Author: Kenny Roda (Page 7 of 7)

Roda Ramblings

Kenny Roda will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the entire Cleveland sports universe. Check back often for his updates!

What is the one common denominator about the Indians over the last three plus seasons? Veterans have come and gone. High priced free agents haven’t been retained. Some young prospects have made the big league squad, while some haven’t. All are different variables but the one constant through all of this is manager Eric Wedge. For the fourth straight season the Indians will head into the month of June at the .500 mark or below. If the manager and the players aren’t going to show up for the first two months of the season, why should the fans? Maybe Eric Wedge shouldn’t show up at all.

Let the Wedge Watch Begin!

MORE INDIANS

The Tribe is ranked second in the majors with a .291 batting average. That’s the good news. The bad? Well, there’s plenty. The Wahoo Warriors are 23rd in the Bigs in pitching with a 4.79 team ERA. In the fielding category, the Indians are 25th with a
.979 percentage and 38 errors. In stolen bases, the Tribe has given up 37 in 42 attempts, ranking them 29th in the league in stopping the running game. Last season the Tribe finished a major league worst 22-36 in one-run games, a miserable .379 winning percentage. This season they are already 4-5 in these kind of games. At least they’re consistent! As far as where they rank in the base running category, let’s just say they’re a notch or two below the Bad News Bears! So what does all this mean? The Indians continue to be fundamentally inept, which is directly related to the leadership, or lack thereof, they get from manager Eric Wedge. As the old baseball saying goes, “A team takes on the personality of its manager”. What exactly is the personality of this team?

Let the Wedge Watch Begin!

BARRY BONDS

Barry Bonds just passed Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time home run list with 715. Thirty-eight year old Andrew Morbitzer, who cared so much about Bonds and his chase of passing Ruth, was at the concession stand getting his new bride some peanuts and beer when Bonds came to the plate and hit the historic home run. Somehow the ball was dropped by a few fans in center field and ended up around the concession stand where Morbitzer was standing. He quickly picked it up and was escorted away by security for protection. I can honestly say that if I were Morbitzer I would see how much I could get for the ball and try to cash in big time. But there is also a part of me that would take that ball and buy a syringe and all of the steroids that Bonds allegedly took, and put it on display. I’d take the ball, stick the syringe into it, surround it with all the different types of steroids and put my ticket stub with it along with baseball cards and photos. Don’t you think that would be an appropriate way to pay homage?

Oh yeah, one more thing on the egomaniac and control freak, Barry Bonds. Nice to see that while he was struggling to tie and break “The Bambino’s” mark he wouldn’t speak to the media. But as soon as he eclipsed it, he couldn’t wait to do the press conference and hear how great he was from some members of the media and, of course, himself. Wouldn’t it have been great if the media just ignored him? The Barry would have had to interview Barry and a new reality show would have been born, “Barry Talks to Barry”. Would Barry have answered his own questions? Only Barry knows.

CAVS NEWS AND NOTES

As my buddy Michael Reghi likes to say, “You can book this one to the Cavaliers!” In the upcoming June 28th draft, the Wine and Gold will select a point guard with one of their three picks and then look to get a rebounding big and possibly a shooter. They have picks 25, 42 and 55 in the two-round draft. This draft is considered average, with no true superstars and only a handful of projected starters. In fact, there is no standout, true number 1 pick. The Toronto Raptors are reportedly listening to offers already because they’re not sure who to take with the first overall pick. The good thing for the Cavs is there should be a number of point guards to choose from by the time it is their turn to draft in the first round. Consider the following. Kyle Lowery – Villanova, Rajon Rondo – Kentucky, Jordan Farmar – UCLA, Mardy Collins – Temple, Curtis Stinson – Iowa St., Dee Brown – Illinois, Guillermo Diaz – Miami, Sergio Rodriguez – Spain, and Quincy Douby – Rutgers.

The best point guard in the draft, who unfortunately won’t be available, is UConn floor general Maurice Williams. He should go in the top ten, if not higher. If he falls, it would be a smart move for General Manager Danny Ferry to get on the phone and see if he could move up to get him. But that’s more wishful thinking than anything.

