Felix Sterling, SP-LCC: 6 IP, 4 H, 7 K, BB

Sterling had his best start in low-A last night, but it ended up being in a losing effort when Lake County could only muster 4 hits and no runs in a 12-inning loss. The 6’3, 200lb 18-year old righty out of the Dominican Republic has now made 7 starts for the Captains, going 2-3 with a 3.93 ERA, 30 K and 21 BB in 34 1/3 IP. Obviously, he walks need to come down, which is why Sterling’s start last night was so encouraging. Sterling’s size, youth and stuff have him in consideration to be a top-10 overall guy in the Indians system right now, so if you’re in the Cleveland area and can get out to Lake County for a game before the end of the season, try and make it one of Sterling’s starts.

• Joe Martinez, SP-COL: 7 1/3 IP, ER, 4 H, 5 K, BB. Martinez had an excellent start spoiled by the bullpen, and he ended up with a no-decision.
• C.C. Lee, RP-COL: 2/3 IP, K. In 27 1/3 AAA innings, Lee has a 2.30 ERA, 39 K and 10 BB. He stands an excellent chance of being in the ML bullpen next season.
• Nick Hagadone, RP-COL: L (4-3), 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H. With Josh Judy unavailable, Hagadone was called on for the save opportunity. He failed to convert, and the Clippers lost a tough one 3-2 on a walk-off single after the leadoff hitter reached base via an error.
• Chun Chen, C-AKR: 0-4, BB, K. In stark contrast to 2010, Chen is struggling to finish out the season. He’s hitting just .182/.300/.325 in 21 games in the month of August.
• Chris Jones, RP-KIN: 3 IP, H, 2 K. Jones has quietly but together a solid season for Kinston, as the southpaw has gone 6-1 with a 3.50 ERA, 62 K and 29 BB in 69 1/3 IP.
• Adam Abraham, 3B-KIN: 2-4, HR (14), RBI, R, K. Overall this season, Abraham is hitting .251/.361/.426 with 14 HR and 63 RBI.
• Tyler Cannon, 1B-KIN: 2-3, HR (6), 2B, RBI, BB, R. Cannon has been hot lately, hitting .300/.378/.425 in his last 10 games.
• Nick Bartolone, 2B-LCC: 2-3, BB, 2 SB, CS. Lake County had 4 hits yesterday; Bartolone had half of them. He’s had a disappointing season overall, but is hitting .323/.364/.452 in his last 10 games.
• Will Roberts, SP-MVS: L (1-2), 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 7 K. Outstanding start for Roberts, who is now 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA, 27 K and just 5 BB in 36 2/3 IP.
• Trevor Crowe, RF-AZL: 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, 3 R. Another good night at the plate for Crowe, and 5 more innings in RF. He’s 4-10 with 2 HR and a 2B in Arizona so far.
• Bo Greenwell, DH-AZL: 2-2, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, R, SB. Another guy on a rehab assignment, Greenwell is 5-5 in his 2 AZL games with 3 2B. His OPS is 2.600, which would be a record if that holds up.

Justin Toole, 1B-KIN: 4-4, 2B, RBI, R.

Toole is an easy player to cheer for, as he is a guy who gives max effort 100% of the time and really does everything to maximize his abilities. I’ve seen him make several diving plays in BP, a time when most players are checking out the girls working in the stadium. He’ll play anywhere, and has seen time at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS and OF this year for the K-Tribe. He even went all Andy Marte and pitched an inning last year, throwing a perfect inning with a strikeout. He’s 24 years old with a .642 OPS in high A, so he’s not an elite prospect by any means, but he’s a guy you love to have in the org who might be able to grind his way to the show someday as a utility infielder.

