mjp28

~ AND ~ With only about 12.3% or 1/8th of the regular season gone the big question is how will the starting pitching hold up ? Our new manager seems to be fine. The baserunning is great. Our defence is terriffic hopefully the offence holds up good enough. It should be an interesting. 2024 MLB season in Cleveland, Ohio.

~ ALSO ~ It would be one thing if the Guardians were only winning games by the skin of their teeth, with barely any runs scored. The reality is that their 124 runs scored rank third behind the Arizona Diamondbacks (131) and Atlanta Braves (125). Being able to come out of the gate and just behind two very potent offenses is a very encouraging sign for the Guardians moving forward.Especially since they have managed to actually hit the ball over the fence this year. Cleveland has 22 home runs so far, which puts them in a tie for 13th and 10 behind the MLB-leading Baltimore Orioles (33). Obviously, it is early, and there is still work to be done in this area, but the fact they are not at or near the bottom is a positive sign. If there is one area to be concerned with, it is their starting rotation. Losing Shane Bieber for the year is going to hurt big time, and there is also the uncertainty involving Triston McKenzie at the moment. Sure, McKenzie was able to bounce back in his last outing with just one run allowed on three hits in 5 innings, but walks and inability to consistently pitch deep into a game is going to have an impact sooner rather than later. Hopefully, the addition of Gavin Williams should help the starting rotation stabilize a bit, while Carlos Carrasco, Ben Lively, and Xzavion Curry could be guys to lean on later in the season. The Guardians have come out of the gate firing on all cylinders, and it is becoming impossible to ignore. This is a team that looks vastly improved over last year's squad, even with very few changes being made in terms of who is on the field. This says a lot about how prepared this team was entering this season and how they are ready to prove that 2022 was a more accurate representation of their skill level, with 2023 being an outlier. They have been able to do that so far, and it appears like it is going to continue.

The GUARDIANS are for real and they're spectacular ! ▪︎ From AWAY BACK GONE and writen By James Mastrucci | Apr 22, 2024 Attempting to determine how 2024 will play out for the Cleveland Guardians was not an easy task before the season started. There were plenty who were skeptical of their chances, considering they were coming off a down year, hired a first-time manager in Stephen Vogt, and their lack of notable additions this past offseason. But with winning six out of their first seven series to begin the season, even the biggest skeptics have to hold some belief in this team's ability to contend. The Guardians have a 16-6 record and a +52 run differential at the moment, both currently being the best in all of baseball. The 72 runs allowed by their pitching staff is the second-fewest so far, only two behind the surprising Kansas City Royals. While some may be quick to point out that six of their wins came against the Athletics, it must be pointed out that Oakland is actually one game below .500 in games when they do not play against the Guardians (7-8). Even though there is a decent chance that this is just a misleading record early in the season for Oakland, it is definitely worth mentioning how many people are ready to discount Cleveland's wins early on in the season.

Oh yes, one of the older QB legends we liked back in the day. RIP Roman.

So how do this young GUARDIANS team follow this 7-1 run ? What a tough and great game tonight. CLE 4-1 top 9. Clase in. Final score ! ★ CLE 4 7 0 WP - Barlow (1-2) Save Clase (7) BOS 1 6 0. LP - Houck (3-2) See you tomorrow at 6:10 pm, keep it rolling ! ~ Have a good Tuesday evening.

Oh yes ! Bad enough boxing being a "sport" associatted with "the Mob" and crooked fights the NCAA and then the professional sports vowed that they would never, ever have a team in "Lost Wages" Nevada. I for one thought it never would happen, especially football or baseball. "Never say never".

The Traveling A's on the move again. I can remember as a kid the Philadelphia Athelitics beseball cards and then the Kansas City A's before travelling to the West Coast and the Oakland A's. And soon to be a whole new brand of A's. The last one ?

