The Sorry State of Cleveland Sports, By the Numbers

If the old adage that numbers don’t lie is true, it’s time for Cleveland sports franchises to go back to the drawing board.

12: The Cleveland Browns just hired their 12th head coach since returning to the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1999. Even with two of the 12 having the interim label, that’s about, oh, maybe 10 more than should be necessary.

The Browns have basically become the “Murphy Brown” of the NFL, as the character hired 93 secretaries in 10 seasons on the air.

36: This is the number of very competitive minutes that the Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be playing in most games these days. Unfortunately, NBA games are 48 minutes long, which means there’s an obvious disconnect.

While the actual quarter of collapse varies from game-to-game, the Cavs’ inability to sustain a level of performance over the course of 48 minutes is frustrating, though not surprising due to the team’s relative youth and inexperience. Being led by a rookie-NBA-head-coach can’t be helping either.

34: As in $34 million dollars, which is the amount of money the Tribe is saving in 2020 payroll by trading Corey Kluber and actually paying a $2.5 million dollar buyout to Jason Kipnis to avoid having to pay his $16.5 million dollar salary.

There’s certainly an argument to be made for moving on from both on strictly a baseball evaluation level, but these cuts represent just the latest in a series of similar transactions made by Paul Dolan since buying the Indians. Modest attendance, small market, yadda, yadda, yadda, we’ve heard it all and do so annually, but at a certain point, the cycle becomes maddening.

17: This is the number of days until the NBA Trade Deadline, which means Cavs fans should brace for the inevitable off-loading of big salaries and perhaps big names (Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson) at some point during this window. In return will be the usual bounty of unknown role players and 2nd round draft picks in 2047.

7: Seven represents the number of picks the Browns have in the 2020 NFL Draft. Coming off a very disappointing 6-10 season, the draft carries tremendous weight, yet again, as the team’s new/old brain trust looks to help erase memories of such recent cringe-worthy picks as Corey Coleman, Justin Gilbert, and Austin Corbett among many others.

24: Hey, it’s not all gloom and doom in northeastern Ohio! Cleveland Indians pitchers and catchers report in 24 days, giving Tribe fans the annual rite of renewed optimism about the upcoming season. Well, at least until serious Francisco Lindor trade talk rears its ugly head again as the trade deadline approaches on July 31st.

1: One is the loneliest number that Cleveland sports fans ever knew. It represents the number of championships the city has celebrated since 1964. Enough said.