The Browns' first full NFL Draft in the Jimmy Haslam III-Joe Banner-Mike Lombardi regime began under a cloud of ominousness, thanks to the FBI and IRS raiding Haslam's Pilot/Flying J Tennessee headquarters and charging the business with defrauding customers on rebates the company promised to them.
Haslam's reputation around Cleveland took a hit when this news hit the fan. Browns fans weren't happy with his status as a "crook." They were concerned about the status of the Browns' franchise if Haslam is indicted -- would Haslam be forced to sell, would the NFL take over the operations of the team while a buyer is found, you name it. Things even as far-fetched as the Browns eventually relocating from Cleveland again were brought up from paranoid Cleveland sports fans who have been through the ringer and back many times over the last 50 years.
The NFL Draft, which took place this past Thursday-through-Saturday, was going to be the welcome distraction from those fears and get fans focusing on football again.
With Haslam in the "War Room" all three days, what the Cleveland Browns was interesting, to say the least.
The Browns kept their sixth pick, despite a reported offer from the St. Louis Rams to trade down 10 spots, did not add a second round pick and wound up making three separate trades that allowed to land veteran wide receiver Devone Bess from the Miami Dolphins, a third-round pick in the 2014 draft from the (gasp) Pittsburgh Steelers and a fourth-round pick in the same draft from the Indianapolis Colts. The result of those three trades was no picks at all in rounds four and five, one pick in round six and two picks in round seven that the Browns used to draft some gambles -- either high-profile players who are coming off major injuries (like Notre Dame safety Jamoris Slaughter) or Division II players from small schools that could be projects.
In the end, the Browns only had two picks in the first 174 draft picks, wound up with five draft picks total, did not take a rookie quarterback (which several so-called draft experts were predicting and a few more in the Cleveland media were calling for) and wound up taking a top-notch pass rusher in LSU's Barkevious Mingo with the sixth-overall pick instead of Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner (who fell to the New York Jets at No. 9). They also wound up taking San Diego State cornerback Leon McFadden in the third round, just one pick higher than the Arizona Cardinals took a gamble on LSU's Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu, who missed all of last season due to drug-related suspensions.
So, why does Joe Cleveland give them a passing grade for this when there are many (and I mean MANY) people -- pundits, media members and fans -- taking them to task for what they did?
With the fact that I've been openly against Mike Lombardi as the general manager and would look for any way to bash the heck out of the guy, and am not currently thrilled with the things going on with Haslam, I find myself defending what they did.
I've tried to be angry about it, but I simply cannot. In fact, I find myself defending the Browns more than I take them to task.
Heading into the first round, the Browns had reportedly worked out every high-profile quarterback in this draft -- Geno Smith, E.J. Manuel, Ryan Nassib, Matt Barkley, Mike Glennon -- to the point that everyone discarded what Joe Banner said last month and felt that the Browns would take a quarterback.
Maybe not at No. 6, but maybe so. Maybe they trade down and use that later first round pick or pick in the second to take a QB.
So, I feared that the Browns wound use that sixth pick to take a guy like Geno Smith, who I am very down on. I saw a few of his college games last year, and he just didn't look like a guy you could make a franchise quarterback. It seemed like he was one of those "flavor of the month" QBs because of the "flavor of the month" read-option offense that some NFL coaches are importing from the college ranks. My motto was simply -- "Anybody But Geno."
So, when the Browns took Mingo, I let out a loud cheer, mostly in relief. It wasn't Geno Smith, thank God. In fact, Smith was passed over by everyone in the first round and was chosen into the seventh pick of the second round by the Jets, who already had a logjam at quarterback that only got more muddled, even after they gave God's favorite player Tim Tebow his walking papers.
When Miami moved up to take Dion Jordan (the guy I wanted most) and the Eagles surprisingly took offensive lineman Lane Johnson, I figured the Browns weren't going to trade. The three offensive linemen looked the most promising, and having Lane Johnson fall to six would have prompted several teams to make the Browns an offer.
After Ziggy Ansah was drafted by the Lions, I felt that the Browns would take either Mingo or Milliner, with a fear that it would be Geno Smith. I was pleasantly surprised that it was Mingo.
M-I-N-G-O! And Mingo was his name-oh!
Can't you envision yourself at FirstEnergy Stadium over the next several years chanting "MINNNNNGOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...." every time he makes a big play? I sure can.
After Geno Smith and another other player with QB listed as his position, the player I didn't want the Browns to settle for was Milliner. Earlier, I wanted Milliner because he fit that everyone believed was the Browns' biggest need -- a starting cornerback opposite Joe Haden. However, more reports came out about his five surgeries and his most recent torn labrum surgery, along with reports that, while Milliner was the best cornerback in the draft, that doesn't necessarily make him a "shutdown" cornerback.
In other words, he was really good, but he wasn't quite elite.
Some questioned Mingo because the Browns had spent a lot of money in the offseason on adding pass rushers from the outside linebacker and defensive end spots. Paul Kruger from Baltimore was the high-profile signing, while Quinton Groves from Arizona and Desmond Bryant from Oakland were also additions that bring some blitzing ability that Ray Horton wants from his attacking 3-4 defense.
With former second-round pick Jabaal Sheard making the move from outside end to outside linebacker, many felt that the Browns would take themselves out of the running for one of the three highly-projected pass rushers in the draft -- Jordan, Ansah and Mingo. Instead, they wound up with Mingo.
Mingo is a physical freak -- with good size and speed and tackling ability, with the ability to put pressure on the quarterback. He was held to 4.5 sacks last year, which concerned some. However, LSU coach Les Miles conceded that the defensive scheme they used took away from Mingo's main strength and that he was mostly used to "stay home" and defend the read-option quarterbacks they went up against. Also, Mingo was exclusively a defensive end in college, and he'd be asked to move to linebacker in the NFL.
