The Cleveland Indians have lost nine of their last sixteen games and panic is spreading throughout northern Ohio.

However, the team finished the first third of the season at 33-21, which means they are on pace to win 99 games this season, which is about 25 more than most people thought they would end the year with.

Still, the last 16 contests have shown some weaknesses which need to be addressed if the team is to continue their winning ways.

First off, the defense is starting to become an issue once again.  Orlando Cabrera has been inconsistent defensively and Matt LaPorta has made a few mental mistakes at first base.

And in the outfield Shin-Soo Choo has displayed a rocket for a throwing arm, but has misjudged several balls in right field. 

Also, the offense has been too hit or miss lately.  More consistency is definitely needed. 

The hitting has developed into an attack in which the Indians either score seven or eight runs on a given night, or they are completely shut down by the opposing pitcher.  They have been unable to manufacture runs when these nights occur. 

Many people will point to the Tribe missing Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner as the chief reasons for this off and on attack, but it’s now time to put the spotlight on Choo, who was considered the be the team’s best player coming into the season.

The Cleveland rightfielder is hitting just .246 on the season with 5 HR and 22 RBI and an OPS of under 700.  His last home run came the night Hafner hit the walk-off bomb against Seattle, and that would be May 13th.  He’s had just four multi-hit games since the beginning of May, and all of those have been just two hit nights.

He’s also had just two games of more than one RBI in the same time span.  That’s not good enough production from a guy hitting in what normally is the spot for the team’s best hitter. 

Acta needs to slide him lower in the lineup due to his production.

Who should bat third in his place?  How about the team’s best hitter this season, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, who is among the American League leaders in home runs (11) and RBI’s (40). 

In fact, perhaps a flip-flop of Cabrera and Choo might be in order since the latter is second on the Indians in walks, and he and Michael Brantley would give Acta plenty of speed at the top of the order. 

Moving Choo out of the three hole might also allow him to relax and also to cut down on his swing.  After cutting his strikeout substantially in 2010 (from 151 in ’09 to 118), the left-handed hitter is striking out more frequently this year.  It appears he feels he is the Tribe’s biggest power threat, and is trying to pull everything.

That’s not the approach that has made him a lifetime .292 hitter. 

This is not to bury Choo, as the Indians need him to be productive if they are going to continue their run this season.  However, it is clear that right now he doesn’t have the same impact on the batting order he did last season. 

Getting back to basics may be just what he needs, and the Cleveland Indians need the Shin-Soo Choo of the last two seasons to start showing up night after night.

MW

Since the Cleveland Indians have lost five of their last six games, there is a lot of nervousness around the club’s fan base. 

It’s understandable because the message they are getting from the Tribe’s front office is that changes aren’t forthcoming. 

While the plan coming into the season was to continue the development of young players with an eye on 2012, the Indians’ fast start altered that blueprint.

That’s why when Carlos Carrasco went down with a sore elbow in late April, Cleveland dipped into the farm system for former 1st round draft choice Alex White, perhaps a half a year sooner than they wanted to.

Now, there seems to be some hesitancy in making further changes to the 25 man roster, mainly because of the feelings of some veterans who have helped the team build a five game lead within the AL Central and the best record in the American League.

There is no secret the offense took a slight dip in run production when injuries knocked Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner out of the lineup. 

However, the fall off in production from players who have been in the everyday lineup from day one is more to blame than the players filling in for Sizemore and Hafner.

In fact, Travis Buck and Shelley Duncan have done a decent job in filling in for Hafner.  Buck has an 891 OPS over the last two weeks, and Duncan is 6 for 22 with a homer in the same time span.

Hafner’s ability to take walks has been missed, though.

The fear going into the season was the lack of offense the Indians would get out of two infield spots:  2B and 3B.  The past two weeks, that fear has turned into reality.

Orlando Cabrera is just 5 for 35 over the past two weeks with one extra base hit and two walks in that time span.  That’s a 382 OPS over that period, which is horrible to say the least.

Manager Manny Acta doesn’t want to sit the veteran down, but he doesn’t have to bat him sixth either.

