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A match for Browns
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
POSTED: 08:25 p.m. EST, Nov 10, 2007
Quarterback Derek Anderson is putting the Browns in an interesting spot.
With every touchdown pass and win, Anderson's status as a restricted free agent after the season becomes more intriguing.
Anderson is on pace for a record-setting season as the Browns' quarterback, but looming behind him is Brady Quinn, one of the Browns’ two first-round picks from a year ago.
‘‘They did not draft (Quinn) to sit on the bench -- I know that,’’ Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. ‘‘In the meantime, this young guy is doing a great job. As far as the timing of the thing goes, only a few people there know what's going on.’’
The Browns are more than happy to have Quinn sit on the bench this season, but beyond is anyone's guess. In this day and age, teams just cannot afford to pay starting salaries to two quarterbacks. If they can, they usually don't, what with concern over the team being split and all that good stuff.
The Browns, though, clearly will not want Anderson to walk and get nothing in return.
Which is why it's a good thing that Anderson will be restricted.
The Browns will be able to match any offer that he receives. If they don't, they will be compensated in the form of a draft pick or picks if he does sign elsewhere.
All will depend on what contract ‘‘tender’’ the Browns give Anderson in the offseason. Clearly it will be one of the higher ones. The highest would mean a team would have to give the Browns first- and third-round choices if they do not match an offer sheet that he signs. The next would give them a first-round pick.
Here's a suggestion, assuming the season continues the way it's started: Make Anderson the highest tender. Ensure a first- and third-round pick if a team signs him and the Browns do not match. Even if Anderson signs a one-year deal to stay, salary-cap concerns are not overwhelming. The Browns then would have one more year with Anderson and Quinn together.
The highest tender gives the team leverage. The Houston Texans swapped spots with the Atlanta Falcons in the first round and traded two second-round picks for Matt Schaub, and his experience before this season included 84 passes and two starts.
Teams will do crazy things for quarterbacks, so why not imagine what a team would give up for Anderson.
Either the Browns would keep a guy who did a lot for them this season, or they would acquire draft picks if they trade him or he signed elsewhere. And what if one of the picks were a No. 1 choice? Then the Browns would have Quinn and a No. 1 pick.
For once, the Browns are in a position of strength.
Given all the years in which they have struggled to find one quarterback, it's sure nice to finally have two.
INDIANS THOUGHTS
The more information that comes out, the thinner the branch becomes where Paul Byrd rests.
Byrd admitted to taking HGH (Human Growth Hormone) from 2003-2005 after the San Francisco Chronicle broke the news the day of Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
Byrd said he got the prescription for the stuff from a dentist in Florida who also prescribed HGH for Matt Williams and two other players.
Hmmm. Must be a coincidence, right?
I know that my dentist regularly recommends HGH to keep my teeth clean.
Byrd is not a good guy. He is an outstanding guy, an overachiever, a worker. But good guys sometimes make mistakes. Williams is a good guy, too, but he took HGH because, he said, a doctor prescribed it to help heal an ankle injury. Turns out it was the same dentist who prescribed the stuff for Byrd.
Dentists regularly treat ankles, right?
Like Swiss cheese, the story Byrd told the night of the seventh game of the ALCS has a few holes.
Is it happenstance, let's ask, that the same players got the same ‘‘prescription’’ from the same dentist and got it filled at the same ‘‘anti-aging’’ clinic in Palm Beach, Fla., a spot where the wealthiest of the wealthy go to enjoy warmth and sunshine -- and apparently slow the effects of the years?
This Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center? It's the target of a federal investigation.
Byrd talked of a medical problem, a tumor, that prompted him to take the HGH. He did not go into details. Clearly, nobody wants him to have that condition.
But he also said he had kept everyone informed of the HGH, including Major League Baseball.
Then Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro said he didn't know a thing about it until two days before the San Francisco Chronicle broke the news. And baseball said it did not know until the story broke.
Byrd had arm surgery in 2002. This dentist, who eventually was suspended for fraud, prescribed HGH for Byrd from 2002-2005 -- and we thought only fluoride prevented cavities. Byrd ordered his last shipment two weeks before baseball banned HGH in 2005.
During that time, Byrd played in Kansas City, Atlanta and Los Angeles. A quick fact check on Google shows that none of those cities is located in Florida, near Palm Beach.
Williams got the stuff through the same clinic when he played in Arizona. Apparently there are no ‘‘aging centers’’ a short drive from Phoenix. Best to fly it in from Florida.
‘‘I heard what Paul had to say,’’ owner Larry Dolan said this week. ‘‘Major League Baseball has to look at it so I'm not going to comment on it. I certainly hope, however, that he can continue to be a Cleveland Indian.’’
