A pathetic epitaph for the 2008 Cleveland Browns

Today's game against the Steelers went pretty much as we all expected. Yeah, I think we all would have guessed that 31-0 would sound about right. If the first-, second- and third-string quarterbacks couldn't lead a touchdown drive, it was nearly a lead-pipe cinch that the guy who wasn't on an NFL roster a couple of weeks ago wouldn't manage it either.

So the Browns finished 4-12 for the second time under Romeo Crennel. They ended up last in the AFC North, after the Bengals managed to win their last three to best them by a half-game. They had the second-worst record in the AFC, topping only the 2-14 Chiefs. They lost their last six. During that streak, their opponents scored at least three touchdowns (off the top of my head) on plays the Browns started on offense, but the Browns did not score a single offensive touchdown in that time. Pathetic. You probably heard this, but that's the first time any team has ever rattled off that long a streak (the previous record was 22 quarters by the '74 Bears). The Browns will have a chance to lengthen it going into the first game of 2009.

I suppose I could go into recap mode, but other writers will do that, and I'm kind of lazy. I will mention that Jamal Lewis got to 1,000 yards for the second year in a row, and the third time a Brown did that in the expansion era. So that's cool. I loved Josh Cribbs all year, and of course Joe Thomas and Sean Rogers made the Pro Bowl. And hey, the Browns won four more games than the Lions. So we've got that going for us.

Cavs pull even with Celtics in loss column

It's generally accepted that there are three NBA teams that tower over the rest this season -- the defending champion Celtics, the defending Western Conference champion Lakers, and our Cavaliers. For weeks, the Cavs have been looking up at the Celtics for the best overall record, but after Boston fell on back-to-back nights to the Lakers and Warriors, we're essentially even with them now. Yes, they're 27-4, and we're only 25-4, but the important number is that 4.

There seems little reason to doubt that the Cavaliers and Celtics will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals in a few months, provided everyone stays healthy. And it seems to me the determining factor in who wins that series will be who has home court. Both teams have been nearly invincible at home: The Cavs are 15-0 at the Q, and the Celtics are 17-1 in Boston. Not that this means anything, but current tabulations on coolstandings.com predict that Cleveland will go 65-17 on the year, and Boston will go 62-20. (The Lakers are also projected at 62-20, which would give us home court for the Finals, should we face them in that series.)

It's definitely less than a 50-50 bet that the Cavaliers will be NBA champions in six months. But there has never been a better basketball team in Cleveland, and at this point, they have as good a shot as anybody. As Terry Pluto points out, there are only five players on this team who were here at this time a year ago. I used to think it took players a lot longer than that for a basketball team to come together. The '07-08 Celtics proved me wrong. I have a darned good feeling about this Cavaliers team.

Some random notes

I haven't had much time to post lately, and I don't have much time right now either, but I've got a few quick hits for you while I have a moment.

• Let it be known that the absolute low point, the very nadir, of the Cleveland Browns expansion era occurred on December 21, 2008. Losing at home, 14-0, to one of the worst teams in the NFL is just sickening. In theory, they could go lower, but they could lose 70-0 to the Steelers on Sunday and it wouldn't feel as pathetic as that loss to the Bengals did. It should be interesting to see how Bruce Gradkowski does. He can't do much worse than Ken Dorsey did against the Bungs.

• On the plus side, the Cavaliers are looking as good as ever, dispatching the 19-10 Houston Rockets in the second half last night after keeping it even at the half. Mo Williams was a big key to that effort, and LeBron had another one of his how-the-hell-did-he-do-that blocks from behind — this time on 7'5" Yao Ming.

• There's not much going on with the Tribe, but the Yankees just reminded us how much harder it is for everybody else to put a competitive team on the field, after signing Mark Teixeira. They now have the three most expensive contracts in baseball. I hope they choke on them.

• Joe Paterno's going to coach until he's 200 years old.

• I haven't had time to do a proper tribute to the late Sammy Baugh, but how amazing is it that he still, to this day, holds passing, intercepting and punting records?

May you and everyone you care about have a merry Christmas. And while I'm at it, have a merry December 26th too. I hope you don't spend the whole day returning gifts.

Kerry Wood to the mound

Before I start on Kerry Wood, let me apologize to both of my regular readers for the fact that I have not posted anything in a week and a half. I've been so very busy lately. Doesn't mean I haven't had anything to say, or that I don't love you.

My good friend Jeff Brown had this to say about the Wood signing, which as you may recall is two years, $20.5 million, with a club option for a third year at $11 million that kicks in automatically if he finishes a certain number of games in either '09 or '10:

Does Mark Shapiro know what he's doing?

They just gave over $20 million to a pitcher who has spent more time in the hospital getting surgeries and doing rehab than he has pitched over the past 8 years.

He'll go on the DL in early May, after missing most of Spring Training, then be on and off the DL all year (mostly on) and finish with 6 saves, a 5.97 ERA, and a record of 0-6.

Jeff could be right, of course, but I do not share his pessimism. There's some degree of gamble involved, just as there is some degree of gamble in signing any player, especially a pitcher. But Wood's is not a young arm anymore. He'll turn 32 on June 16. A lot of pitchers have been injury-prone during their 20s and then come around to be healthy through their 30s. In fact, I think such a pitcher might be slightly better off because all those years when he could have been putting strain on his developing arm by throwing 100 pitches every five days, he was sipping piña coladas and waiting for his arm to be ready to pitch again. The throwing arm isn't fully developed until it's been around for nigh on 30 years.

And Wood managed to stay healthy last year while pitching only the ninth, sometimes as many as three days in a row. I think his arm can handle that on an ongoing basis, and apparently Mark Shapiro does too. There's no guarantee he'll stay healthy, just as there is no guarantee CC Sabathia will stay healthy for the Yankees. But I think it's a good bet.

Anyway, the Indians introduced their new closer yesterday at Jaco ... er, Progressive Field, and Shapiro talked about what else the Indians are planning this offseason. He talked about wanting a second or third baseman to fill the hole created by the Casey Blake trade, and about how the starting pitchers who are out there are out of his price range. So we may or may not see another signing before the season starts, with Asdrubal Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta possibly each shifting one position to the left. Peralta's been working at third base in winter ball, and of course, Cabrera is a natural shortstop. So that could certainly work.

If there is no signing, we will see Jamey Carroll, Josh Barfield or Luis Valbuena playing whatever infield position is left over. I'd hate to see Carroll playing every day unless he's been hiding some hitting skills from us, and of course Barfield has been a flop the last couple of years but has actually been a good major-league hitter before. Valbuena, who came over in the three-team trade in which we gave up Franklin Gutierrez, is only 23, and his major-league experience consists of 18 games after the rosters were expanded on Sept. 1. But he hit .303 between AA and AAA last year, with 11 home runs in 452 at-bats. I don't know how his glove is, but he's got some talent with his bat.

Hall of Fame adds an Indian

The great Joe Gordon was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today, which surprised me only because I thought he was already in. He was a power-hitting, slick-fielding second basemen, which in his day was a far more unusual combination than it is now. And it's not common now either. There's Chase Utley, our old friend Brandon Phillips, ... and that's about it. AL MVP Dustin Pedroia hit 17 home runs and won a Gold Glove award this year, but Gordon routinely hit more than 20 a year in an era when that kind of power from a second baseman was almost unheard of. But Pedroia's only 25, so he's got a chance to become that kind of player.

Gordon played from 1938 to 1950, losing two prime seasons to World War II, as so many of his contemporaries did. He missed his age 29 and age 30 seasons, 1944-45. He was reportedly very strong in the field, and while they didn't have Gold Gloves in those days, the blunt defensive numbers support his reputation. He led the American League in assists four times and double plays three times.

"Flash" (a nickname anyone named Gordon is destined to be stuck with for all eternity) was the first American League second baseman to hit 20 home runs in a season -- and he did it seven times! He finished with 253 career homers in 11 seasons, which works out to exactly 23 a year, on average. If you were to suppose he'd hit 23 each of the two seasons he missed, that would have put him at 299, which is an awful lot for a second baseman in the '30s and '40s.

Gordon, of course, is not around to enjoy the honor, having died 30 years ago. That's unfortunate, but at least his family and those who remember his career can enjoy it.

