In the midst of the hoopla over Yasiel Puig’s home opener benching due to tardiness, was the massive overreaction by many media outlets. By far though, Jill Painter of Los Angeles Daily News seemed to have the most radical approach to Puig’s behavior, via Deadspin:
Puig should explain to fans why he’s not in the lineup. He cheated everyone out of watching his antics — both dazzling and disturbing — in the home opener. Shame on him. Puig needs to think about someone other himself for a change, and the Dodgers need to babysit him by the hour.
Painter went on to lament about how selfish Puig is and it eventually led to her predicting the Dodgers’ demise if Puig doesn’t correct himself. Really though, it’s time we all get used to the shenanigans of Puig–that’s not to say the Dodgers should tolerate it, but to overreact this massively is pretty uncalled for.
The Dodgers need to come up with a plan on how to keep Puig focused–baby-sitting a 23-year-old will most likely not make the top ten list.