Ethier's Last Chapter Closes The Book of Ely
by Eric Stephen on May 6, 2010 11:00 PM PDT
in Dodgers Game Recaps
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On a night John Ely was the story in his second big league start, the man who barely knew him closed out the game with a familiar ending. Andre Ethier's 11th career walk-off hit, a grand slam in the ninth, gave the Dodgers a dramatic 7-3 win in the final game of the series with the Brewers. The night before Ely's first major league start, last week in New York, Ethier didn't know who Ely was. Per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
"Who?" said right fielder Andre Ethier, when told by reporters. "I don’t even know who’s starting for us. I don’t even know who that is. I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but I don’t know him."
I think it's safe to say Ethier knows who Ely is after tonight. Whether or not tonight was his last start before being sent down, Ely made it count. His wonderful pitching earned the Dodgers a 3-1 lead, and a rare save opportunity for Jonathan Broxton, just his third on the season. But the Brewers turned four hits off Broxton into the tying runs, killing Ely's chance at his first major league win.
Ely was magnificent tonight, walking nobody while striking out seven in his 6 2/3 innings. He pounded the strike zone all night, throwing two-thirds of his 108 pitches for strikes. Ely is just the seventh Los Angeles Dodger starter in his first or second MLB game to not walk a batter, and he is tied with a fellow named Pedro Martinez for the most strikeouts:
| LA Dodger Starters w/ No Walks in 1st or 2nd Game | ||||||||
| Pitcher | Date | Gm | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| John Ely | tonight | 2 | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Pedro Martinez | 9/30/92 | 2 | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| Hiroki Kuroda | 4/4/08 | 1 | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Edwin Jackson | 9/9/03 | 1 | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Doug Rau | 9/7/72 | 2 | 7.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Doyle Alexander |
6/26/71 | 1 | 8.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Tim Belcher | 9/9/87 | 2 | 5.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Ely was removed after giving up his only run on an single to Gregg Zaun in the seventh inning, after his 12-pitch at-bat. More importantly, the tying run came to the plate in the form of Corey Hart, but Ronald Belisario struck him out to end the threat.
Jeff Weaver is due to be activated tomorrow, and a corresponding roster move will have to be made. As unfair as it may seem to option Ely back to Albuquerque after his great start tonight, the move would not be unprecedented. In 1989, the Dodgers played the famous 22-inning game in Houston (the Jeff Hamilton game), followed by a 13-inning game the very next day. Well, wouldn’t you know it, they had a doubleheader scheduled the next day in Atlanta, and were understandably short on pitchers (Orel Hersisher pitched seven innings in relief in the 22-inning game).
Ramon Martinez, who by that point had nine big league games and six starts to his credit (from 1988), was recalled to pitch game one against the Braves. All he did was pitch a shutout, and then got sent back down to Triple A in between games of the doubleheader! (Note: for more details on this series of games, see chapter 89 in Jon Weisman's 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.)
Other Notes
- James Loney's sacrifice fly in the first inning gave him an RBI in six straight games, the longest streak of his career. The last Dodger to have a longer RBI streak was the other Ramon Martinez, in August 2007
- After 20 RBI in the first 14 games of the season, Matt Kemp has not driven in a run in his last 14 games
- Ely retired 16 batters in a row at one point tonight. Per the Dodger game notes, "it was the most consecutive batters a Dodger pitcher had retired since Hiroki Kuroda set down 19 straight Giants on September 11, 2009 at San Francisco."
- Jim Edmonds wore the Golden Sombrero tonight, striking out three times against Ely, and once against Broxton (the latter on a questionable call)
- Broxton gave up his first two runs of the season, and is now one for three in save opportunities
WP - Jonathan Broxton (2-0): 1 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 strikeouts
LP - LaTroy Hawkins (0-3): 1/3 IP, 3 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk
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hey guys, how's THIS for foreshadowing?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like this montage was posted today- BEFORE tonight’s game!
ethiers a beast...
he is a machine when the game is on the line
Jesus Christ did the A's miss badly on Ethier and Bradley.
I’m not going to complain about Carlos Santana anymore. He’s not going to be as good as Ethier is as a hitter.
well, you can still complain about it
but there is almost no chance the trade will be nearly as lopsided no matter HOW good CS is, given what Beard(less) has done for this team before our dearly departed catcher has one single at bat in the majors.
(Incidentally, A’s fans are surprisingly sanguine about it, which is the REAL genius of Billy Beane.)
what exactly did Blake do in those two months he was under contract as a result of the trade
do people purposely gloss over that fact
by Chad Moriyama on May 7, 2010 12:47 AM PDT up reply actions
ah c'mon
he was a GAMER … with a BEARD!!
