Open Competition for Tribe Starting Rotation

In past seasons, the Cleveland Indians went to spring training with their roster virtually set.

Oh, they said there was competition, but from the opportunities given to some players and early optioning to the minor league camp, it was clear that it was already decided who was coming north with the big club.

This year, it’s different. While many have speculated that Jason Giambi will make the team if he’s healthy, the battles for spots on the bench are on going. Does Ryan Raburn’s versatility give him a leg up?

Does Ben Francisco have a shot if he hits?

On the starting pitching side, there seems like a good battle going on for two open spots in the rotation. Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Brett Myers seem like locks, but in what order?

It wouldn’t be a shock if Jimenez struggles that he doesn’t take the mound for the second game of the season in Toronto. However, that’s another story.

Right now, the candidates for the last two spots are Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Zack McAllister, Scott Kazmir, and Daisuke Matsuzaka, with Corey Kluber on the fringe.

To this point, Kazmir and Bauer have pitched the best, the former hasn’t allowed a run and the latter has allowed just two earned runs in seven innings.

Kazmir would give the Tribe a much-needed lefty as a starter, and his velocity thus far is reportedly in the low 90’s, much better than the mid 80’s he was throwing at a couple of years ago.

The front office probably would prefer to have Bauer open the season in Columbus to get more AAA innings under his belt, but if he continues to shut down opposition hitters, he may force them into a different mindset.

Carrasco has the most experience with the Indians, pitching well during the first half of the 2011 season before hurting his elbow and having the resulting Tommy John surgery.

He was said to be throwing in the mid 90’s during the window, prompting Terry Francona to say if Carrasco isn’t healthy, then nobody is.

As for McAllister, you can make a good argument that he was the Tribe’s best and most consistent starter in the second half of last season. That makes should give him a solid chance to open the season in the rotation.

It will be interesting to see how Jimenez’ spring develops. He pitched well in his first outing and did okay in the first two innings of his second.

However, he ran into trouble in the third frame and he couldn’t right the ship. It may have just been fatigue, but it is troubling because that has been a problem in the past.

The management has been very upbeat about the right-hander, saying he looks much better mechanically than he did since he arrived in Cleveland.

Still, until he strings together a series of solid starts, there has to be a question mark on the guy who started the All-Star game for the National League in 2010.

He just has to keep proving himself. It will be interesting to see if Francona will leave him in the #2 spot in the rotation if he struggles during the rest of the spring.

After last season, when the team struggled to find starting pitchers who could get past the fifth inning, a little depth is welcome. Finally, the Indians have some alternatives.

It’s also good competition among these guys, none of them can feel secure about a roster spot.

The key to the 2013 season for the Tribe is how their starting pitching will perform. Hopefully, they can craft five effective starters out of this group.

How Much is Weeden to Blame?

Now that the NFL draft is less than two months away, it’s time for Cleveland Browns’ fans to start the debate on who the team should take with the sixth pick in this year’s selection process.

And since it is Cleveland, the seemingly endless debate about whether or not the “Consensus Four” of Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner, Michael Lombardi, and Rob Chudzinski should take another quarterback just a year after the Browns took Brandon Weeden in the opening round of the 2012 draft.

Because Weeden didn’t set the world on fire in his rookie year, like Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Russell Wilson, several people with voice on radio talk shows have given up on the former Oklahoma State signal caller.

Keep in mind, Weeden passed for more yards than Griffin III (by a little less than 200 yards) and Wilson (a little more than 200 yards). However, Weeden had way more interceptions (17, compared to 5 by RGIII and 10 by Wilson) and not as many touchdowns (13 compared to 20 for Griffin and 26 for Wilson).

The question comes down to how much do you blame the Browns rookie for his ineffectiveness?

Weeden isn’t perfect, but then again, most rookie QBs who start in their first years aren’t either. He did have a tendency to lock on receivers, and try to throw through defensive backs.

You know who else used to do that? Watch films of John Elway, Dan Marino, and Brett Favre early in their career. The confidence they had in their arms overrode their coaches telling them not to turn the ball over.

This is not to say that Weeden is in the same class as those three passers, two of whom are in the Hall of Fame, and the other will be soon. It does speak to the way quarterbacks with big arms think.