Mingo will compete with Sheard and Groves with one of the starting spots at outside linebacker.
Some fear that Mingo will end up like Kamieron Wimbley, the former top-draft choice by the Browns who was moved from end to linebacker, sacked the QB 11 times as a rookie but fell to earth and was subsequently traded two years later. Wimbley has since played for three other NFL teams and has carved out a nice career for himself, but he certainly did not become the elite pass rusher Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel envisioned when they traded with the Ravens to get him.
Where Wimbley struggled was because the Browns did not have any other pass-rush threats on their defense besides Wimbley. Teams double-teamed him. He also struggled with pass coverage. When Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert came aboard with visions of switching to a 4-3 defense, they dealt Wimbley to the Raiders for a third-round pick that wound up becoming Colt McCoy.
Mingo comes into a much better situation than Wimbley did. He enters a position of sudden depth thanks to Kruger, Groves and Sheard. He can put his hand down and play end when the Browns employ that 4-3 look (which they plan on). He'll be counted on as a part of the rotation among the front seven that should keep the players fresh and, hopefully, wreak havoc on opposing offenses.
Mingo will be compared not only to Milliner, but also to Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones, who fell all the way to No. 19 and was taken by the Steelers. Jones was red-flagged because of a spinal stenosis condition that could shave years off his career, along with poor workouts at both his pro day and the NFL combine. However, his 28 sacks over the last two years led the nation (compared to 11.5 sacks over that time frame by Mingo). There are some who felt that the Browns should have taken the trade that was reportedly offered by the Rams and moved down to No. 16 and taken Jones or Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro.
Unfortunately, Browns fans can be a fickle bunch. When the Browns traded down three times in the first round in 2009 (passing Mark Sanchez, Josh Freeman and Jeremy Maclin) and took center Alex Mack, fans complained. When the Browns traded down from No. 6 to No. 24 with the Falcons and wound up with nose tackle Phil Taylor and defensive end Sheard and receiver Greg Little, fans complained that they passed on receiver Julio Jones. When the Browns traded up last year to snag running back Trent Richardson, they complained they paid too steep a price (which also complaining that they didn't pay an even steeper price to try to draft Robert Griffin III).
Let's face it, you guys will complain about anything. If the Browns would have traded down, you would have complained they moved down too far. So, get over it.
Banner said he includes receiver Josh Gordon in this group, and he should. The Browns used their second-round pick on him in last year's supplemental draft. Had Gordon come out this year, he would have been a high first round pick and the top WR taken (ahead of Tavon Austin, who is too small for my tastes). Gordon's addition lifts the status of this draft, in my opinion, and Heckert should take a bow for it.
While the Honey Badger had flash and big-play ability with LSU, playing next to two former No. 1 draft picks in Patrick Peterson and Morris Claiborne, his off-the-field issues and his 5-8 stature worked against him. I felt the Browns would take a chance on him, but only if he fell to the fourth round. Instead, they took McFadden, a four-year starter in the pass-happy Mountain West Conference who, while also small, showed great coverage ability. I have no problems with that pick.
Honey Badger is the ultimate boom or bust pick. If he gets back to drugs, fails on the field, whatever, it's a pick that would have sealed Lombardi's fate. With the Cardinals, he has his old buddy Peterson in the locker room to try to help keep him in line. It's a better situation for him there to succeed than here, even though they already have one of his old teammates in Mingo here. Plus, with his size, Mathieu is more suited to be a nickel back and cover the inside recievers instead of the outside (early plans with Arizona have him moving to safety, which is odd).
Some folks were hoping the Browns would use their fourth and fifth round picks on the plethora of quarterbacks that dropped like stones in this draft. However, I am glad they did not. Guys like Nassib and Barkley fell for a reason. Then, they turn into yet another third- or fourth-round QB that the Browns take that teases fans for a bit but then fall to earth spectacularly. It's a big reason why this team has had trouble developing a long-term quarterback --they always settle for mid-round talent, give them a season or two, and then start over.
See Charlie Frye (third round), Colt McCoy (third round), Luke McCown (fourth round), Spurgeon Wynn (sixth round) and even Derek Anderson (sixth round with Baltimore) as QBs who teased fans with some solid play but flopped when they became the de-facto starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. As it is, both Barkley and Nassib were drafted in the fourth round before the Browns chose, so it was a moot point. But even a guy like Tyler Wilson of Arkansas, all he does is give fans false hope that they found the heir-apparent for Weeden and clamor for him when (and if) Weeden struggles. I'm about tired of QB drama in this town.
The Browns are giving Weeden at least one more to prove himself, and he deserves it. He was a first-round draft choice who had success in college and had intangibles that many scouts love (good size, a big arm, etc.) He's in an offense tailored to his strengths that Rob Chudzinski and Norv Turner are bringing to town. He'll also have a better receiving corps to throw to with the additions of Bess and David Nelson, along with the returns of Gordon, Little, Travis Benjamin, Jordan Norwood and Josh Cooper, along with a (hopefully) healthier Trent Richardson running the ball and an improved offensive line.
If he fails, the Browns suddenly are armed with assets in the 2014 draft to try to make a move to land one of the top quarterbacks in next year's class (Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel, A.J. McCarron, etc.) And that's due to those trades with the Steelers and Colts that everyone complained about.
Some think that the Browns doing what they did in this draft signifies that they are playing for next year already. I don't get that vibe. So, they didn't take a player in the fourth and fifth round. I don't remember a lot of All-Pros coming out of the fourth and fifth round. This is where the Browns typically find players like Owen Marecic, Buster Skrine, James-Michael Johnson, Travis Benjamin, etc. Nice players, but are they going to be studs in the NFL? Doubtful. Most fans are ready to run Marecic and Skrine out of town, as am I? So, they didn't waste a draft pick on a guy that, most likely, wouldn't start on this team and be a training camp body, and they got higher assets in next year's draft for them. Good for them. A solid business move, if you ask me.
