If you are a baseball fan, there is no question you are feeling some sort of anticipation.  Spring training will start in less than two weeks, and by the end of the month, box scores from exhibition games will start appearing in the newspaper and various web sites.

Hope springs eternal at this time of year, even if you are a fan of the Cleveland Indians.

Most experts have the Tribe finishing fourth in the AL Central Division behind any combination of the Twins, White Sox, and Tigers.  What would have to happen for the Indians to make the climb and finish atop of the division?

1).  The return to health for Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana.  The Indians finished 12th in the AL in runs scored last season, which obviously is not good enough. 

Getting Sizemore back, (that is, the Sizemore who played from 2005-08 when he arguably had MVP type seasons), would give the batting attack a needed jolt.  Figure 25 HR, 80 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases from the leadoff spot.

Santana can be a middle of the order presence which would lengthen the lineup.  Since he still hasn’t played a full big league season, figure the switch hitter for 20 HR and 80 RBI with an OPS of over 800. 

That would add two legitimate very good offensive players to the lineup. 

2).  Carmona pitches like ’10, not ’09.   If the right-hander can put together an ERA of under 4.00 like last season, he could win 15-18 games with an improved offense.

3).  Another starter steps up.  Whether it’s Justin Masterson, Carlos Carrasco (the likely candidate), Josh Tomlin, or even Alex White, the Indians need another guy who can consistently go out and give the team six or seven good innings on a regular basis.

4).  The bullpen holds up.  The collapse of the relief corps has been the reason for many a disappointing season in Cleveland.  Last year, Chris Perez showed he can be a dominant closer.  If guys like Rafael Perez, Joe Smith, Tony Sipp, and Vinnie Pestano can bridge the gap from the starters to C. Perez, it could be a winning season at Progressive Field.

5).  Emergence of young player.  To be contenders, the Indians will need production from someone unexpected, and not someone like Matt LaPorta, who has been here a couple of years.  No, they need a player like Cord Phelps, Jason Kipnis, or even Lonnie Chisenhall to burst on the scene as an everyday player. 

They don’t need anything spectacular, just a solid contribution from one of these guys.  Notice, we picked guys who play 2B and/or 3B, two problem positions for Cleveland.

6).  Cabrera fulfills promise.  In 2009, at age 23, Asdrubal Cabrera had an OPS of 799 and compiled 52 extra base hits while playing shortstop.  He was arguably the best SS in the American League not named Derek Jeter. 

Last year, he dropped to 20 extra base hits and an OPS of 673.  He had his arm broken in a collision with Jhonny Peralta, so he really wasn’t healthy for most of the season.

At age 25, Cabrera needs to get back to where he was two years ago.  If he doesn’t, the Tribe will be looking for a shortstop in 2012.

Some of these scenarios are more likely than others, but most of them need to occur if the Cleveland Indians are going to stay in the race this season.

Still, it’s an awful lot of question marks.  That’s what you get with an unproven roster.  But at this time of year, it’s fun to dream and look at the best case scenario. 

It’s happened before…look at the 1967 Red Sox, the 1991 Braves, and 2006 Tigers.

MW

The Cleveland Cavaliers have done it! 

They set a new NBA record for futility with their 24 straight loss Saturday night by losing to Portland. 

There are signs that the streak will end soon, as the wine and gold have had chances to win each of the last three games.  Wednesday against the Pacers, the Cavs actually led late in the fourth quarter. 

Friday night against Memphis, the Cavaliers outplayed the Grizzlies for three and a half quarters before losing on the road, and against Portland, they were down just two with under two minutes left in the contest. 

With eight straight home games following a visit to Dallas on Monday night, Cleveland will add one to the win column for the first time since the middle of December very soon.

What does the future hold?  There are some players on the roster right now who could be here when the Cavs return to being a good team, and several are very young in terms of age and experience.

Those players are undrafted free agents Manny Harris and Samardo Samuels, as well as former first round pick Christian Eyenga.  Samuels is the oldest of the trio, having just turned 22 years old.  The other pair are 21.

