Steelers Vs. Seahawks. Cool, this should be a good Super Bowl. Both teams won convincingly, and you’d be hard pressed to make a case for any other teams being in the championship. The Seahawks were the top seed (perhaps thanks to a weak schedule but...) and proved they were easily the best in a down NFC. The Steelers were a bit of an afterthought in midseason, but clearly outplayed all the contenders down the stretch and in the playoffs beat all three other AFC contenders in impressive fashion.
And so I’d like to offer my reasons that a Browns fan shouldn’t feel too bad about the Steelers’ post-season success.
- Bill Cowher is a former Brown.
- Cowher was a Browns coach during two of the Browns losses to Denver in AFC Champioship games. I’d like to think that at least one person was able to return to Denver in that same game and come out on top.
- It puts the Browns’ losses to the Steelers during the regular season in perspective, particularly that 41-0 drilling when, it turns out, the Steelers were starting their Super Bowl run.
- Roethlisberger played in the MAC, which is Cleveland-based. And since the Browns now have a former MAC QB it’s nice to believe that maybe Frye will be able to work out too. That’s not an endorsement of Frye, but Roehtlisberger’s success sort of keeps the dream alive.
- More than anything else, root for the Steelers because their fans were so supportive of Cleveland during the whole 1995-1999 debacle. The Browns might suck now and yoru average Steeler fan has no sympathy in that regard, but don’t forget the late 90’s and the fact that the Rooney’s were loyal to Cleveland.
- Next year when the Browns beat the Steelers it will be nice to say we beat the defending champion of the AFC/NFL.
- The reality is that Cleveland will not be winning a Super Bowl for some time. If someone else has to win it, let it be the team we measure ourselves by.
It looks like Coco Crisp is going to the Red Sox. I’m a little dismayed because I like Coco’s hustle (and his name, which is among the best baseball names in the last 20 years). But it really makes sense for the Tribe. In some ways this move is simply acknowledging what has been a tough and dissappointing offseason. The Tribe needed a big right-handed bat, a new closer, a new late-inning reliever, and two good starting pitchers. The didn’t get a bat, will keep their old closer, will go with a cast of characters in the bullpen, and restocked the starting pitching with pitchers who are unlikely to duplicate the performances of the guys they have replaced. This move seeks to address a number of these things. The only problem is whether the prospects the Tribe will gain will be able to contribute in 2006, and how long can the team afford to wait.
Getting Andy Marte sounds fantastic -- the guy has hit very well in the minors while being on a fast track, and he plays third base. It’s not everyday that you can get one of the top hitting prospects in the game, and it’s even better that he plays a corner infield position. And let’s be honest about Coco -- he’s a very good player to have, but he’s not a star and he’s not a particularly good leadoff guy. While he covers good ground in the outfield, he doesn’t have much of an arm. Don’t get me wrong -- I love the guy and he’s gonna have a nice career and we will probaby never hear the end of what a great player he is in Boston. But giving him up for the promise of a big bat and bullpen depth is in the Tribe’s best long-term interests.
Getting Guillermo Mota isn’t bad either -- he’s a power pitcher who would be a nice guy to have in the pen. I’ve read the Tribe is likely to deal Riske and/or Rhodes if this deal goes through. Fair enough, though Rhodes I think still is a good guy to have. The Tribe will need to have a very effective bullpen this season because there is no way all five starters stay healthy they way they did in 2005. This trade makes it a little more likely.
The downside to this deal is that it may not pay off in 2006. Let’s hope it does, but the Tribe is going to be reliant on the continued improvement of their still young players if they hope to make the postseason.