Browns Go Baseball with Paul DePodesta Hiring

Since the Cleveland Browns returned to the NFL in 1999, the dedicated fans of the Dawg Pound haven’t had much to celebrate. Years of management and roster overhauls created a tumultuous situation that resulted in mostly sub-.500 records and inconsistency across the board.

This season saw another failed year in the always competitive AFC North where the struggling club must contend with the often-powerhouse Bengals, Ravens and Steelers six times a season. The year resulted in another below .500 record, and the ouster of head coach Mike Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer almost immediately after the team’s loss to the Steelers on the final week. And just like that, the Browns and the Cleveland faithful were back to square one to start off 2016.

This time around, the Browns went outside the box, some would say extremely outside of it, with the hiring of baseball veteran and Moneyball originator Paul DePodesta as the team’s new chief strategy officer. DePodesta is known for helping usher baseball into the analytics era. Earning a name for himself in Cleveland, Paul joined the Oakland A’s front office in 1999, where he took his analytical focus to great success. After Oakland, Paul spent almost two years as the general manager of the L.A. Dodgers before moving to San Diego and then to the New York Mets.

The move to bring DePodesta to an entirely different sport certainly brought on some laughs, but the hiring could prove to be an excellent signing for owner Jimmy Haslam and the sluggish Browns. If you haven’t read Monday Morning Quarterbacks profile on Paul’s hiring, I recommend you do so now. The first thing that should be mentioned is that not only does Paul carry a storied football career that took him to Harvard as a wide receiver, he also thrives on challenges. He is a thinker that wants to challenge himself to improve, and in doing so, improve those around him. If Cleveland was searching for a brain trust to oversee strategy, they scored a touchdown with this hiring.

Beyond his familiarity with the sport, football is moving towards a data-focused game. Between player safety and more teams placing an emphasis on a Moneyball style of its own, the Browns could be the first club to really place a cultural emphasis on stats across the organization. If Paul can bring the same success he helped usher in with the Cleveland Indians, he may end up being the second coming of LeBron James to the beleaguered city, as exaggerated as that may sound.

And sure, it could go down as another failed move from the club, but it’s worth a shot. Now with coach Hue Jackson in place–a hiring that some think could cause a clash between DePodesta’s new ideas and Jackson’s traditional approach to the game–Cleveland can begin to focus on the future. There’s still a lot of work the franchise needs to improve, but this could be the about face it needs. If Paul and Hue can deliver, and the club practices some patience, the AFC North may just become even more competitive in the coming seasons.

Free Agent Signing Trends May Not Be as Consistent as You Think

Courtesy: SLAM Online

Courtesy: SLAM Online

 

For most major American sports, free agency season almost always brings about the most discussion and tension amongst fans, insiders and analysts alike. Almost every season, at least one big name player’s contract runs out and speculation about their next destination runs rampant–sometimes even months before the window actually opens up.

Some seasons are ones for the record books.

In 2010, literal years of speculation over where some of the NBA’s biggest names–including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson and several other game changing players–finally came to a head. That summer saw the formation of Miami’s Big 3 and several other marquee players change jerseys and zip codes.

Depending on the people you’re discussing the issue with, you probably will hear two different approaches to free agency. One belief believes that free agency doesn’t start until the first major contract is signed, dictating the salary demands and contracts of similar players. The other sees free agency as an open market with little to no order.

In truth, they’re both right at times.

When looking at free agency across the major sports in America, several factors help shape the market and much of the league’s demand.

At the end of the day, all markets are want vs need. In the NBA, the game saw a massive change when the largely small ball Warriors upended the league and its big men with a largely perimeter shooting approach to win last season’s trophy. That resulted in some teams changing their free agency philosophy. With several talented bigs on the market, some teams opted for different skilled position players. Certainly bigs like Greg Monroe and Robin Lopez found new homes, but did the market change after the Warriors brought their approach to the forefront? It’s hard to argue against that. Similarly so in Major League Baseball, some offseasons may see power hitters or ace pitchers fly off the market with massive deals. In other years, some of the biggest names will be some of the last signed. As Mike Axisa of CBS Sports explains, the MLB saw several different patterns form over the last few free agent periods, debunking much of the belief that the market waits on its biggest names.

Another big man from last season’s NBA free agent class, Marc Gasol, represents why the market doesn’t always wait for the big contract ink to dry. This past offseason saw huge names like Gasol, LeBron and Manu Ginobili mostly stay put with their old teams. When looking at how the order of deals went down this past summer, it appears that most teams knew this would be the case and opted to make complementary players more the priority. While some large signings came early on–including DeMarre Carroll joining Toronto and Brandan Wright joining us in Memphis–the biggest chip of the season, LaMarcus Aldridge, took a few days to sign. Certainly some teams waited for his decision, mostly hoping Aldridge would choose their club, while others swooped in for other options.

