Lil Red Machine

The Cavs must be going crazy.  By this point, they must hate eachother, for they are only getting to play against one another.  Come Wednesday night, they will finally get to face someone outside of the practice confines.  It’s been a LONG layoff.  The rest is good for aging vets such as Z and big Ben Wallace, but is there such a thing as TOO much rest?
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So far this season, Johnny Cueto has been straight up dealing. The statistical line is fantastic: 3-1 record with a nice, shiny 1.59 ERA. Perhaps equally as impressive is his 8.1 k/9 innings. He has also shown good command of his repetoire, walking only 11 hitters in 39.2 innings pitched. That’s right in line with last year’s Cy Young award winner, Tim Lincecum.
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The season is still young, but the Reds are onto something here.  Pitching and defense wins ballgames.  Folks, we are looking at a Reds team that is 4th in the national league in team ERA, with a 3.91 mark.  This team has 4 LEGIT starters.  Any of these guys can go out and throw a great game on any given night.  5 team shutouts so far.  The proof is in the pudding Read more »

I’m a week late on this, I realize, but with the NBA playoffs going on and baseball in full swing, the NFL has been a bit on the back burner on my own personal sports universe.

It looks like the Bengals have shored up some major weaknesses. Granted, that’s probably what people have said in years past. Guys like Chris Perry, Odell Thurman, David Pollack, and Madieu Williams are recent draftees that are no longer with the team, for various reasons.

Andre Davis can play either tackle spot. Linebacker was also an area of weakness, and Rey Maualuga can help shore up that area. Michael Johnson will also help in the defensive department, and play some nickle linebacker. From everything I have heard, he’s an athletic freak, but doesn’t always play hard all the time. Time to put his nose to the grindstone, for there are a lot of guys in the league who have had a similar label, and found themselves out of the league in a few years.

The Bengals still have lots of work to do. I would’ve liked for them to take a center, as that is an area of weakness. I’ll give them a B for this years draft, but hopefully, unlike the list of recent Bengals draftees that are no longer with the team, this group can be a part of the core for years to come.

The Cavs have been doing a lot of waiting around. Sasha Pavlovic even found enough free time to get married.

The time for waiting is over. What the Cavaliers have on their hands now is a very athletic, high flying Hawks team. Joe Johnson is the leader and best player on this team. He isn’t very flashy, but he can score in bunches and is just a step below the top tier players in the league. Josh Smith has freakish athleticism, Mike Bibby is a cool, calm customer who has been there/done that. Also, Zaza Pachulia is active and can post up some decent numbers.

However, this team has its fair share of problems. Al Horford and Marvin Williams aren’t healthy. Plus, this team got killed in its 3 road playoff games in Miami. That doesn’t bode well for them as they try to win in the toughest arena for the opposition to win in.

While the Hawks were engaged in that 7 game series, the Cavs were resting. One can never have enough rest this time of year. Any sort of rustiness might last for all of 5 minutes. One you step on that court, you don’t lose those good habits that you spent an entire year developing.

The Cavs have big time goals. I can’t help but think that Atlanta is just happy to be along for the ride.

Cleveland is bigger, more experienced, better defensively, and a more polished team than Atlanta.

Wow, what a sad state of affairs in Detroit.

I think everyone expected the Cavs to make quick work of the Pistons, but ultimately, Detroit provided no real competition at ALL. Their key guys were either too banged up (Prince) or mentally asleep at the wheel (Wallace). Others just are too raw, or just weren’t good enough.
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The good: The bullpen is lights out. Arthur Rhodes, David Weather, and Francisco Cordero give us a bullpen edge on most nights. If our starters can just get us 6 innings of decent baseball, these guys, on most nights, can take care of the rest.

Joey Votto has been a beast. He’s like Sean Casey with more power. He ought to be a cornerstone of this franchise for years to come. The good thing is, he hits lefthanded pitchers about as well as he gets the righties, so prolonged slumps for him are less likely.
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http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2009/04/signs_point_to_cavaliers_coach.html

It couldn’t have happened to a nicer, more hardworking guy.  He deserves this honor.  Is Mike Brown one of the elite coaches in the NBA?  Probably not.  He’s not in the same category as guys such as Gregg Popovic, Phil Jackson, and Jerry Sloan.  Did Mike Brown suddently develop skills and strategies for coaching that he didn’t have before?  Nope.
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Wow, what a sudden reversal of roles.

In the recent playoff history between these two franchises, it was always the Pistons who were the heavy favorites, and the Cavs who were trying to pull off the upset. Now, the Cavs have achieved elite status, and the Pistons are barely hanging on by a thread. This Detroit team has no real leadership. Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince are fine players, but have always been complimentary pieces. They can’t take over games. Outside of the obvious thing that people talk about with Rasheed Wallace (his legendary temper), even if he manages to stay out of trouble with the refs, he will probably jack up too many three-pointers.
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………..is going through the Q! Many franchise firsts have been achieved this season, but none as important as this. The Cavs not only have home court advantage through the eastern conference playoffs, but in the finals as well, should they get that far. That awful Sunday afternoon in Boston where the Cavs were oh so close to winning game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Boston motivated the team to take a step back, asses their areas of need, and fill those voids. They have done so, and what Cavaliers fans see right now is a team that seemingly can do no wrong.
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