Evaluation Of NBA Players Is Different Today.

With “The Last Dance” airing on ESPN the past two weeks, the age old who’s better, Michael Jordan or LeBron James, has reared up once again.

Our opinion is Jordan, but we don’t dismiss the James argument, as LeBron might be the most gifted athlete to ever play in the NBA. And although Jordan has won six titles, James has been to The Finals nine times.

Only three players have been to more: Bill Russell, Sam Jones, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

What we have thought about is the way evaluating great players has changed in the last 20 years of professional basketball.

Keep in mind, we’ve followed the NBA since the late 1960’s.

Too Much Emphasis On Rings. Ring counting has been en vogue since Jordan started winning them, but it doesn’t seem fair anymore.

First, the player movement is greater than ever particularly among the league’s best talents. Could Oscar Robertson have won more rings had he decided to sign with the Celtics in his prime?

Or let’s say Wilt Chamberlain went to the Royals when they had Oscar and Jerry Lucas. Could they have knocked off the Russell-led Celtics?

This isn’t to criticize today’s players it is just to point out free agency wasn’t available in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, and it is more prevalent that it was in the 80’s and 90’s.

The other part of the ring debate is the Draymond Green/Charles Barkley argument. Green is a very good player, and a key piece of Golden State’s three titles in four years.

However, there is no universe around where Green is a better player than Barkley. End of discussion.

Besides, how do the ring counters evaluation players like Robert Horry (7 rings) and Steve Kerr (5 rings)?

Style Over Substance. Today’s game seem to be more about the spectacular play rather than the winning play. There is room for both in the game, but since this is professional sports, shouldn’t the emphasis be on team success?

Early this year, we saw repeated replays of Memphis rookie Ja Morant trying to dunk on the Cavs’ Kevin Love.

First, we love Morant’s game, and think he will be a great player in the league for many, many years.

However, A). He missed the dunk, and B). The Grizzlies lost the game.

When was the last time a player on a team with one of the five worst records in the NBA was voted as a starter in the All Star Game? Prior to Trae Young being voted in this season, that is?

There used to be discussion that certain players probably should be in the game, but their teams weren’t any good. And maybe they did get a spot, but they didn’t start.

That’s changed now.

The Past Is Forgotten. Actually, baseball is the only sport where fans embrace the history of the game as much as they should.

So when the subject of the greatest players ever comes up, heck, sometimes even Larry Bird and Magic Johnson get omitted, so guys like Rick Barry, Bob Pettit, West, and Robertson have no chance.

Even ex-players do it. This past week, Kendrick Perkins said Kevin Durant is the greatest player ever to wear a Warriors’ uniform. The same Warriors who once employed Wilt Chamberlain and Barry.

The “It Happened Once” Theory. We find it amusing when fans cite things that happened once to predict the future.

A couple good examples relating to the Cavs were accumulating lottery draft picks worked for Oklahoma City, when they drafted Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden as high picks. Tell me where else it worked?

Also, the Cavs can play Collin Sexton and Darius Garland together because it works for Portland with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Again, tell me other teams having success playing two small guards.

What is sad is so many truly great players are forgotten in today’s day and age. Are the size and physical attributes of today’s players greater? Of course. But the way the game is officiated today is more advantageous to smaller players, and the truly great players would have adjusted, the same as today’s players would have adapted to the way things were.

It’s been a great game for many years, not just since 1995.

So Close…The 2007 ALCS

The 2007 baseball season is one of the big “what ifs” of Cleveland sports history.

Mostly because we all assume if the Indians, who had a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series over the Boston Red Sox, had played in the World Series against Colorado, they would have steamrolled them much like Terry Francona’s team did in a four game sweep.

Instead, the series is viewed as another huge disappointment.

The series began in Fenway Park with the Tribe getting bludgeoned 10-3. After both teams scored single tallies in the first, the Sox scored four in the third, three in the fifth, and two in the sixth.

C.C. Sabathia gave up eight runs in 4-1/3 innings, and with the ace getting hammered, things didn’t look good.

Especially with Curt Schilling pitching Game 2 for Boston.

It looked more glum after the Red Sox scored three in the third to take a 3-1 lead. But Jhonny Peralta hit a three run HR off Schilling in the 4th, and made it 5-3 when Grady Sizemore homered in the 5th.

