Featured – Page 7 – CLEVELAND WINS !

Nov 19 – Cavalier “Cleveland Wins” Scribbles

Interesting week for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have almost come full circle over the past week and trite over simplifications have been exposed. I will try to keep you up on these developments and provide commentary and perspective.

I watched in person an almost amazing game on Saturday night. The team was most noticeably smoking hot shooting and that carried over to the defense and the offensive rhythm and assists. It was certainly fun to watch and gave us all a glimpse of what this team can be going forward. We all need to be aware that shooting at that level will be a rare exception even for the talented Cavaliers. But the team also showed what sharing the ball and moving bodies with the pass can accomplish. The Cavs showed that defensive effort and intensity leads to run outs and easy transition baskets. Something the Cavs can do on a consistent basis if they make a commitment to defensive effort.

Off the court LeBron took a local reporter to school. The question dealt with the infamous “Rim Protector” saga that will likely follow the Cleveland Cavaliers until the day they either 1) Get one or, better yet, 2) Win a championship to shut them all up. While it is true that the Cavs do not have a “rim protector”, there is no known NBA truism that a team MUST have one to be a great team or win a championship.

What gets me fired up about all this is that there is a constant parroting by the media of this refrain that you need a rim protector to play good defense. Then, once parroted by the media for so long, it is picked up by the bloggers and fans who spew it everywhere like it is an undisputed fact. LeBron quietly and efficiently helped the fans who listened to his recent post-game interview understand the real truth about rim protectors and a winning/championship team.

When asked, he pointed out to Haynes that the Miami Heat never really had a rim protector and they did pretty well. James further explained that many of the great teams, including San Antonio and the historic Bull teams did not have a consistent rim protector type player.

LeBron was trying to put this line of thinking to rest by being so clear in his explanations and providing detail. He discussed the importance of “up top” defense on the ball and the importance of the layers of players below that who need to communicate and scramble to fill open areas of penetration.

As much as it tickled me that LeBron clearly rebutted this overused defensive excuse, I was pretty irritated at how the game was played Monday against the Nuggets. It is true that very few if any NBA players can stay in front of Ty Lawson. However, the entire Nugget team seemed to be able to find their way to open shots. The Cavaliers did not put forth the effort and were not aggressive enough to compete in that game. This is a recurring theme at this point and I hope that it is resolved as they play together more and learn what it takes to consistently win in the NBA. If I were to guess, I believe that they will definitely get better and develop the killer instinct necessary to be a dominant NBA team. I know all of us are counting on it. I was also at that game and left with a much different feeling than after the Atlanta game.

Finally, tonight we played in a “playoff” type game against the San Antonio Spurs. This will be another good learning experience. They watched the Spurs close out each quarter strong and that was the ultimate difference in the game. This is something they can gravitate to over time and learn how important it is to affect the psychology and flow of the game. Overall, this was the middle of the two extremes demonstrated against Atlanta and Denver. They played hard. They competed well. They overall shared the ball. But they didn’t do any of those things as well as against the Hawks. The shooting wasn’t as good. The defense wasn’t as sharp. The transition was sloppy at times.

LeBron has had some trouble with sloppy passing and ball handling throughout these early games. The final possession demonstrated that nicely when he simply lost the ball. We need to keep an eye on this over time and should expect him to get better as the season progresses. I don’t remember this problem before so I will be interested to see how it goes.

Scribbles will return next week or this weekend. In the meantime, GO CAVS !!!

Listen To LeBron’s Advice

LeBron is willing to take on the challenge! — LeBron says “Relax” and so you should !!

Before the Cavaliers take on the Denver Nuggets in a few minutes, I want to put out a couple of thoughts for you to chew on as the game progresses. My first one is a personal one about the team in general and the rest are relevant to the current situation of the Cavs.

1) I wrote multiple articles warning Cavalier fans to be wary of the trade for Kevin Love, not because it wasn’t a fantastic trade, but because there was no clear indication it wasn’t a one year rental. Now that the team has gotten off to a shaky start, it is a great time for me to finalize my position. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE (no pun intended) the trade. I know that Wiggins and Bennett and whoever that draft pick will be might turn into fantastic players (some or all). However, that does not change the fact that this was a spectacular trade now that I am convinced Love intends this to be in Cleveland long term. Things could still change that but I highly doubt it. I believe what he has said and that his intention is to stay. So I wanted to put that to rest first.

2) LeBron’s advice in his tweet to “Relax” is awesome advice for Cavs fans right now. The overreaction to a shaky start is understandable but sad at the same time. This team and this coaching staff have had inadequate time to gel in any substantive way. They need time. And we all need to give it to them.

3) The fantastic players the Cavs have are briefly reverting back to old habits of trying to take the entire burden on themselves. This goes most certainly for Kyrie Irving but for every other player as well, including LeBron. That will end as they begin to trust each other.

