Milwaukee Brewers Roster Moves: Narveson to 15-day DL, Hart Moved to 60-day DL and Lalli Brought up from AAA
Folks, after the Milwaukee Brewers barely held off the Chicago Cubs in Chicago’s home opener yesterday, 7-4 (the Cubs left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth), I knew the Brewers would have to finally make a roster move or two.
However, I didn’t necessarily expect these moves.
First, left-hander Chris Narveson was placed on the 15-day DL with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. Narveson will probably be on the DL for longer than 15 days, and could be there as long as six weeks.
Second, the Brewers brought up the man I suggested a few days ago that they might want to take a look at — catcher/first baseman Blake Lalli. Lalli’s much more familiar with the contemporary pitching staff than either of the two incumbent catchers, Jonathan Lucroy and Martin Maldonado — and the way things have gone with the injury bug, the Brewers have had to play both catchers at the same time (Lucroy has caught, while Maldonado has played first base).
This way, the Brewers will always have at least one catcher on the bench into the late innings of every game. That’s a move I applaud.
The main reason, though, I’m only cautiously optimistic that these moves will help is this — to get Lalli on the 40-man roster, the Brewers had to transfer Corey Hart to the 60-day DL. The other choices to go to the 60-day DL were Aramis Ramirez, Mark Rodgers, Jeff Bianchi, and Taylor Green. The Brewers hope to have all of those players back by mid-May, particularly Ramirez.
However, there has been no really good news in the saga of Taylor Green. He has a problem with the labrum in his left hip, which he sustained in Spring Training. He’s been on the DL since March 22, and it’s unlikely he’ll play much before mid-May, if at all.
Everyone else — yes, even Rodgers — can be expected to come back well before that time. But with Green’s vexing injury, if I’d been Doug Melvin, I’d have been interested in putting Green on the DL instead.
Consider, please, that Green is a marginal player at this point, while Hart is a solid contributor with two past All-Star appearances to his credit. (Mind you, Green could still well improve, does play multiple positions, and is usually a solid defender.) That hip labrum will need a good amount of time and rest to improve, considering surgery does not seem to be in the cards. And injuries like this can nag you all season long if not properly treated to begin with . . . which is why with a known “fast healer” like Hart on the roster, I’d have been much happier with moving Green to the 60-day DL instead.
I am pleased that Lalli has come up, because I think he has tons of potential and it’s a very good thing to have another catcher on the roster. I’m not happy that Narveson has sustained this odd injury, but maybe it’s for the best that he’s been put on the DL. And, of course, I’m quite displeased that the Brewers moved Hart to the 60-day DL rather than Green under the circumstances.
But as the moves have been made, there’s nothing to be done about it.
Just Reviewed K.E. Kimbriel’s Excellent “Fire Sanctuary” at SBR
Folks, if you’ve looking for a very good, entertaining, interesting and thought-provoking novel of the far future, look no further than Katharine Eliska Kimbriel’s FIRE SANCTUARY, which I just reviewed over at Shiny Book Review (SBR). FIRE SANCTUARY deals with cross-cultural romance, a brewing interplanetary war between the Axis and the Fewhas (with Nuala stuck in the middle), the difficulties of living on a planet that endures much radiation and much, much more.
Again, as with Ms. Kimbriel’s THE FIRES OF NUALA (that “the” may be optional, but I keep typing it over here and not at SBR; weird, huh?), there’s much action, intrigue, drama, and romance. But the stars of the show are the characters, including Braan and Ronuviel of the Atare clan, Moran and Lyte (Axis officers), and Teloa, a planter (a farmer by any other name). And even the minor characters are brimming with life and desires and goals and dreams . . . just a winning effort, all the way around, for Ms. Kimbriel.
As I’ve said before, I believe more people need to read Ms. Kimbriel’s writing. So if you haven’t given her books a try yet, why not do so today? (You’ll be glad you did.)
Milwaukee Brewers 2013: A Dreadful First Week
The Milwaukee Brewers 2013 season is well underway, and there’s only one thing any observant writer can say: The Brewers look dreadful in just about every respect.
