First the bad news

Indians beat writer Anthony Castrovince has a wonderful wrap of two interview/press conference the Indians held over the last two days. The two major things to note are that the Indians are looking to lose $16 million this year and over the last four years the Indians have only one playoff apprearance and that is probably as good as our front office thinks it can do with what it has been given.

Yeah, these aren't very cheery revelations. We could have come to this conclusion on our own but having to be told it is a lot like learning there is no Santa Claus. Looking back on it, competing on a regular basis seemed a little farfetched but cheering for a sports team is often about blind belief that your team is just as good as any team and has every right to win every night.

But enough doom and gloom - the Indians won another series today!

Tuesday's series opener against the Twins was David Huff betraying everything I had said in my last series preview. Huff only went 4.2, giving up 11 hits and being tagged for seven earned runs. You might be asking about that offense of ours. Don't even worry about it since we didn't break up the shutout until the bottom of the ninth. Back-to-back doubles (the only ones the Indians had in the game) in the ninth by Jhonny Peralta and Travis Hafner with one out was the sole scoring this team could muster. Jhonny and Travis also represent the only two players with multiple hits. Jensen Lewis pitched in relief of Huff and proceeded to give up a first-pitch three-run homer to Chris Gomez. So Jensen Lewis is back! Chris Perez and Tony Sipp both pitched hitless one strikeout innings. Tribe (44-62) lose big time 10-1.

Wednesday's game was easier to watch, or listen to, believe me. First of all, we had Aaron Laffey on the mound. You might remember Aaron as that pitcher with a winning record that we can expect to pitch for this team next year. The offense tonight was provided by the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 9 spots in the lineup. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Trevor "not Matt LaPorta" Crowe had two hits and scored two runs and added an RBI. Asdrubal Cabrera was three for three with a pair of RBI's. Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo also had two RBI apiece. Laffey on the other end of things had things locked down. Laffey pitched a career-best eight innings, scattering six hits, allowing one run, and striking out, what I believe might be a career high too, five. Mark DeRosa's player to be named later Jess Todd made his Indians debut, pitching a scoreless one hit, one strikeout ninth. Tribe (45-62) win, kind of big time, 1-8.

Well if those games didn't have enough tension for you then today's game should have been more to your liking. Fausto Carmona, making his second start since being recalled from a stint in the minors, allowed a base runner in every inning he worked, often the leadoff hitter too. Carmona, however, worked out of those situations, just as you expected him to implode. Fausto finished the day with six innings, six hits, and three walks, holding the Twins to just one run. Tony Sipp turned in a solid 1.1 innings of relief before allowing a base runner and being replaced by Joe Smith who got out of the eigth unmolested. The Indians' offense wasn't having much success agaisnt Nick Blackburn who has pretty much owned the Indians to the tune of a 4-0 record coming into today. Peralta's sac fly in the fourth might help explain to you how he went oh for three with an RBI but Trevor "Michael Brantley" Crowe's seventh inning double scoring Hafner is what put the Indians up 1-2. Kerry Wood, who hasn't pitched in five days, comes in and gets his club leading 15th save. Indians (46-62) win 1-2.

The Indians won another series and are winners of 10 of their last 15. I want to say I like the energy the new guys like Crowe, Chris Gimenez, and Wyatt Toregas bring, but it could be that the Indians winning is what I'm attracted to right now.

Game 1: Jeremy Sowers, LHP (3-7, 4.97) vs. Mark Buehrle, LHP (11-5, 3.79)
Game 2: Carl Pavano, RHP (9-8, 5.37) vs. To be announced
Game 3: David Huff, LHP (5-6, 6.81) vs. Jose Contreras, RHP (4-10, 4.95)

Who runs these teams with records like 56-53 but can't set a rotation? I guess when you're possibly in contention picking who you want to pitch takes a little more thought. Or maybe when you have more than one option it could be difficult too. Now I'm not a betting man, but who do you like in game one?

Our fine Indians radio announcers pointed out that the Tribe have this three game series, get Monday off, return to Cleveland to face the Rangers for three, only to leave town again and head to Minnesota for three games, and get Monday off again to return home for a proper homestand.

Go Tribe!

(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Braylon

I didn't realize until just now that he's officially listed as out with a "non-football injury" and that no details have been disclosed by him or the club. Braylon himself, when asked how he got injured (from the PD):

"Talk to coach Mangini about that and see what he says."

Subsequently asked whether he did it playing basketball:

"Talk to coach Mangini."


Fortunately, I can translate Braylon-speak! What he meant was:

"I'm trying to conceal how I got hurt."

and

"Yes."


Nice to see a guy who so frequently blames others for his mistakes once again not owning up to something. Come on, man.

FCF at the Cleveland Triathlon: Year 2

FCF co-founders Nick and I made our triathloning debut in the Cleveland Triathlon last year, and this weekend returned, determined for even better things. We each placed second in our age brackets in 2008; the results were quite a bit different this year for both Nick and Andy, for vastly different reasons. At right you see a camera phone pic I took of Downtown today, including the harbor where we swam and parts of the bike and run courses.

Having learned our lesson about not eating well the night before a race from our adventures the week before at Pittsburgh, we were much healthier on Saturday evening this time out. There were a few complications; I had to borrow Nick's backup swimsuit after misplacing mine, and we had to take a trip to Bike Authority to fix a punctured inner tube on Nick's bike, but all was well. We went to Progressive Field, where the Indians completed their Ways to Lose Baseball Games Bingo card by balking in the winning run in the 12th. Knowing we'd have to get up before 5 am the next day, we cut bait after the 10th inning.

