James is Back, Would You “Love” to Add More?

Now that LeBron James has returned to the Cavaliers, sports fans in Cleveland needed something else to worry about.

They were provided that yesterday when it was revealed that James signed only a two-year deal and can opt out after one. People in social media started the angst rolling shortly after the news broke.

Look, it would be a real shock if LBJ invoked the opt out after the 2014-15 campaign and went to another team after the heart warming essay he issued on SI.com revealing his love for Northeast Ohio.

Unless Dan Gilbert wrote another letter blasting him or new coach David Blatt benched him, what James and his management group did was simply a business move. With a new television contract coming and the salary cap increasing, James put a mechanism in place to ensure he will be the NBA’s highest paid player for the balance of his career.

He stated in his essay that he intended to finish his career as a Cavalier, and all fans of the wine and gold should take him at his word on this.

So relax and enjoy the fact that LeBron James will be wearing the wine and gold of the Cleveland Cavaliers once again.

Where does the organization go from here? First, the rebuilding process is over and the Cavs are now contenders for an NBA title. Although fans want and are projecting that this upcoming season, it really isn’t likely, but certainly David Blatt’s squad will be in the playoffs.

And remember that the Cavs did win 33 games last night despite a poor coaching staff. They probably are much closer to a .500 team than their record would indicate.

The rumors abound that Cleveland is in the mix for free agent to be (after next season) Kevin Love. The power forward’s critics will point out that Love has never appeared in a playoff game.

However, that is merely the luck of the draw. If the Timberwolves were in the Eastern Conference, they would have made the post-season with their 40-42 record.

Love averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game last year, and is a 38% shooter from beyond the three-point line. He also will not turn 26 years old until September. He’s played for the US Olympic team which won the gold medal in 2012 t00, where he played with James.

If GM David Griffin can get him without dealing this year’s top draft pick, Andrew Wiggins, why wouldn’t you make that deal? And if Dion Waiters needs to be included, that shouldn’t be an impediment.

Trading draft picks? So what, the Cleveland roster is still very young and dealing some of the first round picks accumulated by the Cavs’ front office wouldn’t be a hardship to the franchise.

After all, they just moved two former first round picks in Sergey Karasev and Tyler Zeller to create cap space to sign James.

Love’s defense has been questioned, but good coaches can scheme around that and playing defense is mostly about effort and James will make sure his new teammates know that it is worth the work.

Also, wouldn’t it be incredible to see Love fire one of his three-quarter court outlet passes to James streaking down the court?

Even if Cavs do not make another huge move, they should be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. One issue is the division which probably has the two other top teams in the conference in Indiana and Chicago.

The Cavs could finish with the second best record in the East and be the fourth seed.

The philosophy of the Cavalier front office changed when James agreed to sign here on Friday. They have a chance to win a title next season. Again, not to say they will, but if they can add an all-star player without giving up Wiggins, who could be a special player in two to three years?

Why not?

The Prodigal LeBron Comes Home

As Al Michaels said in 1980 at the Olympic hockey championship, this impossible dream comes true.

That’s how it feels in Cleveland today with the announcement by basketball’s best player, LeBron James, that he is returning to northeastern Ohio to resume his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While everyone (us included) spewed venom over James’ departure four years ago, we have to explain our feelings this way. We are Cavaliers fans, and we support people who play for the wine and gold.

So, those feelings are set aside today. If Dan Gilbert and James can sit down and set aside the situation that occurred after the latter took his talents to South Beach, then fans can put them aside as well.

Because in basketball, where only five players are on the court at one time, one player makes more of a difference in this sport than in baseball and football, so a talent like James makes the Cavaliers an instant contender for a championship.

Perhaps we are quick to forgive James because it’s been 50 years since a Cleveland professional sports team has won a championship, but remember this: In 2003, when the Cavs drafted James with the first pick in the draft, he had to play here.

This time, he wanted to come home and play for the Cavs.

And because of that, most fans will give LeBron the benefit of the doubt and will welcome him back with open arms. After all, we are a forgiving society.

