Ohio Opposites

Even though Cincinnati and Cleveland are both technically part of the same state, they are as far apart from each other as two Ohio cities can be. Despite being basically connected by one road, I-71, the 200 miles that separate them is approximately equivalent to the distance between New York City and Washington D.C. Cincinnati sits on the southwestern border with Kentucky while Cleveland is located on the northeastern border on Lake Erie. For the past few decades, both towns were known for failure in the sports world, but now Cincinnati is returning to the prowess they once possessed back in the ‘70s and ‘80s while their distant acquaintances upstate are falling into further and further athletic despair.
One should always start with the positives, so we’ll look at Cincy first. Many youngsters today would laugh at the notion the Cincinnati Reds once had one of the greatest dynasties of all time. They would have good reason to. The Reds haven’t had a winning season since 2000 and haven’t been in the playoffs since 1995, which was the last time that they were the winners of the NL Central. But anyone who knows just a little bit about baseball history has probably heard at least one thing about the powerhouse that was the Big Red Machine. This dominating Reds ballclub went 953-657 during the ‘70s, the best record of any team during the decade, and managed to win 6 divisional titles, 4 NL pennants, and 2 World Series despite playing in what was probably the most competitive decade in baseball history. During the ‘70s, the Orioles won 944 games, the Pirates won 916, the Red Sox won 895, the Yankees won 892, and the A’s won 838. All of the aforementioned teams combined to win every single World Series that decade, with the exception of the Red Sox. The tremendous Reds hitters combined to win 6 MVP awards that decade. Cincinnati featured several future Hall of Famers, such as Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, and Joe Morgan, and baseball’s all-time hit leader, Pete Rose, who would be in the Hall if not for his gambling. In another decade they would have won twice as many championships, but their great legacy will still stand tall. After winning it all in 1990, the Reds have only made the playoffs once, and much of the lore of the past seems like it belongs to another franchise.
However, this season, the Reds seem to be regaining some of their Big Red Machine form. They’ve been battling the perennial NL Central champion Cardinals for first place all season, and currently lead the red birds by a game. Although their lineup may not strike fear into the hearts of their opponents the way their predecessors did, the Reds still have one of the most potent offenses in the league, behind MVP candidate Joey Votto. Votto, who is in the top 5 in the NL for nearly every major hitting category, has been complimented well by the hitting of Scott Rolen, Brandon Phillips, Jonny Gomes, and others. Their young pitching staff has been solid throughout the year so far, and has been lead by starters Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, and Mike Leake. The bullpen, headed by veterans Arthur Rhodes and closer Francisco Cordero, have been dominant. They may not be favorites to win it all, but don’t be shocked if Cincinnati hosts Game 1 of the World Series this October.
While baseball’s popularity is reemerging down in Cincy, football will probably garner just as much attention this fall. The Bengals have been good recently, making the playoffs twice in the last five seasons, but not great, losing in the first round each time. In the bigger picture, things have looked much worse for the Bengals. They’ve only made the playoffs twice since 1990, which was the last time they won a playoff game. Despite appearing in two Super Bowls, in 1981 and 1988, the Bengals have never won on football’s greatest stage. They may have a shot this time around with talented weapons in all facets of the game. Quarterback Carson Palmer has been superb his entire career in Cincinnati and seems to be cutting down on his turnovers, which plagued him when he was younger. The addition of loud-mouthed wide-receiver legend Terrell Owens, wide-receiver Antonio Bryant, rookie receiver Jordan Shipley, and rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham, along with the return of playful wide-receiver Chad Ochocinco, should provide Palmer with plenty of targets. While their passing game may rank among the best in the league, their running game is nearly as formidable. Cedric Benson burst onto the scene last season with 1251 rushing yards, and Bernard Scott was invaluable when Benson was hurt, not only as an explosive back, but as a stellar return man. The defense is headed by tackling machine Dhani Jones, the exceptional cornerback duo of Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph, and rookie sensation Carlos Dunlap. The Bengals will certainly be motivated by their recent playoff struggles, but they have major questions with maturity issues involving the prima donna pair of Owens and Ochocinco, and the recent legal trouble of Dunlap, Scott, and others. This season, they seem to have the tools to make a run at their first title, but the only thing that is certain is that there will be a lot of drama along the way. They’ll have a whole city behind them, but they probably can’t count on the support of their upstate counterparts.

