Yasiel Puig – Page 13 – Dodger Thoughts

Video: Yasiel Puig’s 10 greatest catches

On May 5, 2014

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By Jon Weisman

Yasiel Puig is day to day after hitting the wall in an all-out attempt to reel in Jeff Baker’s game-winning drive Sunday for Miami. Though he didn’t make the catch, it was a spectacular effort, and hardly the first time the spiritual descendant of Pete Reiser has gone mano-a-fenco or thrown his body into a spectacular catch.

Below, I’ve compiled what I believe to be the 10 greatest catches of Puig’s 11-month Major League career. It’s a pretty nice highlight reel in a short amount of time — especially because I’ve saved the throws for another day.

Even on 0-for-5 day, Gordon’s speed a factor in Dodger victory

By Jon Weisman

On May 1, 2014

In Postgame

By Jon Weisman

For the second game in a row, Dodger bats were hot in the cold, the team reaching base 21 times — led by Yasiel Puig with five — in a 9-4 victory over Minnesota to start today’s doubleheader.

Because I featured Puig on Wednesday, let’s focus on a huge play in the game that came early, after the Dodgers made two errors in a two-run first inning for the Twins.

Andre Ethier and Juan Uribe singled to start the top of the second, and Miguel Olivo (2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly in his Dodger debut) walked to load the bases. Carl Crawford grounded into a force at home for the first out.

Dee Gordon came up and hit what appeared to be a sure double-play grounder to short. But with his amazing speed, he narrowly beat the throw to first base, scoring a run and keeping the inning alive.

Puig then slammed a double to deep left-center to score Crawford and Gordon, and the Dodgers were on their way.

Gordon also stole his 14th base of the season, giving him 80 for his career in exactly 100 attempts. You do the math.

With four hits and a walk, Puig, whose OPS has risen to .900, became the first Dodger to reach base five times in a game since Carl Crawford on August 7. Juan Uribe had three hits (his seventh such game in 2014), while Adrian Gonzalez had a single and three walks. Hanley Ramirez went 0 for 5 but had two sparking plays on defense, one a glove flip to Gordon for a double-play, with an assist from instant replay.

Dan Haren allowed three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven. Chris Perez earned an unusual save, because he entered the game in the bottom of the eighth with the tying run on deck and then finished it out in the ninth.

Um, so, Yasiel Puig is having a good season

By Jon Weisman

On April 30, 2014

In Postgame

No. 10,000! pic.twitter.com/Hut8ak1Uj4

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 1, 2014

By Jon Weisman

So yeah, Zack Greinke is amazing and yeah, Adrian Gonzalez keeps on rockin’ and yeah, Dee Gordon is greased lightnin’.

So who is quietly – that’s right, quietly, off the radar, with little fanfare or media attention – one of the Dodgers’ top contributors in 2014.

Some guy named Yasiel Puig.

According to Fangraphs, Puig was the 2014 Dodgers’ fourth most valuable position player entering play tonight, trailing Gordon, Juan Uribe and Gonzalez. He was also neck-and-neck-and-neck with Ryan Braun and Jason Heyward for third place among National League right fielders.

And that was before Puig went 2 for 4 in the Dodgers’ 6-4 victory over Minnesota, raising his on-base percentage to .364 and slugging percentage to .471.

But you wouldn’t know it, given that almost all the discussion about Puig this year has been about his shortcomings and other off-the-field stories.

Admittedly, with three home runs in 27 games, it doesn’t really feel like Puig has unleashed the power the way he did upon his arrival in 2013. On the other hand, we keep hearing about pitchers are adjusting to Puig, and he hasn’t exactly fallen apart. Far from it.

Tonight was Puig’s 190th game on American soil, including Double-A, Single-A and the Dodgers’ Arizona Rookie League team. That’s it. It’s still reasonable to say the guy is just getting started, and his career Major League OPS remains above .900.

With Clayton Kershaw passing his latest test, Greinke extending his authoritative pitching with a six-inning, one-run (unearned) outing, the offense amassing 16 baserunners and the franchise recording its 10,000th NL victory, it was a good night. Even if the bottom of the ninth was an adventure.

Beckett a ray of sunshine for dampened Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

On April 25, 2014

In Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

In general, rain is as welcome in Southern California as an eight-inning, two-run outing by Josh Beckett is welcome to the Dodgers.

