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.
“The Browns’ youth has been well documented and for all the good they did Sunday, there was plenty of bad. The Browns committed 10 penalties for 103 yards. Holding penalties killed offensive drives. Defensive offsides enabled Bengals to convert four first downs by penalty. Missed tackles plagued the Browns defense including on what proved to be the game-clinching 50-yard touchdown reception by Andrew Hawkins with 4:23 left in the game.
The Browns secondary, missing suspended cornerback Joe Haden, was torched by the Bengals’ quarterback Andy Dalton, who finished 24-for-31 passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns. And there was the aforementioned special teams blunder. As for the positives, the improvement of the team’s rookie running back and quarterback from week one has them in a better frame of mind.” [Delco/The OBR]
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“And that’s really the rub with projecting any kind of return for Choo, in that as much as I’d like to say that the Mariners are a great match, flush with pitching prospects that get the salivation glands going, there’s little doubt that Boras will have him ready to hit FA after 2013, with a call to Mike Ilitch probably already planned out for Choo to “solve” the Tigers’ RF issues after next season. As much as I’d like to think that Choo would net the Indians a cadre of impact prospects, all ready to contribute in 2013 and beyond, we already looked at the returns for Hunter Pence – who has now been traded a couple of times in the last few years – which should temper expectations a little and realize that the Indians may unfortunately have to target some further-away-from-MLB prospects for what is likely one year of Choo.” [Cousineau/The DiaTribe]
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Notes to replacement officials prior to game 2. Interesting read. [CBS Sports]
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The 10 biggest errors in baseball history. Sigh. “Fernandez’s error in the 11th inning isn’t often mentioned among Cleveland’s biggest sport disappointments, partly because closer Jose Mesa earned himself the permanent title of goat by blowing the save — and a chance at the Indians’ first title since 1948 — in the ninth. Still, had Fernandez been able to field Craig Counsell’s grounder, there’s a good chance it would’ve went for an inning-ending double play (Bobby Bonilla had been on first) and another opportunity for Cleveland’s fearsome lineup to score in the 12th.
Instead, Bonilla went to third and Counsell ended up safe at first on the error. Though Bonilla would be thrown out at home after a similar grounder to Fernandez, it was Counsell who raced around third with the winning run on Edgar Renteria’s bases-loaded single. “It didn’t bounce any way,” Fernandez told reporters of the play. “I don’t want to use an excuse. I didn’t make the play. I started thinking of going to second with it, and that was probably a mistake. I knew Bobby was not running well.” [Kaduk/Big League Stew]
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“It’s no secret the Buckeyes have struggled to put elite playmakers on the field at linebacker over the last handful of years, something the Buckeye faithful aren’t accustomed to in Columbus. This year is starting to resemble those since 2008 where one guy might have the juice but the rest of the corps is lacking. Last year was a real struggle with both Sweat and Klein proving to be too slow to be elite. Brian Rolle was a beast in 2010 but while mates Ross Homan and Andrew Sweat were decent, they weren’t great.
The 2009 trio of Rolle, Homan and Austin Spitler was less effective than the ’10 version. Rolle was coming into his own, Homan was serviceable and Spitler was at times a disaster. Fast forward to 2012 and while I certainly don’t wish to imply the position is currently void of talent, there is no question this crop has flaws – some of it (hopefully) the product of youth, and some of it the product of simply not being fundamentally sound.” [Lauderback/Eleven Warriors]
