Box Score: Cavaliers 108, Clippers 101
November 6, 2012Face Transplants, Rebuilds, and the Case for Trading Asdrubal Cabrera
November 6, 2012While 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.
Making the case FOR trading Asdrubal– “The Indians didn’t acquire Mike Aviles over the weekend in order to trade Asdrubal Cabrera. In fact, when asked if he still envisioned Cabrera as his starting shortstop on Opening Day 2013, this was general manager Chris Antonetti’s precise, plain-as-day reply: “Yes.”
Hmm. Not a whole lot of room for shades of gray there. But heading into an awfully interesting and important winter for the Indians’ organization, Antonetti has the option to be a little bit more open-minded about his shortstop situation. Because while he has multiple trade chips he can dangle the next few months, as the Tribe figures out how best to surround its championship-caliber new manager with a championship-caliber ballclub, none, in this moment, is more attractive and more ready to reap an impactful return than Cabrera.” [Castrovince/MLB.com]
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Analyzing the snap counts- “I guess this means that Josh Gordon is officially the team’s No. 1 receiver on the depth chart. This is the third week in a row he has seen more snaps than Greg Little, but it’s the first time that Little’s snaps have been this low. Mohamed Massaquoi’s return game was a bust; he only caught one pass and then took himself out of the game late, possibly because he re-aggravated his hamstring injury. It would’ve been nice to have a security blanket like Josh Cooper yesterday on a day where Brandon Weeden was clearly out of rhythm.” [Pokorny/Dawgs by Nature]
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“Considering where Ohio State sat a year ago, the transformation is remarkable. The Buckeyes finished 6-7, tied for the most losses in school history. In the throes of a scandal that paralyzed the football program for a year, there was uncertainty about the short- and long-term future of Ohio State football. “Obviously last year wasn’t the year we wanted to have,” wide receiver Corey Brown said. “Our record is just a credit to what we did in the offseason. All that hard work is now paying off. We know we have a big week coming with Wisconsin. We will grind through this week, and then grind through the next and keep the momentum going.” [Rowland/Eleven Warriors]
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Perspective? “That’s to say: People who work in sports like to consider sports somehow cleansing in times like this. But I think they’re just saying that so they feel better about working in a field that doesn’t really matter or change the world. We could have all been out on Friday or Saturday night distributing food and clothing throughout Red Hook and Staten Island, or at the very least packing up some of our own items to bring to the various drop-off locations around the city. But we weren’t. We were watching a basketball game. That we were there and able to do so, rather than trying to reconstruct a world recently devastated, said all we needed to about how “helpful” we were.
I mean this as less of an indictment, less guilt-tripping, than it perhaps is coming off as. I just mean that because sports don’t matter, and yet we all spend so much time obsessing over them anyway, we all have a tendency to inflate it into something it isn’t. And we’re especially bad about it when faced with circumstances like Sandy, in which what does matter is so violently thrust in front of us. The worst example of this remains the 2001 World Series, a thrilling back-and-forth series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees that Major League Baseball and the sporting media continue to try to insist was somehow heroic. (Just because there were some cops within camera shot doesn’t mean you were actually doing anything helpful.)” [Leitch/Sports on Earth]
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Finally, predictions for the rest of the season- “Two coaches lose theirs before the season ends, but their names are not Andy Reid or Norv Turner. Instead, I think it’ll be two less prominent coaches — Chan Gailey of Buffalo and Pat Shurmur of Cleveland. Both are locally unpopular offensive gurus who haven’t led a good offense in years (or ever) and who have struggled to develop their quarterback of choice into very much. Shurmur’s the pick of an old ownership and management team, making him basically irrelevant, and Gailey’s the one who will be scapegoated for the dismal Mario Williams signing and how it failed to strike up the Buffalo defense. Other coaches will be fired, too, but I don’t expect Shurmur or Gailey to make it through the season.” [Barnwell/Grantland]
8 Comments
We have assistants with NFL head coaching experience who could easily ride out the rest of the storm. There is no reason for Shurmur to make it through the bye week
OSU has had one of those seasons that come along once every decade. When all the stars line up, you have a solid team, do not have let down loses, and find a way to win a few games that you may have no business winning. Way to go Gene Smith. Accept a bowl game last year when you are 6-6, with potential sanctions coming. Not only did you award last years team (if you call the Gator Bowl an award), you punished this years team. Long gone are all the players/coaches that had a hand in the current ban, but the younger players are now dealing with your decision not to take the high road. Hopefully we will have the skill, focus, and the ball will bounce our way again in the next few years so that we can have a shot at the title.
we don’t know that the NCAA wouldn’t have just slapped a bowl ban on this year anyway.
we also don’t know the importance for Urban Meyer on them accepting last year’s bowl bid. it gave him a month to evaluate as a somewhat outside observer what we had in terms of talent on the team. no bowl, means he wouldn’t have been allowed to even contact the current players in December.
may be a blessing in disguise. I think Id rather ponder “What might of been?”, than watch this team lose by 50 to Oregon or Alabama
Craig, I thought you were going to step down from the parapet and give us your take on if Shurmur should be let go during the bye week of this season? Still writing that barn-burner I hope?
this is a great point. though I think we can hang with Oregon State (our likely Rose Bowl opponent if 2 other teams remain undefeated).
and, if the Rose Bowl would be willing (doubtful w/ possible Pac12 teams looming), then I would love an Ohio State v. Notre Dame matchup in Pasadena.
all thoughts for another year though.
Could have got us some potential recruits. I don’t know that we would get handed it to us that bad. Urban is 7-1 in Bowls including 2 NC.
Whole attitude and arrogance of Smith is what got to me. Oh well, bowl game for us is Nov 24!!! And it’s a home game at that.