Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Guardians Are Worst Team In Baseball In Several Key Areas

Published

54 mins ago

September 8, 2024

Cleveland Guardians Are Worst Team In Baseball In Several Key Areas

The Cleveland Guardians have managed to stamp their name among the best teams in baseball in spite of a very strange season overall.

Their starting pitching has been abysmal and their offensive has been maddeningly inconsistent, but thanks to a dynamic bullpen, the Guardians are on track to win the AL Central.

But there is one very unique area in which Cleveland is the worst club in the league: batting average on balls in play, more commonly known as BABIP.

The Guardians lay claim to a BABIP of .271, which is well below the approximate league average of .290.

While a low BABIP may sometimes suggest bad luck, there are other factors at play here, which Chad Jennings and Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic note.

Cleveland is at the bottom of the league in hard-hit percentage, home run distance and exit velocity. The Guardians also have the second-lowest barrel rate and the third-fewest balls hit at least 95 mph.

Quite simply, Cleveland is not making great contact, which is the primary reason why the club’s offense has largely sputtered over the last couple of months.

Given those concerning numbers, it’s no wonder that the Guardians rank 22nd in the MLB in batting average and 17th in OPS.

Taking all of that into consideration, it’s truly astonishing that Cleveland is 80-60 going into Friday’s action, although the Guardians have gone just 44-43 since their 36-17 start. They have also gone a mere 29-34 since peaking at 51-26 in June.

As of right now, Cleveland is doing just enough to keep separation between itself and the rest of the squads within its division, but we’ll see if all of these issues come back to bite the Guardians in the playoffs.

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Cleveland, OH

Lumber Liquidators is closing Ohio stores among 424 closings nationally

Published

8 hours ago

September 7, 2024

Press Room

Lumber Liquidators is closing Ohio stores among 424 closings nationally

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Just weeks after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announcing it was seeking a buyer, LL Flooring says it will close all of its stores and cease operations.

The Richmond, Virginia-based company (NYSE: LL), which was formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, said it was unable to find a buyer with necessary financing after discussions with multiple bidders.

It said in a regulatory filing that it will close all of its stores nationwide. The company lists 424 stores on its website; it had previously announced the closure of 94 stores when it filed for Chapter 11 in early August.

Read the full story on cleveland.com’s sister site, Cleveland Business Journal.

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Cleveland, OH

Cleveland-Cliffs reiterates offer to buy mills U.S. Steel is threatening to close

Published

15 hours ago

September 7, 2024

Press Room

Cleveland-Cliffs reiterates offer to buy mills U.S. Steel is threatening to close

Concerns over collapse of U.S. Steel deal

Some concerned collapse of U.S. Steel deal will hurt workers

05:31

Cleveland-Cliffs is reiterating its interest in buying unionized mills that U.S. Steel is threatening to close should its takeover by Japan’s Nippon Steel get blocked by President Joe Biden.

While the White House has said it’s waiting to hear from the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, or CFIUS, as to potential national security concerns presented by the deal before making a decision, Cleveland-Cliffs applauded reports that Mr. Biden is ready to derail the merger.

“Our industry is best served by American companies that are committed to the long-term prosperity of domestic manufacturing, supported by good paying union jobs, under American ownership, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a statement Thursday. “Cleveland-Cliffs stands ready to immediately acquire and invest in any and all union-represented assets that U.S. Steel shuts down, protecting union jobs and investing in the future livelihoods and communities in which the facilities operate.”

The CEO’s statement helped revive U.S. Steel’s stock, which on Friday was up more than 5% and trading at $31.50 a share.

U.S. Steel shares drop amid reports of Biden plan to block merger with Nippon Steel

04:14

U.S. Steel stock had plunged after Vice President Kamala Harris added her voice to those who support keeping the iconic company domestically owned and operated at a Labor Day event in Pittsburgh on Monday. Shares caved further after reports that Mr. Biden is readying to formally block the proposed more than $14 billion acquisition, possibly in the coming days.

U.S. Steel moved to salvage the deal, saying it would have to close mills represented by the United Steelworkers (USW) union if the acquisition by Nippon Steel does not go through. The USW opposes the merger, but supported a rejected offer by Cleveland-Cliffs for U.S. Steel.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs is already acquiring Canadian steelmaker Stelco Holdings for $2.8 billion.

Kate Gibson

Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York, where she covers business and consumer finance.

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Cleveland, OH

$5 million bond set in 7-year-old boy’s death in Cleveland

Published

22 hours ago

September 7, 2024

Press Room

million bond set in 7-year-old boy’s death in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A judge Friday set the bond at $5 million for a man accused of driving the SUV that struck and killed a 7-year-old boy as he rode his skateboard in a parking lot.

Cleveland Municipal Judge Ann Clare Oakar ordered the bond during Donald Mynatt’s first appearance. Federal marshals arrested Mynatt, 32, of Cleveland, in Willoughby on Tuesday.

Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to Mynatt’s attorney, Bret Jordan, for a comment.

Mynatt is accused of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death. Authorities said Mynatt was at the wheel of a black Mercedes Benz SUV when it struck Amir Prewitt in the parking lot of Lakeshore Beach Apartments in North Collinwood on Aug. 16 as the boy rode his skateboard.

Police said Mynatt dragged Amir underneath the vehicle and refused to stop.

Amir was transported to Euclid Hospital in a private vehicle, where he later died. The SUV later was found abandoned.

Cuyahoga County prosecutors are expected to take Mynatt’s case to a grand jury in a matter of days. The charges are expected to be upgraded to first-degree felonies.

The high bond that Oakar set is somewhat typical for those charged with serious felonies, according to court documents. Authorities had filed a request for a high bond in the case, as Mynatt had eluded authorities for weeks.

Amir would have been a second-grader at St. Thomas Aquinas School in Cleveland this fall, according to published reports.

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