The NFL Draft will be held a week from Saturday, and the Cleveland Browns are all over the news.  There are many reports that WR Braylon Edwards will be traded either prior to or on draft day.  The Browns reportedly will get a couple of draft picks and a veteran wide out in return.  If I am trading Edwards to the New York Giants, who are the principal partners, I would want a first round pick because the Giants’ second round pick is virtually a third rounder. 

 

If the deal is made, the speculation is that the Browns would then take Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree with the fifth overall pick.  I would disagree with that.  I would still go defense, and then use my next pick on one of the plethora of talented wide receivers available in this year’s selection meeting. 

 

There have also been rumors about Brady Quinn being dealt to San Francisco for, you guessed it, more draft picks.  Although I would prefer to deal Derek Anderson if I was dealing a quarterback, it would not be surprising if GM George Kokinis added as many as five more picks before or during the draft.  The new regime is committed to building this way, so the more selections they get, the quicker the process will be.  At least, that’s the plan.

 

Also, the more picks, the more margin for error.  If you only have five picks, you really have to hit on all of them.  If you have ten picks, and you miss on four players, you still got six players who will contribute to the roster.

 

What also strikes me as funny is the observations the new brass have on last year’s draft picks, particularly OLB Alex Hall and NT Ahtyba Rubin.  The Plain Dealer’s Terry Pluto reported that the coaching staff think they can contribute this season. 

 

This just confirms my suspicions regarding the relationship between former GM Phil Savage and former coach Romeo Crennel.  My contention was that Savage thought he brought in some talented players, but the coaching staff didn’t use them.  That Eric Mangini thinks both can play just may show that Savage was correct.  I wonder what they think of WR Paul Hubbard?  To me, this was Crennel’s greatest weakness as a head coach.

 

By the end of next weekend, the Cleveland Browns could have a completely different look as a football team, with several new players at key positions.  This year’s draft is a huge day is how much time a return to the playoffs may take.

 

JD

 

 

 

The Cleveland Indians are baseball’s most disappointing team through the first eight or nine games of the season.  No one envisioned the starting pitching being this bad, and the offense has been feast or famine.  Obviously, no team is as bad as it looks during a losing streak, but if the starters don’t start getting to the seventh inning, the big free agent buy of the off-season, Kerry Wood, is an expensive luxury.

 

You don’t need a dominant closer if you’re trailing 5-0 in the third inning of every game.

 

However, today’s blog is about the frustrating offense.  The Indians have some good hitters, but once again the strikeouts are ridiculous.  On Sunday, the Blue Jays’ David Purcey, DAVID PURCEY!!!, struck out 10 Cleveland hitters in 4-2/3 innings.  This is not Nolan Ryan or Bob Feller we are talking about.  It’s David Purcey. 

 

Right now, the Tribe leads the league in whiffing at almost 10 per contest.  This has been a weakness for this team before, but if anything, the problem has gotten worse.  In Saturday’s game and Monday night’s contest, the Indians had situations where they had runners on second and third with no one out, a situation where you can and have to score two runs, because it can be done without getting another hit.

 

The Tribe scored no runs in both cases. 

 

Saturday, both Ryan Garko and Kelly Shoppach struck out.  Monday, Victor Martinez fanned and Travis Hafner bounced back to the mound.  You can’t be a good situational hitting team if you don’t hit the baseball.

 

Grady Sizemore leads the whiffers with 12 strikeouts in eight games.  I will say it again, Sizemore is too good of a hitter to be striking out this much.  And after reading the comments in Bill James’ Gold Rush, he does try to pull the outside pitch too often.  Why isn’t the hitting coach working with him on this weakness?  Sizemore is already an all star player, but he could be an elite player if he made more contact and took the ball to leftfield when he is pitched away.

 

Mark DeRosa and Travis Hafner are next on the strikeout parade.  When your 1, 2, and 4 hitters are fanning this much, it is a huge problem for the offense because a pitcher can get out of jams without having a ball put into play. 

 

This is why the Tribe attack is inconsistent.  When they are hitting the ball, they can score with anyone, but when they are not making contact, David Purcey can strike out 10 in less than five frames.

