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Terry's Talkin' with Terry Pluto
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Welcome to this week's Terry Pluto Newsletter!
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I WONDER IF HE KNOWS I went to the ballpark on the day Kyle Manzardo was promoted from Class AAA Columbus. He is Cleveland’s prized hitting prospect, especially with Chase DeLauter recovering from a foot injury at Class AA Akron. The 23-year-old Manzardo was wide-eyed, excited and probably overwhelmed. “To see all this come to fruition has been a very unique feeling,” he said at his press conference. I heard that and thought, “I never heard a rookie explain it that way.” I thought something else – “I wonder if he knows.” By that, I meant I wonder if he knows about 85% of all MLB players go back to the minors at least once. Guardians president Chris Antonetti mentioned that to me a few years ago. I looked at the current Cleveland roster – including the injured list – and the only guys who came to the big leagues and stayed there are Steven Kwan, Shane Bieber, Emmanuel Clase, Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Will Brennan. It’s possible I missed someone, but that’s a small group. The list also can be considered incomplete. Allen, Bibee and Williams were promoted last season. It’s early in their careers. You hope they pitch well enough to never have to go back, but lots of things happen. Brennan has battled to keep his roster spot. |
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John Kuntz, cleveland.com |
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According to a Wall Street Journal story by Lindsey Adler, “Back in 2015, hitters averaged nearly 450 minor league games before their MLB debuts. By 2023, that had dropped to 360 games." Manzardo has played 232 minor league games, batting .287 (.938 OPS) with 50 HR in 990 plate appearances. He was hitting .303 (1.017 OPS) with nine HR and 20 RBI in 128 plate appearances at Class AAA in 2024. He opened his MLB career by striking out in his first four at-bats. He was 3 of 23 at the time I’m writing this. Manzardo looks like he’ll be a good MLB hitter. But if he ends up going back to Columbus at some point, don’t be surprised. That happened to Jose Ramirez. It happened to Albert Belle, Jim Thome and so many other stars. Baltimore recently promoted Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft. In 169 minor league games, Holliday batted .316 (.939 OPS) with 16 HR. He joined the Orioles at age 20 early this season and was 2 of 34 with 18 strikeouts. He was sent back to the minors. In terms of Holliday’s long-term future, what happened in Baltimore means nothing. Too young. The only challenge will be if encountering baseball failure for the first time in his life becomes a confidence problem. Remember, the average MLB hitter spends 360 games in the minors. Holliday had 169, Manzardo 232. I recalled former Cleveland manager Terry Francona saying he believed most hitters needed at least 1,500 plate appearances in the minors to be MLB ready. Manzardo has 990. Yes, patience is in order. Holliday is 14 of 53 (.264) since returning to Class AAA. As for Manzardo’s comment about making the big league as a “fruition,” I know he meant it was reaching his dream. But the fact is for even the best minor league prospects, it’s much harder to stay in the majors than simply get there. FYI: The Guardians traded Aaron Civale to Tampa Bay for Manzardo last July. In 18 starts for the Rays, Civale is 4-6 with a 5.71 ERA. He was on the injured list five times in the previous three years before being traded. He supposedly is healthy in Tampa Bay, but not throwing well. |
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John Kuntz, cleveland.com |
THE AMAZING NFL MARKETING MACHINE |
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No other pro sport can hype its product like the NFL. The schedule is supposed to be released Wednesday night. The NFL has had the media speculating on the schedule for a month, maybe longer. It’s … the … SCHEDULE. Granted, fans want to know when and what time the games will be played. They already know the 2024 opponents, home and away. That was made public at the end of the 2023 season. The NFL now will have a parade of OTAs (organized team activities) and various minicamps over the next several weeks. Some will be open to the media. It’s OK to see the guys on the field, throwing the football around, etc. But it’s basically touch football. But it will receive tremendous coverage, not only here but in every NFL city and on national media platforms. The NFL has managed to make it “always football season” for their fans, and the appetite for any type of news is real. |
