I was just watching Pardon the Interruption (PTI) on ESPN2, and a couple of the stories that they started out with today revolved around a couple of things that have happened in baseball in the last 24 hours - both things that I have thought about blogging about, and was now provoked into doing so.
The first one is a comment that Hank Steinbrenner made last night, following a Yankees loss to the Red Sox that caused severe damage to their already slim playoff chances. He said that the Yankees suck. That's right, he proclaimed from the mountaintop of mass media something that many of us already knew - the Yankees suck. I've said it for years, because I'm not crazy about a team that goes out and spends all kinds of money to get the top free agents every year. Now, as you may know, up until last season a part of me was pulling for the Yankees because I so greatly respect Joe Torre as a manager. (As a side note, Torre is my dad's all time favorite baseball player - even before he played for the Cardinals in the mid-late 70's.) However, given the disrespect shown to Torre by Steinbrenner's "contract" (a contract that was lower than before, but provided "bonuses" for each level of the playoffs reached). My full-fledged less than pleasant disposition towards the Yankees was revived.
Seriously though, what is the deal with the Steinbrenners? They are constantly putting down their own team - a team that they certain had a hand in putting together. They just need to shut their mouths and let the people who actually know stuff about baseball take care of things on the field. You know, there will be times when a team unexpectedly comes out of nowhere and takes control (like Tampa this season), and because of the baseball playoff system, only 4 teams are going to make it. If you don't outplay those ahead of you, you ain't gonna make it. Period. And that's what has happened this year. The Yankees are being outplayed by the Red Sox and the Rays, and they aren't playing well enough to keep up with the Twins/White Sox (whoever is going to end up in second in the AL Central and out of the playoffs). Deal with it. People are tired of the Yankees, and this is a season where they could very well win 85 games and be sitting at home come October. We don't want to hear any more from an owner that has nothing to do but criticize his team.
The second comment that I have is regarding the Cardinals-Brewers game. Last night, after getting out of a jam in the 7th inning, the Brewers pitcher taunted the Cardinal dugout. Which, of course, infuriated Albert Pujols, who was on deck at the time. One thing you don't do it tick off an MVP-caliber player - nor do you taunt a team that has recently won a World Series, and has soundly put you in the middle to bottom of their division for years. At the time, the Cardinals were down 3-1, and, what do you know, Pujols leads off the 8th with a double, and is quickly brought home to make the score 3-2. When the dust finally settled, the Cardinals went into the 9th inning with a 5-3 lead, and they went on to win the game.
So, my message for the Brewers (like any of them would actually read my blog): You haven't proven anything yet. Yes, you won a season series against the Cardinals, but you aren't in the playoffs yet. In case you've forgotten, you collapsed down the stretch last season. When was the last time the Brewers did anything of note? 1982? Oh yeah, and who did that lose that Series to? So, man up and play the game. Don't taunt a team that is breathing down your neck before its all sown up. Take care of your business and don't worry about everybody else.
Too Good to Play
I just read an article on Yahoo! about a 9 year old boy who was banned from pitching in his league because he threw too hard. The kid is good. He's 9 years old and throws at 40 mph heater. Now I don't know what an average 9 year old throws, but an average 9 year old doesn't throw so hard that the rest of the batters in the league are scared to face him. And it's not like he's the second-coming of Wild Thing Ricky Vaughn. From what I gathered from the story, he has rarely, if ever, hit a batter.
I found out earlier that one of the local stations was going to have a story on it, but I'm sure it has already aired by now. Well, that, and the fact that I don't watch the local news will combine to ensure that I will not see the story.
So, is there such a thing as being too good? Apparently there is.
I found out earlier that one of the local stations was going to have a story on it, but I'm sure it has already aired by now. Well, that, and the fact that I don't watch the local news will combine to ensure that I will not see the story.
So, is there such a thing as being too good? Apparently there is.
Top 5 Baseball Players at Each Position
So, before bed one night a few weeks ago, I was watching the Best *Dang* Sports Show on FoxSports. They had a special concerning the all time baseball team – 10 players, the best at their position in the history of the game. Their panel consisted of Harold Reynolds, former ESPN analyst and current mlb.com contributor; Ken Rosenthal, a sports writer; and Rollie Fingers, a Hall of Fame pitcher with a massive handlebar mustache. BDSS came up with four nominees at each position (including relief pitcher), the panel discussed their opinions, and at the end of the show, the all time team was revealed.
I love these kind of discussions, I really do. I’ll admit, I’m a total baseball junkie. I once watched the White Sox and the Orioles because it was on TV. I actually know what a WHIP is and how to figure out an ERA. I do fantasy baseball – always placing Pujols as my #1 pick, regardless of what the “experts” say, and often trading for him when I don’t draft him. We can talk all day about baseball. I absolutely love it.