Back-to-back dingers in the bottom half (Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell) gave Boston a 6-5 lead, but Cleveland tied it in the top of the 6th.

And then no one scored. For awhile, as the game headed to extra innings.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Sox had David Ortiz, Ramirez, and Lowell to face rookie Tom Mastny, after Eric Wedge had used his most reliable relievers, Rafael Perez, Rafael Betancourt, and Jensen Lewis.

Talk about a feeling of dread…except Mastny retired them in order.

Cleveland scored seven in the top of the 11th, capped by Franklin Gutierrez’ grand slam homer (after run scoring hits by former Boston player Trot Nixon and Ryan Garko) and the Tribe went home even in the series.

Returning to Jacobs Field, the Indians won game three 4-2 with Jake Westbrook beating Boston, and Kenny Lofton hitting a two run homer, and took a commanding 3-1 series lead scoring seven runs in the 5th to win 7-3 behind Paul Byrd, who went five, and the bullpen.

Casey Blake and Peralta belted homers, and the Tribe was one win away from the pennant.

But Beckett spoiled the party, going eight innings in a 7-1 win. It was a 1-1 tie heading into the 7th, but Sabathia had given up 8 hits in his six innings, and was over 100 pitches.

Wedge sent him back out there, and he gave up back-to-back extra base hits to Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, and the game spun out of control, sending the series back to Boston.

Game 6 was over before it started as Fausto Carmona (as he was known then) didn’t have it, giving up four in the first and six more in the third. Meanwhile, Schilling rebounded from his poor Game 2 start to throw seven innings, allowing just two runs to set up a one game playoff for the American League pennant.

Westbrook got the start for Cleveland, while Daisuke Matsuzaka got the nod from Francona. Before the game, it was revealed that Paul Byrd took HGH. Byrd said it was prescribed by his doctor.

It created a stir in the Indians’ organization and locker room though.

Westbrook allowed seven hits in the first three innings, but limited Boston to just single tallies in each frame, so he kept his team in it.

The Indians crept back into the contest with runs in the fourth (doubles by Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko) and a sacrifice fly by Sizemore in the fifth, following three straight singles. It could have been a bigger inning, but for Lofton getting thrown out trying to stretch the first hit into a double.

Westbrook held the Sox off the board through the sixth, so it was still a very close game heading to the seventh, with the Tribe trailing 3-2.

With one out, Lofton reached second on an error by Boston SS Julio Lugo. The next batter, Gutierrez, singled and third base coach Joel Skinner held Lofton at third, putting runners on the corners with one out, and a golden chance to tie the game.

The hit was down the third base line and caromed off the wall at Fenway into short left field. It looked as though Lofton hit third well before Ramirez picked up the ball in left, meaning it would have taken a great throw to get Lofton, who still had good speed.

Blake followed by swinging at the first pitch, banging into a 5-4-3 double play. Threat ended. And when Pedroia homered off Betancourt with a man on (ironically due to an error by Blake), the game was virtually over.

In retrospect, should Wedge have removed Sabathia earlier in game five to keep the game close? Would the bullpen have held Game 7 if Skinner had not held Lofton? Could the Indians have scored more had Lofton tied the game?

Those are the “what ifs”. Another case of so close, but yet so far…

Browns Draft For Talent And Need. The Way It Should Be.

Coming into the NFL Draft, we thought the Cleveland Browns were a good bet to trade down, out of the 10th overall pick. The only way they wouldn’t, we thought, was if someone like Chase Young or Isaiah Simmons dropped to ten, or the tackle they thought was the best was still there.

The latter came about, and the Browns didn’t hesitate to take Jedrick Wills Jr. from Alabama. Now, the naysayers pointed out right away that Wills played right tackle for Nick Saban, and the Browns are playing him on the left side.

Since we started looking at mock drafts back in January, pretty much everyone didn’t think it would be a big deal for Wills to make the switch and be Cleveland’s left tackle for a long time.

Plus, Wills was projected by most draft ratings as a top 15 pick, so it isn’t like GM Andrew Berry reached for him at #10.

