if you can play well against them, you can be a contributor for them.

 

The Cavs used this philosophy in getting Williams, who gave them fits while playing in Milwaukee for the Bucks, and it looks as though they are going it again with Powe, who had some of his best games for the Celtics against Cleveland.

 

The Cavaliers never had an answer for Powe’s inside game.  He seemed able to score no matter how many bodies wearing Cleveland jerseys were in the paint with him.  Obviously, this skill impressed Ferry and Mike Brown, and they were anxious to get the former Cal product into the wine and gold.

 

Powe will spend the first half of the season rehabbing his knee, which suffered a torn ACL during the last season’s playoffs.  If his rehab goes well, Powe will bring a fresh, big body to a team and league that has already played half its games.  It would be like making a deal at the trade deadline.

 

Meanwhile, Ferry keeps stockpiling big men, which is always a good thing.  The more depth up front a team has, the better.  I’m sure the team hopes second year men J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson will continue to improve, but they can’t be sure of that, particularly with Hickson’s back problems.  So it would not be a surprise to see the Cavs re-signing veteran Joe Smith.

 

With both O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas in their thirties, the Cavs need depth so they can limit their minutes and perhaps give either one an occasional day off.  The GM is doing just that.  It appears he is eliminating any obstacle in bringing a championship to Cleveland.  Maybe other Cleveland teams should take note.

 

JK

 

With training camp in full gear, and the "pre-season" opener this week, it’s time to start looking at the Cleveland Browns.  Coach Eric Mangini has brought the toughness he promised when hired, and the release of defensive lineman Shaun Smith was just one more reminder of who’s the boss.  I’m sure the new staff heard Smith was trouble and unloaded him at the first sign of a problem. 

 

Here are some other questions to keep an eye on in the exhibition games:

 

 

After the Indians took two out of three against the Detroit Tigers last weekend, a caller on Michael Reghi’s great show on WKNR asked the host which team he would rather have, the Tribe or the Tigers.  Reghi, of course, said the Motor City Kitties, but it got me thinking. 

 

Most definitely, Detroit’s pitching staff is much better than Cleveland’s, especially with Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson at the top of the rotation.  However, the everyday line up isn’t that much different, even with the trade of Victor Martinez. 

 

It reinforced why the trades made last week were most definitely a curious decision at best.

 

1B:  No contest for Detroit.  Miguel Cabrera is vastly superior to Andy Marte, Chris Gimenez, Matt LaPorta, or whoever else the Indians want to place at the position. 

 

2B:  The Tribe is platooning Luis Valbuena and Jamey Carroll and the Tigers have Placido Polanco.  The latter’s batting average is down to .263 and he never had a lot of pop, but he still gets the edge here.  However, in a year or two, there is no question to me that Valbuena will be the better player.

 

SS:  Cleveland gets the edge here with Asdrubal Cabrera over Adam Everett.  Cabrera has an OPS of 808 compared to Everett’s 621.  Everett is an excellent glove man, but his slight edge there doesn’t make up for the fact he is terrible offensively. 

 

3B:  This is where it gets a little tricky.  Certainly, this year Brandon Inge is having a better year than Jhonny Peralta.  However, Inge is having a career year and overall I would rather have Peralta playing the hot corner.  In fact, with Peralta’s recent hot streak, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Tribe third baseman winds up having better numbers than Inge at the end of the year.

 

LF:  No contest.  Marcus Thames is better than any concoction the Indians have played in leftfield this season.

 

CF:   This is another tricky one.  Before the season, most people would have considered Grady Sizemore a little better than Curtis Granderson.  This year, of course, Sizemore has been hurt and has performed well below his normal statistics.  Meanwhile, Granderson is having a year like Sizemore had last season, which would have put him in contention for an MVP award had Cleveland been a contender.

 

RF:  No contest in Cleveland’s favor.  Shin-Soo Choo is much better than the combination of Magglio Ordonez and Clete Thomas for the Tigers.

 

C:  With the Martinez deal, neither team is looking for a lot of offense from the position.  Kelly Shoppach actually has a higher OPS (717) than Gerald Laird of the Tigers (646).  Rate this position as even.

 

DH:  Both teams have had injury issues here.  The Tigers used Ordonez here for a while,and is now using Carlos Guillen,  while Travis Hafner has been the Tribe’s primary DH, although he has missed considerable time.  When Hafner has been in the lineup, he has been productive for the most part, thus giving the Indians a slight edge. 

 

The verdict is the Tigers have clear edges at 1B and LF, while the Indians enjoy the same at SS and RF.  The other positions could go either way. 

