Browns 2012 offseason

Now that the time is upon us again, it's time to break down the Browns' offseason. First and foremost, a decision needs to be made on Colt McCoy. I believe that his days as starter may be numbered. The Browns may do the almighty trade and trade both first rounders and the second round to the Rams for Griffin at the number two pick. I personally don't feel that is a smart move. Yes he is going to be amazing wherever he goes; however, the Browns are not just a quarterback away from making the playoffs. They have too many holes to fill to be giving up that many picks. Browns history and Cleveland history shows that they are not big spenders in the Free Agent Market. Having said that, I don't think they are going to be able to fill CB, OLB/DE, WR, RT and a WR in free agency. They are going to have to use some picks to fill holes. I feel that the smart (yes a little risky) move would be as follows: Try to sign Matt Flynn in FA (he's a Holmgren grown boy and he has been behind one of the best QB's in the league today). Yes, he could be a Matt Cassell, but heck the way the QB position has played lately for us, if he turned out to be a Cassell we should be happy. Also in FA, try to sign a Veteran WR. There are plenty of options out there this year. Marques Colston, Vincent Jackson, Dwayne Bowe, Manningham, maybe Mike Wallace, maybe Desean Jackson. The Browns need a veteran receiver that can take a little pressure off of Little and Massaqoui. Being that the Browns have close to $30 million in cap room, they could also try to get a pass rusher such as Robert Mathis. I would love Mario Williams, but I think he may be out of reach. Mathis, however, is a bit older, but he has been successful over the past few years. He would provide good experience and mentoring ability to an already beastly (close to one of the best) D-lines. If they can make 2 or 3 big splashes in FA, they should be in good shape. As far as the draft, I would take Claiborne at number 4 or trade down and acquire more picks. If they take Claiborne at 4, they could try to trade up with the number 22 and try to get Trent Richardson. If they trade down from number 4, they could try to get Blackmon and also trade up from 22 for Richardson. If they go this route, they will need to try and make a splash in FA to get Brandon Carr or Cortland Finnegan (I like Finnegan the best). If they can land the first scenario (Claiborne and Richardson) I think they will not only improve their pass defense, but that will improve their pass rush and run defense immensely. They will be able to put more guys in the box and let Haden and Claiborne go 1 on 1. They could then use their middle round picks to pick up a RT, another pass rusher and another WR. Browns fans should have a good feeling about this offseason. We have had great drafts in past years with Heckert and Holmgren (Ward, Haden, Little, Sheard and Taylor) and we have proven assistants and leaders to help Shurmur get this team to where they need to be. Cleveland sports are on the rise ladies and gentleman.

Spring Training

Less than four days until pitchers and catchers report! Tribe fans should have something to be excited about this year. The 2011 season was a very promising and encouraging season, even though it didn't end the way the city of Cleveland had hoped. Starting out the season with the best record in baseball surprised many teams and analysts around the league. However, injuries forced younger inexperienced players into starting roles, which is always a difficult way to make it to the fall classic. These young players surprised many with the success that they endured, which will only be that much more beneficial for the 2012 season ahead of us. With Kipnis and Chisenhall making their big league debuts and getting a lot of reps in 2011, that should enable them to really prosper in their first season starting out on the big league roster. With Cabrera and Kipnis up the middle, it reminds many of the Vizquel/Baerga and Vizquel/Alomar days. Having said that, you can have all the talent in the world, but you have to keep them healthy. This is one thing the Indians struggled with in 2011. Their roster was depleted with injuries throughout the whole season. You had Sizemore, Hafner, Choo, Kipnis, Brantley, Hannahan, Tomlin, Talbot and a few others I am sure that I missed. It is hard to win when your opening day starting outfield all goes down during the season. These misfortunes however, have only prepared their team that much more for the 2012 season. Cleveland Indians baseball is going to be like Indians baseball has and always will be with the Dolan family. No, we probably will never sign a Pujols or Fielder 'esque player while Dolan is in charge, but we are sticking with the roots of our farm system and overall team contribution. Which remember, baseball is a team game where others must do their job in order for you to do your job to the highest level. Look at teams like the D-Rays and D-Backs. They have similar approaches, and they both were successful last year as well. On the other hand, look at teams like the Nationals (signed Jayson Werth to a huge free agent contract) that are worse off than the Indians. If the Tribe can stay relatively healthy this season, there is no reason that they cannot make the playoffs as a wild card (it may be a stretch to knock off Detroit, unless Verlander and crew have an off year). Cleveland has one of the best young shortstops and catchers in the game. Kipnis and Chisenhall have the chance to enable Cleveland to have one of the best offensive infields in the game today. There is a lot of promise with the young core players the Indians have. The outfield is going to be a trial and error. Choo needs to have a year like 2010, so that we can get an extra 75 or so RBI's. If Sizemore or Brantley can put up mediocore numbers and increase their OBP, the studs behind them will bring them in. As for the pitching, it is going to be a wait and see kind of rotation. Everyone is hoping that Masterson and Tomlin were not just one hit wonders and can replicate last year's numbers. As for Ubaldo, this is the year where Chris Antonetti is either a genius or an idiot (White and Pomeranz will both most likely be in Colorado's starting rotation). After the top three, it is going to be changed around multiple times. They have three veteran free agents that they signed after awful years in 2011. However, the years prior to 2011, these three (Lowe, Garland and Slowey) were 10-15 game winners. Cleveland is hoping they are getting prior 2011 arms with these three. They also have some young arms that are sure to be thrown into the mix. You have Gomez, Huff (both have proven some success from last year), McAllister and Barnes who are all going to have some type of contribution in 2012. Having rattled off all of this information, Indians fans should lock their televisions into STO and watch when the grass is green , because they are going to be playing when the leaves are falling!

2008 Season