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Flip comes up big

March 3, 2006 / John Blake

When the word �clutch� comes to mind, nobody on the Cavaliers has fit that description the last five games. Until Thursday night. With less than four seconds remaining, the newly acquired Ronald �Flip� Murray drained a three-pointer to send the Cavs to victory, beating the Chicago Bulls, 92-91.

“My man came off me to slide over on LeBron,” Murray said. “He left me wide open.”

The Cavaliers held a 25 point lead but let the Bulls tie it up late in the fourth quarter. Flip, who finished with 13 points, hit the biggest shot of the game to snap the Cavaliers� five game losing streak. LeBron James scored 33 points for the Cavs and was two assists shy of a triple double.

This game never should have come down to the final seconds but a win is a win. The Cavaliers desperately needed this, as we all know. Maybe a last second victory is just what this club needs to get them jump started.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Streak continues, Cavs lose

March 2, 2006 / John Blake

It�s starting to get a little ugly now. The Cavaliers got beat again Wednesday night, this time to the Sacramento Kings, 97-90. The defeat extends their losing streak to five, including their third straight at home. Cleveland started slowly but jumped out to a 14 point lead early in the second quarter. However, with the help of some good shooting by the Kings and defensive lapses by the Cavs, Sacramento put up 35 points in the third quarter. And as has been the case for the last several games, the Cavaliers struggled to take charge and execute in the fourth quarter. Sacramento, using only a seven man rotation, had all players in double figures. For the Cavaliers, James, Ilgauskas, and Murray all scored 19.

Getting beat by Detroit twice was tough to take, but let�s face it, they are the best team in the East. But tonight�s loss, frankly, was unacceptable especially considering the Cavaliers� large lead early on. In a game we needed in the worst way, we struggled again down the stretch against a team who is 11 games under .500 on the road. The team knows about last year�s collapse and they definitely are pressing.

“Right now, it’s all, ‘Here we go again,'” Cavaliers forward Donyell Marshall said. “Obviously, with the talk of last year, we try not to let that affect us, but I think it’s affecting us right now.”

Cleveland Cavaliers

Clayton: Browns have some money to play with

March 1, 2006 / JEC

This should be an interesting offseason for the Browns, with ESPN’s John Clayton reporting that the team is roughly $21.5 million under the $92 million cap.

Of course, who knows how everything’s going to play out at this point? With the NFL’s labor negotiations at a stand still, there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding this offseason. (Rather than having me regurgitate the info, visit our sister site, The Scores Report, to read all about the ramifications of the stalled labor talks.)

One thing is for sure, though: Only two teams, the Vikings ($24 million) and Cardinals ($21.8), are in a better cap situation than the Browns, and with Phil Savage running things, you’d like to believe that money will be put to good use this year. Especially intriguing is the fact that, because of the labor problems and the cap ramifications that could follow, several teams will be forced to cut talented players in an effort to get back under the cap number:

“In past years, you’d see a lot of guys released who maybe still had some name value but who were really in decline in terms of production,” said one AFC team executive who was working late Tuesday, trying to figure out how to pare down a prohibitively bloated cap figure. “This year? People are going to be stunned — not just by the quantity of players who are cut by Thursday but by the quality, too. It’s going to be ugly. There’s going to be blood in the streets and, compared to past years, it’s going to be from some bluebloods, guys who can still play.”

So let’s see: an abundance of cap space and a surplus of quality talent on the free agent market? Sounds like the perfect storm to me.

Cleveland Browns

Sabathia withdraws from WBC

March 1, 2006 / JEC

Can’t say I’m upset about this one:

New York Mets closer Billy Wagner and Cleveland pitcher C.C. Sabathia withdrew Wednesday from the U.S. roster for the World Baseball Classic and were replaced by Washington right-hander Gary Majewski and Yankees left-hander Al Leiter.

“Although I would love to pitch in the inaugural World Baseball Classic and am proud to represent my country, I will not be ready to pitch in a competitive-game environment when play begins on March 7,”Sabathia said in a statement released by the Indians.

It would’ve been kind of cool to see C.C. out there but this could be the year Sabathia finally steps up as a true staff ace. I’m not saying him skipping the WBC will propel him to a 20-win season, but it should help ensure that he doesn’t wear down at some point during the year.

My only question would be, why did he wait so long to drop out? Now the U.S. Team is left with…Al Leiter? Really? Ugh.

Cleveland Indians

Cabrera could help alleviate bullpen concerns

February 28, 2006 / John Blake

After the two Indians trades a month ago, several questions and concerns began to surface about the Tribe�s bullpen for the 2006 season: They�re losing David Riske and Arthur Rhodes and only getting an injury-prone Guillermo Mota in return. How are they going to replace Bob Howry? Howry did have his share of success last year and was effective as a back end reliever, but are the Indians really losing much in Riske and Rhodes? Riske totaled zero holds in 2005 and Rhodes was MIA the last month of the season.

Despite losing these three relievers and regardless of how Mota turns out with his injury history, the Tribe may be in possession of a secret weapon who is flying underneath the radar. Often the forgotten man in the Indians bullpen, Fernando Cabrera could become a household name as this season progresses.

Cabrera, 24, entered the 2005 season as one of the Tribe�s top 10 prospects. In 15 appearances last season he posted a terrific 1.47 ERA while striking out an average of one per inning. He�s a big, imposing figure on the mound who throws in the mid to upper 90s and possesses a nasty splitter. The young flamethrower, who stepped up as a reliable late inning reliever last season, gets his chance in a full-time role this season. Considered the possible closer of the future for the Tribe, Cabrera has the stuff to dominate hitters. As long as he continues his development as a pitcher, he has the ability to be a vital piece in the Indians� pen for this season and years to come.