With the Indians sucking and the Browns a couple of months from starting I guess there is only one thing to talk about this week in the world of Cleveland sports. The NBA draft. This draft hopes to be one of the most talent rich and interesting drafts in a recent years. (probably since 2003) Anyway there is a lot of speculation about what the Cavs will do with the 19th pick
But for starters could someone please tell me exactly when and how Kosta Koufos became such a a heavily sought after player in the NBA draft . I remember laughing at him when he declared for the draft this year. I didn't think he was ready but apparently I was wrong. A lot of mock drafts have Golden State picking him at 14. And even scarier a lot of drafts have him falling to the Cavs at 19... As a Cavs fan, I pray that doesn't happen.
Koufus struggled to perform well against some of the weaker teams in the Big Ten, which is not a conference powerhouse in basketball. So how is he going to do in the NBA. Just look at his game by game log from last year. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=36133
Sure he had some games where he put up good numbers. But he had a lot of games where he completely disappeared. 8 points against Coppin State? Really? He seemed very soft inside and I can't remember how many times I watched him weakly go up and miss layups and dunks. Yes dunks. Also correct me if I'm wrong but I though his specialty was supposed to be perimeter shooting. Well he shot 34.9% from the very short college 3 point line. I wonder how he'll do moving back a few feet for a 3 in the pros. More disturbingly, he shot 68% from the free throw line. Just what the Cavs need another player who can't shoot. From watching him play at OSU last year I remember a very weak big man who shied away from physical play in the paint. Greg Oden he is most definitely not. So again why is he a projected mid first rounder?
Well apparently scouts and Gms (including Danny Ferry) have fallen in love with Koufus after his work outs. So while he may not have been that great of a college player he has great workouts. Awesome... You know who Koufus reminds me of. Nickoloz Tskitishvili. That's right former 5th overall pick to the Nuggets back in 2002. Tskitishvili was a 7 foot foreign. Like Koufus he was known for his range as a big man and was supposed to have a lot of "upside". He also, like Koufus, put on some damn good pre draft work outs. Well after being taken 5th overall good old Niko bounced around several different teams over 3 years averaging a whopping 3.0 points and 1.8 reb for his career.
Sorry if my comparison scared anyone. I hope I'm wrong if the Cavs do take Kosta. Part of me is kind of rooting for us to take Koufus just so him and Z can have "Who is the most goofy-akward-foreign-white-big-guy competitions" at practices. I would pay money to watch that. But the sensible part of me is rooting whole heartily for the Warriors to take Koufus ahead of the Cavs so Danny Ferry doesn't even have to think about taking him.
So by now you may be asking yourself who I think the Cavs should take? My answer is no one. I think we should try to trade the pick along with some other players to try to get a proven veteran who can make an immediate impact. That is what the Cavs need most right now. A player who can make an impact right now. The disaster scenario of Lebron leaving is only two years away. We need to get better right now! At 19th in the draft there's no way the Cavs will find an impact player who can make big contributions next year. So the argument that Koufus has upside doesn't fly with me. I still say he's gonna suck but for sake of argument let's say he turns out to be a pretty good player in 3 years. Well if he becomes a good player in 3 years and Lebron leaves in the mean time we are screwed and Koufus will surely not be able to carry a Lebronless Cavs. So again the Cavs need a player who can make an immediate impact and help us win. Trade the draft pick. Or at least try our best too. I'm still holding delusional hope that we will some how trade our pick and some other players to get Micheal Redd or Baron Davis. Yea I know I'm an idiot but my fingers are still crossed.
Knowing the Cavs the most likely scenario is that we don't make any big trades and we do take a player with the 19th pick. So if that happens I think we should take Roy Hibbert from Georgetown. We need another center since Z can't have too much longer left and after him I guess the next center on the depth chart is...umm... Ben Wallace... Gross! Hibbert is a rare player who actually went to college for all four years. Not only does he fill a need we have at center but he also is very experienced. I think out of all the players we could draft at 19 he could have the biggest immediate impact. Hibbert is a center who actually plays like a center. Crazy huh? Unlike Koufus he does like to play with his back to the basket and work the paint. He is developing a nice little hook shot and I think he could play a solid back up to Z. Who knows though he could be the next Lasagna Flop. If you guys don't know who I'm talking about there you're obviously not a true Cavs fan.
Anyway the reality is not me nor one of the millions of draft "experts" knows what will happen on Thursday. I just hope the Cavs do everything they can to make an impact trade on draft night. If not, finger's crossed that if we do get Koufus they televise his "awkward white guy offs" with Z on FSN Ohio and Austin Carr announces them. I wouldn't care how bad he sucked if that happened.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Let's Make A Deal
No Clevelanders, I will not be assuming the role of the game show host Monty Hall (for you younger readers click the wkipedia link and learn a thing or two). In this baseball version of the game show we will examine the "prizes" that the Indians could win by trading Cy Young Award winning pitcher CC Sabathia. When you finish reading this post you will be able to choose for yourself which option the Tribe should take. Will it be Door #1, Door #2 or Door #3.
