SB Nation User Blog: LeCavs Matt

Best Outfield Arms of 2008

LeCavs Matt — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:53:03 -0000

Best Outfield Arms of 2008

Includes the quote...
"And if you're the kind of person who can't stand perfection in others, well, you'll be pleased to know that Grady Sizemore, who seems to be good at everything, is quite noodle-armed. This was his worst season to date, but he's been below average every year of his career. "

Frankie and BenFran were both a third of the way down their respective lists.

Barry Bonds: Not a Cheater

LeCavs Matt — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:56:01 -0000

Barry Bonds: Not a Cheater

The clear was legal. The prosecutors knew it and asked intentionally vague questions of Barry. Bonds is in the clear.

Looks like somebody got out of town for the winter.

LeCavs Matt — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:52:42 -0000

Looks like somebody got out of town for the winter.

The BCC

LeCavs Matt — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:37:07 -0000

(written by LeCavs co-author Ori)

I'll say it. Mike Brown is the BCC.

Best Coach in Cleveland.

Yesterday I was driving in my Bentley Continental (read: Chrysler Pacifica), blasting some hardcore street thug rap (read: my old Kriss Kross CD), when I switched over to AM radio to hear once again, to my surprise and delight: The Coach Mike Brown Show.

What a great show and what a great coach! I know that he isn't exactly beloved in Cleveland, and is not considered one of the greatest coaches in the game today, and that sometimes his offensive game plan leaves something to be desired (like offense). But let's hear it for the boy.

Under Coach Brown, we have made it to the finals, we always play hard, and we usually look great on defense.

But I digress, the Coach Brown show is fantastic for two reasons. Coach Brown tells it like it is. When I finish listening to a Romeo Crennel or Eric Wedge news conference, I feel dirty, tricked, and confused (That's what she said?) Mike Brown yesterday, laid out his plan for the Cavs during training camp, spoke directly about the performance of certain players, and gave expectations.

* He plans on getting back to the basics of basketball, concentrating more on offense but still keeping the focus on defense, he expects us to contend for and win the championship, gave a real good report about 'Bron looking even better, Boobie putting on some strength and weight, Sasha losing 12 lbs. and JJ Hickson being an overall beast.

But here's the best part of the Mike Brown show. He takes phone calls from fans. He actually takes them. And even though 90% of the people who call in are complete idiots, he takes the time to answer the people's questions directly and responds to criticism from fans.

The fact that a coach would even offer to hear the fan's point of view on how he runs plays, what players to put in, what needs to be changed, etc. makes Mike Brown by far the BCC.

I'm very excited for this year's team, and honestly feel that this is our best chance to win it all.

Also, I'm calling it right now- Lebron wins the MVP and Mike Brown wins Coach of the Year.

Gilbert: Lebron Talk Insults Cleveland

LeCavs Matt — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:06:30 -0000

Gilbert: Lebron Talk Insults Cleveland

I love when the news is about the news. In this case, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is angry about the media's constant speculation that Lebron is skipping town when his contract is up.

Indians lousy in the draft

LeCavs Matt — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:47:02 -0000

Indians lousy in the draft

Scroll down towards the bottom for the chart of picks to make the majors for each team. It's not clear to me, but I think this chart only includes players drafted and developed by each team, meaning the ABs and innings counted are those for their original team.

From a number of players perspective, the Tribe is second last in batters and tied for last in pitchers. In ABs and innings, we're not quite as woeful.

Dream Team 2009

LeCavs Matt — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:57:21 -0000

I have September 18th marked off on my calendar as National Hyperbole Day. Also, since this is my first post on Fear the Sword, I figure I need to make my pie in the sky optimism completely obvious.

This is the best Cavs team since 1992 - and the best Cavs backcourt for just as long. The Mo Williams signing, the Delonte signing and the best draft since Lebron pretty much guarantee an easy path to a 2nd round match against an aging Celtics team or a Pistons team with no identity.

Think about it. Just the backcourt for now.

Mo Williams, Delonte West, Boobie Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic, and Wally Sczcerbiak.

When did the Cavs last have that depth? In 97-98, the 5th guard was Scott Brooks. And we made the playoffs.

In Lebron's rookie campaign, the 5th man was JR Bremer. I think. I might rate him ahead of Dajuan Wagner or Kevin Ollie. No wonder we drafted Lebron to run the point.

Even 3 deep, knowing these young horses can each go 30+ minutes, when have the Cavs been as good as Mo, Delonte and Boobie? When we won 50 for the first time in the Lebron era, and topped the Wizards for the first of many times, Eric Snow played the 3rd most minutes behind Flip Murray (late season acquisition) and Larry Hughes (made of glass). Really, Damon Jones was in his heyday, and he still couldn't get more than 14 (clutch) seconds against the Wiz.

In '96-'97 we missed the playoffs for the first time in a while behind Terrell Brandon, Bobby Phills, and slam dunk contest hero Bob Sura. Gordon Gund should've started up some tanning salons on the side to lure Dan Majerle into staying. As it is, that threesome might stand up to the current one. Brandon was in his prime, putting up a Mo Williams-like 20 and 6. Phills was a solid contributor in his last Cleveland campaign, acting as the glue guy, alternating between scoring, passing and rebounding as needed. And Bob Sura could dunk, sometimes. More than Boobie can say.

And then there's Mo Williams alone. When have the Cavs had a guard as good? Andre Miller. Terrell Brandon. Mark Price. Price groomed Brandon. There were 2 painful years of Brevin Knight before Miller stepped in as a rookie. Now we're heading into our 7th season since Andre Miller left town for Darius "The SAT is racist" Miles.

The Cavs simply haven't had this strong of a backcourt since those days of Price, Ehlo, a young Terrell Brandon, Steve Kerr, John Battle and a green Bobby Phills.

Once we figure out if the front court is just as stacked, we'll know if this team has championship written all over it. And here's a hint: it is.

Go Cavs!

You and your girlfriend are just like Lebron and Z

LeCavs Matt — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:04:29 -0000

You and your girlfriend are just like Lebron and Z

I wish Boobie Gibson turned my girlfriend on.

Goodnight 2008

LeCavs Matt — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:15:25 -0000

Does anybody have a better name than "elimination magic number"?

With the Indians head-to-head record with the White Sox standing at 5-10, with only 3 to go, the Indians need to surpass the White Sox for the division crown.

The White Sox currently stand at 84-67, while the Indians are 75-77. With the best record the Indians can hope to achieve being 85-77, the Tribe are a single loss or White Sox win away from elimination at the hands of the Sox.

The Twins are 82-70, having also already defeated the Indians head to head, 10-8. Versus the Twins, our voodoo number is 3.

Unfortunately, the White Sox and Twins have a 3 game series remaining with one another. Whether the White Sox win a single game or the Twins sweep, the Tribe have been eliminated. Bring on Andy Marte.