Puig-Mania Thread

[Reddy]

meh, color me skeptical. that obp is entirely BA dependent and pitchers will adjust.

 

Trout is still far superior

 

[caulfield12]

(1/5) 2 for his last 12...he did have a double (8), run scored and a rare walk, though.

 

AvG down to .430 from a high of .449.

 

Game was all about Juan Uribe coming back to life and debunking the idea they need to trade for a SS and move Hanley back to 3B.

 

 

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?g...&mode=video

 

 

Lots of memories of my former favorite player, Juan Uribe, as his 7 RBI's tied in performance in the infamous Arnie Munoz/Montreal debacle which they lost at the very end when Willie Harris messed up a bunt, if I remember correctly.

 

So now he's got 5 homers and 27 RBI's on the season (800 OPS) after being absolutely atrocious the first two months. Last season he was good was 2010, when he hit 24 homers and was a post-season hero for the Gigantes in the playoffs, before signing the big FA contract with LA.

 

 

Edited July 6, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Bochy softens stance on Puig in All-Star Game (latimes.com)

 

 

SAN FRANCISCO – On the eve of the unveiling of the All-Star rosters, San Francisco Giants Manager Bruce Bochy sounded as if he was more open to the idea of Yasiel Puig making the National League roster.

 

Bochy will manage the NL team.

 

“He’s done a great job,” Bochy said. “Tomorrow we’ll know exactly who’s going to make the club and which way we’re going to go. He’s done a great job. Believe me, that’s not gone unnoticed. He’s a very exciting player. There’s been a lot of talk about him, a lot of interest from different people to have him in there. I understand that. I have to do what I think is right and tomorrow you’ll know.’’

 

Asked if he could remember a player with as little major league service time who made an All-Star team, Bochy mentioned Bryce Harper last year.

 

“Part of it is you understand as a manager the fans want to see a certain player,” Bochy said. “It’s exciting for them. They’ve made a huge splash. They’re bringing so much energy, it’s intriguing. And even though it’s a small sample size, when you look at the noise [Puig] has made, and it happens in a big city, and he has to be credited with what’s happened with their club. He’s been a spark for their team.’’

 

When the Giants visited Dodger Stadium last week, Bochy didn’t think Puig deserved a place on the team

 

"Generally, guys that go to the All-Star Game are guys that have a great first half, not a great three weeks,” Bochy said at the time. “If you ask me a week from now, I may say I've changed my mind."

 

Bochy, in consultation with the league office, will make the final few selections for the NL roster. There will be one other spot open to an online vote.

 

 

 

Another in-depth article from the LA Times. Yasiel Puig fuels All-Star debate

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb...0,1242498.story

 

He just broke the all-time 22 game rookie record for batting average formerly held by Cardinal/Braves favorite Terry Pendleton.

Edited July 6, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Puig's rest-of-season forecast

Plus answering your questions on Chris Davis, David Ortiz, Justin Upton, more

Updated: July 3, 2013, 3:35 PM ET

By Tristan H. Cockcroft | ESPN.com

 

I'm breaking the rules.

 

Instead of getting right to this week's topic, readers "calling me out" on my rankings, as seen in Tuesday's 60 Feet 6 Inches, let's discuss a question that isn't among the ones below but surely is in the forefront of any fantasy owner's mind.

 

How about this crazy run by Yasiel Puig?

 

The No. 1 player on our Player Rater Last 30 split -- matching the number of days he has spent in the majors, entering Wednesday -- Puig has had a debut month that ranks among the best in the history of the game. For the second consecutive season, it's a rookie etching his name into the history books, and ESPN Stats & Information and Elias have some telling facts about Puig:

 

• His .443 batting average is the highest since 1900 by any player in his first 30 days in the majors (60 or more plate appearances), per Elias.

• His .436 batting average in June was the highest in a player's first calendar month since 1900 (minimum 60 PAs), per Elias.

• His 44 hits in June were the second most in a player's first calendar month since 1900, behind only Joe DiMaggio's 48 in May 1936 (minimum 60 PAs), per Elias.

