No Need To Fix Baseball, It Will Fix Itself. We Hope

We love the game of baseball. We’ve loved it since we remembered seeing our first game way back in 1965.

And despite living in northeast Ohio, where a winning baseball team didn’t come around for 30 years, our love for the summer sport never waned.

However, right now baseball is under attack and the surprising thing is, it seems to be attacking itself. Over the last few years, they have enacted and proposed some rule changes, and some we like, and others seem to be gimmicky.

For example, we like the universal DH. The argument that the National League game had more strategy is hogwash. For the most part, if there was a runner on base with less than two out and the pitcher was coming up, he was bunting. That’s not deep thinking.

And the “double switch” isn’t rocket science either.

We also like the proposed time clock in between pitches. When people have complained about the length of games, we’ve said for years the problem was batters stepping out of the box after every pitch to supposedly adjust some kind of equipment.

Get in the box, stay in the box and for pitchers, get the sign and throw the pitch.

It seems though like the people who run baseball are kind of just throwing crap at a wall and seeing what’s going to stick: Pitchers have to face three batters, putting a runner at second for no reason to start extra-inning games, and the one we really don’t like…banning the shift.

We find it unconscionable that a rule will prevent a team from playing defense the best way. What’s next, telling Shane Bieber he can only throw his knuckle-curve once per at bat?

This year, we’ve seen the Guardians go “old school” and go back to a contact approach, putting the ball in play. Jose Ramirez is pretty much a dead pull hitter. Teams shift on him in every single at bat.

You know what? He’s still hitting .283 on the season. Why? Because he’s a good hitter. He doesn’t strikeout a lot. Yes, he gets some hits taken away by the shift, and a couple of teams have employed four outfielders against him. He still gets hits.

In our opinion, getting rid of the shift rewards the bad hitters, the ones who refuse to make adjustments and keep trying to pull outside pitches. That’s more inferior hitting than great pitching.

The new schedule also seems weird. We understand that having three wild card teams means playing in a weak division is an advantage because you play teams 19 times, but it wasn’t an issue in the AL East for a long time when the Yankees and Red Sox had the edge because the Orioles, Rays, and Blue Jays were in a down cycle.

The talking heads don’t like it now because the Twins, Guardians, Brewers, and Cardinals now have that advantage.

We’d also like to see if fans really like interleague play. Yes, it’s good to see Yankees-Mets, Giants-A’s, Cubs-White Sox, but is anyone clamoring for Guardians-Rockies? Instead, we think fans here would like to see the Yanks and Red Sox more often. They aren’t getting that with this new format.

It’s like the folks who say college basketball is better than the professional version. Yes, if you are comparing Duke-North Carolina to watching the Kings and Rockets do battle.

But what about the Bucks-Celtics vs. say, Eastern Michigan play Dayton?

We are stuck with the schedule, but let’s hope smarter people get together on the shift and keep it. It will take a while, but eventually, players will learn to hit the right way again and the sport will be better for it.

Guardians Among The Best At Their Positions

We are a big fan of the website, baseball-reference.com, and we look at it at least once a day, qualifying us, we guess, as a baseball nerd.

In their version of WAR (wins above replacement), the Cleveland Guardians rank in the top three in the American League in four positions: Second base, shortstop, leftfield, and third base.

It is probably shocking that the hot corner is the spot they are third, behind Boston (Rafael Devers) and Houston (Alec Bregman), because Cleveland’s best player, Jose Ramirez mans that position.

It would probably also surprise you that the Guardians leader in WAR is not Ramirez, but Andres Gimenez.

Disclaimer alert here: One of our problems with WAR is that it is weighted to middle of the diamond players. Still, it is something to use in comparing players and their importance to a team.

When the Guardians acquired Gimenez in the trade that sent Francisco Lindor to the Mets, we felt he was the key to the deal. He was a top prospect and came to the big leagues at age 21, hitting .263 with a 732 OPS in 49 games of the COVID shortened season.

