It was an eventful day for the Cleveland Cavaliers even before the NBA draft started, as GM Danny Ferry pulled the trigger to bring Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland in exchange for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the 46^th pick in the draft and cash considerations.  In terms of the talent changing hands, it is a no-brainer decision. 

 

As we’ve stated before, Pavlovic has talent, but doesn’t bring it to the floor every night, making him a nightmare to coach.  Wallace is a shell of the player he was when he was winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards.  O’Neal was still third team all NBA last year at age 37, and made the All Star team.  He’s not the Shaq he was earlier in the decade, but he’s still a productive player.

 

I see O’Neal definitely being on the floor when LeBron James is getting his rest at the beginning of the second and fourth quarters, with the Cavs feeding the low post and having the offense run through him.  O’Neal will be a starter, but my guess is Mike Brown will limit his minutes to around 24 to 27 per night, with the big guy getting some games off on back to back nights.  This will keep him fresh for the playoffs.

 

When the two megastars are on the floor together, O’Neal is an underrated passer who will definitely benefit from having a player like James cutting to the basket.  And if James is double teamed, how many players can stop Shaq one on one in the post? 

 

Defensively, O’Neal can put his massive body on a guy like Dwight Howard and make it difficult for the Orlando big man down low.  There shouldn’t be a need to double team in the post for the Cavs now that O’Neal is defending down there.  No, Shaq doesn’t play the pick and roll well, or at all.  But on the defensive end, the Cavs are getting him to guard guys like Howard.

 

The Magic even reacted to the Cavs’ move by trading for Vince Carter, who is far from the player he once was.  Carter is soft and not mentally tough, so I can make a very good case that this makes the Magic not as strong of a team as the one that beat Cleveland in the conference finals, particularly if they lose Hedo Turkoglu to free agency.

 

As for the draft, I can’t explain what the Cavs were doing in picking Christian Eyenga with the 30^th pick, unless another deal is coming.  Eyenga will not play for the wine and gold this season, and it is an odd pick, especially with Sam Young, Patrick Mills, and Derrick Brown still on the board.  Danny Ferry had a chance to upgrade the talent level of the team, and get a bigger wing player (Young or Brown) with the pick and whiffed on it.

 

I do like the second round pick in North Carolina’s Danny Green.  Green is a big guard and you know he learned about playing defense playing for Roy Williams.  He could very well make the team next season, but probably will not contribute much because he won’t get the playing time.

 

All in all, it was a good day for the Cleveland Cavaliers.  However, the front office can’t stop here, and I don’t believe they will.  More moves have to be coming to get wing players with length, because if the Cavs don’t get better in that area, getting Shaquille O’Neal alone won’t bring a title.

 

JK

 

 

With possible changes in the news for the Cleveland Indians, pretty much everyone in the organization is taking heat, from owner Larry Dolan to the coaching staff.  Some criticism is well founded and based on good information; other stuff doesn’t have a lot of basis in fact. 

 

One such criticism is that the Tribe just doesn’t have a lot of talent.  While it is true that the team has had problems securing talent in the draft, they have acquired good players in other ways.  For example, look at the everyday lineup of this year’s team. 

 

If we assume Victor Martinez is the first baseman for these purposes, and we use VORP (Value over replacement players) as the criteria, the Indians actually have some very good players.  Take Martinez, for example.  I don’t think anyone would argue that Martinez is a quality major leaguer; in fact, he will probably make his third all-star appearance next month.  His 942 OPS lead the regulars, and he has a VORP of 28.4.

 

In fact, the Indians have four regulars with a VORP over 10.0.  Besides Martinez, Shin-Soo Choo (21.8), Asdrubal Cabrera (15.4), and Mark DeRosa (12.9) also are in this category.  Travis Hafner (11.8) is as well, but I didn’t include him because of his limited availability because of injury. 

 

As a comparison, the Boston Red Sox have six everyday players who have VORP’s of over 10.0, just one more than the Indians.

 

The lowest ranked players who have seen significant playing time for Cleveland are OF Ben Francisco (-0.5), Kelly Shoppach (-0.9), and Grady Sizemore (0.3).  Sizemore has his elbow injury as a reason for his struggles, and if that has been a problem since spring training, it could explain his poor season.  MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds showed how Sizemore released his hand from the bat when swinging at an outside pitch, probably because of the pain involved in trying to hit that pitch.

