Three Thoughts on the Cavs

Over the past couple of weeks, since they won the NBA draft lottery, there has been much discussion about the future of the local professional basketball team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Some of the discussion has come from national sources and some from the Cleveland media. Here are our thoughts on a few issues regarding the wine and gold…

Kyrie Irving’s contract. Should GM David Griffin offer the former Rookie of the Year a maximum contract extension or not, that is the question?

The problem here is the monumentally horrible decision to bring back Mike Brown as head coach last season. It is almost as if you have to treat last season as a throw away for Irving and several other young Cavaliers.

We don’t know what to think about the MVP of last season’s All-Star Game. Is he selfish? Is he willing to play defense? Can he co-exist with Dion Waiters?

Brown didn’t do anything to help any young players on the Cleveland roster, so we think we need to see how Irving plays under a new coach, one that can put the players in an offensive system where he can thrive.

However, if he doesn’t have any inclination to sign here long-term, then Griffin should look to get what he can for the former first overall pick.

Getting Kevin Love. Love wants out in Minnesota, and the Cavs certainly have the assets to get the all-star forward. However, fans should temper the idea of getting the power forward.

Why? First, because unless Griffin can get Love to agree to a contract extension, it doesn’t make sense to deal a whole bunch of assets for one year of Love, even as good as he is. And we don’t think Love will do that for a couple of reasons.

One, he can probably get more money by going out on the open market as a free agent. Second, this isn’t a basketball decision for Love, it’s a “brand” thing. Love wants to be famous and be someone who can get huge money in endorsements.

He can’t maximize that earning potential in Minnesota, nor can he do it in Cleveland.

If it was strictly a basketball move, why would he be talking about going to the Lakers, a team currently in shambles?

This is the new NBA, which is starting to resemble the WWE. It’s more about other things than basketball.

The Search of a New Coach. It appears Griffin is talking to a lot of people, which is good. The disturbing thing is that their are reports that the GM and owner Dan Gilbert want to be “involved”. That will probably restrict who will accept the job.

George Karl would seem to be a great candidate, with proven success and a great basketball mind, but it is doubtful with that track record that he would want to have the GM and owner quizzing him daily.

The same is likely true for any high-profile coach, and we are putting Lionel Hollins in that category as well.

That means the Cavs are probably looking a current assistants and others who can’t wait to get back in the head coaching gigs in the NBA, like Alvin Gentry and Vinny Del Negro. Do either of those people excite you?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have talent, it just doesn’t fit together. Bringing in the right coach, and trading some talent and/or draft picks that don’t fit for ones that do, and they should be in the playoffs next season.

After a few seasons of moves that don’t make much sense, it’s time to start a new streak of decisions that will work.

Current Tribe Roster Won’t Get it Done

Yesterday, we heard a radio personality talking about the players on the Cleveland Indians having to show management whether or not they should be buyers or sellers at the trading deadline that occurs on July 31st.

That kind of talk is way too premature to be sure.

While there is no doubt Terry Francona’s ballclub is struggling with consistency, the fact of the matter is the Indians are sitting just four games out of the second wild card spot, despite their 24-28 record to date.

We have said this a few times before, but the American League is a jumbled mess right now and it is likely to stay that way through July, meaning teams should be trying to improve themselves.

Houston doesn’t look like a contender and the next two months should drop a couple of other teams into the also ran class, but it appears there could be as many as 10 teams in the AL vying for the five playoff spots.

Still, the radio guy has it all wrong. It’s up to the front office to make a move to make it a moot point. They need to do something to insure the Tribe is in the mix after the all-star break.

They don’t have to do anything right now. There is still a little time for the players currently on the roster to show some improvement.

But the starting rotation is springing leaks like a sun-baked hose, and the bullpen is starting to show some wear and tear because the rotation has struggled.

Offensively, the Indians are very inconsistent; scoring three runs or less in half of the team’s games in 2014. That’s not going to lead to a lot of victories, nor does it enable the Tribe to get on the winning streak it needs.

If GM Chris Antonetti would be forced into being a seller at the deadline, what does he have to attract talent?

