It's an outrage! An outrage, I tell you!

Major League Baseball and the Fox network seem bent on keeping as many kids as possible from being able to watch the entire World Series. The games are all starting at 8 p.m., which means that if they go relatively smoothly, the earliest we can hope for them to end is about 10:45 or 11. How old were you when your parents first let you stay up until 11 on a school night? And would you be a baseball fan today if you hadn't been able to watch World Series games to their conclusion when you were a kid? (Probably, but maybe less so?)

I myself usually go to bed around 10 these days, and through the first two contests of the '09 series, I have thus far failed to stay awake until the conclusion of a game. Wednesday night, I just went to bed, but last night, I dozed off on the couch and later woke up to see the last couple of innings. But I slept through one of the most unusual plays you'll ever see, the line drive that Ryan Howard (allegedly) caught before turning it into a 3-6 double play. I did see the replay, but it's never the same as seeing it in the moment.

And you'd think that after having games one and two on school nights, they'd at least have games three and four on Friday and Saturday so everyone can stay up without worrying about getting up the next morning. But no, today's an off day. Saturday's game starts at 8:20, and then — and I think this ticks me off the most of all — Sunday's game, which could start at just about any hour, starts at 8 again, ensuring that people like me don't get as much sleep as we'd like that night, and that school kids don't get to see the ending. Game five is set for 8 p.m. Monday, followed by an off-day Tuesday, and then, if necessary, games six and seven start at 8 on Wednesday and Thursday nights. So even if the series goes the full seven, there will be only one game that does not end past 10 p.m. on a school night in the Eastern Time Zone, the time zone with the nation's largest population, not to mention both cities whose teams are involved.

I love major-league baseball, but I hate Major League Baseball, for many reasons. This is a very big one.

Oh, yeah

It probably hasn't escaped anyone who cares enough about Cleveland sports to read this blog, but just in case it has ...

Tonight's World Series opener pits Cliff Lee of the Phillies against CC Sabathia of the Yankees. I've defended those trades, but still, that's just a little bit depressing.

Cavs won't go 82-0

The King-n-Shaq Show opened last night at Quicken Loans Arena, with a 95-89 loss to the Boston Celtics. OK, big deal. The Cavaliers blew a 14-point first-quarter lead, which the Celtics turned around to a 15-point third-quarter lead, before the Cavs made it interesting late.

Sure, I'm a little disappointed our boys didn't win, but the Celtics are a darned good team too. This doesn't mean they're better than we are, it just means they were better than we were last night. Give Shaq and LeBron some time to get used to each other — not to mention newcomers Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, etc. — and they'll be OK.

Quick hits

Before I get started on sports, I'd like to get sappy for a moment. This is my first blog post as Lisa's husband, and I'm so happy about that, I just want to share it with the world. (Or at least that tiny percentage of the world that will read this.)

Now then, quick thoughts on Cleveland's three teams:

1. The Browns were utterly and totally dominated in all phases of the game Sunday in that 31-3 loss to the Packers. They were outgained 460 yards to 139, they lost the turnover battle 2-0, and even Josh Cribbs only made one decent return. Derek Anderson went 12-for-29 with an interception. The only drive that looked promising stalled when Anderson fumbled the snap inside the Packers' 5, leaving the Browns with a field goal when they should have had a touchdown. There weren't any dropped passes that I can remember this time; Anderson just plain stunk. My question: Why didn't Brady Quinn get in?

2. The Indians have hired Manny Acta as manager, just as I was hoping. Acta has not had any success in 2 1/2 seasons as a major-league manager, but he has had considerable success as a minor-league manager, and nobody could have managed those pathetic Nationals into the playoffs. Among the other candidates, only Bobby Valentine has had success at the big-league level, and I would have been OK with that pick, but I like the 40-year-old Acta's chances a little better than the 59-year-old Valentine. It's not that older men can't be good managers, I just think a younger man has slightly better odds. I look forward to seeing how this team responds to Acta.

3. The Cavaliers open the season tonight at home against the Boston Celtics. With Shaquille O'Neal on board to complement LeBron and the gang, I haven't been this excited to see the Cavs open the season since ... well, probably ever. We all know this may be LeBron's last season in Cleveland (though I believe he'll stay), but regardless of what he does next summer, we can enjoy the show this year. I think they'll go a long way.

Method Acta visits Cleveland

I admit it. When I first heard that the manager of far and away baseball's worst team this year (not to mention 2008) was in town to interview for the Indians' manager job, my first thought was, "Good lord, why?" Manny Acta got fired by the Nationals in mid-season after 2 1/2 years in Washington, during which his best finish was a 73-89 record in 2007 that earned them a fourth-place finish.

But the more I read about this guy, the more I like him. He understands sabermetrics, which not very many managers do these days. He understands, for example, that a sacrifice bunt in the third inning isn't going to increase your odds of winning a game. He said as much in a 2007 interview I just read. He's only 40 years old, so he's likely to get better as a manager. And frankly, I don't think Tony La Russa or Joe Torre could have done much better with the Nationals' collection of "talent" than Acta did.

