Padre Steve’s View from 102 is now up at the Virginia Pilot-Hampton Roads Online website. The posts unlike here are pretty short and focus on baseball, especially the Norfolk Tides and Baltimore Orioles; heretical sports like football, basketball and hockey, but never NASCAR they relate to life from my view in Section 102, Row B Seat 2 at the Church of Baseball, Harbor Park Parish.
The link is here: http://hamptonroads.com/blogs/padre-steve039s-view-102
Peace, Steve+
Filed under Baseball
Note: This is a substantial re-write of a post that I did toward the beginning of this site. At the time I had very few readers and of course it had very few views. I think sometimes there are times in life when you have to go back to things that are important. Revisiting the better times in the past is sometimes a way for me to get through the more difficult days of the present. My dad has been in End Stage Alzheimer’s Disease for some time now. He is down to 112 pounds and when I last saw him in May was only occasionally able to have any meaningful communication and I was blessed to get a few minutes on a couple of consecutive days where we had conversation s that bordered on better times. The funny thing they revolved around baseball for for dad and me was a point of connection through most of our lives. If we could talk about nothing else, there was always baseball. I have been kind of down about his condition lately as he for all intents and purposes hangs between life and death, not really the man that I knew, the man who taught me to love the game of baseball. My mom and I talked this week and she asked when I was coming out next. The thing is I don’t know. I just had to tell her that we would wait and see.
Me with Lefty Phillips of the California Angels in 1970
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.” George Will
Baseball has always been a source of enjoyment for me. I’ve noted in numerous other posts that God speaks to me through baseball. For me there is something mystical about the game. It extends beyond the finite world in some respects and there is symmetry to the sport unlike any other. George Will’s quote at the beginning of this post is dead on. Not all holes or games are created equal.
My First Ball Field, Oak Harbor Washington
Though I had played Little League Ball in the 1960s and well as a lot of backyard or sandlot games, it was 1970-1971 when my dad began taking us to California Angels games while stationed in Long Beach California that the game really captured me. The seed of course had been planted long before games on a black and white TV, playing catch, teaching me to throw, field and run the bases. We even saw the Seattle Pilots in person while stationed in Washington State. While my dad thrived on all sports, baseball was the one that he gave me as a gift. He gave my brother golf, another spiritual game, which Zen masters love, but which is not to be compared with baseball because it is not in its purest form a team sport.
Oak Park Little League 1972 American League “Rams” I am at top left
Growing up with baseball was something that I cannot imagine have not done. It was part of life from as far back as I can remember and this was because dad made it so. It kind of reminds me of the beginning of the movie For the Love of the Game where home movies of a child playing ball with dad are shown during the opening credits and score. I can close my eyes and remember vivid details of ball fields and backyards where dad would play catch with me play pepper and fungo and teach me to pitch. He never did much with hitting. When I had him in a brief lucid moment when I visited in May I thanked him for teaching me to love the game, told him I still heard his voice telling me to keep my butt down on ground balls and that he did not teach me to hit. He simply said “you can’t teach someone to hit, it’s a gift, lots of people can’t hit.”
I wonder if my Dad felt this way at times?
Those days at Anaheim Stadium when it was called “the Big A” due to the scoreboard shaped like a large “A” with a halo ringing the top were magical. I met players, got signed balls and hats, and was even selected as a runner up in the “My Favorite Angel” contest. For that I met my favorite Angel, First Baseman Jim Spencer a Golden Glove Winner who later played for the White Sox and Yankees, and two tickets behind home plate. I met Spence at the game as well as an autograph signing at a local Von’s grocery store. When trying to look him up in 2003 I found that he had passed away on February 10th 2002 while I was deployed. He wasn’t very old, only 54 dying of a heart attack. Before his death he was lending his expertise to the Naval Academy baseball team. In 15 years in the majors in which he played in 1450 games and only made 55 errors, a .995 fielding percentage, one of the best in baseball. During the 1970’s he was considered one of the premier defensive First Basemen in the game. He played in the 1973 All-Star Game, won the Gold Glove in 1970 and 1977 and played on the Yankee’s 1978 World Series team. He was one of my favorite players growing up. I think that is why I like sitting behind the plate in my little world of Section 102, Row B, Seat 2 at Harbor Park so much now.
Jim Spencer’s 1979 Signed Yankee Card, I have one of these
When we moved to northern California we reconnected with the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s. This was during the A’s dynasty years and we saw a number of games including an ALCS game against the Tigers. Seeing the greats like Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers, Campy Campaneris and Vida Blue was awesome. However our first love was the Giants. We only occasionally got to Candlestick Park where they played in those days. Candlestick if you have ever been there is a miserable place to see a game for nothing else that it is colder than hell, if hell were cold. One game we did see was Ed Halicki’s no-hitter against the Mets in 1975.
Ed Halicki’s No-Hitter, Dad took me to this
While dad was deployed to Vietnam my mom would drop me off at Billy Herbert Field in Stockton California where we lived and let me see the Stockton Ports who were then the California League single A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Those games were always fun. I remember talking to Orioles great Paul Blair when he visited a military base that I was serving and he told me how he remembered playing in Stockton as a minor leaguer.
My Childhood Haunt, Billy Hebert Field, Stockton CA, former home of the Stockton Ports
In high school and college due to other diversions I stopped playing baseball and did not have as much contact with it. However it never completely left me, I always longed to be either playing in or watching a game.
Other major sports do not hold me captive the way baseball does. I think there is the nearly spiritual dimension that the game has which makes it timeless. Other sports such as football, basketball, hockey and soccer are limited to rectangular playing surfaces of set dimensions determined by their leagues. With the exception of a few old hockey rinks there are no individuality to these venues, save perhaps for team or sponsor logos. Likewise all of the other sports play a set time clock. If a team gets way ahead early, it is likely that the game will be over. While it is possible that a game could go into “overtime” the overtime in these games has different rules than regulation time. “Sudden death” “Shootouts” and truncated times show that these games are not meant to go past regulation time. It is an aberration from what is considered “normal.” In these games a team with a big lead can simply sit on the ball and run out the clock. Earl Weaver put it well: “You can’t sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You’ve got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That’s why baseball is the greatest game of them all.”
Baseball is not like that. In order to win you have to throw the ball over the plate and give the other team a chance to come back. The nine innings could in theory go on for eternity, as they nearly do in W.P. Kinsella’s The Iowa Baseball Confederacy, A story which is patently eschatological, though not in a pre-millennial dispensationalist manner. Foul lines in theory go on for eternity, only the arbitrary placement of the outfield wall and the physical limitation of hitters keep the game within earthly limits. I’m sure that outfields are a lot more spacious and have a wonderful playing surface in heaven.
Save for the late 1960s and early 1970s when fascists took over the design of stadiums in order to make them suitable to play football on, baseball parks have had their individuality. Outfield dimensions, type of grass, the kind of infield and warning track soil which is used, are all determined by the team. Some fields cater to hitters, others pitchers. And with the overthrow of the stadium fascists at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, the baseball park regained its dignity. Gone were the ugly, drab oval stadiums, fields covered in often shoddy artificial turf. The unsightly and even hideous venues such as Riverfront, Three Rivers, Veteran’s Stadium and others, even dare I say the Astrodome and Kingdome were demolished and made nice piles of rubble, replaced by beautiful ballparks each with its own unique character that reflect the beauty of the game.
