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In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the month “May, 2013”

30 May 2013

Are there any players Cleveland fans would not root for?

When the New York Yankees traded for Roger Clemens in 1999, Yankee fans were faced with a dilemma:

How do you root for a player that you despised when they played for a rival team?

Mike Lupica, writing in The New York Daily News, came up with the perfect phrase for Yankee fans to justify embracing Clemens through his steroid-aided years in the Bronx – Clemens was a player who was now “our guy, their jerk.”

We were reminded of that last week when the Cleveland Indians were in Boston playing the Red Sox. During Thursday night’s game, David Ortiz hit a no-doubt home run off of Zach McCallister and stood at home plate admiring his work (as batters are wont to do). That led friend of the program Brian McPeek to criticize Ortiz with this tweet.

29 May 2013

Wheels are starting to fly off the Tribe’s party bus

What a difference a week makes for the Cleveland Indians.

The Tribe headed into last week’s two-game series with Detroit riding high, winners of 18 of their past 22 games following a four-game sweep of Seattle that, while entertaining, sent up enough warning signs that the Tribe was living on borrowed time. The Indians were also in first place, 2.5 games in front of the Tigers.

Now, after seven losses in their past eight games, including five in a row, some of the shine has rubbed off Francona Ball. The Tribe comes home tonight for a two-game series with Cincinnati, 2.5 games behind the Tigers and once again nursing a Detroit hangover.

Posted in Cleveland Indians and tagged Cleveland Indians | Leave a comment

27 May 2013

1 Comment

Do the numbers really reflect Trent Richardon’s value?

From the moment that he separated Philadelphia safety Kurt Coleman from his helmet in Week 1 of the 2012 season, Trent Richardson has been the kind of player that Cleveland Browns fans can get behind.

Even though injuries – including two broken ribs that he played with for nine games – limited his performance, Richardson still rushed for 11 touchdowns and 950 yards, giving fans hope that the best is yet to come.

But according to an analysis of rookie running backs by Cold Hard Football Facts, that may not be the case.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Trent Richardson and tagged Cleveland Browns, Trent Richardson

26 May 2013

Apparently everything in Cleveland sports is now a “thing”

Things are never really normal in the Cleveland sports world, but lately it seems like it’s even more abnormal than usual around here.

Apparently it is no longer enough to watch the games and then discuss (or write) about what happened on the field – it seems that now everything must be turned into a thing.

From debates over why fans are not going to see the first place (for now) Cleveland Indians play – the Tribe is still in last place in the majors in attendance even though Miami draws like 25 fans a game – to an unnatural infatuation with the Cleveland Browns third-string quarterback (did you hear that Brian Hoyer is from Cleveland?), arguments and hurt feelings have become the norm.

We just never thought the Cavs winning the NBA Draft lottery would turn into one of those things.

To find out what we’re talking about, head over to The Cleveland Fan.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland sports, NBA draft and tagged Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland sports, NBA Draft | Leave a comment

25 May 2013

3 Comments

Why is Jason Giambi on the Tribe’s roster exactly?

We knew the numbers were bad.

We just didn’t know they were that bad.

We’re talking, of course, about Cleveland Indians designated hitter Jason Giambi.

After Friday night’s 0-for-4 performance against Boston, Giambi is now batting .150 on the season. But wait, there’s more! During the month of May, Giambi has three hits total in 32 at bats. (h/t to Rick at WFNY for pointing out that fun little nugget during the game on Twitter.)

Despite it being pretty clear that Giambi is done as a player, Tribe manager Terry Francona keeps putting his name on the lineup card for reasons that remain a puzzle to fans.

Posted in Cleveland Indians and tagged Cleveland Indians, Jason Giambi

22 May 2013

1 Comment

Cavs win top pick in NBA draft lottery

The balls bounced the right way Tuesday night and the Cleveland Cavaliers gained the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA Draft for the second time in three years.

