Cleveland shines even as USMNT does not
May 30, 2013MLB News: Indians’ Brett Myers could be converted to relief pitcher
May 30, 2013
Every once in a while I like to put together some thoughts that don’t warrant separate posts. Here goes…
The Browns
– Jim Brown is back with the team as a “Special Advisor“. My initial thought was that the Browns were forcing something here. Jim Brown is a sports legend in town, and nothing will ever change that. But this wasn’t exactly like a long lost son returning home. He is opinionated and quite frankly a little more vocal about players (Richardson for example) than he needs to be.
Then I thought about what they are asking him to do. They are asking him to work within the community, and specifically it sounds like with inner city youth. If he is going to legitimately work within the community, then he had to have a public relaunch so to speak. I won’t lie though, it wouldn’t surprise me if his tenure with the Browns comes to an end because he doesn’t “tone it down.”
– I can’t help but think that the Browns are building a defense for a coordinator (Ray Horton) who if he is successful this year will be a head coach elsewhere next year. It just doesn’t seem to line up with the rest of the rebuild. Are they grooming someone in house to take over if that is the case? I won’t accept “you don’t worry about 2014 right now” from a group that traded out of 2013 picks in lieu of 2014 ones.
– I am very curious to see what the Browns do at the inside linebacker spot opposite Jackson. Robertson? Johnson? Fort? Move Groves inside? A lot of inexperience and undrafted players.
– I’ve been amazed at how much the Browns are shuffling the very back end of the roster. I mean like players 80-90. Guys that aren’t going to make the team. I give them credit for this though- they cut loose Kevin Barnes. Whatever they didn’t like about the free agent CB once they got him in town, they were willing to cut him pretty quick.
The Indians
– The garbage going around twitter with regards to the Indians’ bullpen situation drove me away from the social media site for a while. Both sides of the Perez/Pestano love/hate made me ill. Reminded me of why I hate politics so much.
– I think that the Indians have had such sustained success with their bullpen the last few years that fans forgot how fickle and volatile a bullpen can be from year to year. I’m rooting for whoever is on the mound for the Indians. Would love Pestano to get his velocity back and dominate again, but if it is Allen or Albers or Smith so be it.
– Lou Marson is making rehab starts. I really hope the Indians keep Gomes in the reserve catcher role. In fact, I’d like to see Gomes catch more. Let Santana play first and DH some.
– It’s hard to really argue with Francona’s line-up, with the success they’ve had. I will say that if I were turning in the card, Reynolds and Brantley would be bumped up. Just my two cents. I hate that our top RBI guy is hitting 7th half the time. His splits against LHP and RHP aren’t that outrageous as to demand a drop.
– My ‘bold prediction’ in the WFNY season preview piece was that Brett Myers would end up in the pen at some point this season. Just saying.
The Cavaliers
– Three years ago, I would have dove into YouTube highlights trying to figure out who the Cavaliers should draft. Now I know that this would be a fruitless activity. I don’t watch college basketball anymore. It’s a time commitment thing. So I will have to trust the opinions of those that do pay close attention. Most of all, Chris Grant has earned my trust when it comes to picking the right college players.
– I for one was happy that Dan and Nick Gilbert have been optimistic when it comes to the next season. I think the playoffs are a great goal. But if they fall a few spots short, I for one won’t abandon the team. If the Cavaliers improve themselves by 10-12 games, and miss the playoffs by a couple spots would you be that upset?
– Which is why the situation with the first pick scares me. Would the Cavaliers pass up a potential long term star in Noel because he might not make them immediately better? Then again, would anyone blame the team if they passed up a potential injury disaster? It should be an interesting two months.
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Image: Jon Cole/WFNY
25 Comments
The Noel discussions might go on as long as the QB position for the Browns that is unless somehow Nerlens isn’t selected #1 by Cleveland.
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Yan Gomes play has him deserving of the #2 catcher sorry Sweet Lou but your bat is to poor to overcome your glove and intestinal fortitude.
Cioffi is the obvious DC promotion candidate. He came from Arizona with Horton and was a long-time AFC North guy before that stint (with the Bengals going as far back as Dick Lebeau). The only question would be if he wants to be Horton’s DC where he goes or would like to prove himself on his own here.
of course, if the defense is great, Horton gets that HC job and we need to replace him as DC.
They haven’t even played a game and you already have Horton leaving to become a HC, c’mon man!
