Now that that's over...MOVE ON

I'm sitting here reading all these articles, tweets, comments, whatever by media/owners/fans/players, and they make it seem like we lost the championship tonight in losing to the Heat. While I can understand why people would feel like this game was 'our championship', it wasn't THAT important. It was a meaningless regular season game.

Am I not as big of a Cavs fan as everyone else or something? Am I missing something? Because I'm already over it. I've been over it. Yet I still see people talking/acting like it's the end of the world. I saw a man take the BROWNS away from me. This is nothing in comparison. It's just another superstar who's ego became too big for little old Cleveland. With tonight's game, we got a lot of pent up stuff off our chest tonight, and the outcome wasn't that important. Now let's MOVE ON.

The clingy-ex stuff needs to stop. Tonight needs to be that last hurdle in completely forgetting about this guy and moving on. Yes, the off-season sucked. Yes, the first game seeing him wearing the Heat uniform was really awkward and annoying. But watching them lose on opening night (as mentioned in a previous blog post) was a big step for the city of Cleveland. Watching us beat the same team that beat Miami the next night was another big step. And hopefully, after tonight's massacre handed to us (like I said, the outcome really shouldn't be that important), we can all finally get past it.

There won't be another game as hard as tonight's was to watch. For lack of better words, it was the first time we saw our ex with a new guy. Now that we've seen him play for Miami against our team, we can start to move on. We got all the pent up hatred off our chests during tonight's game. (By the way, I'm proud of how the fans handled it...nothing too out of line, nothing to make the city look bad, just good natured ribbing and mean chants. Nice work guys.) Now, there's no sense in talking about how bad he did our team/fans/city anymore. We've covered it to death. His comments about how much love he has for the fans, yadda yadda yadda, are the closest thing to an apology our city is gonna get with regards to HOW it was handled.

There's nothing left to talk about on the situation. Try to look on the bright side of things. No one took a team away from us this time. We still have the Cleveland Browns who actually are showing some signs of promise. We have an owner for the Cavaliers that is willing to do whatever it takes to win. He'll get this team turned around/rebuilt sooner rather than later. We have some young talent on the Indians. We're gonna be alright.

There might not be any championships for us in the near future, but on the flipside, LeBron James sure as hell didn't bring us one when he was a Cleveland Cavalier, either.

I've already moved on. I hope the rest of Cleveland can sooner rather than later. Let's forget about the player that left, and focus on the teams and city we all love.

Believeland

Since the name of this article carries the same name of my blog, it's only fitting that I link you guys to one of the best Cleveland-based articles I've ever read in my life.

On ESPN, no less.

Believeland

Wright Thompson did an absolutely phenominal job encompassing exactly what the city is all about, including all the ups and downs over the past 50+ years.

The Drive, The Fumble....The Trade?

For two teams that only play each other once every three years in the regular season, the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos sure have some history. Mention the word 'drive' or 'fumble', or the names 'Elway' or Byner' to any Clevelander, and they'll want to punch something. Most NFL rivals are your division opponents, but if you ask most Browns fans what team they hate more than anyone not from Pittsburgh, and they'll tell you Denver. Denver took out Cleveland in the AFC Championship game in three straight seasons in the late '80's, and the pain still lingers.

Now, halfway through the season, the Denver Broncos are last in the league in rushing, while the Browns have a running back on pace for 1,300 yards and 14 touchdowns that they were gifted from Denver. Finally, it appears that the Browns have stuck it to the Broncos for once.

One of Mike Holmgren's first duties when he took over the Browns in the spring was to overhaul the roster. His first move was trading Brady Quinn (currently 3rd on Denver's QB depth chart--yes, he's even behind 'Hair Gel Jesus' Tim Tebow) for two draft picks and Peyton Hillis.

At the time, most Browns fans didn't really care Quinn got traded, but most did care that 'all we got' for him was 'a couple draft picks and a white running back'. I guess we all needed to understand that Mike Holmgren is a lot smarter than all of us. This deal has easily been the most lopsided trade of the off-season for any team, and all Denver fans can do is watch in disbelief as Peyton Hillis keeps punishing opposing defenses while their team can't run the ball to save their lives.

For once...the Browns have stuck it to the Broncos. And damn does that feel good.