~ AND ~ In the "also ran" in Cleveland sports you can't totally forget the ol' GIPPER'S long hard die hard area here of the AAFL and other numbers in Cleveland Sports lore. Maybe not in April but hey, why not. How about these not to be forgotten ..... Cleveland Browns beat the Miami Seahawks 44-0 before 60,135 at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium 1946-12-22 Cleveland Browns beat NY Yankees 14-9 in AAFC championship game. Yankees ??? 1947-12-14 Cleveland Browns beat NY Yankees 14-3 in AAFC championship game 1948-12-19 Cleveland Browns beats Buffalo Bills 49-7 in AAFC championship game 1949-12-09 NFL merges with AAFC; Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers & Baltimore Colts join league intact, other teams in New York and Los Angeles are merged with existing units 1949-12-11 Cleveland Browns beat SF '49ers 21-7 in final AAFC championship game 1950-09-16 Cleveland Browns (formerly AAFC) play 1st NFL game, beat Philadelphia 35-10) 1950-10-01 New York Giants beat Cleveland Browns, 6-0 at Cleveland Stadium; sets Browns club record for fewest points scored by both teams; Browns go on to win NFL Championship 1950-10-08 Cleveland Browns play Pittsburgh for 1st time, beat Steelers 30-17. . ■

And of course .....

Maybe 142 time coming up, no matter what it's still April 2024 with the NFL DRAFT coming up soon. Until then it's still April 2024 what's up in the BROWNS world ? How about ..... Another April moment in Cleveland BROWNS and NFL history .... 2018-04-26 NFL Draft: Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield first pick by Cleveland Browns; 4 QBs taken in top 10 selections for first time in history. <--▪︎ 1945-04-20 (tomorrow) Cleveland Browns organization formed by Arthur "Mickey" McBride. Now how about that.

Ok, not alot great BROWNS stuff so we will go with "close" ones. April 13. -- The Dolphins signed QB Bernie Kosar in 1994...... one of my all-time favorites ..... and a Boardman kid, Bernie. ■ It marked the first time the team wore an all-brown combination in team history. On April 14, 2015, the Cleveland Browns unveiled their new uniform combinations, consisting of the team's colors of orange, brown and white. And finally, and made a good movie ..... On April 13, 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. ★ (The astronauts managed to return safely.)

The upcoming schedule - FRIDAY April 19 -->OFF MON 4/22--> to *THURSDAY April 25 GAME 20 - FRI APR 19 - A's in CLE at 7:10 pm. Boyle v McKen GAME 21 - SAT APR 20 - A's in CLE at 6:10 pm. Wood v Allen GAME 22 - SUN APR 21 - A'S in at 1:40 pm. Stripling v Bibee ●~~~~~~● OFF *MON 22 ●~~~~~~~● GAME 23 - *TUE APR 23 - BOS in CLE at 6:10 pm GAME 24 - *WED APR 24 - BOS in CLE at 6:10 pm GAME 25 - *THU APR 25 - BOS in CLE at 1:10 pm ●~~~~~~~~● ⚾ ●~~~~~~~~● (*revised days as shown on Friday 4/19 am)

Gray, white, varied all season, other, none like in the good ol' broken nose era ? GO BROWNS !

▪︎ 🏈 So what do you think, like, whatever ? ROWNS. THE. ABJ 'The next chapter': Cleveland Browns honor past success with change to white facemasks The Cleveland Browns once again will look to the past for inspiration for its uniforms. The white facemask on the team’s helmet returns after a nearly 20-year hiatus — with a couple of notable exceptions — beginning this season. “We are excited to honor our storied history through the return of the white facemask,” Cleveland Browns Partner JW Johnson said in a release. “As we continue to write the next chapter of Browns’ history, we reflect on different eras, such as the Kardiac Kids and the return of the franchise, that led us to this place in time.” Those white facemasks were prevalent during some of the team’s more memorable seasons. The helmets featured them from 1975 to 1995 and were on full display when Brian Sipe and the Kardiac Kids, revived the team’s fortunes in 1980. They were also prominent when Bernie Kosar, Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack made three AFC championship game appearances. The same helmets were back for the team’s return to the NFL in 1999 and were used until 2005. The team did use the facemasks on two occasions in the past two seasons in 2022 against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15 and in 2023 during Week 11. George M. Thomas Akron Beacon Journal

CLE (12-5) going into GAME 3. in BOS .... hmm. Now CLE (12-6) on a BOS shutout 2-0 over Cleveland.

