The Ranger's Kahlil Greene is Feeling a Little Anxious

The Ranger’s new utility infielder, Khalil Greene is not going to be reporting to Spring Training because of his repeated difficulties with Social Anxiety Disorder. This is something he has had to deal with a few times before in his career, and actually, it is something he has dealt with since he was a kid.

Social Anxiety Disorder is described as a “chronic fear of being judged by others and of being humiliated by one’s own actions.[1]” For Greene the disorder would cause a deeply rooted stress under the pressure to perform. The pressure however, was for the most part put upon by himself.

"I don't know what level, as far as how much one internalizes the feelings, how deep they go to the core of a person, but for me it's always been pretty deep. I've always taken the game pretty seriously and wanted to perform well. It's been a love-hate relationship in a lot of ways. A lot of that is natural and it's a response to what you consider important. A lot of that is healthy, but for me it wasn't healthy in terms of how deep it goes. I don't know how to describe it, other than the fact it wasn't pleasant.[2]"

In 2008 Greene broke his hand punching a wall in the dugout. And last season with the Cardinals Greene went on the DL because of the amount of stress.

All of this should have been a red flag fro the Rangers before signing Greene to a one-year, $750,000 contract. But on the flip side, the potential pay off was worth the risk[3]. Greene is a talented player, and had he not been plagued by a mental condition for his career could have turned into an everyday starter. He would have been a perfect fit for the highly coveted Utility Infielder role that has been filled in the past by players such as Omar Vizquel, Mark DeRosa, and Billy Ripken[4]. Now the Ranger’s are in a last minute scramble to fill a very important position on the roster as they are forced to proceed under the assumption that Greene won’t be returning to Spring Training and may not play at all.

There are a small handful of decent options, both through free agency and in our system. Or watching the waiver wire toward the end of Spring Training may fill the need. It’s unlikely a trade would happen to fill the role, but that is still an outside possibility. Regardless, what the Ranger’s do to fill the Utility Infielder position is something worth watching as Spring Training progresses. 

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anxiety_disorder

2. http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/05/29/khalil-greene-describes-his-anxiety/

3. Historically, GM John Daniels hasn’t been afraid to take a risk on a player every now and then. Milton Bradley was a risk coming into the 2008 season and paid off big. Kenny Lofton was also a risk that yielded a nice return in 2007.

4. I love any opportunity to throw in a good Billy Ripken reference?

The World, According to Kony

This post should be called “Kony, according to the world”. By now everyone has likely seen, or at least heard of, the Kony video and the Kony 2012 campaign put out by Invisible Children. In short, Joseph Kony is a bad guy; I think we can all agree on that. And the Invisible Children not-for-profit organization has some very good intentions, and is therefore the good guy. And we should all root for the good guy to win… which is exactly what this feel like.

I’m a HUGE sports fan. I’m the kind of fan who believes he can out coach the coach. I’m the kind of fan who sees stuff the announcers miss. I’m the kind of fan who knows the refs are wrong and can recite the rules, verbatim, to support my case. And, of course, I’m the kind of fan who yells at the TV, as if my cheering might motivate a player to react differently.

Right now it feels like a billion Facebook users, media outlets and celebrities are yelling at the TV. “Kony is wrong, and everyone should know about it!” And what is that supposed to do?

It’s not like he’s the first. It’s not like he’s the most recent. It’s not like there haven’t been efforts made. And I have a problem with presenting information out of context. Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 campaign makes it seem like the US government, and most of the rest of the world has ignored this Kony problem. But we haven’t. Efforts have been made¹.

Even still, what do you purpose we do about it? It took a decade and a full scale military operation to track down and eliminate Bin Laden. I would think, to track down Kony, who lives in a jungle, it would take a similar effort. So what are we supposed to do? Go to war to find this guy?

It short, shit happens. Really, really bad shit happens. And it happens to children too. And there is no easy answer. And a social media campaign won’t change that³.

1. I have some follow up questions for Invisible Children, which I want to believe is a credible organization:

• If I donate money, where does it go?
• Will Kony be forgotten in a year like most trends in social media?
• Why are we just hearing about him now?

2. Wikipedia has evidence of that, but there are a number of other news sources as well.

3. Unless it’s on Pinterest.

The World is Your Shopping Cart Return

Question: What kind of person leaves their shopping cart in some random parking space rather than returning it to the shopping cart return?

Answer: Every kind of person.