While there are some good things happening — Norichika Aoki’s four hits today (during his promotional bobblehead day), a clutch Sunday double by rookie OF-3B Josh Prince, the strong six innings pitched by Kyle Lohse on Friday, and the two good relief appearances by Jim Henderson among them — there are many more extremely frustrating things going on, which befits a team with a woeful 1-5 record.
First, and worst: The Brewers have faced many injuries already this season. Consider that half the Brewers starting infield is currently on the disabled list (DL) — first baseman Corey Hart, of course, had knee surgery back in February, and third baseman Aramis Ramirez tweaked his knee while sliding into second base on Friday evening. In addition, both prospective utility infielders, Taylor Green and Jeff Bianchi, are on the DL along with backup first baseman-outfielder Mat Gamel (out for the year), while Brewers rookie starting shortstop Jean Segura sustained a bruised left thigh on Sunday and is now considered “day-to-day.”
But the most frustrating injury is to Brewers’ MVP Ryan Braun, who is out with neck spasms. While not on the DL, he’s unable to play — the closest he’s come to actually getting in a game since Friday was standing in the on-deck circle earlier today — and that means that the Brewers three best hitters are currently unavailable.
That doesn’t mean the Brewers aren’t trying in the hitting department. They certainly are. Players like Aoki, Prince, the recently signed Yuniesky Betancourt, Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez are all doing their best to score runs.
Second, many players are playing out of position due to injury. Betancourt and Gonzalez between them, shortstops by trade, have played every position except second base, while Prince, an outfielder, played third base for the first time since AA ball on Sunday due to a lack of bench players.
Third, while the Brewers are carrying eight relief pitchers, half of them aren’t doing well. The worst of the lot has been closer John Axford, who has an ERA of 20.25 and a record of 0-1 (being the pitcher of record this afternoon in an eleven-inning loss) with one blown save, four home runs, and six earned runs given up in 2 and 2/3 innings pitched.
Now, it is still early, so Axford’s extremely depressing ERA is misleading. But giving up six earned runs — with four of ’em being HRs — in less than three innings worth of work is extremely concerning. Worse yet, Axford has not looked sharp; his “three up, three down” tenth inning today is also, and quite unfortunately, misleading in that Axford gave up two fly ball outs that went to the wall (one in the deepest part of left center, the other to left) before striking out the third batter only after throwing a pitch wildly over the umpire’s head on a 1-2 count.
So, Axford has not looked good. Mike Gonzalez (13.50 ERA), who came in today in relief of Axford, has had a good appearance and at least two bad ones. And aside from Henderson, Brandon Kintzler, Alfredo Figaro and Chris Narveson, every other reliever has had at least one bad outing amidst a good outing or two.
Fourth, the starters, as a group, have also looked awful. A bad relief pitching corps could be circumvented if the starters were up to snuff. Unfortunately, the only starter who’s actually looked good to date is Lohse (with a sparkling 1.50 ERA). Gallardo (5.73 ERA) has looked, at best, serviceable. Estrada (7.20 ERA) looked awful against Arizona. Mike Fiers (10.80 ERA) had a forgettable start. Peralta (6.70 ERA) has looked overmatched since spring training.
As to who is available among starting pitchers? Well, former Brewers lefty Chris Capuano (12-12, 3.72 ERA in 2012) is a forgotten man in the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen, and is a better pitcher than Estrada, Fiers or Peralta. Narveson, who is in the bullpen probably because the Brewers are afraid of re-injuring his surgically repaired left shoulder, is also a better pitcher than Estrada, Fiers or Peralta. Those two pitchers would give the Brewers two lefties on the starting staff, and would at least make it harder for opposing teams to tee off on Brewers pitchers.
Also, Aaron Harang (10-10, 3.61 ERA) has already been designated for assignment by his new team, the Colorado Rockies. Harang, too, is a much better pitcher than Fiers or Peralta, and is probably better than Estrada. So if I were the Brewers, I’d certainly be willing to give Harang a look-see.