Interesting word to use there -- ‘‘hope.’’
Baseball is investigating Byrd's situation -- as is Gbc Sen. Gec former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who is heading the committee investigating baseball's steroid/HGH problem.
It's debatable whether baseball can suspend players retroactively -- imagine the union jumping up and down about that one -- but HGH was illegal without a valid prescription for a medical condition in the time that Byrd used it.
This is where Byrd's pituitary condition comes in.
Then again, a pitcher who doesn't throw 95 and who uses a double windup ... well maybe he might believe he could benefit from something like HGH.
Byrd won 15 games last season. This week, the Indians picked up his $8 million option with the possibility of a retroactive suspension real enough to be part of the equation.
‘‘It's safe to say we considered very carefully and in a detailed fashion every component of the decision,’’ Shapiro said.
But the Chronicle's stories provide a road map to circumventing laws and following the inside-baseball network to the quick fix.
Dolan said that he thinks the ‘‘unfortunate set of circumstances’’ is in the past and steroids and HGH are ‘‘not in baseball.’’
With all respect, it certainly seems like the Mitchell Committee's upcoming report will drop the problem right back into baseball's lap.
Unless you consider a dentist who eventually lost his license prescribing growth hormone for ankle injuries and pituitary conditions through a clinic that is now under investigation a healthy development for the sport.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
-- Got a few e-mails this week from folks calling for the Browns to trade Brady Quinn. To which I say: Exactly when did all you people leave the planet?
-- Indians owner Larry Dolan took strong action in keeping Assistant General Manager Chris Antonetti. Word is the Indians extended the contract of Antonetti, whom Dolan called ‘‘the most coveted assistant general manager in baseball.’’
Lengthy list in that competition.
Said Dolan: ‘‘What an owner does has nothing to do with ballplayers, it has to do with a management team. We have taken steps to make sure that Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti aren't going anywhere. ... We are, in my judgment, as successful as we are right now because of their teamwork and their judgment. I don't want to break it up.’’
All well and good, but one would hope ownership has a tiny bit to do with ballplayers.
-- Dolan on public perception of his ownership: ‘‘There's nothing sophisticated about it. All I have to do is win. If I win, I'm smart. If I lose, I'm going to be dumb again.’’
-- There have been many questions asked of Dolan and Shapiro about the Indians' payroll. But consider this: Shapiro never spent to his budget of $75 million last season. Proving once again that it's not how much you spend but whom you spend it on.
-- Actually the one thing that's always provable is Captain Penny's old signoff: You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool Mom.
I'm sure if that's wrong you'll e-mail the correct version.
I mean, it's not like remembering Romper Room. ‘‘I see Bobbie and Joey and Paulie and Mary and Frank and Serge and Ivan and Asdrubal and ... ’’
-- Lennie Friedman is a fine fellow, but the Browns' chances would take a serious blow today if Eric Steinbach does not play. Steinbach has been rock solid at left guard and he carries a presence in the locker room that the team lacked the past few years.
-- Derek Anderson is one of 10 NFL quarterbacks on pace to throw for 4,000 yards.
-- Time to check eBay: Wednesday against the Orlando Magic is LeBron James Bobblehead Night at Quicken Loans Arena. Hoo-hoo! This year's version is wearing the Eastern Conference Champions hat and T-shirt and yelling at Drew Gooden for taking a bad shot.
OK. He's not yelling at Gooden. He's just ‘‘being a leader’’ while speaking in very loud tones to Gooden.
-- One of James' goals this season is to make the All-Defensive Team starting five. Admirable, and Jordan-esque as the guy continues to never settle for merely being great.
-- Let's see, the Cavs head West, play the Phoenix Suns well, beat the Golden State Warriors and come within foolishly allowing an end-to-end dash of taking the Utah Jazz to overtime. Even short-handed, this team can play.
-- Best get going on this one: Cavs.com has a contest allowing voters to pick the cover photo for the Cavalier Girls swimsuit calendar. In my feeble mind, Amanda wins in a runaway.
There are times when having a dance team can be a really good thing.
Though it is pretty odd for her to be standing there in a barn wearing a bikini. Next innovation: A pool in your barn.
-- Anderson Varejao has said he would take a one-year deal, but the Cavs are not interested. Seems like this might be a good compromise solution to a tough situation -- until you think that Varejao could have had the one-year deal months ago. It's called a qualifying offer. Now he wants the one-year deal and three or four times as much money. Which is called cooking your cake and serving it to Captain Penny, too. ...