I know Jim Brown is a controversial figure, especially for many of the people in the WFNY community. However, I don’t know how you could read the quote below from the press conference and not admire the rare and unique skillset/credibility/insight Jim Brown brings to the organization:
“Players today, a lot of them don’t have fathers, and they want those relationships with elders. They crave it. But they don’t show it. And a lot of times when you break through and show them that you care about them, then your advice and your instructions and your opinions become valuable, and there’s a trust that’s developed so that you can almost guarantee a certain kind of effort in a game from certain players when they have related to you in a certain way.”
In a few sentences he: (1) articulated an intergenerational ethic (2) tactfully addressed complex socio-economic issues in the US without racializing his message (3) connected his insights/expertise into meaningful downstream benefits for the Browns organization.
Am very happy to have our legend back in the fold.
did you read the article?
I confess, I read this very quickly, and when I got to the part about Bob Feller, my tired nerd brain read “the difference between JB and, say, Boba Fett,” which got me into a mental comparison of Jim Brown and Boba Fett, which was actually kinda fun – and I’m frankly not sure who wins. Surely, young Jim Brown beats young Boba Fett, and old Boba Fett beats old Jim Brown, but what happens when young Jim Brown is soaring across the galaxy in hyperspace tracking down wanted men and making deals with Darth Vader or when Boba Fett is running off-tackle and breaking away on an open field run or stiff-arming a defender? Good stuff. That’s what happens.
[Oh, and I absolutely agree with your points above, once you replace Boba Fett with Bob Feller.]
I agree with a lot f what you say Harv, and my feelings on JB vacillate from time to time, but right now, I’m at the point where I’ve realized a lot of what he says is true, whether people want to hear it or not. On the Debate Team (#WFNYNerdClub) our coach frequently told us to remember, “Just because you don’t like what someone says doesn’t mean they’re wrong”.
I think you might be right, but perhaps I feel a bit guilty for overreacting to his comments in the past, when history proved that what he said really wasn’t all that egregious.
I can’t argue with you, but I hope this time we don’t get to the “becomes surly, persona non grata” phase.
It’s hard to opine on something so speculative like that– plus as a negative premise of not having a backup DC groomed & ready when the D dominates and Horton leaves. Also, what happens if Brandon Weeden tears it up next year and is named Super Bowl MVP? He might hold out of his contract. We should consider that as well!
my point was to Rick that we do have a backup DC groomed on staff. also, much different than your Weeden example as Horton was a finalist for a HC position (Arizona) and interviewed by several others the past couple of seasons (St.L and Buffalo among others). he has also made it very well known that he wants to be a HC and will jump at the chance to be one.
I was bracing for this sort of cynicism. Can you really argue that the franchise is better off without Jim Brown, or that young players would benefit more from his absence than from his presence/mentoring? I find that illogical, but maybe I’m missing something…
yeah, I know. I was just being a smart ass and pointing out that Rick’s speculative premise would be a “good problem to have.”
Just as I expect eternal Jim Brown fawning but, ok, sure. First, the negative. Without even delving into the more distant past, what was the benefit to the team of slamming the 3rd overall pick, before he had practiced with the team once, forcing the kid to be the mature one? (Oh, sure, it was JB’s plan to “inspire” someone he never met). Why is he speaking about Art Modell’s legacy to Cleve fans? These are things said for the benefit of no one except for JB, to get his important opinions heard. They also force the FOs to respond and put out his little fires.
Now, the positives: ummmm … What comments/actions have helped the team at all? Is he a talented scout like Paul Warfield or Ozzie? Did his sitting in the owners box with Randy help him do anything right or anything less wrong? Many players have talked about the thrill of meeting JB but has any single player – ever – said that Brown helped him?
Jim speaks mainly about Jim being respected and disrespected. When he’s talked about players its often with an eye toward protecting his personal legacy. (Do you remember his blasting Franco Harris as unworthy of threatening his rushing records?) Call it cynical. I call it looking objectively at the difference between a football man and and the senior version of an over-entitled star jock, a blowhard with a bottomless attention jones. Jim Brown is no more deserving of being part of a FO team than Bernie is deserving of being GM. They don’t need a gadfly; Banner doesn’t need his advice. Either be associated with the team as the pleasant autograph signer and war-story guy or share your precious thoughts from your porch. But Jim still carries that sense of entitlement, of a paycheck and input. That’s why I’m harsh with him. And they risk again feeding the old spoiled jock’s sense of entitlement.
