Ramblin on ...

Alright ramblers, let's get ramblin ...

Joe Cleveland has some takes to spew out on a few different things going on in the world of Cleveland sports. So, instead of doing a bunch of different blogs, he's only going to do one (if I got paid by the blog, I'd probably put ones with two sentances in it every hour on the hour).

So, here goes:

<> Fausto Carmona is not who is says he is, and he's not as young as he says he is. Gee, what a surprise, a Dominican player who lied about their age to get into the country? What's really surprising is the whole alias thing.

"Fausto Carmona" is apparently really known as Roberto Hernandez Heredia. He was picked up by the Dominican government and charged with identity theft, or something like that. Apparenlty, there really is a Fausto Carmona, and the real Fausto was getting paid by the fake "Fausto" to use his name. When he stopped getting paid, the story goes, Fausto decided to out "Fausto."

It might be a while before "Fausto" comes back to America and pitches for the Tribe. That sigh of relief you heard was from fans not wanting to watch him get torched anymore and lose double-digit ball games each season.

Yes, it's happened to a lot of different teams (Leo Nunez is not who he says he is, either). Heck, it's happened to the Indians in past when Bartolo Colon was revealed to being two years older than he already was in 2002 (he was traded a few months later). But, it's yet another black mark on the Indians and the Dolan-Shapiro-Antonetti leadership chain.

The Indians, who could very easily void the contract because, after all, it's with a player who technically doesn't exist. However, they seem to be holding out hope that he comes back and pitches? Have they not been watching him pitch every year since 2007? He's not a 28-year-old with upside anymore. He's a 31-year-old clearly on the downside of his career.

In typical Tribe fashion, they replaced a loser with another loser, trading for a pitcher who was winless last season and has a last name that doesn't necessarily inspire confidence from a pitching standpoint -- Kevin Slowey. How bad will this rotation be if "Fausto" Hernandez Heredia gets cleared to play -- Slowey, NL-loss leader and over-the-hill guy Derek Lowe AND "Fausto?"

Tribe Fever, got to catch it!

<> Joe Cleveland has a Twitter account, as does the person behind "Joe Cleveland." However, neither of us rarely use Twitter. I think Tony Grossi showed us why it's best to avoid the latest social media fad.

Grossi was one the longest-standing Browns beat reporters in town with the lone Cleveland paper in town. That gives him a lot of clout and a lot of respectability nationally. When the national folks want to confirm something that's going on with the Browns, they'll tend to look to Grossi. When a Cleveland representative is needed to vote on the Hall of Fame, Grossi was the logical choice.

Yesterday, Grossi was removed from the Browns beat for what they're terming an "inadvertant Tweet" concerning Browns owner Randy Lerner.

You see, Lerner -- who rarely meets with the media and prefers a hands-off approach to running his team, unlike the guy in town before him who decided to bolt to land of crabcakes -- decided to give an interview with the Browns' flagship radio station, WTAM 1100-AM, and it's popular afternoon host, Mike Trivisonno.

During Lerner's interview, Grossi sent out a Tweet that was supposed to go to just one of his followers that said, “He is a pathetic figure, the most irrelevant billionaire in the world.” Instead, it went out to all of his followers in Twitter-ville.

Oops.

Grossi and the Plain Dealer apologized about the Tweet the next day, but Grossi remained pretty quiet. His last story, the game story from the AFC Championship game between the Ravens and the Patriots, had a very heavy Ravens slant to it (surprising, considering Grossi has led the charge against keeping a certain Judas owner out of the Hall of Fame ... although, then again, Grossi and Bill Belichick butted heads a lot during Belichick's tenure as Browns coach before the big move).

The Tweet basically confirmed what fans who have been reading his stuff had long believed -- Grossi had a bias against the Browns. He and Modell didn't get along because of some snafu that involved mislabeling Modell's not returning a call to comment into a flat-out no-comment on some story (and cost him the beat for a little while). Grossi had problems with Al Lerner, with Policy, with Butch Davis, with Phil Savage, you name it.

Grossi immediately pounced on Eric Mangini upon his hiring, supposedly saying in front of the entire media that Mangini "wasn't gonna get away with the same shit here that he did in New York." You could tell from the rip that Grossi was trying to get Mangini run out of town.

For whatever reason, Grossi didn't hit it off with Mike Holmgren, either. Holmgren's infamous "you're either with us or against us" quote was in response to Grossi, supposedly.

Grossi was snarky to readers who asked him questions in his "Hey Tony" mailbag. Grossi kept harping on the draft-day trade that allowed the Falcons to draft Julio Jones, even after Jones kept getting injured and dropping passes at inopportune times.

Fans were tired of him. And, a lot of them rejoiced at the news.

As a sportswriter, I respect Tony Grossi for what he brought to the table. I'm very happy he's kept Modell out of the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. However, the bias was apparent to even the most non-partisan fan out there. It got really old.

There's doing your job, and then there's going above and beyond to show that you're the top dog in this town, and if you're not with him, you're against him.