There are also two quality relievers currently without teams. One, Francisco Rodriguez, is well-known to the Brewers and is unlikely to be signed due to his 2012 struggles with the team. But the other, Brian Wilson, would be an intriguing choice — while Wilson would undoubtedly need time in Arizona in extended spring training before getting some rehab appearances in the minors, at least the Brewers would know that help would eventually be on the way.
My advice is as follows:
- Send Axford to a sports psychiatrist (if Axford isn’t already seeing one), as that may help.
- Sign Wilson, which would give Axford some competition, as Axford seems to do better when someone is seriously competing with him for the job.
- Trade for Capuano (and maybe even Harang).
- Send Peralta down, as it appears he needs more time in AAA ball, and think seriously about sending Fiers back down as well.
- And, last but not least, put Segura on the DL and call up Blake Lalli. The Brewers need a third catcher badly, and Lalli worked with the Brewers staff extensively in spring training due to both Lucroy and Martin Maldonado playing for Teams USA and Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. Lalli also hit well in the spring, and certainly cannot hurt the Brewers any at this point.
The last move is necessary because the Brewers are unwilling to put Braun on the DL and obviously cannot handle having only three healthy bench players. In Sunday’s eleven-inning game, the Brewers actually had to use Lohse, the best hitter of the available starting pitchers, as a pinch hitter because that was the only move left for manager Ron Roenicke. But Lohse struck out to end the game (of course).
As it stands, though, I feel sorry for Axford. I’m sure he’s trying his best, as is everyone else on the team — you don’t get into professional sports if you aren’t interested in doing well for yourself and your team, after all. But it’s obvious that something is still not right with Axford, and my guess is that whatever is it has more to do with his head than his mechanics or his will.
I just hope he can sort it out, and get back to pitching the way Brewers fans know he can. Or it’s likely to be another long, frustrating season for the Brewers in 2013.
Quick Tuesday Ill Health Update
Today is April 2, 2013. The day after April Fool’s Day . . . the second game of the major league baseball season (my favorite team, the Milwaukee Brewers, faces off against the Colorado Rockies in less than an hour).
And it’s another day that I’d rather forget, because I woke up sick with a very sore throat. I had so little energy that I had no interest in eating (yet it wasn’t a migraine — with a migraine, I’d at least understand this), and ended up going right back to bed at a time I normally am awake and alert.
(Of course, then I slept for three more hours.)
Now, I’m awake again, and I hope to be able to watch the Brewers game. But I’m unsure I can do that. I’m also unsure I’m going to be able to do much of anything at all the rest of the week, which is why I’m writing this particular blog . . . even though it’s not something I enjoy doing, and believe it might actually be detrimental to my overall chances of employment down the line.
Still. A friend of mine on Facebook had suggested a while back that if people were more honest about how they were feeling, maybe we’d see less artifice and strife in the world. I didn’t entirely follow what he’d said, mind you — though I agree that people should be more honest and far less artificial — but in his clarifying notes, he said that what he wanted was to know that other people actually did get sick, did suffer when losing a loved one, did recover from illness and somehow dealt with their grief . . . all things our contemporary society tries to kick under the rug because these are not things that our society prefers to dwell upon.
Oh, no. We’re supposed to be perfectly healthy. Thin. Never grieve the loss of a loved one. Always be happy, even when we’re miserable. “Fake it ’til we make it.”
That sort of thing.
And even though I’d love to be perfectly healthy (this after possibly the worst year, health-wise, I’ve ever had), certainly would like to be thinner and in better shape than I am, not be grieving for my beloved husband and my excellent best friend, etc., it’s not going to happen.
I’d rather embrace who I am, even if I’m not where I’d hoped I’d be by this time in my life. I prefer to remember the people who’ve graced my life with fondness, bare minimum . . . everything I’ve gone through has made me who I am today. And really, as I refuse to be one of these people who “puts behind them” the people they care about, or the memories they most treasure because society doesn’t like to dwell upon them, I need to continue to be my truest self.