Before throwing Weeden out with the bath water, remember the circumstances he played under last season.

His coach had a horribly conservative offensive philosophy, and once a turnover occurred he played it more close to the vest.

The Browns best offensive weapon, fellow rookie Trent Richardson, was injured early in the season with bad ribs, and even when he was carrying the ball well, there were times when the coaching staff ignored him.

The Redskins had the league’s best running attack and Seattle was third. Cleveland ranked 24th. This is the same ranking the three teams had in terms of rushing attempts. And the Browns weren’t blown out of many games last season, so there was plenty of opportunity to run the ball, the coaching staff just refused to do it.

The question has to be how much is Weeden to blame for a mediocre rookie performance. If you think he’s a lost cause, then the Browns’ front office should look to replace him. If they think Geno Smith and/or Matt Barkley is the next Elway, then draft one of them.

Just remember that Alex Smith, another darling of the Cleveland media, had a worse season than Weeden in his rookie year (50.9 completion percentage, 1 TD, 11 INT) and under Norv Turner’s tutelage the next year improved to 58% completion rate, 16 TDs and 16 INT as San Francisco went from 4-12 to 7-9.

Also, notice that the front office’s evaluation of the quarterback has seemed to soften at least in public comments after Turner came aboard and presumably has looked at film.

Perhaps Turner, who knows more football than most, has seen something he can build upon with Weeden, despite his advanced age.

Still, the Browns should continue to say they may be interested in Smith or Barkley, but only because the Arizona Cardinals, desperate for a quarterback, pick right behind them. Perhaps Lombardi and Banner can squeeze a draft pick out of the Cards to move up one spot.

It comes down to this…do the Browns need to replace Weeden more than they need a big time pass rusher or another cornerback to team with Joe Haden? That answer is simple, Cleveland needs to get more playmakers on the defensive side of the ball.

Cavs Finding Out Vets Help

We’ve all seen it. You go to an outdoor basketball court or the Y, and some young hot shots are dominating the action. They win game after game, having fun and belittling their opponents.

Then some old guys show up, move the ball around on offense, keep people in front of them on defense, play a little more physical, and they knock the young turks off their pedestal.

Why? Because they know how to play the game. They’ve been around, and know how to take advantage of players who are cocky and overly aggressive.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have two of those guys on their roster and they are contributing on a night in and night out basis. They are Shaun Livingston and Luke Walton.

Livingston was a Christmas present from GM Chris Grant to coach Byron Scott, being claimed on waivers that very day. For whatever reason, the Washington Wizards, who were struggling as badly as the Cavs at that time, couldn’t use the veteran who was once the 4th overall pick in the draft in 2004.

Their loss is Cleveland’s gain.

Livingston’s value isn’t found in the stat sheet. He’s averaging just 5. 3 points and 3.4 assists a game in the 25 contests he’s played in the wine and gold. But he is a steady hand and a catalyst for a bench bunch that is one of the most potent in the league after the acquisition of Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington from Memphis a few weeks later.

The Cavs have gone 13-13 since Livingston started playing. They were 7-25 prior to that point.

Livingston overcame a horrible knee injury in 2007 and really didn’t play a full season for three years. He was a heralded high school player, but as Scott said when he arrived, he is an old soul when it comes to hoops, playing the game they way it is meant to be played. He makes the right pass and for the most part keeps himself between his man and the basket on defense.

Walton came to the Cavs as someone who could balance the salary cap in the trade that sent Ramon Sessions to the Lakers at the trade deadline last season. He was a starter for LA in 2006-07 and started half the time the following two campaigns.

However, when Grant obtained him, he had played just nine games for the season due to back woes.

He’s another player that stats don’t tell the real story, averaging just 3.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 16 minutes per game. Early in the year, many fans (including us) were wondering why he was getting time, probably because he struggled playing with young guys who don’t share his IQ for the game.

Since the addition of Speights, Ellington, and Livingston, Walton has made a difference coming off the bench for the young Cavaliers. In that time, he’s averaged just 2.8 points, but has had five games (out of 11) where he has had five or more assists.

And he made a key defensive play late in Tuesday’s win over Chicago, knocking a pass away, and then firing it off a Bulls’ player in the final minute to preserve the lead.