Back to Amanda. ...
Until next time, there you have it.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/
Quarterback Derek Anderson is putting the Browns in an interesting spot.
With every touchdown pass and win, Anderson's status as a restricted free agent after the season becomes more intriguing.
Anderson is on pace for a record-setting season as the Browns' quarterback, but looming behind him is Brady Quinn, one of the Browns’ two first-round picks from a year ago.
‘‘They did not draft (Quinn) to sit on the bench -- I know that,’’ Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. ‘‘In the meantime, this young guy is doing a great job. As far as the timing of the thing goes, only a few people there know what's going on.’’
The Browns are more than happy to have Quinn sit on the bench this season, but beyond is anyone's guess. In this day and age, teams just cannot afford to pay starting salaries to two quarterbacks. If they can, they usually don't, what with concern over the team being split and all that good stuff.
The Browns, though, clearly will not want Anderson to walk and get nothing in return.
Which is why it's a good thing that Anderson will be restricted.
The Browns will be able to match any offer that he receives. If they don't, they will be compensated in the form of a draft pick or picks if he does sign elsewhere.
All will depend on what contract ‘‘tender’’ the Browns give Anderson in the offseason. Clearly it will be one of the higher ones. The highest would mean a team would have to give the Browns first- and third-round choices if they do not match an offer sheet that he signs. The next would give them a first-round pick.
Here's a suggestion, assuming the season continues the way it's started: Make Anderson the highest tender. Ensure a first- and third-round pick if a team signs him and the Browns do not match. Even if Anderson signs a one-year deal to stay, salary-cap concerns are not overwhelming. The Browns then would have one more year with Anderson and Quinn together.
The highest tender gives the team leverage. The Houston Texans swapped spots with the Atlanta Falcons in the first round and traded two second-round picks for Matt Schaub, and his experience before this season included 84 passes and two starts.
Teams will do crazy things for quarterbacks, so why not imagine what a team would give up for Anderson.
Either the Browns would keep a guy who did a lot for them this season, or they would acquire draft picks if they trade him or he signed elsewhere. And what if one of the picks were a No. 1 choice? Then the Browns would have Quinn and a No. 1 pick.
For once, the Browns are in a position of strength.
Given all the years in which they have struggled to find one quarterback, it's sure nice to finally have two.
INDIANS THOUGHTS
The more information that comes out, the thinner the branch becomes where Paul Byrd rests.
Byrd admitted to taking HGH (Human Growth Hormone) from 2003-2005 after the San Francisco Chronicle broke the news the day of Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
Byrd said he got the prescription for the stuff from a dentist in Florida who also prescribed HGH for Matt Williams and two other players.
Hmmm. Must be a coincidence, right?
I know that my dentist regularly recommends HGH to keep my teeth clean.
Byrd is not a good guy. He is an outstanding guy, an overachiever, a worker. But good guys sometimes make mistakes. Williams is a good guy, too, but he took HGH because, he said, a doctor prescribed it to help heal an ankle injury. Turns out it was the same dentist who prescribed the stuff for Byrd.
Dentists regularly treat ankles, right?
Like Swiss cheese, the story Byrd told the night of the seventh game of the ALCS has a few holes.
Is it happenstance, let's ask, that the same players got the same ‘‘prescription’’ from the same dentist and got it filled at the same ‘‘anti-aging’’ clinic in Palm Beach, Fla., a spot where the wealthiest of the wealthy go to enjoy warmth and sunshine -- and apparently slow the effects of the years?
This Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center? It's the target of a federal investigation.
Byrd talked of a medical problem, a tumor, that prompted him to take the HGH. He did not go into details. Clearly, nobody wants him to have that condition.
But he also said he had kept everyone informed of the HGH, including Major League Baseball.
Then Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro said he didn't know a thing about it until two days before the San Francisco Chronicle broke the news. And baseball said it did not know until the story broke.
Byrd had arm surgery in 2002. This dentist, who eventually was suspended for fraud, prescribed HGH for Byrd from 2002-2005 -- and we thought only fluoride prevented cavities. Byrd ordered his last shipment two weeks before baseball banned HGH in 2005.
During that time, Byrd played in Kansas City, Atlanta and Los Angeles. A quick fact check on Google shows that none of those cities is located in Florida, near Palm Beach.
Williams got the stuff through the same clinic when he played in Arizona. Apparently there are no ‘‘aging centers’’ a short drive from Phoenix. Best to fly it in from Florida.
‘‘I heard what Paul had to say,’’ owner Larry Dolan said this week. ‘‘Major League Baseball has to look at it so I'm not going to comment on it. I certainly hope, however, that he can continue to be a Cleveland Indian.’’
