Puig-Mania Thread

[caulfield12]

 

 

Everyone was waiting for him to fall flat on his face a month or so ago and it didn't happen.

 

He might fade down the stretch, but he STILL looks 100% legit.

[jthunder93]

AL MVP: Uh-oh. Here we go again. If you enjoyed that vintage, old-school/new-school Miguel Cabrera-versus-Mike Trout debate last year, get ready for Round 2. As Jared Cross wrote the other day, Trout has injected himself into what once looked like a Cabrera-Chris Davis MVP conversation by charging up those AL leaderboards. But if this keeps up, some great sabermetric minds are going to have to explain to the masses how it's possible that Trout leads Cabrera in offensive wins above replacement, but is trailing Cabrera overall because of (gulp) Cabrera's defense. Incredible, huh? But let's save that issue for another day.

 

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez can tell you all about how Cy Young voters have finally learned to de-emphasize wins. But let's see them try to factor out wins this year, when King Felix is leading the league in ERA but trying to make his case against a guy who is 16-1 (Max Scherzer) -- and first in his league in WHIP, lowest opponent average and lowest opponent OPS. Can't wait for that debate.

 

NL Cy Young: With all due respect for the awesome seasons of Adam Wainwright, Matt Harvey, Madison Bumgarner, Patrick Corbin, Francisco Liriano, Craig Kimbrel, etc., all Kershaw does every five days is remind us that he's the best pitcher in baseball. Still. Just so you know, if Kershaw can finish with the ERA (1.91), WHIP (0.88) and opponent average (.188) he has now, the only pitchers in the live-ball era who have ever been in that neighborhood (or better) over a full season are Bob Gibson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Sandy Koufax and Luis Tiant. Whoever they are.

 

Rookies of the Year: In the AL, Jose Iglesias has a shot to become the first rookie of the year ever to get traded in midseason. But Wil Myers can screw up that claim to fame. And in the NL, this remains one of the wildest rookie-of-the-year free-for-alls ever, with Jose Fernandez, Shelby Miller, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Julio Teheran, Evan Gattis and Yasiel Puig all making cases for themselves that are going to require many, many Advil for the ROY electorate.

 

 

www.espn.com

AL MVP: Mike Trout should not be in the discussion for MVP. At least, not yet. Miguel Cabrera is doing quite a bit better than Trout on offense, and I can see the Angels' failure to make the playoffs hurting Trout. So, that brings us to Davis vs. Cabrera...runs and RBI are essentially equal. Davis has 8 more HR and Cabrera's batting average is 57 points higher. I don't know about you, but I'd take Cabrera any day.

 

AL Cy Young: Scherzer is miles ahead of Hernandez in my opinion right now. His numbers are ridiculous, and I don't know why there's even a discussion.

 

[Chicago White Sox]

Everyone was waiting for him to fall flat on his face a month or so ago and it didn't happen.

 

He might fade down the stretch, but he STILL looks 100% legit.

That's all fine and dandy, but you just said there would be a "spirited" debate on who you would start a franchise with Trout or Puig. If by "spirited" you meant you vs. the entire board than sure. Otherwise, everyone here would take Trout, because he's on another level.

[hammerhead johnson]

Puig ranks 9th in the majors in walks over the past 30 days. His overall walk rate is now up to 8%.

 

wRC+ still Ruthian at 194.

[zenryan]

After watching Puig make 4 defensive mistakes in the first 3 innings tonight while playing CF, I think its safe to say Trout is the correct answer.

[2nd_city_saint787]

Soo who's the next Puig? I don't mean a 16 or 17 year old like Micker Zapata, I mean a player like Puig who is older and only gonna needs a year or 2 in the minors. I've tried google and all i get are young prospects.

[LittleHurt05]

Soo who's the next Puig? I don't mean a 16 or 17 year old like Micker Zapata, I mean a player like Puig who is older and only gonna needs a year or 2 in the minors. I've tried google and all i get are young prospects.

 

It would have to be a Cuban. Any Dominican player with that talent would have already been signed by a major league team.

[caulfield12]

After watching Puig make 4 defensive mistakes in the first 3 innings tonight while playing CF, I think its safe to say Trout is the correct answer.

 

He also ignited the comeback from down 6-1 in the 8th inning with an RBI ground rule double (would have been a triple), 2 for 4 again.....almost 30 multi-hit games already. Still hitting almost .380

 

FWIW, he's not a CFer.

 

First and foremost, he plays RF, then LF, CF is his weakest position from what I've seen.

Edited August 10, 2013 by caulfield12

[zenryan]

He also ignited the comeback from down 6-1 in the 8th inning with an RBI ground rule double (would have been a triple), 2 for 4 again.....almost 30 multi-hit games already. Still hitting almost .380

 

FWIW, he's not a CFer.