Before espousing the virtues of these three, a point of explanation.  Don’t be frightened by the words “undrafted free agent”.  The NBA draft has become a process of teams making choices on guys based on long range potential, usually with big guys, and particularly later in the draft.  Every GM wants to find an all star player with choices 20-60, instead of finding solid NBA players.

Remember this.  Former Ohio State big men, Kosta Koufos and B.J. Mullens were both taken in the first round of the draft.  Koufos is on his second team (he was drafted by Utah and is now on Minnesota), has started one game this year, his third in the league, and is getting about eight minutes a night, scoring 2.5 points per game.

Mullens is currently in the D-League.

Meanwhile, guys like DeJuan Blair with San Antonio and Sam Young with Memphis were second round picks, and both are contributor on good teams.  Blair averages 8 points and 7 boards a night with the NBA’s best team thus far in the season.  Young is scoring 5.5 points with a Grizzlies team trying the make the playoffs. 

The point is this, Koufos and Mullens were drafted in the first round because they have some athleticism and size.  They just aren’t NBA players at this time.  So, you can get contributors in the second round or in undrafted guys.

Eyenga, who actually was a first round pick, shows tremendous atheticism, and shows promise of being a guy who can play defense in the league.  He did a good job on Danny Granger and Rudy Gay this week, making them work hard for their points. 

Harris is scoring 7.4 points per night in about 20 minutes per game, and had 19 points and 8 rebounds against the Pacers.  He’s a combo guard at 6’5″ and shows good range with his shot, although it is inconsistent.  And he plays hard, which is something you cannot teach. 

Samuels is scoring 5 points and grabbing 3 boards per night in 14 minutes.  He’s a little undersized at 6’9″ to play up front regularly, but does have some nice post moves, so he could be a rotation guy on a good team. 

Along with the injured Anderson Varajao and third year player J. J. Hickson, the Cavs have five players who could still be getting meaningful minutes in two or three years when the Cavaliers return to respectability.

As for moves with the current roster, don’t judge the lack of action until the trading deadline.  If GM Chris Grant doesn’t make moves with large or expiring contracts, or with the trade exception at that time, then fans have a right to raise an eyebrow or two. 

This has been a long season, one no one thought would be possible when the Cavs were 7-9 after 16 games.  Just remember, it can’t get any worse.

JK

With the Super Bowl being played this weekend, of course there has been talk about how close or how far the Cleveland Browns are from appearing in their first Super Bowl. 

This is the 45th championship game in the Super Bowl era and to fans of the brown and orange, it might as well be a rumor. 

No one remembers that the Browns were once one of the flagship franchises of the NFL.  In fact, during a feature on former Packer coach Vince Lombardi on ESPN, they listed teams with the most wins while Lombardi was in charge of the Pack.

Green Bay ranked first, followed by the Colts and Browns.  And that was a down period for Cleveland as it was in between the great Paul Brown led teams in the early 1950’s and the Blanton Collier teams of the mid to late 60’s, which were consistently in the playoffs.

Yes, people, at one point, many, many years ago, the Cleveland Browns were a powerhouse in the NFL.

But how close are they to getting in the post-season?

First, you have to understand that one season turnarounds happen all the time in the NFL.  This year, it was the Kansas City Chiefs that emerged as a playoff team, going from 4-12 to 10-6. 

The Browns even went from a 4-12 season in 2006 to a 10-6 record in 2007, and then back to 4-12 in ’08.

The first thing the organization has to do is get better within the division.  Cleveland won one game in the AFC North last season, beating Cincinnati in week 4.  They have to get to the point where they can at least split the six divisional games if they want to compete.

If you were a critic of Eric Mangini, you probably think the Browns are close to contention.  You can point to several games down the stretch that the team could have won, but didn’t.

Those games would be losses to Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Buffalo, and Cincinnati.  Winning just two of those games would have put the Browns at 7-9, and people around the league would have the team poised to make a playoff push in 2011.

Winning three of the five would have put the team at 8-8.

The anti-Mangini people would say poor coaching, mainly offensive play calling and strategy made the Browns 5-11, not a lack of talent. 

They would say the coaching problem has been solved, and look for a big improvement next season. 

This makes more sense than the pro-Mangini forces who would blame everything on not having the right players.

You have to go back to the eye test.  What did you see when you watched those games?