Joe Gordon will no doubt be wearing a Yankee hat on his plaque, as he played seven seasons for them and just four in Cleveland. He also won four World Series in the Bronx, and one on the shores of Lake Erie. So objectively, I admit he's got to have the Yankee hat on. But I don't have to like it.

Cavs keep a-rollin'

LeBron got to sit out the fourth quarter again last night as the Cavaliers made a mockery of the Charlotte Bobcats, 94-74, in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score indicates. It was the Cavs' eighth straight win, each by at least 12 points. That ties an NBA record, which they now share with four other teams. They'll get a shot to break the mark on Tuesday against the 8-10 Raptors at the Q, and I like their chances. The wine-and-golders are now 17-3, the best start in the 39-year history of the franchise. As good as the Price-Daugherty-Nance teams were, they can't hold a candle to the '08-09 version.

This game was over before it started. The Cavs raced out to leads of 13-4, 23-11 and 27-12 on their way to a 30-14 lead at the quarter pole. Cleveland led 55-35 at the half -- the Kitties took until nearly midway through the fourth quarter to score as many points as the Cavs scored in the first half alone.

The way things are going, LeBron's not likely to successfully defend his scoring title, simply because he's not playing many fourth quarters. (At 26.5, he's currently second behind Dwyane Wade's 28.9.) James had 25 in his 28 minutes, and added a block from behind that's becoming a trademark of his. I've never seen a player who's so good at following an opponent on a drive to the bucket, then swatting the ball away from behind. It's a thing of beauty.

Boobie Gibson, who's started slowly this year, had his best game of the young season, putting in 22 points in 31 minutes. So that's good to see.

That these Cavaliers have to be taken seriously as a title contender is beyond question. Unfortunately, there are three dominant teams in the NBA this year. I do think the Cavs are perfectly capable of beating the Celtics and/or Lakers in a best-of-seven, but I'll feel a whole lot better going into either of those prospective series if the seventh game is in Cleveland.

How about those Cavaliers!

LeBron James has been named the NBA's Player of the Month for November, the eighth time he's won that award in his six-year career. More importantly, the Cavaliers are absolutely rolling, at 14-3 after winning four games in five nights by an average of 20 points each. Granted, all four games were against relatively weak teams, but still, winning four games in five days is never easy.

This very well might be the best team the Cavaliers have put on the floor in the team's 37-year history. The difference from last year is Mo Williams, who is putting up 15.7 a game, with 4.6 assists against 2.2 turnovers. Delonte West and Wally Szczqzxzerbiak have had some time to get settled in after last year's midseason trade, and 33-year-old Zydrunas Ilgauskas is quietly having a fine year, in his 11th NBA season, all as a Cav. Z is averaging 15.6 a game in just 26.6 minutes, and if he keeps that up all year (I know, there's still a long way to go, but bear with me), that would be his highest scoring output in three years.

The Cavs have the Knicks at home tomorrow night. They should win by a couple of dozen.

Ken Dorsey to the rescue

I haven't had a chance until now to post anything about the Browns' embarrassing loss Sunday to the Colts. I'm sure you all saw it. The defense was phenomenal, holding Peyton Manning's high-powered offense to three points -- they made plays and forced key turnovers, and if you can't win when you hold the Colts' offense to three points, you're not going to win very much. The offense, of course, was abysmal, putting up just six points and giving up seven, on Derek Anderson's fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

And now Anderson's out for the year, joining Brady Quinn in that status. We all know how Anderson went to the Pro Bowl last year and opened the season as the starter, and played as badly all year as he played Sunday. So third-stringer Ken Dorsey, who went 0-for-3 Sunday in desperation time, is left to play out the string. Former Kent State quarterback Josh Cribbs becomes the backup, which is very interesting -- that could mean that if Dorsey should go down, our quarterback could be the guy who returns kickoffs. I'm guessing he'd be relieved of that duty in that event, which would be a shame because he's one of the best special teamers in the league, if not THE best.

Romeo Crennel has declared Quinn the starter for 2009, which is an interesting decree by someone who's going to be a defensive coordinator in some city other than Cleveland next year. Crennel is reportedly out unless the team has a miracle finish, and probably rightly so. He's a good guy, and he knows his football, but this is a very talented team that's 4-8.

In an interesting side note, Romeo's old buddy Charlie Weis is also on the hot seat at Notre Dame. They were both highly hyped as Bill Belichick's top assistants in New England, and they have both largely failed in their first head coaching jobs. Belichick did too, of course, but Belichick wasn't in his 50s when he got his first top job.

One more thing: The Browns are STILL the only team to have beaten the Giants this year. If the Fighting Plaxicos win out and then take the Super Bowl title again, our Brownies will have been the only thing standing between them and joining the '72 Dolphins. And they're 4-8, and likely to finish about 5-11. Freaky.

Where's LeBron going? Probably nowhere

Loyal reader Jeff Brown sent me the following link to a Bill Simmons column on ESPN's Page 2. If I may quote from Jeff's email:

Team LeBron is making everyone think they have a chance at LeBron in 2010 so multiple teams clear cap space and weaken themselves competitively in the short-term (like Detroit did) ... which inadvertently gives Bron a better chance to win a title over these next two years! It's devious and hilarious. I love it. I would do the same thing. Can't you see Worldwide Wes whispering to Dumars, "Yeah, LeBron loves Detroit, he could totally see himself there, you should kill your 2009 chances so we can maybe sign with you."

From http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/storypage=simmons/081126&sportCat=nba&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos2

...

The Cavs' chances are increasing for a title this season and next, as we watch teams falling all over each other to arrange their salary caps to make a run at "The King" even though the Cavs can offer him a considerably higher salary than any other team.

Which reminds me, I'm surprised that our loyal hometown hero, C.C. Sabathia, has not yet inked his foregone conclusion contract with the Tribe. I guess he and the Tribe are just making the other teams expend unnecessary energy, in order to wear THEM out and increase the Tribe's chances
in 2009 and beyond.

Jeff (I think) is just joking about CC, but it is truly interesting what's happening with all this talk about LeBron in New York. I don't think anyone's saying there's NO chance LeBron won't sign with a team in a bigger market, but the national media generally seems to have no idea about the salary cap rules that would allow the Cavs to sign or trade for another big name, THEN sign LeBron to a bigger contract than anyone else can offer.

LeBron is far from the main thrust of the column. Simmons also holds forth on who the main contenders are this season, and our Cavaliers are in his top three. (They also seem to be in the "general consensus" top three, from what I have seen.) They've certainly been impressive thus far, and have to be considered legitimate.

Will LeBron be a Cavalier after his current contract expires? I don't know, but I think so. In any case, there's not much point worrying about it right now.

Pathetic

I don't know what to say about the Browns. They were terrible. Brady Quinn was awful, but Braylon Edwards sure didn't help him much.

Would that I had more to say. I just can't bring myself to think about it more.

Whew!

Boy, the Browns danced with the same demon that bit them the last two weeks. (I know I'm mixing metaphors, but it's late.) The difference came down to the kickers: Phil Dawson hit a 56-yarder (his fifth field goal of the game), and Rian Lindell missed a 47-yarder. At 33, Dawson is having perhaps his best season as a pro, as he has hit on 22 of 24 field goals, and set his own career long twice this year. The second of those was the one that won the game tonight.

Brady Quinn wasn't as good tonight as he was last week, going 14-for-36 for 185 yards, but he made a few big throws, and he was good enough to win.It's important to note that he didn't throw any picks. Jerome Harrison's 72-yard run was a thing of beauty, but that Leodis McKelvin immediately answered it with a TD kickoff return.

And the Browns were definitely lucky. Besides the missed field goal, they were extremely lucky that the nose of the ball touched the ground before Ko Simpson could corral it on one lazy duck Quinn threw. (I know, the expression is "wounded duck," but this one didn't wobble. It wasn't wounded. It was just lazy.)

Well, as I said, it's late, and if I didn't have to get up so early tomorrow, I'd write about how the offense failed to capitalize on all the interceptions, and about how awful the kickoff coverage was, and about how Braylon Edwards is so great at everything except catching the ball (though it should be said he didn't drop any easy ones tonight), and about how the only guys who made plays on the Browns defense were guys the average fan has never even heard of before, and about how Marshawn Lynch ran wild on our defense ... but why wallow in it. We won!

