Hiram's 2014 Mock Draft

1. Houston - Jadaveon Clowney:  Tremendous athlete and talent, overrated football player

2. St. Louis - Jake Matthews:  Robinson superior talent but raw;  Rams need T RIGHT NOW

3. Jacksonville - Sammy Watkins:  Blackmon gone they need a threat

4. Cleveland - Kahlil Mack:  Arguably best player in draft

5. Oakland - Greg Robinson:  Tremendous talent that could very well be elite soon

6. Atlanta - Tyler Lewan:  Much needed LT for a struggling OL

7. Tampa Bay - Mike Evans:  Another player that will start right away and be big time

8. Minnesota -  Johnny Manziel:  He will give Vikings something to look forward to at the QB position

9. Buffalo - Eric Ebron:  Talented player with flaws but will give Bills a potentially big weapon

10. Detroit - Justin Gilbert:  Tremendous cover guy but won't tackle

11. Tennessee - Anthony Barr:  Tremendous upside as pass rusher that will be much needed in Defense

12. NY Giants - Aaron Donald:  Giants run to the podium to turn in card for this player

13. St. Louis - Odell  Beckham:  Yet another weapon for Bradford

14. Chicago -  Ha Ha Clinton Dix:  Much needed playmaker in the secondary

15. Pittsburgh -  Darqueze Dennard:  Playmaker that can be groomed to take over next year

16. Dallas - Kony Ealy: Talented guy to try to replace Ware

17. Baltimore - Jimmie Ward:  Good compliment to Elam; address WR in 2nd round

18. NY Jets - Marquise Lee:  Adds much needed playmaker if he returns to JR form

19. Miami -Zach Martin:  Huge upgrade to a beleaguered OL

20. Arizona - Blake Bortles:  The heir apparent to Carson Palmer; very talented guy

21. Green Bay -  CJ Mosley: Potential steal if healthy and another defensive playmaker for Packers

22. Philadelphia -  Calvin Pryor:  Eagles are thrilled to get this playmaker in secondary

23. Kansas City - Brandin Cooks:  Good player that will take pressure off Bowe

24. Cincinnati - Bradley Roby:  Good player with chance to be tremendous in position of need

25. San Diego - Kyle Fuller:  This guys can play and will smack you too

26. Cleveland -  David Carr:  Talented, inconsistent passer that will sit for a year

27. New Orleans -  Ryan Shazier:  Speedy OLB who will fit well on turf in NO

28. Carolina - Morgan Moses:  Fast rising OT that will try to fill in for Jordan Gross

29. New England - Austin Seferian Jenkins:  This guy can ball if he's healthy and out of trouble

30. San Francisco -Timmy  Jernigan :  Another piece to eventually take over for Justin Smith

31. Denver - Jason Verrett:  If he were a few inches taller he very well would be top CB

31. Seattle -  Cyrus Kouandijo:  Potential steal if truly healthy and could blossom to be big time

Observations on the Indians vs Giants game


Salazar:  Tremendous performance with the fastballs and eating up the innings.  Only thing I didn't like was the fact that Salazar has to throw more breaking balls.  How is he suppose to get better with that pitch if he doesn't throw it.  At some point in time he will have to throw that pitch because Hitters are going to sit on the hard stuff and he will be hit.  Hiding the pitch isn't going to solve it.


Carlos Santana:  He needs to sit for a couple games at least.  Santana nearly hit the HR in his first AB and then desperately to try to hit HR in the next AB's.  His approach is wrong, his swing long and time for him to sit.  I WOULD NOT take him out the cleanup stop because the Indians don't have a viable cleanup hitter, the only time I would take him out is if they trade for another cleanup hitter or the call up Aguilar.


Cody Allen:  No issues with you bro.  This stuff happens.  I actually tip my hat off to Hicks for getting on top of that pitch.


Tito:  You have to change your batting order.  It simply doesn't make sense to have Swisher that high up in the lineup where he can be driving in runs


This was a playoff series and the Indians still have a little was to go against a battle tested team like the Giants.  I expect for them to learn from this and be better in the future against a team like LAD and others going forward.



