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Two games with completely different meanings tonight. The Browns (and I use that term loosely) take on the Chicago Bears in their final preseason game. While this game is often little else than a fight for roster spots 50-53, at least we are told the rookies will play a little more than usual tonight in order to gain reps against other competition.

For Ohio State this one counts. No more Scarlett and Gray scrimmages or weird scoring systems to determine if the offense or defense ‘won’. The scoreboard will take care of that tonight, and the folks in Columbus will be partying a bit harder I bet than their counterparts in Cleveland.

Here is your open thread for tonight. Remember the commenting policy please.

One of the things I like most about Shin-Soo Choo is that so much of his value seems to fly under the radar.  Because he’s not likely to lead the league in batting average or home runs or RBI, a lot of people don’t quite understand the sort of contribution that he brings to a club.  Couple that with a last place team, and it’s easy to forget just how good a player he is.

So let’s look at a few stats that I think do a pretty good job of estimating Choo’s contributions to his team.  You’ll remember that wOBA does a nice job of taking all the things that a batter can do and assigning a number to his performance; it’s basically a better version of OPS.  But, much like OPS, wOBA is a raw number that doesn’t account for playing time.  We all know that a player with a .900 OPS is good, but if he only had a few at bats, we’re likely not going to be all that impressed.

The Buckeyes won the recruiting battle when they landed Terrelle Pryor out of Pennsylvania.  After Pryor held a couple of schools hostage, it made it much easier for many of the losing schools to feel like maybe they dodged a bullet in not landing such an ego-maniac.  Getting top recruits is a mixed blessing.  On the one hand, they are top recruits because they have talent that exceeds that of their peers.  That talent also frequently leads to bloated egos and senses of entitlement that also exceeds that of their peers.  As an Ohio State fan it isn’t something you generally worry too much about because you count on Jim Tressel to be able to manage that and get through to kids.  As the Buckeyes head into their third year with Terrelle Pryor, they are going to need Terrelle Pryor to live up to the hype of his talent and also take a giant step forward in terms of maturity.

We’re turning that final corner. Rounding third and heading home. Just trying to escape this post with no major injuries (with the speed at which Scott types, a hand injury is always a concern). Seriously, though, this game is all about one thing: STAYING HEALTHY.

It’s going to be tough to really go deep on things we want to see, as we can’t really expect a ton of playing time for the starters in this game, and I suspect most people will be more interested in what the gentlemen wearing scarlet shirts and gray helmets will be doing. But, that doesn’t mean this game will be devoid of things to watch for. So what are we, your intrepid WFNY commentators, watching for tonight? Let’s find out.

What We’re Watching For:

I’m keeping the same lead from yesterday’s post, given the fact that Corey Kluber was coming up and making his first start: heading down the stretch, it’s been a guessing game about what kind of start Columbus will get from its pitching. Part of that has to do with rotation mainstays—such as Josh Tomlin and Jeanmar Gomez, now followed by Carlos Carrasco—heading to Cleveland to be replaced by young guys from Akron. Part of it has to do with an unpredictable offense.

On Tuesday it was a slow start on offense. Last night, it was not having any realistic expectations for Kluber, who henceforth in this space will be called Marky Mark. Say hello to your mother for me! Marky Mark had a tough task: take over the rotation spot held (admirably, of late) by Carlos Carrasco who was on to Cleveland and looking sharp, no thanks to Justin Germano. Add that onto the pressure of being acquired in a big trade this summer, and it was possibly a recipe for struggle for Kluber. But after literally hitting the first batter he faced—and with some timely hitting from The Funky Bunch—Marky Mark felt the vibrations and held Indianapolis to one run through six innings.

The three game series with the Chicago White Sox turned into a house of horrors pretty much from the first inning of Monday night’s game. It all came to a head yesterday afternoon after the Indians bullpen blew up for the third consecutive time.

Its such a shame too. Carlos Carrasco, making his season debut for the Tribe, spun an absolute gem. The right-hander had pitched into the eighth with a lead and had the White Sox bats baffled all game. He was hitting 95 on the gun consistently, mixing in a change-up and a breaking pitch. This was the top rated prospect the Indians hoped they were getting in the Cliff Lee trade.

“Too bad we couldn’t hold it for him at the end,” said manager Manny Acta.

That’s the real shame of the day. The Indians bullpen has been pretty solid the majority of the year. Certainly they have been much better than the previous two years. But in this series, they reverted back to last year’s bullpen from Hell part deux.

The Cleveland Indians were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs long ago.  Staying out of the American League gutter by a matter of percentage points, the team is playing some of the worst baseball of the entire season, producing a league worst seven of their last 10 games.

Following Wednesday’s loss to the Chicago White Sox (which will most definitely be recapped in a little bit), Manny Acta had the following to say about the level of baseball that is being endured by the Indians fans in Cleveland.

“I know it’s tough on the fans out there, but it’s tougher than us,” he said.  “We are the ones in the dugout teaching these guys on an everyday basis.”

