Trav's Thoughts

I quietly commented on the nice run by SF RB Frank Gore, 79 yards for a TD toward the end of the first quarter to give the 49ers a 10-0 lead.

Nah! I did a happy dance and shouted WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GO BABY GO BABY GO BABY GO! And then he did it again in the 3rd quarter for 80 yards to help lead SF to a 23-10 victory and a 2-0 start to the season.

Of course, I was solicitous and concerned when Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck went down with a rib injury. Both Pam and I were worried that it was his back again. We don't want to see any player get injured.

And it's always tough when our teams play against each other. Someone is going to be unhappy.

49er QB Shaun Hill isn't a great stat guy. He only threw for 144 yards on 19 of 26. But he didn't make a big mistake with an interception. Gore was the guy with his 2 long TD runs. He finished with 207 yards on 16 carries. The defense was the other story for SF, holding Seattle to less than 300 yards of offense.

SF (2-0) is at Minnesota (2-0) next week, while Seattle (1-1) hosts Chicago (1-1).

It's a double happy day as my Raiders beat Kansas City 13-10. Oakland couldn't run the ball or throw the ball with any degree of efficiency. The Chiefs had 409 yards of offense to my Raiders 166 yards.

But Oakland didn't turn the ball over and KC couldn't score touchdowns. At the end of the game, despite going 7 of 24 for 109 yards, QB JeMarcus Russell drove the Raiders 69 yards on 9 plays in 1:31. RB Darren McFadden ran 5 yards for the winning score.

It's ugly, but it's a W. These are the kinds of games the Raiders need to learn how to win. It would be great to have an accurate passer under center, a guy who can consistently get 250-300 yards passing and a couple of TDs every game, but we don't. So the defense is going to have to keep games close and give the team a chance, like it did today by intercepting KC QB Matt Cassel twice. It's a work in progress and it's going to be frustrating I'm sure over the next 14 games.

Oakland (1-1) hosts Denver next week (2-0).

Wait, did I say double happy? I meant to say triple happy because my Dodgers beat Tim Lincecum and the Giants today to take 2 of 3 from SF. Colorado also won today, so they remain 5 games back in the NL West. But my Dodgers' magic number now goes to 8 with 12 games to play.

But guess what? The magic number for my Dodgers to clinch a spot in the playoffs is only 4!!

And you know what else? I used to be concerned that our pitching wasn't going to be good enough. But that's what I get for listening to pronouncers and baseball "experts" instead of checking the numbers for myself. Get this...the LA pitching staff:

• leads the major leagues in ERA at 3.41. That's .18 better than the Giants who are widely considered to have one of, if not the, best pitching staffs in baseball.
• is tied for 5th in the majors for games saved, converting 42 of 65 opportunities.
• has given up the 3rd fewest home runs to date, 117 through 149 games.
• has given up the 2nd fewest total hits to date, 1,171 through 149 games.
• is 3rd in the majors in strike outs with 1,151 thorugh 149 games.
• is best in the majors in opponent on base average at .311.

So I'd say that my Dodgers' supposed lack of productive pitching is a myth. We may not have anyone among the league leaders in pitching, and we may not have a staff ace in the traditional sense of the term, but I'm much more confident that our staff has what it takes to get deep into the post season. If it takes a committee, then dangit it looks like we got one.

A little knowledge backed up by facts is good for the soul.

You know what else is good for the soul? A little bit of Faith Hill on a Sunday evening.