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Tonight is Andre Ethier Bobblehead Night at Dodger Stadium, but the featured bobblehead won't be playing. The league's leading slugger so far this season will miss at least two weeks with a broken pinkie on his right hand. That's the bottom hand when he swings, making the little finger kind of crucial. From Will Carroll, the injury guru at Baseball Prospectus:
The Dodgers don't need an injury, let alone one to Ethier. Ethier injured the finger during batting practice, but it's unclear exactly where the break is. If it's distal (toward the fingertip) then it's less integral to the grip. If it's closer to the hand, it's tougher. As a lefty hitter, it's his bottom hand, so with each swing, it's going to be either pushed against the knob of the bat or have to edge over it and be even more exposed. It's going to be nearly impossible to splint the finger in a way that won't affect his swing. Then again, while we don't know exactly how the fracture occurred, it's reasonable to think that a padded glove might have prevented this.
MInor leaguer Xavier Paul was called up to take Ethier's place on the roster. But the story of the Dodgers this week is rookie starting pitcher John Ely, who had another good game last night (the Dodgers eighth win in a row) and who hasn't walked anybody in 23 innings.