So let me begin by expressing my utter contempt for the lineup that they put forth. First of all, here’s the lineup (no particular batting order, just by position)
SP – Roger Clemens
RP – Mariano Rivera
C – Johnny Bench
1B – Lou Gehrig
2B – Joe Morgan
3B – Mike Schmidt
SS – Alex Rodriguez
LF – Barry Bonds
CF – Willie Mays
RF – Hank Aaron
You’ll notice that there are some pretty major ommissions on this list. It was very interesting to me that when asked about the best baseball player of all time, the panelists to a man said “Babe Ruth.” Certainly, the Bambino belongs in any sort of argument of the kind, but he didn’t even make it on the starting roster!
As these type of discussions often do, I got to thinking about who I would place on the best team of all time. It is not easy, but that’s why it is so fun! Below I will list (in my opinion) the top 5 players of all time at a given position, and I will place them in the order that I would rank them.
My criteria:
1) They have to be in the Hall of Fame. I don’t care how good a modern day player is, they are not in the Hall of Fame. Until they are elected into the Hall of Fame, they cannot be a part of this discussion.
2) They have to have good numbers. I’m not going to put somebody on this list simply because of their reputation. Unfortunately, what we tend to look at are offensive numbers, but we cannot forget that defense is a key part of the game as well. Outstanding defenders with poor offensive numbers will be on this list solely because of their defense, but they will not be at the top of the list. As I write this, wearing an Ozzie Smith jersey, I know full well that this means one of my favorite players will not be at the top of his position, even though he is hands-down the best defender that I’ve ever seen.
3) World Series championships do not matter nearly as much. Great players play on bad teams. Winning a World Series is a team effort, not the effort of a single individual.
4) The Hall of Fame lists the particular position as their primary position.
SP: Walter Johnson; Christy Mathewson; Grover Alexander; Bob Gibson; Sandy Koufax
I know what some of you are thinking right now. “Where in the world is Cy Young? The award that goes to the best pitcher in each league every year is named after him. He is the all time wins leader in baseball history!” He also has more losses than anyone else in the history of the game. He is one of two players in history to allow more than 2000 earned runs. He doesn’t even crack the top 15 in strikeouts with Mike Mussina and Tom Glavine breathing down his neck (200 K’s away). Koufax was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history. I almost left him off of this list, but then I looked at the final 8 years of his career, and they were absolutely phenomenal. Besides, he has one of the highest winning percentages in baseball history.
RP: Dennis Eckersley; Rollie Fingers; Goose Gossage; Bruce Sutter
What? No fifth person? Yeah, this is all of the relievers in the Hall of Fame right now. Look for Lee Smith, Trevor Hoffman, and Mariano Rivera to be added to the discussion in years to come.
C: Yogi Berra; Carlton Fisk; Johnny Bench; Gary Carter; Josh Gibson*
Okay, so maybe there is one person who is getting on this list because of reputation. It was said that Josh Gibson hit over 800 HR’s in his career in the Negro League. Some referred to him as the Black Babe Ruth. Others referred to Ruth as the White Josh Gibson. But he is in the Hall of Fame!
1B: Lou Gehrig; Jimmie Foxx; Eddie Murray; Willie McCovey; Johnny Mize
Gehrig is a bit of a no-brainer on this one. Perhaps what would be most surprising to most people though, is that Gehrig is #4 in this group as far as HR’s are concerned.
2B: Rogers Hornsby; Nap Lajoie; Joe Morgan; Rod Carew; Jackie Robinson
This was probably the hardest position. Somebody good was going to get left off. I almost left Jackie Robinson off because he really didn’t play all that long in the first place, but he so significantly changed the game of baseball that there is no way I could, in good conscience, leave him off of this list. Besides, Sandberg played for the Cubbies… And who is Nap Lojoie? Look him up on mlb.com and you’ll see why he is so far up this list. His numbers are incredible.
3B: Mike Schmidt; George Brett; Brooks Robinson; Wade Boggs; Eddie Mathews
Surprisingly, this is not a very deep position at the HoF. Schmidt is the closest to the total package that you’ll find at 3B in baseball history. He was a good defender and a superb hitter. Brett hit over .300 for his career. Robinson’s offensive numbers are what primarily kept him out of the #2 spot. They really weren’t all that good – just average. Boggs has an amazing career batting average, but is not a very powerful hitter. Mathews, well, he is #2 on this list for career HR’s.
SS: Cal Ripken Jr.; Honus Wagner; Ozzie Smith; Robin Yount; Ernie Banks
This was another tough choice. Ripken, however, revolutionized the position and paved the way for good hitting SS in major league baseball. While the Wizard’s offensive numbers are decent, he is hands-down the best defender in the history of the infield, not just at the SS position. The last position came down to Reese and Rizzuto, and Reese just blew away the Scooter. Then I thought about my criteria once again. Ernie Banks actually played more games at 1B than SS, but the HoF lists SS as his primary position. I put him at the bottom of the list more on a technicality than anything else.