We did not anticipate this kind of season though. Now 23, he made the All Star in his first full big league season and should get Gold Glove consideration at second base.

All this after he hit .218 (633 OPS) a year ago.

His on base percentage (.375) has been propped up by becoming a magnet for pitched balls (16 HBP), but after having a strikeout to walk ratio of 31:4 in April and May, since then it is 51:19, still not great, but an improvement.

Amed Rosario seemingly doesn’t get on base enough (.320) to hit second, and doesn’t have a lot of pop either (.409 slugging percentage with just 36 extra base hits), but he has been a huge factor in the Guardians’ rise to first place to date in the AL Central.

Last season, he was frankly below average defensively at short, the most important position in the infield, but he has improved to the point he makes the routine plays. With the Guardians’ glut of middle infield prospects, we don’t know how long Rosario will play his current position, or even remain with the Guardians, but he has made a big impact on this team.

We discussed bringing up Steven Kwan at the end of last year (with Oscar Gonzalez), but he was in the lineup on Opening Day, with only Terry Francona seemingly being surprised, and hasn’t let go of the job.

He has done what we thought he could do, that is make contact and get on base. He has a .372 on base percentage and has walked more than he has struck out. And he has a respectable .393 slugging percentage. He’s been a perfect table setter for this lineup.

And of course, you have the remarkable Ramirez, who probably will finish in the top three of the MVP voting for the fourth time in the last six years.

He leads the AL in doubles, is second in RBIs, tied for sixth in triples, and second in extra base hits. And let’s not forget, he is the undisputed leader in the clubhouse. The way he plays the game rubs off on everyone on the roster.

These four players have had tremendous seasons. Looking at them in no way minimizes the contributions of others, but this quartet have been among the best in the AL at their respective positions.

Should Browns Get Better At QB?

So, finally we know. The Cleveland Browns know QB Deshaun Watson will miss the first 11 games of the 2022 season, returning ironically, against his former team, the Houston Texans on December 4th.

The question becomes how many of those 11 games will Jacoby Brissett be behind center for Cleveland?

Brissett was signed to be a back up quarterback, when the Browns’ front office thought Watson’s suspension would be no longer than six games. They figured the former Patriot and Colt signal caller could handle that amount of games.

Now, they will need him to play at the highest level of his career for five additional games.

We have written before that the Browns’ roster is ready to win right now. They have one of the top running backs in the NFL in Nick Chubb, one of the sports’ best pass rushers in Myles Garrett and perhaps the best pair of interior linemen in the league in guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller.

And we haven’t even mentioned stars like Denzel Ward, Jadeveon Clowney, Amari Cooper, and Kareem Hunt.

The organization cannot wait while Brissett leads the Browns to say, a 4-7 start to the season.

And maybe he won’t, but we would minimize the risk in that happening by looking for another QB to be the starter in the majority of those contests.

Last season, the front office and the fan base was upset with a passer who had a 60.5% completion percentage and had 17 touchdown passes, 13 interceptions and a 7.2 yards per attempt.

Brissett’s career completion percentage is 60.2, although he did hit on 62.7% of his throws a year ago, when he started five games for Miami. He hit a higher percentage, but only had 5.7 yards per attempt, and he threw five TD passes vs. four to the opponents.

If Browns’ supporters didn’t like how Baker Mayfield played a year ago, they will likely be getting the same type of performance from Brissett. Think about that for a moment.

That’s why we said as early as three months ago we would go after Jimmy Garoppolo. We know he is coming off a shoulder injury. We know his current team wants to dump his salary. We know he’s had a long issue with staying healthy.

We also know last season, the nine year veteran completed 68.3% of his passes, and his career mark is 67.7%. His yards per attempt was 8.6 better than both Mayfield and Brissett and he threw 20 TD passes against 12 picks.

And he took the Niners to a Super Bowl in 2019 and to the NFC Championship Game in 2021.

Could he start week one if the Browns dealt for him today? Probably not, but could he take over in week three? Probably.