 

The pitching in general is a mess, and Rafael Perez’ struggles (18.00 ERA, no strikouts and six walks in five innings) have to be a concern.  However, the strikeouts have been an issue for several years.  No one has made it a priority to make contact in crucial situations.

 

MW

 

 

 

If the Cleveland Cavaliers win one of their two remaining games, they will finish the regular season with the best record in the NBA, and therefore will get home court advantage in any series they play in throughout the playoffs.  This is yet another first for the franchise in a season of firsts and records.

 

They achieved their first 60-win season.  They won their first Central Division title since 1975-76.  They have new career leaders in rebounding and blocked shots in Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  They also broke the club records for wins, wins at home, and wins on the road. 

 

However, a new season will start this weekend.  And this one counts more than anything this franchise has accomplished since joining the NBA in 1970.  The Cleveland Cavaliers have a legitimate chance to win an NBA title.

 

Back in November, Basketball Prospectus.com published an article by Anthony Macri asking if the Cavs could win the NBA title.  The article started with the premise that a one star team would have difficulty winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy.  It stated that the 2007 Cavs and the 2001 Sixers, led by Allen Iverson, were the only one star teams to even get to The Finals.

 

However, it did say the last three champions ranked very high in the league in point differential, had at least eight players who averaged over six points per game, and four of those guys averaged in double figures.  So, with just two games remaining on the slate, how do the Cleveland Cavaliers measure up against the last three champs?

 

First, the wine and gold does lead the NBA in point differential at +9.1 points per game, leading the Lakers and Celtics, who both have a +7.6 difference.  Orlando is fourth at +6.8 per game.  They have this in common with both the ’08 Celtics and ’07 Spurs.  The 2006 Miami Heat finished fifth in the league in this department. 

 

Last year’s Boston team had ten players averaging over six points per game.  The Spurs had seven players in this category, while Miami had eight.  The current Cavs have eight players with above a 6.0 scoring average (James, Williams, Ilgauskas, West, Varajao, Gibson, Szczerbiak, and Smith).  Boston also has eight, while Orlando and Los Angeles have seven, although the Magics’ Jameer Nelson is included in this list and he is out for the postseason.

 

All three of past champions had four players averaging in double figures, the same as the Cavaliers, who of course are led by James’ 28.3 ppg.  Mo Williams is at 17.8, Ilgauskas is scoring 12.8 per night, and Delonte West is at 11.7 per contest.  The Celtics also have four, while the Lakers and Magic have five players scoring more than 10.0.

 

So, the Cavs have the look of a team that can win the NBA title.  However, so do Boston, Orlando, and Los Angeles.  The next two months will provide plenty of thrills and exciting basketball.  It won’t be an easy road for the wine and gold, but it is a road they can get to the end of.

 

JK

 

The baseball season is only three games old, so there is no need for concern that the Cleveland Indians started 0-3.  The starting pitching hasn’t been good, and the hitting has not come through in the clutch.  However, it is disturbing that neither starter was able to get past the fifth inning when the rotation was the biggest question mark on the team.  It doesn’t give anyone a warm and fuzzy feeling.

 

The best news about the Texas series is that it was the only visit this year for the Indians into the hitters’ paradise that the Rangers play in.

 

However, the three game sweep got me thinking…What happens if the Tribe gets off to let’s say a 20-30 start?  Will GM Mark Shapiro decide to end Eric Wedge’s tenure as the Indians’ skipper? 

 

Wedge does not irritate me as much as he does other people, particularly with his "Wedge-speak" style of describing the game.  However, the results are what they are.  In seven years, the Indians have made one post-season appearance (2007) and they have missed the playoffs by one game once (2005).  Wedge has won more games than he has lost, but they have really only been a playoff contender after the All Star break one other year (2004) since he was named manager.

 

One of Wedge’s weaknesses has been the month of April.  His teams get off to slow starts virtually every year.  They have recovered to record respectable finishes by putting together torrid second halves of the schedule, including last year when they won 40 of their last 68 games.  They finished strong in each of the last four seasons.