WHO”S #1?

Here are three candidates to be the first overall pick.

PF – Andrea Bargnani – Italy. He’s 7’0”, 225 pounds and only 20 years old. He’s compared to Dirk Nowitski because of his feathery outside touch, great first step and his knowledge for the game.

PF – Tyrus Thomas – LSU. The 6’9”, 230-pounder has a great wing span and uses it on the defensive end effectively. Scouts also love his heart and desire and many consider him to have the biggest upside of anyone in this draft.

PF – LaMarcus Aldridge – Texas. At 6’11”, 240, he has the build that most NBA GMs are looking for to play the power forward position. Add to that an above average basketball IQ and great athleticism, Toronto is going to have a tough time passing on this kid.

So while this isn’t considered to be one of the better drafts in recent years, there’s a good chance that the first overall pick will be a power forward, most likely one of the three names above.

One final thought. Let the Wedge Watch Begin!

Hurts so good

Kenny Roda will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the entire Cleveland sports universe. Check back often for his updates!

The NBA’s second season, known as the playoffs, has brought joy and pain to Cavalier fans everywhere. Expectations were high this year. Making the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons and securing home-court advantage for at least one round were reasonable goals at the start of the season. LeBron and the Cavaliers did both. Win a playoff series and give “The King” valuable playoff experience? Check those off the list as well. Shock the NBA world by upsetting this year’s favorite to win the NBA title, the Detroit Pistons? Well that’s where the pain part comes in.

The Cavaliers held a 3-2 series lead over the Pistons after stealing Game 5 in Motown and set up a golden opportunity for the city of Cleveland to celebrate an upset of major proportions and do so on their home floor in Game 6. The script was written. LeBron James, in his first playoffs, would lead a late fourth quarter charge at “The Q” and the Pistons would be history, while the Cavs would make history in front of their hometown fans. One problem. Well, actually, there were a number of problems. Never underestimate the heart of a champion. You can’t give up four offensive rebounds to Detroit in the final minute of a closeout game. Mike Brown, the rookie coach, failed to use a timeout to draw up a game-tying play for the world’s best player.

You lose the home-court advantage you stole from Detroit. Then you go and get pounded on their court in Game 7 and it is vacation time for the players, as well as more pain and disappointment for the fans of C-Town.

But even though that was the way the Cavaliers’ season came to an end, it was a season in which LeBron James and the rest of the team grew and got better. And they did so without having their key free-agent acquisition, Larry Hughes, for over 40 games. Hughes was supposed to be Robin to LeBron’s Batman and even though that dynamic duo rarely played together, the Cavs still found a way to win 50 games and reach the goals we stated earlier. Now it’s time for General Manager Danny Ferry to go to work and make this team even better in the offseason.

Ferry will have to decide on whether to keep unrestricted free agent Flip Murray and/or restricted free agent Drew Gooden. Who does he spend his $5.3 million mid-level exception on? Does he spend that on one player or two? What about the biannual exception of $1.8 million? Who gets that? With the 25th pick in the June 28th NBA draft, will Ferry find a point guard that this team desperately needs, or does he go after a power forward?

Can he find a diamond in the rough in the second round of the draft with picks 42 and 55? Will that diamond come from France, Italy or Greece, similar to how the Spurs, his former team, found key players? Is there a big trade out there waiting to happen? Will free agents want to come to play with LeBron? Ferry will be very busy and needs to make the right decisions in order to make LeBron happy because the superstar is eligible to sign a contract extension on July 1, 2006. Ferry has already told me they will offer that max contract of 5 years and about $75 million as soon as they are permitted to. Will LeBron accept it, or play out next season and become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2006-2007 season?

So many questions with very few answers at this time. However, if Ferry is able to convince LeBron to sign the extension and the Cavaliers find a few answers to those questions, the pain of the way this season ended will be forgotten. The future for Cleveland could be full of so much joy for the King and his court that it could make up for all those years of futility that included “The Catch” by Willie Mays in the 1954 World Series, Red Right 88, The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, Jose Mesa…well you get the idea! All Hail the King! Please stay!

Do you know what you’re witnessing?

