Normalcy returns to the universe. And we are glad.
Category: Sports Page 5 of 6
I have a 1/2 dozen posts conceived and another 1/2 dozen started, but I have this time of year multiple 1/2 dozens of other things that I need to do.
Like read up on the Tampa Bay Rays…
If you like the Rays, and have an appreciation for well conceived irony, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy this post.
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[And, while I’m at it, from the shameless promotion department: Cinnamental Bakers has a very nice Christmas gift package of four rolls in attractive packaging for $10. We will deliver in the Bradenton area on the afternoon of the 24th if you need a last minute unique gift idea! Email me if interested.]
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Okay… back to work.
One more evidence that things are Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be
Oh well. There is at least one sign that things are not all awry.
The Great Sports Theologian is ordinarily very busy determining the Rules for Righteous Rooting. However, occasionally he has time to handle a question or two from the less enlightened.
Today’s question comes from a puzzled fan in these waining days of one season and while we are in the heart of another:
“Why do pitchers always look so unhappy? Is this my imagination? Do any of them smile when they play? They look like they are under so. much. pressure. Quarterbacks just seem to have more fun.”
I can’t say that I’ve observed this phenomenom. However, upon reflection, it is probably this which makes the brief career of Mark Fidrych so peculiar and outstanding. [I’m attaching a great reminder of this guy at the end of this post.]
Anyway, I think the answer is clear. The reason for such unhappiness is that as a result of the fall, humans will act contrary to the created order, and so reap unhappiness upon themselves.
Here is how it works in baseball. The Bible says that ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Clearly, you see, the most blessed person on the baseball diamond should be the pitcher. His primary act is one of giving. But being a sinner at heart, he does not want to give. The very act that should bring him joy, the giving of the ball at the beginning of every play, is a grief to him because of sin.
So, he never smiles.
But is not the same thing true of quarterbacks? Absolutely. The principle holds. The primary act of quarterbacks, however, is to receive. At the beginning of every play, the quarterback receives the ball. His sinful heart, therefore, makes him smile.
Quarterbacks, you should know, never willingly part with the ball. There is a theological reason that they do: 300 pounds of hell coming from all sides intent on pummeling him have a persuasive power which overcomes the natural possessive instinct.
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Not everyone reading this blog is a Christian, and not everyone is a sports fan. But for the person with Christian sensibilities and a modicum of interest in sport, I, The Great Sports Theologian, herewith offer you my assessment of the baseball teams now playing for their respective league championships that all righteous people should support.
First, we weigh the Dodgers and the Phillies. What is a Dodger, anyway? The ‘Artful Dodger’ in Oliver Twist was a pickpocket, was he not? Clearly we can’t support a Dodger.
In the other dugout we find the Phillies. The name ‘Phillies’ comes from the ‘Phila-‘ of ‘Philadelphia’, and originates in the Greek root ‘philos’, meaning ‘love’. Is it not clear that ‘love’ is to be supported over Dodgers. no matter how artful they be.
In the other league, we have the Angels playing the Yankees. To the southern half of the United States, of course, anything termed ‘Yankee’ is clearly of the Devil, an assessment supported nationwide with the Broadway production (and later movie) properly titled Damn Yankees.
And whom are they playing? The Angels. There is no question whom God’s people must support in this contest.
If both Phillies and Angels square off in the World Series, The Great Sports Theologian will again consult his books of wisdom to determine The Righteous Choice. Should the choice be between the Yankees and Dodgers, he will do the same, but only after an appropriate period of mourning.
For Tampa Bay Rays fans, there is an extra reason to be cheering for the Angels in tonight’s game four of the American League Championship Series (other than the fact that they are playing the Yankees).
We’d love to see Kaz have a great outing. It’s the closest we get to being in the series ourselves.
What to do with the remaining minutes of a Sunday evening?
There is a National League championship game on TV (which the Phillies are winning 4-0). There is an intriguing book
Ah, the solution: the mute button.
I know what they say: ‘multi-tasking’ is not really possible. Neither is decision making for some of us.
To a fifty three year old who does not feel that old, this is an affirmative encouragement.
To one whose drug of choice is baseball not golf, his reflections open an intriguing window on a game that is pretty much a mystery to me.
(To his comment that a PGA touring pro ‘eats what he kills’ I would add the knowledge, told to me by the wife of one such touring pro, that they, the golfers, bear the expenses of their touring. Therefore, a pro could conceivably travel to the British Open, miss the cut, and in the end find that he has lost money.)
My friend Jim Jones alerted me through his blog that tonight, August 6, was Lou Gehrig night at the Sarasota Reds vs. the St. Lucie Mets minor league baseball game at Ed Smith stadium in Sarasota. Colin, our eight year old, had wanted to go to a baseball game, and since this was also $1 night at the game ($1 admission, $1 hot dogs, $1 soda, and $1 popcorn), it seemed like an idea that couldn’t miss.
It was great. Four highlights should suffice:
1) Met HPC members George and Linda Donato. George used to play minor league ball.
2) In the fifth inning, a Mets player swung and missed a third strike and lost his grip on the bat. Things became surreal at that point. The bat flew threw the air as if it were floating through open space. It took a while for it to register in my brain what was happening. It landed eight rows back in the section just to the left field side of third base. No one was injured, and a kid (not mine) got to keep the bat. (I told my daughter and she suggested that ball players be required to have the bat secured to their wrist like the Wii controller. I have brilliant kids, of course, but I don’t think that’s an idea that’s going to take hold.)
3) In the sixth inning, while arguing a call at first base, the Reds manager Joe Ayrault (whose major league career consisted of six plate appearances more than mine) put in an Oscar winning performance. He continued screaming in the ump’s face for two or three minutes after being thrown out of the game, tearing up his line-up card into a dozen little pieces and scattering it around the field in the process. Lou Piniella would be proud.
4) The highlight had to be this: We ran into Jim and his wife at the game, but they were having to leave early. They had purchased a couple raffle tickets at the ALS booth, taking a personal interest since Jim’s dad died of the disease. They gave the tickets to us. By the end of the night, Colin was the proud owner of a Dusty Baker autographed bat as the winner of the raffle. Here he is holding it proudly.
This photo, from the AP website,
is accompanied by this caption:
“American League’s Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees is congratulated by American League manager Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays after scoring during the first period of the MLB All-Star baseball game in St. Louis, Tuesday, July 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)”
First what?