Time For Cavs To Get Back To Defensive Mindset

Two games before the NBA All Star weekend, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Indiana to improve their record to 35-21. They lost the next two games leading up to the break, both on the road to Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Since that victory over the Pacers, the wine and gold have gone 6-10.

Injuries have certainly been a problem. Lauri Markkanen and Darius Garland both missed some time, and most recently, Jarrett Allen has missed the last eight games with a broken finger.

After the first two games of the season, when the Cavs allowed 132 and 123 points, the new philosophy of defense took hold, and Cleveland became one of the better defensive teams in the NBA, with a front line featuring three players 6’11” or taller.

Prior to that game against the Pacers, the team’s high water mark of the year record wise, the Cavs had held opponents under 100 points 23 times. Since the all star game, in 14 games, Cleveland has only does this twice, and they haven’t done it since Allen went out against Toronto on March 6th.

Granted, Allen is a very good rim protector and blocks 1.3 shots per game in addition to grabbing almost 11 rebounds per night. But really, that’s not where the defensive issues have been.

While Cleveland is scoring almost four points per game more than they were before the break, they are also giving up almost 11 points more. That’s frightening.

Before the all star break, the Cavs allowed 34% shooting from behind the three point line. Since, that percentage is up to 38.6. They really have not defended the long range shooting well after resuming play.

Now, you could say luck is a factor, but in watching the games, it is disturbing to see the wide open looks opposing shooters have beyond the arc. In Monday’s terrible loss to the Lakers (terrible because the Lakers are not a good team), veteran D.J. Augustin came into the game and it appeared Cleveland didn’t notice because he had several wide open shots immediately after checking in.

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff established, after those first two games, a defensive, gritty mindset. His players bought in to that. But lately, we see more attempts to play up tempo, and right now, the Cavs only have a few players who can thrive in that style.

With the playoffs on the horizon, the Cavaliers need to get back to the defensive, slow it down mindset they had previously.

We aren’t saying not to push the ball up the floor when the opportunity presents itself, you have to take advantage of easy offense.

But there are too many possessions lately in the half court game, where there is just one or two guys touching the basketball. They need to make their opponents play harder on the defensive end.

And tonight’s game at Toronto would be a good time to start. A win would essentially put them three games up on the Raptors for the sixth spot, and it would also put the wine and gold in a decent spot to move up to the fifth seed in the East.

The Cavs need to get back to the style that put them in this spot to begin with. With just 10 games remaining, it’s not too late.

Guardians Inactivity Is Mind Boggling

When baseball locked out its players, fans were left to think about all the transactions that could be made to strengthen their favorite baseball team.

Now that spring training camps are open, and have been that way for a couple of weeks, supporters of the Cleveland Guardians are still feeling the same way.

Since the labor agreement was reached, the Guardians’ front office has added one player, catcher Luke Maile, another defensive oriented catcher with a lifetime OPS of 568.

It is evident to us that one of two things are in play here: Either Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff are completely satisfied by the current roster or ownership isn’t giving them any money to spend.

And if the latter is true, that still doesn’t preclude the brass from making trades.

In case you missed it, the Guardians didn’t win the World Series last season. In fact, they finished under .500 for the season at 80-82.

Their current offense features one hitter with a slugging percentage of over .450 and also an on base percentage of .350 (Jose Ramirez) and two hitters who above those figures in just one of the categories (Myles Straw in OBP and Franmil Reyes in slugging).

Cleveland ranked in the middle of the pack in the AL in slugging a year ago, but were third from the bottom in getting on base. We have written about this ad nauseum all off-season, and suggested several available candidates, such as Andrew McCutchen, Anthony Rizzo, and Tommy Pham.

Only Pham is still available, as is Michael Conforto, who has a career .356 OBP. To date, the Guardians have not been linked with any of them.

Yes, there is still time to make a move, but the season opens two weeks from Thursday.

