Shapiro’s Comments On Spending Are Concerning

Over the weekend, Cleveland Indians team president Mark Shapiro had an interview with MLB radio in which he talked about the future of his team.

Among the things he said was that the Indians did their spending last season when they inked Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn.

This is troubling because if ever there were time to go the extra mile in spending, it would be this winter.

The Indians made the playoffs last season and won 92 games. With the Browns ending another terrible season and the Cavs still below .500, a solid winter would get fans excited about the 2014 baseball season.

Nothing like throwing a wet blanket on the fan base.

Look, we understand the Indians cannot have a $100 million payroll, but Baseball Reference.com estimates they will spend $81.1 million on players next season.

Why can’t they get closer to $90 million?

Last year, the organization said they were able to sign Swisher and later Bourn because of the sale of Sportstime Ohio to Fox. That’s great!

However, this year teams are reaping the benefits of the new national television contracts, which put an additional $25 million in each team’s pockets. Even though the Swisher and Bourn deals get heavier in this, their second year, ownership should be able to spend a little more because of this windfall.

The problem is management, mostly Shapiro, continue to talk about financial constraints. They think they are being honest and forthright, but to fans’ ears they sound like excuses.

We believe most Tribe fans get that the team can’t spend like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers. Still, supporters of the team would like them to be aggressive and build on the positive momentum created in September.

Not hear the team president talk about the financial constraints of major league baseball.

We haven’t been upset with the signings the Indians have made this off-season. We’ve talked about how we liked David Murphy, and inking John Axford to a one-year deal to be a contender to replace Chris Perez as closer makes a lot of sense.

But the Tribe still needs to find two starting pitchers to make up for the loss of Scott Kazmir and the likely loss of Ubaldo Jimenez. And now, getting Shaun Marcum doesn’t make up for one spot, although he’s another low risk, high reward deal for the Tribe.

Are the Indians willing to spend a significant chunk of money to get a proven major league starting pitcher? They should be, because they have to be thinking about getting back to the post-season, and this time as a division winner.

Most of the free agent signings in baseball this winter have been players to ridiculous contracts, and we are glad the Indians aren’t involved.

The beef here (and always has been) the constant bringing up the availability of money with the Cleveland organization. Other teams in small markets put out competitive teams every year, like Tampa Bay and Oakland.

Those organizations are bold and creative.

The Indians need to adopt those teams’ philosophies of maximizing the performance of their highly paid players. If you are paying big money to a player, he simply has to produce.

Really, it comes down to this. Stop talking, and just improve the ballclub. And maybe, just maybe, the Tribe will be the popular team in Cleveland once again.

Browns Can’t Close Again on Defense.

It is now official that the Cleveland Browns will lose 10 or more games again in 2013, losing their final home game to the Chicago Bears, 38-31 at First Energy Stadium.

It’s the sixth straight season with double-digit losses, and the tenth in 11 seasons. Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns have lost ten or more contests 12 times.

It’s a losing culture and it won’t change until the entire organization, which includes the front office, coaching staff, and players make a commitment that losing is not tolerable, and end the “next year” mentality that permeates the whole building in Berea.

Teams turn around every year in the NFL. This year, it’s Kansas City that was gone from a 2-14 record a year ago to an 11-3 season to this point. Last year, it was Indianapolis.

Here’s who it has never been: The Cleveland Browns. They have a tradition of being a doormat for 15 years.

To be fair, perhaps the Browns can be the Chiefs next season. KC has several Pro Bowl players on their roster in 2012, more than a team that wins two games should have. Rob Chudzinski’s team could have three or four players going to Hawaii in January.

But based on the last 15 years, forgive us for not holding our breath.

Today’s loss represented another collapse by what many people thought was the strength of the team going into the year, the defense. In fact, there were a lot of people (us included) who felt defensive coordinator Ray Horton would be a prime candidate for a head coaching position this winter.

Now, it would be a long shot with the Browns’ defense allowing almost 26 points per game this season, a figure that ranks in the bottom part of the NFL. Horton likes to recite statistics, but the only real stat that counts is how points you allow.

