Byrd Pitches With Heavy Heart

David Fisher at Pilgrim Scribblings posted excerpts from an article by Mark Thoma on the Angel's website. Just as Pitcher Paul Byrd held it together during this game...I know that Chuck would challenge each of us to do the same. Even in our grief...we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, turn to God...and know that He has a good plan that will come to fruition in His perfect time.

During the game, he learns team chaplain dies of cancer
By Mark Thoma / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Just before throwing his first pitch Sunday afternoon, Angels starter Paul Byrd turned toward center field and raised his arms over his head to form an "O," so Chuck Obremski would see on his TV that Byrd had the ailing team chaplain in his thoughts.

Obremski had been battling terminal cancer all season long, but after visiting him in the hospital Saturday night, Byrd decided he would make a public show of support before every inning Sunday. His timing couldn't have been more appropriate.

Obremski succumbed at 1:05 p.m. PT -- the exact moment that Byrd took the field -- something Byrd wouldn't learn until the fifth inning. When he found out, though, Byrd heeded the chaplain's advice to "finish strong," remaining sharp on the mound in his final innings and earning his 12th win in the Angels' 5-3 win over the Tigers.

As he walked off the field to a standing ovation, Byrd offered one last "O," dedicating the win and his perseverant performance to the man who helped keep his spirits up as Byrd's first year as an Angel got off to a rocky start.

"I had a real tough first outing of the year. ... He called me and said, 'Hey, you're gonna come back from this. We're gonna fight together, and we're gonna win together,' " Byrd said after the game. "He was encouraging me, and I should've been encouraging him."

"These guys know we have to grind every game, every out," Scioscia said, "and we did a good job of holding on today."

And Byrd did, under difficult circumstances, with his thoughts on Obremski.

"We'll miss him. We're sad for us, but it was time," Byrd said. "He was ready, his family was ready. ... It was a good time."