 

This shows the everyday talent for the Detroit Tigers isn’t much better than the Indians, and they are leading the division.  The difference is pitching, and that’s why dealing Cliff Lee, one of the best pitchers in the American League is galling.  Add to Lee, and the Tribe could be sitting on top of the division in 2010.  Now, there is a snowball’s chance in…

 

Yesterday, Indians’ president Paul Dolan announced that the ballclub is going to lose $16 million this season, a comment that interests no one except the team’s financial people.  Fans don’t care.  They want to see a winning baseball team in this city. 

 

If you can’t sustain a loss of revenue like this, then you probably shouldn’t own a major league baseball team.  I’m sure the Indians aren’t the only team losing money, but their owners aren’t talking about it.  The baseball fans of Cleveland are looking upon the owners are crying about it. 

 

Other things from his statements that should be refuted are his claim that team Eric Wedge inherited in 2003 was like an expansion team.  Expansion teams generally don’t have players like C.C. Sabathia, and players such as Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, and Brandon Phillips is their system.  The cupboard was not as bare as Dolan would like us to believe. 

 

The other comment that bugged me is that fans would really be upset if they didn’t make the trades last week.  I still maintain this team could have contended next year, and as we all know by now, if you get into the playoffs, you have a chance to win.  I think the fans would like to have had a shot next year, they were denied that opportunity.

 

Dolan should learn that the only statistic fans are interested in is the win-loss record, not the bottom line.

 

These guys should run for public office the way they spin.

 

MW

 

The Cleveland Indians front office has admitted that the 2009 season was a mess.  After making a series of moves over the winter to put this team in contention, the ballclub got off to a slow start in April, and was virtually out of the race by the beginning of June.  What could GM Mark Shapiro have done in retrospect to avoid the situation the Tribe is in right now?

 

We know this is a total second guess.

 

Shapiro invested a lot of cash into a closer, signing Kerry Wood to an estimated $10 million per year contract.  After last year’s relief problems, this seems like a logical move.  However, Jensen Lewis converted 13 straight save opportunities late last season, so was this really a need?  I understand the logic, but Wood has struggled this season, and you have to ask the question of whether or not this money was wasted. 

 

The Indians were banking on Fausto Carmona returning to his 2007 form, when he won 19 games, to bolster their starting rotation.  They signed Carl Pavano as a free agent, but he should have been thought of as a 5^th starter, not plopped into the third spot where he started the season.

 

Sure, Shapiro theoretically improved the bullpen, but the rotation was left in tatters.

 

Would Shapiro have been better suited adding a veteran reliable starting pitcher, think Jon Garland, instead of going for the marquee closer?  It could have been done via free agency or a trade.

 

Besides, as former GM John Hart used to say, closers fall out of trees.  Look at Seattle this year.  There is no way they thought David Aardsma would be their closer at the beginning of the year.  Yet, he made the all-star team and is among the league leaders in saves this season. 

 

Having another veteran starter would have reduced the need for Carmona to pitch like an ace, and getting an innings eater would have eased the work put on the bullpen.  Remember, Carmona was struggling to get to the seventh inning, and Anthony Reyes was working just five or six innings per start.  When Aaron Laffey was called up a week into the season, he was at least able to get through six frames.

 

Would the pitching woes have been abated if the Indians had spent $10 million on starting pitching instead of a closer?  We will never know.  But, we do know this, having a good closer for a bad team is a big waste of money.  It makes you wonder if Wood will open the 2010 season wearing a Cleveland uniform.

 

NOTES:  Jose Veras is the latest reliever to get his walking papers as he was designated for assignment, and the other pitcher picked up in the Mark DeRosa trade, Jess Todd, was called up…Chris Gimenez is a nice player, a good utility guy, but he should be sent back to Columbus (or get rid of a pitcher, the team now has 13) in order to have Matt LaPorta playing everyday in LF…It seems like the skipper is back to his old habits with relief pitchers.  Tony Sipp has now pitched in three of the last four games.  There was no need to bring him in yesterday trailing 9-0…Nice to see Jensen Lewis back here giving up the long ball.

 

KM

 

Now that the trading deadline has passed, and GM Mark Shapiro doesn’t consider swapping out a quarter of his roster "sweeping changes", let’s take a look at the what happened in the week that was–

 

The trade of Cliff Lee was the biggest question mark because the Indians did not get any top prospects close to the majors in return.  Sure, we may see Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, and Lou Marson before the season is over, but the glitter on all three prospects has lost its glow, at least a little bit.  Jason Knapp was said to be the prize in the deal, but he is dealing with a fatigued shoulder, and is at least two years away.

