There is a special providence in the tipping of a cap.

I promise not to turn this into a sports blog (with exceptions made for the Book of Sports), but what with the Passover/Easter season hard upon us, I thought we might turn to St. Beltran for some inspiring words. From today's Times, his thoughts on acknowledging cheering fans after hitting a home run, his first hit of the season: "Well, I went out," Beltran said. "I just took my time. Like I say, at the beginning, I don't feel like doing it, but I just put myself in the situation of what would God have done in a situation like that. You know, I'm a Christian guy, and after getting booed the first two days, and all of a sudden you come through and get a hit and all of a sudden they want you to go out in a curtain call, I put myself right there and I do believe God would have gone out." What would God do "in a situation like that"? Well, first off, he likely wouldn't have started the season 0 for 9. If he had, it would have been part of a divine plan leading up to the moment of the redeeming home run itself, the home run he hit for all of us. But the question remains: once God hit the home run, would he then resent the sudden joy of those who had forsaken him during the previous nine at-bats during which he hit predestined ground-outs and the occasional providential pop-fly with runners at first and third? I don't think so. God enjoys a lingering ovation from anyone, regardless of how many times it has been suggested that he is an overpaid drain on the resources of a people/team. Thus, as he humbly points out, St. Beltran acted as a holy man should, forgiving the faithless masses who earn in a year one-half of his daily wage, and gracing us all with his kind acquiescence to our blind adulation. I will burn three Dave Kingman cards in his honor this Pascal season.