Hopefully Bieber Injury Doesn’t Deter Moves At Deadline

The Cleveland Guardians didn’t exactly provide a lot of good news for their fans coming out of the All-Star break.

First came the news that Shane Bieber is experiencing some soreness in his right forearm and was placed on the injured list yesterday. At the very least, the former Cy Young Award winner will miss two starts.

And then the bullpen was mollywhopped by Texas in the opening game of the three game series after Aaron Civale gave Cleveland five innings. The curious thing was he was removed after throwing just 79 pitches.

The bigger news is Bieber, obviously, since the rotation is already without Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill. Yes, the rookies, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Logan Allen have done yeoman’s work so far this season, but as everyone reminds us, they will all be on innings restrictions this season.

We know many people will say this is a sign that the team should be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline, but isn’t the biggest potential trade chip the Guardians have Bieber?

Our fear is that Bieber’s injury will prevent the front office from making a move to help this year’s team, which is still just a game and a half out of first place in the AL Central Division.

Standing pat would be a terrible idea.

First, and this has nothing to do with the team on the field, but attendance is up at Progressive Field, and we fear doing nothing to improve the roster will damper any excitement created during the year.

The other issue is the organization’s bloated situation in the middle infield. Cleveland continues to use free agent to be Amed Rosario at shortstop, with Tyler Freeman and Gabriel Arias still on the big league roster and Brayan Rocchio in AAA.

They haven’t really found out much about any of those players, with perhaps the exception of Arias, who has a whopping total of 154 plate appearances this season. By the way, we agree that’s not enough.

At some point, they have to convert some of these players into pieces that can help the big club win some games.

Down three starters, why not move some pieces for a pitcher who can provide some quality innings down the stretch. They could use that even if Bieber is going to be back sooner than later.

A year ago, the Guardians had one of the top farm systems in baseball, but outside of last year’s first round pick OF Chase DeLauter and Rocchio, most of their prize prospects have graduated.

Southpaw Joey Cantillo is another top prospect, and he may be here soon if the injuries on the staff continue.

In the past week, Baseball Prospectus put out their mid-season top 50 prospects plus 10 other players. No Guardian was listed. Last season, the same publication had four Cleveland farmhands listed, including Bibee and Williams. Daniel Espino and George Valera were the others.

Prospects lose their value quickly in baseball. Valera was looked upon as a big time power bat, and he still may be, but he’s hitting .187 (545 OPS) at AAA, and in his time at the highest level of the minors over the past two seasons, his OPS is 698.

The next two weeks before the trade deadline will be key. If the Guardians continue to hang in the divisional race, will the front office help out the current roster?

Or will they point toward 2024. We aren’t asking the organization to move players like Williams, Bibee, and Allen. But they have some assets they can move. Now is the time.

Who Is Best Browns Defensive Player Since 1960?

Sometimes arguments between friends make their way into what we right about. A group of our friends were talking about the Cleveland Browns’ defensive prospects this season under new coordinator Jim Schwartz, and the thought arose did the Browns ever have a dominant defense?

Since we talked following the team in 1965, we would say the closest were the defenses of the mid 1980’s, led by cornerbacks Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield. Unfortunately, those defenses really didn’t have a great front seven. It was good, but they weren’t dominant.

The 1987 squad finished second in the NFL in points allowed but were just 20th in sacks. The ’94 Browns allowed the least points in the league, but 7th in yards allowed and sacks. But that was kind of a one-year thing, they finished 17th in points given up in ’93 and 20th in ’95.

That morphed into this question: Who is the best defensive player the Browns have had? We mentioned Len Ford and Bill Willis, both of whom played in the early 50’s, and since no one had seen them play, the inquiry became who is the greatest defensive player Cleveland has had since 1960?

The great offensive players the franchise have had roll off your tongue: Jim Brown, Paul Warfield, Ozzie Newsome, Leroy Kelly, and of course, one of this year’s inductees, Joe Thomas.

Of course, in the fifties, you had Otto Graham, Mac Speedie, Marion Motley, and Dante Lavelli among others.