• Mitch Talbot, SP-COL: W (2-2), 7 IP, 4 H, 8 K, 2 BB. Talbot unleashed the fury last night against Indy, and now has a 4.45 ERA, 27 K and 9 BB in 32 1/3 IP for AAA Columbus.
• Zach Putnam, RP-COL: IP, ER, 3 H, K. Putnam was living on the edge last night, and has now given up 6 ER in his last 3 outings.
• Josh Judy, RP-COL: S (22), IP, 2 K. Make it 6 consecutive scoreless outings for Judy. Now has a 3.31 ERA, 57 K and 24 BB in 49 IP for Columbus this year.
• Travis Buck, RF-COL: 3-4, K. The only Clipper in the lineup with more than one hit yesterday, Buck has 3 hits in 2 of his last 3 games.
• Matt Packer, SP-AKR: L (7-12), 6 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 2 K, 3 BB. Packer has been either really good or really bad in August. His two good starts: 2-0, 16 IP, 16 K, 2 BB, 1 ER. His two bad starts: 0-2, 11 1/3 IP, 6 K, 4 BB, 12 ER.
• Bryce Stowell, RP-AKR: 1 1/3 IP, ER, H, 2 K, BB. The Mustache Mafia member has a 3.09 ERA, 18 K and 7 BB in 11 2/3 innings of work for AA Akron.
• Kelvin De La Cruz, RP-AKR: 2/3 IP, H, 2 K, BB. Microcosm of  KDLC’s 2011 in 2/3’s of an inning. Both outs recorded via strikeout, but mixed in a hit and a walk.
• T.J. House, SP-KIN: L (6-12), 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, BB, 7 K. House has really struggled after the all star break this year, going 1-6 with a 7.05 ERA, 34 K and 31 BB in 52 1/3 IP.
• Giovanny Soto, RP-KIN: 2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB. The important thing here isn’t the result, it’s the fact that Soto is back and pitching in the Carolina League for the 1^st time since June 5.
• Tyler Holt, CF-KIN: 3-5, K, CS. Last year’s 10^th round pick, Holt is hitting .333/.435/.410 in his last 10 games, and has an overall OPS of .700 for Kinston.
• Michael Goodnight, SP-LCC: 6 IP, 2 H, 9 K, 2 BB. Goodnight did his job yesterday, dominating for 6 shutout innings and turning a 0-0 game over to the bullpen in the 7^th.
• Kyle Blair, RP-LCC: 2 IP, H, K. Blair has appeared in 5 games out of the bullpen since returning from Arizona, throwing 2 innings each time. In those 10 IP, he’s allowed 2 ER, struck out 6 and walked 4.
• Alex Monsalve, C-LCC: 2-5, K. In a 13-inning game, Monsalve was the only Captain to record more than one hit.
• Luigi Rodriguez, LF-LCC: 1-6, 3B, 4 K. In a 13-inning game, Rodriguez was the only Captain to record an extra base hit.
• Joseph Colon, SP-MVS: 5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 6 K. Colon is 4-3 with a 3.49 ERA, 52 K and 26 BB in 67 IP for the Scrappers this season. The 12^th round pick in 2009 missed all of last year with elbow problems but is still just 21 years old.
• Alex Lavisky, C-MVS: 3-5, HR (5), 2B, 2 RBI, R, K, CS. August has been Lavisky’s “best” month this season, as he’s hit .246/.288/.377 with a HR and 10 RBI.
• Bo Greenwell, LF-AZL: 3-3, 2 2B. Yesterday was Greenwell’s first game action since breaking a bone in his wrist back in June. Successful return to the lineup, I’d say.
• Mitch Nilsson, C-AZL: 3-4, RBI, 2 R, SB. The 20-year old Australian is hitting .351/.422/.509 with a HR and 7 RBI for the AZL Indians.  

Austin Adams, SP-AKR: W (10-10), 7 IP, 5 H, 7 K, 3 BB.

One of my favorite prospects in the organization, Adams can run his fastball up into the triple digits. He regularly sits in the mid-90s with his fastball, and has a power curve that is especially effective against righties. The keys for Adams will be refining his command and improving his changeup, which will help him keep his pitch count down and go deeper into games. On the season, Adams is now 10-10 with a 3.78 ERA, 125 K and 63 BB in 131 IP. Adams is slated to pitch in the elite Arizona Fall League this offseason, where he’ll likely work out of the bullpen. The Indians still see him as a starter though, and he’s a definite top-20 guy in the organization right now.

Jared Goedert, 3B-COL: 2-4, HR (12), RBI, R.

Goedert has quietly put together an impressive month of August for Columbus. After homering in now 3 straight games, Goedert is hitting .386/.463/.714 (1.177 OPS) in 21 August games. He’s still a righthanded CI bat with some pop, and if not for an unfortunate oblique injury this spring would have likely had a shot to play in Cleveland at some point this season. He’s not on the 40-man roster, so a call up to the show when rosters expand is possible but unlikely. Still, Goedert has something to offer at the major league level, the only question is when he’ll get a chance to play and with who.

