Time For Cavs To Play Youth

The Cleveland Cavaliers playoff chances are down to slim and none, as they are now six games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth and last spot in the Eastern Conference.

However, that doesn’t mean the wine and gold should go into full tank mode for the rest of the season.

On a pretty good west coast swing in which the Cavs went 2-1 beating playoff teams/contenders Golden State and Phoenix, they also lost Kyrie Irving for at least two weeks with a biceps injury.

We believe that Irving should go back on the court when he is healthy, and really, he would show a great deal of leadership by demanding he play.

It would show everyone in the organization that the days of losing being an acceptable outcome are long gone.

However, with all of the injury issues, which also include Luol Deng (ankle) and C. J. Miles (foot/ankle), it is time to start seeing what you have in some of the players currently residing on the bench.

With the same players out on Tuesday night against Miami, Mike Brown decided to play virtually eight players, with the ninth (Miles) playing less than two minutes.

The only guys to get decent minutes as substitutes were Anderson Varejao, Matthew Dellavedova, and Tyler Zeller.

Brown has to learn for the first time in his coaching career how to ease young players into action, because as we’ve been reminded many times, he’s always coached his team to the playoffs and he’s always gotten past the first round.

Brown needs to give Sergey Karasev some minutes, and not just the last five minutes of the game, he needs to get him in the rotation.

And while Brown’s instinct is to give Varejao more minutes at forward/center, he needs to get Zeller on the court for more minutes as well.

That’s what is best for the future of this franchise, whether Brown is part of that future or not.

It has been rumored that acting GM David Griffin may sign G Seth Curry to a ten-day contract because of the injury to Irving, and our joke was would Brown even notice he was on the bench because of his reluctance to play younger players.

We have discussed the coach’s lack of success developing young players before, but this is his opportunity to change and start “coaching them up”.

You have to wonder what is going on since the wine and gold have pretty much one coach per player on the roster. They have to be working with these guys and getting them ready to play in the NBA.

And if and when Anthony Bennett is ready to play again, he needs to be out there on a steady basis too. That’s what the last three and a half weeks of the season should be about.

We aren’t saying that the rookies and Zeller should be playing 40 minutes per night, nor should Deng and Miles be benched for the rest of the year.

Winning should still be in the equation as well because this team needs to learn how to win and maybe a strong finish will give them a boost going into the summer.

But, Zeller, Karasev, and some of the other guys at the end of the bench should be getting some minutes on a nightly basis too.

Let’s see if the coaching staff can make a bit of a change.

Thoughts on How Tribe Pitching Staff Shakes Out

The regular season for the Cleveland Indians starts in less than two weeks, and there are still some unresolved issues on Terry Francona’s pitching staff.

The skipper has named four of his starting pitchers with Justin Masterson, Corey Kluber, Zack McAllister, and Danny Salazar getting the nod, with one spot remaining open.

In the bullpen, John Axford, Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen, Mark Rzepczynski, and Josh Outman seem to have nailed down spots with two openings in what figures to be a seven man bullpen to start the campaign.

That leaves several candidates for the three remaining spots on the staff when the season opens in Oakland on March 31^st.

The battle for the last spot in the rotation boils down to Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin, and Aaron Harang.

Carrasco struggled last year as a starter, but pitched very well in relief, while Tomlin missed most of 2013 with Tommy John surgery. When healthy, the right-hander is a strike thrower and has demonstrated an ability to give his team at least five innings per start.

Harang was brought in right before spring training started to compete for a spot in the rotation and has pitched nine innings in “A” games, allowing two runs.

Carrasco and Tomlin have also been impressive thus far.

Our guess is that Carrasco will start the season in the fourth spot in the rotation while Tomlin will go to Columbus to length out his arm at the minor league level, which is needed since he pitched very little in 2013.

As for Harang, GM Chris Antonetti will have to work some magic to keep him in the organization after March because other teams are looking for starting pitchers.

The Tribe would like to keep the veteran around because Trevor Bauer doesn’t look ready to pitch in the bigs yet, and outside of Tomlin, there isn’t much starting pitching depth in the organization.

Perhaps the Indians can get Harang to go to Columbus with an out clause if he isn’t recalled by the end of April.

In the bullpen, the candidates for the last two spots are Vinnie Pestano, Blake Wood, David Aardsma, Scott Atchison, and C.C. Lee.

Pestano would seem to have a leg up based on his success in 2011 and 2012 when he was one of the best set up men in the game. He’s done okay this spring, allowing one run and two hits in five innings.

