Cleveland sports in flux?

It seems that's the case. Two big stories eminate from the home of the Indians and the Browns today.

First, the Indians have decided to part ways with manager Eric Wedge. He will stay on for the last week of the season.

This move should come as absolutlely no surprise. but the timing may be a bit peculiar especially since there is only a week left in the season. Wedge's record so far this year is 64-92. Hard to believe that some considered the Tribe a possible playoff team before the season began and where they are currently residing, 4th in the AL Central and owners of the fifth worst record in baseball.

Wedge is not the only reason the Indians have struggled in '09. Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, and Asdrubal Cabrera have spent have all spent extended time on the DL. Sizemore has been shutdown for the season. Add the woes of the pitching staff, in more than one way. Fausto Carmona has not even come close to his superb '07 performance (19-8, 3.06 ERA). He is currently 4-12 record and an astronomical 6.62 ERA. Let's not forget the big money Cleveland spent on getting Kerry Wood. Wood has only 20 saves and has blown six. I know you got to have a lead in order for Wood to have that stat be higher, but the staff only has 25 total. What does that tell you? Again, we look at the starting pitching.

That's where the Indians did themsleves, and their fans, the biggest disservice. Who has the most quality starts for Cleveland this year? Cliff Lee. Who's next? Carl Pavano. What do Lee and Pavano have in common? They were traded. Between the two, they had 29 quality starts out of the 43 thay started while in Indians uniforms. Lee had 18 on his own.

But I do see a youthful light in the Cleveland Indians future. With a healthy Sizmore to go along with budding stars such as Cabrera, Matt LaPorta, Shin-Soo Choo, Luis Valbuena, and Andy Marte, the Tribe has a lineup that can challange for years down the line. It's just that pitching that needs attention.

Speaking of attention, do you think that Browns head coach Eric Mangini has received enough of it as of late? Or shall I say since the beginning of traning camp? It's almost all revolved around the QB battle between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.

Today, Mangini announced that Derek Anderson will start this Sunday as the Browns host division rival, the Cincinnati Bengals. That will move Quinn to the #2 spot on the depth chart. This may be a good move as one of Anderson's best games as a Brown occurred against the Bengals in a wild 51-45 shootout at Paul Brown Stadium back in '07. For his career against Cincy, Anderson has won 2 of the 3 games and has posted passing stats of 64 of 105 (61.0%) for 717 yards with 8 TD and 6 INT. Not bad, really. For Anderson to be successful, the ground game must get going against a somewhat underrated and stingy Bengals defense.

Does that same light shine on the Browns like it does for the Indians?

Not really, but the Cavs host the Celtics on October 27th for the season opener.