 

At the same time, Puig's detractors will cite his "lucky" measures: His .513 BABIP, which leads the majors during the past 30 days, and his 36.4 home run/fly ball percentage, which is second highest (Pedro Alvarez leads with 37.5). They'll also point out that he has averaged just 3.24 pitches per plate appearances, fourth lowest during that span, and that is the area of worry to me.

 

Yasiel Puig does look unstoppable now, but keep expectations in check.

Will pitchers begin working around him more often or attempt to fluster him with more breaking stuff? Perhaps. Puig will also inevitably experience some degree of regression to the mean in both his batting average and home run total. He is not going to bat .443 or hit 48 home runs in his first 162 career games.

 

Let's assume for a moment that Puig enjoyed success on batted balls in play at the major league average rates broken down by type (line drive, ground ball, fly ball, etc.) and quality of contact (hard, medium, soft). In that event, he would have batted .283 with only five home runs, rather than .443 with eight.

 

That's why any rest-of-season projection for Puig might have him batting in the .280s, rather than well above .300, and it's why he's a smarter bet for 10-12 home runs, rather than 20, in the Los Angeles Dodgers' remaining 80 contests. He could exceed those numbers, sure, but those estimate his safest odds. And that's really what projections are all about, forecasting the most likely outcome.

 

Perhaps that Puig moved up only to 50th this week, a rise of 10 spots, puts me in the "Puig detractors" camp. It's all a matter of your perception of his value …

 

… but that's exactly what today's column is about, right? Perceived player value, and your questions about mine, in the rankings below.

 

 

So hitting in .280's the rest of the season, finishing with 18-20 homers (that still would be 24-30 extrapolated over a full season) instead of 28 or so (that would be a 42 homer pace for a full season).

 

And his BA would be right around .295-.315, roughly, after 3 more months of play.

 

We'll see who is right.

Edited July 6, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Any question who's going to win the fan vote and join Trout, Harper and Machado?

[Quin]

Any question who's going to win the fan vote and join Trout, Harper and Machado?

 

Ian Desmond?

 

Kid will have 39 games under his belt and be an All-Star

[Jordan4life_2007]

Puig with the Dunn impersonation.

Edited July 7, 2013 by Jordan4life

[Jake]

I won't be voting for him.

[caulfield12]

Haha.

 

Perfect timing. 0 for 4 and 4 K's.

 

Of course, he was facing one of the best pitchers in the NL, it happens. Still at .407.

 

 

2 for for his last 16 now.

 

His first slump/sign of adversity.

 

 

 

Harper had 238 AB's last year b4 the All-Star Game. Trout had 258 at-bats.

 

 

 

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_...sent-final-vote

Puig had the most write-in votes over the last two weeks than any player since 2006 (Freddie Sanchez)

Edited July 7, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

copyright, yahoo contributor network

 

COMMENTARY | It's the classic "Sophie's Choice" between the reliable Honda Civic, or the flashy Lamborghini Diablo that handles well but has only driven two blocks and already needs to stop at the gas station.

 

In the 2013 MLB All-Star Game Final Vote, the Atlanta Braves' first baseman, Freddie Freeman will have to hope fans have paid close enough attention to want to pluck him from relative national obscurity and place him on the National League All-Star roster. Freeman will have to jump over the Los Angeles Dodgers' hot-shot rookie, Yasiel Puig, if he wants to represent the Braves in New York for this season's Midsummer Classic.

 

I have to confess that this article got rewritten. After looking it over I realized it had devolved into the top 10 reasons Puig's name even being considered for the All-Star Game was a complete and utter affront to any integrity or merit for which the MLB All-Star Game is supposed to stand.

 

I have a second confession to make…it just happened again. To paraphrase a ranting diatribe, Freeman should not have to be pitted against a rookie -- scratch that, it is too early to even call him a rookie -- an MLB fetus -- there, that's better -- like Puig.

I'll save fans the suspense: Puig is going to win the fan vote. New sensations are like wildfires: they are hard to predict, but when they happened, they spread like…well…wildfire. Puig received 842,915 write-in votes on the main ballot -- most since Freddy Sanchez in 2006.

