Jesus walks on water...Matthew 14:22-33

This story is one of my favorites in the Bible. To me it describes the life of any one who is getting to know Jesus and learning how to trust in him. He'll call us and give us an opportunity to trust in him just like he gave Peter when he told him to walk on water towards him. At first Peter kept his gaze on Jesus, as long as he did so he was showing that he was trusting Jesus. But then he began to doubt what was happening, after all, he was walking on water in the middle of strong winds and heavy waves. He took his eyes off of Jesus' and in that moment began to sink. He started to think too much and as a result doubted that Jesus could help him. Because he was sinking he grew scared and yelled to Jesus for help. My favorite part of this story is that when Peter calls for help Jesus is immediately at his side. Not a few moments later or shortly but immediately, instantly.

Sometimes we feel that when we cry out to Jesus for help he's not doing anything or that he's taking too long to answer our prayer. But this story assures us that Jesus is at our side the moment we ask for his help. We may not see our prayers answered as soon as we'd like but we must remember that as soon as we pray God gets to work on our miracle or on the answer to our prayer according to his will. God bless you!

The Cemetery...

A man was walking on a long journey when he grew very tired and decided to sit and rest in a cemetery just ahead. He walked into the cemetery and started to read the tombstones. He became disturbed because as he was reading the dates on the tombstones he realized that the people buried there were only children when they died. Some were eight, others five and still others were only one when they past away. The man was overcome by sadness, he knelt in the grass and began to cry. A cemetery worker walked in and saw him crying. He asked, "Why are you crying?". The man looked up and answered, "All these children, they died so young! This is a cemetery of kids!" The worker smiled and said "Don't be sad, you see, these people weren't children when they died. Look here, it says 'David 1920-1925'. A person is reborn when they are saved, so David had been saved for five years before he died. We should celebrate because all these people found the right path and accepted Jesus as their Savior! All the years that these people were without Christ is forgotten, a fresh count of their days begins on the day they accept Jesus into their hearts!"

(This story was told at a church service in Puerto Rico)

Are no hitters becoming a not-so-rare performance?

It seems like every time I flip the channel to MLB Network or ESPN there's a pitcher taking a no hitter late into an inning. It makes me wonder if pitchers are starting to dominate a lot more than hitters. Is the no hitter becoming easier to achieve? Probably not. If we compare the number of no hitters from 1990-1999 with the ones from 2000-2009, we'd see that the 90's had almost double the number of no no's. From 1990-1999 MLB recorded 31 no hitters, four of those 31 performances were pitched by a number of ten pitchers. On April 11, 1990 Mark Langston and Mike Witt of the California Angels combined to record the 218 no hitter in baseball. Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson and Greg Olsen of the Baltimore Orioles recorded number 227 on July 13, 1991. In that same year Kent Mercker, Mark Wohlers and Alejandro Pena recorded a no hitter for the Atlanta Braves. July 12, 1997 was the last time multiple pitchers combined to record a no hitter in one game in the 90's. The Pittsburgh Pirates Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon blanked the Houston Astros to record no hitter number 244 in major league baseball history. On June 11, 2003 Roy Oswalt, Peter Muno, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner of the Astros recorded the final multi pitcher no hit performance to date.

From 2000-2009 fifteen no hitters were recorded. Seems like a small number right? The truth is that most pitchers have taken no hitters late into games but haven't been able to close them out. From 2000-2009 14 no hitters were broken up in the ninth inning alone. Of course that number is much lower then stats from the 90's, when 27 no hitters were broken up in the ninth inning. With pitchers like Fernando Valenzuela, Nolan Ryan and David Wells pitching, these high no hit records don't surprise me. I do believe that pitchers like Stephan Strasburg and Ted Lilly will one day pitch a no hitter. Chicago Cubs fans know how close Lilly has come in the past. Basically what these stats prove is that no hitters aren't becoming fashionable, they're still a rare and exciting act to watch.

Four no hitters have been thrown so far in 2010, two of them also being perfect games, and its my belief that a couple more are still to come.

The moment I wish I could take back...

There's always a moment in life you wish you could take back, always something you regret doing or not doing, saying or not saying. But everybody knows that what’s done is done, we can't take back any moment in life no matter how much pain or hurt it may have caused us or someone else. The only thing we can do is try to handle certain situations in our lives differently in the future.

I never thought I'd regret something so much. It was June 27, 2009, I was on vacation in Chicago and was going back to Puerto Rico early the next morning. I was watching stand up comedy with my cousin in the basement when my dad called me upstairs. He told me to say goodbye to my grandparents because I wouldn't see them in the morning. I was slightly annoyed because I was missing the comedy show so I ran upstairs and said a very quick meaningless goodbye to my grandpa. I gave him a peck on the cheek and said, "bye grandpa", as fast as I could, I didn't even look at him, I just wanted to go back downstairs which I did immediately.

My grandfather was sick and getting worse everyday, the doctors said that his spinal cord was collapsing, he was losing feeling and movement in his whole body. He couldn't walk, couldn't eat on his own, he had to use diapers, and in a few short months he became completely helpless. But of course, it never crossed my mind that June 27, 2009 would be the last day that I was going to see my grandpa alive.