LF: Stan Musial; Ted Williams; Carl Yastrzemski; Lou Brock; Joe Medwick
That’s right. I have three Cardinals on this list. Musial was simply “The Man”. I can hear the outrage on the part of some people that would put the Splendid Splinter ahead of the Man, but take a look at the numbers. Sure, Williams had a .344 BA compared to Musial’s .333, but Musial had nearly 1000 more hits than Williams. When he retired, only Ty Cobb had more hits. He has since been passed by a couple of no-names… Aaron and Rose. And Medwick? Well, he was the last NL player to hit for the Triple Crown... in 1942 (I think it was '42).
CF: Willie Mays; Mickey Mantle; Ty Cobb; Joe DiMaggio; Duke Snider
In my opinion, Willie Mays is quite possibly the best player in baseball history. An excellent defender and an outstanding hitter. Mantle, if he had actually taken care of himself, could have taken that honor away from Mays, but alas, he did not.
RF: Babe Ruth; Hank Aaron; Frank Robinson; Roberto Clemente; Dave Winfield
How can you argue that Hammerin’ Hank is better than Babe? Sure, Aaron had 900+ more hits, but this was also in 700+ more games. Ruth’s lifetime average is .342, while Hank’s is .305. I actually was going to put Aaron ahead of Ruth until I really looked at the numbers. Ruth had just 50 fewer strikeouts than Aaron, but he also had 600 more walks. Ruth was so far above every one else in his era that it is just ridiculous. Imagine what his numbers would have looked like if he had someone else pushing him competively every year.
One closing remark: Even though I hate the DH, and find it to be an abomination from the pits of somebody’s arms, Paul Molitor is #1 on the DH list. Mostly because he is the only one in the HoF whose primary position is listed as DH.
Well, there you have it. How does yours look?
I love these kind of discussions, I really do. I’ll admit, I’m a total baseball junkie. I once watched the White Sox and the Orioles because it was on TV. I actually know what a WHIP is and how to figure out an ERA. I do fantasy baseball – always placing Pujols as my #1 pick, regardless of what the “experts” say, and often trading for him when I don’t draft him. We can talk all day about baseball. I absolutely love it.
So let me begin by expressing my utter contempt for the lineup that they put forth. First of all, here’s the lineup (no particular batting order, just by position)
SP – Roger Clemens
RP – Mariano Rivera
C – Johnny Bench
1B – Lou Gehrig
2B – Joe Morgan
3B – Mike Schmidt
SS – Alex Rodriguez
LF – Barry Bonds
CF – Willie Mays
RF – Hank Aaron
You’ll notice that there are some pretty major ommissions on this list. It was very interesting to me that when asked about the best baseball player of all time, the panelists to a man said “Babe Ruth.” Certainly, the Bambino belongs in any sort of argument of the kind, but he didn’t even make it on the starting roster!
As these type of discussions often do, I got to thinking about who I would place on the best team of all time. It is not easy, but that’s why it is so fun! Below I will list (in my opinion) the top 5 players of all time at a given position, and I will place them in the order that I would rank them.
My criteria:
1) They have to be in the Hall of Fame. I don’t care how good a modern day player is, they are not in the Hall of Fame. Until they are elected into the Hall of Fame, they cannot be a part of this discussion.
2) They have to have good numbers. I’m not going to put somebody on this list simply because of their reputation. Unfortunately, what we tend to look at are offensive numbers, but we cannot forget that defense is a key part of the game as well. Outstanding defenders with poor offensive numbers will be on this list solely because of their defense, but they will not be at the top of the list. As I write this, wearing an Ozzie Smith jersey, I know full well that this means one of my favorite players will not be at the top of his position, even though he is hands-down the best defender that I’ve ever seen.
3) World Series championships do not matter nearly as much. Great players play on bad teams. Winning a World Series is a team effort, not the effort of a single individual.
4) The Hall of Fame lists the particular position as their primary position.
SP: Walter Johnson; Christy Mathewson; Grover Alexander; Bob Gibson; Sandy Koufax
I know what some of you are thinking right now. “Where in the world is Cy Young? The award that goes to the best pitcher in each league every year is named after him. He is the all time wins leader in baseball history!” He also has more losses than anyone else in the history of the game. He is one of two players in history to allow more than 2000 earned runs. He doesn’t even crack the top 15 in strikeouts with Mike Mussina and Tom Glavine breathing down his neck (200 K’s away). Koufax was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history. I almost left him off of this list, but then I looked at the final 8 years of his career, and they were absolutely phenomenal. Besides, he has one of the highest winning percentages in baseball history.