Even around the country, James has improved and repaired his reputation. Most fans outside of Miami were disappointed with him leaving Cleveland, and his return is being viewed with favor by most of the US.

Even if the Cavs don’t make any more moves (which is doubtful) this off-season, the wine and gold already have a player better than anyone James played with in his first stint with the Cavaliers in Kyrie Irving, a two-time all-star.

That’s no disrespect to all of the players who made the playoffs a yearly event at Quicken Loans Arena prior to 2010. It’s simply the truth.

And since James has always been a gifted passer, he should be a good fit for new coach David Blatt’s offense which features ball movement.

Now, James comes back to the franchise as a championship player, one who can set the tone for a still very young roster. He can show them how difficult it is to win an NBA title.

And it is a much bigger story for him and his “brand” to come back to the area where he grew up, and now he can raise his family here and watch his children go the St.Vincent-St. Mary and play in the gym that bares his name.

Seriously, when was the last time a great player in his prime decided to play in Cleveland, Ohio?

Whatever contempt you had for James when he left should be tempered that the best basketball player in the world, and someone who is known throughout the planet has decided to work in our city.

Coupled with the Republican Convention coming to town in 2016, it’s been a helluva week for northeastern Ohio.

Will Tribe Make a Move? History Says No.

The Cleveland Indians are heading into the All-Star break in the middle of an important homestand.

They took two of three from Kansas City and now are in the midst of a four game series with the Yankees and finish it off with a three game set with the White Sox.

The Tribe needs to get at least six wins while at Progressive Field.

With the Oakland A’s pulling off a huge trade on the fourth of July, and the Angels and Yankees making minor deals to help their ballclubs, so far the Indians haven’t done anything despite a roster that needs some help if they are going to stay in the post-season race.

The question is will they?

It would go against the pattern of this franchise since the Mark Shapiro regime took over in 2001.

In 2007, a year in which the Indians won the division, the only move made near the trading deadline was to re-acquire OF Kenny Lofton for a minor leaguer. While Lofton helped Cleveland down the stretch, it wasn’t a bold move.

Last season, GM Chris Antonetti dealt another low minor leaguer to St. Louis for left-handed reliever Mark Rzcepczynski, who certainly helped shore up the Tribe bullpen.

The one big move the front office made was in 2011, when Manny Acta’s crew got off to a quick start, Antonetti did make a bold move in dealing his past two first round picks, Drew Pomerantz and Alex White to Colorado for RHP Ubaldo Jimenez.

Jimenez was wildly inconsistent for much of his tenure here, although he was tremendous down the stretch last season as the Indians made the playoffs.

However, the scorecard on the big righty is 2-1/2 seasons in Cleveland, with a half-year of being a stud pitcher. That’s not enough of a return when you give up two first round draft picks, even if they don’t succeed for the organization they were traded to.

As a matter of comparison, the A’s traded two first round picks to obtain Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, a deal that looks to be a better one than Cleveland made three years ago.

So, if you are hoping the Indians are going to make a big splash at the trade deadline, you are probably going to be disappointed.

If they wanted to make a megadeal, they would have to part with their top prospect, SS Francisco Lindor, and that’s not a move we’d be willing to make for a player who may only be with the Tribe for the next year and a half at best.

However, the Indians still have depth in their system in the middle infield and the bullpen, and have some well regarding pitching prospects in the lower minors.

If they don’t make a move, they are counting on a lot of luck to stay in the race. They will need Nick Swisher to emerge from his three-month slump and for Justin Masterson to suddenly put it all together.

Right now, those things don’t seem likely to happen.

Instead they go out and get a career back up in OF Chris Dickerson from Pittsburgh to help out while Michael Bourn is out. Nothing against Dickerson, but wouldn’t it be better to see what Tyler Holt can do? Holt has some upside, Dickerson has a proven record of mediocrity.

And why not give some of Bourn’s at bats to Ryan Raburn and/or Mike Aviles if you don’t want to give a rookie the bulk of the playing time?

