cautiously optimistic... one, that he can mature as a player and play smarter two, that it doesn't rob him of that aggressive/infectuous play :crossfingers: Dodgers' Yasiel Puig plans to dial it down, at least a little, in 2014 Yasiel Puig, whose exuberance both helped and hindered him as a rookie, intends to be more restrained at plate, in field and on bases this yearBy Dylan Hernandez | Los Angeles Times February 14, 2014, 8:07 p.m. PHOENIX — From the time he was called up to the major leagues last year, Yasiel Puig has viewed himself as an entertainer. "The fans go to the stadium to enjoy themselves," Puig said in Spanish. "After work, they spend their free time watching us play. We have to do our best to entertain them." Puig did that last season with a hair-raising style of play, electrifying crowds in becoming one of baseball's top draws as a rookie. However, Puig also acknowledges he has to be more restrained on the field, admitting he has to be smarter on the bases and learn when to hit the cutoff man rather than throw directly to the plate from right field. With the Dodgers holding their first full-squad workout Friday, the 23-year-old Cuban outfielder and his coaches restarted the process of adding a degree of caution to his risk-taking mentality. "To me, in order to be a bona fide superstar, you have to learn to slow the game down," hitting coach Mark McGwire said. Manager Don Mattingly is hopeful this camp will provide Puig with that opportunity. "It gives us an extended period of time where there aren't games on the line and we can continue to talk about different things," Mattingly said. The Dodgers couldn't offer Puig that kind of instruction last year. He was new to the country, new to the Dodgers and determined to make his presence known to the world. "He was just full speed," Mattingly said. "He was all forward." With the Dodgers starting three former All-Stars in their outfield — Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford — Puig started the season with double-A Chattanooga. Puig was promoted to the major leagues on June 3, when the Dodgers were in last place. They finished the season as division champions, with Puig's exuberance often cited as one of the primary reasons for their turnaround. He played 104 regular-season games, hitting .319 with 19 home runs and 42 runs batted in. Asked about his favorite memory of last season, Puig mentioned several, including the grand slam he hit in his fourth game and Juan Uribe's two-run home run to win the National League division series against the Atlanta Braves. Until last year, Puig had never sprayed teammates with champagne. "In Cuba," he said, "we used water." But not every memory was pleasant. He seems bothered when talking about how opposing pitchers were offended by his home-run celebrations. "We don't always hit home runs," Puig said. "When a moment like that comes and we enjoy it, we don't intend to offend the pitcher. We're expressing the emotions that are inside of us." Mattingly agreed. "It's hard for me to see a team get upset when a guy gets excited," Mattingly said. "They do the same thing. Every team that you watch, a guy gets to second base and he has a special sign that he shoots to the dugout. They can't get mad because they do the same thing. That part's become so much more accepted." Puig also endured a late-season decline. He batted only .214 in September. Against the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Championship Series, he hit .227. Opposing pitchers frequently pounded him inside with fastballs and got him to chase outside breaking balls. "We're working on hitting the types of pitches I missed last year and in zones in which I feel a little uncomfortable," Puig said. The key for Puig is learning to distinguish between strikes he can hit and strikes he can't, according to McGwire. The NLCS also exposed Puig defensively; he committed two errors in Game 6, and a couple of his ill-advised throws resulted in Cardinals runs that contributed to the Dodgers' elimination. While Puig says he wants to cut down on his mistakes, he doesn't intend to change his general approach toward the game. If he sees a chance to stretch a single into a double, he says, he will. "If the outfielder moves slowly to the ball, I'm going to try to take another base," he said. "The more bases we take, the more runs we can score." __
Big picture, this is the absolute right thing to do. Devils advocate, The dodgers were an expensive team with zero heart well on its way to last place last year until he got the fire the lit.
You're probably right. It's just that I have a hard time accepting Yasiel "tempering" his enthusiasm, and not going Puig-out as usual. It may manifest itself in a mere shadow of his former self, since at his age and experience level and personality, I wonder if he's ready for the less insane version. I'm almost fine with all his OF antics, as long as he throws to where he should be. That should be and could be taught. At the plate, I still see guys like Matt swinging for the sucker pitch, years after it was knowlege in the NL. it's the bane of aggressive hitters, IMO. That might be tough for him...tougher than the OF insanity. As long as he's still dangerous....
What a lot of people fail to realize is that Ramirez played just 4 games before Puig's june 3rd debut, and before that date had Greinke made 6 starts (for comparisons sake, Kershaw made 12 before june 3rd).
Yeah, that's what you get for a shoulder butt with a guy built like a linebacker. And for playing in a useless tournament and getting injured when your job is really somewhere else, earning millions and millions of dollars.