I’d say it’s a zero-sum game. Whatever “good” he brings to the franchise, he certainly negates it with equal portions of “bad.” The franchise has been no better off with him (post-retirement) than without him.
While I generally agree with Harv’s assessment of the man, it doesn’t matter at all in my opinion whether they take him or leave him.
Unless the defense is awesome and the offense is terrible (been there); the Browns don’t make the playoffs (done that); and Horton leaves to be a HC somewhere (fait accompli). Then it’s a bad problem.
Yes, I want more good problems with Cleveland sports. Hey, we have too many good SPs. Too many good WRs. Too many good 3pt shooters. I dream of the day.
It is possible to acknowledge Brown’s many obvious flaws while still regarding him as an important asset to the organization. Your cherry-picked objections to his character provide more heat than light, and support a caricature of Jim Brown as narcissistic feckless, impetuous, etc. This is a classic straw man.
Let’s be fair to Brown and evaluate him on his suitability for the role that has been defined for him within the organization. For all his flaws, if he has a single core competency it is relating to, mentoring, and building a support structure, around young 20-something males from disadvantaged backgrounds. He has done this for 3 decades through Amer-I-Can and has clearly expressed a vision for bringing this skill set to bear on the young players on the Browns (already he seems to be developing a deeper relationship with Trent Richardson and has changed the whole tenor of his public statements).
At 77, he – quite reasonably – feels he has much to give to an organization/city he is passionate about. I don’t blame him for not wanting to go gently into the night and become a mascot. Most of his hemming and hawing over the past several years was because he was legitimately marginalized by our inept leadership.
I am energized around his reunion with the team while understanding that he is no panacea and comes with a risk. That seems like the most reasonable position to stake out rather than outright cynicism.
Lastly, can I have my ball back, sir? 😉
not so fast – he’s been around the org numerous times over the decades with these same wonderful abilities. I’ve told you about the substantive contributions of Warfield and Ozzie, I can tell you about Groza’s and Schafrath’s and Lavelli’s decades of good will in countless appearances on behalf of the team – appearances that have helped cement our Browns’ insanity by linking new generations to the team history. I can tell you about the icons who stayed away and asked for nothing – Sipe and Sherk and some all-time great named Otto. Here’s your ball – last time: what good has Jim done?
I find myself torn between your points and Harv’s on my feelings for JB. Maybe the guy is both terrible and great—and just represents the duality of man, the dichotomy, the good heart vs. craving ego, or some sort of psyche 101 thing that I can’t recall because I may not have been sober in class. Overall though, the way I view him is that he’s a family member, who despite all his warts and pig headedness, has a good heart and wants to give–and well, he’s family. Welcome back I say!
Well, he hasn’t helped us win a championship, but neither have Warfield or Ozzie, or any other esteemed veterans for that matter. So that’s a bit of a wash.
Neither of us know exactly what Brown has done within the organization over the decades. I’m sure he has provided advice and strong opinions on players/coaches/admins, given pep talks to the team, mentored players behind the scenes, etc, but obviously I can’t vouch for that with material evidence. Perhaps his greatest contribution has been in serving as a symbol of greatness/pride for Clevelanders. That sounds trite, but actually it’s significant; symbols are quite powerful for humans.
My hope is that because an appropriate role has been carved out to play to Brown’s strengths there is a chance for him to meaningfully contribute to the organization on this go-round. I know you hope that’s the case, as we all do.
Beyond all of that Rick, what do you think a pink-faced Haslam is thinking when he’s staring at Jacob? It’s got to be something about the beard.
good way to close this. I’m being more strident than I intend b/c I’ve listened to him carefully over the years when he speaks about his relationship to the team and I’ve seen Browns fans throw rose petals at him no matter what he says or does when … aw, enough, Harv. JB should grow old by a warm fire.
Another point is that we got lucky with the assistants we got. According to Horton, Norv would have been his OC in Arizona had he gotten that job. So, it’s possible we never have a staff worth losing if that happens.
Obviously a better question for Jacob. Must have cracked a joke or a fart…
If Cioffi is ready to be a DC, wouldn’t Horton want him on his staff?
I understand it’s so Cleveland to worry about such things, but this is pretty ridiculous. Maybe for once, we can not imagine the worst case scenario as the most inevitable outcome? Just a thought.