Bleacher Report - Articles by Justin Lada

Oh No and 5; It Gets Worse For The Tribe

Justin Lada — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:07:21 -0400

Just when things couldn't get any worse for the Indians, they did.

It's been Murphy's law so far for the Indians this season, everything that can go wrong has. They paid $10 million a season for Kerry Wood to close out ball games, and so far he has appeared in one game, and it wasn't a save situation.

In five games, the Indians have had one lead. One, just one lead, and it came because Scott Lewis was able to hold the Toronto Blue Jays down for three innings on opening day, until it got wetter and his elbow flared up.

To bad it didn't keep raining opening day, because Rafael Perez came in, allowed five runs, and Masa Kobayshi, who should be eating hot dogs, with the other Kobayshi, allowed even more.

The Indians lost 13-7 opening day, after the a three hour and 47 minute rain delay, the Indians gave up more runs, came back to tie it at 7-7, then allowed a six run in the eighth inning to lose.

Then came Saturday.

The Indians faced Roy Halladay, last year's Cy Young runner up. The only problem was last year's actual Cy Young winner, Cliff Lee was pitching. Not that it matters, because any pitcher the Indians have brought to the hill this season, has given up a run, this season.

Lee was terrible in the season opener in Texas, then came home to pitch and got his second loss of the year on Saturday, and only mad it through five innings. He allowed four runs and walked four batters. And that was a good start, in this season's Indian's standard.

The Indians then brought in Vinnie Chulk, fresh up from the Columbus Clippers, had two shut out innings, until the second time through the line up, where the Jays finally got to him. A few of those zero's would have won the Indians the game last night, but today, Halladay kept them down.

People will say it's only five games, but people say the same thing goes for Spring Training. Well the Indians pitching staff didn't get the memo. The Indians pitching staff through five games, have allowed 47 runs. For those of you scoring at home, that's nearly 10 runs a game.

Raise your hand if you can find a team who can win games while allowing over nine runs a game. Now, put them all down because your full of it.

Yes, it's early. But, pitching isn't like a slow starting offense, offense can at least settle in and focus. Pitching, it's either you have it, or you just don't. Well no pitcher so far has it. Outside of Lewis pitching in a rainy opener, and Chulk's 2.1 innings of one run ball, every Cleveland pitcher has been AWFUL.

Even Indians radio play-by-play man, the normally over energetic Tom Hamilton has sounded dejected. On the Indians post game Saturday, as they played the highlights, or rather low lights, the back round song was 'Loser' by 3 Doors Down.

Even the offense has had its issue.

I won't pick at them, because hitting has not been the problem, However, new third basemen Mark DeRosa, after a three run double in the ninth, is 2-21, and is hitting .091. And that's after the bases clearing double in Saturday's loss. Not good for a number two hitter in a line up.

What's not helping also, is Grady Sizemore has already struck out seven times, including two on Saturday. With Kelly Shoppach and Ryan Garko in the same lineup, back to back as well, creates a black hole of strike outs.

Meanwhile Jhonny Peralta is out of the four hole, where he was great last season. Ben Francisco and Asrubal Cabrera cant hit now either.

The only players showing any signs of life on offense, is Victor Martinez, Shin-Soo Choo, and Travis Hafner, who after a strong day Friday, didn't face the tough right hander in Halladay, which was a very questionable decision.

I wont say the world is coming to the end, and the season is not over, because baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. However, the pitching staff doesnt give much hope.

The team E.R.A is higher than the team's on base percentage, not a good sign. The Indians have had a bad start, then a little bad start from Lee, and bad starts from Fausto Carmona and Carl Pavano. Lewis was a little worse than ok, and Anthony Reyes goes Sunday.

If the pitching staff doesn't get dialed in fast, the Indians won't be seeing Wood come in to shut the door in the ninth for a while. The only really good thing that came Saturday, was that DeRosa finally got a real meaningful hit, and Chulk pitched very well, meaning the days of Kobayshi could be over soon.

If the pitching staff continues on this path, the Indians new "three innings & lunch" promo that included a buffet for the first three innings of the game is going to turn into, three innings and you will lose your lunch.

Cleveland Indians' Season Preview

Justin Lada — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:22:38 -0400

Another season is upon us and after finished the season hot and catching up to go 81-81 after a disastrous June-July, the Indians are re-tooled and back with hopes of raising another AL Central Division Title Banner. Lets take a look at their season preview.

Key Additions: CL Kerry Wood, RHP Joe Smith, RHP Carl Pavano, 3B Mark DeRosa.

Getting Kerry Wood was the biggest addition of the offseason because he solidifies the bullpen and gives the Indians a flame throwing strikeout closer. Smith gives the Indians a solid right-handed option, for right-handed specialist.

Pavano, if he stays healthy, could give the Indians 12-15 wins, as he looked good in spring training. DeRosa is an great offensive threat and is very average defensively but very adequate at third base.

Key Losses: OF Franklyn Gutierrez

The only major player lost was Gutierrez, who was at best a fourth outfielder on this team.

Key Questions: The Indians starting rotation 1-5 is shaky. Lee won 22 games last season and the AL Cy Young, but asking him to duplicate that is asking too much.

However Lee's track record of season of 14, 15, 17, and 22 wins over the last few seasons (mixed in with his horrid 2007), makes it feasible to believe he will win 14-17 games this season. A big component will be Fausto Carmona.

Carmona was hurt last year and never found the strike zone. He seemed to work all that out and looked fabulous in spring training. The Indians definitely need him to be more like the 19 win Camona of 2007. Pavano will be the third starter and has shown that, when he's healthy, he is a productive pitcher.

If he does stay healthy its believable he could get 10-12 wins. Scott Lewis the fourth starter, only because Wedge doesn't want two lefties in a row, had a solid rookie campaign winning all four of his first career starts.

He won the job in spring training, but as soon as he got that news, got shelled in two starts. He needs to calm down and give the Indians some quality starts until June or July, when Jake Westbrook is expected to come back.