This can also be said in the NFL and NHL. The last NFL offseason certainly saw lots of names moving around at all different times during the window. 2014’s rushing leader, DeMarco Murray, weighed his options for a while before signing with Philadelphia in the middle of March–after a flurry of rumored signings for both sides. This happens at times. In other instances a player may overestimate their market and remain on the sidelines for a while before getting an opportunity from a team in need due to injury or lagging performance from the current roster. Other times, a player may be coming off a bad reputation and will have to deal with a declined market interest.

In short, while the marquee players and contracts certainly do dictate the temperature of the market, they don’t hold the rest of the market in a freeze until they sign. Depending on the circumstance, teams and free agents may take the plunge early, or hold off to see how the market shapes up over the window.

Why Ratings for the MLB Playoffs are Improving

Postseason bag

So far, this year’s Major League Baseball postseason has been nothing short of incredible. Despite my beloved Yankees taking an early exit, a fan of the game has tons to look forward to every game. From the Blue Jays back after over two decades to the Cubs blasting the ball out of the stadium at an incredible rate, eyes have been justifiably glued to screens for hours on end.

This isn’t just coming from an uptick in fans talking about the games either. Viewership across the four channels airing the games (ESPN, TBS, MLB Network and Fox Sports 1) is up nine percent from last season. As the LA Times notes, TBS is especially reaping in the viewers with its best ratings since the 2007 playoffs.

The LA Times elaborates that a two major factors are keeping fans glued to the screen: DVR and major market presence. With on demand services becoming a norm for most cable subscribers, they are able to focus in on every pitch while knowing that their favorite show will be ready for viewing whenever the game ends. Additionally, the article goes on to note that of the eight teams in this year’s postseason (excluding the one-game playoff), five are in the top 10 markets in America. With those loyal fans in place, as well as the Cardinals long-reaching Midwestern fan base, this year’s series garners more eyes than the game has seen in some years.

Coupling these key points with the stellar games that have occurred, it should come as little surprise that ratings are on the uptick this year. We’ll have to wait to see how the ratings fare at the conclusion of the playoffs, but if the games continue to pan out the way they have, nobody will be hoping to see the action end.

 

The MLB Hot Stove Heats Up as Trade Deadline Looms

Source: MLB

Source: MLB

 

Every Major League Baseball team has decided by July 31st if they are buyers or sellers this season. For some teams it’s an obvious decision to go all in and make the postseason push. For other clubs, the end of July indicates rebuilding for the future. In other occasions, a middling team could keep fans on the edge of their seats to see how the rest of the season will turn out.

This year is no exception. This is the MLB trade deadline.

Yankee fans probably recall big name acquisitions like David Justice and Bobby Abreu coming over in past years, helping propel the club to the postseason. Teams short on success in recent years, like the Astros and Mets, now find themselves in a race to acquire talent for the fall.

Already this season, we’ve seen end of July deals send Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies to the Toronto Blue Jays for Jose Reyes. Other notable players like Shane Victorino, Aramis Ramirez and Scott Kazmir also changed teams in recent days. Many more could join them soon. This year, names like Cole Hamels and Craig Kimbrel are mainstays on the hot stove.

Unlike other sports, MLB has a slightly different trade structure. While July 31st is the official trade deadline, teams actually have until August 31st to solidify their postseason rosters. If a team wants to trade a player outright, it must come before the July deadline. However, if a team wants to move a player after that, they must first pass through waivers. That explains why you may see some jaw dropping all-stars put on waivers in the coming weeks. Additionally, while you see draft picks involved in other leagues’ deals, MLB does not allow that. Rather, teams have the Rule 5 draft. One player chosen in the Rule 5 draft was then-Astro Johan Santana. After being selected by the Marlins, Santana was traded to the Minnesota Twins where he stayed on the roster the full season, solidifying his Twins status. From there, he became the bonafide stud pitcher we witnessed for several seasons.

When it comes to waiver trades, teams run a risk of having that player claimed on waivers. If that arises, the player’s original team has three options:

  • Orchestrate a trade with the team that made the successful claim
  • Rescind the player’s waiver and bring them back to the team
  • Allow the new team to assume the player’s contract.

Most likely, you will see the first two options exercised more often.

This year may prove to be particularly interesting at the deadline with numerous borderline contenders around the .500 mark. Depending on which way they go, the league could turn on its head. A fringe contender could push to the top of the pack while a star acquisition can prove to be a colossal letdown. While I’d love to give you more details on the rumblings of my team, that’d be a bit too much “inside baseball.”