 

Starting 0-3 doesn’t mean another slow start this year, last year the Tribe started 2-0 and still were below .500 for the month.  They went 0-3 in 1996 and still finished the season with 99 wins.  No one is comparing this edition of the Indians to the ’96 team, though.

 

We have already speculated that the reason for the slow starts is the incorrect make up of the roster coming into the season.  It seems like the manager treats the first month of the season as some sort of expanded spring training, trying to determine how he will use people instead of formulating that before the bell rings on Opening Day. 

 

The other thing that bothers me about Wedge’s approach to this year’s team is his love of versatility.  You need that from your bench, but not from the starters.  We don’t need to see different outfield alignments on an everyday basis, especially one with Ryan Garko roaming the green.  Former manager Mike Hargrove used to remind people that starters are starters for a reason.  Wedge needs to use his bench, but should also determine starters who will be in the lineup day in and day out.

 

Shapiro and Wedge seem to be joined at the hip, and the manager and GM should be on the same page.  However, the GM also has to see that something isn’t working and fix the problem.  Slow starts have killed this team in the past, whether it be the bullpen (’06), lack of hitting (’08), or injuries.  The common thread is the manager.  If the season starts to go south, can Shapiro afford to be extra patient in 2009.

 

KM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cavaliers’ fans were panicked after Friday night’s blowout loss at the hands of the Orlando Magic.  Yes, there should be some concern because the wine and gold is now 2-6 versus the Lakers, Celtics, and Magic.  It would be better if the Cavs record was better against those teams, but quite frankly, Orlando was shooting the lights out on Friday, and it really didn’t matter what Cleveland did that night.

 

However, the team rebounded from that huge loss by beating up one of the NBA’s better teams, the San Antonio Spurs, by 20 points at the friendly confines of Quicken Loans Arena. 

 

The Cavs are now 62-15 on the season with just five games remaining in the regular season, three of those at home.  Several thoughts hit me during the crushing of San Antonio, who of course, beat the Cavs in the NBA Finals two years ago. 

 

First, watching LeBron James take control early with 18 points, and then playing a superb all around game, it struck me that if The King is on the top of his game, the Cavaliers are really unbeatable.  I realize this sounds rather simplistic, but if you think about it, when the wine and gold have lost this year, #23 had one part of his game not at the highest level.

 

Now understand that the opposing team’s defense plays a factor in James not playing up to his usual standard, but there are nights with a player of LBJ’s caliber, that the defense has no answer for the player.  It was like that with Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Kobe Bryant.  If LeBron has it going, the wine and gold are going to win.

 

The other pleasant sight was the return of Delonte West’s shot.  West had been struggling with both his shot and confidence since returning from his broken wrist, but the last few games prior to Sunday; he started going to the basket.  Against the Spurs, his outside game returned.  He was hitting stationary jumpers, and hitting shots off the dribble.  Having West back involved in the offense will be a huge boost to the attack.

 

Tonight, Ben Wallace will return from his broken leg, which means the team will be whole for the first team in months.  The time missed by Big Ben could be a blessing in disguise, as it could mean a fresher Wallace when the playoffs start.  That would be a tremendous boost for the interior defense.

 

Also, count me among those who would like to see Tarence Kinsey get a shot at more playing time, replacing Sasha Pavlovic and Daniel Gibson.  Right now, the latter duo isn’t really contributing much.  In fact, the bench scored just seven points against the Spurs, all by Joe Smith.  Kinsey is a good defender, which is important to Mike Brown.  Why not see if he can hit some shots in place of the inconsistent Pavlovic and Gibson.

 

Five games to go before the quest for a title starts…

 

JK

 

Since last night’s game opened the National League season, and today the Indians and many other teams start playing baseball games for real, we decided to take a stab at predicting the finish for all the major league teams in 2009.  Please don’t wager any real money based on these picks…

 

AL Central

1.       Minnesota

2.       Chicago

3.       CLEVELAND

4.       Detroit

5.       Kansas City

 

The Twins look to have the best starting pitching in the division, including a healthy Francisco Liriano.  We detailed the Tribe in a blog last week.  They are not helped by a brutal early schedule featuring a ton of games against the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays.  We aren’t sold on the whole Royals are this year’s Tampa.