Asdrubal Cabrera, a good trade candidate because of the presence in the organization of SS Francisco Lindor, is a free agent at the end of the year, lessening his market value.

Justin Masterson is also a free agent when the season ends, but he is not pitching well at this point. It is doubtful you could get a top prospect in return.

The players who are performing well, Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, and Jason Kipnis (assuming he plays to his usual standards) were just signed to long-term deals. The Indians’ management wants them in a Cleveland uniform for a long time.

One player who could draw some interest is Carlos Santana, but first he needs to get his hitting back to normal levels.

As a catcher, he was an elite type hitter. As a corner infielder, hitting 25 HR and knocking in 80 runs with a lot of walks isn’t really special.

He’s tried to convert to the hot corner, but with Lonnie Chisenhall’s emergence, he is forcing his way into the lineup at that spot.

At first base, the Indians have high priced Nick Swisher and the one right-handed power hitter they have in the minor leagues, Jesus Aguilar, also plays the position.

You would think Santana could fetch a right-handed hitter or a middle of the rotation starting pitcher in return, and perhaps the Tribe would be a better club.

If the front office wants to improve the current version of the Cleveland Indians, they need to be proactive, and not sit back and wait.

It’s the position change, not his start of the season slump, which has rendered Santana tradeable. The Indians should be looking if dealing the switch-hitter can get them what they need to make the post-season once again.

Indians Have Rotation Woes

There is an old saying in baseball that when you think you have enough starting pitching, you go out and get more.

The Cleveland Indians didn’t heed that advice this off-season.

After last season, when the Tribe’s starting pitching was more than solid, Cleveland lost two starters to free agency: Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir. They really didn’t replace either last winter.

When the 2013 season started, GM Chris Antonetti had several alternatives for manager Terry Francona after signing Brett Myers as a free agent and getting Trevor Bauer in the Shin-Soo Choo deal.

The rotation to start the year was Justin Masterson, Jimenez, Myers, Zack McAllister and Kazmir. When the latter had a set back to start the season, they had Corey Kluber and Bauer in reserve at Columbus.

By the end of April, both had made starts in the majors as Myers injured his arm.

Later that season, Danny Salazar emerged as a factor based on his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and started the wild card game for the Indians.

This season, that depth hasn’t been there.

Salazar and Carlos Carrasco replaced the two free agents in the rotation, and the organization had Bauer and Josh Tomlin, also coming back from elbow surgery, in reserve.

Unfortunately, the two replacements (Salazar and Carrasco), both with little experience, haven’t done the job, and with Masterson and McAllister struggling, the rotation is in a state of chaos.

Thankfully, Tomlin has provided his usual performances, he’ll give you five or six good innings, and Bauer has done well in each of his two big league starts.

Salazar is back at AAA and was roughed up in his first start there, and Carrasco seems anchored to the bullpen as a long reliever/mop up man, so there aren’t any more alternatives for Francona unless some sort of trade is made.

Friday night, lefty T. J. House made his first major league start in an 8-4 loss to the Orioles. House did the best he could, but nobody in the organization had him making a start in the big leagues this season, we would bet.

It looks like the southpaw is in the rotation for the unforeseen future, as Cleveland has him listed as the starter Wednesday in Chicago. We would give that start to Carrasco, as crazy as we thought that seemed a couple of weeks ago.

Until Salazar can throw strikes consistently and keep the ball down in the zone (he’s allowed eight in 40 innings pitched this year), Francona and pitching coach Mickey Callaway don’t have a lot of alternatives. No one is going to trade you a proven starting pitcher.

If the Indians did have to get another starter from Columbus, it would likely be RHP Travis Banwart, a minor league free agent who was in the Oakland system in 2013. He’s 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA in AAA, allowing 40 walks in 50+ innings, striking out 38 hitters and walking 18.

The other starters at Columbus are RHP Tyler Cloyd, who has allowed 65 hits in 47-1/3 frames (yikes!), and major league washout Kyle Davies.

So, the only real alternative for the Tribe is to get Masterson and McAllister straightened out and get them pitching like they did in 2013. And Masterson’s drop in velocity is no doubt alarming for the front office.