Does it have to be Garoppolo? No, but we think it would behoove GM Andrew Berry to find someone better than Brissett, who is a fine back up.

However, right now, Brissett is not the reserve QB, he’s the starter, and barring injury, he will be for the first three months of the 2022 season. And we say there is too much at stake for this franchise to not try to get better at the most important position in pro sports.

Berry is always saying he is always looking for opportunities to improve the Browns. Let’s hope he is doing that at quarterback right now.

Tough Spot For Guardians’ Newest Rookies

The Cleveland Guardians started the season using Steven Kwan in left field and Andres Gimenez at second base, and by the end of the first weekend were using Owen Miller everyday as well.

That trio is 24, 23, and 25 years old, respectively.

As the season went on, we saw more young players. Oscar Gonzalez (24) and Richie Palacios (25, and since sent back to AAA) both contributed to the team’s success.

Since the beginning of July, the Guards called up Nolan Jones (24), Will Benson (24), and Tyler Freeman (23) to the big-league roster.

The organization wants to look at these players, but one thing complicates this philosophy: The Guardians are a game ahead of the Minnesota Twins and in first place in the AL Central Division.

There are always ups and downs with young players. Kwan, for example, had a poor May, hitting .173, but he made adjustments and has batted over .300 in each month since.

Miller had a torrid first month of the season and had a decent July, but has struggled otherwise and at this point hasn’t figured out what pitchers are doing to him.

So, Terry Francona is charged with the task of getting the three newest Guardians the playing time they need as young players, while continuing to win ballgames. And that’s not easy.

Right now, it’s tough to write Jones’ name in the lineup, but if he’s on the roster, you have to.

The rightfielder started great going 9 for 27 before the all-star break. Since then, in 61 plate appearances, Jones has hit .203 with one homer, and has fanned 22 times against just two walks.

Right now, he might be too selective, taking a number of fastballs in the strike zone for called third strikes.

It really hasn’t been fair for Benson, who since his call up on August 1st, has only played in 12 games, getting more than one at bat in just seven of them. He’s gone just 3 for 25 and has fanned nine times in 28 times at the dish.

That’s why Gonzalez has become pretty much the everyday guy in right, with Benson and Jones filling in when he DHs and with Benson getting some time in centerfield to give Myles Straw a breather.

Freeman gets into the lineup with Jose Ramirez is the DH and has spelled Amed Rosario a couple times as well. He’s been okay, going 5 for 22 with three walks and getting hit by three pitches. He has struck out just once, true to his minor league numbers, but outside of a ringing double to left a few days ago, he hasn’t been driving the ball.

It just shows why teams don’t like to bring up prospects unless they can get regular playing time and it also shows it is easier to rebuild and develop players when the team isn’t having success.

From now until the end of the season, the Guardians have to find playing time for Jones, Benson, and Freeman, and find it in situations where they have a chance to succeed. That’s not easy.

On the other hand, when these guys do get in the lineup, they have a pressure to perform, and that’s good. While they are playing, they are learning how to win.

That’s what team sports is all about.

Let’s Talk Some Baseball And Hoops. Please?

We have said throughout the years we were an anomaly in northeast Ohio. This is football country, but our favorite sports are baseball and basketball.

Make no mistake, we are fans of the Browns and watch each and every game, but our passion rests more with baseball and hoops. We’ve had season tickets to both the Indians and Cavaliers over the years, but never the Browns.

The reason is mostly because we feel football is better watched on television rather than in person, and sitting out on a cold day in November and December has a lot to do with that, we aren’t going to lie.

The reason we bring this up again right now (we’ve done it before) is the play of the Guardians and the amount of discussion in the area about them. They’ve been very surprising to be sure, contending for the division title and post-season berth despite most folks predicting (including us) around a .500 finish for Terry Francona’s squad.

Listening to sports talk radio around town, the Guardians are largely ignored. In fact, everything besides the Browns is largely ignored, something the football team generated when they made both sports talk radio stations the “Home Of The Browns”.

