What Does Nick Adenhart’s Death Do to the Angels’ Rotation?

Nick Adenhart is just a 22-year-old kid, just a young ballplayer. He was one of two others who got killed early Thursday morning by a drunk driver. All three have a story and just because Adenhart was a major league pitcher doesn’t change that it was a tragedy for all of them. This isn’t even a sports story — it’s just a sad story of life. Hearing people all day long talk about him like they knew him seemed disrespectful to the family and Adenhart himself. Without a doubt, there’s one comment that I heard twice Thursday morning that irked me to no end. On ESPNews shortly after the story first came down, I heard anchor Bram Weinstein ask in an interview how the death would impact the Angels’ rotation and pitching staff. As if that wasn’t enough, I later heard the same thought on 710 ESPN on my drive into work.

I couldn’t believe my effing ears when I heard that. At times like these, don’t pretend to know someone if you don’t. Just tell the uninformed what happened — that’s what you’re there for. I can’t believe how insensitive some people can be. In the worst moment ever for a family, and an awful moment for a team and an entire organization, we still had media members asking how the tragedy would impact the play on the diamond. Would you give it a rest until at least after the funeral? How cold can you possibly be? What kind of gumption and idiocy would possess one to ask such a meaningless question at a time like that? Only two hours after the sad story comes down you’re already wondering what the rotation was going to look like? Not even Mike Scioscia nor Tony Reagins probably thought that, and this is their job. I would have nothing other than the good sense to fire the people whose first thoughts as a reaction to this story was “How does it impact the Angels’ rotation?”