Also:  Brantley made no adjustments at the plate either.

What the Cavs should do in the off season ...

In watching the '13-'14 version of the Cleveland Cavaliers I want to say that I've never been as frustrated in any one season in all my years of watching professional sports.  I predicted 53 wins for this team and they  will come nowhere near that.  A whole list of issues have plagued this team. I think the hole as the #3 position was a bigger issue that I wanted to acknowledge, not being able to play with the malcontent Andrew Bynum, forgettable parts like Gee, Jack and Clark,  chemistry and flat out bad coaching. It all came to a head with the firing of Chris Grant and for all he did well, it was indeed the right thing to do going forward after it was found out about some of the things he wanted to do with the team.


With all these issues and disappointment it's apparent that the Cavs need another offseason in which to get to where they want to go and I have some ideas on how to get there.  I will preface by saying this:  My plan doesn't include getting any superstars. I don't include surperstars in this offseason because 1) not often are they available 2) difficult to satisfy them or the team in compensation without hurting the rest of your team 3) those players might not be the right fit or might want to go to a team on the brink.  You have those who feel that in order to win a title you have to have a star studded team.  Don't get me wrong it would help but depending on the makeup and composition of the team you can beat those teams with good to very good players and this plan will come up with that, IMO.


Taking Care of your Own House:

Kyrie Irving: First thing to do is to sign Kyrie Irving to a long term deal.  We all know the issues with the team and Kyrie was cupable in those problems as well.  He needs to take some responsibility for his part, come up with a reasonable plan or set of expectations for him and the team to move forward.  Show him the plan on how the Cavs are going to move forward in building the team around him and have that to culminate to a long term commitment.

Spencer Hawes:  I would definitely make it a priority to resign Spencer Hawes.  He has made a noticeable impact on this team by opening down low Tristan to operate, great passing and decent rebounder.

Alonzo Gee:  I realize that Gee brings some hustle and defense to the team but I would look to move in a different direction with a high upside development player.


Other Decisions:

Anderson Veragao:  Andy has meant so much to this team with the hustle plays, rebounding but it's time to move in another direction.  The injuries  appear to have caught up to him along with playing too many minutes.  Two things here.  Andy should've never been a starter. His hustle is best utilized as energy guy off the bench. Also, Cavs should've been traded years ago when LeBron left.  Reportedly, Grant lamented on not trading him back then.  What the Cavs front office was thinking when they didn't trade him, IDK but it was clearly a mistake.  This is what happens when you listen to a fan base who refuses to change with the times and want to identify with the 20th century old ways of doing things.  I would advocate trading him for as much as possible but realize that you won't get half of his value.


Luol Deng:  I like Deng and wish he would stay. I would offer him a fair and reasonable deal but nothing to what he reportedly wants which is 10 M/yr.  Deng offers value to this team but it also appears that he is losing some athletic ability, not a great shooter(good enough though) and seems as though they years of a ton of minutes are catching up to him.  Offer him a reasonable deal and if he moves on then so be it.  One last thing on Deng.  I think the system he had in Chicago took much more advantage of  his skillset than the one with the Cavs.


Mike Brown:  I advocated getting Mike Brown back and after ten games regretted everything I said.  I think Brown has been too stubborn, too unwilling to try different thing and did some of the same things he did when he was first here.  I wouldn't shed one tear if they decided to fire him after the season.  I can go on and on on his failures and unwillingness to learn from previous mistakes.  As we speak I would lean toward keeping unless I can get the HC that I  want, who I know will come in and make a significant impact on this team.  I do believe the team is buying into his defensive mindset and that is big plus for him and I wouldn't want to make a change for the sake of making a change.


The Issues:

Looking at the Cavs in no particular order the issues are the coaching(system in best utilizing the players on offense), shot blocker,  reliable #3 who can play both on offense and defense and scoring off the bench if you intend to use Dion in the starting lineup.  For the sake of this blog we will suggest that the Cavs will use Dion in the starting lineup.