If they improve, the Indians will have some starting depth back. Until then, Francona and Callaway are scrambling to find starters who can give them solid outings.

Not exactly a recipe for success if you want to make the post-season.

Lottery Win Gives Griffin Another Asset

At least the Cleveland Cavaliers have one arena where they are victorious, unfortunately, it is not on the court.

Instead, it happens in the NBA Draft Lottery, where the wine and gold came up with the first overall pick for the third time in the last four seasons.

To this point, those first overall picks haven’t translated into success in the regular season, which is why the Cavs continue to be in the lottery. They haven’t been able to make the playoffs.

The first overall selection does give Cleveland GM David Griffin a valuable commodity, it remains to be seen though, who will make the first pick next month.

Why? Because the Cavs have already been through this before. Is it really best for the team to take another player who will take two, three, or maybe even four years to be able to make a difference in the NBA?

Next year will be the fifth season since LeBron James left for Miami, causing the Cavs to start a rebuilding process. The time for developing players is over, it’s time to start winning games. Will the first overall pick help them get over the hump in 2014-15?

We are all aware of last year’s draft in which the Cavs selected Anthony Bennett with the first choice. The rookie of the year turned out to be Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams, who was the 11th pick. Out of the top ten, only Victor Oladipo (Orlando), Cody Zeller (Charlotte), and Trey Burke (Utah) could be said to be big contributors to their teams as rookies.

The year before, the Cavs selected Dion Waiters with the 4th overall choice. That draft looks to be pretty solid with only Thomas Robinson and Austin Rivers not getting big minutes with their respective teams. Still, only four players, Damian Lillard (Portland), Terence Ross (Toronto), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Charlotte), and Bradley Beal (Washington) are playing a significant role of playoff teams.

In 2011, Cleveland selected Kyrie Irving first and Tristan Thompson fourth. Only two players taken in the top ten of that draft, Jonas Valenciunas (Toronto) and Kemba Walker (Charlotte) are getting significant minutes on teams that made the playoffs.

The point is there haven’t been more than a handful of rookies who have made a significant difference in their first couple of years in the league. It is almost like the major league baseball draft, where you are picking players who can help you down the road.

The Cavaliers can’t wait any longer to start winning.

We have said this before, players who can make an immediate impact in the NBA generally play well in the NCAA tournament. They don’t disappear.

Many have Cleveland selecting Anthony Wiggins of Kansas as their choice. His last college game was dreadful, scoring less than 10 points. He also weighs under 200 pounds. Can you see him playing against guys like Paul George, Paul Pierce, and other small forwards who are 6’7″ and weigh 220 pounds?

This isn’t to say Wiggins won’t ever be good, in fact, he may turn into an all-star player. Irving did, but his success hasn’t translated into wins on the floor.

The point is there isn’t a player in this draft who can turn a franchise next season, so if Griffin can turn this pick into a young veteran who is already a quality player, that would be better for the wine and gold.

As for young, we mean mid 20’s, not a player who only has a few years remaining in their career.

To be sure, it was great for the Cavaliers to get the first overall pick. However, they need to look at it as another asset they’ve accumulated to get back to winning. There isn’t a franchise turning player in this draft.

Not Many Solutions for Tribe Problems

The Cleveland Indians are struggling.

Optimistic people will tell you they are only 3-1/2 games out of a wild card spot, thanks to the bunched up American League standings, but watching them play tells you it doesn’t look like they can put together any kind of winning streak soon.

The defense is atrocious, the hitting is mostly weak, and right now, three of their starting pitchers have an ERA of over 5.00.

That isn’t exactly a recipe for success.

The past weekend series against Oakland can be set aside in this discussion because it could just be a matter of playing a team when they are red-hot, which the A’s are. Still, the Indians’ difficulties have been going on all season long.

Are their any solutions for GM Chris Antonetti and manager Terry Francona?

The simple answer is not really. The Tribe needs the veteran players with track records to start playing to those career numbers. Because there is no immediate help in the farm system and Antonetti isn’t the type of GM to make rash deals.