OK in trying to get our days left right or something like that. About 144 days to go .... how about this : April 14 ... Notable Birthdays: BUF OC Brian Daboll (46), PIT CB Joe Haden (32), CLE QB Baker Mayfield (26), CAR WR D.J. Moore (24) & WAS DE Chase Young (22) A couple of BROWNS there. (And a former BUCKEYE ?)

And more coverage ..... OK to say that again ... More Guardians coverage Cleveland Guardians, Boston Red Sox starting lineups for April 17, 2024: Game No. 18 Guardians trade for right-handed reliever from San Diego Guardians Mother’s Day hats, shirts 2024: Where to buy latest gear ● In a related move, the Guardians transferred infielder Angel Martinez to the 60-day injured list creating a spot for Avila on the 40-man roster. Martinez, on a rehab assignment after opening the season on the injured list with a sore foot, underwent a surgical procedure early Wednesday to address an acute left hamate fracture in his hand. ● Dr. Thomas Graham performed the procedure to have the fractured hook of the hamate bone excised at Lehigh Valley Health Network, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Martinez, one of the stars of spring training camp, is expected to return to full game activity in 5-7 weeks. ■ Starting pitcher Ben Lively must still be added to the roster ahead of Wednesday’s contest. Lively has been on the injured list since coming down with a viral infection during spring training. Cleveland must make at least one roster move to clear a spot for Lively, and likely another in order to make room for Avila■ Avila, designated for assignment by the Padres on April 12, bounced between San Diego’s bullpen and starting rotation last season, posting a 2-2 record and a 3.22 ERA in 14 appearances (six starts). He logged 50 1/3 innings allowing 18 earned runs while striking out 54 and walking 25. Opposing batters hit .230 against Avila and he registered 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings In 22 major league games, Avila holds a career ERA of 3.77 and has 78 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings. EOM ......

New bullpen help for the GUARDIANS. GUARDIANS Guardians trade for right-handed reliever from San Diego Updated: Apr. 17, 2024, 2:15 p.m.| Published: Apr. 17, 2024, 1:55 p.m. Pedro Avila will join Cleveland's major league roster in the coming days after the Guardians acquired him for cash considerations from the Padres. By Joe Noga, cleveland.com BOSTON — Help is on the way for Cleveland’s overworked bullpen, but newly-acquired righty Pedro Avila is not scheduled to join the team in time for Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox. The Guardians announced Wednesday they had traded for Avila, 27, from San Diego in exchange for cash considerations. He will join the major league roster in the coming days, but will not be active for the third game of the series in Boston. ▪︎--> Continued -->

Some notable April DRAFT PICKS including today's date coming up .... April 15. (Same as your taxes ... unless you filed for an extension ... like me. ) 1999-04-17 NFL Draft: University of Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch first pick by Cleveland Browns ★ 2000-04-15 NFL Draft: Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown first pick by Cleveland Browns 2017-04-27 NFL Draft: Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett first pick by Cleveland Browns

Well from "eye candy" to one of my other all time favorites my wife's. NJ'S ROASTED CHICKEN with POTATOES, ONIONS & CARROTS umm-umm. We had it last Sunday also great on ● GAMEDAYS ● too ! Here's the very easy homemade recipe. You don't have to have an elaborate recipe to enjoy a good meal in fact tonight I had one of my all time favorites ROASTED CHICKEN with POTATOES, ONIONS and CARROTS ummm-ummm. ● Here's my wife's old family recipe for ROASTED CHICKEN. ● NJ'S ROASTED CHICKEN with VEGTABLES. [ADD extra vegetables if you like.] So easy we started with about a 4 to 7 (as desired) pound roasting chicken, salt the inside and thoroughly rinse and dry. Brush the outside of the chicken with a mixture of melted butter and olive oil. - Season the outside with salt, pepper and Hungarian paprika. - Top the chicken with a mixture of dried herbs - sage, lemon thyme and parsley. Then drizzle on a little more olive oil. ▪︎ NOTE: We grow and dry our own herbs which tend to be stronger than store bought. Just be careful with quantities. Roast in a preheated 350 degree oven per weight of your chicken, approximately 20 minutes per pound or until internal temperature is 165 degrees and juices run clear. While the chicken is cooking prepare and cook your potatoes, onions and carrots first cut them to desired sizes. Then season and cook until browned and fork tender. (see our Roasted Rosemary Vegetables recipe) When chicken is done let rest before carving and enjoy ! ● NJ'S ROASTED ROSEMARY VEGETABLES from an old family recipe

