One Day at a Time

Back in July, if you even dared to imagine a Dodger coming through in the postseason, a safe bet would have been Andre Ethier, not Greg Maddux.

Ethier was hitting in the .340s at the time, looking to be rookie-of-the-year material. Maddux was a Chicago Cub -- a struggling Cub, at that.

Then Maddux’s arrival in a trade coincided with the Dodgers’ resurgence that made the playoffs a very real possibility. Then Ethier had a September that looked this way: .143 batting average, no home runs, two runs batted in, which made him a playoff afterthought.

And now when it matters most, when the Dodgers trail the New York Mets, 2-0, in their National League Division Series and are one game from elimination, Maddux will take the mound at Dodger Stadium tonight and Ethier probably will take a seat on the bench.

Manager Grady Little went with Maddux’s success at Dodger Stadium -- where he’s 3-1 with a 1.76 earned-run average and a .199 batting average against him this season -- in saving him until Game 3. That deprived us of a Game 2 matchup between Maddux and his former Atlanta Braves teammate Tom Glavine, who have six Cy Young Awards between them.

That doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of intrigue today. This could be the last game of Maddux’s Hall of Fame career, a possibility that has or hasn’t occupied his mind, depending on which of his conflicting statements you believe.

“I’ve thought of that a few times, but no,” Maddux said. “I think I’ll make my decision when it’s time and right now it’s not the time.”

Later he said, “I honestly haven’t thought about it. There’s way too much on my plate right now to worry about next year. I’m doing what I can to put myself in position to have success for the rest of the season. And once the season is over, that’s when things change.”

As if the situation weren’t inspirational enough, Maddux’s competitive flames must be burning even higher after watching Glavine pitch six shutout innings to win Game 2. In Atlanta they were friendly but fierce golfing rivals, and now Maddux will have to outdo Glavine on the baseball diamond.

“I wish we could have beat him, but Glav, he’s a lot better pitcher now than he was five years ago,” Maddux said. “He uses both sides of the plate better.”

When asked how he has changed himself, Maddux joked: “I got slower.”

Of greater concern to the Dodgers is the drop in Maddux’s stamina. In the 1990s, he was usually good for nine or 10 complete games a year. Last year he had three. He has none this year, and has thrown more than 87 pitches only once as a Dodger.

Another disturbing trend for L.A.: Maddux has lost five of his last six playoff decisions.

Little doesn’t have many options left. He has to go with Maddux as long as he can, especially because Joe “Barroom” Beimel is unavailable.

He does have a choice in left field, where he apparently will stay with Marlon Anderson. The Dodgers’ lineup could use a jolt. If Ethier has any of the left-handed swings he used in the first half of the season left in him, it might be worth a try against Mets right-hander Steve Trachsel. But Little indicated he’ll go with Anderson, who had some clutch hits in the season’s final weeks.

“Marlon Anderson’s done such a great job for us since he joined the ballclub,” Little said. “It’s going to be hard for me to take him out of the lineup right now. I suspect Marlon will be in there [today] in left field.”

And Ethier will be back on the bench.

“It’s tough, but at the same time, the team goal is what we’ve been trying to achieve,” Ethier said. “You don’t like some of it, but you’ve got to smile and grin and have fun. Got to look at the bright side: At least you’re still up here in the major leagues.”

You can also look at this side: Right now the Oakland Athletics are loving the trade that brought the volatile Milton Bradley to their clubhouse in exchange for Ethier. Bradley hit a home run to help the A’s finish off the Minnesota Twins on Friday. Although Ethier isn’t a risk to spill coffee on Maddux today (as Bradley did to A’s Game 2 starter Esteban Loaiza), Ethier has yet to come to the plate in the postseason.

A little something to consider as we evaluate Ned Colletti’s first year as Dodgers general manager.

But today is all about another Colletti move. He brought in Maddux to help the Dodgers get to the playoffs. Now it’s up to Maddux to keep them there.

*

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read more by Adande, go to latimes.com/adandeblog.