Jon SooHoo/© Los Angeles Dodgers, LLC 2013
By Jon Weisman
Speaking to reporters on Winter Development Camp media day at Dodger Stadium, Ned Colletti reiterated (among several topics, including the three-year-contract extension for Don Mattingly) that the team does not tolerate Yasiel Puig’s offseason mistakes — most recently an arrest speeding 110 mph in Florida — that conversations to educate him are ongoing and the outfielder has shown contrition.
“It’s a very interesting dynamic,” Colletti said. “I see a lot of different sides to it. I don’t condone what he’s done. I don’t know if it’s ironic, but it’s interesting to me that since the offseason began, he’s spent a lot of time in L.A., and he’s really spent a lot of time with kids. … He’s setting this great example and doing stuff I don’t see many big-league players do within the community. At the same time, there are boundaries you’ve got to stay in. Whether it’s how you drive or other things in your life, it’s part of growing up. That’s part of being responsible. That’s a key thing for us, and a key thing for him.”
Colletti said that he and Puig converse regularly, including the day he was arrested. He stressed that “he is an adult” and a 24/7 babysitter is nor what’s called for.
“He’s always been contrite with me,” Colletti added. “When I talked to him, he knew. He wasn’t in a good conversation, and he knew he wasn’t in a good spot. And he knew he had let a lot of people down. I said to him, ‘You did all this wonderful stuff in the community. How do you plan on explaining this to the kids? What if something tragic had happened — how are you going to explain that to the kids?’ ”
Colletti said several members of the organization continue to work with Puig to help him mature.
“We don’t condone the behavior,” Colletti said. “We do a lot of different things to teach and to mentor and to show him the responsibility that’s necessary … and educate to get to the point where the behavior conforms with what we need.”
Steven Lapham
hes still a kid, he will learn. ” You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living, but you gotta have a lot of little boy in you, too. ”
– Roy Campanella .
Jon Weisman
Notebook post above this.
Sam Garcia
Love the new blog, but you really need to change the color of links on your posts! The light gray is nearly impossible to read on a white background! Thanks, keep up the good work.
glsmithassociates
+1 on that change the colors Jon.
wwhitlock
Yes on the link color change.
glsmithassociates
I think Ned’s comments regarding Puig were spot on. I think Puig is a great talent and a good person, especially with the kids in the community. But he needs to grow up. As bad as the arrest for speeding is, the video did show a well behaved Puig during the process. We can only hope that this will be a lessen learned and he can become a better person from it.
Skylarwalker (@skylerwalkerla)
I don’t remember the Dodgers coming down this hard when Daryl Strawberry was battling his demons!. Puig’s good far outweighs the bad and the Dodger organization best recognize this. Stop preaching!!! Remember the Dodgers had no problem throwing out the people on Chavez Ravine when they wanted to build Dodger Stadium. Who check their behavior then?