Hopefully, there will be more objective and fair Browns reporting in the future.

<> Reports have suddenly surfaced (coincidentally, as the Cavs were about to have their first matchup with the Heat) that LeBron isn't happy in Miami -- gee, what a surprise -- and would look to opt out of his contract after three seasons in South Beach.

And, supposedly, if he were to do so, his No. 1 choice to sign with would be ... wait for it ... the Cleveland Cavaliers.

ARE YOU (BLEEPING) SERIOUS?????

It's obvious to me that his LRMR team are probably leaking this info to their confidants in the media. The LRMR team are all from the Akron area and are a giant mess. They are essentially responsible for the debacle that was "The Decision" and turning LeQuitter into one of the most hated players in today's NBA.

The word is LeQuit is not happy that he's become a social pariah in his home region. I guess growing up here didn't clue him in to how Cleveland fans respond when one of their players quits on them and stabs them in the back. Cleveland fans root for the name in the front of the jersey, not the name in the back. Even if that player was a superstar while they were here, the moment that person leaves is the moment that person becomes Public Enemy No. 1.

LeQuitter must have not paid attention to when Carlos Boozer did the same thing on a lesser scale and was reviled every single time he touched the ball during any game here. How about when Brian Grant, who played at Xavier, turned down a chance to play for Cleveland and forced a three-way tride to Miami, and Grant was suddenly always booed here.

How about Albert Belle and how Cleveland fans showered him with Monopoly money the first time he played at The Jake as a member of the Chicago White Sox. Belle didn't help himself by continually flipping off the fans on the Home Run Porch all night and cursing at them.

Perhaps, now that LeQuit is setting down with his Baby Mama after she left Miami and decided to go back to Akron, he wants to come back home and be loved again. If he doesn't win a championship this season with the Heat, you can bet the vultures will be circling around that carcass.

I don't think Dan Gilbert would bring him back. It would be his turn to tell LeBron to shove it after LeBron went on ESPN and essentially told Gilbert the same thing. Even if it meant more money and a chance to light a fire with a young nucleus of Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and whoever the Cavs land in this year's draft.

And, how will the fans react? The fans gave Jim Thome a standing ovation when he returned to the Indians. However, that was about 8 years after he signed with the Phillies in the first place. Eight years is a long time, a long time for bygones to be bygones.

LeBron would only be gone three or four years if he decides to leave South Beach and take his talents back to the North Coast. The question is, would the North Coast allow it?

Joe Cleveland says, I hope to hell not. Let him stay out.

<> We can now say "Rest in Peace" to any chance the Indians had of winning the AL Central Division for the forseeable future, after Prince Fielder signed with his father Cecil's team, the Tigers, for nine years after our old friend Victor Martinez was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

The one saving grace for the Tribe is that MLB will be taking two Wild Card teams in the future. But, with Boston and the Yankees (and even Tampa Bay) emerging every year as a top team, will one of those berths even be out there for the Tribe to take?

Joe Cleveland's been very critical of the Indians' brain trust, especially Larry Dolan, for their inability to "keep up with the Jonses." Yes, MLB isn't set up to promote parity like the NFL is. Yes, there is no salary cap, which allows billioniares in big markets to spend to their hearts content.

However, this is the ocean that the Dolans choose to swim in. Once upon a time, the Indians were one of the winningest organizations in the Major Leagues, playing to a packed house every single night for 455 consecutive nights. That time was only 10-15 years ago.

If the ocean is becoming too deep, it's time for the Dolans to call for the life preserver to take them to shore. In other words, it's time for them to cash out and leave professional sports ownership to true businessmen capable of spending money to better the product, promote the product to the masses and show they are truly committed to winning.

The Dolans are not that description at all, and fans know it. Fans aren't going to spend their hard-earned money on a team that's not committed to winning. Fans aren't going to spend their hard-earned money on an atmosphere that, quite frankly, isn't very entertaining. Fans don't like being accused of being part of the perceived "problem" with decreasing payroll, which both Dolans and Shapiro have done over the course of a few seasons.

Another set of Dolans are running the New York Knicks into the ground as we speak. Two once proud franchises owned by people in the same family. One meddles too much and throws his money at the wrong things. The other overspent for his team and can't afford to spend any more money.

Either way, they both need to be put out to pasture ... and I hate the Knicks.

<> Finally, Joe Cleveland was so ecstatic to see the Thieving Bastards get there cumuppance last weekend with Billy Cundiff's missed chip-shot field goal that would have sent the AFC Championship game into overtime and Lee Evans' dropped TD pass that would have given them the win.

If ever a team and a fan base deserved to be shown how it felt to live thorugh The Drive and The Fumble, it's those crabcake-eating, Modell-apologizing theiving bastards, the Baltimorans ... with the exception of the Steelers.

The Steelers got theirs from Tebow. The Ravens got theirs probably even worse.

Both are at home watching the Super Bowl, just like Joe Cleveland is. And, Joe Cleveland is perfectly fine with that ... for now.

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!