Ethereal
Ethereal: of or relating to the regions beyond the earth; celestial, heavenly; unworldly, spiritual!
I’m not quite sure what Billy Beane was thinking when he was considering trading Andre
Ethier. Isn’t this the guy that is/was considered the smartest baseball man on the planet? Hmmm. Either Ethier or.. Ether. Ethier … or Ether? Hmmmm…
Ether: akin to aíthein to glow, burn, ignite
For some reason Billy Ball had Milton Bradley on his wish list. He chose and got Ether for Ethier. Heaven knows why? He and the Oakland A’s then received their explosive property while the Dodgers’ Ned Colleti received a little piece of heaven itself and a very important piece in their team puzzle.
Ned Colletti’s first trade as general manager of the Dodgers was for a minor league outfielder he’d never seen in person. Colletti had concluded it would no longer work with Milton Bradley in Los Angeles, so 27 days after leaving the Giants’ assistant GM chair to run the Dodgers (huh? talk about ironic) he packaged Bradley and Antonio Perez to the A’s for Andre Ethier.
In 2005 with the Midland RockHounds Double-A team, Ethier hit .319 with 18 homers and was selected as the Texas League Most Valuable Player, Oakland Athletics Minor League Player of the Year, Texas League All-Star Outfielder and Texas League All-Star Game MVP.
What on earth was Billy Beane thinking?
Andre has been a Godsend to the LA Dodgers, especially this season where he has truly blossomed as one of the great talents in the National League. Not only is he gifted beyond belief, he has Hollywood good looks and performs under the brightest of spot lights.
Witness his 6 Walk Off hits this season, the most in the Major Leagues.
Yesterday, the Dodgers received a surrealistic pitching
performance by Vicente Padilla. His 1st inning jam put a scare in LA and heightened the expectations of the St. Louis crowd. But, a bluff was all the Cards could muster as Vicente escaped. From that moment on he ran the table and closed the door (and the season) on the Cardinals. Ethier and the
Dodgers pulled off an unexpected sweep… The first time St. Louis has ever been swept in the NLDS or NLCS… ever (sorry Jeff ; ) and only the 3rd time in Post Season history.
The Dodgers had already put pressure on the Cards before they even had a chance to bat. LA portrayed a mini two headed monster of their own, started by Manny Ramirez’ laser shot double into the left-center gap that chased home Matt Kemp and the Dodgers held a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning that they would never relinquish. Manny went on to post a 3 hit day that included another double and a total of 2 RBIs.
But it was Ethier that ignited the Dodgers.
He laced a towering Home Run to Right field in the 3rd that gave Vicente Padilla the padding he needed and the Dodgers never looked back. Andre concluded his Saturday onslaught by posting a double and a triple, falling a single shy of riding the cycle in the Post Season. A rare feat.
“I am just going up there and staying in the moment,” Ethier said. “I was looking for one pitch and I put a good swing on it.”
Congratulations Andre Ethier – You are Yesterday’s Hitter!
Yesterday's Hitter! 
Buz, in my opinion, Andre Ethier was the best player in this series. He had the biggest hits including two home runs. The Cardinals fell just flat. What a series that was.
Matthew Tang
http://matt7.mlblogs.com/
That was quite the homer yesterday for Ethier. It pretty much propelled the Dodgers to the win. Congrats to them and to Joe Torre!
– Lisa
http://perennialpinstriper.mlblogs.com/
Buz!
Ahhhhh How sweeeet the sweeeep!
What an outstanding performance by Padilla.
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And how sweeet that Andre Ethier got YH! What a treat for all Ethierholics! A well deserved award!
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Congratulations Andre!!
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
Matt, You’re right.. I think he hit like .. .500 for the series. He was banging the ball on every at bat.
Lisa, one of the video highlights on MLB.com was an interview with Joe Torre. It was a special thing to watch and listen to. You should look for it in the Highlights.
Emma and Cat.. I’m hoping we end up playing the Rockies. We had a good record against them.. and those darn Phils knocked us out last year. ; )
Thanks Buz
As you know I was eagerly awaiting your hitter of the day! Andre is also one of the all time nice guys as well. He is one of the Dodgers who spends a few minutes before each game signing for the fans. Success has not spoiled him. He was one of the players who sprayed me with champagne on the day they clinched the NLDS West. He really deserves your designation “Hitter of the Day.”
Thanks.
http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com
Thanks Buz. It was a very strange end to a very strange season for the Red Sox. They were not the models of consistency this year and have much work to do in the off-season.
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com
Julia… will you “adopt” a secondary team.. or just watch with no investment?
Andre was superb in the NLDS and had a great regular season. And to think he’s still maturing. Quite a talent the Dodgers have in him!
– http://janeheller.mlblogs.com
Jeff.. If they win it all. You can always say you got knocked out by the best team of the year… ala Dodgers last year. ; )
He’s really become a solid ballplayer. It’s been fun watching him mature, even if that meant beating my guys. Eh. No fun being a sore loser so I wish he and the Dodgers the best.
–Jeff
http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/
http://mtrredstatebluestate.com
Dude’s got some serious home run issues. He hits so many it isn’t even funny. I see a 40 HR hitter here in the future.
Ted
http://tribewithted.mlblogs.com/