Twenty-seven turnovers? The Cavs have now lost five-straight after falling to the 76ers 89-98 Friday night, a game that featured 27 Cavaliers turnovers. That’s disgusting.

There are times this team looks like one of the best in the East, but right now they look like pretenders, a team that can’t keep up with true playoff contenders and can’t beat anybody on the road. At this point, I’d be happy just to see the Cavs slide into the playoffs, let alone secure a top-four seed and home-court advantage.

Some interesting news tonight.

First, the Browns have signed former Ravens starting cornerback Gary Baxter to a multi-year deal [LINK], a solid move but, considering the numbers involved, a move that could come back to haunt the Browns. Baxter is a good corner, certainly better than the guy he was brought in to replace, Anythony Henry. But like Henry, you’ve got to wonder if, in a free-agent class so deep at corner, Baxter didn’t command too much money. Reports say the deal is for six years and $30 million with a $10.5 million signing bonus, major bucks for a corner who tallied one interception last year. Still, he’s a big guy (6-2, 204 pounds) and, better yet, Baltimore’s loss is our gain, which is always a plus.

The more surprising development, though, is the Bills agreeing in principle to a four-year, $6.6 million deal with quarterback Kelly Holcomb [LINK]. Considering Romeo Crennel was apparently ready to name Holcomb his starter next year, the eight-year veteran’s decision to sign with Buffalo, where he’ll most likely back up 2004 draftee J.P. Losman, is rather shocking. Then again, with the roller coaster Holcomb’s been riding the past couple years in Cleveland, he may very well have been looking for a fresh start.

Now the big question for the Browns and their fans is: Who will be the quarterback in 2005? Trent Dilfer? Jay Fiedler? Brad Johnson? Something tells me Romeo and Phil Savage won’t hand the reins over to Luke McCown.

Following the signing of former Patriots guard Joe Andruzzi and former Cincinnati punter Kyle Richardson, it’s encouraging to see the Browns continue to stay active with the Baxter acquisition. Hopefully they got the right guy, and hopefully they’ll get the right guy when they make a move for a starting quarterback.

Clarett actually thought that Ohio State would let him work out for pro scouts with other Buckeye draft prospects [LINK]. He’s even dumber than we thought.

Man, I’m jacked up for baseball season. Every Tribe fan should be excited. This team is built to contend.

It all starts on the mound with C.C. Sabathia, who must mature into a true staff ace in his fifth big-league season. Jake Westbrook is listed as the #2 starter but realistically, while he should still be solid, he can’t be counted on to match his stats from his spectacular 2004 season. Things start to get very interesting, though, with Kevin Millwood, who has mixed several ace-quality seasons with just as many mediocre ones during his eight-year career. If he pitches like he did in 2002 (18-8, 3.24 ERA) or even 2003 (14-12, 4.01 ERA), this staff suddenly becomes very dangerous, with lefty Cliff Lee and likely Scott Elarton or Jason Davis rounding out the rotation.

The bullpen, meanwhile, is insanely deep, even if closer Bob Wickman instills about as much confidence in me as our 43rd president does. Rafael Betancourt, David Riske, Bob Howry and Scott Sauerbeck all have lively arms, as does lefty Arthur Rhodes, whose acquisition quite possibly stands as Mark Shapiro’s best offseason move.

In fact, I don’t think Shapiro gets enough credit for the team he’s assembled, especially considering the tight budget constraints he’s working with. This is a franchise built to compete this year and beyond, with a healthy farm system ready to feed the big-league club with quality talent or, if needed, attractive trade bait. Beyond the pitching depth, they’ve got guys like Ben Broussard, Alex Cora and Jose Hernandez stabilizing the bench, along with whoever misses out on a starting job between Jody Gerut, Grady Sizemore, Coco Crisp and Ryan Ludwick. Aaron Boone’s at third with Casey Blake, currently slated to start in left, available to take over if Boon’s knee doesn’t hold up. Meanwhile, Juan Gonzalez, a fantastic low-risk/high-reward signing, hopefully will deliver 100 healthy games from the cleanup spot as the DH, which would likely translate into 20-plus homers. And I haven’t even mentioned Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez, two of the American League’s most promising young hitters.

I’ll go ahead and mark them down for the 2005 AL Central crown right now. If they stay relatively healthy, the Indians should make good on that prediction.