 

First and foremost, he plays RF, then LF, CF is his weakest position from what I've seen.

 

 

 

lol, igniting a comeback? youre really stretching it. He made it 6-2. The guy behind him had a bigger impact since his two out hit scoring Puig made it 6-3.

 

3-4 of the runs by the Rays were off of horrible plays by Puig. Twice he misjudge routine fly balls and twice he airmailed the cut off man trying to throw runners out at the plate. Both times the runners were safe by a mile and both times the hitter just rounded first base and cruised into second. And then eventually scored.

 

I know youre a Puig fanboy but lets be objective here.

[hammerhead johnson]

I'm also a Puig fanboy, but Trout is getting ready to post back-to-back 10 WAR seasons, and he just turned 22 the other day. So yeah, there's not much of a debate.

[2nd_city_saint787]

It would have to be a Cuban. Any Dominican player with that talent would have already been signed by a major league team.

 

Jose Abreu is the best hitter in Cuba, I can't find anything saying he'll come to the US though. If he does Sox should be all over him. He's 26 and check out this stat line .453/.597/.986 with 79 runs, 93 RBI and 33 home runs in only 66 games.

 

C'mon Tank and Lexi, get on the phone and get this guy over here.

[caulfield12]

I'm also a Puig fanboy, but Trout is getting ready to post back-to-back 10 WAR seasons, and he just turned 22 the other day. So yeah, there's not much of a debate.

 

There are a lot of rumours and whispers out there about PED's and Trout, but I think it's simply because of his slighter stature and the fact that he was instantly so dominant after being a low 1st rounder (relatively unprecedented in the last 20-30 years)...

 

Now with Pujols and Verlander under a BIT of suspicion, you just have to sincerely hope (and cautiously believe) that Trout's 100% legit.

 

Of course, Latin American players have ALWAYS been under suspicion, too, almost automatically.

 

 

So, in the end, Trout has the advantage of course, due to his track record and ability to play CF (not quite as well as Bourjos, but CLOSE).

 

Yasiel belong at a corner, and he's back there again today with Ethier in CF. And he's been quite a bit more patient at the plate, as of late, accepting walks. .440 OBP now includes 20 walks, which is an upgrade over his first month or so in the big leagues.

 

Puig missed 9 cutoff men over his previous four throws, lol, so that will definitely be addressed by the Dodgers' coaching staff...and there won't be nearly as much patience and "laughing off" Puig fielding and baserunning mistakes as there has been tolerated almost with a "well, that's Yasiel's style of play, we'll live with the negatives because we don't want to curb his aggressiveness/style of play" vibe this season.

 

He just didn't have nearly the development time in the minors that he needed to erase all the bad habits developed in Cuba...where you don't bunt and you show off your arm on every throw (for the fans' adulation) even if you only have a 3-5% of recording an out.

Edited August 10, 2013 by caulfield12

[Balta1701]

There are a lot of rumours and whispers out there about PED's and Trout, but I think it's simply because of his slighter stature and the fact that he was instantly so dominant after being a low 1st rounder (relatively unprecedented in the last 20-30 years)...

 

Now with Pujols and Verlander under a BIT of suspicion, you just have to sincerely hope (and cautiously believe) that Trout's 100% legit.

 

Of course, Latin American players have ALWAYS been under suspicion, too, almost automatically.

 

 

So, in the end, Trout has the advantage of course, due to his track record and ability to play CF (not quite as well as Bourjos, but CLOSE).

 

Yasiel belong at a corner, and he's back there again today with Ethier in CF. And he's been quite a bit more patient at the plate, as of late, accepting walks. .440 OBP now includes 20 walks, which is an upgrade over his first month or so in the big leagues.

Where are these rumors? I haven't seen or heard any of them. Is this what goes on in the twittersphere these days, random people suggesting that guys who seem to age naturally must have been using because they performed well?

[caulfield12]

Where are these rumors? I haven't seen or heard any of them. Is this what goes on in the twittersphere these days, random people suggesting that guys who seem to age naturally must have been using because they performed well?

 

Basically, YES.

 

And it's honestly hard not to blame skeptics after the last 20+ years of baseball disappointments.

 

You're only left as who as your Hall of Famers of the position players who entered the game since around 1990 or later?

 

Vizquel

Frank Thomas

Thome

Pujols (for now)

Ken Griffey, Jr.

Miguel Cabrera (if he continues at this pace another season or two)

Edited August 10, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Back up to 1.044 OPS.

 

Barely trailing Davis, 100+ behind Cabrera.

 

Trout knocking on the door of 1.000.

 

Just got intentionally walked in favor of facing Ethier, who made an out.

 

Piling up a lot of walks recently.

