Open mouth, insert foot

So, Indians closer Chris Perez was one of two Wahoos to be named to the American League All-Star Team, along with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

Something tells me that Mr. Perez will be one of a tiny few on the AL roster who get booed by the crowd at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium. In fact, he'll probably be the recipient of the loudest boos of the night for any player on any team.

I wonder how Perez will take it, considering how sensitive he is to being booed by a home crowd.

This is what happens when you run your mouth for no apparent reason, other than to rile yourself up. You suffer the consequences.

I wonder if Kansas City fans will do the "You can't see me gesture" to him if he enters the game and starts giving up hits. I wonder if someone will hold up a sign that says, "You drill us, we drill you!"

It appears the guy who calls himself "Pure Rage" isn't completely over the mentality of Cleveland fans and their long memories when it comes to his performances and the performances of his Indians' teams. His little popoff to the New York Times confirms it.

Perez seems like another Braylon Edwards. Edwards mostly dressed down Cleveland, the Browns organization and his teammates while he was here, and then lit into all of them the moment he was sent packing to New York to play for the Jets.

Browns fans booed Braylon, and booed him hard. And, they will continue to boo him ... that is, if he ever finds another NFL job.

The moment Perez leaves the Indians -- and it could happen sooner rather than later -- he will pull a Braylon and really let Cleveland know how he feels. He may stress that he doesn't want to go anywhere, but I believe that he's praying that the Indians fall out of contention so they will dangle him to the highest bidder.

Last week, while the Indians were in New York to play (and subsequently get swept by) the Yankees, Perez expounded on his earlier feelings about the fans.

He said fans seemed to care more about rooting against LeBron James and the Miami Heat than they do about rooting for the Indians.

“I don’t get the psyche,” said Perez, who grew up in Florida. “Why cheer against a guy that’s not even in your city anymore? Just to see him fail? Does that make you feel good? I could see if the Cavs were in the championship, but that’s their mentality.

“They’ve had a lot of years of misery. They say, ‘You just don’t understand because you don’t live here.’ O.K., maybe I don’t. But that doesn’t mean it has to keep going.”

The Indians drew more than 3 million fans for six seasons in a row starting in 1996, the year the NFL Browns moved to Baltimore. The new version of the Browns has not won a playoff game in its 13 seasons.

“That’s what I don’t understand,” Perez said. “Their whole thing is, ‘We want a winner.’ Well, why do you support the Browns? They don’t win. They’ve never won. They left. You guys blindly support them. I don’t understand it. It’s a double standard, and I don’t know why.

It's head-scratching. It's just -- they don't come out. But around the city, there's great support. They watch it in the bars. They watch it at home. They just don't come."

A few Cleveland fans claimed that Perez was "speaking the truth." About what, Joe Cleveland wonders?

So, Perez -- a University of Miami graduate -- thinks that the people who support his team in the city he plays should "get over" LeBron James. Apparently, it's OK for Perez to keep an entire city, region, fanbase and franchise in limbo for three years while he drops cryptic hints, gives up on that franchise during his final playoff series, not return any phone calls from the media (or his franchise) after the season, even after that franchise dumped the coach and GM to placate him, and then go on national TV and say you're taking your so-called "talents" somewhere else.

Sure, it's OK for that guy to make disparaging comments about Cleveland after he leaves and throw your teammates under the bus ... then again, this is exactly what Perez has been doing all along.

All of his comments and off-color on-field demeanor simply riles up his opponents. Meanwhile, he sits in the sanctity of the bullpen for 8 innings and only pitches if his team has a lead and only pitches one inning when he does. His teammates, which aren't that good to begin with, find out that other teams are bringing their best and not holding back anything because they've gotten the proper motivation to do so.

Perez likes to talk trash abour the Browns and Browns fans. OK, Chris, let me throw some cold, hard facts your way.

The Cleveland Browns have 8 championshps, while the Cleveland Indians have 2 (and the Cleveland Indians have been around almost 50 years longer than the Browns have).

The Cleveland Browns have won a championship more recently than the Cleveland Indians have -- 1964 (Browns) to 1948 (Indians). Even though the Indians have been in the World Series two more times than the Browns have been in the Super Bowl since 1964.

Going back 10 years -- to 2002 -- the Cleveland Browns have had the exact same amount of playoff berths (one) and winning seasons (two) than the Cleveland Indians have.

So, Chris Perez, why, exactly, is your franchise better than the Browns? Do your history homework, son!

There really isn't a scientific reason as to why Cleveland is more of a football town than a baseball town. You factor in 8 homes games for the Browns to 81 for the Indians, and you can see why people go more ape-shit for the football home games. Plus, it's actually cheaper to go to a season's worth of Browns games than a season's worth of Indians games, when you factor in parking, concessions, travel, etc.

Perhaps the move (and the way the fans responded and the end result) only added to the Browns fervor. The fans showed what loyalty can accomplish when they got the NFL to make a ruling they've never done and gotten concessions (the guarantee of a franchise within a certain time frame, the complete history of the franchise retained, the NFL to kick in on a new stadium) the NFL has never allowed. Yes, the team has been mediocre (by and large) since they've returned. But, quite honestly, haven't all the Cleveland franchises been pretty mediocre during that span?

The Cavs had five straight playoff berths from 2005-2010 with LeBron James in town, even reaching the NBA Finals once. If any franchise wants to call "scoreboard" to the town, the Cavs deserve it, even with LeBron tucking tail and going ring hunting in Florida.

The Indians haven't had a winning season since 2007 (which, coincidentally, was the Browns' last winning season). That year, they had a 3-1 lead in the ALCS over the Boston Red Sox, with Game 5 being played at Jacobs Field with Cy Young winner CC Sabathia on the hill. Somehow, the Tribe blew it.

Perez wants to crow about how his team is "winning," but pennants aren't awarded because you had a great April and May. The Indians had a phenomenal April and May last season, only to finish two games under .500 and double-digit games behind Detroit for the AL Central crown. This season, they had a good April and May, but have struggled ever since Perez went nuclear on his own fanbase.

Yes, the team's offense and the inconsistant starting pitching and some of Manny Acta's moves are all to blame, and Perez still hasn't blown a save since Opening Day. But it seems AWFUL coincidental that the team's overall struggles occurred when Perez popped off the media about a so-called "lack of support" from his fan base.

Perez doesn't seem to get it. Unfortunately, his comments have made him somewhat of a cult hero to a sect of the fan base. But, Joe Cleveland sees a fan base that has struggled to back the Indians because of their apparent lack of supporting a winning product, from ownership on down, and realizes that the Indians blew a lead last year that very few franchises blow and wound up with nothing, and knows that a guy popping off about THEM being the problem and not his manager, his general manager, his president and his owners being the problem (which they are), and most of THEM will sit on their money and not feel as motivated to make the trek to Carnegie and Ontario on a summer night.

The Indians were 12-15 in June. They were 23-17 when Perez first popped off, and 40-39 now, which is 17-22 since May 19. They are barely over .500 and first place in the Central (which is what they were on May 19) seems like a distant memory.

I want the Indians to succeed. However, Chris Perez, if you struggle, Joe Cleveland will not be shy about letting you have it or letting you hear about it.

You drill us, we'll drill you!

Hope you're somewhere else after July 31, Chrissy. Vinnie Pestano should get three measly outs in the ninth inning just as well at a fraction of the salary, without being a lightning rod for controversy.

***

After LeBron led the Heat to the NBA title a few weeks ago, someone argued that LeBron's last Cavs team, the 2010 team, was just as good, if not better, than his current Heat team.

Of course, the main arguement for the pro-LeBron, pro-Decision people is that Cleveland never gave him the proper supporting cast, yadda-yadda-yadda.

Joe Cleveland did some research, and you might be surprised just how evenly these two teams match up.

If you're a stats guy, look it up. If you're a basketball guy, consider this:

STARTERS:
PG -- Mo Williams vs. Mario Chalmers (advantage Cavs)
SG -- Anthony Parker vs. Dwayne Wade (advantage Heat)
SF -- LeBron James vs. LeBron James (I'll give the slight edge to the Heat James because he wasn't afraid to play in the post, unlike his time with the Cavs)
PF -- Antawn Jamison vs. Chris Bosh (even)
C -- Shaquille O'Neal vs. Joel Anthony (advantage Cavs, even with Shaq on the downside, he would eat Anthony for lunch)

Cavs Bench -- J.J. Hickson, Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson
Heat Bench -- Shane Battier, Norris Cole, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Ronny Turiaf

Cavs get a major advantage here, even taking into account Miller's 3-point surge in Game 6. As Gibson showed in 2007, everyone catches lightning in a bottle sometime.

For you stat guys:

2012 Miami Big 3 (points-rebounds-assists)
Lebron James 27-8-6
Dwayne Wade 22-5-5
Chris Bosh 18-6-2

2010 Cleveland Big 3
Lebron James 29-7-9
Antawn Jamison 19-8-1
Mo Williams 15-3-5

Miami has a plus-4 advantage in points, but just a plus-1 advantage in rebounds, while the Cavs had a plus-2 advantage in assists.

To me, what this shows is that, if LeBron had shown half the gumption and heart he showed this year that he didn't show in 2010, the Cavs would have won a championship that season.

The key was LeBron himself. This year, he carried his team to a title. In 2007, he carried the Cavs to the finals. In 2009 and 2010 (and 2011 with Miami), he disappeared when it mattered, except for one fantastic buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Game 2 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals.

LeBron had the pieces around him here in Cleveland, regardless of what ESPN wants to revise in their own history books or what Cleveland-haters want to believe. It was LeBron who failed Cleveland, not the other way around.

I think that's what angers Cleveland fans more than anything. They know, deep down, that Miami's title should be theirs.

***

When the Cavs drafted Dion Waiters with the No. 4 pick last Thursday, Joe Cleveland's not going to lie -- I was pretty angry.

When the Cavs gave up their remaining three draft picks to acquire center Tyler Zeller, Joe Cleveland's mood didn't get any better.

How could the Cavs screw up this draft, I wondered? Why would they take a collegiate non-starter that they never worked out with their first pick, and then give up everything else for a white "stiff" center?

Well, I let it marinate for 24 hours, did some research, listened as the national pundits didn't lambaste the Cavs over an open spicket like I thought they would, listened as Byron Scott and Chris Grant beamed and boasted about the picks, and realized, well, I might have rushed to judgement.