• Paolo Espino, SP-COL: W (2-1), 7 IP, 2 H, 7 K. Espino turned in his best start of the season, and is now 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA for the Clippers. In 27 1/3 AAA innings, Espino has 25 K and 7 BB. Seems like he’s been around forever, but still just 24 and very much putting himself on the map as a SP prospect.
• Nick Hagadone, RP-COL: IP, K. Perfect inning for Hagadone, who’s now up to 50 K in 44 2/3 AAA innings and 74 K in 67 1/3 innings overall this year.
• Josh Judy, RP-COL: IP, K. Judy now with 5 consecutive scoreless appearances, and a 3.38 ERA on the season.
• Cord Phelps, 2B-COL: 1-5, HR (14), 2 RBI, R, K. I’d much rather see Phelps back in Cleveland as the UTL infielder with Kipnis on the DL as opposed to Luis Valbuena. Of course, I’d rather see Brian McPeek as the UTL infielder over Luis Valbuena, so that’s probably not saying all that much.
• Jered Head, LF-COL: 2-4, HR (24), RBI, R. Head cooled off in July, posting a .750 OPS overall which was his worst month of the season. He’s picking things back up here in August, hitting .293/.312/.627 in 18 games this month.
• Paul Phillips, C-COL: 2-3, RBI, R, K. Can’t have an ATF without a catcher.
• Cory Burns, RP-AKR: S (32), IP, H. Burns inches closer to the org lead in saves, but still trails Kinston’s Preston Guilmet.
• Juan Diaz, SS-AKR: 2-4, 2B, 2 R. Diaz is hitting .324/.390/.432 in his last 10 games, with a HR and 2 RBI.
• Marty Popham, SP-KIN: W (6-2), 7 IP, ER, 2 H, 8 K, 2 BB. Dominant start for Popham, who’s only blemish was a solo HR allowed in the bottom of the 6^th. Now has 91 K in 92 2/3 IP for Kinston on the season.
• Kyle Landis, RP-KIN: S (3), 2 IP, H, 5 K. Landis picked up right where Popham left off, striking out 5 of the 7 hitters he faced.
• Roberto Perez, C-KIN: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K. After a career month of June that saw Perez hit .309/.434/.485, the defensive superstar has faded at the plate hitting around .205 in July/August. Perez has had a couple of nagging injuries, and his performance at the plate in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League has to be considered a step forward in his development.
• Luigi Rodriguez, LF-LCC: 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI, R, 2 K. The speedy converted 2B has been solid in Lake County, putting up an overall line of .280/.346/.344 as a 18-year old in low-A.
• Enosil Tejeda, RP-MVS: S (10), IP, 2 K. The 22-year old Scrappers closer has a 3.41 ERA and an impressive 51 K in just 29 IP this year. He’s holding New York-Penn League hitters to a .179 batting average in his 24 appearances.
• Bryson Myles, LF-MVS: 2-3, 2 BB, 3 R, SB, K. Myles is working on a modest 7-game hitting streak that’s seen him go 10-24 with 8 BB and 4 K.
• Tony Wolters, SS-MVS: 1-4, RBI, 2 R. The 19-year old Wolters is hitting .302/.392/.384 overall in the NYPL, with a HR, 19 RBI, and 17 SB.
• Jordan Smith, RF-MVS: 1-4, 2B, 4 RBI, K. Smith only had one hit yesterday, but it was a big one. He cleared the bases with a double in the 6^th inning, giving the Scrappers a lead that they would not relinquish.
• Elvis Araujo, SP-AZL: W (9-1), 5 IP, 2 H, 2 K, BB. The 6’6” Araujo is an intriguing prospect, as right now he looks like a skinnier CC Sabathia, but the first thing the 20-year old needs to do is prove that his injury issues are behind him.
• Trevor Crowe, CF, AZL: 0-2, BB, R, 2 K. No hits, but a step forward in his rehab nonetheless as Crowe played the first 5 innings in the field for the first time since being cleared for baseball activities.
• Leonardo Castillo, 1B-AZL: 2-4, 2 R, BB. One of the more impressive hitters in Arizona, Castillo turned 18 in July and has put up a .313/.346/.464 line with 4 HR and 26 RBI.

Well, we assume.

