Fries and Ketchup: Faith renewed and continued

The weekly column where we try and mention anything we missed in the last week (or longer). It's a lot like those moments when you're out of ketchup, at a fine fast food restaurant, but lack the energy to go and get more; so you scrape away at the dregs on your hamburger wrapper, until all you can see is silver aluminum foil. It's classy, yet unrefined.

Challenge A'hoy:
This weeks challenge calls for you to match the stats to the salary;
First up the stats with the salaries to follow
- .305 AVG, 58 RBI, 11 HR, and 51 R
-.268 AVG, 32 RBI, 6 HR, and 61 R
-.254 AVG, 39 RBI, 2 HR, and 39 R

-$8,000,000
-$7,500,000
-$425,000

Also, I will give you 80 bonus points and a virtual pat on the back if you can match the players as well. Hint: All have played for the Braves at some point in their careers and all play the same position.

The Raiders did something right? :
Over the past couple seasons, it has become harder and harder to admit that I am a Raiders fan. And even though I never jumped ship at times the thought of rooting for a team with a consistent coaching staff, a unified goal, a GM, and the ability to reach more than 4 or 5 wins a season became tempting. However I'm a Raider fan, and there is nothing I can do about it. This is the team I picked when I was 5, thanks to Bo Jackson's skill and Howie Long's toughness. Through all the coaching changes, draft busts, free agency mistakes, and blown fourth quarter leads; I am a Raiders fan if I like it or not. Which brings me to the reason why I decided to write about my unwillingness and stubbornness to give up on the silver and black. Yesterday gave me two reasons to think things were changing in Alameda.

The first was the report that disgruntled defensive end Derrick Burgess had been traded to the New England Patriots for two undisclosed draft picks (most likely a 3rd and a 5th). This was big for a couple of reasons; They aren't caving into the demands of a player who has been declining since his arrival. In his four seasons with the Raiders he went from a club record 16 sacks to 11 to 8 to an ineffective 3.5. Burgess had to go, his mere presence in the locker room would debilitate what Cable and the rest of his coaching staff are trying to accomplish. Lastly it's better to trade him now before he becomes a free agent, leaving the Raiders with nothing to show.

Secondly the report that Michael Crabtree is willing to sit out the entire 2009 NFL season, due to the Niners inability to offer a deal to his liking. This is the same player analysts, journalists, and fans thought the Raiders should draft. Instead Al Davis went with the player he wanted, the lightning quick Derrius Heyward-Bey. It was a pick that made Mel Kiper scratch his head, and was most assuredly doomed to fail. But here we are just a couple months later with Crabtree threatening to re-enter the draft in 2010. While DHB is signed, practicing, and improving. I'm guessing Davis realized how hard it would be to get Crabtree to sign, and this was the main reason he went with the less-polished DHB. It would make plenty of sense, as the last thing the Raiders need is another repeat of the Jamarcus Russell rookie contract negotiations.

Sure for a fan of any other team these wouldn't be big reasons to get excited, but this is the Raiders we're talking about. Anything showing the Raiders may have learned from past mistakes (not trading Moss faster and not being able to sign J-Russ before the draft) is a step in the right direction.

Late-inning Faith:
Last year unless Manny Ramirez was raking in runs or the starter was lights out, it typically meant another notch in the loss column for the Dodgers. This year is the complete opposite; whether it be the pitching staffs (starters and relievers) ability to keep the team in the game, the superb and reliable defense, or the offensives ability to strike at any given moment; everyone is contributing in some way. These pieces have molded together magnificently to create a great baseball team; and has me believing that every game, no matter how many runs down the team may be, that they can still come back and win.

All of those pieces were on display last night in a 5-4 win over the visiting Atlanta Braves. The game was started by the always consistent Randy Wolf; who pitched 7 innings, striking out 4, walking 3, and giving up 4. The offense sputtered against former Dodger Derek Lowe, but luckily they had RBI from both Juan Pierre and Manny Ramirez that allowed the Dodgers to enter the bottom of the ninth only down by 2 runs. Then with two men on and Braves closer Rafael Soriano on the slab, lightening struck again. Andre Ethier hit a walk-off home run, his league leading fifth of the season. This walk-off led to the Dodgers recording their 11th walkoff win and 29th come-from-behind victory to improve the best record in the majors to 67-42. With games like that, it's no wonder why it feels like their is something special in the air at Chavez Ravine.

Buy This Album:
Dirty Projectors "Bitte Orca"
This album is everything an indie album should be; divergent, melancholy, and anomalous. But you don't have to take my word for it, just check out what David Byrne had to say about the band.


Thank You:
While writing this post, Teach informed me that director John Hughes had passed away. If you're not sure who he is, just think of anytime you watched USA or TBS during the summer and you probably watched one of his movies. His list of directorial credits include; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Uncle Buck, Planes Trains & Automobiles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and Sixteen Candles. So basically any good movie from the eighties that didn't involve Arnold, Tom Cruise, Paul Newman or Sly Stallone. I would also venture to guess that anyone born in the eighties has seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off approximately 900 times, and spent almost as much time trying to emulate Ferris. Which makes me wonder, who do kids have now? Zac Efron? The Jonas Brothers? Shia LeBeouf? Thank God that I was an 80's baby. Speaking of John Hughes..