Very smart on their part for sure.

At one time, Cleveland was one of the largest cities in America. Now it’s one of the smaller cities to have three major league sports franchises. This area ranks 34th in terms of metropolitan areas by population.

The areas in the same class (30-40th) that have professional sports are as follows (using the big four sports (baseball, football, basketball, hockey as the model. Sorry, soccer enthusiasts):

30. Cincinnati (Reds, Bengals)
31. Kansas City (Chiefs, Royals)
32. Columbus (Blue Jackets)
33. Indianapolis (Colts, Pacers)
34. Cleveland (Browns, Guardians, Cavaliers)
35. Nashville (Titans, Predators)
36. San Jose (Sharks)
37. Virginia Beach/Norfolk
38. Providence
39. Jacksonville (Jaguars)
40. Milwaukee/Green Bay (Bucks, Brewers, Packers)

We are taking liberties with the last one because Milwaukee and Green Bay are about as far apart as Cleveland and Columbus.

The point is we should be privileged to have three pro sports teams, and all three should be hold interest for sports fans in the area. However, at times we get the feeling Browns’ fans could care less if either the Guards or Cavs or both moved elsewhere.

We understand that some of the issues the baseball team has are self-inflicted. They don’t do a good job of marketing and the game day experience at Progressive Field isn’t high on the fun meter.

And while the whole “Mustard losing in the hot dog race” is meant to be fun, it would be nice if the Guardians’ staff put that much energy in hyping up their first place baseball team.

Back to sports talk radio, they should offer more balance. The Cavs and Guardians aren’t in season much at the same time, but there are things to talk about in the off-season for both, especially right after the season ends.

And it would seem to us, talking some baseball and hoops might just be more entertaining than discussing the punter situation or fourth wide receiver for the Browns.

It’s a three sports town and we should be thankful and appreciative. At times, we treat two of the teams like a necessary evil.

Cavs Still Looking For A Wing/Shooter.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will start training camp in about six weeks, and expectations will be high, considering the wine and gold doubled their win total from 2020-21. Going from 22 victories to 44 with largely a young roster will create those thoughts.

Since free agent signee Ricky Rubio likely will not take the court until January coming off knee surgery, the biggest addition was Ochai Agbaji, who is a rookie.

We liked the selection of Agbaji, who should bring some needed outside shooting to the team, but as we said, he is in his first year in the league, and who knows what the adjustment period will be, although being a four year college player, one would hope it won’t be too long.

The Cavs will also get Collin Sexton back, when his contract situation gets settled. Sexton will provide a boost to the scoring for the team, which ranked 25th in the league a year ago.

And we know the front office added Raul Neto and Robin Lopez to the roster too, but Neto is here to provide depth at the point until Rubio returns, and Lopez is probably insurance against an injury to one of the big men.

If we assume coach J.B. Bickerstaff is going to stay with his “jumbo” lineup, starting Lauri Markkanen at the #3 spot, and we have no reason to believe they would be changing that, he is doing it because the roster really doesn’t have a legitimate 6’7″ or 6’8″ wing player.

Right now, the reserve wings would be Agbaji, Isaac Okoro (6’5″), Lamar Stevens (6’6″) and Cedi Osman, who is 6’7″. However, the coaching staff seemed to sour at times on Osman in the second half of the season.

When the Sexton situation is resolved, in our mind, Bickerstaff can trust eight players. The starters: Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Markkanen, Darius Garland and either Caris LeVert or Sexton.

Off the bench he has Kevin Love, Sexton/LeVert, and we will throw the rookie in there as well, because we think Agbaji’s shooting will play.

We like Stevens, and at the end of the season thought he should be getting more minutes than Okoro, but is he a rotation piece on a team contending for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs?

We’ve seen people talk about Okoro’s long distance shooting (35% from three) being respectable, and his percentage is, but he is reluctant to shoot in our mind, and the one thing fans overlook is the release time.

If it takes the player a long time to get the shot off, it doesn’t really help the offense much, because they can only shoot if they are unguarded. It doesn’t matter about the percentage they would make.