 

AL East

1.       Boston

2.       Toronto

3.       New York

4.       Tampa Bay

5.       Baltimore

 

The Red Sox will get more bang for their considerably less free agent spending than the Yankees.  Even if C.C. Sabathia wins 17 games, that’s three less than Mike Mussina.  The Blue Jays have the pitching, and Vernon Wells will bounce back.  The Rays will experience a success hangover.

 

AL West

1.       Oakland

2.       Los Angeles

3.       Seattle

4.       Texas

 

The A’s have been some shrewd trades (Matt Holliday) and free agent pick ups (Orlando Cabrera) to improve the team.  The Angels were too lucky in one run games last year.  Seattle improved their defense, which will help the pitchers, and Texas is trying to rebuild with some young pitchers and a rookie SS.

 

NL East

1.       Philadelphia

2.       New York

3.       Atlanta

4.       Florida

5.       Washington

 

The Mets improved the bullpen, but K-Rod is fading and J.J. Putz might be a better acquisition.  The Phils can hit, which Charlie Manuel likes, and the pitching is good enough to repeat.  If the Braves starters hold up, they will contend, and Florida will be in the mix with some excellent young players.  The Nationals are not good.

 

NL Central

1.       Chicago

2.       St. Louis

3.       Milwaukee

4.       Cincinnati

5.       Houston

6.       Pittsburgh

 

The Cubs are talented and have the starting pitching needed to win.  It will be interesting to see how Lou Piniella and Milton Bradley co-exist.  The Cardinals have the best player in the NL, and if Cris Carpenter comes back, have good pitching as well.  Milwaukee lost Sabathia and Sheets, but they can score runs.  The Reds have good young players (Bruce, Votto, Volquez) and will be better.  Houston is aging, and the Pirates are starting another rebuilding process.

 

NL West

1.       Los Angeles

2.       Arizona

3.       Colorado

4.       San Diego

5.       San Francisco

 

Manny will be Manny, and the Dodgers will win the West.  Arizona has good starters, but their young players still need to mature.  The Rockies pitching is better than you would think.  The Padres get the nod for 4^th because they are younger than the Giants, who will have trouble scoring runs.

 

MW/KM

 

The Cleveland Browns have given every indication that they are about rebuilding, and doing it the correct way, through the draft.  In the pursuit of more draft choices, it appears the team was involved in rumors regarding Denver’s trade of Jay Cutler with the Browns presumably giving up Brady Quinn to Denver in exchange for these picks.

 

I’m very confused by this.

 

First off, if the Browns are going to give up Quinn in a deal, they should have been trying to get Cutler, a Pro Bowl quarterback last season, in return.  That’s the only way I would give up the former Notre Dame signal caller in return.

 

Can Eric Mangini and George Kokinis really watch films of Derek Anderson’s performance last season and deal off Quinn for draft picks, thus handing the starting quarterback job to Anderson?  DA was frighteningly inconsistent in 2008, and maybe he is better than Quinn, however, he should have to prove it in actual games before trading Brady Quinn.

 

It’s not worth picking up extra draft picks for Quinn, while leaving Derek Anderson as the starter.  As much as I agree with building through the draft, Anderson needs to prove he can play up to his level of 2007 before you leave the cupboard bare behind him.

 

As good as Anderson was in the 10-6 season of ’07, he was equally awful last year.  He arguably should have been benched as early as the third game of the season against Cincinnati, and he saved his job again with a spectacular performance against the Giants on Monday night.  Remember too, that he really didn’t play well down the stretch the prior season either. 

 

If the Browns weren’t going to get Cutler in a deal, and I think they were only involved as a conduit to get Denver a replacement for Cutler, then Quinn shouldn’t have been the bait.