What is more disturbing is that 128 of those points have been allowed in the fourth quarter, including 21 today. And while the Bears did score seven points on defense today, the three touchdowns if the final stanza came from Chicago carving up the Cleveland defense.

In the last five games, all defeats, the Browns have allowed 165 points, which averages 33 per game. 40% of those points have come in the fourth quarter, including 37 the past two weeks combined.

The defense isn’t exactly closing out games.

Horton’s crew has been effective against the run all season, but today the Bears ran it right down their collective throats gaining 179 yards on the ground. The dagger came as a result of Michael Bush’s 40 yard TD burst which gave the Bears a 38-24 lead.

The third down efficiency was terrible too, allowing the Bears to convert on 9 of 14 situations. And the Bears ran the same play three times, a fake reverse with a pitch out to Matt Forte, who gained 127 yards in 24 carries, for big yardage every time. There were no adjustments by the defense.

The only bright spot were the two touchdowns scored by the unit, Tashaun Gipson’s 44 yard interception return and T.J. Ward’s 51 yard run with a fumble recovery.

Offensively, someone (either the offensive coaches or the Bears’ defense) took Josh Gordon out of the game, leaving Jason Campbell to his dink and dunk game. Gordon did get in the end zone on a 43-yard pass play in the fourth quarter, but his 100-yard receiving streak ended with just 67 yards.

The bright spot for the offense was the newest member of the team, RB Edwin Baker who gained 38 yards in eight carries and caught four more passes for 46 yards.

The question is why wasn’t he brought in sooner?

After the optimism of last week’s near miss in New England, the reality set back in that this team can’t avoid losing, and the front office doesn’t seem to mind.

Until that ends, the losing cycle may never be escaped.

Lack of Depth in System Hurts Tribe’s Ability to Deal

The recent drafting history of the Cleveland Indians hasn’t been good. Several people have written about the fact that since 2000, the only star player picked on the first round by the Tribe has been C.C. Sabathia.

A look at the current roster shows Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall among the everyday players originally picked by the Tribe, and the only pitchers of note drafted or originally signed by Cleveland are Cody Allen and Danny Salazar.

That’s one reason the Indians find it difficult to make trades during the off-season.

The way to get established players is the ability to deal major league ready talent for them. And right now, the Indians have precious few of them.

Currently, the two prizes of the farm system are SS Francisco Lindor and OF Clint Frazier, coincidentally, the first round draft picks in 2011 and 2013 respectively.

They are both considered in the top 20 prospects in all of the minor leagues, and with the lack of quality in the system; there isn’t any way that GM Chris Antonetti can use either of them as trade chips.

The other factor working against the Tribe is that none of their top prospects, save for Trevor Bauer, have played a game at the AAA level.

That means any team dealing for a top prospect from the Indians would have to wait awhile before seeing the fruits of the trade.

That’s a tough sell for a team dealing a quality player.

Where the Indians do have some depth is in bullpen arms, which normally aren’t going to fetch a quality major league player. They also have some middle infield depth though, and other teams could be interested in that.

According to Baseball Prospectus, five of the Tribe’s top 10 prospects are middle infielders. Besides Lindor, Cleveland could afford to deal one of these players: #6 prospect 2B Jose Ramirez, #7 SS Ronny Rodriguez, #8 Dorssys Paulino (although he may be moved to the outfield because of defense), and #9 2B Joe Wendle.

This publication rates the Cleveland farm system as thin in top flight talent, but loves the two guys at the top of the organization’s system.

The only pitchers listed in the top ten are RHP Cody Anderson, who was at Akron in 2013, and RHP Dace Kime, who was just drafted last summer.

In order to get a high-caliber player, let’s say David Price, you have to be able to give up a big name prospect. Do the Indians have that player because they aren’t dealing Lindor and/or Frazier, nor should they?

It is doubtful that Tampa Bay would deal the former Cy Young Award winner for #3 prospect OF Tyler Naquin (’12 first round choice) and say Rodriguez, who could be dealt because he is blocked by Lindor.