Hannahan is hitting just .167 (6 for 36) over the last 14 days, with two doubles, an RBI, and an OPS of 453.  In the entire month, he’s hitting just .178 with no home runs and two runs batted in and an OPS of just 465.

These aren’t slumps, they are trends, and you can’t generate very many runs with two guys in your batting order hitting like that. 

Acta will talk about the defense both players provide, and certainly Hannahan is a vast improvement over the guys who played the hot corner in 2010, but if you can’t hit in the major leagues, it doesn’t matter how good your glove is.

And Cabrera’s defense hasn’t been all that great either.  He’s been adequate, but he’s made some errors on key double play grounders over the past couple of weeks. 

That puts even more of a spotlight on his lack of hitting.

The point is this.  Now is not the time for the organization to get conservative.  If young players like Cord Phelps (yes, we know we are harping, but look at his numbers) and Lonnie Chisenhall can improve the 2011 Cleveland Indians, then they need to be in the big leagues.

This isn’t based on the one week of bad baseball the Tribe has played, it’s based on a month of poor hitting.

This first place team can’t afford to wait much longer.

KM

The baseball schedule watchers make me laugh.  They analyze the upcoming schedule and determine in advance whether or not a team can successfully navigate their way through the upcoming games or not.

When a team defeats an inferior team, the wins are discounted like it would be better if the squad would lose to these opponents so as not to get an advantage on the other teams in competition with them.

Right now, the schedule watchers are predicting doom and gloom for the Cleveland Indians because of the upcoming slate which includes games with Toronto, Texas, Minnesota, New York, Detroit, and then 15 games of play against the National League.

Among those games is a three game set in San Francisco against the world champion Giants.

However, a check of the American League standings shows there aren’t really any bad teams in the league, save for the Minnesota Twins, the only ballclub in the AL with a winning percentage under .400.

Only two other teams are under .450, Kansas City (23-29) and Chicago (24-31), and the Royals would be virtually  a .500 team if it weren’t for a 2-7 record against…the Indians. 

The point is that parity has come to the AL this season and there are no soft touches on the schedule right now. 

Critics will point out that the Tribe has played an easy slate so far, but they are 4-2 against Eastern Division leading Boston.  Against three other teams right around the .500 mark, Cleveland is 4-0 against the surprising Mariners, 3-0 against Detroit, and 3-0 against the Orioles. 

The schedule was supposed to toughen up starting with last weekend’s series against Cincinnati, but the Indians are 5-4 in the first nine games of this stretch, sweeping the Reds, while losing 2 0f 3 to both the Red Sox and Rays.

This week, Cleveland has a three game set in Toronto against the Blue Jays (27-26) before coming home for a four game series versus the AL defending champion Rangers (28-25), so it doesn’t get any easier. 

Outside of Mitch Talbot’s disastrous outing against Boston last Wednesday, the starting pitching for the Indians continues to keep them in most games.  Even Josh Tomlin’s hiccup on Friday was a case of one bad inning, as Tomlin still gave manager Manny Acta six solid frames. 

As long as the starters hold up, why can’t Cleveland survive and even win more than their share of these games.

Talbot is a concern, as two of his three starts have been problems, although both were against Boston.  He is a guy to observe because outside of April and September, he didn’t pitch well last season.  And for a hurler who throws in the low 90 MPH range, he doesn’t pitch ahead in the count often enough.

That said, he did throw eight innings of shutout ball in his one start against somebody besides the Red Sox, that against Los Angeles.

He should watch Tomlin, who doesn’t throw hard either, but is usually ahead of the hitters, making them hit his pitch.

Carlos Carrasco has pitched well since his return to the rotation, and Jeanmar Gomez has thrown very well in Columbus after going back there earlier this month.  Gomez is now 4-1 with a 2.82 ERA and 32 strikeouts against 13 walks in 38-1/3 frames in AAA. 

He could be back soon if Talbot does struggle more. 

Also, don’t count out right hander Zach McAllister, picked up from the Yankees in the Austin Kearns deal last season.  McAllister is 7-0 with a 2.29 ERA and 47 whiffs vs. 10 walks in 59-1/3 innings this season.