As veterans, we were much better informed and prepared this year. Most notable change: we showed up on time. This allowed us to get reasonable transition area position and get settled in before hitting the water. We hopped in during the second wave, right after the Super Sprint people did their little race. I tend to belittle the Super Sprint, and I suppose International racers do the same for the Sprint distance, but Super Sprint really is short.

This year's race featured 290 entrants, up from 214 last year, making the swim a bit more hectic. Nick was 20th out of the water, kicking it out in 9:55, while I was 120th out at 13:34. His was 1 minute slower than last year; mine was three minutes slower. There's no T1 (swim to bike transition) listed, but it seems the bike time incorporates that. Hard to tell. On the bright side, Lake Erie was the perfect temperature to swim in.

The cycle was where each of us made our most significant improvements, thanks to better gear and, at least on my part, more of an emphasis on cycle training. There was a little bit of rain on the course and some wind blowing east, but nothing we couldn't handle. I cycled in 52:08, 47th-best and almost four minutes faster than last year; Nick blazed in 47:47, dropping more than five minutes from 2008. Knock about 1:30 off of those if they indeed include T1, and you see what bike monsters we are. Apparently concerned about not looking silly enough. Nick added this comical aero bar-mounted water bottle for this race. Good times.

Conditions were very good for the run; better than my time was, anyway. As I've mentioned, I had knee surgery now 11 weeks ago, and my running isn't nearly where it should be. Well, today the knee was physically fine (yay!), though I was a bit tired rolling off the bike. The problem: I've got no training base on foot anymore. So structurally I was sound, but ran out of gas quicker than I'm accustomed to. That's not accurate - one has to have something in the first place to run out of it. The result: a lame 27:56, for 78th place. Nick was the 5th-best runner, at 22:07.

We definitely both improved in transition; Nick took a minute off his T2 (bike to run) and I dropped 30 seconds from my own. I mentioned before about T1, but Nick certainly got back a lot of time there. When the dust settled, Nick ended up at 1:19:48, ~10 minutes faster than last year; at 1:33:36, I managed to best my 2008 time by a minute, injuries and all. Nick's effort was good for 6th overall (up from 21st last year); mine put me at 58th (from 43rd). Yes, I ran faster this year and dropped 15 spots. As with last week, if you give me my last year's running time, things improve considerably; I would have had 41st. Oh well, this is a Cleveland race, so there's always next year.

The age groups are where it gets interesting. Nick destroyed his age group, beating the next "20-24" year-old guy by approximately 15 minutes. That's ridiculous. I would have placed second in Nick's division, but I'm not in the Young Bucks Division anymore. No, this year, I'm in the "30-34" bracket. I use the quotation marks because, in case I wasn't clear on this last week, I'M NOT 30 YET. As I said, I would have placed 2nd in Nick's division, and I would have gotten 5th in 25-29, right behind a friendly fellow named Kyle who puled away from me in the run. Inasmuch as I'm 29, that seems the most relevant piece of information. Unfortunately, the geniuses at USAT have decided I'm 30 (I'm not), leaving me right in the middle at 10th out of a group of 19. It's tough being old. For the record, Nick would have got 2nd in my group as well.

So, the big race for the year is over, and I think we both have to be pleased with our progress. Next year, I can see Nick gunning for Top 5 overall. Barring any unforeseen knee operations, I'm looking to break 1:30. This year, we're looking at Lorain and Erie, both of which will be a little more low-key than the big one. I can say this for certainty: they will both have better-looking t-shirts than this abomination . I think my face in this photo communicates my thoughts on the shirt more effectively than words could. Really, pink/brown/orange on a tan background? Did they have surplus tan shirts and pink ink? This thing is amazing. I can't believe I wore it out of my house after the race. But everything else about the day I enjoyed.

Look we scheduled these things so we still have to play them.

If you haven't already I recommend you read Anthony Castrovince's blog post today Sooner or later, it all comes down to money and Paul Cousineau's A Lazy Sunday and The End of an Era. Specifically AC's article pretty much summaries what I was trying to get at in my last post, but in a more professional manner. PC touches on the how he has to explain to his wife the loss of Cliff Lee and Victor Maritnez. Often those closest to us and even ourselves sometimes forget how this is a business, and trying to win is part of that business, but so is making money. Unfortunately having the usual Cleveland sports mindset, especially in baseball I think, we often cling to players we like and can identify with since come the postseason we're not exactly sure what to do with ourselves. So without the continuous hope of contention and the idea that players are moved for competitive reasons, often when we lose Jim Thome, or Omar Vizquel, or Victor Martinez we wonder why. We have a hard time believing people when they tell us in the long term this will make the team better when we're not that kind of city. We don't expect success but we do expect to see Victor behind home plate. That and trying to rationalize this to my dad during our weekly chat is not going to be easy.

OK enough of the past - on to the present. Friday saw the return of Fausto Carmona. Following the 2007 season, Fausto was signed to a long term deal (which we have been horrible at lately: see Hafner, Carmona, Westbrook) thinking that he was the post-CC ace of this team. Well thanks to Cliff Lee I finally got to witness a Cleveland Indians pitcher win 20 games, but unfortunately Carmona has been on a free fall that took him all the way to the Arizona rookie league. But he's back. Previously I talked about how he has been sort of reined in. My fear was that while he may walk fewer batters he would also be less dominating. Logically I should be happy with a guy who can go seven innings. Turning Carmona into more of a pitcher and allowing him to better control his emotions is probably the best we can hope for over the rest of his contract. So what did we get from Carmona Friday? Only 5.0 innings with two earned runs and four walks. OK? Not exactly what I wanted but it's his first day back and on a staff like this two runs in five innings is close to the norm. So what happened next? Well pretty much your usual 13-inning game, involving relief appearances by Jose Veras, Rafael Perez, Tony "I'm just being used in single batter situations these days" Sipp, Joe Smith, a 1.1-inning blown save by Kerry Wood, and then somehow four innings of scoreless relief by Tomo Ohka. Offensively, Asdrubal Cabrera had two hits and three RBI, and Trevor Crowe's three hits and three runs scored was pretty nice, but it was a 13th-inning double by Jhonny Peralta and a single by Jamey Carroll that provided the Indians with the win. Tribe (43-60) win 5-6 in 13.

