While We’re Waiting… Tribe wins, Wrong-Way Ricky returns and Bloodclots: a big freaking deal

“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.

Tribe can sweep the Astros with a win today. “Scott Kazmir pitched seven shutout innings and Cleveland scored three runs in the first as the Indians beat the Houston Astros 4-1 Saturday night at Progressive Field.

The Indians began Saturday with a half-game lead over Texas for the second American League Wild Card spot. Cleveland, who has won eight of its last 10 games, trails Tampa Bay by a half-game for the Wild Card lead.

The Indians passed Texas with a rain-shortened 2-1 win Friday, moving into a playoff spot for the first time since Aug. 5. Following the series finale Sunday, Cleveland hosts the Chicago White Sox for two games before playing four games at Minnesota to close the regular season.” [Nathan Kemp/Indians Baseball Insider].

Alex Kennedy went had a blood clot similar to Anderson Varejao’s. It does not sound fun. “Varejao developed the clot in his lower right lung as he was recovering from the quad surgery. He had trouble sleeping, pain in his back and discomfort in his chest. He informed someone from the Cavaliers’ medical staff (who I assume was much more attentive than my doctor), and a scan revealed the clot.

Much like myself, Varejao didn’t realize the gravity of the situation until hearing from others just how common death is in these types of cases.

“They told me stories like, ‘Oh my God, I had a friend who died of a blood clot in their lung,’” Varejao told Yahoo! Sports. “And then somebody else tells me the same thing. Then you start to think about it and realize that this is more serious than I thought. A week after the surgery I was at home thinking about how I could be gone right now.”

“I was having my best season, the best time of my life, and a week later I’m in the hospital and I could be dead,” Varejao added. “It’s crazy. I’m very lucky.”

The clotting issue required him to miss the remainder of the season because he would be on anticoagulants. It would be impossible for a basketball player to take the court while on blood-thinning medicine. When I get blood drawn, it looks like someone just amputated my arm. I can’t even imagine how bloody things would get on the court with some of the physical play that Varejao endures in the paint (although, we’d finally know if he’s flopping).” [Alex Kennedy/Hoops World]

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I swore for years that Jerome Harrison was a secret pro-bowler who only needed a chance. “The Trent Richardson trade obviously dominated trade headlines this week, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Browns heavily discussed in the pre-game and post-game shows today. When I was talking to a couple of Browns fans in-person this week, all of them seemed to be in favor of the trade for Richardson, and expressed a similar sentiment that I had: they were certainly shocked upon hearing the news, but they think it will benefit the club in the long run.

One of the people I was chatting with got to talking about the history of recent Browns running backs. Peyton Hillis was the talk of the town for one year (even making the cover of Madden), but then before we knew it, “poof,” he was gone after a bizarre turn of events. Although the removal of Richardson from the roster came under very different circumstances, this is the second running back in a row who seemed to be highly touted before being sent elsewhere.

Then, we got to talking about Jerome Harrison and how he was also traded away from the team after the team put their faith in Hillis. That got me to thinking: believe it or not, I was actually more upset when we traded Harrison to the Eagles than I was when we traded Richardson to the Colts. That should tell you all you need to know about how average Richardson has looked so far, and how stunning it is that we actually got a first-round pick back for him.” [Chris Pokorny/Dawgs by Nature].

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Ricky Davis, possibly back in the NBA. “Rumor has it that former Cavalier great, Ricky Davis is in New York working out for the New York Knicks.  With 9 other free agent hopefuls vying for a training camp invite from New York, the 33 year-old sets his sights on returning to the NBA after a 3 year hiatus.

So naturally, as one would, I get really excited about potentially seeing Ricky Davis back in the NBA.  But the more important question is – If the Cavs were battling for an 8th seed, and we needed an infusion of talent and selflessness mid-season – would you trade for Ricky Davis?  The answer may seem obvious at first, but let me quash some of your initial excitement about the prospect.

Of course, we must first acknowledge that as a Top 20 Cleveland Cavalier of all time, Ricky nobly led the Cavaliers in some of the worst seasons on record for the franchise, in an instinctual attempt to land the #1 pick in 2003.  His foresight and intuition led to a stretch of playoff-basketball and title contention (after he left) that no one besides Davis could have foreseen.” [Ben Jackson/Real Cavs Fans].

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On Joe Banner’s Mike & Mike spot… “When asked by Mike Golic, inferring the reason they made the trade was to draft a QB, how the trade would effect the other quarterbacks on the team Banner said the QBs have a shot to change their mind. He noted how great it would be if they have their quarterback on the roster now and instead can use all of their assets to bring in talent around the QB instead of using them to draft the next QB.

The most telling part of the interview though related to “GM” Mike Lombardi. The quotations are necessary when you hear the way Banner described the trade process with the Colts. He stated though the trade conversations started on Tuesday that it felt like it took awhile because he talked to the Colts GM Ryan Grigson often going back and forth. He then talked about HC Rob Chudzinski being in the loop, stating after he got off the phone he went down and filled “Chud” in on where things stood. He also stated that they were all in agreement from the owner, himself and the coach. In most roster moves these things are handled by the GM. While in big moves like this the CEO/President would be involved, generally these are GM responsibilities. That Banner brought up Chudzinski and how he kept the coach involved, without being prompted, also shows how little Lombardi was connected to this trade.” [Jared Mueller/Factory of Sadness].