If the Tribe doesn’t stay in contention, they have only themselves to blame because these weaknesses have been visible for at least a month, and the front office has done nothing to address them.

Doing that would be a bold step. The history of the front office is they are only bold sellers, not bold buyers.

Another Good Week for The Wine and Gold

When the NBA free agency period kicked off on July 1st, the front office of the Cleveland Cavaliers made news immediately, even though they didn’t add a player.

Instead, they kept one of their own, signing Kyrie Irving to a five-year contract extension which will keep him in the wine and gold through the 2019-20 season. No shorter deal like the one inked by LeBron James following his rookie contract.

Thus ends the speculation that Irving was not happy in Cleveland and wanted out as soon as possible.

We believe Irving wasn’t happy during the last season, and his disenchantment had every thing to do with the lack of respect he had for his coach, Mike Brown. The hiring of David Griffin as general manager and David Blatt as coach changed the two-time all-star’s mind. He now has a good feeling for the future of the franchise.

We have said this before, when coaches don’t play the right people, or design plays that do not work, the players lose confidence in them. To be sure, the total focus on defense in training camp which limited the offense early in the year did not sit well with Irving, and we suspect other players as well.

Remember, Irving played at Duke, coached by the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, who has won three national championships while there and is also the coach of the US National team, piloting two gold medal squads at the Olympics.

In short, he’s one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of the sport.

Imagine what the point guard thought when he saw Brown’s simplistic offense with little or no movement and totally designed on Irving’s (or someone else’s) ability to take his defender off the dribble.

You get the picture.

Remember when there were reports shortly after Luol Deng was traded to Cleveland regarding how Deng couldn’t believe the mess here. Deng played for Krzyzewski at Duke and then was coached by Tom Thibidoux in Chicago, two excellent coaches.

This is not to denigrate Brown, who by all accounts is a great guy and has paid his dues in the sport, but he’s not cut out to be a head coach in the NBA, and probably will not get a chance to be a head coach in the association again.

And this criticism of Brown doesn’t excuse the poor roster construction put together by former GM Chris Grant.

His roster was a collection of guards who like to have the ball in their hands (Irving, Dion Waiters, Jarrett Jack) and players more suited to play power forward in the NBA (Anderson Varejao, Tristan Thompson, Anthony Bennett, Earl Clark).

And he seemed reluctant to deal with strength, trading one of those players to fill obvious needs at small forward, shooting guard, and center.

From Irving’s point of view, he now sees a GM willing to make moves to improve the roster. He sees Andrew Wiggins, the first overall pick, who can play the #2 or the #3, and is an athletic freak, a guy who can run the floor with him.

He sees a coach who has won everywhere he’s been, and has a feel for both ends of the floor.

He sees a plan for this franchise going forward and he saw a chance for success.

That’s the reason for his change of heart and the reason he will wear the wine and gold for a long time.

No Big Trades Yet for Cavs, But a Solid Draft Night

Many basketball fans in Cleveland thought draft night was going to be something monumental for the Cavaliers.

While it was an important night for the franchise, they simply used the draft picks at their disposal and apparently made one minor trade.

They used the first overall pick to draft Andrew Wiggins out of Kansas. Now, we would have picked Jabari Parker, because he is the more polished basketball player, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like the pick.

In four years, Wiggins could be one of the best players in the league. Our opinion is simply that for a team that claims to want to win now, they took a guy who could be much better down the road than he will be next season.

The newest Cavalier has a lot going for him. He’s an athletic freak and can probably play on the defensive end effectively as a rookie. He won’t be exposed when the other team has the basketball.

Another thing he has going for him is the new coach. The last head coach of the wine and gold didn’t like to play rookies and didn’t know how to handle them or develop their talent.

We have faith that David Blatt will put Wiggins in situations where he will have success. In fact, it’s almost like Blatt will have two high first round choices to coach because of the way last year’s choice, Anthony Bennett was handled.