 

With Luis Valbuena showing he can play a little bit, second base isn’t a problem spot either especially with Jamey Carroll on hand to back up.  Jhonny Peralta (4.4) is doing an average job at the hot corner. 

 

This means the two weak spots in the lineup are C (Shoppach) and LF (Francisco).  These positions can be easily remedied by putting Martinez back behind the plate more often (he has caught less games than Shoppach), and playing Ryan Garko (2.2) more often at first.  Garko isn’t doing much, but he is a better hitter than Shoppach.

 

With Hafner back at least two games out of three; DeRosa can play LF on an everyday basis, thus putting Francisco on the bench.  The point is, the Tribe puts a pretty good lineup on the field everyday, so saying there isn’t a lot of talent is wrong.

 

What there isn’t is a lot of pitching, which as its rank of 13^th in the American League in ERA shows, is dreadful.

 

The only starting pitcher, and in fact, the only pitcher who has toiled for the Indians this season and is doing a very good job is, of course, Cliff Lee (34.3).  The only other pitchers who have VORP’s of over five are Matt Herges (8.5) and Aaron Laffey (7.5).  The worst hurlers are really no surprises:  Fausto Carmona (-15.0) and Rafael Perez (-9.9). 

 

It makes sense too.  Carmona was the key member of the starting rotation, and he has been a bust so far, undermining the entire rotation.  If not for Carl Pavano, the rotation would really be a mess. 

 

Perez’ struggles have led to the overwhelming problems the team has had in the 8^th inning.  The Tribe figured they had three options for the eighth in Perez, Rafael Betancourt, and Jensen Lewis, who went 13 for 13 in save opportunities last season.  Betancourt has been hurt, and the other two have been complete failures.

 

The point is that Mark Shapiro and the Dolans said this team was going to be built on pitching.  Instead, the pitching has been horrendous, and the alternatives brought up from the minors apparently aren’t there.  It’s this facet of the team that is the chief culprit in the disastrous season the Indians are having.  First, it was the starters, and over the last two months it has been the bullpen. 

 

However, there is talent on this big league roster.  That’s another reason this season could have been salvageable with a move here or there.  Instead, it looks like Shapiro fiddled while his team burned.

 

MW

 

After Saturday’s debacle at Wrigley Field, Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro deflected criticism of manager Eric Wedge by telling the media that the team’s losing is as much as fault as anyone else’s.  While it is true that the formation of the roster, and the problems with the drafts are his problem, the easiest thing to do is change the skipper. 

 

And it’s not just this season that is the issue with Wedge.  Speaking as a fan, we are tired of many things in this regime…

 

We are tired on poor April starts putting the team into a hole right out of the gate.  A poor first month of the season every other year would be bad luck.  Six bad Aprils in seven years points to the lack of preparation for the Indians as they head into the regular season.

 

We are tired of the poor fundamentals, which plague this team every season.  I’m not talking about bunting, which is the key word for fans in discussing how to play the game.  I’m talking about hitting behind runners, moving runners with outs, scoring runs with outs, throwing to the right base, and hitting the cutoff man.  These are all things that have been lacking over the past seven seasons.

 

We are tired of players getting chance after chance after chance despite no track record of success. 

 

We are tired of certain players getting a longer rope than others when it comes to performance. 

 

We are tired of pitchers nibbling at the strike zone and hitters having no clue what is a strike and what is a ball.

 

We are tired of coaches who have no accountability for the performance of the players.

 

It doesn’t stop with the manager, either.

 

We are tired of a scouting department that hasn’t drafted and signed (remember the Tribe drafted Tim Lincecum) an impact major league player in over ten years.

 

We are tired of prospects being moved through the system at a snail’s pace.

 

We are tired of excuses about injuries and bad luck.

 

We are tired of the arrogance of the front office that there is only one way of putting together a winning ballclub, their way, despite evidence to the contrary.

 

We are tired of our summer being ruined. 

 

We are tired of following this baseball team.

 

The last one should scare the Dolan’s most.