As gratifying as they come

In an 82-game season, a game or two hardly ever mean much, especially when your team is a team that is expected to be a cellar dweller for the season. However, over a 24-hour span, I don't think two meaningless regular season games have ever meant more for a city than the Boston/Miami game last night, and the Boston/Cleveland game from tonight did for Cleveland, Ohio.

Last night, the 'greatest team in NBA history' managed to play like trash and lose their season opener against Boston. Now, if you ask any Cleveland fan, they'll all tell you they enjoyed watching LeBron play like crap as his Heat managed to start off 0-1. That brings us to tonight, where Boston was facing our beloved Cleveland Cavaliers in the Cavs season opener. Now, coming into the game, we all knew our odds were very slim at even staying in the game, let alone winning. Midway through the 3rd quarter, the Cavs were down 11, and we all kind of expected the team to lay down and just take the loss. Then, something happened. All the players realized that that's what everyone expected. They wanted to prove everyone wrong. They wanted to show how much heart they have. They wanted to do the unthinkable and beat the Boston Celtics a night after Boston beat the crap out of LeBron's Heat.

And that's exactly what they did. They realized that without LeBron, they can actually PLAY in the 4th quarter of a big game. They don't have to just stand around and watch #23 jack up shots anymore. They went out there, hustled on every play, and ran an offense towards the end of a close game--something Clevelanders haven't seen in the past seven years. And look what happened. The Cavs went out and won the game by 8. The same exact differential that Boston beat LeBron's Heat by the night before.

Turns out there is life after LeBron. Turns out Cleveland Basketball isn't dead. Turns out pulling the knife out of our backs might not be as painful as we all thought. Turns out getting over LeBron might be easier than we all thought.

And that, my friends, is why two meaningless regular season games are as gratifying as they come.

It's been a minute...

Or two. Let's see...since the last time I blogged it up, LeBron James took his talents to South Beach, the Indians finished up a 90+ loss season, and the Browns have played like the Browns over the first two months of the season. In other words...

Typical Cleveland sports shit.

Well, I refuse to blog about that bastard LeBron, and there's nothing left to talk about with regards to the Indians, so let's get on with the show. The Cleveland Football Browns.

2-5. Have played well enough to be 5-2. Just beat the living daylights out of the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints IN Nawlins. Colt McCoy has played well enough to have Browns fans actually feeling like we might have finally found a QB for the long haul. Peyton Hillis is the baddest white running back in the history of white running backs (sorry John Riggins). The defense has been playing decent (for the most part).

Dare I say things are looking.................up for the Cleveland Browns?

Last season, we were lucky to score a few points and not get blown out by halftime. This year, we've held a lead in all 7 games, and have had a 4th quarter lead in 5 of them. If that's not improvement, I don't know what is. The defense has been playing with a lot more swagger thanks to rookie DB's Joe Haden and TJ Ward. Add in how well Colt McCoy has played thus far (in minimal appearances, albeit), and once again it looks like The Sammich Man Mike Holmgren had a phenominal draft.

The schedule is brutal, so you can't expect much more than probably 5-6 wins this year (as usual), but the team is vastly improved over previous years. And even though the end record might not look much different, the team appears headed in the right direction. Add in another solid draft next year (and hopefully drafting a stud WR), and we could be contending in a few years. Yes, that seems far fetched, but the team is showing signs of life.

On a final note, the Cleveland Cavaliers open the season on Wednesday (or Thursday...don't really know/care) against the Boston Retirement Center. If we lose by less than 20 that would be a victory. Hopefully Dan Gilbert realizes we need to rebuild this team as quickly as possible, trades away any older talent we have (Antawn Jamison/Mo Williams/Anthony Parker/Jamario Moon/etc.) and really goes into rebuild mode. Playing for the 8th seed in the East and the 15th pick in the draft isn't gonna get this team where everyone wants it to be. As crazy as it might sound, the quicker we start to rebuild, the quicker we can all finally get over the dagger that punk LePrince inserted into our collective hearts.

Here's hoping for a 16-66 season.

Keep the faith, Cleveland.