Jeff Fiorentino Hits Three Run Homer at Harbor Park, my view from 102
This year for the first time in my life I bought season tickets for my local AAA team, the Norfolk Tides who are the AAA Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. I also went Norfolk’s Harbor Park to see the Commonwealth Classic an exhibition game between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. Harbor Park was one of the first of the new generation of minor league parks and a wonderful place to see a game, or as I like to say “Worship at the Church of Baseball.” When Harbor Park was built the Tides were affiliated with the New York Mets. As such the outfield dimensions are nearly identical to the former Shea Stadium, making it a very large yard and pitchers playground. The outfield backs up to the East Fork of the Elizabeth River, shipyards and bridges dominate the view. There is not a bad seat in the house. Since coming back from Iraq the ballpark is one of the few places that I have been able to consistently go where I am at peace, not hyper-vigilant and anxiety free. In a way my season ticket has been both therapeutic and pretty essential to me getting a bit better in the past year. Last year when the minor league season ended it was difficult. I am not looking forward to 6 months without a ball game here.
Opening Day at Harbor Park: One of the few places of peace in dealing with my PTSD
With every home game the gift that my father gave me begins to unfolds again as I gaze in wonderment at the diamond. This year is different; my dad is in a nursing home in the end stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Last year he still knew enough of what was going on to talk about baseball, especially the San Francisco Giants and bad mouth the American League. Dad was always National League fan and he loathes the designated hitter. He used to call the American League the “minor league.” He told me stories about the greats of his childhood and he was an avid fan of Pete Rose, he loved his high intensity play and hustle, something that he passed on to me. I can still recall him yelling at me to “get your butt down,” “stay in front of the ball,” “hustle down the line any time you hit the ball” and “don’t be afraid to run over a catcher or go in hard to break up a double play.” Rose’s banishment from baseball for gambling hit him hard. I guess it was for him like the banishment of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson and for me the agony of the Steroid Era which was a stain on game but now is now history. Unfortunately it is being used by self-righteous politicians a bureaucrats to make baseball and baseball players look bad so they can look good. At this point I say reinstate Shoeless Joe and Pete Rose and stop with the endless illegal leaks of documents and alleged positive tests of players whose names are being leaked out one or two at a time. I think my dad would say the same now, if only he could.
My Dad Carl and I, May 2009 Giants fans to the end
Dad gave me a gift, a gift called the game, the game of baseball. Sure, it’s only just a game. Right… Baseball is only a game in the sense of the Grand Canyon just being a hole in the ground and the Pacific Ocean a pond. I’m sure that the Deity Herself must agree.
Peace, Steve+
Filed under alzheimer's disease, Baseball, Loose thoughts and musings
“We’re so bad right now that for us back-to-back home runs means one today and another one tomorrow.” Earl Weaver
Russ Ortiz Bearing Down on a Tides Batter
This is a hard blog to write and while things are not as nearly as bad for the Norfolk Tides as they were for Earl Weaver’s Orioles things are not going well at the present time. The Tides are not nearly the quality of team that they were in the first half of the season. On the positive side they are still doing better than any time in the past 4 years and still have a shot at making the International League playoffs as either the Southern Division champion or wild card. At the same time they have fallen off their torrid pace of winning in April May and early June where they were almost playing .700 ball and up anywhere from 6-10 games over their competitors.
People are wondering what has happened and the answer is all too obvious. While the Orioles have remarkably improved every level of their farm system they have no real depth at the Major League level. They have some potentially great players, but a lot are still relatively young and inexperienced. The Orioles began the year as a marginal Major League franchise with a great farm system. Unfortunately the big team was so bad early that the Orioles elected to raid their minor league system of their best players, both pitchers and hitters. The Tides lost pitchers Jim Johnson, David Hernandez, Chris Tillman, Matt Albers, Brad Bergeson and Jason Berken. Unfortunately I think some were called up before their time, however this is certainly not the case with starters David Hernandez, Brad Bergeson who need just a bit more seasoning and relievers Jim Johnson and Matt Albers. As for hitting the Tides lost the center of their order to the big club, Nolan Reimold, Matt Wieters and Oscar Salazar. Salazar was traded to the Padres while hitting well over .400 of the bench and providing solid hitting and fielding percentages. The Orioles also brought pitcher Brain Matusz up from AA Bowie without bringing him up to the AAA team.
Another Strike for Ortiz
Do not get me wrong, all of these players are good, but they are all still very young. While they will get better and are getting valuable Major League experience it is not contributing to the current success of the Orioles nor helping the minor league system. An example of what happens when a Major League team raids its farm system is the 2005 Atlanta Braves, the year of the “Baby Braves” where Atlanta almost made it to the World Series based on incredible performances by their rookies. Unfortunately the call up of all of these players decimated the minor league system and it has only been in the last couple of years that the Braves minor league system, which is consistently one of the best in baseball to restock and rebuild. Now the Orioles are fortunate to have a deep farm system, however the risk in doing what they have done is to potentially sacrifice the future for the present.
As I said the Tides are not the same team they were a month or two ago. They seem to have lost the edge, the swagger and self confidence is gone, frustration shows on many players faces. They do not look relaxed or like they are having fun anymore. Tonight they dropped their second game in a row to the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees, who won the International League last year and who they New York Yankees have built into a formidable AAA franchise. The Yankees, despite all the criticism they have received for “being the best team money can buy” with huge contracts for free agents and a massive payroll nonetheless invest a considerable amount in their farm system. They are deep both in prospects as well as talented former Major Leaguers such as Shelly Duncan and recently acquired Russ Ortiz. The Yankees have also used their minor league system to raise their own middle relievers Phil Hughes, Phil Coke, David Robertson and a reliever converted to a starter Joba Chamberlain. Say what you will that is home grown quality.
Last night the Tides lost 6-1 and were thoroughly out classed by the Yankees. Tonight was even worse as Russ Ortiz pitched 7 innings of 1 hit ball in 90 degree weather making the Tides, even their .300 plus hitters Justin Turner, Joey Gathright and Jeff Fiorentino look bad. The Tides lost the game 9-0 getting their second hit with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. If I wasn’t a big fan of Russ Ortiz tonight would have absolutely no redeeming value except to have worshiped in the Church of Baseball, Harbor Park Parish. In two starts for the Yankees Ortiz is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Ortiz has a career Major League Record of 113 wins and 88 losses.
Joey Gathright is Victimized by Ortiz in the 6th in which he struck out the side
I was talking with Elliott the Usher as well as Barry the Scorekeeper about what was happening and we all agreed. The difference between the teams is that the Major League Yankees have held together with only minor bumps in the road due to injury. Their pitching staff aided by the home grown middle relievers has done a masterful job in shutting down opponents as their hitters have been on fire. By doing this they have allowed their minor league clubs to become very good, in particular the Scranton Wilkes-Barre team. They have talent and depth and players at the minor league level who are proven major leaguers. The Tides on the other hand have been hampered by the Orioles descent and the resultant decimation of the minor league rosters to fill the gaping holes on the Major League team. What would have been a very even match up a month and a half ago now was not even close. The Tides were out-classed and out played by the Yankees. Ortiz in particular made the Tides hitters look bad putting on a major league performance that hopefully will help get him up to the Yankees as they make their pennant run. I still think that Dusty Baker blew the 2002 World Series by taking Russ out with 1 out in the 7th and a 5-0 lead against the Angels. If Ortiz gets back up and the Yankees win the World Series I will be happy for him.
