The Indians fan who was kicked out for standing
October 9, 2013Cleveland Browns Film Room Game Five: Big Third Down Conversions
October 10, 2013
Cleveland sports fans are waiting. Thus, while we’re all waiting, the WFNY editors thought you might enjoy reading. Because you never know how long we might be waiting. So here are assorted reading goodies for you to enjoy. Send more good links for tomorrow’s edition to tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
Video analysis on why Josh Gordon is untradeable: “While Gordon is one step away from being suspended for an entire season under the NFL’s substance abuse policy, he is also one step away from being an elite receiver in the league. The Browns should accept nothing less than a first-round or high second-round draft pick for Gordon. He is that good.” [Will Burge/Bleacher Report]
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Kyrie says he’s staying in a cute video with a little kid! He’s really staying! [@cavsforever/Instagram]
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Meanwhile, defense from Kyrie, what a concept: “It is only one preseason game to be sure, but Irving appeared focused defensively on a per-possession basis far more often than he was during the 2012-13 campaign. While defending Brandon Knight with just under eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, for example, Irving hustled to stay in front of Knight after the Milwaukee guard gained a step on Irving before swiping the ball away later in the possession. That type of defensive recovery is something we haven’t seen from Irving on a consistent basis throughout his first two years in the league.” [Brendan Bowers/Bleacher Report]
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The 2013-14 Cavs: More question marks than you know what to do with. But Tristan ain’t one of them: “Tristan Thompson, the No. 4 pick in 2011, was never expected to carry the franchise. He was drafted to be Kyrie’s defensive-minded sidekick, someone who could anchor the defense and be a finisher on the pick-and-roll. Still only 22 as he heads into his third season, he’s established himself as a legitimate NBA player with a promising future. However, with so many talented young players in Cleveland, his place in the Cavaliers’ long-term plans is unsettled.” [Jonathan Tjarks/SB Nation]
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Great point about actually coaching: “The Mike Brown era has returned to Cleveland, and folks, it looks awfully promising. We’ve said it before, but one of the things which makes Coach Brown so unique is the extent to which he actually coaches during games.” [Sam Allard/Cleveland Scene]
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Do you miss Boobie already, too? “What if I told you Daniel Gibson was the reason I’m here? By “here” I mean writing about NBA basketball in the wee hours of a Sunday instead of doing homework or hanging out with some friends. By “here” I mean spending hours on Synergy sifting through John Jenkins off-ball movement clips. By “here” I mean loving basketball like no normal person should.” [David Vertsberger/Hickory-High]
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Strength of schedule talk, hooray! “Man, you were sick of hearing about how lousy Ohio State’s schedule was back in April. Brace yourselves: It’s about to get justifiably louder. The Buckeyes’ next five opponents have a combined record of 14-12. Their first six victims are currently 14-16. Remove the six losses tied to having had the misfortune of playing Ohio State and it’s still lousy.” [Ramzy Nasrallah/Eleven Warriors]
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Hopeful predictions for the Tribe in 2014, including this bold one: “Jose Ramirez needs to become the permanent second baseman, but if they won’t move Kipnis, make him a centerfielder. Let me just say this now: Jose Ramirez becoming a utility player is a mistake. He’s just too good. Could he handle it? Yes. Could he be effective at it? Yes. Should he do it? No.” [Jim Pete/Indians Baseball Insider]
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I used to think Kluber would wind up as a reliever, but not anymore: “When training camp broke in April, Corey Kluber was not a part of the Cleveland Indians 25-man roster. By the end of the season, Kluber had proven to be one of the Tribe’s best starters. He has also now become one of the more promising young players on the team.” [Craig Gifford/Did The Tribe Win Last Night?]
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Another one of the (so far) disappointing recent pitcher draft picks: “When the Indians made [Mitch] Brown their 2nd round pick in 2012, he became the highest-drafted player from Minnesota since Joe Mauer was the #1 overall pick in 2001. Even as a high school pitcher, Brown had already developed three solid pitches (fastball, curveball, and changeup… he’s also worked on a slider), and He was viewed as someone who could become a #2 or 3 starter in Cleveland with a few years’ seasoning.” [Jason Lukehart/Let’s Go Tribe]
32 Comments
Hmmm, what to make of Kyrie’s promise? How seriously can we take it? This might make it a little harder for him to leave, but he likely wouldn’t hold himself to an answer to kind of an ambush question by a little kid.
But way to go, kid! You’re gonna be a fine Cleveland fan!
pretty easy for Kyrie to promise something that is almost assuredly going to happen. RFA’s don’t leave. He’ll sign a 3yr extension and that ending is where things get dicey if he wants out.
Brandon Knight, Milwaukee Buck.
I know with player movement that it shouldn’t seem weird when such a minor player switches division rival teams. But, that just seems weird to me.
The kid asked him if he was going to leave “like LeBron did.” James wasn’t an RFA and he had already signed an extension. I’m sure the kid knows that, as well as all the cap implications.
mg, you’re so argumentative.
Just to play devil’s advocate, Kyrie Irving tends to give maximum effort against Brandon Knight. Those two guys love going at each other since their days of playing high school basketball at rival schools.
With that said, I do expect to see him playing better defense this season… I think Mike Brown will demand it.
I’m pretty sure Kyrie won’t have an ESPN special telling the world he’s leaving the Cavs. He’ll probably just tweet it.
knives are still sharpened from the Kerfuffle yesterday 🙂
Yeah, that was sumpin’
That Indians Baseball Insider article is insane.
— Throws a ton of money at Kaz and U
— Moves our best player from 2B to the OF to make room for a fairly untested rookie.
