Today, we are all GMs.

So what did I learn from that series against the Magic? Mainly I learned that, well, I hate the Magic. But I won't get into that. It turns out that, as much as I wanted to believe, this supporting cast still isn't championship calibur. Mo, Delonte and Z can beat up on 27 of the 29 other teams in the league, but that doesn't matter when you have to go through Orlando and LA to achieve the ultimate (and only) goal.

So do I admit I was wrong? Of course not. This team made it nearly impossible to see the truth all year, because they were so damn good up until this series. There were plenty of detractors who will say they were right all along that this is still the Cleveland LeBrons and he could become so much more if he just went to the Knicks. Well, they're wrong too.

This obviously wasn't the supporting cast to put LeBron over the top, but they're not just some ragtag group of scrubs. They'd become one of the best defensive teams in the league despite being soft down low and undersized on the wing. Varejao could be one of the most valuable 6th men in the league with his energy and defense and developing offensive game. Delonte is the ultimate team player, whether it be facillitating the offense at the point, shooting 3s, creating his midrange jumpers, or maybe his strongest quality in clamping down on defense. Gibson showed in game 5 (and more spectaculary in the Detroit series in '07) that he can be a fantastic spark off the bench. And while Mo is sure to take all the flak for disappearing in the conference finals, he's still a very good basketball player. He can run the offense, shoot from everywhere (including the free throw line), and is the first player the Cavs have had since adding LeBron who can take over a game when LeBron isn't on.

Unfortunately, Mo still isn't good enough to be the #2 option on a championship team, and that was made painfully clear against Orlando. While people are probably going to be out for his head calling him worthless, that couldn't be further from the truth. He would be an incredible 3rd scoring option if the Cavs brought in a true star to put next to LeBron, certainly up there with Ginobili and Allen of the past two title teams.

Now it just comes down to what Danny Ferry is willing to risk. Surely he can't stick to his guns and insist that chemistry wins championships. It will come down to if (when) he's willing to add a true superstar, what are the lengths he'll go to? There are plenty of options out there, and with some notable ones (Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire) on bad teams going downhill...you'd have to think that their teams will want to add whatever they can via trade before the players bolt in free agency, especially if both teams are out of playoff position.

So what trade chips do the Cavs have? If Varejao picks up his player option (which I think he should, but probably won't) he'd be the first piece. A relatively young, still developing big man who's become a good interior defender to go with his energy and hustle plays. Next would be JJ Hickson, who people following have compared to Andrew Bynum. He doesn't have Bynum's size, but with his age, pathleticism, and already pretty developed post moves, he has loads of potential and will probably first on the list of any team's request. Gibson could be a pretty attractive throw in, with a reasonable contract and a reputation much more glowing than his actual body of work.

But combined with a couple draft picks, that still won't (well, shouldn't) be enough to land a true sidekick. It will come down to whether or not Ferry is willing to deal Mo. It will certainly be hard to let him go, but you really can't expect to get an elite player without including an all-star. I'm well aware teams could be stupid and/or desperate enough to trade someone like Amare for a Varejao/Hickson package...but Ferry can not bank on that. If he wants to build a dynasty fit for the King, he needs to be aggressive.

Mo will be hard to replace, don't get me wrong. But if you can add Amare or Bosh, you can find a way to add a new guard. Buy a draft pick. The Cavs will have $25M in expiring deals with Wallace and Ilgauskas, some team will be craving cap room and be willing to give up a player in return. Ferry simply has to know that no player on this roster after LeBron is worth hanging onto if it means we get a 7 foot, 20 and 10 player coming our way.

The fallback plan is clear. Sign someone quick in free agency next offseason and hope LeBron thinks it's enough. But nothing would make the decision easier for him than having Chris Bosh and a title before negotiations even begin.


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Another bittersweet game for the Tribe today. No Grady, no Victor, no Hafner (surprise). Betancourt threw 3 pitches and heard a pop in his groin (I'm not sure if should giggle or shiver). Pavano was brilliant and ended up with a no decision after the bullpen blew his lead. And then Kerry Wood almost blew up (again) allowing a hit and a walk in the 9th. But then Trevor Crowe got on base. And then Droob got one of the most epic sacrifice bunts you'll ever see. And then Francisco (who's really been dominant all series) worked a walk to bring up Jhonny.

With all the crap that's gone on this season, I'm not sure why...but I knew Jhonny was going to get that basehit. He ripped a ground ball past A-Rod to drive in Crowe and win the game. Batting in the 3 hole in Victor's absent, he went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI. He looked like he really turned a corner in the second half of '08, batting cleanup with Vic and Hafner on the shelf. He hadn't shown that so far this year, but maybe, just maybe this is the kick he needs to be the reliable, middle of the order hitter this team needs.