Lost in most fans’ wishes for high draft choices is the fact that young teams need veterans to learn from. With the players acquired from Memphis, plus heady players like Livingston and Walton, Chris Grant has given his young guys some worthy teachers.

Judge QBs in Games, Not in Combine

Now that the NFL Draft Combine has passed, it is time for the annual debate as to who the Cleveland Browns should draft the next month.

And as usual, since many fans are disappointed when the current quarterback doesn’t remind them of Bernie Kosar, supporters start asking themselves which passer the Browns could take in the first round.

Stop the madness, now!

First of all, just because someone is the best college quarterback available, it doesn’t make them worthy of the 6th pick in the draft.

The flavor of this combine was either USC’s Matt Barkley, who has an injured shoulder, or West Virginia’s Geno Smith.

Keep in mind, neither of these players have played a game since the bowl season ended around the first week in January.

Since Barkley didn’t work out because of his injury, Smith was the player who garnered the most attention, showing a good arm and surprising speed for a player at his position.

Once again, keep in mind that no one was playing defense against Smith during his workout.

And remember that Smith’s West Virginia team started 4-0 and finished at 6-6.

Granted, it wasn’t all Smith’s fault. He and his offense put up an awful lot of points in some of those defeats, scoring 38 against TCU, 34 against Oklahoma State, and 49 vs. Oklahoma.

However, in the other three losses, the Mountaineer offense put up just 14 points in losses to Texas Tech, Kansas State, and Syracuse.

Smith put up good numbers in those games, but remember he played in the Big 12 Conference, a league not noted for strong defensive play.

And the same conference that Brandon Weeden played in a year ago.

The point here is that neither Smith nor Barkley are prospects on the level of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, the first two picks in last year’s draft and players who led their respective teams to the playoffs in their rookie year. You can make a very good case that they were the best two players available, regardless of position.

Also, neither player has done anything on the field to merit moving up from the late first round or second round status they were projected at a month ago. It is simply the desire NFL teams have to find the next Tom Brady, the ever elusive franchise QB, that has these two players rising into the early first round.

You can make the same argument against trading for New England back up QB Ryan Mallett, a third round choice in 2011. What makes him better now than he was then? Two years watching Tom Brady play? If he’s so good, why does New England want to trade him?

The draft is arranged the way it is to enable to have the lesser teams get more talent, to equalize the talent pool. Not taking the better player early in the selection process sets franchises back. That’s why the Browns have been in a constant state of mediocrity for all these years. They’ve made poor selections.

That’s why they can’t take a quarterback with the sixth overall pick in April. They have far too many other holes, in areas where there is talent worthy of top ten selection to reach and take a player ranked in the 20s or 30s overall at their current slot.

Teams in the NFL make a lot of mistakes drafting quarterbacks higher than they should. If the Browns made a mistake last year, then they can’t compound it by doing it again. There isn’t a passer worthy of a top ten pick in April, but someone will take one anyway.

Here’s hoping the Browns aren’t that team.

Could Brantley Be Tribe’s Breakout Player?

There is no question that interest in the Cleveland Indians may be at its highest level since the beginning of the 2008 season, just a few months after the Tribe came within one game of making the World Series, but were beaten out by the Red Sox, managed by a guy named Terry Francona.

Now Francona is here, the ownership and front office went out and signed free agents Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, and Brett Myers, and traded for a potential ace starting pitcher in Trevor Bauer.

Fans can’t wait for the season opener on April 2nd in Toronto.

The improvement on the Cleveland roster can be noted in that out of the players who started for the Tribe last season and left, only Shin-Soo Choo is considered a key component on his new team. Jack Hannahan, Casey Kotchman, and Shelly Duncan are all considered either bench players or are on minor league contracts to start spring training.

The other big addition to this squad is speed and athleticism, something that was lacking in previous seasons, even going back to the Eric Wedge era. It is refreshing to hear Francona talk about his team taking extra bases on hits to the outfield. It doesn’t appear there will be much station to station baseball played by the Indians this season.

Francona compared his team to the Angels in the Mike Scoscia era, but when those teams scored a lot of runs, they depended on a lot of high batting averages. The Indians don’t have many players who have a history of hitting close to .300.

