A little of this, a little of that.

In these times when very little news from the sports world is available after the NFL Draft as the other three major sports are in the midst of a roster freeze, it can be a grind after a while to come up with topics to write about.
I've come up with an idea to kill a few columns if the people close to me that I've asked to participate choose to do so.
I'll have no idea how that will turn out, but it might be interesting at a minimum.

Here are a few notes and opinions on items that didn't quite make into Cleaning out the Inbox, but are newsworthy on their own.

Boy, I thought the Indians trade of Corey Kluber was light in its return as it was, but the 80 game suspension of the main piece coming to Cleveland in pitcher Emmanuel Clase for a PED, makes the trade even more questionable.
I know Kluber battled injuries last season, but he was on track for full recovery on the last time that I heard about his status and what looked to be a pure salary dump in December looks awful now with Clase's suspension.
With Clase on the sidelines, the Indians only have another light-hitting outfielder (Delino DeShields Jr) to show for a Cy Young contender as recently as two years ago.

The Browns picked up the fifth-year option on Myles Garrett and David Njoku, which would have been a mild surprise a few months ago in the case of Njoku.
The option doesn't mean more than the Browns will have the pair for the 2021 season, although the Browns are likely to work on a long-term extension for Garrett.
Njoku will be a wait and see candidate for an extension beyond 2021.

The Browns also made a popular move with the fanbase by agreeing to a one year contract with Rashard "Hollywood" Higgins to keep Higgins with the team.
Higgins had fallen deeply out of favor with former coach Freddie Kitchens and rarely saw the field after returning from injury.
Higgins took less money to remain with Cleveland, which will endear him to fans even more and will fight for the third wide receivers spot on the roster.

Since today is supposed to be Kentucky Derby Day and there isn't a Derby to run, Churchill Downs and NBC are running a virtual Derby involving all the Triple Crown winners that you can even bet on.
While I would bet on Citation, such races tend to favor the best known (Secretariat) or the most recent (Justify), but often the winner is one that you wouldn't expect.
I remember attending a computer race at Pimlico for the greatest horses of all-time and the winner in an upset was the great handicap horse Kelso.

What have I been watching during the Covid-Hiatus?
Been mixing up a few series from Netflix and the Roku Networks that aren't on the networks anymore, but I've never watched either at all or from beginning to end.
ABC's Once Upon A Time, CBS's Without A Trace and a Spanish Language mini-series on former middleweight champion Carlos Monzon have been my home viewing while I've been watching the various Star Trek shows at the road office and I'm now starting Deep Space Nine.

And the games?
Well, I've been in a basketball mode and I haven't played any of the other games of late, so it's been a lot of the 1974-75 Kentucky Colonels.
I've rallied the Colonels since the last notation and they have moved into a tie for first with the New York Nets with a record of 19-16, percentage points ahead of the Nets and a half-game ahead of the Spirits of St.Louis.
The Colonels had won five in a row before a blowout loss to the Spurs in San Antonio.
Artis Gilmore leads the team in scoring (25 PPG), rebounds (14.7), and blocks (3.3) while Ted McClain leads the Colonels in assists with 5.1 per game.
Dan Issel is averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds a game, while Louie Dampier is averaging 16 points and just under five assists a game.

Indians trade Corey Kluber to Texas

I haven't had time yet to catch up on the San Francisco Giants hot stove yet, but this news crossed the wire today and while I'm not surprised that the always thrifty Cleveland Indians traded Corey Kluber after an injury-filled 2019, I am surprised that they acquired so little in a trade involving him.

The two-time Cy Young award (2014 and 2017) winner and two-time third-place finisher ( 2016 and 2018) struggled last season to a 2-3 record with an ERA nearly six in seven starts before his season ended after being struck by a line drive in May.
Kluber turns 34 in April and is signed for the 2020 season with the Rangers now holding a team option for 2021.

The return was surprisingly small for a pitcher that won the Cy Young just two years ago and despite the injury issues (Kluber is expected to have a full recovery and be ready for the spring) with those terrible 2019 stats, I thought Cleveland would add a little more than a reliever and yet another journeyman outfielder for Kluber.

Many in baseball are high on pitcher Emmanuel Clase, who pitched for Down East (High A) and Frisco (AA) before a callup to the Rangers where he would make 21 appearances with a record of 2-3 with a save to pair with an ERA of 2.31.
Clase struck out 21 in 23 innings with Texas and is reported to throw a cutter at 101 MPH with some comparing it to that of Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera.
That is a very high level to reach and although the K-IP ratio is impressive, you would think with the reported stuff that Clase has the strikeouts would be even higher.
Clase turns 22 before spring training and if you assume that Clase is a safe bet to continue his performance, which is never an easy assumption to make when you consider relievers, Cleveland will have six years of a controllable cost-fixed asset.
I have also read of Clase possibly having the ability to stretch out and eventually becoming a starter.
Clase did make one start for the Rangers last season, but pitched one inning as the "opener".

As if the Indians didn't have enough light-hitting outfielders, they added another in this trade as the Indians received outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. as the other part of the trade.
DeShields hit  .249 with four homers and 32 RBI in 357 at-bats to go along with 24 steals last season for Texas.
DeShields is a plus defender, but when you look at the Indians outfielders currently on the roster, they are filled with similar players such as Greg Allen, Tyler Naquin, and the returning Bradley Zimmer.
I'm just not seeing the need for DeShields unless the plan is to move one of the other outfielders or even flip DeShields in a trade.

On the overall, one has to like the upside of Emmanuel Clase and the contract helps as well.
However, relievers are so difficult to count on from season to season and with DeShields being only a journeyman type, the Indians are putting all their hopes on Clase as their return for Corey Kluber.
The return doesn't seem enough for me (Clase is fine, but I would have preferred a minor leaguer with a chance to develop than another outfielder)  and it seems like Cleveland was (once again) in salary dump mode.
Still, Kluber comes with many questions and we could look back at the trade with Clase as a top reliever as an excellent return for an aging pitcher.

Grading the trade now, I give the slight edge to Texas, but there is a chance that the Indians could swing the trade their way, so it's not a lopsided trade.

Back next time with the Browns disappointing effort in Arizona.