All on the line

Mike Brown, I'm looking at you. Great coaches don't let "bad matchups" determine a series. He has to think of something to contain the 3. I've been amazed every single game at how many wide open 3s the Magic have had. Brown's trap might have led to the 66 wins and the consecutive sweeps to start the playoffs...but when Orlando has four players on the floor at all times who are willing and able to stand behind the line and launch 3s, you need a new strategy.

Unfortunately I don't have any idea what actually has to happen, but it starts with Brown's coaching. First and foremost shouldn't be guarding Dwight, because no one on the Cavs can guard Dwight. They need to focus on defending the 3. Varejao guarding Lewis while being the main guy to double Dwight is absolutely pathetic. Keep a guy in Lewis's hip pocket at all times. Don't go behind the high screens.

And it would help if he could actually run an offense. LeBron can carry the team to outscoring whoever the opponent may be, but it would certainly make things easier if he could get a real offense buzzing around him.

And I figure I have to say something about the Orlando fans. Nothing irritates me more than bad fans. When they bitch and moan and fling their arms up every possession no foul is called on Cleveland. When they bitch and moan and fling their arms up every possession there is a foul called on Orlando. If there is actually a bad call, by all means, boo. But you really have to make up your mind. Do you want ticky tack fouls or don't you? If it was one-sided officiating, that's also understandable. But if anything, it actually seems to be favoring Orlando. Stop bitching.

As a Cleveland fan I've grown pretty fond of old, fat gentlemen wearing dog noses, woofing it up, and flinging beer, bones and batteries when they get pissed off. When you see the Orlando businessmen with pretty dapper looking haircuts doing the "T em up" gesture whenever a Cavalier disagrees with a call, it's pathetic to me. All the old ladies with temporary tattoos and cowbells and "Go Team Go" signs don't make the fans look too fanatic, either.

Finally, watching Mike and Mike today I heard Jon Barry talking about hearing the Magic fans chanting "Beat L.A." after game 4. Combined with their near-riot outside the stadium, this just really set me off. For a few painfully obvious reasons. One, the series...is not over....you idiots. It's 3 games to 1, and it's far from unprecedented for a team to come back from that deficit, especially when they're the superior team. Two, the L.A. series isn't over! When they were chanting that, the Nuggets were coming off a dominating win to tie the series at 2. It stands at 3-2 Lakers right now, but Denver has looked like the better team most of this series, and the fact that it was tied as they chanted makes me laugh, in an angry way. Three, that's a Boston chant. You don't get to say it. Especially when it's your first trip to the Finals since Shaq decided to move far, far away. Establish yourself, and then you can make your own chant. Stealing Boston's, however vague it may be, is simply pathetic.

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Detroit closed out the Blackhawks yesterday, and it seems like I may have been wrong (right?) about Huet once again. 44 saves in a 2-1 overtime defeat. He definitely has the talent, just needs to keep it going consistently. I think he'll go back to being Chicago's number 1 next year, or even get traded to a team looking for a number 1. He'll get plenty of support from that offense, and with guys like Seabrook still improving, that blue line could be truly dominant with proper coaching.

I already kind of gave a quick run-down on my Detroit-Pittsburgh prediction, but now that it's official I might as well give my official pick. That is Red Wings in 6, with the Penguins struggling for secondary scoring and Fleury not being able to contain Detroit's. Yep, really going out on a limb, eh?

Well, that was something.

For the first time I can remember, I actually stopped watching a playoff game, conceding defeat last night. Granted I turned the TV back on just a couple minutes later, but still. Only the most banal of porn stars have let out more "oh my god"s than I did during that game. The ticky tack fouls thirty feet from the hoop, the worst free throw shooter in the league doing his best Steve Nash, Ray Allen or Reggie Miller at the line...and freaking Hedo Turkoglu. But I was still there up until LeBron's two missed free throws followed by Alston's wide open three. One more ohmygod and to avoid breaking anything I just turned off the TV and walked away. I knew it was over.

As I said, I couldn't handle not knowing, so I turned the box back on, muted Marv and Doug and Orlando's fans, and watched to the end. Delonte's tech was a joke, and is just one more reason I'm back on the hockey wagon. It's pretty hard to overcome all those fouls, especially with Dwight actually sinking his free throws...but it all comes down to LeBron's teammates. Z was atrocious. If he's not making his jumpshots, he not only doesn't help the team, he makes them worse. He can't guard anyone, he can't pass, he can't create any kind of offense, he HAS to knock down his open jumpshots.

