Yasiel Puig: I Can't Even Think of a Word That Rhymes!

I agree--after a moment's thought, I realized I was doing the kind of nitpicking I hate. Also, Fernandez made up so much ground the last month, credit to the voters for not freezing the vote in August.

not that fernandez's season wasn't historic, of course. but puig had a pretty insane season (or 2/3 of a season) too, 4th in the majors in wRC+

The interesting question is, in light of how mercurial Puig's season was, and weighing that against how much of a roll of the dice young pitchers are, who would you rather have going forward? Puig's about a year-and-a-half older.

definitely puig, mostly because he plays every day and like you said is less of a gamble than a young pitcher. he's not just going to forget how to hit, and his walk rate showed a pretty steady improvement over the course of the summer. i feel pretty good about him being a star

also he's got so much defensive talent, i think once he grows up and settles down a bit he'll be a definite plus in the field

Didn't realize Grant Brisbee had a column on that question just today:

http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/11/11/5090124/rookie-of-the-year-yasiel-puig-jose-fernandez-wil-myers

Will second this: "Still, never pick the pitcher. Although it's really, really tempting in this case."

ok i'll take jose

If "going forward" means the next ten years, I'd take Puig, but if it's the next five years (i.e. until free agency) I would probably take Fernandez. Great pitchers are a lot harder to find and develop.

Dee Gordon in the red laces

― Andy K, Wednesday, October 23, 2013 6:56 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

LOLOLOLOLOL

http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/12/30/5256988/yasiel-puig-arrested-speeding-florida

i wonder what Puig has to do that moralizing will be permitted by Rob Neyer.

Content!

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/28/reckless-driving-charges-dropped-against-yasiel-puig

fat?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbaly79/12244900933/

3 hits and still 'controversial'

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/10658691/los-angeles-dodgers-manager-don-mattingly-upset-yasiel-puig-field-behavior

If you go back to the beginning of this thread, you seemed to be one of the skeptics.

skeptical of what?

That he's for real--you seem to be throwing cold water on the idea. Maybe I misinterpreted.

i was skeptical that he was God

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10733609/let-cut-yasiel-puig-some-slack-young-man-antics

The emigration of Puig.... more complex than the 30-second version.

Puig’s journey, according to claims made in court documents and detailed in interviews, had been underwritten by a small-time crook in Miami named Raul Pacheco, an air-conditioning repairman and recycler who was on probation for attempted burglary and possession of a fake ID. Pacheco had allegedly agreed to pay the smugglers $250,000 to get Puig out of Cuba; Puig, after signing a contract, would owe 20 percent of his future earnings to Pacheco. They were not the first to employ this scheme, a version of which has catapulted many of baseball’s new Cuban millionaires to American shores. It is usurious and expedient, illicit and tolerated. Even if you are as freakishly gifted as Yasiel Puig, there is no humanitarian boat lift delivering you to Chavez Ravine.

Every time the smugglers picked up their satellite phone to call Miami, though, Pacheco seemed unable or unwilling to meet their demands. It was unclear whether he was stiffing the smugglers or whether the smugglers were gouging him. For every day of nonpayment, they upped Puig’s price by $15,000 or $20,000. The calls between Mexico and Florida grew furious. The days turned to weeks. Holed up in that dump of a motel, all four migrants in the same dank room, Puig was so close to the prize—now was not the time to lose faith—and yet having just been liberated, his fate was never more out of his hands. The defector had become a captive.

“I don’t know if you could call it a kidnapping, because we had gone there voluntarily, but we also weren’t free to leave,” said the boxer, Yunior Despaigne, who had known Puig from Cuba’s youth sports academies. “If they didn’t receive the money, they were saying that at any moment they might give him a machetazo”—a whack with a machete—“chop off an arm, a finger, whatever, and he would never play baseball again, not for anyone.”

http://www.lamag.com/features/2014/4/13/escape-from-cuba-yasiel-puigs-untold-journey-to-the-dodgers/print

Aside from the really dumbass way this whole defection "embargo"/ charade has to get done, a lot of Puig's innocence /danger traits remind me of Ruth stories (with the immigrant culture shock layered over them).

also, a stooge and devil:

Puig discovered the round-the-clock comforts of Denny’s, returning day after day for steak and eggs. Flipping channels, he stumbled upon the Three Stooges and spent hours nyuck-nyuck-ing himself silly....
On June 3, 2013, a year after setting foot in this country, Puig found himself in the Dodgers lineup for the first time. He wore the number 66 on his jersey, the whimsy of clubhouse manager Mitch Poole, who thought Puig, with his frenetic ways, was “kind of like the Tasmanian Devil.”

the guy who wrote this article was on Kevin and Bean (KROQ's morning show) and sure was interesting what has and is happening to this guy.

he's on yesterday's BPcast too

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=23311

just half-assed a fly ball, dropped it, threw to second for a force out

then made a crazy over-the-head catch running towards the wall

puig being puig

http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/4316357/Puig-drop.gif

http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/4316373/Only-Puig.gif

I wish to sit in the RF stands when I see the Dodgers next

4-4 with a double and a walk today

and got tagged out at first in the second game of the double header because he 'turned toward second'

http://giant.gfycat.com/UnhappyGiddyJaguar.gif

hes 8 for 8 with 5-6 innings left to play in this one

can't wait to see this guy in Queens in a couple weeks

day-to-day

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2014/5/5/5683256/daily-puig-yasiel-puig-crash-collision-dodgers

damn he went all in for that catch

bottom of the 9th, might as well

bat flip on routine flyout <3

https://vine.co/v/M6FIdl73zQ5

i approve of expanding the varieties of bat flip

that was clearly a "ugh whatever who cares" flip

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BniBZGoIMAAemgL.jpg

http://photos-e.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-prn/10387967_1424758794452108_1505844609_n.jpg

Really impressed by his OBP this year--19 walks

(to finish that thought)...in 163 PA, .416 OBP.

just threw ball hard back to the infield... after a third-out fly

:rolleyes:

he's just lazy is all.

also 3 hits, double, walk

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BoLke8jCYAA0F6i.png

roped a hr, dayum

is there not a 2k14 dodgers thread?

y did i not know dee gordon was tom gordons son

Still can't hit the damn cutoff.

http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/video/v33076229/ladnym-puig-makes-an-amazing-diving-catch/?partnerId=as_lad_20140522_24504786

thank god he didn't break his wrist

Met my friend in Toronto today for Puig's debut with the Intercounty Maple Leafs. Walk, HR, HR--we figure he'll probably hit around 300 if he lasts the season. Which I really doubt he will.

First HR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPrUj6Btubs

Second HR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RCkDZG2pPQ

#PuigYourFriend

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