Six straight

Due to a shortage of time, I haven't posted anything about the Cavaliers since their last loss. They've reeled off six straight wins since then, after last night's 110-99 win over the Nuggets, and are looking like one of the true heavyweights of the Eastern Conference.

The acquisition of Mo Williams is definitely bearing dividends. Williams led the Cavs with 24 points last night, to go along with six assists. LeBron, despite "only" 22 points, was his usual self, adding 11 assists and eight rebounds. The Cavs ran away with it in the second half, after being down 61-58 at the break.

This is a good-looking Cavaliers team. I look forward to a deep playoff run, presuming everyone stays healthy.

Cliff Lee, Cy Young

To the surprise of no one, our man Cliff Lee took home some serious hardware today. Lee went 22-3 this year with a 2.45 ERA, and there is no question he was the best pitcher in the American League.

There really isn't much I can say in a small space about Lee's 2008. We all know how he struggled in '07, getting sent to Buffalo, then returning in a bullpen role. And we all know how he dominated this year, from start to finish.

A couple of months ago, I wrote in this space that I looked forward to posting a game-by-game account of Lee's season after he won the Cy Young. I do look forward to that, but it's not going to happen tonight. That's well within my rights as a blogger.

Herbert Jude Score, RIP

The great Herb Score left us on Tuesday.

Those of my and adjacent generations remember Herb as the voice of the Indians, which title he held from 1964 to 1997; four years on TV, and three decades on the radio. A native of Rosedale, Queens, Herb retained his New Yawk accent, and I'll always remember how he said, for example, "Jose Can-SECK-o," instead of the more common "Cuhn-SAY-co." But he has been a Clevelander for a very, very long time, and no doubt would have identified himself as such.

I heard an interview with Tom Hamilton yesterday on the Wills & Snyder show on WTAM, and he said the only time he ever saw Herb stand up in reaction to something that happened on the field was when Tony Fernandez hit what proved to be the game-winning home run that sent the Indians to the World Series in '97. It was Game 6 against Baltimore, and Fernandez's run was the only one scored in a pitcher's duel between Charles Nagy and Mike Mussina (neither of whom figured in the decision). I'll never forget the call Herb made on that home run, which occurred in the top of the ninth: "And the Indians are going to the World Series! ... Maybe. They still have to get through the bottom of the ninth."

Herb retired after that season, so the thrilling, extra-inning seventh game of the World Series against the Marlins was the very last game he ever called. His pending retirement was no secret, and I remember thinking how fantastic it would be if the Indians should finally win a World Series in Herb's last game behind the mike. Alas, it was not to be.

And I haven't even mentioned Herb's playing career. I'm not old enough to remember him as a player, but he was one of the American League's best pitchers for a couple of years. In his rookie year, 1955, he went 16-10 with a fine 2.85 ERA and 245 strikeouts -- which would stand as a rookie record until 1984, when Dwight Gooden would break it. (Gooden, ironically, would have a similar career to Score's, but for vastly different reasons.) He followed it up with an even better season in '56, going 20-9, 2.53, 263. He turned 23 on June 7 of that year, and it must have looked like a Hall of Fame career in the making. But a Gil McDougald line drive bounced off Score's eye on May 7, 1957, and he was never the same again. He pitched until 1962, but ended his career with just 55 wins.

Through it all, Herb was, by all accounts, a genuinely nice man, never thinking of himself as a celebrity. I'm sure I would have loved to sit and talk baseball with him over a beer, or a cup of coffee, or whatever beverage he favored. For those of us who have listened to a lot of Indians games on the radio, Herb was an old friend, and there will never be another like him.

Rest in peace, Herb. We miss you.

Cowher in Cleveland?

My friend Hutch sent me this link to a Plain Dealer story about a guy who's running an online petition to get the Browns to hire Bill Cowher to be their new head coach. Obviously, they've been disappointing this year under Romeo Crennel, but it's worth noting that Crennel was at the helm during the team's winningest season in the expansion era. Does a guy forget how to coach in the space of a season? I don't know, but barring a phenomenal turnaround the rest of the season, it's quite likely that there are going to be some serious changes after the season, and Crennel's job is certainly not safe.

So what about Cowher? We know he's got Cleveland roots, spending time as an assistant here under Marty Schottenheimer before the Steelers picked him off. He went 149-90-1 in 15 seasons in Pittspuke, and won a Super Bowl. But that was in an organization that has made good personnel decisions; it bears mention that his replacement, Mike Tomlin, is 16-9 over a season and a half. The Browns, as we all know, have NOT made good personnel decisions over the years, but it's clear that there's enough talent on the current team to be right up there with Tomlin's team. If we'd just won the last two games -- both of which we were leading late -- we'd be 5-4, a game back of the Steelers.

Is Cowher the guy? I don't know, but I don't think Crennel is. We'll see what happens.

Come all without, come all within

You'll soon see what we've got in Brady Quinn.

It seems an odd time to make a quarterback change, given that Derek Anderson actually played a decent game on Sunday. Also, we've got a Thursday night game this week, which gives Quinn a short schedule to prepare as the starter; seems like it would make more sense to start him the next week, with 10 days to prepare.

Former Browns QB Trent Dilfer, speaking on "SportsCenter," expressed the opinion that the decision to bench Anderson was quasi-buffoonish, saying that it was made because the fans wanted it. Whether that's the real reason or not, I cannot say for sure, but I hope we can all agree that if that's the reason, it's a bad reason to make a quarterback change.

"There are so many layers of dysfunction that this decision represents," Dilfer said. "It shows a total lack of discretion and wisdom at the very highest level of the Cleveland Brown organization."

All that said, the question remains: Is Quinn the guy? I have no idea, but we're going to start finding out on Thursday. What we do know is that Anderson has been spotty at best this year. Maybe Quinn can do better. I sure hope so.

Coming from ahead to lose

I don't have a whole lot of interest to say about today's Browns game, but I do want to discuss what I consider to have been the play of the game. I don't mean to blame Braylon Edwards for today's loss -- there's plenty of blame to go around -- but if he'd come down with that deep pass when the score was tied in the fourth quarter, he probably would have scored, and it would have changed the whole complexion of the game. It's impossible to know for sure, of course, but I think there's about an 80% chance the Browns would have won.

You may notice I have not named the Browns' opponent today. I'm not sure if this will be a hard and fast rule going forward, but at least for now, I'm not using their name. In fact, I'm not saying about that team, except that I freaking HAAAAAAATE losing to them.

On a side note, the Giants trounced the Cowboys 35-14 today, to improve to 7-1. The Browns are still the only blemish on their record. I'd like to see the Browns that took the field that day again, but I've come to terms with the fact that I probably won't see them again this year. Maybe if we could play undefeated teams every week, we could win some games. I hope the Titans are still undefeated when we play them in week 14.

Cavs fail another test

The Cavaliers have played two games against the NBA's elite, and have lost them both. Last night's 104-92 loss to New Orleans was disappointing, given that the Hornets were playing without starters Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic, not to mention the fact that the Cavs were actually winning as late as the six-minute mark in the fourth quarter. You'd think that if one of the teams were to fall apart down the stretch, it'd be the one playing without two starters.

The difference in the game -- statistically, at least -- was turnovers. The Cavaliers made 18 of them, to the Hornets' 14. That's not a big difference in and of itself, but the Bees made better use of the turnovers they got, converting them into 26 points, compared to the 12 points Cleveland got off New Orleans' TOs.

LeBron didn't have a great game, scoring just 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting. He did dish out 13 assists and got seven rebounds and three steals, but as the Plain Dealer's Brian Windhorst reports, he went 2 1/2 quarters without hitting a single bucket from the half-court offense. When your all-world perennial MVP candidate and defending scoring champion goes dry for that long, it's pretty tough to win.

Congratulations, once again, to Charlie Manuel and the Phillies

I'm on record as rooting for the Rays in this World Series, but at the same time, I couldn't be happier for Charlie Manuel. I certainly would not have predicted in mid-September that his Phillies would be the champs, given that they were still locked in a division race with the Mets.

Chase Utley made the defensive play of the series -- and one of the most savvy defensive plays I've ever seen -- in the seventh inning last night. With the score tied at 3 and Jason Bartlett on second, Akinori Iwamura hit a ground ball up the middle, and Utley fielded it behind second base. He faked a throw to first as Bartlett rounded third, then gunned Bartlett down at home. Absolutely brilliant. If Utley had actually thrown to first, Bartlett would certainly have scored; if he hadn't faked the throw, Bartlett wouldn't have even tried to score, so the Rays would have had first and third with two outs. Either way, the World Series might be headed back to Florida.

