Could this be Yasiel Puig’s much needed wakeup call? Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly has gotten increasingly more frustrated with Puig’s antics on the field, his happy-go-lucky approach to the game may prove detrimental longterm.
Just off a 2-game opening series in Sydney, Australia and Puig-mania is already bubbling over, the only difference is Mattingly is about fed up, via ESPN Los Angeles:
Asked what injury caused Puig to leave Sunday’s game, Mattingly said, “I guess his back.” He then seemed to react sarcastically when asked about the severity of the injury. “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 said. “I’m not quite sure what we’ll do. We may not do anything. I’m not sure.” Before the game, Mattingly told reporters that Puig “grabs something every time he takes a swing and misses.”
After a lackluster game 1, Puig rebounded in game 2 of the Series to put up a good performance, but it wasn’t without its share of lack of focus gaffes
After the first base running gaffe, Adrian Gonzalez grabbed Puig as he was leaving the field and talked to him. The two players were bantering loudly in Spanish in the Dodgers’ clubhouse following the game.
This isn’t the first time the issue of Puig’s lack of seriousness for the game has been questioned. On Sunday, Puig went cruising in Rolls Royce to an LA club, after being too ‘hurt’ to stay in the game. This needs to be addressed early and taken care of before the long stretch of the season begins.