On the second round, GM David Griffin addressed one of the team’s needs in getting a shooter, Joe Harris of Virginia. It will be interesting to see who wins the battle for playing time in training camp, Harris or Sergey Karasev, another first rounder buried on the bench by the old regime.

Remember that the latter played for the new coach on the Russian National Team a year ago, so he is well aware of his ability. Still, shooting was a big problem for the wine and gold, so the more they bring in the better. It is likely both youngster could figure into the mix as early as next season.

Harris looks like he has a quick release which is important in the NBA with defenders flying at you.

Later in the second round, it has been reported that Cleveland acquired another big man in 6’10” Dwight Powell from Stanford. The scouting report on him is he is a good defender and has a high basketball IQ, which is another thing Griffin mentioned when he was hired. He wanted smart players.

To get Powell, and veteran big man Brendan Haywood from Charlotte, the Cavs gave up Alonzo Gee, a small forward who didn’t have much of an offensive game, and had fallen out of the rotation for an extended period last season.

Haywood, originally a first round pick by Cleveland in 2001, but dealt for Michael Doleac, was probably included for salary reasons, but he’s a veteran big man. He missed all of last season with an injury. At 34 years old, it is doubtful he has anything left in the tank.

Now comes the trading season. The guess here is Griffin will deal Dion Waiters and one of his collection of power forwards, probably Tristan Thompson in the coming weeks to add more talent to this season’s roster.

Remember, Cleveland has a lot of available cap space. So, even though there was no blockbuster deal on draft night, it doesn’t mean there won’t be one when the league calendar flips the page in the next couple of weeks.

The restructuring has begun. Sit back and enjoy the excitement coming.

Gilbert Needs to Build Team, Not Make Headlines.

Until a few years ago, the Los Angeles Clippers were the NBA’s poster child for a horribly run franchise.

They spent a great deal of time participating in the draft lottery, accumulating a bunch of high draft picks, and for the most part made the wrong pick, or the player they selected had injury issues.

They seemed always to be in a state of chaos.

Sound familiar?

Dan Gilbert needs to get his franchise in order, and he needs to do it quickly.

After giving David Griffin the keys to the kingdom in naming his as general manager a few weeks ago, it appears the owner tried to lure Kentucky head basketball coach John Calipari to the Cavs with a long-term deal and lots and lots of cash.

Perhaps Griffin was the guy who made the suggestion to hire Calipari, but it doesn’t seem like his style. It looks as though it has the fingerprints of the team’s owner all over it.

It’s time for Gilbert to start building a solid franchise and stop trying to make the quick fix, big splash move.

And as a franchise, the owner, GM, whoever the coach is, and everyone else who works at Quicken Loans Arena has to give up on the notion that if they make one move, then LeBron James will charge back to Cleveland on a white horse and rescue the Cavaliers.

Instead they need to put the pieces together to build a squad that can make the playoffs and start the process of contending for a high seed and eventually a spot in the conference finals. That will come by making the correct personnel decisions, hiring a head coach the players respect and developing an organization that expects to win.

If you look at what has happened since James departed, they spent the first couple of seasons not really trying to win, trying to follow the “Oklahoma City model”, which is basically stinking for a season, being able to draft Kevin Durant, and hitting the jackpot with future first round picks in Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.

That requires a lot of luck, which the wine and gold have had in getting the top selection three times in four years.

They did draft an all-star type player in Kyrie Irving, who it remains to be seen if he has the toughness to be a franchise player. They picked Dion Waiters, a player much like Irving, Tristan Thompson, who looks like a journeyman big man, and Anthony Bennett, who was a wasted pick in his first year.

Why? Because when the front office hired the coach after Byron Scott, they hired a guy who has no track record of developing young players, despite having a roster full of them.

So now, they hire a new GM, and it appears the owner undermines him just a month after giving him the gig.

Again, maybe Griffin was part of that decision, but since he is interviewing assistant coaches like Tyrone Lue and Alvin Gentry, it doesn’t seem likely.

Gilbert is approaching joke status among national basketball writers. They can’t wait to see what happens next in Cleveland.

