One Tribe playoff scenario is gone. No more historic choke stories. Damn.

Mark Price out, Scott Williams in.

Former Cavalier Scott Williams will join play-by-play broadcaster Michael Reghi for the FSN games. Reghi and Austin Carr return to broadcast the games on Channel 43.

Count me as one of those happy to see Mark Price go. Loved him in a Cavs uniform, hated him with a microphone in front of his mouth. He never actually analyzed anything, was as whitebread as you could possibly get in a game where you need to have a strong opinion, and seemed completely lost at times.

A week before the Cavs start training camp, Lebron has some interesting news for the rest of the league…..he’s spent much of the off season working on his outside shot. Man, this team’s gonna score a lot of points. (good run down of the new team in the above-linked PD story)

OK, folks, that Positive Mental Attitude thing got us a 3-game losing streak. Time to panic. PANIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SERENITY NOW!!!!!!!!

First of all, who the HELL is Scott (or Seth, or whatever his name is) McClung, and why do the Indians always make him look like Roger Clemens? The guy is a bum, but for some reason, we can’t figure the guy out. Look at these numbers from the Beacon Journal…

If McClung was a whale, Tribe hitters were minnows. But why Cleveland? In McClung’s previous three starts, he compiled a 16.40 ERA and averaged three innings per start. For the season, he is averaging 5.8 walks per nine innings against the rest of the league but only 2.2 walks per nine innings against the Wahoos. He has made three starts against the Tribe and won them all, posting a 1.77 ERA.

And you know thatold saying “I hate to say I told you so”? Not me. I LOVE to say I told you so. What did I tell you so? That all these homers could turn into 0-fers in a heartbeat. That’s the only way to explain scoring ZERO runs against a guy like this, at precisely the wrong moment.

The flex of home-run power over the past few months has obscured this team’s season-long flaws. The Indians are not especially adroit at “little ball,” which makes a comeback at this time of year even in the American League.

That’s why it’s time to panic. The homers look to have left the building. What else is left? We’re damn well gonna find out.

Well, the Indians are now in trouble.

After losing 1-0 to the Devil Rays Wednesday, the Tribe’s third-straight loss, the team is now three games behind the White Sox in the Central and, assuming the Red Sox don’t overcome a 7-2 ninth-inning deficit, they’ll be tied with Boston for the Wild Card lead.

Hey, I’ve got an idea: Aaron Boone, lay down a friggin’ bunt!

At it’s heart.

Last Sunday afternoon’s Indians-Kansas City game drew a solid 8.4 rating on FSN Ohio – yet it nearly was tripled in the local ratings by the Browns-Indianapolis contest, being played at the same time. The Browns game drew a 23 rating on Channel 19.

When the Browns finally do contend again, it will make Tribe fever look like a mild sniffle.

…after last night’s loss to Detroit. Not an example of Positive Mental Attitude…

Thus began an eighth-inning double play Tuesday night that left three more runners stranded and planted a dark seed in my mind, if not yours: Is it possible the Wheeze Sox won’t win another game this year?

I certainly hope this is possible.

It really is difficult to bring yourself to write something about the Indians when they lose like they did last night, by one run, with 2 guys on base, one out, and end the game by hitting into a double play. Very difficult to get yourself to blog about that. Very difficult.

That said……NO BAD THOUGHTS!!! I am not gonna get into second guessing whether Belliard should have bunted, or pinch hit for the guy, or this or that………..NONE OF THAT! I have to agree with Kenny Roda on this…Positive Mental Attitude. PMA, baby!!!!

Don’t worry…if we fail to make the playoffs, there will be ample time to moan and gnash our teeth about curses and Cleveland woe. BUT NOT YET!!!!

Jahidi, Obinna, and Zendon. Sounds like a hip hop law firm. Or the Cavs back-up big man roster. From the Beacon Journal (free registration required)…

The Cavs had been speaking with White, who averaged 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds for the Charlotte Bobcats last season, for weeks. Ultimately, though, they decided not to give him a guaranteed contract. Ekezie, like White, is a veteran who has made a career being the extra big man on various NBA rosters. Last season he played 42 games for the Atlanta Hawks, averaging a career-high 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. Hamilton, who has played for five teams in his career, averaged 3.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17 games with the Milwaukee Bucks last season.

I have no idea who any of these guys are, but I like that Danny Ferry is jacking up the competition in pre-season. Can only help, especially if Verajao is out for a while.

So what should the Browns do in their bye week? Here’s a to-do list.

1. Get ready for the Bears Oct. 9. Nothing would make the bye week look productive more than beating the Bears. These guys are totally beatable, in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Browns end up being favored. We got ‘em here in Cleveland, we should beat ‘em.

2. Focus on defense. The Browns gave up an average of 403 yards a game in the first 3, good enough for dead last in the AFC. The team has 3 total sacks in three games. Much is made of Peyton Manning being shut down last Sunday, but I don’t buy it. Carson Palmer torched us in the Bengals game. Brett Favre moved the ball in crunch time with ease. We are still, as usual, very vulnerable to the run, giving up 125 yards a game.

3. Run blocking. The offensive line has only allowed 4 sacks in three games, all of them on Sunday vs. the Colts. But the run blocking is no where near as good. The team averages 75 yards rushing a game, which is half the AFC leading San Diego chargers. It’s probably why Indy got the sacks…no real need to respect the run.

4. Fine tune a very good passing game. Really. Believe it or not, this team ranks higher than the Bengals in passing offense in the AFC – we’re fourth in the league with 274 yards passing per game. Trent Dilfer is having a very good start to the season. They need to work Braylon Edwards into the offense a bit more, and a bye week is a good chance for him to make up for that hold out.

5. Get ready for the Bears. Again. Winning fixes everything.