 

I understand that the reason the front office and coaching staff is being non-committal on the starting quarterback is to enhance the trade value of each.  However, even though Quinn hasn’t seen that much playing time, it’s hard to imagine what Mangini sees in Derek Anderson to be willing to deal Brady Quinn.  Anderson was one of the worst passers in the league during the first half of last season.

 

If the management doesn’t like either QB currently on the roster, then they blew it by not dealing for Cutler.  However, based on what the Bears gave up to get him, the price was too rich for the Browns’ blood.  But, it does concern me that the Mangini doesn’t seem to want to take a look at Brady Quinn.  His performance at Notre Dame and in two of his three starts last year merit a longer look.

 

JD

 

Opening Day is less than one week away.  Monday night, the Cliff Lee will toe the rubber against the Rangers in Arlington as the 2009 season gets underway.  How will the Indians do this season?  Will Travis Hafner come back?  How will the bullpen perform?  Will the starting rotation turn into “Carmona and Lee then get down on your knee”?

 

I would love to say the Cleveland Indians will win the 2009 American League Central Division, but I can’t.  My gut tells me we are looking at a third place finish this year, behind the Twins and White Sox, and the biggest reason for that is the starting pitching. 

 

This has nothing to do with Cliff Lee’s struggles in Arizona, either.  Lee’s a proven veteran, and he looks at spring training as a way to try out different things against hitters, and as a way to get his arm ready to make 35 starts throughout the next six months.  Fausto Carmona looks good too.  He seems to have recovered the control he lost in 2008, and is throwing strikes.  AL hitters can attest that if Carmona gets ahead of you, he’s very difficult to hit.

 

I haven’t seen enough of the rest of the starters to foresee a first place finish.  Carl Pavano has looked good in his last two spring starts, but you have to remember that they came against the Padres.  Anthony Reyes has pitched well all spring, but his elbow is definitely a question mark.  Neither right-hander has healthy for a full major league season since 2004.  It’s a giant leap of faith to expect it in 2009. 

 

As for the fifth starter, it will be done as a committee approach as the roster will extend to Class AAA Columbus.  Scott Lewis will not have a long leash, especially after yesterday’s game, as Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, and David Huff are waiting in the wings.  It would not be surprising to see Huff with more starts than the others come the end of the season. 

 

The bullpen will be fine with Kerry Wood as the anchor, and Jensen Lewis, Rafael Perez, and Rafael Betancourt setting him up.  Joe Smith is a good pick up as a situational right-hander.  And another lefty, Tony Sipp, will start the year in Columbus, but could make an impact before the season is done.

 

This team will score runs, with or without a healthy Travis Hafner.  Victor Martinez’ return will give the lineup another professional hitter with power, and count me among those who believe Shin-Soo Choo will have a big year at the dish.  Mark DeRosa looks to be a good fit hitting second behind Grady Sizemore, as he is a patient hitter with some pop.  Also, having an in shape Asdrubal Cabrera will give the bottom of the order a quality hitter.

 

This is not to say the Cleveland Indians cannot win the division, but there are too many question marks in the starting rotation for me to feel confident that they can win.  I think the Indians are a good team, and they will win between 85-90 games.  However, with the rotation in a state of flux, they will probably be on the lower end of that range.  That won’t be enough to get to the playoffs. 

 

If Mark Shapiro can deal some of his excess at the 1B/OF/DH spots and turn them into a reliable starting pitcher, the Indians can win.  However, I don’t have the confidence that this will happen.  Therefore, I have to think third place for the ’09 Cleveland Indians.

 

MW

 

The milestones keep piling up for this year’s edition of the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Yesterday’s blowout of the Dallas Mavericks marked the team’s first 60-victory season, and it also was a team record 12^th straight triumph.  The public relations people who chronicle the Cavaliers’ record book have had a busy season with rewrites for next year’s media guide.

 

Despite being down 15 points early in the second quarter (35-20), the wine and gold punished the Mavericks the rest of the way, outscoring them by an amazing 82-39 for the rest of the contest.  And it wasn’t LeBron James who started the comeback.  Veteran Joe Smith, signed as a free agent after buying his way out of his contract with Oklahoma City following Ben Wallace’s broken leg, scored 10 points in the first half to get things going, and wound up with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

 

Even better news was that the Lakers lost to Atlanta, so the Cavs now have a two game lead over Los Angeles for the league’s best record, and more importantly, home court advantage throughout the playoffs. 