RP: Dennis Eckersley; Rollie Fingers; Goose Gossage; Bruce Sutter
What? No fifth person? Yeah, this is all of the relievers in the Hall of Fame right now. Look for Lee Smith, Trevor Hoffman, and Mariano Rivera to be added to the discussion in years to come.
C: Yogi Berra; Carlton Fisk; Johnny Bench; Gary Carter; Josh Gibson*
Okay, so maybe there is one person who is getting on this list because of reputation. It was said that Josh Gibson hit over 800 HR’s in his career in the Negro League. Some referred to him as the Black Babe Ruth. Others referred to Ruth as the White Josh Gibson. But he is in the Hall of Fame!
1B: Lou Gehrig; Jimmie Foxx; Eddie Murray; Willie McCovey; Johnny Mize
Gehrig is a bit of a no-brainer on this one. Perhaps what would be most surprising to most people though, is that Gehrig is #4 in this group as far as HR’s are concerned.
2B: Rogers Hornsby; Nap Lajoie; Joe Morgan; Rod Carew; Jackie Robinson
This was probably the hardest position. Somebody good was going to get left off. I almost left Jackie Robinson off because he really didn’t play all that long in the first place, but he so significantly changed the game of baseball that there is no way I could, in good conscience, leave him off of this list. Besides, Sandberg played for the Cubbies… And who is Nap Lojoie? Look him up on mlb.com and you’ll see why he is so far up this list. His numbers are incredible.
3B: Mike Schmidt; George Brett; Brooks Robinson; Wade Boggs; Eddie Mathews
Surprisingly, this is not a very deep position at the HoF. Schmidt is the closest to the total package that you’ll find at 3B in baseball history. He was a good defender and a superb hitter. Brett hit over .300 for his career. Robinson’s offensive numbers are what primarily kept him out of the #2 spot. They really weren’t all that good – just average. Boggs has an amazing career batting average, but is not a very powerful hitter. Mathews, well, he is #2 on this list for career HR’s.
SS: Cal Ripken Jr.; Honus Wagner; Ozzie Smith; Robin Yount; Ernie Banks
This was another tough choice. Ripken, however, revolutionized the position and paved the way for good hitting SS in major league baseball. While the Wizard’s offensive numbers are decent, he is hands-down the best defender in the history of the infield, not just at the SS position. The last position came down to Reese and Rizzuto, and Reese just blew away the Scooter. Then I thought about my criteria once again. Ernie Banks actually played more games at 1B than SS, but the HoF lists SS as his primary position. I put him at the bottom of the list more on a technicality than anything else.
LF: Stan Musial; Ted Williams; Carl Yastrzemski; Lou Brock; Joe Medwick
That’s right. I have three Cardinals on this list. Musial was simply “The Man”. I can hear the outrage on the part of some people that would put the Splendid Splinter ahead of the Man, but take a look at the numbers. Sure, Williams had a .344 BA compared to Musial’s .333, but Musial had nearly 1000 more hits than Williams. When he retired, only Ty Cobb had more hits. He has since been passed by a couple of no-names… Aaron and Rose. And Medwick? Well, he was the last NL player to hit for the Triple Crown... in 1942 (I think it was '42).
CF: Willie Mays; Mickey Mantle; Ty Cobb; Joe DiMaggio; Duke Snider
In my opinion, Willie Mays is quite possibly the best player in baseball history. An excellent defender and an outstanding hitter. Mantle, if he had actually taken care of himself, could have taken that honor away from Mays, but alas, he did not.
RF: Babe Ruth; Hank Aaron; Frank Robinson; Roberto Clemente; Dave Winfield
How can you argue that Hammerin’ Hank is better than Babe? Sure, Aaron had 900+ more hits, but this was also in 700+ more games. Ruth’s lifetime average is .342, while Hank’s is .305. I actually was going to put Aaron ahead of Ruth until I really looked at the numbers. Ruth had just 50 fewer strikeouts than Aaron, but he also had 600 more walks. Ruth was so far above every one else in his era that it is just ridiculous. Imagine what his numbers would have looked like if he had someone else pushing him competively every year.
One closing remark: Even though I hate the DH, and find it to be an abomination from the pits of somebody’s arms, Paul Molitor is #1 on the DH list. Mostly because he is the only one in the HoF whose primary position is listed as DH.
Well, there you have it. How does yours look?
A Battle of a Different Sort
This post is about one of those things that I don't talk about very often - spiritual warfare. It's not that I don't believe it happens, but often it is used as an excuse more than anything else. You know, the old, "the devil made me do it" excuse. Not that I don't believe that Satan does some things in this world to mess with us, but too often spiritual warfare is the first thing that people turn to when it is often a case of people just messing up. However, I have noticed that when God is in the midst of doing something good, a lot of times bad things tend to pile up all at once. It is when these bad things happen in clumps just when God is doing something big that I tend to think about spiritual warfare, and what a total jerk Satan can be sometimes.
