Maybe Watson Can Learn From Flacco

The Cleveland Browns had a very successful season in 2023, making the playoffs with an 11-6 record. Still, much like this season, most of the hope for another playoff berth in 2024 depends on QB Deshaun Watson.

You may ask why that is still the case because Watson only played in five games this past year and the Browns still won 11 times? It’s because the model of starting five different quarterbacks and still getting a post-season spot is not sustainable.

GM Andrew Berry talked about a 10-year commitment when the deal for Watson was made, and he has to look at it that way because the first two seasons have seen the former Texan start just 12 of 34 games, and really, he has only shown brief glimpses of the player he was in Houston.

Certainly, good health is needed for the trade to play out in the Browns’ favor, but we would also like to see Watson put his trust in Kevin Stefanski and the way his offense works.

Since Stefanski took over as head coach and installed his offense, he has coaxed solid QB play out of most of the players who have called signals for Cleveland.

In 2020, Baker Mayfield posted a 95.9 passer rating for the Browns, his career high (he was at 94.6 this season in Tampa). He completed 62.8% of his throws with 26 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions.

It’s easy to dismiss that success because of the injury plagued year in 2021, but Mayfield was off to a good start in ’21, with 8 TDs and just three picks in his first eight starts.

The deal for Watson was made after this season, but Jacoby Brissett was the primary starter in 2022 because of Watson’s suspension. Brissett had the highest passer rating of his career (88.9) with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions with the Browns, completing a career high 64% of his passes.

In 2023, Stefanski coaxed solid enough play out of P.J. Walker, rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and revived Joe Flacco’s career. The latter had the third best passer rating of his career in any season he played more than four games. Statistically, it was his best season since 2014.

FYI, Kirk Cousins’ best statistical season? 2019, when his offensive coordinator was Kevin Stefanski.

The point is, Stefanski’s “system” is QB-friendly. It seems the only Cleveland passer who hasn’t taken advantage of it is Deshaun Watson.

Recently, Watson said he didn’t like the scripted plays that Stefanski starts the game with. We found that curious, and a sign about his coachability.

We get it, when you are a gifted athlete, it is easy to become engrained that the way you have always done things is the best way. But great players are open to change, and maybe Watson needs to allow himself to play like Stefanski wants his QBs to play.

That might be the best reason to bring Flacco back.

Stefanski loves play action, and Flacco demonstrated that sometimes it’s okay to turn your back on the defense to sell the fake. Watson prefers to play out of the shotgun. Maybe, there is a happy medium.

Watson has been very successful as a “dual threat” quarterback, but next season he will be 29 years old, and maybe he needs to not play with his legs as much in order to stay on the field. We understand this injury was a little fluky, but maybe it’s time to play a little more conservatively when it comes to running.

It has been shown that Kevin Stefanski can enhance a quarterback’s productivity. The 2024 season would be a good time for Deshaun Watson to embrace that and have his best statistical season.

A second straight playoff berth will probably be the result.

How Do Garland And Mobley Fit Back In?

On December 15th, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that two of their starters, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley were going to miss some time. Garland broke his jaw and would miss about four weeks (it has gone longer than that) and Mobley needed a procedure on his knee and would miss about six weeks.

At first thought, it appeared this would ruin the season for the wine and gold, perhaps causing them to miss the playoffs. Instead, the Cavs have flourished, winning 13 of 17 since the injuries.

They have taken advantage of a bit of a soft schedule. They’ve played only two games against the “elite” teams in the NBA, and both were against Milwaukee, who played without Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first one, a Cavs’ win. Only six of the contests have been on the road, not counting the game in Paris.

Cleveland has lost just two of those road games.

By the way, that’s not a criticism of this 13-4 stretch. If you are scheduled to play a bunch of mediocre teams, we would rather have you defeat those teams than lose. The Cavs simply took care of business.

They’ve changed their style of play, shooting more three-point shots, shooting 42.5 per game compared to 33.1 per night before Garland and Mobley were injured. The organization is trumpeting a new style, but really, it’s the emergence of Sam Merrill, who has become a rotation mainstay, averaging 13.5 points per game.

