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.

Overthinking May Be Taken Out Of This Year’s NFL Draft

As of right now, the NFL is going forward with their annual draft, later this month, starting on April 23rd.

There has been a lot of criticism toward the league, because of the current situation going on throughout the world with COVID-19, and normally we are a critic of the NFL’s business model, which basically is, we will do anything we want because we are the NFL, but in this case, we believe people need the draft.

If you are a sports fan, you need a diversion from the daily news featuring the number of cases being diagnosed, and the cancellations going on throughout sports.

Please, don’t take this as being careless about the virus. People should be doing whatever they can to slow the spread of it, and our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who has been affected by the virus or has family affected as well.

But sports fans need something to look forward to, and next up on the agenda is the draft.

We did find the complaints from different teams about not having personal workout days for prospects quite laughable.

Those things are basically a media event anyway.

It wasn’t that long ago that the decisions made on a player were made based on what they did on the college playing field only. We know this may be shocking to some people, but prior to 1982, there wasn’t even an NFL Draft Combine.

How could those scouts tell who were good players without having linemen do a “cone drill” or a standing broad jump? And before you say, they made mistakes prior to this, look at the last four or five years of first round picks, there are still plenty of errors, which fans of the Browns are well aware of.

The college pro days might even be worse. We loved when a quarterback had his showcase and the reporters would note he completed 60 of 64 passes. Wow! Of course there is no defensive players on the field.

We think we could go in the backyard and complete that kind of percentage to our sons with no one guarding them. The point is a good college passer should be completing those throws, it most certainly isn’t news.

One story we always like to point out is that of Chris Spielman, Massillon product and an All American middle linebacker at Ohio State. If you watched the Buckeyes play that in 1987, you saw Spielman make tackle after tackle.

He was the best defensive player on the team, and in most games, on the field.

However, one of his defensive teammates, Eric Kumerow, was picked in the first round of the NFL Draft in 1988, while Spielman went to the Lions in the second round.

Why? Because Kumerow had the “measurables”, Spielman just made plays.

There are many other stories like that too. Guys who made an impact on the field, but didn’t workout well.

In 1985, the first two wide receivers picked were Al Toon (Jets) and Eddie Brown (Bengals). The next WR chosen was a player named Jerry Rice, probably the greatest wide receiver ever.

It was said that Rice’s 40 yard dash time was the reason the other two players were taken ahead of him, and he also played at a small school, Mississippi Valley State.

Maybe Rice didn’t time well, but not many people ever caught him from behind either.

The biggest thing to come from this year’s draft might be that overthinking will be minimized. And that might also be the best thing.

Simulated Tribe Off To Good Starts

These are different times we live in, particularly without the sport which symbolizes the beginning of spring and summer, baseball.

With no real games going on, we are curious each and every day to see what is going on in a couple of sites running simulated seasons. We understand it is not real, so readers should have no concern about our sanity.

The two simulated games we are following are at Baseball Reference.com, which uses Out of the Park Baseball 21, and the game we grew up with, Strat O Matic, which shows results online daily.

Both simulations have the Cleveland Indians off to good starts, perhaps because the early schedule would’ve had a lot of games with the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox, although the latter is supposed to be much improved this season.

Baseball Reference. This site has the Indians getting off to a 5-4 start through April 4th, a game and a half game behind the White Sox, who did sweep the Tribe in a three game set at Progressive Field earlier in the week.

The Indians have taken all five games from the Tigers thus far.

Franmil Reyes is off to a great start, going 11 for 30 with five home runs and eight runs batted in. Newcomer Cesar Hernandez is also doing well, tied for second on the team in RBIs with seven.

This game surprisingly has Greg Allen getting the bulk of the time in the outfield, going 8 for 28. Carlos Santana is 13 for 31, and Francisco Lindor is 12 for 38 with 4 HR.

On the negative side, Jose Ramirez is off to a slow start (4 for 35), as are Oscar Mercado (3 for 24) and Roberto Perez (5 for 29 with 14 strikeouts).

Pitching wise, Zach Plesac is 2-0 with 4.50 ERA, while Shane Bieber has a 3.00 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15 innings.