This lineup isn’t scoring runs and it probably isn’t going to as long as Carlos Santana bats .150 and Nick Swisher bats .200. Those two players have to get it going.

As for the people who want the latter out of here, Swisher has no trade value right now with the way he is hitting and playing defense, and his expensive contract.

One move Francona can make is to start moving Swisher off of first base where his defense has been terrible to be nice. Put Santana back at first, a position he is more familiar with, because perhaps learning a new position has affected the switch-hitter’s batting.

Getting Jason Kipnis back from the disabled list will no doubt help the hitting, although Mike Aviles has done a fine job at 2B in his absence. With Kipnis back, Aviles can go back to the part-time role he excels at.

After a hot start, he has slumped a bit, which is the norm for the veteran. He hits best in a limited role.

The Indians consider Jesus Aguilar a marginal prospect, but his right-handed bat is needed by the big club, which is overloaded in terms of guys who swing from the left side.

As for the pitching staff, Trevor Bauer is getting the start tonight, replacing Danny Salazar. However, Zack McAllister and Justin Masterson need to start pitching better as well.

The struggles of the starting rotation are definitely affecting the bullpen, which is starting to show signs of wear and tear.

If something happens to one of the starters, and Masterson is looking like a guy with a sore arm (loss of velocity and command), right now, Salazar is the only option, and he did not pitch well in his first AAA start.

Losing Scott Kazmir and Ubaldo Jimenez without replacing either one in the off-season has robbed the organization of its depth at starting pitcher.

So, there aren’t many alternatives except to play better. No one wants to hear that among the fans, but we can’t see any blockbuster deals on the horizon, mostly because the Tribe doesn’t have anyone with huge market value.

Asdrubal Cabrera is an above average major league shortstop and Francisco Lindor is Cleveland’s best prospect, but the former is a free agent at the end of this season, so you won’t get much in return.

If you deal anyone else, there isn’t a player to replace him.

That’s what happens when you don’t draft well for a decade.

So, Tribe fans have to hope the veterans get back to their usual levels or it will be a long summer.

Either way, it’s not the best scenario if you are a baseball fan in Cleveland.

Browns Handling Johnny Just Fine

After the Cleveland Browns decided to draft Johnny Manziel in the first round (22nd overall) of the NFL Draft, to be sure, they knew things would be different in Berea.

Suddenly, the national media would pay attention to the Browns and the former Heisman Trophy winner’s media persona, “Johnny Football”.

However, we think the brown and orange are handling things just fine so far, although ESPN and other national football writers would probably disagree.

First was owner Jimmy Haslam’s public statement that Manziel should come to the mini camp and training camp “acting like a back-up quarterback”. This statement is fine on so many levels.

It tells the rookie and everyone else that no one, including Manziel, will be handed a starting job. If the 22nd overall pick comes in and plays better than incumbent Brian Hoyer in training camp, he will be the starter against the Steelers in the season opener.

If Hoyer plays better, then he will take the first snap.

The other good reason for the comment is the organization’s read on Manziel, that he is ultra competitive. Telling a player with the competition gene that he isn’t the number one guy is the same as waving a red cape in front of a charging bull.

You know that now Manziel is going to work his tail off to prove the owner, the head coach, and his teammates wrong, and show he is capable of taking the ball at Heinz Field in the opener.

How can blame the Browns for playing that card?

The Browns are also taking heat for limiting the national media during the rookie mini-camp this weekend. Most of the players at the camp are fighting for their NFL lives, and having a tremendous focus on the rookie QB from Texas A & M isn’t fair to those players.

Plus, ESPN is their own classic way, blasted the Jets for the media circus their training camp became after they signed Tim Tebow. Talking out of both sides of their mouth, the hammer the Browns for limiting the media distractions.

Could it be that it’s because Manziel happened to turn up in Cleveland, the poster city for losing according to the four letter network?

As for Manziel, you have to be impressed at how he says the right things. He portrays himself as needing to earn his playing time, he understands he needs to work hard to get the starting job.

He has also said he understands that Hoyer isn’t going to hand him the starting gig.