Anthony Reyes is a very important part of the rotation, because he was extremely effective at getting outs last season, before a cranky elbow ended his season early.

Reyes throws a heavy sinking fastball and is in the Charles Nagy-Westbrook mode, where he wont strike many out, but knows how to get outs, and on the ground primarily.

Key Players: Westbrook coming back is huge, because if he does come back around June 13, (one year from his surgery), and gets a few good starts in before the All-Star break, he could be the boost the Indians need in the middle of the rotation.

He is a two or three starter, essentially bumping Lewis (hopefully), back to Columbus. The Indians' offense seems to be healthy and in good shape, with or without the man known as Pronk.

If Hafner does come back to be a home run hitter, the Indians' offense could be among the best in all of baseball. If not, they can still be a top-10 offensive club, and shouldn't struggle to score runs this year.

The bullpen, much retooled, seems ok, and even if Wood spends a little time on the DL, Jensen Lewis has shown he can hold the fort down for a bit.

Best Case Senerio: Hafner comes back to something between his 2006-2007 forms and is a very solid middle of the order power hitter. Westbrook comes back right around the All-Star break and wins about nine or 10 games.

Reyes and Pavano stay healthy and both get double digit wins. Lee is closer to the Cy Young form and so is Fausto. Wood never gets hurt and all the new additions in the bullpen work out. The Indians win 95 games and go deep in the playoffs.

Worst Case Senerio: Hafner is more like the 2008 hitter, and Wood lands back on the DL. The offense regresses with players such as Choo and Francisco. The bullpen never gets on track and the additions don't work out. We see the next wave of Indians in August and hope for a better 2010.

Most Likely: Hafner bounces back and hits between 20-25 home runs and Wood only spends two short stints on the DL. Lee wins 17 games, as does Carmona. I think Pavno will stay healthy and give 14 wins, and so will Reyes.

Westbrook will come back in late June and give the Indians a shot in the arm in the second half. The team wins 91 games and has a strong shot at at least and ALCS appearance.

My projections

Grady Sizemore: .275, 40 2B, 30 HR, 89 RBI, 35 SB

Mark DeRosa: .280, 31 2B, 22 HR, 78 RBI

Victor Martinez: .310, 25 2B, 24 HR, 96 RBI

Travis Hafner: .280, 23 2B, 23 HR, 86 RBI

Jhonny Peralta: .286, 31 2B, 33 HR, 110 RBI

Shin-Soo Choo: .308, 26 2B, 21 HR, 81 RBI

Ryan Garko: .281 21 2B, 17 HR, 75 RBI

Ben Francisco: .275, 24 2B, 18 HR, 60 RBI

Asdrubal Cabrera: 292, 20 2B, 13 HR, 58 RBI, 21 SB

Kelly Shoppach: .255, 25 2B, 25 HR, 70 RBI 150 K's

Josh Barfield: .225 8 2B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 18 SB

Jamey Carroll: .270, 10 2B, 3 HR, 35 RBI

David Dellucci: 225, 5 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI

Trevor Crowe: 280: 17 2B, 7 3B, 10 HR, 44 RBI, 25 SB

Dellucci gets cut by May and Crowe is the fourth outfielder on this team. This Indians team can hit, providing Sizemore, Peralta, Hafner, Shoppach and Garko don't strikeout a ton and kill their rallies. This team was one of the best teams in terms of getting extra-base hits and on-base percentage last season.

Cliff Lee: 17-5 2.79 ERA

Fausto Carmona: 17-7 2.91 ERA

Carl Pavano: 15-8, 3.45 ERA

Scott Lewis: 11-8 3.78 ERA

Anthony Reyes: 15-6 3.12 ERA

Jake Westbrook: 11-4 2.99 ERA

Jeremy Sowers: 3-6 5.50 ERA

Aaron Laffey: 6-2 3.41 ERA

This rotation reminds me a lot of 1995. There was no 20-game winner, but the rotation had five guys capable of winning at least 15 games, while it may not be enough to win the World Series, but very well could get them deep into the playoffs.

Kerry Wood: 2-2 44 saves, 3.13 ERA

Jensen Lewis: 4-3, 11 saves. 3.29 ERA

Rafael Betancourt: 1-3, 16 holds, 2.41 ERA

Rafael Perez: 4-2, 10 holds, 2.26 ERA

Joe Smith: 2-3 8 holds, 2.98 ERA

Masa Kobayashi: 1-4 4.38 ERA

Zach Jackson: 2-2 3.89 ERA

Masa and Jackson are both jettisoned in mid-May and two more prospects make their way into the system.

(Former Lake County Captain) Hector Rondon: 3-0 2.24 ERA

Former Captain, Tony Sipp: 0-2, 2.29 ERA

The bullpen is rather solid with some additions by subtractions.

LaPorta, and Michael Brantley also see some major time at the big-league level and contribute, as does David Huff)

91-71, win the AL Central, at least an ALCS appearance.

Day One Of The Nfl Free Agent Period: The Browns Make a Stupid Move...Again!

Justin Lada — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:01:40 -0500

The Browns weren't even a full 24 hours into the 2009 free agency period, when new Coach Eric Mangini and GM George Kokinis already made their first mistake. The Browns were supposed to be the front runners to win the AFC North, ended up 4-12 and didnt score a touchdown in their final four games of the season. With that in mind the Mangini/Kokinis team felt it was in the teams best interest to ship off their best skill position player.

Kellen Winslow Jr., was the Browns 6th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, and after five years, a few injuries and playing through a lot of them, is now a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Browns traded the 2007 Pro Bowl Tight End to the Bucs, for undisclosed draft picks, rumored to be between 2nd-4th rounders and maybe a 2010 pick. Now with one of those picks they may be forced to draft a tight end, unless they plan on going with an un-tested Martin Rucker or aging Steve Heiden, coming off of an ACL tear.

