16 More Wins

Hello everyone. Here are some of my quick thoughts.

Cleveland Indians
-Man this team has gotten off to a bad start. 1-7 won't cut it. Pitching has really killed us as we have allowed an average of 8 runs a game. Cliff Lee has struggled to find his command as he is 0-2 with a 9.90 ERA, Fausto is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA, and Scott Lewis is on the DL.
-Travis Hafner has looked somewhat good so far, he has hit 3 HR and 6 RBI already. He looks like he cut some weight, and his swing is starting to come back. He is vital to our teams success.
-We need to get some legitimate starters in our rotation. Carl Pavano just isn't going to cut it, Lewis is hurt, and Reyes (your 5th starter) has the teams only win. Compare our pitching to the Rays rotation: Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine, James Shields, Scott Kazmir, and David Price. Look at the Red Sox: Dice K, Lester, Beckett, Bucholz, and Brad Penny. Yanks have CC, Burnett, Wang, and Pettitte. Do you really think our rotation matches up with these guys?
-Our hitting really hasn't been too big of a problem. I am excited to see some of our youngsters come up at play in the coming months.
-Eric Wedge's leash is starting to become tight, and he needs to start winning if he wants to keep his job. One year he has a good season, the next a bad one, this team flip flops too much. We need consistency, and our team is too good to be 1-7. This team has great potential, and they need to start playing like men.

Cleveland Browns
-I really have no idea what the Browns are going to do in the upcoming draft. They want "football players", I am not sure what you mean by that.
-At the #5 pick, we can go any different direction. WR Michael Crabtree, QB Mark Sanchez, LB Aaron Curry, OT Jason Smith, OT Eugene Monroe DE/LB Brian Orakpo are all names that have been mentioned.
-I think the Browns are trying to bait a team to trade for the #5 pick. I don't really believe LB Aaron Curry will be there, neither will OT Jason Smith, Orakpo isn't worth the 5th pick, if we don't trade Edwards we have no need for Crabtree. Where do we go?
-I believe the Browns want to trade down, and collect more draft picks. They don't want to pay a player #5 money, especially if that player does not fit a need. If we do trade down, pay attention to these names: DE Robert Ayers, OT Michael Oher, S Louis Delmas, LB's Rey Meualuga, Clay Matthews, and Brian Cushing and WR Jeremy Maclin. These are all guys that the Browns have brought in for workouts.
-The Browns should keep Brady Quinn. We haven't really seen much out of him, and I want to see him for a whole season before we trade him. He fits our short passing style very well, he is a competitor, and he doesn't make dumb mistakes.
-If the Browns are offered a 1st and 3rd for Braylon, they should trade him. He is unhappy here, he is in the final year of his contract, and he cannot catch a pass. We aren't going to be Super Bowl contenders, so you might as well trade away an unhappy player. Should we trade him, we should use our 5th pick on Crabtree, and depending on where the 1st round pick is, draft the best available LB or S. After that, go after an OT, S, RB, and LB.
-I will give a more extensive preview on the draft in a future blog.

Cleveland Cavaliers
-Congrats on getting homecourt gentlemen. It has been truly a great season, and we are 16 post- season wins away from a championship. If we don't win a championship, the season means nothing. LeBron talking about the heartbreaks we've had in Cleveland, and how it motivates the team is just awesome.
-Detroit will be a tough opponent in the first round, but I think we can handle them. PD's Brian Windhorst made a good point in that they have a rookie head coach in Michael Curry, crumbling team chemistry, no main scorer, and they run a very simple offense. The Pistons fell apart yesterday at home versus the Bulls. They needed to win that game to avoid playing the Cavs, and they didn't make it happen.
-According to RCF insiders, Ben Wallace should be ready for the playoffs this weekend. He is vital in our success, as he will give us a tough interior presence with our 2nd unit. When he came back, Wallace looked like he had fresh legs. He meshes will with the smooth inside/outside game of Joe Smith.
-The Cavs need to win game 1 at the Q, and game 3 in the Palace. By winning the first game, you establish yourself in the series, and its hard for a visiting team to win game 2. If you win the first away game, then the Pistons will just fold in game 4. My prediction Cavs in 5.
-This is going to be a very tough playoff run. We have to beat Detroit, Hawks/Heat, Celtics, and Lakers 4 times each to win the championship. My hope is the Lakers will get upset in the West, and the Cavs propel themselves to a championship against a weaker team (Nuggets).
-If the Cavs win every post season home game, we win a championship, its that simple.

We have a very exciting month coming up with the Browns draft, the Indians season in full swing, and the Cavs playoff run. I will do a Browns draft preview, some more Indians talk, and Cavs playoff thoughts. Thanks again for reading and go Cleveland!

-Raz