It is also refreshing to hear how Manziel talks about wanting to be here, to be part of the solution, to be part of a turnaround for the franchise.

We understand that there is a certain part of the fan base that wants Manziel in there no matter what.

But the time to win for the Cleveland Browns is right now. They can’t afford to have another 10 loss season, and most fans don’t want to hear how a rookie quarterback is going to make mistakes that rookies do, and have those error contribute to another 5-11 season.

That would just be more of the “wait ’til next year” theme the franchise has had over the past several years.

If Manziel is the best QB coming out of camp, then start him. We have no problem with that. However, if Hoyer is better right now, than let the rook sit and watch for a while.

He’s the future signal caller for the Browns, but the future doesn’t have to start this September.

Tribe Still Surviving at the Quarter Pole

Tonight, the Cleveland Indians will play their 40th game of the season, which obviously means the campaign is one-quarter over.

Suddenly, it’s not early anymore, but there is still plenty of season remaining.

The Tribe sits at 18-21 on the season, and with the jumbled American League, they are still in the thick of it for a post-season spot, although the Tigers seem to be running away (again!) with the Central Division.

Eleven of the 15 teams in the AL sit within three games of the .500 mark, an incredible number considering the number of games played so far. Only Oakland and Detroit are more than three games over the break-even mark.

Cleveland’s pitching is holding its own, ranking in the top half of the league (7th) in ERA, despite the struggles of their #1 starter, Justin Masterson, and having to sit down the closer that started the season, John Axford.

Masterson hasn’t pitched poorly (2-2, 4.31 ERA), but he certainly hasn’t pitched as well as he did last season. He’s had several outings thus far where he has been dominating early, only to lose it completely.

Yesterday was one of those games, with the big right-hander retiring the first nine Blue Jays, but then giving up five runs in the next 2-1/3 innings.

Axford has struck out 16 hitters in 15-2/3 innings, but he’s walked 13 and allowed three home runs. Putting hitters on via walk and giving up bombs isn’t a way for a closer to stay a closer for long.

The bigger issue for Terry Francona’s club is the offense, which sits at 12th in the league in runs scored, 13th in batting average, and 12th in OPS. All of those ranks are in the bottom third of the AL.

While no one outside of Michael Brantley has been consistently good so far, the biggest culprits for the offensive ineptitude would be Carlos Santana, Nick Swisher, and Ryan Raburn.

Thank goodness, Santana has continued to draw walks (he’s second in the AL with 32), because otherwise he would be a total disaster. He’s hitting just .152 for the season with 4 HR and 11 RBI. His OPS is under 600 (597) for the season.

Francona is a very patient manager, but it will be tough to keep the switch-hitter in the clean up spot much longer.

As bad as Santana’s OPS is with his batting average at .152, Swisher’s isn’t much better at 618.

The Tribe’s big free agent acquisition a year ago, the first baseman is languishing at .204, 2 HR, and 15 RBI. That’s a pace to hit less than 10 dingers and knock in about 60 runs for the season.

The weird stat though, is that those RBIs ranked third on the team, behind Brantley and David Murphy. That’s how much everyone else as struggled as well.

Swisher has been terrible vs. lefties, hitting just .156 against southpaws. The Tribe has struggled against left-handed starters all season, and this is just one reason.

Another reason is the production of Raburn, hitting just .176 with a 433 OPS. He did a great job of hitting southpaws last season, one of the reasons for the team’s success vs. lefties. He batted .308 and slugged over .600 in 2013.
This year, Raburn’s just 7 for 40 against those pitchers and has just two extra base hits on the season. It’s reminiscent of his horrible 2012 season, which led to his release by the Tigers.

He’s pretty much only been used against left-handers this season, whereas last year, he got more at-bats against righties. Maybe he just needs some more playing time to get going.

Despite all that has gone wrong with the offense, including the injury to all-star Jason Kipnis, it really is remarkable the Indians aren’t buried in terms of contention.

Still, the bats have to pick up over the long haul or the burden on the starting pitching and bullpen will be too much for the staff to handle over the last 75% of the season.

Griffin’s First Move is the Right Move

You can’t accuse Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert of acting rashly this time.