As for Osman, we like him as a player, but the Cavs have seemed to make him a three point shooter, and we feel he’s at his best as a slasher and creator. As a shooter, he’s streaky, which is great if he’s hot, but ugly if he’s not.

We believe the Cavs will try to bring in a better, proven option at this spot before training camp begins, but the league is kind of constipated right now waiting on what’s going to happen in New Jersey.

We wouldn’t be surprised if Cleveland is somehow involved and upgrades at the wing/shooter spots.

Guardians In The Mix, Not Unusual Really.

Last season, the Cleveland Indians finished under .500 for the first time in manager Terry Francona’s 10 years at the helm. They finished 80-82, the worst mark since the 2015 team went 81-80.

When you think about it, since the team moved out of Municipal Stadium, they have had a very good record for success. The most games the franchise has lost was 97 in Eric Wedge’s last season as manager in 2009.

They’ve lost over 90 games just three times since 1993, and that was done three times in a four-year span: 2009, 2010, and 2012. The last of those seasons led to the firing of Manny Acta and bringing Francona aboard.

Cleveland has had just three men heading up baseball operations in this timespan: John Hart, Mark Shapiro, and Chris Antonetti. And as you can see by the records, they have never had to tank to get back into contention.

They have made 12 post-season appearances, three of them resulting in World Series appearances. We have said many times that in our youth, when publications did the composite World Series records, Cleveland sat at 2-1 since 1954.

They are now 2-4, but the 1990 version of us never thought the 2-1 would change. But this team has been in as many Fall Classics in the last 27 years than they were in the first 54 seasons they played.

Hopefully, there will never be a 41 year drought between American League pennants again.

Because the Cubs and Astros bottomed out and quickly won a World Championship, that became the way for other teams to be competitive again. Really though, how has that worked for other franchises?

The Tigers haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, and have had just one winning season (2016). And it doesn’t appear they are closer to being over .500. Pittsburgh made the post-season in 2015, they’ve been over .500 just once since then.

It’s not limited to just smaller markets either. The Los Angeles Angels have played three post-season games since 2009, and haven’t reached the break even point since 2015, despite having the best player in the game in Mike Trout.

Our point is that it’s real easy to do what the Cleveland baseball organization has done in the Jacobs/Progressive Field era. And they’ve evolved in how they built the team over team.

In the ’90’s, they were a hitting machine with players like Albert Belle, Hall of Famer Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton and Omar Vizquel.

When the Dolan family bought the team, they wanted to build around pitching, and in the Francona era, they’ve done just that. There are been four Cy Young Awards since 2007 for organization, starting with C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee in back-to-back years, and two more in the teens for Corey Kluber.

Offensively, it appears they have shifted to players who make contact and put the ball in play. They have struck out the least amount of times in the American League. And at least this season, it has worked because the Guardians are leading the division, something no one predicted at the beginning of the year.

Can they win the Central? They have a chance, and that’s something fans could have said pretty much every season since the new park opened on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

A lot of other fans bases would love to have that consistency.

Analyzing The Guardians’ Recent Moves

While the Cleveland Guardians did not make any trades at the August 2nd deadline, they certainly made a number of roster moves.

Will Benson, the team’s first round pick in 2016 was elevated to the big leagues on August 1st, replacing Alex Call. Call has been subsequently DFA’d and was picked up by the Washington Nationals.

The club then called up infielder Tyler Freeman to take Ernie Clement’s roster spot, and then in a shocking move, they cut ties with slugger Franmil Reyes last Saturday. Reyes was picked up by the Cubs a couple of days ago.

And we can’t forget Hunter Gaddis getting the call up to face Houston last Friday night. Although it didn’t work out in that game, we are sure we will see Gaddis again soon.

The Guardians continue to get younger and also keep playing good baseball, moving into a tie for first place in the AL Central with Minnesota on Tuesday.