Facts? You want empirical evidence? Ha! He OPS+’d 100! Blake DeWitt NO WAY could have done that!!! No way could he have been a league average hitter and league average fielder for two months. Nope. He could not have done that.
And who’d we give up? Only overrated Carlos Santana who doesn’t even have a major league at bat! He’ll be in the minors his whole career. These Dodger bloggers get so worked up over dumb PROSPECTS.
by Seanny Rotten on May 7, 2010 11:36 AM PDT up reply actions
I'm recommending this game recap before I even read it.
And no, it’s not because I know Eric’s writing to be excellent. (Although your writing is excellent, Eric.)
the "silver sombrero" for edmonds
according to Lyons
by SeanMillerSavior on May 6, 2010 11:06 PM PDT reply actions
maybe he was isolating only Edmonds’ ABs vs Ely :)
by Eric Stephen on May 6, 2010 11:07 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't know how we send Ely down.
I mean, it’s GOTTA be Ramon Ortiz, right? DFA him, right?
One other thing regarding Xavier Paul – he stays and Garret gets DFA’d, right? Right? No way you keep an old, not even hitting .200 slow outfielder over new hotness, right??!!?
It makes TOO MUCH sense.
Which means both Ely and Paul will get sent down.
the (waning) GA apologist side of me says
that you can keep GA for the now, as Paul really should get more at bats than 4 or 5 in a week.
But yeah, RaOrtiz has GOT to go….
see
that’s crazy, insane-o Brian Sabean inspired looney talk! Sunk cost fallacy fully on display.
by Seanny Rotten on May 6, 2010 11:10 PM PDT up reply actions
not even that!
HIGH SCHOOL econ will break you of that!!
by Seanny Rotten on May 6, 2010 11:11 PM PDT up reply actions
come on, guys, let's go a LITTLE easy on him
6 months ago, a lot of people were saying we should swap one bad contract (JP’s) for another. And yet, he got Ely!
Besides, nothing’s been done yet. Let’s wait until it happens before mocking him ruthlessly.
Dude . . .
2 ML starts … why don’t we wait JUST a bit before we call this a raving success.
by Seanny Rotten on May 6, 2010 11:13 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm not calling him a raving success
I’m basically saying it’s kind of ironic on THIS night to mock Ned for all his veteran-love.
I'm not saying YOU are full of shit
what’s full of shit is the line of thinking you hit on. The sad thing is you’re probably right.
by Seanny Rotten on May 6, 2010 11:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Or . . .
we can make the entire thing moot and send Sherrill to the 15 day DL.
by Seanny Rotten on May 6, 2010 11:14 PM PDT up reply actions
Andre Ethier is a supercilious man.
Main Entry: su·per·cil·ious
Pronunciation: \-ˈsi-lē-əs,ˈsil-yəs\+ -cilium eyelid (akin to celare to hide) — more at hell
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin superciliosus, from supercilium eyebrow, haughtiness, from super
Date: 1614
: coolly and patronizingly haughty
synonyms see proud
— su·per·cil·ious·ly adverb
— su·per·cil·ious·ness noun
he’s patronizingly haughty? did i miss a comment?
The Ultimate Ned's Kind of Guy
by Humma Kavula on May 6, 2010 11:11 PM PDT up reply actions
you can like the word, but it’s not a compliment to ethier.
The Ultimate Ned's Kind of Guy
by Humma Kavula on May 6, 2010 11:12 PM PDT up reply actions
Technically you missed that it went to 100% when Ethier hit it in the air
Once the ball went over the outfielder’s head, Ethier was just grandstanding
by Cool Dudes on May 6, 2010 11:14 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'm late, but, yeah, he has what Lyons called "composure" -
both on the mound, and in that interview. Sounds like a fun guy, good teammate, that kind of thing.
by TopDeckTrueBlue on May 7, 2010 10:35 AM PDT up reply actions
Wins are Even Better than Saves!
I forgot we even had Broxton after he got held up for the entire Spring training with passport problems in Norway and missing the entire beginning of the season, I’m glad Ely and Bellasario have been around so long to pitch so many more innings than John.
Glad Big John showed Ely that you have to earn your wins, not just go out there and pitch shutout innings, that’s not always enough.