Before we examine the trade options for the Indians we must first draw a few conclusions. A few assumptions must be made in order for this scenario to take place. First is that the Indians are sellers and not going after a World Series Title. I think this is an easy conclusion to draw. You might be asking yourself, but Mike you said in your previous article that the Indians needed to win their series with the Minnesota Twins and they would be in good shape? Well concerned Tribe fan you are right I did say that. But I did not for see the Indians getting swept by one of the worst teams in the league and slipping into 4th place in the AL Central behind the hated Detroit Tigers. That's right fans, the Tigers have passed us in the standings (6/20) and we are officially 8.5 games back. Let's face it people, this season is not going to yield the results we all expected. I am not saying we should give up all together, but we should start to face reality so that when October roles around, we are not shocked that our boys are sitting at home and hitting the links. It is time to realize we are now sellers at the trade deadline. The other assumption tat needs to be made is that we can not sign CC Sabathia before the season is over. Before we go after any trades for the big lefty, we need to make one final offer to him and see if he wants to stay with the team that has groomed him into the pitcher he is today. Give him one last opportunity to show his loyalty or see if this is about business. Either way, it makes no difference to me, just give it one last shot.
With those things in mind, what options do the Indians and Mark Shapiro's staff have? I propose three possible outcomes for the Indians in this scenario. The first option seems to me to be the most viable but least digestible. Door #1 has the image of a young, fiery, loud mouth son who thinks he is his father but is clearly not. Stumped? It's Hank Steinbrenner of course and his underachieving New York Yankees. As I said, this make me and you cringe. It hurts to think that a player who we have watched grow up and love would be playing for the very vein of our baseball existence. But this may be the best deal we have. The Indians would be looking to get as many good prospects as they could. The Yankees are sporting one of the best minor league systems in the Majors and history may prove they would be willing to make a deal. Last year the Yankees did not make a splash at the trade deadline and they were bounced in the first round of the playoffs (by the Tribe, hold you applause). They have usually made the necessary deals to make a deep playoff run and not making a deal last year may have left a bad taste for the Yanks. Plus, Baby Boss- Hank, wants to make a splash in the Bigs. His mouth has been flapping all year and he would be more then happy to pull the blockbuster of the year to bring attention to New York. The Bronx Bombers also have incentive to trade for a pitcher because their Ace Chien-Ming Wang is out till September and they need pitching. For the Indians you would expect them to be chasing two major pitching prospects in Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy who are both super prospects and have pitched in the Bigs. That might be an either or scenario but if the Tribe could land both they would have to buy Hank a new sports car. Along with a pitching prospect, the Indians would be looking to get 2B Robinson Cano to fill their infield weakness. Cano brings a very good bat, which is struggling right now but is legit and he also fills a HUGE hole for the Indians. With the acquisition of Cano, Droobs could move to SS his natural position and they would have a good 2B to complete their infield. They have tons of depth then and could move Peralta to 3B and Blake back to the OF. Peralta would be a better fit at 3B anyway because he has no range but has a cannon arm. Another possible name that could come up is OF Melky Cabrera. He is a quality fielder and a good hitter who will put up quality numbers at the dish. There are other prospects in the Yankees minor league system that the Tribe might try to score. I would expect a 3-for-1 deal in which the Indians get three players.
Door #2 involves two NL teams. This could include the Chicago Cubs or the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both teams need pitching and have the money for a CC Sabathia and with health questions surrounding Carlos Zambrano, the Cubs might be looking to help their pitching, especially since they have had such an impressive first half so far. With ideas of breaking the curse looming, the Cubs might want a power pitcher to give them the extra boost to get over the hump. The Dodgers sport a good minor league system with big names like SP Clayton Kershaw, SS Chin-Lung Hu, 3B Blake DeWitt and 3B Andy LaRoche. These three names would fit into the Indians line-up in very unique ways. The Cubs have a mediocre minor league system and would only pose as a potential suitor because of monetary interest. I have not heard many potential player deals and they might not have a good enough system to lure the Tribe to trade.
Door #3 is an option many fans don't want to hear. This option involves the Tribe making no deal and playing their luck in either trying to make it back in the picture of try their luck in signing CC at the end of the season. I am highly afraid of Door #3, but i realize that it is a great possibility. This is the realest scenario we have. But it is not all about doom and gloom.