Saturday's starter for the Indians was Jeremy Sowers, a guy I've been down on for a while. However, on this night, Sowers pitched infuriatingly well. Often I just want him to suck and be released, but I guess I'll just have to wait longer. Sowers' 6.0 innings and two runs represent the high end of what Sowers can be expected do. The real treat was seeing newly-acquired Justin Masterson's Indians debut, where he tossed three scoreless while only surrendering two hits. Unfortunately this was another extra-inning game and the Indians relief corps can't be relied on twice in two evenings, can it? No, I guess not. Jose Veras is probably the only guy on this team who I can clearly question right now. Ohka showed he can provide long relief but Veras can't possibly play into the Indians future. Luckily Veras did me a favor by balking in the winning run, as if to say "Look! Look how bad I am!" Tribe (43-61) lose 4-3.

Today's starter was Carl Pavano. I've written at least three times in this blog that not trading Pavano makes no sense. And it appears that either this was dismissed by the readers of this blog either because they agreed with me or thought me too stupid to correct. It now appears that the Indians will get a Type B free agent compensation pick for Pavano which probably outweighs any return they would have gotten for him on the trade block. Today Carl Pavano showed why he is the ace of this staff. Well because he's the oldest and has the most number of wins over his career, I guess. Anyway, my kidding aside, Pavano cruised - and I mean cruised - today. In the top of the seventh Pavano struck out Carlos Guillen on three pitches, got Ryan Rayburn to fly out after two pitches, and Brandon Inge to fly out on one pitch. Six pitches and three outs. Of course Pavano pitching with an 11-run lead probably didn't hurt. 11 runs, yes 11. Both Grady Sizemore and Cabrera homered with a guy on and two outs. Andy Marte had his first double of the season, which scored Jhonny Peralta and Luis Valbuena. Actually, just assume everyone had a two-run XBH. Pavano finished the day after eight innings, allowing six hits and only one run, which came in the eighth, the only inning in which the Tigers had more than one hit. Jensen Lewis pitched the ninth , striking out two in his return. Carl Pavano won his ninth game, which is more than he had in four years as an overpaid Yankee. Tribe (44-63) win 1-11.

Up next is a three-game set at Progressive Field with the Minnesota Twins. Your pitching matchups:

Game 1: Scott Baker, RHP (8-7, 4.86) vs. David Huff, LHP (5-5, 6.39)
Game 2: Francisco Liriano, LHP (4-10, 5.56) vs. Aaron Laffey, LHP (4-3, 4.08)
Game 3: Nick Blackburn, RHP (8-5, 3.83) vs. Fausto Carmona, RHP (2-6, 7.13)

David Huff isn't exactly a thrilling pitcher, prospect-wise or to watch even. He does, however, represent a solid starter that can't be counted out against anyone. I think of him as the new Jake Westbrook. In game two the Indians face the Minnesota Twins' version of Fausto Carmona: Francisco Liriano. He was shut down before his last scheduled start due to forearm tightness. Despite what I may have said above about him, I still think Fausto can come back to be a decent number two or three pitcher for the Indians. He did OK against Detroit after the first inning and Thursday's game will hopefully be another step in the right direction.

Go Tribe!

(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

Training camp log: Day 1

Ha, I'm kidding. Not that I didn't attend training camp this morning (I did), but that I would post any sort of daily log about it. For that matter, I don't really know if today was the first day of camp. I sort of just wanted to check it out once, and it was about what I expected.

Any hacky blogger or professional can give you opinion, analysis, and insight into the key questions surounding the 2009 Browns: who's going to be the QB? How will the influx of new players affect the defense? Will any rookies step up?

I'm going list funny things that I saw.

- I arrived with my work cohort AT, and quickly started off with one of many staph-related jokes of the day. Hilarious.

- I knew that Braylon Edwards, the team's resident dummy, had failed a physical earlier this week, and wondered aloud where he was. Running "sprints" on the alternate field where kickers were kicking and Ryan Pontbriand was dominating, was the answer to that question. Someone mentioned his basketball-related injury and I speculated as to whether he was unable to catch basketballs as well.

-Head Coach Eric Mangini paces around in a dark top and appears to rarely say anything. I think you have to do this as a head coach, staying above the fray and overseeing things. Or maybe he was hung over - one of the two.

- Some goofball fan yelled to a group of assistants: "Hey coaches, we want to win against Pittsburgh!" The coach quickly responded, "We want to win against everyone." Well spoken.

- When the team moved to more footballish action instead of group drills, Jerome Harrison fumbled almost immediately and was assigned a penalty lap. He ran it incompletely and incredibly lazily. Last year made it clear that he's not a coaches' favorite, and I think maybe I see why.

- The first down markers listed "P" instead of "1" on 1st downs. Still haven't figured this out. The rest were numbered correctly.

- The Browns blared music from time to time to force players to concentrate. The selections were pretty diverse because the individual players supposedly picked them. Owing to the team's demographic makeup, many of the songs were rap. At one point, a country song came on, and one fan remarked, "Fraley music!"

- Instead of pinnies, NFL players wear these ridiculous colored skullcap things over their helmets to identify one unit from another in situations where the white/offense, brown/defense thing isn't applicable. These struck me as largely ineffective.