Remember this, for all the hand wringing about who the Indians are about to play, they have a six game lead on Memorial Day.  Compare that to the AL East where all five teams are within five games of each other, and the AL West, where the four teams are separated by just a game and a half.

Who’s spot would you rather be in?

MW

It was very surprising news from the NBA this week.  The hiring of former Cavaliers’ coach Mike Brown by the Los Angeles Lakers shocked almost everyone.

Many had Brown penciled in at Golden State, but instead he gets one of the plum coaching job in basketball.  The position has been held by Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, both icons of the bench.  It’s been offered to Mike Krzyzewski in the all too recent past, and Coach K is perhaps the most well known coach in the sport, guiding both an elite program at Duke and also the US National Team.

It tells you how respected Brown in the basketball community that he got the gig.  Perhaps the only job on par with being the Lakers’ head man is being one of the heirs to Red Auerbach’s chair in Boston. 

Congratulations to Brown, who certainly was a class act in Cleveland.

We were very critical of Brown’s offensive philosophy while with the Cavaliers, as it appeared he didn’t have much of an idea of how to run a motion type attack.  We also didn’t understand the idea of surrounding LeBron James with a bunch of one-dimensional players on offense, but notably a bunch of three-point shooters.

Mo Williams and Anthony Parker both had the ability to take the ball to the basket before they came to Cleveland, but the offense never took advantage of that ability.

It appears now that the problem with the offense was James, who needed and demanded to have the ball in his hands all the time.  Mostly because he thought so little of his teammates, which is why he frequently tells everyone he didn’t have any help in Cleveland, despite winning 127 regular season games in his last two seasons in wine and gold.

James apparently only respects the players he believes are close to him in ability instead of raising the talents of his teammates.

The Lakers’ hiring of Brown means they do not hold the coach responsible for the lack of ball movement which occurred at times during his tenure, instead they blame James.  They believe that the two-time MVP must have broke off plays, or simply flat refused to run the sets the coach called.

If that’s not the case, why would you hire the man to coach Kobe Bryant, who is a guy who wants to win above anything else, although sometimes he may go about it the wrong way. 

If Los Angeles owner Jerry Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak thought that Brown was a guy who allowed James to do whatever he wanted, do you really think they would hire him to guide Bryant to another title?  No, unless they believe Bryant can play and coach, and want Brown to serve as a figurehead during him tenure.

It tells you that at least from the LA point of view, Brown tried to coach LeBron James, and the player thought he knew more than the coach, or was above being tutored by him.  To James credit, he did learn how to play on the defensive end of the floor from Brown, who is excellent on that end of the floor.

An organization that has one as much as the Lakers is probably too smart to give the keys of one of the NBA’s elite franchises to a man who will be overrun by his players. 

Good luck, coach.  The Lakers gave you the best endorsement you could ever get.

JK

With the Cleveland Indians rolling along at 30-17 this season, it is hard to find negative things to talk about with the ballclub.

However, with Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner out of the lineup right now, the depth, or lack of it,  in regard to the everyday players is starting to show.

It seems crazy to say this based on the fact that the Tribe is second in the American League in runs scored.

Right now, Manny Acta is forced to put these names in the batting order on a daily basis:  Orlando Cabrera, Jack Hannahan, and Austin Kearns. 

None of these guys have done much with the stick recently, and it is hurting the offense.  And all of the players involved have recent track records which show the recent trend isn’t likely to change.

Cabrera is hitting .235 in May with a 558 OPS, which is terrible to say the least.  You could write this off as a slump, except that his OPS last season with Cincinnati was 631.

There is no question that Cabrera has meant a lot to this team in terms of leadership, but it is tough to keep him in the lineup on an everyday basis if he hits like he has this month.

Hannahan is batting just .190 in May with an OPS of 495.  Remember that the left-handed hitter entered 2011 with a lifetime average of just .224. 

He has been a tremendous upgrade with the glove, especially when you compare his defense there to what the Indians has last season, but it’s difficult to have that type of hitter at what is primarily an offensive position.

Kearns has actually picked it up lately, hitting .308 in May in 26 at bats, but is hitting just .210 on the season, and has yet to hit a home run.