To be sure, there are concerns for the new skipper and his staff. There will be plenty of strikeouts in the starting lineup, meaning the offense could be very streaky at times. When the guys who don’t make contact consistently are in a period of whiffing, scoring runs could be very tough indeed.

As much as Swisher and Bourn will be important to the Indians scoring more runs, the bigger pressure is probably on the young hitters on the team making big leaps, meaning Jason Kipnis, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Carlos Santana. If all three of those players can start producing the way they did in the minor leagues, (remember Santana has the most service time of the three, just 2-1/2 seasons), the Indians could have a very potent offense.

However, the biggest jump to be made by any Indian this season could be by LF Michael Brantley.

It is easy to overlook Brantley because he has been here longer than any of the other three mentioned players, arriving in 2009 for the first time, and starting as a regular shortly after Santana in ’10. But Brantley is still just 25 years old, turning 26 in May. He won’t reach the magic 27-year-old season until 2014.

He has shown steady improvement over the last three years, with his on base percentage going from .296 in 2010 to .348 last year, and his slugging percentage rising from .327 three seasons ago to .402 in 2012. If he makes the same improvement on his OPS this year as he did from 2011 to 2012, he will be around 800, which would make him a very good offensive player.

“Dr. Smooth” had 47 extra base hits in ’12, 37 of them doubles. As a comparison, Asdrubal Cabrera had 52 extra base knocks in 2009, 42 of them doubles. Two years later, Cabrera got stronger and some of those doubles became home runs, as ACab belted 25 dingers in 2011.

As Brantley gets stronger with age, the same effect could happen to him as well, and some of those doubles could wind up flying over the fence. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Tribe’s new leftfielder wound up with 15 to 20 bombs this summer.

You have to love young players who get better every season and still are in the 25 to 26-year-old range. Michael Brantley is one of those players. His most comparable player through age 25 is OF Terry Moore, who starred for the Cardinals in the 1940’s.

At age 27, Moore hit .295 with 17 home runs and an OPS of 849. The following year, he hit .304 with 17 dingers and an OPS of 831.

If Brantley can follow suit, the Tribe has another very good bat in their lineup.

Based on the improvement he has shown since arriving in the big leagues, don’t bet against Brantley becoming that type of player.

Don’t Get Excited About James’ Return

The rumors have been rumbling since the beginning of this season. “Insiders” are hearing that LeBron James will opt out of his contract following the 2013-14 season, and would consider a return to Cleveland.

Because the Cavs now have another “superstar” in Kyrie Irving, a move back to northeastern Ohio would be appealing to James.

Let’s just say if it happens, then it will be time to get excited about it. Until then, remember LBJ has a player who stabbed this franchise and this city right in the heart.

Therefore, there should be no big celebration when the Miami Heat come to Quicken Loans Arena to play the Cavaliers in March. James should be treated as the reason basketball fans have suffered through three terrible seasons in a row.

If Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert wants him back and the two parties make amends, then fine. When he wears the wine and gold jersey again, then he deserves our support.

The whole “back to Cleveland” scenario sounds like a ploy by James’ people to garner support for him, therefore not getting a chorus of boos when he plays at “The Q” as a visiting player.

Also, James’ marketing people are from around here and supposedly aren’t happy that they don’t have the run of the house in Miami that they did when LeBron was here. And for the most part, they are the ones floating the idea of coming back to the north coast.

From a basketball standpoint, think about this scenario: The Heat go one to win another title this season and then complete a “three peat” by winning again next season. Do you really think James is leaving a squad that has won three consecutive championships?

Of course he isn’t.

Don’t like that one? Here’s another: Kobe Bryant retires after the 2013-14 campaign and the Lakers are looking for another superstar to solidify their status as one of the sports’ preeminent franchises. Does James succumb to the Laker mystique and signs with Los Angeles? It would be very tempting.

The Cavaliers have to be in a position to contend for a title for James to even consider coming back. And right now, it will be tough for the wine and gold to win 25 games this season, meaning a leap to the .500 mark next season will mean an additional 15 victories. Yes, there will be plenty of players hitting their second and third years in the NBA, but that is a rather large jump in the victory column in one year.

