My Trip to Super Bowl 46 in Pictures

Super Bowl 46

Forgiveness and Joe Paterno

I’ll admit, when I heard that Joe Paterno passed away, my first reaction was sarcastic, scornful, and mean spirited. Sandusky’s crimes, committed under Paterno, are among the most heinous imaginable, and Paterno’s inaction, in my mind, tells us more about his character than anything else he did in his 85 years on this earth.

Yet, after reconsidering, I believe there’s room for forgiveness.

But why we forgive is important.

Should we forgive because he won 409 college football games? Many seem to think so. I’ve heard a lot said about his accomplishments, his legacy, and his commitment to one institution. As if we should forgive because of Paterno’s place among college football coaches.

I firmly reject this line of thinking. Success does not make one any more or less worthy of forgiveness. If so, where’s the line? What if he won just 200 games? Or 100? Or 1? What if he jumped from team to team, coaching for whatever institution paid him the most money? What if he was “just” a professor instead of a football coach? (Please imagine my huge over-the-top eye roll here.)

Perhaps we should forgive because Paterno’s “good” list is longer than his “bad”? Paterno helped hundreds, probably thousands of young men. The few boys hurt by Sandusky while Paterno looked away shouldn’t just negate all that good, should they?

I reject this line of thinking as well. The children raped by Sandusky are destroyed. Their families are destroyed. From their perspective, no amount of “good” could tip the scales back in Paterno’s favor. The “bad” is immeasurable. We should not forgive because Paterno’s good outweighs the bad, as it most certainly does not.

So then, instead of forgiving Paterno because of what sets him apart, we must consider that he should be forgiven for what makes him like us. He is man, with a history, a story, and a unique set of struggles. His value is found outside his accomplishments, failures, good and bad deeds. He is a man (lovingly created by God in my opinion), and there is tremendous value in that alone.

If we can try to forgive Paterno for who he is, and not because of his accomplishments, then maybe we can begin to offer the same grace towards other less famous and less successful men and women…. and that would be a legacy of JoPa’s worth remembering and honoring.

best. baseball card. ever

My son is working on a “100-project” for school, which means he needs to bring 100 of ‘something’ in to class. We chose baseball cards. In the process, I found this gem. Winner.

Jim Pankovits – you’re my hero.

Another Year

Another October 25th has come and gone. This year I spent the day traveling back to Chicago from Philadelphia, working a half-day from home, and pretty much just hiding from the world.  Although this year, it felt different.  “Different” is the best I can do right now, but I expect to unpack that in the next few weeks.

I will say this… a hymn sung by a band my kids like got me through the day:

For now, go Giants.

don’t stop believing

a letter to bud selig

October 2, 2010

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167

Dear Mr. Selig:

I am writing to you on a brisk Saturday afternoon in early October – the last Saturday of the regular season in fact. My team, the San Francisco Giants, is one game from clinching their first postseason birth since 2003. It should be a great day for this avid fan, filled with excitement. In fact, right now I should be firing up the BBQ, grabbing a beer, and settling in for an afternoon with the sport I love. But alas, I live in Chicago Mr. Selig, and this afternoon, the only game I can watch is the game that FOX chooses for me: Philadelphia @ Atlanta.

You want fans like me, Mr. Selig. I’ve purchased division series tickets, and plan to fly out to San Francisco in order to watch my team in the postseason. I stay up late regularly to watch west-coast night games on MLB.TV. I would gladly pay twice the price for MLB.TV in order to watch the Giants regularly. I love baseball, and am passionate about my team.

But the blackout restrictions written into your deal with FOX are robbing fans like me of the game we love. If the Giants do clinch today, my son and I won’t remember the events of the game. We’ll remember instead that we didn’t get to watch it. We’ll remember that Bud Selig cared more about a huge corporate media company than he did about the fans.

The saddest thing, Mr. Selig, is that while you chase the money short-term, you’re killing the future of the sport I love. Fox will only pay you those millions for Saturday Baseball if there are enough people who want to watch the games. How can I pass along my passion for baseball and the Giants if you don’t let me watch the games??

It should be a great day to be a San Francisco Giants fan Mr. Selig. I should be able to watch my team clinch the division. Please put an end to the Saturday TV blackouts.

Aneel Trivedi
7 N Lincoln Ave
Park Ridge, IL 60068
aneeltrivedi@gmail.com
847.224.1159

Who should bat leadoff w/Torres out?

Who should be batting leadoff for the Giants with Andres Torres out? I’d like to offer, for your consideration: Pat the Bat.

Burrell leads the team in pitches seen per PA (4.24).

Burrell leads the team in plate appearances per BB (7.25).

Burrell has the third best OBP on the team (.353).