The most recent example is the past month in our church. My wife and I took 14 youth and 3 other adults on a mission trip to Carthage, TX (which you can scroll down and read a little more about later). It was an awesome trip, and we really saw God working in a big way while we were there, especially on our final night in Texas. We experienced what we have referred to as a "mini-revival." It was awesome, youth were crying and praying for one another. Our group came together in a way that I had never seen before. It was simply awesome.
The next day, on the way home, one of our youth made a bad decision. It was a decision so bad that, for some, it was a serious wet blanket on the fire that was started during the trip. It was one thing that I didn't want to deal with, and ended up staying up until nearly 1a.m. dealing with it on a night before we were leaving at 6:30a.m. in the morning for an 11 hour drive. The situation still hasn't come to a complete resolution, and is often in the back of my mind, especially when it is quiet and I'm trying to pray through some things. If this was all that was going on in our church, then I probably wouldn't be thinking too much about spiritual warfare. The timing, yes, was incredibly bad - God had just done something amazing, and someone makes an incredibly bad decision to sour the mood. However, it is not.
Our church is also at capacity for our two services. We've been planning for the last few months to start another service at the 9:30 timeslot. Plans have been going along very smoothly. Things are working out in a relatively timely fashion. We're less than a month away from kicking off this new service, and it hits.
First off, as of right now, we do not have a new music director to replace the young man who had been leading music for the last several years at our church (who went off to NYU to work on his Master's degree). The person who was supposed to lead the music for the children's worship is now still committed to leading the main worship services until we do have a new music director. Secondly, nearly all of our program staff are dealing with some sort of family health issue. Our senior pastor's father-in-law had a heart cath last week. My mother-in-law had an emergency appendectomy. Our office administrator's father underwent some serious surgery for cancer in his esphogas (how do you spell that?). Our children's ministry director's father-in-law is also dealing with some potentially serious cancer stuff.
Normally, if just one of these things was happening, I wouldn't think too much about it. But the timing is unreal. These are all serious things - not to mention that our senior pastor and preschool director are also dealing with their oldest going away from home - one to college an hour and a half away, and the other to a junior hockey club in Boston, Mass. Yet, in spite of all of this, we are moving on. We are convinced that this is something God has in store for us. We're excited, we believe there is a new focus for people to grow spiritually in our church, and we will face these trials knowing that they come because we are doing something right. We're carefully listening to the prompting of the Spirit and moving forward in a direction that we firmly believe is God-driven.
All I have to say now is something that I saw on a shirt before: Poop on Satan.
That is all.
The most recent example is the past month in our church. My wife and I took 14 youth and 3 other adults on a mission trip to Carthage, TX (which you can scroll down and read a little more about later). It was an awesome trip, and we really saw God working in a big way while we were there, especially on our final night in Texas. We experienced what we have referred to as a "mini-revival." It was awesome, youth were crying and praying for one another. Our group came together in a way that I had never seen before. It was simply awesome.
The next day, on the way home, one of our youth made a bad decision. It was a decision so bad that, for some, it was a serious wet blanket on the fire that was started during the trip. It was one thing that I didn't want to deal with, and ended up staying up until nearly 1a.m. dealing with it on a night before we were leaving at 6:30a.m. in the morning for an 11 hour drive. The situation still hasn't come to a complete resolution, and is often in the back of my mind, especially when it is quiet and I'm trying to pray through some things. If this was all that was going on in our church, then I probably wouldn't be thinking too much about spiritual warfare. The timing, yes, was incredibly bad - God had just done something amazing, and someone makes an incredibly bad decision to sour the mood. However, it is not.
Our church is also at capacity for our two services. We've been planning for the last few months to start another service at the 9:30 timeslot. Plans have been going along very smoothly. Things are working out in a relatively timely fashion. We're less than a month away from kicking off this new service, and it hits.
First off, as of right now, we do not have a new music director to replace the young man who had been leading music for the last several years at our church (who went off to NYU to work on his Master's degree). The person who was supposed to lead the music for the children's worship is now still committed to leading the main worship services until we do have a new music director. Secondly, nearly all of our program staff are dealing with some sort of family health issue. Our senior pastor's father-in-law had a heart cath last week. My mother-in-law had an emergency appendectomy. Our office administrator's father underwent some serious surgery for cancer in his esphogas (how do you spell that?). Our children's ministry director's father-in-law is also dealing with some potentially serious cancer stuff.
Normally, if just one of these things was happening, I wouldn't think too much about it. But the timing is unreal. These are all serious things - not to mention that our senior pastor and preschool director are also dealing with their oldest going away from home - one to college an hour and a half away, and the other to a junior hockey club in Boston, Mass. Yet, in spite of all of this, we are moving on. We are convinced that this is something God has in store for us. We're excited, we believe there is a new focus for people to grow spiritually in our church, and we will face these trials knowing that they come because we are doing something right. We're carefully listening to the prompting of the Spirit and moving forward in a direction that we firmly believe is God-driven.