I would expect the Browns to become players in the second phase of free agency, that usually heats up after June 1 when players get cut due to contract deadlines. That's where you'll find your depth and special teams help, and, potentially, another starter to go with your existing crew.
I give the draft an early B-, but in reality, how can you legitimately grade a draft two days after it's over when none of these players have gone through training camp or played in a game yet? Last year, there were fans crying that the Browns took Weeden over guard David DeCastro, and then DeCastro suffered a serious injury and missed most of his rookie season with the Steelers. Still crying?
Honestly, what the Browns did in this draft is something most of us aren't used to seeing, which is why some of us are outraged. Would it have helped to add in eight rookie draft picks again? No, it wouldn't have.
I'm willing to give Banner and Co. the benefit of the doubt. I was high on Mingo and was happy they drafted him, and I like the McFadden pick the more I see it. And, let's rejoice for a second that there won't be a quarterback controversy this year.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Great Scott?
Add the Cleveland Cavaliers to the list of Cleveland sports franchises in 2012-13 who decided their current head coach wasn't getting the job done and decided to make a change.
After Manny Acta (Indians) and Pat Shurmur (Browns) were each shown the door by their respective teams, the Cavs have followed suit today by dismissing head coach Byron Scott after three years on the job.
I think what surprises me more than anything, especially in this town, is that most people believe that Scott should have gotten another year.
To be honest, I really don't have an opinion one way or another. I've never been a big fan of the NBA, and my interest in the Cavs has waned, especially this year. All I know is, Scott had three big factors working against him in his bid for an elusive fourth year:
1. His average of 22 wins per season. Sure, the Cavs were in rebuilding mode after LeBron James decided to take his talents south, but I can't think of any head coach whose winning percentage was just .278 being allowed to coach a team longer than 3 years. It's a bottom-line wins, and wins are the bottom line. The Cavs were 64-146 under Scott, and Scott's wins and win percentage rank last among all full-time head coaches that have been with the team longer than one season.
2. His teams being among the worst in the NBA in overall defense. The Cavs finished last in the league in defensive field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot better than 47 percent. During Scott's three years in charge, opponents shot .475, .467 and .476 this season. They never ranked higher than 27th in the league defensively -- a stark contrast to the LeBron James-Mike Brown-era Cavs, who annually ranked in the top five teams defensively.
3. The team's performance this season. What should have been a season of continued growth and potential contention for a playoff berth turned into a miserable season. Sure, star point guard Kyrie Irving, forward Anderson Varejao and last summer's fourth-overall pick Dion Waiters each missed significant time with injuries this season. However, the Cavs blew four second-half leads of 20 points or more this season -- the only team in the NBA to do so and the first team in the last 15 years to do so, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Cavs blew leads of 27 points (at home to LeBron and his Heat) and 26 points (at home to Phoenix), which are the two largest leads blown team history and the two largest leads blown in the NBA this year. The Cavs also lost 16 of their last 18 games and looked listless at times, with some players questioning Scott's coaching decisions to the Akron Beacon Journal.
Sure, you can say that Scott played against a stacked deck from the beginning. Scott was hired after Michigan State coach Tom Izzo turned down a substantial offer from Dan Gilbert to be the new head coach. Scott was an All-Star point guard with the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s and had success in two other coaching stops in New Jersey (an NBA Finals berth) and New Orleans (helped develop Chris Paul into the best point guard in the NBA).
Scott was also hired just days before LeBron James went on ESPN and embarassed the city and the organization by announcing that he was signing with the Miami Heat. I'm sure Scott believed that he was coming here to help coach James and get him over the playoff hump. Instead, he inherited a listless group that lacked direction and missed their superstar teammate. That team slumped to a 19-63 record and lost an NBA-record 26 straight games. That team also disappeared with the world watching on Dec, 8, 2010, when Cleveland came out to voice their displeasure against LeBron James and saw a team that buddied up to him all game, didn't hardly guard him, let alone foul him, and lost by 30 points.
The second season, shortened to 66 games due to the lockout, had promise due to No. 1 overall pick Kyrie Irving and fourth-overall pick Tristan Thompson joining the fold. However, Irving battled injuries (as did Varejao) and the Cavs only won 21 games, landing another spot in the NBA lottery.
This season began with the fourth- (Dion Waiters) and 17th- (Tyler Zeller) overall draft choices joining the fold, and the team showed some promise at times. However, another Varejao season-ending injury pushed up the timetable on Zeller and forced veteran Luke Walton to play a lot more minutes than the team hoped. And, after a steller showing at All-Star weekend put Irving on the NBA map, he suffered yet another injury and missed a good chunk of the second half.
Irving, when he did come back, seemed to sulk both on and off the court. His final home appearance was marred when former Cleveland State standout Norris Cole made him look foolish on an attempted game-winning shot against the LeBron-less Heat, and then compounded when he walked off the court without taking part in the Fan Appreciation postgame ceremonies. While Irving has said all the right things today, it looked to most observers that Scott has lost the ear of his superstar point guard.
With the Cavs believed to be interested in luring James back to town next summer, when LeBron opts out of his contract with the Miami Heat, the time to make a splash is now. Perhaps LeBron never wanted to play for Byron Scott, and his hiring may have been his final push in Miami's direction (probably not, but it's an interesting theory). However, if the Cavs want to be considered a serious player in the LeBron sweepstakes, they need to show immediate improvement next season. That means not playing for ping-pong balls in hoppers and instead playing for playoff berths.