What needs to happen is for him to step back and let David Griffin run the organization. This team has some talent, but they need to get some players who compliment each other in exchange for all of the point guards and power forwards they currently have.

Cleveland basketball fans deserve more from the Cavs’ organization.

Three Thoughts on the Cavs

Over the past couple of weeks, since they won the NBA draft lottery, there has been much discussion about the future of the local professional basketball team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Some of the discussion has come from national sources and some from the Cleveland media. Here are our thoughts on a few issues regarding the wine and gold…

Kyrie Irving’s contract. Should GM David Griffin offer the former Rookie of the Year a maximum contract extension or not, that is the question?

The problem here is the monumentally horrible decision to bring back Mike Brown as head coach last season. It is almost as if you have to treat last season as a throw away for Irving and several other young Cavaliers.

We don’t know what to think about the MVP of last season’s All-Star Game. Is he selfish? Is he willing to play defense? Can he co-exist with Dion Waiters?

Brown didn’t do anything to help any young players on the Cleveland roster, so we think we need to see how Irving plays under a new coach, one that can put the players in an offensive system where he can thrive.

However, if he doesn’t have any inclination to sign here long-term, then Griffin should look to get what he can for the former first overall pick.

Getting Kevin Love. Love wants out in Minnesota, and the Cavs certainly have the assets to get the all-star forward. However, fans should temper the idea of getting the power forward.

Why? First, because unless Griffin can get Love to agree to a contract extension, it doesn’t make sense to deal a whole bunch of assets for one year of Love, even as good as he is. And we don’t think Love will do that for a couple of reasons.

One, he can probably get more money by going out on the open market as a free agent. Second, this isn’t a basketball decision for Love, it’s a “brand” thing. Love wants to be famous and be someone who can get huge money in endorsements.

He can’t maximize that earning potential in Minnesota, nor can he do it in Cleveland.

If it was strictly a basketball move, why would he be talking about going to the Lakers, a team currently in shambles?

This is the new NBA, which is starting to resemble the WWE. It’s more about other things than basketball.

The Search of a New Coach. It appears Griffin is talking to a lot of people, which is good. The disturbing thing is that their are reports that the GM and owner Dan Gilbert want to be “involved”. That will probably restrict who will accept the job.

George Karl would seem to be a great candidate, with proven success and a great basketball mind, but it is doubtful with that track record that he would want to have the GM and owner quizzing him daily.

The same is likely true for any high-profile coach, and we are putting Lionel Hollins in that category as well.

That means the Cavs are probably looking a current assistants and others who can’t wait to get back in the head coaching gigs in the NBA, like Alvin Gentry and Vinny Del Negro. Do either of those people excite you?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have talent, it just doesn’t fit together. Bringing in the right coach, and trading some talent and/or draft picks that don’t fit for ones that do, and they should be in the playoffs next season.

After a few seasons of moves that don’t make much sense, it’s time to start a new streak of decisions that will work.

Indians Have Rotation Woes

There is an old saying in baseball that when you think you have enough starting pitching, you go out and get more.

The Cleveland Indians didn’t heed that advice this off-season.

After last season, when the Tribe’s starting pitching was more than solid, Cleveland lost two starters to free agency: Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir. They really didn’t replace either last winter.

When the 2013 season started, GM Chris Antonetti had several alternatives for manager Terry Francona after signing Brett Myers as a free agent and getting Trevor Bauer in the Shin-Soo Choo deal.

The rotation to start the year was Justin Masterson, Jimenez, Myers, Zack McAllister and Kazmir. When the latter had a set back to start the season, they had Corey Kluber and Bauer in reserve at Columbus.

By the end of April, both had made starts in the majors as Myers injured his arm.

Later that season, Danny Salazar emerged as a factor based on his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and started the wild card game for the Indians.

This season, that depth hasn’t been there.

Salazar and Carlos Carrasco replaced the two free agents in the rotation, and the organization had Bauer and Josh Tomlin, also coming back from elbow surgery, in reserve.