Kenny Roda will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the entire Cleveland sports universe. Check back often for his updates!

Have you ever been called to testify as a witness in a trial? I haven’t, but have been on the jury. In fact, I was the jury foreman over 20 years ago and had to read the not guilty verdict that we decided on. I can’t remember if Denny Crane of Boston Legal was the winning lawyer in that case or not.

For me, this NBA basketball season is the first time I have ever been a WITNESS. I always thought that being a WITNESS would be scary and nerve-racking, but it has actually been quite exhilarating. There’s no courtroom drama, but there is plenty of drama on the court. I’m having the time of my life and so are thousands upon thousands of other Cavalier fans, or should I say “WITNESSES,” in Cleveland and across the nation. That’s because we are all WITNESSING the development of a true superstar before our very eyes faster than any in the history of the NBA.

FACT…At age 21, in only his third season in the league, LeBron averaged 31.4 points to go along with seven rebounds and 6.6 assists every time he stepped on the court. FACT…To give you an idea of how those numbers stack up in the annals of NBA history, only Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Michael Jordan averaged those numbers for a complete regular season. FACT…Let’s not forget that he shot 48% from the field, 74% from the free throw line and 33% from three-point country. FACT…His team won 50 games and finished with the third best record in the Eastern Conference, a stat that the team-oriented King James perhaps would rank above any of his individual accomplishments. The big 50 secured a playoff spot for the first time in eight years and home-court advantage for the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs against the Washington Wizrads. We’ll get to them in a minute. FACT…It’s only the fourth time in franchise history that a Cavalier team has reached the 50-win plateau. FACT…The pre-LeBron Cavs managed only 17 wins. Once LeBron came on board, obviously everything changed. LeBron doubled the team’s win total in his rookie season and led them to 42 victories in his second year. With this year’s 50 W’s, LeBron has improved the Cavaliers’ win total by 33 games in just three seasons.

So you’re probably saying with those numbers he must have picked up the league’s MVP trophy. Nope. That honor, for the second year in a row, went to Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns as voted on by 125 media panelists from around the country. Nash received 57 first place votes to LeBron’s 16. Nash totaled 924 points in the balloting to LeBron’s 668, which put King James in a distant second. What a joke! Ask any General Manager in the league today who they’d rather have, and that vote would be unanimous in favor of number 23. Nash averaged only 18.8 ppg, led the league in assists with 10.5, but only pulled down 4.2 rebounds per game. His shooting percentages were better than LeBron’s and his team’s win total eclipsed the Cavs by four games, but he also had the fortune of playing with another All Star in Shawn Marion, who averaged a double-double with 18.7 ppg and 10.5 rpg. James was able to put up his numbers without having an All Star sidekick as well as a player who averaged a double-double. Both the Suns and the Cavs played without key players in Amare Stoudemire and Larry Hughes, both of whom were out with injuries. So you tell me who helped his team more, carried his team more, and truly deserved the MVP!

Now to the playoffs, where legends are made. The playoffs are pressure packed. As the old saying goes, pressure will either burst pipes or create diamonds. Well if that statement is true, then the Cavaliers’ plumbing at “The Q” is just fine and team owner Dan Gilbert has a $100 million jewel in his pocket. In his first ever playoff game, LBJ stared pressure in the face and threw up a triple-double against the WITNESSES of Washington with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in Cleveland’s first postseason victory in eight years. King James would go on to lead the Cavaliers to a 4-2 series win over Washington. In those six pressure-filled games, he hit two game-winning shots, averaged 35.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists, and shot 51% from the field, 75% from the free throw line and 38% from three-point land.

The only players in history to post a higher scoring average in their playoff debut? Wilt Chamberlin and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Not a bad fraternity to be a part of. One final note on the Washington series. It was the first playoff series the Cavaliers won since 1993, when they defeated the New Jersey Nets. LeBron was just eight years old.