If you are honest with yourself, you would admit all of those games were very winnable, in fact, the Browns led most of them heading into the fourth quarter.

They weren’t overwhelmed in any game this season until the last one, when they were blown out by the Steelers, who by the way are playing in the Super Bowl this weekend.

It follows then, that with another good draft (GM Tom Heckert did well in his first), some tweaking of the offensive philosophy (moving to a west coast offense), and a better head coach, the Browns could get to eight or nine wins this season.

Especially with an easier schedule because they will play the NFC West (Seattle, Arizona, San Francisco, and St. Louis). 

They do need to upgrade the defense, which should still be the focus of this year’s draft along with getting a wide receiver and an offensive lineman, because that wins in this division.

The NFL has shown that it is possible to make a quick rise in the standings.  The Cleveland Browns may not be as far away as it may seem right now.

JD

With winter hammering the North Coast, and people chiseling ice of their windshields and driveways, what a better time to think about baseball.

Pitchers and catchers report to Goodyear two weeks from today, February 17th.  Warmer weather has got to be just around the corner.

It has been reported that the Tribe is interested in signing free agent pitcher Jeremy Bonderman to a minor league contract.  Actually, this would be a very good move.

First of all, Bonderman is just 28 years old even though it seems like he’s been around forever.  He came up at the tender age of 20 in 2003 after being acquired by the Tigers in a trade with Oakland.

Last season was his first complete season since 2007 and he threw 171 innings for Detroit, compiling an 8-10 record with a 5.53 ERA. 

He missed most of the 2008 and 2009 seasons with a blood clot in his shoulder, which no doubt is serious, but he didn’t have any muscle tears.

Opposing hitters batted .277 against right-hander (Justin Masterson’s average against was .278), which isn’t a ridiculously high figure, and his strikeout to walk ratio wasn’t bad either (112 K’s to 60 walks).

The negatives would be that his second half was much worse than his first half, but that could be due to fatigue after not pitching much during the previous two years.

Bonderman is not an aging veteran with a track record of failure.  This means he is not the usual guy the Tribe front office takes a flyer on.  He’s been an inning eater who has pitched over 170 frames five times in his career, and has won 14 games in a season twice (’05 and ’06).

Bonderman is still relatively young and has upside.  It’s not a stretch to think he could go back to being the guy who pitched 180 innings with an ERA of around 4.00.  That’s a middle of the rotation starter. 

Now the Tribe has to use the same type of thinking with their lineup.  Last week, it was reported that the team had some interest in 1B Casey Kotchman, who wound up signing with Tampa Bay.

Kotchman, 28, was being looked at as a possible platoon partner at first base with Matt LaPorta.  Why?  He hit .217 with the Mariners last season, and is a lifetime .259 hitter and has a slugging percentage under .400 (.392) for his career.

He’s a singles hitter who plays a power position.  Why would want to take time away from a young player (La Porta) who you need to see play everyday? 

LaPorta is now 26 years old and it’s time for the organization to find out if he can be a regular.  He is potentially (hate that word!) a power hitting right-handed bat on a team that desperately needs one.

If Kotchman were brought in, Manny Acta would give him at bats against some right-handers, and let’s say he gets a few hits.  So, he starts getting more time in the lineup. 

However, ultimately he will go back to being Casey Kotchman, which is to say, not good enough to be an everyday player. 

The result is lost at bats for LaPorta.  That’s something this organization can’t afford.

It’s what happened with Jayson Nix.  He came in after being picked up on waivers, he a few dingers, and soon some people in the Indians’ front office think he’s a player.

The problem is, he’s still Jayson Nix and the Tribe should be finding out if Cord Phelps, Jason Donald, or Jason Kipnis are better than him.

You can always find someone like Kotchman or Nix if you need to have one in an emergency. 

Pick your spots on bringing in guys to rehabilitate their careers.  Jeremy Bonderman is a good gamble because he’s young and a starting pitcher.  T

Take a pass on mediocre hitters.

KM

You have to feel for the Cleveland Cavaliers.  They have now lost 20 games in a row, and play in Miami against the Heat tonight.

It’s another road game, and the wine and gold have lost 23 in a row away from Quicken Loans Arena.