The Guards’ roster make up is very strange. They have 13 players on the current 40 man roster without any big league experience. They have a glut of middle infielders, including four of their top ten prospects.

The assumption was the front office would deal from strength to bolster the team’s holes, which would be the outfield and the bullpen.

Now, if the Guardians are going to make a commitment to play their young outfielders, such as Steven Kwan (.380 OBP in the minors), Richie Palacios (.409), or even Oscar Gonzalez (871 OPS at AAA/AA last season), then we can get on board with that.

However, our fear is they will trot Bradley Zimmer and Oscar Mercado out there for the first six weeks of the season, and wonder why they got off to a poor start.

Terry Francona has also said they are planning to use Amed Rosario at both LF and SS. This is another head scratcher. Shortstop is the key defensive position on the diamond, and Rosario is not very good at the position.

And it’s not as though Cleveland doesn’t need a left fielder. Just put Rosario out there and open up short for Andres Gimenez and/or Gabriel Arias.

Oh, and is Josh Naylor is ready for the opener, move him to first base and leave him there.

This organization seems to be terrified of making a mistake, and we believe that is why we continue to see Zimmer, Mercado, and even Bobby Bradley get chance after chance.

There is enough of a history with each of those players that most people can figure out what they will bring to a team. Unfortunately, the people in charge obviously cannot.

For years, people around the sport have praised the Guardians’ front office. Is it time to start judging them more harshly.

Watson Is Very Good, But It Doesn’t Make It Easier To Take

It was a bold move, a controversial move made by the Cleveland Browns a few days ago. The front office, including the Haslam family ownership, felt the team was a quarterback away from championship contention.

So, they went out and traded a boatload of draft capital for a QB who didn’t even play last season in Houston’s Deshaun Watson. The price was three first round picks and a third and four round selections over the next three years.

Watson’s on-field talent is undeniable. Last year, when trying to determine exactly where Baker Mayfield ranked among the league’s signal callers, we said the former Texan quarterback was one of the top five at the position in the NFL, along with Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers.

The last year he played, 2020, we know the Texans went 4-12, but it wasn’t the quarterback’s fault. The former Clemson standout completed 70.2% of his passes for a league leading 4823 yards, 33 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. And he led the NFL in average yards per pass attempt.

They gave up 29 points per contest. That’s why they went 4-12.

He also ran for 444 yards. He’s a true dual threat at QB.

However, there is another side to the story. Although Watson was not charged by a Grand Jury, he does face civil suits from 22 women alleging sexual misconduct. It’s like the Browns sold their soul to the devil in order to cure their QB issues.

There are fans in Cleveland who somehow feel the Cavaliers title in 2016, the ONLY championship by a professional sports team in northeast Ohio since 1964, is somehow tainted because LeBron James returned home via free agency and the Cavs put together a “super team”.

First, it is the job of any professional sports franchise to put the best team they can on the field and if they can do so within the rules, it’s legitimate. And no one on that team had any issues legally.

We were not in favor of trading for Watson, feeling it would be a tough sell for any team, not just the Cleveland Browns. Especially for women fans of the Browns. Still, it should appall everyone. It wasn’t one or two females making these claims, it was 22. We doubt it was a smear campaign against the Texans’ QB.

But when it happened, we did feel excitement that GM Andrew Berry pulled off acquiring one of football’s premier passers.

Who knows, Watson may never have another instance in this regard, and while it won’t be forgotten, winning has a way of making people overlook things.

What feels a little grimy is Watson’s contract was structured to prevent a large hit monetarily from a probable suspension, which would figure to be between six and eight games.

And the Browns also had to give him the largest guaranteed money in the history of the league to get him to waive a no trade clause to come to Cleveland.

We said any team dealing for Watson would need a solid backup because he will likely miss games in 2022, and Berry did that by signing Jacoby Brissett, who has 37 starts in his career, including five this year with Miami.

His best year was with the Colts in ’19, going 7-8 as a starter, throwing 18 TDs against six picks, completing 61% of his passes.

