Lots of updates...

First order of business - the Cavaliers got themselves back on track with another blowout win at home, this time a 111-81 drubbing of the Bobcats (highlights). They found their shooting touch again, finishing at a tidy 60% from the floor and 50% from three point range (7-14). When the Cavs shoot like that I don't think there's a team on the planet that can beat them. I found myself at times last night wishing we could bottle that performance up and save it for Friday night. And I have to admit, the Cav Fanatic blue jerseys that they broke out for the game first puzzled me at first glance earlier this week, but then grew on me as the game wore on last night.

Boobie regained his shooting touch on his bobblehead night on Wednesday

So with the easy win the Cavs have now run their home record to a perfect 18-0. That sets things up for Friday night's huge home matchup with the Celtics. Boston has managed to lose 6 of their last 8 games, and with last night's win the Cavs are now the #1 seed in the East, a half-game ahead of Boston, and tied with the Lakers for the best record in the entire NBA. I don't want to get too worked up just 34 games into the season and with still two more matchups with the Celtics left prior to the playoffs... but you can't help but think that Friday night will have a special playoff-type feel to it. And it could go a long way toward deciding the all-important home court advantage this spring... unless you listen to ESPN's John Hollinger's latest predictions where he surmises that, "I don't think seeding will even matter -- because I doubt they'll play a seventh game while storming to the title." If that doesn't give you a couple goosebumps then you're not really a Cleveland fan. More on the big game vs. Boston tomorrow.

Browns Update: Since this is fairly significant news, I'm going to breach my own self-imposed ban of Browns talk to say that Eric Mangini has been hired as head coach of our Browns. All I can think is that I hope I'm not sitting here three years from now describing how Mangini was fired in yet again, another rebuilding phase for this franchise. For the collective sake of all of us, let's hope Rebuild #4 works out. Still no GM, but that's only a minor detail, right?

Tribe Update: As if not wanting to be left out of the sports buzz in Cleveland, the Tribe has also made some noise in the past week. They traded for their third baseman, Mark DeRosa from the Cubs. They also signed free agent pitcher Carl Pavano to a contract. Pavano has a scary injury history and was extremely disappointing in New York so I don't know what to think of him. And DeRosa is by all reports a great clubhouse guy and a solid player. And we didn't have to give Casey Blake a 3-year $11M contract like the Dodgers did. Casey's a great guy and all, but yikes. There are so many financial problems in the MLB today, it's just plain scary.

And if you were wondering, Mark Shapiro is happy his brother-in-law is in town.

40 Days Left

Only 40 days left until sports enjoyment can officially resume in Cleveland. Or at least that's what I'm hoping. But until the Browns begin their season on September 7th, we're probably going to have to deal with a few more bad weekends like the one the Tribe had this past weekend. And in what seems like typical fashion this season, I tuned in just in time to see the bad stuff and missed the few good things that did happen.

On Friday I skipped the entire Indians game (in favor of the outstanding Foo Fighters show at the Q) and missed the lone victory of the series, a 5-4 triumph over the Twins. In that game Cliff Lee notched his 14th victory (even if Masa Kobayashi did his best to try to ruin things) and dropped his ERA to a stellar 2.29. The win also marked the Tribe's first division win in 8 tries. Ouch.

So feeling better about the team's recent play and with not much else to do while burning the summer away (it's going WAY too fast) I attended the game on Saturday, eager to see Fausto Carmona's return to the rotation. Well, it didn't last long and it was brutally painful. 2-1/3 innings pitched, 7 hits, 3 walks, and 9 earned runs are all you need to know about the 11-4 loss. I guess this sort of thing should be expected when a guy returns after being out that long. But with the way this season has gone for the Tribe I half-expect Fausto to be put back on the DL for the rest of the year...