I trust Mark Shapiro with any and every deal the organization makes. This doesn't mean Mark doesn't make mistakes. It just mean that he will use all the knowledge available to make the best decision for the team. This is the guy who brought Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Travis Hafner into our system for pieces and parts we couldn't use. I say he has done a pretty good job with a very little about of money and support from the higher ups. Even though the Tribe might not be playing for a Title in 2008, they are OK. This team is just experiencing an abnormality. There is no way that the players on this team are this bad. Everyone is hitting bad times at the exact same time. The team is in a long funk and will rebound. They greatly over achieved last year and now they are just getting the reverse in '08. This team will play all season long and will make for a fun baseball season, even if it is frustrating at times. Keep going to games fans and watch what happens. This division is still for the taking. All the teams are really shaky. If the Tribe hits a hot streak it could be a different story in a month. That's wishful thinking and is not likely to happen. The best part about sports though is that the unlikely happens more times then it ought to.
Stay Strong Cleveland. The Browns will be here before you know it
Mike Castellano
Before we examine the trade options for the Indians we must first draw a few conclusions. A few assumptions must be made in order for this scenario to take place. First is that the Indians are sellers and not going after a World Series Title. I think this is an easy conclusion to draw. You might be asking yourself, but Mike you said in your previous article that the Indians needed to win their series with the Minnesota Twins and they would be in good shape? Well concerned Tribe fan you are right I did say that. But I did not for see the Indians getting swept by one of the worst teams in the league and slipping into 4th place in the AL Central behind the hated Detroit Tigers. That's right fans, the Tigers have passed us in the standings (6/20) and we are officially 8.5 games back. Let's face it people, this season is not going to yield the results we all expected. I am not saying we should give up all together, but we should start to face reality so that when October roles around, we are not shocked that our boys are sitting at home and hitting the links. It is time to realize we are now sellers at the trade deadline. The other assumption tat needs to be made is that we can not sign CC Sabathia before the season is over. Before we go after any trades for the big lefty, we need to make one final offer to him and see if he wants to stay with the team that has groomed him into the pitcher he is today. Give him one last opportunity to show his loyalty or see if this is about business. Either way, it makes no difference to me, just give it one last shot.
With those things in mind, what options do the Indians and Mark Shapiro's staff have? I propose three possible outcomes for the Indians in this scenario. The first option seems to me to be the most viable but least digestible. Door #1 has the image of a young, fiery, loud mouth son who thinks he is his father but is clearly not. Stumped? It's Hank Steinbrenner of course and his underachieving New York Yankees. As I said, this make me and you cringe. It hurts to think that a player who we have watched grow up and love would be playing for the very vein of our baseball existence. But this may be the best deal we have. The Indians would be looking to get as many good prospects as they could. The Yankees are sporting one of the best minor league systems in the Majors and history may prove they would be willing to make a deal. Last year the Yankees did not make a splash at the trade deadline and they were bounced in the first round of the playoffs (by the Tribe, hold you applause). They have usually made the necessary deals to make a deep playoff run and not making a deal last year may have left a bad taste for the Yanks. Plus, Baby Boss- Hank, wants to make a splash in the Bigs. His mouth has been flapping all year and he would be more then happy to pull the blockbuster of the year to bring attention to New York. The Bronx Bombers also have incentive to trade for a pitcher because their Ace Chien-Ming Wang is out till September and they need pitching. For the Indians you would expect them to be chasing two major pitching prospects in Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy who are both super prospects and have pitched in the Bigs. That might be an either or scenario but if the Tribe could land both they would have to buy Hank a new sports car. Along with a pitching prospect, the Indians would be looking to get 2B Robinson Cano to fill their infield weakness. Cano brings a very good bat, which is struggling right now but is legit and he also fills a HUGE hole for the Indians. With the acquisition of Cano, Droobs could move to SS his natural position and they would have a good 2B to complete their infield. They have tons of depth then and could move Peralta to 3B and Blake back to the OF. Peralta would be a better fit at 3B anyway because he has no range but has a cannon arm. Another possible name that could come up is OF Melky Cabrera. He is a quality fielder and a good hitter who will put up quality numbers at the dish. There are other prospects in the Yankees minor league system that the Tribe might try to score. I would expect a 3-for-1 deal in which the Indians get three players.
Door #2 involves two NL teams. This could include the Chicago Cubs or the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both teams need pitching and have the money for a CC Sabathia and with health questions surrounding Carlos Zambrano, the Cubs might be looking to help their pitching, especially since they have had such an impressive first half so far. With ideas of breaking the curse looming, the Cubs might want a power pitcher to give them the extra boost to get over the hump. The Dodgers sport a good minor league system with big names like SP Clayton Kershaw, SS Chin-Lung Hu, 3B Blake DeWitt and 3B Andy LaRoche. These three names would fit into the Indians line-up in very unique ways. The Cubs have a mediocre minor league system and would only pose as a potential suitor because of monetary interest. I have not heard many potential player deals and they might not have a good enough system to lure the Tribe to trade.