Bringing up top prospects is a double edged sword because while it’s great to have them on a roster, it does not do them much good if there is no playing time. If you got better by watching, then we’d have a bust in Cooperstown right now.

So Terry Francona has to balance getting these recent additions some at bats and at the same time, continuing to win. At least that’s what we fans hope. The front office may care more about player development than making the post-season.

Freeman seems the easiest fit. Clement wasn’t contributing much at the plate (491 OPS) and the skipper seemed intent playing him vs. left-handed pitching even though he hasn’t had any discernable success against them.

Freeman can take those at bats, and if he can be in the lineup three or four times a week, he should be fine. He’s played in three games to date, going 2 for 8 with two walks.

Benson’s promotion was a little more curious. At the time, it was thought he was going to get some time at first base, and that might still be the plan, but he hasn’t played there yet. And as an outfielder, if he plays, he would seem to take away playing time from Nolan Jones.

Maybe he plays some in center, giving Myles Straw some time off, but the organization loves Straw’s defense, so that’s difficult to see.

And Jones fits in the same category. He needs to be in the lineup at least three or four days per week. Right now, Benson looks a little overmatched, striking out in half of his 12 plate appearances.

The roster might be better served with say, a third catcher, right now.

The Reyes release was a stunner. He had a poor season to date and with the Guards in the race, it was tough to put him in a lineup. He was supposed to bring some pop, but he was slugging just .350, less than Owen Miller.

With Josh Naylor’s leg injury, he needs to get at bats at the DH spot, and using Jose Ramirez at that spot also helps him get a partial day off too.

We agreed with sending Reyes to AAA because his power potential is something the Guardians need. They are 14th in the AL in home runs. The theory would be get him fixed in the minors and have him ready for 2023.

Obviously, there were other things involved that led to Cleveland just cutting ties with the big man right away.

There is a reason teams don’t just bring up every prospect as soon as they have success at AAA. There has to be a fit on big league roster because for most young players, to doesn’t do their career any good to come up and sit on the bench.

Let’s see if Terry Francona can find the delicate balance for Freeman, Jones, and Benson.

For Guardians’ Success? It’s Up To The Starters

The baseball season is now into August. The trading deadline has passed, so you can only improve your team though what you have in your farm system or by getting improvement from players currently on your roster.

It’s now August 9th and the Cleveland Guardians are still just one game out of first place in the AL Central Division and just two games behind in the race for the third wild card spot in the playoffs.

The Guardians’ front office didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline, so they will have to improve from within, and surprisingly, the biggest area for improvement needs to come from what everyone thought was a strength coming into the 2022 season: The starting rotation.

And unlike last season, the biggest factor hasn’t been injuries. Outside of Aaron Civale, who will come off the injured list tomorrow, the other members of the rotation have all made their scheduled starts.

In terms of WAR, the only team getting less out of their starters is Detroit. By comparison, last year, despite Shane Bieber, Civale, and Zach Plesac all missing considerable amounts of time, the rotation ranked 9th in the AL.

And in 2020, the shortened season which also saw Bieber winning the Cy Young Award, the Cleveland starters were the best in the American League.

That season, we felt the team had a chance to win in every single game because of the starting rotation, which was comprised of Bieber, Civale, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, and Plesac, with Triston McKenzie joining after Clevinger was dealt.

This season, we only have that feeling when Bieber, McKenzie, and Quantrill take the hill, and the latter has had a penchant for giving up leads when the offense gives him run support.

For all of the discussion of Bieber’s drop in velocity, he’s given the Guardians a chance to win in 18 of his 20 starts to date. He’s still allowing less than a hit per inning and striking out the same, with 126 K’s in 124-2/3 frames this season.

When McKenzie stays away from the three run home run, he has shown “ace” stuff. He’s allowed just 90 hits and 33 walks in 128 innings, to go with 121 punch outs. He has done his best work against the best teams in the league, New York and Houston, going 22 innings allowing just one run in three games against them.