GM Chris Grant should continue to build the Cavs like he has, accumulating draft picks and keeping plenty of cap room so his team can be a player if an all-star type player comes available because his current team needs payroll relief.

Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to strike draft gold in this summer’s draft either. Cleveland means another difference maker on the team. Perhaps Dion Waiters can be that guy, but it looks like he’ll be a good player, not an all-star, at this point.

This isn’t to say LeBron James won’t come back to the Cavaliers after the 2014 season. He may, perhaps he does miss northern Ohio more than we think.

However, he’s the one who kicked us below the belt. To beg for him to return to the wine and gold just makes Cleveland sports fans appear totally weak.

Scott’s Record Shows He Knows Defense.

As the Cleveland Cavaliers lose more games to inferior foes like they did a week ago against Minnesota, hoop fans start to talk about the future of coach Byron Scott.

Most of the problem when the Cavs lose these games in their quality of defense. Owner Dan Gilbert even commented last week that when the wine and gold return to prominence, it will be because of their work when their opponents have the ball.

But is Scott the guy to teach defense?

His past coaching record says he is.

In his first year as a head coach, the 2000-01 season with the Nets, his squad finished 22nd in points allowed and 24th in field goal percentage against.

However, the following season (2001-02), in which the Nets made the NBA Finals, those marks improved to 5th in points allowed and 6th in defensive field goal percentage.

The next season (2002-03), another Finals appearance, had New Jersey 2nd in the NBA in points allowed and tied for 2nd in field goal percentage against.

Scott didn’t make it through the following season, but resurfaced as coach of the New Orleans Hornets in 2004-05, and his team finished 10th in the NBA in points allowed and 17th in defensive field goal percentage.

The other four years in New Orleans had Scott’s crew improving from 11th in points given up in 2005-06 to 10th, 5th, and 5th in subsequent seasons. The field goal percentage allowed went from 21st in ’05-’06 to tied for 12th, 16th, and 7th.

The point is if you want to point the finger at Scott for the Cavs’ horrible defensive rating, look somewhere else. He has demonstrated that he can put together a good defensive scheme, ranking in the top half of the league every year but his first as a head coach in points allowed, and his teams have been better than average in shooting percentage by opponents five times.

That is until he became the head coach in Cleveland.

Granted the franchise and the roster were a mess his first year at the helm, so we will excuse both the players and the coaching staff. However, we don’t think Scott has forgotten all he learned on the defensive end since he took over in Cleveland, so something is wrong.

It’s time for the head coach to take the gloves off and start demanding better defense by his troops, even if that guy in all-star Kyrie Irving. Irving is too talented a player not to be a good defender, and as the leader and best player, he would set the tone for the rest of the guys in wine and gold by playing better when the other team has the ball.

Too often, the Cavs are lackadaisical against lesser teams because they don’t put forth a good effort on “D”, and usually it starts with Irving.

He’s not the only one, though. A lack of effort on defense should start earning players a seat on the bench, and that goes for everyone.

The Cavs need to start winning now. The rest of this season should be about setting a tone for the 2013-14 season, when the wine and gold must start contending for a playoff spot.

Byron Scott is not the reason the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t a good defensive team. His track record proves otherwise. It’s time for the players to start buying in to stopping the opponent, and to stop trying to outscore everyone.

When that happens, we will see if this team is putting together enough talent to become a playoff squad.

Tribe Starting Pitchers Full of ?????

Earlier this week, the Cleveland Indians signed free agent CF Michael Bourn and fans were thrilled by another top free agent signing. It provided another hitter to help a team that finished 13th in the American League in runs scored.

However, that is only one part of the game because the Tribe finished last season dead last in the AL in ERA, and so far have added some relievers and one starting pitcher, Brett Myers, who spent last season pitching out of the bullpen, to improve the staff.

Is that enough?

This is not to criticize Myers, who has been an effective starter for many years in the big leagues, throwing over 180 innings six times in his career, every year but two that he has been in the rotation in the majors. Not only is he durable, he’s also been effective , with a lifetime 4.29 ERA as a starting pitcher.

Right now, any hope for improvement besides Myers rests on potential and the bounce back of several pitchers. That’s a cause for concern.