Wood is another Tommy John survivor and has big league experience with the Royals. He’s allowed one run in seven innings, striking out eight.

Aardsma has had arm troubles too, but was the Mariners closer a few years ago. He’s allowed two runs in six innings, while Atchison, who was with Francona in Boston, has given up a run in five innings of work.

Lee is a prospect who spent bits of last year with the Tribe, and he’s allowed two runs in six frame in Arizona.

Our prediction is that Atchison makes the squad, taking the Matt Albers role from 2013. That is to say, pitching extended outings (two or three innings) if needed if the starter has to depart the game early.

The Tribe has also pointed out that Wood has an option remaining, so the other spot looks to be Pestano’s to lose.

Aardsma would be welcome in Columbus, but more likely will ask for his release so he can pursue a job elsewhere.

Of course, a late injury or a couple of horrid appearance could change these spots before Opening Day.

Draft Still Browns Best Chance to Get Better

The NFL free agency season started on Tuesday and already Browns fans are excited about training camp starting in July.

Yes, the Browns have improved, getting ILB Karlos Dansby to replace D’Qwell Jackson, Donte Whitner to replace T. J. Ward, and bringing in running back Ben Tate, formerly of the Houston Texans.

However, note that Jackson was released by new GM Ray Farmer, so that hole was created by the Browns. We say this realizing that Dansby is a much better player than the guy he replaced, although Jackson was a class act during his time in Cleveland.

Ward made the Pro Bowl last season, as did Whitner (who has made two trips to Hawaii in his career), so the gain there is minimal. Both are very good players, and we like the aspect of a local guy playing here because they understand what the Browns are in this city.

Certainly, the Browns needed Tate, who although he has had injury issues in his career, has also gained 1992 yards in three seasons backing up Arian Foster, averaging 4.7 yards per attempt.

He also has experience running the ball in new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s zone blocking running game.

Since the Browns’ leading rusher last season was Willis McGahee with 377 yards, there is no question that if Tate is healthy, he is definitely an upgrade at the running back position.

However, let’s hold off on potential Super Bowl appearances.

We even had some yesterday on Twitter proposing that Dansby, Whitner, and Tate should throw out the first pitch at the Indians home opener. Our question was why?

Look, the Browns improved themselves in free agency. Still, the bigger chance to improve this football team will come in May when the draft occurs. Farmer and his scouting staff have 10 picks in all to work with, and half of those are in the first three rounds.

They should come away with at least three new starters after those picks are made.

And remember, Cleveland was one of the NFL’s youngest teams in 2013, and those players who were added in the past couple of years should do nothing but get better.

The real reason for optimism if you are a Browns’ fan is that finally, the team wants to win right now.

The last few years under Mike Holmgren tenure and the early years of the Haslam ownership were all about rebuilding and adding talent to a roster that was devoid of it.

We remember a comment from Eric Mangini’s last season as head coach, when it was noted the Browns were good on special teams. A football pundit said that they should be, their entire roster was made up of special team players.

Finally, it appears the days of accumulating salary cap space and draft picks are over. Haslam has given Farmer and his staff a directive that this football has to start showing progress in the only area where it counts: The win-loss column.

The owner is tired of the Browns being a laughing-stock around the league, and going to game week in and week out and seeing his team losing in a variety of interesting ways.

This new concept of winning being important should excite Browns’ fans. Especially in a league where at least one team goes from 5-11 to a playoff spot pretty much every year.

Haslam is telling his executives and his fans, why can’t that team be us?

Finally, this organization is taking steps in that direction.

Battle For Last Two Spots on Tribe Roster

The Indians made their first cuts of the spring earlier this week, and there were no surprises. The first 12 players sent back to the minor league camp were players who didn’t figure to make the team anyway.

Today, the club announced that Jason Giambi has a fractured rib and will be out for 3-4 weeks, meaning there is another opening on the bench.

If we assume Lonnie Chisenhall starts at third, Carlos Santana is the DH, and David Murphy will start in RF, and the Tribe will open the regular season with 12 pitchers, then there are four spots on the bench.

Mike Aviles and Ryan Raburn, who were both stalwarts in reserve roles for Terry Francona in 2013, will fill two of those spots.

That leaves two spots open with the main candidates being infielders Elliot Johnson and Justin Sellers, picked up from the Dodgers during spring training, and outfielders Jeff Francoeur and Nyjer Morgan.

All four players have big league experience.