So as a WITNESS, are you believing my case that we are seeing something, or in this case, someone, who is destined for greatness, someone who should have been the NBA’s MVP even if he is only 21? If not, let me give you some more evidence. It’s Round 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs. It’s the Cavaliers against basketball’s best regular season team, the Detroit Pistons. The Motown Maulers won a franchise record 64 games and secured home-court advantage throughout the playoffs by doing so. They won the NBA title two years ago, lost in the Finals last year to San Antonio, and were favored by many to regain the crown this year. And after games 1 and 2 in this series, both convincing wins by Detroit, it looked like Cleveland was nothing but a mere speed bump on the road to glory. Enter King James and over 20,000 screaming WITNESSES at “The Q” in Cleveland for games 3 and 4.

Once again James defied the odds that Charles Barkley loves to bet on and posted his second triple-double of the postseason in Game 3 with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in an 86-77 win. Only Magic Johnson has posted more triple-doubles in his first ever playoff season. Then in Game 4, LeBron knocked down the game-winning free throws and had a huge block and steal in the last minute to secure the victory and even the series at two games apiece. In the 74-72 Game 4 win, James finished with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 48 minutes. Before games 3 and 4 Detroit was thinking sweep. After Game 3 the Pistons’ Rasheed Wallace guaranteed Detroit would win the next two games and end the series in five games. One thing the Motor City motor mouth forgot to take into account was LeBron James. Add Rasheed to the list of thousands of WITNESSES. The series is up for grabs now.

Regardless of the outcome of the Cavs-Pistons series, one thing is for certain. What we have WITNESSED already is greatness in the making. LeBron’s destiny seems to be that of a hometown kid, leading his hometown team to the city’s first professional sports championship in decades. How soon will that happen? I’m not sure. It took the great Michael Jordan seven years to win his first title and a lot of people feel LeBron is ahead of MJ’s pace. Cleveland fans can only hope so because they have been waiting to WITNESS a title for far too long and would love nothing more than to close the case against their city and put to rest that they are losers no more.

Browns 411

SAVAGE DOES WELL IN HIS SECOND DRAFT

So how did the Browns really do in the NFL Draft this year? To know for sure, the draftees will have to be given at least three years to fully gauge their abilities, so the answers may not come as soon as everyone might like. But since we live in an instant gratification world and need our answers yesterday, I’ll give you my answer right now, with a little twist. I think GM Phil Savage, his scouts, and head coach Romeo Crennel had a very solid draft and off-season. If I were to put a letter grade on it I would give them an “A”. They improved their team in many ways via the draft this year. They filled needs in the draft by taking three linebackers in the first four picks. They added a wide receiver to help with the lack of depth due to the Braylon Edwards injury. A third down, scat back was added on offense and they bolstered the O-line and the D-line as well. Here’s the twist and the reason why I give them an “A” grade. These additions in the draft, along with their free agent acquisitions, filled many needs and brought in QUALITY, EXPERIENCED, and IMPACT players that should provide immediate, positive results in this “what have you done for me lately” society. That will play well with Browns fans everywhere.

MONEY TALK$

Sources tell The Roadman that if the NFL’s salary cap had not been increased from a reported $94.5 million before the new collective bargaining agreement to around $102 million after the new CBA, there’s a good chance the Browns would not have been able to sign center LeCharles Bentley, who I believe was the best pick up of the off-season in the entire NFL. Reportedly his average salary is about $6 million a year.

WHY DRIVING A BENTLEY WAS SO IMPORTANT TO CLEVELAND

By landing Bentley in free agency, it gave GM Phil Savage the confidence to trade with the enemy. Savage felt he could allow friend, former boss, and current archrival , Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome, to take Oregon’s run-stuffing defensive tackle Haloti Ngata because Savage feels that Bentley will be able to handle Ngata when they face each other twice a year. Savage knew that Newsome, or should I say Ray Lewis, wanted Ngata and blew enough smoke during the time leading up to the draft that the Ravens thought the Browns would take the player that they coveted most. So give credit to Savage for fooling Newsome and getting a sixth round draft pick out of his former boss. But by doing so, it will test Savage’s talent evaluation skills against Newsome’s. The performance of Ngata and the Browns’ top pick, Kamerion Wimbley, will be watched closely over the years and whoever turns out to be the better NFL player will be a reflection on which GM made the better pick.