Now it is up to general manager Chris Grant to not screw this up. This is allegedly a “weak draft,” but the experts said the same thing in 2011 and the Cavs walked away with Kyrie Irving, so all the Cavs need to do is find the one player that can make a difference and then it doesn’t matter what happens with the rest of the draft.

The Cavs also control their own destiny as now they don’t have to worry about anyone jumping in front of them or hoping that a particular players falls to them later in the draft.

Grant is also open to using the No. 1 overall pick to its full advantage.

“You want to look at all your options and make the best decision for your team,” he told ESPN. “This is a valuable asset that we can add to the group, whether it’s in trade or keep it and add a player. For us, it’s wide open. A number of these guys are injured, so there’s still an enormous amount of due diligence that’s got to be done.

One word of advice to Grant: if the phone rings and his caller ID shows “Mike Lombardi” he should probably not pick up. Don’t want to get any crazy ideas about trading away this year’s draft picks for a supposedly better furture down the road.

(Photo by The Associated Press)

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA draft and tagged Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA Draft

21 May 2013

Do the Cavs have any luck left?

While there is no one “correct” way to build a championship-caliber team in the NBA, there is one element that all title-winning teams have in common: the element of luck.

If Portland had drafted Michael Jordan instead of Sam Bowie, the Chicago Bulls would not have won six titles. If Jordan hadn’t been suspended (oops, “decided to play baseball”), Houston would not have two championship banners hanging in their arena. If David Robinson doesn’t miss all but six games in the 1996-97 season, the San Antonio Spurs are probably not in a position to draft Tim Duncan in the 1997 NBA Draft.

Well, you get the point. And that brings us to the Cleveland Cavaliers and tonight’s NBA Draft lottery.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA draft and tagged Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA Draft | Leave a comment

20 May 2013

Tribe keeps holding out for a hero

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ’til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong, he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero

Another day, another improbable win from the Cleveland Indians, who apparently don’t remember what it’s like to lose a game.

On Monday it was Yan Gomes, who hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th (yeah, like everyone saw that one coming) to lift the Tribe over Seattle. It was the Indians 18th win in their last 22 games, their fifth consecutive victory, their first four-game sweep of Seattle since 1981 and the third time in the four-game series that they beat the Mariners in their final at-bat.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the last time the Tribe had three walk-off wins in a four-day span was 1992 against Kansas City. In that series against the Royals, Carlos Baerga had a 14th-inning sacrifice fly, Junior Ortiz had a game-winning single and Baerga had a walk-off home run.

Posted in Cleveland Indians and tagged Cleveland Indians, Terry Francona, Yan Gomes | Leave a comment

19 May 2013

Where does Liverpool go from here?

Liverpool ended the Premier League season on Sunday with a 1-0 win over relegated Queens Park Rangers.

The Reds close out Brendan Rodgers’ first season in charge in seventh place in the league table with 61 points. That represents a nine-point improvement over last year’s finish and the club’s highest point total in three years.

With the season now in the books, the fourth consecutive year without a spot in the Champions League, the question becomes what will the squad look like when they return in August for the new campaign.

Posted in Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool and tagged Brendan Rodgers, Jamie Carragher, Liverpool | Leave a comment

15 May 2013

Would dropping Chief Wahoo hurt the Tribe in the wallet?

As the debate ebbs and flows over whether or not the Cleveland Indians should drop Chief Wahoo as their logo, a look at what has happened when other teams have made the decision reveals an interesting fact: teams that make the switch may not see a negative impact on their financial bottom line.

The Emory Sports Marketing Analytics project analyzed the impact on universities that changed their American Indian name or mascot and found that, for the most part, the switch away from an American Indian mascot results in positive financial returns over the long run. The switch also has no long-term impact on a team’s brand equity.

Posted in Chief Wahoo, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians and tagged Chief Wahoo, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Josh Cribbs | Leave a comment

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