Andre Ethier's biggest fan is not his wife, his children or the rest of his family. It's Matt Kemp.OK, probably not, but one could make the case with the way Kemp goes nuts every time Ethier does something well.
Check out this video of Ethier's go-ahead home run from Tuesday night's game. And this video from Saturday's game. And this video from Friday's "Shrimp" game. And this video from the April 11 game, which might be my favorite reaction from Kemp.
You get the point.
Oh, and the fact Kemp wants Ethier to be a Dodger long-term plays into his fandom.
"When it was all over, Matt Kemp was calling for the Dodgers' new ownership group to sign Ethier to a contract extension. Ethier, who is due to make $10.95 million this year, will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season."'I definitely would want him here for years to come,'" said Kemp, who signed an eight-year, $160-million deal in November."
I know I've been hard on Ethier, but I'm starting to come around on the idea of him getting an extension -- a reasonable extension. And if the game's best player wants someone extended, it might be best to keep said player happy. Not to mention it's the guy who's hitting directly behind him for a majority of the time.
Of course, not all players know best, but Ethier's on a tear right now and if he keeps it up (or if he doesn't completely crash), the Dodgers' offense will be a little more forceful than previously expected.
Here's my second piece for Chad Moriyama. It's about Joc Pederson's surprising debut with the Quakes on Monday.
"Much to my surprise, Joc Pederson made his season debut with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on Monday night. It was surprising because by all accounts, the 2010 11th-round pick was slated to begin the season in Midland, Mich., with the Great Lakes Loons."Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter as I'll be tweeting like crazy from Friday's Quakes' game. I'm expecting Zach Lee to start, but Brandon Lennox of True Blue LA informed me it might be Angel Sanchez. Either way, I'm in for a treat.
Dustin - I have noticed Matt going loony when Andre gets a significant hit. Matt seems to be a big kid and the Dodgers cheer leader. I hope that doesn't change. It will be interesting to see how he and Andre respond when they hit a dry spell, which they will.
ReplyDeleteI also was surprised to see Joc Pederson with the Quakes. Now I am waiting for O'Koyea Dickson to surface with the Loons,I expect. Jake Lemmerman is playing 2B with the Lookouts, or at least he did for the past couple of games. With Castellanos hot, it would appear, IDJ is the odd man out.