We preface all draft analysis by saying no one knows until the players get on the field, so to analyze, you have to look at two things: 1). Was the player chosen ranked a lot lower by the people who put grades on the players? or 2). Was the player chosen not fill a need for the team? (i.e. Green Bay taking a quarterback).

In the second and third rounds, the Browns did the same thing, it doesn’t look like they reached and they filled more positions of need.

Their second round pick was S Grant Delpit from LSU, who was projected as a first rounder before the season started but had some injury problems. If those problems are behind him, he should receive a lot of playing time next season.

The formula was followed with the next two picks in DT Jordan Elliott from Missouri and run stopping LB Jacob Phillips from LSU.

Along with free agent signee Andrew Billings, Elliott could give new defensive coordinator Joe Woods a chance to give starters Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson rest at the defensive tackle spot.

As for Phillips, if you didn’t like Joe Schobert being a pass defender first and foremost at middle linebacker, you will like Phillips, who is most definitely is a run stopper. He will need to work on covering backs out of the backfield.

The first curious selection was TE Harrison Bryant from Florida Atlantic, which makes you wonder about David Njoku’s future with the team. On the other hand, Kevin Stefanski loves tight ends.

And the scouting reports say Bryant likes to block too, and he did win the Mackey Award as the best tight end in college football.

The last two picks were a little curious considering the defense could still use another defensive end and some linebacking help.

Instead, they took an offensive lineman in center Nick Harris. While not an area of need, you can never have too many good players in the trenches.

The last choice was probably “this guy is too good to be here” in Michigan WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, who was projected to go in rounds 3-5, and Cleveland got him with a 6th rounder.

The Browns do need another wide out, so it’s hard to be too critical of the pick.

Actually, it’s hard to be angry about any of the picks. What we can say is the “analytics” people don’t appear to have botched the entire process, and they took players most draft analysts figured to go around where they went.

The next step is to see them in uniform and playing other teams in exhibition play. Hopefully, all of these players can be contributors to the 2020 Cleveland Browns.

Overlooked When He Arrived, Cliff Lee Wound Up An Ace

When GM Mark Shapiro decided to deal Bartolo Colon to the Montreal Expos in the middle of the 2002 season, he had a quick rebuild on his mind.

That’s why the top target in the deal was infielder Brandon Phillips, the Expos’ top prospect, who was also the #20 minor league prospect in all of professional baseball.

He also got Grady Sizemore, who was Montreal’s third best minor leaguer.

That’s a good start, right? But Shapiro also got a left-handed pitcher who wasn’t ranked in the Expos’ top ten, but was 7-2 with a 3.23 ERA at Class AA Harrisburg, who coincidentally played in the same league as the Tribe’s AA affiliate in Akron.

You can make a pretty good argument that the pitcher became the best player in the deal. That southpaw was Cliff Lee.

Lee made three starts with Akron, before the Tribe bumped him up to AAA Buffalo for eight starts (3-2, 3.77 ERA) at age 23, before making his major league debut against the Twins on September 15th in a 5-0 loss. Lee pitched 5-1/3 innings allowing one run on two hits.

The lefty started the following year in AAA, going 6-1 with a 3.27 ERA before getting called up for good (he made a spot start on June 30th) on August 16th. He made nine starts in total, finishing at 3-3 with a 3.61 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 52.1 innings.

Lee opened 2004 in the rotation, and started well, going 7-1 with a 3.86 ERA through June, and was 10-1 with a 3.81 ERA when he beat Seattle on July 16th. He ran out of gas at that point, going 4-7 with a whopping 8.90 ERA over the rest of the season.

He finished at 14-8 and a 5.43 ERA with 161 strikeouts in 179 frames.

He was one of the Indians’ anchors to a pitching staff that just missed the post-season in 2005, going 18-5 with a 3.79 ERA, becoming more of a pitch to contact guy, his strikeout rate dropped from 8.1 to 6.4, but his walk rate also fell from 4.1 to 2.3 (both per nine innings)

Lee took a step backwards in ’06, going 14-11 and his ERA rose to 4.40, but finished strong with a 4-1 September, cementing him as a fixture for the following season.

One of the great regrets of the 2007 Central Division winning season, is the failure of Cliff Lee to be Cliff Lee. Think about if Eric Wedge had the Lee of 2005 to add to the Cy Young Award winning C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona (19-8, 3.06 ERA).