Justin Masterson may be the Opening Day starter, but he has been a regular starter with Cleveland for three years, of which one (2011–12-10 with a 3.21 ERA) was good, and the other two decidedly mediocre and inconsistent (17-28, 4.82 ERA).

Ubaldo Jimenez has been a huge mess since being acquired from Colorado at the ’11 trade deadline.

His mechanical issues are well documented, but his performance since becoming an Indian does nothing to inspire confidence that he will turn it around. His record with the Tribe is 13-21 with a 5.32 ERA. That should make him more of a candidate for the waiver wire than the cornerstone of a starting rotation.

There is no doubt he is the biggest key for Terry Francona’s team in 2013.

Carlos Carrasco provides hope because he showed some promise in 2011, his first full season in the big leagues. But he is recovering from Tommy John surgery, so he cannot be counted on to lead the rotation of a winning team.

Zack McAllister made 22 starts for Cleveland a year ago, and did a decent enough job, going 6-8 with a 4.24 ERA. The problem for him is the first stat listed, he’s only made 26 starts in his big league career.

Trevor Bauer is one of the game’s top prospects and dominated AAA last season, but he’s made just four major league starting appearances.

The Tribe also brought in some experienced major league arms in Daisuke Matsuzaka and Scott Kazmir, both fine pitchers at some point in the last five or six seasons. The former hasn’t had an ERA under 4.50 since 2008 when he enjoyed his best season in American baseball, going 18-3. 2.90.

That’s also the last good season for Kazmir, who pitched in an independent league last year. He was 12-8 with a 3.49 that year, but hasn’t been below4.89 in any season since.

That’s an awful large amount of ifs and maybes for a team that did a lot to strengthen his offense this winter.

GM Chris Antonetti did bolster the bullpen by obtaining Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw in the Shin-Soo Choo trade, inking Blake Wood, another pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery, and getting Matt Capps, a former closer with the Pirates, Nationals, and Twins.

While many consider the bullpen the bulwark of the team, it was only the pitchers Manny Acta used when the team had the lead: Joe Smith, Vinnie Pestano, and Chris Perez. The rest of the relief corp struggled to keep close games close. Too often, a starter left trailing 3-1, and soon it was 6-1.

Good teams play in the top half of their league in both runs scored and ERA. Last year, the Tribe finished second last and last in those categories.

They’ve improved the hitting attack this off-season, but the pitching is still shaky to say the least. If Carrasco comes back, McAllister picks up where he left off, and Bauer shows he is as good as his reputation, the Tribe can be formidable in 2013.

However, that’s an awful lot to have to go right. And right now, it’s too many question marks.

Cavs Need to Keep Speights

Most NBA observers saw the Cavaliers recent trade with the Memphis Grizzlies as something just short of highway robbery, at least from the talent standpoint.

Yes, fans were told that Memphis made the deal in order to get precious salary cap space to keep both Zack Randolph and Rudy Gay, but Gay was dealt shortly thereafter, so it looks like the new Grizzlies ownership just wanted to save cash.

Meanwhile, Cavs’ GM Chris Grant was able to get two players who can definitely get minutes on a nightly basis in F/C Marreese Speights and G Wayne Ellington and a project in G Josh Selby. Oh, and he also picked up a first round pick.

Immediately, people started speculating that Speights would be a short time member of the wine and gold, and would be dealt before the trade deadline to a contender, probably to get more picks.

That still may happen, but it shouldn’t.

The argument that Speights’ current deal, with a player option for 2013-14, is similar to the situation that Ramon Sessions was in last year ignores a few points.

First, Sessions was never going to start here over Kyrie Irving. Sessions wanted to get playing time, as well as the big money that comes with free agency. He was never going to get that in Cleveland because Irving is a better player.

Sessions is a quality NBA player, and if averaging a career high 27 minutes a night although he isn’t starting.

Speights doesn’t have the league’s reigning Rookie of the Year and an all-star in his second full season ahead of him on the depth chart. In fact, there is no question that Byron Scott needs a big man of Speights’ talent if they want to contend for and make the playoffs next season.

The former Florida Gator has already helped three teams to the post-season, including getting a seventh game loss to the Clippers last season.