Then yesterday's game... I forgot they were even playing and was out and about yesterday when my wife reminded me to flip on the radio as we were driving. Just as I tuned to 1100 AM I hear Tom Hamilton say, "and Sowers has gone 5 perfect innings", and right then I knew it was over. Of course the next Twins batter hit a double and it was all downhill from that point. The Indians ended up losing 4-2 after Justin Morneau got the game-winning RBI off closer candidate #956, Rafael Perez. By the way, Morneau is now hitting .350 against the Tribe this year with 7 extra base hits and 10 RBI. Yikes. Like I said, only 40 more days until Browns football.

All Tribe fans should rejoice now that this man has left town

Other Tribe Updates: Well, Casey Blake was finally dealt on Saturday. That one was bittersweet for me. I love what Blake has done this year and appreciated all his hard work over the years. I wish him nothing but success wherever his career takes him. He ended up going to the Dodgers in exchange for right-hander Jonathan Meloan and catcher Carlos Santana (maybe he will prove to be a better guitar player than Ben Broussard?). In another minor deal, the Tribe acquired pitching prospect Anthony Reyes for hard-throwing right-hander, Luis Perdomo. Terry Pluto calls the deal a "decent gamble" so I'll take his word for it. The Indians face the Tigers tonight at the Prog to start a four-game series. Paul Byrd will be on the mound for perhaps the final time for the good guys...

Cavs Update: Hoopsworld.com got an exclusive interview over the weekend with Danny Ferry. Not much new to report, but I thought I'd pass along what Ferry had to say.

"I like our team very much," said Ferry, "But we're looking at every possibility. I think we helped ourselves in the Draft this year, we'll look at the free-agent situation if there's opportunities there and trades as well."

Browns Update: Camp continues in Berea, with no devastating injuries yet (keep your fingers crossed). There was a nice piece on veteran wide receiver Kevin Kasper today. And also some updates on our favorite backup QB and punt/kick returner. And don't forget, Monday is chat day with the PD's Tony Grossi. There's always some good stuff in those podcasts.

Curb your enthusiasm?

No, I'm not talking about Larry David's HBO masterpiece. I'm referring to the need for us as Browns fans to keep our excitement in check. But damn it, with the lost summer courtesy of the Tribe it's just impossible. This city's thirst for a title is so unquenched that a 10-6 team that just missed the playoffs has us chanting "Super Bowl!" during the first two days of training camp. And obviously, Cleveland has always been a football-first town, which helps ramp things up during training camp anyway. So optimism is now in full swing and I have no choice but to dive in too and soak it all in.

DA spending some time with fans on Day 2 of training camp

K2 has vowed to not be a distraction and so far is living up to his word. This is good news and I think the guy still takes a lot of heat from some fans for things he said when he was a young, dumb kid in college. And obviously the motorcycle incident was a complete bonehead move. But the way he has handled himself since then has been exemplary. I'm glad he's a Cleveland Brown and can't wait to see him catching everything thrown his way again this season.

"I'm sure [the media] thought I wasn't coming, but I'm not that type of guy," Winslow said. "I don't want to be a distraction. My job is to just help this team win and come out here and play to the best of my ability."

Tony Grossi reports that Ryan Tucker is getting healthy and itching to return. I think one of the most amazing things about Phil Savage's reign so far as Browns GM is the fact that we aren't devastated by Tucker's hip injury. He has built such depth on the offensive line that Tucker doesn't have to be rushed back and a guy like Rex Hadnot can be plugged in and the line won't miss a beat. That's what happens on winning football teams and is something we have been waiting for as Browns fans since the new incarnation of this franchise.

One of my favorite parts of the start of football season is Peter King's annual "Postcards from Training Camp" series. Yesterday he gave us his thoughts on the 2008 Browns. He did correctly predict Jamal Lewis's huge year last summer, so let's hope he's right this year about the Rogers/Williams combo helping to shut down the run. And if nothing else, we know our chefs are some of the best in the league. King's visit also hinted at a possible SI cover story featuring the Browns. Let's hope the SI cover curse doesn't hit this town again...

Tribe Update: Just a couple things to note today... apparently the team has 'rebounded emotionally' from the C.C. Sabathia trade. Let's just hope that translates to more wins on the field. And the Mets may be interested in a trade for Casey Blake.

