Baseball

Ok, Ok. So the baseball part of this blog has essentially been all Giants, I don't think much is going to change!

How about Sanchez? Incredible. He has given up only 1 earned run in each of the last two games. Both of which he has pitched at least 7 innings. This guy has gone from completely erratic and sometimes amazingly on point, to, pretty much, lights out. Sanchez always had the stuff, laser fastball and sharp slider, but who would have thought that he would have 8 wins on the "lowly" Giants and have less than 4 era? In my wildest dreams.

The only young stud to struggle a bit is Cain. It's helpful to remember, even though he's been in the bigs for a few years now, Timmy is older than him! Lincecum is 24; Cain is 23. I'm so excited for the future of the ballclub. And if Zito pitches like he did against the Indians? The Giants can have an anemic offense and still make the playoffs in the years to come. Granted, it's only one game. But you've gotta like what Barry did out there.

PCUSA General Assembly

GA starts today. For some, like Bruce Reyes-Chow and other candidates for Moderator (the "highest" position in the denomination), it started a long time ago. Some are already in hotels in San Jose and making sure they are ready-or-not.

I'll be there for just a short visit. I'm leaving today for the two or so hour drive with my fiance. My best man and one of her bridesmaids live in the area. I'll be staying with him, she'll be staying with her. I'll be at the Prayer Chapel this Saturday morning - who knows exactly how long (ok, yes, God does) There is a lot going down this weekend and next week: from examining the structure of the governing systems to gay marriage and ordination, and everything that stems from it.

Hopefully there will be serious dialogue about the differences that lead to the varied beliefs and understanding. Hopefully there will be serious prayer! The kind which the Spirit inspires! May we break; may we be honest about ourselves and what God wants. May we truly desire less of us and more of Christ. Yes, the two are different. And I don't mean in a metaphoric sense - that we may be less of our sinful nature and more of Christ's nature. Although we will never get rid of our sinful nature - it will always be with us - we will be drawn more often into the character of Jesus by the power of the Spirit, than to our own wanton, evil desires.

May there be a Spirit-led movement which causes people to follow God and be so full of the Spirit that whatever they do and touch, it is as if Jesus himself had come back down from the throne. Oh God, may it be so!

Giant's closer, Brian Wilson...

is not good when he's pitching in a non-save situation. The last time he gave up a bunch of runs, he had a huge lead. Wilson had been awesome in the last several outings, bringing down his era. Maybe it's just too different for him when he's not out their to get the save. Something about adrenaline and his environment being different, and he doesn't thrive. Of course, perhaps he should get the job done anyway. Of course. But you can't tell me that succeeding outside your comfort zone isn't sometimes difficult, and therefore, the same can be said for the Giants closer.

Update: This article from the Giants official home reveals that Brian Wilson himself agrees.

Posey update

I hadn't mentioned it yet. I figured it wasn't worth mentioning. If you didn't know, Buster Posey is also FSU's closer. That's right. The top college baseball player, mainly for his hitting and catching prowess, also pitches. The game against The Cardinal on Sat. proved he won't be a pitcher in the big leagues. He gave up one earned run and got one out in his appearance. 6 runs, however, were scored while he was on the mound. Ouch.

We'll see what he and the Seminoles can do against the Hurricane.

Swept

Wow. How do you let someone come into your own yard and win every single game? That's just astonishing. The Giants should feel embarrassed. Their play allowed A's fans to stand up and show off their green and yellow and wave brooms in the air. Of course, if you're for Oakland, you're pumped. How 'bout that Dave Eveland, kid? And Gonzalez, he showed off a great arm in right field, as well as produce the game winning hit. That Haren deal is looking pretty sweet for the A's right now.

Zito!

Ok. Thanks. I just had to get that off my chest. Of course he didn't pitch that badly last Friday - but he didn't do enough to win! Only Vizquel's amazing steal of home brought in a run. It just seems that Barry just can't quite do enough these days.

I'm not giving up on him. That wouldn't be fair or helpful to him. It wouldn't surprise me if the loathsome Giants fans that boo him somehow affect him emotionally and spiritually. People expect him to not do well, so when he pitches it's like he just can't shut the other team down for good. Ok, that's the first time I've combined spirituality and baseball specifically. We'll see if it happens again.

He's a good pitcher who, just a few years ago, was voted the best pitcher in the American League. Here we go, 7-5!

statement of faith

I am almost ready for ordination in the PC(USA). Here's what I believe, in a nut shell. It is constantly in flux, though. My basis for faith will never change, but how I view aspects of it may. I'm not perfect, nor is my faith and understanding. Only Jesus is. And as the perfecter of our faith, through him and the Holy Spirit, may we be more and more full of him. But, of course, not in a I'm-better-than-you-are kind of way...

I believe God is three-in-one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is unified; God is one. God has specifically and sufficiently revealed God’s self in the Old and New Testaments. These Scriptures bear witness to God’s truth in the life and person of Jesus the Messiah, as do the confessions and beliefs of our ancestors in the faith. Jesus Christ, the self-revealing Word of God, is still breaking into our world through the Holy Spirit and his Church, with Scripture and tradition in accord.

I believe in God the Father. God is the creator, ruler, and sustainer of all, even me. God’s love is all around; I am created, as well as all of humanity, in God’s image. In God there is wholeness, completeness. However, there is a deep ugliness inside me, humanity and creation. This ugliness is sin. Sin does not rightly acknowledge God’s sovereignty; sin warps and misconstrues God’s good and wonderful creation. Yet, like the woman who searches after lost treasure and finds it, God comes after us. God is the heavenly parent who providentially leads us beside still waters, who renews and guides us in righteousness for God’s namesake. God is greater than everything in and beyond the earth; God is too great for words. And yet, God can be known!

I believe in God the Son. Jesus the Christ, sent by God the Father, is one of us and also holy other than us. Through God’s gracious initiative, baptism, in Jesus I have new life. His life becomes my life. The waters at baptism represent Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan in which God said, “This is my son, in whom I am well pleased.” In baptism that same voice proclaims that I am God’s child, that God is well pleased. Through Jesus’ death on the cross I also die. Yet through his resurrection I am raised to new life and await that new life. Jesus saves – from the sin that is mine and ours. Through his love – through himself – I am reconciled to God. I am brought back from all that keeps me from God and others. Through the Lord’s Supper, God’s covenantal meal, I am reminded of his death and resurrection for you, me and the world. When I eat and drink the bread and cup I experience his forgiveness and the grace he attained for me on the cross. At the table of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, we are nourished and have a foretaste of what is to come. Because he is alive I have hope – we have hope – that one day we will be resurrected from the dead. We will finally be completely freed from the sin that so easily entangles and reconciled to each other. All of creation will be as it is meant to be. I pray for his return to finally bring everything to complete fruition through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I believe in God the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is in all and through all. The Spirit is everywhere and meets us in the darkest places. The Spirit prays for us. In prayer the Spirit enables us to know God’s word. The Spirit empowers us to do the things that Jesus did; the Spirit helps us be Christ-like. The Spirit enables us to honor God, to do what is required: to be just, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God—to follow the law of Christ. This law reveals our shortcomings and shows us how to live gratefully. The Spirit gives God’s gifts to God’s people, the Church, to further God’s reign in this needy world. Jesus is the head of the Church, the body of Christ, and the Holy Spirit leads the Church in its mission: to do the will of God. The Holy Spirit leads us – and through humbleness and God’s enabling – keeps us in step with the Spirit, to experience God’s reign now. I desire for all to be led by God’s Spirit into God’s abundant life and freedom.