That’s why it is a huge priority for the organization to stock the farm system, and with two first round picks this June, assuming Ubaldo Jimenez signs elsewhere, there is a solid opportunity to do just that.

This isn’t to say it is impossible for Antonetti to pull off major trade, but it does make it more difficult.

Part of having a good farm system is not only being able to add young talent to the big league roster, but it also enables a team to make trades.

When the younger talent in the Cleveland organization gets closer to the majors, they will be in a better position.

Are These Browns Any Different?

The Cleveland Browns appear to be headed to another 10 loss season, their sixth consecutive campaign losing in double figures.

Therefore, the question needs to be asked…what is different with the new regime, headed by Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner, and Michael Lombardi? The results are the same from the last group, headed by Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert.

These Browns have three possible Pro Bowl players, which would be their most in several years. OT Joe Thomas is perennial, making the all-star team every year he has been in the league. He could be bound for Canton someday.

CB Joe Haden has been outstanding all season long, highlighted by shutting down Cincinnati WR A. J. Green in both meetings between the teams, and he has started to intercept passes this year as well, with four on the season.

Those two have been the best players on the squad the past few years, but this year they are joined by WR Josh Gordon, who may be the NFL’s best wideout who isn’t named Calvin Johnson. He may be the Browns’ best wideout since Paul Warfield wore the orange and brown.

There are several other players who can be considered building blocks for a playoff team, such as C Alex Mack, TE Jordan Cameron, DT Phil Taylor, DEs Ahtyba Rubin and Billy Winn, OLBs Barkevious Mingo, Jabaal Sheard, and Paul Kruger, and ILB D’Qwell Jackson.

All of those players, save for Mingo, were brought in by the prior regimes.

So while Holmgren and Heckert take a lot of criticism for the first round of the 2012 draft (Richardson and Weeden) and deservedly so, they are responsible for putting together the foundation for the future.

Certainly, the prior president and GM also have to be faulted for the hiring of Pat Shurmur, who was a public relations disaster. Rob Chudzinski doesn’t really say anything in his press conferences either (call this the Belichick method), but fans and media can see he has a passion for the city and the game, and the players play like they respect him.

It would have been easy for the team to give a lackluster effort after the Jacksonville game, but the Browns went to New England and fought, and almost knocked off the Patriots.

Chudzinski and his staff do draw negatives with the handling of the quarterback situation, going with Brandon Weeden to start the season when it’s pretty clear he is the least effective of the trio that were on the Opening Day roster.

The front office should be lauded for the Trent Richardson trade, but at the same time should be questioned for not having another decent running back on the roster to replace him, nor did they get another passer after Brian Hoyer was injured.

That left the coaching staff without a running game, putting more pressure on Weeden, Hoyer, and Jason Campbell.

Think about how many more wins this team would have had Hoyer or Campbell started the year and the Browns had even an average running game.

Ultimately, the Banner/Lombardi group will be judged on this season’s draft, which they have spent time accumulating picks for. The fear is they will force a quarterback pick too high (see, Ponder and Gabbert) and will pass on players who can impact the team in 2014.

If they wait for the passer to come to them, perhaps with the Colts’ pick, and instead upgrade the football team at several spots, they will be remembered as the group that turned this franchise around.

Bill Parcells once said you are what your record says it is. And right now, Joe Banner and Michael Lombardi are just like everyone else who sat in their chairs.

Zebras Help Browns Drop to 4-9.

Usually on Sunday night, we dissect the Browns game played earlier today and talk about the reasons why the team won or loss the contest.

Cleveland lost today a game they had every right to win, dropping a controversial 27-26 decision to the playoff-bound New England Patriots.

Jason Campbell returned to quarterback and played a marvelous game, hitting 29 of 44 throws for 391 yards and three touchdown tosses. Josh Gordon continued his All Pro play by catching seven balls for 151 yards, including an 80-yard catch and run for a touchdown.

TE Jordan Cameron returned to the offense, catching nine throws for 121 yards and a TD that gave Rob Chudzinski’s team a 26-16 lead with 2:39 remaining in the game.