 

Puig exploded onto the scene after being called up for the Dodgers' June 3 match-up with the San Diego Padres. The 22-year-old right fielder hit four home runs and 10 RBIs inside of his first week at the big league level. However, he has played in just 31 of the Dodgers' first 86 games, and his 123 at-bats are 144 ABs shy of even qualifying among big leaguers in any statistical category. I'm not sure how one can be an All-Star while not remotely being eligible for a shot at the batting title.

 

Consider this: Of the nine MLB clubs Puig has played since being called up, only the San Diego Padres have seen him in more than one series. How can Puig an All-Star for a season in which the teams in his own division have not even had a chance to make adjustments?

 

As for the Braves' would-be All-Star, Freeman has been the cleanup hitter on a first place team for the entire season. He is the only player on the fan vote who is hitting above .300, and his 56 RBIs are also tops among the group. Paul Goldschmidt and Joey Votto's remarkable first half blocked Freeman from getting voted in outright on the original ballot, but he is certainly an All-Star by anyone's measure.

 

Puig does have to go up against teammate Adrian Gonzalez, so maybe LA fans will split their votes between the two and Freeman can slide in under the radar.

 

Some could point to Jason Heyward's 2010 inclusion in the All-Star game as hypocrisy by Atlanta fans, considering his first-year stats of .251 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs at the break may not have been worthy of being selected as a starter, but there is a big difference between Heyward and Puig. For one, Heyward started that season in the big leagues from Day 1. By the time the All-Star Game came around, Heyward had played in 75 games and had accumulated 255 at-bats.

 

Puig may be a young, electrifying player with a bright career ahead of him, but he is not an All-Star this season. If Major League Baseball wants to make home field advantage contingent on the winner of an exhibition game, then they have to stop with these obvious headline-grabbing publicity stunts. They can't have it both ways. It is either a fun weekend for the fans, or it is a meaningful game with World Series implications. If they choose the latter, then teams who actually have skin in the race need to be better represented. Why not mandate that the divisional leaders at the break get a certain number of players sent to each All-Star game? That way winning games and earning home field advantage may actually --you know -- have a chance to go hand in hand.

[TaylorStSox]

I almost feel guilty for rooting for this kid to fail, but what do you expect when you have weirdos busting a nut every time he comes to the plate.

[caulfield12]

Chastening effect for the time being.

 

6 K's in his last 7 AB's. He doesn't do anything without drama.

 

2 for his last 17. Down to .403.

 

After 3 K's against Bumgarner and one against Romo, Gaudin had him second-guessing himself and not swinging at a pitch he would have destroyed four or five games ago.

 

Now we get to see what he's made of.

 

Finally had a single, another steal (this one on Quiroz, not Posey, who's playing 1B today).....then he FOOLISHLY tried to steal 3B as well when the hottest hitter in baseball (Hanley Ramirez) was up and any single with the exception of a bullet line drive scores Puig from 2nd.

 

Davey Lopes was laying into him (with his interpreter) saying you just can't do that...Hanley Ramirez was especially upset that Puig took off on his own and distracted him at the plate. Second time Puig has done that, but he'll learn.

 

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?g...&mode=video

 

Currently, he's struck out in 7 of his last 10 AB's.

 

On the other hand, he was 2/4, had a stolen base, set the table for the 9th inning off Romo, had a very strong diving catch in RF (see highlights above) and an equally fun baserunning play (see above)...always interesting.

 

Puig's at 409 (1.114 OPS) and Hanley Ramirez at 410 (1.200 OPS, even better).

 

And he's hitting about .750 when he swings at the first pitch and puts the ball in play...which won't last forever but is fun to watch.

Edited July 7, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Why Yasiel Puig must be an All-Star

July, 6, 2013

 

5:43

PM PT

By Mark Saxon | ESPNLosAngeles.com

 

If Bruce Bochy was so concerned about Yasiel Puig’s short service time when picking All-Star reserves, I wonder whether he looked at these raw numbers:

 

In 30 games, Puig has six more home runs, one more RBI and just 11 fewer runs scored than Marco Scutaro, who is -- somehow -- an All-Star. So, in 42 percent of the games Scutaro has played in, Puig has done about as much to help his team score as Scutaro has while playing 32 more games than the Los Angeles Dodgers rookie.

