Dan Labbe for Cleveland.com: "While I was watching the Cavaliers and Pistons last night, just hours after hearing that Kellen Winslow would appeal his one-game suspension the Browns handed down to him, I started to realize something. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the best-run professional team in this city. And it's not even close. ... If the Browns and Indians hope to find some consistent success, I'd suggest they grab a pen and paper. Cavs season starts Tuesday, and it might be wise for them take some notes."
The Browns are a terrible organization, with that I have no qualms. But the idea that the Cavaliers are better run than the Indians is laughable. Danny Ferry came to this team with LeBron James already in place. The hardest part of building an NBA franchise, acquiring superstar talent, had already been done. Ferry's failed to successfully build upon that. Yes, the franchise has made the playoffs. They have done so in a weak conference in a league which allows over half of its teams into the postseason. Yes, they made an appearance in the NBA Finals. Again, they made it through a weak conference mainly due to the singular brilliance of James.
The Indians, on the other hand, have had a nice run over the last four years though their record doesn't quite reflect it. In 2005, they won 93 games and missed the playoffs by 2 games. In 2006, they won 78 games despite having the run differential of an 89 win team. While that still would have left them fourth in their division, it was a strong performance. 2007 saw them win 96 games and come within a win of a trip to the World Series. This year, they finished at .500. All that's missing to distinguish them from the Cavs is that trip to the World Series. Still, this is an organization that built from the bottom up. They have developed gobs of young talent with more still coming. They have lacked that singular star to carry the weight. In other words, they have been relatively far more successful than the Cavs.
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