Of course, that could change if Francona wants to carry another catcher because Santana will be getting more at bats as a DH.

Johnson and Sellers have made a good impression thus far.

The former, 29 years old, has the benefit of being a switch-hitter and can play 2B, 3B, SS and both corner outfield spots. He’s 7 for 19 with a home run in Arizona to date.

The negative that in parts of four big league seasons, he’s a lifetime .219 hitter with a 592 OPS.

Sellers is 27 years old and is considered to be a better option at SS defensively, although he can also play second base and third base.

He’s 6 for 10 thus far in exhibition play, but lifetime has a .199 batting average with a 579 OPS, although in limited playing time (266 plate appearances)

The two outfielders are much more experienced, although they haven’t performed very well thus far in Goodyear.

Francoeur is 30 years old, and has spent time with the Braves, Royals, and Giants in his career, batting .263 (725 OPS) with 140 home runs.

He’s a solid corner outfielder defensively and has a great throwing arm. His problem has been strike zone judgment. He’s allergic to the base on balls.

He does have a solid history vs. southpaws, with a lifetime .285 batting average and 800 OPS.

Morgan has also struggled a bit in camp, hitting just .200 (5 for 25) and left yesterday’s game with some sort of leg problem. He is now 33 years old and has a career .280 batting average (705 OPS).

He also has a strong platoon split, hitting .297 for his career against right-handed pitchers.

If Francona wants a third catcher, he’ll choose between veterans Matt Treanor and Luke Carlin.

Our opinion is that Francouer will claim one of the spots, basically taking Giambi’s spot on the team, and occasionally spelling Murphy in right field with Raburn perhaps at DH.

The other spot will go to Sellers because of his defensive prowess at SS.

Those are the tough decisions for Francona and GM Chris Antonetti, but they are important because of the way the skipper uses his entire roster.

Just one more thing to keep an eye on in the last two weeks of spring training.

Browns Add Experience, Winners

If you are an NFL fan, today is kind of like Christmas morning.

It’s the first day of free agency, and as of 4 PM, free agents are free to sign with other teams. It’s the first opportunity to start filling some holes on your roster, and it also changes what players teams are looking at in the draft.

The Browns started the league year strong by filling the gap created with T.J. Ward going to free agency by signing S Donte Whitner, a former Glenville High star and Ohio State standout.

Whitner has spent his pro career with both the Bills and 49ers, and has made the Pro Bowl twice. He’s a hard hitter and brings winning experience to the Browns, having made the playoffs each of his years with San Francisco.

Being a local product, he also brings an understanding of how much the Browns mean to the city, something he and QB Brian Hoyer can communicate to the rest of the squad.

GM Ray Farmer also addressed the lack of inside linebackers on the team by signing veteran ILB Karlos Dansby, previously with the Arizona Cardinals and reportedly are close to signing Arthur Moats, who played for Mike Pettine in Buffalo last season.

Dansby is older than former Brown D’Qwell Jackson, but he’s a much better player, ranking among the top inside linebackers in the league according to some websites, and made second team All-Pro last season.

Moats is just 25 years old and a good character guy, winning the Bills’ Walter Payton Award last season. At his age, he should still be improving as a player.

It is telling that all three free agent additions are on the defensive side of the football, which of course is Pettine’s area of expertise. And in Whitner and Dansby, you have two players who have been in the Super Bowl.

Also, it looks like all three players are leadership/character guys too. That’s not to cast dispersions on Jackson or Ward, but the new coach wants his kind of leaders on his defensive unit.

The spending also makes it appears that Farmer has a mandate to make the Cleveland Browns better in the win-loss department, and to do it as soon as possible. The days of accumulating draft picks and salary cap space appear to be over.

The Browns could sign more players in free agency, and may even do it today. However, their next big order of business is to resolve things with C Alex Mack as soon as possible.

We’ve heard people say that if Mack doesn’t want to be here, then let him go, but since the offensive line is already full of holes, it wouldn’t be prudent to create another one at center.

It also wouldn’t be good for Hoyer or whoever the quarterback is to see pass rushers coming right up the middle and be in his face immediately.

Farmer gave Mack the transitional tag for a reason. The team didn’t want him to leave and wanted to buy time to work out a long-term deal with the two-time Pro Bowl lineman.

Teams that go 4-12 can’t afford to let good players leave.

Brown Not Right Guy to Lead Cavs in Future

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ slim playoff chances seem to be dwindling everyday, meaning soon it will be time to look forward to the 2014-15 season, and another appearance in the draft lottery.