Even if that means, like today, all I can do is rest, read a little bit (I’m too tired to read, which is how I know I’m really ill), and hope I can watch a baseball game (when normally nothing would keep me from at least listening to it). And try to get back after it tomorrow, somehow.
Or at worst, the day after that.
My intention remains the same as before: stay alive long enough to get my book, ELFY, out there into the marketplace in the hopes that people I don’t know will enjoy the book. And in the process, get every other scrap of writing I’ve worked on, or that Michael worked on, or that the two of us together worked on, into print as well.
That’s why I need to rest and get my sore throat to calm down a little bit.
Anyway, for the time being, there are other good blogs out there to keep you busy. I suggest Jason Cordova’s blog, Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s blog, and Chris Nuttall’s blog “the Chrishanger” to get you started. (All links are available on the side of my blog page.)
As for me, I will try to get a new blog up by the weekend. But I have a big edit to complete, and a rehearsal to try to get to (even if all I can do is pick up the music and go home again), and lots of other stuff to do that’s too mundane to mention.
So do me a favor, and until then, contemplate this quote by Walt Disney:
There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island and at the bottom of the Spanish Main… and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.”
— From Peter’s Quotations : Ideas for Our Time (1977) by Laurence J. Peter (via Wikiquotes).
Because this is not only the reason I read . . . it’s also the reason I write.
Just Reviewed K.E. Kimbriel’s “The Fires of Nuala” at SBR
Folks, if you haven’t read any of Katharine Eliska Kimbriel’s novels before, you need to go find them and read them immediately.
I don’t often say this. In fact, I’ve said this with regards to maybe two other authors in my entire life, those two being the novels of Rosemary Edghill (in any genre) and the novels of André Norton. These two authors — one extremely well-known and a Grandmaster, the other who should be much better known than she is — are must-reads in any genre.
So far, I’ve read the three books in Ms. Kimbriel’s The Chronicles of Nuala, but only reviewed the first, THE FIRES OF NUALA, this evening over at Shiny Book Review (SBR). (The second two books will be reviewed next week.) What I’ve read has shown me that Ms. Kimbriel knows what she’s doing, as she’s developed a complex world with a mythos all its own and characters who are vital people who demand attention at all times.
THE FIRES OF NUALA came out in 1988. Somehow, I missed it back then. The reissued** version came out in 2010 courtesy of Book View Cafe.
I’m glad I read it now, as it’s a first-rate novel that combines space opera, mystery, romance, epic world building and a complex plot into something that’s even more than the sum of its parts. (I didn’t call it “…a book that should be in every science fiction library as it is complex, engrossing, interesting, compelling, and outstanding” for nothing, folks.)
THE FIRES OF NUALA should’ve won every award there was, as far as I’m concerned, unless the 1988 version was radically different than this one (something I find extremely hard to believe). But due to the nature of the e-book revolution, at least it’s back out there and available to captivate new readers.
Seriously. Read my review, then go read the novel. Then ask yourself, “What happened back in 1988 that I missed this?” (Unless you’re too young, of course, for this to apply. In which case, just go grab the book and save steps.)
——–
** Upon further review, I’ve been reliably informed by Ms. Kimbriel that THE FIRES OF NUALA that I just read is the very same, exact version put out in 1988. I really do not understand how a book like this one could be completely overlooked by the Hugo and Nebula Awards, but then again, I don’t run in those waters and never have.
However, I do know quality when I see it, or read it. This book is quality with a capital “Q.” So go out and read it, if you haven’t already. (If you have, great! But if you want an e-book, $4.99 for a book of this length and excellence is, as previously stated over at SBR, an absolute steal.)
Milwaukee Brewers to Start Five Right-handers in 2013
With the recent acquisition of right-handed pitcher Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012), the 2013 Milwaukee Brewers pitching rotation is now set.
The odd thing is, all five starters — Yovani Gallardo, Marco Estrada, Lohse, Mike Fiers and Wily Peralta — are right-handers. It’s highly unusual to go with an all right-handed starting rotation in this day and age, especially when you have a capable left-hander like Chris Narveson on your roster.