The old adage, “it takes all kinds” works well here, because you’ll see all kinds of people leaving their carts in an inappropriate place. You’re just as likely to see it at Wal-Mart as you are outside of Saks. Blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians; they all do it. People driving sports cars, mini vans, pickups, or low riders; they’re all guilty. The elderly, the teenagers, the middle-aged; not one is clean. It really does take all kinds.

But the question is why? Why not put the cart where it belongs. I’ve seen carts left blocking a space just a few feet from the return. Some people are clearly making it to the return with their cart, and yet others just leave their cart in any arbitrary space, along as it’s out of their way. I’ve even seen someone leave a cart blocking another vehicle.

Why? Are you too lazy to walk an extra 30 feet? Do you not have time to make the extra 15 second walk? Or do you simply not care about your society? I suspect that’s the real truth. The growing problem of shopping carts being left in any random spot is indicative of the growing problem that people simply don’t care anymore. It relates to laziness, but it would be better defined as indifference. Some people just don’t care about other people.

What We Should Be Asking the Candidates

I don't hear a whole lot about this subject coming from the GOP candidates, nor has Obama made much public mention of this growing issue, but there is a growing crisis in the Middle East which may very well become a major issue in the term of the next president.

While the US and the UN increase sanctions on Iran for simply exploring the idea of creating a nuclear program, Israel is taking a much more aggressive approach. Israel, which already has nuclear capabilities¹, has pretty much said to Iran, “we’ll attack first²”. Meaning if Iran, who philosophically believe Israel doesn’t have a right to exist, develops the ability to wipe out Israel, Israel is not going to sit around on their butts waiting for it to happen.

And if Israel attacks, there will be a domino effect of countries getting involved. China has an economic partnership with Iran, but will stay in the shadows at first. China will supply Syria and Syria will take Iran’s side. Pakistan or Egypt may get involved with Iran as well. If Pakistan gets involved then India will want to fight Pakistan. At this point the United Nations will have to get involved too, obviously on the side of Israel and India.

I’m not sure who will put their chips in the pot first: China or US. But once one is in, the other will be automatically in as well. Russia³ will jump in at some point too and before we know it, we’ll be in the midst of a global war, bigger than the previous two. And then there’s South Korea, they might be the game changer. They’ve got nuclear weapons and no one really knows what the South Koreans are capable of. Once they’re in, everyone has to start choosing a side.

So the questions we need to be asking in the coming election, is not what they will do once the war starts; the questions need to be about discerning whether or not our leaders truly understand what the hell is happening over there, and how they are going to keep the shit from hitting the fan.


1. It is not totally clear whether or not Israel has nuclear weapons, but they definitely have the capabilities... and they've probably got nuclear weapons already.
2. In my own words.
3. Russia doesn't have the economy to be a major player anymore, but they've got bombs and will side with China, so they're a credible threat.

"The Time Has Come" the Walrus Said.

This year’s Rangers team is without a doubt the best Rangers team ever, and at the same time will not be the best Rangers team ever. Seem like an oxymoron? Let me explain.

Based on talent, the Rangers enter spring training with the best squad they have ever had. But if we were to measure greatness based on wins, this years team will have to eclipse the mark set by the 1999 Rangers, of 95 wins. Though I think this team has more talent than the ’99 team (as well as more talent than the 94 win team of 1974), I think there are a few key reason that will keep the 2010 Rangers from reaching 95 wins.

Fact: The Rangers have had a league MVP in each of the three seasons they have made playoffs (J. Gonzalez – ’96, J. Gonzalez – ’98, I. Rodriguez – ’99)[1].

