Ethier's streak was what Dodgers needed

There is no telling what Andre Ethier's hitting streak will come to mean. Maybe he will be proven right for having said, as he did Friday, "It will be a nice filler for the media program next year. I guess it will be one of those Vin Scully trivia questions that pop up during the game."

Or he could be proven wrong for having said, "I don't think it's going to define my season or define this Dodger season in any way."

What is sure right now is that he has done some of the most timely hitting in the major leagues this season. The streak, which ended at 30 games Saturday night at Citi Field, came just when the Dodgers needed something -- anything -- to keep them interesting on the field.

After the Dodgers' 4-2 loss, Ethier saw reporters waiting at his locker and said: "Why the long faces? This is like looking at a bad breakup.

"I'm more disappointed with what we're going through," he said of the team's 1-5 May. "I thought maybe I'd go out on a high note with the streak and we'd have a win to show for it. But two negatives didn't make a positive in this situation."

While the franchise was on the verge of being taken over by Major League Baseball, while there was a report that soon-to-be-former owner Frank McCourt might not make the payroll, while big chunks of the roster were on the disabled list and while the club was falling below .500, Ethier saved them from sliding into oblivion.

In Los Angeles, the consequence of a horrendous season is not fans' outrage, it is indifference. At the very least, Ethier -- though he was far short of Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak -- has given the Dodgers and their followers something to talk about.

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For instance, there is the matter of Ethier's previous hitting streak, 23 games at Arizona State, which ended when his college career did. "Maybe you should look up my first couple of minor-league games. Maybe there was a continuation," he said.

There also is his background, which has come up at least once a day in news conferences before and after games.

He was born in Phoenix on April 10, 1982 -- the day Wade Boggs made his big-league debut and the Yankees traded Ron Davis (father of Mets first baseman Ike) to the Twins for Roy Smalley.

Ethier said Saturday, the eve of Mother's Day, that he credits his mom for being a passionate baseball fan who made sure he always went to practice when he felt like hanging out with his friends. The Dodgers rightfielder also credited his wife, Maggie, a former Arizona State gymnast, for making his professional life easier by taking good care of their 21/2- and 10-month-old children. The older one is a big baseball fan.

"He knows I play, but he doesn't know exactly what it is," Ethier said. "He just thinks I go out to the Fa-Fa Field. That's what he calls it."

And there is the easygoing manner with which Ethier handled all the attention. To reporters in other cities, he has seemed as Hollywood cool as Brad Pitt.

"He's got you fooled," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He's a lot like Paul O'Neill. He's a snapping [guy]. He drives you crazy when he doesn't get hits. But off the field, he's pretty mellow."

All of this goes down a whole lot easier than stories about McCourt's divorce and his battles with baseball commissioner Bud Selig. Since April 2, the streak has been a diversion from the expanses of empty seats at Chavez Ravine and all kinds of other bad news.

"I guess to say it's none of our business wouldn't be accurate," Ethier said. "It is our business, but it's a part of the business that's out of our hands and out of our control. It really has no bearing on what we do or how we play. It's between Major League Baseball and the owner."

The streak hitter said he often has felt awkward, discussing a single after the Dodgers have lost by a bunch. But the reality is, he has done his teammates a favor by keeping questioners away from them. The streak has been a daily positive in the negativity that has settled on the franchise like smog.

"It's fun to watch and fun to be a part of," teammate Jamey Carroll said.

Part of the fun has been reliving baseball history. Ethier learned who Zack Wheat was (he had a 29-game hitting streak for Brooklyn 95 years ago). When a reporter proffered a list of baseball landmark numbers, Ethier pointed to "56" and said, "I know that one because I'm reminded of it every day."

Mattingly got to talk about his share of a major-league record (home runs in eight consecutive games in 1987) and his own hitting streaks as a Yankee. "Joe D. would come in. Every time I'd get to 20, he would say something," Mattingly said, "and I'd go 0-for-4."

Ethier went 0-for-4 Saturday night, but at least it was good for his club while it lasted. "A lot of people were into it and I appreciate that," Ethier said. "It was a fun little run. I almost felt like grabbing the last ball, when I struck out, and saying 'There's the last out.' "

Mattingly had one last suggestion for him: "Start another one. Start another 30 tomorrow."