Unless the Browns manage to draft at least one Pro Bowl player (not a special teamer) with those picks, this trade could go down as one of the worst in Cleveland Sports history. Sure, the remarks made by Winslow such as "I'm a ( expletive) solider", were a little erroneous, but truly as a player cursed to play with a team such as the current Cleveland Browns, he was a football solider.

His rookie year, then Coach Butch Davis thought it would be a good idea to put his new shiny tight end on special teams, specifically onside kick recovery unit, in the second game of the season. Well he broke his leg and missed the season, not coincidentally Davis 'resigned' a few weeks later.

Next year Winslow tore his ACL in a stupid motorcyle accident, which admittedly was not the best decision of his life. But the Browns re-couped some money from his signing bonus and he came back and played hard.

Winslow made the Pro Bowl in 2007, feeding off of the flash-in-a-pan performance of plenty of other Browns, such as Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards. But yet the Browns chose to ship off Winslow, all because he lashed out at the team for hiding his staph infection this year.

Now why would the Browns do that? Probably because it was their 6th such incident in recent memory, showing they cannot contain such things in their locker room. Winslow wanted a new contract, and rightly so, he was the teams most consistent player.

He caught almost everything thrown to him, while playing on creaky knees weekly, thanks to his two major incidents, including lots of off season surgeries to clean his knees out.

Meanwhile, Anderson ended up on the bench for poor play, and Edwards was having a hard time making the smart decision of not wearing shoes while running in training camp next to a teammate, in metal cleats, not to mention couldn't couldn't even catch a staph infection, that seemingly resides in Berea, let alone catch a football when it was thrown at his chest.

So Winslow get's shipped out two draft picks, which the Browns did need. But the guy put his body on the line weekly, missed practice because of bum knees and shoulders, but Sunday's he blocked, caught balls that were thrown in the dirt (again thank you FIAP-Anderson), and carried one or two defenders with him after making a catch in traffic. None of his gritty tough player rubbed off on any other players (attention; Popcorn hands Edwards).

But the Browns got mad that Winslow wanted to keep yet another staph infection quiet, didn't reward a guy even the slightest bit for playing through numerous injuries, while turning in a Pro Bowl performance.

Tampa Bay is getting a warrior on the football field, a sure Pro Bowler, who will play through anything short of a broken leg. Maybe the problem wasn't Winslow, maybe it was the Browns.

Or Maybe Mangini felt the locker room wasn't enough for his own ego as well as Winslow's. Again its day one of the NFL off season, and the Browns are again up to their old trick's ensuring their place, below and in front of the front door for all NFL teams.

A Lot Rests on the Right Shoulder of the Man They Call Pronk

Justin Lada — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:08:29 -0500

It's not often that one player makes or breaks a teams season or even one game (outside of basketball lets say). But if the Indians needed to pick one player that they needed the most to have a good season, it would be Travis Hafner.

Hafner is coming off of more rehab and surgery of the his problematic right shoulder, that has plagued him since his 'subpar' year in 2007.

Yes, the Indians need Fausto Carmona to bounce back to 2007 form, and need guys like Carl Pavano, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Reyes to avoid the trainers room, but the Tribe's last two seasons biggest issues were slow starts due to their inability to put runs on the scoreboard.

Whatever injuries the Indians pitching staff might occur (cross your fingers Cleveland), a big reform in numbers and health from the man known as Pronk might be able to overshadow it.

The Indians reached the ALCS in 2007 (the year Hafner's shoulder problems began), and were within one game of the World Series with a mediocre season from the big left-hander from North Dakota.

A mediocre season for Hafner was classified at 24 home runs, 100 RBI, and a .266 batting average, to go with a Pronk sub par OPS of .836. The Indians were saved by a Cy Young performance by CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona and a gutty season from Joe Borowski.

This time around the team is much better built in the bullpen, and the offense around him. A return to classic Pronk (2004-2007 an average of 34 home runs per year, .308 average, 111 RBI and a 1.031 OPS). In 2009, he will have even better protection than he's had.

With a supposedly healthy shoulder finally, added with a healthy Victor Martinez, the offensive emergence of Kelley Shoppach and Shin-Soo Choo, and Jhonny Peralta being the newly minted cleanup hitter, adding a healthy Hafner in the lineup would do wonders for the Tribe's offense that has been stagnant for long stretches (August of 2007, the Indians averaged 2.4 runs per game), as well as struggling the first half of 2008.

As Eric Wedge and Mark Shapiro have suggested a return to 2006 form from Hafner (6 grand slams) isn't extremely reasonable, but if he comes back to somewhere between 2006 and 2007 form the Indians offense could reasonably carry a pitching staff that only includes Cliff Lee that has had sustained consistent success.

The AL Central is a bit weaker than in years past, and a healthy shoulder from Hafner and pitching rotaion could have the Indians in nearly better position than in 2007.

Open Mic: Cleveland Indians' 455 Straight Sellouts Will Always Be Remembered

Justin Lada — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 06:58:55 -0400

In sports, you see a lot of great accomplishments and records. Some are amazing or just downright unthinkable.

Think of all the records over the years. 755 has fallen, Lou Gehrig’s record fell, 62 and 70 fell, but there are some that remain intact.

Some of the most amazing include Cal Ripken’s streak, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Pete Rose being the all-time hit leader. Those are records that seem unbreakable at this point and could stand for quite some time.

But there is one record that I hope never gets broken and that is special for me because I had been a part of it. It is a record of dedication of not just team but a whole city.

The Cleveland Indians fans record of 455 straight sell outs. Think about it: with 81 regular-season home games per year, and they sold out 455 games.

From June 12, 1995, through April 4, 2001 the Indians sold out 455 straight home games, and that doesn’t include playoff games, which were of course sold out from 1995-1999 and 2001.

When I think back about that record today, it just blows me away because I hear stories all the time about the ‘Curse of Rocky Colavito’ and the SI Jinx and the years of losing, that in 1995 things all of the sudden turned around.

