Happy 2011

As it's been more than a week since my last post, I'll try to put together everything I've been thinking about that's sports-related. ... Nah, that's impossible. OK, here are a few thoughts:

* Eric Mangini is done in this town, win or lose against Pittsburgh on Sunday. He will have compiled a 10-22 or 11-21 record in two seasons, and that's just not going to do it. Mike Holmgren expected improvement this year. This team has improved some, but not where it counts -- wins and losses. Mangini is scheduled to meet with Holmgren on Monday, and Holmgren will fire him then. I don't know this for sure, of course, but I can't see it going any other way.

* As I said, the Browns did improve this year. They had chances to win almost every game. And I believe they would have won a few of those games that they lost if they'd just been able to punch the ball into the end zone, rather than settle for field goals. That was a key failure of the Browns' offense this year, and much of that ultimately goes back to Mangini. I haven't counted, but I know there were multiple times when the Browns had a fourth-and-goal inside the 5 and settled for three instead of going for six. Three is more than zero, but six is more than three.

* Peyton Hillis has missed practice all week and is questionable for the Steelers game. There's no reason to rush him back if he isn't ready, but he is currently 10th in the NFL in rushing yards. It would be nice to see him stay in the top 10.

* Moving on to the Buckeyes, Jim Tressel says the players who got suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season have been told they must commit to playing next year before the school will allow them to play in Tuesday's Sugar Bowl. It wouldn't be fair to the NCAA to allow them to get away without some sort of penalty, he said. But how Ohio State University can stop a Terrelle Pryor from leaving at the end of this school year, I have no idea.

* The Cavaliers are just plain awful. I can hardly believe how bad they are. On Saturday, Nov. 27, they beat Memphis to raise their record to 7-9. Since then, they've lost 15 out of 16, and at 8-24, have the NBA's second-worst record. A few of those losses have been tight, but most have been blowouts. They've become a very difficult team to watch. The best we can hope for right now is that the Cavs get a very high pick in the 2011 draft, so someone like Perry Jones, Terrence Jones or Jared Sullinger can give them a spark. Sullinger's from Ohio, so he'd definitely want to stay in Cleveland when free agency comes up. (cough)

* The Baseball Hall of Fame vote is coming up, and there are a few former Indians who have a good shot at getting elected this year. Roberto Alomar came up eight votes short last year, in his first year of eligibility, possibly because he spat on an umpire during his Baltimore years. The umpire forgave him; not sure why Hall of Fame voters can't. Anyway, I'll be shocked if he doesn't get in this time. Bert Blyleven, who pitched for the Tribe from 1981-85, missed it by five votes last year, in his 13th year of eligibility. If he doesn't get in this year, he'll have one more shot before his candidacy is turned over to the fickle Veterans Committee. I'll also be shocked if this isn't Blyleven's year. The third former Indian with a decent shot is Jack Morris, who only pitched one season in Cleveland (1994). I would not vote for Morris, if I had a vote. He was a fine pitcher for a long time, but just not up to Hall standards. And I'll never forget how he asked Mike Hargrove to change the order of the starting rotation so he could go to his farm in Montana a little earlier, with the Indians in the middle of a pennant race.

* Have a save and happy New Year, and see you in 2011!

The old Feller can still bring it ... sort of

For those who missed it, the greatest Indian of them all is still in game shape, at age 90. Bob Feller pitched to three batters Sunday in Cooperstown, in the old-timers' game that has replaced the annual exhibition game between two major-league teams. He didn't get any of them out, but none of them got more than a single, and all three are significantly younger than Feller. (Paul Molitor is 52, Bobby Grich is 60, and Steve Finley is 44.)

This piece on Sports Illustrated's website about the oldest living Hall of Famer's appearance in Cooperstown is worth the read.

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.

Today in sports history -- Baseball Hall of Fame

Seventy years ago today, the Baseball Hall of Fame opened its doors in Cooperstown, New York, on the shores of Lake Otsego. It's about a seven-hour drive from Cleveland.

As was the case with our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there were already several baseball Hall of Famers by the time the Hall opened: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Honus Wagner in 1936; Cy Young, Tris Speaker and Nap Lajoie -- all of whom played significant portions of their careers in Cleveland -- in 1937; and Grover Cleveland Alexander -- who did not play in Cleveland, even though that was his middle name -- in 1938. Today, those nine men would all be no-doubt, first-ballot guys, but as the Hall was finding its way, it only inducted a few a year, which seems prudent.

There are now 286 Hall of Famers, which in my opinion is too many. Who's going to go through and read 286 plaques? But the Hall is a magnificent place for baseball lovers to visit. I went there in about 1991 or '92, and though I spent several wonderful hours in that building, I did not see everything -- not even close. I urge anyone who loves the game to make the trip. You won't be disappointed.