Future Hall of Famer Tom Brady threw for 418 yards, but was picked off by LB D’Qwell Jackson and was sacked four times by a tenacious Cleveland defense.

The Browns drop to 4-9 on the campaign with just three games remaining.

That’s about all we are going to say about the actual play on the field, because the officiating in this football game was the main story.

We have said it before and we will say it again today…NFL officials are the worst in professional sports. We say this because they like to make an impact on games, and sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for the calls they make.

Certainly, the pass interference call which set the Patriots up for the winning touchdown was terrible and even the national media and a former supervisor of officials said so.

While Brady may have led New England to a touchdown anyway, the call put the ball on the Cleveland 1 yard line, basically giving the Pats a victory.

The professional game needs to adopt the college rule, making defensive pass interference a maximum 15 yard penalty only. In most cases, the contact involved is so incidental and/or being initiated by the offensive player to penalize a team more than 15 yards for the infraction.

However, that was only the last horrible call made by this crew.

They bungled the intention grounding rule twice, once allowing Brady to throw a ball away inside the tackle box while being pressured without a call, and then when Campbell escaped from the pocket, scrambled outside the hash marks, and threw a pass while being hit that bounced perhaps five yards away from Chris Ogbonnaya, he was flagged for 10 yards and a loss of down.

To prove this is not sour grapes, the Browns converted the first down on the next play anyway with Campbell hitting Gordon for a first down.

Another missed call was on Julian Edelman’s 2-yard TD catch with 1:01 remaining. Jordan Poyer was flagged for the hit on a defenseless receiver when he clearly (according to replays) hit Edelman in the shoulder with his shoulder. It was a hit designed to jar the ball loose, and he did not lead with his helmet, nor did he hit Edelman in the helmet.

The flag allowed the Patriots to try their onside kick attempt from the 50-yard line instead of the 35.

New England was on the short end of officials deciding the game earlier in the year, when officials cited the rarely called helping a teammate by pushing them forward penalty. That call resulted in the Jets getting another attempt for a field goal after a miss. The kicker made the second try and won the game.

The NFL is football on the highest level, and the players have a great deal riding on every game, since there are only 16 of them. The league needs to let the players decide the outcome.

The officiating is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Don’t Panic About Tribe’s Inactivity Thus Far

This week the hot stove season in baseball went crazy early. Heck, the winter meetings, usually the hub of off-season activity doesn’t start until tomorrow.

Tuesday saw a large number of trades, mostly involving the Oakland A’s, and the high-profile signing of OF Jacoby Ellsbury by the Yankees.

Yesterday, Robinson Cano inked a ten-year pact with the Mariners, and the Yankees feeling a need to keep paying players ridiculous amounts of cash, signed OF Carlos Beltran.

Of course, Indians’ fans are filled with angst because so far, GM Chris Antonetti has really only made one move, getting free agent OF David Murphy from Texas to platoon in the outfield.

In that time, Cleveland has lost two starting pitchers in Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir, and several bullpen pieces, most notably Joe Smith and Chris Perez.

We are telling fans to relax, take a deep breath. The Tribe will make some moves to improve this club soon.

You see, most baseball experts will tell you that the players who have already signed are being overpaid. Hasn’t Seattle learned from the Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols deals that paying huge amounts of money to a 41-year old player isn’t a good idea?

Kazmir received two years at $11 million per season. With his recent past of pitching in the independent league, would you feel comfortable paying him that kind of money?

As for Smith, we’ve heard several people on MLB Network saying there are many relievers on the same level as the former Tribesman that will be paid far less in 2014.

There are still some quality starting pitchers on the market and our guess is the Tribe is interested in them. The two most interesting names are former Indian Bartolo Colon, who will turn 41 next season, but he won 18 games for Oakland in ’13 and threw 190 innings. His arm is still good because he throws mostly fastballs.

Another veteran arm Cleveland could have interest in is Bronson Arroyo, who pitched for Terry Francona in Boston. Arroyo will turn 37 in a few months, but has thrown 199 innings or more for nine consecutive seasons, and has a career ERA of 4.19. He did very well in Cincinnati despite pitching in a home stadium known for offense.