Acta, of course, is just the first to interview for the job. They're apparently going to talk to Torey Lovullo, who's been managing the Tribe's AAA team in Columbus; Bobby Valentine, who has had some success as a major-league manager and has spent the last few years managing in Japan; and a fourth candidate, who is believed to be Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly. I admit I haven't read up on those guys like I just did with Acta, but I'm kind of rooting for Acta right now.

Catching passes

I'm busier than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs these days (just changed jobs, and am getting married this Saturday), but I wanted to make a brief observation about the Browns. We all knew they would lose to the Steelers on Sunday, but they made it somewhat respectable, thanks in large part to Josh Cribbs' return TD.

For the second straight week, Derek Anderson put up ugly passing numbers (though not even in the same neighborhood of ugly as the previous week against Buffalo). But, for the second straight week, Browns receivers dropped an appalling number of his passes.

I thought we got rid of the guy who can't catch. The Browns can't win if the receivers can't make receptions. It's as simple as that.

A win for the punt team

Thanks to Dave Zastudil and the punt team, our Cleveland Browns are winless no longer. The Browns' 6-3 win over the Buffalo Bills was due in part to a strong effort from the defense, in part to a strong effort by Jamal Lewis, and in a much larger part to the most outstanding overall effort I can remember off the top of my head from a punt team.

Billy Cundiff's 18-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the game was the decisive play, but it came after the punt team got the offense the ball at the Bills' 16. The play was more a mistake by Buffalo punt returner Roscoe Parrish than it was a great play by the punt team, but still, once Parrish muffed it, Blake Costanzo was right there to fall on it. This followed a 57-yard punt by Zastudil.

The Browns did a lot of punting in this game, and the punts produced the following results:

1. First quarter: Zastudil punts 25 yards, Parrish fair catches at 17. Sure, it wasn't a strong punt, but it gave Buffalo the ball inside the 20, and the coverage was good enough to force the fair catch.
2. Zastudil punts 31 yards, ball goes out of bounds at the 11. No complaints there; Bills were given bad field position.
3. Zastudil punts 54 yards, Parrish fields at the 25 and returns it 22 yards before Nick Sorensen pushed him out of bounds at the 47. Not a great result, but a fine punt that results in a respectable 32-yard net.
4. Second quarter: This is where the fun really started. Zastudil punts 44 yards, and Mike Adams first touches it at the 2, then feels his momentum pulling him into the end zone, so he hands the ball to Josh Cribbs, who is safely outside it. Buffalo ball at the 2.
5. Third quarter: Zastudil punts 42 yards to the Buffalo 13, where the ball goes out of bounds. You'll take that every time.
6. Zastudil's next punt was the punt team's second-finest moment, after the muff recovery at the end of the game. Zastudil punts 43 yards, and Parrish receives it at the Bills' 42. Surrounded by Browns, he tries to get some space by running sideways -- and backwards. Unable to find an opening, he continues to go backwards, the Browns' special teamers in hot pursuit. Raymond Ventrone finally tackles Parrish at the Buffalo 27, for a "return" of -15. The net was 58 yards. Like the fourth-quarter play, this was only made possible because of a serious error by Parrish, but still, give the Browns' punt team credit for making him pay.
7. Fourth quarter: With the game hanging in the balance, Zastudil and his mates continued to turn in some fine work. Ventrone downs Zastudil's 45-yard punt inside the 1, setting up a possible safety situation. (There was no safety, of course, but that's how safeties happen.)
8. Zastudil's 45-yard punt gets the Buffalo offense starting at the 4.
9. Zastudil's ninth punt of the day is muffed by Parrish and recovered by Costanzo.

The box score will say that Zastudil only averaged 42.7 yards per punt, and that's true. But on nine punts, he pinned the Bills inside the 20 on seven; and inside the 5 on three. And the punt coverage guys sure earned their stripes, rescuing two punts before they went into the end zone and only allowing one return for positive yardage.

Derek Anderson was awful -- but he wasn't as bad as the box score indicates. For the game, he went 2-for-17 for 23 yards, which is just pathetic. But the Browns receivers bear the lion's share of the responsibility for that, as they dropped at least eight passes that they should have had. Anderson definitely made some bad throws, but he also made a whole lot more than two good ones.

I don't know what the NFL record is for fewest completed passes by a winning team, but I'll bet the Browns came close today. There probably were a few who completed zero passes in the early days of the league, when there was very little passing, but I'll bet it's been at least 40 years since a team has won without completing at least three. I'm sure someone will have looked that up very soon, and I look forward to seeing what they find.

Bye-bye, stonehands

I'm even busier than usual right now, so I only have a couple of minutes to comment on what I just found out, courtesy of a text message from Of Fair Hooker's loyalest reader, Jeff Brown. The Browns have traded Braylon Edwards, the man who couldn't catch a pass with a mosquito net, but can apparently throw a punch at a member of LeBron James' entourage.