Door #3 is an option many fans don't want to hear. This option involves the Tribe making no deal and playing their luck in either trying to make it back in the picture of try their luck in signing CC at the end of the season. I am highly afraid of Door #3, but i realize that it is a great possibility. This is the realest scenario we have. But it is not all about doom and gloom.
I trust Mark Shapiro with any and every deal the organization makes. This doesn't mean Mark doesn't make mistakes. It just mean that he will use all the knowledge available to make the best decision for the team. This is the guy who brought Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Travis Hafner into our system for pieces and parts we couldn't use. I say he has done a pretty good job with a very little about of money and support from the higher ups. Even though the Tribe might not be playing for a Title in 2008, they are OK. This team is just experiencing an abnormality. There is no way that the players on this team are this bad. Everyone is hitting bad times at the exact same time. The team is in a long funk and will rebound. They greatly over achieved last year and now they are just getting the reverse in '08. This team will play all season long and will make for a fun baseball season, even if it is frustrating at times. Keep going to games fans and watch what happens. This division is still for the taking. All the teams are really shaky. If the Tribe hits a hot streak it could be a different story in a month. That's wishful thinking and is not likely to happen. The best part about sports though is that the unlikely happens more times then it ought to.
Stay Strong Cleveland. The Browns will be here before you know it
Mike Castellano
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tough to be a Cleveland Fan
Mike I have to completely agree with your earlier post Would it be Cleveland? Being a Cleveland sports fan is tougher than being a fan for any other city. I don't care what anyone else says, being a Cavs, Indians and Browns fan is tougher than being a fan for any other city or team PERIOD. No city has been victim to such a major championship drought in all sports other than Cleveland. We all know the Tribe haven't won it all since 1948, the Browns 1964, (before Super Bowls so it makes us seem even lamer) and the Cavs... sorry Lebrons... made it to the Finals that one time last year and got swept.
To be honest it really pisses me off when I hear other fans, from other cities complain that their teams haven't won lately. Like right now the Cubs are arguably the best team and baseball. Now there is a lot of talk going on about how they can break their "curse" and end the long suffering for all their fans. OOOOOOOkkkkkkk Chicago people unless for some reason you only like the Cubs you have no idea what suffering is. Weren't the Chicago Bulls of the 90s one of the best teams in the history of the NBA? Didn't they win 6 titles in 8 years? Sounds like Chicago sports fans had something to be happy about even if the Cubs haven't won a World Series in 100 years.
Now let me go to my most hated city right now. No not Pittsburgh, not Detroit... Boston. Yea Boston. If I hear a Sportcenter anchor refer to it as the "Nation" one more time I'm gonna go wicked retahded. (tough to type one of those horrible Boston accents) Anyway my point is before their first championship in 04, Red Sox fans were the fans who had suffered the most. Just like the city of Chicago the city of Boston had a lot lot of other things in the sports world to be happy about. For example the Patriots are the best team of this decade in the NFL. Oh and the Celtics won the most championships in NBA history. But ohhhh nooooo the Red Sox haven't won since 1918. I mean come on. How greedy can you get? I'd be happy with one championship... just ONE in any sport. Well besides the Cleveland Crunch/Force winning all those indoor soccer championships. Those don't count. Although if at age 70 I have yet to see a legit Cleveland championship I'll probably be the crotchety old guy reminiscing about the good old days of Hector Marinaro and Otto Orf. Ok sorry about the tangent I didn't think there was ever a time in my life I'd get to name drop Hector Marinaro and Otto Orf so I wanted to take full advantage. Anyway going back to my whole point here. While other specific teams and their fans have suffered through droughts, no city has suffered through more crushing defeats and a total championship drought across all major sports teams other than Cleveland. If you look at any city, chances are they have had at least one team in a major sport win a championship in the last 45 years. (I'm assuming the Indians aren't gonna win this year so it will be 45 years in 2009 since our last championship). Not Cleveland though.