All I have to say now is something that I saw on a shirt before: Poop on Satan.
That is all.
Big Day Tomorrow
Well, tomorrow is the big day. It is the Fall Kick Off for Emmanuel Student Ministries. I've been thinking about this day for nearly two months now, and the time has finally come. For whatever reason, I decided to check out Ben & Ari's to see what kind of deal we could get for our youth group, and I was utterly blown away by the deal they gave us. We are going to have unlimited mini-golf and a basic BBQ (which is hamburger/hot dog, chips & soda) for only $7/person ($6/person if there are more than 50 people that show up).
I've spent hours and hours thinking through this event. I have a great group of adult volunteers excited and ready to serve. We'll have some awesome prizes, some fun music (both CD and live) and a great opportunity to get people interested in what we've got going on at Emmanuel. I'm really excited, but at the same time, very nervous. I'll be giving a message based on our theme verse for the year, Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds..." (In keeping with what I've done on other things, I'll be posting the message on here for your ridicule either Sunday night or Monday morning.) It's going to be a fun time, but most importantly, I hope that it is a successful time. "And how do you define success?" I hear you asking.
Well, I hope that God is truly glorified, and that some youth are interested in what will be going on at Emmanuel this fall. Most importantly, I hope that our youth invite their friends. I don't know how else I could have advertised this event. I've been mentioning it since June at nearly every single youth event, and I have emphasized time and time again about the importance of bringing friends. I'm even having the youth budget pay for the entire thing. I'm not charging our youth a dime to come to this event. I'm not charging their friends a dime, and I'm not charging any of the adult volunteers for this event.
It is truly in God's hands now. I just hope and pray that I've done my due diligence to this point, and now I can stop getting in the way and allow God to work.
I've spent hours and hours thinking through this event. I have a great group of adult volunteers excited and ready to serve. We'll have some awesome prizes, some fun music (both CD and live) and a great opportunity to get people interested in what we've got going on at Emmanuel. I'm really excited, but at the same time, very nervous. I'll be giving a message based on our theme verse for the year, Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds..." (In keeping with what I've done on other things, I'll be posting the message on here for your ridicule either Sunday night or Monday morning.) It's going to be a fun time, but most importantly, I hope that it is a successful time. "And how do you define success?" I hear you asking.
Well, I hope that God is truly glorified, and that some youth are interested in what will be going on at Emmanuel this fall. Most importantly, I hope that our youth invite their friends. I don't know how else I could have advertised this event. I've been mentioning it since June at nearly every single youth event, and I have emphasized time and time again about the importance of bringing friends. I'm even having the youth budget pay for the entire thing. I'm not charging our youth a dime to come to this event. I'm not charging their friends a dime, and I'm not charging any of the adult volunteers for this event.
It is truly in God's hands now. I just hope and pray that I've done my due diligence to this point, and now I can stop getting in the way and allow God to work.
New Layout
Well... what do you think?
I found a couple of other layouts that I liked as well, but for some reason I couldn't necessarily get them to work. I certainly like this one better than what I had before. This is a big step for me. I've never actually done anything quite like this before. I downloaded a new template and put it on there. I made a few changes along the way, but all in all, I think it looks pretty good!
Now, if I can just figure out how to put the navbar on the top of the page so I don't have to keep hitting the back button.
I found a couple of other layouts that I liked as well, but for some reason I couldn't necessarily get them to work. I certainly like this one better than what I had before. This is a big step for me. I've never actually done anything quite like this before. I downloaded a new template and put it on there. I made a few changes along the way, but all in all, I think it looks pretty good!
Now, if I can just figure out how to put the navbar on the top of the page so I don't have to keep hitting the back button.
Merging to a New Location
I recently had a conversation with my wife about maintaining two blogs. I have tended to keep this blog as the more serious one - the one in which I place the longer posts that I have spent some serious time and reflection on - and have recently started another blog to put some of my more random musings about sports, ministry and life in general.
Well, after this conversation, I have decided to merge my two blogs together. I won't be deleting this blog or its content any time soon, but I will most likely do all of my posting to one blog instead of separating my life into segments. At Random Thoughts in Ministry, you'll see a more wholistic picture of who I am, and perhaps that's a little bit of what blogging is about - putting yourself out there to let people read about some of your thoughts.
Let's be honest anyway... I've gotten lazy. I haven't posted anything original on this blog (apart from a couple of weeks of mild inspiration in April/May) in nearly a year. That being the case, hopefully, I'll get a fire lit under me once again. Hopefully, I can stop long enough in my busy day to day life to reflect seriously on some of the things that God has been saying to me. I'll probably still post my sermons and any other messages that I work on, but hopefully, I can open my ears once again to what God is saying to me on a daily basis.