According to rumors, Braylon goes to the Jets for two draft picks, wide receiver Chansi Stuckey and linebacker Jason Trusnick. I've heard of Stuckey, but know very little about him; and I haven't even heard of Trusnick. And I don't know what rounds the draft picks will be in either. But despite everything I don't know about this, I say the Browns fleeced the Jets.

Edwards was absolutely maddening in his four-plus years in Cleveland. He's always been able to get open, but he's had an enormous mental block when it comes to catching the ball. And punching a friend of Cleveland's biggest sports star is just plain stupid, and speaks to his character in a very negative way. And let's not forget he's a Michigan guy. I say, good riddance.

Better, but still a loss

The Browns played so much better in yesterday's loss to Cincinnati than they had played the first three games of the season, it's almost hard to believe it was the same team. The bottom line is that it goes in the loss column, but there's at least reason for hope.

The Browns and Bengals played five full quarters yesterday, so the numbers have to be regarded with that extra time in mind. Still, Derek Anderson's 269-yard game on 26-for-48 passing is a ray of sunshine. Anderson was a long way from perfect, of course — the interception he threw in the end zone that stopped the Browns' first drive of the second half was a killer, and he misfired a number of other times. And it was disappointing that he couldn't get much of anything going in the overtime period. Still, he moved the offense far better than Brady Quinn ever dreamed of. And the Browns scored two offensive touchdowns in a game for the first time since god-knows-when.

It bears mention that without Shaun Rogers' two blocks of Shayne Graham kicks (a 23-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter and an extra point attempt in the fourth), the game would never have gotten to overtime. Rogers was the Browns' lone Pro Bowler last season, and remains their top talent on defense.

And how about Mohamed Massaquoi? He caught eight passes for 148 yards, giving Anderson a much-needed weapon going forward. Massaquoi got open and made catches, which is more than can be said for embattled would-be superstar Braylon Edwards, who didn't catch a single pass in the game. Edwards had the ball thrown to him a few times, but those dropsies that have plagued him throughout his career surfaced again. I can't help but feel for the guy, since he's always been good at getting open, but dagnabbit, he's got to catch the stinkin' ball.

There were other bright spots too. Jerome Harrison got 121 yards on 29 carries, and Josh Cribbs' 58-yard kickoff return and 50-yard punt return gave Anderson and the offense some good chances to put points on the board.

Yes, a loss is a loss, but this effort against a now 3-1 Bengals team gives us hope for these Browns. I look forward to their next game (Sunday against Buffalo) a lot more than I looked forward to this one going in.

Commendable Carmona, Masterful Masterson

On Wedge Firing Day, Fausto Carmona and Justin Masterson turned in some fine performances on the mound in yesterday's doubleheader against the White Sox. Masterson's was one of the finest outings by an Indians pitcher this year, even though he lost.

Fausto, making what was no doubt his last appearance in a disappointing season, opened up with a seven-inning, one-run, five-strikeout performance that gives us some hope he can turn it around next year. The guy who won 19 games in 2007 must be in there somewhere. Maybe he'll show up in 2010. He ends 2009 with a 5-12 record and a 6.32 ERA. Not really anywhere to go but up.

Masterson went the full nine in the nightcap, striking out 12 White Sox, walking two, and surrendering four hits. Unfortunately, two of those hits were in the same inning, the sixth, in which Paul Konerko singled home DeWayne Wise, who had doubled. Still, Masterson became the first Indians pitcher to strike out as many as 12 hitters in a game since CC Sabathia fanned 13 two years ago. Masterson's 4-10 record this season is a bit misleading; his 4.52 ERA is a little high, but he sure showed us something last night. He's been very inconsistent since we got him in the Victor Martinez trade, but he's also just finishing his first full season in the bigs. I look forward to seeing him toe the rubber for us in '10 and beyond.

So it's Anderson

I don't have a whole lot to say about the decision to start Derek Anderson instead of Brady Quinn against Cincinnati that I didn't say in my previous post in which I wondered if it mattered much. But I'll give it a shot.

As I first contemplated this, it seemed to me it would be a better idea for Eric Mangini to just keep running Quinn out there unless and until he determines that Quinn is never going to be the quarterback the Browns thought he was when they drafted him. If he's already reached that conclusion, it's a hasty one; if not, my first inclination is to say, give the kid a chance. It's not like the Browns are going anywhere this year.

Anderson's had his shot. But there's a case to be made for him to get another one. As the primary starter, he's produced one Pro Bowl season and one sub-par season. The sub-par season was more recent than the Pro Bowl season, which is why it sticks in our minds more. But this is still the same guy who led the Browns to a 10-6 record two years ago. I don't know where he's been hiding it, but we definitely won't see it again if he never gets another chance.

So I don't know. Wishy-washy enough for you?