 

The Victor Martinez deal, although it helps the hated Red Sox, at least brings a pitcher who should be in the rotation, Justin Masterson, by the end of the season.  Masterson’s debut with the Tribe was very good, as he fired three scoreless frame against Detroit on Saturday night.  The other two pitchers Shapiro received are in the Class A ball, but Nick Hagadone is a southpaw that throws in the high 90’s, and Bryan Price was Boston’s first draft pick a year ago. 

 

Of the other players dealt last week, Ryan Garko and Ben Francisco are nice players, and could help their teams down the stretch, but they are just average players at best.  The Indians dealt both before they had to start paying them decent money now that they were arbitration eligible.

 

One of the problems the Indians still have is that Matt LaPorta is still in the minor leagues, even after all these moves.  The front office needs to see LaPorta play everyday at the big league level, so they can truly evaluate him.  Remember, it’s not like he’s struggling at Columbus, he’s hitting almost .300 with a very good OPS. 

 

Andy Marte was recalled from Columbus after the Garko deal, and so far it appears Eric Wedge is playing the same old games with him.  Marte went 2 for 3 in his first game, and then sat the next day.  After an 0 for 6 in his next start, he once again was on the bench the folllowing night.  If he’s not going to play every day, it is impossible to judge whether or not he has improved as an everyday player.

 

Trevor Crowe looks much better at the plate than he did when he was sent out earlier this year.  He drove the ball in all three games this weekend, so maybe there is a future for him at the big league level.  He received the call after Francisco was dealt because of his ability to play centerfield, which is needed because there is no other back up for Grady Sizemore. 

 

I also think somehow they need to bring up 1B/OF Jordan Brown from Columbus as well.  After winning back to back league MVP awards at Kinston and Akron, Brown scuffled last year.  However, this year he is hitting .333 with 12 HR and 58 RBI’s for the Clippers.  He deserves a look see as well.

 

So does starter Hector Rondon, before his innings get to the point where the front office wants to shut him down.  Rondon has started out 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA at Buffalo after an outstanding half season at Akron.

 

There has been plenty of speculation that these moves ensure that Eric Wedge will be back as the field manager next season.  Here’s hoping that’s not the case.  This ballclub needs a new voice, and a new coaching staff.  It seems like the staff in the minor leagues has done a better job fixing what was wrong with guys like Marte, Fausto Carmona, Crowe, etc. than Wedge’s staff.  If the team is going to rebuild, a new skipper is in order as well.

 

Hopefully, GM Mark Shapiro is correct in thinking there is an outside chance the Tribe could be back in contention as early as next year.  There is no way anyone is looking forward to a so-called "five year plan".

 

MW

 

 

 

USA Today is reporting that the Indians have dealt Victor Martinez to the Boston Red Sox for pitchers Justin Masterson and Nick Hagadone.  Masterson is 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA with the Red Sox this season, and Hagadone is at Class A Greenville in the South Atlantic League. 

 

Perhaps, Matt LaPorta will finally get called up from Columbus to take Martinez’ roster spot.  I would also guess that Masterson stays with the Tribe, and hopefully goes into the rotation.

 

A full analysis later.

 

 

 

I had a nightmare last night that it was the 1970’s and Gabe Paul was the general manager of the Indians and they kept getting good players and trading them for prospects. 

 

Then, I woke up and realized it was no nightmare.  It was reality.  Except for the part about Gabe Paul.  Mark Shapiro has taken his role.

 

The two guys that write about baseball for this blog are part of an Indians’ season ticket group since the last year the old stadium was in use in 1993.  All the members of that group, of which there were eight people, decided we would not renew our seats for the 2010 season. 

 

It was apparent in mid May that the 2009 season was going nowhere, but who knew at that point, that the 2010 season would be shoved aside as well.  To trade Cliff Lee and not get one player on a major league roster in return is a travesty.

 

Tomorrow night, the Indians return to Progressive Field to take on Detroit without one player on the roster that they received in trade two, TWO, Cy Young Award winners.  The team even decided to recall Trevor Crowe to replace Ben Francisco on the roster, not Matt LaPorta.

 

Look at the comment put out by the team from GM Mark Shapiro after the deal:

 

"At the root of this deal was balancing the conviction of our ability to compete in 2010 with the opportunity to impact the team’s construction for years to come," said Cleveland Indians Executive Vice President & General Manager Mark Shapiro. "Without the sense of confidence in the team’s ultimate competitiveness, we acted aggressively to add players that will impact the organization in 2010 and beyond."

 

Me thinks this sounds a lot like gobbledygook, no?

 

The front office denies it, but this was a salary dump, and there is no doubt in my mind that Victor Martinez will not on this team before their next game.  It will remove $16 million from next year’s payroll, and Shapiro is claiming that he will know be able to add to next year’s roster because of this move.