“But Barb,” I can hear you saying. “Narveson was injured last year. Don’t you remember? Season-ending arm injury, the 60-day disabled list, the whole enchilada?”
Of course I remember. But until Lohse was signed this past week to a three-year deal (the widely-reported terms were for $33 million over that time span, with some money being deferred), the Brewers’ brain trust maintained that Narveson would not be on a pitch count and would be in the starting rotation. Then, they suddenly changed their minds after Lohse was signed.
What I’ve seen out of Lohse over the years is heartening. He’s a smart pitcher, as Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez said in several news reports (including this one from ESPN Wisconsin’s Drew Olson). He has a steady, even temperament that works well with other teammates and rarely riles up opponents. And he’s saying and doing all the right things thus far, which you’d expect out of such a savvy veteran.
The only possible downside has to do with Lohse’s age. He’s thirty-four. Very few pitchers have been able to pitch well for three straight years at thirty-four. But it’s possible that Lohse will do very well and buck the trend, especially as he seems to be much like former Brewers pitcher Chris Capuano with regards to work-ethic and training regimen.
The signing of Lohse was welcome, as it now gives the Brewers two solid starters in Gallardo and Lohse, along with experienced swingman Estrada (now firmly ensconced in the starting rotation). But the Brewers will still have two pitchers in their starting rotation with little major league experience in Peralta and Fiers, which is why it’s so puzzling that Narveson was put in the bullpen despite a solid spring.
Of course, Narveson is coming off major surgery. The Brewers obviously don’t want to reaggravate any shoulder problems that may not have healed properly, which might be considered a wise move considering what happened to New York Mets starter (and left-hander) Johan Santana — about to miss all of 2013 after re-aggravating his left shoulder. Many past Brewers pitchers recovering from injury — including Capuano, Ben Sheets, Mark Rodgers, and others — have been placed on pitch counts while they get back to full arm strength. And every good baseball fan knows that it’s far easier for a manager to keep a pitcher to a stated pitch count if he’s coming out of the bullpen,
This, of course, is provided that the manager doesn’t overuse the relief pitcher by calling upon him several days in a row, as doing so negates any advantage sticking to a strict pitch count could possibly bring.
At any rate, Lohse is now in the Brewers’ fold. That’s good.
But it remains to be seen what the Brewers will get out of Fiers and Peralta, especially as Peralta’s exhibition start against the Chicago White Sox last night was, to be charitable, awful. (Four runs in four and a third innings is not good by any stretch of the imagination, even if two were unearned.) Peralta actually looked so shaky in the third inning that it was surprising when Brewers manager Ron Roenicke left him out there long enough to get rocked in the fifth.
Because of how young Peralta is, I’d say he’s the most likely candidate to be sent down if he’s unable to regain the form he flashed during the Brewers end-of-the-season run toward the second Wild Card spot. Which is why if I were Narveson, I’d bide my time, and be prepared to pitch multiple innings when called upon in order to stay as “stretched out” as possible (so a spot start, or return to the rotation down the lines, is less difficult).
Because it seems to me that if Narveson does all that, he’ll be rejoining the starting rotation sooner rather than later regardless of how Peralta and Fiers actually perform.
The Importance of Wills for Writers
Over the past several weeks, I’ve been trying to get a few projects back up and running. These projects, some of them years in the making, have become stalled out not for lack of interest, but because of the lack of time I’ve had to spend on them.
This can be frustrating, mostly because I have more stories than I have energy to work with — and partly because I have the sense that I’m running out of time.
Mind you, I’m going to keep working on the various projects. But the idea of running out of time needs to be discussed . . . and as I’m here, I guess I’m the lucky one who gets to discuss it.
Don’t think that just because you’re not in your dotage that you still have plenty of time. Because maybe you don’t.
Consider, please, that my husband Michael died before he was able to become known as a fiction writer (though after he and I had sold one story, this a SFWA qualifying sale). The stories he left behind are ones I’m trying to keep alive, because they’re really good stories and I want them to see the light of day.
Then consider that my best friend Jeff also died before he was able to become known as a fiction writer. And then further consider that his stories — which were thoughtfully sent to me by his brother — will never be published, or finished either, because he didn’t get time to flesh them out.
