Sorry For Problems with the Post Below

One of the many things I hate about Blogger when it comes to formatting--the post below is messed up. Sorry for the inconvenience but it is a good post nonetheless so I recommend reading it.

Official Report: Trade Completed This Morning

Welcome to the show Ben Cherrington, you just made Red Sox history. Earlier this morning Cherrington shipped Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, and Nick Punto to the LA Dodgers for utility infielder Ivan DeJesus, OF/1B Jerry Sands, RHP's Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster, and first baseman James Loney. Somehow Cherrington also mastered the Jedi trick of mind control and got the Dodgers to cover most of the $270 million price tag associated the package LA received. While we didn’t get much, what we did do was unload expensive yet replaceable players and free ourselves up to shop around this winter to fill in the holes.

            Losing all that star power is a big hit, but the biggest lost will be felt at first base. Gonzalez, despite his personality, is a fantastic player. He is well above average defensively, and a threat at the plate—especially in high-pressure spots Many claim that he is passionless and never comes through; I ask them to look at his .338 average with men on base and .398 average when there runners in scoring position. No matter what you say, it is evident that Gonzo is an RBI machine and his bat will be missed in the lineup.

            My question is this: what will happen next year? While the trade eliminated the star power from the Sox in one swoop, it also eliminated a sense of entitlement that pervaded the Sox clubhouse since 2007. Gone are the days when the Sox will pay for past performance, say hello to the future where if you underperform, as Donald Trump would say, you’re fired. Another interesting note, pretty much everyone who had a problem with Bobby Valentine is now gone (with the exception of Pedroia). Beckett and Crawford had issues from the start because of Valentines’ comments on their playing style. Kelly Shoppach (traded to the Mets earlier) had issues with the playing time he got. Lastly, Gonzalez was named as a ringleader in orchestrating the mass text to the owners complaining about Bobby V. It’s like the scene at the end of The Godfather, except instead of shooting all his enemies Bobby Valentine had them shipped out.

            The direct consequence of this is that next year’s team will be much younger than the team we have now. From that youth and inexperience comes a better work ethic and lack of entitlement that poisoned the Sox from 2007 onward. The infield will probably have Middlebrooks at third, Ciriaco/Iglesias at short, Pedroia at second, Lavarnway/Salty/Other at first, and Lavarnway/Salty catching. The outfield may have Nava in left, Ellsbury in center, and Kalish in right. The pitching staff is where things will get interesting, and where I believe the Sox will spend the $200 million or so they have freed up from all those big contracts. The definite starters are Lester, Buchholz, and Lackey. After then it will be determined by who earns the spot in spring training. The bullpen will get a tune up too, I expect to see Bard, Aceves, and Bailey back but after that there are a few spots up for grabs.

            The Red Sox organization needed a kick in the butt, after what Ben Cherrington did this morning I think they are well on their way on the right track (and hopefully a World Series title soon).

Huge Trade

As I sit here and type these words history is being made. A bit melodramatic? Probably considering that this post is about the Red Sox. In case you haven’t been near any form of civilized society, the Red Sox and LA Dodgers are making a trade that will send Crawford, Beckett, Gonzalez, and Punto to LA and 5 prospects to Boston. The best part of the deal is that LA has agreed (if it works out) to pay most of the salaries for the players, freeing us up from a lot of debt. This would officially get rid of all the overpaid stars (except for Lackey) ending the mindset that we can buy ourselves a championship. If the deal goes through (and I hope it will) we will have a younger team next year and plenty of extra cash to fill in the holes. The Sox are always going to be a big market team focused on winning championships and hitting homeruns. But now they are shifting into what they need to be: a young, energetic team that plays to win, not get paid. I loved Gonzalez and I wanted Crawford to work out, but the culture created by big contracts and long extensions created a toxic environment in the clubhouse. If the deal works out, next year should prove to be an interesting season. I can’t say for sure that we will win a championship, but I know that they will play a better brand of baseball than the 2012 Red Sox have. I will be checking espn.com and boston.com regularly so keep checking the blog for updates on the trade.

