52 in 25: #11 - Why We're Catholic

 Next up was a book that was my “Confession” reading, when I have some free time in the confessional.  I had quite a bit of reading time this past Saturday and finished this book that I had started late last year.

 

It’s Why We’re Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love by Trent Horn.  You may know Trent from his podcast/Youtube or by the fact that he’s a major contributor on Catholic Answers.  I thought it was a good reference book, and probably should be essential reading for Catechists and Evangelists.  He has 25 chapters dealing with basic questions about the faith and good, down-to-earth answers.  It’s especially good for skeptics, non-Catholics, and teens/young adults.  Again, I would recommend it as a basic reference guide, which can help point to more in-depth, theological answers.

2025 MLB Season Preview

 I didn’t do this last year, but here’s a quick take on this year’s season:

 

American League

 

East

 

Boston Red Sox

            Ok, I’m on the bandwagon like a lot of people, I think they did a lot to upgrade this offseason.

Baltimore Orioles

            Still love their young offense, but they need some more starting pitching to win the division.

Toronto Blue Jays

            Perhaps a reach, but I think Bichette has a big bounce-back year, Vlad has a huge contract year, and they get enough pitching to finish around 85 wins.

New York Yankees

            Massive question marks in their rotation, and I do not believe in Bellinger backing up Judge (who will probably get hurt this year).

Tampa Bay Rays

            Not a lot to like this year, though there rarely ever is and they still are usually successful.  This is the best division in baseball and someone has to finish last.

 

Central

 

Minnesota Twins

            I keep believing in this team, and they keep underperforming.  One of these years they will actually play up to potential.  Maybe this year?  (So I actually wrote that in 2023 and just decided the sentiment still applies.

Kansas City Royals

            Ok, the offense has a lot of questions after Witt and maybe Pasquantino, but that pitching is for real.

Cleveland team

            I will never believe in this team, outside of Jose Ramirez.

Detroit Tigers

            A good team, but they got lucky/hot at the right time last season and that won’t happen again.  Still, they should battle for a playoff spot.

Chicago White Sox

            LOL

 

West

 

Oakland…I mean Sacramento? Athletics

            They are one of those teams that are becoming a hot sleeper pick, and I’m on board.  I think that offense will be massive in a AAA ballpark, and they’ll have just enough pitching to get past the rest.

Seattle Mariners

            The opposite of the A’s, excellent pitching and ZERO offense.

Texas Rangers

            I really missed on their World Series win two years ago, and I’m down on them again because of the number of injuries they tend to have.

Houston Astros

            The dynasty is over.  My Astros should have good pitching, but they will struggle to score runs unless Cam Smith is the real deal and McCormick/Meyers have big bounce-back seasons.

Los Angeles Angels

            They should lose 100 for the first time in franchise history.

 

National League

 

East

 

Atlanta Braves

They have to be better than last year, but I am concerned with Acuna coming back from a second knee injury.

Philadelphia Phillies

            I’ve seen a lot of people picking them as the second-best team in baseball and even winning the World Series, but I don’t see it.  They’re good, strong, but also aging quickly.

New York Mets

            Yes, they “won” the offseason with Soto, but I don’t think they have a well-rounded team.

Washington Nationals

            A young, up-and-coming team who could threaten in the next couple of years.

Miami Marlins

            I’m not exactly the first to say they have a chance to be worse than the White Sox last year.  They need to move or fold.

 

Central

 

Milwaukee Brewers

            Plug-and-play team at its best.  I love the young guns and, while the pitching isn’t as strong in past seasons, it’s still good enough to win the division.

Pittsburgh Pirates

            Yep, I am much higher on them then most people, and this is a bit of wishful thinking, but that rotation is so good (the best in baseball?) and they have to add a bat at some point.  Watch out for Skenes/Jones/Keller if they make the playoffs.

Chicago Cubs

            I will never pick them to be successful, even if they did steal half the Astros.

Cincinnati Reds

            They have a good amount of “talent,” but they’re not as good as a lot of people think.  Elly de la Cruz is incredibly overrated.

St. Louis Cardinals

            Blow it up.  They’re bad.

 

West

 

Los Angeles Dodgers

            Booooooooo

Arizona Diamondbacks

            Please make a push to knock LA off.

San Diego Padres

            Too much turmoil in the front office to really push for the division.

San Francisco Giants

            I love Verlander, but I think he’s done, and I’m just not that thrilled with them.

Colorado Rockies

            What a joke of a team. (Again, a copy from 2023)

 

Playoffs:

 

AL:

            Red Sox

            Twins

            Athletics

            Orioles

            Mariners

            Royals

 

NL:

            Braves

            Brewers

            Dodgers

            Phillies

            Diamondbacks

            Pirates

 

World Series: Red Sox over Brewers

            I don’t really know, maybe the Brewers will actually have a successful postseason?

 

AL MVP: Bobby Witt Jr.

AL Cy Young: Cole Ragans

AL ROY: Cam Smith

 

NL MVP: Ketel Marte

NL Cy Young: Paul Skenes

NL ROY: Dylan Crews (I’ll just follow everyone else)

52 in 25: #10 - N or M?