With the pitching staffs Cleveland has faced lately, it is tough enough to score runs with a lineup of good hitters, let alone one that has so many holes in it.

To be fair, when Sizemore and Hafner are healthy, you can probably accept sub par offense in a couple of spots where you are getting good defense. 

However, it makes it pretty easy for opposing hurlers when there really is no threat once you get past the sixth or seventh spot in the batting order.  With two good hitters out of there, that’s how the Tribe lineup looks right now.

It also doesn’t help that clean up hitter Carlos Santana is in a funk and his batting average has dropped to .203.  The switch hitting catcher does walk a lot so at least he’s not making a lot of outs.

Fortunately for Manny Acta and Chris Antonetti, the two areas of concern have solid alternatives at Columbus, as the organization’s best prospects, 2B Jason Kipnis (.292, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 865 OPS) and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall (.283, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 808 OPS) play the two positions in question.

Add to those names, Cord Phelps (.310, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 937 OPS) who can play both spots and has more AAA experience than the other two players.

Yes, the Indians are 2nd in the AL in runs scored, but it is no secret that over the last couple of weeks, the Tribe has struggled to score runs.

What the management has to analyze is whether or not it’s a slump or a trend.  Based on the past track records of the players who are struggling, you have to wonder if a change is coming soon.

MW

It seems like Asdrubal Cabrera has been around forever.  Most people are surprised when you tell them how old he is. 

Since he was here when the Indians last won the division in 2007, he is put in the same class as guys like Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner, who will be 29 and 34 respectively this season.

However, he is just 25 years old and should be improving, which through the first quarter of the season, he most certainly is. 

He put an exclamation point on his season to date with a 5 for 5 game in the series finale against Cincinnati, with two home runs and five RBI’s.

He came up to the Indians during their drive to a 2007 AL Central Division title at age 21, and contributed mightily, hitting .283 with 3 HR and 22 RBI (775 OPS) in 45 games.

He was 10 for 46 in the post-season with a homer and 6 RBI’s.

He reportedly came to spring training a little out of shape in 2008, and his number slipped to .259, 6 HR and 47 RBI (713 OPS) in his first full season in the big leagues.

The following year, you could make the argument (and we have) that Asdrubal Cabrera was the best shortstop in the American League not named Derek Jeter. 

He batted .308 with 6 HR and 68 RBI with a 799 OPS.  He had 52 extra base hits, including 42 doubles at age 23.

It certainly looked like the Tribe had a potential star on their hands. 

Then came the collision.  Cabrera broke his arm in a bizarre collision with 3B Jhonny Peralta on an infield shift in Tampa.  Cabrera returned shortly after the all-star break, but wasn’t the same player, batting .276, but had just a 673 OPS because he couldn’t drive the ball consistently.

This year, Asdrubal Cabrera is healthy and is showing everyone that he just may be the AL’s best shortstop now that Jeter is starting to show some age.

He took some advice from veteran Orlando Cabrera, who told his younger teammate that he should be driving the ball from time to time. 

ACab is not an Omar Vizquel type of shortstop.  He’s listed a 6’0″ and 180 pounds, and is probably a little bigger than that now that he is older.

His 42 doubles in 2009 show that he indeed has some pop in his bat, and getting stronger would result in some of those double turning into home runs. 

That’s what is happening now. 

In 44 games thus far in 2011, Cabrera has belted a team-leading nine home runs with 32 RBI’s and an OPS of 822.  The RBI total puts him 5th in the junior circuit.

If the Cleveland Indians continue to stay in first place and make the post-season, there is no question Cabrera will be in the conversation for the league’s MVP award.  He’s having that kind of year.

For all of the love the media gives Shin-Soo Choo, and deservedly so, Cabrera could wind up being better in the long run, because he’s so good at this age.

Cabrera is very good in the #2 hole in the batting order right now, but could end up hitting lower in the order as he matures.  It’s not a stretch for him to wind up as a guy who can hit 25 homers in a season.

If the Indians pull this off in 2011 and win the division, it’s would be easy to point to the great performance thus far of the pitching staff.  However, they have a very good young core of everyday players like Cabrera, Choo, Carlos Santana, and Michael Brantley.

