baseball

It’s your duty to vote! Marc Ecko the buyer of the Barry Bonds record breaking home run ball has setup a website to determine the fate of the historic ball.

Here are your choices:

1) Send it to the Hall of Fame “as is.”

2) Sent it to Cooperstown with an “*”  branded to the ball as a reminder of the steroid era.

3) Banish it into space.

 Go here to vote.

This is truly amazing [compliments of MudPuppy]. It’s a geographical map of baseball teams and their fan base. Enjoy. The pic can be found here.

I love baseball and Barry Bonds makes me sick. There is so much in baseball that is dishonest and has nothing to do with the game. Barry has brought shame to the game, but he’s not the only one.  He’s just the only one relishing in a glory that is not his. But how many of us do this – relish in glory that’s not ours?

Last week, when I was speaking to a group of youth at a camp about evangelism I asked, “how many of you here have saved someone.” Most raised their hands. Then I quickly retorted, “Christ is the only one that saves, not us.” We don’t save people. We can’t. We’re called to share the good news and be a ready instrument of God, but we will never saved anyone. We never will.

Knowing that Christ is the Savior and not us is a humbling thought. How often do we relish in an event when kids are saved or the Lord really moves, as if we had something to do with it? I used to be concerned with numbers when I was a youth pastor and worked for a church that worshiped numbers. Then I began to realize that it doesn’t matter. Nothing in this world will stand. The only thing that lasting is Christ’s work within us. Is what Barry has done an accomplishment? Not really. He hit the home run, then marched around the bases and then when he stepped on home plate he pointed to heaven as if to thank God [for giving him BALCO]. It’s just amazing how we celebrate nothingness in name of God.

John the Baptist (and yes I believe he was a dirty baptist) said it best, “he [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).  So where in our lives do we need to decrease so God can do his lasting work? I’m just amazed, excited and humbled that in light of this that He still takes me along for the ride.

I love baseball. Each spring I wait for this. And this spring I really, really love baseball – because my team is winning! That’s what it’s all about – the hope of next season.

All last year watching the Atlanta Braves I was waiting for the season to end (it was awful!) hoping for a fresh start. We’ve had such a fresh start so far. The Braves are 8 and 3 and sitting in first place. I know it’s early, but back off! Let me savor it for as long at it lasts.

Watching games is such a family event around here. Sure we’ll watch other sports, but baseball is a journey that we can’t wait to start each April. We watched the game today and then James and I practiced hitting this afternoon in the yard. Spring comes and so does baseball. It doesn’t get any better than this!

Anyone else excited baseball is back?

[And no, I can't bring myself to become a Seattle Mariners fan. I'm a southern boy at heart and I don't believe in the American League. It's just plain wrong. The DH is a sin! Once you've gone to a World Series game with your team - they're your team for life!]

To ease my post-season depression [ie the fact that the Braves have no post season this year], I’ll take you to a magic place called Atlanta Fulton County Stadium back in 1992….

Game 7, 1992 NLCS, Bottom of the 9th, Bases loaded…

Okay as a perennial Braves fan, I have made one cardinal sin. I’m still a fan of Tom Glavine, the long hated pitcher who left the Braves for the dreaded N.Y. Mets. But hey, I’m sorry to say I’m a Glavine fan! I’ve got his rookie cards and a signed baseball. I’m actually pulling for the Mets in the playoffs when Glavine is pitching (so every few games, I’m a Met fan). That’s right baby. Game two  of the playoffs (6 scoreless innings) and Game one of the NLCS (7 scorless)! I secretly believe that he’s wearing a Braves uniform under his Met one – that’s how I sleep at night.

I read a recent article on what defines a clutch player, it’s argued that Glavine may be Mr. Clutch when it comes to pitching in the playoffs. Read it here.  

So…. GO METS (ever 4th game!)

I read in the Atlanta paper yesterday that ESPN ran a story about Adam LaRoche the Braves 1st basemen. LaRoche has ADD and his disorder has come into play a few times this season. You’d see him completely blow a play or pull a bonehead move and wonder what the heck is going on. Adam had tried to go without medication and would just lapse or blank during games. He was early on criticized for not taking medication.

Now after he’s been on medication (Mr. Cruise, I don’t want to hear the Ritalin rant – that’s a whole other argument) his game has improved. He’s concentrating and hitting and fielding really well.

ESPN is now claiming that he’s using performance enhancing drugs because of his improvement in the field. This poor guy can’t win. He’s criticized for not using the medicine and he’s criticized for using them.

Just let him play ball!

This reminds me of a quote from Teddy Roosevelt:  

“It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worth cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

For more read here

So where is that point in life when hope is officially dead? Right now it seems for the Atlanta Braves. Less the ‘comeback kids’, and more the ‘how are they going to blow it this time’guys, the Braves find themselves in a bad situation. We’ve got 32 games left and are 19 games back from the Mets and 4 games back in the wild card.

Proverbs 13:12 says that, “hope deferred makes the heart sick.” Well, in some prophetic way Soloman must have been talking about the Braves. And I wish I could say that it was just this season that makes my heart sick. But, 14 years and one World Series ring?

Yes, my heart is sick, but for some reason I keep coming back for more. I still have hope in this season. I still watch the games waiting for a spark or something. I still hope that there is a postseason for Atlanta. I still have hope.