From Fans’ Perspective, Is Joshua Cribbs the Second Most Untradable Cleveland Athlete?
The following tweet by our friend Scott from Waiting For Next Year perfectly summed up my thoughts regarding the Josh Cribbs trade rumors floating around right now:
As little underlying support there is, these Josh Cribbs rumors are not fun
He is exactly right.
Who knows how legitimate the Cribbs-to-Miami or Cribbs-to-whomever talk is, but there is nothing fun or exciting at all about the Browns’ clear fan favorite being mentioned in the same sentence as the word “trade.”
All the rumors about Cribbs got me to thinking: is he the second most untradable sports figure in Cleveland?
(I think we all know who the first is.)
Let’s think about it for a second.
Is there anyone on the Cavs right now other than LeBron that Cleveland fans have a really strong connection to? I would suspect that Big Z is in that category, but considering his age and contract, I’m not sure Cavs fans would be too up in arms if there was a parting of the ways soon.
Shaq, despite his profile and the excitement surrounding his arrival, has yet to play a regular season game for the Cavs. There has been no time for a connection to develop.
Do you see anyone else on the Cavs roster with 1/10th the fan love of Josh Cribbs? I don’t.
Let’s then move on to the Indians where, unfortunately for Indians fans, two fan favorites have already been dealt away over the past two years: C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee. I would definitely have placed Sabathia right there with Cribbs, if not above.
Who else on the Indians roster might qualify in Cribbs’ class?
Fausto Carmona and Travis Hafner were on their way a few years ago, but then decided to suck and have fallen out of favor. The only person who could legitimately enter the conversation is Grady Sizemore.
Sizemore is a very, very good player, but for years I have felt that he was somewhat overrated.
Don’t get me wrong: he’s among the top 25-30 players in baseball, especially when you factor in his tremendous defensive ability. I just don’t consider him among the elite of the elite as some people do.
When it comes to fan love, however, Sizemore does pretty well for himself.
Guys like Grady because he’s a 30-30 threat who can help their fantasy team and has been the one consistent offensive force on the Indians’ revolving door of a lineup over the past few years. And the ladies like him because, well…I guess because he has dimples, or something? (Money, you idiot…it’s the money! And the shirts…)
And then we get to the Browns, where talented former 1st round picks like Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards have recently been traded away without much fan consternation.
The only player whose popularity could approach Cribbs’ is that of Brady Quinn. However, considering Quinn’s underwhelming performances when given an opportunity, it’s not like the majority of Cleveland fans honestly feel like they have a prettier version of Bernie Kosar sitting on the bench right now.
In fact, while there is a subset of Browns fans who would be pissed and upset if Quinn got traded, there is no such subset of fans who would be pissed and upset to see Cribbs go.
ALL Browns fans would be devastated to see Josh Cribbs gone. ALL OF THEM.
Every single one.
If you can find me a single Browns fan who would be even remotely excited about the loss of Josh Cribbs, I will grow a mustache, name it Zastudil, and interview it on a podcast.
Seriously.
Loading ...For all of the ill will that Eric Mangini and George Kokinis have generated since their arrival, it would pale in comparison to the fan backlash that would result from trading Joshua Cribbs for anything less than a franchise QB or an already established superstar defensive player.
Cribbs is the one guy who gives us all hope every time he touches the ball. He has been the heart and soul of the organization since he became a star in 2007. He has continued to play hard this year despite little hope of team success and little progress on a contract extension that was promised to him.
There is not much good about the Cleveland Browns right now, but whatever ounce of good exists is manifested almost entirely in the play of Josh Cribbs.
You can get away with trading malcontents like Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards. Browns fans understand that. And if you’re going to be cheap, stupid-line-in-the-sand hardasses about Cribbs’ contract, and not pay the guy what he deserves, then I hope the Browns do trade him…for Cribbs’ own sake.
Josh Cribbs deserves to play for an organization that understands and respects his value to the team, fans, and city. Mangini and Kokinis just need to realize that said organization needs to be Cleveland, with no excuses.
I don’t care if he’s “just a special teams player.” Watch the damn games, watch the effort, watch his teammates respond to him, assess the value of what you’d have to pay him for the myriad tangible and intangible positives he brings, and watch the fans stay interested in the miserable overall product because of this exciting player with the never-say-die attitude and never-quit motor.
Josh Cribbs is a special player. Period.
I’m not saying pay him like a #1 WR or a top-flight defensive lineman or anything like that. Just pay the guy what he deserves for his value on the field and his value to the organization, with his value to the fans being a major part of that.
Pay him, and don’t trade him.
I’m coming to Cleveland next weekend for the Packers game. If Josh Cribbs isn’t there too, I am not going to be happy. Not one bit. I’ve never booed my own team at home — and I’d never boo the players so long as they’re giving effort — but I’d boo Eric Mangini as hard and as loud as I possibly could if Cribbs is not around.
And something tells me the other 73,200 people at Cleveland Browns stadium would join me.