Two of the Cavs' most glaring needs was an athletic 2-guard to team up with Kyrie Irving in the backcourt and an athletic, long center to clog up the middle. They may have filled those two needs with Waiters and Zeller.

Zeller is not a center like Shaq or Dwight Howard or Roy Hibbert. Zeller is along the lines of another guy named 'Z' that played with the Cavs for a long time, a finesse big man who has range. Unlike Ilgauskas, Zeller is more athletic and can get up and down the floor quickly while also disrupting things on the defensive end.

Waiters may be the most athletic player in this draft, in terms of skill set and intangibles. Waiters is confident in his own abilities. You need that to succeed in today's NBA. He can create his own shot while also meshing well with who he called "his brother," Irving.

All the Cavs were raving about the picks when they happened. The national media have given them high grades. Byron Scott can't want to get this young team out on the court for the 2012-13 season.

They are going to run, run, and run some more.

I'm still not 100 percent, but now I'm more anxious to see these kids in action than I was before.

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!

Moving on ...

So, in case you were asleep in a cave, or deliberately blocked sports programming and sports feedback from entering your Facebook or Twitter universes this past week, you may not have realized that Cleveland's Public Enemy No. 2 got himself a championship.

Sorry, LeBron, but Art Modell will always -- even after he dies -- be Public Enemy No. 1. Then again, after the disgraceful way you left, "No. 2" just seems like a fitting description.

Joe Cleveland knew it was coming. I could see it in the way games in the NBA Finals were officiated, and I could see the way Oklahoma City was playing, that Game 5 was going to end with a Miami win. Fortunately, I had plans.

Myself, one of my best friends, and his girlfriend attended a fantastic concert in beautiful Downtown Cleveland. I deliberately did not check my phone, only focusing on the fantastic music I was watching being performed and on the awesome company I had.

I also took notice of the fact that the concert venue was right along the Cuyahoga River, a much-maligned symbol of Cleveland's national jokes. I could see the Terminal Tower all lit up, thought about the Horseshoe Casino opening up and the Medical Mart being constructed to the north of it and thought, "This is a fucking great town!"

Pardon my French, but it's true.

LeBron James may have decided he couldn't win one as a leader here, or never liked Cleveland to begin with, or the national media could add another punchline to a growing number of punchlines about Cleveland and its sports teams, but on this night, one that many in the outside media had believed would be a bleak one for the North Coast, I, Joe Cleveland, decided I was going to have a good time.

And, I did, all night long.

Finally, at about 1 a.m., I broke down and checked my phone for the score. There it was -- Heat 121, Thunder 106. It was over.

I took a deep breath, put my phone back in my pocket, and jumped behind the drum kit at a local establishment's jam night and played my heart out.

Who says music can't be theraputic?

Honestly, at the time, my feeling was indifference. It was as inevitable as a cliff-hanger ending in a soap opera, so I wasn't surprised. I had been bracing myself for the disappointment, so when it happened, I honestly didn't care.

I harckened back to watching the Baltimore Thieving Bastards win the Super Bowl in early 2001 (and we remember what a terrible year 2001 was, and it began with Judas hoisting up the Lombardi Trophy with that shit-eating sneer on his face). It broke my heart. But, the gods were kind to me that night. I won the jackpot in the "squares" at the Super Bowl party I was attending, and I promptly spent it all at the bar that night.

I had to get good and schnockered. I wanted the pain to go away -- and it did, for one night.

Sorry, LeBron, but your win was NOTHING compared to that.

Hell, even watching some of the Steelers' recent Super Bowl wins were harder to swallow than this. Bill Belichick's three Super Bowl wins in four years were worse.

There's been a few others that come close, like Manny Ramirez winning two World Series titles with the Red Sox, watching the Indians' back-to-back Cy Young Award winners Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia face off in Game 1 of the 2009 World Series, heck even seeing Jhonny Peralta have an All-Star season with Detroit after watching him stumble, bumble and sulk with the Indians for a few years. LeBron, your win was worse than those, so I'll give you that.

There's two things about the Cleveland sports fan base. On one hand, you have a bunch of die-hard, true-blood fans who bleed and sweat with their Browns, Indians and Cavs (and Ohio State Buckeyes). They may not be fans of all of them, but the ones they root for, they root for with a passion that just doesn't exist in many places.

On the other hand, you have a bunch of Cleveland self-haters. The guys who like to rub your nose in it at the office or at the factory or at the bar or on Facebook or Twitter when a Cleveland sports team fails, even though they themselves have lived in Cleveland (or Ohio) their entire lives. They are the people who don Steelers jersies because the Steelers are winning while the Browns are not. They are the closet Michigan fans who suddenly came roaring back after the Wolverines took advantage of Jim Tressel's demise this year and actually beat Ohio State at football for once. They are the ones with Yankees or Tigers hats.

And, they are the ones who suddenly, almost overnight, became LeBron James and Miami Heat fans.

My fear now is we'll suddenly see a lot more Miami "JAMES/6" jersies in public than we did two years ago or last year. Remember when that douchebag went to an Indians game wearing LeBron's jersey and got booed right out of Progressive Field? That will never happen again, I'm afraid.

The closet James fans could only recoil when their beloved turncoat failed to deliver on his promise of a championship last season, when he shrunk in the moment during the NBA Finals and the Dallas Mavericks slapped that snicker right off of his and Dwayne Wade's faces with a six-game beatdown that had everyone in Cleveland celebrating.

Folks want to say we're a bunch of "haters" -- which is funny, because those same people are Cleveland sports "haters" but don't see it that way. The ESPN's of the world, the same so-called Worldwide Leader of Sports, want to point their fingers down at you and me and say that it's time for us to "get over it."

I've been hearing that a lot from the clueless ones from Bristol, who are the very definition of frontrunners.

They didn't give two shits about the Miami Heat until LeBron went on their network and said that's where he was going (after they speculated for three straight years about LeBron joining the New York Knicks). Suddenly, they launched a Web page called the "Heat Index," complete with one of the Cavs' old beat writers, and had reporters stationed in Miami from the very first moment James, Wade and Chris Bosh reported to training camp all the way until the bitter end.

Sure, ESPN also kept the pressure on James with their scrutiny about "can he win the big one," or, "will he be the best player to never win a title?" Heck, even James' fans were starting to come up with excuses when the Heat fell behind, 3-2, to the aging Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Funny what six wins can do do those people.

James supposedly didn't have enough support around him to win a title last year or get to the Finals this year, just like he supposedly lacked with the Cavs. But, as soon as he won, those people forgot about those comments and could only fall down on their knees in front of their supposed, self-proclaimed "King" and worship to him to no end. They wanted to feel his "salvation" all over their faces.

These people make me sick.

Now, the national media feels that this win "validates" his decision to leave the Cavs and sign with Miami. Really? So his "Dream Team" could take two years to finally win won NBA Title, and have to win that NBA Title in a lockout-shortened season and after falling behind to both the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics (and even the Thunder) in this year's playoffs?

I thought LeBron was going to win "not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven" NBA titles. It took him two seasons with two other All-Stars to finally win ONE.

When Kevin Durant and Ray Allen signed with Boston to join Paul Pierce, the Celtics won the NBA title in their FIRST YEAR together. They haven't won one since, but you get the point. And these guys were all in the tail-ends of their respective careers.

LeBron, Wade and Bosh were all in the so-called "primes" of their careers. The fact is, it took falling behind 3-2 to the aging Celtics for some switch to go off in LeBron's head.

He stopped deferring to Wade, who did not play great in this postseason, and started carrying the team himself.

This is what LeBron did in 2007 with the Cavs. That performance in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals was one that still gives me chills, and I hate the bastard now!

Of course, he disappeared in Game 6 at home, but a rookie named Boobie Gibson caught fire from beyond the 3-point arc and gave the Cavs their first NBA Finals berth ever.

In Game 5 of this NBA Finals, LeBron had a triple-double, but it was the kind of empty triple-double that he had in Game 6 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Celtics, right before he ripped his Cavs jersey off and then ripped the hearts out of the fans who supported him through his seven-year career.

Like Gibson, it was Mike Miller who caught fire from beyond the 3-point arc and lifted the Heat to the win. Even in Game 4, when LeBron suddenly got "cramps" (perhaps they were menstral), it was Mario Chalmers who stepped up and capped a ferocious comeback to put the Thunder on the brink of elimination.

ESPN and all the national pundits of the world want you to "get over it" already. But Joe Cleveland lives here, is one of you, and I say, NO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO SQUAT!

If you want to get over it, great. If you still have feelings of anger and resentment, so be it. LeBron James didn't leave ESPN in the lurch. He left CLEVELAND in the lurch.

He embarassed this town, his old team and, quite frankly, himself when he did his special in July of 2010. He didn't have to do that. He didn't have to rub our noses in it.

He didn't have to preen and shuck and jive with his buddies Wade and Bosh the following night in Miami, promising a slew of championships that he found out just aren't that easy to win, even if you've supposedly "beat the odds" in doing it.

He didn't have to comment that all the folks who rooted against him could go back to their pathetic lives after his team lost Game 6 to the Mavericks last year.

He didn't have to film that ridiculous "What should I do?" commercial for Nike, which didn't help his image in the slightest.

And, he didn't have to toy with Cleveland's emotions midway through this season when he said he'd be open to coming back and playing with the Cavs.

LeBron James showed just how self-absorbed he really is when he called winning the NBA Championship "the best day of his life." Glad to know LeBron Jr. and Bryce Maximus or their mother that you finally got engaged to, Savannah, really don't matter that much to you, "champ."

Funny that LeBron's old high school coaches Keith Dambrot and Dru Joyce celebrated that title. However, LeBron didn't throw the love back at them in his postgame comments.

Funny that LeBron didn't even have any comments directed at Cleveland, although he couldn't resist taking a shot at Cavs owner Dan Gilbert when he said, "I have never, in life, taken any shortcuts."

Did those jersies you received as a "gift" from the sporting goods store, which cost your high school team an undefeated season, count as a shortcut?

Did that Hummer your mom "purchased" for you in high school, which had you investigated by the OHSAA, count as a shortcut?

Did skipping college to go straight to the NBA count as a shortcut?

How about getting all of your cronies hired to the Cavs? Did that count as a shortcut?

