Damn, national Christopher Hitchens Day only misses this by a week.
The Astros’ opening day is among the holiest on the calendar for faithful baseball fans, full of hot dogs and hope for a new season, but this year, it falls on two actual holy days - the observance of Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday and the first night of the eight-day Jewish festival of Passover.
...These struggles are all too familiar to longtime Astros fans, like the Rev. William Miller, who was at the Astrodome the year it opened in 1965 and has followed the team ever since.
“When you say the Astros’ opening day is on Good Friday, I have to chuckle because I think of all the pain we have gone through as Astros fans,” said Miller, who used to serve at Houston’s Trinity Episcopal Church and moved to a congregation in Hawaii several years ago. “The themes of loss and loyalty, staying true to one’s calling when things seem most dire, hoping for a resurrection: Those are all things we’ve felt.”
After last year’s team-record 106 losses, Christian fans are holding out for wins to give them additional reasons to celebrate this weekend.
Ryan Beaty, pastor at VillageHouston church in University Village, tweeted, “If you’re in the Houston area, catch an Astros game this weekend! Jesus is alive and so is baseball!”
Repoz
Posted: April 06, 2012 at 08:58 AM |
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1. UCCF Posted: April 06, 2012 at 09:10 AM (#4099235)If Jesus saves, I'm sure the Astros could use him in their pen.
-Jim Crane
Alive? OK, but can he hit a curve ball?
OTOH, someone's gotta go to the games, so have fun!
Exodus 27:17 "All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases."
Isaiah 22:18 "He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country:"
Psalms 19:12 "But who can discern their own errors?"
1 Timothy 3:2-3 "A bishop then must be .. Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;"
Exodus 20:15 - Thou shalt not steal.
And Miriam was shut out… -- Numbers 12:15
In the big inning...Genesis 1:1
The Lord loveth a high OBP.
Makes sense. He was the only guy who could walk off the island.
Judges 20:16, which describes a Shangri La that every scout is trying to find:
"Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss."
Thou shalt not covet thy rival's cable contract.
C: Joshua Gibson
1B: Daniel Brouthers
2B: ??
SS: Ezra Sutton
3B: Joel Youngblood
LF: Moises Alou
CF: Amos Otis
RF: Hank Aaron
P: Joshua Beckett
P: Amos Rusie
P: Micah Owings
P: Daniel Haren
RP: Jeremiah Accardo
RP: Joel Peralta
Minor Leaguers:
Zechariah Lemond
Nahum Hernandez
Needs a second baseman. Any suggestions?
EDIT: Juan Samuel, or any other Samuel, is also acceptable.
Is the singular of Tony Lazzeri "Tony Lazarus"?
Edited to changed all to most due to Greek Orthodox discussion
Less than a million Orthodox in the US, but now we're up to three on BTF! Our Easter is five weeks later next year, which is going to garner more odd reactions than usual.
"Hey Cabbage, what are you plans this weekend?"
"I'll attend about 15 hours of church services, and then I'm getting smashed in the Church hall."
He's not a prophet, but the rest of the team hangs out at Johnny Temple's house.
DB
Jesus might be, but I wouldn't be so sure about Astros baseball.
Won't matter next year, they'll have the DH to hit for him.
Why, are Ryan Church's inlaws in town?
Who's the other one?
As a kid, an interesting wrinkle of the different Easter was the phenomenon of marked-down candy from everybody-else's-Easter. I found that a one-week gap was the sweet spot.
An anti-reference: There's no John 11:35ing in baseball.
I think Vlad. I mostly remember it was someone from the Slavic Pennsylvania/OCA universe. I'm thinking Vlad because of the name.
As a kid, an interesting wrinkle of the different Easter was the phenomenon of marked-down candy from everybody-else's-Easter. I found that a one-week gap was the sweet spot.
I enjoyed that as well. It's actually a bit annoying when they fall on the same dates. You have no idea how annoying it is to shop at the polish groceries for proper authentic old-world easter supplies when ... they're full of poles trying to get easter supplies.
I also learn that Lefty Grove's middle name was Moses as was Fleet Walker's first name.
EDIT: And of course the Book of Ruth.
The Red Sox could use some help in the bullpen.
Had him in RF but replaced him with Aaron.
A noble name embiggens any baseball prospect.
In Houston? Not necessarily.
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