On a positive note the Orioles led by former Tides pitcher David Hernandez beat the Oakland A’s 3-2, their first win against the A’s since 2008. Hernandez improved his record to 4-4 with a 3.96 ERA.
So tomorrow is another day. The Tides are only 3 ½ behind the Gwinnett Braves and 2 ½ behind the Durham Bulls in the International League South. They still have a lot of talent and have a shot at getting in the playoffs, but need to come up big tomorrow to reverse this slide and keep in the playoff race. I will be back in section 102 row B seat 2 tomorrow come what may. Hopefully the Deity Herself will help us get through this stretch.
Peace, Steve+
Filed under Baseball
Jeff Fiorentino, seen here Hitting a Home Run off Bartolo Colon has Come up Big for the Norfolk Tides in 2009
The Norfolk Tides came home Tuesday after their worst road trip of the season in which they fell behind both the Durham Bulls and Gwinett Braves. When things are not going well for a team, organization or individual it seems that events almost conspire against them. It was that way for the Tides, errors and bad decisions at the plate, on the base paths and the field plagued them over the road trip. The problems continued on Tuesday where the Tides lost their 9th of the last 10 games. Now it was not that the team was bad, they made some great comebacks but fell short each time sometimes in heartbreaking ways.
Tonight after getting out to an early lead the Tides were behind 5-2 in the bottom of the 7th. Elliott the Usher and I as well as Barry the Scorekeeper wondered what was happening. It seemed that there was no energy on the team. Unfortunately when a team, organization, military unit or individual gets on a losing streak it is hard to get motivated, especially when you come close but come up short. I remember being told in my Pastoral Care Residency that I had to stop believing that things were going to be difficult or that I would always come up short. My supervisor told me that I had the power to actually envision a positive future and make things happen to see it come into being. Now I have always been a fighter and even a survivor, but being a survivor doesn’t necessarily make you a winner.
The Tides picked up 2 in the 7th as Robby Hammock led off with a hit and Tides hitters Blake Davis, Joey Gathright and Jeff Fiorentino brought the runs across with key hits. Brandon Snyder singled to drive in Victor Diaz and tie the game the game in the 8th. Tides reliever Alberto Castillo came in at the top of the 9th and shut down the Indians after getting into a jam after giving up a hit and an error by 3rd Baseman Brandon Snyder.
Sometimes the key to breaking a losing streak is in how one player can raise help lift the team. Following the promotion of Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold and Oscar Salazar to the Orioles and the loss of Scott Moore, Jolbert Cabrerra to season ending injuries and temporary absences to injury of Justin Turner and Joey Gathright, it was Jeff Fiorentino that stepped up. He now stands near the top of the International League in hitting with a .315 batting average and has been a clutch player offensively and defensively. Tonight Jeff went four for four with a walk, drove in a run in the 7th. Hecame to bat with one out in the 9th to single to drive Justin Turner in for the winning run. It broke the losing streak and hopefully will begin a rebound for the Tides. Since the Tides have played well the bulk of the season even allowing for significant numbers of call ups and injuries it is well possible that they will turn things around. It was significant that other Tides were involved in the comeback and that instead of giving in to going through the motions they came together to win. The team still has a lot of heart and character and still can only continue to get better.
May we all do the same, with a little help from the Deity Herself.
On a side note, Tides pitcher Chris Tillman had his first Major League start in Baltimore against Kansas City. He had a no decision but the Orioles won the game 7-3. Former Tides relievers Matt Albers came in in the 5th to hold the Royals and Jim Johnson got the save. Baltimore continues to get great performance out of the pitchers called up from Norfolk this year.
Peace, Steve+
Filed under Baseball, leadership, Loose thoughts and musings, philosophy
Norfolk Tides Manager Gary Allenson making a Slight Adjustment to the Outfield with 1 Out in the 9th Inning
Larry: Who’s this? Who are you?
Crash Davis: I’m the player to be named later.
From Bull Durham
Sometimes I feel like the player to be named later. I am amazed at the changes on a baseball team’s roster during the course of a season. At the same time being in the military for almost 28 years I have some understanding of them in daily life. This season with the Norfolk Tides and my place of work at a Major Naval Medical Center has been a perfect example of how no roster survives intact.
Now this is nothing new, as long as there have been baseball teams and militaries there have been personnel changes. In baseball as in the military there is constant moves of personnel as people are transferred, promoted, demoted, are injured or retire from either the service or the game. Sometimes roster moves are part of a natural process as an organization decides how it wants to chart its future. Other times they are dictated by a need that occurs that has not been anticipated such as injuries, trades, transfers, retirements or personnel or budget constraints, either expected or unexpected.
In the Minor Leagues the Minor League affiliates exist to supply their Major League organization with young talent, player development, rehabilitation and depth to meet the demands of a long season. It is similar in the military where support and training organizations exist to meet the needs of the operating forces. This is true regardless of military branch of service. When the Major League Team or the operating forces are stretched, experience losses or suffer setbacks it is common for them to draw upon the support and training organizations to fill the holes and meet the needs of the larger organization.
I have watched this close up in two worlds this year both where I work and where I watch the Tides play ball. At work this has occurred where due to retirements and transfers our department has lost a lot of people who have not yet been replaced, creating a lot of pressure on those who remain, likewise we are tasked with more missions to support the operating forces. The same is true of the rest of the Medical Center where many physicians, nurses, corpsmen and other sailors have been deployed to meet the demands of the expanding war in Afghanistan while still supporting other worldwide commitments and our own home town mission. While this is going on other needs have come up in caring for returning warriors, wounded warriors and their families as well as the rest of the military community that depends on us for their primary and specialized medical care. I have seen more colleagues and friends than I can count be deployed from what is supposedly a pretty safe “non-deploying” shore billet to support the operating forces, Navy, Marines and Joint or NATO. I have watched the organization adapt to the call ups by moving people around as well as finding people to fill the void, even if they are only on contract.
Our Norfolk Tides began the season with a very solid roster and within two months the big club, the Baltimore Orioles had called up several pitchers as well as the heart of the batting order, Outfielder Nolan Reimold, Catcher Matt Wieters and Infielder Oscar Salazar. Meanwhile the Tides lost several players to injuries which forced Manager Gary Allenson and the Orioles organization to fins personnel both within and outside of the organization to fill the gaps created by call ups to the big team and injuries. To do this they brought up players from AA Bowie, moved players down from Baltimore and found and traded for players outside of the Orioles system. At first the adjustment was difficult but now the new players and those who were left are coming together to keep the team, at least for now in first place in the International League South. Yet with every move the organization has to decide how to best utilize the players that it has. In the case of the Tides this comes down to Manager Gary Allenson and his coaches working together with the rest of the Orioles organization.
Even in the midst of a game there are roster changes, sometimes for pitchers, sometimes hitter and sometimes even for running or defense. Some of the changes are for injuries, or situational based on statistics of what you have empirical evidence to show that one course of action is better than another. Thus you have relief pitchers and pinch hitters or runners. No at bat or even pitch is the same, which is like life, nothing remains the same so you must make the adjustments on every play.