We might be talking about what a great parade fans experienced following that season.

The southpaw never got it going that year, going 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA and was left off the post-season roster. He didn’t make a start after July 26th, and was sent to AAA for the month of August.

Lee roared back in 2008, allowing just one run in his first four starts, and ended May at 8-1 with a 1.88 ERA, in route to winning his own Cy Young, with a 22-3, 2.84 ERA. He led the AL in wins, ERA, shutouts, ERA+, Fielding Independent Pitching, home runs/9 innings and walks per 9 innings.

The Indians got off to a slow start in ’09 after trading Sabathia the year before, and Lee entered the All Star break at 4-9, but with a 3.47 ERA. Unfortunately, the Indians were sitting in last place with a 35-54 record, and Shapiro pulled the trigger on moves involving cornerstones Victor Martinez, and Lee.

Both players were not eligible for free agency until after the 2010 season, meaning the GM punted on the following season.

Martinez brought Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Brian Price (only Masterson had any success in Cleveland), while Lee brought Jason Knapp, Lou Marson, Jason Donald, and a young right-hander named Carlos Carrasco from Philadelphia.

It took until 2014, five years later, before the Tribe saw a real return when Carrasco became one of the AL’s best pitchers after elbow surgery.

Lee pitched in the World Series later that year for the Phillies (they lost to New York), although he pitched well winning his two starts.

An impending free agent, Lee was dealt to Seattle over the winter, and was moved to Texas at the deadline, again pitching in the Fall Classic, but this time he went 0-2 as the Rangers lost to San Francisco.

He signed back with the Phillies as a free agent and had an excellent 2011 season (17-8, 2.40 ERA) and went 37-25 in his first three years with the Phils.

But the weight of eight 200 innings pitched years in a nine year span took their toll on his elbow and he finished his career in 2014 with a 4-5, 3.65 ERA in just 81 innings.

Cliff Lee’s career record in the bigs is 143-91, with 83 of those wins coming in a Cleveland Indians uniform.

He was kind of an afterthought when the Colon trade was made, but he might have been the best return.

The NFL Draft Is More Than Picking The Best Player

We feel that most Browns’ fans would rather not see the team trade down in the first round of Thursday night’s NFL Draft, and perhaps this is only because it makes for a shorter period of time before the team makes its first pick.

We see comments all the time from fans and media alike, akin to just take the guy you want when it’s your turn to pick and be done with it. There is some validity to that, but you also have to remember that the draft is the game within the game.

Meaning, you have to be aware and open to what other teams are doing and how it affects both the draft, and what players you like the best.

For example, let’s say the Browns really love Boise State OT Ezra Cleveland, they think he’s the best tackle available. Should they take him with the 10th overall pick?

Let’s also say they know most teams have a low first/high second round grade on this player. Would you take him 10th then?

In our opinion, that would be silly. In this scenario, why not trade down (if you can) to let’s say between 18-21 (we are avoiding the 22nd overall pick for bad karma reasons), and gain extra picks in either this year’s or next year’s selection process.

Or perhaps they don’t think there is much difference between the “big four” offensive tackles projected to be first rounders: Andrew Thomas from Georgia, Mekhi Becton of Louisville, Jedrick Wills of Alabama, and Tristan Wirfs of Iowa, and two of them are still sitting there at #10.

Meanwhile, another team, let’s say Las Vegas, wants to move up to get the best wide receiver available.

Why not trade down to the Raiders’ spot (#12) and pick up another high pick (third round or better) in either 2020 or 2021?

Fans would freak out about trading down, but if you can still get the player you want and get additional draft capital, you have to do it, no?

That’s what we mean when we say it’s a game. In every team’s war (this year virtual) room, there are discussions about not only what players the scouts love, but also what they believe other teams are going to do, and then try to make moves based on those thoughts.

If a player is projected to go high and doesn’t, assuming there are no red flags, the smart (read: winning) teams, try to jump up, seeing talent fall.

Bill Belichick has always said he loved to see teams reach for quarterbacks in drafts, because it pushes more talented players down to where the Patriots are normally picking.

We understand if you don’t have a quarterback you need one, but that should give you an idea of what happens if you draft one and miss. The good teams get better.