It's not just that we lose, its that we get so so close before we lose. You try to keep your hopes from getting high, but before you know it they have skyrocketed into outer space. And then just when your hopes are at their highest point and you actually start to have the thought that we might win seep into your brain... we lose.. and it sucks... a lot. I went through this last year with the Indians in the ALCS. My hopes were at all time highs. I tried to keep them down but they went sky high. I even thought the stupidest sports cliche ever... "this is our year". Well we all know how it turned out for the Indians. After we lost game 7 the soul shattering depression was so bad that I couldn't bring myself to do anything except drink natty and then sleep for the rest of the week. I think I made it to only one class that week. The feeling of getting so close and then failing is much harder then just knowing you suck. Like when the Browns returned in 1999 I pretty much knew they were gonna suck and I accepted that. Sure it hurt me but at least I knew what to expect week in week out. Last year when they won 10 games but still managed to miss the playoffs was much harder on me than a 4-12 season ever could be. Again, my hopes got high and then crushed. Same story different team.
I think that watching these games day in and day out has shortened my life exponentially. In fact Cleveland sports have taken so many years from my life, I am baffled that I have not some how magically been transported back in time. Sweet life me. I guess I should be thankful though that I was not alive/too young to remember the "The's" of Cleveland. Every Cleveland fan knows what I'm talking about when I say the "The's" and they all shutter when one is mentioned. So I'll try to keep mentioning them as limited as possible. I'm pretty sure if I witnessed one of those in person it might have been too much for my feeble heart to handle. Like I said, I wasn't alive or was too young so at least I didn't have to go through those. But lucky for me and all other Cleveland fans in my generation ESPN Classic seems to have a "How Much Cleveland Sucks at Life" segment every week or so. So if I really want to, I can relive those truly terrible moments in our city's sports history. And usually for some reason whenever one of those games comes on I inexplicably can not change the channel until I have seen enough to make me 100% depressed. If any one else suffers from a similar condition please let me know.
But as hard as it is at times to be a Cleveland fan I'm not jumping ship. I'm not gonna go become a bandwagon fan for some other team. I'm a Cleveland fan for life. I wouldn't change it for anything. Plus I feel like its making me tougher for failures later in life. I mean in the future, lets say I get fired from a job or something... That will be nothing compared to being a 9 year old kid on the verge of tears after watching the Indians blow game 7 of the 1997 World Series. Any other hard ship is kiddy games compared to stuff like that.
Plus above all else, Cleveland has the most loyal fans in the world. Sure we are sad, depressed and get pissed a lot, but we always support our teams... especially the Browns. No matter how bad the Browns are every game is a sellout and people get downtown at 6am on game day to start tailgating. How many other teams have fans like that. Probably not too many. Like I said it sucks at times to be a Cleveland fan, and my liver probably hates tough losses more than the rest of me. I can never imagine rooting for any other teams. For me it will always be Browns, Indians and Cavs(possibly Gladiators, the Monsters... ehh probably not). And when we finally do win a championship its gonna be the best day of my life. But until then I guess I'll be stuck watching ESPN Classic episodes of the Drive and the Shot (sorry) and crying both inside and out. Hopefully this will be my last depressing blog for awhile. Hopefully the Indians can turn it around and if not only 56 days till the Browns first preseason game! Oh and we still have Lebron for at least 2 more years.
To be honest it really pisses me off when I hear other fans, from other cities complain that their teams haven't won lately. Like right now the Cubs are arguably the best team and baseball. Now there is a lot of talk going on about how they can break their "curse" and end the long suffering for all their fans. OOOOOOOkkkkkkk Chicago people unless for some reason you only like the Cubs you have no idea what suffering is. Weren't the Chicago Bulls of the 90s one of the best teams in the history of the NBA? Didn't they win 6 titles in 8 years? Sounds like Chicago sports fans had something to be happy about even if the Cubs haven't won a World Series in 100 years.
Now let me go to my most hated city right now. No not Pittsburgh, not Detroit... Boston. Yea Boston. If I hear a Sportcenter anchor refer to it as the "Nation" one more time I'm gonna go wicked retahded. (tough to type one of those horrible Boston accents) Anyway my point is before their first championship in 04, Red Sox fans were the fans who had suffered the most. Just like the city of Chicago the city of Boston had a lot lot of other things in the sports world to be happy about. For example the Patriots are the best team of this decade in the NFL. Oh and the Celtics won the most championships in NBA history. But ohhhh nooooo the Red Sox haven't won since 1918. I mean come on. How greedy can you get? I'd be happy with one championship... just ONE in any sport. Well besides the Cleveland Crunch/Force winning all those indoor soccer championships. Those don't count. Although if at age 70 I have yet to see a legit Cleveland championship I'll probably be the crotchety old guy reminiscing about the good old days of Hector Marinaro and Otto Orf. Ok sorry about the tangent I didn't think there was ever a time in my life I'd get to name drop Hector Marinaro and Otto Orf so I wanted to take full advantage. Anyway going back to my whole point here. While other specific teams and their fans have suffered through droughts, no city has suffered through more crushing defeats and a total championship drought across all major sports teams other than Cleveland. If you look at any city, chances are they have had at least one team in a major sport win a championship in the last 45 years. (I'm assuming the Indians aren't gonna win this year so it will be 45 years in 2009 since our last championship). Not Cleveland though.