What’s worse is now that the losing streak has reached this magnitude, they are getting every opponents best game now, as no team wants to be the one who loses to the lowly Cavs.

Since they are playing in Miami, much attention will be paid to the fact LeBron James left the franchise and the aftermath of his departure has left the Cavaliers in shambles.  However, that’s only the half of it.

This team has lost so much more. 

First, it’s starting center and backup center for much of the year are also gone.  And both are starting for two of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, Shaquille O’Neal with the Celtics (though he’s been hurt recently) and Zydrunas Ilgauskas with the Heat. 

Their sixth man, Delonte West is also gone, departing in the trade with Minnesota that brought Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins to the wine and gold.  West was bought out by the Timberwolves and is now with Boston as well. 

Add in the injuries to Anderson Varajao and Mo Williams, and the only members of the starting five that ended last season in the conference semi-finals are veterans Antawn Jamison and Anthony Parker. 

And since the first big guys off the bench were Ilgauskas and Varajao and West was the first guard to come in the game, out of the top eight players for last year’s team, only two have played the majority of the games for this year’s team. 

That’s how you fall from 62 wins a year ago to a 20 game losing streak the next.  It wasn’t just one guy leaving, it was most of the main contributors to that team. 

So, are there any bright spots to this year’s Cavalier team?

One player who has emerged is guard Daniel Gibson, who is the team’s second leading scorer at 13.6 per game and is hitting 45% of his three-point attempts.  Unfortunately, Gibson’s biggest issue is staying on the floor, which may lead to GM Chris Grant exploring the trade market for the five-year veteran at the deadline.

Gibson has only played more than 60 games once in his first four seasons, most due to a variety of leg injuries, mostly having to do with his ankles, but he’s also had a problem with a thigh injury lately. 

When an injury happens once, it’s not concerning, but when it occurs on a yearly basis, it calls into question the reliability of the player for the long haul.  The better players in the NBA are available to their teams regularly.  Coaches can’t count on guys who have a history of bumps, bruises, and sprains which keep them out of the lineup.

Some possibly nice role players have emerged with the playing time they have received with all the injuries and departures. 

Undrafted rookie Manny Harris looks like he belongs in the league, and so does big man Samardo Samuels.  Neither one will ever be a star in the NBA, but they could be guys who could play on a winning team. 

Cleveland will try to move the other veterans on the roster besides Jamison and Williams.  Parker is said to be coveted by several contenders.  They will try to deal Jamario Moon for a second round pick, although with his performance thus far this season, that might be a struggle.

That leaves J.J. Hickson and Sessions as useful pieces for the future.  What role they will play is probably up to them.  At times, Hickson looks like a starter, but other times, not so much.

Sessions would make for a good back up.

In tonight’s game, someone will probably say that it is a measure of James’ talent that the Cavs have fallen so far without him. 

While he is one of the best players in the NBA, this Cavalier team is a shell of last year’s squad.  They’ve lost more than just LBJ.

JK

Just when baseball fans started looking forward to spring training, which is less than a month away, Cleveland Indians’ fans had another wet blanket thrown on any optimism they may have had.

It was reported that the Washington Nationals have inquired about dealing for CF Grady Sizemore and P Fausto Carmona of the Indians.

Now, it is true that the Tribe front office can’t do anything about rumors, and the report didn’t say if GM Chris Antonetti hung up on Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo.  People who cover the Indians say there is absolutely no truth to these reports, and thank goodness for that.

Coming off back-to-back 90 loss seasons, it would be a slap in the face to any remaining fans the ballclub has to trade it’s best starting pitcher, and a guy, who although hampered by injuries the last two years, is one of the lone power threats on a team without a lot of pop.

There should be no more trades for prospects.  If a trade is going to be made, it should yield somebody who can help the major league roster today. 

The last two seasons have to be the bottom if there is a future for the current regime.  The general apathy in Cleveland surrounding the Indians will only expand if they end the 2011 season with 70 victories once again.

There is no doubt this is an important campaign for the Dolan family, Mark Shapiro, Antonetti, and the rest of the front office.

Speaking of Sizemore, in his absence last season, the Indians had the least productive offense from its centerfielders (mostly Michael Brantley and Trevor Crowe) than any other team in the major leagues.