The Cavs enter this offseason with yet another high choice in the NBA lottery, where they could pick as high as first or as low as sixth (or stay put at third). Irving and Thompson will enter their third years as professionals, while Waiters and Zeller will become second-year pros. Young guys such as Shawn Livingston, Mareece Speights and Wayne Ellington could be counted on to add depth, and the team could be an active player in the free agent market for the first time since you-know-who left. The clock is ticking.
Several names have popped up in the early going in the search for the new head coach. The most intriguing is former Lakers coach Phil Jackson, but I don't think he comes here unless he's almost assured LeBron James returns for the 2014-15 season and beyond. Another intriguing name is Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who has rebuffed many chances to jump to the NBA but could want to be paired up with his former point guard Irving (and, of course, LeBron loves playing for him).
More realistic names include Pacers assistant Bryan Shaw (who always seems to be linked to head coaching jobs, but hasn't landed one), Warriors assistant Mike Malone (a former Cavs assistant under Mike Brown), Miami assistant David Fizdale, former Pistons head coach Flip Saunders (a Cuyahoga Heights native), former Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy and current ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy.
There are some who think that Gilbert may make another overture to Izzo. Also, ex-Cavs coach Mike Brown, who was run out of Los Angeles just one week into this season, has already let it be known that he'd love to come back and coach the Cavs.
Joe Cleveland will go on record and say that, if the Cavs decide to re-hire Mike Brown, he will be officially done with Cavs. So, you basically are admitting that the last three years were a mistake. It also makes Gilbert (who fired Brown over the objections of GM Danny Ferry, who subsequently quit) look even more foolish than the national perception already is. And, when so many believed that LeBron was behind the firing of Brown (by quitting on him during the Celtics series and talking about wanting to play for a guy who at least had a track record of playing and coaching), why would those of you who think that LeBron would return next summer believe that he'd want to come back playing for Mike Brown?
It just doesn't make sense. But then again, nothing about the NBA makes any sense to me.
At the very least, the NBA planets aligned (wink-wink) and the Lakers backed into the playoffs, even without Kobe Bryant. That means the Cavs can get the Lakers' No. 1 overall pick this year instead of the Miami Heat's last pick in the first round. So, the Cavs should have two more first rounders in the top 16, which is a good thing.
A very precarious fan base hangs in the balance with this head coaching hire and what the team does this offseason. The Indians won back many disgruntled fans when they landed the big fish in Terry Francona and shown a willingness to spend money in free agency that they lacked recently. The Browns didn't land their so-called "big fish" in either Chip Kelly or Nick Saban, and a fan base waits with baited breath to see how new coach Rob Chudzinski and coordinators Norv Turner and Ray Horton mesh together with the new group of players. New owner Jimmy Haslam's problems with the feds stemming from Pilot Flying J, along with distrust of returning GM Mike Lombardi, have only added to the fan base's anxiety of the upcoming season.
The Cavs were a solid No. 2 (not counting Ohio State football) behind the Browns locally until this season. What they do between now and August will say a lot about if they can regain that spot among the locals, or if they will fade into more apathy and obscurity.
***
By the way, you may have noticed that I've written Joe Cleveland under my real identity. It was time. As it is, most of the people who read this blog already know who I am anyway. When I decided to bring back Off The Turnbuckle (theoriginalott.blogspot.com), I had to change my Blogger profile. That included Joe Cleveland. So, from now on, you will know that Dan Gilles is the guy writing Joe Cleveland.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
After Manny Acta (Indians) and Pat Shurmur (Browns) were each shown the door by their respective teams, the Cavs have followed suit today by dismissing head coach Byron Scott after three years on the job.
I think what surprises me more than anything, especially in this town, is that most people believe that Scott should have gotten another year.
To be honest, I really don't have an opinion one way or another. I've never been a big fan of the NBA, and my interest in the Cavs has waned, especially this year. All I know is, Scott had three big factors working against him in his bid for an elusive fourth year:
1. His average of 22 wins per season. Sure, the Cavs were in rebuilding mode after LeBron James decided to take his talents south, but I can't think of any head coach whose winning percentage was just .278 being allowed to coach a team longer than 3 years. It's a bottom-line wins, and wins are the bottom line. The Cavs were 64-146 under Scott, and Scott's wins and win percentage rank last among all full-time head coaches that have been with the team longer than one season.
2. His teams being among the worst in the NBA in overall defense. The Cavs finished last in the league in defensive field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot better than 47 percent. During Scott's three years in charge, opponents shot .475, .467 and .476 this season. They never ranked higher than 27th in the league defensively -- a stark contrast to the LeBron James-Mike Brown-era Cavs, who annually ranked in the top five teams defensively.
3. The team's performance this season. What should have been a season of continued growth and potential contention for a playoff berth turned into a miserable season. Sure, star point guard Kyrie Irving, forward Anderson Varejao and last summer's fourth-overall pick Dion Waiters each missed significant time with injuries this season. However, the Cavs blew four second-half leads of 20 points or more this season -- the only team in the NBA to do so and the first team in the last 15 years to do so, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Cavs blew leads of 27 points (at home to LeBron and his Heat) and 26 points (at home to Phoenix), which are the two largest leads blown team history and the two largest leads blown in the NBA this year. The Cavs also lost 16 of their last 18 games and looked listless at times, with some players questioning Scott's coaching decisions to the Akron Beacon Journal.
Sure, you can say that Scott played against a stacked deck from the beginning. Scott was hired after Michigan State coach Tom Izzo turned down a substantial offer from Dan Gilbert to be the new head coach. Scott was an All-Star point guard with the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s and had success in two other coaching stops in New Jersey (an NBA Finals berth) and New Orleans (helped develop Chris Paul into the best point guard in the NBA).