Small market baseball = small windows

As bad as the Cleveland Indians are this season (and as bad as they'll probably be next season), they've set themselves up with a nice little window to make a run at a World Series. They'll have about a three year window--2012 through 2014--where they'll have a legit shot at winning a World Series. The reason the window is so small is because by the end of 2014, all of the young guys who develop into stars will be traded away due to cheap ownership. Nonetheless, this team is shaping up to be a potential contender by 2012 (although 2013 might be more realistic). You take a look at the probable starting lineup for next season, and it doesn't look bad.

1. Michael Brantley LF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera SS
3. Shin Soo-Choo RF
4. Carlos Santana C
5. Grady Sizemore CF
6. Travis Hafner DH
7. Jhonny Peralta 3B
8. Matt LaPorta 1B
9. Jason Donald 2B

Obviously you have to take into consideration that Hafner and Peralta could be gone by the time they're contending in 2012 or 2013. If they are, Lonnie Chisenhall is supposed to be a solid up and coming 3B.

Overall, that's a decent lineup. You already know your 2-5 hitters are very solid. If Brantley can keep developing along with LaPorta and Donald, we could have one of the better offenses in baseball.

The reason I don't say they'll be anywhere near contenders next year is because the above mentioned guys will still be developing. Another big reason is because pitching isn't anywhere close to where in needs to be. Skipping over the 2011 season and looking forward to 2012 or 2013, you could potentially see a starting rotation of:

1. Fausto Carmona
2. Alex White
3. Nick Pomeranz
4. Mitch Talbot
5. Justin Masterson

(or Carlos Carrasco/Aaron Laffey if both keep developing)

White and Pomeranz were high draft picks, and both have phenominal stuff. White is already tearing up AA ball with an ERA under 2.00 and Pomeranz was a top-5 pick for a reason. Fausto seems to have his control back (for the most part) and is showing signs than he can anchor a rotation like he did in '07. Talbot/Laffey/Carrasco/Masterson are all young arms that have good enough stuff to put together solid seasons. Whether they can or not remains to be seen, but the Indians certainly have set themselves up to have a little nice little rotation going in a few years.

Add that nice little (projected) rotation to what could be a very solid lineup, and you've got the recipe for success in a few years. Obviously with the Dolans as owners that window for success will be very small, but don't forget--they were in this same situation in 2005. A team that looked like it was going nowhere anytime soon, and by 2007 they were one win away from the World Series. There's no reason to think they can't do it again. Whether it be in 2012, 2013 or 2014, if the Indians are going to make a run at a World Series, that's when they need to do it. Because by 2015, we'll be right back in the same situation we are this year.

Such is life being a fan of a small market baseball team with cheap ass owners.

This isn't an actual MLB team, is it?

I had an hour to kill tonight before CBS' Monday night line-up of Season Finales started, so I figured I'd watch the Indians. And I couldn't help but think to myself, is this really a Major League Baseball team? I watched a 19-minute top of the 1st inning that saw starter Justin Masterson throw 44 pitches, give up four hits, walk two guys, throw a wild pitch, get a visit from the pitching coach, and give up four runs. This is the same Justin Masterson who is 0-11 in his last 11 decisions. The same Justin Masterson that was traded to Cleveland for All-Star catcher Victor Martinez. The same Justin Masterson who has compiled a career 1-11 record with the Tribe with an ERA above 5.00.

How does a guy with numbers like that continue to start? Then, as I watched the Indians take their hacks in the bottom halves of the first few innings, I thought to myself, how do these guys actually get playing time? So I figured I'd come on here and break it down. Let's take a look at a position by position breakdown of the Cleveland Baseball Indians, and comment on whether they're an MLB-caliber player.
Catchers:
Lou Marson is the starter most nights. Marson is a career .225 hitter with 7 RBI's in his career.
MLB worthy? No.
Mike Redmond, who is primarily Marson's backup, has been in the majors for 13 years. His best season was a 1 HR/38 RBI/.294 AVG year.
MLB-worthy? No.

First base:
Russell Branyan is the everyday first baseman. He's played nearly 1,000 games in his career with 168 Home Runs. He's also a career .233 hitter.
MLB worthy? Only as a power bat on your bench.

Second base:
Mark Grudzielanek is the starting second baseman on most nights. He's a career .290 hitter who has more than 2,000 hits in his career.
MLB worthy? Yes.