Interesting word to use there -- ‘‘hope.’’
Baseball is investigating Byrd's situation -- as is Gbc Sen. Gec former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who is heading the committee investigating baseball's steroid/HGH problem.
It's debatable whether baseball can suspend players retroactively -- imagine the union jumping up and down about that one -- but HGH was illegal without a valid prescription for a medical condition in the time that Byrd used it.
This is where Byrd's pituitary condition comes in.
Then again, a pitcher who doesn't throw 95 and who uses a double windup ... well maybe he might believe he could benefit from something like HGH.
Byrd won 15 games last season. This week, the Indians picked up his $8 million option with the possibility of a retroactive suspension real enough to be part of the equation.
‘‘It's safe to say we considered very carefully and in a detailed fashion every component of the decision,’’ Shapiro said.
But the Chronicle's stories provide a road map to circumventing laws and following the inside-baseball network to the quick fix.
Dolan said that he thinks the ‘‘unfortunate set of circumstances’’ is in the past and steroids and HGH are ‘‘not in baseball.’’
With all respect, it certainly seems like the Mitchell Committee's upcoming report will drop the problem right back into baseball's lap.
Unless you consider a dentist who eventually lost his license prescribing growth hormone for ankle injuries and pituitary conditions through a clinic that is now under investigation a healthy development for the sport.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
-- Got a few e-mails this week from folks calling for the Browns to trade Brady Quinn. To which I say: Exactly when did all you people leave the planet?
-- Indians owner Larry Dolan took strong action in keeping Assistant General Manager Chris Antonetti. Word is the Indians extended the contract of Antonetti, whom Dolan called ‘‘the most coveted assistant general manager in baseball.’’
Lengthy list in that competition.
Said Dolan: ‘‘What an owner does has nothing to do with ballplayers, it has to do with a management team. We have taken steps to make sure that Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti aren't going anywhere. ... We are, in my judgment, as successful as we are right now because of their teamwork and their judgment. I don't want to break it up.’’
All well and good, but one would hope ownership has a tiny bit to do with ballplayers.
-- Dolan on public perception of his ownership: ‘‘There's nothing sophisticated about it. All I have to do is win. If I win, I'm smart. If I lose, I'm going to be dumb again.’’
-- There have been many questions asked of Dolan and Shapiro about the Indians' payroll. But consider this: Shapiro never spent to his budget of $75 million last season. Proving once again that it's not how much you spend but whom you spend it on.
-- Actually the one thing that's always provable is Captain Penny's old signoff: You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool Mom.
I'm sure if that's wrong you'll e-mail the correct version.
I mean, it's not like remembering Romper Room. ‘‘I see Bobbie and Joey and Paulie and Mary and Frank and Serge and Ivan and Asdrubal and ... ’’
-- Lennie Friedman is a fine fellow, but the Browns' chances would take a serious blow today if Eric Steinbach does not play. Steinbach has been rock solid at left guard and he carries a presence in the locker room that the team lacked the past few years.
-- Derek Anderson is one of 10 NFL quarterbacks on pace to throw for 4,000 yards.
-- Time to check eBay: Wednesday against the Orlando Magic is LeBron James Bobblehead Night at Quicken Loans Arena. Hoo-hoo! This year's version is wearing the Eastern Conference Champions hat and T-shirt and yelling at Drew Gooden for taking a bad shot.
OK. He's not yelling at Gooden. He's just ‘‘being a leader’’ while speaking in very loud tones to Gooden.
-- One of James' goals this season is to make the All-Defensive Team starting five. Admirable, and Jordan-esque as the guy continues to never settle for merely being great.
-- Let's see, the Cavs head West, play the Phoenix Suns well, beat the Golden State Warriors and come within foolishly allowing an end-to-end dash of taking the Utah Jazz to overtime. Even short-handed, this team can play.
-- Best get going on this one: Cavs.com has a contest allowing voters to pick the cover photo for the Cavalier Girls swimsuit calendar. In my feeble mind, Amanda wins in a runaway.
There are times when having a dance team can be a really good thing.
Though it is pretty odd for her to be standing there in a barn wearing a bikini. Next innovation: A pool in your barn.
-- Anderson Varejao has said he would take a one-year deal, but the Cavs are not interested. Seems like this might be a good compromise solution to a tough situation -- until you think that Varejao could have had the one-year deal months ago. It's called a qualifying offer. Now he wants the one-year deal and three or four times as much money. Which is called cooking your cake and serving it to Captain Penny, too. ...
Back to Amanda. ...
Until next time, there you have it.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/