Ideas on tackling the Issues:

I think the Cavs have all the makings of a team that if coached right, with proper offseason moves can be that special team that we thought we were going to see and here's my plan moving forward.

I realize that Dion and Kyrie are going to be my starting backcourt, I let Deng walk, I resign Hawes.  This leaves me with a huge hole at the #3.

Options to feel these holes.  Trevor Ariza via free agency, Trading Andy for Jeff Green  or finding a way to get Wilson Chandler.   I came up with these guys because I know that these guys can shoot and can play solid defense when needed.  Ariza is the best defender of the three but of the three the worst on offense . For the sake of the blog I would make the trade for Jeff Green using Andy or a 3rd team .  This would give the Cavs that consistent 15ppg guys who they can rely on.

After this move my starting five would be:  Hawes, Tristan, Green, Dion and Kyrie.  I think with Kyrie, Dion and Green you have Kyrie who will consistently give you 20-25 a night and with Green and Dion you will get 15-17 ppg.  Keep in mind this isn't the superstar team that others try to emulate from the Heat.

Since we have moved Dion to the starting lineup this will leave a giagantic hole on the bench in terms of scoring. Keep in mind that on the bench I will have returning Zeller, Bennett, Karasev and Jarrett Jack(only because I don't think they can trade him) for sure.  I for one expect Bennett to come in and be a force off the bench next year.  He appears   to be someone with immense offensively talent and a better rebounder than one might think but like so many young players it will take time for him to come around on defense on a consistent basis.


Moving on to completing the bench.  I need to fill the hole left by Dion going to the starting role so I have  three names that come to mind.  Not in any particular order Jaryd Bayless, Nate Robinson and  Jordan Crawford.  I would be fine with either one of these three players to fill the Dion role off the bench.  For the sake of the blog we will with Jaryd Bayless to fill the Dion role.  Bayless is a combo guard that can shoot from long distance and appears to be a decent defender.  I think we could get 10-12ppg from him on a consistent basis.

The Cavs will have the ability to get a really nice player in the lottery as well this year.  Of course this selection will depend on how high the Cavs pick and currently they have the #8 pick and that being the case I would select Rod Hood from Duke. Who is a smooth player who can shoot the lights out.  Not going to ask him to come in and start or play a bunch of minutes but would ask him to come in and make a contribution off the bench when called upon.  Yes, I'm aware of those who will call him a bust because he's not starting, but that won't be the case.


One last move needs to be made and that is of a shot blocker/rebounder.  I've always loved Ekpe Udoh since he was at Baylor. I think he would give us the big rim protector and rebounder so desperately needed with this team.  Keep in mind that he won't be asked to come in and play a bunch of minutes but would serve a purpose to give minutes in using all three Centers.



So in putting together my '14-'15 Cavaliers the starting lineup will be

Hawes
Thompson
Green
Waiters
Irving

Bench consists of:

Zeller
Udoh
Bennett
Hood
Karasev
Bayless
Jack
Felix
2nd rounder 

I think with good coaching this team would be a force provided that some of the players like Waiters, Bennett, Thompson and Karasev continue to improve.  I am aware of those who will dismiss this team because it doesn't have the star power but we can go thru the finals of the NBA and see champions and runners up who didn't have star power but were good at what they do, deep and had good chemistry

Rethinking the Indians' Rotation for '14

In talking about the Indians' rotation going into the '14 season  it is important to establish a fresh perspective in how rotations are put together and get out of the old axiom of MLB that you're suspect until you have proven yourself to be established.  This is a VERY flawed way at looking at pitching and teams in general.  Another thing we need to look at in looking at the Indians' '14 rotation is to have a flashback to what the Indians' rotation resembled this time last year and how we got to this point.  In looking at these things we will see that the Indians are not in nearly as bad a shape as the media and some fans make it out to be, IMO.

We hear it every year when analyzing teams going into a season.  No matter how good a prospect is he is a suspect pitcher until he breaks out.  Well, I understand the glass half full empty approach but every year the glass half full way of thinking comes up to help team(s) not only contend but to help them win it all.  When see starters like Corbin, Ryu for starters come in as rookies and excel it makes not signing that big name free agent starter well worth it because you're getting the same production for a fraction of the cost.  Some teams have an unshakeable faith in their ability to identify and go with talented starters despite what others might think and I'm thinking the Indians are starting to become one of those teams.

