Written by Brian McPeek

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Debuting a new piece today, the brainwork of site columnist Brian McPeek and our renowned, and insanely profitable resident handicapper, Mike "Lead Pipe" Piper.  In it, Peeker and The Lead Man take on three topics, presenting opposite viewpoints on each.  Today, the duo debates how the Browns handled the LeCharles Bentley situation, if the Indians should be buyers or sellers at this juncture of the season, and who the hottest 80's girl band lead singer was ... Susanna Hoffs or Belinda Carlisle.

At regular, albeit whimsical, intervals, TheClevelandFan.com will bring its loyal readers a topical, yet slightly twisted, look at three sports and entertainment issues with TCF's renowned prognosticator Mike ‘Lead Pipe' Piper and Brian ‘Peeker643' McPeek. Below is the inaugural column. Preserve it accordingly when finished. 

Dissed or Just Pissed? 

       

Peeker643 Says: 

You've got to be kidding me. 

LeCharles Bentley walked into Berea a couple years back as the marquee free agent signing if 2006 and limped out of town a couple years later having never played a game and having nearly lost his leg and his life at the hands of Browns and their medical facilities. 

How much is your leg and your ability to walk for the next 50 years worth to you? Hell yes he was dissed. 

We all know the back story. Bentley was the prodigal son returning to right a flailing franchise after famously starring at St. Ignatius High School and then as an All-American at Ohio State. He was the biggest free agent on the market when he signed a 6 year, $36million deal with the Browns. He suffered a torn patella tendon the first day of training camp in July of 2006 and required four surgeries to ultimately repair his leg, two of which were necessary to remove a serious staph infection that had settled in the leg. It was serious enough before the staph infection to threaten his career. It was serious after those final two surgeries to consider amputating the leg. 

So what happens after your hometown team and their medical staff muddle their way through four surgeries? You probably tend to lose a little faith in their ability to get you healthy. Bentley went off the reservation not only sought medical consult from doctors outside the organization, but he also rejected the Browns offer to rehab his injuries in Cleveland where he could be closely monitored. 

But it wasn't as if the guy was slacking. Nor can you blame him for not wanting any more ‘help' from the Browns crack medical and training staff. 

Bentley worked out like crazy in Arizona and got to the point in 2007 that he believed he was ready to play again and be a part of the team. But the Browns flunked him on his physical. Bentley said nothing publicly and went back to working out and rehabbing like a demon. The Browns smartly went on with building a solid offensive line through the draft and via free agency.

They rebuilt the line so well that it actually became a strength for the team even without Bentley. 

Bentley passed his physical with the Browns a week or so ago and was cleared to give it a go. Within 24 hours he was asking for and receiving his release from the Browns citing a lack of commitment from the Browns to his being given an opportunity to start. 

There's clearly more to the story and there's much more resentment regarding this situation than either Bentley or the Browns are ready to admit. But what's clear is that the Browns didn't do right by a very good football player. What would have been the harm in inserting Bentley back onto the line and seeing if he was able to produce and perform? What would have been the harm in trying to squeeze some value out of two years of payments to Bentley (somewhere between $14m and $20m) and get something out of your investment. 

More importantly, this guy is a local legend and a potential face of the franchise if he's healthy enough to contribute. How do you not, from both a financial, performance and human standpoint, allow a guy you nearly killed to strap it on and see what he's got left? Bentley was clearly mistreated by his hometown team. 

Help me understand Lead Pipe. 

Lead Pipe says: 

Lead understands your point Peek, he really does. And he understands the other side - the side that feels Bentley shouldn't have the sense of entitlement to stroll to the front of the line for a starting job after being out for two years. Lead also agrees that at right this very moment there is much speculation and conjecture in regard to what actually happened between Bentley and the Browns. 

Lead is choosing to ignore that very speculation and get right to the bottom line which is; 

If the Cleveland Browns felt LeCharles Bentley could still PLAY, he'd still be here. Lead isn't just saying Bentley would be here if he could physically make it through a season, Lead means actually P-L-A-Y. 

Certainly there is merit to the fact that the Browns medical staff dropped the ball here. They damn near dismembered the guy. The feelings and opinions coming from the Bentley camp, such as Bentley's hesitancy to continue training under their supervision, or his desire to have his starting job restored, all stem from this fact and are all completely understandable. But the NFL is a bottom line business. LeCharles Bentley should understand this, and certainly you, the fan, who pays 7 bucks a beer every Sunday, should understand this. 

It is clear to The Lead Man that as of June 2008 Phil Savage and company do not see LeCharles Bentley as a starting NFL player, and probably not really even close. 

Lead, you say, that is speculation on your part. Well, can anyone out there prove otherwise to Lead? If the Browns saw the same player they brought in (i.e. if Bentley tested with the same speed, strength and lateral movement) where‘s the issue? Would the demand of a starting job be a big deal? No. It would work itself out.  

What about the fact that he trained in Arizona? Please. Who cares? It's not a fair world, and the NFL is no different. The fact of the matter is stars receive and take more liberties than your average player. And they do so every day. Nothing that the LeCharles Bentley camp has done to this point has been so egregious that the Cleveland Browns would turn their back on a great player. They turned their back on a player they feel isn't going to help the team win. 

That's the bottom line, and that's just the way it works. 

Buying or Selling in This Market? 