The combination of the two certainly made for strange bedfellows Friday, punctuated by the Dodgers setting a modern franchise record by playing their sixth extra-inning game of April (according to my research at Baseball-Reference.com).

Tonight, it was the Dodgers who ended up all wet, falling 5-4 in 11 innings, despite a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th by Adrian Gonzalez, his team-leading seventh of the year.

In the past 17 days, Dodgers have lost their past five extra-inning games, their longest streak since they lost five overtime games in a similarly shocking short stretch, from August 7-25, 2009.

Don’t blame Beckett. The righthander, coming back from season-ending injuries nearly a year ago, gave up two solo home runs in the second inning but allowed only two other baserunners, a fourth-inning single by Justin Morneau and an eighth-inning single by DJ LeMahieu. In between those last two hits, he retired 11 in a row, and when he got Charlie Blackmon to ground out to second to end the eighth inning, he had lowered his ERA to 2.45.

This was Beckett’s longest outing since losing an 8 1/3-inning complete game on April 14, 2013 and the longest outing by a Dodger this year. And Beckett did it with only 99 pitches. In his past three starts, Beckett has gone 18 innings, allowing two runs (1.00 ERA) on seven hits and seven walks with 17 strikeouts.

But what could have been a tidy, sub-3:00 victory instead extended to extra innings, with the Dodgers scoring two runs in regulation themselves — both driven home by Yasiel Puig. Puig hit a solo homer in the first inning, and then, after Dee Gordon’s remarkable infield double — yes, that’s right — Puig hit an RBI single in the third.

It’s only April, and Dodger Stadium this year has seen rain, an earthquake and a giant sheet of ice (and just barely inside the time limit on this Friday Night Fireworks night, giant sparks of light shooting in the sky). What lies ahead, one can only wonder … although signs of an approaching Clayton Kershaw are getting brighter and brighter.

This time, again

By Jon Weisman

On April 20, 2014

In Postgame

By Jon Weisman

When I posted my picks for the top 10 Dodger home runs of 2013, it was noted to me that Arizona’s Josh Collmenter gave up three of the 10 – which was surprising simply from a “What are the odds?” standpoint, as well as the fact that Collmenter allowed only eight in 92 innings last season.

Yasiel Puig goes Yasiel Puig

By Jon Weisman

On April 17, 2014

In Defense

By Jon Weisman

At this point, you could argue that Yasiel Puig is single-handedly funding the Internet, with all the clicks he is generating.

With two consecutive plays in the third inning of today’s Dodger game at San Francisco, Puig once again left the baseball world agog.

First, there was this not-by-design, 9-3 forceout.

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Then, this whirling dervish of a catch in windy deep right.

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I mean …

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) April 17, 2014

That’s the most Puig thing that ever Puig’d.

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) April 17, 2014

That had to be the most entertaining half-inning by a right fielder in the history of the game

— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) April 17, 2014

It took four hours to tell the story of Ben Hur. It took one minute to tell the story of Yasiel Puig.

— Grant Brisbee (@mccoveychron) April 17, 2014

On a scale of Puig to Puig, that inning was the most Puig ever

— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) April 17, 2014

April 11 pregame: Puig returns

By Jon Weisman

On April 11, 2014

In Health/injuries, Pregame

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m.
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
Tim Federowicz, C
Dee Gordon, 2B
Hyun-Jin Ryu, P

By Jon Weisman

Yasiel Puig makes his first start since Saturday for the Dodgers tonight. From Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:

Puig took early batting practice Friday at Chase Field and did outfield drills, appearing tentative catching line drives in particular.

“We’ll see what it looks like tonight,” said manager Don Mattingly.

Elsewhere …

In addition to leading the Majors in stolen bases, the Dodgers are tops in doubles.
Brandon McCarthy is the ninth righthanded starting pitcher the Dodgers have faced in 11 games. The Dodgers have a .777 OPS against righties this year, .579 against lefties.
Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Juan Uribe have started every game this season and have played all 91 of the Dodgers’ innings in 2014.
Uribe has 27 assists without an error, yet to record a putout. He had 62 putouts last year.
The long and winding road for Seth Rosin has brought him back to where he was last season, in the Phillies organization.

April 6 pregame: Ethier, Greinke lead Dodgers into series finale against Cain

By Jon Weisman

On April 6, 2014

In Health/injuries, Pregame, Uncategorized

By Jon Weisman

Andre Ethier has faced Matt Cain more than any other pitcher during his nine-year big-league career and has gone 30 for 68 with four doubles, a triple, a homer, five walks and a 1.040 OPS against the righthander. Ethier has a .385 on-base percentage and .419 slugging in 26 plate appearances for the Dodgers in 2014.