That three-year contract you signed with a player-option for a fourth (that you were never going to exorcise) after 2007, did that not count as a shortcut?

Convincing the Cavs to abandon all long-term planning and go for short-term success, like signing Shaq and squandering draft picks, did that not count as a shortcut?

And, as you realized that you couldn't deliver a championship to Cleveland, as you promised, you decided to tuck tail and sign with another team with two other All-Stars in the hopes that it would make you a champion.

That, by any definition, is a shortcut.

Dan Gilbert was right in calling you out. Unfortunately, he made some dumb comments (guaranteeing the Cavs would win a title before LeBron would was ridiculous, and, I'm sure, had ESPN piling on after LeBron won) that has cost him.

In a way, I'm relieved he won. It was tiring rooting for someone to fail so hard and so strong. The albatross is gone.

Sometimes, the best way to make something go away is to ignore it. I'm ready to ignore LeBron James and focus my energies on the teams and athletes we have here in town.

Teams like the Browns, who drafted two exciting offensive playmakers in Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden, and have several players who are staying true to Cleveland, like Josh Cribbs and Joe Haden.

Teams like the Cavs, who drafted an exciting point guard in Kyrie Irving and are poised to add another exciting player with the fourth pick of Thursday's NBA Draft -- whether they move up or down or package picks or whatever.

Teams like the Indians, who, defying all logical belief, are still somehow in first place in the AL Central Division and are in position to be movers and shakers in a month at the trading deadline.

Teams like Ohio State, who brought in Urban Meyer to be the new head football coach and has immediately hit the ground running with a great recruiting class and some tough love (enjoy that one-game winning streak, Michigan). And their basketball team, that reached the Final Four again under Thad Matta and continually bring top hoops recruits to Columbus and succeed.

And, teams like Cleveland State, who are poised to become a mid-major breakout team after Butler left the Horizon League for the Atlantic-10. Gary Waters keeps bringing in talent that thrives in his system. The Butler roadblock to the NCAA Tournament has been lifted, and the Vikings are ready to kick down the door.

Let's not forget teams like Kent State baseball, that became the first team from the state of Ohio since Mike Schmidt's Ohio U. team in 1970 to reach the College World Series, and then sent No. 1-ranked Florida packing in a thrilling elimination game. Yes, a warm-weather sport like collegiate baseball can be successful in Northeast Ohio.

Congratulations, LeBron. You won a championship. So, when does Browns training camp open up?

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!

Coincidence? The NBA wants you to think so

David Stern became the Commissioner of the National Basketball Association in 1984, at the heyday of Lakers-Celtics/Magic-Bird rivalry that helped transform the league into what it is today.

Since Stern took over, only EIGHT NBA franchises have won the Larry O'Brien Trophy, given to the champions of the league. Of those eight, seven are in what are deemed to be "major TV markets."

The list is:

Los Angeles Lakers (8 titles, 13 appearances)
Chicago Bulls (6 titles, 6 appearances)
San Antonio Spurs (4 titles, 4 appearances)
Boston Celtics (3 titles, 6 appearances)
Detroit Pistons (3 titles, 5 appearances)
Houston Rockets (2 titles, 4 appearances)
Miami Heat (1 title, 3 appearances)
Dallas Mavericks (1 title, 2 appearances)

Going back to 1979-80, when Magic Johnson entered the league, the list only bumps up to NINE franchises (Philadelphia 76ers in 1983). The Lakers have won the title 10 times since 1980, while the Celtics have won it four times.

Coincidence?

Even Major League Baseball, which operates without a salary cap and allows the larger market teams to outspend the smaller market ones, has more parity than this. And, the NBA has had a salary cap, although that cap is rife with loopholes and other exceptions that basically make it a "salary cap" in theory.

Nine championship franchises in 32 years? Eight of which are in major markets, and all of which had some sort of gimmick going for them (a superstar player, a team nickname, etc.)?

Throw in the list of teams that reached the NBA Finals during that span and lost, that number expands to just 18 different franchises. 18 franchises in a 30-team league.

The franchises that have thrown the "olive branch" include:

Portland Trail Blazers (2 appearances)
Utah Jazz (2 appearances)
New York Knicks (2 appearances)
New Jersey Nets (2 appearances)
Orlando Magic (2 appearances)
Phoenix Suns (1 appearance)
Indiana Pacers (1 appearance)
Seattle SuperSonics (1 appearance)
Cleveland Cavaliers (1 appearance)
Oklahoma City Thunder (1 appearance)
Philadelphia 76ers (1 appearance)

None of these franchises made the NBA Finals until 1990. From 1980-89, the finals were dominated by just five teams -- the Lakers (5 titles, 8 apperances), the Celtics (3 titles, 5 appearances), the 76ers (1 title, 3 appearances), the Rockets (2 appearances) and the Pistons (1 title, 2 apperances). All of the 76ers appearances came from 1980-83, which was before Stern took over. The Sixers have only made it back once during the David Stern era.

Stern also ushered in the era of the NBA Draft Lottery, which began following the 1984-85 season. Stern's reasoning behind the lottery was because there was a belief that the Houston Rockets and other teams were "tanking" games in order to land the No. 1 overall draft choice in 1984 (which was Hakeem Olajuwon; Michael Jordan wound going third to the Chicago Bulls after Portland selected Sam Bowie).

For the first two years, all of the non-playoff teams had an equal chance of getting the top pick. From 1987-89, only the top three picks were "randomly" selected out of a hopper -- the remaining teams filled out the fourth pick on down based on their win-loss records.

In 1990, they changed it to "weighted" system, so that the team with the worst record had the most chances of landing the top pick on down. However, after the Orlando Magic wound up with the top pick in the 1993 draft despite only having one chance to land it, the NBA tinkered with their theory again.

From 1994 through now, the NBA uses 14 numbered ping-pong balls and assigns a certain number of four-digit combinations to the non-playoff teams. The worst team has the highest number of combinations, on down. The NBA draws three four-digit combinations, and the teams with those combinations land the top three draft picks. Picks four on down are assigned based on record.

Only twice has the team with the worst record in the NBA won the lottery and gotten the top pick -- 1990 (New Jersey Nets; Derrick Coleman) and 2004 (Orlando Magic; Dwight Howard). The Cavs were tied with Denver for the worst record in 2003, but yet won the lottery and selected LeBron James.

The team that has won the draft lottery the most since 1985 is the Los Angeles Clippers. Twice, they traded that top pick, and both times, that top pick wound up in the Cavs' hands -- 1986 (Brad Daugherty) and 2011 (Kyrie Irving).

The first draft lottery is the most suspicious of them all. With Patrick Ewing being the projected top choice, and the Knicks struggling in the top-media market, it seems pretty coincidental that the Knicks landed the top spot.

First, before the envelopes were placed in the hopper, the deputy commissoner banged one envelope on to a counter-top. Just one envelope. That gave that envelope a bent corner. Then, Stern drew out three envelopes at once, fumbled around a bit, and dropped the other two back in the hopper. The envelope he kept had the bent corner. That envelope had the Knicks logo on it.

Only 16 different NBA franchises have landed the top pick in the draft lottery. A lot of them seem too coincidental to be true.

The Magic got back-to-back top picks in 1992 and 93, which they selected Shaquille O'Neal and Chris Webber, who was promptly traded for Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. O'Neal and Hardaway helped the Magic reach the NBA Finals once (losing to the Rockets) before Shaq bolted for the bigger L.A. market, joining the Lakers. The NBA really wanted basketball to take off in Florida, and the Magic reaped the early rewards.

The San Antonio Spurs had become a good franchise once David Robinson was able to report following two years of Naval service duty. But, Robinson was injured and missed most of the 1997 season. That enabled the Spurs to finish with the third-worst record in the league, and they won the right to pick Tim Duncan, one of the most dominant big men coming out of college the NBA has seen in a while. Duncan and Robinson immediately transformed the Spurs into a franchise that would win four NBA titles.

In 2003, an Akron high school athlete had NBA scouts drooling. The Cavs were slagging in attendance after a few miserable seasons plagued by miserable roster decisions. Akron is only 30 miles south of Cleveland. Coincidence? Why not put the local phenom on the local team to inject life into a franchise that had just built a new downtown arena. For 7 years, it worked until that local phenom decided to sign with the Miami Heat as a free agent, who he's helped get to back-to-back NBA Finals berths.

In 2008, there was a Chicago high school phenom who went to Memphis for a year and entered into the draft. The Bulls had been struggling after Michael Jordan retired and needed a shot in the arm. What better way than to follow the LeBron-Cavs method. It's worked.

Before 1993, the once-proud 76ers had fallen on hard times, finishing with just 18 wins. What better way than to enliven one of the NBA's foundation markets by giving them the top pick, which turned out to Allen Iverson. Iverson was controvercial, but he turned the Sixers into must-see TV for a long time, even getting them to an NBA Finals.

In each of the last two seasons, two franchises lost two superstar players and then struggled in their wake. Both franchises wound up with the top-overall selection in the two most recent draft lotteries -- the Cavs (who lost LeBron) and the New Orleans Hornets (who lost Chris Paul and were owned by the NBA when Paul was traded).

Coincidence?

So, what does all of this mean, the stats on the lack of diversity atop the NBA's championship ranks and the holes in the draft lottery?

It basicially means that David Stern is the Vince McMahon of sports commissioners.

It means that the NBA is scripted and rigged.

Watching the most recent NBA Farce ... errr ... Finals between the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder has conspiracy theorists, such as Joe Cleveland, beating their chests about how the NBA is rigged. The foul disparity between the two teams has been glaring. The referees are calling a lot more questionable fouls on the Thunder than on the Heat. There have been a few glaring no-calls, such as one on LeBron on a shot from Kevin Durant that could have tied Game 2 in the waning moments.

Tim Donaghy, a disgraced former NBA official who was busted betting on games he officiated, basically let the cat out of the bag in his book, "Personal Foul." I highly recommend any sports fan to pick up this book and give it a read.

Donaghy talks about how refs look the other way when superstars are involved, how certain refs will start calling fouls in favor of the losing team when a team opens up a big lead to try and make the games more competitive in the end, how violations like travelling, up-and-down, defensive three-seconds, and others get ignored, especially when superstar athletes are involved, and how sometimes, they'll nail a superstar with a call just to make a point.