The Indians return to action tonight at the Prog against the Minnesota Twins, with Cliff Lee going against that bastard Livan Hernandez (remember the '97 World Series?).

Cavs Update: Not much to report today, just a strange story about the possibility of Delonte West heading to Russia. I doubt this has any legs and I'm hoping it's just a negotiating ploy from West's agent. He doesn't have much leverage as a restricted free agent so we'll see how this plays out.

Back in action

To the faithful readers out there, I apologize for slacking yesterday. I took a day off and enjoyed some fun at Cedar Point in Sandusky. For those of you that have never been there, or maybe have been there but haven't tried out Top Thrill Dragster, I highly recommend it. The best way I can describe it is an experience where you almost crap your pants and have an orgasm at the same time. Just standing there watching it is intimidating as it accelerates to 120 mph and ascends straight up to 420 feet, and then straight back down again for the 17 second ride of your life. It gives you that nervous/sick feeling in your stomach just waiting in line to ride it (very reminiscent of the feeling I had watching Joe Borowski warm up during last year's playoff run). But I digress.

My day away from the TV and computer did allow me to avoid the pitching mockery on display by the Tribe yesterday. All I know is that they lost 14-11(!), Grady Sizemore hit another home run, and Aaron Laffey has been mystifyingly bad in his last two starts. Oh, and Tom Mastny is still not good (1-1/3 innings, 4 earned runs, and a 14.90 ERA). I've harped on it here before, so I guess I will again today - the 2008 Cleveland Indians are just awful during the day this year (10-19). And in weekday 'getaway' games they are even worse. By my own unofficial count they are now 0-6 on the year, being outscored 40-25 in such games. And there are still four more of them left on the schedule, which gives me another dumb reason to keep following the year of futility. Ugh.

The sun is shining, so chalk up another Tribe loss

Thankfully the Tribe will be given a day of rest today to travel back home. They will resume play tomorrow night at the Prog for a three-game set with the Minnesota Twins. At this point I just want to see us embrace the role of spoiler in the Central and try to make things difficult for both Minnesota and Chicago. And of course end up ahead of the lowly Royals. Yes, I'm now inventing reasons to keep watching.

In other Indians news, Shin-Soo Choo owes his country something. And as we've been speculating for a while, Casey Blake appears to be on the trading block. Also, the bullpen will likely undergo an overhaul before next season.

Browns Update: In more hopeful news, the Browns did finally begin training camp yesterday morning in Berea. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for no devastating knee injuries, resulting staph infections, or any of the other problems that seem to have plagued training camps of the past. Officially, both Joe Jurevicius and Ryan Tucker were placed on the active PUP list. The Browns have until first roster cuts (August 26th) to decide their status for the start of the season. Even with the injury to Jurevicius, Braylon Edwards is ready for the huge expectations this season. But I'm not sure even he was ready for the 'Super Bowl' chants heard on Wednesday.

Can K2 and the rest of the Browns live up to the massive expectations?

''Around here for a long time there were no expectations. We're glad people have some confidence in us, and we're going to try to prove worthy of those expectations.'' - Romeo Crennel

Bill Livingston and Bud Shaw give their thoughts on all the optimism in Berea. And Tony Grossi will check in today at noon for a training camp chat.

Cavs Update: J.J. Hickson continues to receive positive reviews, writes the ABJ's Pat McManamon. And LeBron almost gave me a heart attack last night when I read that he sprained his ankle (thankfully only a 'mild' sprain). Now he is guaranteeing gold in Beijing and I think he will deliver. And finally, Bob Finnan gives us a Delonte West update.

Can this Byrd still fly?

Maybe I was wrong about Paul Byrd. Perhaps he still has a little bit left in the old tank. I've been hoping for a start like this from him for a while, for my own selfish reasons. Last night's outing wasn't pretty (with him they rarely are) but it was effective. Byrd went 5-1/3 innings and got the win as the Tribe beat the Angels 5-2. This is now the Indians' 7th win in their last 8 games after their horrendous 10-game slide. And this one ended a five-game winning streak for the best team in baseball.