When Watson takes the field as a Cleveland Brown, there will be a mixed feeling. While we will root for the Browns, it will be tough to support the quarterback. That’s a shame.

Other teams, notably the Raiders (no matter where they play) have had an outlaw image, and it has been supported by their fans. Cleveland is different. We aren’t used to playing that role, the closest was with Albert Belle in the mid-1990’s.

But Belle was drafted here, the Indians didn’t trade for him.

It’s a conundrum to be sure. Watson’s actions were reprehensible. They weren’t made less appalling because he wears a Cleveland uniform.

Browns Moving On At QB Wasn’t A Rash Decision

We have said from the very end of the Browns’ season in 2021 that Andrew Berry, Paul DePodesta, and Kevin Stefanski would evaluate every position on the football field in an effort to improve the team for 2022.

There were no leaks and crazy speculation from inside Berea, but in appears the trio do hold Baker Mayfield responsible for the offensive issues and are preparing to move on from the former first overall pick.

We do not doubt for a second that there was some turmoil between the quarterback and the head coach last season. Mayfield criticized the offensive game plan, and when you do that publicly, you are butting heads with the guy calling the plays.

Let’s clear a couple of things up first. We have heard that Mayfield only played well here for a small stretch of games, those being the second half of the 2020 season, when the Browns made the playoffs. That’s not true.

Mayfield was very good his rookie season. Remember Cleveland went 0-16 the year before he arrived, and they did go 6-7 in his 13 starts. And he had career highs in completion percentage and touchdown passes.

And the Browns were 2-2 the next season after a resounding 40-25 win at Baltimore. Mayfield was 20 of 30 for 342 yards in that contest.

What followed was a four game losing streak, started with a pair of multi-interception games vs. San Francisco and Seattle. The Browns finished 6-10 and Freddie Kitchens lost his job.

Secondly, remember that the coach and front office inherited Mayfield. They didn’t draft him and therefore didn’t have any attachment. They tried to make things work out, but apparently felt he was more of a problem than a solution going forward.

There can be no doubt Mayfield was not 100% after the Houston game in week two, but we felt (and still do) that the organization kept him in the lineup more because they had no confidence i Case Keenum handling the position, and our guess is Keenum won’t be with the team much longer either.

Another thing to consider is Mayfield’s psyche. It seemed toward the end of the season that he developed the “yips”, meaning it appeared he was afraid to pull the trigger at times. If that happened, the Browns may have no choice. They don’t have the time to rebuild his confidence.

There is no question Deshaun Watson is a top five quarterback in the sport and getting him would improve the position for the Browns. However, you have to figure the price tag to get him (a lot of draft capital) and the current situation in his personal life.

There are many fans who will have a problem getting Watson, and although they will continue to root for the Browns, it will feel a little slimy to support the QB.

And remember, Watson can approve where he goes (ironic right?), so what if he decides he doesn’t want to play in Cleveland? Where do the Browns go for their new signal caller?

First, we don’t think for a minute that the organization put all their eggs in the Watson basket. They have been studying options since the minutes the gun sounded in their week 18 win over the Bengals.

We would guess they are looking at making a deal for Jimmy Garoppolo or Matt Ryan, and perhaps also looking at Jameis Winston.

We also think if they don’t get Watson, thus keeping the 13th overall pick, they will not be taking a quarterback there. If they think the quarterback position is holding them back, they aren’t going to play a rookie there in 2022. Drafting a developmental guy there instead of a player who can help right away doesn’t make sense either.

We should know soon how everything will play out. But it’s pretty clear the Cleveland Browns will have a new starting quarterback next season. Berry and Stefanski probably knew that a while ago.

Landry Decision Was Made With Logic

Following a professional sports team is a very emotional experience for fans, particularly an NFL team.

The day to day nature of baseball means you can’t get overly distraught about a single game, although some losses stick with fans longer than others, and in the NBA or NHL, there are several games each week.