4) The offense obviously is not running Blatt’s system and they are not sharing the ball. That was most certainly in evidence during the Utah game. But why do we all think that this will continue??? That makes no sense. The Cavalier players will figure it out themselves once some success starts to come their way when they play the right way.

5) The defense is not any where close to how it will eventually look. This also takes trust in your teammates and great communication. Did we really think that would start game one?? Anyone who simplistically thinks any defensive deficiencies are caused by a “lack of a rim protector” will be conclusively proven wrong. We have enough rim protection when our dynamic wing players begin to put the pressure on the passing lanes and outside the lane. We have great potential for that going forward. The defense will be fine. And, from what I have seen of Love so far, he will be an effective defender in a “team” defensive structure.

6) The team needs to get their complementary players going and if I see another game where Miller doesn’t get an open look I will be upset about that for sure. We need to trust all 15 players and get them involved.

6) It will be interesting how this goes tonight. Have fun watching and please relax. The Cavs will be fine. The chemistry will be fine. The team will be fine. The record will be fine. And they will be ready when the playoffs arrive.

HAVE FUN PLEASE !!!! WE HAVE KEVIN LOVE, KYRIE IRVING, LEBRON JAMES, and a ton of great complimentary players.

From A Dramatic Comeback to a Steeler Thrashing – This Year IS Different

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind for Browns fans. We have moved from a feeling of “here we go again” sickness as the first half of the Browns/Titans game concluded to a feeling of elation as the Browns finished their dismantling of the Pittsburg Steelers at home. The signs were there before those games but the conclusion now seems quite clear – This Year is Different !!

The Browns brain trust chose a low key, no nonsense and by his own admission “no name” coach to lead the team. Haslim had already selected a respected but unflashy and nearly unheard of GM to run the team. Ever since that transition, the Cleveland Browns have been run as a professional and determined organization ready to make a real change. Every time the Browns have changed leaders, I get caught up in believing that this time might be different. Every time I have been proven wrong and the same old disappointments envelope the team. This may happen again and shame on me if it does but I am beginning to actually believe this time IS different. This time it might be different that this year will be different. Nothing can make that hope more real than a pounding of the Steelers in front of the Dawg Pound.

During last weeks game I was traveling to San Diego and needed to seek out a venue to watch the Browns take on Tennessee. I thought it would be hard but my wife and I were committed to getting it done. After checking out the San Diego Browns Backers, we were fortunate to be within walking distance of their “official sports bar” in the area. Near the end of the Tennessee game, this is what I saw: The Dawg Pound in San Diego

It was so exciting to be among dedicated Browns fans over a thousand miles from Cleveland. They showed the same or more enthusiasm and dedication than any local fan would express. It again reminded me that the Browns have the best fans ever but now they need a team to begin to match.

After sitting in the stands for the game today, where the Browns made the Steelers feel as they have for so many years and so many games, I moved a giant step closer to believing. A giant step forward toward remembering the joy of football again in Cleveland.

Now this is a dangerous time. All the stars seem to point to a legitimate chance for a winning streak or, at the least, a couple more wins over the next few games. Those stars have been eclipsed by the Death Star so many times before that it is difficult to allow ourselves to believe again. Time will tell the truth of this tale. Time will force us to face whatever reality awaits this Browns team and this Browns season.

I, along with all of those amazing fans in San Diego, will be there watching … hoping … and believing.

[7] Dolans – Look in Mirror: Epilogue

Just a brief final note on my series on the Indians and their attendance and how it relates to the near term future of the team. I was honored by WFNY with a reference to my blog series in the While We’re Waiting (WWW) section today. I appreciate Kirk Lammers reference to the series even though he honestly stated that he didn’t agree with all my points. That is the reason I am adding this brief seventh and final installment in the series.

The beauty of that reference in WFNY is that it not only helped expose many people to something I spent considerable time creating. But it also allows me to say this tonight. I am completely cool with people not agreeing with me because I am not 100% convinced I believe myself in all of the points I made in that series. That is what makes blogging one of the most rapidly growing communication tools today. It allows an expression of thought from someone other than a professional to be heard and then be followed by debate and dialogue.

The main reason for the series was to challenge widely held views about the Cleveland Indians failure at the gate (Brown’s town, bad economy, baseball disinterest, etc.) At the same time I wanted to emphasize the business principle that you shouldn’t blame your customers for a failing business. You should look in the mirror and find out what you can do to change your customer’s behavior. ALL good businesses reinvent themselves to adjust to the customer. Bad businesses cry about how the customer just “doesn’t understand their greatness” and are doomed to failure.

