Merry Christmas AngelsWin

By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer

So he paused. And the Grinch put his hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow.
But the sound wasn’t sad! Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn’t be so! But it WAS merry! VERY!
He stared down at Whoville! The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise!
Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?”
“It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!”
“It came without packages, boxes or bags!”
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.”
“Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!”

Yes it does.

For me, the most important part of the Grinch’s transformation comes right before the singing. It’s what makes it possible for the Grinch’s heart to open, for him to finally hear the message of the holiday.

It’s that he paused.

While we should all do it more often, at least once a year, we need to pause and give thanks for one another. With the hustle and bustle of modern life, and the ability to stay informed nearly instantaneously through social media (as if so many things were that important), it’s often easy to forget to take the mime and take that time for ourselves and to just pause.

Throughout the year, we can fight and argue over lineups, rotations, defensive alignments, bullpen uses, trades, and signings. But at this time of year, we pause.

And give thanks.

And reflect.

And appreciate that as much as we argue on AngelsWin, there are others on the site there to argue back with us. And draw us in. And debate those lineups. Critique those sick rotations. Respond with stats about defensive alignments. Use Fangraphs and other data sources on how to best use the bullpen. Tell us why our ideal trades will never happen. And most of all, explain why so-and-so won’t sign with us.

Without all of that, we wouldn’t have community. We wouldn’t have a reason to come here.

And our lives would be empty.

We’d miss the laughter. We’d miss the joy. We’d miss the camaraderie. We’d miss each other.

So today, take a moment. Pause. Remember your family. Remember your friends. And most of all, remember one another.

Take the time. Make the time. Find that one person who debates the most with you and wish him/her a Merry Christmas. And mean it. And appreciate all the good that is AngelsWin. It’s there. It always has been. And it always will be.

Merry Christmas AngelsWin.