And don’t forget players to come like Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis.

Yesterday, Asdrubal Cabrera showed everyone he is an all-star.  At 25 years old, it could be the first of many appearances.

KM

In the midst of a great start, the one thing that can derail the Cleveland Indians may be occurring, injuries. 

The Tribe still has the best record in the American League, and now leads the AL Central Division by six games over the Tigers, but they are losing key people quickly.

Grady Sizemore is already on the 15-day disabled list, and is likely to be joined soon by DH Travis Hafner, who appears to have pulled his oblique muscle.  Both of these veterans missed good portions of the last two seasons with different injuries.

Rookie pitcher Alex White left tonight’s game with an apparent middle finger problem. 

Add to that an apparent turf toe injury to Sizemore’s replacement on the roster, Travis Buck, and it looks like GM Chris Antonetti will have to dig deep into the farm system to find replacements at least temporarily because Sizemore is eligible to come off the DL by next weekend. 

Unfortunately, the Indians have series against two pretty good teams, the Reds and the Red Sox before Grady may be back in the lineup.

Luis Valbuena (.270, 4 HR and 21 RBI with a 784 OPS at Columbus) was called up Thursday to replace Justin Germano on the roster, but was sent back Friday to make room for OF Ezequiel Carrera (.317, 2 HR and 17 RBI, 824 OPS). 

Carrera is a speedster, as evidenced by 15 stolen bases at AAA, and a very good defensive outfielder.  He’s a left-handed hitter, and he made a tremendous big league debut with a game winning drag bunt to steal another game late at Progressive Field.

The Tribe will need a left-handed stick because Shelley Duncan, who hits southpaws very well, is being exposed when facing a lot of right handers.  The lineup is significantly weakened if Duncan is the DH against a righty.

Duncan’s struggles against right handers are compounded with the offensive problems had by another right-handed hitter reserve outfielder, Austin Kearns.  Kearns is hitting under .200 for the campaign, with just three extra base hits, all doubles.

When Thursday’s lineup was posted, skipper Manny Acta penciled in a bottom three of slumping Jack Hannahan, Kearns, and Adam Everett, a trio that scares nobody, except fans of the Indians.

If Buck is going to be out for a while, we may see Cord Phelps wearing a Cleveland uniform quickly.  A switch hitter, Phelps is hitting .300 with 6 home runs and 25 RBI with a 937 OPS, which is helped by walking 29 times.

If Phelps is activated, he will likely get regular playing time, and with his ability to get on base, perhaps he can be put in the #2 spot in the batting order with Asdrubal Cabrera, who leads the Tribe in homers and RBI’s dropped to the fifth spot in the order. 

With Sizemore and Hafner out of the lineup, Acta needs the two guys in the #3 and #4 holes in the batting order, Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana to get hot.  Both have shown signs of putting things together recently.  Choo had a double and triple to left center the past two games, which means he is staying on the baseball.

Santana’s average isn’t anything great, but he leads the Indians in walks, and is always a tough out.  He works the count as good as a ten-year veteran. 

Keep this in mind, as long as the starting pitching continues to do well, the Indians will be in games.  That means that by moving runners and taking extra bases when possible, they can scrape out enough runs to stay on top of the division.

MW

Even the biggest fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers has to be surprised by the results of the NBA draft lottery. 

Sure, the Cavs had a decent chance to get the top pick in next month’s draft, but to get the fourth pick as well, that’s a tremendous bonus.

With those two picks, and the trade exemption the team still possesses as a result of trading LeBron James, the rebuilding process was just advanced in a big way. 

The Cavaliers could be back in the playoffs as early as next season, that’s what an impact getting two top five picks could have on this franchise.

First, GM Chris Grant will probably use the first pick to take Duke PG Kyrie Irving, considered by most to be the best player in the draft.  Irving will be the next point guard to be tutored by Byron Scott, following Jason Kidd and Chris Paul.

He’s more like Paul in body type and style of play, and if he’s close to being that good, Cleveland will have a new centerpiece around which to build the franchise.

As for the #4 pick, Grant has all kinds of alternatives as to how to go with the choice.  Certainly, he could take one of the European big men who will probably be available there. 