- The circumstances here are irrelevant. If you're wearing Minnesota Vikings gear to Browns training camp, you are an idiot. Get your brain fixed.

- One girl behind me somehow got it in her head that Cleveland Browns Stadium was on the other side of the "wall" that turned out to be one side of the Browns' practice fieldhouse. We're a long way from downtown, honey.

- During a discussion of the Big Ten roots of some Browns both favorable (Robiskie) and unfavorable (Edwards), AT pointed out that not all Browns fans are Buckeyes fans and vice versa, citing Steubenville Buckeye/Steeler fans. Some guy with a giant bag of sunflower seeds and a ridiculously long goatee overheard and came up, jokingly telling us that "hey, you'd better not say anything bad about Steubenville." So I didn't tell him about how dirty it was and how much my parents hated living there. He told us he was actually a Steeler fan here to see Adam Hoppel (#67), a kid from his area's high school, then spent like the next 15 minutes telling us uninteresting factoids about Hoppel. I really don't remember asking. Sadly, there was no way to escape this non-conversation. Wow, what a surprise that the one steeler fan at Browns camp turned out to be the biggest douchebag there.

Tribe fever!

I received two texts following the Indians' 13-inning win against the Tigers last night, both of which came in well after I'd gone to bed following a blown save by Kerry Wood and fizzled 9th-inning Tribe effort to reclaim the lead.

The first, from sometime FCF contributor Doug:
"Fuck the Indians...im [sic] so pissed they won tonight"

The second, from Free Republic of East 12th Street denizen Mister X:
"Had 'em all the way. Big fat fucking deal."

Such enthusiasm! These next two years are going to be splendid - good seats still available! I've rooted for bad Indians teams before, and I'll get through this too, even though it won't be great. I'm trying to be a little more optimistic than my cohorts; fun victories are going to be scarce, so I'm going to make an effort to enjoy them as much as I can when they happen.

In other news, I fucking HATE the Boston Red Socks. I really, really didn't think I could hate them anymore, and then in the span of 24 hours I found out that their two best hitters cheated to win their championship(s) and that they stole the Tribe's best and most popular player. Fuck you, Boston Red Socks.

[Yes, I know Indians players probably are on the infamous 2003 list, but we don't have any championships to be tainted. There's at least some benefit to a 45-year title drought. Sports are awesome.]

You Lost Today Kid, But That Doesn't Mean You Have To Like It

Now we come to the hardest part of any GM's job: the trades. I didn't trade everyone I wanted to, but I did trade of a lot of you.

I was thinking the other day of the feeling I had in mid to late 2007 and right before the 2008 season began. It was this feeling of "even if things don't work out at least we're going to be good, right?" Wrong. So what has happened over the last few days shouldn't come as a surprise. It is obvious that the Indians ownership kind of went for broke this offseason. Well, as go for broke as you'll probably ever see. By signing Kerry Wood and trading for Mark DeRosa, 2009 was going to be a year of giving it the old college try, so to speak. However nothing really worked out as hoped, leading us to today.

Trading Victor Martinez hurts. Trading Cliff Lee isn't too surprising. However Victor was our guy, our captain. He wasn't playing for a lot of money and he was was always a trustworthy clutch hitter. Being from Venezuela he always wanted to be a shortstop and reportedly cried his eyes out when he was told to play catcher. While he occasionally flirted with Ted Williams-like batting averages he wasn't much for the limelight. In a previous post I said trade anyone not named Sizemore, Cabrera, Martinez, and Choo and I wish things had gone that way. By trading Victor you have ripped the heart out of the Indians fanbase who probably won't return until something like 2007 happens again.

So, the question is: how did we get here? The aforementioned signing of Wood and trade for DeRosa didn't help. The team was forced into a situation of winning or at least competing this year to make good on this payroll. However, that didn't happen. So with half of 2009 gone and the Indians not really drawing much attendance, something had to be done. Yes, sticking with the team we already had was an option but that probably leaves no flexibility for 2010 and this team needed pitching. So we traded anyone we could for pitching, simple as that.

Ryan Garko is a role player but not enough at first base. So he is off to the Giants.

Rafael Betancourt had a big option on the table for next year which the Indians had no intention of picking up, so why not get something for him?

Cliff Lee is a great pitcher who was cheap and had a reasonably cheap option for 2010. However seeing the writing on the wall management decided to take the best trade they could get. Yes, the trade was underwhelming. But I'm sure it was the best one on the table. Trading Cliff Lee now was really the right choice. If 2010 is a wash getting what you could for him now is better than waiting for 2010 when his stock could be lower and teams only get a few months of service.

Victor Martinez was a forgone conclusion. Inside I want Victor to be an Indian forever but his future is pretty cloudy. He is a great-hitting catcher, but at first base he is just above average. He's 30 and catchers aren't known for their longevity. On top of that Victor's defense and ability to throw out or even hold baserunners has been criticized. Oh and he has a history of injuries. So Victor's gone. Unfortunately, as Paul Cousineau said over at the DiaTribe, to a team I can not cheer for.

Carl Pavano hasn't pitched too well of late, and thus hasn't really drawn too much attention, but I suspect he might be a waiver away from being traded, and keeping him makes no sense. The real albatross is the contract of part-time DH Travis Hafner. With all this talk of payroll and budget cuts I can't help but look at Pronk's $11 million this year and next and then $13 million for 2012 and 2013. That's a lot of years and money for a DH who can't play every day. In reality, it is a lot of money for any team let alone one as payroll-focused as our Indians.

As the title implies, while I'm going to have to accept this trade and the fact the 2010 is probably going to suck, that doesn't mean I have to like it. Actually I wouldn't be too surprised if we won more games in 2010 than we do this year.