He talked about how some refs would fraternize with the players. This was exposed during Michael Jordan's gambling bust, when it was revealed that he was hanging out with NBA ref Ed Rush Jr.

Basketball is one of the easiest sports to rig. Why do you think there are so many point-shaving scandals? Sure, teams have to make their shots, and sometimes, the ball just doesn't go into the little round cylander. But, refs can directly impact the flow of the game by their foul calls, or their non-foul calls.

All during the playoffs, there have been a lot cries from opposing fans and media about the seemingly preferrential treatment the Heat have gotten from the officiating crews during the postseason. This, on the heels of the draft lottery that seemed so obviously rigged that David Stern was outright asked about it on a national radio show (Stern embarassed himself by not denying it, but instead asking a rhetorical question about the radio host beating his wife), and the consipracy theorists are out in full force.

The Heat making the NBA Finals in back-to-back years is generating a lot of money for the league, the networks (specifically ESPN) and the sponsors, namely Nike.

Did you know that if LeBron James wins a championship, which could very well happen tomorrow night, it will generate $4 billion for Nike? Check out this link below:

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/05/19/lebrons-4-billion-ring/

Stern knows the networks love it when a major market is playing in the finals, or a team with a major superstar. One of the lowest-rated NBA Finals was the 2007 finals when the Cavs were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Does it not seem surprising that the wheels began to churn in motion at that point for what transpired in July of 2010 and beyond?

In 2009, Nike would have loved an NBA Finals featuring Kobe Bryant's Lakers and LeBron James' Cavs. They even engineered a marketing campaign around it using puppets. Of course, the Orlando Magic had other plans and denied that from happening. Perhaps, at that point, Nike knew the NBA would never solidly get behind the Cavs and their championship dreams.

LeBron leaving the Cavs to sign with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh reeks of something right out of a professional wrestling script. Remember Hulk Hogan aligning with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to form the New World Order (nWo) in 1996, and how much money pro wrestling generated from that maneuver through the early 2000s? This was LeBron's heel turn.

LeBron got the proverbial "chair shot to the head" last year when Dallas (led by one of the loudest consipracy theorists of them all in owner Mark Cuban) upset his "dream team" in the NBA Finals last year. This year, however, it appears to be time for the nWo to figuratively spray paint all over the NBA trophy.

Sure, a longer series might generate more dollars. However, a dominating Heat win reveals two things:

1. Super teams, regardless of their lack of chemistry and puppet head coaches, will always succeed in the modern NBA.

2. A superstar playing for a middling market may find it best to jump to a bigger lake when the time comes, because rarely does a middling market (such as Oklahoma City) get a moment of glory.

ESPN will start speculating on Kevin Durant's next move immediately after Game 5 ends (and the Heat win, although I'm praying for a miracle to happen) and won't let up until his contract expires or he demands a trade.

That's the way that it goes, unfortunately, and, as long as fans watch, Stern and his cronies will continue to get away with it.

One last thought: The NBA lockout cost every team 16 games of the regular season. That is the exact number of games that the Heat needed to win their "long awaited" NBA title. With those additional 16 games, Miami fell two wins short last season.

Coincidence?

This is why I love hockey and college basketball. This is also why, when I cover high school hoops, players get whistled for travelling one out of every five offensive possessions, and the players look to the refs and wonder why.

Screw you, LeBron James!

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!

Can Browns stop the QB sieve?

If Brandon Weeden starts the season opener, as many expect, he'd be the sixth-straight different QB to start a Browns season opener, the eighth-different QB in the last 10 years, and the first true rookie to start a season opener since Cliff Lewis started the very first game in Cleveland Browns history back in 1946.

The expansion era hasn't been pretty for the Browns in terms of quarterbacks. Tim Couch has been the most stable QB the Browns have had, and he was sent packing after 2003.

However, you can even go back to the last few years the original Browns were in tact to see some unrest within the QB ranks. You can look at the last 21 seasons of Browns football, which spans 24 years (thanks to the three years the Browns didn't exist), and only three times has a Browns QB started all 16 games during that span (one Browns QB did it twice).

There have been 24 different starting quarterbacks for the Browns in those 21 seasons. Eight of those were from 1988-95, and 16 of them have been in the Expansion Era. There have been two seasons during that span where the Browns had to start four different quarterbacks, and five other seasons where the Browns started three different quarterbacks. They also played in six playoff games during that span, in which four different quarterbacks started those six games and five different quarterbacks played in those games.

We go back 21 years because that's when Bernie Kosar first injured his arm during the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. The year was 1988, and little did anyone know that the man under center was going to revolve more than the door outside the Cleveland Clinic.

1988
Record: 10-6 (0-1 playoffs)
Head Coach: Marty Schottenheimer
Postseason: Yes (Wild-Card)
Division Finish: Second
Opening Day QB Starter: Bernie Kosar
Season-Finale QB Starter: Don Strock (Postseason: Strock)
Other QBs who started: Gary Danielson, Mike Pagel
Other QBs who played: N/A
Leading Passer: Kosar
Noted: Kosar was injured in the second quarter of the season opener and missed the next six games. All told, he only started nine of the 16 games, suffering another season-ending injury in the second-to-last game of the regular season. Danielson broke his ankle in Week 2 and never played again. Pagel started in Week 3 (and won), but seperated his shoulder in Week 6 making a tackle after a blocked field goal and didn't play again until the Wild-Card game. Strock, who was literally summoned off of a golf course to sign after Kosar's injury, only started two games, but won both, including a huge 28-23 home win over the Houston Oilers in the season finale to clinch a Wild Card berth. Strock was injured during the Wild Card game and never took another NFL snap. Pagel finished the game, but couldn't lead the Browns to a victory. Schottenheimer resigned under pressure a few days after the playoff loss and immediately took over the Kansas City Chiefs.

1989
Record: 9-6-1 (1-1 playoffs)
Head Coach: Bud Carson
Postseason: Yes (Division Title)
Division Finish: First
Opening Day QB Starter: Kosar
Season-Finale QB Starter: Kosar (Postseason: Kosar)
Other QBs who started: None
Other QBs who played: Pagel
Leading Passer: Kosar
Noted: Kosar rebounded from the injury to start all 16 games. It would only be one of three times during this span of 21 seasons that a Browns QB will start all 16 games. Kosar struggled, throwing 14 interceptions compared to 18 touchdowns, with Marc Trestman fully running the offense. He also started the AFC Championship Game against Denver with a broken hand, using a special contraption to help aleviate the pain. Kosar threw two TD passes, but only completed 19 of 44 passes for 210 yards and three interceptions. This would be the third time in the last four years the Browns reached the AFC title game (and marked the fifth-straight playoff season). However, the Browns have yet to reach the AFC title game since then. This has also been the last time the Browns have won a division title.

1990
Record: 3-13
Head Coach: Carson/Jim Shofner (interim 7 games)
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Fourth
Opening Day QB Starter: Kosar
Season-Finale QB Starter: Pagel
Other QBs who started: None
Other QBs who played: Jeff Francis
Leading Passer: Kosar
Noted: Kosar struggled in 1990, starting all 13 games he played, but only throwing 10 TDs compared to 15 Ints. Kosar was pulled during a loss to San Francisco and Pagel rallied the team. However, the rally came up short and they lost, 20-17. The following week, Carson started Pagel over Kosar without telling the media or team owner Art Modell, and Carson was fired following a 42-0 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills (and a 2-7 start). Kosar regained the starting job after the bye week, even leading the team to a 13-10 win over Atlanta in Week 14. However, he was injured following the game and Pagel started the final two games -- both losses. Shofner, who was the offensive coordinator, was not retained.

1991
Record: 6-10
Head Coach: Bill Belichick
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Third
Opening Day QB Starter: Kosar
Season-Finale QB Starter: Kosar
Other QBs who started: None
Other QBs who played: Todd Philcox
Leading Passer: Kosar
Noted: For the final time in his career, Kosar started all 16 games during the regular season. The Browns showed improvement under Belichick, winning three more games and being competitive in most of their losses. Kosar had his best season since 1987, throwing for 3,487 yards with 18 TDs and only 9 Ints. The Browns were 6-7 heading into December with an outside chance of competing for playoff berth. However, the team lost their last three games in a row -- 17-7 to Denver, 17-14 to Houston (in which kicker Matt Stover missed a chip-shot field goal on the final play), and 17-10 at Pittsburgh.

1992
Record: 7-9
Head Coach: Belichick
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Third
Opening Day QB Starter: Kosar
Season-Finale QB Starter: Kosar
Other QBs who started: Philcox, Mike Tomczak
Other QBs who played: Brad Goebel
Leading Passer: Tomczak
Noted: Kosar only started seven games, breaking his ankle during a Week 2 Monday Night loss to Miami. Philcox started the following game, a 28-16 win over Oakland, but he was injured following the contest. Tomczak, an Ohio State grad who was cut by the Chicago Bears prior to the season opener, was thrust into action in Week 3. Tomczak started eight games and played in 12, guiding the Browns to a 4-4 record in games he started. Kosar returned in Week 13 to lead the Browns to a 27-14 Monday Night win over Chicago and earned another win the following week against Cincinnati, 37-21, to put the Browns at 7-6. However, for the second-straight year, the Browns dropped their final three games in a row. Kosar was relieved by Tomczak during the 23-13 season finale loss at Pittsburgh and threw a TD pass.

1993
Record: 7-9
Head Coach: Belichick
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Third
Opening Day QB Starter: Kosar
Season-Finale QB Starter: Vinny Testaverde
Other QBs who started: Philcox
Other QBs who played: N/A
Leading Passer: Testaverde
Noted: Kosar didn't survive the season, being unceremoniously released following a 29-14 home loss to Denver in Week 10 after the season's second bye-week. The loss dropped the Browns to 5-3. However, they would only win two more games the rest of the season. Testaverde, a free agent acquision and Kosar's college teammate at Miami (Fla.), relieved in Week 3 and led the Browns to a come-from-behind 19-16 win over Oakland after they trailed, 16-3, in the fourth quarter. Belichick followed suit the following two games before permanently benching Kosar for Week 7. Testaverde started and led the the team to wins over Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. However, he was injured during the fourth quarter against the Steelers and Kosar came off the bench. Kosar didn't get the chance to lead a game-winning TD drive, as Eric Metcalf returned a punt 75 yards for the winning TD with two minutes remaining. With Testaverde injured, Philcox started the next four games, only winning one (17-13 over New Orleans). However, Testaverde came off the bench and led the team to the win, and he started the remaining four games, including a 42-14 win over the Los Angeles Rams in the second-to-last game. Kosar wound up signing with the Dallas Cowboys and played a key role in their Super Bowl-winning season.