KALIMBA OR KAMERION?

The Browns, 30th out of 32 teams in the NFL in sacks last year with only 23, had their eye on free agent defensive end/outside linebacker Kalimba Edwards. This was due to the fact that head coach Romeo Crennel felt in order to run his 3-4 defense successfully, he needed a pass-rusher first and foremost. So Savage went hard after Edwards. In fact, the GM felt confident after Edward’s visit to Cleveland that the Browns would land their man. However, Edwards never put his name on the dotted line for the Browns and instead re-upped with the Detroit Lions. As soon as that happened Phil Savage turned his attention in the draft from a run-stopper in Ngata to a pass-rusher in Wimbley. That’s why the Browns valued Wimbley more than Ngata on their board.

WHY NOT KUDLA?

Did the Browns have an interest in Ohio State DE/OLB Mike Kudla? Yes, but only as an undrafted rookie free agent. So why didn’t they sign him? Because the Pittsburgh Steelers offered Kudla two important things. First, a two-year deal if he makes the team as an undrafted free agent. Secondly and probably most important, a better chance of making the team. The Browns signed LB Willie McGinest as a free agent and then went out and drafted three linebackers in the draft. The Steelers did not draft one defensive end or linebacker in the draft. This was the main reason why Kudla, a Medina native and a diehard Browns fan, selected the archrival Steelers over Cleveland. His dad emailed me and told me that Mike feels his chances of making the team and fulfilling his dream of playing the NFL are better in Pittsburgh because of the numbers game. Kudla joins fellow OSU teammate Santonio Holmes in the steel city as the Steelers traded up seven spots to the 25th pick in the first round to select Holmes to replace the departed Antwaan Randle El at wide receiver.

ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION!

The recent trade of Trent Dilfer, when you really look at it, should not come as a shock to any of us. Dilfer was brought here to be a bridge at quarterback. His job was solely to get the Browns from 2005 to either 2006, 2007 or as soon as they found their quarterback of the future. When you take that into account, along with the fact that Dilfer didn’t see eye-to-eye with offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon, Charlie Frye went 2-3 as a starter for the Browns, and Dilfer wasn’t getting any younger, this was a no-brainer. It takes the pressure off head coach Romeo Crennel as far as the quarterback battle goes. Frye is now the number one guy and will get the necessary reps he needs in mini camps, passing camp, training camp and exhibition games to become a better quarterback and leader of the offense.

The Browns received a conditional draft pick from San Francisco in the 2007 draft along with QB Ken Dorsey. The former Miami Hurricane will serve as Frye’s backup at the moment unless the Browns go out and sign a free agent signal caller. The best of that bunch right now is probably Kerry Collins. Another guy to keep an eye on is former St. Ignatius QB Dave Ragone, who has played the role of backup QB to Houston’s David Carr since being drafted out of Louisville a few years ago.

NEXT WEEK

A look back at LeBron James and the Cavaliers’ thrilling playoff series win over the Witnesses of Washington and how they’re doing against the Pistons. Also, why LeBron finished second to Steve Nash in the NBA’s Most Valuable Player voting this year.

MAY DAY! MAY DAY!

Kenny Roda will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the entire Cleveland sports universe. Check back often for his updates!

That’s the call from two out of the three professional sports teams in Cleveland on this first day of May 2006.

Let’s start with the Cavaliers. They’re coming back to Cleveland for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Wizards tied at two games apiece. Being that I predicted that LeBron and the Cavs would win this series in seven games, you would think I’d be feeling good right now. Well, I’m not!

MAY DAY! MAY DAY!

This series should be over already, or at the very least, the Cavaliers should be up 3-1. So why is this not the case? How about the fact that they blew a 15-point lead in Game 2, which I attended and felt sick to my stomach afterwards. I probably would have hurled if it weren’t for the gorgeous Cavalier Girls and their, how can I put this, Victoria Secret-like outfits!