Luckily, it sounds like the Cribbs rumors are just that: rumors. And from everything I’ve read, the Browns are not actively shopping Cribbs. They are merely listening to offers considering Cribbs’ desire for a new contract.
Fine. I understand that…so long as it results in an amicable resolution in which Cribbs gets a new contract and we all have some security that our favorite player will be around for a while.
Update: Cribbs’ agent thinks that the Browns are being unfair by not trading him or redoing his contract.
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* – Grady Sizemore photo credit: Luello.com
* – Joshua Cribbs photo credit: AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
Tags: brady quinn, Cleveland, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, cleveland indians, eric mangini, george kokinis, grady sizemore, josh cribbs trade rumors, joshua cribbs, lebron james
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Solid piece. Just wanted to say that Grady's shirt might be the most horrendous thing I've ever seen. It's like a tie-dye version of Skeletor.
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Haha…agreed.
Serious question for you though Denny. You live in Cleveland, unlike me. How would you assess/compare the popularity of Cribbs to Sizemore? And is there anyone else (other than LeBron of course) who compares to those two?
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Denny Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 1:22 am
Hey sorry I fell off a bit here – I actually live in DC and write for WFNY from elsewhere.
But from what I've gathered, I'd say Grady is more popular than Cribbs. That being said, I have no idea as I don't follow the Browns as much as the Tribe. A lot of my friends live elsewhere as well nowadays. I would say though that for most people Grady is a bigger deal because he's an all-around player, whereas Cribbs is mainly a special teamer.
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Jerod….
LeBron is definitely number 1. Cribbs is number 3. Although Cribbs on special teams is currently the Cleveland Browns only source of offense, the Browns are not going to bring a championship to Cleveland. My number 2 as a Clevelander is Shaq. Growing up, never would a player of his caliber or magnitude ever, EVER come to Cleveland. LeBron landed this kind of star power to the mistake on the lake… And the Daddy is here for one reason, "A ring for the king!" I would place Shaq and the opportunity for a championship to Cleveland at my #2!
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JerodMSF Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Kurt, I appreciate your opinion — and you live in Ohio, unlike me — but I can't believe that more people in Cleveland would be upset if Shaq was traded than if Cribbs were traded. A lot of Cleveland people still aren't even sure if bringing in Shaq was the right move! No one doubts that keeping Cribbs is in the Browns' best interests.
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Kurt Fraschetti Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
As a fan of both Basketball and Football, again, I can not remember having a presence like Shaq coming to Cleveland. In football terms, that would be like having Ray Lewis or Tom Brady come to the Browns. Sure, Shaq is past his prime, but a past his prime Shaq is still a top 5 center in the NBA, and will plug up the key, which stopped the Cavs from a championship last year. Cribbs is electrifying, but the Browns have had a Cribbs before, just with different names… Eric Metcalf, Gerald "the icecube" McNeil. Click link for 1986 Browns History. http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/20...
I am a huge U of M fan and was happy about the Braylon trade. Not to lose Braylon, but to gain something we will not recover from if he left as a free agent. I would hate to see him go, and it would kill me to see another unproductive Buckeye on the Browns roster, but I value Shaq this year more than Cribbs. That's just my opinion!
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[...] This post was based off a tweet from Scott and led to an intriguing analysis of the second most popular Cleveland athlete. Take your pick on the site: “Who knows how legitimate the Cribbs-to-Miami or Cribbs-to-whomever talk is, but there is nothing fun or exciting at all about the Browns’ clear fan favorite being mentioned in the same sentence as the word ‘trade.’ All the rumors about Cribbs got me to thinking: is he the second most untradable sports figure in Cleveland? (I think we all know who the first is.) Let’s think about it for a second.” [Jerod/Midwest Sports Fans] [...]
You aren't entirely correct about Cribbs. He is popular, but there are still a number of football fans here that would say Cribbs isn't a WR or a QB, and there is a limit to how much you can pay even premium special teams players. Not to mention the fact that Cribbs signed a long term contract, and immediately began complaining that it wasn't enough. I realize that he is underpaid, but it seems like he was willing to give up $ for length of contract. You can't change your mind after the deal is done and expect fans to support you.
Personally, I think fans would be more outraged if they traded Joe Thomas away. He is the only decent first round draft pick we've had for years.
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JerodMSF Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Rick,
Great perspective. And honestly I forgot about Thomas. You are absolutely right. I would place Thomas above Cribbs on my own list for sure.
And you're right regarding the amount to pay a special teams player. However, I think the fact that Lerner supposedly promised him a redone contract changes things a bit. Has there been confirmation that this actually happened? If so, I have no gripe with Cribbs wanting a new deal. And to be honest, I don't have a big problem with it anyway. Players rarely have leverage when it comes to their contract. Mangini would cut Cribbs in a second if he got hurt, struggled for a long period of time, etc. If he has a chance to angle for a new contract because he's outperformed what he signed, I'm not going to look down upon him, especially since he's continued to play hard throughout. That is much different than bitching AND holding out.
But you are right about Thomas, He is so quiet and unassuming that he can be forgotten about, but he is clearly our most important building block for the future.
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Guys…LeBron?
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