Scott was also hired just days before LeBron James went on ESPN and embarassed the city and the organization by announcing that he was signing with the Miami Heat. I'm sure Scott believed that he was coming here to help coach James and get him over the playoff hump. Instead, he inherited a listless group that lacked direction and missed their superstar teammate. That team slumped to a 19-63 record and lost an NBA-record 26 straight games. That team also disappeared with the world watching on Dec, 8, 2010, when Cleveland came out to voice their displeasure against LeBron James and saw a team that buddied up to him all game, didn't hardly guard him, let alone foul him, and lost by 30 points.
The second season, shortened to 66 games due to the lockout, had promise due to No. 1 overall pick Kyrie Irving and fourth-overall pick Tristan Thompson joining the fold. However, Irving battled injuries (as did Varejao) and the Cavs only won 21 games, landing another spot in the NBA lottery.
This season began with the fourth- (Dion Waiters) and 17th- (Tyler Zeller) overall draft choices joining the fold, and the team showed some promise at times. However, another Varejao season-ending injury pushed up the timetable on Zeller and forced veteran Luke Walton to play a lot more minutes than the team hoped. And, after a steller showing at All-Star weekend put Irving on the NBA map, he suffered yet another injury and missed a good chunk of the second half.
Irving, when he did come back, seemed to sulk both on and off the court. His final home appearance was marred when former Cleveland State standout Norris Cole made him look foolish on an attempted game-winning shot against the LeBron-less Heat, and then compounded when he walked off the court without taking part in the Fan Appreciation postgame ceremonies. While Irving has said all the right things today, it looked to most observers that Scott has lost the ear of his superstar point guard.
With the Cavs believed to be interested in luring James back to town next summer, when LeBron opts out of his contract with the Miami Heat, the time to make a splash is now. Perhaps LeBron never wanted to play for Byron Scott, and his hiring may have been his final push in Miami's direction (probably not, but it's an interesting theory). However, if the Cavs want to be considered a serious player in the LeBron sweepstakes, they need to show immediate improvement next season. That means not playing for ping-pong balls in hoppers and instead playing for playoff berths.
The Cavs enter this offseason with yet another high choice in the NBA lottery, where they could pick as high as first or as low as sixth (or stay put at third). Irving and Thompson will enter their third years as professionals, while Waiters and Zeller will become second-year pros. Young guys such as Shawn Livingston, Mareece Speights and Wayne Ellington could be counted on to add depth, and the team could be an active player in the free agent market for the first time since you-know-who left. The clock is ticking.
Several names have popped up in the early going in the search for the new head coach. The most intriguing is former Lakers coach Phil Jackson, but I don't think he comes here unless he's almost assured LeBron James returns for the 2014-15 season and beyond. Another intriguing name is Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who has rebuffed many chances to jump to the NBA but could want to be paired up with his former point guard Irving (and, of course, LeBron loves playing for him).
More realistic names include Pacers assistant Bryan Shaw (who always seems to be linked to head coaching jobs, but hasn't landed one), Warriors assistant Mike Malone (a former Cavs assistant under Mike Brown), Miami assistant David Fizdale, former Pistons head coach Flip Saunders (a Cuyahoga Heights native), former Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy and current ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy.
There are some who think that Gilbert may make another overture to Izzo. Also, ex-Cavs coach Mike Brown, who was run out of Los Angeles just one week into this season, has already let it be known that he'd love to come back and coach the Cavs.
Joe Cleveland will go on record and say that, if the Cavs decide to re-hire Mike Brown, he will be officially done with Cavs. So, you basically are admitting that the last three years were a mistake. It also makes Gilbert (who fired Brown over the objections of GM Danny Ferry, who subsequently quit) look even more foolish than the national perception already is. And, when so many believed that LeBron was behind the firing of Brown (by quitting on him during the Celtics series and talking about wanting to play for a guy who at least had a track record of playing and coaching), why would those of you who think that LeBron would return next summer believe that he'd want to come back playing for Mike Brown?
It just doesn't make sense. But then again, nothing about the NBA makes any sense to me.
At the very least, the NBA planets aligned (wink-wink) and the Lakers backed into the playoffs, even without Kobe Bryant. That means the Cavs can get the Lakers' No. 1 overall pick this year instead of the Miami Heat's last pick in the first round. So, the Cavs should have two more first rounders in the top 16, which is a good thing.
A very precarious fan base hangs in the balance with this head coaching hire and what the team does this offseason. The Indians won back many disgruntled fans when they landed the big fish in Terry Francona and shown a willingness to spend money in free agency that they lacked recently. The Browns didn't land their so-called "big fish" in either Chip Kelly or Nick Saban, and a fan base waits with baited breath to see how new coach Rob Chudzinski and coordinators Norv Turner and Ray Horton mesh together with the new group of players. New owner Jimmy Haslam's problems with the feds stemming from Pilot Flying J, along with distrust of returning GM Mike Lombardi, have only added to the fan base's anxiety of the upcoming season.
The Cavs were a solid No. 2 (not counting Ohio State football) behind the Browns locally until this season. What they do between now and August will say a lot about if they can regain that spot among the locals, or if they will fade into more apathy and obscurity.
***
By the way, you may have noticed that I've written Joe Cleveland under my real identity. It was time. As it is, most of the people who read this blog already know who I am anyway. When I decided to bring back Off The Turnbuckle (theoriginalott.blogspot.com), I had to change my Blogger profile. That included Joe Cleveland. So, from now on, you will know that Dan Gilles is the guy writing Joe Cleveland.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Outbreak of Tribe fever
"Indians fever ... It starts from the very first inning."
Remember that old jingle from the 1980s? If you grew up in Northeast Ohio like I did back then and watched the Indians on WUAB-TV 43, you probably do.