Merrill is taking 8.7 three-pointers per contest and is knocking them down at a 43.4% clip.

We also don’t want to forget the defense has picked up greatly since the two starters went out, surprising because Mobley is one of the league’s best defenders. Perhaps the players and coaching staff turned up the defense because of the offense they figured to miss in having two of their three top scorers out of the lineup.

A big question for us is what happens when Garland and Mobley return. With the heater the Cavs are on, we feel like it is up to them to fit in with the new, successful style of play, that is as long as it is working.

For Mobley, that would seem to involve staggering time with Jarrett Allen and not having them on the court as much. And once J.B. Bickerstaff starts substituting in a given game, he kind of does that anyway.

And if you have a lead late, you want both Allen and Mobley on the court because of their ability to defend, even out on the floor.

Also, Tristan Thompson’s suspension does open some minutes in the frontcourt.

Garland would seem to have to make a bigger adjustment. First, he has played 20 games this season and had five or more turnovers in seven of them. By contrast, Donovan Mitchell, who has become the primary ball handler with Garland out, has played in 32 games and has had five or more turnovers just five times.

We would say the ball should be in Mitchell’s hands and Garland should play off him. And Merrill should not lose any playing time due to Garland’s return. He’s earned playing time even with the roster being complete.

How Bickerstaff handles this could be his defining moment as coach. Cleveland’s next three games are against three very good teams, two vs. Milwaukee and then a home game against the 28-14 Clippers.

If this new style and new rotation continues to work, the proverbial ball is in the court of the players returning to the lineup. They have to go with the winning flow.

And don’t forget the trade deadline is two weeks from today.

Dolan’s Comments Seems Like Rebuilding Year For Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians celebrated their annual winter festival over the weekend, a time to look forward to the upcoming baseball season. It’s a great time for the fans, who get to see their favorite players again after three and a half months.

The team’s resident superstar Jose Ramirez was there. Fan favorite Josh Naylor and brother Bo made an appearance, and the Guards’ new skipper, Steven Vogt, interacted with ticket payers and media people alike.

It was a great time to talk baseball during the cold northeast Ohio winter, and of course, the weather cooperated by providing a snowstorm.

And then, someone put a microphone in front of team owner Paul Dolan. Dolan did say the team is always looking for ways to improve, but seemed to imply the improvement would come “internally and organically” with the young guys coming up from the farm system.

And thus, a wet blanket was put over the event.

Look, we get a team like the Guardians (at least in their own head) have to have a farm system that is producing in order to field a contending team. However, even if you are going to depend on rookies and/or second year players, if you fancy yourself as a contender, you add veterans who can contribute in case the inexperienced players aren’t quite ready.

We know the Guardians need outfield help. Since the end of the 2023 campaign, they resigned Ramon Laureano, who they acquired on waivers in August, and traded with the Yankees for Estevan Florial, who was a top 100 prospect. In 2019.

We reviewed the organization’s top ten prospect list from Baseball America and we see three outfielders–

Chase DeLauter is the top prospect, but he has only played a handful of games above the High A level, and could be ready late this season. Key word there is could.

George Valera has been on prospect lists since 2020, but has had injury issues the past two seasons and has never played more than 100 games in a minor league season. If he can stay healthy in 2024, perhaps he’s another player who can be in Cleveland by the end of this season.

The third OF is 19-year-old Jaison Chourio, who played mostly in the Arizona Rookie Leauge last year. He’s aways away.

So, it’s not like the Guardians have one of the game’s best prospects ready to step in the lineup on Opening Day. In fact, there has been talk that the readiest minor league player, Kyle Manzardo, might start the year in AAA.

Plenty of players who made these top prospect lists never pan out, and others who don’t make them wind up being real good major league players. Ramirez never appeared on the Top 100 prospect list and he has been one of the best players in the game over the last six years.

Yes, there is still time to sign a veteran outfielder to help the team’s hitting before spring training starts, and actually, there are still good candidates remaining on the market.

But to us, going entirely with your farm system to fill this void, and not having highly tiered prospects ready to go, reeks of a rebuilding team. The Guardians are not a team that is several years away from success, they won the Central in 2022.