It's not just that we lose, its that we get so so close before we lose. You try to keep your hopes from getting high, but before you know it they have skyrocketed into outer space. And then just when your hopes are at their highest point and you actually start to have the thought that we might win seep into your brain... we lose.. and it sucks... a lot. I went through this last year with the Indians in the ALCS. My hopes were at all time highs. I tried to keep them down but they went sky high. I even thought the stupidest sports cliche ever... "this is our year". Well we all know how it turned out for the Indians. After we lost game 7 the soul shattering depression was so bad that I couldn't bring myself to do anything except drink natty and then sleep for the rest of the week. I think I made it to only one class that week. The feeling of getting so close and then failing is much harder then just knowing you suck. Like when the Browns returned in 1999 I pretty much knew they were gonna suck and I accepted that. Sure it hurt me but at least I knew what to expect week in week out. Last year when they won 10 games but still managed to miss the playoffs was much harder on me than a 4-12 season ever could be. Again, my hopes got high and then crushed. Same story different team.
I think that watching these games day in and day out has shortened my life exponentially. In fact Cleveland sports have taken so many years from my life, I am baffled that I have not some how magically been transported back in time. Sweet life me. I guess I should be thankful though that I was not alive/too young to remember the "The's" of Cleveland. Every Cleveland fan knows what I'm talking about when I say the "The's" and they all shutter when one is mentioned. So I'll try to keep mentioning them as limited as possible. I'm pretty sure if I witnessed one of those in person it might have been too much for my feeble heart to handle. Like I said, I wasn't alive or was too young so at least I didn't have to go through those. But lucky for me and all other Cleveland fans in my generation ESPN Classic seems to have a "How Much Cleveland Sucks at Life" segment every week or so. So if I really want to, I can relive those truly terrible moments in our city's sports history. And usually for some reason whenever one of those games comes on I inexplicably can not change the channel until I have seen enough to make me 100% depressed. If any one else suffers from a similar condition please let me know.
But as hard as it is at times to be a Cleveland fan I'm not jumping ship. I'm not gonna go become a bandwagon fan for some other team. I'm a Cleveland fan for life. I wouldn't change it for anything. Plus I feel like its making me tougher for failures later in life. I mean in the future, lets say I get fired from a job or something... That will be nothing compared to being a 9 year old kid on the verge of tears after watching the Indians blow game 7 of the 1997 World Series. Any other hard ship is kiddy games compared to stuff like that.
Plus above all else, Cleveland has the most loyal fans in the world. Sure we are sad, depressed and get pissed a lot, but we always support our teams... especially the Browns. No matter how bad the Browns are every game is a sellout and people get downtown at 6am on game day to start tailgating. How many other teams have fans like that. Probably not too many. Like I said it sucks at times to be a Cleveland fan, and my liver probably hates tough losses more than the rest of me. I can never imagine rooting for any other teams. For me it will always be Browns, Indians and Cavs(possibly Gladiators, the Monsters... ehh probably not). And when we finally do win a championship its gonna be the best day of my life. But until then I guess I'll be stuck watching ESPN Classic episodes of the Drive and the Shot (sorry) and crying both inside and out. Hopefully this will be my last depressing blog for awhile. Hopefully the Indians can turn it around and if not only 56 days till the Browns first preseason game! Oh and we still have Lebron for at least 2 more years.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Would It Be Cleveland?
Would it be Cleveland if more than one team was successful? Would it be Cleveland if the fans weren't tormented by the performance of at least one professional team? The Cavs were in the NBA Finals last year... Would it be Cleveland if they won the East again? The Cleveland Indians won the tough AL Central last year and were one game away from winning the AL... Would it be Cleveland if they made another run at a World Series in consecutive years? The Cleveland Browns were the biggest surprise in the NFL last year and went 10-6... Would it be Cleveland if they made the playoffs?
The answer to all these burning is a resounding... NO!!!
With the Cavs ending their season as we all expected, there is not much we can say about their season. The season had collectively no surprises. I thought they would hang around in the regular season and make the playoffs in the middle of the pack in the East. After winning their first series, they would lose to either Detroit or Boston in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. It's what I said all season on CST. The one thing that did surprise me (quite positively) was the ability of Danny Ferry to still make this team better while he was handcuffed with terrible contracts and no draft support (much of which was his own fault). The Cavs are OK, and are in good shape. I am not worried about them; as long as LeBron is still wearing Whine and Gold. That is my final thoughts on another NBA season for the Cavs and since I was not able to voice my opinions after the playoff loss to the best team in the East on the show, here it is.
