Dodgers must be wary of trying to do too much while Andre Ethier is out

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Easy now. Nice and easy. Play, as coaches so love to say, within yourself.

For the first six weeks of the season, Andre Ethier was the best hitter in baseball. Not just on the Dodgers, but in the major leagues.

And now he’s out with a fractured finger. Out for an undetermined period.

Leaving the Dodgers with a giant chasm in their lineup. One that can’t be filled, so the best thing to do is not to try.

Not individually, certainly. Not even collectively, really.

Better for each Dodger to just play his game, for the Dodgers to make the best of each situation.

Anyone who tries to do too much flirts with disaster. Is taking a chance of getting out of his own game.

Manager Joe Torre is the guy who has to monitor all this, and he remains confident it will not be an issue.

‘I don’t think so, [not] with the type of role players we have,’ Torre said. ‘When you’re talking about the guys who are going to take his place, Reed Johnson and Garret Anderson, these guys are pretty well conditioned to know better than that. I think Matt [Kemp] is starting to swing the bat a little bit better right now.

‘I think we’ve all been tested with Manny [Ramirez] being on the disabled list. It really hurts you when you try to do that because it’s outside of your control. But I don’t expect that to happen.’

There is another factor that could aid them through their current situation. These Dodgers have been through similar challenges the last two years and can draw from past success.

‘I think it helps,’ Torre said. ‘It helps the young players more so than anyone else, which is really the core of this group. You go back two years, where [Rafael] Furcal had that great first month and then all of a sudden we lost him for the rest of the year. Then Manny [50-game suspension] last year.

‘Certainly that stuff is something that does help. It keeps you from looking too far ahead and realizing you have to go out and battle this team.’

-- Steve Dilbeck