Texas baseball is a man down today, as Augie Garrido dismissed Jordan Etier from the ballclub after his arrest on dual charges: marijuana possession and evading arrest, according to the Statesman. While Etier was never much of a hitter, he was so good defensively on the infield that it was always difficult for Augie to keep him out of the lineup.
We're certainly not the types to sit in judgment of a kid who has made a mistake. You do have to wonder whether the pot charge would have been enough to get him dismissed rather than a simple suspension, but once you add that evading arrest charge we imagine Augie felt he had no choice. Once again, the old adage about cover-ups being worse than the underlying crimes may have held true here. That is, of course, pure speculation. But, unlike certain media members, at least we're happy to acknowledge it when we engage in such factless rumor mongering. (Just saying)
In any event, the timing of this could hardly have been worse for Etier and the team. His arrest came on the eve of Texas' fall practice game schedule beginning, and a distraction like this can't be good for preseason development. Hopefully Garrido and the coaches can keep the team focused on the important ABs and innings as they prepare to make yet another run at Omaha. Sadly, it looks like that run will have to be without their teammate Etier.