The Royals were one of the hottest hitting teams in Spring Training this year. But with seven regular season games under their belts, they are the worst offensive team in baseball.

Thankfully, they've given up fewer runs than any team in baseball, second in BAA. And that's with Sidney Ponson pitching. Fairly impressive fellas.

I know they bats will come around. Let's just hope the pitching sticks around.

C.S. Lewis via Robert Velarde's facebook status: "the association between fantasy and childhood, the belief that children are the proper readers for this sort of work or that it is the proper reading for children, is modern and local. Most of the great fantasies and fairy-tales were not addressed to children at all, but to everyone." - An Experiment in Criticism by C.S. Lewis

I was glad to hear the Royals were putting the crown back up on the new scoreboard. Now I'm not so sure.

Footnote to all Prayers

He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmuring Thou,
And dream of Pheidian fancies and embrace in heart
Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing Thou art.
Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme
Worshiping with frail images a folk-lore dream,
And all men in their praying, self-deceived, address
The coinage of their own unquiet thoughts, unless
Thou in magnetic mercy to Thyself divert
Our arrows, aimed unskillfully, beyond desert;
And all men are idolaters, crying unheard
To a deaf idol, if Thou take them at their word.

Take not, O Lord, our literal sense. Lord, in thy great
Unbroken speech our limping metaphor translate.

From Poems by C.S. Lewis, page 129

Is this a good move for Buffalo? Yes. He'll be a good teammate for one year. He'll produce the stats to justify the money. And he might even get you another win or two. If either T.O. or Lee Evans is on the board in the fifth round of my fantasy draft, I'm taking him. Hands down.

But will you get into the playoffs with the Tuna, the Rex, and the Hoodie in your division? No. No chance. Buffalo will get 2-3 wins in the division and that's just not enough to make the playoffs. The other three teams were fighting for playoff spots while the Bills were sorting through the still packed boxes in the basement of the division, wondering if they should retape them and head to Canada.

Sorry Buffalo. He'll do everything you hope for, except win.

They go nowhere until they make major changes.

A few links from my email and RSS feeds:

Fresh off of back surgery, Tony Jones is blogging a reaction to Richard Mouw's article in Newsweek, Less Shouting, More Talking. Below is my response to Tony, plus one more thought.

Tony, you may be right that a 'yes' vote on Prop 8 hinders Mouw as he attempts civil dialogue. It may well be that he loses a bit of trust with some. But it seems this is not a Mouw problem. I would submit that most Californians were not ready for a vote on this, Mouw included. Mouw wants to continue to talk. But with the issue brought before him, would you suggest that he should have voted?

Our vote should not disqualify us from further discussion. Far from it! If GLBT persons and the evangelicals who favor their ability to marry wish to see change, they must go about it with (if I might quote you quoting Newbigin) proper confidence.

--

One more thoughts:

As an elder in the PCUSA, this is a hot button issue right now. I've got my opinion, but I'm still processing. I've heard good, passionate, biblically based arguements from faithful people on both sides of the debate. I appreciate these people so much and if there's one thing they've taught me, it's that it is not nearly as clear cut as most people want me to believe. My charge to everyone: be passionate, argue well, argue respectfully, and listen.

And the last one chiefly.