 

KM

 

Most fans focus on the pitching and hitting of baseball teams, overlooking a key component of the game, defense.  Certainly, the Cleveland Indians pitching staff has not done the job this season, ranking 13^th (second last) in the American League in ERA.  However, last night, the gloves definitely let the pitching staff down in a number of ways.

 

1^st Inning.  Craig Counsell, who killed the Tribe in the ’97 World Series, batted with one out, and hit one into the gap in left center that Trevor Crowe played into a triple.  The ball could have been a double, but Crowe dove and didn’t come up with the ball and it rolled to the fence. 

 

That mistake cost the team when the next batter, Ryan Braun, hit a bouncer to third.  Jhonny Peralta, out of the world shortest term doghouse (one game) looked at the Counsell, who was heading home, looking back at the Tribe third baseman, apparently getting ready to get in a rundown.  Peralta ignored this, and inexplicably threw to first to get Braun.  He almost certainly would have had the runner at the plate.  Chalk up another heads up play for Peralta.

 

By the way, Eric Wedge said he had to play Peralta because Hafner couldn’t play (even though he will have the next eight days off), and Ben Francisco is struggling.  Has Josh Barfield been sent back to Columbus?

 

7^th Inning.  After Joe Smith, on the roster because he can get right-handed hitters out, gave up a home run to Billy Hall, who is hitting .172 against right-handed pitchers, walked Counsell, he induced Braun to hit a grounder to second base.  SS Luis Valbuena couldn’t get the ball out of his glove on the relay to first, allowing Braun to reach safely. 

 

The next hitter, Prince Fielder, hit a drive to the warning track in left center where Crowe got a glove on it, but didn’t catch it.  The ball was short of the wall, it simply wasn’t caught.  As a result, Braun scored, and so did Fielder when Corey Hart doubled of the wall in left.  Three runs scored in the inning, but if the defense was good, only one would have crossed the plate.

 

11^th Inning.  With one out and runners on first and second, Greg Aquino threw a pitch seemingly right down the middle to Mike Cameron.  One problem.  Kelly Shoppach didn’t catch it.  Whether or not the catcher was crossed up, the passed ball moved the runners to second and third, where the next hitter, J.J. Hardy hit a sacrifice fly to take a lead that Milwaukee would not relinquish. 

 

That’s four of the runs the Brewers scored in a game they won in extra innings by one run.

 

By the way, since the Colorado Rockies fired manager Clint Hurdle, they have won 12 of 13 games.  I’m just saying…

 

MW

 

The last two nights have been maddening losses for the Cleveland Indians, but still thanks to the division they play in, the Tribe is still just 6-1/2 games out of first place.  The bullpen problem has reared its ugly head once again, as Monday they blew a 12-7 lead, and last night Jensen Lewis couldn’t hold the Brewers in check allowing them to extend one run leads twice.

 

It seems the grand plan is to get healthy, which, when you think about it, really isn’t a plan at all.  In the meantime, Eric Wedge and Mark Shapiro have changed some things, but others are getting tough to watch.

 

It’s a little like hoping that winning the lottery will solve your financial problems.

 

The first change Wedge made was benching Jhonny Peralta after his horrible, seemingly disinterested game on Monday.  Peralta struck out three times, and wasn’t close to hitting the ball in either of his last two at bats.  He appeared to be going through the motions.

 

Peralta may be unhappy about moving the 3B, but he needs to get over it.  The skipper should sit him down (which he probably has) and tell him, he’s can’t play the spot anymore, and if he can’t get around that, it’s going to jeopardize his spot in the major leagues.  There is no question the Indians’ defense is better with Asdrubal Cabrera or even Luis Valbuena at SS, instead of Peralta. 

 

There is no doubt he is letting this affect his hitting. 

 

After Monday night, I don’t think the manager could look the other 24 players in the eye if he put Peralta in the starting lineup in the following game.  I still think a trade would be the best remedy here, because the player has not improved since his breakout season in 2005, and I don’t think he is mentally tough enough to play on a winner.

 

More changes are needed, however.  The Indians will tell you they don’t have any alternatives in the bullpen, but can anyone explain how Jensen Lewis has remained on the roster for the entire season?  Lewis has allowed eight home runs in 34 innings, and although he throws strikes, he doesn’t throw quality strikes.  Wedge is hiding him in long relief, but he had an opportunity to keep the team in the game last night, but couldn’t do it.