 

[+] Enlarge

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Yasiel Puig is among five players -- including Dodgers teammate Adrian Gonzalez -- in the Final Vote competition for selection as the last National League pick for the All-Star Game.

Oh, and by the way, Puig has a 1.155 OPS. Scutaro’s is .776. His defensive impact is comparable, albeit in a smaller sample size. His baserunning is entirely different but probably equally valuable.

 

Yet that argument probably says less about Puig’s omission and more about Scutaro’s inclusion. Managers have been stuffing All-Star teams with their own guys for as long as the game has been around, so it’s really not much to get worked up over.

 

I actually thought Bochy had changed his mind earlier this week when he told reporters, “Part of it is, you understand, as a manager, the fans want to see a certain player.”

 

I still think Puig will be on the team as, I believe, he should be and, in a way, he’ll make it through the appropriate channels. The fans didn’t pick him. Bochy didn’t choose him, and the players didn’t, either. The fans didn’t have enough time, but the fact that his peers omitted him will tell you how this discussion is viewed within the game.

 

Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon called the idea of Puig making the team an “absolute joke.”

 

So, now Dodgers fans have no one but themselves to blame if Puig isn’t on the team. He’s among five players in the Final Vote competition, with teammate Adrian Gonzalez, Washington’s Ian Desmond, Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman and San Francisco’s Hunter Pence.

 

If I’m Gonzalez, by the way, I keep my Legoland plans for All-Star week, because there’s no way he’s getting the vote over Puig, the most talked-about player in baseball. I doubt any of the other guys are, either, unless Gonzalez somehow splits Dodgers’ fans affinities and somebody else squeaks in.

 

Even if Puig somehow doesn’t win the Final Vote, in the next week or so you’ll be seeing a steady stream of players backing out over nagging aches and pains.

 

The Dodgers will be represented about as well as they should be, considering they floundered through April, May and most of June. If the New York Mets somehow don’t let Matt Harvey pitch, Clayton Kershaw stands an excellent chance of starting the game.

 

So, until July 16 rolls around and Puig still isn't on the team, I’ll save my righteous indignation.

[LittleHurt05]

Why Yasiel Puig must be an All-Star

July, 6, 2013

 

5:43

PM PT

By Mark Saxon | ESPNLosAngeles.com

 

If Bruce Bochy was so concerned about Yasiel Puig's short service time when picking All-Star reserves, I wonder whether he looked at these raw numbers:

 

In 30 games, Puig has six more home runs, one more RBI and just 11 fewer runs scored than Marco Scutaro, who is -- somehow -- an All-Star. So, in 42 percent of the games Scutaro has played in, Puig has done about as much to help his team score as Scutaro has while playing 32 more games than the Los Angeles Dodgers rookie.

 

 

What a stupid comparison, Scutaro plays 2B, Puig doesn't. The rest of the 2B in the NL suck, somebody has to play the position.

[caulfield12]

What a stupid comparison, Scutaro plays 2B, Puig doesn't. The rest of the 2B in the NL suck, somebody has to play the position.

 

 

Similar situation with Zobrist on the team, overall, he's not having a good year by his standards, but he can play everywhere.

 

Josh Donaldson and Longoria are both in the Top 10-15 for OPS in the majors and are likely to be sitting at home.

 

 

Jayson Stark singlehandedly has solved the Puig dilemma, the "Rising Star" spot for fans to vote on (Gattis, Puig, Teheran, Ozuna, Shelby Miller, S. Marte)

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/name/stark_j...l-puig-all-star

Edited July 8, 2013 by caulfield12

[Vance Law]

Puig's teammate Hanley Ramirez has 26 fewer plate appearances thus far.

 

Ramirez has scored 2 fewer runs, hit 1 more double, hit 1 more triple, hit 1 fewer home run, has 1 more RBI, 3 more walks, 1 fewer stolen base, 3 fewer caught stealings. Hanley's batting average is 1 point higher, his OBP is 13 points higher, his slugging percentage is 73 points higher, his OPS is 86 points higher than Puig's (1.200 to 1.114).

