I didn't realize how long it had been since I put on my "Joe Cleveland" hat and updated this blog. Two full months have gone by with nary a word from Joe Cleveland, and there's been quite a few things to talk about.
Such as (in no particular order):
<> The Indians' tendency to streak one way or the other that saw them flirt with the basement at the start of June but wind up in first place by the end of it (as of today, they are now in second place behind Detroit).
<> Chris Perez's meltdowns, both on and off the field.
<> Browns owner Jimmy Haslam's troubles with the law running Pilot/Flying J and the Browns organization's subsequent pratfalls since, like the kickoff concert debacle, players getting arrested, Josh Gordon being suspended for flunking a drug test, etc.
<> The Cavs winning the NBA's Draft Lottery for the second time in three seasons, only to take a power forward out of UNLV that NOBODY had pegged for the No. 1 overall pick, and then not even guarantee him a starting job.
<> The Cavs bringing back Mike Brown as head coach three years after they fired him when LeBron James and his teammates essentially quit on him during the 2010 NBA Playoffs.
<> LeBron's second consecutive NBA championship, this time outlasting the San Antonio Spurs in a seven-game series that did nothing but add fuel to the conspiracy theorists' fire.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but it's been a pretty sketchy few months for Cleveland sports teams.
At the very least, be thankful you don't live in Boston, where your football team lost its star tight end to a murder charge, your hockey team choked a Game 6 Stanley Cup Finals win away in the final minute-and-a-half with two goals in the span of 17 seconds, and your basketball team traded away its coach and two key members of their NBA championship team a few seasons ago and hired a young coach from a mid-major university.
But, Cleveland has had its moments. Even what should be a proud moment, such as the Indians going on a torrid streak to end June and take over first place in the AL Central Division, came with caveats (everything seems to come with a caveat when it comes to the Indians). That first place stint last all off two days. Hope we enjoyed it while it lasted.
The only thing the Browns seem to be doing well at is putting together an on-the-field product, which seems odd because they've struggled with that for most of the time since the franchise returned in 1999. But, beginning with Haslam's troubles that have many believing it will only be a matter of time before he sells the team, either because he's broke or because the NFL forces him to, the organization has had one pitfall after another.
They drafted a defensive end in the seventh round that was arrested for selling drugs to an undercover officer while in school, and days after he's selected, he gets busted for a DUI (Armonty Bryant).
They signed a free agent defensive end who was arrested in a prostitution sting (Quinton Groves).
Their projected No. 1 receiver, who was kicked out of two different colleges due to failing drug tests, failed another drug test as a Brown, costing four game checks and two games (Josh Gordon). Gordon claims that he tested for codeine that came with a prescription to fight off strep throat, but his story just doesn't add up.
Then, Gordon sends out Tweets trumpeting the Miami Heat's championship and brags about partying with the Heat down in South Beach. He also talks smack to Browns fans for chiding him for siding with Cleveland's Public Enemy No. 1, which only adds more fuel to the fire.
The organization promotes a kickoff concert, which coincides with a meet-and-greet walkthrough with the team, on July 14. But they schedule a headliner in Bon Jovi that had just played in Cleveland months before. And then, Bon Jovi cancels the rest of their tour, including the Cleveland date, which means the Browns have to scrap the whole thing.
And, on the heels of Aaron Hernandez's arrest for murder, a little known defensive end who was only signed after a tryout gets arrested for attempted murder after a bar fight in New Jersey. The Browns promptly released the guy, but it only added fuel to the Browns haters' fire.
But the saga of Chris Perez, the former two-time All-Star closer of the Indians, only got more bizarre as this season took hold.
First, Perez seemed to struggle a lot this year. After a bad blown save, which resulted in numerous angry Tweets from Tribe fans, Perez decided to shut down his Twitter account. Of course, he had to release a statement through the media saying he was going to do it. It just showed that the guy can dish it out to the fans, but can't take the criticism from those same fans he ripped on one year ago.
Then, Perez continued to get worse. During a horrible blown save in Boston, Perez left the game with an apparent arm injury. He was placed on the 15-day DL and missed most of the month of June.
And then, while he was injured, he and his wife were arrested for marijuana possession when a package (addressed to his dog Brody) arrived at his rented house in Rocky River that contained the illegal drug.
Perez was torched during a rehab start for the Class AA Akron Aeros shortly after the arrest, giving up five runs in one inning, and his first save situation upon his activation wasn't without its drama, giving up a hit and walking a guy before escaping with the 6-5 win over the Royals Tuesday night.
While Perez rehabbed, his replacement Vinnie Pestano wasn't much better. It wasn't until his last week as closer that he finally put together some solid outings.
High-priced free agent Nick Swisher slumped and then missed time with a shoulder injury (no DL stint, though). Asdrubal Cabrera also was out for a month and served a DL stint, while Mark Reynolds' bat went cold after he took over at third place for the demoted Lonnie Chisenhall.
Despite all of that, the Indians suddenly reeled off five straight wins and 15 wins in their last 20 games before losing Wednesday night, 6-5.
So, as we head into the second half of 2013, many questions remain about our beloved teams. Such as:
<> Will the real Indians please stand up?
<> Are the Indians contenders or pretenders?
<> Will they be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, or will they stand pat and do nothing like last year, only to watch the season skid off the rails?
<> Will Chris Perez be sent packing, and what will they get for him if they do?
<> Can the Browns avoid any more off-field embarrassment?
<> Will Jimmy Haslam be forced to sell the team, and if he does, what does that mean for Joe Banner, Mike Lombardi and the rest of the restructuring they've done to the front office?
<> How will Rob Chudzinski's Browns fare?
<> Can Brandon Weeden succeed in Chud's and Norv Turner's vertical offense?
<> Will Trent Richardson be 100 percent by the start of the season?
<> How will Barkevious Mingo fare in this 3-4 defense?
<> Will Anthony Bennett stay in shape and become a starter with the Cavs?
<> How will the Cavs respond to Mike Brown's style of coaching?
<> Will the Cavs do anything in free agency or sit pat?
<> Can Kyrie Irving stay healthy for a full season? How about Anderson Varejao?
<> Will any of these three teams make the playoffs in their upcoming seasons? How far are these teams from being a true contender?
<> And, how will Ohio State football fare in Urban Meyer's second season without the stigma of probation hanging over the program's heads? And, is it a good thing that Gordon Gee is no longer the president of the university after he made one too many insulting quips?
Hopefully, the answers to these questions are all positive ones. It's high time for some positive news coming from Cleveland sports because these last two months have been pretty low.
Until next time (hopefully not two months from now), remember that Cleveland Rocks!