It's been a while since we can talk about "Indians fever" and talk about it positively. The last several years, "Indians fever" could have been likened to an epidemic like E-Coli or the West Nile Virus. Cases of "Indians fever" included referring to seasons as "a grind," getting off to a slow start one season and then limping down the stretch in a second, becoming a penny-pinching miser that liked to go bargain-hunting in the discount rack and sinking resources into a toboggan ramp during the winter months, among others.
Three names have turned "Indians fever" into something positive -- Terry Francona, Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn.
Although, it starts with Francona, because without him (even if they made Sandy Alomar Jr. the manager), neither Swisher or Bourn come to Cleveland, even with the deals they offered them.
Francona became, arguably, the biggest name manager the Indians have ever hired. John McNamara was a successful manager with the Red Sox, but was aging when he was hired in the early 1990s. Frank Robinson garnered a lot of headlines because he was the first African-American manager in Major League Baseball history in 1975, but he had never managed before and was mostly known as a player.
Even Mike Hargrove, arguably the Tribe's most successful manager ever (although you could make a case for Al Lopez or Lou Boudreau), while coming in with a lot of hype because of his status as a former Indian ballplayer, had never been a MLB manager before he took over for John McNamara (and, briefly, John Hart) in 1991.
Francona came back to the Indians with two World Series rings from his successful stint as the Red Sox manager, which came to an inglorious end in 2011 when his team gave up a large lead in the AL East and wound up totally missing the playoffs.
By and large, since hiring McNamara, and even before that, the Indians have usually settled for hiring the unknown commodity. Following Hargrove, Charlie Manuel, Joel Skinner, Eric Wedge and Manny Acta were hired to mostly yawns from the fanbase. All four were fired (although Skinner got a job on Wedge's staff and will always been known as "Stop-Sign Skinner" as a result) after just two playoff berths and four winning seasons during that span.
The last two years under Acta, the Indians got off to great starts only to falter in the second half. Last year's five-win August essentially sealed Acta's fate.
When Acta got hired, he claimed that managerial jobs for franchises like the Indians "go to guys like me" and that "Tony LaRussa wouldn't be walking through that door." Who knew how wrong he would be!
Francona spent his early childhood in Cleveland while his father, Tito Francona, played for the Indians from 1959-64. Terry himself spent the second-to-last season of his 10-year MLB career playing for the Indians, batting .311 with one home run and 12 RBIs in 60 games in 1988.
In the three seasons before he became Boston's manager in 2004 and after he had managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1997-2000, Francona spent one year serving as a special assistant to Tribe general manager Mark Shapiro. Francona and Shapiro and Chris Antonetti, who wound up becoming the team's GM when Shapiro was inexplicably promoted following a disasterous 2009 season, all grew to be very close.
Both of those factors played into Francona's decision to leave a cushy gig analyzing baseball for ESPN to head back to the dugout with the Indians. In fact, Francona stated that the Indians' job was the only one he would have considered, which the Cleveland-hating ESPN felt was incredulous.
Many felt that if the Indians were going to resume their bargain-basement spending ways, they might as well have saved their money and kept Alomar in the manager's office. Alomar is one of the most popular players from the "Jacobs Field Era of Champions" and fans would have given him a considerable longer leash than they did did Wedge and Acta. Alomar could have been allowed to grow into the job like Hargrove did. However, the Indians had another trick up their sleeves.
Using Francona as their lead recruiter, the Indians hit the free agent market ready to shop. It didn't hurt that Larry and Paul Dolan had $250 million to spend after selling SportsTime Ohio to FOX Sports.
Along with Swisher and Bourn -- the latter signed a four-year, $44 million deal on the eve of spring training -- the Indians also signed slugger Mark Reynolds and pitcher Brett Myers and traded Shin-Shoo Choo's expiring contract to the Reds for speedy outfielder Drew Stubbs and top-notch pitching prospect Trevor Bauer, among others.
They also showed that old habits die hard and did their share of bargain hunting. Signed to minor league deals were aging slugger and former steroid cheat Jason Giambi, former standout pitchers Scott Kazmir and Daisuke Matsuzaka, oft-injured closer Matt Capps and outfielder Ryan Raburn. Kazmir and Raburn made the team. Giambi will open the season on the disabled list with a phony injury, while Matsuzaka and Capps agreed to start the season in Class AAA Columbus.
With another season of Indians baseball set to begin tonight at Toronto, optimism is at its highest in many, many years. You'd probably have to back to 2002 for similar optimism, and that's only because the Indians had just made the playoffs six times in the previous seven seasons. Optimism wasn't high in 2008 following their spirited postseason run in 2007 because the Indians did nothing during the offseason to build off of what they did, unless you consider giving designated hitter Travis Hafner $57 million to spend more time in the training room than he did in the batters box.
Joe Cleveland hasn't been shy about his criticism of the Indians in recent years, especially when it comes to the Dolans, Shapiro, Antonetti and Wedge or Acta. And, while I applaud their recent spending spree, I'm not ready to anoint them a playoff team just yet.
Various preseason prognasticators have the Indians finishing as high as second or even as low as fifth in the AL Central. Some have them winning one of the Wild Card spots, while others think they'll flirt with 90 losses again.
And, the main reason for that, and the main reason why Joe Cleveland is skeptical about this Indians team, is their sketchy pitching staff.
While the Indians spent a lot of money to beef up their lineup with a nice mixture of power (Reynolds, Swisher, Stubbs) and speed (Bourn, Stubbs), they really neglected to address their questionable starting pitching.
The Indians' top two starters, Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez, went 11-15 and 9-17, respectively, with ERAs of 4.93 and 5.40, respectively. Not exactly the second-coming of Bob Feller and Bob Lemon.
The fourth starter, Zach McAllister, went 6-8 with a 4.24 ERA last season. He was the Indians' third-best starting pitcher last season.