 

There is zero talk about Hanley Ramirez being an All-Star. The line of demarcation for talk about being an All-Star therefore must be somewhere between 109 and 135 plate appearances?

[caulfield12]

Puig's teammate Hanley Ramirez has 26 fewer plate appearances thus far.

 

Ramirez has scored 2 fewer runs, hit 1 more double, hit 1 more triple, hit 1 fewer home run, has 1 more RBI, 3 more walks, 1 fewer stolen base, 3 fewer caught stealings. Hanley's batting average is 1 point higher, his OBP is 13 points higher, his slugging percentage is 73 points higher, his OPS is 86 points higher than Puig's (1.200 to 1.114).

 

There is zero talk about Hanley Ramirez being an All-Star. The line of demarcation for talk about being an All-Star therefore must be somewhere between 109 and 135 plate appearances?

 

 

1/2 of it is about being a rookie and doing all of this the first month of his big league career.

 

1/4 is the way he plays the game, full out, 100% maximum throttle on the basepaths, in RF, always seems to be having fun and is smiling and exuberant, etc.

 

Hanley Ramirez still has a decent arm, but nothing like the kind of rifle-like throws you see out of Puig on a weekly basis.

 

Ramirez also wasn't/isn't a homegrown player with the Dodgers. You never see him with daring (sometimes ill-advised) adventures negotiating his way around the diamond either.

 

Nobody would name their band after Ramirez...for example.

 

Another factor is the human interest/American Dream element of escaping from government oppression in Cuba to America (the Marco Rubio Effect).

 

Finally, he's doing all of this out of the 2 hole, not hitting 3-4-5-6.

Edited July 8, 2013 by caulfield12

[Balta1701]

Ramirez also wasn't/isn't a homegrown player with the Dodgers. You never see him with daring (sometimes ill-advised) adventures negotiating his way around the diamond either.

how many times have we heard that success buy guys like Alexei or even Sale don't count for the White Sox system because they were only there for a few months?

[hammerhead johnson]

I almost feel guilty for rooting for this kid to fail, but what do you expect when you have weirdos busting a nut every time he comes to the plate.

 

Busting multiple nuts per Dodgers game isn't easy for a dry guy such as myself. My dick is starting to develop sideburns.

 

Yeah, I'm that guy that owns Puig in all of his fantasy leagues. Nobody else can brag, because if I were in your league, he'd be on my roster. Bank on it.

 

All haters get the bozack.

[Jake]

I almost feel guilty for rooting for this kid to fail, but what do you expect when you have weirdos busting a nut every time he comes to the plate.

 

lol my feeling exactly.

 

In other news, Freddie Freeman leads final man voting

[hammerhead johnson]

You guys are really puffing out your bird chests. Going against the grain!

[caulfield12]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...lb&c_id=mlb

Why Puig not being in the game would be crazy

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20..._la&c_id=la

Adrian Gonzalez throws his support to the PUIG campaign, cool move by a classy player

Edited July 8, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/atlanta-brave...-175300360.html

 

Complaints about Braves fans stuffing the ballot but not attending playoff games at Turner, lol.

 

 

County by county voting in the NL race, reminds me of the presidential election splits in 2008 and 2012.

http://mlb.mlb.com/visualization/all_star/y2013/final_vote/

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/allstar13/story/_/i...l-all-star-team

Dodgers fans making final push

 

 

Interesting game for Puig. 1/3, 2 walks, no K's.

 

The biggest problem he's having now is overconfidence on the basepaths, and taking too many foolish chances with Hanley Ramirez coming up right behind him.

 

Last night, he was on 1B when Adrian Gonzalez hit a double....stopped/hesitated, blew through the 3B coach's stop sign and was out by plenty at home, overestimating his ability to beat the relay throw in from Didi Gregorius.

 

Luckily, the Dodgers have a translator and one of the all-time best baserunning guys in Davey Lopes. That's the 3rd or 4th time he's cost the Dodgers by running into foolish outs. There was at least one other time, when he scored from 2nd base on an infield error by Buster Posey that he should have been out at home but got lucky forcing the issue.