Let’s start with a look at the talent this year.
1B – Chris Davis – Powerful slugger who adopted some patience at the plate after a mid season trip back down to triple-A last season. However, top hitting prospect Justin Smoak is looming in the wings, and may be almost ready for his big break.
2B – Ian Kinsler – Can hit, field, and run with the best of them. Look for a back-to-back 30/30 season, and my personal pick for league MVP.
3B – Mike Young – He had his second best hitting season of his career last year at .322, and always plays great defense.
SS – Elvis Andrus – In his rookie campaign, he hit a meager .267, but managed 33 steals. His minor league scouting reports have pegged Andrus with the potential to hit .300 consistently, so I expect more hits, more steals, and more runs scored in 2010. Not to mention the occasional Sports Center appearance on account of his stellar glove work.
LF – Nelson Cruz – in ’09 he hit 33 homeruns in just 462 at bats (or 1 every 14 Abs), that kind of power can put you in the homerun race come September.
CF – Julio Borbon – Here’s a reason to get excited, Borbon stole 19 bases in just 157 at bats. Let me put it another way: Borbon stole 19 bases in just 64 times on base (hits + walks). That’s a stolen base every 3.37 times he reaches base. He hit .312 last season… if this guy can figure out how to draw more walks...
RF – Josh Hamilton – Let’s forget about last year’s injuries and take a moment to remember the 2008 homerun derby… Yeah, that’s the Josh Hamilton we’re hoping for.
C – Jason Saltalamacchia/Taylor Teagarden – There’s some debate over who gets this job. Salty is the favorite because he’s the better hitter, but team management has stated it's an open competition. And anytime there’s a position battle, it means it’s a weaker position. Catcher could turn out to be the biggest liability the Rangers have this season[2].
DH – Vladimir Guerrero – 8 time all star, 7 time silver slugger, and the 2004 MVP… But the real reason for optimism over this signing: Vlad has a .384 batting average in 50 games at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Fact: No one has stolen more than 80 bases in a season since Ricky Henderson and Vince Colman did it in the 1988 season. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, I’m just saying, wouldn’t it be awesome.

Now onto the rotation:
At this point I would like to refer to this article by Jamey Newberg.

Let’s assume that Rich Harden and Scott Feldman fill the number 1 and 2 spots respectively. It also seems likely that Coldy Lewis will get a rotation spot as well. That leaves an interesting battle for the last two spots (between Derek Holland, Tommy Hunter, Matt Harrison, Brandon McCarthy, and Neftali Feliz). But I want to go on record as I saying “I don’t care.” It really doesn’t matter who wins those last two spots. Because I know from many years of watching the Rangers, that injuries and/or poor pitching will make the opening season rotation all but forgotten by May 1st.

Somebody once said, “It takes three good starters to win the World Series[3].” Meaning a team has to have three starting pitchers, that can legitimately perform at a top level, in order to win a World Series. Sure it takes good hitting. Sure it takes good defense. But pitching is paramount. And the Rangers might just be capable of going strong, three deep in the rotation, come October. So the real position battle isn’t for the last two spots in the rotation. The real position battle is for the number three spot in the rotation around late-September.

Fact: Last Season, Ranger’s pitching yielded 740 runs. The fewest the team has yielded since 1995.

The bullpen:
I have to say, I’m a little worried about the bullpen. Relief pitching accounts for a third of the pitching. That’s a lot. In my mind, the bullpen is every bit as important as the rotation. And here is what we know for sure: Frank Francisco will close games, CJ Wilson and Darren Oliver are left-handed… That’s about it. I think the bullpen could be good, but I think the Rangers are a middle-reliever away from being a true contender. But for now, let’s keep our fingers crossed that Mike Maddux has this thing under control (or will suit up if the need arises).

Fact: Last season, the Rangers scored 784 runs. The fewest the team has scored since 1995.

This team is awesome. From top to bottom, one of the best in the majors. Potentially even, the best. And yet, the will not win 95 games. Why? To quote the groundskeepers in the movie Major League, “They’re still shitty.” But why? Why won’t they let us have this? Why must they always fall to mediocrity? Because of Injuries. This is what will be our demise this season. Let’s say our five best hitters are Hamilton, Guerrero, Kinsler, Cruz, and Young. Between these five, I predict they will miss a combined 160 games due to injuries. Equivocally, that’s like not having one of these guys at all. For example, if we didn’t have Cruz and we had David Murphy[4] instead. That’s not bad, but it could be enough to make us a second place team. Not to mention that Rich Harden and Colby Lewis are a bit of a gamble in that area too. I fear that injuries are the one (and only) thing that keeps this years team from being the greatest Ranger’s team ever.

Well, I’m only basing that on regular season wins. If we were to consider something else to gauge this teams success, it might be a different story. Such as… I don’t know… post season victories.

Fact: The Ranger’s are the oldest team in any of the 4 major US sports (MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA), to never have appeared in a league championship game[5].

This is my prediction. Injuries plague the Rangers most of the season. But everyone seems to get healthy around mid to late-August. Pedro Borbon struggles early, but a mid season trip to triple-A gives him patience at the plate (like 2009 Chris Davis). Our starting pitching depth allows us to keep some key starters from getting burned out too soon. A slightly milder summer weather-wise keeps everyone from burning out too soon. Everything starts to come together around mid-August. Traditionally, this has been a time for the Rangers to begin their decline. But 2010, things will be different. The Rangers don’t win 95 games, but they do win the division. The Rangers win in post season. Kinsler wins MVP. Ron Washington wins Manager of the Year. I win a million dollars[6].