At the personal level changes affects everyone in the organization even if their job in the organization does not change. At the minimum the changes affect the dynamics of the work environment, the chemistry between teams and the concern for friends who have left the organization with whom we have invested significant amounts of time and emotional energy. Thus when Oscar Salazar was called up by Baltimore it left a huge hole in the team because Salazar was not only a leading contributor on the field but his tremendously positive attitude off the field in energizing the team and working with younger players. Individual losses while seemingly statistically insignificant can be magnified by the intangibles of what a person brings to the team. Some who seem to have all the right stuff may not be missed, while others who maybe don’t have the same talent level as others might be more sorely missed. Since a team depends on the efforts of everyone, especially in baseball where the game is both immensely individual and absolutely interdependent personnel changes must be weighed carefully in the overall mission of the team or organization. The Tides are fortunate to be with Baltimore as the organization is not only scouting talent for the O’s but their Minor League affiliates. I met a Baltimore Scout at a Tides game over the weekend who said they were out seeking hitters for Norfolk due to call ups to the O’s and injuries to members of the Tides. The larger organization, though a work in progress recognizes that its future lies in its Minor League system. Thus over the past couple of weeks they have picked up Michael Aubrey from the Cleveland organization and Victor Diaz, a former Tides Outfielder when they were in the Mets organization and who later played in New York, Texas and the Houston organization before playing with the Hanwha Eagles in South Korea before being signed by the Orioles and assisted to the Tides. A good organization not only looks to the situation they are currently facing u to the future. A bad organization does not plan for the future but only concentrates on the present. In the case of the Tides we are prospering under Baltimore but suffered for almost 20 years under the Mets, who have continued to neglect and abuse their farm system, especially their AAA affiliates. The fans in Buffalo despise the relationship.
On the personal level this also means that individuals can be moved around to meet the needs of the organization. This does not always make players happy be they ball players or military personnel. There have been times in my career that I did not like what was happening to me in the organization, not so in the Navy but definitely in hte first part of my Army career. Such unhappiness when left unchecked can lead to blow ups. The movie Bull Durham has a great example where Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner complains about his reassignment from an AAA team back to a single A team.
Crash Davis: You don’t want a ballplayer; you want a stable pony.
Skip: Nah.
Crash Davis: Well, my triple-A contract gets bought out so I can hold some flavor-of-the-month’s dick in the bus leagues, is that it? Well, f— this f—ing game!
[pause]
Crash Davis: I quit, all right? I f—ing quit.
[Crash exits the office and stands in the clubhouse for a minute before sticking his head back through the door]
Crash Davis: Who we play tomorrow?
Skip: Winston-Salem. Batting practice at 11:30.
I cannot say that in my Navy career I have ever felt like Crash Davis, in fact I have even when doing a lot of “relief” work and been moved around sometimes faster than I wanted to be because I was needed to put out a fire. At the same time I have always been dealt with well. I have not been sent back down in the organization, but have been moved up or laterally to do different jobs, like I said often on short notice like the time when two different chaplains were fired and I went from one job to the next and ended up nine or ten weeks at 29 Palms prior to a 7 month deployment in two different battalions. Those were stressful, but not bad and the organization treated me well. Some people don’t have that experience however and roster moves on short notice can be a source of consternation, anger and discord if not handled well by the team manager or the command.
However I did come into the Navy at a lower rank than I left the Army in 1999 just to get back in the show that was the cost of getting back in the game full time, something I am amazed that I got the chance to do and every grateful to the Navy, my Bishop and the Deity Herself. In my current billet I love what I do and who I do it with, but the organization will be making some changes as we graduate our current residents, gain new residents, gain and lose other personnel and adjust to meet an ever changing and increasing mission. While we do this we seek to set the standard of professional competency not only in the Navy but the civilian world. For me this will involve changes, changes that on one level I resist, but on another level completely understand and agree with as the way to help the organization move forward. Come September those changes will be made. I can say that I don’t feel like Crash because this involves things that I have always wanted to do but unless I am adaptable will not be able to do, unless the Deity Herself creates a couple extra days to the week and makes every day a 32 hour day. Thus I will adjust as will the rest of the organization as we collectively work together to ensure that we are taking care of those that God has given us.
So far as the story goes tonight, the one constant in the season is change, teamwork and adjustment to change. As Sparky Anderson once said “If a team is in a positive frame of mind, it will have a good attitude. If it has a good attitude, it will make a commitment to playing the game right. If it plays the game right, it will win—unless, of course, it doesn’t have enough talent to win, and no manager can make goose-liver pate out of goose feathers, so why worry?” Thankfully, our leadership seems to be rising to the task and and we have the talent, so why worry?
Peace, Steve+
Filed under Baseball, leadership, Loose thoughts and musings, Military, philosophy
Oscar Salazar being greeted by Nolan Reimold, Matt Wieters and Luke Scott
“You can’t sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You’ve got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That’s why baseball is the greatest game of them all.” Earl Weaver
“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” Calvin Coolidge
Last night something truly remarkable happened and it wasn’t something the latest in a political scandal, natural disaster, or war, coup d’état or international crisis. Likewise no additional entertainment icons died and we have been Michael Jacksoned to death. His death while tragic is now becoming an annoyance as the media and everyone with an opinion about him, his family, his lifestyle, antics or the cause of death chimes in on those subjects. The 24 hour non-stop news coverage is threatening to take on eschatological dimensions. Even so, all of those things happen all the time. They are not for all of the fanfare that remarkable or special be they wars, famine, death of icons, pestilence or scandals. Since they happen all the time they are not that remarkable.
No something much more remarkable happened last night which I am patently sure that the Deity Herself had something to do with. Something that causes us to remember that nothing is ever certain and that almost anything is possible. The Baltimore Orioles set the record for a comeback in a major league baseball game where a last place team came from behind to beat a first place team as well as their team record for biggest comeback set against the Red Sox in 1956.
The Red Sox have been great so far this year. They are in the most competitive division in baseball. The Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays are good teams and the Orioles, though bringing up the rear are showing promise as they continue to build a franchise based on a great farm system producing quality players. They now are tied for the 3rd best team batting average in the majors at .274 with the Blue Jays and the 9th best slugging percentage. What has hurt the Orioles has been pitching which is the third worst in the majors and this is slowly getting better as young pitchers developed in the minors are beginning to show up and do good things on the Orioles staff. The Orioles are not expected to be in the race this year, but the overall plan is to be contenders in a season or two.
However what matters now and makes this significant as it is an example of how something that happens on a baseball field can help us in life. The game was delayed by rain delay of 79 minutes in the 5th inning. At the end of 7 ½ innings the Orioles were down 10-1. It was a game that seemed to be over. After all’ the Orioles had lost their last 8 games, going back to 2008 against the Red Sox and faced several outstanding Boston Relief Pitchers. Likewise, it was not certain that to Sox would not score any more runs. The Orioles pitching staff has not been consistent and the Red Sox have beaten up on the Orioles pitching staff. Things did not look good for the home team. Then something happened. Aubry Huff singled to right to open this inning. Huff was followed by rookie Nolan Reimold, who I have seen play many times this year at Harbor Park, who singled advancing Huff. The Luke Scott doubled scoring Huff. With 2 on and no outs Oscar Salazar, a hard working journeyman who was hitting .378 at Norfolk pinch hit for Melvin Mora. Salazar took Red Sox reliever Justin Masterson to deep left for a three run home run. Felix Pie (Pee-ay) who had relieved an injured Adam Jones drove in Robert Andino for a 5th run.
