Indians Francisco Lindor not the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year?
November 16, 2015I didn’t watch a second of Browns-Steelers, and it was kinda wonderful
November 17, 2015Hi faithful readers of WFNY. Welcome to Tuesday of the bye week. Did you guys have a good week since last Tuesday? I did. Other than Sunday, of course.
So let’s start right there with the Browns. I know, I know, I know. I should be leading off with the Cavaliers. I’m a basketball guy, the Cavaliers are really good, the Browns suck, etc. But I feel like wallowing in some misery right now, so we’re starting with the Browns.
I really enjoyed Craig Lyndall’s running diary of the game. It was a little like reading words written by the voice inside my own head. Especially this part:
On the first offensive play after the touchdown, Andrew Hawkins caught a pass over the middle for a nice gain, only to have it knocked out by Pittsburgh. They get the ball at the Browns’ 40-yard-line. I legitimately tried to figure out if I could just quit watching the game and post this conversation and go outside. It’s 60 degrees and sunny and I’m watching this Browns game for almost no reason what-so-ever.
It’s great, because that was the exact point at which I turned off the game. It was too much. Coming off the penalty which negated the Steelers’ FG and instead gave them a 1st down, which inevitably led to a Steelers TD. This was the first play after that. I couldn’t take it. No way was I going to continue to waste a perfectly awesome Sunday afternoon on that trash.
The Cleveland Browns have become such a joke that they are completely unwatchable even to lifelong fans. Congrats, Mr Haslam. You’ve finally done it. You’ve assembled just the right pieces to officially break me as a Browns fan. I was hanging on the edge for a long time, but I was determined to hang in there. But I turned off a Browns-Steelers game in the 2nd quarter. Unbelievable.
Maybe it’s my fault, maybe I’m the bad person here. But I don’t think so. I just think it’s an inevitability of futility. Really, I’m just trying to come to terms with my new reality. I hate this team. I despise what Ray Farmer has built and I loathe the way this team plays under the leadership of Mike Pettine. I get douche chills when I hear Farmer say that he’s brought a “culture” to Cleveland, as though somehow this team is any different or better than the pile of excrement we’ve been watching since 1999. And when he boldly informs us that it doesn’t matter if you miss on your first and second round picks because, heck, “a third of all the guys that play in this league weren’t even drafted.” So, you know, Ray’s gonna keep shuffling in those undrafted guys through the waiver wire and really keep this culture of ineptitude marching forward.
That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.
*****
Why am I so mad about Lindor not being ROY?
I saw the news last night that Houston Astros SS Carlos Correa had won the American League Rookie of the Year, beating out the Cleveland Indians’ Francisco Lindor. When I saw the news, a strange feeling washed over me: anger. I was mad that Lindor didn’t win.
Now, that information alone may not be a big deal. I mean, someone who is a Cleveland sports fan who writes for a Cleveland sports site is naturally a Cleveland baseball fan and thus would be mad that his guy didn’t win. But for those of you who know me or have read me over the years may know, I don’t have the same level of feelings about the Indians that I do the Cavaliers or Browns. I’m not a big baseball guy anymore.
So it was surprising to me that I felt such a strong emotion to an Indians player. And then it dawned on me….”Oh my gosh, I am excited about an Indians player!” I’ve mentioned it before, but the day the Indians traded Victor Martinez, the part of me that develops strong emotional ties to players was broken. I kept Indians players at a distance, from Carlos Santana to Jason Kipnis to Corey Kluber, at various points in time they have been the kind of player I would have fallen in love with in the past. But I refused to let them in.
But Lindor is different. I am genuinely eager to watch him play and he makes me want to watch Indians games. This is tremendously exciting for me, personally. I hope he can continue to develop and continue to be the player to bring me back to the Indians. It’s just funny, I didn’t really realize I felt this way until I saw that he didn’t win an ultimately meaningless award. That’s really the true sign of fandom right there.
*****
The Cavaliers are good, but are they great?
Watching the Cleveland Cavaliers over the last week has felt eerily similar to watching the Ohio State Buckeyes’ football team this season. Sure, the Cavaliers were good, they were winning games (until Saturday’s loss, of course), but something felt a little off. They were struggling at times to run away from teams who weren’t as good as them, or at least, didn’t have as much talent.