The timing was perfect, as the Indians opened a new ballpark, as Jacobs Field opened, the Indians finally ended their 40 years without a playoff appearance.

The Indians' sudden turnaround came at a great time which fueled the streak. When the ballpark opened in 1994 it was like a new breath of life into Cleveland sports and the city itself.

The Browns had just moved away to Baltimore, so the city still had a hole and the Indians were still miserable years before. All of the sudden, there was this new beautiful ballpark and everyone’s beloved Indians were one of the best teams in baseball.

I know that Boston is in the midst of a big sellout streak now, but it will never match the Indians'.

It was majestic that as the Indians opened a new stadium, John Hart and Dick Jacobs were able to take the Indians from worst to first.

For close to seven full years the place formerly known as ‘The Jake’ was packed with 44,000 strong a night of dedicated fans just ready to celebrate a stadium that seemed full of magic back in the 90s.

It is now called Progressive Field, which oddly enough has taken some magic away that used to be called ‘Jacobs Field Magic’, but to me it will always be ‘The Jake’ and to me the 455 straight sellouts will be a record that will be one of the best to me.

Cleveland Indians' Offense is Bad and the Bullpen is Worse

Justin Lada — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:51:41 -0400

The Indians' offense seems to have turned a slight corner and isn’t the problem any more. The Indians tried to plug another hole in the offense, while sacrificing the second coming of Omar Vizquel.

The Indians optioned down Asdrubal Cabrera, who was hitting well below .200, and recalled Josh Barfield, who was with the Indians last season before hitting poorly and being benched for the 20-year old Cabrera who sparked the Indians at the season's end.

Cabrera has had a huge problem this season with hitting the ball, but he was not alone. The Indians need to find a consistent offensive threat, or at least people to get on base.

That is what makes bringing up Barfield an odd move. It was Barfield's low on-base percentage last season that led to his benching, and he hasn’t been much better in AAA Buffalo. In fact, his average this season in Buffalo is below .260 (he was a career .300 hitter in the minors before this season), so it wasn’t like Barfield was tearing up AAA pitching.

The Indians first said that if they are to fix their offensive issues, it has to come from within. That started by trading away Jason Michaels for basically a bag of baseballs. Michaels, by the way is hitting .300 with four extra-base hits as of last week since arriving with the Pirates.

It was said on Baseball Tonight a few weeks ago that the hitting coach in Pittsburgh adjusted his stance to be shorter and it worked. (A thing hitting coaches should to, their jobs: cough *Derek Shelton* cough.)

Move number two was Ben Francisco, or rather the corresponding move to moving Michaels. Francisco is hitting .342, but with no one else getting on base, it doesn’t help much. Shin-Soo Choo was brought up and is hitting .300 thus far, but he doesn’t provide a lot of pop.

With Westbrook being out and the Carmona not back yet, the Indians' offense needs to pick up the slack for them, as the pitching did all season so far, as best they could.

The Barfield move is questionable. His defense is good, but not like Cabrera. The Indians' internal stats for defense said that Cabrera saved more runs from scoring than he drove in, which kept him in the lineup as long as he stayed. But with the offensive woes, something had to be done, and he was overmatched at the plate every time. He needs to learn to re-adjust to the pitchers adjusting to him.

Barfield isn’t any better offensively, which is just strange to replace one poor a player for another. The Indians want to turn this around, and they refuse to give up at this point.

The Indians' bullpen, well, that’s another can of worms. Coming to the park everyday, Wedge doesn’t know what he will get from any of them. The Indians can’t count on Joe Borowski night in and night out, and that hurts the rest of them, as the Indians found out in 2006 when the closer's role didn’t set in and nobody knew their role. It throws everything out of whack.

The Indians seemed to have found some offense, without more ‘internal moves’, but the bullpen is like having a new window put in when you have a leaky roof. Yeah, bad metaphor, but the Indians' bullpen is that bad right now, nearly as bad as the offense was before the Texas series.

Cleveland Indians: The Time To Panic Is Now

Justin Lada — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:17:21 -0400

We're almost two months into the season, and the Indians are having a problem hitting the ball. Yet, they have done little to fix it.

A team that quite a few people picked to win the World Series and many others expected to be one of the better teams in baseball is one of the most underachieving teams this season.

The Indians have one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball. After C.C. Sabathia’s first few starts, he has been phenomenal and the rest of the rotation has been solid.

Fausto Carmona has had some control issues but is in the top five in ERA. Paul Byrd has been shaky but solid if nothing else, and Westbrook went on the DL but has been well above average this season by his standards.

Without Cliff Lee, the Indians would easily be last in the division, thanks to Lee’s first few starts carrying an ERA under 1.00.

Aaron Laffey came up to replace Westbrook in the rotation for a month when he was hurt, and all he has done is lead the league in ERA (if he had enough innings pitched). Laffey will remain up here with Carmona on the DL, and Jeremy Sowers has been solid in his spot starts this season.

Despite this great pitching, we're talking about a team with a sub-.500 record. I know, how could a team with the pitching just described be under .500?

Well, it starts with hitting, which currently the Indians have none of. It's like in softball. You have most teams who can hit and score 20+ runs a game, and you have those one or two odd teams that can't hit and score only three or four runs a game.

Well, four runs would be glorious for the Indians at this point. Only a small handful of times this season have the Indians given up more than five runs in a game. If the Indians averaged five runs a game, they would easily be fighting for the division lead. Instead, they are usually poking through a solid two to three runs per game and losing games, 3-1, 2-0, 3-0.

You could say it all starts with Travis Hafner. A guy who between 2004-2006 was one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball. Now he is hitting barely above .200.

But it’s not just Hafner. Grady Sizemore's average has dipped up and down, but he is getting on base. Asdrubal Cabrera is hitting below .200 and is overmatched every time at the plate.