You have to hand it to the Dodgers, they really come out and give Broxton some run support, four runs in 1/3 of an inning, that’s like a 108 ERA against. That’s some pretty awesome run support! Well I’m glad John’s back from the Artic Circle and am looking forward to seeing him pitch a whole lot more as long as Weaver Jr!
by Cool Dudes on May 6, 2010 11:11 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Michael Eaves
called Ely “Jason” to both Torre and John himself. Ely corrected Eaves, with good humor
I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but I don’t know him.
by silverwidow on May 6, 2010 11:16 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
Thanks
that reminded me to switch over. I have to listen online (can’t pick up KABC on radio) and before 11 the online feed hadn’t switched back over yet…it was on their normal programming (yech)
by Eric Stephen on May 6, 2010 11:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Triple Crown Update
AVG: Ethier .371
Pudge is 31 for 77 (.403), but is 3 PA short…31 for 80 = .388
HR: Ethier 10
tied with Kelly Johnson
RBI: Ethier 30
1st
well then
Andre’s just gonna have to go 5 for 5 next game, to ensure that when Pudge DOES qualify, it won’t matter!
actually,
he won someting like $140/150MM of the present value. The only way he collects the entire amount is he’s a moron and elects for the 26 annual payments.
by Seanny Rotten on May 7, 2010 11:38 AM PDT up reply actions
Jim Peltz sucks. On the L.A. Times headline page, he describes Ely’s start as “solid.” Is he for serious? SOLID?!
That’s the best the Times can afford these days
Sometimes you get what you pay for
by 68elcamino427 on May 6, 2010 11:26 PM PDT up reply actions
He did write this though
Andre Ethier blasted another of his patented walk-off home runs in the ninth inning — this time a grand slam — to lift the Dodgers past the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-3, on Thursday night after the Dodgers came close to wasting a gem by rookie right-hander John Ely.
That’s the editor’s headline and subheader
by Eric Stephen on May 6, 2010 11:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Thought this was funny
from Jim Peltz in the LA Times, Andre Ethier talking triple crown:
“They’re totally different categories,” he said. "There are guys who hit .250 and have 120, 130, 140 RBIs a year, and there are guys in this league who hit .360 and only have 90 RBIs to show for it. Guys are more specifically geared toward one direction.
Number of .250 hitters with 120+ RBI: four, from 1901-2009. Most RBI: 126
Joe Carter not one of the four, but he's gotta get an honorable mention
Especially for his 1990 season when he drove in 115 runs while hitting a cool .232. I guess Carter was specifically geared towards getting a lot of ABs (led the league) and hitting ahead of Bip Roberts, Robbie Alomar, and Tony Gwynn. (Oh, and later on I suppose he was geared towards hitting WS winning HRs).
Anyway, that was the year of my life that I realized that maybe the RBI wasn’t really the great stat it was portrayed to be. In that way, I hope some kid was watching tonight’s game, saw the box score with the W next to Broxton’s name and thought to himself, “wins are dumb.”
by insomniacslounge on May 7, 2010 12:32 AM PDT up reply actions
Ryan Howard
should get some honorable mention as well.
They should bring back the GWRBI
in cases like this, and not award a “W”. Or, maybe an official “No Decision.” Not like Broxton pitched well enough to win, only not to lose.
by TopDeckTrueBlue on May 7, 2010 10:39 AM PDT up reply actions
Hi there, good to see you!
I hope your son’s doing great. I cried my eyes out reading your posts where you showed him on the floor at Pauley with the cheerleaders over on bruinsnation.com. I truly wish your little one the best.
by Seanny Rotten on May 7, 2010 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions
Thank you for the message, Seanny Rotten
The last few months have been up and down for my son, but he does an amazing job of making the most of each day regardless of what it offers. I’ve certainly been inspired by his ability to find so much joy despite his struggles.
On a Dodgers note, he met Andre Ethier and Tommy Lasorda over at City of Hope recently and is now a huge Dodgers fan. I’ve gotten him out to one game this year (the night of the UCLA colored Dodgers’ cap giveaway), which we actually won, and hope to get him out to quite a few more over the course of the season. Now that the nights are starting to warm up, we definitely need to make a few more memories at the ballpark.
by insomniacslounge on May 8, 2010 1:06 AM PDT up reply actions
Thanks for the news.
I truly wish you all the best. Your little guy is too good of a kid to have to be so brave.
by Seanny Rotten on May 9, 2010 11:11 PM PDT up reply actions
More good quotes:
“I don’t know what it is, for some … reason I just keep getting up in that situation where I get an opportunity to do it,” Ethier said of his history of walk-off hits. “I can’t figure it out. But it definitely makes it a lot easier when there’s a guy standing on third with one out.”
Even Dodgers Manager Joe Torre marveled at Ethier’s record. “I don’t remember anybody being as heroic as he’s been out of all the guys I’ve managed,” he said.