It's important to remember where the Indians rotation was last year at this time.  We had Justin Masterson who was coming off an injury that hurt his production in the '12 season, Ubaldo had been a disaster since being acquired in '11, Brett Myers who had started in a couple years, Scott Kazmir who was out of MLB for over a year and McAllister who looked pretty solid.  I bring this up because over the course of the long MLB Season rotations and bullpens evolve.  Some may perform better and some may perform worse but the key is having the depth and TALENT to sustain thru the bad times.  I contend that some teams have alot of talent in the rotation but one under performance and/.or injury and the season is finished.  These teams lack the adequate depth.

I bring these points up because they pertain to that of the '14 Indians rotation.  If we went by the Archaic MLB axiom that you're suspect until proven to be legit then no way the Indians would've contended for a playoff spot last year. Let us recall that the Indians got absolutely nothing out of Brett Myers who was injured in Spring Training and was terrible in his tenure in the regular season, Ubaldo was terrible early on in the season and improved a little toward the All Star Break(Ubaldo was so bad early that some media members were saying he should be cut in April), Kazmir was up and down during the first couple of months of the season.  The two stabilizing forces at that time during the season was Justin Masterson and Zach McAllister who if you recall had twelve straight games with quality start.  BTW, no telling what McAllister would've done if he hadn't gotten injured.


In the place of the injured Myers the  called up a guy by the name of Corey Kluber who promptly went on 11-5 with a 3.85 ERA before having a finger injury.  If Kluber hadn't had the injury then it's very realistic what we would've have a 15-7 guy in the rotation.  With the injury to McAllister and Kluber with finger injuries the Indians desperately needed another starter to come in and stabilize the rotation.  They called up a young starter by the name of Danny Salazar.  Salazar didn't win a bunch of games but went on to give the Indians solid innings and would've gone even more innings if he wasn't on a pitch count.  During this time Ubaldo started to go on an amazing tear and Kazmir to further stabilize the rotation in going with Masterson.


If we're keeping Score here the Indians got nothing out of Myers, Ubaldo and Kazmir were up and down during the first half of the year and both Corey Kluber and Zach McAllister missed time with finger injuries.  The Indians in their places called up two rookies in Corey Kluber and Danny Salazar AND STILL WON 92 GAMES!!  Not to mention the Indians suffered thru the struggles of both Chris Perez and Vinnie Pestano, having no reliable lefty until acquiring Rzepczynski.  For the sake of this piece will keep it to the rotation.

Fast Forward to the '14 Indians projected rotation. Masterson, Kluber, Salazar, McAllister and Carrasco.  If the first four guys are healthy then they will get people out and be very solid.  Which brings me to Carrasco and to the point where the antiquated way of thinking is leading some to feel the Indians are short on starting pitching.

Looking at the prospects for the #5 spot in the rotation I will limit it to Carrasco, Bauer and Tomlin. In looking at Carrasco, I see a guy that is ready to break out onto the scene.  Yes, I know he's out of options and was bad in the rotation last year.  What some seem to forget that Carrasco for whatever reason lost confidence in his stuff.  In the offseason the Indians gave Carrasco the "Ubaldo treatment".  They worked on his approach, changed his arm slot and told him that he was the front runner for the rotation and that if he were to make the rotation he wouldn't be taken out after bad starts.  Yes, the Indians did Ubaldo the exact same way and look what happened. 


