Before it all goes away

You may have noticed that I can be a "glass is half empty" kind of guy. It's not like I'm perpetually miserable or anything. It just kind of comes with the territory of being a writer. I've known many writers in my life. They don't tend to be the "Up With People" type.

So, when it comes to being a fan, I'm not the "we're going to WIN!" person. I'm more the "we're going to lose in the most painful fashion possible" person.

I'm working on that.

Here is an example:

What Andre Ethier is doing right now is not something I could possibly think will last. Even if I was the most positive, bubbly airhead alive, I would have to think that Ethier couldn't hit like this for the rest of the season. But I want to be as positive as possible about this. I want it to last as long as it can, and if I can help in anyway, I'm here to do so.

To update, Ethier is leading the entire major leagues in average (.393), runs batted in (34), slugging percentage (.732) and OPS (1.184). He's first in the National League in home runs (10) and total bases (82), and second in the NL in on-base percentage (.452) and fourth in extra-base hits.

In my own little "Dodger Player of the Game" rundown on the sidebar, he has been named the player of the game EIGHT TIMES already. Last year, there were only four players who were named player of the game eight times all season.

I would rather have Ethier on my team more than any other hitter right now. And that includes Jayson Werth, Paul Konerko and Ryan Braun. (baseball-reference.com says Ethier is most similar at age 27 to Richie Zisk. Another one of my favorites).

I fully expect Ethier to be an All-Star, provided that there isn't some sort of slump looming on the horizon or pitchers start pitching to him differently (he's walked just 11 times).

But like I said, I'm here to help. In an effort to ward off any negativity regarding Ethier, I am going to show some of my favorite cards of him that I own while I have the chance. I have 76 Ethier cards, if I can trust my calculations. And after his most recent walk-off hit last week, I bought a few more. They'll be headed my way this week.

But here are some of the best so far. While he is the hottest hitter on the planet.

2007 Bowman blue border. This card does a nice job of showing Ethier's batting stance. Very calm and quiet. Ethier always seems to have an inquisitive look on his face as he waits for the pitch.

2008 Baseball Heroes and his parallel friends. Just by luck, I have more Heroes parallels of Ethier than any other Dodger. In the cards I just ordered, there are two more parallels. Hopefully, I'll complete the Ethier rainbow and then that'll get the whole rainbow thing out of my system.

2006 Bowman Heritage foil parallel. Shininess on old-style cards is just wrong. But it's an early Ethier card, so I like it.

2008 Upper Deck "Dual Swatch." Not much to pick from as far as the jersey cards. I have three of Ethier. None of them great. But I'll throw Upper Deck a bone and get all giddy over a "dual swatch."

2007 Allen & Ginter. My favorite of the Allen & Ginter base Ethier cards so far. Ethier was left out of a lot of sets in 2007, 2008 and 2009, but he's found his way into A&G each year.

2008 Topps Chrome blue refractor. Probably my favorite Ethier card at the moment.

2009 Heritage. Comfirmation that card companies finally thought of Ethier as a legitimate hitting talent. Took them long enough.

2006 Bowman Draft Picks, 2007 Bowman's Best, 2008 Allen & Ginter. Three autos from three different bloggers. Those are the best kinds of cards.

OK, hopefully, this will help Ethier avoid any kind of "statistical correction" in his future. The pessimist in me says it's only a matter of time. The optimist in me (I do let him come out to play ocassionally) says this display of cards will spur Ethier on to the Triple Crown! The World Series title!

And we know cards speak the truth.