— Moves Bourn to 9th in the order *if* we keep him.
Just very, very weird.
that was the worst, a genu-wine peckin’ party.
the reply was a simple “I’m not leaving.” That’s the sound bite we’ll eventually see sometime in the future.
But really, what do you want the kid (the big kid, I mean) to say in that sitch, a cute kiddie moment? A nuanced answer that would also be shown here and dissected? He’s a jock, one we are not emotionally attached to. Let’s not start this again.
Harv, are you saying that we shouldn’t obsessively perform linguistic forensics on every innocuous utterance that might feed our stifling insecurities? I don’t know if I’m capable of that.
Is it just me, or would introducing these lead to a “game” where kids try to light them up?
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/futuresport/201310/introducing-smart-cap-concussion-testing
I agree. And, specifically on Bourn, he states that he’s the perfect leadoff batter and he believes that he has a ton left in the tank, then he moves him to 9th?
no idea how we come up with the $20mil to pay Kazmir/Ubaldo nor why we would need/want both of them with our other issues and needs.
On Kipnis/J.Ramirez – first, Ramirez has a ton to prove and may be a bust, we don’t know yet. second, if Ramirez’s footwork and quick-twitch IF defense is so good, then why not consider Kipnis for the pretty much vacant 3B job? it worked for Manny Machado and Kipnis has a strong enough arm for that position.
Also, Francona LOVES him some Masterson and that would honestly shock me to trade him despite the obvious reasons that the Indians might consider it.
the craziest part though is barely mentioning Chisenhall as potentially needing an upgrade for offense or defense at 3B. sure, he might progress and we might have to rely on it. but, he was willing to make some other big suggestions and just ignores that obvious issue. he only says at the very end he’s open to someone “BIG” which seems to be a reference to the Masterson trade?
no, just saying you didn’t point out that when Kyrie “teared up” he wiped the inside of his eye rather than the outside actual tear duct area. He’s so gone.
he wiped the inside of his eye? that is incredibly unsafe and unhealthy. those types of habits are why he has yet to play a full season!
it’s like giving a bunch of college kids a breathalyzer. it seems like a good idea (test themselves so they don’t drive drunk) until they try to see how high a reading they can get on it.
if they can’t sign Masterson this off-season (doubtful) what does love have to do with it? They loved Vic, they loved CC … Fans are in denial here. They won’t let a front of rotation starter in his prime walk without trying to get something. This is SOP, just like avoiding arbitration. Save your shock in the event they watch him walk after 2014 as a free agent.
I agree, but it’s different than fan-love. It’s Francona love. I think he holds more weight in the discussions. Also, unlike CC and Lee, we’d be getting back a 1st round pick if we let Masterson walk. So, letting him walk is a valid option (get 1 year of production + 1st round pick. makes a trade less likely as we need to get back equal value to that).
Can Kip play 3B?
What are they going to do with Cabera? They have to do something with him, and I can see Aviles playing there until Lindor is ready
do any GMs owe us a favor? if not, then I think we are stuck throwing him out there and hoping his bat returns.
That would be ideal if we could move him around trade deadline and Lindor comes up (or sooner). No way we are paying Kazmir 9M
I know that its a prospect-love site, but that was nuts with Ramirez. The kid just turned 21, and his bat at AA this year demonstrates just how young he is. He’s not ready to handle a full time major league role yet. I’m excited about him too, but he’s not good enough to push an all-star off his position.
Agree on moving Bourn down (I don’t like 9th, but still bottom third of the order), of the 12 guys likely coming back, he was 7th in OBP. He’s got to set the table better if he’s going to lead off.
what is the better value – Masty for another season (or part of a season) plus a first round choice who has yet to be tested by minor league ball, or no more Masty (or part of a Masty season) plus a few minor league-tested or young major-league tested young guys?
Francona loves all his players, and he probably feels pretty secure long term. Let’s be objective here about possibilities.
I think Masterson for another season + 1st round pick is more likely a better value (depends on the unknown of the players we could get back for him).
Not going to talk about our recent first round picks. What are the chances Naquin or Frazier see a tribe uniform at some point next season? Some may say they have a ways to go, but some of the youngsters have been killing it.
There’s a lot of factors here. How good will this team be next year? I think you try to make another run at 90+ wins, which means keeping Masterson. Flags fly forever. What level are the minor leaguers at? If they can get guys close to being ready to contribute to the MLB team, then its a lot more palatable.
And, hey, I know it’s Cleveland, but maybe Masterson will want to sign an extension well into his FA years here.
Frazier is pretty far. Talented, but just turned 19, and hasn’t even hit Lake County yet. Naquin needs to move faster through the organization. College player with numbers trending towards Crowe. I don’t expect him before mid-2015, and even then, I’m not holding out much hope for him being an impact player.
I don’t deny the possibility if we are in contention. This comment thread started with my reaction to mgbode saying a Masty trade would shock him. I say that shock would be misplaced, it would be perfectly consistent with Shapiro/Antonetti protocol. I’d be pleasantly surprised by a different outcome.
Agree that I wouldn’t be shocked. We just saw Tampa do this last summer, and we’re in the same boat as them. Small market teams can’t operate the same way as the big boys. But, maybe I’m way too optimistic, but I want to take another run, and save any Jimenez/Kazmir money to throw at keeping Masterson around.
me too. In my mind Masty is the much safer bet for big money than either of those other guys. If I’m Kazmir, after being dangled over the career abyss I’m like the NBA’s Shaun Livingston, I’m getting the most guaranteed money I can wherever I can. Sign Masty and hope Calloway can spin some more pitching gold.
Just don’t think they will.