Luis Valbuena was the Opening Day starter but is now the primary backup due to not understanding what 'defense' is. He's a career .232 hitter with more strikeouts than hits in his career.
MLB worthy? No.

Shortstop:
Jason Donald is now the starting shortstop due to Asdrubal Cabrera breaking his forearm. This year marked his MLB debut, and is 3-for-22 on the season thus far.
MLB worthy? No.

Third base:
Jhonny Peralta is the everyday third baseman. Career .264 hitter with 100 Home Runs.
MLB worthy? Bad teams would start him, so yes, he qualifies.

Designated Hitter:
Travis Hafner can be described very easily. He was amazing when he first came up and was one of the most feared hitters in baseball. Then he got hurt three years ago and hasn't been the same. He's still a decent bat towards the bottom of your lineup, but nothing like the 40+ HR guy we saw initially.
MLB worthy? Yes

Shelley Duncan is the backup DH. Doesn't get hardly any playing time, and is a career minor leaguer.
MLB worthy? No.

Left field:
Austin Kearns is the starting left fielder. He's a guy who's been in the majors for a decade now, and has only started a full season once. Typically, he's been a platoon player his entire career.
MLB worthy? Debatable

Matt LaPorta is the backup left fielder. He's a career .240 hitter who was supposed to be the next big thing but has yet to pan out. Also was supposed to be a big power bat, but has 8 HR's in his career.
MLB worthy? No.

Center field:
Usually manned by All-Star Grady Sizemore, Trevor Crowe is now the current starting center fielder. Sizemore has been bothered by injuries for the better part of two years now, and Crowe has taken over the spot. Crowe's only ability is to steal bases. Other than that, he's got no power and can't hit for a solid average.
MLB worthy? No.

Right field:
Shin-Soo Choo is the starting right fielder and is a five tool talent. He hits for average, he has power, he can steal bases, he can play defense, and he has an amazing arm. There isn't a single team in the majors who wouldn't want Choo.
MLB worthy? Absolutely.

Starting Pitchers:
Jake Westbrook is the 'ace' of the staff. He had Tommy John surgery back in 2008 and missed the better part of two full seasons. He's an ace on this staff, but he'd be an end of the rotation guy on better teams. Career record of 65-66 with an ERA above 4.50.
MLB worthy? Yes

Fausto Carmona is the only other starter in the rotation who has proven he can win games on a consistent basis. Only problem is that he's only done it once out of four seasons. When he can command his pitches, he's tough to beat. Generally, he can't though.
MLB worthy? Yes.

Justin Masterson has one win in his career with the Indians. He is capable of throwing one pitch, and one pitch only--a sinker. His career ERA is almost as bad as his career record.
MLB worthy? No.

David Huff's career ERA is 5.51 over his 31 starts. Enough said.
MLB worthy? No.

Mitch Talbot is at the end of this Indians rotation pitching in the majors for the first time in his career. So far, he's 5-3 with a 3.88 ERA. He has very solid stuff, and could turn into a solid young pitcher over time.
MLB worthy? Too early to tell, but all signs point to yes.

The Bullpen:
Kerry Wood is the closer. When he's not hurt, he usually pitches well.
MLB worthy? Yes.

Chris Perez, the love child of Ricky Vaughn and Kenny Powers, appears to be the closer of the future. He has electric stuff, and gets the job done most of the time. He does have a wild side though.
MLB worthy? Yes.

The youngster Tony Sipp has become a solid 7th/8th inning guy for the Tribe. He's usually good for a walk an inning, but overall he does what he needs to do.
MLB worthy? All signs point to yes.

Aaron Laffey is a starter turned long innings bullpen guy. He still should be starting (see: Justin Masterson), but isn't. A solid bullpen guy and a solid fill-in starter.
MLB worthy? Yes.

Rafael Perez is one of the worst relievers I've ever seen. Shouldn't even be allowed in Single A ball, let alone the Majors.
MLB worthy? No.

Hector Ambriz, while young, is already proving to people that he doesn't have the capabilites to go an inning without giving up a run.
MLB worthy? No.