I wrote about my frustrations with the team a bit after Friday night’s win against the Knicks. I hate to keep using the word “frustrating” with this team, but it has been frustrating watching the offense regress the last few games and I don’t know what other word to use for it. The first 4-5 games, the offense was a thing of beauty. The ball was moving all over the place, everyone was getting touches, moving without the ball, making the right reads, making the right passes, and getting the best looks possible. Over the last 4-5 games, though, that movement has slowed down. The ball has started to stick more, similar to last season, and the assist and pass numbers have slowly started to decline. The last three games the Cavaliers have had three of the four lowest assist numbers of the seasons. The offense is trending in the wrong direction right now.
I’d love to tell you that I have the answer, but I don’t. I can’t explain why the offense is stalling, why guys aren’t cutting off the ball anymore, why players aren’t recognizing the open guy, why everyone is just dribbling and making what I call neutral passes1. But right now, the Cavaliers are only a good team. They are not a great team. And until they get back on the right track with their offense, they will continue to only be a good team.
And honestly, being a good team is good enough for the Cavaliers to win the Eastern Conference. If that’s the only goal, then my criticism is pointless and everything is just fine with the way they have been playing on offense. It’s not good enough to win an NBA Championship, though. Especially not with the way the Golden State Warriors are playing right now.
The funny thing about the Cavaliers (and another apt comparison to the Buckeyes’ football team this year) is that their defense has been really good and it’s been their defense that was won them some games recently. I expected their offense to be off the charts great and that their defense would be just good enough. It’s sort of been the opposite. The defense has been a lot better than I expected it to be, and that’s reason for optimism.
I know some will read this and think I’m being too harsh on an 8-2 team who is 3rd in the NBA in offensive efficiency2. I get that. But the Cavaliers are not a normal team. Simply being good isn’t the scale on which this team is to be judged. There was only one goal for this season, and I’m merely pointing out that over the last week or two, the level of play we’ve seen is not good enough to win an NBA Championship. The Cavaliers need to be great, and they’ve shown this season what they are capable of. They simply need to get back in their groove and start running the offense that we saw early in the season again.
There’s plenty of time to sort everything out, and Kyrie Irving isn’t even back yet. So I’m not saying the sky is falling or anything like that. I’m just making a commentary on the status of the offense at this moment in time. I’m not saying anything that the team themselves wouldn’t agree with.
*****
That’s it for me, no new music again this week. In fact, I think it’s safe to say this year is basically done for new music. We’re to the point where few artists release new albums. There may be a new album I’ll want to talk about here and there, but for me, the rest of 2015 will be about putting together my year-end list, which I’m sure I’ll talk about here as well as on a future WFNY podcast with Craig. But for now, just go out there and enjoy your one week break from the Browns. Live it up, WFNY!
42 Comments
Woohoo!! Browns are #1!
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/11/16/9741750/2016-nfl-draft-order-browns-titans-ravens-chargers-cowboys?_ga=1.41252454.575646534.1442924953
Technically #4 if the season ended right now.
Screw the no-talent hacks of the BBWAA. Pandering at it’s finest.
Who should and would the Browns take with the #1 pick?
Should: Joey Bosa
Would: Taylor Decker
So, let’s analyze the bottom feeders:
Dallas will start winning when Romo comes back, so they’re out.
The Ravens will beat the Browns later, so they’re out.
Detroit will win again. A home game vs the 49ers most likely.
Chargers have a game vs Jax. That should put them over the hump.
Tennessee has two games remaining against the Jags. They should win one.
Our best chance for a win is vs SF.
It’s going to be close, but I think if we just stay the course, and Play Like A Brown, we should come out #1.
Cough for Goff! lol
Bosa will end up a Raven and terrorize us for years.
unless we demonstrate something other than what we have seen, Goff remains my choice.
Last season the Cavs were 5-5 through ten games, on the way to 5-7.
The lack of intensity is a little odd, but they are light years ahead of last year.
If Lindor losing the AL ROY Award ends up firing up Clevelanders and pulling them back towards Tribe fandom, then all is well.
I have no problem with Goff. I just liked the synergy of using two Buckeyes for my examples.
I agree. However, I would also argue that the stakes are higher and the goal is different this season.
If they take another defensive player in the top 10 with the way the rule changes have favored offense in the last 10 years, that will be it for me as a Browns (and most likely, NFL) fan. I dont care if it’s a velociraptor that had Lawrence Taylor and JJ Watt’s DNA spliced in.
