Almost every week, revered Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto takes part in a podcast that I typically listen to every week at the gym…despite continual evidence of why Terry never made it out of the Cleveland sports scene and on to something bigger as a journalist (not that most of the national guys are a whole lot better).
My basic problem with Pluto is that he has a tendency to talk in the kind of generalities I can hear rattled off at any bar in Ohio, spoken with no real supporting evidence, yet expressed in an arrogant know-it-all manner.
Case in point, this week’s podcast where Terry, once again, asserts that Brady Quinn will be the starting quarterback because the Browns drafted a possession receiver in Robiskie, traded Winslow, and signed Robert Royal - a blocking tight end. Mangini’s setting up a “ball control offense,” says Pluto. He goes on to talk about how happy he is that Mangini’s excited by Jerome Harrison while declaring his love for the possession receiver, the kind of player he values because (paraphrase alert) “he knows how to run an 8 yard route on 3rd and 6 and can catch the ball if it’s thrown anywhere close to him.”
I get it. Everyone wants Brady Quinn to be the quarterback. He’s from Ohio. He went to Notre Dame. I get it. Of course, he’s also done barely anything in the NFL, but still…I get it. Journalists, however, are supposed to act like journalists, not fans, and see the truth - not what they want to see.
The fact of the matter is that no one has any idea what Mangini wants to do. That’s his plan. Robiskie is a so-called possession receiver - whatever that means…does it mean he catches the ball? That’s what all receivers are supposed to do. That’s sort of their job. Does it mean he’s good at running short routes? Pluto alludes to the fact that it means he can get first downs…again, this is the job of every player on the offense (second - of course - to scoring points, but more on this later).
The Winslow trade is an indicator of one thing - Winslow was a head-case with a terrible injury history who wanted a huge contract. Drafting Robiskie…you could say it’s because the Browns needed a counter to Braylon, who is a big play receiver. And, in terms of the praise of Jerome Harrison, is he a so-called “ball control offense” running back? A grinder? No, that’s Jamal Lewis.
In fact, I could make the argument that really what we’re looking at is a balanced set of athletes that can do different things - a versatile offense, in other words, that can adjust depending on who the opponent is and what their defense is like.
And if I have to hear about “ball control offense” again, I am going to shred every newspaper in the world I can find. Offenses are supposed to score points. Defenses are supposed to stop the other team from scoring. Why control the ball if you can stop the other team? Why not try to put up points as quickly as you can so you can get the ball back faster - if your defense is good, and it should be, you will get the ball back - giving you more opportunities to score more points.
Pluto’s podcast covers the Browns first, and then the Cavs, in which the Shaq trade rumors are discussed. Mention is made of Phoenix wanting Delonte West, and Danny Ferry having told Pluto for “years” (another favorite thing for Pluto to mention - his connections to front office personnel and coaches…I should have done a count on how many times he mentioned Stan Van Gundy is a good friend of his during the NBA season) that Delonte was a very good player, but Pluto didn’t believe him. Didn’t see it. Thankfully, Pluto admits he was wrong, but then fails to explain why he thought Delonte was a poor player - aside from alluding to Delonte’s height and status as a bench player…great evidence, of course, that a player isn’t any good.
Finally, Pluto talks about the Indians and mentions that their prospects aren’t hitting well in the minors, citing low batting averages. This speaks to Pluto’s overall perspective - dated and unsophisticated. I’m (finally) reading Moneyball - which, you would think, is a landmark enough book that every serious sportswriter in America should have read it, especially baseball writers…and anyone who knows anything that’s been going on in baseball since the 90’s should know that batting average is not the best indicator of how valuable a hitter someone is. The goal, after all, is producing runs - not just getting hits. This is why updated statistics, like OPS (on base + slugging) are given more weight in today’s game. To Terry’s credit, he mentions OPS often, without ever talking about its value beyond saying, “Indians officials rely on it.” So why then go back to something as lazy as batting average to evaluate the Tribe’s minor leaguers? It may be one piece of the conversation - when talked about in the proper context - but not the only piece.
One thing we started this blog to do was to urge Cleveland fans to look deeper and more rationally at their teams, their sports, and their team’s players and management. That’s why we’ll keep writing posts like this, not to put anyone on blast, but simply to try and broaden perspective.
*M*