The only other acceptable alternatives are Posey and Huff. Never Rowand. Never Velez. Never.

giants handling of posey makes no sense

It seems like the Giants have no idea what they’re doing. No plan what-so-ever.

For years, management drafted pitching prospects almost exclusively, and then used those prospects as trade bait. The Giants had the greatest offensive weapon in the history of baseball (Barry Bonds), and they just plugged in replacement level complimentary players to fill holes. Wouldn’t be my strategy, but at least they seemed to have a plan.

Then in 2008, they drafted Buster Posey with the 5th overall pick – an obvious, easy move. Posey was so talented, so polished, so perfect, it was the kind of pick that just made itself. But once the pick was made, it was up to the team’s management to handle the young phenom, and that’s where the team’s lack of a plan became obvious.

Buster Olney laid out a great summary of how the Giants have mishandled Buster Posey, which I’ll summarize here:

• The Giants called up Posey last September, which started his service clock, but never played him. Posey had just 17 at-bats. Why did they call him up if they weren’t going to play him?
• They let Bengie Molina walk at the end of the 2009 season – why spend millions on a vet when the catcher of the future is ready to play everyday? Brian Sabean even said, “That ship has sailed.” when asked if Molina might return to the team. But then, when no one else wanted him, and his price came down, the Giants resigned Molina, essentially blocking Posey.
• In Spring Training this season, the Giants played Posey at 1B, despite having just signed another free agent first baseman, Aubrey Huff. Posey performed brilliantly all spring, but was sent to the minors to “work on his catching”. Whaa?
• Posey tore up the minor leagues. He was among the leaders in several offensive categories. But Brian Sabean did something you never see a GM do: he down-played his blue-chip prospect’s performance, providing us this unbelievable quote:
  

  “Triple-A baseball isn’t very good. I’m going to tell you that right now. Especially from a pitching standpoint. Anybody who can pitch is in the big leagues.”

• Just three weeks after Sabean’s crazy ramblings, the Giants promoted Posey… to play first base. Buster Olney brings up three very, very good, obvious questions:
  

  1. If the Giants were willing to use Posey at positions other than catcher, why didn’t they do that at the end of spring training?
  2. If the Giants think their catcher of the future is still learning how to catch, why did they move him to first base?
  3. Why didn’t the Giants just wait another month, until Posey was out of the Super 2 arbitration class, before promoting him — or, more to the point, why did they promote him last year and then not play him?

The reality is, Buster Posey should be in the majors as a catcher. But if playing 1B somehow slows his development as a major league catcher, I’d rather he stays in the minors until Molina eats himself out of a job.

birthdays past

so – it’s my birthday today. my dad sent me an e-mail this morning and recommended that I take the opportunity to reflect on the past – and think about what I want to do in the future. Well, I’m not real big on the whole “5-year plan” way of living…  but I do think it’s important to reflect and take stock of the last (gasp) 30+ years.

today, i’m thinking about birthdays past… and what a great dad I have.

every year around may 11th, probably from the time I was 8 until I went off to college, my dad took me and a friend to a Giants game at Candlestick. every year. we’d park in the dirt lot off to the left (easier exit) and walk up and across that pedestrain bridge to the gate without tickets. the giants hardly ever sold out before moving into the new park. we never got great seats, that wasn’t really the point. i don’t remember the games, the conversation, or much about the outings at all… but i remember the gesture – the effort.

my dad and i had very little in common when i was a kid, but like so many father-sons, we had baseball. for those 3 hours, we were buddies.  it wasn’t long before i knew more than him about the team, the league, the players… he was a casual fan. but we yelled at kevin mitchell together dogging it in the outfield… stood together when Will Clark hit with men on base… we never caught a foul ball, but always brought our gloves.

i have a great relationship with my dad now. it takes work though, as all relationships do. i appreciate the effort he made with me as a kid – and i’m always willing to reciprocate the effort back now because of the foundation he laid in that windy, dirty, disgusting park. thanks dad!

saturday links and thoughts

• Nothing bugs me more than MLB’s blackout restrictions on Saturday. Nothing.
• Well, actually, this is worse.  Mr. Rogers, evil?  Really?
• Yes, we need to address immigration reform on a national level.  But wait, we tried… remember?  It’s almost like, we’re not really interested in reform, we’re only interested in blaming/punishing/scapegoating the poor, minority immigrants.  Bush’s proposition wasn’t perfect, but it wouldn’t have punished the immigrants.
• Quick side note – I’m curious what percent of avid pro-lifers are also strongly anti-immigrant. People are people, right? It’s a life from day one — unless it’s brown?
• Zito’s back! It’s gotta be the socks.
• Hilarious story about the most entertaining player in baseball.