WFNY Tribe Night
June 19, 2011Tribe Weekend Review: Sweep and So Much More
June 20, 2011While 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
“Perhaps the return of Hafner takes some pressure off of those players (and Santana certainly seems to like a lineup with Hafner in it as his OPS when Hafner was on the DL was .604 and his OPS with Hafner in the lineup is now .827), but the Indians are only going to go as far as that quartet takes them as the rest of the lineup is too full of holes or one-dimensional (or no-dimensional) players elsewhere to overcome the struggles of those four. Asdrubal and Brantley are still coming into their own as players and the ceilings for those two are appreciably lower than the ones that exist for Hafner, Sizemore, Santana, and Choo. As fun as it is to see his development and maturation as a hitter, Asdrubal isn’t the middle-of-the-order presence that those players were, either in the distant past (Hafner and Sizemore), the not-too-distant-past (Choo) or could be in the near future (Santana) and Cabrera wasn’t/isn’t going to put this team on his back for the whole season to carry them to much more than a couple of wins.
For the Indians, they have to hope that two or three of that quartet of Hafner, Sizemore, Santana, and Choo gets going at the same time because THAT is what is going to pull the team out of its offensive doldrums. Who’s to say when (or if) that time is going to come, but the unfortunate nature of that truth is that the only path to find out when (or if) that quartet is going to start producing is to be patient with them.” [The DiaTribe]
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“In his book, Take Your Eye off the Ball, Pat Kirwan said it should two years to make the switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 – if a team is smart about it. Teams generally have three to four players in their front seven with the skills that translate to the new defense. If the front office does its homework, a team can fill out the front seven in two drafts and one free agency period.
The Browns are on their way to rebuilding the front seven after drafting Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard to join Ahtyba Rubin on the defensive front. The front four the Browns should be modeling themselves after is Minnesota’s with Kevin Williams and Pat Williams at the tackle spots, and Jared Allen and Ray Edwards at the ends.” [Red Right 88]
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Brendan looks at father/son combos in the NBA- “Gerald Wilkens – Damien: Gerald was the second leading scoring behind Patrick Ewing during the late 80’s for the Knicks, and later played for the Cavs in Cleveland. Son Damien scored 45 points in a 9th grade AAU game against yours truly while he was there, and now plays for ATL after being in the NBA for a while. I believe I dropped four points that game in response if you were wondering.” [Crossover Chronicles]
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“Yes, the Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be very active in trade talks. They would love to acquire another lottery pick or a young up-and-comer who has played in the league for a year or two. I don’t know whom they are targeting, so don’t ask. (Well, you can ask, but chances are I’ll just make something up.) I don’t think the Cavs are ready to trade J.J. Hickson. So I highly doubt he would be included in a deal for the No. 2 pick. I’m not sure the Minnesota Timberwolves would want him anyway. That’s not a shot at Hickson, but you have to wonder where he would play with Kevin Love already at power forward.” [Amico/FSO]
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Browns best bet to breakout in 2011?- “Conditions aren’t entirely favorable for McCoy to thrive in 2011, but give him credit — he has taken ownership of the offense. He has organized several player workouts as Cleveland transitions to new head coach Pat Shurmur’s version of the West Coast offense. Ideally, the Browns would be learning the offense under the watchful eyes of Shurmur, his coaching staff and team president Mike Holmgren, but the lockout has shelved those plans. Nonetheless, McCoy, acting as the leader of the offense, is doing his part to stay sharp. The Browns’ revamped offensive scheme should suit McCoy well. He’s a precise passer, which makes him a nice fit. Moreover, McCoy could get a chance to attack downfield more in the offense, which figures to target the wide receivers more frequently. McCoy showed potential in Year One. The Browns were at their best when he was in the lineup, and he should be able to build on that.” [PFW.com/Yahoo]
(AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
3 Comments
Did anyone see the article that Hillis was snubbed from the top 100 list on NFL Network? Really? Could there have been a bigger snub?
this isnt meant to sounds like any hate, but there is way too much Hillismania to be a good thing. I dont know if 1 breakout year puts you in the top 100. Not saying it doesnt, but this guy had only 1 breakout year. I love him and his jumps as much as the next fan, but I if it were up to some fans he would have a statue outside CBS already. I just hope he can keep improving/putting up those numbers this season*.
C’mon 100 players you would rather have. Not bloody likely.