The Browns showed what they planned to do with their cap surplus by signing All-Universe Left Tackle Joe Thomas to a 7 year contract extension, worth about $84 million ($44 million guaranteed) according to the Plain Dealer.

This is wise use of funds at a good time in Thomas' contract.  One would expect that the Browns will attempt to do the same with several other Browns players, likely starting with Ahtyba Rubin.

Terrelle Pryor was selected in the third round of the NFL’s supplemental draft today by Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders. Davis surprised no one by his move to add the speedy former quarterback from Ohio State. With his love of players who can run, Davis forfeited his pick in the third round of next year’s draft to grab Pryor.

A source told ESPN that the Raiders plan to use Pryor as a receiver, which makes sense considering Pryor has never played the position for more than situational purposes. In all honesty though -- watching Pryor effortlessly leap up and grab that touchdown pass over a helpless Texas corner-back in the Fiesta Bowl three years ago -- it makes me think Pryor could be a dangerous threat if he were willing to commit himself to the WR position. But then I remember who I’m thinking about, and also which team drafted him... and it’s all a wash.

Jesus Aguilar, 1B-KIN: 2-4, HR (4), RBI, R, K

With 3 HR and 7 RBI in his last 3 games, Aguilar is finding his power stroke for high-A Kinston. Big, Bad Jesus Aguilar had a .292/.370/.544 line with 19 HR and 69 RBI for Lake County. That performance earned him a promotion to Kinston at the end of July, a much more difficult hitting environment. BBJA started slowly in Kinston but has come on of late, and has a .262/.311/.524 line in his last 10 games for the K-Tribe. Those numbers don’t leap off the page, but Aguilar turned 21 on the last day of June this year, so he’s still a little young for the level. At 6’3”, 240lbs Aguilar is an imposing figure at the plate, and one of the few power-hitting corner infield prospects in the organization. There’s still some concern that his defense will limit him to a DH role, but as of now he’s playing a solid 1B.

Trevor Crowe, DH-AZL: 2-4, HR (2), 3 RBI, R, K, CS

Crowe has now played in two games for the Arizona League Indians, and has homered in both. Leading off and DH’ing, Crowe is 3-6 overall with the 2 HR, 4 RBI, a walk, 2 runs scored and is 1-2 in stolen base attempts. It’s probably too little, too late for Crowe to contribute this season, but it has to be a great feeling for him to finally get back on the field and face live pitching again.

• Nick Hagadone, RP-COL: 2 IP, 2 K. Hagadone’s #’s at AAA Columbus: 43 2/3 IP, 3.30 ERA, 49 K and 14 BB. As good as Raffy Perez has been this season, Hagadone could make him expendable as early as opening day next year.
• Zach Putnam, RP-COL: 2 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 2 H, K, BB. Putnam has given up 4 ER in his last 2 2/3 IP to raise his ERA to 3.88 on the season.
• Cord Phelps, 2B-COL: 1-3, RBI, BB, K. Phelps is 8^th in the IL in OPS with his .863 mark. I’d much rather see him up with the big club than Luis Valbuena right now.
• Jared Goedert, 3B-COL: 2-4, HR (10), 2B, RBI, R, 2 K. Goedert has 10 HR in 229 AAA at bats, and has a .819 OPS between AA and AAA. If not for a spring training injury that saw him start the season on the DL, he could have been an internal option for replacing an injured Travis Hafner.
• Steven Wright, SP-AKR: L (1-2), 7 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 7 K, BB. The knuckleballer had an outstanding start yesterday, but couldn’t get any support from his offense as the Aeros were shut out in Richmond.
• Karexon Sanchez, 2B-AKR: 1-1, 2 BB. The Aeros had just 5 baserunners yesterday (2 hits and 3 walks). Sanchez was responsible for 3 of those 5 baserunners.
• Toru Muratu, RP-KIN: W (2-2), 3 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 K, BB. Muratu came in to relieve a struggling Clayton Cook in the 3^rd and gave the Kinston offense a chance to come back and eventually win the game.
• Preston Gulimet, RP-KIN: S (33), 1 1/3 IP, H, 2 K. Gulimet leads the organization in saves, now two ahead of former teammate Cory Burns.
• Tyler Holt, CF-KIN: 1-4, 2 R, BB, SB, 2 K. Holt is hitting .289/.413/.368 in his last 10 games, with 7 BB and 3 2B.
• Adam Abraham, 3B-KIN: 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 SB. Abraham is 7 for his last 20, but I’m focusing more on the 2 SB yesterday than anything. Not the fleetest of foot, Abraham now has 5 SB on the season. Can’t imagine how he ended up with 2 in one game.
• Delvi Cid, RF-KIN: 1-3, HR (2), 2 RBI, 2 R, BB. Cid is hitting just .195/.310/.259 on the season for Kinston.
• J.D. Reichenbach, SP-LCC: W (7-1), 6 UP, ER, 7 H, 3 K. Reichenbach has had a solid season for Lake County, going 7-1 with a 3.23 ERA. He doesn’t miss many bats (67 K in 94 2/3 IP) but makes up for it by getting a lot of groundballs (1.51 GO/AO). He was signed as a UDFA last June.
• Kyle Blair, RP-LCC: 2 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, K, BB. Blair has now had 4 outings out of the Lake County bullpen since returning from exile in Arizona. He’s thrown 8 innings, given up 2 ER and struck out 5 while walking 4.
• Dale Dickerson, RP-LCC: S (3), IP, 2 K, BB. A 16^th round draft pick in 2009, Dickerson is 2-2 with 3 saves and a 2.24 ERA out of the Captains bullpen.
• Ronny Rodriguez, SS-LCC: 2-4, 2B, R. Ro-Ro is hitting an impressive .361/.439/.722 in his last 10 games, with 2 HR, 5 2B and a 3B.
• Jose Ramirez, 2B-AZL: 2-4, 2B, RBI. The 18-year old Ramirez has an .809 OPS in 170 AB in the complex leagues. 

