Power Rankings: Make Way For Intangibles

As the Cavs continue their throat slitting tour through the Eastern Conference and the Indians continue to "fade into Bolivian," it seems like an appropriate time to reshuffle the Power Rankings a bit. My first inclination, and one that has been supported by a few members of the CMRC faithful, is to automatically ban all Indians from this list for trying to ruin summer in Cleveland.

As much as I would've liked to act on this impulse out of spite and pettiness, in all fairness, I couldn't do it. Is Sizemore off to a pathetic start hitting .227? Yes. But the power rankings are supposed to be a reflection of the comprehensive feelings that fans have on a daily basis about the players in this city. Cleveland fans might be upset with Grady right now because he strikes out every time he comes to bat, but they still love him, they still haven't forgotten how good he can be, and he's still the second most famous athlete in Cleveland. Similarly, Victor Martinez may be on the verge of irrelevance (at least until we hear his name start popping up in trade rumors), but he's still beloved in this town and he's still hitting at an absurd .374 clip. The fact that he was moved down in the power rankings is more a reflection of the fact that fans will begin to forget about him with the Indians being so terrible, because unlike Sizemore (and rather inexplicably since Victor has twice the personality that Grady has), he doesn't have the star power to keep himself in the Cleveland conscience with the team out of it.

In addition, I had to move Varejao up right now. He's beloved, he's playing insanely good basketball, and this team is starting to build a lasting legacy for itself in this town. The same is true for Delonte who, after months of not being the same guy he was at the beginning of the season, finally appears to be back at full strength. He's playing inspired defense, picking up the scoring load when needed, and endearing himself to the Cavalier faithful. He deserves a spot in these rankings.

Falling off the list is Shaun Rogers, not because of anything he did, but because with Browns fans resigned to the fact that the Browns are going to be bad again this year, nobody is going to give a damn about the veteran players. All of the focus will be on Quinn and our sexy high-octane young rookies like Brian Robiskie and Alex Mack (shaking head).

Just missing this list: Dave Dellucci, Rafael Perez, Lorenzen Wright

That's it for now. GO CELTICS! (and if you don't get why I'm saying that, you don't know the NBA)

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Updating the Power Rankings

After a couple of months, the revised power rankings look strikingly similar to the original. The only new name on the list is Anderson Varejao, who replaces Cliff Lee (currently getting shelled for a second straight game) and knocks Josh Cribbs and Shaun Rogers down a spot. The justification for the move is pretty obvious: The Cavs have been the talk of the town for months, Varejao is having his best season as a pro, and the fans and media are all in love with the way he plays the game.

As for Lee, it's not that all of the goodwill of a Cy Young season has been wiped away with two bad starts. But considering the way the Indians and Lee have stumbled out of the gate, the truth is just that Varejao is probably more beloved in this town right now than Lee. Rogers barely hangs on to the 10th spot after reconciling with the Browns after previously demanding his release.

Others just missing the list: Delonte West, Travis Hafner, Cliff Lee, Matt LaPorta

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Meanwhile, in Berea . . .

Does anyone understand what on God's Earth the Browns are doing right now? I've purposely been ignoring them for the last month or so but now I'm just so baffled that I feel like I need to talk about it.

Lets quickly recap the last couple of months for our fine organization:

1. Our only non-atrocious defensive player locked horns with our new coach and tried to piss and moan his way out of town.


2. Our only talented (albeit a complete turd) offensive skill position player, fresh of his own campaign to get himself traded, is currently at the center of trade talks that reportedly have him going to New York for, among other things, a second round pick (hey now, we once got Quincy Morgan and Chaun Thompson in the second round!).


3. Our gigantic bust (although can you really call someone a bust if the only person who didn't expect him to be terrible was the guy who signed him?) of a receiver got drunk in Miami and mowed down a pedestrian in his car...shortly after receiving his big fat bonus check from the team.


4. We've let several sub-par young players leave in free agency . . . and replaced them with much older players of the same, or perhaps even lesser ability.


5. We cut a beloved 34 year-old receiver who, in all fairness, was completely finished . . . and replaced him with a not beloved 34 year-old receiver who, in all fairness, is completely finished.


6. We paid a boatload of bonus money to retain bad players because 1) we didn't have any better options, and 2) unbeknownst to us, the guy we've had managing our salary cap for the last four years didn't know anything about, well, the salary cap.


7. We traded a former first round pick for a second round pick after several memorable years of motorcycle accidents, staph infections, and public throwdowns with the organization.


8. We learned that we don't have a receivers coach, which really isn't a big deal because we don't really have any receivers either.


9. Our director of pro player personnel stabbed a fan on a press tour after the fan questioned the direction of the organization.

Ok, I made that last one up but come on: You didn't even realize it there for a second. I just...I don't even know what to say. I'm speechless. I have absolutely no idea what the plan is for this organization. I mean, there is a plan, I presume. It seems foolish to think that those in charge of the Browns are just haphazardly making moves, but at the same time, I just can't see how any of this fits together and makes any sense.

I have 100% confidence in the fact that the Browns are going to be completely horrid this year....and the year after....and most likely, the year after that. If you look at this roster and the team's cap situation, how could you possibly envision them being successful at any time within the next 3 years? But that's not even the worst part. Teams get bad on purpose all the time. They cut unproductive veterans and replace them with younger guys knowing fully that they're going to experience years of growing pains before becoming competitive again. But that's not what the Browns are doing. They're cutting unproductive guys and replacing them with older, equally unproductive guys. I'm not even being smug when I ask all of you out there to help explain this to me. WHAT ARE THEY DOING!?

