Cleveland

Go here to get it. This years' MLB Draft Book costs whatever you wish to donate to helping me improve my coverage next year. $0.01 is the minimum just to run the transaction. Donate and I'll email you the book in PDF form. It is 101 pages of Prospect info. Those that donate will likely get a discount on next years book or additional information that the rest will not get or both. Almost all of this information is available on Minor League Ball or on my blog but I compiled it to have in one place for easy access. If you don't like PayPal and don't want a discount next year, you can download a lower quality version here. Go here to get it. This years' MLB Draft Book costs whatever you wish to donate to helping me improve my coverage next year. $0.01 is the minimum just to run the transaction. Donate and I'll email you the book in PDF form. It is 101 pages of Prospect info. Those that donate will likely get a discount on next years book or additional information that the rest will not get or both. Almost all of this information is available on Minor League Ball or on my blog but I compiled it to have in one place for easy access. If you don't like PayPal and don't want a discount next year, you can download a lower quality version here.

Can the Cavaliers land the No. 1 pick for the second time in three years? Find out along with the rest of us here in our NBA Draft Lottery live blog and chat tonight.

Posted in Christopher WhippleCivic AffairsCommentaryEducationHistoryNews By Christopher Whipple Cleveland has a rich and full history, replete with famous and infamous players.  One reason we learn history is to provide pride in the area or topic, and if there is one thing Clevelanders need more of, it’s pride. My family has lived in the Cleveland area for many generations and I am [...]

If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that ...  (1) You can’t just throw money at the open market and assume things will play out the way Bills James and his boys say it should in their ZiPS projections.  (2) It’s not always a good idea to award mammoth contracts to guys who are in their 30s or about to hit their 30’s.  (3)  For a variety of reasons that only hindsight can help explain, players who sign long-term lucrative deals with another team other than their own, have historically underachieved more often than not.

One down, four to go. The Cleveland Browns signed their first draft pick of the season: safety Jamoris Slaughter. Taken in the 6th round at No. 175 overall, Slaughter agreed to a four-year deal. According to a pre-determined draft chart, Slaughter's contract will be worth about $2.27 million, with a $118,000 signing bonus. Slaughter is recovering from an Achilles' injury he suffered last season. He has not been able to participate in offseason activities so far, but he is expected to be ready-to-go for training camp. After the team released safety Eric Hagg earlier in the day, it would seem as though Slaughter will have a one-on-one competition with Tashaun Gipson for the starting safety role opposite T.J. Ward. Status of Cleveland Browns Draft Picks ROUND OVERALL PLAYER STATUS CONTRACT* BONUS* 1 6 Barkevious Mingo Unsigned $16,347,012 $10,268,736 3 68 Leon McFadden Unsigned $3,070,832 $690,832 6 175 Jamoris Slaughter Signed $2,277,932 $117,932 7 217 Armonty Bryant Unsigned $2,222,248 $62,248 7 227 Garrett Gilkey Unsigned $2,215,952 $55,952 *Projections

Bess had several solid seasons with the Dolphins. Left guard Greco will likely have to compete for the starting job with Jason Pinkston, whom he replaced last season after Pinkston was sidelined by illness. More Browns story links.

The NBA Draft Lottery is TODAY. The NBA Draft is Thursday. The Lottery begins around 8:25 PM on ESPN. Lots of drama. Are you feeling lucky? The Cleveland Cavaliers have the third best odds to win the number one pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. That means that they have a 15.6% chance of being first. Earlier today, Sam Vecenie broke down the odds of the Cavs landing in each spot in the lottery. Since they have the third best odds, the absolute worst that the Cavs can end up is with the 6th overall picks. But even that scenario is highly unlikely. So chat about all the NBA Draft Lottery drama here. Will the Cavs get the first pick? Will the Cavs get the second pick? Will the Cavs get the third pick? You get the picture. Will WitMi lose his mind tonight? Will kendaru post a billion GIFs? Will Nicolas Cage stop by and give us some meta-GIFs? Will Analytics drop in and show us why the percentages are wrong? ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN.

The Cleveland Browns are playing musical chairs at the lower end of the running back position. This morning, the team officially announced the re-signing of veteran running back Brandon Jackson to a one-year deal. In the process, they released UDFA running back Robbie Rouse, leaving the team with six running backs. Then, just a few hours later, the team announced that they were awarded UDFA running back Miguel Maysonet off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles. In order to complete the move, they had to waive UDFA running back Jamaine Cooke, a local player who was signed after the draft. Whew. Forgive me for not being completely in tap with the college market, but Maysonet played for Stony Brook University, where he ran for 1,964 yards and 21 touchdowns in his senior year. He must have been facing some stiff competition, eh? Based on his stats, it doesn't sound as though he was asked to catch the ball very often, though. Maysonet is 5-10, 205 lbs, and was ranked as the No. 26 running back coming out of the draft by CBS Sports' Dane Brugler (sadly, that is just one spot shy of having a scouting report available by Brugler!). Apparantly, though, Maysonet's release from the Eagles on Monday drew some buzz: It was curious on a few levels. Maysonet received a $10,000 signing bonus, the largest amount for any undrafted running back, according to a source. But he never got a chance to prove himself in OTA practices. By NCAA rule, Maysonet wasn't allowed to participate in last week's OTAs because his class at Stony Brook still hasn't graduated. He took part in a three-day rookie minicamp almost two weeks ago, and that was it. Maysonet's release created an immediate buzz. In fact, he was trending for several minutes on Twitter, highly unusual for a small-school player. Here is an updated look at the Browns' depth chart at running back, but after Trent Richardson, pretty much anyone on the list could win a backup or third-down role: Trent Richardson Montario Hardesty Chris Ogbonnaya Brandon Jackson Dion Lewis Miguel Maysonet Does anyone out there have some extra intel on Maysonet?

The @indians recall INF Cord Phelps from Triple-A Columbus; place INF Nick Swisher on Paternity List. — MLBRosterMoves (@MLBRosterMoves) May 21, 2013 The Swishers are now proud parents of a baby girl, and while Nick is away, Cord Phelps will give the Indians an extra infielder. The way the schedule works out you'd think Swisher would rejoin the team in time for the upcoming road to Boston and Cincinnati (a player can miss 1-3 games while on the Paternity List), so I don't expect Phelps to get any starts. In tonight's lineup, Mark Reynolds moves back to first base while Mike Aviles starts at third, and Jason Giambi gets the start at DH. And if Giambi can't go tomorrow, you could go with Santana at first, Reynolds at DH, and Yan Gomes at catcher. In other words, Phelps won't get any playing time unless it's as a pinch runner. Cord Phelps has been hitting better in AAA. His batting line is .233/.318/.431 after really struggling out of the gate. He's played mostly first and second in Columbus, along with some left field. The latest 25-man/40-man roster:

Northeast Ohio's culinary prowess once again will be in the national spotlight as Season 4 of Fox's "MasterChef" premiers tomorrow night. The popular reality competition show features the best "home cooks" from around the country as they're put through a series of challenges in hopes of being crowned the next MasterChef.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]