One of these guys will certainly be available:  Enes Kanter (6’11”, 250 lbs.), Jan Vesely (6’11”, 240 lbs.), Jonas Valanciunas (6’10”, 230 lbs.), or Bismack Biyombo (6’9″, 240 lbs.).

The Cavs could definitely use some size and of these guys, Kanter and Vesely are considered to be the best.  Kanter was recruited by Kentucky, but never played there,  but is strong, athletic, and has soft hands.  His knees are considered a question mark.

Vesely is a good post up player, and can knock down open shots, but needs to develop his offensive game.  He is athletic and can run the floor very well.

Grant also has the option of trading the pick either by itself, or with the trade exemption to bring in a front line player.  Cleveland may have to take a bad contract in return, probably one with a year or two to go on it, but will get something of value as well.

Or the GM can make separate deals with the pick and the exemption, or of course he can keep the choice, and get another good, young player.

Also, keep in mind that Antawn Jamison’s hefty contract expires at the end of this season, which under the current rules, is very valuable to other teams. 

Even if there is a hard salary cap in the new CBA, it is likely teams will get a few years of a grace period to adjust to the new rules.

Getting the first pick also affects the current roster, particularly at the point guard spot.  The guess here is that Baron Davis will be here to help mentor Irving, but what becomes of Ramon Sessions?

Sessions showed enough last season to be a viable option for another team looking for a point guard. 

Remember that next year’s draft will likely be deeper than this one, and there is no doubt Grant would love to get another first round pick in the ’12 draft.

So, you might even see the Cavs trade some other veterans to get multiple picks in next season’s draft and make the ’11 and ’12 draft a real bonanza.

No matter what they do, there is no question the franchise took a huge step with their win in last night’s lottery.

It’s the biggest win of the season.

JK

The news that Grady Sizemore went back to the disabled list with a bruised knee startled some people because it had been thought that the centerfielder’s latest injury wasn’t serious.

And it may not be.  It could be the Tribe didn’t like the thought of playing Austin Kearns a lot while Sizemore is out of the lineup, and wanted to give Travis Buck, who is hitting well in AAA, an opportunity for the next week or so.

It also provides an opportunity for Sizemore to heal completely, because his reputation is that he wants to be out there if he can walk. 

Regardless, the front office will have some tough decision regarding the roster over the next couple of weeks, most notably with the pitching staff.

Mitch Talbot is making another rehab start this Thursday in Columbus, and if all goes well, he will be ready for reactivation after that outing.  When he is ready to go, Manny Acta and GM Chris Antonetti have a decision to make.

The most likely pitcher to be sent back is rookie Alex White, who wouldn’t have been in Cleveland in the first place had the elbows of Talbot and Carlos Carrasco not been sore. 

However, White has been impressive in both of his starts, one of which resulted in his major league win against the Angels.  Can the team afford to return him to Columbus if he pitches well again versus the White Sox this week?

The decision may get murkier if Carrasco struggles again in his start against Kansas City.  Carrasco did okay in his first start since getting off the disabled list against the Rays, but showed some rust.

With the Indians in contention right now, and not playing for the future as they have over the past few years, how can they justify dropping White from the 25 man roster if he is pitching better?

There is another alternative in the meantime.  They could activate Talbot and use either him or Carrasco in a long relief role and send Justin Germano packing. 

If Acta would decide that, it is more likely Talbot would go to the ‘pen because the organization would rather have Carrasco starting in Columbus every fifth day to further his development.  Remember he’s still just 24 years old.

Having Talbot replace Germano would give Acta an option he trusts more in close games.  Right now, Germano only pitches when the Indians are either way ahead, way behind, or there is no other alternative.

As for Kearns, it is becoming apparent that whatever the veteran outfielder had going for him last year early in the season, it’s no longer there in 2011. 

Kearns has just eight hits in 50 at bats this season, and has just two extra base hits, both doubles, on the year.  He has also struck out 16 times in those plate appearances.  He can still work a walk from time to time, but you’d like a little more from a reserve corner outfielder.

The only problem with Buck in the long-term is that he’s a left-handed hitter, which the Tribe has a boatload of.  If he batted from the other side of the plate, he would have already been here.