I liked what Fox did at the end of the game, when they had a camera trained on each of the Phillies' players on the field, and at least a few on the dugout. They then showed us the reactions from each of those corners at the moment Eric Hinske struck out on a Brad Lidge slider to make the Phillies the champs. Charlie was pretty reserved, but he was obviously thrilled as he shared a group hug with a few of his coaches before heading onto the field.

This was Philadelphia's first pro championship in any major sport since 1983, the year I turned 12. I'm still waiting for Cleveland's first in my lifetime. I'm happy for the Philly fans, but it does make me more than a bit envious.

Heavyweight slugfest goes Penn State's way

Ohio State battled a very strong Penn State team up until the final minute last night. And a Terrelle Pryor with another year's worth or so of experience might well have pulled out that game.

Color commentator (and Buckeye alum) Kirk Herbstreit felt Pryor was trying to make too much happen on the play in which he coughed up the ball in the fourth quarter, which the Nittany Lions recovered to set up the field goal that made the final score 13-6. Herbstreit felt that Pryor should have just taken the sneak inside and picked up the first down. No disrespect to Herbie, but I disagree. Pryor thought he saw an opening to the outside and would try to pick up a few extra yards -- which I applaud. His mistake was not carrying the ball more carefully.

Pryor did make a mistake -- albeit an understandable one -- on the throw that was intercepted in the end zone in the final minute. He threw what was essentially a Hail Mary, with 20-some seconds left on the clock. Keeping in mind that in college, a first down stops the clock until the chains are moved, Pryor had time to try to find somebody underneath and then run up and spike the ball. It's likely that it wouldn't have made much difference, but regardless, a more experienced quarterback probably gives his team a little bit better chance in that situation.

It should be said that the Buckeyes couldn't get anything going on the ground, which kept the pressure on Pryor. Beanie Wells picked up just 55 yards on 22 carries, and Pryor himself only got six yards with his legs, on nine totes.

The Penn State Nittany Lions now look pretty good to get to the national title game, and I'm rooting for them. It'd be neat to see Joe Paterno win another championship at age 81.

What a mess

I'm really not sure what to make of this Kellen Winslow Jr. situation. The sequence of events went something like this:

• Winslow spent a few days in the hospital with a staph infection.
• The Browns didn't want anybody to know what it was because they were gaining a reputation for spreading staph infections.
• The team didn't tell anybody and asked him not to tell anybody either.
• Everybody wondered what was wrong with Winslow, and people were filling in the blanks on their own. I actually heard someone speculate that he'd contracted a social disease.
• Winslow missed a game, which incidentally was the best game the Browns have played in years.
• Winslow got out of the hospital and played in the next game, which incidentally didn't go well at all for the Browns.
• Winslow complained after the game that he felt like a piece of meat, because Phil Savage never called him while he was in the hospital with a staph infection.
• Savage suspended Winslow for a game, without pay, for making comments that were "unwarranted, inappropriate, and unnecessarily disparaging to our organisation."
• Winslow appealed his suspension.

There seems to be a lot of blame to go around here. It's the ugly truth that professional athletes basically are pieces of meat. The teams really don't care about them as people; they only care about what they can do for them on the field of play. Winslow should know that. On the other hand, I can understand that it would be a bit frustrating to have people speculating about what's put you in the hospital, and to top it off, nobody from the team bothers to check in on you while you're in there. If LeBron James or Zydrunas Ilgauskas were in the hospital, I have to believe Danny Ferry would call to see how they were doing; ditto with Grady Sizemore and Mark Shapiro.

But there's a right way to do things, and there's a wrong way. Popping off publicly about how your GM behaved while you were in the hospital is the wrong way. Then again, suspending a player for popping off is probably not productive either.

What a mess.

World Series!

For the first time in probably decades, the World Series matches up two teams that, between them, have combined for exactly one WS title -- the Phillies, in 1980.

The Cinderella Rays finally finished off the Red Sox last night, in a game it seemed like you'd have had to be a little high to think they'd win, given Boston's recent history of coming back from big series deficits (including last year's heart theft against the Tribe). Matt Garza and the Rays' bullpen held the big Red Sox bats in check, and while things were touch and go there for a while in the eighth, rookie David Price -- a veteran of exactly seven major-league games, including this postseason -- came in and struck out J.D. Drew with the bases loaded to end the threat. Then he set them down in the ninth, stranding a lead-off walk, to give the Rays the American League pennant in their first above-.500 season in team history. Price had not even pitched professionally until May 22, but the boy's apparently got ice in his veins. He has no regular-season wins or saves, but he now has one of each in the postseason.

I'm looking forward to this World Series. I'll be rooting for Tampa, but the Phillies aren't exactly the Yankees. I'm glad one of these teams will be the new champions.

Too little, too late

The Browns offense that showed up in the fourth quarter of today's game against the Redskins looked a lot like the Browns offense that took the Giants to the woodshed on Monday night. The problem was that the Browns offense that laid an egg for the first three quarters looked more like the Browns offense that laid egg after egg for the first four games of the season.

The defense played pretty well, but predictably wore down after the offense failed to keep the defense off the field for most of the game.

I don't know what else needs to be said. The Browns are now 2-4, and this is shaping up as another lost season.

But hey, at least the Buckeyes are winning.

Hafner goes under the scope

So it seems the Indians "cleanup" hitter, Travis Hafner, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder yesterday. The procedure by Dr. James Andrews is described as a "debridement," or cleaning out, of his right shoulder joint. I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you that Hafner spent most of 2008 on the disabled list, and didn't do much when he did play (.197/5/24 in 198 at-bats). He was an absolute monster in 2006 (.308/42/117), but fell off precipitously in 2007 (.266/24/100).

The Indians say Hafner will be ready for opening day in 2009, but he will turn 32 on June 3 next year and will be coming off an injury-plagued year that was followed by arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Given that most hitters peak around age 27, I don't think Hafner will ever have another season like he had in 2006, when he was 29. In fact, I'll be surprised if Hafner's production in 2009 is as good as it was in 2007. I hope I'm wrong.

Well, what do you know?

When the Browns were 0-3, none of us could have possibly imagined this outcome tonight. And in fact, even when they were 1-3, with a win over the woeful Bengals, we all figured we were basically sacrificial lambs against the undefeated defending champion Giants tonight.

But the team that took the field tonight in the brown and orange was not the same team that took the field any of the previous four games. In fact, I can't swear it's even the same team that went 10-6 last year. This team tonight looked better than any Browns team has looked since ... well, the Modell era. I don't want to exaggerate, but that's how it feels right now. I just sat here and watched every play of this game, and I still can't believe what my own eyes beheld.

Derek Anderson is suddenly a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback again, thanks in part to great protection from the offensive line that previously looked so shabby. Jamal Lewis could get a first down any time he wanted. Braylon Edwards seemed like he was open by five yards at all times. And Eric Wright, for the second game in a row, made the play of the day. That 94-yard interception return not only featured a fantastic read on Eli Manning and an athletic move to step ahead of the receiver, but a tremendous return in which he eluded Manning's attempt to force him out of bounds and/or knock the ball loose. When Wright kick-stepped over the goal line, we all knew it was over.

Thirty-five to fourteen over the undefeated, seemingly invincible, Super Bowl champs. This was probably the most satisfying early-season Browns win of the expansion era. Savor it, ladies and gentlemen. I sure hope it's a sign of things to come.

Very interesting

Loyal reader John Arthur "Hutch" Hutchison sent me this link about all the necklaces you see hanging on ballplayers' chests these days. Honestly, I hadn't really noticed, but it turns out Randy Johnson's behind a lot of it. They're called "phitens," and supposedly, they confer some sort of benefit on the players who wear them. Sounds like a load of hogwash, but then again, that's what doctors used to think of hand washing. (P.S. Wednesday is Global Handwashing Day, so be sure to celebrate in appropriate style.)

I'll never forget the image of Carlos Baerga jogging onto and off of the field with his big ol' silver chain and pendant bouncing up and down between his chest and his face. I guess I always figured it was a Latin thing.