Ely said he didn’t mind missing his first big league win. “You can’t be disappointed about not getting a win in that situation,” he said. “That is a huge team win. Just to come back, and Andre — this guy is unbelievable, huh?”
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers-brewers-20100507,0,4747335.story
I doubt the authenticity of that, at least to the point that a team can “want” whatever it wants, but it doesn’t mean a trade involving those player(s) was close to happening
by Eric Stephen on May 6, 2010 11:39 PM PDT up reply actions
checking mlbtr.com it was a Joel Sherman rumor post. The NYPost isn’t listing the article, but here is what MLBTR says about it.
2:36pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post has the Dodgers in the lead for Manny. The Red Sox would eat most or all of the $7MM remaining on Ramirez’s deal, and then receive a player like Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier. Such a deal would enable the Sox to enter the Mark Teixeira bidding.
yeah and we want Felix Hernandez for Ramon Ortiz
doesn’t mean we’re going to get that deal done.
by Seanny Rotten on May 7, 2010 11:42 AM PDT up reply actions
you can catch bitch hunter tomorrow. he’ll be waiting.
by hee came hee seop'd he choi'd on May 7, 2010 12:04 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
same array of pitches
not a great fastball …. average curve… good changes… both throw a slider cutter hybrid…
ely really impressed me tonight with his command and how quickly he worked…
Too early to talk Triple Crown for Ethier?
The numbers speak for themselves: http://bit.ly/aYU53D
Way too early
we should wait ’til at least the all-star break.
How nice would it be if Etheir won a Triple Crown before Pujols?
by Seanny Rotten on May 7, 2010 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions
Hello all
Well I finally have some time to post. I had to watch the game late so I saw the Dre Bomb long after the game finished. Ely pitched a great game. R Ortiz should go down along with GA. Brox needs more playing time, he’s rusty. I hope we can take it to the Rockies. Good night.
by Skunkburner on May 7, 2010 1:01 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Jason Smith on ESPN Radio is talking about Ethier...
…and he doesn’t even have a baseball guest on! I’m only bringing this up because I think it’s a good barometer of whether the man-on-the-street has taken any notice of Andre and what he’s been doing. It did make me chuckle a bit that he still feels obligated to say, “Andre Ethier of the Los Angeles Dodgers,” juuust in case you weren’t sure! heh
I got a lot of mileage...
…here out of making fun of Ned the other day. So it’s only fair to say, I would have dumped Pierre just for the salary savings. Getting Link and Ely away from Kenny Williams was pretty darned impressive. (But Ned, you lose points if Ortiz or Anderson stay for Ely). As for Dre, well, what can you say?
by Little Blue Bicycle on May 7, 2010 6:13 AM PDT reply actions
Tim Hudson's quote annoyed me...
“He’s got pretty good stuff but, let’s be honest here: I don’t think he’s got no-hit stuff,” said Atlanta starter Tim Hudson
by CarolinaDodger on May 7, 2010 7:14 AM PDT up reply actions
Ely
He’s the story here. Amazing start. I saw a 89-91 mph fastball that looked to straighten out the harder he threw it but had good movement in the high 80s. I saw a really nice changeup that was a legit swing-and-miss pitch with two strikes. And, I saw a decent slow curveball that was deceiving enough to be thrown for called strikes. Oh, and excellent control. (I’ll let others speak for the command, but he looked to be putting it where he wanted to.) I’m going on the record as saying Ely is better than D.J. Houlton!
On Prime Ticket, he hit 91 a few times. That’s the highest I saw though I didn’t see every pitch. I imagine Gameday’s reading is more accurate? In any event, he had surprisely good movement on his fastball: a lot of sink from what I saw.
Paul
Think Ned might have the cojones to keep Paul when Manny returns and DFA Anderson?
On the one hand, Paul has done all that you could have asked him to do
on this call up but when Manny comes back, he’s a 5th outfielder who just isn’t going to play that much. History tells us that in that situation, he goes back to AAA.
Basically
having him around to pinch hit and be a defensive replacement is not a good use of his skills.
Well Johnson is going to play probably once a week for Manny
And less often for when Kemp and Ethier take a day off.
Xavier could see a start once every couple of weeks but short of an injury, when are going to give Matt and Andre a day off.
I certainly hope so.
I understand Paul needs regular AB’s, but I say keep him up – he can play all 3 OF positions and he can easily move ahead of Reed Johnson as the 4th OF and get possibly two starts a week and tons of playing time as a late inning defensive replacement for Manny (did you SEE that catch last night!?!)
by Seanny Rotten on May 7, 2010 11:44 AM PDT up reply actions
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