 

However, trading Kerry Wood and Jhonny Peralta would have removed $14.6 million from the payroll, and the 2010 Tribe would still have had a chance to compete in the AL Central Division.  Lee and Martinez are all star players, Wood and Peralta are not. 

 

Before the season, the four players received from the Phillies were in their top ten prospect list as compiled by Baseball America.  However, outside of the youngster acquired, Jason Knapp, the other three players were all having less than good years at the AAA level. 

 

Carlos Carrasco has a good arm, but has an ERA of over 5.00 in the minor leagues this season.  Jason Donald has just returned to the lineup from a knee injury.  Lou Marson is a catcher with no pop in his bat, although he does know how to work the count.  Knapp is currently sidelined with shoulder fatigue. 

 

What is more curious is that Donald is a SS, but doesn’t have the arm or range to play the spot at the big league level, so he projects as a 2B or 3B.  He may be a platoon player at the former with Luis Valbuena. 

 

Marson plays the same position as the Indians’ best prospect, Carlos Santana.  If Martinez is indeed traded, does that mean we will be seeing more of Kelly Shoppach behind the dish with his offensive game of whiffing, whiffing, and more whiffing, with an occasional home run mixed in? 

 

And with the way the organization moves prospects at a snail’s pace, exactly when do you think any of these players will wear an Indians uniform?  Now Columbus has both Marson and Wyatt Toregas on the roster, when Santana should be playing there based on his numbers at AA Akron.  

 

There is no question reading between the lines, that this trade was financially motivated.  If the Dolan family can’t afford to own a major league team, then they should get out.  Why should long-suffering Tribe fans have to go through more pain?

 

The ownership should be ready for a backlash because this is a punch in the gut to the fans.  Does this deal mean that Eric Wedge will return for an eighth season as manager?  The fans don’t want to see that either. 

 

While Shapiro and the rest of the sheep in the Tribe front office pat themselves on the back because they made another deal like the 2002 trade that sent Bartolo Colon to Montreal, the fans are left holding the bag.  That ’03 team had some age (Vizquel, Thome, Fryman, Burks, Lawton, Gutierrez) and needed to be overhauled. 

 

This team is not like that.  The only everyday players (using that term loosely) over 30 years old are Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez.  This edition of the Tribe has some good young players like Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, Asdrubal Cabrera, and again I think Valbuena will be a good one. 

 

Shapiro can put any kind of spin that he wants on this move, but the reality is that he was told to cut the payroll; meaning 1948 keeps getting farther and farther away in the rear view mirror. 

 

The city deserves more than that Mr. Dolan.

 

KM

 

Get the revolving door ready for the Cleveland Indians as this Friday’s trade deadline approaches.  The latest move involved 1B Ryan Garko going to the San Francisco Giants for Class A left handed pitcher, Scott Barnes, ranked prior to the season as the 9^th best prospect in the Giant farm system. 

 

It was probably as good a deal as the Indians could get for a corner position player without a lot of pop.

 

This move allows the ballclub to recall Andy Marte from Columbus.  Marte, who was having his best season at the AAA level, hitting .329 with 18 HR and 66 RBI, will be used at…1B, of course, even though he has been a third baseman during his career.  He actually is a pretty good defensive player at the hot corner.

 

There is no question Marte deserves another look, particularly because he’s still just 25 years old.

 

Meanwhile, Matt LaPorta still toils at AAA, even though he is putting up outstanding numbers.  He deserves to be promoted also.

 

The Indians seemed to go out of their way this weekend to tell everybody how wrong all of the Jhonny Peralta critics are.  They pointed out that this season is an aberration, that the Peralta we saw in 2008 is his true talent.  That would be good news if it were true.  This year’s version of Peralta appears to be the same guy we saw just three short years ago, in 2006.

 

He burst onto the scene in 2005 with a very good season, batting .292 (885 OPS) with 24 HR’s and 78 RBI at age 23.  That still is by far Peralta’s best year in the big leagues. 

 

He followed that season up by hitting .257 (708 OPS) with 13 HR and 68 RBI at age 24.  The following year, 2007, the Tribe advanced to the ALCS, and Peralta had a solid, not spectacular year, batting .270 (771 OPS) with 21 dingers and 72 RBI. 

 

Last year, Peralta had his best season since ’05, hitting 23 homers with 89 RBI and a .276 batting average (804 OPS).  This year seems like a repeat of his 2006 campaign, although a recent hot streak has him up to .271, 8 HR, and 50 RBI.  Does this seem like someone who should be part of the future?