The simulation does not include Mike Clevinger or Carlos Carrasco, instead rookie Scott Moss made the big club to open the season.

Also, Sandy Leon is not on the big league roster, and weirdly, John Axford is, apparently acquired in a trade with Toronto.

Strat O Matic Their simulation has the Indians off to a 8-1 start, a game ahead of the Royals, who started off 6-1. FYI, the Twins have started at 3-6 to date.

They have Jefry Rodriguez in the rotation, and the righty has been very good, going 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in two starts. Zach Plesac is also 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 18 strikeouts.

Reyes has started hot in this simulation too, belting six dingers and knocking in 13 in the first eight games of the season.

Domingo Santana is batting .417 and Carlos Santana is at .375 with 7 doubles on the season.

They have Jose Ramirez at .303 through eight games, while Lindor is off to a slow start, batting just .211.

Brad Hand blew two saves in the Chicago series, but the Indians rallied to win both contests, one on a Reyes walk off shot in the bottom of the ninth.

They have used a platoon of Jake Bauers and Jordan Luplow in RF, with Delino DeShields getting a couple of starts in center.

This game also does not have Clevinger or Carrasco available, and Cam Hill made the Opening Day roster. In fact, they already had Terry Francona using a bullpen day in game #5, using Hunter Wood as the starter.

Without actual games, this is making the best of the situation. And happily, the Indians are off to a good start in both simulations.

Let’s hope we see some baseball on the field for real soon.

Stay safe and stay healthy.

The Browns Used To Be Good. Real Good.

With no sports on the docket right now, we have become quite nostalgic about the state of Cleveland sports.

Today, we turn our attention to the Cleveland Browns.

Our first remembrances of the Browns was the 1965 season, a year in which, get this, Blanton Collier’s squad were the defending NFL Champions.

At that point in time, the Browns had been in existence for 20 years and had one losing season, a 5-7 mark in 1957. To that point, they had won four NFL and four more AAFC (All American Football Conference) championships.

They were arguably the crown jewel franchise of professional football, something my father said often and with pride.

We remember the ’65 title game, played in the mud at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, with the Browns coming up short, 23-12, in what proved to be Jim Brown’s last game in the NFL.

We watched at an aunt’s house, and she had a color TV, which was rare at the time. Talk about a great memory.

At that time, you won the Conference and you went to the championship game, they did have something called the Playoff Bowl, which matched the second place team in each conference.

Why? Who knows.

Even when the Browns didn’t win the Eastern Conference, they were still very competitive, finishing second three years, usually behind their hated rivals, the New York Giants, and finished third twice.

After dropping the title game to Lombardi’s Packers in ’65, the Browns finished second in ’66 to Dallas, and the following season, the NFL went to a four division set up, and the Browns won three straight Century Division (why? who knows) titles, advancing to the post-season.

They got lambasted 52-14 by Dallas in 1967 in the Eastern Conference playoff, but gained revenge, beating the Cowboys the next two seasons to advance to the NFL title game.

Jim Brown retired, but Leroy Kelly replaced him and became one of the top runners in pro football. Frank Ryan, the QB who led the Browns to their last title, was replaced by Bill Nelsen (acquired in a trade from Pittsburgh, of all teams), and he led Cleveland to within one game of the Super Bowl in ’68 and ’69.

Unfortunately, the Browns weren’t competitive in either contest, losing to the Baltimore Colts 34-0 in the first year, and then to Minnesota 27-7 the following year.

They still had one of the best receivers in the game in Paul Warfield, but the defense was mostly bend, but don’t break.

There was a reason the Browns played in the first Monday Night Football game in 1970. They were good, damn good, and for the most part, year in and year out.

Before that season, with Nelsen aging, the Browns traded Warfield to Miami so they could be in a position to take Purdue QB Mike Phipps, who finished 2nd in the Heisman Trophy voting, and followed NFL stars Len Dawson and Bob Griese in college.

Phipps never became what the Browns envisioned.

Cleveland finished 7-7 in 1970, the first year of the merger when they voted to the AFC to be in the same division as Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Houston. For those younger readers, the Browns, Steelers, and Colts agreed to join the existing AFL teams.