And because, unlike my late husband, Jeff did not have an inheritor.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch wrote a post about how important it is for a writer to have a will — no matter how “unimportant” that writer may be, and no matter how unknown his or her work, your literary estate matters. (Yes, she wrote it last November. But the advice still applies.) This is why we all should sit down and make wills if we possibly can.
Bare minimum, we really should start thinking about it.
I’ve already lost two men in their mid-forties who mattered a great deal to me. I’ve only been able to “save” the output from one writer — my husband — and I’m not even sure where all of his files are. (I just believe I can reconstruct them if they’re unable to be found, because I knew Michael so well.) His writing will live on, partly because we’d discussed things and I knew what he wanted done . . . and partly because I’m too damned stubborn to just give up on them.
But my friend Jeff’s writing will not. And that saddens me greatly.
Please, folks. For the love of God/dess and little green apples, if you are a writer of any sort (including a musical composer), figure out who you want to be the executor of your literary estate. Then sit down with your chosen executor, discuss what you will need done after you pass from this earth, and make sure that the person you’ve picked not only understands your wishes, but wants to be your executor . . . then make out your will accordingly.**
That way, whoever ends up being your inheritor will have as good of an idea as possible as to what, exactly, you want done with your literary estate. Because otherwise, who knows what will happen?
So don’t take the chance. Figure out what you want done with your words, and make out that will as soon as you possibly can.
If you do that in a timely manner, your words will have a chance to live on.
And a chance beats no chance at all. Doesn’t it?
————
I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that Neil Gaiman blogged about this very issue a few years ago due to the problems that occurred after writer John M. Ford passed away. Gaiman’s post on the subject includes a simple PDF form will that should get you pointed in the right direction.
Easter Week Odds and Ends
Folks, I’ve been engrossed in several major projects this week, which is why I haven’t had much time for blogging. That said, it’s Easter Week and there are several topics I’d like to discuss — so let’s get to it.
First, there have been a number of stories recently about good deeds that have gone viral. (This particular phrase is vexing in and of itself, mind you. “Gone viral” used to discuss epidemics, not Internet usage. But I digress.) The latest one is about a family who had their meal “comped” at Olive Garden in Vernon Hills, IL . . . and of all things, people are actually posting comments saying this particular complimentary meal was a stunt by the public relations firm that represents the Olive Garden chain.
Look. I really don’t understand the motivation behind people posting every single thing that happens to them online, as if it’s not real unless it’s discussed on the Internet. But I’ve seen story after story lately about good deeds (such as the forty dollars left by an anonymous person on a windshield because a woman had a “half my heart is in Afghanistan” bumper sticker on her car), all of which have been picked up after some individual posts a story online — usually at Reddit or Twitter or Instagram, or any of the services that allow you to post a picture and a short caption of what’s going on.
I adore stories about good deeds. Yet there’s something about how people are posting these stories themselves that bugs me.
I’m glad that people are reaching out to help others in a time of need. (The first story about the Olive Garden is a case in point.) But I’m very concerned about this trend of posting every single thing you see or hear or want to discuss online, because it’s a way of eroding your personal head space.
Or to put it more bluntly, people seem to be giving their privacy away much more easily than ever before. And that is an extremely worrisome trend.
Second, there was a sad story today that I wish I didn’t have to write about. A retired couple from Indiana had moved to Washington to be close to their son, his wife and their newborn grandson, and had spent the first ten days of the child’s life with him. But today, a drunk driver who had already surrendered his driver’s license hit the couple as they were crossing a street with their grandson and daughter-in-law, killing the retired couple instantly.
The only good thing is that so far, the mother and child have survived. But they are both in critical condition, and the outcome is far from certain. I hope to post an update (with luck, a positive one) in a few days’ time.
This particular drunk driver had five previous DUIs, this according to the UK newspaper The Daily Mail. Somehow, he managed to slam into not one person, but four — and his weak excuse amounted to, “The sun was in my eyes, and I didn’t see them,” according to newspaper reports (such as this one from the Washington Post).