I decided to head back to Agatha Christie and Tommy and Tuppence for their next novel, N or M?  Apparently, the title comes from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer which asks your Christian name, “Answer N. or M.” which is supposed to stand for “name or names.”

 

This is a different Christie novel, not really about a murder but about the German Fifth Column in England during World War II.  Tommy and Tuppence are “too old” to help with the war effort, but they work their way into this spy work, going undercover trying to find the male and female head of the Fifth Column, who are known as “N.” and “M.” 

 

Not sure if it was just my mood recently, but I wasn’t really into it.  It’s probably at the bottom of my list of Christie novels that I have read.  I will say that towards the end I was looking up what others thought about it, to see if others agreed with me (they don’t) and noticed for the first time it was written in 1941, which made it a bit more interesting for me knowing that they really did have this fear at the time and did not know the eventual result of WWII.  Still, for me, it wasn’t up to the usual high caliber that I expect from Christie.

52 in 25: #9 - The Slide

 I am falling a little behind, thanks to a hectic schedule, but in my defense, I have 2-3 other books that are near completion.  My next completed book was a bit of a surprise, since I never heard of it before I saw it at Half-Price Books a couple of months ago.  It’s The Slide: Leyland, Bonds, & the Star-Crossed Pittsburgh Pirates by father-and-son duo Richard Peterson and Stephen Peterson.

 

The title has a clever double-meaning.  For one, it symbolizes the “slide” of the once-proud Pirates franchise after the world championship in 1979 to decades of losing with 3 stellar years in the mix, 1990-1992.  Those years bring in the second meaning of the title, since it was the “slide” by Sid Bream in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS that ended their three years of success and lead to 20 years of losing, the longest stretch of any franchise in any sport.

 

Leyland with Bobby Bonilla and Bonds

There are basically three sections of the book.  First, the fall of the Pirates after 1979 to the resurgence under Jim Leyland in the late 1980s.  Second, and the most significant section, the seasons of 1990-1992, including chapters for each playoff run.  Finally, a very brief look at post 1992, including a final chapter on the few successful seasons in the 2010s.  Overall, it is a bit inconsistent.  I could tell that there were two different authors.  Parts were duplicated.  More could have been said about the difficulties between Leyland and Bonds.  Probably most disappointing was the quick run-through of the 20 years after 1992, with a brief mention of Jason Kendall (the most important player during that period), one mention (as far as I could find) of Jason Bay, the third most important player of that period, and not even one mention (again, as far as I noticed) of Brian Giles, the second most important player of those 20 years.  So, it became a little more frustrating as it went along.  Basically, unless you’re a die-hard Pirates fan, or want to know slightly more about the 1990-1992 Pirates, it’s not worth your time, unfortunately.

You wouldn't know this guy existed if you just read this book

52 in 25: #8 - The Three Musketeers

 It’s been a bit because it’s taken me awhile to get through all 600 pages of Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers.  This is one of those classic novels that I’ve been meaning to read for awhile and finally decided to pick up.  I will add that I read the Jacques Le Clercq translation, so I’m not sure how faithful it is.

 

I grew up with the movies and “knowing” the story.  When I was young, it was the 1948 Gene Kelly version, which I never really liked because I thought it was a bit too goofy (I recently rewatched it, and still feel the same, and apparently the screenwriter agreed).  Of course, then there was the 1993 Disney movie, which I always liked.  I’ve seen a few others, none of which are worth mentioning.  None of them, as expected, are close to the fully story.

 

Overall, I liked it.  It is long.  It was written as a serial, so it’s a different type of writing, with some kind of big thing at the end of each chapter to make you keep wanting to read the next installment.  Sometimes the writing is ponderous, but sometimes it’s brilliant (Athos to D’Artagnan: “Friend, be a man! Women weep for the dead; men avenge them!”).  I also appreciated how historical it was, giving a more detailed idea of life at that time (with the movies, you never would know how important the servants were).  Probably my favorite parts were when they were being overly pompous, particularly The Bastion Saint-Gervais.  Milady was an especially evil villain, and there is some satisfaction in the end.  I will also give credit for the somewhat surprising death of Constance, which I feel with today’s American audience would not be allowed to happen (D’Artagnan has to have a happy ending!).

 

There are some things I wasn’t fond of.  I was surprised how much of it dealt with mistresses, like that was a normal thing (to that end, I have a hard time with a mistress being known as “pure” and “chaste”).  I also thought the characters (especially secondary ones) were sometimes inconsistent, acting in ways that didn’t make sense to me.  I especially didn’t like how easily the “Puritan” Felton was seduced by Milady, just to drive the plot (and skew historical events).  There’s also some inconsistency, at least in my mind, when a few paragraphs after the above quotation Athos says, “Weep, heart full of love, alive with youth, and pulsing with life! Would I too could weep!”

 

It's not for everyone.  Those who like classics will appreciate it much more than those who can only read more modern novels.  I guess, if you’re interested in the time period, or the movies of the musketeers, it’s worth a read.