 

While the Cavaliers are piling up wins, and will likely finish the regular season with more than 65 wins, putting them among the elite regular season teams of all time.  To rank among the all time greats, however, the wine and gold must win the title, which is exactly the mantra of the squad’s veteran leaders:  LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. 

 

Those two know that no matter how many regular season wins the Cavs achieve, it doesn’t mean anything unless they hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy after the last game of the season.  And that’s the proper attitude for this team to have.

 

The only things to be concerned about with the wine and gold right now are Ben Wallace’s return and how that will affect the playing rotation, and getting Delonte West’s shot back up to snuff.  My guess is that Mike Brown will return Big Ben to the starting lineup when he returns, but Anderson Varajao will continue to get the bulk of the minutes.

 

As for West, he just has to keep shooting.  I noticed he was getting hesitant with his shot last week, but it looked yesterday like he was looking to put it up when he was open.  I would only be concerned if he starts passing up open looks.  Perhaps taking the ball to the hoop a little more would get him going. 

 

JK

 

The regular season is a little over a week away, and the Indians are starting to finalize their final roster.  They named lefty Scott Lewis as the fifth starter, yesterday’s performance not withstanding, even though he will start the Tribe’s home opener, which is the team’s fourth game.

 

Lewis earned the job by out-pitching both Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers, both of whom were sent to Class AAA Columbus.  He starts the fourth game ahead of Anthony Reyes because the staff wants to give Reyes’ tender elbow some extra rest, but also to break up the two southpaws in the rotation.  They don’t want Lewis and Cliff Lee starting consecutive games.

 

Think of the starting rotation as being eight or nine deep.  With the depth in the minor leagues, it won’t take long if Lewis is not effective to bring up Sowers, Laffey, or even David Huff, who pitched well in a minor league game on Wednesday (four scoreless innings).  Others have said this, but I agree, it won’t be a shock to see any one of those lefties back here before the end of April.

 

It also appears that Zach Jackson will break camp with the big club in the bullpen as a long reliever.  Jackson takes the spot that was reserved for Adam Miller, before he came down with the finger injury.  The only other bullpen question is whether or not Masa Kobayashi will make the team.  He has been terrible all spring, and that’s being nice. 

 

Supposedly, the Tribe is still looking to strengthen the relief corps, probably because of the ineffectiveness of Kobayashi and Rafael Betancourt.  Yesterday, they picked up Jae Kuk Ryu on waivers from San Diego.  I still maintain that Betancourt will be fine, and that last year was an aberration, but it still is cause for concern.  Veteran Vinnie Chulk would probably be the first option to make the club if Kobayashi is let go, although he did throw his best game of the spring Thursday against the Angels.

 

Among the everyday players, the last spot on the roster is still up for grabs with the primary candidates being David Dellucci, Josh Barfield, and rookie Trevor Crowe.  Crowe has been impressive in Goodyear, but he would be better off playing everyday at Columbus than getting limited at bats in Cleveland.  Barfield has shown great versatility, but hasn’t hit.  Dellucci provides a left-handed bat, but really is limited to LF and doesn’t provide any speed. 

 

The shaky choice here would be Barfield because of his speed and his ability to play 2B, 3B, and the outfield.

 

Of course, another spot could open up on the roster if Travis Hafner starts the year on the disabled list.  The management hasn’t mentioned this, but Pronk is hitting less than .200 on the spring and has just two extra base hits.  Dellucci’s spot on the roster could be saved if the front office decides to keep Hafner in Arizona to strengthen his shoulder. 

 

All these decisions will be made in about a week when the team breaks camp and heads to Houston for a couple of exhibitions at Minute Maid Field against the Astros.  Hopefully, the nice weather we’ve had in Cleveland will continue two weeks from today for Opening Day at Progressive Field.

 

KM