This and that

I've been extremely busy of late, which accounts for the lack of posts. But I do have a few items.

* I have made the decision to cut "The Morning After," my weekly Browns game wrap, in order to concetrate on more issue-based columns. I can't guarantee I'm going to be able to deliver a column every Sunday night or Monday morning, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to run a column called "The Morning After" on Tuesday or Wednesday.

*I am in favor of the decision to sit Josh Barfield, even though I think highly of his talent and his poise in the field. But he just wasn't getting it done at the plate. Someone needs to hit the "reset" button with Barfield. The trouble is, he's only the worst symptom in a teamwide disease, and I'm not sure anyone has the cure right now.

*If the Indians keep hitting like this, they aren't going to the playoffs, C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona aren't going to win 20 games, and Eric Wedge's job should be on the rocks -- should be. But almost certainly won't be.

*The Indians are run by a bunch of farm system guys. I think that plays into why progress always seems to come in increments and they are always so slow to react when things aren't going well. Expect a column on this in the near future, because it's gnawing at me big time.

*Hanford Dixon brought up a good point in the Monday evening edition of FSN's Browns camp show: In Derek Anderson's goal-line disaster during the first quarter of Saturday's game, where was the coaching staff's culpability? It was the coaching staff who had trouble getting plays in, burned two time outs and basically ground the drive to a halt. Anderson has definitely left something to be desired in the first two preseason games, but let's not throw him under the bus for the coaches' errors.

*Will Brady Quinn start the season opener? I'm going to play the Romeo Crennel noncommittal card and say "Ask me again about five minutes before the team runs out of the tunnel on Sept. 9." But in all seriousness, if Quinn is ready, there is no reason to hold him back, because Ken Dorsey represents the second-best chance the Browns have to score touchdowns, and that is sad.

*Michael Vick will plead guilty to federal dog fighting charges. He's going to federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison, so the question of "Will Vick go to jail?" has been answered. But now the question is, "Will he ever play in the NFL again?" My answer: Yes. And the fans of that team (it won't be the Falcons) will be salivating. Nothing is off-limits in war and football -- well, I can't say that. War at least has the Geneva Conventions.