 

How can management evaluate the team when they have no idea what kind of year they are going to get out of Peralta.  Criticize Casey Blake all you want, but you pretty much knew what you were going to get out of him, production wise.  Peralta is a player who has had success in the second halves of seasons to put together decent numbers, but the season generally starts in April, not July.

 

Dealing Peralta is not a bad option for the Indians, for a team concerned about payroll, it’s hard to justify paying almost $5 million next year and not be sure what you are getting.

 

Now, on to the rumors regarding possible trades involving Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez.  I can’t believe this will happen unless it is mandated by ownership, which is a different problem altogether.

 

Lest you forget, the Indians are in the AL Central Division.  Last year, the Detroit Tigers finished last in the division, 14-1/2 games behind the champion White Sox.  This year, they lead the division by two games. 

 

They made a couple of key additions, picking up starter Edwin Jackson in a deal with Tampa Bay, signing SS Adam Everett and C Gerald Laird to shore up the defense, and getting some better years out of guys like Justin Verlander, Curtis Granderson, and Brandon Inge.  Viola, they are in first place. 

 

My point is the same things can happen with the Cleveland Indians.  Even though the Tribe is currently 16 games below the .500 mark, they are only 12 games out of first.  They aren’t going to win this season, but the deficit is not insurmountable.  With the proper moves this off-season, they would have a chance to win the division in 2010.

 

Not without Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez, however.  Lee has proved this year that his Cy Young Award was no fluke, and that he is a legitimate ace.  Martinez is a professional hitter who is a three time all star.  If they are in the mix for next season, and the front office makes the right moves in the off-season, the Tribe could return to the contention.

 

Remember that since the end of the Indians dominance of the Central Division in 2001, only Kansas City has not made a playoff appearance.  The Indians and Tigers have made one each; the White Sox have been there twice, while the Twins have been in the playoffs four times.

 

Giving up these two mainstays would send a message that the Indians are not planning to be competitive in 2010.  And that’s not a way to sell tickets.

 

MW

 

 

 

With the Indians’ season in the toilet, and LeBron, Shaq, and the crew not getting things going until October, it’s time to talk about the city’s most popular sport, football.  The Browns start training camp this week under new head coach, Eric Mangini, and there is no doubt the players will realize there is a new guy in charge, if they haven’t already realized that.

 

Discipline is the key word coming out of this year’s camp.  If Mangini has anything to say about it, the mistake filled, penalty riddled, lackluster effort days of the past will be gone.  The coach and front office are on the same page and they want this football team to play hard and play smart. 

 

They probably won’t be in the playoffs, but they won’t leave you shaking your head after each contest.

 

Mangini and his staff are going back to basics, that is, running the ball and playing good defense.  They appear to have bolstered the offensive line with first round draft pick, Alex Mack, and the signing of Pork Chop Womack and George Foster to provide bulk and depth. 

 

This makes the reliance on Jamal Lewis as the lead back a curious decision.  I believe we will see Jerome Harrison carrying the ball more often, but Lewis’ legs have a lot of miles on them, and you wonder if he can be anywhere close to the back who gained 1300 yards in 2007.  Rookie James Davis could get more opportunities than you would think once the season starts.

 

The running game and being able to control the ball takes pressure off the defense.  The Browns brought in some reinforcements, mostly ex-Jets, on that side of the ball.  Shaun Rogers is back to anchor the defensive line, but this year he is surrounded by players who have experience in the 3-4 defense. 

 

They also added some veterans to the secondary, namely CB Rod Hood and S Abram Elam, who was picked up in the draft day deal with the Jets.  Elam is said to have the capabilities to be an impact player, and Hood allows Mangini and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan to not play a 2^nd year man and a third year player at cornerback. 

 

The linebacking position has been shaky since the team returned to the NFL in 1999, but should get an upgrade by replacing Andra Davis with Eric Barton.  The key to putting pressure on the passer will fall to getting Kamerion Wimbley to be more productive, and also getting second year OLB Alex Hall on the field more often.  Hall showed promise early last season before being ignored by the previous regime.

 

Most of the fans and media scrutiny will center on the quarterback spot where Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson will vie for the job.  No matter who wins the gig, that decision should be made after the second exhibition game so it can be put behind the team, and everyone knows whom the starter will be.  I still believe Quinn will be under center against the Vikings in week one.

 

If they can avoid the injury bug, the Browns will be improved.  Health is a huge key in the NFL season, and if Cleveland can stay away from a catastrophe, they will be better in 2009.  Not a playoff team, but a 6-10 or 7-9 record looks doable.  Until they can beat Pittsburgh and/or Baltimore, they will not be able to get over the hump.

 

JD