If you go strictly by Pro Bowl appearances, the leader would be Michael Dean Perry, who made five (1989-1991, 1993-94). Perry ranks 7th all-time on the club’s sack list, and played with the team from 1988-94, before finishing up with Denver and Kansas City.

Seven defenders made four Pro Bowl appearances (we know what people think about that “event” now): Chip Banks, Minnifield, Jerry Sherk, Bill Glass, Jim Houston, Clay Matthews, and current Brown Myles Garrett.

As we said before, Minnifield and Dixon were shutdown cornerbacks, and opposing passers did not want to throw anywhere in their direction. Neither had a lot of interceptions when they played (Dixon had 26, 10th for the franchise, and Minnifield had 20, 13th)

Sherk was known as one of the best tackles in the game before a staph infection derailed what was shaping up to be a dominant career. In addition to the Pro Bowls, he was named first team All Pro by the Associated Press in 1976.

Glass is the all time franchise leader in sacks according to Pro Football Reference (at least for now) with 77.5, done in 94 career games.

Matthews made four straight all star appearances (1985-89) and is second in Browns history in sacks with 75.

Garrett is still compiling numbers. In terms of AP First Team All-NFL, his two honors (’20 and ’21) tie Perry and Dixon among Browns defenders. And barring injury, he will become the franchise’s all-time sack leader this year as he is three behind Glass’ total.

And although there is no Pro Bowl game anymore, no doubt he will continue to add to his appearances, and if he gets to six, he will join Thomas, Brown, Kelly, Lou Groza, Gene Hickerson, and Dick Schafrath with that total. (NOTE: Likely Joel Bitonio as well, he has five currently)

So, what is the answer to the question of who is the Browns’ best defensive player since 1960? Right now, it’s up for debate, but in a year or two, there will be no doubt that it is Myles Garrett.

Some Things We Would Like To See In Second Half For Guardians

Baseball’s All Star break is upon us, and the Cleveland Guardians somehow go into their mini-vacation (except for Jose Ramirez) with a half game lead in the American League Central Division despite a .500 record.

To be fair, since they fell to their low point of the season on May24th at 21-28, the Guardians have gone 24-17 and not all of the games were against the A’s and Royals.

The offense has improved a bit, moving up to 12th in the league in runs scored per game, and the pitching is still 6th in the AL in ERA, despite having three rookies in the rotation for much of the year.

One problem for the Guardians is that the Twins have an easier schedule the rest of the way, but Cleveland has played better than Minnesota in games vs. teams above the .500 mark, going 17-20, while the Twins are just 21-28.

So, maybe the tougher slate isn’t the disadvantage it seems to be.

After all that, here are some things we would like to see for the Guardians in the second half (besides a long winning streak that would salt away another division title):

More playing time for Tyler Freeman. Freeman had 72 plate appearances in the first half, collecting 20 hits for a batting average of .308 and an on base average of .352. We understand that Terry Francona feels incumbent shortstop Amed Rosario is a culture setter, but why can’t Freeman be as well?

It was only a few weeks ago that Freeman went from first to third on the wild pitch, so he’s seems to be an aggressive baserunner like Rosario. And he might be a better hitter and a better glove. It feels like the organization needs to find a way to pencil him in the batting order more often.

Flexibility With Myles Straw. We aren’t going to bash Straw here. He’s a tremendous defensive centerfielder, perhaps the best currently in the sport. But both the organization and Straw himself both have to make some changes.

When the Guardians take the field Friday night in Texas, they will be just a few days shy of the last stolen base for a player who swiped 30 bags in 2021 and 21 bases a year ago being two months ago. He simply has to run more often. He has great wheels.

And the organization has to change and stop letting him hit in situation with the game on the line and other options available. Do they think they will hurt the centerfielder’s feelings if the pinch hit for him?

There have been at least three games this year where the highest leverage at bat in the game was taken by Straw, who has an OPS under 600 over the last two years. That shouldn’t happen.

Figure Out The 8th. For all of the hand wringing around Emmanuel Clase, who is second in the AL in saves and has allowed just two homers on the season, the biggest problem for the Cleveland relief corps in the 8th.

