tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While wondering how badly the Cleveland Browns will embarass themselves and their fans on Thursday night in Pittsburgh here is what's on my mind this morning:

* I had the opportunity to watch Pat Shurmur's press conference on Sportstime Ohio's All Bets are Off and I was totally outraged. As I have mentioned before, Shurmur's answers to questions are basically non-answers. His non-answers are dismissive of the questions something you might expect from a coach who has won a Super Bowl or two but not from a rookie coach who looks in over his head. But what really infuriated me was his answer to a question about the frustration of the fans. Shurmur basically said he wasn't around to know about the past and the fans have to have a belief that things are going to get better. Really??? We have been waiting since 1999 for things to get better.

* It's time for the Mike Holmgren-Tom Heckert regime to start being held accountable for the state of this team. As a Browns fan, I see no improvement. In fact, its getting worse. While knowledgeable Browns fans knew that they were not going to make the playoffs this year, with their schedule they should have more wins. But forget the wins. I will maintain that this offense is worse than what it was under Eric Mangini. We were sold a bill of goods on Pat Shurmur, brilliant offensive mind. Shurmur coaches like a bad high school coach. There is no imagination. Holmgren and Heckert have said that this team needs to build through the draft. I get that but this team has so many holes that they need to get into the free agent market. Can you imagine if the Browns had drafted Julio Jones and signed Brandon Lloyd?? The lack of activity in the free agent market tells me that the Holmgren regime is as clueless as their coach when it comes to understanding the frustration that Browns fans have. All we want is to see is improvement. If Holmgren, Heckert and Shurmur were in NYC, they would be run out on a rail and couldn't pull the crap they are pulling now.

* If you are a Browns fan and have Direct TV All Bets Are Off with Bruce Drennan is a must watch. Drennan is outstanding. He is very knowledgeable about sports (unlike the dopes on WGR550) and yesterday was a great show as he really called the Browns out. Sportstime Ohio provides great Browns coverage so if you are a Browns fan check it out. It's channel 662 on Direct TV. And on occasion yours truly gets through to talk to Bruce about the Browns.

* The Maple Leafs roared back from a tough two game beat down at the hands of the Boston Bruins by defeating the hot New York Rangers 4-2 at MSG. The Leafs are the only team this year to have beaten the Rangers at the World's Greatest Arena. Jonas Gustavsson was solid in net particularly in the third period and he has given the Leafs a solid 1-2 punch in goal. The Kessel-Bozak-Lupul line was flying last night. Joffrey Lupul was on fire and the Leafs power play bounced back after two dismal performances against the Bruins. If there are any more doubts about this team, yesterday's game proves once and for all that this Leaf team is different than any other Leaf team since the lockout. Ron Wilson made a great point last night when he said that this team continues to play well with having 6 or 7 regulars out of the lineup for a good portion of November. November was also a month that the Leafs had more road games than home games. It is clear that the Leafs speed is too much for many teams. A far cry from the days of Jason Allison and Jeff O'Neill.

* The Baseball Winter Meetings began yesterday and the Miami Marlins have made the first big splash by signing Jose Reyes. The Marlins have signed Heath Bell, Reyes and are in on Albert Pujols. The Mets?? Well, they have their fans in an uproar. I have to laugh as I recall the summer of 2007 when there was an actual debate about which shortstop-third base combo was better: AROD & Derek Jeter or Reyes & David Wright. How did you make out Met fans???

* Yankee fans who are expecting anything to happen to improve their team, forget it. These are not George's Yankees anymore. Joel Sherman's article on Sunday which explained how the Yankees want to take advantage of the new collective bargaining agreement and reduce their luxury tax obligation is accurate and tells Yankee fans that this team will no longer go all in on getting a big time free agent unless they cut payroll elsewhere. That's all fine and dandy but that should mean that we get to see some of these highly touted youngsters in the farm system. However, we know that we are not going to see Banuelos or Betances next year in the Bronx. And, but for Montero and to a lesser extent Romine, there are no Yankee farmhands who are going to contribute offensively for the big team.

* You are kidding yourself if you believe that the Yanks can go into the season with a starting rotation of CC, Nova, Burnett, Hughes and Garcia and expect to get to the World Series. Remember, if they don't win the division they will have to play in a one game playoff to advance to the ALDS. It's apparent that they are not going to sign a free agent pitcher so if they want to upgrade their starting pitching then they will need to make a trade. They are interested in John Danks but the White Sox are demanding way too much. If they could get Danks for Romine, Hector Noesi and another lower level prospect, I would make the trade. Danks is entering his walk year and will have an incentive to have a good year. He will turn 27 in April and the Yankees can determine whether they would want to keep him after the 2012 season. If they don't then Banuelos or Betances should be ready for 2013.

* Offensively, the Yankees need to consider Yoenis Cespedes or Jorge Soler. Both are Cuban ballplayers and Cespedes is highly touted as a 30 home run 100 RBI guy. He plays center field but is projected to be a corner outfielder. If the Yanks decide to trade Brett Gardner or Nick Swisher to get a starting pitcher, Cespedes could step right in. He is not going to come cheap and the Yankees may not be willing to pay the price which makes Soler a great alternative. Soler is 19 years old and will need some minor league seasoning. He is being projected as a possible 40 home run guy and has more upside than Cespedes. He will also come cheaper. The Yanks could sign him and play him in the minors. He would immediately upgrade their farm system from an offensive standpoint and could potentially be a replacement for Swisher if the Yankees decide to let him go after the 2012 season.

* My Heisman Trophy pick is Andrew Luck. Take Luck off Stanford and where would they be??? Probably lucky to play in the Poulan Weedwacker Bowl.

* The NHL announced their new re-alignment which will create 4 division. The first two rounds of the playoffs will match up teams from within their own division and once division playoff winners are identified then those teams will be re-seeded. So its possible that Boston could play Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup Finals. My problem with this format is that a team in a tough division may not make the playoffs but have more points than a team in a weaker division who will qualify.

* One of my avid Twitter followers informed me that the WNY All-Sports powerhouse radio station, WGR550, had a best chicken wing sauce draft yesterday. Are you kidding me??? These guys are as bad as their no pride, choking football team. I think what they should do next is have a Biggest Loser contest featuring heavyweights Howard Simon, Paul Hamilton and Chris Parker. They could do weigh-ins and actually analyze the whole thing. Instead of calling into question the direction of their two major sports teams they can discuss how Hamilton is at a disadvantage being on the road and having to eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken all the time. Great radio indeed.

* It's been reported that Terry Francona will replace Bobby Valentine in the booth on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Add Francona to Schilling, Garciaparra and the Yankee-hating Fat Kruk and it will be another long season for Yankee fans having to deal with these Red Sox apologists.

* And finally, I want to give a shout out to @ClayMNU and @LenDiesel21, two of my most avid twitter followers. Thanks for following and for touting my blog site.