The Tribe walked so the dawgs could run – The Cauldron
Cleveland Indians pitcher Tristan McKenzie at a game last month.Photo courtesy of Cleveland.com
The end of the season has not been kind to the Cleveland Indians as they three straight games to the last-place Minnesota Twins over the past week. Triston McKenzie continued to prove why he should remain in the rotation going into 2022 as he continues to shine for the Tribe.
Despite the hardships that the team has gone through this season, they are still in a place to finish above .500 which, should manage Terry Francona return next season, would be Francona’s 17th season in a row ending with a record above that mark. On top of that, if Francona returns to manage the team next year he will have broken the all-time wins record for a Cleveland Indians manager passing greats like Mike Hargrove and Lou Boudreau.
It is not all doom for the future Cleveland Guardians. They will return a very talented core of players that have simply struggled to stay healthy this season. Pitchers Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale have been injured for months, Civale only recently returning in an impressive outing against the Twins.
Pitching has been a struggle all year for the team because of injuries and rookies having to take over, but a 5-man rotation with the likes of Bieber, Civale, Zach Plesac, McKenzie, and breakout star Cal Quantrill could lead to one of the most dominant pitching staffs in the league.
Speaking of dominance, the Cleveland Browns are entering their 2021-22 season with plenty of optimism after an incredible playoff run last season which saw them take down the rival Pittsburgh Steelers 48-37 in one of the most impressive playoff performances in recent years.
Baker Mayfield during the AFC championship game last season. Photo Courtesy of Dawgpounddaily.con
They begin their season the same way they ended the last, against last year’s AFC Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs led by Patrick Mahomes. The same Chiefs which ended the Browns’ run last season in a close 17-22 game. It will be one of the more important games of the season, a chance for this rejuvenated Browns team to prove themselves and take down a top dog in the AFC.
The Browns were busy in the offseason, bolstering their defense in a way rivaled by few. With the addition of John Johnson III, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Greg Newsome II, and, of course, Jadaveon Clowney, the Browns are looking much better than last year. The Browns and Chiefs begin their seasons on Sunday, September 12th at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Cleveland fans have much to look forward to going into 2022 and beyond for all three major teams and there really has never been a better time to be a part of the Cleveland sports fanbase.