 

The Tribe needs an alternative to Ben Francisco in the outfield.  Francisco is a fourth outfielder, but playing him every day has exposed his weakness, which is he is an out maker.  He doesn’t walk much, and he doesn’t do a good job at situational hitting. 

 

They also need a starter who can give them more than five innings, which it seems is all Jeremy Sowers can give them.  How many times have we seen Sowers sail through the first three innings, only to see him struggle in the fourth and fifth frames?  By the way, walking a slap hitter like Jason Kendall under any circumstances in bad pitching.

 

Because of the division they play in, the Indians can still salvage their season.  However, it isn’t going to happen unless a bold move is made.  I’m sure Mark Shapiro is working the phones to try to make his team better, but something has to be done.  Once again, waiting for the injured players to return isn’t enough.  Grady Sizemore may still need surgery, and counting on Jake Westbrook, coming off major elbow surgery is fool’s gold.

 

HELP!!!!

 

KM

 

The rumors were all over the place yesterday.  The Cavaliers are talking to the Phoenix Suns about a deal which would bring Shaquille O’Neal to the wine and gold.  Many so-called “experts” said the Cavs aren’t helping themselves with this trade.  I have one question for them:  “Are you kidding?”

 

Yes, O’Neal is no longer in his prime.  He’s 37 years old.  However, he did make third team all-NBA, so he is most definitely still a productive player.  And if you get the ball to him in the low post, he will score, something the Cavaliers are lacking in their offense. 

 

The proposed trade would send Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic to the Suns in exchange for “The Big Cactus”.  These are two non-important pieces to the Cavalier puzzle.  Wallace can still defend in spurts, but is definitely a liability on the offensive end of the floor.  Pavlovic’s maddening inconsistency is well documented, and he no longer has a future in Cleveland.

 

So basically, GM Danny Ferry would be giving up nothing to get O’Neal, who has just one year left on his contract, the same as Wallace. 

 

The critics point out that the wine and gold still need a power forward and size in the backcourt, and there is no disagreement here.  However, why would anyone think that the team would make this the only move they would make in the off-season? 

 

The Cavs still could work a sign and trade with free agent Anderson Varajao, and also could deal a Daniel Gibson or a J.J. Hickson or Darnell Jackson to fill these needs, especially to teams looking to get younger or cut payroll.

 

Getting back to O’Neal, he would provide a compliment to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and the Cavs could afford to limit the minutes of both big men.  This would keep them fresh for the playoffs.  If Shaq plays like he did this past season, he would demand double teams in the low post, opening up the perimeter game for the wine and gold’s snipers.

 

Also, you have to believe that O’Neal would be highly motivated, especially after Kobe Bryant won his fourth title last night.  Shaq would love to finish up with more rings than Bryant and playing with a dynamic player like LeBron James would certainly give him a great opportunity to do so.  Getting a chance to play in The Finals against the Lakers would perhaps be high drama, indeed.

 

It appears that the Cavs’ front office is going all out to win a title next year, potentially James’ last in the wine and gold.  As I said, this team had some weaknesses exposed in the conference finals loss to Orlando, and a low post scorer and someone with the bulk to defend Dwight Howard were two of them.  Shaquille O’Neal would fill both of these needs.

 

Remember, this potential trade is still very early in the discussions.  However, it would be fun to have the big guy wearing a Cavs’ jersey next season, and giving up two players who are expendable would help the Cavaliers as well. 

 

Even if it doesn’t happen, there is no question that Danny Ferry is going to do everything he can to improve this basketball team.

 

JK

 

What a weird day in Cleveland sports yesterday!  The day began with rumors of the Cavaliers contemplating firing the NBA Coach of the Year, and ended with a seagull helping the Indians win their second consecutive series. 

 

Anyway, here is the latest installment of CSP Notes…

 

·          The rumors have started with what the Cavaliers are going to do in the off-season, and one prominent name keeps coming up:  Rasheed Wallace.  I would be interested in Wallace, but only for a one-year contract.  If he wants two years, I’d explore other options.

 

·          Charlie Villanueva would appear to be a better fit for the Cavs, he is younger, and would give some length to the wine and gold.  The one question is his defense.