The latest problem was Saturday, when a three run lead was a great relay away from being coughed up by Sam Hentges and Enyel De Los Santos.

The two relievers who started the year primarily in that role were Trevor Stephan and James Karinchak, and both gave up six homers. Stephan still in used in the 8th and is still falling behind a lot of hitters.

Hentges rescued Clase in the Cubs’ series and we felt he was poised to take over the 8th, but he’s allowed four runs in his last 1.2 frames. Maybe go back to De Los Santos more often? Eli Morgan has been pretty good, but he’s prone to the long ball.

The bullpen has to get back to the point where having a lead after seven means the game is in the bag. That will be a big factor if the Guards want to go on a hot streak in the second half this year.

Trading Bieber Might Be Inevitable, But There Are Consequences.

In a recent edition of The Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto wrote about why the Guardians need to trade pitcher Shane Bieber.

We understand that Pluto has good sources within the organization and when he writes about something, there is a pretty good likelihood that it is going to happen.

However, we could not disagree more with a Bieber deal unless one thing comes back in return, or is acquired in a separate deal, and that is a veteran starting pitcher to replace the former Cy Young Award winner.

We understand Bieber is not going to sign a long term contract here, so from that standpoint, the Guardians should not lose him in free agency, so a trade will be coming. We simply would wait until the off-season.

As we write this, the Cleveland Guardians lead the American League Central Division standings by a half game and despite all the jokes about the division, they are only 3-1/2 games out of a wild card spot.

It is pretty cavalier of an organization who hasn’t won a World Series in 75 years to toss away a chance to get in the playoffs, which they would likely be doing unless they don’t get another starter to replace their ace.

Cleveland is currently down two starters in Triston McKenzie (elbow) and Cal Quantrill (shoulder) and have three rookies in the rotation that they are managing innings with: Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams.

Bibee pitched 132 innings last year in A/AA, so conventional wisdom says the front office would like to keep him around 152 this year. He’s at 85. Allen threw the same number last season, and he’s currently at 79 in ’23.

Williams pitched 115 innings in 2022, so his limit is probably around 135 and he’s thrown 79 to date this season.

By the way, Bieber is currently third in the AL in innings pitched and by the time he is done pitching today, he will either be second or first. And the Guardians need someone to soak up innings.

Despite complaints about reduced velocity, Bieber is still a pretty effective starting pitcher. He’s allowed just 104 hits in the 110.1 innings he has thrown and has fanned 89 batters vs. just 33 walks. His ERA is 3.66.

If they don’t get a proven starter in another trade or one in a deal involving Bieber, just who is going to pitch for the Guardians after they trade him? Oh yes, they could also bring up another rookie in Joey Cantillo, who is pitching in the Futures Game this weekend, but he would be under the same innings restrictions.

And does anyone really want to see Daniel Norris taking the mound every fifth day for a team trying to get a post-season berth?

One issue though, Cleveland hasn’t traded for an established starting pitcher since Derek Lowe in 2012.

Unless this is going to be a move, like the trades of Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger, where the Guardians are going to kick the can down the road again. Besides the 75 years without a title thing, it’s a bold strategy for a team that won 92 games a year ago and their best player, who committed to the franchise, is 30 years old.

Another factor is how it plays in the clubhouse if they trade their best pitcher and don’t replace him. At some point, it has to wear on players when the front office keeps pointing toward next season.

That’s only if they don’t get someone who can be a relative facsimile of Bieber in terms of pitching a lot of effective innings. We know trading Bieber at some point is inevitable, but doing it while the Guardians very much have a chance to make the post-season seems to ring hollow to us.

How Do Young Players Get Time On A Contender? Produce.

The Cleveland Guardians have a conundrum when it comes to playing young players. While conventional wisdom would say you need to give guys coming up from the minor leagues time to fail first, when you are still in a competitive situation, that luxury isn’t there.

We have heard the refrain before and still hear it when it comes to players like Nolan Jones and Will Benson, although the reasons for trading both of those guys were related to the 40-man roster.