Giants at Dodgers, 5:05 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Carl Crawford, LF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, RF
Matt Kemp, CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Zack Greinke, P

Zack Greinke has made 13 consecutive starts of at least five innings without allowing more than two runs. According to the Dodger press notes, only three pitchers since 1914 have longer streaks, led by Mat Latos with 15 in 2010.

Yasiel Puig’s thumb X-rays were negative, but he is having an MRI exam today. Ken Gurnick has more at MLB.com.

Uphill battles continue for Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

On April 6, 2014

In Health/injuries, Postgame

By Jon Weisman

Another deficit, another comeback attempt thwarted by a close play — in this case, A.J. Ellis removed by an inch at home plate from becoming the Dodgers’ third run in what ended up Saturday’s 7-2 loss to San Francisco (recapped by Ken Gurnick of MLB.com).

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In the past two games, Don Mattingly has used 10 relievers, who have combined to allow only two runs over 11 2/3 innings while striking out 14. But the Dodgers have been victimized by big innings — six runs in the first on Friday, four in the fifth on Saturday.

Paul Maholm was hanging with Madison Bumgarner until he faced Pablo Sandoval with two runners on in that fifth inning. With Jose Dominguez warming up in the bullpen, Maholm gave up a three-run home run. As if to illustrate the rock and hard place Mattingly arguably found himself between, Dominguez then entered the game and immediately gave up a home run to Buster Posey.

Maholm told Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. that the pitch to Sandoval was “a cutter that didn’t cut.”

Yasiel Puig didn’t come out for a relief outfielder, even though he injured his thumb on a head-first slide to first base. Still, the injury was enough for the Dodgers to have it X-rayed. There was no immediate word that Puig would have to miss a start, though he could obviously be the fourth outfielder tonight for the Dodgers when Zack Greinke challenges Matt Cain in a fine Sunday Night Baseball matchup.

Later, Brian Wilson was back on a mound, throwing a perfect inning with one strikeout for Rancho Cucamonga.

* * *

Jon SooHoo’s Saturday photos can be found at the LA Photog Blog.

Puig apologetic, Mattingly forgiving after benching

By Jon Weisman

On April 4, 2014

In Uncategorized

By Jon Weisman

Though Don Mattingly removed Yasiel Puig from the starting lineup for today’s home opener at Dodger Stadium, the Dodger manager felt Puig was properly contrite and was prepared to use him off the bench.

“I thought he was humble today,” Mattingly said after the Dodgers’ 8-4 loss. “He truly felt bad. You can tell in his body language. He doesn’t hide things very well.

“I think he truly thought (his required arrival time) was later. That doesn’t keep him from being responsible. I thought he handled it well.”

The Dodgers used three pinch-hitters today — Scott Van Slyke and Justin Turner with runners on in the fourth and sixth innings and Chone Figgins leading off the bottom of the ninth — but Mattingly emphasized that Puig was an option, presumably if the game was late and within reach.

“I’m trying to win a game,” Mattingly said. “I’m trying to keep him for the right spot. That’s not a question that if we get guys on and get enough guys on, in the right kind of situation, I would have used Yasiel today.”

Speaking to SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo after today’s game, Puig was repeatedly apologetic for his tardiness.

“It was 100 percent my fault,” Puig said. “It was nothing to do with my teammates and my manager. I didn’t realize stretch was as early as it was. But it was absolutely my fault, and I ask forgiveness from my teammates and obviously from my manager.”

Puig said that once he realized he was late, he knew that “there’s pretty much no chance that you’re going to play, and I certainly felt bad about that.”

“I want to ask forgiveness from the fans,” he added. “I was very sad that I wasn’t able to play on Opening Day. It’s something that I’m not proud of and I take full responsibility.”

Two victories in, Dodger ups and downs

By Jon Weisman

On March 22, 2014

In Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

Until the end, the Dodgers breezed in their second game of 2014, finally dispatching Arizona in a 7-5 victory, one in which they had 23 baserunners. Ken Gurnick recaps the particulars for MLB.com.

As the Dodgers completed their two-game sweep and prepared for a happy flight home, you could find that already, several players were already tasting both the ups and downs of the baseball season.