Perhaps any warmth fans received at the event over the weekend was the hot air coming out of the team’s owner.

The public relations department of the Guardians don’t get paid enough to spin whatever comes out of the owners’ mouth.

Sometimes Change And/Or Considering It, Is Good In Sports

Earlier this week, the Cleveland Browns made news when coach Kevin Stefanski announced he let go three members of his offensive coaching staff: Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, running backs coach Stump Mitchell, and TE coach T.C. McCartney.

Browns’ fans, being among the most rational people on earth, had plenty to say, mostly because it is how things have been in Berea for most of the expansion era, they felt it was a sign of disarray in the hierarchy.

And of course, some blamed Paul DePodesta, because since he rarely appears or speaks to the media, he has because something like the Wizard of Oz.

First, we would think if Stefanski and the organization let these coaches go, they probably have a pretty good idea of who they are going after to replace them. We have always said, anyone is replaceable if you go and get someone better.

Second, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing to keep bringing different voices into a group, coaching staff, or a sports organization. Diverse opinions should not only be tolerated but embraced. Of course, within reason.

Like if someone keeps telling you Yu Chang is a potential Hall of Fame baseball player, you might want to check credentials.

All three coaches have been here since Stefanski was named head coach four years ago, and coaches are no different than anyone else, they get stuck in their ways, not completely open to new ideas. We are sure everyone works with people like that.

And the Browns didn’t win the Super Bowl, so there is definitely room for improvement in all aspects of the team. We think Stefanski had to be encouraged to make some changes to his staff last season, when he let go of Joe Woods and Mike Priefer. Perhaps he saw how that worked out and these changes might have the same benefit.

Among the other teams in town, we would love for the Guardians to have some different ideas in their organization. At times, they have weird attachments to players, and maybe having a new manager solves some of that.

We think Terry Francona was a great manager, but often said his weakness was the fine line between patience and stubbornness.

We would love to be in an organizational meeting for the Guards, just to hear if anyone says, “Myles Straw is one of the worst hitters in baseball” or “Yes, Gabriel Arias hits the ball hard, but he rarely hits it”.

For the Cavs, we would like to know the reasoning for ignoring height in a sport where most of the great players in the game had size advantages (think LeBron: if you are as quick, you aren’t as big, and vice-versa), or what everyone sees in Dean Wade.

We think the worst thing that can occur is when everyone is on the same page, and no one thinks outside the box. And again, that doesn’t mean arguing about something everyday. Just being able to see things from a different “perspective”.

That might be exactly what happened in Berea this week. This isn’t the same dysfunctional organization that we came to know from 1999 to when the complete rebuild started about 10 years ago.

It’s just a sign that they want to take the next step in their goal of winning a title.

Cavs Still Looking For “3 and D” Guys, Especially With Length

The NBA trade deadline is rapidly approaching, and rumors surfaced last week that once again the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for “3 and D” guys, wing players who can shoot and can defend.

They have until February 8th to make a deal, and hopefully the players they are interested in have some length. The Cavs signed Max Strus (6’5″) and Georges Niang (6’7″) during the off-season, but they haven’t provided the shooting we are sure the organization was hoping for.

Strus topped out at 41% in 2021-22 but shot 35% last season and that figure has dropped to 33.7% in 2023-24. Niang came into the year as a 40% shooter from beyond the arc for his career, but this year has converted on just 36.5% of his attempts.

Dean Wade has some size on the wing when he plays there, and is a solid defender, but is wildly inconsistent. He took 10+ shots in back-to-back games at the end of December against the Pelicans and Bulls (7 of 11, 6 for 8 from three vs. NO; 4 for 12, 3 for 10 from three vs. CHI), but went seven straight games where he took less than five shots.

He was 3 for 15 from three in that span.

Outside of Wade, the other two new players aren’t exactly defensive stoppers. Both try, which is something, but are limited due to height in Strus’ case, he’s probably better cast as a guard, or quickness (Niang).

Add in the need for height, which we have talked about for the last two seasons. Outside of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, Cleveland has only two players over 6’10”. One is rookie Emoni Bates, who is very raw, and Damian Jones, who rarely gets off the bench.