 

·          I would have to agree with everyone else that the ultimate decision maker on whether or not Mike Brown stays or goes is LeBron James.  Brown understands that, too.

 

·          It appears that Eric Wedge would like to avoid playing Jhonny Peralta at shortstop at all costs.  Luis Valbuena played there after the skipper was irritated with the formers error on Saturday, and showed more range than the statue-like Peralta.

 

·          Speaking of Valbuena, he does show some pop with the bat.  He has 9 extra base hits in 74 at bats.  Compare that to Travis Hafner (11 extra base hits in 78 at bats), Ryan Garko (10 in 132 at bats) and Kelly Shoppach (10 in 113 at bats).  Victor Martinez leads the team with 27 power hits.

 

·          With St. Louis in town tonight, it reminds me that the Indians first ever interleague game was against the Cardinals in St. Louis.  The Tribe won that one, 8-3, with Albie Lopez getting the victory on June 14, 1997.  Jim Thome had two hits and three RBI’s, while Julio Franco had two hits and two ribbies in the win.

 

·          Could Wedge figure out that Ben Francisco is not a lead off hitter?  If Jamey Carroll is in there, he should bat first.  Giving Francisco an extra at-bat is just deducting an extra out from the 27 available.

 

MW

 

It was a little troubling to see the comments from Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro defending the Pirates trade of outfielder Nate McLouth to the Atlanta Braves.  He defended Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington, who coincidentally used to work for Shapiro with the Indians.

 

The Tribe GM was quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, saying, “As another general manager in a very similar market with similar challenges, I can say that the move was not only understandable but also wise. The greatest challenge in building a sustainable winner in these markets is ensuring that the pitching and position-player talent line up. Sometimes, that involves painful and tough decisions that are not easily understood by fans or players."

 

Does this mean that Shapiro is going to flush the toilet on another Indians season?

 

Last year, the Tribe waited until the beginning of July before trading free agent to be, C.C. Sabathia for prospects.  At the time, the Indians were clearly out of the pennant race, sitting at 37-51, trailing the first place White Sox by 13-1/2 games. 

 

There is no question that the Cleveland Indians are suffering through a terrible start to the season, but they are still just seven games out of first place, even with a record of 26-34 thus far.  Mark Shapiro doesn’t need to trade for prospects; he needs to improve his ball club. 

 

If the deficit were more than 10 games, or if the Tigers showed signs of pulling away in the AL Central, I would feel differently.  However, they aren’t.  They need to stop making excuses and go out and get some talent that can help this team win right now. 

 

I say this knowing that I have praised Shapiro in the past for making good use of his assets when it is clear the Indians aren’t going to win.  Last year, he acquired two prime prospects in Matt LaPorta and Carlos Santana by dealing players (Sabathia and Casey Blake) who would have left for free agency after the season.  There are many teams who would have played out the season with these guys for the sake of the fans. 

 

To continue to do this on a yearly basis gets old for the fans.  Some of us understand the realities of rebuilding a baseball team, but when it’s the middle of June, and the Tribe is less than 10 games out of first, dealing for prospects is a tough pill to swallow. 

 

Instead, Shapiro should make moves to strengthen the current roster.  If he wants to deal Mark DeRosa because he’s a free agent at the end of the year, so be it.  Just move him for a starting pitcher who can help right now. 

 

Why not look at the leadership of the ballclub?  Is Eric Wedge the correct man for the job?  Can we afford to deal a Ryan Garko because Victor Martinez may just wind up being the first baseman on this team in 2010?  Will Jhonny Peralta ever become the player we all thought he would be after his brakeout 2005 campaign?

 

The easy way out is to deal veterans for more prospects.  The tough thing is to make value judgments on your talent and decide who can contribute to a championship team, and who can’t.

 

That’s something this organization has trouble with.  With all of the 1B/DH types in the organization, doesn’t it make Garko, LaPorta, or Beau Mills expendable?  With Carlos Santana on the horizon, why wasn’t Kelly Shoppach made available in the off-season?

 

There is plenty of time to be patient.  The trading deadline doesn’t occur for another seven weeks.  If the Indians fall to 12 games out of first at that point, then trade to strengthen your farm system.  Otherwise, Shapiro needs to make his club better, and he should be looking at all options.  That would be all options, not just the safe choices.