Yes, Sizemore is being paid a lot of money this season, and no one can be sure if he will revert to the player he was in 2005-08, when he was arguably the best young player in the game, but if you’ve made your mind up to deal him, wouldn’t you want to see if he can come back?

If the management had any foresight at all, they would approach Sizemore about a contract extension based on incentives.  His value may never be lower, and he might be interested in some guaranteed money.

Instead, they will wait, watch him have a good season, and then not be able to sign him after the 2012 season when he’s eligible for free agency because he will demand too much money.

If the team really believes it is going to contend in 2012, isn’t a healthy Sizemore a necessity?  And if he isn’t healthy, he doesn’t have a lot of trade value anyway.  So, there is no logical reason to deal him at this time.

We have written before that if the Tribe wants to shed some salary, they need to assume some of Travis Hafner’s salary in order to move him, particularly for an experienced starting pitcher.  The reason behind such a move would be Hafner is not performing up to his contract.

Unfortunately, most of the AL teams have signed DH’s for 2011, so it appears that window would be closed.

Trading productive players because of their salary makes the organization look stupid.  Trading players who are at a low in terms of market value is poor business. 

Putting a losing team on the field is also a bad way to promote your product.

The Cleveland Indians need to improve in 2011.  Trading established players for more prospects wouldn’t be prudent for them.

KM

The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to lose.  They’ve now lost 17 games in a row, and 25 out of their last 26 contests.  It’s a wonder Fox Sports Ohio analyst Austin Carr hasn’t started talking to himself during the games.

Still, you had to feel for the team when Daniel Gibson missed a three pointer that could have ended the losing skein against New Jersey.  Gibson’s emotional response showed that ending this is very important to this team.  His teammates didn’t know how to console him.

Coach Byron Scott said he felts like tearing his hair out, if he had some, after a recent practice in which he asked his players to run some offensive sets, and even after three months of training camp and the regular season, the guys couldn’t run the plays.

That should tell you everything you need to know about the players wearing wine and gold right now.

They seem to have a very low basketball IQ.

If you think back to the past few seasons, the signs of this were evident, but were covered up by the presence of LeBron James.  When James wasn’t out on the floor, the team was disjointed at times, and frequently took silly, ill-advised shots, and unforced turnovers were on the menu as well.

Scott’s Princeton offense requires the guys to be basketball players.  If you are being overplayed, you make a backdoor cut.  You screen for other players.  You hit the open man.  You make the basic pass.  You basically play your offense based on how the defense is playing.

It’s not the pick and roll offense played by most teams in the NBA, nor is it a beat your man off the dribble, penetrate, and kick the ball out to your teammates for open looks. 

The current players are so ingrained with the way things were for the past seven years, they have forgotten to play the game.  Either that, or they’ve decided they have no faith in Byron Scott.  The first option is probably the current one.

The number of rookies and free agents he has had to give playing time to in the last two months exacerbates Scott’s problem in teaching a new way of playing offense.  All of a sudden, Christian Eyenga, Alonzo Gee, Samardo Samuels, and Manny Harris are getting a lot of minutes.  It wasn’t supposed to be that way.

However, this is a problem with the players of today.  They aren’t schooled in fundamentals, and it is difficult for many of them to execute a play properly. 

It doesn’t help that he doesn’t have a point guard who is a leader.  Scott had that in New Jersey with Jason Kidd, and in New Orleans with Chris Paul.  At this point, the wine and gold’s leader is Antawn Jamison, but he doesn’t have the ball in his hands a majority of the time.

The coach is used to having a guy who is an extension of him out on the court, and he doesn’t have that in Cleveland.  That’s why the most important thing for the future of this franchise is getting a true point guard, and an elite one, whether it is in the draft or in a trade.

There aren’t enough players on this current roster who understand the game of basketball at the NBA level.  That’s why you can see a difference in play now that guys like Joey Graham and Gibson are back.  They aren’t all-star players, but they know the game. 

Scott is in teacher mode right now, but he needs patience to get this team turned around.

JK

Cleveland Browns fans are a curious lot.  Most fans were unhappy with former Eric Mangini, but it seems they were only dissatisfied with him if former Oakland and Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden replaced him. 