Wade and Tristan Thompson, who is limited to playing in the post offensively, are 6’9″ and the only player 6’8″ is another player who doesn’t get much action in Isaiah Mobley.

FYI, the Cavs did sign 6’11” Pete Nance to a 10-day contract. Nance is averaging 15.5 points and 7.8 boards per game for the Charge. He, of course, is the son of Larry Nance and the brother of Larry Nance Jr., both of whom played for Cleveland.

We will see how much, if any, playing time Nance will get.

What Cleveland could really use is a wing in the 6’7″ to 6’9″ range who can shoot. The Pistons just traded for Danilo Gallinari, and we can’t imagine they intend to keep him. He is 6’10” and a career 38.1% shooter from the three-point line. He had knee surgery a year ago, but has played in 26 games this season.

We have always liked 33-year-old Gordon Hayward, who is rumored to be on the block in Charlotte. He’s started 25 games with the Hornets this year, scoring 14.5 points, grabbing 4.7 rebounds, and dishing out 4.6 assists. He’s a basketball player.

We understand neither of these players are strong defenders, but we think they could help the wine and gold.

Last season, the Cavs were over matched physically by the New York Knicks in the opening round of the playoffs. They still haven’t addressed that in our view. If they played New York again this season, we don’t see the result being any different.

We understand you can’t make your roster to beat the Knicks, you might not ever play them. But Koby Altman emphasized shooting the three ball in the off-season, and the Cavaliers are actually worse at it than they were a year ago.

They have three weeks to improve their current roster.

Guardians Seem To Have Changed Philosophy On Hitting

About 10 years ago, the Cleveland Guardians developed a philosophy about hitting. The theory was it was easier to teach a good contact hitter to hit for power than it was to instruct a power hitter to make more contact.

The prime examples were Jose Ramirez, who hit a grand total of 13 home runs in the minor leagues (216 in the majors) and Francisco Lindor, who’s high in the minor leagues was 11 dingers, and by his second full year in the bigs, belted 33.

Kyle Manzardo, who came in the Aaron Civale deal, also fits this profile. He struck out in 18% of his plate appearances last season and hit 17 homers.

As everyone is aware by now, the Guardians were last in the major leagues in home runs in 2023, so what moves they have made have involved getting power, but they are getting players with high strikeout rates and low walk rates.

Why do we focus on this? Because generally, those players can be pitched to, meaning pitchers aren’t dumb and if they realize they can retire a hitter without throwing him a strike, then they probably won’t.

Not to pick on Amed Rosario, but how many times did we watch him strikeout without the pitcher throwing a ball in the strike zone? We realize the game has changed (not all changes are for the good) and hitters sell out to hit more home runs, but sometimes you can score without getting a hit. Can’t do that with a strikeout.

It’s not impossible for a hitter to succeed with that profile, but it isn’t the norm.

For example, Oscar Gonzalez struck out almost six times as much as he walked in the minor leagues. His first year in the bigs, he hit .296 with 11 homers, but he did fan 75 times with just 15 walks.

His next year? He hit .214 with two round-trippers and struck nine times more than he walked (46:5). It will be interesting to see how the Yankees will handle him.

This off-season, the Guardians elevated Johnathan Rodriguez to the 40 man roster. He has hit 55 home runs the past two minor league seasons, including 29 last season at the AA and AAA levels. He did strike out in 29% of his plate appearance last season in the minors. That’s the bad news.

The good news is his walk rate was the highest of his minor league career. Perhaps that’s a good sign.

The same is true with Estevan Florial, acquired from the Yankees the day after Christmas. Florial hit 28 dingers at AAA last season with a career high 66 walks. He did strikeout in 30% of his plate appearances in the minors a year ago.

The Guardians do a lot of touting of Gabriel Arias, because he has a very strong exit velocity when he hits the ball. However, that’s the problem. He whiffed in 32.8% of his at bats for the Cleveland a year ago.

In addition to being last in the majors in home runs last season, the Guardians also struck out the least. However, it is possible hit for power and not whiff excessively.