Fact: Making bold predictions and reciting meaningless stats is part of what makes baseball so enjoyable. That, and Yogi Berra quotes[7].


1. Also, the 94 win 1974 team featured MVP winner Jeff Burroughs. But the team finished second behind the Oakland A’s.
2. That’s not true, injuries are the biggest liability the Rangers have.
3. Yes, I am absolutely insinuating that the Rangers have a shot.
4. Actually, I’m predicting David Murphy to get around 420 at bats and bolster a .280 average. Not bad for your 4th outfielder.
5. And the only MLB team to never have won a playoff series.
6. If it turns out I know nothing about baseball, let this prediction be the one that comes true.
7. "I always thought that record would stand until it was broken."

The Sunday Morning Experience - Bellaire United Methodist

The Sunday Morning Experience – Bellaire UMC

I’ve been looking forward to attending Bellaire for awhile now. This is Jessica’s church in Houston and she has told me many things about it. From what Jessica has told me I knew I could expect a fairly traditional United Methodist worship service. So I was looking for what this church does that was beyond the norm. Like Karen the Greeter for example. I have this vision of Karen entering the sanctuary like a trained hunter. She glances the room, carefully picking out her prey. By this I mean, she comes in and automatically looks for faces she doesn’t know. She makes an effort to try and meet everyone she can in the few minutes prior to the service starting. She also positions herself in the foyer outside the back of the sanctuary, near the visitor’s information table, to greet people as they leave.

I don’t know if Karen does this as the church’s official greeter, or if she is just one of those people. Either way, it was nice. In fact a handful of people made an effort to greet us and thank us for visiting, but Karen was the only one who attempted to have an actual conversation. The level at which we were greeted was just right. I’ve been to other churches where they attempt to single out visitors and make a big deal out of it. I’ve been to many churches where visitors go unnoticed. Bellaire struck a good balance between the two.

One note of criticism¹: The sanctuary seemed to have very poor acoustics and featured a very outdated sound system. It seems as though the sanctuary wasn’t built to carry the sound of a choir very well. And the sound system was small and looked as if it were 30 – 40 years old. I bet the regular attendees never notice what they are missing. But I believe I know what a good sound system makes worship sound like, and this was far from it. This church could use a big step forward in terms of technology. Not just their sound system, but also their small screens which use PowerPoint to lead worship, and even the lighting system in the sanctuary could use an update. This seems to be a healthy church with a pleasant, friendly congregation, and despite their lack of new technology, it’s a church I look forward to visiting again.

1. Actually, two more notes of criticism: At one point we sang the song, We are the World. This is not okay. Churches need to not sing this song. Ever.

A Day at Church

This past Sunday I deviated from my original schedule. Since this was just my second week into this exercise of visiting different church, I feel this may set a bad early precedence for myself. But I wanted to attend my home church of Meadowbrook UMC to see Rev. Chandler do his first person sermon. This is where he plays a biblical character, and delivers the message from the voice of that character. This past Sunday he played the role of the inn keeper that shut out Joseph and Mary. Over all it was good, and had a distinct message to it.... so for the life of me I can not recall what that message was right now.

Since I am quite familiar with Meadowbrook, it is difficult for me to give an honest "visitor's account" of my experience there. So in lieu of that I have decided to share a poem about church. Upon cleaning out my closet I discovered some writings I had done many years ago. One of those writings was a poem titled A Day at Church. I can remember writing this, and it's words were inspired by many Sunday mornings at Meadowbrook1. Thus I feel it might be appropriate for now.


A Day at Church

An old man speaks.

I sit expressionless,
Glancing around at other
Expressionless faces,
Lots of people I don’t know.

The choir sings.

I look down at the golf pencils,
How far could I get one
Up my nose before
It starts bleeding?

Now we pray.

Is that mud on my shoes?
I hope its mud.
Where did I get mud from?
Did it rain this morning?

An old man speaks.

The ceiling is divided into 18 sections,
Each section has several small tiles,
144 small tiles in each section,
2592 small tiles in all.

An old woman sings.

What if I jabbed the
Golf pencil into my eye?
Would everyone turn around?
Would the old lady stop singing?

More prayer.

I wonder how many tiles
There are on the floor?
Can I crawl under the pews?
Would anyone care?

More singing.

There are 4 sections of pews,
18 pews in each section,
4 golf pencils to each pew,
288 little golf pencils.

An old man speaks.

