Yasiel Puig | Larry Brown Sports

Yasiel Puig flies out to right, pimps it like a home run (GIF)

April 16, 2014 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

Yasiel Puig may be the new version of Manny Being Manny.

This dude gave us yet another unforgettable moment on Tuesday night.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants were in extra innings at AT&T Park and Puig was batting with one out, Hanley Ramirez on second, and the game tied at 2. Puig connected with a Yusmeiro Petit pitch and thought he had blasted a tie-breaking 2-run home run to right, so he began celebrating appropriately.

Unfortunately, it takes one heck of a shot to get it out to right field at AT&T Park, and Puig’s ball was caught for the second out, though Ramirez tagged up and went to third. Andre Ethier made the final out of the inning and the Giants went on to win the game in the bottom of the inning.

But at least in his mind, Puig had the game-winning home run. Or maybe he thought he hit it well and then didn’t run it out once he realized it would be an out.

If you liked that, you’ll love this GIF from the NLCS last year when Puig pimped a triple.

GIF via @carmenkiew

Filed Under: Baseball, Viral Greatness Tagged With: Yasiel Puig

Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu had a tickle fight (GIF)

April 13, 2014 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

You know how we know things are perfectly fine between Yasiel Puig and his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates? Because if they weren’t, I highly doubt he’d be engaging in tickle fights before the game.

A tickle fight between two grown men is the ultimate sign of friendship — right? Puig and Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu shared an intimate moment before LA took on the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. We’ve seen a lot of weird stuff over the years, but this is near the top of the list.

Remember that meeting Puig supposedly called with his teammates a couple weeks ago to ask how he could improve? The first order of business must have been more tickle fights.

GIF via Cut 4

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Hyun-Jin-Ryu, Yasiel Puig

Yasiel Puig hurts thumb diving head first into first base (Video)

April 6, 2014 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

Yasiel Puig’s shaky season took another bad turn this weekend.

A day after being benched for showing up late to the stadium for the team’s home opener, Puig pulled off another boneheaded move.

Puig made a head-first dive into first base while trying to beat out an infield single in the third inning of Saturday’s Dodgers-Giants game. Though Puig was just trying to put in a maximum effort on the play, he and anyone else who dives into first doesn’t realize that they’re actually slowing themselves down … not to mention increasing their chances of getting hurt.

Puig showed his left thumb to Dodgers reporter Ramona Shelburne Sunday, and she said that it was swollen. So did manager Don Mattingly.

Puig is going for an MRI on his thumb, but Mattingly did say he might be good enough to pinch hit in Sunday’s game, so maybe it’s not too bad.

Bottom line: though we appreciate Puig’s effort and desire on the play, you have to be smarter than that and realize diving into first is a bad idea. You can see in the shot below how his left thumb got caught on the bag:

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Yasiel Puig

Yasiel Puig benched after arriving late to ballpark

April 4, 2014 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

Yasiel Puig was a late scratch from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup on Friday after he arrived late to the ballpark, according to various beat writers. He was replaced by Matt Kemp after reportedly showing up at about 10:15 a.m. while batting practice was already underway.

As of now, it is being reported that Puig was benched for his late arrival. Had the coaching staff known he was going to be tardy, you would think he would have been kept in the lineup. Apparently Puig thought he was supposed to be there at 10:00.

I'm told Puig thought he was supposed to be here by 10. Stretch was at 9:40.

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) April 4, 2014

If this was any other player on the Dodgers, it probably wouldn’t be that big of a deal. However, Puig also showed up late for a game last year. The team joked about his tardiness on social media after that incident, but it would appear that Don Mattingly was not amused on Friday.

Unless Puig has a very valid excuse for why he was late, he’s going to give the media in LA even more reason to be all over him. He supposedly called a meeting with his coaches and teammates last week to ask how he can improve off the field. I doubt anyone advised him to take his time getting to the ballpark.