Game 1: Edwin Jackson, RHP (7-5, 2.59) vs. Fausto Carmona, RHP (2-6, 7.42)
Game 2: Rick Porcello, RHP (9-7, 4.62) vs. Jeremy Sowers, LHP (3-7, 5.15)
Game 3: Armando Galarraga, RHP (5-9, 4.84) vs. Carl Pavano, RHP (8-8, 5.66)

So we finally have the return of Fausto Carmona. Reports have been that he's walking fewer guys but he just doesn't have the same quality major league stuff. So tonight we see what the possibly-neutered Carmona can do. The ballad of Jeremy Sowers continues Saturday. Someday he won't be on this team. I'm kind of looking forward to that day. Our staff ace Carl Pavano takes the mound Sunday. Yep, just look at those ERA's, really something to behold.

Go Tribe!

(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

Your '09 Cleveland Browns: Running Backs

It hasn't always felt like summer, but here we sit in late July. The All-Star game is history, training camps are firing up, fantasy leagues are drafting, and the Tribe has traded their latest Cy Young winner. Football season hasn't quite arrived, but it's not far away, either. With the Browns' roster basically set, it's time to give each position a closer look, starting with the running backs. I've thrown the fullbacks into the mix also, because frankly, it would be a waste of time to try writing a true "fullback preview".

The Cast
Starters: Jamal Lewis (RB), Lawrence Vickers (FB)
Backup: Jerome Harrison
On the bubble: James Davis, Noah Herron, Charles Ali(FB)

Glancing back...
After running the ball surprisingly well in 2007, Cleveland's rushing attack - and the offense as a whole - struggled mightily in 2008. Several factors likely contributed to the team's problems on the ground, including injuries and inconsistency from the offensive line, a passing attack that wasn't nearly as potent as it was one year earlier, and the fact that Jamal Lewis was banged up, and clearly wasn't running with his typical burst.

When Jamal Lewis arrived from Baltimore in 2007, he seemed pretty washed up. At the time, I certainly thought that signing Lewis was questionable at best. In 2005 and 2006, Lewis' yards per carry fell to 3.4 and 3.6, respectively, marking the first times he'd averaged less than 4.3 YPC in his career. But Lewis defied the critics in 2007, posting a healthy 4.4 YPC average, running for over 1,300 yards, and finding the end zone 9 times, as he helped the Browns become one of the NFL's pleasant surprises.

After adding depth on the offensive line and an additional wideout in Donte Stallworth, the Browns looked primed burn up the bulbs on score boards everywhere. As we know all too well, last season didn't exactly go according to plan. The offensive line was banged up and inconsistent at best, Derek Anderson played his way onto the bench, Brady Quinn's season ended prematurely due to a finger injury, Braylon Edwards couldn't catch a cold, Donte Stallworth became one of the worst free agent signings in Cleveland Browns history, and the last four games were quarterbacked by a combination of Bruce Gradkowski and Ken Freaking Dorsey (KFD, for short). Other than that, everything was peachy.

Taking the vast majority of the carries, Jamal Lewis' YPC plummeted by almost a full yard, down to 3.6. Even with 279 carries, Lewis barely cracked the 1,000-yard mark. Some of his problems can be chalked up to the problems of the offensive line (and well, the offense in general), but Lewis didn't look like he did in 2007, and his lack of burst was noticeable.

Questions about why Jerome Harrison wasn't getting more carries grew from whispers to screams of frustration by mid-season, and Harrison's continued absence was dumbfounding. In spite of averaging 7.2 YPC for the year (and 6.2 YPC the previous season), then-coaches Crennel and Chudzinski largely - and inexplicably - kept Harrison riding the pine.

The highlight of Harrison's season was his 72-yard touchdown run in Buffalo that helped the Browns notch their fourth and final victory of the season. Sadly, that was in week 11. In spite of the fact that he showed major flashes whenever he was given opportunities, Harrison received five or more touches only three times, and averaged less than three touches per game.

Coaches cited Harrison's lackluster blocking ability when explaining why he didn't play consistently, but when you see a guy display that kind of explosiveness, you find ways to get him the ball. The curious case of Jerome Harrison was just another example of how Romeo Crennel could, when evaluating certain players, allow minor flaws to compromise his judgment of the player's entire catalog of skills. In Harrison's case, Crennel definitely didn't celebrate the guy's entire catalog.

The other running back of consequence last season was Jason Wright, who skipped town during free agency to hang out with John McCain and play for the NFC champs. Wright had been with the Browns since he was signed in 2005, and had his best season in 2007, when he gained over 500 total yards. Although he lacked the raw skills to start, Wright was sound fundamentally and a solid third down back. No tears were shed upon his departure, although now all of my "Wright stuff" puns are toast.

Lawrence Vickers handled most of the fullback duties again last season, and Vickers is an above-average player, albeit at one of the most unappreciated positions on the field. In addition to being a sound blocker, Vickers has good speed for a big guy, and pretty solid hands. Vickers is fairly reliable as a safety valve receiver, runs well enough that he could be a serviceable goal line back, and he might even be able to split carries in a pinch.

The other fullback on the roster, Charles Ali, is more in the Terrelle Smith mould. Ali is a little slower and bulkier than Vickers, making him an effective blocker, but you don't want to see Chuck toting the rock. Ali did most of his work on special teams last season, and he also started four games when Vickers was sidelined.

I'm sick of talking about the '08 season. It's like Caddyshack II- let's just pretend it never happened.

Looking forward...