The NFL Draft isn’t just a matter of taking “the best player available” or taking the player at the biggest position of need. There definitely are other things at work.

It’s the game within the game.

And we apologize for all the cliches within this piece!

The Turnover Of The Indians’ Roster.

When the Cleveland Indians ended the 2018 season being swept in the American League Division Series by Houston (no comments!), the front office knew there was a problem.

Outside of the resident superstars, Francisco Lindor (then 24) and Jose Ramirez (25), they were an older team with not a lot of upside. Check the ages of the players getting regular playing time that season–

1B Yonder Alonso (31)
2B Jason Kipnis (31)
LF Michael Brantley (31)
RF Melky Cabrera (33)
DH Edwin Encarnacion (35)
C Yan Gomes (30)

And in September, the front office brought in Josh Donaldson (32) to play third, moving Ramirez to second, and put Kipnis in the outfield.

The Indians also had Rajai Davis (37) and Brandon Guyer (32) on the bench.

The pitching staff wasn’t much better. The rotation has Corey Kluber (32) and Carlos Carrasco (31), and the bullpen included Dan Otero (33), Andrew Miller (33), Josh Tomlin (33), and Oliver Perez (36).

President Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff knew that group went as far as it could, understanding the peak years for a player are ages 27-29.

He undertook the process of getting younger following that season. The most painful departures were Brantley, who left via free agency, and trading Gomes, both of whom had been in Cleveland for many years.

By the time spring training started a couple of months ago in Goodyear, the only players in the over 30 crowd still remaining are Carrasco and Oliver Perez.

This isn’t to say the Tribe doesn’t have anyone over 30, of course they do, because a couple of guys under that threshold in ’18 have now crossed over: Roberto Perez is now 31, and they acquired Carlos Santana (35) in the deal that sent Encarnacion to Seattle.

Cleveland also signed Cesar Hernandez (31) to play second base, but he is on a one year deal, and Santana has a club option for next season, when he will be 36.

Backup catcher Sandy Leon is also 31.

Among the pitchers, only Carrasco, and relievers Nick Wittgren (30), Adam Cimber (30), James Hoyt (34) and of course, Oliver Perez (38) are over 30, and outside of Cookie, none of those hurlers are the core to the pitching staff.

In two years, the Tribe is much younger, and still very much a contending team. Besides Ramirez (27) and Lindor (26), the everyday core group of players consists of these guys–

OF/DH Franmil Reyes (25)
CF Oscar Mercado (25)
OF Jordan Luplow (26)

And two more spots, currently filled by Santana and Hernandez could be filled by others next season. Don’t forget Nolan Jones (22) and Tyler Freeman (21) could be knocking on the door for big league jobs in spring training a year from now.

Could those be the spots they will be taking?

The pitching staff is similarly built with young arms like Shane Bieber (25), Aaron Civale (25), Zach Plesac (25), and Mike Clevinger (29).

And the bullpen could be anchored by young arms like James Karinchak (25), and Emmanuel Clase (22).

Don’t forget, some other arms are coming like Scott Moss (25), Cam Hill (26), and Kyle Nelson (24).

The Tribe farm system is ranking higher these days, mostly because of an influx of players who will (hopefully) play at the Class A level.

The front office’s plan has worked in terms of the getting younger part. Whether the talent level of the young players stays the same is still up for debate.

And while we wish they had been more proactive in using the money saved from the changeover, the moves needed to be done.

Let’s hope we will get an opportunity to see that this summer.

Fans Should Know It’s Silly Season In The NFL.

The NFL Draft is a little over a week away and therefore, we have entered the silly season.

It’s a period where people will hear a lot of rumors and comments from a team’s executives and those comments could be made just to create a smoke screen for other teams.

It’s probably more subterfuge than there needs to be.

Earlier this week, fans were up in arms when Cleveland GM Andrew Berry said there wasn’t much difference between playing right tackle and left tackle in today’s game.

Was Berry being serious? Was he underestimating the switch in positions? Or was he trying to let other teams know the Browns may not be drafting a left tackle with the 10th overall pick in next week’s draft?

The answer could be one of those choices or none of them. But the other teams in the NFL don’t know that.

