More on Yesterday

This is just going to be kind of rambling and bullet pointed. For longer looks at the life, career, and death of Nick Adenhart, try the Rev, or Shane Demmit. They've both done far better than I could.

• I can't really explain how this hit me, although I suppose it was probably the same for most of you. I actually found out from a friend via email, who's initial message was simply "Holy Crap, Nick Adenhart!" Not having heard the news, I responded with my take on his performance from the night before. He then said "You must not have heard the news..." From that point on, the next three hours were just kind of an unproductive blur, and I can only say that fortunately I had some real work to do to pull me out of it. I'm still shocked, stunned, and I don't know how I'll react when the game starts tonight.

• I don't want to get too philosophical, but it's weird the way we treat "celebrity" deaths like these. Obviously Nick was the newsmaker, and his death is going to dominate all aspects of this story. But two other people died in that accident, and their deaths are just as tragic. So is the death of Brian Powers, the fan who died from the result of a sucker punch to the back of the head on opening night. Also, here's a tribute to Henry Pearson, a former CSUF catcher who also died in the wreck, written by his best friend (via Deadspin).
  

• These sort of freak occurrences always lead to discussions of fate and circumstance. If Lackey and Santana hadn't come down with soreness in the arms, Nick Adenhart probably would have been in Salt Lake to start the season. You can play that game forever, but it never gets you anywhere. I'm not particularly religious, but I can see why people find their faith important at a time like this. It's not pleasant to believe there was no reason for what happened. But life's a crazy game, I guess.
  

• There's lots of talk about why we treat drunk drivers so leniently. On the one hand, you wouldn't let someone get liquored up, then let them walk around with a rocket launcher or something, but when a drunk gets behind the wheel, he's essentially piloting a very large weapon. Maybe the reason drunk drivers have the opportunity to be repeat offenders is because so many people have done it. Judges, lawyers, legislators, etc. I would venture to guess that the vast majority of people I know have been behind the wheel when they shouldn't have been, myself included. There but for the grace of God go I, I suppose. And how can we really be tough on people who have made the same "mistakes" that we've all made? I'm not arguing for leniency in the slightest, I'm just trying to get to the root.

• That said, Gallo should face the stiffest charges allowable. He's a repeat offender, and his actions have taken three lives. In some sense, it's hard to understand the mindset. I'm not patting myself on the back, but in the few times I've driven when I shouldn't have driven, my recollection is that I was HIGHLY sensitive to traffic laws. Not a mile over the speed limit. Stop for an extra second at stop signs, just to make sure. I was so afraid of getting pulled over that I probably felt I was being conspicuous in my attention to traffic laws. Any cop with a lick of common sense would have to figure that someone trying so hard to stay within the rules has to be guilty of something. That doesn't make it right, of course, and if a small child had darted in front of me, my dulled reactions would have put both of us in a world of trouble. Then again, there aren't a lot of kids running around at 3:00 am, but that's neither here nor there. I can't imagine the arrogance of getting behind the wheel while drunk and actually speeding and flirting with red lights.

• There will probably never be a good time to ask this, but honestly, what do the Angels do now? Who takes that slot in the rotation?
  

• I think the last time I felt like this was 1991 when word leaked that Magic was retiring due to having contracted HIV. Just an out of left field punch in the gut that leaves you speechless for hours.

But the games must go on, and tonight the Angels will take the field against the hated Red Sox. I don't know how the players will react. I don't know how the fans will react. I don't know how I'll react. But I can bet that the outcome is going to seem pretty insignificant.

R.I.P. Nick Adenhart

Tragic news. Nick Adenhart was killed by a driver running a red light after last night's game.

I don't even know what to say.

On what was supposed to be a joyous evening for the organization, there probably (hopefully) won't be a baseball game at the Big A. I think I'll probably always from this point associate the HOF plaques of Chuck Finley and Brian Downing with this incident. Not their careers, of course, but just what was supposed to happen tonight.

The Book on Nick Adenhart

Or rather, the pamphlet, since this is going to be short. It's gonna sound stupid, but right now, the way to get to Nick Adenhart is to get someone, anyone, on base. So far, that hasn't been a problem. He's allowed almost half of the hitters he's faced to reach base safely, 31 (18 hits and 13 walks) out of 63. His WHIP is over 2.50.

There's no way to sugar coat it, he hasn't been very good, although he's shown flashes. In fact, in the first inning of all three major league starts, he hasn't allowed a baserunner. Even better, seven of those nine outs have either been ground outs or strike outs. Actually, he's retired the first four hitters in order in every start (five in the Royals start).