 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

By Bill Plaschke

July 9, 2013, 11:13 p.m.

 

The most important member of the Dodgers' lineup doesn't wear a uniform, doesn't have a contract, and is not even allowed in the dugout during games.

 

The most important member of the Dodgers' lineup doesn't pitch, or catch, or even remotely attempt to hit.

 

Tim Bravo watches. This is important, because he is watching Yasiel Puig.

 

The 51-year-old schoolteacher watches the 22-year-old phenom from his morning steak-and-eggs breakfast to his midnight walks with his two English bulldogs.

 

Bravo lives with Puig, drives with him, hangs out with him in the clubhouse before games, then watches him play from darkened tunnels next to the dugout.

 

Bravo is there to make sure Puig doesn't drive too fast, or party too hard, or forget how to use his ATM card to withdraw some of his new major league millions. He is there to protect Puig from nutty autograph seekers, aggressive groupies and anyone else wanting to take advantage of an unsettled Cuban refugee who lives as hard as he swings.

 

Bravo originally signed up to be his English tutor, but he has become his life tutor, this compact man with a shiny bald head and dark goatee becoming so vital to Puig's comfort and safety that the outfielder refers to him not by his name, but his job.

 

"Teacher!" he shouts to Bravo in English when he needs him. "Teacher!"

 

Bravo is the keeper of the flame, the curator of the masterpiece, the guy in charge of harnessing the most exciting — and combustible — player in baseball.

 

And right now, he might be the only person in Los Angeles who isn't doing cartwheels over Puig's potential appearance in next week's All-Star game.

 

"The All-Star game is on my wedding anniversary," Bravo said with a sigh Tuesday at Chase Field before the Dodgers' 6-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks."But if Puig goes, I go."

 

By taking on Puig's life, Bravo has given up much of his own. He is a special education teacher at Las Cruces (N.M.) High. He has six children and six grandchildren. His 7-year-old son, Zechariah, is recovering from a rare form of cancer that was discovered under an eyelid.

 

Bravo will leave the Dodgers for a week after the All-Star break to accompany Zechariah on a Make-a-Wish trip to Disney World. It will be his longest absence from the team since he joined Puig at double-A Chattanooga this season.

 

The Dodgers will be holding their breaths. When it comes to anything involving the mercurial Puig, they hold their breaths, but Bravo is the one part of the kid's game that cannot disappear.

 

"Every day I thank Yasiel for taking me on this great ride, but I'm a daddy first," Bravo said.

 

How important is Bravo's success as a father figure so far? When he is gone next week, the Dodgers will replace him with the first guy who tried to do the job. The interim caretaker will be Eddie Oropesa, a former big league pitcher who was chronicled in this column during spring training. Oropesa, however, barely lasted a month with Puig, as he became frustrated with the stubborn and hard-living kid before taking a break to tend to personal business.

 

"It's been obviously a fast rise. Yasiel comes from a different place, a different culture, a totally different environment. There's adapting that needs to take place in a lot of different areas, including off the field," acknowledged Ned Colletti, Dodgers general manager. "We think we've got a good support group around him. Bravo is a teacher, and that's what he does, he teaches."

 

The schooling is endless, particularly during home games. Bravo sleeps in one of the three bedrooms in Puig's downtown apartment, and his day starts when Puig knocks on his door at midmorning.

 

"Teacher!" he yells. "Breakfast!"

 

From there, they are together the rest of the morning and early afternoon, running errands and doing the mounds of paperwork that come with being a new resident in a strange land.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Similar situation with Zobrist on the team, overall, he's not having a good year by his standards, but he can play everywhere.

 

Josh Donaldson and Longoria are both in the Top 10-15 for OPS in the majors and are likely to be sitting at home.

 

 

Jayson Stark singlehandedly has solved the Puig dilemma, the "Rising Star" spot for fans to vote on (Gattis, Puig, Teheran, Ozuna, Shelby Miller, S. Marte)

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/name/stark_j...l-puig-all-star

 

That is actually something I would be in favor of