Pure Joy. Really?

As I continue reading through the New Testament, I have just started reading through James. James has been one of my all-time favorite books of the Bible, along with Romans and Psalms it’s like Ted Williams, Manny Ramirez, and Hank Aaron being on the same baseball team. I guess you could say I’m going through a it of an identity crisis, or if you want to be more optimistic you can say I’m finding myself. The past three years have been anything but easy, and as I keep growing older and learning more about myself and the world around me, things can get a little crazy. That’s why, after reading James 1:2, I looked up and let out a “You, you’re good!” that Robert Deniro would be proud of. James 1:2 plainly says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Really, pure joy? I have felt many emotions over the past few years, but rarely has pure joy been one of them. I’m not talking about “today was a good day” feelings, I’m talking about hitting a walk-off homer to win a playoff game, getting your dream job, meting the love of your life, knowing that everything is completely 100% all right. When I first became a Christian I had no idea what I was getting into. I didn’t know of the challenges I would face, the rejection I would endure, and the unbelievable things I would accomplish. Here I am, still standing (by a miracle) after a tough three years. Who am I to question whether or not I will go anywhere but up in my life? God has been there for me, and will continue to be there when I need Him. Pure joy? It’s tough to be truly happy and grateful for the obstacles that block our way, but we need to trust that God will be there for us and deliver us. For trials lead to perseverance, and perseverance leads to faith. It’s easy to believe in something when everything is going well, but true faith comes out in the darkest moments of our lives when we literally have nothing to hang on to. No matter what happens in my life, I won’t lose my faith in God’s goodness. I may stray from His path and guidance, but I haven’t stopped believing, and I know that I never will. Maybe one day I will have the ability to look back and pray “Thank you for what happened back then, it made me a better person and drew me closer to You.”

Best Friends?

I had an interesting experience the other day to end my job at Passport. At every formal dinner at Holy Cross there is a priest to say grace before the meal. The director of the program forgot to book a priest for the closing dinner though, posing a problem. She came to me, reasoning that because my faith is important to me that I would say the grace. I’m not a huge fan of speaking in front of big crowds, but I agreed. What struck me is that one of my friends commented on my prayer saying “Tay Tay, it was really funny because you prayed like you actually know God.” God offers each one of us a personal relationship with Him; imagine that, having a close relationship with your Creator! Even so, I still feel light years away from God, I wish we were as close as my friend claimed. Why is it that we constantly seek things that won’t fill us up? Why do we constantly pine for things that either aren’t meant to be or will be prescribed to us when we are ready? I desire skill in baseball, money, and social status. Not that those things are bad, but are they fulfilling? Will the ability to drive a ball 400 feet, or invitations to the best parties really make me happy? No, of course not—but why do I crave those things and feel sad and lost when I don’t get them? If I am the picture of contentment to my friends, if I am the ideal of closeness to God then I hope that they see someone far greater than I. I love God, I really do. It can be so hard to live that statement out, it can be so hard to be close enough to God to let it really shine out in my life. What do I want from myself this year? Not just a wide group of friends, a starting spot on the baseball team, and a job with a newspaper. I also (and mostly) want my relationship with God to grow, for His love to shine out to others, for His love to bring confidence to a life that really needs it. Are God an I close? It may seem so to those around me (and in that I can take pride knowing that God is working through me) but still, I want to be a lot closer to Him.

