Quite frankly, we anticipated a tighter first round series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, and perhaps now that the series moves to Florida, we may get it. The Magic have had problems getting any offense outside of their two forwards, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. That pair is scoring 40.5 points per game, while their next three scorers, Jalen Suggs, Mo Wagner, and Gary Harris are combining for just 29 points per game combined. Meanwhile, the Cavs’ top four scorers, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Darius Garland have scored 73.5 points per night. Clevela ..read more

We all knew there would be a change in philosophy for the Cleveland Guardians when Terry Francona decided he would not be back as manager of the team. We also know that the front office is also deeply involved in the day to day running of the team, so there would be a question of how the change would manifest itself. So far, the change has worked out very well, as the Guards are off to baseball’s best record at 16-6. Yes, we know the schedule hasn’t actually been loaded with the best teams in baseball, but Seattle and Minnesota were regarded as contenders coming into the season, and the A’s ar ..read more

The first piece of business for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs was not to blow the home court advantage after the first game. They did just that, defeating the Orlando Magic 97-83, to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Orlando shot the ball putridly, making just 32.6% of their shots, and if you take their all-star, Paolo Banchero out of the equation, it was even worse at 27.5%. And even worse, they missed 11 free throws as well. In essence, they shot the ball like a bunch of guys playing in their first playoff experience would shoot it. The Cavs’ big men showed up big time in the firs ..read more

This Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers will open the NBA playoffs against the team they wanted to play apparently, the Orlando Magic. Before we talk about this series, let’s cover what happened in the season finale against Charlotte. For us, tanking the fourth quarter to manipulate who you play in the first round is the sign of an organization that doesn’t believe in itself. Perhaps you don’t agree, but we will say the players didn’t like the move, although Max Strus was the only one who said so publicly. And remember where Strus came from. He played for Miami, an organization that is famous f ..read more

The Cleveland Guardians are off to a very good start, winning 10 of their first 15 games. We saw a comment over the weekend saying the Guards are taking advantage of an easy early schedule, but the Mariners and Twins were considered contenders coming into the season, so we don’t know where that is coming from. After this series in Boston, the Guardians finish up the season series with the A’s, and then have Boston, Atlanta, and Houston coming up, and those series will be an early season measuring stick. Competing with those teams will probably hinge on the performance of the starting rotation ..read more

The Cleveland Guardians are off to a very good start this season, but it didn’t make them exempt from getting bad news. Saturday, it was announced that Shane Bieber would have to undergo elbow surgery and miss the rest of the season. It’s a blow for sure as the right-hander looked like he did in his Cy Young Award season in his first two starts, throwing 12 shutout innings with 20 strikeouts and just one walk. Immediately, some fans raised the white flag on the season, but the players and Steven Vogt don’t and won’t feel that way. Since Bieber is a starting pitcher, they really only have to re ..read more

Certainly, the Cavs’ recent struggles have put a spotlight on J.B. Bickerstaff. And to be honest, the coach doesn’t help himself with some very weird choices. For example, in a game where the Cavs where getting hammered at Phoenix Wednesday, trailing by almost 30 points in the first half, the coach used basically seven players, and Sam Merrill and Marcus Morris each played just four minutes. Remember, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade (perhaps joining Ty Jerome on the mysterious injury list), and Craig Porter were not available. But, enough dogging on Bickerstaff. We go back and forth on what is more of ..read more

The Cavs last trip of the season didn’t get off to a good start as they were hammered by the defending champion Denver Nuggets. The rest of the week have them playing Utah, Phoenix, and both Los Angeles teams, and only the first of those opponents will not be playing when the regular season ends. On February 10th, the wine and gold won their ninth consecutive game, raising their record to 35-16 when they beat Toronto by 20 points. Since then, they have a 10-14 record, which should be concerning for a team that hopes to advance in the playoffs. True, they have had a bunch of injuries, most nota ..read more

To say the Cleveland Guardians had a very quiet off-season would be an understatement. The biggest news around the franchise was the hiring of a new manager. For the first time since the end of the 2012 season, someone besides Terry Francona is running the club. In terms of personnel, the front office didn’t exactly build up last year’s roster for new skipper Steven Vogt. The biggest trades brought in Scott Barlow to bolster the bullpen, and they took a shot on a heretofore failed Yankee prospect in Estevan Florial. But as the regular season opens tonight in Oakland, the obvious question is wi ..read more

Probably nothing signals a new era for Cleveland Guardians’ baseball than Myles Straw being put on waivers and outrighted to AAA. Straw is kind of the poster child for the question of how important is being an elite defender to play on an everyday basis? Straw won the Gold Glove in 2022 and was certainly a tremendous glove in patrolling centerfield during his tenure in Cleveland, but frankly, he was one of the worst hitters in the sport. For a team that finished 12th in the American League in runs scored a year ago, his bat was no longer a luxury they could afford. In Ozzie Smith’s second seas ..read more