Jamey Wright has pitched 1,700 innings in his career, and has given up nearly 1,000 runs. You do the math. How in the hell has he been around long enough to pitch 1,700 innings?
MLB worthy? No.

Final Countdown:
MLB worthy players on the Indians: 9
Potentially MLB worthy players: 2
Debatable players: 2
Non-MLB worthy players: 12

So there you have it. Over half of the entire Indians roster is filled with guys who have no right being in the majors. Essentially, this is a glorified AAA team. The Dolans dragged the team into this hole, and until they sell the team to someone who is willing to spend money, they'll be at the bottom of the barrel for a while.

Hope for the Indians? Long gone, for the foreseeable future.

The Reign of Potato is over

Five years. Five great regular seasons. Five embarrassing playoff exits. If someone asked me to sum up Mike Brown's tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers in three sentences, those would be them. From day one Mike Brown always preached one thing--defense. I have no problem with that...but defense can only take you so far. You need to be able to execute offensive plays more than once out of every 20 possessions. You have to be able to make in game adjustments and play guys that match up well opposed to guys who need to play 'x' amount of minutes. Ultimately, Mike Brown's deficiencies in those areas is why he's no longer the coach. It's also the main reason why the Cleveland Cavaliers still don't have an NBA Championship to call their own.

I've hated Mike Brown for the better part of four seasons now...his offense/in game adjustments has just been so horrible, it's been impossible to actually like the guy. But this firing was one that I hoped I'd never see. If the Cavs had won a title within the past 5 years, Mike Brown would be coaching this team until he was ready to quit. (Don't get it twisted though...I'm glad he's finally gone.)

For the first time in over 5 years, I actually get the feeling that LeBron might not come back. The firing of Mike Brown feels like it's the beginning of the end for the Cavaliers. I really hope I'm wrong, but there's this weird feeling all of a sudden surrounding the Cavs. After the whooping Boston handed us in the 2nd round this year, you got the sense that this Cavs team really was just a regular season team. Part of that falls on Mike Brown's shoulders because, as stated earlier, he has no clue how to adjust to teams. Maybe the team really is just a smart coach away from a title. Who knows. But going into this off-season, you get the feeling that this team is gonna look drastically different come November. There isn't an actual center on the roster now that Z and Shaq are free agents, there isn't a coach, and there isn't a superstar if LeBron leaves.

Don't forget, LeBron was the one who wanted Mike Brown. He also wanted Larry Hughes, Mo Williams, Ben Wallace and Shaq. Every person he's asked for, Cleveland has given him. And every person he's asked for hasn't been good for the Cavaliers as an organization. But it's LeBron--the front office will give him whatever he pleases to make sure he stays. Where else is he going to get as much pull in the front office than he would in Cleveland?

Oh, and Mike? Thank LeBron for not only the opportunity to coach an NBA team, but for you being fired.

The Potato Head has officially left the building.

Change of Heart....

During the Cavs game, I was all set to come on here later that day (right now) and rant until the sun came up about everything pertaining to Cleveland sports, my grandparents moving to Cleveland some 50-plus years ago, figuring out a way to chop the entire city of Boston off into the Atlantic and other things.

But, I decided against it. As much as Cleveland sports drive all of us Clevelanders nuts, and as much as we all cursed LeBron to hell/New York/etc. during tonight's game, the fact still remains...not a single one of us has yet to utter the words "I'm done." Not yet, at least. My mom's lived through it her entire life. She was 7 when a Cleveland team last won a title, and I can guarantee you she remembers nothing about it, nor cared at 7. And after the Cavs got wally-wonked tonight by 54, or whatever the outcome was, you know what she said to me? "There's always next year. And if LeBron leaves, so be it. There's always a decade from now. We're past due. It's only a matter of time."

And that's when it hit me. There's no point in throwing tantrums about how much I hate being born to Cleveland-crazed fans. There's no point in cursing out LeBron (which I did more than a few times tonight). This is no different than a girlfriend breaking up with you. Sure, it hurts like hell at first, but you'll get over it. And all of us, as Cleveland fans, will get over another disappointing Cavaliers playoff run sooner or later. And what doesn't kill us will only make us stronger.