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com

Testing out the Ewing Theory with this year’s Cavaliers: “So how will the team actually perform with this huge season on the horizon? Well, as I already mentioned, many experts in the national media have them picked to only win 20 or so games. Brian Windhorst recently added his two cents, claiming that he expects the Cavaliers as is to win between 38-42 games. The Numbers Don’t predictions ranged from 25-38 wins thanks to four different opinions and Smooth’s data analysis projects 35 wins based on WP (wins produced) with this current roster. Needless to say, as is usually the case, local fans and media are noticeably more optimistic than those outside of Cleveland regarding the Cavaliers’ upcoming challenges.” [Numbers Don't]

With the 2010 Ohio State season set to kick off Thursday evening, the Big Ten is setting the stage a day early by formally announcing the divisional set-up that will take place starting in 2011. 

ESPN is reporting that the addition of Nebraska into the Big Ten fold will allow the conference to be split into the following divisions:

The Browns finished the 2009 season at 5-11 after winning their last 4 games against teams 14 games under .500. This season the Browns haven’t gotten much love from the national media, and Vegas has placed the over/under on games won at 5.5 for the Browns. Today’s roundtable question is simple- over or under 5.5 wins for the Browns and why…

Craig: I will take the over, but just by a little. I had the over/under at 6 in my mind coming into this season just based on the win streak to end last year. After watching what the offense is capable of in the pre-season, I think it is due a slight increase. The Browns have a difficult schedule, but the additions of Jake Delhomme, Ben Watson and Peyton Hillis seem significant. The improvement of players like Mohamed Massoquai, Brian Robiskie, and Josh Cribbs could really put this team over the top. Well, over the top of the 5.5 game over/under anyway.

Heading down the stretch, it’s been a guessing game about what kind of start Columbus will get from its pitching. Part of that has to do with rotation mainstays—such as Josh Tomlin and Jeanmar Gomez, now followed by Carlos Carrasco—heading to Cleveland to be replaced by young guys from Akron. Part of it has to do with an unpredictable offense.

It looked to be the latter during the early portion of the Clippers’ tilt with Indianapolis last night, as 24-year-old right-hander Paolo Espino made his sixth AAA start. Espino was solid early, working around a walk and a single in the first inning and breezing through the second inning unscathed. But, his offense didn’t get a base runner until the third inning. Espino gave up a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the third, and the way the offense was scuffling early it looked like he might be on the short-end.

Manny Ramirez was in the on-deck circle last night when A.J. Pierzynski hit a bomb to nail down a victory for the Chicago White Sox.  Manny was quickly yanked off the field as he was no longer needed to deliver a hit in his first game as a member of the White Sox.  Yes, Manny Ramirez returned to Cleveland last night as a member of the White Sox!  Did you hear?  He was going to play and then he didn’t!  I felt a lot of this kind of excited sentiment last night from Indians fans, and I couldn’t figure out why.

Don’t get me wrong.  I have really loved writing about Manny Ramirez over the years.  For me it is a personal story as I lived through the Manny Ramirez / Jeff Moorad free agency circus while living in Boston.  I also love to talk about it as it relates to the failing business of baseball between the haves and have nots.  For me though, it is a topic that lives in the past.  I can still get worked up over it based on that, but in the present day I couldn’t possibly care less about Manny Ramirez or what he might be able to do at the plate for the White Sox against this version of the triple-a Tribe that is tossed on the field every night.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.  The Indians’ offense struggles for most of the game—down three runs heading into their last at bat.  They rally to come back, but ultimately fall short, losing a game to Ozzie Guillen’s White Sox.

Yes.  I’m sure I’ve read something like this before.  Like, yesterday.

Let’s get to the lowlights, because I’ve got some stuff on Justin Masterson designed to blow your mind.

The game was scoreless into the bottom of the seventh, behind strong outings from both Masterson and Chicago starter Edwin Jackson.  Then, David Shelley Duncan smashed a solo home run to the porch in left, putting the Tribe up 1-0.

It is a story that Jake Delhomme wishes would go away.  But with constant replays and quotes being bantered about, Ndamukong Suh’s attempt at quarterback decapitation will continue to be the talk of Browns camp heading into the fourth and final week of the preseason.

Shortly after the contest, Rick laid out a second-by-second schematic of the play that resulted in the Lions rookie defensive lineman grabbing Delhomme by his facemask, only to twist him backwards and throw him to the ground – all being done with the ball having already been thrown downfield.  The biggest reaction this drew from the Browns offensive linemen was Tony Pashos attempting to point Suh out to a nearby official. 

The lack of retort is something that has raised many eyebrows over the last few days. 

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com

Needing more reps on the right side: “Last Saturday, the latest lineup on the Browns right side was rookie Shawn Lauavo at guard and offseason acquisition Tony Pashos at tackle. Both players missed the Aug. 21 game against the Rams. Lauavo played in the preseason opener against Green Bay with John St. Clair at right tackle. Meanwhile, it was the first game action for Pashos who has battled food poising and a shoulder injury during training camp. [...]

On Monday, Browns coach Eric Mangini was asked if Pashos and Lauvao would see more time in Thursday’s preseason finale because of the amount time already missed. Typically, first-team players like Pashos and Lauavo only play one series in the final preseason, but coach Eric Mangini said it is possible those two will play more against Chicago.” [Don Delco/The OBR]