Music Review: Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks – WFNY Podcast – 2013-09-07
September 7, 2013NFL News: No new deal for Alex Mack per report
September 8, 2013While We’re Waiting is the daily morning link roundup that WFNY has been serving up for breakfast for the last several years. We hope you enjoy the following recent collection of yummy and nutritious Cleveland sports-related articles. Anything else to add? Email us at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
Thank [deity of your choice that the Mets are in town. “Who needs rehab assignments anyways, right? That’s one of the messages Corey Kluber sent out tonight in his first start since going on the DL in early August after injuring his middle finger. Kluber didn’t miss a beat coming back today. He had a pitch count of about 65 pitches tonight, and he sure did make the most out of those 65 pitches (technically it ended up being 64). He pitched into the 6th inning, and only gave up 2 earned runs and struck out 5. It was great to see him back at it, and the Tribe has got to be glad to have him back as we get to the homestretch.
The offense came up big today as well. The big hits came off the bats of Ryan Raburn, Nick Swisher, and Asdrubal Cabrera. Raburn gave the Tribe a big lead in the first inning with a huge 3-run double off Mets starter Jonathan Niese. Nick Swisher homered for the second consecutive day, and also added an RBI double as well. Asdrubal Cabrera officially put the game out of reach in 7th with a 3-run homer to right field. Given his struggles this season, it was good to see Cabrera finally come through after he had left 4 men on base earlier in the game. This was Cabrera’s first hit in the month of September, so let’s hope this gets him going (for the record, I think I’ve used the phrase “let’s hope this gets him going” with Cabrera at least 100 times this season ).” [Ryan Pinheiro/It’s Pronounced “Lajaway“]
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MOAR ATTENDANCE DISCUSSION. “Anger is a different emotion than distrust. Some fans are angry that the Indians have been on the precipice of success before (2007) and done nothing to capitalize on the opportunity. Also, the trades that I mentioned above of CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee are factors he
re as well. How many teams have had back-to-back Cy Young winners? How many teams have then traded both of them away the following season? It was an unprecedented situation, and Indians fans have been left to wonder what having both of those guys on the staff at the same time might have looked like. The fact that we never got to see it makes people angry. And quite honestly, it should. It was a historically “cheap” move. Maybe the largest and most maddening example of a small market team payroll dumping in the history of baseball. So I get it, people are angry. I don’t know that you’ll ever get these fans back without a World Series title. It’ll be tough. Anger is a primal emotion, and not one easily dissipated.
Apathetic fans might be the worst, in regards to the relationship with the team. You’ve lost these people. They’re gone. Most of them aren’t even paying attention anymore, so efforts to bring them back into the fold are not going to be very successful. These fans have been so disillusioned, angered, disgusted, etc that they’ve crossed the imaginary line emotionally and just don’t want to deal with it anymore. The Indians should be very afraid of this group of former fans. These are baseball zombies. Forever.
Hopelessness is an emotion that is derived from fans not thinking that there’s any prayer for the kind of improvement needed to be a consistent winner. These are the fans who watch Jason Kipnis bloom into a superstar, and instead of enjoying his success and being happy that the Indians have that kind of player on their roster, they are already speculating what year he’s going to leave in, and where he’s going to go. These fans can’t enjoy anything, because in their minds, everything is temporary and the second shoe is only days away from dropping, no matter what ownership and management claims. Hopeless fans are created through cost-cutting, small market economics, and trading away back-to-back Cy Young award winners in consecutive years. A commitment from management to the on-field talent (by way of market-value or above multi-year contracts) is the only way to lure these fans back into the fold. And, well, this is Cleveland, so good luck with that.” [Dan Zeleski/More Than a Fan]
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Browns vs Phins and stats. “Miami had a DVOA of -1.8% while throwing and -8.5% when running the ball, both good for 23rd in the league. However, they had a game-to-game variance of 13.5% making them the most inconsistent team in the league. They either torched the opposition or struggled to reach midfield. It’s hard to say which version will show up this week, and it’s made even more difficult by the fact that Miami has lost their starting running back from last season and added a new #1 wide receiver. Ryan Tannehill had 37 DYAR, good for just 25th in the league last season, but one would expect at least a small improvement given experience and more weapons in the passing game. With the focus on the passing game for both teams, the Browns shouldn’t sleep on Lamar Miller, who had a DYAR of 35 last season and a DVOA of 7.5% which would have been good for tenth in all of football. However, that was in fewer than 100 carries, so it remains to be seen whether or not he can keep it up. Also, this may be hard to believe, but the Browns run defense was actually slightly above average last season at -4.7% DVOA.
Things don’t look so encouraging in the passing game for our Brownies. Last season the Browns were above average against #1 receivers, thanks to Joe Haden, but against #2 and #3 receivers the Browns were terrible with DVOAs of 9.3% and 10.3% respectively. Look for that trend to continue with the Browns current lack of CB depth and any fantasy owners out there with Brian Hartline should consider giving him some thought as a starter this week. The Browns were much better against tight ends and running backs, putting up average numbers against both, so don’t look for a big game out of Charles Clay(not that you ever should).” [Dawgs by Nature]
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Braxton was out, but Ohio State soldiered on. “On Guiton’s first play, he pitched the ball to freshman speedster Dontre Wilson on an option and watched him jet to the end zone from seven yards out. The next possession concluded on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Philly Brown. Jordan Hall scored on a four-yard run late in the first quarter. When the first 15 minutes were over, the Buckeyes had another three-touchdown first quarter.
Where the game differed was the final 45 minutes. The foot stayed firmly on the gas pedal. Guiton scored on a 44-yard run, snaking from one side of the field to the other. It brought the loudest ovation of the day and served as another signature Guiton moment.
“He’s as good of a backup quarterback as there is in the country,” Long said. “I don’t know how they decide which one starts to be honest with you. I think both of them are very good players. When one goes down, I don’t think they lose anything.”” [Kyle Rowland/Eleven Warriors].
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Buckeyes to wear alternate uniforms vs Michigan this season.