Antonetti could also work the trade market. Since last winter, SS Asdrubal Cabrera’s name has been bandied about as bait, and it may be time to pull the trigger with top prospect Francisco Lindor nearing ready status.

Stephan Drew is still available and could be intriguing as a one year bridge to Lindor if Cabrera is indeed dealt.

As for the bullpen, Antonetti could sign a veteran arm, but he has several options on the roster to look at as well. The Tribe kept Blake Wood, who they signed last year after Tommy John surgery, and the former Royal was throwing in the high 90’s in his September call up. They also will have Frank Herrmann back too.

And they have youngsters like C.C. Lee, who got some big league time in 2013, and another hard thrower in Austin Adams, who had elbow surgery in 2012.

Just because the Indians didn’t spend money like crazy so far doesn’t mean they won’t improve this ballclub. Hopefully, Antonetti remembers 2007 when the Tribe made the post-season, and followed it up by doing nothing in the off-season.

Buckeyes Just Taking Advantage of Flawed System

With Ohio State in control of one of the top two spots in the BCS standings, the national media is apparently stunned that a team from the Southeastern Conference may not be part of the BCS title game.

Therefore, we are hearing from multiple sources about how Ohio State isn’t worthy to play for a championship if they indeed defeat Michigan State in the Big 10 title game this weekend.

Right now, there are two teams from major conferences who are unbeaten: Florida State from the ACC and the Buckeyes.

Why wouldn’t those two squads play for the title if they both emerge victorious this weekend? It makes total sense.

The problem people have is with the BCS system, and they are taking out their venom on Ohio State.

The system rewards teams for going undefeated. Proof of that is Alabama, who lost on the last play against a one loss Auburn team and now they are seemingly out of the picture. If it were about putting together the top two teams, then the Crimson Tide would still be alive.

So, why should any team, including Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn, etc., take any unnecessary risks by scheduling tough out of conference foes?

Auburn’s games outside of the SEC were against Washington State, Arkansas State, Western Carolina, and Florida Atlantic. No national powers there, right?

Alabama played Virginia Tech, a quality foe, but they also played Colorado State, Georgia State, and Chattanooga.

Yes, the SEC is filled with good teams, but both schools have to play them, they aren’t taking any risks with the non-conference opponents either.

Certainly, LSU is a quality team, and Auburn will have to play another top five team in the SEC Championship Game in Missouri.

Of course, Missouri has the same record as the Spartans, the Buckeyes opponent on Saturday.

There is no question that college football needs a playoff system, and the automatic qualifiers should be the five major conference champions: Big 10, Big 12, SEC, ACC, and PAC 12. The other three teams in the eight team tournament would be the three best teams who do not get automatic bids.

If the champions get in, it eliminates the scheduling issue.

A school like Ohio State could play, let’s say Tennessee, Miami (FL), and Stanford in non-conference play and not have to worry about the National Championship because if they win the Big 10, they will get a shot at the title.

And of course, that goes for all conferences.

We would get early season key matchups once again like Ohio State playing Oklahoma, or Alabama playing USC, etc.

The risk of suffering an early season loss would be minimized because teams would still have a chance at the national title.

It would be better for the sport as well.

Another problem is somehow Ohio State has become the poster boy for this horrible system. According to some rating systems, Florida State’s strength of schedule is less than OSU’s, but no one is complaining about the Seminoles being in line for a shot at the crown.

And this weekend Florida State plays Duke while the Buckeyes take on a one loss Michigan State team.

The problem isn’t Ohio State, it’s with the system. People complaining about the strength of schedule should blame a formula that rewards teams who don’t lose.

The Buckeyes are just working the system.

Browns Find New Way to Lose

You would think that with all the losing the Cleveland Browns have done in the last 15 years that they would have exhausted every possible way to be defeated.

And then you would watch today’s game and think about how they’ve invented a new way to do it.

