too many of options nice problem to have... i guess Puig's emergence leaves Dodgers with tough callBy Ken Gurnick/MLB.com | 3/24/2013 2:10 A.M. ETHigh rent district; Puig flanked by Kemp, A-Gone and Phil JacksonGLENDALE, Ariz. -- If the Dodgers have 25 players better than Yasiel Puig, they're going to have one amazing team."I don't know about that," said manager Don Mattingly, who is starting to sound like management will find a place on the team for the 22-year-old Cuban sensation.Mattingly also concedes that what Puig is doing this Spring Training defies comprehension after he went 3-for-3 while triggering two rallies, ran crazy on the bases and made a diving catch in a game he didn't even start against the White Sox, a 10-4 win on Saturday night."It's kind of getting goofy," said Mattingly. "It's almost like a big kid playing Little League."The Dodgers came to Arizona figuring to give Puig a taste of a big league camp before sending him to Double-A for seasoning. But maybe he doesn't need it.He's become the hottest hitter in spring baseball, a phenomenon who leaves his teammates shaking their heads in amazement while leaving the club trying to figure out how to shoehorn him onto a team with a $300 million outfield."I've seen a lot of great Spring Trainings," said Matt Kemp, "but never anything like this."Mattingly reminded reporters that Puig hasn't been sent down for a reason. The reason is that he's hitting a staggering .547 (29-for-53), including 10 hits in his last 11 at-bats. He's scored 16 runs, nearly double the next closest Dodger (Dee Gordon, 9). He has 10 extra-base hits. And in 55 plate appearances, he doesn't have a walk, but he still has a .527 on-base percentage and a 1.414 OPS."One year [Yankees GM] Brian Cashman says, 'What are you going to do with Robinson Cano? He only walked 13 times,'" said Mattingly, then the Yankees' hitting coach. "The guy hit .340. I didn't know what to tell him, I really didn't. Everything he hits hard. What are you supposed to do with that?"Just let him hit, apparently. Puig on Saturday stretched a line drive past the ear of pitcher Jake Peavy and into center field for a double. He shattered a bat for a single to right field and bounced a single to left field. He went first to third on a wild pickoff throw and robbed Dewayne Wise of extra bases with a diving catch near the left-field foul line."There hasn't been much he hasn't done," said Mattingly. "There's not much to say."Puig didn't even start the game. He took over for Carl Crawford, who played the field for the first time since his August Tommy John elbow surgery, but went untested without a ball his way during his three innings. He'll be extended to five innings on Sunday. .
He isn't starting today and will probably not start the next game. He is getting his most important test now for the 25 man roster. Can he come off of the bench and contribute? Not all can and yesterday his coming off was amazing and if shows continued ability to he becomes a non starting weapon to be deployed at any time DBB wants. Mid to later part of the game and if the pitcher is leading off Puig comes in to pinch hit followed by Crawford etc etc. Puig can stay in the game for defensive (throwing arm purposes). Along with selective starts and he could be playing every game. When Puig starts you have Crawford, Kemp or Dre coming off the bench and if nothing else Dre and Crawford forces the other team to use a lefty reliever.