"Every inning was a battle," Byrd said. "It was just one of those nights where nothing came easy... I flirted with disaster all night, and somehow came out on top. Rarely do I pitch well against teams I play for, so it's just nice to beat the Angels."

This game featured some rarities worth noting. First, Andy Marte hit another home run and got a single. That gives him a whopping 2HR and 3RBI on the year. But if you dig deeper into his game log, you'll find that this was his fourth multi-hit game since July 5. So maybe the increased playing time has made him more comfortable at the plate. And if that's the case, I guess I can see why Eric Wedge is so hesitant to move Jhonny Peralta (another HR for him last night) to third right now. So Ryan Garko will continue to be the odd man out, unless Casey Blake is moved before the deadline.

The other rarity from last night was Masa Kobayashi's 1-2-3 9th inning for the save. I don't have any statistics at my disposal (actually I don't really know where to look), but I'd venture to guess that there haven't been many 1-2-3 9th inning saves for the Tribe at all this year. In fact, the bullpen has saved only 16 of their 42 wins (38%) this year (compared to 49 of 96, or 51%, last year). But Kobayashi is now 4-of-6 in save opportunities and hopefully he can continue to get an extended look in the closer's role for the Tribe.

Maybe there will still be a trade market for Byrd, who fought hard on Monday night

Other Tribe Notes: Good news from the injury front - Fausto Carmona is expected to make his return on Saturday against the Twins. And Mark Shapiro has some options in free agency this winter, but how likely is he to pursue them? He also needs to determine which player will be the final piece of the CC trade.

Browns Update: Less than 24 hours until training camp opens and no news is good news. But here's a handy guide to camp in Berea. And the Browns have somehow dropped from #9 to #10 in espn.com's NFL power rankings, without even playing a game or holding a practice yet. Those rankings frustrate me to no end, yet I still look at them regularly.

Cavs Update: Not really breaking news, but LeBron James continues to be an all-around good guy. And he shares some thoughts on the 2008 Olympic team.

"Four years ago, I wasn't put in the position I could care. I didn't get to go out and play the way I could," James said. "This time I'm a captain and I know we are going to be a very tough team to beat."

Back in action

At last, the Tribe will be back on the field again tonight in Seattle. I'm very curious to see how they will perform in the second half of the season. If I'm Eric Wedge, the one goal I'm setting for this team is to get back to the .500 mark by the end of the season. With 68 games remaining, that means they would need to go 40-28 (a .588 clip) the rest of the way. Given the way they've performed so far this year, that may seem like a lofty expectation. But with less pressure, hopefully a more stable roster, and maybe, just maybe some guys returning off the DL (namely Victor Martinez and Fausto Carmona... I'm not really expecting anything from Hafner's bum shoulder this year), the team might start to look more like the AL Central champs of 2007.

But with the trade deadline approaching, there may still be some changes coming. As I noted yesterday afternoon, Asdrubal Cabrera was called back up from Buffalo and will join the team for tonight's game in Seattle. He was able to correct himself at the plate in AAA, hitting .326 (46-for-141). I still expect to see Casey Blake traded to a team in contention before the deadline so that could cause some re-shuffling in the infield. If Blake is indeed moved, then I would really look at DH'ing Jhonny Peralta, moving Cabrera to shortstop (his natural position), taking an extended look at Andy Marte at third, keeping Jamey Carroll at second (damn that Barfield injury and Phillips trade), and getting Garko back to regular time at first. This way you can look toward 2009 to really see what these guys can do.

And before next season, I'd be completely open to bringing Blake back on a smaller contract. He's a great clubhouse guy, a decent hitter, and a very versatile guy on defense. He'd be an ideal utility player for probably a couple more years. But we'll see how everything plays out over the next couple weeks. Terry Pluto also has a plan for the second half, with an eye towards the 2009 season.

Will Casey be dealt before the deadline?