Let's just get the obligatory fullback discussion finished. Lawrence Vickers will once again break camp as the starter, and he should be an above-average player like he's been in the past. Although Vickers has the skill set to do more than just block, I don't expect Eric Mangini's offense to look for cute ways to get him involved. Vickers will block, and his touches should be few and far between. It's far from a certainty that Charles Ali will earn a roster spot, but my gut tells me that Mangini will like this guy. Ali is about as good of a backup fullback as you can hope for, and Coach Penguin may even prefer him to Vickers in certain formations due to his size. If Ali can show something on special teams, I think he sticks.

As much as I like Jerome Harrison, Jamal Lewis is the key to the running back position in 2009. Eric Mangini's offense will supposedly stress ball control and focus on a power running game, and Lewis is certainly the most power-oriented back on the roster. If the offensive line is better and Lewis is hitting on all cylinders, there's no reason to think he can't produce at a level either equal or similar to 2007.

As was mentioned earlier, an ankle injury hampered Lewis last season, especially down the stretch. Off-season ankle surgery should have rectified that problem. Although Lewis is going to turn 30 in late August (an age when many backs are put out to pasture) and has plenty of wear on his tires (1 carry short of 2,400), his legendary conditioning program is such that he might be able to play effectively well into his 30s.

With Lewis, there are two major question marks and they both relate to injury. First, will Lewis' bum ankle be good as new? And second, are we going to see a pattern of nagging injuries for Lewis that will have a cumulative effect? Unfortunately the answer to each query is anyone's guess at this point, but once the season starts, we'll find out quickly.

Although Jamal Lewis is the most critical cog in this season's backfield, expect to see far more of Jerome Harrison in the past. In my new book, Observing Incompetent Coaching, I devote an entire chapter to Romeo Crennel's incomprehensible neglect for Jerome Harrison over the last two seasons. The fact that Eric Mangini has liked what he's seen from Harrison and intends to get him plenty of touches should let me get to sleep this season without the aid of Jack Daniels. Honestly, Harrison's skills have been painfully obvious to just about everyone who's watched this team over the last two years.

But we've also heard these empty promises before when it comes to Harrison's playing time, so why should we believe Mangini? Well, for one, everything Mangini does has a purpose, and whether or not I agree with him, it's at least comforting to know that we won't be flipping any more coins to decide who starts at quarterback. But beyond that, there's precedent for how Mangini deals with having a speedy second fiddle like he had in New York with Leon Washington, and I'm certainly not the first to connect those dots.

Washington (Florida State) was drafted in the fourth round during Mangini's first year in the Big Apple, 2006. His rookie year, Washington split carries with Cedric Houston and Kevan Barlow, but was the most effective of the three options. In the 2007 off-season, the Jets traded for Thomas Jones (tough draw being named "Tom Jones" - how many times do you think he had to put up with "It's not unusual" jokes during his youth?), who replaced the three-headed monster as the featured back. Here's the encouraging part: even with Jones starting, Mangini made a point of getting the football into Washington's hands. Despite his reserve status, Washington never had fewer than 100 touches, and gained 566 and 803 yards from scrimmage, respectively, during the last two seasons. Mangini also utilized Washington to return kickoffs and punts.

We can probably expect Mangini to use Harrison in a similar fashion. Like Washington, Harrison is a good receiver, so expect to see some screens and swing passes mixed in. Eight to 10 touches per game is probably realistic. Josh Cribbs is such a phenomenal kick returner that we won't see Harrison returning many kickoffs, but don't be surprised if Harrison replaces Cribbs as the punt return man. That would give Cribbs a little more rest, and might allow Mangini to find some more creative ways to get Cribbs involved in the offense.

There are two questions for Harrison to answer. Number one: will his effectiveness diminish with double-digit touches? Although he's tried to add bulk, Harrison is still on the smaller side, and we don't know how he will handle the punishment that comes with significant playing time. Number two: will Harrison's blocking satisfy Mangini enough to install Harrison as the permanent third down back? If Harrison's blocking can merely be adequate, it would mean he wouldn't compromise the element of surprise for the offense. In other words, if the defense knows that Harrison can't block worth a lick, it's pretty likely that he'll be getting the ball in some way, shape, or form when he's in the game.

The other two backs vying for the number three gig are journeyman Noah Herron and Clemson product James Davis, a sixth round pick in April's draft. Herron is a name that might be vaguely familiar to some fantasy owners.

A seventh round pick of the Steelers in 2005, Herron couldn't cut it in Pittsburgh and ended up in Green Bay. He racked up 45 carries with the Packers in '05 during the final 3 games, as the Pack limped towards the finish line. Go! Pack! Go! In 2006, Herron had only 37 carries, but hit his high water mark in week 5, when he amassed 106 yards, scored a touchdown, and became waiver wire fodder for desperate fantasy owners. Unfortunately for those who took a flier on Herron (timidly raises hand), he saw very limited action for the remainder of 2006. Herron spent 2007 on IR, and spent about a month with the Buccaneers last season, with whom he didn't see any action.

James Davis was a four-year starter at Clemson whose draft stock fell after a lackluster senior year, which was due in part to a poor offensive line. Many draft pundits liked the value the Browns received when they selected Davis with their final pick in the sixth round. Here a link to DraftCountdown's scouting report on Davis. From that report, among others, it appears that Davis runs strong between the tackles, is a solid blocker, and a hard worker. On the negative side, Davis has poor timed speed, lacks agility, and isn't a very good receiver.

As a sixth round pick, Davis is hardly a stone cold lock to make the roster, but his upside should give him a leg up on Herron, whose inability to stick anywhere else should be a major red flag. Herron might have a shot at making the team as the second fullback and a special teams contributor, but I'm willing to bet Charles Ali will edge him out if Mangini decides to retain an extra fullback.

Assuming Davis makes the club, he probably won't see much action unless either Lewis or Harrison sustains an injury. That said, it would be smart to pay attention to Davis during the pre-season games, because he might very well be an important player in 2010.