It also means the organization has to look within, examining whether or not they have the correct people in place.

Has acting GM David Griffin done enough to keep the job going forward? His deal for Spencer Hawes looks good, and here’s hoping the wine and gold can keep the big man for the future because he can do one thing desperately needed on this squad, he can shoot.

Whether or not Griffin stays, one thing is clear: The Cavaliers need to find a new head coach next season because Mike Brown isn’t the guy to change things around here.

Brown is a great guy, but he came here with a reputation as a defensive coach, but so far the results aren’t there. Cleveland ranks in the middle of the pack (16th) in field goal percentage against, and 17th in the league in scoring defense.

That hardly speaks to a great defensive mind.

While some will say that this is his first year with this group of players, why have other new coaches have success around the league?

Memphis hired Dave Joerger to replace Lionel Hollins after a successful season last year, and Joerger still has the Grizzlies third in the league in points allowed and 10th in defensive field goal percentage.

Charlotte hired Steve Clifford, an obscure NBA assistant, and he has turned the Bobcats into one of the league’s better defensive squads, ranking 5th in points allowed and 7th in shooting percentage against.

The Cavaliers have played 64 games already this season and they are still trying to figure out how to play effective defense? That doesn’t reflect well on the relationship Mike Brown has with his players, who obviously haven’t bought in to what he is teaching.

The Cavs still give up too many easy shots, allow players to get to the basket with ease, and have lapses at inopportune times on the defensive end.

And as the old saying goes, you can’t fire 15 players, so it’s the coach who has to go.

Besides the lack of progress on the defensive end, Brown’s offensive game plan is highly simplistic and is based pretty much solely on having players takes their man off the dribble. When the defense takes that away, there is no alternative.

And Brown has no history of developing young players either, and the Cleveland roster is full of them.

First overall pick Anthony Bennett hasn’t contributed much this season, but in the team’s recent six game winning streak, he was getting some minutes and averaged eight points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Since, he played more than 15 minutes in a game just twice.

In last night’s loss to the Knicks at home, second leading scorer Dion Waiters played a grand total of 14 minutes. How does that happen?

Tristan Thompson hasn’t improved, Luol Deng, a two-time all-star in the NBA looks lost on the court, and even the Cavs’ franchise player, Kyrie Irving’s numbers are down across the board from last season.

One of last year’s first round draft picks, Tyler Zeller, has his minutes fluctuate on a nightly basis.

Mike Brown has had success in the NBA as a head coach, but in every year but this one, he has coached one of the sport’s best players, be it either LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. Without one of them on the team, he looks like just another guy.

The 2014-15 version of the Cavaliers needs a head coach who will demand and command the respect of the young players on this roster. If Dan Gilbert wants this team to move forward, he needs to find that man.

It won’t happen with Mike Brown.

Tribe Versatility Important to Team Success

When Eric Wedge managed the Indians, many fans thought his ideal team would consist of players who could all play every position on the field. He loved versatility.

His most noted experiment involved trying to make Ryan Garko, a college catcher, who quite frankly had no speed whatsoever into an outfielder, playing him in both LF and RF.

He used Casey Blake, a third baseman by trade, at 1B and in the outfield.

He loved guys like Chris Gimenez, who could catch and play other positions, and when then-GM Mark Shapiro traded for Mark DeRosa, he had to be ecstatic.

The problem for Wedge was he tried to make young players, who were playing everyday (Garko) play other spots, and the guys like Gimenez are marginal major league players at best.

We say this because if you look at the current Indians’ roster, they have a bunch of players who can play multiple positions.

The difference is Terry Francona’s team is littered with guys who have performed in that role for most of their major league careers, and in most cases, have flourished moving around the field and not being in the lineup everyday.

The main players on Francona’s bench are veterans Ryan Raburn and Mike Aviles. Raburn can play the corner outfield spots as well as both infield corner spots and even 2B in a pinch.

Aviles can play all of the infield spots and even played a few games in LF last season.

And although neither of them will get 500 at bats in a season, when they get around 300 plate appearances in a season, they are solid big league hitters.

Everyone points out that Raburn will likely not be as productive as he was last season (901 OPS in 243 at bats), but his career average is .258 with 10 HRs per year and a respectable 762 OPS.

Aviles is a career .273 hitter and gets around 8 homers per year.

Francona was a master last year of putting players like Aviles and Raburn in situations where they would be productive, and there is no reason to think the same won’t be true in 2014.

