The oddity that is the Oakland Raiders

When people ask me "What is it like to be a Raider fan?" or "How can you like a team with such a badly run front office?'" I explain to them the how and why I became a Raider fan and then tell them what its like now. Which usually sounds something like this "Its quite simple in fact, I was born in L.A. and hated the Rams. I could best compare being in the Raider Nation to being a citizen of Fantastica (or Fantasia) as the force of Nothing is busy destroying our once proud and wonderful little World. "

This has been by far the worst year to be a citizen of the Nation, as every week seems to have brought on a weirder event. There was the beatdown Javon Walker received in Vegas. the fight between John Herrera and Tim Kawakami , the firing of Kiffin, the Al Davis press conference , and finally the release of DeAngelo Hall,.Quite a strange and tough year indeed, and thats not including all the losses.

The Raiders run of bizarre events have slowed for the mean time, but I think we all know its just a matter of time before they resurface. However the most curious thing is that the Raiders still have a shot at the division crown. Sure the chances are low, but the thought that this team could be in the playoffs is priceless.

At this point your probably saying to yourself "how could a team like this possibly make the playoffs", well let me map out the Raiders long road to the playoffs:

• First of all with the win against Denver and San Diego's loss to Indy it put them a game behind the Chargers. If the Chargers were to lose to Atlanta this weekend and the Raiders beat the Chiefs, the Raiders and Chargers would head into their week 14 match-up with matching records of 4-8. If the Raiders found a way to win that game they would be at 5-8.

• Now the Broncos at 6-5, have games against the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs. With losses against both clubs (they already gave KC, their lone victory this year) the Broncos would be only one game ahead of the Raiders at 6-7.
  
  
• The Broncos last three weeks include games at the Panthers, home against the Bills, and at the Chargers. While the Raiders have games against the Patriots, Texans, and at Tampa Bay. If somehow the Raiders have a better record then the Broncos through the last 5 games, they could force a tiebreaker or win the division outright.

In a nutshell, all the Raiders need to do is start winning all their games and for the Broncos to fold like a deck of cards. Its possible but not probable. I think its funny that there is even a remote possibility that a 3-8 team could have a shot at the playoffs.

As I stated on Monday I have no idea whats in store for the future, but I would like to add that D-Mac is our bastion of hope and I expect him to be our Moon Child .

The Nats should sign Barry Bonds

The first year of life in the new ballpark for the Nationals could not be going any worse; their "big" off season signing Paul Lo Duca was caught in the middle of the steroid scandal, half the team has been injured at one point, the attendance has not gone up much since the opening of Nationals Park (currently 16th in the league) , their record is the worst in baseball, and the TV ratings are the worst in the bigs. So you can say the Nationals are not really having that break-out year the Lerners expected. It does take time to build a winner and a fan base. But last in the bigs is a huge step in the wrong direction.

Barry Bonds, has been chilling in California trying to get a deal all season. His agent Jeff Borris recently said :

“I am not talking to any club about Barry Bonds, because they all made it very
clear to me they are not interested in him. Every club.”

His salary requests are out of this world and he probably wants to play for a contender. The media frenzy that would follow Bonds and all his steroid connections that go with it, are too much for a team to bare. He is a liability in the outfield and not reliable enough to only be a designated hitter. But what I aim to give, are reasons why both the Nationals and Bonds would be helped greatly by the situation.

More after the jump

First up the Nationals:

They would get a legitimate power threat to knock runners in, having Christian Guzman batting .313 with 126 hits and only 54 runs scored is disgusting. The Nationals biggest HR threat may get 20 HRs this season, Bonds would be a major addition in the category.

Opposing fans love to go to the game and boo Barry, getting more fans in the nice new ballpark is the idea, right? Maybe the fans that come to boo Barry would realize the park is worth coming to and keep coming back.

Barry Bonds works hard, he may have cheated but you don't become one of the best players of all-time through roids and a good gene pool. If the younger guys see what it takes to be a HOF caliber player, maybe they will work that much harder and pick up some of his good habits.

Bonds gets national attention, the more Bonds is on TV the higher the ratings.

It would only be a half season thing, if he doesn't play well or is a distraction your not burning cash farther down the line

Those are a couple reasons that the Nationals would benefit from the signing of Barry Bonds.

And Barry's

Barrys benefits are more short-term but could help him in the long run

He could show that's it not all about the money, by taking a pay cut to play in the nation's capitol

He could work on his relationship with reporters and maybe get a better shot at getting in the HOF. DC is known for its spin doctors.

Barry could pull farther away from Hank Aaron's mark, making him a must vote for the HOF

He could hang out with Meat Hook, who wouldn't want to hang with this guy?

The Nationals are probably the worst team assembled in the last 20 years, and Barry Bonds would not help much. But what else can the team do, Lerner wont spend money and doesn't plan on it in the future. It takes a minimum of 10 years to build a fan base, so somethings got to give to make it that long. Either the scouts and the players have to get better or the Lerners need to start spending some dough. Well other then the half-billion they spent buying the team. Hopefully the Nationals front office will start taking chances on people that are good and not just filled with potential. Let me remind you, I am a Dodgers fan, so I am in no way a Bonds fan. But I am a baseball fan and I would like to see the Nationals do something out of the ordinary to build the franchise.