The Dodgers fell in a nail-biter Sunday, but you’d never know.
A 7-6 defeat at the hands of the Rockies went by the wayside as everyone turned their heads to Andre Ethier, who wasn’t even in the lineup.
In TJ Simers’ Sunday column for the LA Times, Ethier said that his injured right knee, which will require off-season surgery, has hampered his swing. Ethier told Simers
“It’s only going to get worse from this point. I’ve dealt with it all season long, but as the season goes on my body wears down. That’s just the way it is — I keep getting put in the lineup, so what am I supposed to do?”
…
“Other than going into the training room every day and saying my knee hurts,” Ethier says, “and having six-inch needles stuck into it to make it feel better, I’ve told them my mechanics are messed up because of my knee. They know.
“But they’ve told me, ‘Grin and bear it.’”
The article spread like wildfire, reaching both manager Don Mattingly and GM Ned Colletti. Mattingly was infuriated by Ethier’s insinuation that the team was continually trotting him out to right field without concern for his knee, as he told the press.
“I’d rather lose my job and us not win than put a guy out there that has a chance of hurting himself and doing something that would affect his career in a long-term way in any shape or form, especially if he says, ‘Hey, I can’t go,’” Mattingly said.
Mattingly met with Ethier and General Manager Ned Colletti for about 15 minutes before the game to discuss Ethier’s comments from the previous day.
“He basically tells me that he’s never told us that he can’t play,” Mattingly said of Ethier. “I said, ‘The way I read it, it makes it sound like you came out and told us you can’t play and we’re saying, “Screw him, we don’t care. You’re playing.”‘”
Ethier made headlines prior to the start of the season when, after Chad Billingsley had signed a three-year contract extension, Andre appeared to resign himself to the possibility that 2011 would be his last year with Los Angeles. The constant controversy is enough to make fans think about how much of a commitment the Dodgers should make to Ethier after 2012.
The Dodgers get back to work Monday, taking on the San Diego Padres. Clayton Kershaw faces Mat Latos.
Tags: Andre Ethier, Don Mattingly, LA Times, Los Angeles Dodgers, Ned Colletti, TJ Simers
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Looks like Ethier took Manny lessons. There was a semi-vocal minority calling for the Dodgers to trade Ethier at the deadline – saying he was a malcontent, not a team player, was more concerned with getting himself out of LA… seems like they were right. Convenient that Ethier discloses his injury only after his number start tanking. If it was there all season, why did it have little effect during the first half? No, he wants to be in Boston with his buddy Pedroia, and he’s made it clear all year long that he expects not to be a Dodger much longer. I say, good riddance. Let’s see if the Red Sox want to take on Manny Jr. It’d be funny if they took a great big pass.