Now, the Tribe is trying to improve the versatility of the Tribe by giving Carlos Santana some playing time at third base. While no one really believe the plan is for Santana to play full-time at the hot corner, he gives the skipper an option against a tough lefty to put Santana there instead of Lonnie Chisenhall.

The difference in the Santana conversion and those of the Wedge era is that the player went to Francona and the front office and wanted to make the move instead of being a full-time DH.

This way, the former and current back up catcher can play a day or two at first base, allowing Nick Swisher a day off or a day at DH, maybe a day at third, and catch one game to give Yan Gomes a day off.

If a young player isn’t on board with the move, then it doesn’t have as good a chance of succeeding. Besides, Santana was a third baseman in the minor leagues, so he’s played the position before.

It’s a tribute to the locker room that Francona and the front office have crafted that Santana wanted to make this move.

Watching this move from his view as an ESPN analyst, Eric Wedge is surely envious.

Cleveland Can’t Win on Z’s Night

This Saturday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers will retire the number of long time center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a player who overcame some major foot problems to make two all-star teams and was a starter on the only squad in franchise history to make the NBA Finals.

Unfortunately, the hanging of #11 from the rafters in being overshadowed by word that LeBron James is going to show up to honor his long time teammate.

Ilgauskas invited him, as is his prerogative, as a group of select people he wanted to share the evening with.

And it does say a lot about James that he would take time away from the NBA grind to be there for his friend. The Heat does play on Friday night and has Saturday and Sunday off, and really he could benefit from the time off.

Still, no matter what happens Saturday, Cleveland is going to come out a loser.

James has said he will not appear on the court, so the chances of a public booing of him are slim.’

But fans will know he is in the building.

Our city’s network nemesis, ESPN, has already started the discussion talking about whether or not he will be greeted with derision, and if that occurs, to be sure they will break out the jersey burning footage they have close at hand in their archives.

In all seriousness, why shouldn’t he be booed? He not only left the team, near where he grew up, to go play elsewhere, and he put together a network television show to do it.

Why would anyone in Cleveland ever forget that?

It’s kind of weird that anyone would question why that kind of animosity exists here. Of course, there isn’t really anything to compare it to, because it hasn’t happened before.

If James wasn’t booed, the four letter network would probably spin it that the fans are getting their hopes up that James will return to the Cavaliers as a free agent after this season, and color the town as desperate to bow down to “The King”.

And just by showing up, a number of the “he’s coming back” brigade will return to the forefront, proclaiming his presence as an indicator he is thinking about coming back to Cleveland, and those same people will say that since Ilgauskas works in the Cavs’ front office and he and James are friendly, this surely means that he will be back playing at The Q as a member of the home team in 2014-15.

Or it could just mean that the league’s best player wants to honor a man he played with here for a long time. Remember, when the Cavaliers clinched their first spot in the Finals, the man who LBJ immediately sought out and hugged was Ilgauskas.

Regardless, James’ appearance does two things: It rips the scab off the healing that has been done since he departed for Miami, and it gets people to have the crazy hope that he will return to the wine and gold next season.

For what it’s worth, we think he will play for the Cavaliers someday, but probably as a guy in his late 30’s to finish his career.

The worst part of it all is that Ilgauskas’ ceremony is taking the backseat. He deserves an honor (although we question the whole jersey retirement) because he played more games for the Cavs than anyone else.

This Off-Season, It’s Time for Cavs to Deal Andy

The Cleveland Cavaliers probably won’t make the playoffs this season because they have too much of a deficit behind Charlotte and Atlanta and a tough March schedule to maneuver.

Still, it was the right move to try to get in the post-season, and the trades obtaining Luol Deng and Spencer Hawes were worth making, and an effort should be made to keep both for next season.

After all, the Cavs are still a very young team with Kyrie Irving just turning 22 years old, Dion Waiters just reach that age in December, and Tristan Thompson will hit 23 years of age later this month.

All three players have plenty of improvement which will be made by experience and getting stronger with age.

Even Hawes won’t turn 26 until just after the season ends, and he has played well in a Cavs’ uniform thus far, averaging almost 14 points and nine rebounds since coming over from Philadelphia at the trade deadline.

Keeping the free agent would give the wine and gold depth so they can finally make the move they should have made the season after LeBron James left town for Miami.

It’s time to deal Anderson Varejao.