I'm pissed at Channel 8

Like most 21st-century Americans, I have cable. In my case, about 75% of the reason I have cable is for the sports you can only get on cable. So I'm paying to see tonight's Browns game, whether a local station picks it up or not. But I'd also like to be able to flip to the National League Championship Series during commercials. And I can't, because Fox is showing the NLCS, and Channel 8 bought the local over-the-air rights to tonight's game. The HD Fox channel also has the Browns. The Fox Spanish-language channel has the Phillies and Dodgers, but I'd have to pay extra for that channel. I love the Browns as much as anybody else, but I've already got ESPN. I want the local Fox station to show the damned baseball game that Fox is showing.

This sucks.

Defense, special teams do it for Buckeyes

The Ohio State offense did very little in Saturday's 16-3 win over Purdue, but it didn't need to, thanks to Malcolm Jenkins and his defensive cohorts. Jenkins blocked a punt that Etienne Sabino (of whom I'd never heard) returned for a touchdown, and later added an interception that any one of four Buckeyes could have had.

Terrelle Pryor and the Buckeye O only gained 222 yards on the day, to Purdue's 298 yards; and only managed 14 first downs, to Purdue's 18. They didn't score an offensive touchdown, but did set up three field goals, which adds up to three times as many points as the Boilermakers' offense managed. The OSU D was impressive, keeping Purdue from getting inside the 30 until the last half-minute of the game.

Pryor, quite simply, struggled. He tried to do too much with his legs, which turned a couple of small gains into big losses. I recall one play in particular in the third quarter, in which Pryor faked a handoff to Beanie Wells and then took it off-tackle himself. First off, if he'd actually given the ball to Wells, he'd have had about a 10-foot hole to run through, and would have probably picked up at least 10 or 15 yards. I accept that if the play calls for a fake, you can't just give the back the ball, because he's not expecting it; but Pryor could have seen the soft spot in the defense and called an audible. Maybe that's too much to ask of a freshman quarterback. Anyway, once Pryor took the ball, it looked like he could have made about three or four yards if he'd cut up the field early, but instead he tried to cut it outside and wound up losing a couple of yards. But he's learning, he's obviously got a lot of talent, and the most important thing was the W.

Brett Myers the hitter

Just a few days ago, I posted something about Brett Myers, a career .116 hitter, battling CC Sabathia until he wore CC out in the NLDS. Myers fouled off three pitches before Sabathia walked him. It seemed like Sabathia must have lost something, for a poor-hitting pitcher to battle him like that. Myers only had four hits all season, after all. Who could have known he was just finding his stroke?

Myers had three hits in today's 8-5 win over the Dodgers. If he'd pitched better, he might have gotten a fourth at-bat and could have, in one game, matched his hit total for the entire regular season. He scored two runs and knocked in three -- the latter number of which, you may note, was the margin of victory.

Our old friend Charlie Manuel managed the Phillies' win just hours after the death of his mother. According to Joe Torre, Charlie still talked to his mother "on a regular basis." I can't imagine anybody not talking to their mother on a regular basis, unless she's mental or something, but it had to be tough for Charlie to put that out of his mind. He didn't talk to reporters today, which is certainly understandable. You're in our thoughts, Charlie. (I'm sure he's a regular reader.)

Speaking of people with Cleveland connections, Manny Ramirez hit his 27th career postseason home run in a losing cause. Of course, Manny has played in four World Series, two each with the Indians and Red Sox; and since 1995, his team has reached the playoffs every year but two. And you can't compare players from pre-1969, who never played in more than one round of the postseason, with players of today, who play in up to three rounds a year. Still, it's an impressive number. And here's an arcane stat: Manny now has 27 career LCS RBIs, which ties him for second all-time with former Tribe teammate David Justice. I have no comment on that.

Great game to open NLCS

These days, I'm not usually up this late on a school night, but I'm starting to get LCS fever. That's pretty corny, isn't it? Whaddaya want, I've been up since 6, and I'll be up at 6 tomorrow too.

Anyway, tonight's game between the Dodgers and Phillies was a minor classic. Cole Hamels was shaky early, but settled in; Derek Lowe was lights-out early, but lost it in the sixth, when he gave up home runs to Chase Utley and Pat Burrell. Thanks to ESPN's Jayson Stark, I now know that before Lowe gave up those two home runs in the space of three hitters, he had only given up two home runs to his previous 287 hitters.

So the Phillies have taken the lead, but apparently because of the matchups involved, a Diamond Mind simulation still thinks the Dodgers are slight favorites. Whatever. Such projections are fun, but who remembers them after the games are played?

There is NOTHING on

Last night, I watched no sports at all. Tonight, I'm watching Wisconsin at Northwestern in volleyball.

During the NBA playoffs, if both teams that are moving on to the next series against each other end their series early, the next series starts early. Why doesn't Major League Baseball do that? Easy. Major League Baseball is run by idiots. I'm looking at you, Allan H. Selig.

Buckeyes pulled it out

By halftime of yesterday's game against Wisconsin, one started to get the feeling that the Buckeyes didn't belong on the same field as the Badgers -- but even still, Wisconsin was only up 10-7. If the first half had been 30 minutes and 30 seconds rather than 30:00, it might well have been 14-7, but then again, if it were 29:30, it might well have remained tied at 7. Regardless, it was starting to feel like the Dairyheads were on their way to take us to the woodshed at Camp Randall Stadium, where Wisconsin had a 16-game winning streak.

But Terrelle Pryor, making his second start, started to put it together in the second half. He was far from perfect, but between his arm and his legs, he was the main reason Ohio State won that game. Sure, there was some good luck involved -- Brian Hartline's fumble bouncing directly to Brian Robiskie, for example -- but give Pryor credit. On the 11-yard touchdown run that put the Buckeyes ahead for good, Pryor recognized that four Wisconsin defenders were in confusion mode as the ball was snapped, and he ran it to the spot they didn't have covered.

These Buckeyes are the favorites for the Big Ten title, and I think we saw why. And darned if Terrelle Pryor didn't remind me just a little bit of a guy named Craig Krenzel yesterday.

CC's outing looked familiar

Well, folks, it seems CC Sabathia's playoff mental block is still there -- and as a result, he may have pitched his last for the Milwaukee Brewers. And he probably cost himself several million dollars.

As we Clevelanders all remember, if Sabathia had pitched well in the 2007 postseason, they Indians might have won the World Series. Going into tonight's game, the Brewers were in even more desperate need of a great start from their ace than the Indians were last year. But he laid yet another egg.

Before I go any further along these lines, let me say that Sabathia's failure in tonight's game brings me no pleasure. CC seems like a genuinely good guy and good teammate, and I have no doubt he wants to succeed for his team. I bear him no grudge. And there is absolutely no question that without him, the Brew Crew would have ended their season on Sunday, as the Indians and 21 other teams did.

But the man has obviously developed some sort of psychological trouble with pitching in October. He went just 3 2/3 innings, giving up five runs on six hits and four walks. Those runs all came in the second inning, when he gave up an RBI double to Pedro Feliz (aka Peter Happy) and a grand slam to Shane Victorino. One of the runners who scored on Victorino's blow was the opposing pitcher, Brett Myers, who hit .069 this year, and whom Sabathia walked. Myers actually managed to foul off three pitches during the plate appearance. When CC was pulled with two outs in the fourth, it was after having walked the last two hitters to load the bases.

One more loss to the Phillies, and the Beermakers are done. And CC's erratic performance will be one of the reasons why. I'd say I feel for the guy, but he's probably about to sign a contract worth at least $80 million. Some teams might shy away, based on his playoff performance, but someone's still going to drive a truckload of money up to his door. So yeah, he's undoubtedly having a worse night than I am, but I have a hunch he'll be OK.

A win! Hallelujah!

So the Browns finally put an actual number in the win column. I know that zero is technically a number, but you know what I mean. For the first time in eight games, including preseason, our team sucked less than the other team with whom they shared the field. Said other team, in this case the winless Cincinnati Bengals, were playing without their Pro Bowl quarterback, which clearly made a big difference in the Browns' 20-12 victory. But hey, a win's a win.