Peeker's Purchasing  

This team was one game away last season from a likely World Series title. For the most part the same guys that took you to the verge of glory are all back again.  You play in a weak division where you're just a few games back despite as miserable a start to the season as you could have ever envisioned. 

This division is eminently winnable if you can get a couple bats in the lineup to help support the pitching you've been getting all season.  

I'm doing what I can this year to make another run. 

I know CC Sabathia is could likely be gonzo if I take this tack now. But if the offense is even remotely close to what it was last we're not having this conversation. There is no question that the Indians are buyers if their bats had helped them win a few more games in April and May.  

But there's still time. 

Getting a couple bats in here in exchange for a prospect or two or a prospect and Paul Byrd may be enough. A 15-5 stretch in late June and July takes you to the top of this division. Then you get Fausto back. Then you get a healthy Hafner back. Then you get a healthy Victor back for the final stretch. 

You also have a bit of insurance in keeping CC because you're going to get compensated with a couple first round picks should you roll the dice, keep the big man and not be able to sign him long term.  Come on. A couple legit major league hitters mixed into a lineup in which guys who have underachieved all season are starting to find their strokes? That's good enough to get you to October where your pitching can help carry the day. 

You with me Lead Pipe? 

Lead Pipe says: 

This all comes down to one basic question Peek, that being: Do you feel this year's team, with only minor adjustments, can win the whole sausage? The Lead Man does not. And for anyone who shares Lead's view, it is clear wholesale changes are in order and would most beneficial to the franchise if done in short order. 

First of all, the 2008 Cleveland Indians are a flawed team. Two keys going into the season were Travis Hafner anchoring the middle of the order and the bullpen. Both have failed miserably. 

Hafner appears to be in big trouble. He was totally lost at the plate, and Lead doesn't attribute it much to injury. The Tribe brass is hoping its some sort of injury, but Lead believes they know better.  

The bullpen? Well, to start, Joe Bo's miracle season is over. He's a bad pitcher. Raffy Left and Raffy Right have lost much of the command they displayed regularly last season. So, you are left with a heart of the line-up that has little punch (and zero help from the farm in the near future) and the inability to shorten games like you enjoyed last year. This will take much of the gloss off of excellent starting pitching and also provide the reason the team is still losing despite having that excellent starting pitching the first couple months of the campaign. 

Secondly, the timing is right. They hold a huge chip that some team is going to get desperate to grab as the trade deadline approaches. Allowing CC to walk for the compensatory draft picks is poor value, not to mention they need some young position players that will be major league ready SOON. The Indians cupboard is bare as far as short term help is considered. Bringing up Josh Barfield as some sort of "help" drives that point home. And, just as sure as no major league hitter is poor enough to fall for the double wind-up, you aren't getting a decent player for Paul Byrd either. He and Joe Bo should not be pitching unless it's from behind an L-screen. 

The Indians need bullpen help, including a closer, corner outfield help, corner infield help and a player in the middle of the infield that can field AND hit. This is no patchwork job. They are not slumping. This team's struggles are for real, because they aren't that good. Instead of relying on the division staying weak forever, it's time to improve the product. 

They need help, more than a player or two. This is the year to start acquiring them. 
 
The Critical Call- Belinda Carlisle vs. Susanna Hoffs 

       

Peeker's Pick is the Bangle

She's sexy, sultry and seductive. That's all you need to know about Susanna Hoffs, lead singer of the Bangles. She's my pick over Belinda Carlisle in the Battle of the 80's Girl Band Chicks.

Hoffs has it all over Carlisle in a couple important categories:

1)  Hoffs never got heavier than Roseanne Barr while Belinda bounced between looking like Oprah or like one of the Olsen twins.

2)  Hoffs actually was able to string a sentence together that didn't revolve around the words "ummm...." or "like...ummm" which is important to those of us who are less shallow than players like Lead Pipe.

Was Belinda Carlisle in the 80's film classic "The Allnighter"? No. Probably because she was hanging out with the fat chick from Wilson-Phillips at Baker's Square throwing down French Silk pies or pound cakes. Hoffs was the director's choice to carry that film, and carry it she did.  And she would have gotten the part over Carlisle even if her mother, Tamar Simon Hoffs, hadn't been the director. I've watched Lead Pipe breaking out the ‘Walk Like an Egyptian' dance time and time again in multiple Las Vegas clubs.  And let's be honest. Who among us hasn't had a Manic Monday?  No one, that's who. And Hoffs summarized that day of the week better than any other 80's girl band singer I can think of

Lead Pipe's Gonna Go-Go with Belinda

Susanna Hoffs hotter than Belinda Carlisle? No way that Lead keeps his lips sealed on this one.

Debating the desirability of two women is certainly subjective. However, subjectivity gets thrown out the window when you're dealing with a bigger mismatch than Tyson vs. McNeeley. Carlisle is the Lexus; sleek, sexy and fully loaded (if you catch Lead's drift). Hoffs is the El Camino; the choice of trailer park trash everywhere.

Peeker boasts that Carlisle was not in Hoff's ‘The Allnighter'. Lead asks, who would know she wasn't? What person goes to a movie called ‘The Allnighter' when they know its star only rents rooms by the hour? Peeker sights Carlisle 's lack of intelligence and weight fluctuation. Lead asks you, the readers; "What could be better than a dumb chick that loses weight as she gets older." I mean, that's like hitting a ten-team parlay.

As far as Vegas goes, Peeker can stay with Hoffs on Fremont Street. The Lead Man is kicking it with Carlisle on the strip.