When team president Mike Holmgren hired Pat Shurmur, they became unhappy again.  Shurmur wasn’t an offensive coordinator on an elite offensive team, he was only a coordinator for two years, no one heard of him prior to the Browns’ coaching search. 

It seems like the fan base is against Shurmur before he’s been in charge for one mini-camp.  That’s not fair to him.

First, the guy he replaced didn’t exactly bring playoff contention to Cleveland.  He was 1-11 in his first season, and lost the last four games of his second year.  The best thing you could say about the Browns under Mangini is that they were inconsistent. 

Now the fans are in an uproar over the hiring of the offensive and defensive coordinators, and if Shurmur, GM Tom Heckert and Holmgren don’t hire the guy the fans want, well once again, the supporters of the team will be angry.

They did hire Dick Jauron, an experienced defensive coach, who also was the head coach of the Bears and Bills.  The team needed to hire someone who knew his way around the NFL in this capacity because Shurmur has already hinted that he will spend much of his time on the offensive side of things.

Jauron was the first defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars under Tom Coughlin from 1995-98.  That team went 4-12 in their expansion year to a pair of 11-5 finishes in Jauron’s last two years there.  The highest defensive rank achieved in his tenure was 15th in yards allowed in 1996.

After five years as the Bears’ head coach, which included four seasons under .500 and a 13-3 division winning season in 2001, he was the Lions defensive coordinator for two years before taking over in Buffalo.  Again, his defensive ranks were not very impressive. 

In three full seasons as the Bills’ coach, he went 7-9 every year before being let go during the 2009 campaign. 

However, people seem to be excited because he’s been around the NFL a long time.

Look, Jauron might work out well here in Cleveland, this is not to suggest he’s a terrible defensive coach.  However, you need players.  Heckert will need to bring in a great deal of defensive talent here because outside of NT Ahtyba Rubin, CB Joe Haden, and S T.J. Ward, there is a lot of age on that side of the ball.

LB Scott Fujita is a keeper, and LB Marcus Benard and Matt Roth should be able to fit in with Jauron’s schemes.  What this says is most of the front seven have to be overhauled from a talent standpoint.  That’s what fans should be concentrating on instead of worrying who will be the offensive coordinator and does Dick Jauron represent an upgrade from Rob Ryan.

As for the offensive side of the ball, Shurmur said he is going to call the plays, so it isn’t a critical as the guy in charge of the defense.  The Browns need to find someone who shares the new west coast offensive philosophy of the organization, rather than finding the next offensive genius. 

Browns fans need to relax and be patient.  It’s difficult since they haven’t won a title since 1964, and haven’t made the playoffs since 2002, but they need to let Pat Shurmur coach a game before being critical. 

They need to stop thinking every move made by a sports team in this city is the wrong one.

JD

A local sports talk show host today said he is optimistic about the Cleveland Indians.  WKNR’s Tony Rizzo said the Tribe had some pieces in place, and were in better shape than most people think.

This is brought up because despite what is written in this space, that is true.  The Indians do have some good players, however, the hole in Rizzo’s statement is the management of the team refuses to do anything to supplement the talent.

There are many positives things that can be said about the 2011 Cleveland Indians.

RF Shin-Soo Choo may just be the most underrated player in major league baseball.  He will be 29 years old this summer, and has been remarkably consistent, hitting .300 each of the last two years.  He’s also belted 20 and 22 HR’s the last two years, and has put up OPS of 883 and 885 in ’09 and ’10.

SS Asdrubal Cabrera has been a big league regular for three and a half years and is just 25 years old.  He’s a lifetime .284 hitter and had 52 extra base hits in 2009.

C Carlos Santana will not turn 25 until a week after Opening Day, and although he missed the last two months of last year with a knee injury, he showed the potential people have talked about for the last two years, especially from a hitting standpoint.

And Michael Brantley showed promise in the second half as well, hitting .284 after the All Star break, although he needs to add a little more pop.  He won’t be 24 until May.

From the pitching side, Fausto Carmona’s ERA last season was 3.77 as he showed signs he can be an effective major league pitcher after two horrible years.  He’s just 27 years old. 