Fans of the Browns and all other NFL teams should be ready for a bunch of unfounded information being put out there and much of it would make no sense for the teams involved.

Just yesterday, there was a report out of New York that the Browns are looking at a deal with Minnesota for Odell Beckham Jr. in which Cleveland would get a 2nd round and a 5th round pick in the 2021 draft.

Are the Browns shopping Beckham? Maybe, as we have noted before, his production has slipped over the past few years, but unless he’s a major pain in the rear end in the locker room, it would be odd to think Berry would take that little return for the former All Pro wideout.

There have also been reports that the Bengals are listening to offers for the first overall pick. Of course they are, why wouldn’t they listen. Let’s say Kansas City offers them Patrick Mahomes, do you think they would make that trade? Of course they would.

But KC isn’t making that offer. Still, the Bengals have nothing to lose by listening to the offers, right?

Our guess is the Bengals will indeed take Joe Burrow with the first overall pick, hoping they have their franchise quarterback.

There is probably a grain of truth in any of these rumors. And we are sure there is plenty of talk among the general managers in the NFL going on right now. Groundwork is being laid for possible moves during the draft.

But that doesn’t mean some of the crazy things you will hear in the next eight days are close to becoming reality. It’s posturing.

The personnel people with various teams want certain players they really like to fall to them, so they put out false information hoping to see someone to jump up ahead of them, so the player falls to them.

So what we are saying is just relax when you hear some of the crazy stuff being reported over the next week or so. On the other hand, you are football fans so you probably can’t help yourself.

The people on sports talk radio are happy, that’s for sure.

Best Game We’ve Seen? ’97 ALDS Game 5

When anyone asks us what is the best sporting event we have attended in person, we have one answer. It was Game 5 of the 1997 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.

Of course, the Tribe won the contest, dethroning the World Champion as part of a magical post-season run that would be thought of today the same way the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 1988 season, if not for a blown save in Game 7 of that year’s World Series.

Cleveland scored 5 runs in the first inning of Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, only to watch Eric Plunk implode in the bottom of the 6th. The Indians headed into the frame with a 6-3 lead, but Plunk served up back-to-back jacks to Tim Raines and Derek Jeter, and then Paul Assenmacher served up another to Paul O’Neill, and the Tribe lost 8-6.

New York took a 3-0 lead in the first off Jaret Wright in Game 2, but Cleveland countered with a five run 4th, highlighted by a 2-run double by Tony Fernandez, and Matt Williams belted a two-run homer in the 5th and the Indians hung on for a 7-5 win, despite solo tallies in the 8th and 9th by the Yanks.

Wright threw five scoreless innings after that shaky first.

The series returned to Cleveland for the balance of games, and New York put themselves one win away from a clinch with a 6-1 victory, David Wells throwing a complete game and Charles Nagy taking the loss. The Tribe mustered just five hits.

The next night though, is talked about a lot because it was one of the few times Mariano Rivera failed in the post-season.

Orel Hershiser threw seven innings on three days rest, allowing just two runs, but Dwight Gooden and the NY bullpen held the Tribe bats at bay until Sandy Alomar Jr. tied it in the bottom of the eighth with a homer off Rivera.

Omar Vizquel’s single off reliever Ramiro Mendoza’s glove in the ninth won the game and forced a deciding game five the following night.

So, Mike Hargrove sent Wright to the mound on three days rest to take on Andy Pettitte in a rematch of Game 2 starters.

Wright escaped trouble in each of the first two innings, giving up a hit and a walk in the first and two singles in the second, but kept the Yanks off the scoreboard.

In the bottom of the third, the Indians struck. With one out, Marquis Grissom and Bip Roberts singled. Vizquel hit into a force, but then stole second. Manny Ramirez then doubled, to score two, and that was followed by a Williams’ single to make it 3-0 Tribe.

Cleveland added to its lead in the fourth when Alomar led off with a double, moved to third on get this…a Jim Thome sacrifice bunt, and scored on Fernandez’ sacrifice fly.

New York cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth. After Wright walked two hitters, with two outs, Bernie Williams singled and the second runner scored on an error by Ramirez.

The Yankees scored again in the top of the sixth, when Mike Stanley led off with a double and scored on a one out single by Wade Boggs, which ended Wright’s evening. Mike Jackson struck out Jorge Posada and got Raines on a ground ball. And the Tribe’s lead was just one after six innings.