The game was now 10-6 as Boston came to the plate in the top of the 8th. The Red Sox appeared to be getting something going. With runners at 2nd and 1st with two out Jacoby Ellsbury hit a single to center. Red Sox catcher George Kottaras trying to score from second was thrown out at the plate by Felix Pie for the third out.
In the bottom of the 8th the first four Orioles hitters; Reimold, Scott, Salazar and Wieters hit and Reimold scored against Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima who left the game. Okajima was replaced by Takashi Saito who gave up two more hits to Ty Wiggington and Brian Roberts scoring Scott and Salazar. To quell this Orioles uprising the Sox sent in the ever dependable Oriole killer Jonathan Papelbon who was 20-0 in save attempts against to O’s. Papelbon looked like he was in control when he struck out Felix Pie for the second out bringing up Orioles Right Fielder Nick Markakis who had never had a hit against Papelbon. Markakis hit a double off the left field wall to score pinch runner Jeremy Guthrie and Roberts to put the Orioles up 11-10. In two innings the Orioles had scored 10 runs on 10 hits. Going to the top of the 9th the Orioles brought in closer George Sherrill who shut down the top of the Sox order to get the save.
It was an amazing game. A last place team that had no recent success against the first place team managed the biggest comeback of such a match up in Major League Baseball history and it was stunning. Red Sox Shortstop Dustin Pedrioa said “It was a weird game, a terrible loss for us. That’s upsetting. Things just kind of spiraled on us.” While Manager Terry Francona said “We just had no answer. We went through everybody. Nothing we did worked.” In the home clubhouse an emotional Orioles Manager Dave Tremblay said “That was probably the best game I’ve been involved in, right there. That was absolutely tremendous. When you talk about playing all 27 outs, that’s tonight.” While Oscar Salazar said something that I think made the difference in the game, mental readiness to step in and play when it looked like the game’s ending was already written in stone. Salazar who came up as a pinch hitter said “You sit on the bench 5 hours with the rain delay, but when they told me to hit, I was ready.” As Salazar stepped to the plate and got ready to hit you could see the look of calm, confident determination that only years of hard work in the obscurity of the minor leagues can bring to a person. A blogger in Boston had a banner headline: PAPELBLOWN and Sox Blow the Biggest Lead in the History of Earth.
Now of course the Red Sox being an excellent baseball team got their revenge at Camden Yards today, scoring 4 runs in the top of the 9th to tie the Orioles and go on and win in 11 by ascore of 6-5. This being said they are the Boston Red Sox and as much as I have hope for the Orioles, the Red Sox are at this place in the space time continuum the far better team.
So here are the life lessons that I drew from this game. First, no matter how bad things are you still have to keep playing. I know this from really crappy times in seminary where it looked like I would never ever finish seminary and that all I had sacrificed to get through would be in vain. There are 27 outs in a game and if you don’t give up, you always have a chance to win. Life is not like football or basketball where people can run out the clock on you once they get a comfortable lead. The other team still has to face you and if like Oscar Salazar and the other young Orioles you can step up and keep your head in the game you have a chance.
I have mentioned before how a number of people wrote me off in seminary making comments like “It’s obvious that you weren’t called to ministry otherwise God would be blessing you,” and “have you thought that maybe you were wrong to get out of the Army to go to seminary” or one that hurt the most, “you’re dumber than dirt for getting out of the Army to waste your time in seminary.” I heard such comments from people in church, at work, people that I called for prayer and even some family members. The toll on Judy was severe and though she was suffering she refused to even let me entertain giving up. If I had quit I would not be here today, I had to gut it out with the odds stacked against me and at times when I even thought that God might have turned his back on me.
Likewise if you are riding high you can’t become complacent. I do not believe that this happened to the Red Sox, but complacency kills. Jonathan Papelbon noted “Give the other team credit. They put pressure on our bullpen tonight and we pretty much imploded. I can’t think of any other word that describes it better.” The Red Sox infield also did something rather unique. With two outs in the bottom of the 6th Dustin Pedrioa charged off the field followed by the rest of the infield thinking that there were three outs. Only problem there were only two outs. The Boston Globe put it this way:
“And it’s hard not to attach some significance to that play in the bottom of the sixth, when the Red Sox infield trotted to the dugout with two out. “I looked up and I saw Tek standing there all by himself,” said Francona. “The first thing I think is that I must be nuts. I’ve never seen that. Pedie came in and said, ‘I led the charge. I (screwed) up.’ ” Said Pedroia: “I think it was my fault. I got ahead of myself and everyone followed me.”
That is my lesson learned. Watching the Orioles make this comeback against the Red Sox inspired me again to work harder and also reminded me from where I came and the struggles that we endured. If you had asked me in the spring of winter and spring of 1989-1990 if I thought I would make it through seminary I would have said, I may not but I will do everything that I can to make it through. Even 6 years later after finishing both seminary and CPE residency as Major in the Army Reserve Chaplain Corps I still had to work hard to overcome professional adversity. I got my second chance in 1999 when the Navy signed me as a free agent to play on the big team. My hat goes off to the young Orioles who fought back last night to win, especially Oscar Salazar who never gave up in 13 years in the minors. They may not be in the playoffs this year, but they are doing the things that will make them contenders. Any time a time does something like this against a team as fine as the Red Sox you know that they have the potential for greatness. The same goes for anyone who has the determination to come back from adversity when defeat looks certain.
As Bert Blyleven said “The problem with being Comeback Player of the Year is it means you have to go somewhere before you can come back.” Those places are not enjoyable places, but sometimes fighting our way out of them teaches us the value of persistence and perseverance. These are far more valuable than having everything our way, and knowing nothing but success without knowing failure. Without them we will never have the wherewithal to come back when things go bad.
Peace, Steve+
Filed under Baseball, celebrities, philosophy, Religion
Kira Arriving escorted by her Proud Dad Tony
After having to deal with what has seemed like and unending series a series of memorial services, funerals and family medical crisis’ I finally something to celebrate. Judy and I are going to the wedding of Kira. Kira goes to the same church as Judy whose mother sings in the same choir. Kira is a choir child and occasionally will sing with them. We first met Kira when she had just graduated from high school. Even then she was a joy. She was and is one of the sweetest girls we have ever known. Of course Judy knew Kira and her family at church. I was on the road frequently and only occasionally attended the church. I got to know her better over at Gordon Biersch where she worked when Judy and I first started going there. The first time I actually met her Judy told me “THIS IS KIRA AND YOU WILL OVERTIP HER.” I did so but never regetted it, Kira always earned it. If things were not too busy and even if they were busy Kira would pull up a chair by us and just talk. Sometimes it was life, sometimes church, school or relationships but the conversation between us and Kira was something that we looked forward to every time we went to Biersch. Now we know all of the bartenders and quite a few of the servers at the restaurant, and we love them all and we pretty much overtip them as well. Kira however was something special. As she completes college I know that she will do great things. Her soon to be husband is a lucky man and is advised to take good care of Kira.
Kira is also a beautiful girl. She comes from Irish and Italian stock, but you would think that she came direct from directly from Erin. Her personal and physical beauty must have attracted guys like flies. She seems to have stepped out of an Andrew Greely Bishop Blackie mystery as the sweet and beautiful heroine who helps Blackie solve the mystery. If we had a daughter, we would want her to be Kira.