Myers, the free agent signed by the Indians in the offseason, split the 2012 season between Houston (0-4, 19 saves) and the Chicago White Sox (3-4). All told, he went 3-8 with a 3.31, making 70 appearances WITHOUT A SINGLE START!
Kazmir, the bargain-basement signing who beat out Bauer and Carlos Carrasco for the fifth spot in the rotation, was out of the majors last year, spending 2012 with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League and going 3-6 with a 5.34 ERA. He was 9-15 with 5.94 ERA with the Los Angeles Angels in his last full big-league season, which was 2010. He hasn't appeared in a major league game since making one start with the Angels in 2011.
This is the rotation the Indians will trot out for the start of the 2013 season, a season that has many folks dreaming of October baseball.
Sure, the defense should be better, with three center fielders in Bourn, Stubbs and holdover Michael Brantley patrolling the outfield. While neither Nick Swisher or Mark Reynolds are fantastic defensemen, they should be better than Casey Kotchman or Matt LaPorta at first base, and you should expect better defensive years from second baseman Jason Kipnis, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall.
However, the infielders aren't exactly Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance, and three center fielders could be an experiment that blows up due to Stubbs playing an unfamiliar position.
Sure, Bauer could be up in the big leagues before the season comes to a close, but Bauer only went 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA in four starts with the DiamondBacks last season. He's far from a finished product.
And, the closer is still Mt. Saint Chris Perez, a volcanic force that can be light's out one minute and be flirting with disaster the next. And, let's not forget his penchant for being a lightning rod of controversy with his mouth. The Indians dangled Perez and Cabrera in the offseason, along with Masterson, but didn't find any offers to their liking.
I expect the Indians to be much better than they were last season. However, I don't think this team will win 90 games. In fact, anything above-.500 this season would surprise me. They need Masterson and Ubaldo to pitch like the aces the team expects if they want any chance at a playoff berth. If not, it will be back to the drawing board for next season.
I think the Indians will engage in a lot of 7-6 games as a result of their sketchy pitching and shaky infield defense and slugging offense (that may set a single-season record for most strikeouts as a team). I think the Indians will finish third in the AL Central behind Detroit (who are legitimate candidates for another World Series, and even a title) and the up-and-coming Kansas City Royals, who may be a year ahead of the Indians in their rebuilding efforts.
The Indians will go 81-81; not horrible, but enough to raise the optimism for next season.
Hopefully, the Tribe exceeds my expectations, but after watching the Indians for most of my life, I can't help but have tempered expectations.
While Terry Francona can proclaim that this is "a Tribe Town" and "a baseball town," at this moment, it certainly is not. However, if Francona can get this team back to the winning ways we saw from 1995-2001 (and the Browns continue to be stuck in mediocrity), that proclamation could very well come true.
Until next time, Go Tribe, and remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Remember that old jingle from the 1980s? If you grew up in Northeast Ohio like I did back then and watched the Indians on WUAB-TV 43, you probably do.
It's been a while since we can talk about "Indians fever" and talk about it positively. The last several years, "Indians fever" could have been likened to an epidemic like E-Coli or the West Nile Virus. Cases of "Indians fever" included referring to seasons as "a grind," getting off to a slow start one season and then limping down the stretch in a second, becoming a penny-pinching miser that liked to go bargain-hunting in the discount rack and sinking resources into a toboggan ramp during the winter months, among others.
Three names have turned "Indians fever" into something positive -- Terry Francona, Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn.
Although, it starts with Francona, because without him (even if they made Sandy Alomar Jr. the manager), neither Swisher or Bourn come to Cleveland, even with the deals they offered them.
Francona became, arguably, the biggest name manager the Indians have ever hired. John McNamara was a successful manager with the Red Sox, but was aging when he was hired in the early 1990s. Frank Robinson garnered a lot of headlines because he was the first African-American manager in Major League Baseball history in 1975, but he had never managed before and was mostly known as a player.
Even Mike Hargrove, arguably the Tribe's most successful manager ever (although you could make a case for Al Lopez or Lou Boudreau), while coming in with a lot of hype because of his status as a former Indian ballplayer, had never been a MLB manager before he took over for John McNamara (and, briefly, John Hart) in 1991.
Francona came back to the Indians with two World Series rings from his successful stint as the Red Sox manager, which came to an inglorious end in 2011 when his team gave up a large lead in the AL East and wound up totally missing the playoffs.
By and large, since hiring McNamara, and even before that, the Indians have usually settled for hiring the unknown commodity. Following Hargrove, Charlie Manuel, Joel Skinner, Eric Wedge and Manny Acta were hired to mostly yawns from the fanbase. All four were fired (although Skinner got a job on Wedge's staff and will always been known as "Stop-Sign Skinner" as a result) after just two playoff berths and four winning seasons during that span.
The last two years under Acta, the Indians got off to great starts only to falter in the second half. Last year's five-win August essentially sealed Acta's fate.
When Acta got hired, he claimed that managerial jobs for franchises like the Indians "go to guys like me" and that "Tony LaRussa wouldn't be walking through that door." Who knew how wrong he would be!
Francona spent his early childhood in Cleveland while his father, Tito Francona, played for the Indians from 1959-64. Terry himself spent the second-to-last season of his 10-year MLB career playing for the Indians, batting .311 with one home run and 12 RBIs in 60 games in 1988.
In the three seasons before he became Boston's manager in 2004 and after he had managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1997-2000, Francona spent one year serving as a special assistant to Tribe general manager Mark Shapiro. Francona and Shapiro and Chris Antonetti, who wound up becoming the team's GM when Shapiro was inexplicably promoted following a disasterous 2009 season, all grew to be very close.
Both of those factors played into Francona's decision to leave a cushy gig analyzing baseball for ESPN to head back to the dugout with the Indians. In fact, Francona stated that the Indians' job was the only one he would have considered, which the Cleveland-hating ESPN felt was incredulous.