Cavs: Finish (45-37) making their 16th playoff appearance and losing in the Semi's to Boston
Now lets move to the present. Now that the house keeping is done, it is time for the gloves to come off. The Cleveland Indians... Please keep your boos and hisses to a minimum. Folks, I have told you, this is Cleveland, Ohio the most and least successful sports city in America and perhaps the world. As of this moment (June 10th, 64 games into the season) the Indians are 29-35 and third in the AL Central. Middle of the road. According to the Pythagorean formula for win-loss record they should be 33-31 (based on runs scored and runs allowed, if you don't know about it google it; you should know about it). At this point in the season Ben Francisco is the only player batting over .300 (100 AB min). Travis Hafner has not found his old self and the teams leading HR producer in 2007, Victor Martinez, has ZERO Homeruns on the season. The Cy Young Award winner from 2007 currently has a 4.81 ERA with a 3-8 record. The best set up man in the AL for 2007, Rafael Bentancourt, has a 7.00 ERA in a stint as closer with 4 saves and 3 losses in 27 IP. The AL leader in saves for 2007, Joe Borowski (45), has an ERA of 8.00 and 5 saves in 9 IP.
I want to take a break and depress you the reader even more. But in this continued depression I want to educate you; because in the end, that is my job. I want to give you the Cleveland Indians status as of game 64 last year as compared to this year.
2007: (35-29), 325 RS, 274 RA (5.08 RS per, 4.28 RA per)
2008: (29-35), 283 RS, 272 RA (4.42 RS per, 4.25 RS per)
Did you catch the biggest stat of all those numbers? No it's not the reverse W-L record, but I do think that's oddly coincidental. The biggest stat is the Runs Scored. Now you may be yelling at the screen "Mike, we all know this offense it bad and is struggling. This is no surprise." First calm down, it's OK. I would not lead you astray like that. The point I am trying to make is that this team is not performing on offense and that is really the only difference in this team from 2007 to 2008. In fact the Indians have allowed FEWER runs this season then last which means our collective team pitching is BETTER then last year. Let that sink in a little and I will continue.
With all this considered, it shouldn't come as a surprise that this team is only 8.5 games out of first place? To be frank, yes... it is a surprise. This offense may be terrible right now, but there is no excuse. After the few terrible starts by C.C. Sabathia our starting pitching has been great. Our bullpen has been shaky, but that is only magnified by how stellar they were last year. Our bullpen hasn't been THAT bad, granted the starters and helping out the numbers a lot and helping the bullpen. This team should be really only be 4.5 games out right now, even with the putrid offensive output. But unfortunately that is not how the actual season has played out. We are 8.5 games out. We are starting a big series with the Minnesota Twins and this will tell us what are chances are in the central. This will tell us if we are ready to try and win the central or if the shopping of C.C. Sabathia should begin. As I wrap up my thoughts on the Indians I leave you with one little Tribe tidbit to sink you pessimistic teeth into...
The Indians have not one back-to-back games since May 14th and 15th. As Matthew Berry of ESPN says "I'm Just Sayin'..."
---BEST OF THE REST---
The answer to all these burning is a resounding... NO!!!
With the Cavs ending their season as we all expected, there is not much we can say about their season. The season had collectively no surprises. I thought they would hang around in the regular season and make the playoffs in the middle of the pack in the East. After winning their first series, they would lose to either Detroit or Boston in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. It's what I said all season on CST. The one thing that did surprise me (quite positively) was the ability of Danny Ferry to still make this team better while he was handcuffed with terrible contracts and no draft support (much of which was his own fault). The Cavs are OK, and are in good shape. I am not worried about them; as long as LeBron is still wearing Whine and Gold. That is my final thoughts on another NBA season for the Cavs and since I was not able to voice my opinions after the playoff loss to the best team in the East on the show, here it is.
Cavs: Finish (45-37) making their 16th playoff appearance and losing in the Semi's to Boston
Now lets move to the present. Now that the house keeping is done, it is time for the gloves to come off. The Cleveland Indians... Please keep your boos and hisses to a minimum. Folks, I have told you, this is Cleveland, Ohio the most and least successful sports city in America and perhaps the world. As of this moment (June 10th, 64 games into the season) the Indians are 29-35 and third in the AL Central. Middle of the road. According to the Pythagorean formula for win-loss record they should be 33-31 (based on runs scored and runs allowed, if you don't know about it google it; you should know about it). At this point in the season Ben Francisco is the only player batting over .300 (100 AB min). Travis Hafner has not found his old self and the teams leading HR producer in 2007, Victor Martinez, has ZERO Homeruns on the season. The Cy Young Award winner from 2007 currently has a 4.81 ERA with a 3-8 record. The best set up man in the AL for 2007, Rafael Bentancourt, has a 7.00 ERA in a stint as closer with 4 saves and 3 losses in 27 IP. The AL leader in saves for 2007, Joe Borowski (45), has an ERA of 8.00 and 5 saves in 9 IP.