However, for NFL fans there is just one game per week, so a difficult defeat or a thrilling victory stays with fans for a while.

In Cleveland, with so much of the media bandwidth spent on the Browns, it is very more noticeable.

You know who cannot think with emotion about the teams? The people who work in the front office. They have to stay detached and make moves that benefit the team both now and down the road.

This brings us to the past few days for the Browns, in which they traded for Amari Cooper and released Jarvis Landry.

There should be no debate that wide receiver became a position of need for Cleveland during this past season. Landry led the team in receptions once again, but he battled through injuries basically all season, and finished with just 52 catches, a career low.

Whatever your feelings are about Baker Mayfield, we think everyone can agree the receiving corps didn’t help him out this past season.

The veteran was scheduled to make $16 million this season, and GM Andrew Berry felt the production did not and would not equal the salary, so he looked to move in another direction. Again, this decision was made with his head, not his heart.

Look, we understand Landry was a positive influence in the locker room. He helped change what had become a losing attitude (and rightly so) within the team. His first year in Cleveland, the Browns went from 0-16 to 7-8-1.

By the way, that was also Mayfield’s first year with the team.

Landry will turn 30 during the 2022 season, and that was definitely a factor in the move. Cooper is younger and frankly, better than Landry right now.

The former All American from Alabama had an off year by his standards too, with just 68 catches for 865 yards, but Berry figures at 28-years-old, he is much more likely to bounce back and return to being a 1000 yard receiver.

And with Cooper making $20 million per season, there was no way the Browns could keep Landry at what he was currently making. It would have been way too much money tied up at the wide out position.

The Browns gave Landry the option of finding his own deal after trading for Cooper, but he found out no one wanted to pay that salary for this season.

We also expect Berry to use the same method, head not heart, in judging every position on the team, including quarterback. Making decisions out of emotions rarely work out.

Browns fans should be sorry to see Jarvis Landry leave. He gave them four solid seasons, making the Pro Bowl twice and the playoffs once. But that’s the way the NFL operates. It’s a cold, at times cutthroat business.

Baseball Is Back, Let’s Talk Some Guardians

Baseball is back, and the problems for individual franchises now shift from the meeting room to the playing field. The Cleveland Guardians are no exception.

The Guards have finished last season 13 games out of first place in the AL Central, and a dozen games out of the wild card spot. And the sixth best record in the league, and that will make the post-season this season, was Seattle and they won ten more contests than Terry Francona’s squad.

Cleveland finished ninth in the Junior Circuit in runs scored, and despite the strength of the organization being pitching, they were 10th in ERA, most due to a rash of injuries to the starting pitchers, mainly ace Shane Bieber, who made just 16 starts.

Still, with good health the rotation should be the backbone of the team. Cal Quantrill emerged to post a 2.89 ERA over 149-2/3 innings, and Triston McKenzie showed flashes, including a seven start stretch in the second half where he threw 46 innings and allowed just 9 runs, a 1.74 ERA.

And don’t forget that Aaron Civale was leading the league in wins when he went down with a finger injury, and although Zach Plesac, who also missed time, was spotty, he still allowed less hits than innings pitched.

Eli Morgan and Logan Allen will be available in Columbus to start the season if need by to provide depth.

The bullpen is another matter. Emmanuel Clase was tremendous and should have had more support for rookie of the year, posting a 1.29 ERA and 24 saves. Behind him are question marks.

James Karinchak struggled coming down the stretch and Nick Sandlin was injured at the end of last season. The hope is that Trevor Stephan and Anthony Gose can contribute, but if we know Francona, he will want some veteran experience in relief.

Offensively, this team needs a lot of help. There is really just one great offensive player, Jose Ramirez, and not much else.

If an excellent hitter is a guy with an on base percentage over .350 and a slugging percentage over .450, then Ramirez is it.