Rewind to '11 season when Carrasco broke camp with the Indians. After an inconsistent first six starts Carrasco hit his stride in June. If you recall Masterson had his breakout season that year but it was Carrasco that was being considered the ace of staff  NOT Justin Masteerson  before his unfortunate injury. Carrasco missed all of '12 season  to come to '13 season.  Most will tell you that command is the one thing that comes later after elbow surgery but for whatever reason Carrasco hasn't been afforded this convenience according to the fans and media.  He looked good in the bullpen and in AAA but wasn't able to get consistent in the rotation.  I say all this to say this:  With being two years away from surgery, getting the "Ubaldo treatment", having terrific stuff and being assured that he won't be taken out of rotation due to poor starts. During the course of the long MLB I'm willing to bank on Carrasco having a big year for the Indians. I would even say that by time the year ends he'll be 1-2 in the rotation .

Yes the Indians have guys like Bauer whom they say is looking really good with new Delivery(he too got the "Ubaldo Treatment")  because we all know about his talent and stuff and Tomlin who looked as though he would be a solid 12-15 win guy before his injury.  So, if you want to look at the Indians' rotation as half empty with the old MLB axiom that you are suspect until proven otherwise, that's your prerogative.  However, you want to look a little deeper and see the raw talent, potential of a rotation realizing that Rotations evolve as I tried to demonstrate to you then, IMHO that's the more up to date/modern way of looking at the Indians because you can see that teams around MLB such as PIT, STL, TB, OAK and others go with talent instead of trying to pacify media/fans with all proven guys in the rotation and it shows in their success.

Thanks but No Thanks to Ubaldo

In looking at Ubaldo and his free agency one has to wonder if the Indians are better off letting him walk or taking a tremendous chance in signing and hoping that he continues down the path he had in the 2nd half of the 2013 season.  Even those that want to sign him to a long term deal acknowledge that it will be a big risk considering what the ups and mostly downs Ubaldo has provided since being traded to the Indians.


Let's remember that the Indians got Ubaldo in 2011 for Joe Gardner, Matt McBride, Drew Pomeranz and Alex.  The jaded long time Indians fans would swear to you that the Indians had just traded Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale  in Pomeranz and White respectively the Indians felt they were acquiring an ace that possibly needed a change of scenery and mechanics to be readjusted. Ubaldo had definitely been an ACE in Colorado including seasons of 15-12, 3.47 ERA and 218 innings and a season of 19-8, 2.88 ERA with 221.2 innings.  After the Trade to say the Ubaldo was disappointing was an understatement because he promptly went on to post a 4-4 record, 5.10 ERA in 65.1 innings.  Not exactly what the Indians had in mind when they acquired him


Fast forward to the 2012 season where Ubaldo was going to bounce back and anchor the rotation along with Justin Masterson to help the Indians become a good team.  Again, it didn't happen.  Ubaldo went on to post a 9-17, 5.10 ERA in 176.2 innings.  At this stage of the game it was hard to argue the fact that the Indians and Rockies made a bad trade from both sides because the two headliners from the Rockies side did nothing as well.

Once again we fast forward to the 2013 season with a new Manager in Tito Francona and new Pitching Coach in Mickey Callaway.  Callaway, would fly to the Dominican to work with Ubaldo with his mechanics throughout the winter because it was over the span that they were all over the place.  Throughout Spring Training and the first half of the year Ubaldo were a mixed bag because he posted a 7-4 record, 4.56 ERA and pitched at that point.  Up at this point the Indians weren't very confident in Ubaldo at this point because on several occasions at least twice vs the Tigers the Indians skipped his start because they felt he would creamed by them and they disguised it as he just needed more time to work with Callaway.

On a personal note my breaking point with Ubaldo was when he was given a 5-0 lead going into the sixth inning and promptly walked the first two batters, committed an error and then gave up a grand slam to Lorenzo Cain to get the Royals right back into the game.  The Indians would go on to lose the game by a score of 10-7 and I had enough of Ubaldo and his inconsistency not only during this game but with his entire tenure with the Tribe.  I wanted him gone immediately.  Little did I know that what was in store for not only myself but the Indians as a whole.


From the point forward in July Ubaldo would be flat out dominant he would routinely get the Indians into the 7th and 8th innings and had become a stalwart in the Indians' march toward the playoffs.  The month of July would end up 2-1 and 2.83 ERA, August 1-4, 3.10 EA and of course the month of September where Ubaldo would go on to be 4-0, 1.09 ERA.... HELLO!!!  This not only put the Indians in the playoffs but some recognized the Indians as a dangerous team in the playoffs because of how hot Ubaldo was and Masterson coming back from injury(I still contend that if Masterson weren't injured the Indians would've won the Wildcard game and had a punchers chance vs the Red Sox).