Even if Grant has Anderson Varejao on the roster heading into next season, Speights would still garner playing time in a four man rotation up front with Tyler Zeller and Tristan Thompson.

The second factor that make Speights’ situation different is that he is a big man, and teams around the NBA are always looking for bigs who can play.

While that makes many think Speights would bring back even more in a deal, it has been proven since Varejao was injured that he has a problem playing with Thompson, mainly because they have similar games.

Add to this, the fact that Speights is only 25 years old, five years younger than the Brazilian, and it makes even more of a case that Grant should keep their recent acquisition.

He’s not as good of a rebounder as “The Wild Thing”, but he a better spot up shooter, which is a much-needed skill for NBA teams that win consistently.

Another thing is the Cavs need to start building the next wine and gold squad to make the playoffs, so you can’t get in the habit of continuously dealing players off for more draft picks. The picks are needed to lay a foundation, and Grant has had four first round picks in the last two years, plus what appears to be another top ten pick this summer.

That pick can be used to either pick or deal for another foundation piece.

A quality big man who can shoot and has experience with winning teams is something the Cavaliers will need as they get better and contend.

They already have one on the roster in Marreese Speights. It’s time to check that one off in the “done” column.

Bourn Signing OK, A Starter Would Have Been Better

The Cleveland Indians shocked everyone in the baseball world by signing free agent CF Michael Bourn to a four-year contract, worth an estimated $48 million.

We aren’t sure how much this helps the 2013 Tribe, at least offensively.

We are happy that the front office was able to spend money, and it shows a change in how the Dolan family is running the team, but with the state of the starting rotation, the dollars would be better spent there.

To be sure, the Indians may have baseball’s best defensive outfield with Bourn, flanked by Drew Stubbs in right and Michael Brantley in left. And that should help a pitching staff that ranked last in the AL in ERA last season.

However, the American League is an offensive league, particularly in the regular season, and it says here that Bourn doesn’t help the offense all that much. Why? Because he’s not a very good offensive player.

Here’s hoping Tribe fans don’t see a speedy, centerfielder and think of former Indian great Kenny Lofton, because GM Chris Antonetti’s latest signing doesn’t compare favorably.

Bourn, a left-handed hitter has a lifetime OPS of just 704. He’s a leadoff man by trade, yet his career on base percentage is just .339.

To be fair, in recent years he has been close to the .350 mark which is acceptable for a guy hitting at the top of the order. However, by comparison to the best leadoff hitter the Indians have had in recent years, Lofton, Bourn isn’t close. Lofton’s career on base percentage was a robust .372.

Also, the newest Indian has little pop. His lifetime slugging percentage is .365 and last year it was still under .400 (.391). Just for a comparison that you won’t like, Ezequiel Carrera’s slugging percentage for Cleveland last year? Try .395.

When Bourn gets on base, he can run, averaging 51 stolen bases per season over 162 games. He’s also an excellent defender, the winner of two Gold Gloves.

For $12 million per year, you should expect a little more with the stick. And for a player who makes his living with his legs, you have to wonder how effective of a player Bourn will be in the last two years of the contract, when he will be 32 and 33 years old.

Many baseball website rated Bourn as one of the top free agents in the off-season, mostly based on his WAR (wins above replacement player). However, that rating is inflated because of his defense at a premium defensive position.

Still, according to Baseball Reference.com, the most comparable hitters to Bourn at this point in his career are former Indian Dave Roberts, Albie Pearson and Roger Cedeno. All solid major league players, but no immortals there.

Bourn will enable Terry Francona to perhaps move Nick Swisher to 1B and DH Mark Reynolds, or even isolate Stubbs weaknesses at the plate by limiting his at bats vs. right-handers. He’s a better hitter than Stubbs, so if you consider that an upgrade then we have to agree.

Swisher was a solid signing because he’s a consistent player with OPS of between 743 and 870 throughout his major league career. His lifetime figure is 828 and he’s usually around that figure.

If this signing enables Antonetti to deal an outfielder, preferably Stubbs, for a legitimate starting pitcher, then it’s a good move.

Bourn isn’t a bad player, it just says here he won’t be an impact signing for the Indians. At those dollars, he should be.