Follow @gotribe31

If you’ve been hiding from the Internet (or getting your sports information from ESPN), you probably haven’t heard about the enormous atomic bomb that was dropped on the University of Miami last night.

Nevin Shapiro, a former University of Miami booster (who is imprisoned for his role in a 930 million dollar Ponzi scheme) has spent the last 11 months carefully planning the inevitable death of the Miami football program with Charles Robinson and Yahoo! Sports. The details of the scandal, as lush and bloated as the arrogance of the program itself, rival (if not surpass) the rampant string of infractions and violations SMU committed in the 80’s.

As a booster for Miami from 2002-2010, Shapiro showered players (72 (!) of them) and coaches with illegal benefits. At first glance, there appears to be four major bylaws violated during this stretch. Bylaw 11 (impermissible compensation to coaches), bylaw 12 (compromised amateurism of college student athletes), bylaw 13 (improper recruiting activity), and bylaw 16 (extra benefits to athletes).

It’s honestly a challenge to wrap my arms around the enormity of the allegations, but here’s my best shot to summarize them:

• Prostitutes. Shapiro provided hoards of hookers and prostitutes for Miami football players, paying them to do things that would bring shame to their parents. It started in 2002, where Shapiro would rent hotel rooms with a large group of prostitutes for Miami football players to fornicate with and whatnot. Shortly after, Shapiro purchased a yacht and moved the tawdriness to the sea -- arranging more personal, secluded hookups with whores for the players.
• Night Life. VIP rooms in dance clubs and strip joints were frequently paid for by Shapiro, who then invited his friends at “The U” to party (mainly football players, but some assistant coaches also got in on the fun). Shapiro would spend thousands of dollars on alcohol and lap dances for the group.
• Dolla Dolla Bills, Y’all. If he wasn’t just handing players wads of cash, Shapiro would set up bowling, pool or fishing competitions with cash prizes for the winner.
• Oprah-Like Gifts. Need a tailored suit for the Heisman ceremony? No problem, Willis McGahee. Need plane tickets for your girlfriend to attend the Heisman ceremony with you? No problem, Willis McGahee. Need a television for your room? No problem, Andrew Williams. Need a freaking engagement ring to propose to your girlfriend? No problem, Devin Hester. Need a gourmet dinner and night on the town? No problem... everyone else.
• Bounties. Shapiro set up nice little goals for his friendly football players: Say Willis, if you can rush for over 200 yards against Florida, I’ll give you $1,000! Hey Devin Hester, if you score a touchdown and then get an excessive celebration penalty called against you, I’ll give you $1,000! Check it out Jon Vilma -- if you can injure the opposing quarterback, I’ll give you $1,000! 
• Shady Agents are Shady. Shapiro pointed football players who had NFL aspirations to a business partner of his, Miachel Huyghue, to be their agent. Two first round picks, Vince Wilfork and Jon Beason, went with Huyghue.
• Ain’t NO Party Like a Yacht or Mansion Party. Players had an enormous amount of access to Shaprio’s 1.2 million dollar yacht, in addition to two mansions he owned in South Florida. They would often throw parties at all three locations, which Shapiro would pay for.
• Coaches Wanna Chill Too, Ya Know. 10 coaches and staff members from the University of Miami either participated in, or had direct knowledge of Shapiro’s infractions. Both football and basketball staff members have connections to this, which is likely what makes this whole story worse than what happened at SMU.
• A Freaking Abortion. No, that’s not a joke. I wish it was. Somewhere between 2002 and 2010, Shapiro paid for a “dancer” to have sex with a player (who obviously went unnamed, because this goes beyond ridiculous to the point where you just want to hug someone and say it’s gonna be alright, even though everyone knows it’s not). A few weeks after the night at the strip club, the dancer reached out to Shapiro and informed him that she was pregnant. Without telling the player, Shapiro gave the dancer $500 to have an abortion.