I want to take a break and depress you the reader even more. But in this continued depression I want to educate you; because in the end, that is my job. I want to give you the Cleveland Indians status as of game 64 last year as compared to this year.
2007: (35-29), 325 RS, 274 RA (5.08 RS per, 4.28 RA per)
2008: (29-35), 283 RS, 272 RA (4.42 RS per, 4.25 RS per)
Did you catch the biggest stat of all those numbers? No it's not the reverse W-L record, but I do think that's oddly coincidental. The biggest stat is the Runs Scored. Now you may be yelling at the screen "Mike, we all know this offense it bad and is struggling. This is no surprise." First calm down, it's OK. I would not lead you astray like that. The point I am trying to make is that this team is not performing on offense and that is really the only difference in this team from 2007 to 2008. In fact the Indians have allowed FEWER runs this season then last which means our collective team pitching is BETTER then last year. Let that sink in a little and I will continue.
With all this considered, it shouldn't come as a surprise that this team is only 8.5 games out of first place? To be frank, yes... it is a surprise. This offense may be terrible right now, but there is no excuse. After the few terrible starts by C.C. Sabathia our starting pitching has been great. Our bullpen has been shaky, but that is only magnified by how stellar they were last year. Our bullpen hasn't been THAT bad, granted the starters and helping out the numbers a lot and helping the bullpen. This team should be really only be 4.5 games out right now, even with the putrid offensive output. But unfortunately that is not how the actual season has played out. We are 8.5 games out. We are starting a big series with the Minnesota Twins and this will tell us what are chances are in the central. This will tell us if we are ready to try and win the central or if the shopping of C.C. Sabathia should begin. As I wrap up my thoughts on the Indians I leave you with one little Tribe tidbit to sink you pessimistic teeth into...
The Indians have not one back-to-back games since May 14th and 15th. As Matthew Berry of ESPN says "I'm Just Sayin'..."
---BEST OF THE REST---
- Congrats to Ken Griffey Jr. You should go down in history as the best player of your era. You played the game the right way and have now become the 6th player in the 600th Homerun Club. You played the most exciting baseball of almost any player in the game and if you didn't have bad luck you would be able to save the Homerun record. You are the best player of my generation right now and the only one who has a chance to challenge you right now is you former teammate A-ROD.
- D-Nabb, a plead from all Fantasy Football players... Can you stay healthy for once, PLEASE!!!
- Here is a glimmer of hope Tribe fans: At least we are not the Tigers!!! Dontrell Willis was designated for assignment to Class A, Lakeland, after getting bombed by the Indians on Tuesday... If there is one thing about baseball that is making me smile, it is the Tigers. How much did those World Series Tickets cost you Everett?
Until next time fans... Go Tribe, Go Cavs, Go Browns, No Monsters
Peace,
Mike Castellano
Monday, June 9, 2008
First Ever Cleveland Sports Talk Blog
Hello Faithfull Fans,
I saw a fellow colleauge Tim Baughman using this site to keep a blog for hi show (Two Minute Drill) and I though it would be a good idea to start one for my show. Here will be the location for the first and only "Cleveland Sports Talk" Blog. For the thoughts and opinions of your two favorite Sports Radio Personalities Mike Castellano and Nick Reinbold you can listen to our show once a week. To hold you over until then, you can check out our blog here. This will be the one place (for now) to keep up on the CST happenings. Until the BGRSO (Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization) website is fully functional with all the shows and until it gets to where it should be, use this website to get all your info.
So Bookmark this page and keep up with it because you won't want to miss what Nick and I have to say about the best sports city in America; Cleveland, Ohio.
Peace,
Mike Castellano
I saw a fellow colleauge Tim Baughman using this site to keep a blog for hi show (Two Minute Drill) and I though it would be a good idea to start one for my show. Here will be the location for the first and only "Cleveland Sports Talk" Blog. For the thoughts and opinions of your two favorite Sports Radio Personalities Mike Castellano and Nick Reinbold you can listen to our show once a week. To hold you over until then, you can check out our blog here. This will be the one place (for now) to keep up on the CST happenings. Until the BGRSO (Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization) website is fully functional with all the shows and until it gets to where it should be, use this website to get all your info.
So Bookmark this page and keep up with it because you won't want to miss what Nick and I have to say about the best sports city in America; Cleveland, Ohio.
Peace,
Mike Castellano
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