So Kearns ultimate replacement could be Chad Huffman (.287, 5 HR, 21 RBI at Columbus) or you might see Cord Phelps getting some time in LF to make him more major league ready.  Phelps (.292, 5 HR, 20 RBI) is a switch hitter, which would give Acta more flexibility.

Another situation to keep an eye on is at 3B, where Jack Hannahan has just five hits in 27 at bats in May.  Hannahan is providing solid glove work, but you still have to hit to play everyday in the big leagues. 

By the way, Lonnie Chisenhall is hitting .280 with 3 HR, and 20 RBI in his first AAA season.

Good teams can’t get complacent in baseball, and with guys ready to come off the disabled list, Antonetti and Acta have to make some tough decisions. 

Decisions which will have a bearing on how long the Cleveland Indians can keep the momentum going.

KM

Now, that the Miami Heat have made it to the Eastern Conference finals, and LeBron James’ so called “apology” is a few day old, it seemed like a good time to examine some facts.  Something the “world-wide leader” sometimes fails to do in their agenda to determine what is important in sports today.

First, let us remind everyone that this is James’ third trek to the conference finals, as the Cavaliers defeated the Pistons in 2007, and lost to Orlando in 2009.  So, he didn’t need to join forces with other great players to get that far.  He’s been there before, even though he didn’t act like it after the Heat eliminated the Celtics this week.

His “apology” was meant to tell Cleveland fans that he needed to do this so he could get past the big mean Boston Celtics, who by the way, did not resemble the team that defeated the wine and gold in 2008 and 2010.  This Celtic team no longer had Kendrick Perkins, had their electric point guard, Rajon Rondo, playing at less than 50%, and a big three that was older. 

It is very likely that had James stuck around with the Cavs, they could have gotten past these Celtics too.  And that opinion is supported by ESPN’s own Chris Broussard, who is a very good hoops writer.

As for the needing another star to win a title, let’s examine that argument.

The experts always bring up Michael Jordan and point out that he had two hall of famers in his championship with the Bulls.  However, people fail to remember that Jordan was there first. 

Jordan’s first year with the Bulls was 1984-85.  Pippen did not arrive until 1987-88, and in his first year, played a little less than 21 minutes per night and averaged 8 points per night.  It wasn’t until Pippen’s third year that he became a good player, and Chicago won their first title the following season. 

As for Dennis Rodman?  While you can debate whether he belongs in the hall, he wasn’t on the team the first three titles won by the Jordan led Bulls. 

The point is this.  Jordan helped Pippen become a superstar.  Who has LeBron James helped achieve that status in his career?

Looking at the hallmark players of the NBA’s modern age (for argument sake, post 1980), only Magic Johnson joined a team that already had a superstar in Kareem Adbul-Jabbar.  And certainly, Johnson contributed to making James Worthy a Hall of Fame player. 

Would Worthy have reached that status without playing alongside Magic?  Perhaps, but being on his team definitely helped.

Look at Larry Bird.  His first year in Boston was 1979-80, and his teammates were Tiny Archibald, Cedric Maxwell, Rick Robey and Dave Cowens.  Where were Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson? 

Parish and McHale arrived the following year, with Parish coming over after four years in Golden State, where he topped out scoring 17 point and getting 12 rebounds a game on a team that went 24-58.  The “Chief” improved his scored two points a night in his first year in Boston. 

McHale was a rookie playing 20 minutes a night and scoring 10 points per game.  Sound familiar?  He didn’t top 15 points a game until his fourth season with the Celts.

Neither player was considered a perennial all-star when they arrived in Boston.

Another great who came to a team with an all-star player was Tim Duncan, as David Robinson was already with the Spurs when he was a rookie.  But Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili weren’t considered excellent players when they arrived in the Alamo city.

The point is Jordan, Bird, Magic, and Duncan all made good players great ones.  LeBron James never did that in Cleveland.  So for all the posturing about how he needed to go someplace else to win so he could be surrounded by better talent.  He should realize that he didn’t facilitate the process of getting his teammates to the next level.

The best players do that to their teammates.

MW