Jhonny Peralta is leading the team in home runs but barely hitting .250. David Dellucci, Casey Blake, Ryan Garko are all hitting below .250. Garko and Franklin Gutierrez have lost their jobs to Michael Aubrey and Ben Francisco.

Francisco is the only Indians hitter getting on base two or three times a game because of a hit. Victor Martinez is hitting above .300 but has nine extra base hits, and none of them are home runs.

It’s time to push the panic button. A lot of people said they would have this turned around by Memorial Day. Well it’s the week of and the Indians apparently didn’t get that memo.

They have made few changes. Cutting Jason Michaels was a good move, but that won’t solve the problem. Aubrey is a rookie and will not either. Putting Hafner on the DL wont help his poor hitting.

The Indians need new life breathed into them on offense and in the bullpen. It's very hard to make a major trade before July, so the best thing the Indians can do is fire hitting coach Derek Shelton. The Indians approach at the plate is awful and that stems from Shelton.

Firing Eddie Murray was a classless move the way the Indians did it, but it worked in 2005 and the Indians started hitting. The pitchers know the Indians' approach now and are working to beat it. It's time for a new voice and approach from the hitting coach's area.

The bullpen right now is its own can of worms. Joe Borowski was awful early on, but since coming off the DL has looked great. Rafael Perez has been steady and much better since early in the season.

Jensen Lewis was doing okay, but not well enough to beat out Jorge Julio’s 5.00 ERA a few weeks ago. He was sent to Buffalo. Julio has since been released. Rafael Betancourt has been terrible, having the Bartolo Colon syndrome early in his career, afraid to throw inside.

The Indians need to do something. This team’s starting pitching is too good to waste, especially now that Sabathia is almost guaranteed to be leaving at this year's end, which without major changes is looking more like September rather than October.

The time to panic is now; if you want to win you have to do something about it. Make a bold trade, not a stupid trade, but one that can help without hurting you one or two years down the road.

The Indians need to win now, because without Sabathia, they don’t have a truly consistent ace. Carmona may become that ace, but not soon enough. The point of keeping Sabathia around is to win, so if they don’t win soon, Sabathia’s time with the Tribe may come to a close sooner than all expected.

Eric Wedge’s theory of the week to help the team, play burned out prospect Andy Marte more. Sure Eric, that will help tons, a guy who strikes out almost every other at bat and who’s nickname should be E5 because that shows up in the box score every time he plays.

Where is the Staples Easy button when you need it?

Panic Mode is now, Indians.

2008 MLB Season Preview

Justin Lada — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:54:59 -0400

AL East New York Yankees 91-71Toronto Blue Jays 90-72Boston Red Sox 90-72Tampa Bay Rays 77-85Baltimore Orioles 55-107

The Yankees pitching will be much better this season. Some of their younger pitching is better and if Andy Pettite can stay healthy. We know they can hit and if their bullpen is healthy they should take what can be a very competitive division. The Blue Jays will be a surprise to some people. Roy Halladay has had a good spring and if AJ Burnett (in a contract year) can remain healthy along with Shawn Marcum they can be dangerous. I wouldn’t worry about BJ Ryan too much because Jeremy Accardo proved last season he can close games. The Jays can hit and if Scott Rolen comes back healthy they could push for the Wild Card. I know I will catch a lot of flack for putting Boston in third place. Josh Beckett historically has been an every other year pitcher. Last year was great but its no 2008 and back injuries can be tough to shake. The league has had a taste of Dice-K and he could be even more mediocre this season and could struggle if asked to be the ace if Beckett is out longer. Tim Wakefield isn’t effective anymore and who really knows if Curt Schilling will pitch. Jon Lester and Clay Bucholz can be good but are too young to shoulder a huge load. Again, they can hit too but how far does mediocre pitching and hitting get you? Ask the Yankees what happened last year. Jonathon Papelbon is good but he doesn’t have much in front to help him. The Rays have some vets finally with that young talent. It may not happen this season but soon they will be up there in the east. The Orioles have one of the worst pitching staffs I’ve seen back to front and could be as bad as the Mets and Tigers once were.

AL Central Cleveland Indians 95-67Detroit Tigers 89-73Chicago White Sox 81-81Minnesota Twins 75-87Kansas City Royals 71-91

The Indians are a hot pick to win it all this season and last. Returning Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia (in a contact year) along with ace #2 in Fausto Carmona the Indians will have plenty of pitching to fend off the Tigers. Their bullpen is solid once again and they will need Asdrubal Cabrera to build upon last season and get some kind of production out of left field. The Indians of course will rely up the middle with Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta and Grady Sizemore. There is too much talent for this team to not win the division. The Tigers can hit and probably will score the most runs in the MLB this season. However they will give up a lot too. Justin Verlander is solid but Kenny Rogers is up there in age, Bonderman is having trouble with his arm and consistency and Dontrelle Willis had a horrid spring. Joel Zumaya is hurt until the All Star break and Fernando Rodney is injury prone. Todd Jones has been extremely ineffective. The White Sox don’t have much pitching but their line up is tough and their bullpen is revamped quite well. The Twins will be better than many think once Liriano is healthy and the young guys get settled. The Royals are looking up but are in a loaded division as well.

AL West Seattle Mariners 88-74Los Angeles Angels 85-77Texas Rangers 81-81Oakland Athletics 80-82

The Mariners added Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva to a team that nearly won the AL West last season. They have the best closer in baseball and if they can get Richie Sexson to stay on the field watch out. The Angels are good but have had an injury ravaged spring. They don’t have a shortstop this season and have a logjam outfield, which could be a good thing. They can win it but they cannot afford the injuries. The Rangers will hit but again with other teams, they have some pitching now but not enough. The A’s will be better than people believe. Rich Harden is healthy and if Joe Blanton stays in place they can be dangerous.