Here we Go

There are two weeks between today and the day my fall semester begins. Round two at Holy Cross, hopefully I can have a better year than my last. The start of school also means that the wheels must be in motion in my plan to reinstate FCA. FCA was a failing club last year, and now it is my job to get it back on track. All my life I prayed that God would give me the ability to lead, to share His word; now that I finally am getting that chance all sorts of doubts have clouded my mind. My faith is unwavering, I may stumble but never so much as I did three summers ago. I doubt myself though: I doubt my character and my readiness. I’m imperfect, very imperfect. Surely there must be someone, well, better than me for this job. I spend this summer in contemplation and an attempt to grow closer to God. All that has changed is that I have seen my faults more clearly than before. I see the time I wasted chasing meaningless things, the greed that prevents me from being truly generous, and the resistance to forgiveness that keeps me from being truly joyful. If anything, it is extremely humbling that God picked me. He knew I’d have all these challenges (even though I didn’t at the time). He still picked me, which astounds me. We’re never ready for the call, Bonheoffer makes that clear in The Cost of Discipleship, but that’s the point isn’t it? Who of us is truly prepared for the moment when God call us to be something greater? I’m nowhere near prepared for what God is calling me to do. I am timid, thoughtful, and whatever the opposite of charismatic is. Yet I am in a position that requires all those qualities and more. It is my simple prayer that God will guide me and give me the strength. All throughout history God has used the most unlikely people to serve His grand purpose. If I can count myself one of those then I am truly blessed.

Trying to Make the Varsity Squad

God’s habit of putting us in places we don’t think we belong, just to show us how right He really is. I mentioned that I am working as a TA, what I didn’t mention was that I was not originally chosen for the job. To sum it up: the only reason I am here is because someone else isn’t. When I was notified I didn’t get the job I was devastated; the hope that comes with being an “alternate” did little to comfort me. Well, here I am and I must say that I think the person who was originally chosen made a mistake in not taking the job. For a while I felt as if I didn’t belong here. I reasoned that—like in sports—there is a starting lineup and I was merely a backup. I wasn’t chosen to be on the winning team, I was chosen to serve as an emergency replacement if one of the varsity guys got hurt. That put me in a bad place (as if you needed me to say that). What I now realize is that I belong here, that this is where I need to be. The people in charge of hiring me may have looked over my application for a number of reasons, but they couldn’t have predicted how well I’d develop into this role. Frankly, neither could I. God took me from a bummed out second stringer and turned me into a starting left fielder. I don’t know how he did it, but He did. God does a lot of crazy things in our lives, it’s up to us to accept them. As I continue reading through The Cost of Discipleship I keep coming across the idea of a suffering hero. The concept that Jesus was not the Messiah envisioned by the Jewish community because He suffered under the powers of Rome (they originally thought the Messiah would be a great warrior, some people can’t read between the lines when it comes to the prophecies). Jesus was, in some ways, an unlikely hero; yet at the same time He was exactly the kind of hero we needed. Sometimes in life you may find yourself in a position you are uncomfortable with. You may say to yourself “I don’t belong here.” Just remember that God chooses us for a reason, and just like Jesus was the unexpected savior, you may be an unexpected piece of the puzzle too.

Awesome Job

I can’t believe it’s already August, shouldn’t we have had more of a warning? Currently I am running a Study Hall for the Passport program at Holy Cross. I’m not sure if I ever really said what I’m doing, so I’ll say it now. Passport is a program for incoming freshmen that might not have had the chances that other kids from more resourceful or wealthy schools. At first I wasn’t originally picked for this job, but I managed to be chosen due to the simple fact that the chosen student couldn’t work. Anyway, that’s not what this post is about; this post is about something I’ve learned while here. For a while I wondered how I could meld my need for making money and living for God. It’s tough to do; making a living is not easy and to put the constraint of more Holy work is a hefty burden. But here, things are different. I’ve finally found a way to earn something, yet serve God. Some people ask me if  I want to be a teacher, I prefer to be a journalist but I’m not opposed to mentoring on the side. Many people look at me and see a white kid from a small farm town, and so they assume that I don’t know how any of these kids feel. A good deal of these kids feel lost, as if no one cares, granted some come from well-off families but there are a few from poorer families. Many of these kids have been told they aren’t worth what other kids are, that they can’t rise up and achieve something. I felt the same way before I became a Christian. I was told I was worthless, stupid, un-athletic, and useless. It wasn’t fair, I hated my life and for a pretty good reason. But then God showed me what it means to be loved, what it means to be worth something. That’s why I’m especially happy to have this job (as if anyone really cares). It’s so I can show that same love that God showed me to people who really need it. These are smart kids and they are in a position to do great things with their lives, they just need someone to believe in them.