The latest young Guardians’ player that engenders this debate is Gabriel Arias. Arias came over to the organization in the massive haul that was the Mike Clevinger deal from the Padres and was rated as a Top 100 Prospect by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus

Arias is a defensive wizard. He is a shortstop by trade, but has shown the versatility to play other positions very well. He played first base in the playoffs a year ago and has been playing quite a bit of right field this season.

However, he’s never been an elite hitter. His career OPS at the AAA level is 768, mostly because he has had issues controlling the strike zone with 188 strikeouts and 64 walks in 806 plate appearances. His OPS for his minor league career is 735.

Those issues have carried with him in the big leagues, where this year he is hitting .187 with a 606 OPS, and 50 punchouts in 154 times at the dish.

By contrast, Tyler Freeman has a career OPS in the minors of 813, carrying a .312 batting average and a 785 OPS in AAA. His credentials say he’s a better hitter than Arias.

Arias started getting some regular playing time starting May 16th and hit home runs in starts on May 18th and 19th, in the latter game it was a dinger which gave the Guardians the lead in extra innings vs. the Mets.

From May 18th through June 3rd, a span of 15 games, Arias went 12 for 40, a .300 batting average with eight walks and eight strikeouts. That’s promising.

From June 4th through today, Arias has received 34 at bats and recorded just three hits (.088) with six walks and 12 whiffs.

As we said earlier, if the Guardians were the Oakland A’s or Kansas City Royals, they could just ride out Arias’ (or any young player’s) cold streaks and hope they come out better for it. They just don’t have that option right now.

A team in contention for a playoff spot needs players who can contribute when called upon. Is that fair? No, it isn’t and frankly, we believe the Guardians’ brass would agree with that.

And make no mistake, with Jose Ramirez still in his prime, the front office should be feeling pressure to win and win now.

Two other young players, Tyler Freeman and David Fry, haven’t had nearly the opportunity afforded Arias, who the organization was trying to create ways to get at bats, but they’ve produced when called upon.

Freeman has only had more than one at bat in consecutive days twice this season, but he’s hit .290 in 62 at bats. Fry has only had more than one at bat two days in a row once but has contributed a big three run HR vs. San Diego and two game winning hits (June 24th vs. Milwaukee and Tuesday night vs. the Braves).

And Fry strikes out a lot too, fanning 13 times in 44 plate appearances.

So we ask, if you were Terry Francona, who would you play when an opportunity arises? That’s what trying to get young players at bats while contending looks like.

Cavs Revamping Their Bench? That’s Good

While we were not enamored by the sign and trade move made by the Cleveland Cavaliers over the weekend to get Max Strus, we didn’t have a problem with a couple of moves late Saturday.

The Cavs signed combo guard Ty Jerome and center Damian Jones to bolster the team’s bench, and after all, that was a weakness for the wine and gold a year ago.

Jerome is a 6’5″ backcourt player who can play the point and the #2 spot, and no doubt Cleveland can use some size at guard. The only issue for him is can he play 82 games. The most he has ever played is 48 with Oklahoma City in 2021-22.

The former Virginia standout can shoot, 38.9% from three and perhaps more importantly, 92.7% from the free throw line. He was also a starter on Virginia’s national championship team.

We think Ricky Rubio will be better the second year coming off knee surgery, but will Jerome get more minutes once the season starts? Or will Rubio be used in another trade.

As for Jones, this may sound a bit snarky, but we like this because he’s a legitimate NBA big man and he’s not over 30 years old. In the last couple of years, Cleveland has tried veterans like Ed Davis and Robin Lopez to back up Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, and neither has anything left.

Jones (6’11”) is 28 and played 41 games with the Lakers and Jazz last season. He scored 3.5 points and grabbed 3.0 boards in 11 minutes per game. He’s decent and serviceable, but we would still like to see Altman grab yet another backup at power forward and center.

We seriously doubt Koby Altman and Mike Gansey are done putting together this roster, but we do have to laugh at those including rookie Emoni Bates in the team’s depth chart. Bates is going to play in the G-League this season, working to get stronger and his overall game.