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Hey, Terry: Terry, Do you think our roster is pretty much set? If you were Browns GM Andrew Berry, what would you do to improve our team? – Steve Borovic Hey, Steve: I believe the big moves are over, at least for now, Jerry Jeudy was like their first-round draft choice, Berry has been in football love with Jeudy since the receiver was at Alabama. Now, we’ll see if the trade pays off and Berry is right about Jeudy. I recently watched some tape of Jeudy and talked to a top NFL executive about him. The Browns like Jeudy because: Berry loves “separation,” meaning guys with the burst of speed to get open. It’s not just straight line speed, but also the ability to make quick cuts. The Browns think he runs good routes. They also know he respects Amari Cooper and believe Cooper will have a positive impact on Jeudy.The Browns believe Jeudy didn’t have the best QB play at Denver. He’s been on the field with Russell Wilson, Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater. Unlike Cooper, Jeudy is not strong in terms of fighting for the ball under tight coverage. He’s their guy. They gave him a contract extension. I want to see if Elijah Moore improves in the new offense with new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. My friend Mike Jozic knows I like David Bell. Every time Bell makes a catch, Mike (who is like a son to me) sends me this text: “David Bell is always open.” |
"My mother (Jane McCrone) has been a steadfast force of positivity in the lives of my brother, father and me. My mom and her friends have been tailgating regularly for home Browns games since the team’s return in 1999. Since graduating from college and coming back home in 2016, I have been able to become a regular at home games and one of my favorite parts of the fall is tailgating with my mom and sitting next to her to cheer the team on from section 320 high up in the Dawg Pound. Memories I will never forget. "She has taught my brother and me important lessons about how to treat people. I try to live up to her example every day of my life. Even in times where I fall short, I don’t have to look far for the person who can pick me right up and, after some stern parenting – if needed, set me back on the right path. "I have always wondered if maybe my mom grew tired of dealing with the boys and craved some girls in the family. But thanks to her and my dad’s guidance in our early lives, she now has two beautiful daughters-in-law to roll her eyes with at the knuckleheads she got as sons. Most importantly, she has a new favorite member of the family to spoil in her adorable 7-month-old granddaughter, my niece, Emilia." – Will McCrone MOMS, FAITH & YOU I asked for some stories about your mom for my Faith & You, I actually thought I’d get more. Anyway, here’s the column and thanks to those who did send in comments. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/05/mothers-day-memories-baseball-cards-hough-bakery-battling-cancer-terry-plutos-faith-you.html This is one of my favorite faith columns lately: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/05/what-to-do-when-we-fall-down-and-feel-like-giving-up-terry-plutos-faith-you.html INPUT FOR A FAITH & YOU COLUMN NEEDED Do you have any advice for graduates, college or high school? Anything you wish someone had told you when coming out of school? I want to hear it. Send it along for a future faith column on advice for graduates. TerryPlutoInsiders@cleveland.com |
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING ELSE TO READ? |
In addition to my columns for cleveland.com, I also write books, including 28 on sports so far. As much as there is to say about Cleveland football, baseball and basketball on a daily basis, there’s usually more to a story than can fit in a column. I’ve written books about baseball (“The Curse of Rocky Colavito,” “Our Tribe”), football (“Browns Town 1964,” “Things I’ve Learned from Watching the Browns,”), and basketball (“The Comeback” – about the Cavs 2016 NBA championship, “Joe Tait”). Inspiration for a book sometimes comes from readers’ responses to a column. A few years ago I wrote about the death of former Cavaliers star John “Hot Rod” Williams. I covered him as a Cavs beat writer during his career. After the column was published, I heard from a lot of readers who also remembered him fondly. That led me to write “Vintage Cavs,” a book of stories about players like Hot Rod who left a lasting impression on Cleveland fans. You can check out www.terrypluto.com |
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