I know it's not my usual fare of semi-directed thoughts about Catholicism, but the Cory Lidle story has caught my attention. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a hard-core Red Sox fan, and I'm sure some think that would make saying anything positive about a member of the Yankees almost impossible. But it's times like this that make everyone take a step back and think about what is really important in life. And if contemplating the truly important isn't Catholic, I don't know what is. Cory Lidle - father, husband, teammate, friend. Requiscat in pace.
Jayson Stark at ESPN has an excellent piece on this today. Go ahead and read it. It's not in Latin, and it has nothing to do with Bishop Millingo or the celibate priesthood. It's just about taking account of what's important in life. From the article:
"I think it just goes to show how insignificant some of the things that we think are significant really are," said Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson, a man who had once been Cory Lidle's pitching coach in Oakland. "We're about to play a baseball game, and how important is that, really?"
That was the question they all were having to grope with Wednesday, at a time they least expected to be groping with any question more basic than how to attack Tom Glavine's changeup or Jeff Weaver's sweeping breaking ball.
How important were these baseball games? Who could have expected that, on the day of what was supposed to be Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, anyone could possibly answer: Not very important at all?
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