Unfortunately, the two replacements (Salazar and Carrasco), both with little experience, haven’t done the job, and with Masterson and McAllister struggling, the rotation is in a state of chaos.

Thankfully, Tomlin has provided his usual performances, he’ll give you five or six good innings, and Bauer has done well in each of his two big league starts.

Salazar is back at AAA and was roughed up in his first start there, and Carrasco seems anchored to the bullpen as a long reliever/mop up man, so there aren’t any more alternatives for Francona unless some sort of trade is made.

Friday night, lefty T. J. House made his first major league start in an 8-4 loss to the Orioles. House did the best he could, but nobody in the organization had him making a start in the big leagues this season, we would bet.

It looks like the southpaw is in the rotation for the unforeseen future, as Cleveland has him listed as the starter Wednesday in Chicago. We would give that start to Carrasco, as crazy as we thought that seemed a couple of weeks ago.

Until Salazar can throw strikes consistently and keep the ball down in the zone (he’s allowed eight in 40 innings pitched this year), Francona and pitching coach Mickey Callaway don’t have a lot of alternatives. No one is going to trade you a proven starting pitcher.

If the Indians did have to get another starter from Columbus, it would likely be RHP Travis Banwart, a minor league free agent who was in the Oakland system in 2013. He’s 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA in AAA, allowing 40 walks in 50+ innings, striking out 38 hitters and walking 18.

The other starters at Columbus are RHP Tyler Cloyd, who has allowed 65 hits in 47-1/3 frames (yikes!), and major league washout Kyle Davies.

So, the only real alternative for the Tribe is to get Masterson and McAllister straightened out and get them pitching like they did in 2013. And Masterson’s drop in velocity is no doubt alarming for the front office.

If they improve, the Indians will have some starting depth back. Until then, Francona and Callaway are scrambling to find starters who can give them solid outings.

Not exactly a recipe for success if you want to make the post-season.

Lottery Win Gives Griffin Another Asset

At least the Cleveland Cavaliers have one arena where they are victorious, unfortunately, it is not on the court.

Instead, it happens in the NBA Draft Lottery, where the wine and gold came up with the first overall pick for the third time in the last four seasons.

To this point, those first overall picks haven’t translated into success in the regular season, which is why the Cavs continue to be in the lottery. They haven’t been able to make the playoffs.

The first overall selection does give Cleveland GM David Griffin a valuable commodity, it remains to be seen though, who will make the first pick next month.

Why? Because the Cavs have already been through this before. Is it really best for the team to take another player who will take two, three, or maybe even four years to be able to make a difference in the NBA?

Next year will be the fifth season since LeBron James left for Miami, causing the Cavs to start a rebuilding process. The time for developing players is over, it’s time to start winning games. Will the first overall pick help them get over the hump in 2014-15?

We are all aware of last year’s draft in which the Cavs selected Anthony Bennett with the first choice. The rookie of the year turned out to be Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams, who was the 11th pick. Out of the top ten, only Victor Oladipo (Orlando), Cody Zeller (Charlotte), and Trey Burke (Utah) could be said to be big contributors to their teams as rookies.

The year before, the Cavs selected Dion Waiters with the 4th overall choice. That draft looks to be pretty solid with only Thomas Robinson and Austin Rivers not getting big minutes with their respective teams. Still, only four players, Damian Lillard (Portland), Terence Ross (Toronto), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Charlotte), and Bradley Beal (Washington) are playing a significant role of playoff teams.

In 2011, Cleveland selected Kyrie Irving first and Tristan Thompson fourth. Only two players taken in the top ten of that draft, Jonas Valenciunas (Toronto) and Kemba Walker (Charlotte) are getting significant minutes on teams that made the playoffs.

The point is there haven’t been more than a handful of rookies who have made a significant difference in their first couple of years in the league. It is almost like the major league baseball draft, where you are picking players who can help you down the road.

The Cavaliers can’t wait any longer to start winning.

