Written by Brian McPeek

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After some time away in Disney World with his wife and three daughters, Brian McPeek checks back in to his regular spot for us with The Weekend Wrap.  This week, Peeker hits on three main topics.  The start of Browns training camp on Wednesday and how the team will adapt to the loss of Joe Jurevicius.  His thoughts on the C.C. trade and what Mark Shapiro's next moves should be this summer.  And the tremendous play so far of Cavs first round draft pick J.J. Hickson in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Relief From the Heat 

The deodorant for the stinking baseball season in Cleveland arrives on Wednesday. It's called Cleveland Browns training camp and the Browns first practices will offer us a diversion from the stinking cesspool that this Indians summer has been. 

Before players are even assigned lockers, however, a pretty big weapon for the Browns offense has been removed from the arsenal. Joe Jurevicius will miss all of training and at least the first 6 games of the season due to assorted surgeries and complications. Some friends and acquaintances (what pass for ‘sources' in my neck of the woods) advise Jurevicius's season and career are possibly in jeopardy due to his chronic knee problems and the ravages of a staph infection. 

Typically the loss of a 3^rd receiver wouldn't raise too many white flags. But the loss of Jurevicius is a tough one to swallow for the Browns and their fans. JJ is a big, strong, soft-handed receiver who showed an ability to make critical catches in traffic and move the chains. The degree of difficulty and importance of what Jurevicius brought to the offense last season went up a few notches due to the sometimes erratic play of QB Derek Andersen. I don't know about most of you but my confidence in Travis Wilson or Kevin Kasper, a couple of likely candidates to replace JJ on the field, isn't to the level it was with Jurevicius. I'd assume if either of those guys were the answer then they would have likely been playing before now.  

Kasper has exactly the same number of receptions in the NFL over the last four seasons as you or I do. For his career he has 22 catches. That's fewer career receptions for Kasper than catches Jurevicius had for first downs last season.  

Wilson has been a disappointment since he was drafted in the third round back in 2006. 

Maybe Martin Rucker, the TE drafted out of Missouri in the 4^th round a few months ago, will come in and make an immediate impact. That would allow Rucker or Kellen Winslow Jr. to run the 3^rd receiver routes while the other plays out of the typical TE spot. But at the very least the loss of Jurevicius takes some depth away from the Browns offense. 

Add to all of this that Jurevicius becomes the second hometown hero to return to Cleveland only to lose games to knee injuries and staph infections and we're not exactly getting off to a rousing start in Berea. 

But even with that somber news to kick off camp, hope springs eternal. The Browns are coming off a 10-6 season a year ago that whetted the appetite of fans all over NE Ohio. And with the Indians scuffling as if they were warped back to the mid 1980's all eyes to turn to Berea this week. 

There's Gotta Be More, Right? 

I was thankfully in Orlando when CC Sabathia was shipped to the Brewers a couple weeks ago. It was quite possibly the most stressful ‘vacation' I've ever taken, but when I got back home and went over the responses to the Sabathia trade I was glad I spent a few thousand dollars in order to miss the fun.  

In looking at the return the Indians received for CC, most baseball folks and publications believe they acquitted themselves fairly well. They received a couple highly regarded Brewer prospects and will get another one when they decide on the player to be named later in the deal. But there is still work to do and there are still some bullets in the gun to get more. And it's been too quiet for my tastes in regard to using some of the assets that remain to reload this organization with some young talent. 

Anyone who's read my stuff knows I have an appreciation for Casey Blake. Why wouldn't I? The guy is hitting just south of .290 this season and has been money in the bank with runners in scoring position. Blake is versatile and is professional and is ostensibly a guy that many contenders would have an interest in for the stretch run and into the post season. He's also a free agent at the end of the season and his age and salary make it unlikely that he'll be in Cleveland after this season anyway.  