Part of me wanted to do the thing where I list the violations, then include one that was completely made up so you could try and guess which one wasn’t true. The list above eliminates that as a possibility.

If you want to go deeper into this sea of infractions, Yahoo! has put together the entire list of players and coaches that Shapiro provided improper benefits to in a nice, neat little pile for you in the article that I linked to above. Each individual page profiles the player or coach like a infraction/violation baseball card.

Oh, and an entertaining side note -- when you check out Kellen Winslow baseball card, you can read about how he  wrecked one of Shapiro’s jet ski’s into another boat. That’s probably the most believable thing in this whole article, amiright?

Anyway, goodbye Miami -- it was nice knowing you.

Follow David on Twitter @davidreg412

After suffering a season ending injury last September that required ACL surgery on his knee, Montario Hardesty returned to the football field with his teammates at the Browns practice facility yesterday. The coaching staff and management are high on Hardesty, and his return to the field only boosts a position of strength for the Browns that includes Peyton Hillis and Brandon Jackson.

The second round draft pick from Tennessee has battled injuries his entire career. It was considered a gamble when the Browns traded lesser draft picks to be in a position to select Hardesty in the second round in 2010, but after a breakout senior season where he rushed for 1,345 yards and 13 touchdowns, Cleveland tossed the dice with him. In college, Hardesty started ahead of arguably the leagues best running back in Arian Foster -- so there is potential in the young back if he can stay healthy.

That’s the big question: can he stay healthy? New head coach Pat Shurmur will be monitoring his progress and taking things slowly, but as of yesterday, Hardesty looked pretty good, “It was good seeing him out there. I think he enjoyed being back at practice. We'll go in now and evaluate how he did and move forward."

But don't bet on the Browns picking him up.

According to various sources, Buffalo is looking to move the veteran from Wisconsin.  This from PFT:

Bills G.M. Buddy Nix’s silence on a possible Lee Evans deal on Thursday was telling.

The 30–year-old receiver is very available, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that a deal could be completed within 48 hours. Schefter seemed fairly confident something would get done.

Now, the Browns trying to pick up a WR like Evans makes a lot of sense.  He adds that deep threat that they've been missing.  He's a veteran presence, and he grew up in Cleveland.  He would be a solid pickup for the young receiving corps.

But you just know he'll be going to Philly or Baltimore or New England or some such garbage.

Ex-Browns LB/DE Matt Roth has signed a one year deal with Jacksonville, per PFT and ESPN.

"Roth had been telling people that he was available to whatever team was willing to pay him $3 million, and now Adam Schefter of ESPN reports (and PFT has confirmed) that the Jaguars and Roth have agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal.

A defensive end/outside linebacker, Roth started all 16 games for the Browns last year. He’s likely to be a starter in Jacksonville as well."

Now, losing a Matt Roth is not a critical blow, especially in a 4-3 system (which he does not prefer).  But it does somewhat underline the Browns' Front Office's unwillingness to make a plunge in the Free Agent market, allowing numerous players to walk (or walk on by) while acquiring/retaining very few.  Given Tom Heckert's track record so far, we probably owe him the benefit of the doubt, but just "getting younger" at every position isn't necessarily a recipe for success.