And let's not forget, people are actually going to pay thousands of dollars for season tickets to watch this team play next year. I can't imagine what it must feel like to write that check these days. The economy is in the tank, everyone is feeling the pinch, and yet this team is going out of its way to antagonize the poor fans that are still loyal/naive enough to care about it. I looked over and starred at Browns stadium on my way in to work this morning; except today, for the first time ever in an offseason, I didn't feel sad that it wasn't September and the stadium wasn't filled to capacity. I felt sad that we couldn't knock it down and build a casino and hotels there instead. Right now, Browns stadium is just a hulking corpse, peering out from its perch on the lake to taunt us and remind us of how horrible our greatest love has turned out to be.

Come on Cavs. We need you.

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Winslow Trade Thoughts

From my recent trip across the internet message boards it looks like Browns fans are split on the Kellen Winslow trade. Now that the previously undisclosed draft picks have been disclosed to be a 2009 second rounder and a 2010 5th rounder, I'll give my take on the first big move of the new era. And that take is overwhelming support of the move.

Honestly, I think anyone who is against this trade is letting there emotions get in the way of reason. There are two main concerns about this trade. One is that people feel Winslow is our best player and trading him is a sure sign of rebuilding. Two is that Brady Quinn is a young "dink and dunk" passer who needs a great tight end like Winslow to be effective. Let me explain why both of these opinions are incorrect.

First, trading Winslow does NOT mean we are rebuilding. Sure he is the best receiving tight end on the planet. Yet he still managed to drop Quinn's 4th down, game ending pass versus Denver just as if he was any other Browns receiver. Come to think of it, he also dropped a touchdown pass from Quinn against San Francisco in 2007. Winslow's one great ability, to catch passes, is therefore not perfect. And for every drive that Winslow does extend with a great grab, he repeatedly stalls another one with mental errors. I can't count the number of times I lost my voice screaming at the television following a personal foul or false start on Winslow. Not to mention his little problems blocking and staying healthy.

Then there is the depth at tight end on this roster. Steve Heiden could be starting almost anywhere in the league. He seemed more than adequate against the New York Football Giants last season when Winslow was in the hospital. Also, last season we drafted arguably the top receiving tight end in college, Martin Rucker. The drop in talent at tight end will not be noticed in the win-loss column next year.

And for those who think Quinn can only dink and dunk, I say to you that you only think that because you watch DA play, and the only thing he could do was heave it long. If the deep ball is there, Quinn will throw it up and give our guy a chance to make the play. But a qb has to be able to move the chains with long drives to give a defense the chance to rest. Just because Quinn can do something DA couldn't, throw with touch and accuracy to a receiver, doesn't mean it's a bad thing. But I digress. The point of this paragraph was supposed to be that Quinn doesn't need Winslow. As stated above, Heiden is a very gifted tight end and I am fully confident that he will be more than able to fill Winslow's shoes.

This team has too many holes. To trade from a position of strength to acquire assets to fill the weaknesses is exactly what a good GM should do. Winslow's trade value is higher than it will ever be. Obviously ManKok learned from the mistake of the Savage regime when it failed to get value for DA when it had the chance.  On the Tampa Bay message boards, many posts indicated there would be hell to pay if the Bucs gave up more than a 3rd or a 4th rounder.  To get a second and a fifth rounder for this injury prone, penalty prone, malcontent is a steal. The move does not represent a complete rebuild. It is a way to fill the holes on this roster by getting rid of a guy who is injured half his career and is replaceable on the roster.

Now the daunting task of convincing Mr. Rogers to shut up and play ball lies ahead...



PS: I am stunned by the results of the current CMCR poll. The results should have been 100% for trading LeBron for Kobe, Gasol, and Bynum. These are two legit all-star centers and the man LeBron refers to as the best player on the planet. Please, loyal readers, explain to me how you could vote for anything else.

Until next time this is Barry Lakin sayin all the world is schlach.

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The Man On The Street Quiz

Shaun Rogers requested to be released from the Browns. It appears that this request is largely based on two concerns. The first is that new Browns head coach Eric Mangini has on multiple occasions failed to acknowledge him with a hello.  Terrrrific.  That sounds like a Seinfeld episode. The other concern is that Mangini asked Rogers to watch his weight. Now I ask you, are these two people having sex ... or playing football?

Terrrrrrific. This has been your man on the street quiz. Until next time this is Barry Lakin sayin all the world is schlach. Read the rest of this article

Jolly Rogers

Good win. Game ball to Shaun Rogers. No matter how many blockers teams throw at him, he always manages to get pressure on the play. It doesn't matter if it's a run play or a pass play, he is there.

The Browns corners had their hands full with 6'6" of Matt Jones today, who finished with 8 catches for 117 yards and 1 TD. Both McDonald and Wright had turns failing to cover the big man. Fortunately, the Jags are a running team, and Shaun Rogers held Jones-Drew and Taylor to an improbable 49 total rushing yards.

Moving to the offensive side of the ball, the Browns are obviously better off with Heiden starting at tight end. His blocking is known to be vastly superior to Winslow's and he is a very productive pass catcher. Don't get me wrong, Winslow has the best hand's that I have ever seen, at any position, but Heiden has always been effective and the drop off is not steep. Most importantly, the offense has just been more productive this season during Heiden's starts.

What does this mean for Winslow? Slot receiver. This scenario has been suggested all year as a solution to our lack of a 3rd wide out problem. The Browns management has shown lately that it has no problem screwing Winslow over. It seems like this move might be the only ballsy thing Romeo might have the balls to do.

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