Hell, if LeBron leaves, he leaves. As fans, it's completely out of our control. And if he leaves, we'll all feel like we just lost a family member. But over time, it'll hurt less and less. No, the sting won't ever go completely away--just mention Craig Ehlo, John Elway, Earnest Byner, Jose Mesa or the Boston Red Sox--all of us cringe any time they are mentioned...but eventually we'll have something good happen with a Cleveland sports team. And even if it's just for a few brief seconds, we'll all think to ourselves "this is finally our year."

And when that time finally comes, and a Cleveland team finally breaks the Cleveland Curse and wins a professional championship, we're gonna party like hell. We're gonna set the world on fire. It's gonna be the biggest bash in the history of mankind. And we'll all remember it for the rest of our lives--even if it's the only one we ever see.

After all, we're past due. It's only a matter of time.

A Waste of a Franchise

You know, I don't blame Art Modell for moving the Cleveland Browns. He must have been psychic or something, because if he knew that this is what the Browns would've amounted to over the past decade and a half, I would've moved them too. And quite frankly, I don't know why anyone in their right mind (Al Lerner) actually wanted to bring the Browns back to Cleveland. They became an expansion team in 1999. They've been in 'rebuilding mode' ever since. 11 seasons, two seasons above .500, zero playoff victories.

Zero playoff victories.

You have to try damn hard--I'm talking Al Davis hard--to go 11 seasons without winning a damn playoff game. And yet 11 is a low number. There's not a chance in hell this team is competing for a playoff berth for AT LEAST the next three seasons (and that's being mighty generous).

I thought when Randy Lerner actually took three seconds away from his beloved English Soccer team to hire Mike Holmgren to run the show that we might actually be going in the right direction with the franchise. Now, either I was completely drunk off my ass to think that, or I was blurred by the fact that he's taken two bad franchises and led them both to the Super Bowl. Hell, if he can turn about those pathetic Packers and Seahawks teams into Super Bowl contenders, he can surely do it with the Cleveland Football Browns, right?

Aaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

I'll give him credit. He started out alright. He (supposedly) brought in a smart GM guy in Tom Heckert. He gave Cribbs a few dollars to stick around in Cleveland for at least the next three years. He made some smart off-season moves by bringing in Seneca Wallace, Tony Pashos and Scott Fujita. He got rid of that douche Derek Anderson.

Everything was going good. Moves were being made, and as a Browns fan, you'd look at the moves and say 'hell, those aren't bad moves. I don't wanna jump off a cliff after those moves.'

Then, in typical Cleveland Fucking Browns fashion, things started going downhill. First, Holmgren tosses Jake Delhomme $7 million a season over the next two years. (He didn't wanna pay Cribbs $7 million over three seasons, but he'll give Jake Delhomme $14 million over two seasons? Oh, ok.) Indicating that Jake would obviously be our starting QB for the 2010 season.

Obviously that meant that Quinn would be gone. Again, people, I never thought Quinn was the long-term answer, but he was never given a fair shot. Sure enough, we trade Quinn away. Now, I don't mind trading Quinn, as long as we get more than a twinkie and a gallon of milk for him. Knowing Mike Holmgren is running the show, I figured we'd get something halfway decent.

Aaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

We got a 6th in 2011, a 5th or 6th in 2012, and a WHITE RUNNING BACK. I'll wait while you figure out who the last halfway decent white running back in the NFL was.

Time's up. There's never been one.

And if that wasn't bad enough, less than an hour later The Sammich Man trades away arguably our best linebacker (also a former 1st round pick not long ago), Kamerion Wimbley to Oakland for a 3rd round pick. That's nice.

So in the past two and a half years, the Browns have now traded 1st round picks in the form of Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, Brady Quinn and Kamerion Wimbley in return for garbage, trash, Eric Barton, a white running back and what will undoubtedly be a player that can't even crack the practice squad.

But hey, look on the bright side. We got like 64 draft picks in this years draft! One of them will be a decent player. And he'll be traded in three years for a future 4th round pick, a water boy, and a Chicken Gordita Crunch.

Ahh, the life of a Cleveland Browns fan. It's similar to the Lamb Chops Play Along theme song...it's constant bad moves that never end....it just goes on and on my friends.

Hey, at least we got the Indians Cavaliers.