We already know that Jerome Harrison has talent, and he's finally going to get some reps this season. If all goes well, you've got the "lightning" part of a backfield tandem covered. Jamal Lewis probably has some petrol left in the tank, but at his age you can't take anything for granted, and being on the wrong side of 30 doesn't make it any easier to recover from major injuries. If Lewis can't handle a sizable role in 2010, Davis may become integral. Davis doesn't have to be the featured back, but if he can just provide the "thunder" to Harrison's "lightning", grabbing him in the sixth round could turn out to be a real bargain.

On a quick tangent about organizational philosophy, I'm a huge proponent of adding running backs in the middle and late rounds, as opposed to drafting them high. In the "chicken or egg" debate between running backs and offensive linemen, I'm taking the lineman 99 times out of 100. Teams like Denver and sadly, Pittsburgh, have proven time and again that if you can open holes, it's not difficult to find someone to run through them. Ironically, both of those teams have broken tradition and spent first round picks on running backs in the last two drafts (Rashard Mendenhall and Knowshon Moreno).

The point is that there are two, maybe three backs in the league that are clearly superior to the rest (Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, and possibly LaDainian Tomlinson if he really was slowed by injuries and not age). Outside of those super-elite, there just isn't any reason to pay a premium for a position with a short shelf life, expendability, and fairly negligible differences in skill between the starters for various teams. It makes much more sense to draft a handful of backs late, hope a few pan out, and spend your premium draft choices on offensive linemen who make the rest of the offense better.

Eric Mangini only drafted one running back in three years in New York (Washington, a fourth rounder), although the Jets did trade for Thomas Jones. Next off-season will give us a better idea of how Mangini values the running back position, and how he plans to build there for the long-term. But regardless of what he thinks of running backs, we've learned that he's more than willing to invest high draft picks in offensive linemen. If rookie center Alex Mack can help solidify a line that has major questions on its right side, Jamal Lewis and the other backs should look forward to more room to run in 2009, and hopefully, a big spike in production.

The 10 Best Sporting Events to See Live OR: Rick Reilly Has Weird Taste in Sports

In a column that ESPN paid him roughly 4.5 billion euros to pen for their website, Rick Reilly lists and defends an arbitrary collection of sport-ish gatherings that he calls the 10 best sporting events to see live. I'm really, really not a fan of Reilly's, and this list certainly confirms why. Out of the 10 we have:

- 1 exhibition event
- 1 dog sled race
- 2 golf tournaments
- A non-playoff baseball game
- A sailing race
- A bicycling race
- A non-NCAA tournament college basketball game
- A tennis tournament
- A horse race

It's almost like these were chosen at random - either that, or maximal annoyance of me. Why would you want to attend a golf tournament or a sailing race? It's so ridiculous that I feel the need to pick on Reilly's specious reasons for selecting them.

10. Home Run Derby -- Better than the All-Star Game because it's never ended in a tie. Besides, it's everything real baseball is not. Guys swing at every pitch. Every third ball is a souvenir. And you don't have to wait 45 seconds while Nomar Garciaparra re-Velcros his entire uniform between pitches.
Having not ended in a tie doesn't make it better than anything. That doesn't in any way speak to its quality as an event. Maybe it's fun in person (?), but I watched it on TV this year and it was really dull. Also, is Garciaparra still in the league? Is this from 2001?

9. Iditarod -- Whenever somebody tells me the Iditarod is cruel to dogs, I answer, "I agree, the dogs left at home." You should hear them howl when they're not picked for the team. This is the hardest event to watch. I once had to bribe an ex-Vietnam pilot to fly me to a rest stop in the middle of nowhere, where we landed in a half-plowed field and were picked up by an Inuit on a snowmobile pulling a sled. Try to be in Nome at the end. One bar almost always has a ladies' arm wrestling contest. Trust me, you'd lose.
This doesn't make any sense the second time through, either.

8. Ryder Cup -- Where else can you witness multimillionaires nearly hurling over three-foot gimmes with nothing more at stake than pride and some very ugly shirts? Unlike other golf tournaments, every shot matters every day, for better or worse.
I dunno, can't you see that at any rich, private golf course?

7. Yankees vs. Red Sox at Fenway -- There's no better place in baseball than Fenway, which is like playing in your grandmother's attic. The Green Monster isn't an architect's precious quirk; it was the only way to shoehorn the place onto the available land. And Fenway is filled with people who don't need giant clapping hands on the scoreboard to know when to cheer.
Why is one's grandmother's attic a good place to play baseball? Weird comparison. Do grandmothers have differently-sized attics? I suppose this is one I'd like to attend, even though I despise both clubs, but I think any playoff game automatically trumps it.

6. America's Cup -- You need a good Chris-Craft to see it, but if you can't bum a seat on one, who cares? The pub scene alone is priceless. Endlessly thirsty crew members, billionaires in dorky captain's hats, diamond-dripping cougars, all elbowing each other out at the bar. Bring an extra liver.
The pub scene where, in the ocean? I fail to see how rich people at a bar make this the 6th best sporting event in the world to see live.

5. Tour de France -- Like trying to get to 20 Super Bowls in 23 days, but worth it. Pick a climbing stage, bring friends and a bike, ride the course in the morning before the race (you're allowed), have lunch in a hamlet atop some exquisite Alp, watch the heart-skipping finish, have a bottle of Bordeaux, spend the night, bike down in the morning. Rinse and repeat.
Funny he makes the Super Bowl comparison and then weirdly leaves the SB off the list. Not only does this plan sound completely infeasible, but since when are the finishes of bicycle races ever close?