On December 27, 2009 at 5:00pm we got a call from our family in Chicago. Grandpa had passed away in his sleep. I didn't know what to think, I've been fortunate enough because my grandfather was the first person that I was close too that died. I didn't know what to feel or say. I didn't cry, nothing, I couldn't believe it. My family and I left Puerto Rico at 3:00am on December 28, 2009. On December 29, the morning of the wake, I was still numb to the fact that my grandpa was dead, until I saw him in the casket. At that moment I remembered how cold my final goodbye was to this amazing, loving man. It all hit me at that moment, I realized that in all my life I never told my grandpa that I loved him, not once.

June 27, 2009, I wish I could take back just five minutes of that day. If I had the opportunity to do it over again, I'd give my Welito (grandpa) a big hug and a kiss and I'd tell him how grateful I am for everything he did for me and my family. I'd say 'I'm sorry' for all those times my stupid attitude may have hurt him. If I could have that one moment back, I would never let him go.

Sadly, I can't take that moment or any moment back. I can only try and take advantage of the time I have now with my family and friends. I've made a promise to myself; I'm going to tell my family and friends that I love them any chance I get.

Deep down in my heart I know that grandpa knew I loved him but I know that hearing the words would have made him happy. He gave so much love to us, his family, that the least I could have done was show him that I love him just as much. My advice to anyone reading this is to let people know how much they mean to you, don't wait until tomorrow, do it NOW, because tomorrow that person may not be there.

Puerto Rican catchers in MLB.

The catcher is one of the most important players on the field. Their job consists of catching pitches, calling the game, throwing, blocking wild pitches and defensive plays on the bases. Not to mention the mental aspect of the game. So many great catchers have played the game and I'm proud to say that a good number of them have come from Puerto Rico. Some of the best have come from 'la isla del encanto', for instance, Sandy Alomar Jr., he was a 6 time All Star, won the Rookie of the Year award in 1990 and was the 1997 All Star Game MVP. Future Hall of Fame catcher, Ivan Rodriguez was the 1999 AL MVP, 7 time Silver Slugger Award winner, 13 time Gold Glove winner, 14 time All Star and 2003 World Series champion. Rodriguez is currently playing with the Washington Nationals. Benito Santiago, Javy Lopez and Ozzie Virgil Jr. are some of the most popular catchers to come from the island.

Puerto Rico continues to produce good catching, the newest member of the Puerto Rico catchers club is Cubs catcher Geovany Soto. Soto posted great numbers in his 2008 rookie season, he was named NL Rookie of the Year and was voted into the All Star game. Soto was the eighth Puerto Rican catcher to be selected into the All Star game. Lately, more often then not, a catcher from Puerto Rico is behind the plate at an All Star game. Soto struggled in his sophomore year, but looks to be on the right track in 2010. Can't forget to mention Jorge Posada, who has been a gem for the New York Yankees, the only team he's played for in his MLB career. Posada is a 5 time All Star, 4 time World Series champ and a 5 time Silver Slugger Award winner.

Molina is a Cardinal so its bittersweet when it comes to rooting for him, but I have to give credit where credit is due. Like Benito Santiago, Yadier Molina's arm is strong enough to throw runners out from his knees. He's a very gifted young player who has accomplished a lot in a short career but he, without a doubt, has a promising future ahead.

In Molina's opinion, "Puerto Rico has produced a lot of catchers because we like being involved in the game, an we're very aggressive". I agree. I hope to see more Puerto Rican talent in the big leagues, but recently the number of Puerto Rican's has declined. Many believe that MLB has stopped investing in Puerto Rico, but in my opinion boricuas have given up on baseball.Baseball takes a back seat to basketball and volleyball on the island. Regardless of all the speculation I believe that more great baseball talent from Puerto Rico is still to come.

Puerto Rican Catchers in MLB:

Sandy Alomar Jr.
Robby Cancel
Javier Cardona
Raul Casanova
Ramon Castro
Javier Lopez
Orlando Mercado
Bengie Molina
Jose Molina
Yadier Molina
Jose Morales
Wil Nieves
Hector Ortiz
Junior Ortiz
Ozzie Virgil Jr.
Hector Villanueva
Hector Valle
Javier Valentin
Valmy Thomas
Geovany Soto
Benito Santiago
Jorge Posada
Mike Rivera
Rene Rivera
Ellie Rodriguez
Ivan Rodriguez
Orlando Sanchez

"Could this be the year?"

I was watching Mondays Cubs game against the Rockies with my aunt. After Marmol walked in the tying run she started saying that no matter how bad the Cubs played, fans would always show up and cheer them on. I agreed. Then she went on saying that it seemed like the Cubs players, management, front office and owners would all have a meeting and decide that winning wasn't for them. So basically she was claiming that the Cubs were losing on purpose.

Of course I had no answer to her theory. I was shocked at her allegations. But then the image of the Ricketts, Lou , Hendry and our beloved players in a room thinking up new ways to lose played in my mind. The scary thing was, that it started to make sense. Think about it, Cubs fans continue to fill Wrigley every game with the hopes that "this is the year". And every year we die hards find out the hard way that it isn't the year. Anyway, my aunt then gave me a lecture on why the Cubs would never win the World Series. She was slowly crushing every last hope I still held on too. Now, this was all before Aramis Ramirez hit the walk off 2-Run HR. Once that happened, I was once again among the thousands of Cubs fans thinking, "could this be the year?"