Mind you, this is a paraphrase of what the various newspaper and TV reports I’ve read (and heard) have said. But from all reports, after hitting four people including a newborn baby, this is all the drunk driver in question (I refuse to name him) had to say for himself.
He’s obviously learned nothing.
And last but not least, it is Easter Week. I’ve written about Good Friday before (last year, in fact), and about Easter itself (two years ago) . . . basically, Easter Week is all about transfiguration, repentance and redemption. And as such, it can be a very stressful time to deal with if you have any empathy at all, or any sense of what, historically, Christianity has meant to this world (for good and ill).
Religious historian Mircea Eliade wrote extensively on Christianity, and because I’ve read most of Eliade’s work, I realize that in many respects, Christianity was a major step forward.
Mind you, there were good Pagan cults that were suppressed, subsumed and/or stamped out. That was not good by any stretch of the imagination.
But there also were bad Pagan cults and bad pre-Christian religions of all sorts that were also suppressed, subsumed and/or stamped out, too.
On balance, Christianity when it was adopted was a major step forward. There were women who advocated for the church in early times — perhaps more of them than we’re currently aware of, because the chroniclers of that time were largely male.
It was only later, when the Church fathers (always fathers) got their hooks into Christianity that abuses were suffered. And while there have always been good and kindly priests of all sorts in the Catholic Church and other Christian sects (as there have been in other churches worldwide throughout our history), the Christian faith as a faith must be vigilant against anyone or any thing that perverts its overall message.
Which, believe it or not, boils down to one and only one thing: love one another. (Jesus said so, too. It’s in the Bible. Go look it up.)
Or, if you want two things, try the Golden Rule. (Which Wiccans know as, “An ye harm none, do as thou wilt.” Same thing.)
Everything else is window dressing. And everything else, as such, should be viewed that way — with extreme caution.
Jesus is celebrated because he loved everyone. The widows. The orphans. The lepers. Those who didn’t have enough to eat. The homeless. The scared. The dying. The condemned.
Jesus loved them all.
Yet the modern church, for the most part, has gone away from this. (There are individual exceptions, such as Mother Teresa, Father Damien the Leper Priest, and so forth.) They need to realize that any faith, if it’s any good at all, needs to care about everyone.
Not just those it understands.
Everyone.
Meaning the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. Meaning women who want to be priests rather than nuns (great as nuns are, it’s not the same job, yet it’s the best any female can do in the Catholic Church). Meaning kids who get so many piercings, you can barely see their skin.
Or convicts. Prostitutes. Villains of all sorts and descriptions . . . because redemption is possible even in the worst of all circumstances.
That’s what Jesus said, and that’s the life Jesus lived. It was a heroic life in many respects, which is why Christianity is a very tough religion (I’m not the only one who’s said so, either; so did G.K. Chesterton).
We tend to view Jesus as an example rather than a man like any other man — or, perhaps better stated, a man with a spark of divinity in him that could not be denied even by his detractors.
Maybe we’d do a little better in this life if we viewed what he did as a man in comforting widows and orphans, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, etc., etc., and tried to do the same in whatever small ways we possibly can.
That way, we would show how much we truly care for others. And we’d be following both the Golden Rule and Jesus’s “Eleventh Commandment” (that of loving one another as Jesus loved us) — which is something worthwhile to do whether you’re a Christian, a NeoPagan, a Muslim, an atheist, or a Martian.
MLB: In Pursuit of Ryan Braun, Again?
Folks, some stories seem like broken records.
Take the story broken by Yahoo Sports through its blog “Big League Stew.” The headline reads, “MLB’s PED Vendetta Against Ryan Braun: Seeks Informants, Offers Immunity for Players Testimony.”
This article points out that Major League Baseball, in its infinite whatever, is using the Biogenesis Clinic information that has been leaked to the press as a way to go after Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun. Braun is the only major leaguer known to have successfully appealed a positive drug test, and MLB apparently just cannot handle it at all.
