The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim California Angels won the AL West last night and then celebrated in the customary manner of wasting perfectly good alcoholic beverages by pouring them on each other. Included in the champagne and beer bath was the jersey of Nick Adenhart, the Angels pitcher who was killed back in April. By a drunk driver.

I'm not sure I would call this tribute "fitting," but at least their fallen teammate was part of the celebration. At least they have something to celebrate this year. Now how about actually beating the Red Sox this time?

[Image via ESPN/Angels]

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It's Tuesday. Try to cheer up, will you?

Orange County Weekly obtained a copy of the report (posted on their website) showing that Stewart's "postmortem" blood alcohol level was .16, twice the legal limit for a regular driver—however, Stewart was also underage. It's unclear "what it all means" at this point, and it may have no bearing on the essential facts of the incident, but the whole situation just got a lot messier—and could get much uglier. The driver of the other car in the accident, Andrew Gallo, has been charged with three counts of murder and could get the death penalty. He was also drunk that night and no one really disputes witness testimony that he ran a red light, smashed into the other car, killing Adenhart, Stewart and Henry Pearson, and then fled the scene.

I don't believe that California law mimics Florida's drunk-driving statutes—where the responsibility of both drivers comes into play—but this could still affect the case against Gallo. Or not. He was a convicted drunk driver and all the witnesses say it was his fault, so prosecutors may still look to throw the book at him. But at the very least, his lawyers could paint a very unflattering picture of the victims and cast doubt on the image of Gallo as vicious killer. Yeah, this is not going to be fun.

Autopsy Report: Adenhart Driver Also Drunk [Orange County Weekly]

MLB.com's clumsy handling of Adenhart's death throughout their site has been mentioned before, and this doesn't mean that they're horrible, hurtful people or anything like that, but WHY would you take the time to put up an editor's note above a "prospect" mentioning that he died (well over a month ago now, mind you) instead of removing him from the list:

Editor's note: On Thursday, Apr. 9, just hours after pitching six shutout innings in his 2009 season debut, Nick Adenhart was involved in a car accident and died from his injuries.

Also, keeping Adenhart on the list must be really annoying to the 36th MLB.com prospect, pitcher Jake Arrieta.

Here's the original email:

Not to beat this Adenhart story into the ground or anything, but I find it pretty fucking ridiculous that MLB store will not allow me to custom make an Adenhart number 34 t-shirt jersey. Yeah I guess this is meant to curb the use of "A-Roid" and or some other forms of miss-use in the naming department. However, can they really justify not letting a life-long Angel's fan such as myself, buy a jersey or t-shirt emblazoned with the name and number of kid who had a profound impact on the entire fanbase. Maybe this is the wrong forum for my displeasure, as you can tell I am frustrated, just wanted to let you dudes know.

Yesterday, if you clicked on the "Customize" jersey link, you'd get this message:

"Your current entry cannot be processed. Language deemed inappropriate, derogatory, or profane will not be accepted. Please create a new entry."

Today the language has been changed to "Your current entry cannot be processed. Some entries are prohibited due to guidelines for past and present player names. Please create a new entry. " Still, no Adenhart. The reason, according to MLB reps, is that the system won't allow use of real players that aren't on a current roster. So, if you wanted to have a "Sheets, 15" shirt or some other actual player that might be on a current team, you're not going to get the jersey you want. Even if your name is "Miranda Sheets", your favorite number is " 15" and your favorite team is the Brewers, you're out of luck. That's just how the system works.

For those heartbroken fans who want to buy an Adenhart jersey, you'll have to get yours elsewhere, or make your own.

Angels Page [MLB.com]

Even if this poll were created in advance of Adenhart's untimely death (and given the injuries to Ervin Santana, John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar, it probably was), how does a company so superficially (and hypocritically) concerned with propriety and being "family friendly" allow this sort of thing to run on the front page of one of the the most heavily-trafficked sports sites on the planet? Not that it's any secret, but it's pretty obvious that Disney/ESPN only cares about Adenhart's death insofar as it translates into ratings, traffic, and ad dollars - anyone with a modicum of common sense or genuine concern would have yanked that sucker down in a heartbeat.

Bastards.

ESPN Poll maker pretty much a dick [The Sports Hernia]

One of the people senselessly killed was a young man by the name of Henry Pearson. Pearson was a law student and close friend of Adenhart's who was trying to break into the sports agent business. Pearson was also a childhood friend of blogger Matt Clapp of Sharapova's Thigh. Clapp penned a moving tribute to his lifelong friend that's as well written as it is heartbreaking:

There's so much more that I could say that I can't even think about right now as I write this with tears dripping down my face. I wouldn't be anything like I am today without Henry. He changed my life more than anybody. I've lost my best friend and the world's lost an unbelievably special young man that had such a bright future ahead. We'll miss you buddy, you have no idea.

Don't drink and drive, people. Just...don't.

Remembering the best friend I ever had [Sharapova's Thigh]

According to the Inland, Calif. based Press-Enterprise, Gallo was driving the red mini-van that broadsided the silver Mitsubishi carrying Adenhart and three other passengers. The newspaper also dug up information presumably about Gallo's past that, if true, should result in him spending a very, very long time in jail. But what isn't clear is how the man could possibly be the same age now (22) as he was in both 2006 and 2007:

In San Bernardino County, a man with the same name, Andrew Thomas Gallo, and same age, 22 pleaded guilty to a driving under the influence charge in May of 2006, court records show.

He was placed on three years' probation and ordered to attend a county-approved first-offender alcohol program, and pay fines of about $1,400.

The same 22-year-old Andrew Thomas Gallo also plead guilty to possessing less than one ounce of marijuana in 2007 and entered a guilty plea to failure to wear a seat belt in 2006 court records show.

The marijuana charge came during the probationary period for the driving under the influence case. After Gallo's guilty plea he was ordered to continue in the county-approved alcohol program, court records show.

Hmm. So let's hold off on speculation about his priors until we get some clarification on that. Not surprisingly, the Angels did the right thing and have postponed tonight's game, but will hold a team meeting.

Angels Pitcher Killed, Inland Man Held In Deadly Crash [P-E]

ESPN briefly removed their annoying crawl when first reporting on the death of Nick Adenhart this morning. (It's back, unfortunately, but it was a nice touch.) Then out of nowhere they pulled out a melancholy version of the "Baseball Tonight" theme. That was a bit odd, but their heart is clearly in the right place. Stories like this are never easy to handle, especially on a free-wheeling morning sports show. But I guess no one thought to talk to the advertising department (why would they?) and maybe ask them to hold off on the NASCAR ad where racers talk about experiencing the rush of the crash.

Yeah, that was unfortunate. Put that on the checklist for next time.

Nick Adenhart of Los Angeles Angels killed in car crash in Fullerton [ESPN]

TMZ has learned Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a felony hit-and-run car accident in Fullerton, California early this morning — hours after he pitched in a game last night.

Cops say someone driving a minivan blew through a red light, causing a 2 car crash which killed 3 people, including Nick.

Cops say the person driving the van fled the scene — but was later caught and charged with felony hit-and-run.

We're told one of the other men killed in the crash was also affiliated with Angels organization.

Nick was 22 years old.

More to come, as story develops.

Angels starting pitcher killed in auto accident [TMZ]