Of the top ten in the lowest number of strikeouts last year, five teams made the playoffs, including the Braves, who led the majors in home runs with 307, and Houston, who were fifth in the bigs in runs scored.

We have our doubts that the new power with high strikeout rates will work for the Guardians. We think they should focus on getting more men on base, a higher on-base percentage.

Of the teams with the 10 worst OBP in the sport in 2023, none made the playoffs. Maybe there is a correlation there.

Stefanski Said It Best: Bad Day To Have A Bad Day

All of the problems the Cleveland Browns had this year showed up again in yesterday’s playoff loss to the Houston Texans.

Yes, the Browns had the NFL’s best defense statistically, but there was a big difference in the way they played at home and away from Cleveland Browns Stadium.

At home, they were simply dominant, but the five worst games the defense had in terms of points allowed came on the road. Indianapolis scored 38, Los Angeles put up 36, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Denver were next.

The defense didn’t give up all 45 points Saturday, two pick sixes added 14 points, but they allowed 31, and there were big plays aplenty. The Texans ran just 44 plays, as Houston scored on offensive plays of 76 and 37 yards, and got some big chunk plays as well as they rolled up 356 total yards, which is 8.1 per play. That’s a huge number.

And the Browns’ defense didn’t get any turnovers nor any sacks. Bet no one thought that would happen. Houston stayed away from Denzel Ward and controlled Myles Garrett, picking on Greg Newsome, who struggled trying to keep up with Nico Collins.

Another issue that reared its head was not taking care of the football. The Browns amazingly made the playoffs despite leading the NFL in turning the ball over, and two interceptions for touchdowns basically ended the game.

Cleveland was trailing 24-14 at the half, but was driving in the third quarter, when QB Joe Flacco apparently trying to throw the ball away, was picked off by Steven Nelson, who returned it 82 yards for a TD.

Then on the next possession, on a 4th down play, Flacco was intercepted again by Christian Harris, who went 36 yards the other way, and suddenly a game within reach was over for all intends and purposes.

The Browns couldn’t run the ball, something that has been a problem since Nick Chubb got hurt in week two. They gained just 56 yards on 20 attempts and their longest two runs were a 14-yard run by Kareem Hunt in garbage time and an 8-yard scramble by Flacco.

That’s not to say all of the Browns had bad games. On defense, we have to point out Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who was all over the field, with 8 tackles, several behind the line of scrimmage. He has been getting better and better each week.

David Njoku was a standout as usual, catching seven balls for 93 yards and he and Harrison Bryant were big factors in the first half. And David Bell had a strong game too, catching 8 passes, several in traffic.

As coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game, the Browns simply picked a bad day to have a bad day. After an early field goal, the Browns scored to take leads of 7-3 and 14-10, but defensively they just couldn’t stop Houston.

And as usual, the officiating didn’t help the Browns, a very questionable pass interference call on Ronnie Hickman (especially after a no call against Njoku earlier) gave Houston a first down on a third down play and would have forced a punt.

The Texans scored two plays later to make it 24-14. The NFL has an officiating problem that they care to ignore.

No question this will be a different team when training camp starts in July because of salary cap issues, but the core will remain, players like Garrett, Ward, Owusu-Koramoah, and of course, QB Deshaun Watson will be healthy.

Let’s hope the organization continues to build on this season and the attitude they adopted during this year, winning no matter what is thrown at them, continues in 2024.

It was a bitter loss because we thought this team had a chance to go deeper into the post-season. Still, it was a fun ride.

Cavs’ 3 Point Success? Surprise, It’s Sam Merrill

The Cleveland Cavaliers have spent the last week or so talking about their new offensive style since the injuries to Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.

They’ve gone 8-3 in the 11 contests without two of their usual starters, and they have increased the number of three-point shots they’ve attempted in that span. In the first 25 games of the season, the Cavs averaged 33 long range shots per game, and in the last 11, they added 10 attempts per game.

Better yet, they’ve been more efficient with the shot, making 34.5% of their attempts behind the arc in the first 25 games, while they’ve knocked down 37% since Garland and Mobley have been out.

The chief reason for the improvement has been Sam Merrill, who since the injuries occurred has received steady playing time and made 44.4% of his three-pointers, taking 72 of them in the nine games he has appeared in.