It’s an offensive league. Lets stop with the cro magnon “defense and running hurr durr” crap. Lets score 40 a game and if we lose, so what? Better than “drives” like the one against the Steelers where all we did was go backward
what are “douche chills”? when you guys talk about #ActualSportsWriting it’s phrases like that that show it’s actually just bro talk some of the time
I can see the promotional schedule now: RotY Protest – first game the Astros come to town
Reek for Zeke.
I know…..but…..BOSA!
I scoff at your Cough for Goff. It belongs in a trough.
Somebody isn’t an Arrested Development fan, I see.
Also, Scott is the one who talks about #ActualSportsWriting. I’m the resident hack here.
I don’t get the anger. Correa was a completely legitimate choice.
Goff’s current offensive system doesn’t scare you?
Rumor is, that Farmer recently had hypotherapy to remove the term and all versions of Wide Reciever from his memory banks.
He wants to make sure that he never drafts a WR, or have it cross his mind ever again.
He is one of the few spread QBs where they actually have implemented NFL throws into it and have noted they give him some audible responsibilities (unlike when you see the QB stop and look to the sidelines every play like “HELP!”).
that said, of course it scares me. but, what can you do in today’s game?
Such great signage possibilities:
—Correa is diarrhea
—I’ve got your ROY right here! (circling picture of smiling Lindor)
God no not already!
If he ends up on a better team he’ll be a better player he’s not a true #1 he’s just not but starting this week he’ll have a chance to prove me wrong. I hope.
Agreed.
Go Cavs! Great test inside going against the double double freak Drummond of the Pistons. NBA season is long. Cavs still without their starting backcourt. Through 10 games 8 victories I’ll take that all day every day.
I would think any humanoid-velociraptor hybrid would have a poor wingspan. Definitely a problem for catch radius and any number of other positions. But it could be tremendous as a running back, which puts it’s draft ceiling at the 2nd round for me. (preferably 3rd)
My sign:
Hey Carlos: How important is your dad to you?
Hey Carlos: How does it feel to be the fourth Puerto Rican to win ROY?
Oh wait, they already asked those hard hitting questions…
How about a comprehensive “roy” theme? Roy rogers bobblehead. Roy Orbison themed fireworks. Clips from any and all movies named “rookie of the year” throughout the game. People named Roy get free beer with photo ID…
Clips from any and all movies named “rookie of the year”
No bunting scene!!! (yeah, Little Big League, but Tito and Frankie can learn from that scene)
http://www.myinstants.com/instant/bruce-buffer-its-time/
Like this season’s Ohio State football team, the Cavs are not great. Like the Buckeyes, they have the potential to be so, but (also like the Buckeyes) they have yet to show it for any extended period of time. However, unlike the Buckeyes, there is a genuinely terrifying contender out there lurking in the NBA. And while the Buckeyes might be able to scrap themselves to a title without ever recognizing their full potential (though it’s unlikely), the Cavs do not have that luxury. This is a better GSW squad than last year, and they look it nearly every night thus far. The missing injured players excuse can fly for now in Cleveland, but they will need to gel quickly once everyone returns if they want to have a genuine shot at ending our title drought.
Just once it would be nice if we had a dominant team that ACTUALLY dominates when it matters. Maybe we’ll have two.
Doubts are sort of creeping in about Ohio State I just don’t see the desire plus the offensive play calling reminds me of the Browns. And this is bad considering how many threats the Buckeyes have on offense.
As far as the Cavs go…just read via Twitter that Iman Shumpert is targeting December 15th to return. Great news. Sam Amico reported a week or so ago that Shumpert could be out as late as February and I thought he was insane. Or that I had missed something. Next up: Kyrie Irving. Hopefully by end of December.
More scary… the amount of Buckeyes sitting there for BOTH Steelers and Ravens to take that will terrorize Browns for years.
Ravens with Bosa and Steelers scoop up Michael Thomas to add to their offense.
maybe an Apatosaurus then? He’d be like 20 yards long and a guaranteed first down every time
It sure is.
hi TRS … we’ll find out these next 2 weeks against MSU & that school from ann arbor.
hi GARRY … this has some merit to it. we need a STUD RB … crowell is a pounder (and tippy-toer) & duke seems more fit to catch the ball & be more of a 3rd down back.
i wonder how much our running game would improve with a really good RB .
Thanks. For what it’s worth, I’m mostly joking; but I would love to see him in Cleveland, and not just for the running game. He’s the best blocking RB in college. None of the current guys can read and pick up blitzes. Zeke destroys them.
If our studies say take Goff, we will be taking something else.