Every year, the Cavaliers trick themselves into thinking “Wild Thing” will be healthy, because when he is, he is a quality NBA big man, averaging almost 8 points and 8 rebounds per game, mostly due to a highly active style of play.

He takes charges, dives for loose balls, and keeps plays alive and does so with relentless effort.

Because he’s been the best big man on the team since James left, he has often been overexposed, playing too many minutes. When that happens, the Brazilian gets hurt, thus having no impact on the team.

This has been a trademark of Varejao’s career. He misses a lot of games, playing 75 games or more just three times (’06-’07, ’08-’09, and ’09-’10) in his ten-year NBA career.

Yes, injuries are a part of sports, but when it happens to the same players year in and year out, it is not a coincidence. They are injury prone, thus no longer reliable to the team they play for.

The same thing happened with Courtney Brown for the Browns, and Grady Sizemore for the Indians. They simply couldn’t stay on the field long enough to make a contribution.

In those four years since he appeared in 76 games in 2009-2010, Varejao has missed 162 out of a possible 291 games, that’s more than half of the contests played by the wine and gold.

He has currently missed the team’s last 10 games with a back injury.

Assuming he will be back soon, the acquisition of Hawes means Mike Brown can play Varejao less minutes, meaning he will have a better opportunity to stay in the lineup, and off of the training table.

The Cavs need to establish Varejao’s health for the rest of the season so they can use him as a trade chip this summer in an effort to help the organization. The last few years, his injuries were season ending, so nobody was willing to deal for him until he showed he could get back on an NBA floor.

His skill set would be very important to a team trying to make a push toward a title, so however the GM is this summer, should be able to make a favorable deal for Cleveland.

It will be a bittersweet day, because Varejao is the last link to the glory teams in Cleveland, including the one that made the NBA Finals in 2007. But the time has come to make the move.

What is needed is for Varejao to get back on the floor this season.

Releasing Veterans is Just Business in NFL

We sometimes need to be reminded that professional sports are a business.

The Cleveland Browns reminded everyone of that this week when they released longtime linebacker D’Qwell Jackson rather that pay him a roster bonus that would have had him get over $9 million for the 2014 season.

Jackson has been a solid citizen and a great representative of the Browns since being drafted by Cleveland in 2006. He fought back after missing a year and a half with a torn pectoral muscle and resumed his place as a team leader and a solid player on the field.

However, he was due to be paid as an elite player in 2014, and quite frankly, Jackson is not a Pro Bowl type player.

If there was no salary cap, the Browns could take care of a good soldier, a player who wore the Cleveland uniform with pride and distinction.

And we understand the Browns have a ton of room under the cap right now, but if you are going to pay someone at the rate elite players are getting, they have to perform at that level.

Right now, D’Qwell Jackson is just not an impact player.

And now there are rumors that defensive lineman Ahtyba Rubin could be the next player to draw his release from the team.

The argument is the same. Rubin is a solid player, but he won’t be making the Pro Bowl any time soon, and he is due to be paid like someone who is an All Pro.

If the release of Jackson and Rubin help the Browns keep Alex Mack, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and T.J. Ward, who went to Hawaii for the first time in 2013, both of whom are free agents, then it is well worth it.

Obviously, new GM Ray Farmer, with a fresh set of eyes, wants to upgrade the talent on the Browns, and if you have to get rid of two solid players to keep two real good ones, plus keep cap room to add more good ones, then it really is an easy decision.

Northeastern Ohio sports fans are very loyal, particularly to players who have been here for a while. That’s why there is affinity for the Indians of the late 90’s, and the Browns of the late 80’s.

From a practical standpoint, it is not as though Jackson and Rubin have played during the glory days of the franchise. They’ve been on mediocre football teams, ones that have consistently lost ten or more games for the last six seasons.

Why wouldn’t the team look to replace them with younger, less expensive players that have a bigger upside? That’s being a smart general manager.

As we always say here…the only thing worse than being a bad football team is being a bad, old football team.

The Browns are one of the youngest teams in the NFL, but that shouldn’t preclude management from trying to replace players who are no longer getting better because of age with younger guys.

You can blame the Browns for insensitivity, but the player’s union should share the brunt as well because they have priced average veteran players out of jobs.

If Rubin is indeed released, there is no question that both he and Jackson will catch on with other teams, but at much lower salaries than they would have received from Cleveland.

This is a lesson on sports with salary caps in the 21^st Century. It stinks for good guys like D’Qwell Jackson and Ahtyba Rubin, but that is the reality.