AL Wild CardToronto Blue Jays

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, OF Cleveland Indians

Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays

Rookie of the Year: Daric Barton 1B, Oakland Athletics

Come Back Player of the Year: Cliff Lee, SP Cleveland Indians

Manager of the Year: John Gibbons, Toronto Blue Jays

AL Playoffs:ALDS: Indians vs. Blue Jays: Indians 3-2

ALDS: Mariners vs. Yankees: Mariners 3-2

ALCS: Indians vs. Mariners: Indians 4-2

NL East Atlanta Braves: 91-71New York Mets: 89-73Philadelphia Phillies: 85-77Washington Nationals: 77-85Florida Marlins: 71-91

The Braves pitching is solid once again and with Chipper Jones healthy they will be the surprise of the NL. Their getting Rafael Soriano back and they resigned Tom Glavine. If Jones is healthy they could be even better. I know the Mets have Santana now but their age concerns me. Moises Alou, Carlos Delgado, Pedro Martinez are all up there in age. Luis Castillo is no spring chicken as is Billy Wagner. Their set up men don’t impress me. John Maine will need to be as solid in the regular season as in the spring. They have a lot of age which I think will hurt them. The Phillies can hit and they can pitch away from home. At home that park is a pitchers worst nightmare. I’m not sure their hitting can overcome their back end of the rotation. The Nationals could be a bit of a surprise. They don’t have much pitching, but I think they will hit more than most think. Their AAA rotation is good and will be in the majors at some point. The Marlins no longer have a third basemen or their star pitcher. They keep trading people away and Hanley Ramirez is next. If they didn’t keep trading people they would be the best in the division.

NL Central Milwaukee Brewers: 89-73Chicago Cubs: 85-77Cincinatti Reds: 82-80St Louis Cardinals: 77-85Pittsburgh Pirates: 60-102

The Brewers need Ben Sheets healthy and he could be. Eric Gagne could be their answer at closer and when Mike Cameron gets back their offense is in amazing shape. They could be the surprise of the NL. The Cubs are going to be good but I just don’t think their pitching behind Kerry Wood being the closer is going to be good enough. They can hit but again pitching is key and they just don’t have enough. The Reds can surprise some people, with a solid closer now in Francisco Cordero and getting some young pitching and hitting they could make some noise. The Cardinals could challenge if Chris Carpenter gets healthy. However if Pujols’ injuries they are in deep trouble. The Pirates didn’t make any major moves and they will be in transition for a while with a new staff.

NL West Arizona Diamondbacks 95-67Los Angeles Dodgers: 91-71San Diego Padres: 87-75Colorado Rockies: 85-77San Francisco Giants: 71-91

The Diamondbacks were the best team in the NL last season and added AL All Star Game in 2007 starter Dan Haren. They subtracted just Jose Valverde which is a tough spot to fill but the D’backs have been good at finding good young players. They have more than enough pitching to win this tough division. If not for Arizona adding Haren the Dodgers would win this division. A healthy Jason Schmidt and now Joe Torre the Dodgers will be a tough opponent all season long. The Padres pitching is world series caliber as well but their hitting isn’t up to par and will hold them back in a tough division. The Rockies could win the AL West but they had too much go right last season. Not everything goes right this season but they are too talented to not make it a race. The Giants have good young pitching in Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and Noah Lowry. If Barry Zito rebounds they could be better but their hitting is too suspect.

NL Wild Card: Los Angeles Dodgers

MVP: Prince Fielder 1B, Milwaukee Brewers

Cy Young: Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks

Rookie of the Year: Johnny Cueto, SP, Cincinatti Reds

Comeback Player of the Year: Randy Johnson SP, Arizona Diamondbacks

Manager of the Year: Bobby Cox, Atlanta Braves

NLDS:

Braves vs. Dodgers: Dodgers 3-2

Diamondbacks vs. Brewers: Diamondbacks 3-1

NLCS:

Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers: Diamondbacks 4-3

World Series

Indians vs. Diamondbacks: Indians 4-3

Cleveland Browns: Dawn of the Phil Savage Era

Justin Lada — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:59:07 -0400

The Browns' 2007 season can be considered a zero-to-hero story of sorts. After a disastrous 2006 season of 4-12, a step back from 6-10 in 2005, Cleveland's preseason prospects looked dim. They had no quarterback, their running back looked shaky, as did the offense as a whole.

The Browns had the third overall draft choice in the 2007 draft. The speculation was between Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson, Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas, and Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn. Since 1999 the Browns had been panned for taking picks like Gerrard “Big Money” Warren, Courtney Brown, Tim Couch, William Green, so naturally fans figured the Browns would take someone who wouldn’t help them.

But people forgot that Phil Savage is a mastermind when it comes to evaluating college football players. In his first two seasons, he drafted Braylon Edwards and Kameron Wimbley. Edwards had been a headache in his first few seasons, but there was never any question of his talent. Wimbley had a great rookie season and was Cleveland’s best defensive player. This draft was important to Savage—more importantly hot-seat coach Romeo Crennel and the fans as well, who had seen one playoff appearance since their rebirth in 1999.

The Browns also had little luck in addition to bad prior decisions. After ruining Tim Couch around a bad team, they had all his talent get hurt. Kellen Winslow played his rookie season in the Jeff Garcia era in Cleveland, but was hurt in game two that season, thanks to an onside kick return that he didn’t need to be on the field for. Couch did lead the Browns to the playoffs in 2003, but was hurt and the Browns used backup quarterback Kelly Holcomb in the playoff game.

Every Browns first round pick seemed to get hurt. Brown never had a full season with the Browns as he was always injured after being the number one overall pick in the 2000 draft out of Penn St. Warren was always hurt and always played well below ability. Winslow was hurt his rookie year and even Edwards tore his ACL in 2005.

The Browns first full off season with Savage was new. The team was aggressive in free agency early on that year. They signed local products such as WR Joe Jurevicius, OL LeCharles Bentley, and P Dave Zastudil. They also signed tackle Kevin Shaffer. The first day of non contact drills Bentley, and OSU alum and Pro Bowler tore his patella tendon. That was in the beginning of 2006 and it is now 2008 and Bentley has yet to return to practice with the team.