Jackson gave up a leadoff hit to Jeter to start the 7th, but Assenmacher came on to get two ground balls off the bats of O’Neill and Bernie Williams, the second a double play to get out of it.

In the eighth, after Assenmacher got Tino Martinez to foul out to Alomar, Hargrove decided it was time to go to his closer, Jose Mesa.

Mesa fanned Stanley, and gave up back-to-back singles before getting Posada on a comebacker to end the threat.

The Indians tried to add to the lead in the bottom half, getting two on with two out, but Mike Stanton struck out David Justice.

Mesa got Raines and Jeter to start the ninth, but O’Neill, who wound up 9 for 11 in his career against the Cleveland closer, hit a bullet of the very top (and we mean the very top) of the wall in right center, just missing a game tying homer by a foot. He wound up at second.

Bernie Williams hit Mesa’s next pitch, a fly ball to medium deep left where Brian Giles caught it. On Fox, Joe Buck simply said “celebrate” and Mesa fell to his knees on the mound.

The Tribe was moving on to Baltimore and ultimately, Miami.

Still, the best game we’ve ever been at.

Bickerstaff Showing Winning Is Important And Expected

Cavs’ coach J.B. Bickerstaff used the “p” word the other day regarding his basketball team. He said the expectation for the Cavaliers next season would be to make a run at the playoffs.

First of all, that a refreshing point of view. Coaches and players should want and expect to make the post-season. We doubt players start any season, even the wine and gold this season and think “gee, let’s lose 65 games”.

Second, this has to make all the tankers nervous. There are people out there who believe teams should be trying to do one of two things: Either be in a position to win a title or trying to maximize your chances of getting the first overall pick in the draft.

They don’t understand teams need to experience winning, coming out with victories occasionally breeds more wins. It’s a learned skill, that’s why you see veteran teams who have lost a great player continue to win for awhile. The players have learned how to come out ahead.

We hate to tell people, sometimes it’s not all about talent. It’s knowing where to be on the court, knowing how to set up a teammate, knowing what’s the right play.

We all know the Cavaliers are a very young basketball team. Their top three in minutes played in 2019-20 are all 25 years old and younger–Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, and Darius Garland.

Add Kevin Porter Jr. to the mix and that would make four of the top seven, and three of those guys are under 21.

And they will add another player from this year’s draft, as they will have one of the top six picks, and that guy will also be under 21 years old.

But they still need a goal of success, and that’s where Bickerstaff’s playoff comment comes in. Talented young players sometimes need to be reminded that winning is the main goal in the NBA.

Those four young players will have some veterans still on the roster to teach them the correct way to play. We have no idea about what this summer will bring (for the league, right now too) for Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson, who will be a free agent, but even if they are gone, other solid veterans will likely be brought in.

For example, after Bickerstaff took over, look at the difference in the offense when Matthew Dellavedova got a ton more minutes at the point. Delly is third on the Cavs in assists, behind Sexton and Garland, both of whom play twice the minutes of the Australian.

Look at the influence he had on Sexton when we started moving the basketball offensively. Sexton saw the success, and his assist totals, criticized by many (including us) started to rise.

That’s learning. Now we aren’t naïve to think all players are open to learning and understanding that winning is important. There are plenty in today’s game who think making the “pretty” play is the right thing to do, and winning is secondary.

Those guys usually become guys who put up numbers on bad teams.

The great players are part of winning teams, championship teams.

That’s what J.B. Bickerstaff wants to develop in Cleveland with the Cavs. And telling his young group of players that winning is important and expected is a good step.

You can’t start too early.

2005 Tribe: A Missed Opportunity

In the wild card era of Major League Baseball, the Cleveland Indians have certainly had a great deal of success.

They’ve won three American League pennants (’95, ’97, and 2016). They advanced to the AL Championship Series twice more, losing in 1998 and 2007.

And they’ve went to the post-season more than any other American League team, save for the big market behemoths New York and Boston.

Of the team’s that didn’t make the post-season, the one team that kind of gets overlooked is the 2005 edition of the Indians, managed by Eric Wedge.