4. North Carolina vs. Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium -- Fans pulling the hair of Tar Heels players as they inbound the ball; students camping out for months in K-Ville for tix; the hilarious chants from the Crazies, who once yelled at Grant Hill's parents, "One more kid!"; public school vs. private; an electricity that makes the Final Four and its corporate crowd seem like a three-day seminar on bunions.
Bunions? This would be a fun one to go to, though again I'd prefer a tournament game. Do they really pull hair? That seems unsportsmanlike.

3. Wimbledon -- There's nothing in America within a par-5 of it. It's a Windsor Castle garden party with grunting. It's queens and cobblers, cheek to cheek, over grounds so huge it would take you and your Toro a month to mow. It's a phantasmagoria of color -- greens and purples and yellows -- and that's just Bud Collins' pants.
Hilarious pant joke aside, are the games fun to attend? He never addresses this, and it seems like a lot of time in the sun, and the tournament takes forever.

2. Kentucky Derby -- My life's aspiration was to be Damon Runyon, and the Derby is as close as I'll get. With its wooden stands, elegant barns, men in seersucker suits and women in hats you could land an F-14 on, it's 1927 everywhere you look. Don't miss the fillies the day before in the Kentucky Oaks or the Barnstable Brown Gala or the awful race-day breakfast at Wagner's Pharmacy, across from Gate 3. If you hear a tip there, book it, because everyone around you is a trainer, an owner or a groom.
Damon Runyan, another reference that resonates with today's readers. I've heard from friends that this event is fun, so I'll let it slide even though it's a 2-minute horse race.

1. Masters -- Sneak into the clubhouse for the peach cobbler and steal into the Eisenhower Cabin, where some paintings are actually by Eisenhower. Do the par-3 tourney Wednesday and Arnie's first tee shot Thursday; see the droop-shouldered cut players driving out Magnolia Lane Friday, Amen Corner Saturday and golf history Sunday. Because Augusta already has most of the money printed in America, it has not sold out an inch. There are no ads, just flowers. No luxury boxes, just $1.50 egg salad sandwiches. Timeless.
Just two entries ago, Reilly said there was nothing in America within a par-5 of Wimbledon (an odd mixed metaphor), and now he awards the top spot to an American golf course largely on the basis of cheap sandwiches?


Reilly wrote later that he received a lot of critical mail on this piece, and deservedly so. He even wrote a shorter post about five events about which many people inquired: why'd you leave this off? For example, you may have noticed that none of the championships of the 4 major North American sports (college or pro) made his list.

1) The Super Bowl. It's too hyped, too over produced and crammed with too many people who have absolutely nothing to do with football to make any top-10 list. Unless you really think Super Bowl weekend is the place to stage the premier of Barbershop 2, which actually happened. Half the celebs and a third of the corporate suits at it can't name a single player on either team. Most people leave Saturday. The worm now officially eats the bird.
I hate, hate, hate it when people call the Super Bowl "too hyped." It's the biggest fucking game in American sports - should we downplay it? Stay low-key? He was all about the bar scene at the America's Cup - aren't there pre-Super Bowl parties? This is the most inexcusable omission on his list, and what's more, he knows it and seems to be smugly defiant at leaving it off.

2) The World Series. Because baseball is so greedy, the World Series now often doesn't end until Halloween, which means you find yourself sitting in Busch stadium around Nov. 1, freezing your redbird off, not really caring who beats whom, just hoping you can get out of there before your tongue sticks permanently to your frozen beer.
1) Please explain the "greedy" accusation further. 2) If you sat in Busch Stadium last year, you definitely were "not really caring who beats whom," because the Cardinals didn't play, and 3) people watch football games in Buffalo in December, so suck it up. It's the World Series!

3) The Olympics. They're just much, much, much better on TV. Any Olympics. On TV, the men's ski jumping is 30 seconds away from the women's figure skating. In real life, it's two overpriced tickets, four Tylenol and a three-hour bus ride with a Japanese photographer asleep on your shoulder the whole way. Fun for a weekend, but then go home and watch it on your plasma.
I don't doubt that they're better on TV, but aren't a lot of other things? Can't you follow a golf tournament a lot easier on TV, or the Tour de France? That latter one sounded like a real hassle when he described it - now a bus ride is too much? Personally, I'd love to be there for some of the track and field events. If the Kentucky Derby made this list, couldn't the men's 100m final, for instance?

4) The BCS Championship Game. Until we get a playoff, it's a pointless exercise, like covering a Cuban election.
Whether you prefer a playoff or not, it's not "pointless." It decides the championship of a major collegiate sport. The Cuban election thing is a typically forced Reilly metaphor, and an inapt one. It's hard for me to grasp how a one-party rigged election is like two of the best (if not the two best) college football teams in the nation battling for a championship.

5) Soccer. I've had hundreds of emails telling me I'm despicable for not picking Barca v. Real Madrid (Spain); Boca Juniors v. River Plate (Buenos Aires); and Rangers F.C. v. Celtic F.C. (Glasgow), along with a few hundred other rivalries in The Beautiful Fake an Injury Like Your Achilles Just Snapped Game. One guy wrote: "River-Boca fans shoot each other on the streets!" Whoa, cool! Can you get me two up front?
Soccer sucks - I'm with you here, Rick!

I must kill the Queen

As the Tribe gets set to square off against the Angels, who I refuse to call by their silly new-ish name, I see they're sporting their 1986 California Angels uniforms, thus validating me!

I assume all fans watching the game are thinking the same thing as me: Reggie Jackson in an Angels uni in The Naked Gun attempting to kill Queen Elizabeth but ultimately being thwarted by Frank Drebin. One can only hope tonight's game is as exciting, or at least features a lion attacking a baserunner.