 

KM

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers finished their season a little over a week ago, and now we can analyze their season with a more objectivity.  The disappointment has subsided slightly, so it’s time to look at what GM Danny Ferry needs to do going into the 2009-10 season, a campaign that has the potential to be LeBron James last in the wine and gold.

 

First, let’s get rid of the doom and gloom concerning this team.  Had Boston defeated Orlando in the deciding game of the conference semi-finals, the Cavaliers would be playing in The Finals.  The Magic was the worst matchup of any team in the playoffs for the Cavs, and they lost.  Therefore, they need to make improvements to the squad so they cannot only defend the Celtics or any other traditional NBA team, but they need to guard a hybrid team like Orlando.

 

The more I think about the series, I really think the long layoff after the sweep of the Hawks really hurt the Cavs, and that may have been the biggest factor for the defeat.  Cleveland didn’t play well defensively in the conference finals, but they played similar teams throughout the year, and beat them by outscoring them.  The days off affected the shooting eye of all players wearing the wine and gold not named LeBron James.

 

The Cavs may have been able to outscore the Magic had they been shooting well from outside.  The layoff also had something to do with the stamina of some players.  They lost their wind during the break.  You cannot simulate NBA games on the practice courts. 

 

Anyway, Orlando showed that the Cavaliers need to improve in the off-season.  However, the entire roster doesn’t have to be overhauled like some radio talk show hosts have suggested.  There is some dead weight that needs to be trimmed from the team.

 

First, Wally Szczerbiak is a free agent and will not be back.  He picked a very bad time to age, which it appeared he did between the Atlanta and Orlando series.  Joe Smith would like to come back, and the Cavs may have him stick around depending on what happens with the rest of the frontcourt.

 

Anderson Varajao is a free agent, and I suppose I would like him back, but I would have to look at the other options out there.  Varajao is a plus defender, and works well with #23 to get good looks inside, but he is a limited offensive player.  If you could get a power forward who can score, defend, and rebound, you might take a pass on the bushy haired Brazilian.

 

Sasha Pavlovic and his wildly inconsistent game should be moved if it all possible.  Pavlovic isn’t fast, but he is a pretty good athlete.  He just isn’t a very good basketball player.  Daniel Gibson had a disappointing season shooting the ball, but he has to handle the rock better if he is going to get regular minutes.  At 6’2” (or less), he has to be able to run the offense without having the ball taken away.

 

Mike Brown likes big guards, but he was smart enough to know his best backcourt players this year were Mo Williams and Delonte West.  Still, I’m sure Brown would like Ferry to get a guard who has some size, thus moving West to a sixth man role, where he can play a lot of minutes at both the point and the #2 guard spots.  The coach likes these guys because they make it tougher defensively for the opposition.  That is exactly what they need to battle a team like Orlando.

 

Ferry also has to address the age on the front line.  Ben Wallace, despite what he said after the game, is not going to retire, but his expiring contract is a large trade chip.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas would probably be best used as 15-20 minutes per night player, to lessen the wear and tear on his body in what will likely be his last season. 

 

That means the Cavs will be in the market for another big man.  It would not be surprising if Darnell Jackson or J.J. Hickson earned a spot in the frontcourt rotation, but I think the team would like a low post offensive threat as a starting power forward. 

 

The perfect guy would be Carlos Boozer, who is a good defender and rebounder, and can score enough near the hoop to occasionally command a double team.

 

The best news is that the Cavaliers, from owner Dan Gilbert to James understand they need to get better.  There will be no complacency in the front office.  A club record 66 wins was nice, but until they have a parade down Euclid Avenue, no one at The “Q” will be satisfied.

 

It seems like a lot is needed, but really a big guard and a physical big man will do the trick for the 2009-10 Cleveland Cavaliers.

 

JK 

 

Besides thinking of pulling my hair out while watching the local baseball team, other thoughts go through my head regarding the Cleveland Indians.  Most have to do with the way the lineup is made out, or the defensive employment of personnel.  The handling of the pitching staff and the overall philosophy of the organization come into question as well.  That’s what happens when your team is ten games below .500.

 

Some of this stuff is mind boggling…