For those that have been reading the sporadic posts on this blog, I certainly invite you to my new one, and for those that have maybe stumbled on this one... come on over and join the fun.
Just some final musings from a traveling pilgrim.
Well, after this conversation, I have decided to merge my two blogs together. I won't be deleting this blog or its content any time soon, but I will most likely do all of my posting to one blog instead of separating my life into segments. At Random Thoughts in Ministry, you'll see a more wholistic picture of who I am, and perhaps that's a little bit of what blogging is about - putting yourself out there to let people read about some of your thoughts.
Let's be honest anyway... I've gotten lazy. I haven't posted anything original on this blog (apart from a couple of weeks of mild inspiration in April/May) in nearly a year. That being the case, hopefully, I'll get a fire lit under me once again. Hopefully, I can stop long enough in my busy day to day life to reflect seriously on some of the things that God has been saying to me. I'll probably still post my sermons and any other messages that I work on, but hopefully, I can open my ears once again to what God is saying to me on a daily basis.
For those that have been reading the sporadic posts on this blog, I certainly invite you to my new one, and for those that have maybe stumbled on this one... come on over and join the fun.
Just some final musings from a traveling pilgrim.
The Frustration of a Bullpen
I was doing my daily reading up on the Cardinals game last night and came across a stat that troubled me, but first, a couple of background things.
1) The Cardinals are currently 62-50 on the season, which is actually pretty good. There are only 8 teams in baseball that have 60+ wins; 3 of those are in the NL Central (and those 3 are the only ones in the NL with 60+ wins).
2) The problem is that the one team with more wins than the Cards is the Cubbies, who are sitting at 65 right now; and the Cards are tied in the standings with the Brewers. If the Cards keep up their current winning percentage, they'll be at 89 wins for the year - not too bad of a season really, but I don't know if it'll be enough to get them into the playoffs.
3) The bullpen scares me. I'd rather see the starters throw complete games every night, or have the offense severely outscore the other team, then see the bullpen with the ball in a close game, and this brings me to the stat that troubled me.
The Cardinals' bullpen has blown 25 saves and lost 23 games. The Cardinals have had the most save opportunities in baseball with 55. In other words, there have been at least 55 games that have been close enough that the Cardinals probably should have won, and they only won 30 of those (30 saves in 55 opportunities).
To put that in perspective, the Angels have the best record in baseball at 69-40. They have the second most save opportunities with 54, and they have recorded 47 saves. That's right, in one less opportunity, the Angels have 17 more saves than the Cardinals. The Nationals, the worst team in baseball at 39-70 have 18 saves in 38 opportunities. That's right, the worst team in all of Major League Baseball has fewer blown saves than the Cardinals right now. Across MLB, the average number of blown saves is 13.8.
Putting that into perspective again, take away just 10 blown saves (which still puts them worse than league average) to where the Cards are right now. That would put them at 72-40 - the best record in baseball, 1.5 games better than the Angels. The current top teams in baseball, where to they fare in all of this:
In order from most wins, teams with 60+ wins:
Angels - 7 blown saves
Rays - 5 blown saves
Cubs - 16 blown saves
Red Sox - 17 blown saves
Cardinals - 25 blown saves
White Sox - 13 blown saves
Brewers - 18 blown saves
Twins - 9 blown saves
With the exception of the NL Central teams and the Red Sox, all of the top teams are at or well below the league average. (I have to admit though, I'm a little surprised by the Red Sox. I knew the Cubs and Brewers had bullpen issues, but I didn't know that about the Red Sox.)
In summation: Here's hoping that Izzy gets back to form quickly (as I raise my future can of Mountain Dew). If the bullpen can keep it together, these Cardinals can (believe it or not) make a serious run into and through the postseason.
The irony of all ironies about this season:
2006 - the Cards had 86 wins and won the World Series.
2008 - the Cards could very well have 90+ wins and miss the playoffs altogether.
That's baseball...
1) The Cardinals are currently 62-50 on the season, which is actually pretty good. There are only 8 teams in baseball that have 60+ wins; 3 of those are in the NL Central (and those 3 are the only ones in the NL with 60+ wins).
2) The problem is that the one team with more wins than the Cards is the Cubbies, who are sitting at 65 right now; and the Cards are tied in the standings with the Brewers. If the Cards keep up their current winning percentage, they'll be at 89 wins for the year - not too bad of a season really, but I don't know if it'll be enough to get them into the playoffs.
3) The bullpen scares me. I'd rather see the starters throw complete games every night, or have the offense severely outscore the other team, then see the bullpen with the ball in a close game, and this brings me to the stat that troubled me.
The Cardinals' bullpen has blown 25 saves and lost 23 games. The Cardinals have had the most save opportunities in baseball with 55. In other words, there have been at least 55 games that have been close enough that the Cardinals probably should have won, and they only won 30 of those (30 saves in 55 opportunities).