Oh, the sorrow that is Cleveland sports. The city that hasn’t won a championship in a major sports in 46 years. The teams that get so close, only to fail once more. No matter where you look in Cleveland, the past, present, and future of their athletics all seem sour. The heaviest of all tragedies was obviously the loss of LeBron James, essentially the greatest player in Cavaliers history and maybe, down the road, one of the greatest in NBA history. LeBron’s decision to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami didn’t just shock and hurt Cavs fans, it destroyed them. Burned jerseys and harsh words were the wake of James’ departure, and his apparent treachery, at least in their eyes, will be his legacy. This, of course, isn’t fair. James, the two-time reigning NBA MVP, helped not just turn an abysmal Cavs team around, he helped them become one of the elite Eastern Conference powers. He led them to the playoffs in each of the last 5 seasons, without much help from his teammates, and was unable to capture a crown. The LeBron-led Cavs did make the finals once, only to be swept by the Spurs. Last season, James and company had the best record in the NBA, 61-21, heading into the playoffs, but were defeated by the Celtics in the Conference semis, during which LeBron played sub-par basketball. The Cavs will return next season with that horrible taste of defeat in their mouths, without their franchise player, and with a mostly new coaching staff. They ended up not drafting any players in the first 2 rounds of the NBA Draft, and are only left with aging star Antawn Jamison, underwhelming point guard Mo Williams, and a crew of athletic but inexperienced youngsters. In a powerful Eastern Conference with the Dream Team Heat, and the always tough Celtics and Magic, the Cavs are looking at a depressing 2010-11 season, and their long quest for a title may not be granted any time in the near future.
The disappointment that is the Cleveland Browns is nowhere near as compelling of a failure. The Browns are one of four teams in the NFL to have never appeared in the Super Bowl. They did win a few NFL Championships, but they were during the pre-Modern Era, and their most recent one was in 1964. They did go to the playoffs in 5 consecutive seasons in the ‘80s, but since then they have only gone to the postseason twice, and have only achieved 3 winning seasons. They have gone 98-174 since being eliminated from the 1989 playoffs, and have finished last in the AFC North in every season since 2003, with the exception of their 2nd-place finish in 2007. They have traditionally been one of the most boring teams in the league as well, a fact that isn’t helped by their very boring uniforms and helmets. They have added quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and Colt McCoy in an attempt to improve on their NFL-worst passing game. They also drafted cornerback Joe Haden in hopes that he can aid a defense that ranked near the bottom of the NFL across the board. They do return Jerome Harrison and Jamal Lewis after they led the Brown’s 8th-ranked rushing attack, but the odds are that once again they will finish in the cellar in a very competitive division that includes playoff contenders like the Steelers, the Ravens, and, oh yeah, the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns are 3-9 against the Bengals since beating them in the season finale in 2003.
Finally we take a look at the sorry Cleveland Indians. The Indians may have won two World Series, but those were in 1920 and 1948. They have appeared in 3 World Series since, but have failed to obtain a title each time. They made it to the postseason in 5 consecutive seasons from 1995-1999, but fell short of the crown each time. Since falling to the Red Sox in the ’07 ALCS, the Indians have 193-243, and this season they sit tied with the Royals for last place in the AL Central, 19 games behind the 1st-place Twins. The face of the franchise, Grady Sizemore, is out for the rest of the season. Popular slugger Travis Hafner did return from the DL with a bang by hitting a grand slam, but his production was greatly missed when he was hurt. Nearly all of the impact players from their ’07 playoff run, like pitchers Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia, have been traded away and are large parts of playoff contenders elsewhere. The one positive seems to be in the future of the club with rookie starter Jeanmar Gomez, who has started his MLB career 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA. The Indians are ranked near the bottom of the league in several key categories such as batting average, RBIs, ERA, and strikeouts. It will most likely take several key trades, free-agents, and draft picks to resurrect this awful bunch. It’s just the way things are in Cleveland right now: discouraging, and it appears that there are only a few bright spots in the futures of any of the major sports in town. Maybe they need to take a trip down south through the rest of the state and visit places like Canton, where the Football Hall of Fame resides, Columbus, where Ohio State football appears to be poised for a national championship, or even all the way down to Cincinnati, where it seems expectations are rising fast, and multiple championships are likely in store.