1994
Record: 11-5 (1-1 playoffs)
Head Coach: Belichick
Postseason: Yes (Wild-Card)
Division Finish: Second
Opening Day QB Starter: Testaverde
Season-Finale QB Starter: Testaverde (Postseason: Testaverde)
Other QBs who started: Mark Rypien
Other QBs who played: N/A
Leading Passer: Testaverde
Noted: It was Testaverde's team for the first time, and he was under pressure from fans and media who were angry about Kosar's release. In a make-or-break season, the Browns had their best record since 1987 and snapped a four-year streak without a playoff berth. Testaverde only started 13 games (he played 14) due to injury, and still finished with more interceptions (18) than touchdowns (16). But, he threw for 2,575 yards. Testaverde was injured during a 37-13 win over the Bengals in Week 8, with the Browns sitting at 6-1. Rypien, who won a Super Bowl with the Washington Redskins in 1991, started the next three games, winning two of them. He relieved an injured Testaverde the following week in a 20-13 loss to Kansas City, but Testaverde returned for good the following week, going 3-2 the rest of the way. Testaverde led the Browns to a 20-13 Wild-Card win at home over New England on New Year's Day. However, he struggled against the Steelers the following week, completing 13 of 31 passes for 144 yards with a TD and two Ints in a 29-9 loss. Adding insult to injury, Testaverde was sacked for a safety late in the fourth quarter. The Browns haven't won a playoff game (or hosted a playoff game) since.

1995
Record: 5-11
Head Coach: Belichick
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Fourth
Opening Day QB Starter: Testaverde
Season-Finale QB Starter: Testaverde
Other QBs who started: Eric Zeier
Other QBs who played: Tom Tupa
Leading Passer: Testaverde
Noted: This was the year of the move. Modell announced he was moving the team on Nov. 6 -- at that point, the Browns were 4-5. However, word leaked of the move prior to the game on Nov. 5, in which the Browns were killed, 37-10, at home by Houston. Testaverde led the Browns to a 3-1 start, but was benched following a 23-13 loss to Jacksonville for Zeier, a third-round rookie out of Georgia. Zeier caught lightning in a bottle in his first start, throwing for 310 yards in a 29-26 OT win at Cincinnati. But then the move came, and the wheels fell off. Zeier only started three more games (all losses) before Testaverde took over for good. Testaverde led the Browns to an emotional 26-10 win on Dec. 17 in their final game at the old Cleveland Stadium, which snapped a six-game losing skid. Testaverde actually had a decent year, throwing for 2,883 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 Ints. The franchise was renamed the Baltimore Ravens (Testaverde remained, but Belichick was fired shortly after the move was finalized), and the Cleveland Browns would be dormant for the next three seasons.

1999
Record: 2-14
Head Coach: Chris Palmer
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Sixth
Opening Day QB Starter: Ty Detmer
Season-Finale QB Starter: Detmer
Other QBs who started: Tim Couch
Other QBs who played: N/A
Leading Passer: Couch
Noted: The Browns were reborn as an expansion team, and veteran Ty Detmer was brought on to start and mentor the No. 1 overall draft choice out of Kentucky, Couch. However, after the Browns were whitewashed in their debut, 43-0, by the Steelers, Palmer instilled the raw Couch as the starting quarterback. Couch struggled as the Browns lost their first seven games of the season. Only a Hail Mary pass from Couch to rookie Kevin Johnson on the last play gave the Browns a 21-16 win over New Orleans, and Phil Dawson's 39-yard field goal with time running out gave the Browns a 16-15 win over the Steelers at Three Rivers. Other than that, there was a lot of disappointment. Couch started 14 of the 15 games he played in, throwing for 2,447 yards with 15 TDs and 13 Ints. Detmer started the season finale at home against the Colts and nearly led the Browns to an upset. However, the Colts got a field goal on the last play of the game to escape with a 29-28 win. Detmer never took another snap for the Browns again.

2000
Record: 3-13
Head Coach: Palmer
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Sixth
Opening Day QB Starter: Couch
Season-Finale QB Starter: Doug Pederson
Other QBs who started: Spurgon Wynn
Other QBs who played: Kevin Thompson
Leading Passer: Couch
Noted: Couch started his first season opener, and actually led the Browns to two wins in their first three games, matching their season total from the season before. However, things quickly went south for both the young QB and the Browns. Couch started the first seven games before breaking his throwing hand in practice right before a game against the Steelers. In stepped journeyman Doug Pederson, signed just before the season after Detmer tore his Achilles tendon and missed the whole season. Pederson only led the Browns to one more win -- a 19-11 home upset over Belichick's New England Patriots. In an act of utter desperation, Palmer started rookie sixth-round draft choice Wynn against Jacksonville, and Wynn never moved the Browns beyond the 50-yard line in a 48-0 loss. Pederson only threw two TDs and eight Ints. Palmer was fired following the season.

2001
Record: 7-9
Head Coach: Butch Davis
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Third
Opening Day QB Starter: Couch
Season-Finale QB Starter: Couch
Other QBs who started: None
Other QBs who played: Kelly Holcomb
Leading Passer: Couch
Noted: Will a clean bill of health and playing for a new head coach and new offensive coordinator in Butch Ariens, Couch has the best season of his young career, starting all 16 games -- the only time that has happened during the expansion era for the Browns. Couch threw for 3,040 yards with 17 TDs and 21 Ints -- all career-highs. Meanwhile, the Browns won three of their first four games, took a 4-2 record into the bye week, and were 6-4 going into December. Suddenly, this team was a playoff contender. However, the Browns lost five of their last six games, including a controvercial 15-10 loss to Jacksonville in which a fourth-down completion inside the red zone with 40 seconds remaining was overturned AFTER Couch had already run another play. Holcomb played at the end of a 31-15 blowout loss to Tennessee, throwing a touchdown pass. It was the only action Couch missed the entire season.

2002
Record: 9-7 (0-1 playoffs)
Head Coach: Davis
Postseason: Yes (Wild-Card)
Division Finish: Second
Opening Day QB Starter: Holcomb
Season-Finale QB Starter: Couch (Postseason: Holcomb)
Other QBs who started: None
Other QBs who played: N/A
Leading Passer: Couch
Noted: Couch was injured during the preseason finale, which allowed Holcomb to start the season opener. Opening up a QB controversy that never went away, Holcomb completed 27 of 39 passes for 326 yards and three TDs, but the Browns lost, 40-39, at home to Kansas City on the last play of the game. Couch returned in Week 3, leading the Browns to a come-from-behind 31-28 OT win over Tennessee. However, Couch was knocked out of a game two weeks later against Baltimore with a concussion (which drew scattered cheers from the crowd), and Holcomb led a furious rally from a 23-8 deficit. However, he threw an interception in the end zone on the final play of a 26-21 loss. Couch returned the following week and started every single game the rest of the season, leading the Browns to a 5-2 record down the stretch, including two come-from-behind wins over Jacksonville and Baltimore on the road. Couch was injured midway through the season finale against Atlanta, and Holcomb led the Browns to two second-half touchdowns in a 23-16 win, which punched their ticket to the postseason for the first time since 1994 and second time since 1989. In the Wild Card game, Holcomb shredded the Pittsburgh defense for 429 yards and three TDs. However, the Steelers rallied from deficits of 24-7 and 33-21 to escape with a 36-33 win.

2003
Record: 5-11
Head Coach: Davis
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Fourth
Opening Day QB Starter: Holcomb
Season-Finale QB Starter: Couch
Other QBs who started: None
Other QBs who played: N/A
Leading Passer: Holcomb
Noted: Both Holcomb and Couch played in 10 games and started eight, if there was ever a definition of a QB controversy. Holcomb started, based on his playoff performance against the Steelers, but struggled in the early going. He led the Browns to a come-from-behind 13-12 win at San Francisco, but was broke his ankle during the game, opening the door for Couch. Couch started the next four games, winning two, including a 33-13 win at Heinz Field (the Browns only win at Heinz Field ever) on a Sunday night. However, he was yanked during a 26-20 loss to San Diego for Holcomb, who rallied the team from a big deficit. Holcomb's best game came in a 44-6 blowout of Arizona at home, but he lost his job during a Monday Night game with St. Louis after throwing two killer interceptions just before halftime. Couch rallied the Browns in the second half of a 26-20 loss, and started the remaining three games of his Browns (and NFL) career. His final game was a 22-14 win at Cincinnati. Couch was released during the offseason and never took another NFL snap.

2004
Record: 4-12
Head Coach: Davis/Terry Robiskie (interim 5 games)
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Fourth
Opening Day QB Starter: Jeff Garcia
Season-Finale QB Starter: Holcomb
Other QBs who started: Luke McCown
Other QBs who played: N/A
Leading Passer: Garcia
Noted: Garcia was signed as a free agent to put a stop to the Couch/Holcomb QB carosel, and Garcia led the Browns to their only opening-day win of the Expansion Era, a 20-3 victory over the Ravens. However, that's about where the rays of sunshine ended for Garcia in Cleveland. He only started 10 games (and played in 11) before succombing to two different injuries. The first was during a 10-7 loss to the Jets at home. The second was after playing in just two snaps when he relieved an inefffective McCown during a 37-7 loss to Buffalo. Holcomb had one great game, throwing for five TDs and 413 yards in a 58-48 loss at Cincinnati (Davis resigned shortly after the game), but quickly fell back to earth and was injured. McCown, a rookie, was thrown into the fire with the Buffalo game and lost all four games he started. Holcomb returned for the season-finale, a 22-14 win at Houston. All three QBs would be gone by the time the Browns started the next season.

