Life comes at you quick

You know the insurance commercials that use the above headline as a tagline?

If you don't, just ask Randy Johnson and David Wells. Less than three seasons ago, I was out in San Diego for a vacation and to do a story on former Northwestern State pitcher Brian Lawrence, who was thriving with the Padres.

The last night I was in town I got a seat in the left-field bleachers at then-new Petco Park to watch Johnson and Wells duel in downtown San Diego.

The pitching matchup was worth it as the game went into extra innings. Terrence Long, himself an alumni of the 1994 MLB Draft like Shreveport-Bossier's own Todd Walker, won the game with a walk-off home run off the right-field foul poll.

Now, however, Wells and Johnson are far from dominant. As I type this, the San Diego-Arizona game, which opened with a Wells-Johnson matchup, is in the top of the 6th inning, San Diego leading 6-5. Johnson didn't make it to the sixth and I'm not sure Wells will either.

As Johnson and Wells ride slowly into the sunset, we can only look back at the gritty competitors they once were.