Daily Archives: May 28, 2022

Ramirez, Bieber lead Guardians past Tigers

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It was the combined efforts of Jose Ramirez and Shane Bieber that propelled the Cleveland Guardians over the Detroit Tigers with an 8-1 win.

Ramirez went 2-4 with five RBI thanks to a bases clearing triple and a two-run homer. In addition to what he did at the plate, Ramirez scored three times, walked once, and stolen base. Josh Naylor also had a productive day at the plate going 2-5 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored.

Bieber struck out five Tigers in 8 innings. The Guardians starter scattered eight hits while allowing just one run. This outing combined with Cleveland’s offense taking advantage of Detroit’s pitching led to a much needed win Saturday.

The early success of Oscar Gonzalez also continued. Gonzalez again went 2-4, one of those hits being a double. Another young outfielder, Richie Palacios, joined Gonzalez in the quest for playing time. Palacios got two hits in four at-bats with an RBI and a run scored. Both Gonzalez and Palacios have found playing time due to Franmil Reyes landing on the list. So far they have taken advantage as they may push another outfielder off the roster considering how the unit has performed so far.

The third and final game of the series (thanks to Friday’s’ postponement) will take place Sunday at 1:40 with Triston McKenzie starting for the Guardians while Elvin Rodriguez will be Detroit’s counterpart.

David Njoku extension very risky move by Browns

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The Cleveland Browns signed tight end David Njoku to an incredibly risky four-year $56.75 million contract extension.

Any contract extension is a risk by a team. That risk grows as the dollar figure increases. It becomes a very large risk when the player being extended still has not lived up to his first round draft status. That is the state of affairs when it comes to David Njoku and the Cleveland Browns.

Coming into the draft Njoku was profiled as a raw developmental project type player. During his five seasons in the league those skills have improved slightly, but he is still a very raw player who is nowhere near refinement. The idea of what Njoku could be versus what he actually is leads to overvaluing from fans and media alike.

In one of the more risky moves from Cleveland, the team signed Njoku to a four-year $56.75 million deal with $28 million guaranteed. The deal will average $14.1875 million per year which ranks fifth for the tight end position. That is quite a bit of money to be paying a player who has not done much in the production department.

On the field production or lackthereof

The 148 catches, 1,754 yards, and 15 touchdowns in five seasons from David Njoku is underwhelming. That works out to 2.3 receptions and 27 yards per over 65 career games. As mentioned in a previous article, Njoku is more likely to have a game with 20 or less yards receiving (37) than 21 or more (28). This is hardly the production that usually leads a big time contract.

While it must be said that Njoku had Baker Mayfield as his quarterback for the majority of his career and his special talent is making his pass catchers struggle in the production department. Mayfield manages to get the least out of most receiving targets when the goal is for the polar opposite. In addition to quarterback issues, Njoku missing most of 2019 combined with being in and out of multiple doghouses has not helped matters.

The best season for David Njoku came in 2018 with 56 receptions for 639 yards and four touchdowns. Njoku has not come all that close to matching those numbers in the following three seasons. There is also the fact that Njoku requested to be traded twice during his time with the Browns. Even going as far as hiring Drew Rosenhaus aka the “Get me out of Cleveland expert”. When Rosenhaus was not able to succeed Njoku returned to his former agent and his trade request was subsequently dropped.

Browns seem to be infatuated with Njoku despite continued lack of production

Prior to the 2020 season Cleveland picked up the fifth-year option on Njoku. This resulted in being paid just over $6 million for just 36 receptions, 475 yards, and four touchdowns. The Browns used the franchise tag on Njoku when they were unable to come to an agreement on a new contract following the season. Not necessarily thrilled with this development, Njoku skipped voluntary OTA’s as he wanted a new deal first. This was an interesting power play from a player who really has not accomplished all that much on the field that miraculously worked.

The Browns are taking a massive risk with this contract. As mentioned previously, every contract can classified as a risk. This contract from Cleveland just seems to be amplifying that risk to a very high level with a player who has not shown enough consistency or development to warrant it. It is possible that Njoku (finally) takes the next step in the development process, but it is also highly likely that he is who he is and that may not change.