Browns Update: Yesterday Phil Savage confirmed that Joe Jurevicius will likely start the season on the PUP list, meaning he will miss the first 6 weeks (five games) of the season. At this point I'm just hoping he is able to make it back to the field in what will likely be his final season in the NFL. Jurevicius was huge for the team last year, especially on third down, where he so often kept the chains moving with big catches. Get well soon JJ.

''We're obviously very concerned about Joe's situation,'' Savage said. ''It's been very frustrating for everybody. Every time he's taken a step forward it's been two steps back."

Cavs Update: Not really an update on the Cavaliers, but an interesting story about ousted PD Cavs beat writer Branson Wright. He was definitely not one of my favorite writers, and the biggest newspaper in the state owes it to the team and its fan base to get someone better in there. (Pssst... I will work for much less than you paid him. All I require is a cushy chair courtside at the Q and a laptop.)

The Cavs summer league team will also be in action again tonight at 8:00 in Las Vegas against the Wizards. You can catch the action on NBATV or for free here if you're bored on a Friday night. I promise I won't tell anyone...

Another Walk-Off Loss

The Tribe's brutal three-game series in Chicago concluded fittingly last night on Masa Kobayashi's first pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning. When the ball finally landed in the bleachers in left center field, the White Sox were again dancing on the field and the few Indians left sitting in the dugout were probably wondering how many more games were left in this miserable season. The bright spot for me is that we are so buried now that I don't really concern myself with the outcome of these games anymore. I used to get pissed - now I'm just indifferent. It makes me wonder how many players on the roster feel the same way about this season...

The White Sox are surely sad to see the Indians leave town

This is now five straight losses for the defending AL Central champs. They find themselves a full game behind Kansas City for sole possession of last place (if anyone still cares out there). At this point I'm hoping that a little pride will kick in. At least enough to stay out of last place for the duration of this season. Grady Sizemore did add two more homers last night... of course they were both solo shots, but now I'm just nitpicking. Today's off-day will likely be a big one for the team, with the front office and manager discussing plans for the rest of the season.

I think I've made my ideas sort of well-known here about the current state of the Tribe. But here's what I would lay out today if I were part of those meetings:

1) Move Jhonny Peralta to third base... it's more likely his natural position now with his lack of range at shortstop.
2) Bring back Asdrubal Cabrera and plug him in at shortstop. This is also his natural position and with the season already over there will be less pressure on him to hit in the big leagues. Time to see what the future holds at shortstop.
3) This obviously means that Casey Blake needs to be traded. He is a free agent at the end of the year and likely not in the team's long-term plans. He's a great guy and I appreciate everything he's done for this team. He can help a team in the playoff hunt and I think he would bring back a prospect or two in a trade, especially given his versatility (he can play basically any position).
4) Other players I'd look to trade (no surprises here) - CC Sabathia, Paul Byrd, Joe Borowski, David Dellucci. Obviously CC is the big prize here. I would wait until the deadline and really see how desperate teams get for him. And I'm not expecting much in return for the other three, but I'd take anything at this point.

There are probably lots of other moves to be made but it's hurting my brain right now thinking that this is the same team that was one win away from the World Series just 9 months ago. Hopefully today begins the discussion to take the necessary steps to get this team back there.

Maybe?

Maybe the Tribe needed a 13-9 softball-type slugfest like last night vs. the Rangers to right the ship? Or maybe it's just an anomaly against a bad pitching staff in a hitter's ballpark. Either way it was fun to finally see the offense make some noise last night and pick up Aaron Laffey when he had a rare bad outing. It was one of those nights for the Indians at the plate - 4 HR's, 4 doubles, 16 hits in all, and 7 RBI by Casey Blake (all before the end of the 4th inning!). They actually raised the team batting average three points with last night's performance - still a paltry .236, but I'll take any type of progress at this point. Blake had two home runs and Ben Francisco and David Dellucci added the others.

Hopefully things can start rolling now but it will be even more difficult to keep the momentum going tonight, as Jake Westbrook has been put on the 15-day DL. To make matters worse, Tom Mastny gets the start tonight for the Tribe, since Jeremy Sowers just pitched for AAA Buffalo on Sunday. Jensen Lewis was also called back up today to help in the bullpen. Let's hope the bats can stay warm because I have a feeling they will really be needed in this one...