The season has been over for about a month, and today the wine and gold announced that interim GM David Griffin now has the job permanently, and his first act in that position was to fire Mike Brown as head coach.

If you’ve read this blog over the past few months, you know that we are celebrating that move because Brown was the wrong fit for the job here.

When we heard the Cavs were considering giving Griffin the job full-time, we thought a first and only question he should be asked would be should Brown continue to be the head coach. If he answered no, he would be hired.

Here’s hoping that Gilbert talked to several basketball people since the regular season ended and came to the conclusion that Griffin was the most capable person to run this franchise.

We still would love Gilbert to hire another experienced basketball person (we would still favor George Karl) as a consultant for the new GM to bounce ideas off of.

If former GM Chris Grant was the guy who wanted Brown back and sold Dan Gilbert on the idea, how can anyone blame Griffin for bringing in his own man?

The once and again former Cavs’ coach didn’t pick up any new ideas on offense since he left the first time and has never had a history of developing young players, of which there are plenty on the Cleveland roster.

Just because Brown signed a five-year deal last summer was no reason to keep him. Keeping him would have been a hindrance to what Griffin’s vision of what this basketball team will be. To be succinct, Griffin was just correcting Grant’s mistake.

However, let’s hope Griffin does his due diligence in regards to hiring the next head coach of the Cavaliers.

There are plenty of people making the connection that since Griffin used to work in the Phoenix Suns’ organization, he may look at bringing in recently fired Laker head coach Mike D’Antoni to replace Brown.

That would be a mistake in our opinion.

Just as Brown and his defensive philosophy proved to be a one trick pony, so would D’Antoni’s total offensive approach.

The Cavaliers owe it to themselves and to the fans of this basketball team to find a coach who understands and can teach the entire game, not just one side of the floor. There are coaches who can do just that.

Griffin also needs to find someone who the players will listen to and respect. That appeared to be a problem with Brown. It didn’t appear the players respected him and they didn’t play hard for him.

The new boss needs to find someone who the young Cavalier players can relate to and they will listen to.

The former Golden State coach, Mark Jackson, would seem to be appealing in that regard. He turned around the Warriors, who had won less than 30 games two years ago into a playoff squad.

Plus, he’s a former color analyst for ABC/ESPN, which like it or not, gives him credibility with a young roster like the Cavaliers have.

Forget what happened over the last year with the Cavs. It was the wrong move to bring Brown back and they simply corrected it.

Now, it’s time to move forward for the Cavaliers’ organization. Today’s hiring of Griffin and dismissal of Brown is the first step towards getting back to the playoffs.

Browns Tried to Fill Needs This Weekend.

As usual in Cleveland, with every ray of sunshine, there must be a little rain.

That’s what it felt like this weekend, when the optimism regarding the Browns’ draft was quickly doused by the news of All Pro WR Josh Gordon’s suspension for the 2014 season.

However, as GM Ray Farmer pointed out yesterday, the organization has to treat the news the same as if Gordon suffered an injury to keep him out for the year. The season is still going to be played and the Browns still need to win football games.

Cleveland came into the draft with several areas to upgrade, not just quarterback. They needed an inside linebacker, help in the secondary, offensive line help, another running back, and another wide receiver.

Outside of the last spot, Farmer attempted to fill every one of them. After the first day of the draft, the Browns selected offensive lineman Joel Bitonio, who they will likely play at guard, LB Christian Kirksey, who will compete for a job on the inside, RB Terrance West, and another CB in Pierre Desir.

You have to give the front office credit for recognizing the holes and attempting to fill them.

We aren’t going to be like some people though, and declare the Browns a completed project, because if we know anything about the NFL draft, it’s that it is not an exact process, and some of these players will not work out.

However, there wasn’t a head scratcher pick either. All of the Browns’ choices were thought of as good, solid picks.

And don’t forget, Farmer also added a first round choice in 2015 as well, and from Buffalo, a team no one is projecting as a playoff team at this point in the off-season. If they don’t reach the post-season, that choice will be in the top 20.