Kira will be married in the yard of her parent’s home. Her and our Priest, Fr Jim will perform the ceremony. The location is because some people attending are decidedly anti-Catholic and will not enter a Catholic church. This means of course that I will be in my clericals tonight and maybe even wear a big pectoral cross or crucifix. I seldom wear these even though my church says priests should wear silver pectoral crosses. I personally find them a bit pretentious, but in this case to help draw fire from Fr Jim and make the anti-Catholics uncomfortable I will wear this and ingratiate myself to them. Now, this will be a sacrifice for me as it will be hot and humid tonight. Today happens to be the hottest day that we have had this year the temperature will be in the mid to high 90s with a heat index of over 100 degrees. I will likely be sweating like a Boiler Technician on a World War Two cruiser in the South Pacific, probably off of Guadalcanal. I hate humidity. However tonight the cause is worthy of suffering for Jesus and I’m sure that the Deity Herself will approve. When Judy and I were married we had temps in the high 90s but we were married in California with NO HUMIDITY thank you God. There is the possibility that we could get storms so I am praying hard that at least for the duration of the ceremony that the heavens do not open as this is an open ceremony. Now I do this kind of thing a lot with the Tides with varying degrees of success. I do pray that the Deity Herself will smile upon Kira’s wedding.
Kira and Nate
A practical implication for Kira and her very soon to be husband is that the Roman Catholic Church will not recognize tonight’s ceremony because it is not being done in a church building. The Commonwealth of Virginia will recognize this, but the church will not. So tomorrow they will have the rite done in the small chapel in the church proper. It is kind of a two step way of doing this and thankfully for the bride she has a wonderful priest who will work with her. The inside the building requirement is because of an understanding that since marriage is a Sacrament of the Church that the wedding is to be performed in a religious setting among the faithful. Complicating the situation was that Kira’s family’s home is in the boundary of another far more conservative parish that would have had to okay it, no chance of that. I do understand this requiement under Canon Law and try to follow it myself though I am not Roman; however as a Navy Chaplain sometimes I make exception to this. However I also have theological questions about the necessity of getting married in the church building. If the church is present where the Bishop is and by extension where the Priest is; and the Sacrament is performed in accordance with the Marriage Rite and proper intent of it being a Sacrament conducted by a validly ordained Priest, how can it not be valid? It seems to me that the same Holy Trinity which sanctifies the Rite conducted by the Priest is capable of doing this outside as well as inside of the church building. I’m sure that the early Catholic Church could not do this, neither the Celtic Catholic missionaries who converted much of Western Europe. They simply did not have the facilities. Likewise, the underground churches in China or Islamic nations. The Bishop or Priest was present with the faithful and that ensured the validity of the sacraments, not the location. I’m sure to get a barrage of theological criticism from the Ultra Montanes Canon Law Nazis but what do I care?
Presentation of the Newly Married Couple
A SHAMELESSS PLUG AND FREE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE ABBY NORMAL ABBESS: Judy contributed her part for the wedding doing a beautiful Celtic design for the bulletin covers. I saw her working on these and the detail that she puts into her work and the beauty of the finished product is simply amazing. If you need digital artwork done for almost anything, or for that matter religious statues restored or custom clergy vestments she is incredible. Some of my posts about our Wiener Dogs display her work. These are drawings and not photos if you have any questions. Contact her through the like to the Abby Normal Abbess on the blog role link on right column of this page.
Speaking of the Norfolk Tides, they are emulating the old San Francisco Giants and are experiencing a “June Swoon.” This has not been a good month for the home team. The Orioles gutted our fearsome batting order bringing Nolan Reimold, Matt Wieters and Oscar Salazar to the big team where they are all doing well. Our hitting has died, thankfully the pitching staff is still holding together. Even more importantly our closest competitor the Durham Bulls are doing even worse this month and we remain a game up in the International League South. I must redouble my prayers for the team and perhaps ask Tides General Manager Dave Rosenfeld if I can bless the bats. After all it was Yogi Berra who once said: “I never blame myself when I’m not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn’t my fault that I’m not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?” Since Master Yogi has made this pronouncement I am sure that something has happened to the bats and that an exorcism might be due.
Finally some stars are rising and falling this week in the Navy. First the rising star: Captain Frank Morneau, my first Commodore at EOD Group Two was selected for the rank of Rear Admiral Lower Half. This is the same rank as a Army, Marine Corps or Air Force Brigadier General. There are not many EOD Officers who have risen to this rank. Captain Morneau is the second. He was great to work for and is a dynamic and energetic officer. I remember him most as being a baseball fan, actually a Yankees fan that carried a game used bat to staff meetings. Since I only carry a baseball in my digital camouflage uniform and get some looks as I toss up and down as I walk our corridors I can imagine the looks that Rear Admiral Select Morneau will get at the Pentagon or Congressional hearings on EOD issues.
The falling star is Rear Admiral Alan Blues Baker, the Deputy Navy Chief of Chaplains and Chaplain of the Marine Corps. Admiral Baker is a graduate of the Naval Academy and former Surface Warfare Officer. He was investigated by the Navy Inspector General (why we don’t have an Inspector Admiral I will never know) for an allegation of retribution and violation of the Military Whistle Blower Protection Act in regard to the FY 2008 Chaplain Captain selection board. I do not know Admiral Baker but as a career officer and chaplain in both the Army and Navy see his forced retirement and failure to become our Chief of Chaplains as yet another stain on our Corps. I wish this had never happened and will keep him and his family in my prayers even as I pray for the future leadership of the Chaplain Corps. Admiral Bob Burt who was scheduled to retire will remain in office for another year and Rear-Admiral Select Mark Tidd will assume the office as the Deputy and Chaplain of the Marine Corps as scheduled.
This issue grieves me. I remember when my Brigade Executive Officer and later acting commander Colonel Jim Wigger tell me that the Chaplain Corps in the Army was far more political and had no Ruths, being so ruthless in comparison with the Army Medical Department. The Army Medical Department was a pretty ruthless organization, so when Colonel Wigger told me that I was somewhat skeptical. He told me that I was jumping from the “frying pan into the fire” and he was right. The thing about chaplains regardless of denominational affiliation, theological background or rank is that we are expected to be above the board and exemplify integrity. If we even give the impression that we are somehow unethical or lacking in integrity then what we say means nothing because people will either not believe us or discount what we say. It creates a problem for those who are doing good things because some people will lump us all in with the wrong doer. When a chaplain falls it can create a crisis of faith in the community. It is the same as when a civilian minister falls from grace. The Catholic pedophile priests, pastors of Evangelical Mega-Churches or large ministries who are accused of financial or sexual misconduct created the same problem for civilian ministers as well as military chaplains. Admiral Baker’s fall comes on the heels of a young Chaplain named Dillman who was convicted of a number of sexual assault and improper conduct charges a couple of weeks ago. This young man once named as a Military Chaplain Association of America “Chaplain of the Year is going to Leavenworth for 10 years. A couple of years ago we had a priest who was convicted of a number of sexual assault charges by having sex with other men and not telling them that he was HIV positive. This chaplain was a “poster boy” for the Chaplain Corps and the Roman Catholic Church Military Archdiocese. Another Chaplain named Klingenschmitt was convicted of disobeying lawful orders after having engaged in a prolonged period of protest against the Navy. Klingenschmitt, who I have written about on this website before made an absolute ass out of himself by protesting the Navy in front of the White House, making spurious allegations against multiple commanding officers and lying through his teeth about “not being allowed to pray in Jesus Name.” When I was at Camp LeJeune I had to relieve two Chaplains who were kicked out of the Navy for sexual misconduct, one Protestant and one Catholic. When I was at Headquarters Battalion 2nd Marine Division I was given charge over several chaplains who had not acquitted themselves well in order to try to help them become successful. I also saw Army Chaplains conduct themselves in less than exemplary fashion.