Read More

Yasiel Puig turns spring struggles upside down Down Under

By Jon Weisman

On March 20, 2014

In Health/injuries, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

Appropriately, it didn’t get talked about all that much, but you could still catch some people muttering and snickering about Yasiel Puig’s homerless sub-.150 Spring Training batting average.

Read More

Video: Everything baseball in one play

By Jon Weisman

On March 6, 2014

In Uncategorized

[mlbvideo id=”31450411″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
By Jon Weisman

Second batter of the game, and our baseball world went wild.

Trout hit the ball about 360 feet, ran about 360 feet, and was out after about a 360-degree review.

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) March 6, 2014

For what it’s worth, I don’t think much more time, if any, was taken by the replay process than would have been taken by a garden variety argument anyway.

Video: Yasiel Puig is ready for Australia

By Jon Weisman

On February 24, 2014

In Uncategorized

[mlbvideo id=”31384037″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

In case you missed it: 30 Dodger players traveling to Australia

By Jon Weisman

On February 21, 2014

In Health/injuries, History, In case you missed it

By Jon Weisman

Take heed: With this year’s trip to Australia, the Dodgers’ process for determining the regular season active roster is even more unusual than you might imagine, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

First, there’s this rather stunning comparison.

“The Dodgers will have only 19 days of Spring Training games to make nearly all of their decisions,” Gurnick writes. “Last spring, they played 36 games before Opening Day.”

But further confusing matters is that the Dodgers’ don’t actually have to settle where everyone beyond the 25-man roster has to go before Sydney.

… Even though the 25-man roster officially doesn’t need to be submitted until March 21 at 1 p.m. PT, the Dodgers and D-backs will break camp on March 16 and take a maximum of 30 players to Australia from which to draw their 25-man Opening Day rosters.

Players on the disabled list can be back-dated to March 19, but those decisions might be made before the flight west, if not announced.

From the 30 players who can make the flight across the Pacific Ocean, three will be designated as “exempt” before Opening Day and would otherwise be active, be they starting pitchers left behind, players out of options (like Javy Guerra or Drew Butera) or Rule 5 selections (like Seth Rosin). Corresponding moves would need to be made to make room for their activation.

The other two players on the trip will be “extras” that can be players on the 40-man roster with options, or Minor Leaguers.

From these five additional players, clubs must be covered by position for an injury, whether it occurs as a result of the exhibition game against Team Australia, or the regular-season opener, because it will be impossible to call up a player and transport him to Australia in time for the next game. So, the five spots are likely to include at least one catcher, one middle infielder, one outfielder and one reliever. …

Read more about it here. Elsewhere around the Dodgers …

Andre Ethier echoed Matt Kemp’s sentiments about no potential starting outfielder seeking out a spot on the bench. Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles adds context.

… Ethier moved from right to center when Kemp got hurt last year, but before that he was entrenched in right field the previous four seasons. He said he’s willing to give the utility role a go if it helps the team.

“I’ve done a lot personally and done a lot with this team and I think we’re still just missing one thing, [a World Series], so if it’s something that leads to that, let’s figure out a way to get it done,” Ethier said. …
Saxon quotes Don Mattingly on Yasiel Puig weighing in at about 25 pounds more than last year: “We don’t feel it’s going to be a problem, but we’re paying attention to it, put it that way,” Mattingly said.
There’s no urgency for Paul Maholm to be ready to pitch regular-season games before April, and given that he’s behind the other starters, as Gurnick notes, he could use the extra time.
Miguel Rojas’ wife flew out of strife-heavy Venezuela this morning, reports J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News.
Today’s guest star in Ernest Reyes’ series on the 1961 Union Oil Dodger Family Booklet series at Blue Heaven: Willie Davis.

Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Tag: Yasiel Puig (Page 13 of 15)

Video: Yasiel Puig’s 10 greatest catches

Even on 0-for-5 day, Gordon’s speed a factor in Dodger victory

Um, so, Yasiel Puig is having a good season

Beckett a ray of sunshine for dampened Dodgers

This time, again

Yasiel Puig goes Yasiel Puig

April 11 pregame: Puig returns

April 6 pregame: Ethier, Greinke lead Dodgers into series finale against Cain

Uphill battles continue for Dodgers

Puig apologetic, Mattingly forgiving after benching

Two victories in, Dodger ups and downs

Yasiel Puig turns spring struggles upside down Down Under

Video: Everything baseball in one play

Video: Yasiel Puig is ready for Australia

In case you missed it: 30 Dodger players traveling to Australia

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