We fast forward to free agency and admittedly I was in the crowd that said the Indians should do whatever it takes to resign Ubaldo to help Masterson anchor this rotation. For the vast majority of the off season I held this belief until just recently where I figured that resigning Ubaldo would hurt the Indians going forward for number of reasons.


Assuming that Ubaldo wouldn't be interested in just a one year deal the resigning of him would almost mean the loss of one Justin Masterson.  Masterson has become a stalwart in this rotation with his consistency(outside of '12 when he was injured) and simply has been more reliable than one Ubaldo Jimenez.   Yes, it came down to the consistency of Justin Masterson and the flat out inconsistency of Ubaldo Jimenez , it shouldn't be a hard decision despite Ubaldo's dominance with the Tribe down the stretch and brilliance before joining the Tribe with the Rockies.  Even if you don't resign Masterson the Tribe maintains financial flexibility so they can get someone else in to fill the holes instead of having the albatross of having Ubaldo's contract and money strangling them in which he may or may not perform up to.


I also believe the resigning Ubaldo would retard the growth of some of the Indians' starters who need to be given a consistent rotation spot to realize their awesome potential.  Yes, I am speaking of starters such as Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and the forgotten one himself Josh Tomlin.  I think some forget that Carrasco was before he was injured.  Yes, I admit that he has been very inconsistent going forward as a starter but the Tribe seems hell bent on giving him consistent starts going forward.  Trevor Bauer is another talented young Starter for the Tribe that could bust out in '14.  He had control issues along with being uncomfortable with his delivery.  After working with Callaway over the winter it appears that all of this has been ironed out going forward.  Josh Tomlin is another pitcher that is often forgotten who before being shut down in '12 after rocky year and missing almost all of '13 season is back.  Once again people forget that Tomlin was 12-5, 4.25 ERA in his first full year with the Tribe.  Also, in 30 innings in '13 didn't walk one batter so command is back.


The addition of a #1 pick. One of the unspoken things about the Indians is that they are emphasizing drafting, developing their own players in their system.  With losing Ubaldo the Indians would get another #1 pick along with the other two that they have to stock the farm system even more.  This is a pitching rich draft and the Tribe figures to have draft plenty of  young starting pitching early and often.  Keep in mind this is a farm system that is on the rise and a influx of young talented starting pitching is desperately needed in the system.  That Ubaldo pick would really look good.


Other things to consider is that Ubaldo flourished under the direction of one Mickey Callaway and teams looking at him must take that into account considering the fact that other pitching coaches that Ubaldo has had in the past both with the Rockies and Indians have failed to reach him  Ubaldo has spoken as Callaway is the best pitching coach he's ever had.  Once again this should be a red flag to other teams that are interested in the services of Ubaldo

Be prepared with the National Media saying the Indians needed to sign either Ubaldo or Scott Kazmir who signed with Oakland A's.  What the National Media doesn't seem to understand is the fact that the Indians operated with six quality starters in the 2nd half of last year when everyone was healthy.  Looking at the Indians rotation in '13 it included the steady Masterson, Ubaldo, Corey Kluber who became an unsong hero before the injury, the impressive Danny Salazar, Scott Kazmir who the Indians resurrected and the steady Zach McAllister.    I mention this to say even with the loss of both Ubaldo and Kazmir the Indians should still have a formidable rotation with Masterson, Kluber(who looks to be a very steady #2, IMO), Salazar who at some point could be a star and the solid Zach McAllister.  Added in the talented pitchers like Carrasco, Bauer along with Tomlin.  To add depth the Indians added Shawn Marcum who when healthy is a legit starter.


In looking at the pros and cons of signing Ubaldo are you going to be the Hiram that began the offseason or the Hiram towards the end of the offseason in regards to signing Ubaldo???
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