Of course chaplains and ministers are human and we all are flawed, as the Apostle Paul wrote “All have fouled up and fallen short of the Glory of God.” This being said chaplains and ministers while being human and free to make mistakes need to be sure that those mistakes are not those which compromise our integrity. When I was a young Army Chaplain we were told that SAM, Sex, Alcohol and Money were the three biggest issues that put chaplains out of the service in jail. Let’s add retribution to that list. It is a sad day for the Chaplain Corps. Please pray for us as individuals as well as a Corps as we walk through this valley and keep Admiral Baker in your prayers.
Peace, Steve+
Post Script: The wedding went off well, the promise of the Deity Herself to hold back the rain materizlized as she had promised. Howver it was hot and humid and though I look good in them was regretting wearing my clericals. The June Swoon con tinues for the Tides and the Bulls but the Gwinnett Braves are sneaking up and are within two games of the Tides and one of the Bulls. We have been getting some runs but need to have things come together and fast. Harbor Park is withing my resposne time to the medical center so if there is nothing critical going on tomorrow afternoon I will head over and watch the game. So for selfish reason if nothing else I pray for the good health of all tomorrow.
Filed under Baseball, Loose thoughts and musings, Military, philosophy, Religion
Forward Observer 1982
“I want to stay around longer than the pitchers who were at the top when I came into the big leagues. I don’t want to be gone and have all the old guys — Seaver, Carlton, Ryan and Sutton — still pitching. I got rid of Palmer, now I want to outlast the rest of them.” Bert Blyleven
Bert Blyleven
I have come to value longevity in my career. In fact I did not plan on this when I enlisted in 1981, but I am am coming up on 28 years on the military. I enlisted in August of 1981 and was commissioned in July of 1983. In 1988 I left active duty and went to the National Guard for seminary and my Clinical Pastoral Education Residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital, the Knife and Gun club in the friendly city of Dallas Texas. I became a chaplain in 1992. I ended up resigning my commission as a Major in the Army Reserve back in 1999 to enter the Navy. I’ve been in the Navy now a bit over 10 years.
My plan back in the day was to spend 20 years or more on active duty in the Army and retire as a Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel and then go teach history or military science somewhere. Things took a very different course. The Deity Herself somehow had other plans for this at times miscreant Priest.
At the Berlin Wall, the East Side, November 1986
I can relate to Bert Blyleven’s comments. When I entered the Army in 1981 a lot of folks that I knew had been around for Vietnam and Korea. My early mentors were all Vietnam vets. I’m pretty sure that almost all of the people that I came in with are now retired or out of the service. In fact I cannot think of any of the men and women that I was commissioned with in 1983 who still are in the service. Likewise, most of the guys that were senior when I entered the Navy are either out or maybe coming up on their last tour. It is my desire like Blyleven to outlast all those guys who were Commanders and Captains when I came in ten years ago. I like this longevity thing. I play hard so to speak and love what I do. It is kind of like, well heck; it is getting a chance to do what I know I am called to do. For me a second chance because I thought that I would finish my Army career in the obscurity of the Reserves and never get to do what I really wanted to do. In a sense I am a journeyman who through a lot of ups and downs has finally come into his own. There is a player named Oscar Salazar who was just called up this weekend from the Norfolk Tides to the Orioles. Oscar is one of my favorite players. He is a journeyman who has spent most of his career in the minors. This year he came into his own. He was hitting about .380 and was having a great year in Norfolk. He deserves to be in the majors. If he can’t stay up with Baltimore then I hope that another team will deal for him. When you see him on the on deck circle talking to younger players you can tell that he enjoys playing the game. He hustles and plays hard. I hope that he does well for the Birds while he is up for Caesar Izturis.
Wedding Day 25 June 1983
There is something to longevity in one’s chosen calling. You get to see a lot, do a lot and experience a lot that other people only get to dream of doing. When you do what you love and then are blessed to get to do it as long as I have in two military services, the Army and the Navy, you can count yourself fortunate. There is a certain satisfaction that I have when you look at my career in the long term and see that I have lasted 28 years and that I am still going strong.
In a sense I am a relic, though unlike most of my relic contemporaries I am still relatively junior in rank. I enlisted at the height of the Cold War a couple of years after the Soviets had invaded Afghanistan and the followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini had overthrown the Shah of Iran, over 8 years prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall. I have been to what I call the “Commie Trifecta,” East Berlin, Panmunjom Korea and Guantanamo Bay Cuba. I have served in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, at sea and ashore as well as an exchange officer. I have not always been a chaplain. I have commanded a company in Europe during the cold war. I have served multiple tours with the Marines, served on a great ship, the USS HUE CITY and done more in my career than I had ever imagined possible. I am grateful for the experiences that I have been blessed with and even the adversity has made me stronger and wiser, even the times that I have had my ass kicked by it.
Boarding Party Operation Enduring Freedom April-May 2002
Most of the people who have been in the military as long as me are very senior officers or non-commissioned officers. Thankfully, I still have a relatively young appearance for someone my age, which was enhanced when I shaved the pitiful remnant of graying hair from my now pristine head. Likewise I stay in pretty good shape. I actually want to start playing baseball or softball in some old guy league when I have the time. People say that I appear and act younger than I am. The acting part is no lie, I have not really grown up, and I’m still a kid at heart. I like to have fun and see humor in life even sometimes in the midst of tragedy, which I have seen a fair amount of in my life.
Today was another 13 hour day at work. Thankfully my department director had taken my duty over the weekend and in a sense sat me down for a game. We have a couple of kids doing really bad in one of my units. The last couple of hours were spent working with the families of both of these kids and spending time with our staff. I also ended up doing country clearances for my boss and I to make a trip out of the US to work with chaplains from another country concerning the people that they are sending into our Pastoral Care Residency Program. This later thing I have never done before, though I have supplied information plenty of times for others to do my requests. I was talking to my buddy Elliott the usher of section 102, of which I have seat 102, row B, seat 2. We were talking about baseball and life, which is pretty much par for the course with us. We were talking about situations that I deal with at work and he said to me, “no wonder you come here to relax.” It is true. I have learned that I need to take some time for me, it is imperative for my health if I want to keep myself in the game and like Bert Blyleven outlast the guys who were at the top of their game when I came in. I have pretty much outlasted most of my Army contemporaries, now I’m working on outlasting Navy guys.
Out on the Syrian Border with the Bedouin
I have come to like Blyleven. He is one of the more under appreciated pitchers who played the game. He had 287 wins and pitched 242 complete games with a career 3.31 ERA and over 3700 strike outs, 5th on the all-time strike-out list. He played on 3 All-Star Teams and in 2 World Series. He played on a lot of really bad teams which probably kept him from winning even more games, yet he is not in the Hall of Fame. At the same time he did outlast the majority of his contemporaries pitching 22 years in the major leagues. In a sense I want to be kind of like that. I want to outlast folks and both do well and have fun when I do it. I want my last season, or tour in the Navy to be my best.