I personally don’t want the Dolans or the Indians to fail. So, I simply said that they need to improve the talent on the field (especially the hitting) and the fans will likely follow. Now I may be wrong but what other viable business plan can you think of that will increase attendance? The only other option is essentially giving up and calling the baseball fans of Cleveland a lost cause. For a lifelong fan, that is simply unacceptable.

So I appreciate that many will disagree and I respect that completely. I hope I have made some of you think and question a few of the widely held “theories” about shrinking Indians attendance. GO TRIBE !!!! Thanks for listening.

[6] Dolans – Look in Mirror: The #Indians Can Be Relevant Again

I will take one final stab at my critics who still cling to the view that the Indians attendance problem is caused by the people of Cleveland and not a failed business plan. My latest debate was with a good blogger who felt the attendance shortfalls reflected the population decline in the greater Cleveland area.

While I admit that Detroit and Cleveland have not increased population in their greater metropolitan areas over the past 13 years, it has not been like there is a mass exodus out of either metro area. Based on the US Census Bureau actual count and estimates over the past three years, the Cleveland Metro area started at about 2,148,143 and ended the span from 2000 to 2014 at about 2,064,295. This translates to an 83,848 population loss or 3.9% over 14 years. Detroit has lost 157,574 or 3.54%. It is certainly hard to fathom that a loss of about 84,000 people over 14 years is accounting for a 24% attendance drop over the past 4 years. So yet another belief or “excuse” is debunked by facts.

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, baseball and all sports are part of the entertainment industry. The customers will respond to perceptions and reality. The customers definitely respond to talent. Any entertainment company will do whatever it takes to get talent. It is that talent that drives revenue and profit. To blame the customers for not showing up to your entertainment product seems rather counterproductive to me. Plus, it stops you from improving the product in order to turn around your business.

So could we please dispense once and for all with the continual excuses for the Dolans. They knew what they were buying when they put up the money. Now they are in a favorable position to make it work but it will take a considerable additional investment not matched by revenue to make this happen. All owners of entertainment companies need to do this from time to time unless they are extremely fortunate. Almost every MLB team needs to do this and can’t wait for matching fan attendance to do it. The Kansas City Royals have increased their salaries over the past 4 years from about 35 million to about 89 million and had virtually no increase in attendance until this year and it will be about 160,000 greater.

My point is that the Dolans need to look in the mirror and recognize that the current Indians team is pretty darn good but NOT good enough. They tried to really spend when they sold their TV station but swung and missed with Swisher. They need to bury that mistake and do it again. It is almost certain they will not do it, but I am hopeful that they will see the need and jump in again. There is no homegrown substitute for what the Indians need to really compete. That is a power, high average middle of the order stick.

I suggested Victor Martinez because he will be a free agent, plays for our primary competitor, has expressed interest in coming back to Cleveland, and fits our need perfectly. He also is a tremendous competitor and clutch hitter. Finally, he is an ex-Indian who was loved while here. The Indian fans have shown great interest in and have come out to see great ex-Indians return. It would be excellent from a PR standpoint and completely dispel the rumor that the Dolans won’t spend when the time is right.

However, this move would be very risky with high reward. Victor will be 36 years old by the beginning of next season. He has had some injury problems through the years. He would best be used as a DH but still plays first base fairly well. He virtually negates any benefit of Swisher unless Swisher can play right field. Finally, he will cost us a ton over several years and the latter years of the contract might be a poor investment. So, if we were sure Victor would have 4 years like this year, it is really a no brainer despite the cost. But that, of course, is not possible to know.

Knowing the Indians, they would prefer to find a one year player with warts like Nelsen Cruz. Baltimore’s investment in Cruz is definitely paying off. But that is also risky because you can end up with a Mark Reynolds instead. Those players are hard to find. Even with his age, Victor would be a far better risk.

Trades to accomplish the same result are also possible but we would have to give up a ton to get a younger player with Victor’s punch and average. So I am open to any and all possibilities to get the job done but I am not compromising on what I feel the Indians need. It is their only legitimate chance to really contend and get the fans revved up and interested again. The Indians pitching has the potential to be special, but the team must find a way to have fewer games where they score 3 runs or less.

I feel a substantially increased investment is necessary for the next two years to provide a true window to succeed and improve attendance. As Swisher’s and Borne’s contracts expire, they should not be replaced. We should have enough young players to fill those gaps by then. So, in two years, about 25 million will come off the payroll. Dolan should set up a business plan to severely deficit spend for two years and then get the payroll down in 2017.

I hope you have enjoyed this series on the Indians. It was the product of a lot of research and thought. I understand the final recommendation is kind of simple, but I think a major addition is needed. The team is set up overall to win with that addition. Whether this would succeed to peak the interest of the Cleveland fans, only time would tell. But I can assure you that doing nothing or very little will NOT result in a significant increase in attendance. The deficits created in that scenario might be deadly to the Dolan ownership and the Cleveland Indians franchise.