I'd have to imagine that the front office recognizes all of this as well and would consider dealing Blake before the trade deadline that arrives in a week and a half. I'm also enough of a realist to understand you're not going to remake your franchise with the haul you get from trading Blake, but you could get a decent prospect or two out of him. It was 12 years ago when the Indians dealt for a similar player in Kevin Seitzer and parted with Jeromy Burnitz in order to grab Seitzer. That deal was made after the July 31 trade deadline that season so there's no rush, but the point is you can deal a player like Blake before he walks away and get some value for him in the form of a near-major-league-ready player. I understand that Blake is a free agent after the season while Seitzer was under contract (and, as I turned out, ineffective) for 1997.  

Another player who may also have some value to the teams still in contention is Jamey Carroll. Carroll is similar to Blake in that he's versatile and is professional in his approach to the game. Like Blake, he's also underappreciated by fans but maintains a lot of value to GMs and baseball people. Carroll is also under contract to the Indians next season at a reasonable rate so his value to the Indians and other clubs may be higher. But players like Blake and Carroll are luxuries the Indians can ill afford at the present time. They both need to play to have any value to the Indians but when they do they cost you an opportunity to get a look at some of the younger guys that need at bats and that you need to evaluate. 

Get what you can for them Mr. Shapiro. While they do have some value they are not exactly rare. There will be similar players available that you can add to the roster when the time comes for Cleveland to contend again. 

Early Returns 

The Cavaliers and their fans have to be happy with the performance of 1^st round pick J.J. Hickson out in the Las Vegas Summer League.  

The 19^th pick out of N.C. State is averaging 20 points and 8 rebounds thus far in league play. No, Hickson is not facing down NBA-caliber big men out in Vegas but he is doing all he's been asked to do and he's showing a game that may be a bit more evolved and NBA-ready than most experts thought. 

If Hickson is able to give the Cavs 10-15 minutes every night and do so sooner rather than later in the season the Cavs will be thrilled. He's showing some solid skills offensively around the basket and reports are that his mid range game is better than advertised. Just as importantly, he appears to relish banging bodies and rebounding. A 19^th pick that could add value immediately would be a huge feather in Danny Ferry's cap. 

Etcetera 

• Tremendous effort from Cliff Lee last Tuesday night in the All-Star game. Lee worked two quick, painless innings. Lee gave up only one hit, to NL-leading Chipper Jones, and struck out Hanley Ramirez, Chase Utley and Ryan Braun. Lee's dream season continues. He also got the win on Sunday in Seattle to improve his record to 13-2 this season. No easy task with this ball club and clearly a bright spot in a dark season.

• Speaking of the All Star game, what a display Josh Hamilton put on in the HR Derby on Monday night. One of the more incredible performances I've witnessed in any sports arena. The kid is gifted. Here's to him staying on his program and putting up big numbers for the next 10-12 years and continuing to utilize those gifts.  
  

If you have the time and inclination, here's a great link and a great read from Sports Illustrated regarding what Hamilton has put himself through since Tampa Bay selected him with the first pick of the 1999 amateur draft. 

• One of the big topics on the boards this past week has centered on moving Jhonny Peralta to 3b for the remainder of this season and beyond.

I'm all for it. In my opinion Peralta is simply not a middle of the field defender. He's big, slow, lacks range and agility and too often appears unaware of the situation unfolding around him. I understand he's young, cheap and talented. No argument there. I want him here. I also understand there is a philosophy that having a ‘plus bat' at the SS position is an advantage. I agree with that too. But only if the ‘plus bat' isn't giving away everything you gain offensively when he's not hitting. I'd like to see Peralta moved to 3b and have Asdrubal Cabrera playing SS today and in the future.  

Think ‘Carlos Guillen' and you'll understand how look at Honny. 

I understand AsCab has to hit like he hit in the second half of last season in order for it to work, but if he shows his issues with the bat are behind him I make the move. Assuming AsCab does hit (granted, a big assumption) you've still got a position you need to upgrade. It's either 2b or 3b. I'd like to upgrade SS defensively and 3b offensively with my move. You still need to address 2b in this scenario. Your thoughts? Email me with the link below and let me know. 

• Last chance in all likelihood to register for The Inaugural TCF Golf Outing at Little Mountain Country Club. We're up to about 110 golfers and can accommodate just a few more. Follow the link above if you have any interest in participating in what promises to be a great event.