Although it was pure coincidence Andre Ethier was a double short of hitting for the cycle the same night Juan Pierre injured his hamstring lower back, the timing was too good not to notice. At the start of the season, Joe Torre announced he was starting Ethier over Pierre. Yet through June, Pierre got 66 starts, most of them at Ethier's expense.
Pierre's July visit to the disabled list finally gave Ethier a chance at regular playing time. Fast-forward to August: a bad month for the Dodgers despite a good month for Ethier. As in .292/.346/.615 w/7 HR good. Currently he leads the Dodgers with 19 home runs. If Dodger fans don't get a chance to see what Ethier can do with an entire season of at-bats in 2009, then some other team should. He deserves to be an everyday player.
It's not just Ethier's bat that impresses. He's got plus-speed (see tonight's triple) and an above-average arm good for eight outfield assists this year (for comparison's sake, Ichiro has ten).
Need another reason to like the guy? Okay, he helped feed the homeless earlier today. Seriously. And he updated his blog just as we, um, didn't predict.
If Ethier were on another team, I'd probably hate his guts. But he's ours. And he's good. Let's hope management thinks the same.
photo by Juan Ocampo/Dodgers
8 comments:
I predicted he would hit a HR yesterday when I was on my run.
I would not have guessed that Andre was a thin-crust guy.
Orel, in the list of Ethier accolades, you forgot to mention that Ms. Orel and Ms. Sax think Ethier is good-looking.
Unless, of course, Ms. Orel wrote this post in the first place???
After i read Andre Ethier's blog, i gotta say he stole my heart. Not for his well documented good looks or the fact he's a very talented player who happens to be a Dodger. It's the thin-crust pizza, thin's in as he said. I don't even need to know anything else about him.
Colletti, don't even think to trade this youngling. Play him as starter next season and give him a big paycheck, same with the rest of the younglings and padawans.
Word. I love Andre.
Though I don't think he has plus speed. Plus speed is like Kemp or Ichiro or Taveras. :o
Maybe above average or 55-60 on the 80 point scale.
Point well taken, Kensai. I tried to use "plus" meaning "above average" because I didn't want to repeat myself.
If Ethier Airlines has arrived at Chavez Ravine, can we expect Air Pierre to depart soon?
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