We have said this before, players who can make an immediate impact in the NBA generally play well in the NCAA tournament. They don’t disappear.

Many have Cleveland selecting Anthony Wiggins of Kansas as their choice. His last college game was dreadful, scoring less than 10 points. He also weighs under 200 pounds. Can you see him playing against guys like Paul George, Paul Pierce, and other small forwards who are 6’7″ and weigh 220 pounds?

This isn’t to say Wiggins won’t ever be good, in fact, he may turn into an all-star player. Irving did, but his success hasn’t translated into wins on the floor.

The point is there isn’t a player in this draft who can turn a franchise next season, so if Griffin can turn this pick into a young veteran who is already a quality player, that would be better for the wine and gold.

As for young, we mean mid 20’s, not a player who only has a few years remaining in their career.

To be sure, it was great for the Cavaliers to get the first overall pick. However, they need to look at it as another asset they’ve accumulated to get back to winning. There isn’t a franchise turning player in this draft.

Tribe Play, Moves Puzzling

There is no question the six game losing streak on the west coast trek for the Cleveland Indians turned a so-so month of April into a disappointing one. The Tribe left Cleveland at 11-11, a .500 record, and they returned home 11-17, and in last place.

More concerning to the media and the fans is the sloppy play of Terry Francona’s bunch. Using two of the major defensive statistics available, the Indians rank last in the American League in defense. They’ve made the most errors and they have the worst defensive efficiency.

Thank goodness Cleveland pitchers rank third in the league in strikeouts. The less balls put into play, the better.

Sometimes, the errors don’t allow runs to score, but they make pitchers have to throw more pitches. This was never more evident than Friday night, when Elliott Johnson’s error in the fourth inning made Danny Salazar throw at least 15 more tosses to home plate. Otherwise, Francona could’ve squeezed another inning out of the starter.

Along with the poor play, the front office has made some curious moves thus far, and we aren’t talking about having Carlos Carrasco start the season in the rotation, we could understand the reasoning for that.

Two of these strange moves were made yesterday. The Indians announced Josh Tomlin would start on Tuesday against Minnesota. While Tomlin deserves to be back with the big club (2-1, 2.06 ERA), he’s not the Columbus starter with the best statistics.

That would be Trevor Bauer, who owns a 3-0 record with a 1.10 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 32-2/3 innings.

Why not reward Bauer for his outstanding pitching, plus his presence in the rotation would send some excitement to both a fan base and perhaps a clubhouse that appears to need a jolt.

Look, this is not to say make the move for the fans. Bauer’s performance merits a promotion. He’s pitching well, his confidence should be at an all time high, and he’s got the look of a potential ace.

With all due respect to Tomlin, we know what he is. He’s no better than a third starter, a guy who won’t be spectacular, but will keep you in games. And we’ve advocated bringing up the right-hander when he was the only starter having success in AAA when he came up in 2010.

The other puzzling move was bringing up reliever Nick Hagadone to provide an extra arm in the bullpen until Tomlin gets the call on Tuesday. (Hagadone was sent back today to make room for Nyjer Morgan, needed because of Michael Bourn’s hamstring problems).

Really, there wasn’t anyone on the 40-man roster they could’ve brought up other than a hard throwing lefty, who can’t find home plate?

Wouldn’t you rather give a guy like Austin Adams a shot? Or bring Vinnie Pestano up for a few days?

Hagadone has an electric arm, but he’s never demonstrated an ability to throw strikes consistently. Why does the front office continually reward him with major league time? That said, it’s a moot point now, and again, he would’ve been sent out on Tuesday anyway.

With Bourn day-to-day, the Indians have another problem. With Francona’s preference for carrying 13 pitchers, the Tribe can’t have a roster spot for a player who may be out several days. They almost have to put that player on the disabled list. That’s why it wouldn’t be a surprise if Bourn has to go back on the DL when Tomlin comes up in a few days.

For now, what the Indians need most is to tighten up their defense and win some ball games. The season is more than 1/6th through. You can’t use the “it’s early” excuse much longer.