Casey was all over the bases on Monday night on his way to 7 RBI

Cavs Update: LeBron James was just named the #3 earner in pro sports over the past year, behind only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. All this in the dinky little godforsaken market known as Cleveland. Here's to hoping that he sees that market size does not matter and he will stay home in June of 2010. We need you LeBron... just look how much you mean to this city: www.lebron2010.com (brought to you by the great Glen Infante of RCF fame).

Finally, a walk-off winner

Wow, last night's Tribe game was painful for 11 innings, but ultimately they got the job done. Paul Byrd pitched 7-2/3 strong scoreless innings and left with the Tribe up 1-0. Raffy Lefty (Perez) came in and got out of the 8th with the lead still intact. But Raffy Righty (Betancourt) gave up a leadoff single to Ichiro Suzuki and you could just see that he would somehow score to tie it in the ninth.

I won't go into all the details, but the Indians had many chances to win it in the 9th, 10th, and 11th. They were a staggeringly bad 2-for-10 with the bases loaded in the series. But FINALLY, Asdrubal Cabrera singled home Franklin Gutierrez with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 11th for the walk-off win. The Tribe is now 7-3 in their last 10 and only 1.5 games out of first. Notable in this game is the shake-up in the batting order - Casey Blake moved up to the 2-hole, David Dellucci to #3, and Travis Hafner was dropped down to 6th. Hafner did respond with two doubles so hopefully he is finally finding his way out of this slump.

Now the dilemma tonight - we have tickets to see the Tribe vs. the Royals. But the Cavaliers face the Wizards in Game 6 at the same time. I guarantee if we end up going to the Tribe game that the Cavaliers will play well and close out the series. And if we don't go, there will surely be a Game 7 on Sunday. So do I opt to watch the game at the Batter's Eye bar in right field? It will kill me, but I may just have to take one for the fans of Cleveland. More later on this difficult decision.

Cabrera finally broke through in the 11th and was mobbed by his teammates

There is a 'W' in Sabathia

It took 5 starts, but Carsten Charles Sabathia finally earned his first victory of the season last night, pitching 6 shutout innings and allowing only 4 hits while notching 11 strikeouts. This was much needed from the big fella and a welcome sight for all Tribe fans. And to double our pleasure, the offense decided to make a rare appearance too.

The final tally was 15-1 (damn you Jensen Lewis!) as the bats worked for a season-high in runs and hits (17). The highlights for me were, of course, Casey Blake's grand slam and Franklin Gutierrez's 2-out bases loaded double that scored three. And I must mention that David Dellucci did put together a very nice night at the plate, going 2-5 with a HR. His average is up to .275, so maybe I'll have to lay off him for a little while.

The only low spot in the game for me was Travis Hafner going 0-5 to drop his average to .213. He needs to turn it around too, but the good news is he still has 142 games left on the season. Hardly a time to panic. Let's hope the bats have some hits left in them tonight as Fausto Carmona takes to the hill.

Casey did his part to help the slumbering offense, hitting a grand slam on Tuesday night

Lee Shines Again

Cliff Lee is quickly making a believer out of me this year. He looks like a new man on the mound. He went a very solid 8 innings last night, surrendering only 2 hits to go along with 8 strikeouts and only one walk as the Tribe shutout the Minnesota Twins 4-0. For the season Lee has now gone 22-2/3 innings, collecting 20 strikeouts compared to only 3 walks. His ERA is now a sparkling 0.40. Incredible. I laughed when I heard people saying he could be the difference-maker this year for this pitching staff. So far he has been the glue holding it together, and has surpassed anyone's reasonable expectations.

So the Tribe has now won 2 in a row for the first time since the season opening series vs. the White Sox. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Casey Blake provided all the offense we needed last night, driving in 3 runs with a single and a solo home run. I'm a little concerned that Travis Hafner sat this one out with a "sore shoulder." We'll see how long this problem lingers...

Cliff Lee is making doubters (like me) eat crow in '08