Nick Skorich, the new coach, got the aging Browns into the playoffs in ’71 and ’72, the latter year with Phipps at the helm, but they lost to the Colts and the Miami Dolphins (with Warfield and on their way to an undefeated season).

Even then, they never collapsed. Yes, they finished 4-10 in 1975 and 3-11 in 1976, but by ’78, they were a .500 team at 8-8.

By the time the Kardiac Kids had their heyday in 1980, the Browns had played 30 seasons, and had just four losing seasons.

Hard to fathom that right now, isn’t it?

Tribe Baseball In The 80’s–Juuuulllliiiiioooo

In the strike season of 1981, the Cleveland Indians had one of the game’s top prospects in 3B Von Hayes. At Class A in 1980, Hayes hit .329 with 15 homers and drove in 90 (905 OPS).

The following season, Hayes batted .314 with 10 HR and 73 ribbies at AAA, and was called up, batting .257 in 43 games, walking more than he struck out.

In his first full season in the bigs, 1982, Hayes, a left-handed hitter, batted .250 with 14 homers and 82 RBI, while stealing 32 bases with a 699 OPS. He finished 7th in the Rookie of the Year voting, and looked to be one of the bright stars of the game at 23 years old.

Apparently, the Philadelphia Phillies thought the same thing, and traded five players to the Indians for Hayes. Among the haul for Cleveland was All Star second baseman Manny Trillo, top pitching prospect Jay Baller, and a young shortstop, Julio Franco.

Franco did get into 23 games with the Phils the previous year, getting eight hits in 29 at bats.

In his first year as a regular, Franco hit .273 with 8 HR and 80 RBI (.693 OPS). Those numbers climbed with age, until he had his best year as an Indian in 1987, with a .319 batting average, eight dingers and 52 RBI in 128 games (818 OPS).

Franco’s defense at short was erratic at best and in 1985, the front office, led by GM Joe Klein, tried to move Franco to second base, replacing with the light-hitting Johnnie LeMaster, acquired from San Francisco.

LeMaster went 3 for 20 in his brief tenure with the Tribe and was quickly dealt to Pittsburgh for Scott Bailes, in what turned about to be a great deal for Cleveland. Franco went back to SS.

The following season, the Tribe led the American League in runs scored (they were second last in ERA) with tremendous seasons by Franco and his keystone partner, Tony Bernazard.

After the ’88 season, Franco moved to second full time, and hit .303, his third straight season over that mark, he was dealt to Texas in a deal much like the one that brought him to Cleveland, quantity for quality. The Indians got 1B Pete O’Brien, OF Oddibe McDowell, and 2B Jerry Browne in return.

The Tribe made many deals from 1970-90 in a similar vein. Get a good player, and when it is time to have to pay them, trade said player for prospects.

NOTE: This wasn’t a successful business plan. Please take note for the future.

In Texas, Franco blossomed, making the All Star team three straight years, including winning the game’s MVP in 1990. He won the batting title in 1991, batting .341, with 15 HR and an 882 OPS.

After an injury plagued 1992, he became a full time DH with the Rangers in 1993 (.289, 14 HR, 84 RBI, .798 OPS), he became a free agent and signed with the White Sox, where he batted .319 with a career high 20 homers.

With the strike extending from the end of the ’94 season into ’95, Julio went to play in Japan, hitting .306. At this point, he was regarded as a professional hitter.

“Juice” returned to the Indians for the 1996 season, and the familiar “Juuuuullllliiiiioooo” chant was back at Jacobs Field. Franco hit .322 with 14 dingers (877 OPS) as a first baseman and designated hitter for the AL Central Champs.

The next season, GM John Hart tried to put Franco back at 2B at the age of 38, and he hit .284 with just 3 homers, before being released in August. He finished that year with the Brewers.

He played until age 48 with the Braves as a right-handed platoon bat, hitting .309 with an 818 OPS in 2004 at age 45.

In 2007 with the Mets, he homered off Randy Johnson, becoming the oldest man to hit a home run in the big leagues.

Overall with the Indians, the team he played the most games with at 1088, Franco hit .297 with a 752 OPS.

Unorthodox batting stance, pure hitter. Perhaps he should be put in the Indians’ Hall of Fame.