If you are going to take more three-point shots, the key is putting someone in the game who can make them consistently. And that’s what Merrill is doing.

We have been wary of Merrill’s abilities because in watching him it seemed the game was too fast for him, meaning he shot well in the G League and Summer League, but when he got to the NBA, he was rushing, and the result was his shot was off.

The game seems to have slowed down a bit for him and the results have been very good. Teams can always use players who knock down outside shots at that rate. He currently ranks 13th in the league in three-point percentage.

Unfortunately, the Cavs’ issues are with the players who are taking the most long-range shots per game, Max Strus and Donovan Mitchell.

Strus has attempted the 7th most three-pointers in the league with 294. The problem is of the players in the top ten in the NBA in attempts, Strus has the lowest percentage of makes at 34.7%. The next lowest is Damian Lillard at 35.2%.

However, Lillard is a much more versatile offensive player, having gone to the line 275 times this season. Strus has attempted just 49 free throws.

As for Mitchell, because he’s missed some time with injuries, he ranks fifth in the league with 8.9 three-point attempts per game. And same as Strus, he has the lowest field goal percentage among the top ten in attempts at 35%.

This is not to call out Mitchell, who is one of the premier scoring guards in the league. However, he is knocking down 53.3% of his shots inside the arc. We understand the toll it takes attacking the basket more often (he’s makes 68% inside three feet), but only 10% of his field goal tries are from 16 feet to the arc, but he makes half of those shots.

Meanwhile, 42.8% of his field goal tries are three pointers. We’d like to see him lower that percentage a bit.

We still think a good part of the Cavs’ success since Garland and Mobley went out is due to a nice schedule break. The only real good team Cleveland has played in this span is Milwaukee, and they’ve only played three road games during this time.

When they return from France, they will play the Bucks three more times, as well as Orlando and the Clippers by the end of January. Of course, Garland shouldn’t be that far from returning.

Those games will be good tests.

It’s funny though that Koby Altman signed Strus and Georges Niang to get more three-point shooting, and the player who has been the key was here all along. Sam Merrill’s shooting has been a big factor in coping with the absences of Garland and Mobley.

Meaningless Game Done, Meaningful Ones Start Again This Weekend For Browns

The Cleveland Browns concluded the exhibition portion of their schedule Sunday with a 31-14 defeat at the hands of Cincinnati. Technically, the game counted in the standings and the Browns end the 2023 season with an 11-6 mark, but the contest meant nothing to Kevin Stefanski’s crew and it was handled accordingly.

Heck, the Browns started a quarterback who wasn’t even on the roster for the previous game, signing Jeff Driskel from Arizona’s practice squad and putting him under center.

And yes, that should tell you how much Stefanski wants to see P.J. Walker play for the team.

The game itself was pretty much over by halftime as the Bengals led 24-0, but it seemed defensive coordinator lit into his unit during the break and that side of the ball performed much better in the second half, holding Cincy to seven points.

Alex Wright continued his fine play with another sack, and rookie Isaiah McGuire flashed as well with a sack. D’Anthony Bell had an interception on the Bengals’ first drive, continuing his fine play.

The offense sputtered much of the day until Driskel connected with David Bell for a pair of touchdown throws in the fourth quarter. Ironically, the last time the Browns were shutout was by the Bengals in 2014, which was Johnny Manziel’s first career start.

So, Driskel fared better than that.

Keep in mind, the Browns’ bye week was following the fourth game of the season, so they have had a long stretch without time off, and with all of the injuries the squad has suffered this season, there is no question in our mind that resting the veterans who are banged up was the correct call.

As for a loss of “momentum”, we aren’t worried about that. Stefanski’s mantra has been going 1-0 every week, and that won’t change now that the playoffs are starting.

Saturday, the Browns will travel to Houston to take on a team they defeated on Christmas Eve, 36-22, in a game that wasn’t that close. Cleveland had a 36-7 margin in the fourth quarter.

Of course, the Texans didn’t have the likely rookie of the year in QB C.J. Stroud. We did hear a former player turned analyst say over the weekend that the key term in discussing Stroud is “rookie”. He said the playoffs are a different game and it will be difficult for a quarterback, especially a first year one, in his first playoff game.

