As I sit here writing this early Monday evening, I am listening — because of the great Tom Hamilton — to the radio broadcast of the Guardians’ game against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field.
It is the start of a huge three-game series that, with less than two weeks left in the regular season, go , a long way toward determining who wins the Anerican Lesgue Central. The White Sox, the feel-good story of baseball after having bring the worst team — by far — in the Majors last year, lead the two-time defending division champion Guardians by a half-game.
Indeed, it is an exciting end to yet another exciting season for the Guardians, who, every year, do more with less than any team in the game. They do that with the efforts of a bunch of decision-makers who don’t have to tell anyone how smart they are because you can see it, and one of the best managers in MLB in Steven Vogt.
It is so much fun, and so incredibly impressive, to watch.
Contrast that to the Browns, who are at the opposite end of the spectrum. They are coming off arguably the worst regular-season opener in their 80-year history, a humiliating 34-10 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday that was nowhere near that close.
Their quarterback, Deshaun Watson, the most overpriced and underproducing player in their history and possibly also NFL history, was at his absolute worst — and that’s saying something — against Jacksonville. Their head coach, Todd Monken, who is in his first season, has defied logic and common sense by choosing Watson over Shadeur Sanders for the starting job. It is mind-boggling. Their general manager, Andrew Berry, who pulled off the worst trade in pro football history to get Watson for three first-round choices in the NFL Draft, is convinced he’s the smartest person in any room into which he walks.
It is so disheartening, and sickening, to watch.
The Browns should stand back and watch how the Guardians operate and copy it. But unfortunately, that will never happen because they’re too haughty.
Ugh.
Steve King