The Browns' defense played pretty well -- albeit, as previously mentioned, against a crippled Bengals O -- but our offense was pitiful until the fourth quarter. Derek Anderson, who was such a sensation last year, was 8-for-16 for just 72 yards going into the final frame, with a pick, which was pretty typical of his performance thus far this year. I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking it was time to give Brady Quinn a shot. But as the Browns languished with a 6-3 deficit, D.A. finally turned it around. He went 7-for-8 in the last 15 minutes, for 66 yards and a touchdown, and led three scoring drives.

Jamal Lewis ran the ball 25 times, which worked pretty well until the last two plays of the first drive. Once the Bengals realized the Browns were just going to try to stuff it down their throats, they were able to hold the running game in check. Lewis only had 79 yards on those 25 carries, which is a 3.2 average per rush.

The star of the game? Ask me, it's DB Mike Adams, who got an interception and recovered a fumble.

CC wouldn't have gotten Tribe into the playoffs

Loyal Of Fair Hooker reader Jeff Brown weighs in with a theory that Mark Shapiro might have jumped the gun on trading CC Sabathia:

The Indians' cataclysmic season now shows them just 6 games out of first place. After being eliminated ages ago, they have been showing how good of a team they could have been (should have been?) all along.

Think for a moment, Steve -- they traded away C.C. Sabathia very early in the trading period, and if they had kept him, would he have been worth an additional 6 wins? 5? 4? Given the way he pitched in July and August, I surely think so. One has to second-guess GM Shapiro's decision to trade all of their players away, given that they could have made the playoffs in spite of their early-season struggles. Do you agree?

Well, let's take an objective look at that question. It's true that, had the Tribe held on to CC, and had he pitched as well for them as he has for the Brewers, they would likely have won at least a few more games. But it's hard for any player, no matter how well he plays, to make a six-game difference for his team.

Yes, CC has gone 10-2 (pending today's game) for the Beermakers, but before we go any further with those numbers, we must remember that he has done that in the National League, and these days, the senior circuit is clearly the junior varsity. The American League went 149-102 against the NL this year, a .594 winning percentage. That would work out to a 96-66 record over a 162-game season. Translate Carsten's 10-2 into AL numbers, and it's more like 8-4. (10-2 is a winning percentage of .833. If you multiply that by the baseline .500, divide by .594 and multiply again by 12, you come out with 8.4 wins.) CC would likely have taken most of the starts made by Zach Jackson and Anthony Reyes, who have combined for a 4-4 record. So that wouldn't have made a six-game difference. At most, that's a four-game difference, but 8-4 isn't really four games better than 4-4. If an 8-4 team were in the same division as a 4-4 team, they'd be considered two games ahead. And yes, pitcher wins and losses are overrated, but if you look at the underlying numbers, I think that's a reasonable approximation.

Naturally, it's worth mentioning that CC was not the only player the Indians traded. Paul Byrd has gone 5-2 for Boston since being traded for a few steak dinners, and Casey Blake is hitting .254 with 10 home runs since being traded to the Dodgers. It's hard to say whose starts Byrd would have taken, but we know whose at-bats Blake would have taken. Andy Marte has improved since the trade, hitting .250 in August and .297 in September, but with no power; and he's a .221 hitter for the season.

Byrd, I suppose, would have made some of the starts that were actually made by Scott Lewis (who won ALL FOUR of his starts) and Matt Ginter (1-3). So they combined for 5-3, compared to Byrd's 5-2. That's pretty much a wash. Blake probably would have made about one game's difference (keeping in mind his NL stats are NL stats), and CC would have made probably about two games' difference. Add all those numbers up, and we'd be looking at maybe an 84-77 team going into the last day of the season. We'd still be shut out of the playoffs.

Twins have it taking place

I'm blogging from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where there is a nursing convention going on (I'm editor of a nursing magazine), and where I watched the end of the last two nights' games between the Twins and White Sox in sports bars, surrounded by Twins fans. I'd have watched the games in my hotel room, except the TV in here doesn't get FSN North, which was carrying them. And what thrillers they were! Lexi Casilla got the game-winning hit last night, but Carlos Gomez was the hero of the series, making fantastic catches in the late innings in high-pressure situations both Wednesday and Thursday nights.

There's something slightly surreal about being in the presence of fans of a team foreign to you, who are celebrating a big victory by their team. I've been rooting for the Twins to win the AL Central ever since it became apparent that it was coming down to them and the White Sox, but not like I've been rooting for the Rays to make the playoffs. For a while, I was hoping the Twins AND White Sox would reach the playoffs at Boston's expense, but that's obviously not going to happen. Anyway, the White Sox just won it all three years ago, and Chicago is one of my least-favorite cities, even though I have dear friends there. I'm a country boy from Newbury, in Geauga County, and I just don't like being in the midst of that many millions of people crammed into that small a plat of land.

All that said, I have nothing much against the White Sox. And while I'm generally rooting for the Twins, I was watching last night's nailbiter as a more or less impartial observer, surrounded by people who were hanging on every pitch because they so desperately want their team to win the division. I know that feeling, of course; I'm just not used to not sharing it with the people around me. I'm not sure quite how I feel about it, but I'm on my way to another sports bar to watch the Twins battle the Royals tonight, surrounded by Twins fans. I look forward to it.

How about those Cleveland Indians!

In theory, I should have posted something about the Browns' debacle in Baltimore by now. But I don't feel like it. It sucked. What can I tell you that you don't already know about it?

I'd much rather post about the Indians, who have won seven straight and are now 79-77. Our Tribe's been out of contention for months now, but they've still got six games to play, and I'm still excited about seeing how they do in those games. And their 4-3 win tonight over the Red Sox increased the Rays' lead in the East, which makes me happy too. If nothing else, it might mean one fewer October game at Fenway, and those people piss me off, Jimmy Fallon notwithstanding.

Zach Jackson got his first win as an Indian, in his eighth start, and he did a yeoman's job, holding the mighty BoSox to two runs in six innings before turning it over to the bullpen. Los Dos Rafael made it interesting, letting Boston get within one run before Jensen Lewis took over in the ninth. Lewis didn't exactly mow them down, but with the tying run at third and the winning run at second, he blew a fastball past Jed Lowrie to end the game. That's the sort of thing you expect from a major-league closer -- and with 12 saves in 13 opportunities, Jensen Lewis is now a bona fide major-league closer.

This is a very likable Indians team. It's too bad they hit such a wall in May and June, because if they were to get into the postseason, they could do some damage. Regardless, there's hope for next year.

Gary Sheffield is an idiot

Everybody knows it hurts to get hit by a baseball. I've been hit on the elbow, the knee, the thigh, the ribs, the nose ... everywhere. It hurts, and what's more, it can injure you. But that's the risk you take stepping into a batter's box. In order to get batters out, pitchers have to throw the ball at high velocity to a spot very close to the batter's body. The batter has a split second to decide whether to swing at the ball, then actually swing, if he so chooses. John Kruk against Randy Johnson in the All-Star Game notwithstanding, the batter is generally not thinking about having to get out of the way of the ball until it's nearly on top of him. This means the pitch is occasionally going to hit the batter. Everyone understands this.

When Fausto Carmona hit Gary Sheffield on his back forearm with a pitch in the Indians' 6-5 win over the Tigers Friday night, Sheffield got the idea that Carmona had "absolutely" (Sheffield's word) hit him on purpose, despite the fact that it was a breaking ball, despite the fact that it wasn't that far inside, and despite the fact that it was an 0-1 count. He didn't charge the mound right away; he waited until after Carmona had thrown over to first to keep him close. Sheffield yelled something to Carmona, Carmona apparently gestured in reply, and Sheffield decided to start a bench-clearing brawl.

Naturally, Sheffield was ejected. I thought Carmona probably would be too, even though he didn't do anything but defend himself; and I was right. Victor Martinez, who was also trying to defend his pitcher, got thrown out as well, as did the Tigers' Placido Polanco. I didn't really see what Polanco did to get tossed, but I think it's a crock that the two Indians were ejected. I'm reminded of the time Robin Ventura charged the mound after an inside pitch by Nolan Ryan, and Ryan got in five punches to the face before they were pulled apart. Ryan wasn't ejected, wasn't suspended, wasn't disciplined in any way, because it was understood that if an opposing player comes out trying to perpetrate acts of violence against the pitcher, the pitcher has the right to defend himself. I don't see how this situation's any different. If the umpires thought Fausto threw at Sheffield, they should have tossed him after the pitch; so he was obviously ejected for his role in the brawl. I'm sorry, but I think that's dumb. Carmona got some punches in, but Sheffield started it.