Oscar Salazar
I hope that Bert Blyleven makes the Hall of Fame and that Oscar Salazar makes it in the Majors. As for me, I just want to do well and have fun doing it while helping as many of the young guys as possible.
Peace, Steve+
Note: Tomorrow I will be taking part in a memorial service and celebration of life for Senior Chief Pam Branum. She was a great shipmate and tomorrow our Medical Center as well as her many friends will remember he life and say goodbye.
Filed under Baseball, Loose thoughts and musings, Military, philosophy
“My mind is aglow with whirling, transient nodes of thought careening through a cosmic vapor of invention…” Headley Lamar (Harvey Korman) Blazing Saddle’s
Blurred Days, Preparing for Death and Medium Rare Diseases : The past 10 days have been a blur. So much has happened that I have a hard time coming to grips with it all. First was going out to California to assist my mom and brother in dealing with things concerning my dad’s worsening condition. It was good to have a couple of visits with him where he was with me at least for a few minutes. I will treasure those figuring that they may well be the last that I have with him on this green earth. Yet it was hard. I had to kind of package away my stuff for a while and hoping to process when I got back. It seems that the Deity Herself has decided that she needed to build more character in this character than this character thought that he needed. When I got back we were faced with the first real health crisis in our lives. Judy contracted Epiglotitis somehow and we spent the majority of the past three days in hospital ER’s or having her admitted to hospital. Nothing is ever normal for us. Maybe it’s because neither of us are normal. In fact Judy is Abbess of the Abby Normal (see the link on my blog roll). So Epiglotitis is very unusual, 10-40 cases in a million. Most are kids and it is almost unheard of in this country. The Third Year ENT Resident said that he had never seen it before. The attending almost missed it until the ER Attending saw the soft tissue X-Ray. As I said in my last post after I had made the diagnosis which was confirmed by the physicians: “It’s a kid’s disease except when it happens to adults.” It is what probably killed George Washington. Thankfully even early Monday morning though the ER Attending did not see it he did the right thing in a heavy dose of IV antibiotics and steroids. This probably arrested the development of the condition. When it worsened we got Judy into the ER pretty fast and again the right thing was done. She seems to be doing well now that she has been discharged home and for this I am most grateful that she is not dead or even the Grateful Dead. However two long nights in ER with little rest following the trip to California have left me worn out. I do hope that the Deity Herself does not think it necessary to build any more character in this miscreant Priest. Thankfully my Department Head took my duty today and put me on two days of leave to put myself back together. Sleep has been fitful and my anxiety levels have been rather high. Thankfully no PTSD meltdowns this time at least not yet.
The Holy Unction of the Baseball: If you remember my post Baseball in Between Life and Death in the ICU I mentioned a dear woman and her husband who were both big baseball fans. She was in the ICU and seeming to be getting better and I promised her a baseball. She crashed hard. The next day when I brought the ball in she was heavily sedated and intubated. She was trying to die on us. If you recall I placed the baseball in her hand and she gripped it tight. Her husband and sister said that she did not let it go for about 7 or 8 hours. I prayed for her as I did this. I went to California and she was still pretty bad off. By the time that I came back I heard that she was doing a lot better. I saw her yesterday and had a wonderful visit with her and her husband. There is a possibility that they may be actually able to do something to help her heart function. She remembers having the ball in her hand and wondering how it got there even when she was heavily sedated. Could it be possible that the Deity Herself could have made The Holy Unction of the Baseball a new sub-Sacrament of the Sacrament of Healing?
Don’t Screw Up the Prayer: I did the invocation and benediction at the groundbreaking ceremony for Preventive Medicine unit at Norfolk. I’ve done hundreds of prayers at military and civil functions. They are not hard to do. What you don’t want to be is too memorable because if this is the case you have probably done something to be remembered and not in a good way. I have seen this done a number of times. Often the Chaplain has no clue that he stepped all over it. This can happen by going too long, forgetting the words or trying to be too uppity, sectarian, funny or unique. Since most of the time the people at these functions have to be there the chaplain cannot presume that they are the show and can do whatever they want. In the Navy this is really important. I write these prayers out and have done so for many years now. Not only do I write them out I read them several times before I ever get in front of a live audience. Doing this keeps me from doing something stupid, which on occasion even I can do. I even have a basic format that I put the prayer into: The introduction; specific event/unit/situation that I am asking God to bless, and the closing sentence. I try to keep it to 30-45 seconds, never more than a minute. It is not good when they look at their watches when you are praying or yawn. In the public forum you have a place to be a witness, but it is always a delicate balance. The people at the event are not there to see the chaplain. The chaplain is like the ceremonial first pitch or meeting between the managers of the two baseball teams and the umpires to discuss the ground rules. Chaplains are not the main event unless it is an actual worship service. Even memorial services and ceremonies where the chaplain plays a huge role, the chaplain is not the reason everyone is there. It is no place to try to be Paul Harvey and tell “the rest of the story.” Thus this ministry in the public arena can be one that either provides the chaplain entrance into the community with opportunities to provide great ministry, even evangelical ministry. Or ensures that they remain an outsider to the community, nipping at the fringe and hoping someone will hear them. When we were done I had an officer compliment me on my prayer. He said it wasn’t too long, wasn’t too short and honored what they were doing. I love it when a plan comes together.
A Tale of Two Burgers: Yesterday I did something that I have not done in years. I had two hamburgers in a single day. Both were fast food burgers and usually I maybe eat A HAMBURGER every 45-60 days. Yesterday as you know from reading this was rather hectic. One the way home I stopped by Sonic to get a Super Sonic Double Cheeseburger with Mayo, Mustard and Ketchup. For fast food this is a hell of a burger. It is tasty and big. Sure it’s not the best hamburger in the world but it will work in a pinch. Early this morning after leaving Judy at the hospital I stopped by a 24 hour McDonald’s. I was hungry and tired. Unfortunately they have an exceptionally limited after midnight menu. Two Types of Quarter Pounder, The Big and Tasty Burger, a Southern Chicken Sandwich, Chicken McNuggets and Chicken Strips. Not much to choose from. I should have gone with the McNuggets or regular Quarter Pounder but taken in by the name I asked for the Big and Tasty. This was very possibly the very worst hamburger that I have ever had. The meat was bland and greasy and topped by a mound of mayonaise that drowned out any other taste. I could feel my arteries closing as the first bite went down. I can only say “Never Again.”
Moving to the Front of the International League: My Norfolk Tides are now 26-12 not only atop their division but now has the best record in the International League. This is a exciting young ball club. We have not had anything like this in years at Norfolk. I just hope that the Orioles don’t rape the Tides to fill their roster. I know that the minors exist to support the big team but right now this is a special team and fun season. I pray that the Deity will ensure the Orioles success so that we can continue like this the rest of the season.
Getting the call reversed: It looks like our insurance company has decided to agree with us and the body shop and denial the fraudulent claim against Judy. Sometimes arguing with the umpire nicely gets the call reversed.
As always thank you for your kind words, encouragement, concern and prayers over the past 10 days. They are appreciated and I know that they are effectual.
Peace, Steve+
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