Quantrill, who pitched so well in the second half last year as a starter, has made 21 starts and has been spotty. We don’t like the quality start stat (6 IP, 3 runs or less) because that’s not that good, but in only six outings this season has Quantrill pitched at least six frames and allowed two runs or less.

He’s given the Guardians innings, and generally keeps the team in the game.

Plesac actually has more of those games than Quantrill (he has eight), but lately, he’s been a mess. In his last five starts, which have only covered 23 innings, he’s allowed 18 runs (7.04 ERA). He’s suffered a lack of run support all year, and right now he seems to be trying to throw the perfect pitch every time.

He walked five in his last start vs. the Astros.

Civale got off to a slow start (9.85 ERA in his first six starts) and got hurt pitching his best game of the year to that point (6-1/3 IP, 0 ER on May 20th vs. DET). He missed a month, and looked much better, allowing 10 runs in 22 innings in four starts (4.09 ERA).

His last start was July 13th against the White Sox when he pitched one inning.

Our point is if this team has any chance to contend, the starting pitching as a whole has to be much better. Both Quantrill and McKenzie were fabulous over the weekend, combining for 14 scoreless innings.

But everyone has to contribute on a turn by turn basis. If the starting pitching can get back to the way they’ve performed in the past, this Guardians team can hang in there until the end.

And they will justify the front office’s decision not to add a starter at the deadline.

Would Love The Watson Situation To Be Over, But…

By now, if you are a Browns’ fan, you have to be pretty sick and tired of talking about Deshaun Watson. It’s the story that keeps gaining legs and quite frankly, we just want a decision once and for all, and it doesn’t look like that’s coming any time soon.

It a mess and there is plenty of blame to go around, starting with the player himself, who is a serial massage aficionado. It’s disturbing behavior to say the least and we certainly identify with supporters of the brown and orange who feel dirty having him on the roster.

The Browns’ front office and ownership could have searched elsewhere for a quarterback better than Baker Mayfield, and apparently did try to trade for Russell Wilson first, but the former Seattle signal caller didn’t want to play in Cleveland.

We are sure the front office felt it would be a long time before a very good QB in the prime of his career would come available again, so they made the deal to get Watson, who we feel is one of the game’s best at his position.

The NFL are no saints either. The allegations against Watson are over a year old. Why is it taking so long to dole out his penalty? Heck, he even sat out all of last year because of this situation.

We understand they wanted to get all the facts and that’s a good thing, but it should have been decided by now. And why does the league supposedly have such a problem with Watson playing in Houston this season?

It will be awkward for sure, but the Texans did get a boatload of draft picks, including three first rounders for him. It wasn’t like he used a loophole to leave the franchise for nothing.

The NFLPA has culpability as well. They agreed to let an independent person (in this case Judge Sue L. Robinson) handle the punishment, but they didn’t see the league had the ability to challenge that decision?

You don’t have to belong to Mensa to understand Roger Goodell was just going to overrule any punishment he thought was unfair and do whatever he wanted. Obviously, the NFLPA didn’t think that one through.

And if the league adds significant games to the six prescribed by the judge, no doubt the Players’ Association will take the league to court. Again.

Can anyone find a professional sports league involved with more litigation than the NFL? The NBA plays on a court, and they think the NFL is in court too often.

In the meantime, Kevin Stefanski has a job to do, and his bosses didn’t make it any easier. Nothing against Jacoby Brissett, who is a fine back up, but it is doubtful the Browns are making the playoffs if Watson is out more than the six games Robinson sentenced.

We wrote this a few weeks ago, GM Andrew Berry has to go out and get Jimmy Garoppolo as soon as possible. He’s taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl and an NFC title game, so he’s proved he can win with talent around him.

And most definitely the Browns are talented.

They can’t waste another season of Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward among others having them play with a journeyman quarterback. They need to get someone better than Brissett and let him be the backup.

With the AFC so stacked, it’s the only logical move for the front office and at this point, you have to assume Watson will miss most of the year (at least).

The old saying “you made your bed, now lie in it” has never been more applicable.