Yasiel Puig Authentically Represents Where The Dodgers Have Been, And Where They Are Going March 24, 2013 1:00 PM LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — It was not so long ago the Dodgers were drowning in the depths of financial despair. Dejected, depleted, bankrupt. Loyal, enduring fans stayed away in unprecedented numbers, as the quality of the club, the tight grip of a debilitating owner, literally choked the life out of Dodger stadium. Even the Dodger dogs didn’t taste quite the same. But along with the spirit of the game itself, the Dodgers pulled themselves up from the desolation of hopelessness, and, with the help of a new ownership group, are preparing to present themselves as contenders for the 2013 season. What was recently an exhausted franchise now gives the boys in blue opportunities no one dreamed about three years ago. No one dreamed about Magic Johnson, Stan Kasten, and Mark Walter. No one dreamed about two former Cy-Young winners in the rotation. No one dreamed about having more talented outfielders than the front office knows what to do with. At the forefront of this transformation is 22-year-old Cuban outfielder, Yasiel Puig. Puig is the perfect representation of what the Dodgers are now, and where they are going. Puig, who attempted to defect from Cuba, and failed, before finally succeeding in 2012, also represents what the Dodgers have been through. A young ball player, with thunderous talent and boundless potential, freeing himself from the clasp of frugality, with the dream of unleashing a dormant greatness. Sound familiar? The Dodgers, over the past few seasons, have found themselves platooning players in key positions, primarily left field. Now, there are three MVP caliber players filling the outfield at Chavez Ravine. This was something unforeseen when the Dodgers signed Puig to a 7-year, $42 million contract last year. And now the club finds themselves with the best kind of problem to have; they have more talent than they can put on the field at one time. The duo of all-stars Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, added Carl Crawford, who came over to the Dodgers last season in the blockbuster August trade with the Boston Red Sox. On paper, they are one of the best outfields in baseball. Kemp, who signed an 8-year, $160 million extension after the 2011 season, is recovering from shoulder surgery, but is expected to be ready for Opening Day on April 1. Andre Ethier is coming off a solid .284 season with 20 home runs and 89 RBI. Although he struggled with a strained left oblique and blisters last year. Carl Crawford is coming off Tommy John surgery, and has yet to play a regular season game for the Dodgers. He has started hitting in Spring Training, but is not quite up to the proper shape he needs to be in to show off his tremendous speed. He is also in the process of rebuilding his arm strength, with nerve irritation that is believed to possibly prevent him from being ready by Opening Day. The point is, if any of these injuries prove to be troublesome in the outfield throughout the 2013 season, the Dodgers have plenty of colossal, albeit expensive, talent to fill the holes. The question is, at what point would you stop ignoring what you are seeing in front of you, and consider the possibility for him to start for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Puig went 3-for-3 with a double and two singles Saturday night against the White Sox to extend a massive 10-for-11 run; the most recent display of natural talent in the terror that has been Yasiel Puig’s 2013 Spring Training. He blasted a 2-run homer and a triple in 4 hits in an exhibition against the A’s on March 19, falling just a double short of the cycle. He is currently batting .547 in Spring Training, and showing no signs of slowing down. At 6 foot 3, and 215 pounds, Puig is built like a linebacker that moves like a track star. He had 8 stolen bases in 23 minor league games last year. There are generally two theories when it comes to Yasiel Puig: Keep him in AA for a while and let him develop, or bring him up now and see if he is, or may someday be, the Dodgers’ answer to Mike Trout. It may be that there is no incorrect choice, but one thing is certain — for both the Dodgers and Yasiel Puig – its no longer 2010, and fewer and fewer Dodger fans are predicting, “Wait ’til next year!”
^Not really a great article...kinda exaggerates the talents of a couple of our players and doesn't say much we don't already know. But still more about Yasiel.
Keith Law is a smart dude, but I think "average" runner is probably the worst part of his analysis. I don't think he's fast for his size, he's fast period and that's one part of the package we can quantify with numbers correctly since you can simply time him. Ah, I forgot what the time was, but I mean multiple people have clocked him at a tick above 4 seconds from home to first, and I remember someone had a damn good time from home to second base. (I don't want to just guess what the number was, I can't remember exactly, but it was a damn good time).
I remember some article saying 4.05 to 1st... which is pretty fair IMO but then Here's what I found: these were all hand timed but still a 4.05 doesn't seem all that fast. Then I found this... When he's running Puig sure seems to cover distance very nicely...
and one thing the reports don't specify he runs really good routes the other day when he went from 1st to 3rd on the thrown away pickoff watch the way he rounded 2nd base -- really cut off a big chunk of real estate
The consensus is that Mantle running down the line at 3.1 is bullshit, just like Dimaggio "would have hit 80 home runs if Yankee Stadium had the dimensions it does now" I haven't watched much live ST, but from watching the highlights, Puig definitely seems fast, but above-average seems right, he's not nearly as fast as Ichiro or Michael Bourn.
and the legend grows... i've heard puig can make four women come at the exact same moment w one hand behind his back.
Puig never actually makes contact with the ball. The consciousness of the ball does not desire to be hit that hard and therefore immediately changes direction and speeds off, into the stands; away from the beast, Puig.
