Hey Andre: Streaky Much?
June 10, 2009 at 6:25 am | Posted in Andre Ethier, Orlando Hudson | 9 CommentsAfter hitting two of the Dodgers’ four home runs last night – giving him five in the last seven games – Andre Ethier is currently hotter than Jessica Alba & Mila Kunis eating hot wings while riding a nuclear bomb into the sun. Ethier’s now ranked 9th among all MLB right fielders in OPS, ahead of notable names like J.D. Drew, Nick Markakis, and Magglio Ordonez, and 10th in VORP. In case the simple math escaped you there, that puts him in the top one-third of major league right fielders.
All in all, a pretty solid season for our favorite underappreciated outfielder, food enthusiast, and autograph denier. Right?
Ah, but if it were only that simple. It was only just about two weeks ago that we were bemoaning Ethier’s continued presence in the heart of the order while he was suffering through a dreadful May, so while the cumulative output is nice, he’s been anything but consistent in getting there. In fact, look at the three distinctly different sections of Ethier’s season, or as I like to look at it, “Good Andre” & “Bad Andre”.
Good Andre!
4/6/09 – 5/5/09 – .327/.439/.574 1.013 OPS 6 HR
Bad Andre!
5/6/09 – 6/1/09 – .169/.260/.217 .477 OPS 0 HR
Good Andre!
6/2/09 – 6/9/09 – .444/.464/1.111 1.575 OPS 5 HR
Even better, it’s not like this is something new for him. Going back to 2008…
Good Andre!
3/31/08 – 5/27/08 – .309/.374/.451 .825 OPS 4 HR
Bad Andre!
5/28/08 – 7/1/08 – .204/.257/.357 .624 OPS 3 HR
Good Andre!
7/2/08 – 9/28/08 – .320/.426/.600 1.013 OPS 13 HR
You’ll note that, while his good run to start the 2009 season did end almost precisely when Manny was suspended, he’s hitting well now without him – and his hot 2008 streak did start nearly a month before Manny arrived.
Let’s hope that the “Good Andre” we’ve seen this past week is the one that sticks around all season, shall we?
**
Over at FanGraphs, the argument is that Orlando Hudson is making Ned Colletti look great, and it’s hard to disagree – Hudson’s been fantastic. However, I do have to take issue with how it’s framed; Hudson’s $3.8 million salary boosts up to nearly $8 million if he hits all his incentives, which looks likely, and the lost 1st round draft pick to Arizona also needs to be included in the cost as well. By no means do I regret the signing (yes, even though I was against it at the time – no one thought Hudson would play this well), but there’s more to it than meets the eye in this article.
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Indeed, “Good Andre” is important to the Dodger offense. And when Manny returns, he and AE make quite a heart-of-the-lineup duo. (Manny’s looseness appears to complement Andre, who seems susceptible to getting overly wound up and mental about things. Think of Manny as an expensive, but legal, relaxant.)
It also seems as if AE could develop into one of the main cogs on this team for years to come. This will, unfortunately, mean that Oaklanders will experience a regret similar to what Dodger fans feel when we think upon Pedro Martinez.
Comment by mk— June 10, 2009 #
MK – We obviously got the better part of the Ethier/Bradley deal, but it isn’t exactly the same as trading one of the best pitchers of all time for Juan Pierre at second base.
Comment by Alireza— June 10, 2009 #
pffft, delino deshields would’ve been lucky to be called JP at second base. he was just… AWEFUL.
Comment by sumdumfu— June 10, 2009 #
Don’t let emotion get in the way. Delino actually had more pop and knew how to better take a walk. He also played a more premium defensive position, especially after Pierre was moved to LF. Delino did, however, K more like a guy who’s power upside was 35 HR and not 10.
Comment by Alireza— June 10, 2009 #
but if Hudson hits all his incentives, he will have EARNED his extra ~$5 million. that still makes it a good signing.
and that first round pick won’t produce until 3 years from now, if at all.
his play makes this a good signing, period.
Comment by slam— June 10, 2009 #
Mila Kunis? Really? couldn’t get a Megan Fox in there in her place. Ouch. :)
Comment by Money— June 10, 2009 #
5 – Didn’t say it wasn’t worth it, just that the FanGraphs article didn’t mention either of those things.
6 – Good call, I was totally negligent in that. But go watch a trailer for the upcoming movie “Extract” and tell me that Mila’s a bad choice.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 11, 2009 #
mila kunis is totally money imo, and frankly if i had the choice to meet either one i’d rather meet mila. yes megan is nuclear hot, but her public image just SCREAMS biznatch.
Comment by sumdumfu— June 12, 2009 #
mila kunis is totally money imo, and frankly if i had the choice to meet either one i’d rather meet mila. yes megan is nuclear hot, but her public image just SCREAMS biznatch.
Comment by sumdumfu— June 12, 2009 #