With almost 12 minutes to go in the game, the Browns led 21-20 and just received the ball back after a Jacksonville punt. The Jaguars were doing nothing, repeat, NOTHING on offense after intermission. It was an opportunity to run clock and move the ball down the field for another score and take control of the contest.

Except that Alex Mack, one of the Browns’ better players, a solid center, snapped the ball over Brandon Weeden’s head and when the quarterback kicked the ball out of the end zone (the right play), the Jags had the lead 22-21.

The resulting free kick was returned 31 yards to the Browns’ 43. A face mask penalty on NT Phil Taylor and one first down later, Josh Scobee kicked a 25 yard field goal and it was a four point advantage, 25-21.

On the Browns’ next offensive play, they regained the lead with a 95-yard completion from Weeden to Josh Gordon, who had another magnificent game, with 3:54 left to give Cleveland a 28-25 lead.

It seemed Rob Chudzinski’s squad might overcome the myriad of mistakes they made and win their fifth game of the year.

However, the Jaguars hit a big play on a 25-yard strike from Chad Henne to Ace Sanders to put them back in business and in Cleveland territory.

The defense stiffened at the 20-yard line and forced a third and nine after Henne was pressured and threw a flat pass over the head of Sanders.

But Joe Haden, the team’s best player, was burned on a double move by former Collinwood High School and Mount Union star Cecil Shorts III for a 20-yard TD catch and the Jags took a 32-28 lead with less than a minute remaining.

The Browns dropped to 4-8 with the loss and yet another 10 loss season appears very likely.

It’s one thing when mediocre, replaceable players are making mistakes to cost a team football games, but now it’s players like Mack, who has made a Pro Bowl, and Haden, who likely will make one this year, making bad plays an inopportune times to cause defeat.

Of course, it may not have come down to those plays if it weren’t for a horrible three-minute stretch at the end of the first half by their quarterback.

With the Browns leading 14-7 at that point, Weeden threw interceptions on consecutive plays, and then fumbled on the penultimate play of the half handing Jacksonville 13 points and a 20-14 advantage at intermission.

Those three turnovers, plus the safety (which is essentially a turnover) cost Cleveland 15 points. These problems are an extension of what occurred the last two games against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

The Browns’ defense caused just one turnover, and therein is the difference in the game. In the NFL, you simply can’t turn the ball over that many times and win.

As for the season, the names on the front office keep changing, but the record remains the same. Unless something unforeseen happens, another 1o loss season, the sixth consecutive one for the franchise, will happen.

Why should anyone have any confidence in the latest people to sit in the front office.

Three weeks ago, after a win over Baltimore, the future looked bright. Three weeks of turnover and mistake filled football changes everything.

The month of December will feel like an eternity to Browns’ fans all over the country.

Cavs’ Need to Stop Expirimenting

A little over a week ago, on November 20th, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost a home game to the Washington Wizards 98-91 to drop their record to 4-8. After beating the Wizards on the road in the previous game, this was a tough pill to swallow.

Following the contest, Mike Brown told the media that only one player played hard the entire night, rookie G Matthew Dellavedova. When the Cavs took the floor for the next game in New Orleans, the coach wanting to send a message to his team, started Dellavedova.

The wine and gold blew a 12 point lead late in the fourth quarter that night and they haven’t one a game since, getting blown out in their two road games (San Antonio and Boston) and dropping a home game to the Miami Heat.

In both the road games, the contest was basically over in the first quarter. Could that be because Cleveland doesn’t start their best players?

It is time for the coaching staff to go back to basics and start the games with veteran players to keep them in the game right from the get go.

Mike Brown needs to settle on a regular rotation to settle down the mess that the Cavs are becoming.

Let’s start at center. We get that the staff wants to start Andrew Bynum because he can get loose before the first and second halves, and there is no problem with that. The big man isn’t killing the team with his play and he needs the time to get his game back.

At power forward, Tristan Thompson needs to play more. The third year man from Texas is averaging 32 minutes per night, but in the last five games, all losses, he hasn’t played more than 26 per night, and has only scored in double figures once, and also only has one game with more than 10 rebounds.

