Too Close for Comfort: Phillies 8, Marlins 6

the bleeders in the infield and sloppy conditions were also not ideal

Best wishes to your in-law. Cancer is a bitch.

use a proxy server, avoid the blackout.

its not even illegal!

though it might be semi-legal

prayers your family’s way, Bilzo.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and yours bro.

My prayers are with your family. Cancer’s a hell of a disease.

I was going to write something about “family is more important than baseball” which it is, of course. On the other hand, getting through a slow-moving crisis like cancer, or a lingering death from some horrible disease requires some regular, steady link to the world that is not focused on the bad news. Sports can be that link to sanity.

My grandmother is in her late 90’s. She has few joys left — she can’t eat solid food, she can’t walk, she can barely talk or hold her head up. She is quite alert, however. She likes to see my kids (her great grandchildren) and she likes to talk about baseball. She and I have always watched baseball together, and she is the main reason I am a fan. She is a Braves fan, but I’ll grant her that, since she grew up in Georgia. She knows she doesn’t have long, and so do I. Each time I see her I wonder if there will be a next time. We both do.

Even with this hanging over our heads, we don’t have dramatic moments with big, expressive emotional displays. Mostly we talk about pitchers. I fully expect her to refer to “that damn Halladay” at some point this year after he whips the Braves. One year, her birthday present (given to her early, since I don’t wait for birthdays with 90+ year old relatives) was a Robin Roberts autographed ball. She always loved watching him pitch, and she liked his autobiography. Another year was a Greg Maddux ball. I’m sure she would settle for a hitter this year, as long as it is Chipper. Buy me one, and I’d set it on fire, but for her? Anything. Anything.

A very close friend of mine in law school went through, in successive years, three deaths in his immediate family: a sister (cancer), his father (diabetes – there is no worse way to die), and his mother (cancer). Each one suffered incredibly. The things that helped carry him (and his family) through were the routines of life, including sports.

He and his family faced death daily. It was unrelenting and horrible. They knew it was coming in each case. They knew that there was no hope, and that the end, when it did come, would only come after a long, painful period of suffering. They didn’t talk about it. They talked about the Pens, the Steelers, and Penn State. Those were things that helped make it bearable. I never knew a family that had to bear more than he did during that time. The fourth year was not much easier — another sister had cancer, but she has survived and is still with us, thanks to a series of regular screenings following her sister’s death.

Bilzo, you and your family have a long road ahead of you. I hope it turns out well. Do not feel guilty about time spent on “frivolous” things. Baseball, especially right now, is far from frivolous for you. Baseball, especially in spring, can give us a sense of renewal, hope, and optimism. It can help us all to forget for a while some of the burdens we carry with us in our lives.

Someday, each of us put those burdens down and rest, as my grandmother will soon. Until then, there is no reason that the things that have sustained us through our health and lives cannot help to sustain us through our troubles and even through the ends of our lives. Again, I wish you the best and I hope your father in law pulls through.

prayers for you and your family.
I nursed my dad thru his 2 year battle with lung cancer. Anytime he had chemo in the hospital he was kept in a neutropenic room because his white blood cell count was to low to fight off any infection. One time they released him to early and he had delevoped a fever at home, but he never became sick as a result from a hospital stay after chemo. If your father-in-law must undergo another round of chemo DEMAND he be kept in a neutropenic room where it sounded like he should have been in the first place esp. in light of the recent swine flu epidemic.

bring in a different type as a reliever

good point

sinkerballer (the best) followed by the sinkerballer rookie. Yep that was dumb but maybe it was an issue of rest. Contreras I believe is still working his way to consectutive appearances…Durbin might have been available…though you don’t want to burn him on an 8-2 lead esp. with Moyer pitching next. And Figueroa couldn’t go….Bastardo could have thrown though Herndon had the freshest arm. Bad positioning and the universe plotting against him for the most part.

Sure, I’ll be in section 421. Lowly commenters probably have to buy all the drinks.

i’ve got ross in my fantasy league. Some meaningless late runs are fine with me (got Cantu as well…)

i agree. even though the game got close, i really thought it was more bad luck and bad weather rather than bad pitching.

Great point. It was a perfect storm for the utterly freakish succession of balls in play that almost beat us last night.

I hope the brass doesn’t put too much blame on Herndon for that inning. He’s been great otherwise, and the truth is he was fine last night.