I like the wood scale .... and it's true. Like the bat scale from whiffle ball bat to the Louisville Slugger. You need to "fill those pants up" .... from Jim Tressel when he was at YSU. And when he got those pants filled up they won 4 of 6 NC tries. It does start up front.

GAME 15 - SUN APR 14 botfom 6, 4-4 in that must win game. Now top 7. BOTTOM 8. CLE 5 NYY 4 ! Top 9 what ? NYY tied it 5-5, CLASE BS ! (BLOWN SAVE) ! Bottom 9 - 5-5, now extra innings, Judge up, one on. Slight rain. Bases loaded, NYY 7-5. GEEEEZZZZ. ★ CLE 8 NYY 7 FINAL BABY ! WHAT A FINISH. ★ SEE YOU MONDAY MORNING at 11:10 am .... patriots day. ♥︎ Have a good Sunday evening. What a finish. ♥︎. .... And good night. CLE (10-5) !

The 2024 NFL DRAFT will indeed be upon us later this month , April 25 to 27. GOOD LUCK BROWNS !

Unfortunitly he has a job ..... 🏈 coaching high school football. He's been gone too long, not available at any price. <--▪︎ just a picture of Mr Andrew Luck every year since 2019.

I think that Andrew Luck played it smart despite missing the entire 2017 season with an injury. I don't think he ever wanted to be carried off the field at 35 or 36 or whatever age. He had enough of his "successful" career with -4- playoff runs. And said "I'm retiring" time to play it back. From spotrac. (Smart guy, saved his money, great guaranteed money) ★ TRANSACTIONS (Where it's made.) ▪︎--> AUG 24 2019 Retired from Professional Football <--▪︎. " I'M GONE, bye. <--▪︎ ★ JUN 29 2016 Signed a 5 year $122.97 million (new money) contract with Indianapolis (IND) <--▪︎ GREAT TIMING OR WHAT, ( NEW MONEY ) CONTRACT ! ★ APR 9 2015. Indianapolis (IND) exercised a $16.155 million option for 2016. <--▪︎. INJURED, MISSED ENTIRE 2017 SEASON <--▪︎ 2018 WOULD BE HIS LAST PLAYED. ★ JUL 19 2012. Signed a 4 year $22.1 million contract with Indianapolis (IND) ★ APR 26 2012 Drafted by Indianapolis (IND): Round 1 (#1 overall) <--▪︎ #1 OVERALL PICK, HE DID "OK" WITH THAT. 1202 Andrew Luck signed a 5 year, $122,970,000 contract with the Indianapolis Colts, including a $32,000,000 signing bonus, $87,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $24,594,000. CONTRACT:5 yr(s) / $122,970,000 SIGNING BONUS$32,000,000 AVERAGE SALARY$24,594,000 GTD AT SIGN:$44,000,000 TOTAL GTD:$87,000,000 FREE AGENT:2022 / UFA 12-2016ENTRY LEVEL Andrew Luck signed a 4 year, $22,107,998 contract with the Indianapolis Colts, including a $14,518,544 signing bonus, $22,107,998 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $5,527,000. CONTRACT:4 yr(s) / $22,107,998 SIGNING BONUS$14,518,544 AVERAGE SALARY$5,527,000 GTD AT SIGN:$22,107,998 TOTAL GTD:$22,107,998 FREE AGENT:2017 / UFA