He may get a shot here and there if injuries hit the Cavs, but he was the 49th pick, not the 9th pick. We would say neither Altman, Gansey, nor coach J.B. Bickerstaff is counting on anything from Bates this season.

One player we are not seeing on depth charts is a draft pick from 2022, 6’7″ Luke Travers, who played in the Australian National League the past four years. Travers averaged 9.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and three assists last season. He might be the kind of complete, all-around player (with some size) that Cleveland needs.

He will play in the NBA Summer League along with another ’22 draft pick, 7’1″ Khalifa Diop. who played in Liga Endesa last season, averaging 8 points and 5 boards per contest. We want to see how he will fare against the draft picks and second year guys in Las Vegas.

We have said the Cavs needed to add size and scoring for this season, but they also needed to redo their bench, which they received little production from, especially after they benched Kevin Love.

Getting Georges Niang, Jerome, and Jones should help, but we have a suspicion they some of the players who made up the reserve unit a year ago, won’t be back. And we have no issue with that.

Cavs Make Moves, Did They Get Better? We Say “Meh”

The NBA free agent season started and the Cleveland Cavaliers started it with a bang, signing Georges Niang from Philadelphia as a free agent, and then executing a sign and trade for Max Strus from Miami, giving up Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens in the process.

Our initial thought is not overwhelming.

The Niang signing is fine. He’s a 6’7″ wing who over the last five years has knocked down 40% of his three-point shots each season. And he’s a bench player, probably someone who will be in the 8-10 range on the Cavs’ roster.

As for Strus, we look at him as a one-dimensional shooter, and the Cleveland front office seems to be collecting these types of players instead of getting all around players. We understand there are many NBA teams doing the same thing, but that doesn’t mean it will be successful.

The Cavs needed shooting, but they also need players who can create their own shot, as they only have three of those players on the roster in Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Caris LeVert, who re-upped with the team on Friday.

They also needed size and another big man to back up Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, but they haven’t addressed those spots. If Strus is going to be a starter, J.B. Bickerstaff still will have a pair of small guards and a smaller player at the #3 spot.

LeVert gives you a bigger guard off the bench if he is used there, but he’s also another small player at the #3.

And later on Saturday, they added another 6’5″ player in Ty Jerome, who was with Golden State last year, playing in 48 games. He shot 48% from the floor and 39% from three last season.

They finally added some size in 6’11” Damian Jones, whose best year was in 2021-22 with Sacramento when he averaged 8 points and 4 boards per game. He’s only 28 years old, so he may be able to contribute.

Again, it’s still early in the off-season, so there is time, but while many basketball fans are excited by these moves, we would say we are not.

Earlier this week, Fox Sports basketball analyst (and Cleveland native) John Fanta said he could see a scenario where the Cavaliers moved Garland in a trade. Social media went crazy. Again, Fanta didn’t say it was a rumor.

His logic is sound. If Koby Altman wanted to overhaul the roster, he would have to move one of what has become known as the “Core 4”, Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Allen.

No doubt the Cavs don’t want to move Mobley, who has the potential to be a major star in the league if he develops. Mitchell’s contract has only two more years, and Allen, albeit a very good big man, those type of players aren’t coveted in today’s NBA.

So, to us, the player who brings the most in return is most definitely Garland. Add in that the reason Altman would probably want to revamp the roster is because he realized the smallish backcourt doesn’t work, and it becomes logical.

We understand fans love Garland. He was drafted here and has developed into an all star. But we don’t see long term success with two smaller guards who dominate the offense. And the Cavaliers need to understand Mobley must become more of an offensive threat if the wine and gold want to advance in the playoffs.

We understand most of the buzz around the Cavs’ moves has been positive and we know fans like to see moves.

We don’t see how the Cavaliers have improved with these moves. It’s still a long time before training camp starts at the end of September, but right now, color us unimpressed.

Guardians Make Contact, But Don’t Walk

Last season, the Cleveland Guardians decided to zag when everyone else was zigging and embraced a philosophy of making more contact at the plate. They struck out the least times in the American League, and finished sixth in the league in runs scored per game.