Filed Under: Baseball, Featured Stories Tagged With: Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig

Yasiel Puig reportedly called team meeting to ask how he can improve

March 31, 2014 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

The 2014 MLB season is barely underway, and already we have heard complaints about Yasiel Puig. The 23-year-old outfielder is playing in his first full season with the Los Angeles Dodgers this year after struggling in spring training and supposedly putting on a bunch of weight. According to general manager Ned Colletti, there is absolutely nothing to worry about.

There have been several reports over the past few days that the Dodgers reportedly held a meeting with Puig to clear the air. The news came in the wake of manager Don Mattingly voicing his frustrations with his young star after Puig struggled with a number of injuries — which may have been real or fake — during the team’s trip to Australia.

On Sunday, Colletti told MLB Network Radio that Puig is the one who called the meeting.

“He called it,” Colletti said, via the Orange County Register. “He wanted to know how he can get better and some of our veteran guys stood up and told him. And they told him how much they love him and how much they want him on the team and like having him here. But here are a couple of things … that we’d like you to be more focused on, get better at.”

Mattingly has not gone into detail about the meeting but described it as “a good meeting.” Colletti admitted that there is a maturation process with Puig but praised him for his enthusiasm.

“But he sought (the meeting) out the other day,” Colletti added. “He asked the question. He was searching for his peers to tell him what they thought he needed to do to get better and they did. So I see that as a good sign.”

If Colletti is telling the truth, that certainly is a positive sign from Puig. The media has painted him as a kid who does what he wants and follows his own set of rules, so seeking advice from teammates and coaches could show he is ready to grow up. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.

Filed Under: Baseball, Featured Stories Tagged With: Yasiel Puig

Don Mattingly already frustrated with Yasiel Puig?

March 23, 2014 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

Yasiel Puig seems like one of the more difficult personalities in baseball to manage. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder has tremendous athletic ability, but his attitude rubs plenty of people the wrong way. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly might be one of those people.

Puig has battled some nagging injuries during LA’s season-opening series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Australia. He left Sunday’s 7-5 win in the ninth inning with an apparent back injury. Mattingly seemed annoyed.

“Shoulder yesterday, back today, so I’m not sure if they’re going to get him tests or get him to the MRI Monday or a bone scan on Tuesday, maybe,” Mattingly told reporters sarcastically, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Marx Saxon. “I’m not quite sure what we’ll do. We may not do anything. I’m not sure.”

Prior to the game, Mattingly joked that Puig is like the boy who cries wolf because he grabs a different body part every time he swings and misses. Puig also had two baserunning mistakes on Sunday, which weren’t the first two of his career.

Puig did not have a good offseason. He was arrested for reckless driving and supposedly packed on a significant amount of weight. Last year he was snippy with reporters at times and showed up late to the ballpark, though the team fluffed his childish behavior off.

Maybe he’ll grow out of it. Puig is only 23, so he could mature as his career moves on. As long as he continues to produce at a high level, his behavior will probably be excused. If he doesn’t, Mattingly and others will become even more annoyed.

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Don Mattingly, Yasiel Puig

Yasiel Puig did not lose his cannon arm during the offseason (Video)

March 20, 2014 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

There have been a lot of questions surrounding Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig and whether or not he did enough during the offseason to remain in shape. Puig reportedly put on a significant amount of weight and has been struggling mightily at the plate. He has not, however, lost the cannon attached to his right shoulder.

During the Dodgers’ exhibition game against the Australian national team on Thursday, Puig gunned out a runner who made the mistake of trying to score from second on a single to right field. The runner had no business going and probably would have been thrown out by a lot of outfielders, but Puig put the ball on a line and got him by a mile.

Puig’s throw from shallow right to home plate looked like the type of throw a shortstop would make to first. We have seen Puig gun out plenty of runners during MLB games, so the play in Australia shouldn’t surprise anyone. That said, it should help remind Dodgers fans that Yasiel is still Yasiel.

H/T Big League Stew

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Yasiel Puig