Every day a new star is born in the city of Los Angeles, but not since the long-haired, hard-to-figure-out Manny Ramirez turned up in the city of angels have the Dodgers had quite a phenom like Yasiel Puig.
Let’s look at the facts just quickly. The 22-year-old was not supposed to come up to the majors this early, but endless injuries and a team struggling to win ballgames meant that the Cuban defector has witnessed June in the major leagues after just 167 plate appearances at Double A Chattanooga, where he hit eight home runs and drove in 37. The right-hander also had 13 stolen bases for good measure.
The Dodgers needed a lift while their manager Don Mattingly was desperate for a spark to save his job and the team’s fading dreams of a championship run. Puig has lit up Dodgertown with a blistering start that if upheld could be a fantastic major league career.
Yasiel Puig has already hit three long balls in four games for the Dodgers.
In his first game in the big leagues, Puig ended the game with a bullet throw from the outfield fence which resulted in a game-ending double play. In his second, however, things got a little better. Puig homered twice, including an opposite field dinger, finishing 3-4 with five RBI’s in a 9-7 win over the Padres.
Fast forward a few days to Thursday and Puig felt he was starved of the effect he had in his second game, deciding to hit another opposite home run; but in this case, it was a grand slam, his first major league base clearer which gave the Dodgers breathing room in a 5-0 win over the NL East leading Atlanta Braves. Puig is batting .438 through four games, hitting three home runs with nine RBIs. He has yet to steal a base, but I’m sure Dodger fans will let that statistic go.
His opposite field power is what has impressed me most. He looks very similar to Miguel Cabrera when he goes the other way, and that is no small comparison when you consider Miggy is the best hitter in all of baseball right now.
Andre Ethier may be let go at the trade deadline, such is the impact Puig is having and the Dodgers interest in outfielder Joc Pederson who bats left at Double A. Mattingly would be able to split the combo of righty Puig and lefty Pederson, and never has a player in his first year of a new five-year, $85million extension looked so expendable as Ethier.
Changes abound at Dodger Stadium, but the team are still 7.5 games out of first place and bottom in the NL West, so more change is needed in the winning category before things really start to look up. But Dodger fans do have a reason to look up now. They will not take their eyes off a Yasiel Puig at-bat.
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Major League Baseball apparently has secured a star witness in its investigation of performance-enhancing drug use among active players. Their man in the middle of it all: Tony Bosch, the founder of the now non-existent Biogenesis wellness clinic at the centre of all that is bothering baseball’s reputation.
MLB has searched continually for evidence of PED use among the likes of Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun – who has dodged a 50-game suspension before – and now they have an informant with every bit of knowledge into the PED-related activity.
An ESPN report this week said Bosch “reached an agreement this week to cooperate with MLB’s investigation” into Biogenesis. MLB has pursued Milwaukee Brewer Braun heavily since he overturned his previous suspension in February 2012, and if Bosch can provide sufficient evidence, the 20 or so players in question could face heavy bans.
Ryan Braun is again at the centre of a steroid scandal.
Of course, the players have plenty of ammunition themselves and will at this very time be concocting their very own defences, along with the help of lawyers and the rest. But if we see 20 odd big names banned from baseball for 50 games, 100 games or maybe even banned for life if they are repeat offenders – Bartolo Colon is one potential there – it will be a massive blow for the game.
The big names will be missing, and they’ll be missing because they cheated. This problem, however much we want it to, will not go away. Players want to make history, and some cheat to get there. If he says the right things, Tony Bosch can change history too.
Candy floss anyone? Empty seats at Marlins Park are customary in 2013.
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According to MLB, baseball attendance is down 2% from the same date last season. Citi Field is just one ballpark that has a high no-show rate, and we must remember that the All Star Game is being hosted there in July. Blame the weather, blame the owners, but this statistic has to change because fans are heavily relied on in baseball. The huge quantity of games means they are a necessity. The All Star events will be sold out, but the weeks following will be a different story. In a market like New York, that just isn’t acceptable.