Stroud was impressive Saturday night in the win that clinched a playoff spot for Houston, but then again, the Colts’ defense is not the Browns’ defense.

The Browns were the stingiest unit in the league in allowing teams to move the football and allowed 44 less first downs than any other team in the NFL. And after a slow start in gaining turnovers, they finished tied for fifth in the league in that stat.

Yes, Stroud is good, and the Texans are a solid football team. The games where the Browns play the Jets or the Cardinals (sorry, Jonathan Gannon) are done. This is the playoffs, only the best teams are remaining.

The Browns are one of those teams. And Saturday, everyone will play. It should be exciting.

Guardians’ Off-Season Has Been Riveting

Today is January 7, 2024. This means in 37 days; baseball fans hear the expression they have waited for since the World Series ended on November 1st: ”Pitchers and catchers report to spring training”.

If you are a fan of the Cleveland Guardians, it has been watching the constant upgrades to the roster, as the front office addressed the weaknesses, particularly the hitting, which finished 12th in the American League in runs scored.

The heavy sarcasm is intended.

Yes, we know the Guardians have a new manager, but they have done little else with spring training commencing in little over a month.

And this isn’t last season, coming off a Central Division title, the Guardians were a below .500 team in 2023.

First, they selected 1B/OF Alfonso Rivas from Pittsburgh off waivers, and then put him on waivers themselves several weeks later. They also added C Christian Bethancourt from Tampa Bay via the same method, and then traded him to Miami for cash (we will spare the sarcasm here, oh guess we didn’t) a little over a month later.

The biggest move they made was designating Cal Quantrill for assignment, and then trading him to Colorado for a minor league catcher. Apparently, when Terry Francona retired, so did the mantra that you can’t have too much pitching.

The one move that would rank highest on the excitement level (still would be around a 4 on a scale of 1-10) would be acquiring reliever Scott Barlow from San Diego for Enyel De La Santos. Barlow is a former closer and could be a cure for overusing Emmanuel Clase, assuming he isn’t traded before the season starts, as there have been rumors.

The Guardians didn’t stop there though. In kind of a secret move, Oscar Gonzalez, a post-season hero just a year and a half ago, was put on waivers and claimed by the Yankees.

Since they lost Quantrill, team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff swung into action and signed Ben Lively, not to be confused with actress Blake Lively, as a free agent from Cincinnati.

Lively, 32, could be another veteran anchor to the Cleveland rotation. That is if you dismiss his career 5.05 ERA in 208 big league innings. He had a 5.38 ERA for the Reds last year, but of course, their home park is very hitter friendly.

Unfortunately, his ERA at home was 4.70 and his road figure was 5.90.

Austin Hedges, a fan favorite (why?) was brought back as a free agent. Hedges is a tremendous defensive catcher, but he his OPS over the last three seasons have been 461, 489, and 527. And the first figure was the most recent.

The day after Christmas, the Guardians dealt oft-injured pitcher Cody Morris to the Yankees for left-handed hitter OF Estevan Florial, a former top 100 prospect.

Florial hit .230 (635 OPS) in 61 at bats for New York last season. He did belt 28 homers and put up a 945 OPS at AAA last year. He does strike out a lot, but his walk rate has got better over the past two seasons. No sarcasm here, but perhaps he can help.

On the other hand, he hits left-handed, not really an area of need, although the power would help.

Our point is it must be very tough to be a salesman in the ticket office for this team. They’ve virtually given their fans nothing to be excited about, although we are sure they would say it is because of the uncertainty surrounding their local television deal.

Perhaps in the next 30 days, they will be involved in doing something to significantly help their new skipper, Steven Vogt, have a more competitive squad.

We are sure the prospect gurus out there will tell us how several rookies will impact the 2024 edition of the Cleveland Guardians and all will be well.

Truth be told, we like some of their talent coming up, and hope those folks are correct. Our experience tells us most of those good young players won’t make an impact in 2024.

Hot Stove Season? More like Hot Doze Season if you are a fan of the Guardians.