So naturally with all the bad luck and bad choices, the Browns would take a player in the 2007 draft that wouldn’t help. Savage chose the unpopular choice of Wisconsin offensive tackle Thomas. Thomas would go on to be a Pro Bowler and was credited with never being beaten for a sack all season.

Then more fortunes changed. The only other player the Browns considered drafting was Notre Dame’s Quinn. Quinn fell to 22nd pick, which was the Cowboys. Savage made a trade that would only shock the people that know him closest. He traded the 2008 first round pick and his 2nd rounder in 2007 to get Quinn at 22nd overall.

Savage loves his draft picks like children, because had found players like Ray Lewis among others in Baltimore. He drafted multiple Pro Bowlers with the Ravens so naturally he loved his draft picks. Trading a first rounder was absurd for Savage.

Of course people panned him for this, saying "there goes his job next season."

The Browns were again aggressive in free agency. They signed RB Jamal Lewis from Baltimore and OL Eric Steinbach. The Browns re-signed C Hank Fraley, who plugged the hole at center when Bentley went down.

The one problem was quarterback. 2005 third-rounder Charlie Frye had been the starter, but Derek Anderson, claimed off waivers started and led them to a comeback overtime win over Kansas City.

And then there was first-rounder Quinn. Quinn held out late and never had a chance to start, but it was actually for the better, so much so people speculated that they asked him to hold out, so there would be no controversy and the Browns could decide who to keep between Anderson and Frye.

Fast forward to Week One. Frye started, despite being outplayed by Anderson. He threw two interceptions and was sacked five times. That Tuesday, he was traded to Seattle and Anderson became the starter, with Quinn as the backup. Anderson threw five touchdown passes against the Bengals next week in a 51-45 win. He never looked back.

Anderson went on to be a Pro Bowler as a reserve. For the first time since 1999, a Brown made the trip to Hawaii to play. But he was not the only Brown to go. Josh Cribbs, a return man made it. Thomas, the rookie, made it. Edwards, the one-time headache Savage drafted, made it. And Winslow made it, the one-time injury-prone tight end.

Quinn only threw a handful of passes in a Week 17 win over the 49ers. But he did more for the Browns than that. He pushed and pressured Anderson into the Pro Bowl. Had Quinn not been there, Anderson may not have worked hard enough to win and keep that job and make the Pro Bowl. Quinn’s presence made him that much better, despite Quinn never starting. Who knew a player who never started would make such an impact?

The Browns went 10-6, and at one time controlled their playoff destiny. Anderson lost the chance at big money this offseason by throwing four interceptions in a Week 16 loss to the Bengals. He also opened the door for Quinn to challenge him for 2008.

The Browns have caught the national media’s eye this offseason. Savage didn’t have a first rounder. He figured, why not get rid of two more?

The Browns traded their second-round pick for emerging nose tackle Corey Williams. Getting Williams was huge, because Williams is a huge. He is 6'4", 300-plus-pounds, and had seven sacks per season two years in a row. This is important for a Browns team who was nearly dead last in the NFL in defense, and even worse against the run.

Cleveland then traded their third-round pick and DB Leigh Bodden for two time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Shaun Rodgers. Rodgers has had issues in the past, but has made two trips to Hawaii and is only 28. Both defensive tackles are young and locked up for long years. They also have a chance to win, which motivates the unmotivated.

After filling their biggest needs. the Browns re-signed Pro Bowl QB Anderson, 1,300 yard rusher Lewis, and got two young run-stuffing lineman. They also signed lightning-quick WR Donte Stallworth. Stallworth adds a speed receiver to an already great offense and lightens the pressure on Joe Jurevicius, who requested fewer duties because of health concerns.

The Browns no longer have a pick on the first day of the NFL Draft this season. But if you ask Coach Crennel. “Quinn is the first rounder, Williams is my second rounder, and Rodgers is a third rounder” The brilliant thing is, can you draft a two-time Pro Bowler in the third round? No, and there is no Quinn in this years draft and there is no guarantee you could get a run-stuffing tackle with the second rounder.

The Browns now are considered the AFC North frontrunners and dark horse Super Bowl contenders. They went from the doormat to getting the valet, and the 2007 draft and offseason started it all. If they are a zero-to-hero story, look for a phone booth in Savage’s office in Berea, Ohio.

Being a Cleveland fan, you have to have a few things. Optimism, patience, and a glass-half-full attitude. Savage has given Browns fans the feeling of the cup runneth over for the 2008 season.

With guarded optimism, I believe the Browns can make a deep playoff run for the first time in my life. If Anderson continues his growth as a quarterback and keeps his job, Quinn may again make a big impact on the team, despite not playing. And once again, Savage can emerge from his phone booth as Clark Kent and watch the team he built up from an automatic win on everyone’s schedule to a possible Super Bowl opponent in just a matter of one draft two off seasons, and a QB that hasn’t started a game yet.

The Browns may have been reborn in 1999, but 2005 was their second rebirth, with the start of the Savage era.

LeBron James Makes Cavaliers Most Dangerous Playoff Team

Justin Lada — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:50:35 -0400

Some of the most pressure packed points of any sports season doesn’t come in a stretch of games, in a moment of a game, or anticipation.

Some of the biggest pressure moments in sports come at the trading deadline. Credit Cleveland Cavaliers GM Danny Ferry for not succumbing to pressure. The Cavaliers, as you might recall, were the Eastern Conference Champions last season, but were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers made one addition over the off season, signing G/F Devin Brown to come off the bench. For a team that had all the problems exploited on a national level, it was a very minimal move to make.

Fast forward to December. The Cavaliers were floating along the path, losing and winning, losing and winning. There was no consistent play and the Cavaliers best asset of defense had seemed to disappear.

Fast forward to late February. The Cavaliers had just begun to go on a tear. Led by star LeBron James and the further emergence of young point guard Daniel ‘Boobie’ Gibson, the Cavaliers started to get hot. Cleveland went 11-3 in January and made their move back into the top five in the Eastern Conference.