Instead, they wish to punish Braun after the fact despite losing their case in arbitration against Braun in 2012 — legally binding arbitration, at that.
MLB is even willing, according to an article at USA Today by Bob Nightengale (which the Yahoo Sports blog references), to grant some players immunity even if they test positive for PEDs themselves. Which seems extremely counterproductive if MLB’s interest here is in the cleanest sport possible . . . but more on that in a bit.
The reason MLB is upset is because their officials insist that Braun used performance-enhancing drugs due to a highly elevated level of testosterone in Braun’s urine sample back in 2011. Braun won his appeal in 2012 (here’s my earlier blog post on the subject); at the time, MLB “vehemently disagreed” with the decision. Later, MLB fired arbitrator Shyam Das, which looked terrible from a public relations standpoint — as apparently, the only arbitrators they want are the ones who rule in MLB’s favor.
As Ray Ratto pointed out in this column from February 23, 2012 (note that the lack of punctuation is also in the original column; the look of this has not been altered in any way save to cut out one link):
Rather than announce that Braun had won his appeal and had been found not guilty according to the procedures and protocols set up and approved BY Major League Baseball, it chose instead to swine-slap Das ruling, deciding that when they say guilty, they mean guilty.Now we dont know whether Braun hornswoggled the arbitrator, the system or nobody at all. We wont call him innocent or guilty. We will say, though, that he played by baseballs rules, he followed baseballs procedures, he went through baseballs process, and he was found not guilty.Thus, it is inconceivably bad form for baseball to scream about the result just because they wanted it to be something else.
Obviously, I agree with this assessment.
Ratto’s words, however, have proven prophetic in how MLB has behaved with regards to Braun. Take a look at this (also from Ratto’s above-referenced column):
The process is supposed to be about finding the truth, not getting the desired result. The desired result IS the truth, and baseballs system says Braun didnt do what he was accused of doing.MLBs reaction, though, shows that for it, testing isnt about determining a players guilt or innocence, its about nailing guys.”As a part of our drug testing program, the commissioner’s office and the players’ association agreed to a neutral third party review for instances that are under dispute, a statement from Rob Manfred, managements representative on the three-man appeals panel, read. While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das.”Vehemently disagrees? Its your system, Robbo, the one your negotiators demanded. Is it only a good system when you win? (emphasis added by BC)
And if that’s the case, MLB is going to keep going after Braun in the same way Inspector Javert went after Jean Valjean in Les Miserables — even though it will do no good, much harm, and cause much strife for all concerned.
Look. I’ve thought and thought about this, and I’ve come to the same conclusions as in my original blog post on the Braun/PED issue:
Braun has been an outstanding player from the time the Brewers brought him up. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2007. His lifetime numbers are comparable to his MVP numbers; over his last five seasons, he’s averaged 36 HRs and 118 RBIs a season, and has hit over .300 every year except 2008 (when he “only” hit .285); his lifetime batting average, over five complete seasons, is .312.
So I don’t really see where Braun could’ve been taking anything that was of an enhancing nature, especially if he’s never tested positive before (and indeed, he hasn’t).
Jumping a few paragraphs, I said back in 2011:
. . . my view is that Braun’s statistical performance was well within his own normals. So it’s very hard for me to believe that Braun actually did take anything illegal of the PED variety; because of that, and because of my admittedly laissez-faire attitude toward baseball players and legal drugs, I believe Braun should be considered innocent until and unless he is proven guilty.
And as we now all know, Braun was found not guilty.
Which makes me think that Braun had a point. He wasn’t juicing then, isn’t juicing now, and that as much as anyone’s performance can be in these days of high-tech nutrition and personal trainers, he’s as clean as they come.
Since Braun has been proven to not have taken PEDs under binding arbitration, MLB should really let it go. Because the longer they pursue this mindless vendetta, the more they look like Inspector Javert — and with far less reason than that fictional French bureaucrat of old.
My final take? I suppose it’s MLB’s prerogative to look silly, spiteful and stupid when it comes to this apparent vendetta against Ryan Braun.
But speaking as a long-time baseball fan, I wish they’d knock it off.
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