2005
Record: 6-10
Head Coach: Romeo Crennel
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Third
Opening Day QB Starter: Trent Dilfer
Season-Finale QB Starter: Charlie Frye
Other QBs who started: None
Other QBs who played: N/A
Leading Passer: Dilfer
Noted: Dilfer was signed as a free agent, and Akron product Charlie Frye was drafted in the third round as the heir apparent. Dilfer started 11 games, going 4-7 in his starts with 11 TDs and 12 Ints. Frye debuted during a 22-0 win over Miami in Week 11 and took over for an injured Dilfer in a Week 12 24-12 loss to Minnesota. He started the following week at home against Jacksonville and remained the starter for the final five games, going 2-3 in those starts. He beat Baltimore, 20-16, at home in the season finale.

2006
Record: 4-12
Head Coach: Crennel
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Fourth
Opening Day QB Starter: Frye
Season-Finale QB Starter: Frye
Other QBs who started: Derek Anderson
Other QBs who played: Ken Dorsey
Leading Passer: Frye
Noted: With Dilfer let go, it was Frye's job from the get-go in 2006. However, he quickly showed he wasn't ready to be an NFL starting quarterback, even if the fans wanted him to succeed because he was a Northern Ohio guy who grew up a huge Bernie Kosar fan. Frye started 13 games, going 4-9, throwing for 2,454 yards with 10 TDs and 17 Ints. He was injured during a 31-28 OT win over Kansas City, in which an unknown backup named Derek Anderson threw two fourth quarter TDs and drove the Browns to the game-winning field goal in OT. Anderson lost his next three starts, eventually getting injured during a 22-7 loss to Tampa Bay. Frye returned to start the season finale over Ken Dorsey, a 14-6 loss at Houston.

2007
Record: 10-6
Head Coach: Crennel
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Second
Opening Day QB Starter: Frye
Season-Finale QB Starter: Anderson
Other QBs who started: None
Other QBs who played: Brady Quinn
Leading Passer: Anderson
Noted: Frye barely beat out Anderson to start the season opener, but most everyone believed that first-round rookie Brady Quinn would eventually take over. After just a quarter-and-a-half of the season opener, Crennel pulled the plug on the Frye Era forever, inserting Anderson and then trading him the following day to Seattle. Anderson responded by putting together one of the best single-seasons a Browns quarterback has ever had, throwing for 3,787 yards with 29 TDs and 19 Ints. Anderson burst on the scene in his first start, throwing for five TDs in a wild 51-45 shootout win over Cincinnati, and kept it going for most of the first half. The Browns were 3-3 heading into their bye week following a 41-31 win over Miami, but came out with six wins over the next eight weeks to put them at 9-5 and right on the cusp of a playoff berth. However, Anderson threw four interceptions in a 19-14 loss at Cincinnati, which essentially killed their chances at a playoff berth. For his efforts, Anderson made the Pro Bowl, one of five members of the offense to do so. Quinn made his debut in the season finale, leading one drive just before halftime that resulted in a field goal.

2008
Record: 4-12
Head Coach: Crennel
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Fourth
Opening Day QB Starter: Anderson
Season-Finale QB Starter: Bruce Gradkowski
Other QBs who started: Quinn, Dorsey
Other QBs who played: N/A
Leading Passer: Anderson
Noted: Anderson quickly proved that his 2007 season was an abberation, starting just nine games (playing 10) and throwing for 1,615 yards with nine TDs and eight Ints. Following a loss to Baltimore, which dropped the Browns to 3-5, Crennel benched Anderson for Quinn in a Thursday night home showdown against Denver. Quinn played well in a 34-30 loss, throwing for 239 yards and two touchdowns, and won his first game as a starter the following week, a 29-27 come-from-behind Monday night win at Buffalo. However, that would be the last game the Browns, and Crennel, would win. Quinn was injured the following week, and Anderson was also injured a week later, leaving Dorsey as the only QB remaining. Dorsey went 0-3 as a starter, tossing 7 Ints to zero TDs, before he was injured in the second-to-last game. That meant Gradkowski, who was signed off the street just three weeks prior, started the season finale against the Steelers. It did not go well, and Crennel was fired the following day.

2009
Record: 5-11
Head Coach: Eric Mangini
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Fourth
Opening Day QB Starter: Quinn
Season-Finale QB Starter: Anderson
Other QBs who started: None
Other QBs who played: Josh Cribbs (Wildcat)
Leading Passer: Quinn
Noted: Mangini let the Quinn/Anderson QB controversy fester into the start of the season. Quinn got the nod, but it wasn't announced until just hours before kickoff of the season opener. In his only season as a true Browns starter, Quinn threw for 1,339 yards with eight TDs and 7 Ints. in nine starts (10 games). Quinn was yanked midway through a Week 3 blowout loss to Baltimore for Anderson, and Anderson started the next five games, winning only one. The win he had, Anderson only completed two passes, but it was enough for the Browns to beat Buffalo, 6-3. Quinn got the job back with the team at 1-7 for a Monday Night game with the Ravens (a 16-0 loss), before playing the best game of his life against Detroit (304 yards, 4 TDs, 0 Ints.) in a wild 38-37 loss that came down to the final play. Quinn started the next four games, picking up a home upset win over the Steelers, 13-6, and a 40-34 win at Kansas City. Quinn, however, was injured near the end of the game, and Anderson started the final two games, both victories, to give the Browns a four-game winning streak to end the season. The win streak saved Mangini's job. However, it did not save Quinn's or Anderson's, as both were sent packing by new team president Mike Holmgren.

2010
Record: 5-11
Head Coach: Mangini
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Third
Opening Day QB Starter: Jake Delhomme
Season-Finale QB Starter: Colt McCoy
Other QBs who started: Seneca Wallace
Other QBs who played: Cribbs (Wildcat)
Leading Passer: McCoy
Noted: Holmgren and new GM Tom Heckert brought in veterans Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace and drafted Colt McCoy out of Texas in the third-round as the "project quarterback." However, with Delhomme and Wallace knocked out with high ankle sprains after the first five games and a 1-4 start, McCoy was thrust into the fire against the Steelers. McCoy lost, but rebounded with wins over defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans and New England to improve the Browns to 3-5, before losing two close games to the Jets and the Jaguars. McCoy was injured during the Jaguars game, and Delhomme returned to face his former Carolina team. Delhomme guided the Browns to a 24-23 win over the Panthers and a 13-10 win at Miami to put the Browns at 5-7. Delhomme started just one more game, a 13-6 loss to the Bills, before McCoy took back over with three consecutive losses to Cincinnati, Baltimore and Pittsburgh to end the season. Mangini was fired the day after the Steelers' loss, and Delhomme was let go.

2011
Record: 4-12
Head Coach: Pat Shurmur
Postseason: No
Division Finish: Fourth
Opening Day QB Starter: McCoy
Season-Finale QB Starter: Wallace
Other QBs who started: None
Other QBs who played: N/A
Leading Passer: McCoy
Noted: McCoy, given the reins from the get-go, struggled in his first true starting season. Without the benefit of a true offseason due to the NFL lockout, and getting a new West Coast offense from Shurmur, McCoy and the offense struggled to pick it up. It was their lowest total point output since the expansion 1999 season. McCoy started the first 13 games, throwing for 2,733 yards with 14 TDs and 11 Ints, before getting knocked out of a Thursday Night Steelers game with a concussion. Wallace started the final three games and didn't fare much better, only throwing for two touchdowns. The Browns actually started 2-1 and 3-3 following a 6-3 win over Seattle before going 1-9 to end the season.

2012
Head Coach: Shurmur
Projected Opening Day QB Starter: Brandon Weeden
Other QBs on Roster: McCoy, Wallace, Thad Lewis
Noted: Weeden was drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, this past season. He is the Browns' third first-round QB selection of the Expansion Era, joining Couch and Quinn. Weeden is 28 years old after playing professional baseball in the New York Yankees system for five years before enrolling at Oklahoma State. McCoy is currently the backup competing with Weeden for the starting job, and Wallace has no chance at competing for the starting position. It will be interesting to see if McCoy sticks with the team through training camp. He could be a very good backup if his ego allows it.

Hope that was informative for you. Thanks to pro-football-reference.com for their game-by-game boxes and complete season breakdowns. Joe Cleveland may know a lot about the Browns, but it's easier to have things backed up by facts.

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!

A deal that may be all the 'Rage'

As the Indians straddle the fine line between "contender" and "pretender," GM Chris Antonetti, team prez Mark Shapiro and the rest of the front office have an interesting decision on their hands as we get closer to July 31:

Do the Indians become buyers, or (as they usually have been) sellers at the trade deadline?

The Indians will not stand pat. They usually don't at that time of the year. Up until last year, the Tribe was mostly sellers, parting off star players on the verge of free agency to try to replenish their prospects. The trades of Cy Young winners CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee and catcher Victor Martinez in back-to-back years are still hotly debated topics around Cleveland, and those happened two and three years ago.

Last season, the Tribe's 30-15 start prompted new GM Antonetti to become a rare buyer at the deadline. He acquired outfielder Koisuke Fukudome and pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez at the deadline, and then added former Tribe legend Jim Thome in August when injuries depleted the team's bench.

It didn't matter, as the team slumped to an 80-82 finish, betting lapped by Detriot for the AL Central title and missing out on a wild card berth. However, the Jimenez trade may have ramifications on what the Tribe is (or isn't) able to do in July, especially if they are still hanging around the top of the AL Central and in contention for one of the two wild card spots.

Antonetti dealt two of his top pitching prospects -- former first-round picks Drew Pomeranz and Alex White -- along with Joe Gardner and Matt McBride for Jimenez, who was a year removed from a Cy Young contending season. Jimenez started the 2010 season 10-1 and earned the All-Star Game starting nod for the National League before coming back down to Earth, and was struggling in 2011 with Colorado before Antonetti came calling.

Gardner was also considered a Top 10 prospect in the Indians organization, which means that Antonetti doesn't have a lot of face cards to deal when he tries to acquire that right-handed power bat his team has sorely been lacking, or tries to improve the outfield, first base or even his starting pitching.

Jimenez isn't tradable at this point, even with his "Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde" routine this season. He's just too inconsistant, and most other major league teams already know the book on him.

Antonetti's top prospects are second baseman Jason Kipnis, third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall and minor league shortstop Francisco Lindor. Kipnis has been the everyday second baseman with the Tribe all year and may be the team's MVP through the first two months. Chisenhall has finally be called up to replace the injured Jack Hannahan at third base, and it appears it will be his job from now on. Lindor is tearing it up for Class A Lake County and was named the starting shortstop in the Midwest League All-Star Game.

