Cavaliers Struggle, While Hope Blooms at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cavaliers already better than expected 6-10 record has brought me to an interesting realization about this team. We were playing well, had our struggles as every team does, but in my brief (for too brief) window of actually getting to watch this team play, I have come to the conclusion, we aren’t going to win a title this year. Obviously. But, if our young guys keep progressing, I’d say this team is 3 years, and a true Shooting Guard and a true Sixth Man away from being a contender. Now this might be all my optimistic fan talking, but hear me out. With what we have seen so far from Kyrie Irving I am not only impressed by his talent and determination, but by his potential. Tristan Thompson has shown (me at least) that he is going to be a really good NBA player, maybe even an All-Star some day, yes he needs polish but what 20-something doesn’t?  He has shown an ability to score around the basket and can (if he keeps working) can develop that mid range game to be quite the weapon. There isn’t much to be said about these guys that hasn’t been said before, so I won’t go into it in great detail. I’m more going to focus on the things I said we need to be a contender. 3 years, that one is really easy since time is going to pass, and these guys are going to develop into NBA players the more time they spend on the floor. The two positions we need to improve at, shooting guard, and sixth man. Yes that is vague but the guy on the team that gets the sixth most minutes, it doesn’t matter his true position because it is all about just having six quality guys. Everyone knows Anthony Parker is not the future of the Cavs. And after this season (perhaps even before then some people may argue) he should not be a starter for the Cavs. We need a lights out shooter to come into the fold and give us that consistent scoring option on the catch and shoot. Perhaps through the draft, perhaps with some of that money that we should have in the offseason. Preferably via draft in my opinion, a good young core is the way to go in the NBA it would seem these days. From there its a little bit of addition by subtraction, no more Casspi, the ship has already sailed, he’s not who we were hoping he would be. Less Jamison (or no Jamison),and less (or no) Parker.

The final things the Cavs would have to do, is slightly better backup Center, Erden just doesn’t do it for me, he’s just not quite good enough. And then the position I see as being the biggest question mark remaining is that 6th man role. For my money, my thought is draft a small forward and give him the starting role and let Alonzo Gee come off the bench in a big way to spell the younger guys at the 2 and 3 spots to allow them all time to develop and if the core group can stay together and improve this team could really do something. So heres to a couple more nice draft picks and in a few years a (hopefully) OKC style rise to the top. Just without the alpha dog issues they have.

So the Season is Over

So here we are again, the NFL Regular Season has come to an end and so has the Browns involvement in the league until free agency and draft season begins. Now is the time of year where we as fans get to put our speculating hats on, sit around and talk amongst ourselves and think about how miserable the season was, and come up with a million different ways that we can improve the team. Now, that is our civic duty as fans, so of course we must oblige. As my attention rapidly shifts towards the very fun to watch Cavaliers and the count down to Spring Training, I am paying less and less attention to the Browns. I barely paid attention in the build up to the final game of the season, and actually didn’t watch any of the game as I was stuck to work on New Year’s Day. There are many burning questions about the future of the franchise, where they will go this off season and whether or not they should continue on with Pat Shurmur as the head coach. We have nothing but questions right now, but let’s look at a few things from this season that we know moving in next year and the off season. Then, maybe, we’ll move on to some other things as well.

Cavs Move to 1-1, Impressions

With the win last night on the road against the Detroit Pistons the Cavs evened out their early season record to 1-1. Thanks to the free trial of NBA League Pass I was able to watch the game in full again, so for the next two weeks I will get to watch all the games. I’m excited about that, and after last night I feel a little more excitement for the team this season.

Zach’s Brown List

Running a few days behind because of the holidays and the hectic nature that comes with this time of year. The Browns did their best again to imitate a half decent team for half of a game and then just completely fell on their face and collapsed. They blew a 10 point 4th quarter lead and ultimately lost in the beginning portions of overtime. The Browns have 2 games left, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, so we are likely looking at 2 more rough losses before it is all said and done this year. 

Zach’s Brown List

The first of two contests against the hated Steelers has come and gone. The Browns were, for the most part, competitive in this matchup… But the landscape of the rest of the season was changed, and possibly the entire franchise might feel the ramifications of this game.

Zach’s Browns List

Another week, another loss. Another emberassing performance against a division rival. Sounds pretty much like standard operation for the Cleveland Browns, but this one felt so much worse. The players are getting sick of losing, and so are the fans. I have a sinking feeling, if it is even possible, that things are going to get worse before they get better.

The Prospects: Jason Kipnis

The Indians have had issues with the 2nd base position for the last several years. Ever since Roberto Alomar was traded the Indians have never really been able to fill the void consistently. I lost track a long time ago of how many different guys have played in that spot in recent years. It appears that the Indians may finally have the long term answer to the position. Jason Kipnis burst onto the major league scene last year and made a huge impact on the Tribe offense. Not only does this solidify a worriesome position, but it could be the beginning of a new star player.

Zach’s Brown List

Welcome to Zach’s Brown List. Yes, clever title is it not? Browns being the team name, and the color that is associated with crappy football, this will be a weekly segment where I dish on our beloved Brows and the laundry list of crap that seems to follow them around. Every Tuesday I will post the weekly Browns “s”hit list. Since this is the first one of the year it will be a little more all encompassing then the following week. Let’s begin shall we?