This year, they are doing the same, but have dropped to 12th in the AL in scoring. Last year, they were 14th in home runs and in 2023 they are last.

Other teams have labeled them as pesky, but there is one thing we thought would improve this season, but really hasn’t. Last season, they were 11th in drawing walks and so far this season, they have dropped a spot and rank 12th.

So, while they make contact more than anyone else, they aren’t particularly adept at working counts and fouling off borderline pitches until they get something they can make solid contact with.

The team with the second least strikeouts in the AL is the Houston Astros. They rank 11th in walks drawn and are 8th in runs scored. They are 9th in homers.

Toronto fans the third least times and are one spot above Houston is terms of runs scored and walks, and is one spot behind them in round trippers.

For right now, it appears the contact approach isn’t doing teams any big favors, except for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are second last in the National League in striking out and is 3rd in the league in runs scored.

Let us say here, we like the more contact approach, and we like the Guardians’ organizational philosophy of drafting and developing guys who make contact and teaching them to drive the ball in the minor leagues.

We also don’t have a problem with strikeouts if it comes with power and without a total disregard for knowledge of the strike zone. Minnesota leads the AL in whiffs, and they aren’t scoring many more runs than the Guardians.

Maybe better recognition of the strike zone comes with more experience and as the young Cleveland hitters mature, they will be able to work more walks. The only Guardian hitter with more walks than whiffs is Jose Ramirez, with 33 bases on balls and 29 punchouts.

Both Andres Gimenez (47 Ks, 15 BB) and Amed Rosario (60K, 19 BB) have strikeout to walk ratios of over three to one. And neither are what you would consider power bats. Myles Straw doesn’t have a home run since 2021 and has fanned 57 times with just 26 walks.

And Will Brennan doesn’t have the amount of at bats as the other three mentioned, but he has just six walks vs. 31 strikeouts. The four hitters listed have combined for 10 home runs.

We would like to see all three of these guys get on base more often by walking, and with their speed (see previous blog) they could be converting some of those walks into doubles by stealing bases.

Currently, Cleveland has no one ranking in the top ten in the AL in on base percentage, Ramirez leads the team at .360 and only Steven Kwan is among the leaders in walks, tied for 10th.

By the way, the Guardians have drawn four or more walks in 29 games this season. Their record is 18-11 in those games, averaging almost six runs per game. We understand that makes sense, because mediocre pitchers usually walk more batters.

Since the Guardians don’t have a lot of home run power, for their approach to work, it would seem they need more baserunners. And taking more walks would accomplish that goal.

Why Have Guardians Stopped Stealing?

When the Cleveland Guardians played the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night, we heard the broadcast team describe both teams as “they like to run”. The Brewers rank 6th in the National League in steals, while the Guardians are 7th.

The reality is while Cleveland started the season running quite a bit, that has waned as the season has gone on.

The Guards stole 35 bases in March/April in the first 28 games of the year. Since then, they have played 49 games and have only stolen 22 bases. They’ve effectively stopped running.

Granted, they were very successful in the first month, being caught just seven times. In May, they swiped 13 bases and were caught just three times, so when they did run, it worked.

In June, they are just a bit above the break-even point, picking up nine bags, while getting caught on eight attempts.

Cleveland ranks last in the majors in home runs, so it would seem they better use the running game to their advantage because it is unlikely they will score with one swing of the bat.

Some of the lack of running comes from not being on base. The team’s two leaders in steals, Steven Kwan and Myles Straw have seen their on base percentage decrease since April. Kwan stole seven bags in eight tries by the end of April. He’s stolen just three in each month succeeding.

Straw pilfered eight bases in the first 28 games this year, but has stolen just two since, incredibly none since May 18th.

The two other Guardians who would seem to be able to put up big stolen base numbers, Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario have also declined in this category.

Gimenez stole six in March/April being caught just once, but has stolen just two bags since, while Rosario swiped five in the first month, three more in May, and hasn’t even made an attempt since the first of June.