What’s worse is Myles Straw is the only other player with an OBP over .350 on the roster. And next best figure is Bradley Zimmer, who has huge holes in his swing, at .325 (he was hit by 15 pitches). Amed Rosario got on base at a .321 clip.

The number of players beside Ramirez who slugged better than .450 also numbers one–Franmil Reyes (.522). That leaves the Guardians one excellent bat, and two solid bats. That’s it. To be able to score enough runs, conventional wisdom says you need six good hitters.

That leaves the Guards about three short right now. So, the front office has some work to do before the regular season begins. The have to find some guys who can get on base and/or players who can accumulate some extra base hits.

And as of today, we would say there are only four positions written in stone: Ramirez at 3B, Straw in CF, Reyes at DH, and Austin Hedges behind the plate.

That’s an awful lot of uncertainty, particularly with a shortened spring training.

It is good to talk about the actual game and not labor issues. However, now we have to look at the holes on the Guardians’ roster. How quickly can these be resolved without some moves by president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff.

If the Guards want to get in the playoff chase, they need to score a lot more runs.

Browns Don’t Take Part In QB Carousel. Oh, The Humanity!

It was a very difficult day for the irrational Browns’ fan on Tuesday when Aaron Rodgers agreed to stay in Green Bay, and Russell Wilson was traded by Seattle to Denver for a king’s ransom.

Didn’t those guys feel obligated to play in Cleveland?

After seeing the reaction of these zealots, one would think the Browns’ front office should contact Roger Goodell’s office and asked to be removed from the 2022 NFL schedule because they have no chance.

The reality of the situation is Paul DePodesta, Andrew Berry, and Kevin Stefanski don’t think that way. It’s why they have jobs in an NFL organization and the rest of us are fans.

We commented on social media about the price the Broncos paid for Wilson, who will be 33 next season. The Browns first and second round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 were starting tackle Jedrick Wills, safety Grant Delpit, starting corner Greg Newsome and starting linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

Would you trade all four for Wilson? And remember, Denver threw in more than that.

We understand quarterback play is important in the NFL, and the performance of Baker Mayfield last season simply doesn’t get it done. However, if your front office is good at drafting players, and Berry seems to be, is giving up four prime draft picks a good idea?

If your team is bad at picking players, then go ahead and trade the picks. That’s understandable. The draft is a good way to pick up good players cheaply. And if you continue to draft well, your forays in the free agent market, where you overpay for players, can and will be minimal.

And from what we can see, Berry and DePodesta value the draft.

We also know that the two best QBs in the league right now, Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes have combined for two Super Bowl victories. Wilson has a ring as well, that coming in 2013, eight years ago.

Reality tells us more teams have questions at the position than do not, and the people who run those organizations can’t just throw in the towel, they try to win with what they have.

Come on, how many truly great quarterbacks are there in the NFL right now? Rodgers, Mahomes, Wilson, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford? It was reported that the Browns didn’t think Jimmy Garoppolo was much of an upgrade over Mayfield, and they are probably right.

The same can be said of Derek Carr, Ryan Tannehill, and a few others.

We often wonder what the thinking around town would be if Mayfield would have been ruled out for the season after injuring his shoulder in week two. Browns’ fans and media would be skipping around town with thoughts of a healthy Mayfield behind center in 2022.

However, he played, he didn’t play well, and the organization has to wear that.

Don’t forget, the free agency period hasn’t started yet, and the draft will not take place until the end of April. Our guess is Berry isn’t going to let the team get worse. They will upgrade the areas of weakness, with particular attention to the defensive line and wide receiver.

And they will probably bring in another quarterback, perhaps in a trade to replace Baker Mayfield before the season.

The majority of teams in the NFL are in the same boat as the Cleveland Browns. As we’ve said before, getting an elite QB isn’t easy.

Bring Back LeBron? Not That Simple.

Ever since the All Star Game in Cleveland and the comments made by LeBron James about his home area during the festivities, there have been rumors or speculation that James would consider coming back to the Cavaliers, especially now that the wine and gold are playing winning basketball.