The Tribe finished the ’04 campaign at 80-82, and their biggest move of the off-season going into ’05 was probably inking Kevin Millwood as a free agent, although the veteran right-hander was coming off an injury plagued season with the Phillies, throwing only 145 innings.

GM Mark Shapiro also traded OF Matt Lawton to Pittsburgh to fortify the bullpen, getting LHP Arthur Rhodes.

It was the fourth year of a rebuild that started following the 2001 season, when Shapiro dealt Roberto Alomar to New York. By this time, the last remnants of the great 90’s teams were gone via free agency, Jim Thome to Philadelphia following 2002, and Omar Vizquel over the winter.

So, there weren’t big expectations on the Tribe coming into the 2005 season.

And that was confirmed early in the year, and the Indians closed April at 9-14, while the Chicago White Sox started red hot, opening at 17-7.

On May 8th, Cleveland was sitting at 12-18, 11-1/2 games behind the front running White Sox, and the defending champion Central Division champions in Minnesota were also playing well at 19-11.

Wedge’s squad started to play better at this point, going 35-23 to the All Star break, to sit at 47-41, still 11 games behind Chicago, who went through the first half on a torrid pace (57-29), but the Indians were clearly in the wild card race, just two games behind Minnesota.

At the point, Baltimore, Texas, New York, and the young Wahoos, who only had two players over 30 getting substantial playing time (Aaron Boone and Casey Blake), were very much in the race.

Cleveland was paced by their pitching, they wound up leading the AL in ERA, mostly a five man rotation that made all but four starts all season.

Millwood led the league in ERA at 2.86, but he, Jake Westbrook (15-15, 4.49 ERA), C.C. Sabathia (15-10, 4.03), Cliff Lee (18-5, 3.79), and Scott Elarton (11-9, 4.61) took the mound every fifth day.

The bullpen was strong too, led by closer Bob Wickman (45 saves) and set up men Bob Howry (2.47 ERA), Rafael Betancourt (2.79 ERA), David Riske (3.10 ERA).

The offense ranked 4th in runs scored, with big years from Travis Hafner (.305, 33 HR, 108 RBI, 1003 OPS), Jhonny Peralta (.292, 24, 78 885 OPS), Victor Martinez (.305, 20, 80, 853 OPS), and Grady Sizemore (.289, 22, 81, 832 OPS).

All of those guys were under 28, and Peralta was 23, while Sizemore was 22.

Cleveland struggled out of the break and finished July at 55-51, 14.5 behind the Pale Hose, and now four behind Oakland, who got hot and seized the wild card lead.

Then, it was the Tribe’s turn to get hot, going 19-8 in August, while the Sox came back to the pack. The lead was seven games heading into September, and the wild card deficit was down to 1.5 behind the Yankees, who were also scolding hot.

The Indians started September 18-4, and after games on 9/24, the Tribe was just a game and a half behind Chicago, and held a game and a half lead in the wild card standings. They had the second best record in the AL at 92-63.

Unfortunately, they would win just one more game the rest of the year.

On the 25th, with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, and Kansas City had a runner on second with one out, when Paul Phillips hit a fly ball that Grady Sizemore lost in the sun, and the Royals won 5-4.

Chicago and Boston won, so Cleveland trailed Chicago by 2.5 and led the wild card by just a half game, with a three game set at home vs. lowly Tampa coming up.

The Tribe dropped the opener to Scott Kazmir, who was staked to an early 5-0 lead, before the Indians clawed back at trailed 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth with runners on 1st and 3rd with just one out. Ronnie Belliard hit into a double play.

Cleveland was shutout the next night by Seth McClung, 1-0, wasting a great pitching performance by Lee, before Sabathia and Betancourt blanked the Rays, 6-0.

Heading into the final weekend at home vs. Chicago, the Tribe was 3 behind the Sox, and tied with Boston for the wild card.

The Indians mustered just 6 runs against the Sox in the three games, losing by counts of 3-2 (in 13 innings), 4-3, and 3-1. The Tribe tied the first game in the bottom of the ninth, but another double play ball, this one off the bat of Boone, killed the rally.

Cleveland wound up missing the wild card by two games. The White Sox won the pennant and ultimately the World Series.

Another frustrating chapter of baseball in our city.