Victor for victory!

One could tell right off the bat that the ball Victor Martinez hit off Joe Nathan in the bottom of the 11th last night would go a long way, but it was unclear at first whether it would leave the yard. Of course, the Indians only needed one run, and with a runner on second, all they needed was for it to fall in somewhere. And it did -- it fell on the platform beyond the fence in right-center, giving the Tribe a 12-9, come-from-behind-after-blowing-a-big-lead victory.

That home run was about as unlikely as you can imagine. Nathan came into the game with a 1.03 ERA, having given up just four homers all year. Martinez had hit just one dinger this year, having been hurt for much of the season. Victor was 1-for-10 in his career against Nathan. He had never, ever hit a walk-off homer, and Nathan had never, ever given one up. That's why I love baseball.

Worst commercial ever

There is an Arby's commercial that currently plays with great frequency during Indians broadcasts on STO. Of course, any particular commercial that appears during any Indians broadcast on STO is replayed a lot, which makes them all seem tedious after a while.*

But even on first viewing, some are clearly worse than others, and the Arby's commercial in question falls under the heading of "some." The product being advertised is the Southern Style Chicken Mini. The voice-over says such remarkably inane things. "Arby's Southern Style Chicken Mini for 99 cents answers the question, which came first, the chicken or the deal? Together, of course! Think southern-style flavor, think an incredible 99 cents! Think Arby's!" What utter nonsense. The chicken or the deal? Together, of course? What moron ad writer came up with this prattle?

And the announcer sounds like an idiot, and the sound quality is downright offensive, and it's accompanied by a guitar player who sounds like he charged about $5 for the job, and the graphics are terrible, and the sandwich doesn't even look that good in the ad. I've been a big fan of Arby's for a long time (I love a Beef 'n' Cheddar with Horsey Sauce), but I think I'm forced to boycott them until they stop running that stupid commercial. And I don't think I can ever have a Southern Style Chicken Mini, even if they cut the price to a penny.

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* Ohio Lottery! Odds are you'll have fun! Odds are you'll lose, and what exactly is fun about that?

Bad night for Buckeye boosters

Boy, there's nothing like seeing your team get destroyed in a "marquee matchup" on national TV, is there? I don't think any of us expected Ohio State to win tonight, but we hoped they'd hang with USC. But they didn't. Not at all.

You can say, what would have happened if Brian Robiskie's touchdown reception hadn't been called back? I say Ohio State would probably have lost 35-10, if not 42-10 because the Trojans would have been playing hard a little bit longer.

You can say, what would have happened if Beanie Wells could have played? I say that would have made some difference, but I don't think you can attribute more than two touchdowns' difference, at most, to a single player. So it might have been 35-17. That wouldn't have been as embarrassing, but it would still have been a fairly lopsided loss.

USC is simply better. My team isn't national championship material this year. I can accept that.

Sensational debut for Lewis

We'll never know for sure, but it seems to me the only thing that kept Scott Lewis from pitching a shutout in his major league debut tonight was Eric Wedge's hook. Regardless, Lewis gave the Indians eight innings of three-hit shutout ball in their 7-1 win over Baltimore. Masa Kobayashi gave up a run in the ninth, after Wedge decided not to send Lewis out despite his having only thrown 96 pitches. Had Lewis pitched a scoreless ninth, he'd have been the first Indian to toss a complete-game shutout in his major league debut since Luis Tiant, 44 years ago. That would have been pretty dad-gummed cool.

As I think is pretty obvious by my word choices above, I wanted to see Lewis try to put a bow on it himself. I hate to criticize a manager for practicing caution with a young pitcher who's already had to overcome some injuries, but Lewis isn't that young; he's about to turn 25, which means his arm is past that dangerous late-teens-early-20s period. But whatever. At the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is that he's 1-0 in his major league career, and he's still healthy.

I used to follow the Indians' minor league teams a lot more than I do now, and I have to admit I had no idea who Scott Lewis was before a few days ago, when I heard he'd be pitching tonight in place of the injured Anthony Reyes. But his numbers from Akron and Buffalo show he's ready for this. He was 6-2, 2.33 in 13 starts with the AA Aeros, and 2-2, 2.63 in four starts with the AAA Bisons. In the two levels combined, he's struck out 82 hitters in 97 1/3 innings, against just 13 walks. And the topper? He's a Buckeye through and through. He grew up in Washington Court House and pitched for Ohio State.

Speaking of Reyes, I don't know when he'll be back, but I'm sure hoping we'll see Lewis a few more times this year. Reyes has earned the right to keep pitching if he's healthy, so that would be a good problem to have. And if you look at the Indians' starters right now, there's a lot of reason for optimism going into 2009. We all know what a mockery Cliff Lee has made out of the American League this year. Fausto Carmona hasn't looked like he did last year, but if he stays healthy next year, starting in spring training with everyone else, I expect him to pitch like a near-ace again. Jeremy Sowers has been up and down, but he was excellent last night against these Orioles, and I believe he'll get it together and be a solid fourth or fifth starter. And Aaron Laffey looked pretty good in his first few starts after being called up this year.

That's six guys right there who could be in the big-league rotation next year. I don't know what Mark Shapiro will do in the offseason (and he probably doesn't either, though he could probably make a better guess than I could), but he's going to keep his eyes open for pitching bargains, because you can never have enough arms. I think this is going to be a strong rotation next year, CC or no CC.

It was nice while it lasted

The coolest sports record ever set in Cleveland is no more. The Red Sox sold out their 456th consecutive home game last night, eclipsing the record set in the early days of the ballpark then known as Jacobs Field. As if to cement the disappointment, the Indians lost a 14-3 rout to the Orioles at the same time.

We still have our retired number -- I'm sure the Indians won't take down the words "455 THE FANS" from the post they've been painted on, assuring that no Indian will ever wear the number 455. And we still have the memories of the way the Tribe dominated the AL Central Division between 1995 and 2001, and the two World Series appearances.

So now the record sits in Fenway Park. Say what you will about Boston fans, but they do support their teams. Even if they just show up to boo, they buy tickets.

By the way ...

Cliff Lee is now 21-2 after beating the Royals 3-1 today. There's really nothing I can say about Lee that I haven't said already, and that many others have also said. With every start, he cements his 2008 as the best season by an Indians pitcher since ... well, maybe ever. He's the first Indian who's ever been 21-2, I'll tell you that. The Indians have played 108 seasons of baseball, and Cliff Lee is the first guy to go 21-2 in those 108 years -- and all this was after spending part of the previous year IN THE MINOR LEAGUES!

Lee has a major-league-leading 2.28 ERA, in a year when the overall ERA in the majors is 4.30. (In an unusual degree of symmetry, the American League's ERA is 4.29, the National League's 4.30.) He has an outside chance to finish with an ERA less than half the major-league average (MLA, and I believe I just coined that acronym; tell your friends). I don't know how often a qualifier for an ERA title has done that, but the last time it happened was 2005, when known steroid user Roger Clemens posted a 1.87 for the Astros, compared to an MLA of 4.28.

I'd also like to note that Victor Martinez knocked in all three Cleveland runs in today's game, which is certainly nice to see. He's hitting .333 in 21 at-bats since coming off the DL, with six RBIs and his only home run of the year.

Yeesh

There was an optimism around Northeast Ohio today. I saw people wearing Browns paraphernalia everywhere I went today, and in recent days, I've heard talk about how our guys should be able to hang with the mighty Dallas Cowboys. They're tough, but we've got a lot of talent, people said. Our newly revamped defensive front ought to be able to pressure Tony Romo, people said. Derek Anderson and our high-octane offense will surely put enough points on the board to make it interesting, people said.

Then the game started.

Buckeyes weren't too good

Ohio State would have been in serious trouble yesterday against the Ohio Bobcats if not for five OU turnovers and two big plays on special teams, one of which overlaps both categories. OU, a 33 1/2-point underdog, was leading 14-6 going late in the third quarter before the Buckeyes finally remembered they're supposedly the third-best team in the nation.

In the words of Brian Hartline: "That was pathetic. It was a pathetic performance. OU should have won the game. I don't know how we came out with it."