He needs to play at least 30 minutes per night, and probably should get 33-35 minutes.

The small forward spot is a mess, but Earl Clark has to be shaking his head after last night. On Wednesday vs. Miami, Clark shot 5 of 11 from the floor scoring 13 points. Against Boston on Friday, he received 12 minutes.

Clark may have problems guarding small forwards, but he is a better shooter than Alonzo Gee. If Cleveland has the lead, Brown can give more time to Gee, a good defender to protect the lead.

In the backcourt, most people thought the idea would be that Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, and Jarrett Jack would split the time. We would start Irving and Jack, another veteran who can help the team get off to a good start, and use Waiters as the key offensive player on the second unit.

Irving should be out there for at least 36 minutes with Jack and Waiters splitting the other 60 at the guard spot.

The second unit should be Waiters and Gee, with Anderson Varejao backing up Thompson and Bynum. Brown needs to also work Tyler Zeller and Anthony Bennett in the rotation, and he should let them know when they are going to get into each game and give them time. As young players, they need that type of stability.

That is, of course until GM Chris Grant can deal Varejao to a contending team. The Brazilian has had a fine career in Cleveland, but with Thompson, Zeller, and Bennett needing minutes, it is time to cash in on the asset.

Brown’s statement about playing hard has the Cavs spinning out of control. It’s time to go back to basics and tonight’s game against the Bulls would be the perfect time to do it.

Ultimately, Cavs’ Offensive Woes are on Brown

Many coaches who get their second job will say the one thing they learned from their first opportunity is that they should be true to themselves. That way, when they ultimately get canned, they have only themselves to blame.

Mike Brown has now been fired twice from NBA coaching gigs, so you would have to assume that he has learned his lesson and is guiding his young team the way he wants to.

If he’s not, and he is placating his star player, which he was accused of in his previous tenure here, that is on the coach. At this point in Brown’s career, he should have learned to please himself.

That’s why the media people who were hammering Kyrie Irving for the last four minutes of the Cavs loss on Friday night, when they blew a 12 point lead with four minutes remaining, can’t have it both ways.

The criticism came from Irving taking every single shot for the wine and gold for a three and a half-minute period.

The simplistic Cavalier offense went back to the spread the floor and hope Irving can penetrate attack that was used when LeBron James was here and Brown was running things.

Is Kyrie a ball hog? Does he have confidence in his teammates? Has he bought into the hype that he’s one of the sports’ next superstars?

There is no question that Irving likes to show off his handle, and he may figure he’s the best option to take a shot in crunch time. It sometimes takes a long time to develop trust when you are an all-star type player.

And he wouldn’t be a great player if he didn’t have some sort of ego.

However, if the coach isn’t down with the way his point guard is playing at crunch time, he can take some action. He can sit the player next to him on the bench.

Now, we understand this will bring out the feelings of “Oh no, if we hurt Kyrie’s feelings, he will leave when he can”.

But Brown can’t feel that way. His job is to win games and make Kyrie Irving and his teammates better players.

The coach’s attitude has to be something to the effect of if I’m going to go down, I’m going to go on my terms. That, of course, is if he disagrees with the way Irving is taking over down the stretch of close games.

The feeling here is that if the coach doesn’t take Irving off the floor, then the Cavs’ offense in crunch time is exactly what Mike Brown wants.

Which also shifts the blame from the player to the coach.

Bobby Knight used to say that nothing gets the message to the brain quicker than when it is sent through the butt, meaning if a player loses playing time, he will correct the behavior.

We understand that Knight is old school and many of his methods don’t work today, but if Irving isn’t doing what the coaching staff wants, then Brown has no choice but to take him out.

So, what we are saying is that the media can’t have it both ways.

If they want to blame Irving for stagnating the wine and gold offense, then the coach should share the blame for allowing it.

If it’s not on Kyrie Irving and it’s the offensive plan, then that’s on Brown for having a simplistic offensive plan.

The point is the coach is responsible for why the Cavaliers’ offense is anemic at best. Yes, they’ve improved defensively, but that’s only half the game.