A note gets passed,
Lunch. Question mark.
Chili’s, On the Border, Friday’s
Question mark.

The old man is still speaking.

I imagine I am watching a slow train,
I count each rail car as it passes,
432 and counting,
There’s no caboose in sight.

We sing again.

Mr. Johnson didn’t stand up.
I wonder if he’s asleep,
I wonder if he’s dead,
Either way I envy him.

The benediction!

Anticipation, eagerness,
Finally I can leave.
Church is over!
Thank God. Amen.



Upcoming schedule:
January 3rd – Bellaire United Methodist (Houston, TX)
January 10th – Brookhaven United Methodist (Dallas, TX)
January 17th – New Beginnings Church (Arlington, TX)


1. In fairness to Meadowbook, their worship service at the time was considerably more drab than it is now.

The Sunday Morning Experience - Felowship Church

With my recent departure from Faith UMC I find myself, for the first time in over seven years, not required to attend a church on Sunday morning. I’ve contemplated sleeping in, waking up just in time to watch football. However, it would feel just plain weird not to go to church on Sunday. But I’m not sure where to go. I could go to Meadowbrook UMC, but there isn’t much to attract me on a Sunday morning. So then where do I go? I’ve decided I must find a place, and I’ve decided I’m going to go “church shopping”. For the next several weeks I plan to attend a different church every Sunday and evaluate my experience there. In part, I want to figure out what it is I really look for in a church, but I also want to see how others worship. I am well versed in the traditional United Methodist worship, and I think it will be fun to broaden my horizons, and experience more, different forms of worship.

I started this Sunday by going big… huge in fact. I attend Grapevine’s mega-church, Fellowship Church. The first thing you’ll notice about FC is the greeters. There are hundreds of greeters from the moment you enter the parking lot, as you enter the doors, and as you make your way through the foyer, toward the worship center. The worship center is an expansive auditorium, with three large screens, a large stage, many many lights, and theater-type seating. The worship experience here resembles something, more like a rock concert that a church service. The worship band was traditional in the rock band sense: lead singer/guitar, lead guitar/back up vocals, bass guitar, and drummer. But the band also had an additional five vocalist and a small choir behind them. They played three songs, none of which I recognized as something I’ve heard previously, before moving on to the sermon.

At this point I should point out the sheer size of FC. It’s more than just a church… or I should say, it’s more than just one church. In fact they have several campuses in downtown Fort Worth, downtown Dallas, Plano, and Miami, Florida… Miami? Really? That seems distant and random.

Today’s sermon was brought to us live from Plano. Meaning, we watch a broadcast, on their three big screens, of the sermon that was being delivered simultaneously at the Plano campus. This is typical on all of their campuses apparently, as the church with the “in person” sermon seems to rotate. But this left me with a feeling of disconnectedness. The message of the sermon was good, and on point with the scripture, but there’s something less personal about watching the sermon on TV. Which is essentially what is was, just watching TV.

After the sermon, there was a brief video from the church’s lead pastor, Ed Young, on the importance of giving. And then another song was played as the offering baskets were passed around. After that, a short prayer, and we were dismissed. And that’s how it felt at the end, like we were being dismissed from something. There wasn’t much hanging around and socializing, everyone immediately got up and proceeded in an orderly fashion out the doors.

There are pros and cons to a service like this. On the one had, the message was meaningful and deep, the band was talented, and the production value was above and beyond. However, there were some key elements missing for me. For starters, I noted there was no altar present. Though I realize an altar isn’t necessarily required for a worship to be valid, I also don’t see it as a small thing. I like having an altar, even if it’s nothing more than a place to set a cross… Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing a crucifixion present anywhere in the worship center. Really? I can’t recall seeing a single cross located anywhere. That just seems weird.

I also felt like there could have been more prayer as well. A couple of short prayers on either end of the sermon weren’t quite enough. And even another song or two wouldn’t have hurt. Overall I was left feeling disconnected in a spiritual way. Though I did get something out of the message, it was more the feeling of when you learn something really good in class. The spirit still wasn’t in it for me. This is a huge church, and they offer a lot in an attempt to appeal to everyone. But the heart of a church is its Sunday morning worship. And if the spirit isn’t at the heart of everything, then what’s the point?

My upcoming schedule:

December 20^th – New Beginnings Church (Arlington, TX)

December 27^th – Out of town to Oklahoma, may not make it to church

January 3^rd – Bellaire United Methodist (Houston, TX)

January 10^th – Brookhaven United Methodist (Dallas, TX)