James is 37 years old, but is still playing at an amazingly high level. He is currently averaging 29.4 points per game, the highest since the end of his first tenure in Cleveland, way back in ’09-’10.

He poured in 56 points on Friday night against Golden State, and you can still make an excellent case that he is the most dominant talent in the NBA, even in what figures to be the twilight of his career.

Adding James to the current Cavaliers’ roster would make them the favorites to hang a second NBA title banner from the rafters of Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

However, it isn’t as simple as that. It never is when it comes to LeBron James.

First, James is owed $44 million next year on the last year of his contract, so even if he told the Lakers he wanted out, the Cleveland would still have to make the numbers work in terms of the salary cap.

And of course, the Lakers would want something in return, a very good player more than likely to pair with Anthony Davis.

Would Koby Altman want to part with either of his new “Big Three”, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, or Evan Mobley to get a player, even a player with James’ greatness, who will turn 38 years old.

We know James keeps himself in pristine shape. Still, Father Time is undefeated and no one knows when age will creep up for The King. So, let’s say the Cavaliers are willing to give up Allen to the Lakers, and they only get one great season out of James?

That would be throwing away the rebuilding done by the front office over the last four years.

If James were to come back and just be a player and fit in with the current corps, there wouldn’t be any problems, correct? James can do whatever is needed on the court. He can score. He’s just around 1600 points from becoming the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.

He can rebound, averaging 8.1 this season, and the last time he was under 7.5 for a season, the Cavs won the 2016 championship.

And we all know he can pass. Two seasons ago, he led the league in assists. People who know the game say, he is a pass first player and is going to wind up as the greatest scorer in history.

We know James and his people wouldn’t just join the team and fit in. He would start making suggestions about adding veterans to the mix, he would rather play with guys who have been in the league.

He might start second guessing J.B. Bickerstaff or perhaps Altman. And he might put some burdens on the salary cap that will remain long after he is gone.

The latter might be a problem since the core of this team figures to be here for a while.

While bringing LeBron James back would make the Cavs instant championship contenders, they might be in the same position in two or three years without bringing him.

As we said earlier, it’s just not as simple as getting him and plugging him in. And it’s Koby Altman’s job to figure whether or not it’s the right move to make.

Don’t Panic On Cavs, And A Discussion On Okoro

Because the Cleveland Cavaliers have been struggling, losing six of their last seven games, the fans and media are trying to a scapegoat for the lack of winning.

In reality, a big part of this losing skein is the injuries. We understand J.B. Bickerstaff doesn’t want to use this excuse, no coach does, there is a next man up theory for any team sport.

But for a team like the Cavs, without a deep roster, it because pretty simplistic.

We have written about this before; Cleveland has nine solid NBA players. The balance of the roster can be effective on certain nights, but consistency is a problem for them. We are talking about players like Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens, and Brandon Goodwin.

For the last month or so, the wine and gold have been missing a combination of these players: Lauri Markkanen, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, and Rajon Rondo.

Two of them start, and in reality, when he returns LeVert will get starters minutes, and another proven ball handler and defender in Rondo.

If LeVert and Rondo return and the Cavs are still playing poorly, then it might make sense to have a touch of panic about this team.

Remember, the Cavaliers got a lot of notice by other players and the national media with the All Star Game being played in their house. It is only natural, especially for a very young team to get a little caught up in the hoopla (no pun intended).

Hopefully, Friday night’s performance and effort in Philadelphia signals a return to the way the Cavs played prior to the event at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

For the most part, the Cavaliers’ best players are pretty consistent. There is one exception, and it stands out with all the injuries. Bickerstaff needs a more even offensive stat line on a nightly basis from second year pro Isaac Okoro.

Okoro is a very good defender. Their lone victory in the last seven games is due to his lockdown of Kyle Kuzma against the Wizards.

Offensively, especially when Garland and LeVert were out, they need more games like last Friday when Okoro put up 22 points.