Moving on to Game 4 in Washington. The Cavaliers blew another double-digit lead when they were up by 14 points in the second half and ended up losing by 10. Let me use my Baldwin-Wallace education for you on that one: subtract 2, add 10, carry the 3, that’s a 24-point turnaround in only 24 minutes. I know they’re young and LeBron is human, but it’s starting to feel like the old O.I.C. is happening again…”Only in Cleveland”! You know, The Drive, The Shot, Jose Mesa. Do I need to go on? Mike Brown, the Cavaliers rookie head coach, has performed or strategized like one so far. He admitted he screwed up late in Game 2 by not calling a timeout. Then in Game 4 he failed miserably, in my opinion, by not calling a timeout or two in the third quarter when the Wizards were mounting their comeback. He just sat back and watched as the team continued to shoot jumper after jumper and three-pointer after three-pointer in the pivotal third quarter.

So instead of preparing for the next round, or heading into Wednesday night’s game at The Q with a commanding 3-1 lead, it has essentially become a three-game series with the Cavaliers holding home-court advantage. And now that I think about it, it’s right on schedule for what I predicted at the beginning of this series: A Game 7 win on a LeBron James jumper over Washington’s Gilbert Arenas at the buzzer! Oh yeah, one more thing. If anyone sees Zydrunas Ilgauskas, tell him to stop catching some Z’s like Rip Van Winkle and show up for the final three games of the series because he sure hasn’t shown up for the first four!

THE RECORD IS BETTER, BUT ARE THE INDIANS BETTER?

The other “May Day” call you’re hearing in Cleveland is from Manager Eric Wedge of the Indians. Since starting the season strong at 6-1, the Tribe has closed the month of April losing 11 of their last 18 games to finish 13-12 for the month. Sure it’s three games better than last year when they finished 9-14 in April, but are they a better team?

Is Jason Michaels better than Coco Crisp? Is Paul Byrd better than Kevin Millwood? Who has replaced Bob Howry in the bullpen? C.C. Sabathia spent more time on the DL because he pulled his FAT GUT muscle. While the record says they are better, I’m not buying it just yet. Aaron Boone is hitting a whopping .247 with Johnny Peralta .at 219 and Michaels hovering around .245. Paul Byrd is 3-2 but his ERA is 8.02, almost three times that of Kevin Millwood’s from last season, which was good enough to win the A.L. ERA title. Sabathia has pitched in only two games now and the team as a whole has an ERA of 5.42. In addition, they still can’t bunt or play small ball and opponents continue to do whatever they want on the base paths. At last check, teams have gone 20 for 20 in stolen bases against the Indians so far, while the Tribe has swiped a total of just six bases. What has really changed? Eric Wedge can scream all he wants that this year’s team is better, but forgive me if I’m not buying into it. Don’t tell me, show me!

SAVAGE OFFERS BROWNS FANS HOPE

The one thing Cleveland sports fans can feel comfortable about is that Randy Lerner kept Phil Savage as general manager and fired Mr. GQ John Collins. Can you even imagine where the Browns would be if Collins stayed and Savage was fired? Yeah, sure, we’d have more G.E. Smith concerts for free and Collins would look stylish on the nightly sportscasts, but the football team would have had a malfunction as far as talent evaluation is concerned (Collins was the one who reportedly booked Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl that year). By keeping Savage, Learner scored big. All Savage did was go out and sign free agents by the likes of C LeCharles Bentley, LB Willie McGinest, DT Ted Washington, WR Joe Jurevicous and LT Kevin Schaffer. Then he went out and drafted DE/LB Kamerion Wimbley with their first-round pick, who they feel will be their pass-rusher of the future and who many scouts compare to Peter Boulware. The Browns followed that up by taking D’Qwell Jackson in the second round, the highest rated inside linebacker on the board. We all know how important those positions are in Romeo’s 3-4 defense and Savage did a wonderful job shoring up the linebacker spot with the first two selections. Considering these moves along with the other free agent signings and draft picks, the Browns are in a very good position. Add a healthy Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards to go with a more experienced Charlie Frye and things definitely are looking up for the boys in Berea and that should make Browns fans everywhere feel good.

But as is the case with most people in C-Town, the glass will always be half full. Hell, it’s bound to overflow one of these days. The question is which team will fill that glass with CHAMPAGNE first!?

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