Your 2012 Cavaliers Projected Lineup!

So with this lockout finally settled and teams getting started on their off season workouts, preseason and free agency all rolled into 2 weeks, this is my predicted starting lineup come opening day/Christmas day. An NBA roster has 12 spots open to active players, and 3 IR spots that can be filled by guys not suiting up for a game. So I will list the starters the 7 bench spots, in order from 6th man to 12th man, and the three IR spots. This is of course subject to change if the Cavaliers make any offseason signings or trades.

Off-Season Wahoo Notes: Grady Edition

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Turkey Day has come and gone and it is close to the time where the Hot Stove really begins to heat up. We looked last week at a list of free agents that might be worth the Indians looking at, and shortly there after one of those men did indeed sign on with the Tribe. Welcome… Home, Grady Sizemore. The Indians did not pick up his $9 Million option for 2012 as has been well documented all over. Most assumed, myself included, that Sizemore would suit up elsewhere next season, however, the Tribe veteran decided to stay home in Cleveland and show loyalty to the Indians that most of us fans have shown to him the last 7 years.

Off-Season Wahoo Notes: Free Agents Worth a Look

Who might the Indians go after in Free Agency

The off-season is off to a pretty slow start around the league, but as we all know the baseball off-season is more of a marathon than a sprint and free agent signings and trades tend to slowly develop as opposed to football where it all seems done in a day. The Indians did make an early splash in the Hot Stove by trading a minor league pitcher for veteran Right Handed starter Derek Lowe. Coming off of a bad season and playing for a team with a ton of young arms the Indians were able to get Lowe for a great price and the Braves were kind enough to pay for a large chunk of his salary. Lowe shores up the Tribe rotation and he will likely slot in 3rd behind Ubaldo Jimenez, Justin Masterson, and before Josh Tomlin and Fausto Carmona. The only downside there is that the Indians do not have a lefty starter. The Indians also made the decision to pick up Fausto’s option, understandably, going with who they think will bounce back in 2012 rather then risking an equal or greater amount of money on a free agent pitcher from a very weak market. The Indians also opted not to pick up the option for Grady Sizemore, making the one time face of the franchise a free agent. This must have been a tough move for the Tribe brass, but it was necassary.

Assessing LaPorta.. Again

Remember when LaPorta was a can't miss prospect...?

Yeah, so i’m trying this again. I love getting on here and writing about my favorite teams, it just seems like I always run out of time and don’t get in the groove. It isn’t going to stop me from trying again, I love it too much. It is like that early baseball season time where you get that itch to play again after you have been playing for years and years. Every time the season is about to start, I get that tingling feeling in my arm and hand wanting to grip a ball and fire a fastball to the catchers mitt. I get that same feeling when I’m on my computer, I just want to read and write all I can about the Cleveland teams. Upon returning, i am going to beat a very familiar drum. In the past i have been very critical of LaPorta’s run thus far with the Indians and I wrote an article prior to this year about how it was a make or break season for him with the Tribe. The once highly touted right handed power prospect has turned into one of the most futile regularly playing members of the Indians and of the whole league. he was recently sent down to AAA to make room for extra bullpen arms. That is how high the Indians organization is on LaPorta at the end of his 2nd full season up in the bigs. He is no longer a spring chicken, he is going to be 27 at the start of 2012, and he has received enough opportunity in the last few years to prove his worth, yet he has come up short each time. This make or break season has done a lot more breaking then making. 

Hunter Pence?

Will the Tribe emerge as players for the Astros' Hunter Pence?

It was recently reported that the Houston Astros are willing to trade their star outfielder Hunter Pence. As I heard this news I got all sorts of excited. Why you may ask? Well, simple. Right handed, great hitting, great fielding do it all outfielder. Indians needs? Right handed hitting outfielder. Perfect. If the Indians are going to be a serious contender now, and hopefully into the future, Pence is the guy they wanna get and lock up long terms.

Now may be the time for the Indians to pounce and pick up another star level player like Pence with Grady Sizemore looking like such a liability and the possibility that Shin Soo Choo wants too big of a deal or wants to walk, or the slim possibility his last two seasons may not be a sign of things to come.

Bring it On

Bring on the 2nd half. This was the longest All Star Break in recent memory for me, since, for once the Indians look like contenders in the division. With a 2nd half like the first half the Tribe could easily find themselves in position to win the division and play post season baseball. That concept has got me so excited that I cant wait for the game to start and signal the beginning of the 2nd half of the season.

Wahoo Notes 7/13

Asdrubal's defensive wizardry has been matched this year by offensive production

So once again I have found myself neglecting my duties to my blog, life can be crazy you know… But I’m not gonna complain about that stuff now, back to business. The Indians are in first place, almost at the All Star break now which gets more incredible every day. The surprising Indians keep on rolling, despite injuries and adversity. This post will more or less be a mid-year hitlist. Biggest surprise, biggest dissapointment, team mvp and lvp, and all those sorts of things. Lets get to it.