We love coach Mike Pettine saying players “play like a Brown”. We understand that it is cliche, but it does show the organization is trying to form an identity, and that is getting tough minded players, who hit hard, and are aggressive. After many years of drifting in the desert, it is a welcome approach.

And even though, Cleveland acquired a second first round choice in 2015, there doesn’t seem to be any look toward the future in Pettine and Farmer either. The time of looking toward next year looks like is over.

That’s why we believe the coach about competition at every position including quarterback. If Brian Hoyer has the best training camp this summer, he should be under center against the Steelers in the season opener. If Johnny Manziel outperforms him, then he should get the nod.

Either passer will not be the featured player in terms of the Browns winning. Pettine and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will make sure the Browns will be effective running the football, and it appears Cleveland is building a very good defense.

There won’t be very many games in which the Browns’ QB is out there throwing 40-50 times per contest. The pressure will be off of Hoyer and Manziel, at least in the 2014 season.

We didn’t want Manziel taken with the 4th overall pick because it is time for this football team to take a large step forward. They need to win between 7-9 games this season, at least.

No excuses about growing pains for a rookie QB and how this is part of the grand plan for the future. They need to take a giant step forward in 2014, and we believe the coach and GM understand just that.

The Browns came into the off-season with several holes and they have tried to fill them. They now after another pot hole at WR with Gordon’s possible suspension, and based on what they’ve done so far, it isn’t realistic to think they won’t try to find someone to play that spot before training camp.

There needs to be progress in ’14. The ten loss seasons need to be history.

Farmer’s Trade With Bills Eases Risk on Manziel Pick

For weeks, fans of the Cleveland Browns were wondering about what kind of offensive weapons they could get to instill life into this losing franchise.

They had to wait awhile, but Ray Farmer moved up from the 26th pick to #22 by trading with Philadelphia to get Johnny Manziel, the former Heisman Trophy winner out of Texas A & M.

With the fourth pick, Manziel would have been an incredible risk, and #22, he still is risky, but not as much.

And Farmer minimized the chance even more by trading for another first round in next year’s draft by trading down from the fourth overall pick to ninth, and getting the Bills first rounder next year.

Now, the pressure is squarely on Mike Pettine and Kyle Shanahan to decide who is the best player to take the snap in the opener at Pittsburgh, veteran Brian Hoyer or the much hyped rookie, Johnny Football.

Because we will not back down on our expectation for the Browns this season. It is time to stop looking toward the future, it is time to win and win now.

With Cleveland’s first selection of the night, GM Ray Farmer dug into the team’s history to find out the strengths of the team the last time they were a perennial playoff squad.

Those were the Browns of the late 1980’s. Yes, they had a good quarterback in Bernie Kosar, and a strong running game led by Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack, but the cornerstones of those teams were a pair of excellent cornerbacks in Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield.

Perhaps that’s why Farmer’s first pick as GM was Oklahoma State CB Justin Gilbert.

Gilbert was considered by many to be the top player at his position in this year’s draft and together with Pro Bowler Joe Haden, could form this generations pair of excellent corners to compare with Dixon and Mighty Minnie.

Having a pair of excellent cover corners allows the defense to be very creative in putting pressure on the quarterback because you don’t have to double cover any wide receivers. It allows Mike Pettine and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil to come up with a variety of blitz packages knowing the wide outs will be taken care of.

Of course, picking Gilbert was Farmer’s third move of the night. He traded down from the 4th pick to the 9th pick getting Buffalo’s first round choice next year.

Normally, we criticize the Browns for always playing for next year, but the opportunity to get a first round pick in ’15 from a team not figured to be a playoff contender this season was too much to pass up. Plus, Gilbert appears to be the guy Cleveland wanted all along, so you have to like that move.

So, on the first night of the draft, Farmer improved his defense and took a gamble on a franchise quarterback. Only time will tell if the Browns have solved their woes at quarterback, or Manziel will be latest in a group of failures at the position.

Once again, we repeat, getting another first round pick next year does reduce the risk factor on Manziel.

So Browns’ fans, your football team will be noticed in 2014, whether or not it will be for winning or for a circus, only time will tell.