Unless Josh Hamilton is dangled, Antonetti won't part with any of those three, and, with Hamilton's contract status, he may not pull the trigger on that deal, either.

Looking at the minors, the names that jump out are pitchers Zach McAllister, David Huff, Josh Tomlin and Jeanmar Gomez (Tomlin and Gomez are currently in the majors, but could certainly be dealt) and position players Beau Mills, Russ Canzler and Trevor Crowe. Both Mills and Crowe are former first-round picks that have not panned out, while Canzler was the Class AAA Player of the Year last season, but was essentially given to the Tribe by the Tampa Bay Rays. You can throw Matt LaPorta, the former lynch-pin of the Sabathia deal, in that mix. LaPorta was tearing up Class AAA pitching before getting called up by the Tribe this week, but it's pretty clear the organization has given up on him.

None of those names, even as a package, aren't going to bring in a big fish like Kevin Youklis or Carlos Lee.

That brings us to the current closer of this team, Chris Perez.

Now, it's widely known that Joe Cleveland does not like Perez. He's been critical of Perez in past blogs for his abilities, along with his tendancy of being a lightning-rod for controversy with his comments, his actions on the field and his Tweets.

Perez was essentially given to the Indians by the Cardinals for journeyman Mark DeRosa because the Cardinals, who selected Perez in the first round out of Miami (Fla.), didn't think he was mature enough to handle the closer role. While Perez has had success in that role with the Indians, making the All-Star team last season and currently leading the AL in saves, he's also had his misfortunes.

Perez may have put himself on the trading block a few weeks ago with his rant about the Indians fans and the Indians organization. Since then, he's been perfect in save opportunities, but he also spurred on Kansas City and Minnesota to beat them in recent home series' with his John Cena "You can't see me" gesture to a Royals player who Perez had struck out during the first game of that series.

The Indians only won one more game during that stretch before taking 2-of-3 from the Tigers at Comerica Park. Prior to Perez's gesture, the team was swept by the Chicago White Sox on the road, which killed off their 3.5-game division lead and now has them looking up to the White Sox (and looking up to the wild-card race).

Injuries, which killed the Indians last year, are starting to creep up again and are playing a part in the team's recent struggles.

Whether the Indians can keep up their pace or fall off the map, Antonetti and Shapiro should take a long, hard look at dealing Perez because, quite frankly, he's their most tradable commodity.

If they buy: The bullpen is, arguably, the Indians' deepest and most talented part of their roster. The so-called Bullpen Mafia is anchored by Perez, but is augmented by the performances of set-up man Vinnie Pestano, rookie Nick Hagadone and currently injured Rafael Perez.

Pestano certainly has the stuff to be a closer in the major leagues, and he has Manny Acta's trust for his abilities to put out some eighth-inning fires before Chris Perez comes in during the ninth. Unlike Perez, Pestano is even tempered. He doesn't scream and yell when he strikes out hitters or do ridculous gestures. He doesn't go to Twitter and say his team were throwing at an opponent. He doesn't do interviews ripping on the fans for their lack of attendance.

He just does his job, and he does his job well.

Hagadone, who is starting to earn Acta's trust, has pitched very well since being called up from Columbus this year, earning a role as a late-inning specialist in the Indians' bullpen. Like Pestano, Hagadone also has closer-worthy stuff and could very well become a closer down the line.

While it could be baffling for a team to trade a guy who's dominating the saves category while they are still in contention, the belief is that the organzation feels that Pestano and Hagadone could easily move up the chain to closer and set-up guy and the team wouldn't miss a beat.

And, Perez is a big-enough name now that a desperate team could dangle some big names, names that could solidify their lineup and add some needed depth.

At this stage, Johnny Damon is not an every-day left-fielder. Grady Sizemore will likely not play at all this year, and even if he does, he may not be very effective. Travis Hafner is on the shelf with his annual injury, and the Indians are counting down the days before his contract is finally off the books. Kipnis, Chisenhall and Asdrubal Cabrera cannot carry this lineup. They need help.

Trading Perez could bring some of that help.

If they sell: If the Indians fall off the map and out of contention, Perez becomes a luxury the Indians could certainly live without. He can bring in a high volume of talent from a contending team desperate for a closer (and there are quite a few). It becomes easier to go to Pestano and Hagadone if they are done.

Either way, I believe that the Tribe's trade prospects begin with Chris Perez. His comments and actions won't be the reason, but they certainly don't help his cause. In the end, it will be a baseball decision that the Indians have to make, either for their immediate future or their long-term future.

Michael Brantley is another big name that could be talked about, but I can't see the Indians pulling the plug on him, especially when the outfield is so thin as it is. During the offseason, perhaps, but not during the season.

If the Indians are sellers, expect a fire-sale of epic proportions. Guys like Derek Lowe, Casey Kotchman, Hafner, Damon and Hannahan may be auctioned off to contenders looking to fortify their rotations or lineups or depth.

At any rate, the Indians won't be dealing Sabathia, Lee or Martinez this time because, quite frankly, they don't have the individual talent on this team to do so. The talent they have has been locked up, such as Cabrera. So, it will be veteran players in the last year of their contracts.

Hopefully, the Tribe will be in position to buy and not sell. Either way, I'd expect Antonetti to be on his phone a lot over the next two months.

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!

Tribe Fever not contagious

So, in a town that is so very desperate for a winner, the Cleveland Indians -- who, as of May 21, were in first place in the American League Central Division with a 23-18 record -- are struggling to catch the fans' attention.

Well, the only attention the Indians have gotten locally has been negative attention, which may play into why the team is 30th out of 30 Major League teams in attendance through their 23 home games at Progressive Field (they are 11-12 at home heading into a huge three-game series with third-place Detroit, who are just 3 games behind the Wahoos).

The most recent negative strike for an organization that just can't seem to win came from closer Chris Perez following Saturday's 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins.

 "I was tired of getting booed at home so I figured, 'I'd better throw some strikes.' You can quote that," he began, following a 1-2-3, 10-pitch ninth inning -- by far, his best outing in a few seasons.

Perez was apparently irritated that some fans began booing him two nights before in a 5-4 11-inning win over Seattle. Perez pitched the 10th and put two runners on before escaping the jam unscathed. However, the boos and catcalls began after he walked the second hitter on four pitches to put the two runners on base.

Asked if it bothered him to get booed at home, Perez said, "It doesn't bother me, it pisses me off. I don't think they have a reason to boo me.

"They booed me against the Mariners when I had two guys on. It feels like I can't even give up a base runner without people booing me. It's even worse when there's only 5,000 in the stands, because then you can hear it. It pissess me off."

Perez ended the 10th by striking out Jesus Montero, but even that didn't ease his anger because the fans responded with a Bronx cheer.

"After I struck out Montero, the mock standing applause just adds to it," he said. "You see their true colors."

He was just getting started.

Perez said the fans' reaction to the Indians is one of the reasons they weren't able to sign free agents such as Carlos Beltran over the winter.

"Guys don't want to come over here and people wonder why," he said. "Why doesn't Carlos Beltran want to come over here? Well, because of that."

Apparently, Perez didn't realize that he plays for one of the biggest penny-pinching owners in the Major Leagues in Larry Dolan, who has never broken the bank for anybody. Beltran turned down the Indians' two-year, $24 million offer to sign with the defending World Series champions for two years, $26 million.

Pretty easy decision if you're Carlos Beltran. But not to the eyes of a guy whose nickname is "Pure Rage" and has already been fined by MLB for an inflammatory Tweet directed at the Kansas City Royals. 

"That's part of it," he said. "It doesn't go unnoticed -- trust us. I'm not calling out the fans. It's just how it is. That stuff is reserved for road games.

"We don't want to deal with that crap. Here, good fans are supposed to help you try to get through the inning and say, 'Hey, you're only one pitch away. Hey, it's all right.'"

Apparently, Perez didn't get the memo that, as a professional athlete, sometimes you get booed, sometimes you get cheered, and sometimes you get booed at home. He also didn't realize that Cleveland fans are a pretty emotional bunch themselves and are pretty brow-beaten by 50 years of losing.

The Indians drew 29,799 to Saturday's game. It was their second-largest crowd of the season next to the sellout crowd of 43,190 for the season opener. Still, the Indians are last in attendance at 341,403.

"Nobody wants to play in front of 5,000 fans," Perez said. "We know the weather stinks, but people see that [attendance]. Other players know that.

"You had a choice of playing in St. Louis where you get 40,000 like Beltran chose to do, or you can come to Cleveland. It's going to take more money to get him to come to Cleveland. That's just how it is. That's another thing that you have to go against. It's not only the payrolls of the AL East teams, but that kind of stuff."

Never mind that the Indians have never drawn a crowd as low as 5,000 to Progressive Field this year, but he was rolling.

Perez tried to smooth things over when someone asked him about the economy, but he continued to dig a hole for himself.

"I completely understand, but the fans can't take it personal when the players don't want to stay here or players don't want to come here," he said. "It's a business. You didn't choose to get drafted by Cleveland. I'm in it for my family. Who knows? I could throw my last pitch tomorrow.

"At the same time, I'm here. I'm here to win. I'm here for my teammates and I want to bring a championship to Cleveland, to do my job and help the team win. I think I do a pretty good job of showing that on the field. I don't think I bring any undue attention to myself. I'm out there for the team. In big wins, I get excited and I'm like a kid again, because it's fun."

Given the chance the following day to retract or apologize for some of his statements, following a visit with team president Mark Shapiro and GM Chris Antonetti, Perez decided to do neither, instead bringing his bottle of kerosene to add to the fire.

"Thursday was the last straw for me, and Saturday night was the first time I'd spoken [to reporters] since then," he said. "I just didn't understand the booing when I hadn't even given up a run. I don't understand the negativity, in general. Why? We have a first-place team. How many teams in the country would want that right now?

"You think the Tigers are happy? The Tigers are in third place. We're in first place. Enjoy it. We could be in last place. We could be the Royals, we could be the Pirates, who haven't won anything in 20 years."

Never mind that both the Pirates and Royals have won World Series titles sooner than the Indians' last win in 1948, and that, other than a playoff berth in 2007, the Indians have, by and large, not won anything since 2001.