Todd Boeckman wasn't very good, but in his defense, the running game wasn't taking much pressure off him. OSU really missed Beanie Wells, who is expected to be back next week for USC, and thank goodness. I would have liked to see more of Terrelle Pryor, who only played one series while the game was still in doubt. He got some garbage time at the end, but only threw two passes in the game, both of which were incompletions. He did some nice work with his legs, though, rushing for 37 yards on five carries.

The Buckeyes outgained the Bobcats for the game, 272-254. Any Big Ten team that puts up numbers like that against any MAC team should be deeply disappointed, whether they're ranked third in the nation or not.

Oklahoma City blunder

And we have a new entrant in the worst team name in North American sports competition. The team formerly known as the Seattle Supersonics is now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder. I've always hated team names that aren't plural; they seem cartoonish to me. And I like names that are geographically based, like the Seattle Supersonics, reflecting that area's connection to the world of aviation, with Boeing and all. The Oklahoma City Thunder simply reflects that the area has bad weather every now and then. I wonder what that's like.

The team trademarked six names, then waited until yesterday to pick one. They could have been (in alphabetical order) the Barons, Bison, Energy, Marshals, Thunder or Wind. None of those are very good, and we Clevelanders wouldn't like to see them named the Barons, because that's one of our old hockey names. But the Oklahoma City Marshals would have been a decent name.

It's incredible that the Thunder isn't the worst one they considered. The Energy? The Wind? Did they just open up a dictionary and pick whatever words their fingers landed on?

Tribe's having fun

The Indians' 9-3 win over the White Sox yesterday was a lot of fun to watch, in large part because it involved fine performances by two guys who have been hurt much of the year. Victor Martinez hit what was rather unbelievably his first home run of the year, in his third start since having elbow surgery in June; and Fausto Carmona -- though he wasn't exactly dazzling -- won his third straight start, going 5 2/3 innings. He's now 8-5 with a 4.51 ERA, and if you subtract his disastrous first start off the disabled list, in which he gave up nine runs in 2 1/3, he's 8-4, 3.81.

The expanded roster limit allowed the Indians to call up Josh Barfield, Michael Aubrey, and pitchers Brian Slocum, John Meloan and Tom Mastny. That'll come in handy if they play a 20-inning game. The next game Meloan pitches in will be his major-league debut, so that's pretty exciting.

The news isn't all good, though. Travis Hafner, who's been on a rehab assignment in AAA Buffalo for the last week or so, is deemed not ready to return to the bigs despite hitting .318 in seven games for the Bisons. But he appears to have a positive attitude about it, and says he'll keep working on his shoulder through the offseason and be ready to come back in the spring. I have my doubts whether he'll ever again be the hitter he was a couple of years ago, but I hope I'm wrong.

Also, Aaron Laffey has been shut down with elbow inflammation. I believe he has a bright future if he can stay healthy, but that's always a big "if" when you're talking about a young arm.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Cleveland Indians have a 20-game winner

Now THAT's how you win your 20th game. Cliff Lee is 20-2, after toying with the Chicago White Sox for the full nine tonight, finishing with a five-hit shutout. And Gaylord Perry is no longer the Indians' last 20-game winner, a title he held for 34 years.

I hope to post a game-by-game look at Lee's season after he wins the Cy Young. But to sum it up, this is the best season I've ever seen an Indians pitcher have. He's better than CC was last year, he's better than Jose Mesa was in 1995, and he's better than Bert Blyleven, Rick Sutcliffe, Dennis Martinez, Tom Candiotti, et al ever were in Tribe uniforms. The fact that he's doing this for a team that's fighting for third place makes it that much more impressive. And he's got a month to build on that total. He could end up with 24 or 25 wins.

Congratulations, Cliff. (I assume he's a regular reader.)

Speaking of CC ...

Did you see the clips from his "one-hitter"?* He made one of the best defensive plays I have ever seen a pitcher make. He caught a line drive with his bare hand. Granted, his bare hand is bigger than most people's mitts, but still. And then he threw to first to double off a runner. CC has been absolutely out of his mind since arriving in Milwaukee. He's now 9-0 since the trade, with an ERA of 1.43, in 10 starts as a National Leaguer. That, my friends, is patently ridiculous.

Of course, the story from that game involves the one "hit," which was an infield "single" by Andy LaRoche. It was what some commentators would call a swinging bunt; LaRoche topped the ball, it bounced in front of the plate, and Sabathia himself attempted to field it with his aforementioned bare hand, which apparently doesn't work for him unless the ball's traveling as fast as a car. CC fumbled the ball and could not recover in time to throw out LaRoche. LaRoche was about 30 feet down the line when CC touched the ball, and there is no doubt he could have -- had he fielded it cleanly, using his glove if necessary -- thrown the runner out. But the official scorer in Pittsburgh scored it an error, saying it would have taken an above-average play to throw the runner out.

At this point, I should like to express an opinion about baseball's reverence for its single-game accomplishments. A no-hitter is but one example; you've got your single-game RBI records, your single-game stolen base records, your single-game outfield assist records, etc.

Baseball's single-game feats come in three tiers, with one each for pitching, hitting and fielding: On the first tier, you've got a perfect game for pitchers, four home runs for hitters, and an unassisted triple play for the glovemen. One could make the argument that an unassisted triple play belongs in a different category because it only involves a single play and requires a great deal of luck, but I am including it because it still happens within the confines of a single game, and it takes some luck to pitch a perfect game or hit four home runs as well. These events are about equally likely: There have been 17 perfect games, 15 four-homer games, and 14 unassisted triple plays in major-league history. Of course, the four-homer game is the only one that's possible to top, but it hasn't happened yet.

If you look at the players who have accomplished these top-tier feats, you'll see a wide range of players. To use the perfect game as an example, you'll see some Hall of Famers (Sandy Koufax, Cy Young, Catfish Hunter, Cleveland's Addie Joss, and future first-balloter Randy Johnson); a bunch of guys who had strong careers but fell short of that level (Dennis Martinez, David Wells, Mike Witt, etc.); and a few guys who actually finished their careers with losing records (Charlie Robertson, Don Larsen, our own Lenny Barker). So while being a great player surely increases the likelihood of appearing on one of these lists, it's also quite possible to get there as a mediocre player. Hard-hittin' Mark Whiten hit four homers in a game, but if he ever got a single Hall of Fame vote, the writer who voted for him would deserve to be stripped of his vote. And our boy Asdrubal Cabrera turned an unassisted triple play earlier this year, shortly before being sent down to the minors because he wasn't hitting.

In the second tier, you've got no-hitters, hitting for the cycle and the standard triple play, which of course is a team feat. There have been 256 no-hitters, 278 cycles, and 672 triple plays in major-league history. So the defensive feat is considerably more likely, but it's still rare enough to be notable. The names on these lists almost seem random; for example, in the last decade, no-hitters have been credited to such luminaries as Anibal Sanchez, Clay Buchholz, Bud Smith and Jose Jimenez -- and six Astros combined on a no-no of the Yankees.

In the third tier, you've got your odd records like most strikeouts, most hits, etc., and while these are arguably more impressive than those in the second tier, if not the first, they are not held in nearly the same esteem. Ask me, the cycle is a highly overrated accomplishment that has occasionally prompted a player to abstain from taking the extra base, which actually hurts his team. I've watched a few no-hitters myself (I saw Barker's perfecto and Bud Smith's no-no, and I saw Dwight Gooden no-hit the Mariners, all on TV), and it is kind of thrilling. But the bottom line is winning, and it does occasionally happen that a pitcher throws a no-hitter and loses. The reverence for these single-game feats sometimes overshadows the idea that you're supposed to try to win the game, and I find that troubling.

Getting back to CC, the Brewers have appealed to the commissioner's office for the one hit to be changed to an error. I don't know how I feel about this. The official scorer does not affect the outcome of the game, but can have a profound impact on these revered feats, obviously. I feel the official scorer blew this one, but now that the game's in the books, turning it back into a no-hitter would be anticlimactic at best. And if it had been scored an error from the start, would the Pirates' hitters have approached the ninth inning differently, knowing a no-hitter was on the line? I don't know. I was in favor of overturning it last night, but right now, I think I'm against it. Ask me in an hour, and my answer might be different. But the only thing that really matters is that the Brewers won. They're in a pennant race, after all.

* Could be a no-hitter, if the Brewers' appeal is upheld.