When Johan Santana pitched his second game of the season, I didn’t see it because I was in another country. But I didn’t miss anything. I had seen that game many times before, in Santana’s first season with the Mets.
It was another well-pitched game by Santana and another well-pitched game in which he did not emerge with a win. The outcome raised questions about the 2009 Mets, and there were no immediate answers.
Like Nick Adenhart was, Andrew Gallo is 22 years old. Adenhart will never turn 23. Gallo will, most likely in prison. If he is convicted of all counts against him, he could celebrate his next 55 birthdays in prison. His time there will be well deserved.
Adenhart was not supposed to be at that fatal intersection in Fullerton, Calif., that night, riding with friends in the Mitsubishi that belonged to one of them. Adenhart was not supposed to be in the Angels’ starting rotation, but injuries put him there, and that’s why he was at that intersection when a minivan, driven by Gallo, who was later charged with drunk driving, ran a red light and broadsided the Mitsubishi, police said.
I have come not to bury Gary Sheffield as so many others have since the Mets signed him unexpectedly last week on the eve of the opening of the season. Have I come to praise him? Not necessarily, but I would like to offer a fairer picture of the veteran slugger than usually is presented.
I don’t know what, if anything, Sheffield has left in his bat. I don’t know if Sheffield can play the outfield well enough to get himself into the lineup, or if Jerry Manuel simply has to resign himself to using Sheffield as a pinch-hitter.
I don’t know if Omar Minaya, the Mets’ general manager, made a smart move in signing Sheffield or a dumb move for signing Sheffield. I don’t know if he will contribute anything to the Mets’ pennant aspirations. I don’t know if his presence will interfere with the development and potential production of the Mets’ younger outfielders.