But in each of those starts, he's allowed a man to reach base in the second inning, and that's where the trouble starts. He's given up nine runs in those second innings, despite the advantage of having retired the leadoff hitter. And the reason he's running into trouble is because he has not been able to successfully pitch with runners on base. Blame it on jitters perhaps, but more likely it's a mechanical flaw that comes from pitching out of the stretch. He's a little wild as it is. He gets worse with runners on.

Adenhart has faced 33 hitters with the bases empty. Seven of them have reached via the hit, and five via the walk, for an OBP against of .364, which isn't great, but isn't awful. Once a batter reaches, however, he goes from adequate to much worse. He's faced 30 batters with runners on base, and allowed an alarming 19 of them to reach. That's OBP against of .633! In other words, once one man gets on base, almost two of the next three are also likely to reach base. That's nuts. Keep in mind that he's not a strikeout pitcher to begin with, and he only has four strikeouts in his 12 major league innings, but none of those have come with runners on base, so he's not helping himself out once he gets into trouble (though he has induced three hitters to ground into double plays).

Those numbers are pretty distressing, or they would be for any other pitcher, and of course all of the caveats about sample size still apply. But first of all, he's only 21, so to the extent these are a function of nerves, he has plenty of time to learn to deal with them. Second, he was only slated to make three starts, assuming the healthy return of John Lackey, so he's got some things to work on, and he can do it in the minors. Perhaps most importantly, the one thing he doesn't do is give up home runs. He's now pitched 404 innings in professional baseball, and has seen only ten of his pitches leave the yard in fair territory. That means he can get away with allowing a few more hitters to reach over the course of a season, because he's not susceptible to the back breaking three run homer. But he simply can't allow the number of baserunners he's allowed at the major league level. Shockingly, he's actually 1-0 in his major league career, thanks to the 23 runs the Angels have scored in his starts.

I have no reason to believe that with some additional minor league seasoning, he won't turn into solid, if not spectacular major league pitcher, and he has a great deal of upside. His minor league numbers compare favorably to Brandon Webb. Not that he'll be that successful, but if he be 75% of a Brandon Webb, that's a damn good major league starter. I think the Nick Adenhart experiment was a success in that it will eventually make him a better pitcher. I could see him being a fixture in the rotation as early as next year if there's a spot, and as we're learning from the current health situation, there's always a spot.

Inauspicious Debuts - with a bunch of updates

As I write this, the Angles trail Oakland 4-0 in the second inning. After a nice start, Nick Adenhart, making his major league debut, gave up a hit, four walks, and another hit, which led to those four runs.

It's times like these I like to recall Ervin Santana's major league debut. On May 17, 2005, Ervin Santana faced the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland. He gave up a triple to Grady Sizemore, a double to Coco Crisp, a Single to Travis Hafner, and home run to Ben Broussard. He gave up the cycle to the first four batters he faced in his career. Since that game, he's 40-29, and that inlcudes an awful year last year, plus he's only 25.

The moral of the story? Stuff happens. Adenhart will be fine.

Oh, and now it's 4-1, thanks to Jack "Glove-butcher" Cust.

Update: Now it's 5-4 Angels, thanks to Cust and a lack of mental toughness on the part of the Duke. Back to you, Nick.

Further Updated: The Angels bullpen proves that if you're the Angels brass, it's pretty much damned if you do, damned if you don't when it comes to the Angels seventh starter position.

Updated again: This is what I wrote on BTF in response to all of the doom and gloom:
Ervin Santana - Major League Debut: 4 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 2 HR, and he gave up the cycle to the first four batters he faced.

Ervin Santana - Next Major League Start: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1BB, 7 K. That was against the eventual World Champion White Sox.

Something tells me that when a kid who is a top prospect is called up and stuggles in his debut, it's not the end of the world. It's May fer chrissakes. Can we please pull back from the ledge?

[quote]I don't know if he would have done any better if he had 4 days rest, but this looks really bad, shortsighted, and stupid.[/quote]Ervin Santana - [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE200505170.shtml]Major League Debut[/url]: 4 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 2 HR, and he gave up the cycle to the first four batters he faced. Ervin Santana - [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ANA/ANA200505230.shtml]Next Major League Start[/url]: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1BB, 7 K. Something tells me that when a kid who is a top prospect is called up and stuggles in his debut, it's not the end of the world. It's May fer chrissakes. Can we please pull back from the ledge?
OR