 

 

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/i...ig-or-wil-myers

Who would you build a team around, Puig or Wil Myers, interesting discussion. Puig's winning the poll 60/40 right now.

Edited August 12, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

As part of our Best Tools package, Eric and myself (Dave Schoenfeld) discuss the most exciting players in baseball. We disagree on one pitcher but I think we're in agreement with the top guy. Yes, it's Yasiel Puig.

 

I was trying to think who he reminds me of and the guy who pops into my head is a young Vladimir Guerrero, who had Puig's all-around talent and a similar reckless abandon when playing. It's too early to say if Puig will be as good as Guerrero but at least it's easier to watch him play than it was when Guerrero was in Montreal in the pre-MLB.tv days.

 

Click here to rank the most exciting players. Disagree with the choices? Discuss below!

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb

Edited August 13, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/los...ensation-605237

 

The single comment in the comments section is priceless.

[The Ginger Kid]

Puig don't know Bo

 

[caulfield12]

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/...partner=ya5nbcs

 

Beat everyone to it....Puig fined for being late to park Tuesday, comparisons with Courtney Hawkins' twittering abound

Edited August 21, 2013 by caulfield12

[zenryan]

beat everyone to it? No one cares really anymore. I'm the second person other than you to post in this thread in a week.

[caulfield12]

beat everyone to it? No one cares really anymore. I'm the second person other than you to post in this thread in a week.

 

 

well, if he was sitting around now with a 700-750 OPS, I do think the thread would be a BIT more active....don't u?

[Kyyle23]

well, if he was sitting around now with a 700-750 OPS, I do think the thread would be a BIT more active....don't u?

 

active how? Meaning you would be posting more articles?

[LittleHurt05]

well, if he was sitting around now with a 700-750 OPS, I do think the thread would be a BIT more active....don't u?

 

 

Edited August 21, 2013 by LittleHurt05

[caulfield12]

 

 

hey, that's going to be the logo for my new company here in Indonesia, lol....good one!

 

 

 

MIAMI — Maybe the Dodgers should bench Yasiel Puig more often.

 

Held out of the starting lineup to improve his focus and fined by Manager Don Mattingly to improve his punctuality, Puig came off the bench Tuesday and hit the first pitch he saw for a tiebreaking eighth-inning home run, leading the Dodgers to 6-4 victory over the Miami Marlins.

 

"He definitely has a flair for the dramatic," teammate Jerry Hairston Jr. said. "There aren't too many guys like that."

 

Said infielder Nick Punto: "I wasn't surprised. He's really talented with a bat in his hand."

 

The Dodgers are also more talented with Puig holding a bat in his hand at the plate rather than sitting empty-handed on the bench. Yet, that's where he started Tuesday night, partly because he was fighting the worst slump of his short career, one that had left him hitless in his last 11 at-bats and two for 17 on the Dodgers' trip.

 

But he has also made a number of fundamental errors, both in the field and on the bases, something else that played a role in Mattingly's decision to hold him out of the lineup.

 

It was a decision Puig was the last to learn of since he showed up at the ballpark at 4:50 p.m., 35 minutes late, earning an undisclosed fine.

 

"All the things that we see are part of the maturity of a guy that's coming from a different country and … all of sudden and having huge success. And part of our job is to help them mature and handle all that," Mattingly said. "I don't know if we can do that overnight."

 

Tuesday was supposed to be the start of that transformation, with Mattingly forcing his petulant star to sit and watch the other kids play. But with the Dodgers hitting into three double plays and going three for 12 with runners in scoring position through the first six innings of a 4-4 tie, Mattingly called Puig out of the doghouse and sent him into the game as part of a double switch.

 

Two innings later, Puig golfed the first pitch of the eighth inning off the padding atop the left-center-field wall, bouncing it onto a concrete stairway beyond the fence. A run-scoring single by Tim Federowicz drove in an insurance run an inning later, then Kenley Jansen closed it out with a perfect ninth inning, ending the Dodgers' losing streak at two games.

 

Asked whether he felt pressure in that situation, Puig shook his head

 

"The minute you start feeling pressure, you're going to have difficulty with a lot of pitches," Puig said.

 

That confidence left Hairston hoping five innings on the bench was punishment enough for Puig.

 

"You have to remember he's 22-years-old. And a lot has been thrown in his way," Hairston said. "Hopefully, he'll learn from it and grow from it and become a better player."

 

But third baseman Juan Uribe, whose two hits Tuesday gave him five in two games with the Marlins, encouraged Puig not to change.

"Tomorrow," Uribe shouted at Puig as he left "get here at 5:40."

 

www.latimes.com/sports

Edited August 21, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb...n#axzz2cdndtqyO

 

Very well-written article about the dilemma the Dodgers are facing with Puig