All of the sudden it went wrong. Sasha Pavlovich, who missed all of training camp in a contract dispute, had played well below his level when he made the starting lineup for Mike Brown last season. He hit his stride and found his game once again in January but then was the first Cavalier to go down.

In a 121-85 win over Washington on January 23, Pavlovich was injured with a left mid-foot sprain. He is just now participating in full contact practice for the first time since being injured. He wasn’t the only Cavalier to get hurt.

Earlier in the season James missed a handful of games, all losses by the Cavaliers while he sat and healed. The Sunday after Pavlovich’s injury another key cog was hurt. Anderson Varejao, the “Wild Thing’ went down with an ankle sprain against the Lakers in a win.

He missed a couple of weeks, just as he started to develop a good offensive game to go with his dominant rebounding and defensive skills. Varejao has since returned but had been off his game. Saturday March 8, Varejao came back to his game that he had before the ankle injury. He had 15 points and 16 rebounds and six assists to go with it. He was starting for another injured Cavalier, Zyrdrunus Illgauskus, who is still currently out with a back strain and will be out for at least a week or so more.

Another Cavalier currently in street clothes instead of the Wine and Gold is the rookie/sophomore All Star game MVP, Gibson. After the All-Star weekend had been good to him and teammate James, Gibson suffered and ankle injury of his own. Gibson has sat the last two weeks and is expected to miss two more. Gibson had been improving his game up to past 11 ppg up from four last season and has been the most improved scorer among second year players in the NBA this season.

The day after his injury, is when everything changed for the Cavaliers. All the injuries and rumors of James being adamant about getting some help, Ferry finally found a trade for the Cavaliers to help themselves.

In a three team deal, the Cavaliers brought in former nemesis F/C Ben Wallace to shore up the defense they had been missing and gave them a feared presence in the paint, as the Cavaliers had been thought of as soft. They acquired a good shooting and pushing point guard in Delonte West.

They got another outside shooter in Wally Szczerbiak. They also added veteran re-bounder and shooter Joe Smith, a former No.1 overall pick. What they gave up was a finally healthy Larry Hughes who had started shooting better, a good low post scorer in Drew Gooden, a good perimeter defender in Ira Newble, a good outside shooter and re-bounder in Donyell Marshall.

Also in the trade was second year player Shannon Brown who spent half the season in the NBDL with also traded F Cedric Simmons. James had carried his team all year long to the tune of 30 ppg and almost a triple double every night for the Cavaliers to get the win.

Now that the players have had over a week and a half to gel the Cavaliers will start getting returns on their trade. Wallace’s ppg has gone up by two and his rebounding and defense have never waivered.

Szczerbiak has been a consistent shooter from long range and also Mike Brown has said, a good defender. West has been a great point guard, setting up the offense, is able to shoot and drive and also is a surprisingly good rebounded for a 6-2 guard. Joe Smith has been as advertised, a veteran presence who can shoot and rebound effectively off the bench.

James is playing at an all time high level, a level where six year veterans who went to a major college never get to. James must unquestionably be the MVP, or it is highway robbery.

Most people around the league do not want to face the Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs because of James alone. The Cavaliers have a distinct advantage over any other playoff team in the Eastern Conference. Finals experience and the best player in the NBA at any given moment on the court and can take over a game whenever he chooses to do so.

After James crushed the Pistons spirit in Detroit last season in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Finals, with 29 of the Cavaliers final 30 points and an overtime win the Cavaliers are in their heads and have control over them. They match up well and even more so now with West on the perimeter and Wallace inside to help James, who is the Cavaliers best on ball defender.

The Celtics are the big three and some pieces parts. Point guard Rajon Rondo has been great, but adding Sam Cassel will hurt them a lot in the same aspect. They haven’t played together in the playoffs before and it has been a few years since Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett made the playoffs.

The Cavaliers have Wallace to match Garnett on the defensive end. The Celtics do not have a player who can match James’ scoring ability at the end of games, nor do they have anyone who an go one-on-one with him to stop him.

Granted not a lot of players in the NBA can stop James, but if the Celtics do double team him, Gibson and Pavlovich will be back, Szczerbiak, Smith and West are all excellent shooters from mid to long range.

Besides James, there is another key factor here and it is Z. Z has the most experience on the team and with the addition of Wallace, his game had gone up before the injury. Wallace now takes the extra inside big man away from Z on rebounds, freeing him up to get more rebounds. Z also is a great mid rang shooter and can worry more about offense while Wallace can get the inside rebounds and put back dunks.

The Cavaliers have the single most dominant player in the NBA right now. He is unstoppable when he wants to be. James has heard every critic’s complaint and has made them eat their words, whether it was shooting or defense, he shut them up.

James now has the appropriate pieces to help. He has shooters, he has defenders, he has re-bounders and shot blockers, for the first time since being on the team he has a true point guard. Most importantly he has the drive and the will to force his team to win. He has captured that mentality to win and it has shown as he averaged 10 points per game in the fourth quarter.

If everyone comes back off their injuries and Mike Brown can figure out the rotation of Gibson, Devin Brown who has been rock solid, Damon Jones who is having a career year, Varejao, Sczerbiak and Smith off the bench the Cavaliers will be awfully tough to beat. Do you think anyone wants to see James in the playoffs?

Try facing him when he is just a few weeks away from possibly getting back to the Finals. James will be in overdrive mode, could be even better than he is now. It is scary, and with his ability to take over games in the fourth quarter, NBA fans will have something special to watch this June.

Cleveland fans have their best chance since 1997 to bring a championship to the hear of Cleveland, thanks to their own local hero, James. Ferry didn’t crack under pressure and make a bad knee jerk trade, he made a smart move for the team and to please James.

Now the pressure is on James and his gang—and that is exactly what James lives for and it was what drives him night in and night out.