We understand the hesitation in having Rosario run since he hits ahead of Jose Ramirez, but if Ramirez doesn’t get a hit, why not run then?

Jose Ramirez is also a stolen base threat, but we totally get him not running as much. Conserve his energy as much as possible. He’s that important to the team.

This weekend showed a difference in the philosophies between the Brewers and Guardians. Twice, Milwaukee runners (Christian Yelich and Blake Perkins) ran on the first pitch after getting on base. When was the last time a Cleveland player did that?

When Myles Straw pinch-ran for Tyler Freeman (who went from 1st to 3rd on a wild pitch earlier in the game, but…) in the 8th on Sunday, it took him two batters to attempt to steal.

Now, we are sure some will say the Brewers had two runners picked off. Our response would be that’s the risk you have to take if you are going to run, and again, with the Guardians’ lack of pop, they need to be aggressive on the base paths.

Cleveland is very effective in taking the extra base. They are 5th in the AL in doubles and 2nd in triples. And they go first to third on base hits with the best of them.

We don’t know why the Guardians have stopped stealing since the first month of the year. It’s odd to be sure. Is it a fear of having a runner thrown out? Is it trying to minimize wear and tear on players?

It is probably more apt to say the Guardians are a very good baserunning team rather than a team that likes to steal. We say, why not be good at both?

Don’t Put Much Into The NBA Draft For Cavs.

We have seen a lot of opinions on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ selection of Emoni Bates from Eastern Michigan with the 49th pick in the NBA Draft Thursday night.

If fans think this pick will impact the 2023-24 edition of the wine and gold, we feel they are sorely mistaken. It’s the 49th selection, not the 9th, and the Cavs won 51 games a year ago, they are a solid team, so more than likely whoever they picked in that spot was more of a project.

It’s not like football where a second round pick should be able to be on the field a lot and be a contributor.

For Koby Altman, it’s like a lottery ticket, he hopes the numbers come up in his favor and Bates will wind up being a rotational player down the road.

However, Bates’ selection seems like the antithesis of what the Cavaliers feel about themselves as a roster. J.B. Bickerstaff is always talking about the “grit” and playing tough-minded basketball.

The newest member of the team is seen as a “me-first” player, filled with a lot of hype put upon him as a teenager. By the way, that’s the media’s fault. Talking about any 15 of 16-year-old as the next LeBron James isn’t fair to anyone.

Right now, Bates is 6’9″ and weighs a reported 180 pounds, and by the way, according to scouting reports, isn’t very athletic, not quick or explosive. The report we saw says he’s not a great leaper and doesn’t run the floor well. And obviously at his frame, he needs to hit the weight room.

He can shoot and has good size for a wing player, something the Cavs need badly. He can shoot from distance and also has a solid midrange game, and has the ability to score points in bunches, he had four 30 point games and a career high of 43 against Toledo.

He likely will sign a two-way deal with Cleveland and spend most of the year with the Charge developing both his body and his game, as well as understanding what you have to do both physically and mentally to be an NBA player.

We are concerned about the selfish attitude he is reported to have. Getting drafted in the second round should be a dose of humility.

So, as much as fans wanted the Cavs to get someone who can make a difference for this year’s team in the draft, that likely wasn’t going to happen.

The way Cleveland is going to take the next step as an organization, moving into title contention is through trades and free agency, which will be difficult. We would bet Altman knows that.

And when we say “title contention”, it’s because we don’t want to hear the next step for the Cavs is to win a playoff series. When that’s your goal, that’s likely all you will achieve, something we think happened this past year.

It has been said (including us) that the Cavaliers need shooters, but really, they need some guys who can create their own shots. Right now, they have three of those players, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Caris LeVert. Everyone else needs to be set up.

They need shooters too, but with the offense currently used by Bickerstaff, the burden for creating offense falls pretty much on that trio.

We also believe the Cavs need more basketball players, and what we need by that is guys who can do a little bit of everything, not one dimensional guys.

When the free agent moratorium is set in motion on July 1st, the Cavaliers can start reshaping their roster for 2023-24. Then we will see if Altman was telling the truth about running back last year’s squad.