Guardians sign Jose Ramirez to extension
Posted by Administrator (03/07/2022 @ 2:39 pm)
Guardians fans can now breathe a sigh of relief. Jose Ramirez will be staying in Cleveland for a long time. The best position player on the Guardians has agreed to a contract extension, which is something new compared to recent experience. Ramirez agreed to a five-year, $124 million extension that will keep him in Cleveland through 2028 as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Ramirez also gets a no-trade clause as part of the deal.
Many around MLB were surprised by the deal, along with long-time fans of the Indians (now Guardians) who have seen players like Francisco Lindor leave for piles of cash, not to mention greats from the past like Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, C.C. Sabathia and many others.
Ramirez clearly left money on the table with this deal. He is very comfortable in Cleveland and wanted to stay here. That said he had two more years on his current deal, and a total of $150 million guaranteed will set him and his family up for life. He didn’t chase the last dollar, and the Guardians will be much better for it.
The prospect of trading Ramirez after unloading Lindor and and quiet offseason had to be a very unattractive options for the front office. I thought they would go even higher to keep Jose. But in the end it’s a team-friendly deal that also sets up the player to thrive in a city where he’s comfortable.
Also, over time I suspect we’ll see that the Guardians ultimately kept the better player between Ramirez and Lindor. By FanGraphs’ wins above replacement metric, Ramirez has been the third-most valuable position player of the past five seasons. Lindor is a great talent, but it’s doubtful he will ever live up to his ridiculous deal with the Mets. Linder’s production was already tailing off in Cleveland before his disastrous 2021 season in New York. Perhaps we will rebound in 2022 and for years to come, but many would gladly take Ramirez over Lindor even without considering the salaries. With the salaries it’s no contest. Lindor wanted to play under the big lights of New York, but the pressure got to him last year. Ramirez can continue to play in an environment that he loves.
Now the Guardians need to turn their attention to Shane Bieber. He’s won a Cy Young Award and he’s the ace of a fantastic pitching staff. Bieber signed a one-year contract worth $6 million for the 2022 season and the Guardians avoided arbitration. They control Bieber through the 2024 season, and the team has indicated they want to sign him to a long-term deal. That would go a long way towards rebuilding credibility with the fan base.
The Guardians have a great starting pitching staff and they have some young position players that could blossom into productive players. The team didn’t add veteran bats, but that can happen during the season if the team sees a need. The key will be keeping the pitching staff healthy.
Meanwhile, fans can celebrate opening day with the knowledge that Jose Ramirez will be here for a long time.
Will Browns fall in love with DeShaun Watson?
Posted by Administrator (05/15/2017 @ 10:33 am)
Bud Shaw asks the right questions in his latest column about DeShaun Watson. It all centers around Watson as a legitimate NFL quarterback prospect after his amazing performance in the National Championship game.
Of course Watson will be one of the top quarterbacks taken in the NFL Draft, and of course he brings many skills that should translate to the NFL game. But the Browns have the top pick in the draft and can select a defensive stud in Myles Garrett, who many consider to be the best player in the draft. So for the Browns we have to consider where Watson or another quarterback might be taken given that they’re sitting on picks 1, 12 and 33 in the draft.
Shaw brings up some legitimate concerns regarding Watson if you’re considering him at #1. As you move down the first round and into pick 33, the positives certainly start to outweigh any of these concerns.
The Browns may get the opportunity to coach Watson at the Senior Bowl, which is a huge positive. Shaw seems concerned this may lead Hue Jackson to fall in love with Watson in the same manner he became intrigued by RG3. But it’s worth noting that RG3 was a calculated risk for the Browns with little downside, so in one sense it’s not fair to compare these situations. Jackson has to realize the opportunity cost of taking Watson high if he happens to love him as a prospect.
The bigger issue raised by Shaw is the assumed reliance by the Browns on Jackson’s opinions. Of course he knows quarterbacks, but so did Mike Holmgren. Perhaps the best quarterback coaches aren’t always the best evaluators of quarterback talent, since they sometimes overestimate their own abilities to work out the flaws in a prospect.
Shaw argues persuasively that the entire organization needs to get behind a selection of Watson or any other quarterback that they would select at #1. So without that consensus they should probably stick to the best player there, and then look for a QB at 12 or 33.
Corey Kluber dominates the Cubs to give Indians 1-0 series lead
Posted by Administrator (05/27/2016 @ 10:23 am)
If you listen to national sports commentators other than real baseball people, they seemed shocked at how good Corey Kluber pitched last night. Some marveled at how his pitches moved and some even suggested he may not be able to replicate that performance.
Indians fans and real baseball analysts know otherwise. Of course there’s no guarantee that Kluber will be just as dominant again, particularly if he ends up pitching in Game 4 on short rest, but another lights out performance would not be surprising at all. Corey Kliber is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, and now casual baseball fans are starting to learn what we’ve known for several years. Kluber is a beast with nasty stuff that baffles both righties and lefties, and the Indians intend to ride his talent throughout this series.
Francisco Lindor also introduced himself to the Cubs and a national audience with a single and critical stolen base with two outs in the first inning. That led to Jon Lester imploding by giving up two walks and then two runs. That’s all Kulber would need.
Meanwhile, Andrew Miller looked mortal last night, but he came up with huge pitches when he needed them.
Game 1 was critical for the Tribe, and now they have a chance tonight to take command of this series. Let’s see if Trevor Bauer rises to the occasion.
Lebron and the Cavs celebrate Ohio State’s win over Michigan
Posted by Administrator (05/26/2016 @ 10:03 pm)
Lebron James and many of the Cavs were on the sidelines as the Buckeyes beat Michigan . . . again! The clip above shows them dancing and celebrating after Malik Hooker’s pick 6 to put Ohio State on the board.
Here’s a great shot of the team on the sidelines.
Photos and videos from Cavs victory parade in Cleveland
Posted by Administrator (05/25/2016 @ 3:38 pm)
Wow! What a celebration. After 52 years it shouldn’t be surprising that an estimated 1.3 million people turned out on a sun-drenched summer day in Cleveland to celebrate this amazing Cavs championship.
There are so many amazing photos and videos from that here. Here are some that were shared on social media:
Lebron James took this video and shared it on Instagram. The 360-view is pretty amazing and captures all the bedlam, including all the people perched on the parking garage.
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