Cavaliers title puts the spotlight on the Indians and Browns -- Bud Shaw's Sports Spin
CLEVELAND, Ohio – A Cavaliers’ championship doesn’t necessarily lift all boats, though you couldn’t tell that by the looks of the Good Ship Francona these days.
What it does is frame the sea worthiness of the Indians and Browns. And if you’re the Indians, who once again are bottom feeders in Major League attendance, getting noticed is all you can ask for now.
They’re not exactly at the “get yer popcorn” stage in team-fan dynamics. But they are 15 games over .500, having won 10 straight (maybe 11 by the time you read this).
Possibly because they’ve gone from 92 to 85 to 81 wins under Francona, and not the other way around, three consecutive seasons over .500 seasons hasn’t moved the needle much if at all at the turnstile.
We all know how that many similar seasons for the Browns would play. Or at least I think we know. I’ve only been here 25 years so it’s all conjecture.
All arguments in support of the Indians as a far better organization than the Browns and thereby victims of relative neglect in this city are usually met with one unanswerable counterpoint.
So? It’s a football town. Sorry.
Next argument.
For the past few months this has been a Cavaliers town. And now that the playoffs have ended, the Indians and Browns can be evaluated under a higher standard. That would be mostly something new for the Browns, who’ve traded on generations of loyalty.
The onus should fall on the Browns, who’ve lagged far more noticeably where it counts the most — on the playing field.
But we suspect that since honeymoons are such an annual tradition in Berea Hue Jackson’s team can flail around for a few years without harsh criticism if signs of growth are part of the process.
The role of analytics is just mysterious enough for people to conclude that smart things must be happening if immediate results are not so obvious. Especially since other more traditional approaches haven’t worked.
The Indians are not so fortunate. Since they don’t appear in divorce court nearly so often, they aren’t afforded the luxury of honeymoon status.
That gives them a summer to cash in on the excitement that you still feel as you walk around the city.
They’re not just winning games. They’re looking like a team that can win them in October.
They have the best run differential in the American League, second best in Major League Baseball to the Cubs, who rank fourth in attendance. That means the Indians are pitching and hitting, which hasn’t always been the case.
Can they keep it up? Will the Dolans make some moves at the trade deadline to give them every chance?
We’ll know a couple things by the end of the season. We’ll know if the Indians took advantage of a ripe opportunity to ride a championship wave.
And we’ll know whether this can be a good baseball town again.
Cavaliers title puts the spotlight on the Indians and Browns -- Bud Shaw"s Sports Spin
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