Also, while Perez's Indians began last season at 30-15, they stumbled and bumbled under the spotlight and the sunshine of June, July and August and wound up 80-82, double-digit games behind first-place Detroit.

The blowback from his Saturday outburst was pretty intense, and Perez felt some of it on Twitter and on the Web. He basically said he didn/t care.

"I expected it, but I really don't care anymore," Perez said. "I'm here to do my job and play for this team. If the fans come, they'll come. If they don't, it will be just like it was in April, so who cares?"

Perez tried to downplay his fan bashing by saying he expected more fans to show up. Unfortunately, his explanations didn't help anything.

"The fans are going to come, I know that," he said. "It's just a slap in the face when you're in first place and last in attendance. Last. It's not like we're 25th, 26th -- we're last. Oakland is outdrawing us. That's embarrassing.

"In 2010, I wouldn't have made those comments [the Indians went 69-93 that season]. We deserved to get booed. We deserved to have nobody here. But we've been building up for this season. We're good. We have a good team. We haven't even played our best ball and we're in first."

Perez said some of his teammates feel the same way about the low attendance, but "they just won't say it."

That's a fantastic way of throwing his teammates under the bus, but then again, he's been a walking distraction for a long time,

"I'm not doing anything to bring extra attention to myself or distract from what the team's doing," he said. "I don't have an ulterior motive. I'm here to win. I want to win here. I care. We all care. We want to win. But right now, we're winning for ourselves, basically."

Winning for ourselves ... A fantastic way of saying that you, as a fan base, doesn't matter because he, speaking for his Indians, are not playing for your benefit anymore.

They're not playing for the name on the front of the jersey, they're essentially playing for the name on the back (unless they're using those special uniforms where there is no name on the back of jersey, but whatever).

The Indians responded to Perez's critical comments by losing to the Marlins, 5-3. Perez didn't give fans the sastisfaction of pitching, since the Indians were out of the game for the get-go and only a two-run ninth-inning rally made things respectable.

Yes, Chris Perez, it probably is frustrating that your team is in first place, but nobody is going to games. However, you must not know the fans of Cleveland all that well. You claim to, but you don't.

It seems like, fair or not, the Cleveland Indians have to prove something to the fan base each year to get them to "buy-in." The Browns don't have to do that, but that's because Cleveland is a football-town and the Browns actually left town for three years. Absense makes the heart grow fonder, even if that team has been a stinking pile of dump since it returned in 1999.

The Indians, out of anyone, took advantage of the Browns leaving town the most. Jacobs Field was a palace when it opened in 1994. Dick Jacobs made some key free agent signings, and the team started to win.

They reached the World Series in 1995 -- the first Series berth since 1954 -- but lost. Their Game 6 loss came a few weeks before word of the Browns moving to Baltimore was leaked and then confirmed on Nov. 6.

Without the Browns, the Indians reached the postseason in 1996, 97, 98, 99 and 2001. They reached the ALCS in 1997 and 98 and reached the World Series in 97.

In fact, 1997 may have been the closest anyone from Joe Cleveland's generation has been to a championship. They led Game 7, 2-1, heading into the bottom of the ninth, before Jose Mesa imploded and gave up the tying run. The Tribe eventually lost in the 11th, 3-2, on a two-out single up the middle by Edgar Renteria off of Charles Nagy.

In 2000, the Indians were elminated from the wild-card on the final day of the regular season. That was the year they were sold to Larry Dolan.

Under Dolan's ownership, the Indians have had two postseason berths, one ALCS berth (2007) and three winning seasons (they went 93-69 in 2005 after a furious second-half rally, but choked in the final week of the regular season and missed out on the playoffs). The rest has been terrible.

In 2002, Mark Shapiro was promoted to general manager after John Hart took the identical job in Texas. Shapiro's first act was trading future Hall of Famer Robbie Alomar to the Mets, but his next trade was his best.

After firing Charlie Manuel at the All-Star break, Shapiro dealt Bartolo Colon (who wound up winning 20 games) to the Montreal Expos for Lee Stevens and three prospects -- Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips. While Phillips didn't emerge until Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge gave up on him and essentially gave him to the Reds, Sizemore and Lee became two of the better players in baseball.

Lee, who did little to contribute to the 2007 team, won the 2008 Cy Young Award after winning 24 games. CC Sabathia won the Cy Young in 2007, while the guy formerly known as Fausto Carmona caught lightning in a bottle and also won 19 games that season.

By 2009, only one of those pitchers will still be in Cleveland. Unfortunately, it was the artist formerly known as Fausto Carmona, who is currently being detained in the Dominican Republic under his given name of Roberto Hernandez Heredia and is three years older than he told the Indians and the U.S. Government.

Lee and Sabathia were dealt in back-to-back years in cost-cutting trades. Out of the two trades, the Indians have three players on the current big-league roster -- center fielder Michael Brantley, utility infielder Jason Donald and backup catcher Lou Marson.

The Indians also traded popular catcher Victor Martinez to the Red Sox for pitchers Justin Masterson and Nick Hagadone. Hagadone finally made the club this year and has become a decent end-of-the-pen guy. Masterson had a great season last year, but has struggled this year.

It's maneuvers like this that cause fan disconnect. The fans loathed that all of their heroes from the "Era of Champions" -- Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel -- all were allowed to walk away as free agents because the Indians couldn't afford to keep them. They loathed that others who replaced them and emerged in their absence, such as Brandon Phillips, Martinez, Lee and Sabathia, were dealt for prospects -- prospects that, for the most part, haven't emerged yet.

The Indians have drafted poorly during that time, which further depleted their farm system. They've drafted better recently, but two of their most recent first-round choices -- pitchers Alex White and Drew Pomeranz -- were dealt at the trading deadline to Colorado for pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez.

To say Jimenez has been inconsistant since coming to Cleveland would be an understatement. One game,he looks like Cy Young. The next, he looks like Anthony Young.

(Joe Cleveland break -- if you don't know who Anthony Young is, Google him. Young went 3-30 over a two-year span with the Mets, which included a record 24-game losing streak.)

So, fans went into this season with a general distaste for the Indians' ownership and front office. Also, on the eve of the regular season, Forbes Magazine reported that the Indians turned the largest profit in the major leagues -- $30 million. Meanwhile, the Dolans continued to cry the poorhouse blues, and their denial of the report just reeked of lies.

Despite that, a whopping 44,000 people showed up to watch Opening Day against the Blue Jays, and, for 8 1/2 innings, the fans were enjoying a 4-1 lead.

Then Chris Perez showed up to undo all of the good tidings, giving up three ninth-inning runs.

By the way Chris, if you wonder why fans get restless and boo you when you pitch, it's performancs like yours in the home opener you can point to. Some fans just don't trust a lead with you on the mound. Want to shut them up and prove them wrong? Keep firing 1-2-3, 10-pitch innings at opponents. If it takes "not wanting to be booed" to do that kind of performance, Joe Cleveland can only wonder why you're not motivated to pitch like that all the time.

The Tribe wound up losing in 16 innings, and most fans tuned them out after that.

So, you factor in distaste for ownership, a lackluster offseason in which a lot of promised but nothing was delivered (Casey Kotchman and a bucket of crap constitutes as NOTHING), a spectacular blown home opener in front of a raucus capacity crowd, and a chilly April, and it's no surprise why they've been drawing 11,000 fans to their games on average.

Also, you have to go back to last season. Like last season, the Tribe came off of a do-nothing offseason and a miserable home opener to shock baseball by going 30-15 at the end of May.

There was no way a team 15 games above .500 would not win a division title, let alone clinch a playoff berth. And yet, the bargain-basement Indians found a way to do both.

This season has almost been a mirror-image of last season. Fans were skeptical about the Tribe's good fortune last season, but bought in during the summer with large crowds. Once the fans started coming, the Indians started wilting. They were relegated to bringing back legend Jim Thome in August and September to continue some of those large crowds into football season. By then, the team was toast.

So, to say the fans were skeptical again this season is perfectly understandable. Joe Cleveland, for one, is definitely skeptical. They just don't look like a playoff-calibur team to me.

Yeah, they're playing a gritty brand of baseball that Cleveland fans can identify with. They're underdogs, and we all love an underdog. However, everyone's waiting for that other shoe to drop.

All the fans who did so last year pointed to everyone who yelled at them and said, "I told you so." They are waiting to do that again.

Chris Perez's nuclear meltdown this past weekend can't help matters with a fragile fan base. Yes, fans are talking about the Indians more than the Browns today. However, it's mostly debating as to whether or not you side with Perez and/or will continue to support the Tribe.

If the Indians get swept by Detroit, or drop 2-of-3 games, the boo birds and buzzards will swoop in. Perez's meltdown will be the factor in many fans' eyes for their dismal performance, especially if Perez blows a save. Hoo-boy, buckle up for that one, Chrissy!

Who knows, perhaps an outburst like this will galvanize the team into rallying around their beleagured and outspoken closer. Baseball's a funny game.

But, as of now, Joe Cleveland will go back to paying attention to the Browns' OTAs and the Cavs' upcoming NBA Draft lottery. Chris Perez just burned his last bridge to this fan.

By the way, baseball fans, if you like baseball but don't want to pay $10 for a beer, there are cheaper and more family-friendly alternatives to the Indians. The Lake County (Eastlake) Captains to the East, the Akron Aeros to the South, the Columbus Clippers to the further South, the Lake Erie (Avon) Crushers to the West and the Mahoning Valley (Niles) Scrappers to the further East are minor league teams, but put on a great brand of baseball and promote fun for the entire family. Plus, you're not spending over $100 to take a family of four to a ball game.

Joe Cleveland took his 9-year-old nephew to a Crushers game last Saturday. The kid wound up with two foul balls, a couple of autographs, and ate like a champion for under $10.

Ironically, all but the Crushers are affiliated with the Indians, so they're basically competing with themselves. The Captains come highly recommended, as do the Aeros, Clippers and Crushers.

Some fans are saying that the low attendance will eventually lead to the Indians moving. Do these fans not remember all the times the Indians were going to "move to New Orleans" or "move to Miami" or "move to whereever" during the 1970s and 80s, when ownership was terrible and the team was even worse and they played in a dump of a stadium? They didn't move then, did they?

The Tribe's not going anywhere. They play in a great stadium with a great lease. If they do, Larry Dolan will have no one to blame but himself. But, that's a discussion for another day.

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!