Now, they don’t need 22 all the time, but in the previous half dozen games, last year’s fifth overall pick scored 4, 6, 6, 11, 6, and 5 points.

We were critical of taking a defensive first player that high in the draft and this is why. At that spot, you would like to get a more complete basketball player. Opposing teams are clogging the middle to stop Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, and they are doing it by leaving Okoro open.

On the other hand, the second-year pro just turned 21 years old, so there is plenty of room and time to improve. That doesn’t help them right now.

In his last 10 games, the most shots he put up was the eight he took vs. Philly. He’s had three games where he took five attempts or less.

We aren’t saying he should just start heaving up shots at will, but he needs to make himself someone who the defense has to guard. He’s not exactly filling up the box score either.

In that same span, he’s had a high of five rebounds (twice) and his assist best was four. Again, we know not everything is included in the stat sheet, but in watching the games, there are long stretches where he disappears offensively.

And the Cavs need more from him on the offensive end. Basketball is the one sport where a player has to contribute in both aspects, and transition to it immediately.

With people down, others need to step up. The Cavaliers need Isaac Okoro to do more on the offensive end and do it within the frame of the offense.

That’s not too much to ask for a player picked in the top five a year ago. He can’t be regarded in the same class as Wade and Stevens.

The Sadness Of Being A Baseball Fan.

It pains us to say it, but the sport of baseball is in trouble. The people who are supposed to be the stewards of what used to be known as “The National Pastime” simply are out of touch with not only reality, but also the people who buy tickets.

The negotiation of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement has simply been a joke. After locking the players out (let us repeat, the players are NOT on strike), they waited 43 days before sitting down and negotiating with the players. 43 days!

No sense of urgency at all.

The commissioner, Rob Manfred, who is hired by the owners, has revealed himself as a vindictive, petty man. He had one of the premier baseball writers ever, Ken Rosenthal, removed from the sport’s network because he dared to criticize the commish on his handling of the sport during the COVID year of 2020.

He also was laughing during a press conference the other day when he was announcing the cancellation of the first two series of the 2022 season. A somber mood would be more appropriate.

The owners continue to cry poor, when there is a whole lot of evidence to the contrary. Here in Cleveland, we have an owner that is always telling the fans how difficult it is to make ends meet, but meanwhile cuts payroll and leaves ticket prices the same.

Besides canceling games this season, think about what the leadership of the game has given fans over the past three years.

First, one of the things the MLB office does is constantly tell everyone how bad their sport is and how it needs fixing. No other professional sport does this. We aren’t saying baseball is perfect, but would you buy a car if the dealer told you what a lemon it was?

The owners panacea is to expand the playoffs to 14 teams, making it more like the NBA. Apparently, the players balked and they decided on 12 teams, which is still too many considering the regular season is 162 games, and the best team wins roughly 60% of its games.

It’s strictly a money grab for the owners, who have revalued the regular season already and this will continue with more teams in the playoffs.

The ownership group has also given fans a ghost runner in extra inning games and seven inning doubleheaders, and are proposing a rule limiting how a team can play defense (banning the shift). Our opinion on that is you are rewarding players who are not good hitters.

The owners always focus on the payroll discrepancy within the sport. But isn’t that more on the smaller payroll teams? There were only two teams that exceeding the tax threshold last season, the Dodgers and Padres. Meanwhile, there were eight teams with payrolls less than $75 million, including the Guardians/Indians.

We have heard several fans say at least the Dolans want to win. Do they? We think they like winning. Everyone does.

We will say the same thing about owners as we do about players. We’d rather have an owner that hates losing more than one that likes winning.

The owners on the lower end of the payrolls spectrum are happy spending little, and even happier if they happen to win while doing it.

Fans who love the sport say something has to change, and they are right. Someone with some common sense needs to be in charge. Until that happens, we are afraid the sport will continue to fade in the sports fan’s psyche.

That’s not good for the future of the “grand ol’ game”.