Many felt that if the Indians were going to resume their bargain-basement spending ways, they might as well have saved their money and kept Alomar in the manager's office. Alomar is one of the most popular players from the "Jacobs Field Era of Champions" and fans would have given him a considerable longer leash than they did did Wedge and Acta. Alomar could have been allowed to grow into the job like Hargrove did. However, the Indians had another trick up their sleeves.
Using Francona as their lead recruiter, the Indians hit the free agent market ready to shop. It didn't hurt that Larry and Paul Dolan had $250 million to spend after selling SportsTime Ohio to FOX Sports.
Along with Swisher and Bourn -- the latter signed a four-year, $44 million deal on the eve of spring training -- the Indians also signed slugger Mark Reynolds and pitcher Brett Myers and traded Shin-Shoo Choo's expiring contract to the Reds for speedy outfielder Drew Stubbs and top-notch pitching prospect Trevor Bauer, among others.
They also showed that old habits die hard and did their share of bargain hunting. Signed to minor league deals were aging slugger and former steroid cheat Jason Giambi, former standout pitchers Scott Kazmir and Daisuke Matsuzaka, oft-injured closer Matt Capps and outfielder Ryan Raburn. Kazmir and Raburn made the team. Giambi will open the season on the disabled list with a phony injury, while Matsuzaka and Capps agreed to start the season in Class AAA Columbus.
With another season of Indians baseball set to begin tonight at Toronto, optimism is at its highest in many, many years. You'd probably have to back to 2002 for similar optimism, and that's only because the Indians had just made the playoffs six times in the previous seven seasons. Optimism wasn't high in 2008 following their spirited postseason run in 2007 because the Indians did nothing during the offseason to build off of what they did, unless you consider giving designated hitter Travis Hafner $57 million to spend more time in the training room than he did in the batters box.
Joe Cleveland hasn't been shy about his criticism of the Indians in recent years, especially when it comes to the Dolans, Shapiro, Antonetti and Wedge or Acta. And, while I applaud their recent spending spree, I'm not ready to anoint them a playoff team just yet.
Various preseason prognasticators have the Indians finishing as high as second or even as low as fifth in the AL Central. Some have them winning one of the Wild Card spots, while others think they'll flirt with 90 losses again.
And, the main reason for that, and the main reason why Joe Cleveland is skeptical about this Indians team, is their sketchy pitching staff.
While the Indians spent a lot of money to beef up their lineup with a nice mixture of power (Reynolds, Swisher, Stubbs) and speed (Bourn, Stubbs), they really neglected to address their questionable starting pitching.
The Indians' top two starters, Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez, went 11-15 and 9-17, respectively, with ERAs of 4.93 and 5.40, respectively. Not exactly the second-coming of Bob Feller and Bob Lemon.
The fourth starter, Zach McAllister, went 6-8 with a 4.24 ERA last season. He was the Indians' third-best starting pitcher last season.
Myers, the free agent signed by the Indians in the offseason, split the 2012 season between Houston (0-4, 19 saves) and the Chicago White Sox (3-4). All told, he went 3-8 with a 3.31, making 70 appearances WITHOUT A SINGLE START!
Kazmir, the bargain-basement signing who beat out Bauer and Carlos Carrasco for the fifth spot in the rotation, was out of the majors last year, spending 2012 with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League and going 3-6 with a 5.34 ERA. He was 9-15 with 5.94 ERA with the Los Angeles Angels in his last full big-league season, which was 2010. He hasn't appeared in a major league game since making one start with the Angels in 2011.
This is the rotation the Indians will trot out for the start of the 2013 season, a season that has many folks dreaming of October baseball.
Sure, the defense should be better, with three center fielders in Bourn, Stubbs and holdover Michael Brantley patrolling the outfield. While neither Nick Swisher or Mark Reynolds are fantastic defensemen, they should be better than Casey Kotchman or Matt LaPorta at first base, and you should expect better defensive years from second baseman Jason Kipnis, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall.
However, the infielders aren't exactly Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance, and three center fielders could be an experiment that blows up due to Stubbs playing an unfamiliar position.
Sure, Bauer could be up in the big leagues before the season comes to a close, but Bauer only went 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA in four starts with the DiamondBacks last season. He's far from a finished product.
And, the closer is still Mt. Saint Chris Perez, a volcanic force that can be light's out one minute and be flirting with disaster the next. And, let's not forget his penchant for being a lightning rod of controversy with his mouth. The Indians dangled Perez and Cabrera in the offseason, along with Masterson, but didn't find any offers to their liking.
I expect the Indians to be much better than they were last season. However, I don't think this team will win 90 games. In fact, anything above-.500 this season would surprise me. They need Masterson and Ubaldo to pitch like the aces the team expects if they want any chance at a playoff berth. If not, it will be back to the drawing board for next season.
I think the Indians will engage in a lot of 7-6 games as a result of their sketchy pitching and shaky infield defense and slugging offense (that may set a single-season record for most strikeouts as a team). I think the Indians will finish third in the AL Central behind Detroit (who are legitimate candidates for another World Series, and even a title) and the up-and-coming Kansas City Royals, who may be a year ahead of the Indians in their rebuilding efforts.
The Indians will go 81-81; not horrible, but enough to raise the optimism for next season.
Hopefully, the Tribe exceeds my expectations, but after watching the Indians for most of my life, I can't help but have tempered expectations.
While Terry Francona can proclaim that this is "a Tribe Town" and "a baseball town," at this moment, it certainly is not. However, if Francona can get this team back to the winning ways we saw from 1995-2001 (and the Browns continue to be stuck in mediocrity), that proclamation could very well come true.
Until next time, Go Tribe, and remember that Cleveland Rocks!
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