Carlos Carrasco pitched well in his September call up, and should have earned a spot in the 2011 rotation at the age of 24. 

Add in the return of Grady Sizemore, another year of health for Travis Hafner, and some farm system products very close to the big leagues, and it isn’t a stretch to say the Indians could be competitive in 2011. 

However, they need some help from management. 

With all of these young players, why couldn’t the front office pony up some cash for an experienced player.  Not one who has seen better days, but someone who could contribute to a winning ballclub.

It didn’t have to come in free agency, you could have made a trade.  Two young starting pitchers were traded this off-season for nothing more than prospects. 

Would you feel better about the Tribe’s chance if a Zack Greinke or Matt Garza was in their starting rotation?  Both of those guys are under 30 years old and would have been in the Indians’ control for at least two years. 

Instead, the front office is banking on the minor leaguers.

This is not to say the team should ignore the farm system.  For a mid-market team, it is a necessity to keep developing young talent. 

However, if you can trade unproven young players for proven young players, you should make that move.  Sometimes, the minor leaguer never does a thing in the big leagues.

Of course, the Cleveland Indians spend most of their time talking about “the process”, and the inequities of the finances in major league baseball.  That’s their fallback position on everything.

They would rather feel sorry for themselves than put themselves in position to win. 

That’s why the fans have checked out on the current regime.

KM

After a disastrous west coast trip, which featured a 55 point loss to the defending world champion Lakers as well as more injuries cropping up, the Cleveland Cavaliers return home tomorrow night to take on the Phoenix Suns.

The wine and gold have lost 13 in a row, and 23 of their last 24 games, and really there is no hope on the horizon.

Their best player, Anderson Varajao, is out for the season with a torn tendon in his foot.  Their starting point guard, Mo Williams, has been in and out of the lineup with a hip problem. 

Thus, coach Byron Scott is forced to give a lot of minutes to guys who were recently signed (Alonzo Gee), are undrafted rookies (Manny Harris and Samardo Samuels), and played much of the season in the D-League (Christian Eyenga). 

That’s a recipe for a dismal season.

Now all Cavs’ fans can hope for is seeing how the team stands in the draft lottery and what kinds of trades will be made before or at the NBA trading deadline. 

Unfortunately, the players GM Chris Grant would like to deal are aging, have bad contracts, or just aren’t very good. 

Antawn Jamison fits two of those categories.  He definitely a guy who could help a team making a championship run.  Heck, that’s why the Cavaliers traded for him last season. 

The veteran is averaging 16 points and 6 rebounds per game.  However, he’s 34 years old and will turn 35 in June.  He also has a large contract which still has another year to go after this season.  And his numbers are down this season from his career norm, and at his age, it is doubtful he will get better next season.

Grant would love to trade him for young player with some upside, but who is going to make that sort of deal?

Williams presents a similar situation for the front office.  The best way to market him is as a Jason Terry type player, a guy who can come off the bench and provide instant offense and can handle the ball as well.

However, the 28-year-old is a lifetime 44% shooter, but this year is hitting just 39% of his shots.  Even worse, for his career he has made 39% of his three-point attempts, and is making just 27% of his tries this season.

Yes, the hip injury is probably a factor, but Williams’ shot has appeared flat since his injured his elbow last season.  And a flat shot is an inconsistent shot.

Varajao would be the most desirable player in the eyes of other teams, but he can’t be traded since he is out for the season.  Contending teams would have craved his hustle, rebounding, and defensive ability.

Daniel Gibson might interest some teams, but he’s another player who needs to stay healthy.  He’s had problems with this in the past, and has missed much of the last month.

It has been rumored that the Bulls are interested in the sharpshooter. 

Grant would love to make a move for either Jamison and/or Williams, but it won’t be easy to move them.  That’s not to say it’s impossible, but don’t count on the Cavs getting a potential superstar in return.

Seriously though, can Grant wait until the end of next month when the deadline comes?  Watching losses pile up is no fun for the fans and the owner. 

No one wants a team to make moves for the sake of making moves, however, right now this team is losing in blow out fashion on a nightly basis.

Chris Grant needs to make this team competitive, and the sooner, the better.

JK