Mike Brown really looks like he's getting exposed in this series. When the Cavs match up well with someone, or the long jumpers are all going down, they're an offensive force and Brown looks like a genius. In a tough matchup like this, it actually takes clever coaching to overcome. Why, when Mo and Delonte are obviously overmatched on defense AND struggling offensively...does Wally not get in the game? Where are the designed plays that lead to an open jumper? Stan Van is getting everything he wants on offense, usually even with Dwight on the bench. I won't be surprised if Brown is the next in the long line of Coach of the Year's fired in a year or two's time.

It looks pretty bleak, but I still believe the Cavs are the better team, will win game 4, and be back in control of this series. There are too many facets to single out what "needs" to happen, but in my opinion, it starts with Mike Brown.

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I haven't been following enough of the hockey conference finals, but it doesn't look I'm missing much. I was one of the few Cristobal Huet believers during the season, but last night shows what I know about goaltending. Holy jeez.

For some reason Pens-Wings looks a lot less appealing this year than it did last, but I might have to make sure I don't miss a game. Malkin has been an absolute monster, and I'd love to see the trend of going to Detroit for a guaranteed Cup come to an end with Marian Hossa. Not that Detroit will have any kind of cap flexibility for the next 20 years or so anyway.

Do I think the Penguins can actually beat the Wings? Not really. The Hurricanes don't have a Lidstrom, or a Datsyuk, or anyone to stop either Malkin or Crosby. Detroit has the men to contain those two, and the pure depth and ability to outscore them. Should be a good series though.

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Finally, it's Memorial Day. I'll have my mlb.tv going, watching as much baseball as I can, highlighted by my Tribe taking on the phenom, David Price. Here's to making him the next Chien Ming Wang.

Welcome

My first blog post. Who knows where this is going to end up. Might not last past this post, but it should be nice having some outlet for my thoughts. I'll focus on sports, with a Cleveland/Ohio bias, and will probably add some stuff about comic books and music and movies and other things I find pleasing. So let's get started with my Sunday post, which will be unabashedly Cleveland centric.


Today is the rubber match of the Battle of Ohio, Tribe-Reds. Lee-Cueto. It should be an incredible pitching duel, and since the Cleveland bullpen went 6 scoreless last night, they'll probably get hammered tonight. It's just so hard to have any kind of excitement, or moreso expectation about this team. All through the (nearly four hour) game last night after Huff got shelled, I was just waiting for the 6 run inning where we trot out 4 different pitchers. It didn't happen, somehow, even with Laffey on the DL, we found a couple pitchers to shut down the Reds offense. Newcomers Greg Aquino and Luis Vizcaino were just short of brilliant, going for 4 scoreless innings before Betancourt and Wood closed it out in not-so-impressive fashion.

The offense wasn't very dynamic but grinded out 7 runs. Droob adds two more, two-out RBI. DeRosa homered and had 4 RBI. Choo continues to be a rock in our lineup, two hits with a double and two walks. Vic *gasp* is now hitless in consecutive games for the first time this season.

At this point I'll take whatever we can get for DeRosa in a trade, so it's nice to see him at the very least increasing his value. Cabrera may not actually be this good, but he's looking like the player we expected after the end of '07. He has age on his side as he won't even be 24 until after this season...I'm looking forward to him being a fixture at Short for a long time. Choo is only necessary until LaPorta starts showing what he's capable of. Someone will want Shin Soo in a trade, and if we can get a solid, youngish starter for him (and assuming LaPorta actually does show what he's capable of) I would certainly do it.

Vic will have stretches like this, he may be the best contact hitter in the sport but he doesn't have the wheels to be a .350 hitter. He's the prototypical #3 hitter, nothing else to say.

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Cavs play tonight in Orlando. I still can't get over how many open 3s the Magic have seen in the first two games. It was obviously going to be a tough matchup with Orlando's huge size advantage on the perimeter, but the shots they've been getting haven't even been contested. I've never been a Mike Brown fan, but he started to win me over this year. I'm praying he doesn't blow it by letting Lewis and the rest of the Magic's shooters continue to go off.

That said, LeBron gave the team an incalculable shot in the arm in game 2. They will be playing their asses off, and I truly can't imagine this series coming back to Cleveland anything less than 2-2.

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Mohammed Massaquoi is impressing the Browns. I was pretty stunned when he was taken after we already added Robiskie in the second round, but this team definitely needed plenty of help on offense at every position. Robiskie is the kind of chain-mover that will help every aspect of the offense, if Massaquoi can be the big play threat Stallworth was supposed to be, this is suddenly back to being a dangerous passing attack. I don't expect any more than 1,000 yards from Lewis, but with Harrison hopefully being more of a dual-threat instead of a distant backup, the team's running game should be better as well.


Two exciting games today. I'm predicting an inspiring show from Johnny Cueto shutting the Tribe down, but LeBron quickly making everyone forget with a series changing win in Orlando.