To put that in perspective, the Angels have the best record in baseball at 69-40. They have the second most save opportunities with 54, and they have recorded 47 saves. That's right, in one less opportunity, the Angels have 17 more saves than the Cardinals. The Nationals, the worst team in baseball at 39-70 have 18 saves in 38 opportunities. That's right, the worst team in all of Major League Baseball has fewer blown saves than the Cardinals right now. Across MLB, the average number of blown saves is 13.8.
Putting that into perspective again, take away just 10 blown saves (which still puts them worse than league average) to where the Cards are right now. That would put them at 72-40 - the best record in baseball, 1.5 games better than the Angels. The current top teams in baseball, where to they fare in all of this:
In order from most wins, teams with 60+ wins:
Angels - 7 blown saves
Rays - 5 blown saves
Cubs - 16 blown saves
Red Sox - 17 blown saves
Cardinals - 25 blown saves
White Sox - 13 blown saves
Brewers - 18 blown saves
Twins - 9 blown saves
With the exception of the NL Central teams and the Red Sox, all of the top teams are at or well below the league average. (I have to admit though, I'm a little surprised by the Red Sox. I knew the Cubs and Brewers had bullpen issues, but I didn't know that about the Red Sox.)
In summation: Here's hoping that Izzy gets back to form quickly (as I raise my future can of Mountain Dew). If the bullpen can keep it together, these Cardinals can (believe it or not) make a serious run into and through the postseason.
The irony of all ironies about this season:
2006 - the Cards had 86 wins and won the World Series.
2008 - the Cards could very well have 90+ wins and miss the playoffs altogether.
That's baseball...
Manny Being Manny
Yesterday was the non-waiver trade deadline for Major League Baseball. It is basically the last chance that teams have to trade players without passing them through waivers first. The big deal that was made yesterday sent Manny Ramirez from Boston all the way to Los Angeles. Kind of ironic actually - the guy who decides to occasionally dodge his responsibilities on the field is now a Dodger.
There's a saying around baseball, it's "that's Manny being Manny." He's a bit of a headcase - an incredible hitter - but a bit of a headcase nonetheless. He's not always as motivated on the field as fans would like. In some sense, I get it. 162 games (not to mention playoff games) is a lot over the course of 6 months. Physically and mentally, it has to be draining; however, he's getting paid some ridiculous amount of money to play a game. In the grand scheme of life, baseball doesn't matter. Nobody's life is going to be significantly changed because they watched the Royals and Orioles play an early September, meaningless game. Realistically, nobody's life is going to be drastically changed by a Red Sox - Yankees game in late September either. Baseball is a constant; there's always next season.
But that being said, if he wasn't a great player (and, realistically, a future Hall of Famer), and he decided to take a few games off here and there, he would be sent down to the minors in no time flat. What does this say to our youngsters? If you're really good at what you do, it doesn't matter how you act - there's not accountability for those who are at the top of their profession. This troubles me. For so many things, we just laugh it off because "it's just Manny being Manny." But I'm not so sure this sends a great message. I'm glad the Red Sox finally had enough of him and traded him away. The downside? He's not going to learn. He will work hard to try and help the Dodgers get into the playoffs (and, not to mention, get a fat free agent contract in the offseason), and after a few months, he'll get bored and start pulling the same crap all over again. The media and people around the country will laugh it off as "Manny being Manny," and the cycle will be started all over again.
There's a saying around baseball, it's "that's Manny being Manny." He's a bit of a headcase - an incredible hitter - but a bit of a headcase nonetheless. He's not always as motivated on the field as fans would like. In some sense, I get it. 162 games (not to mention playoff games) is a lot over the course of 6 months. Physically and mentally, it has to be draining; however, he's getting paid some ridiculous amount of money to play a game. In the grand scheme of life, baseball doesn't matter. Nobody's life is going to be significantly changed because they watched the Royals and Orioles play an early September, meaningless game. Realistically, nobody's life is going to be drastically changed by a Red Sox - Yankees game in late September either. Baseball is a constant; there's always next season.
But that being said, if he wasn't a great player (and, realistically, a future Hall of Famer), and he decided to take a few games off here and there, he would be sent down to the minors in no time flat. What does this say to our youngsters? If you're really good at what you do, it doesn't matter how you act - there's not accountability for those who are at the top of their profession. This troubles me. For so many things, we just laugh it off because "it's just Manny being Manny." But I'm not so sure this sends a great message. I'm glad the Red Sox finally had enough of him and traded him away. The downside? He's not going to learn. He will work hard to try and help the Dodgers get into the playoffs (and, not to mention, get a fat free agent contract in the offseason), and after a few months, he'll get bored and start pulling the same crap all over again. The media and people around the country will laugh it off as "Manny being Manny," and the cycle will be started all over again.