From Worst to First in a Month!

The “What if’s?” of sports are endless…

What if Jordan was drafted 1^st or 2^nd instead of 3^rd to the Bulls?

What if the Red Sox never traded Babe Ruth?

What if the “tuck rule” had not been used and the Raiders beat the Patriots to go to the Superbowl?

What if’s can be as big as player movements from team to team or draft picks or as small as one call that changed the course of a game.  The ripple effects can last for games, weeks, seasons, years or even the life a sport.

By the middle of the 2013 MLB season, I think the biggest “What if” is, What if the Dodgers had any kind of health luck.  Unlike the Angels or Yankees, who have had health issues of their own, whose marquee players have not lived up to hype that was in place for those teams regardless of injuries.  When the Dodger players have been healthy and in games, they’re doing well.  Matt Kemp came back for one game against the Washington Nationals, went 3 for 4 with a home run, and is now back on the dreaded Disabled List.

A month ago every Dodger fan was enraged that Puig was not in the All Star Game.  The savior of the 2013 season and a possible Mickey Mantle-esque future superstar was being overlooked for the likes of Freddie Freeman.  While I’m sure Mr. Freeman is a swell gentleman, other than his friends and family, have you every heard a single baseball fan clamoring for more Freddie Freeman. 

When I had season tickets, there would be games that I would perk my ears to.  I know this is a bad time to bring this name up but in 2007 / 2008 when the Brewers came to town, they had this budding superstar named Ryan Braun that was from here in the San Fernando Valley and I wanted to check him out.  He had his own section of fans in the outfield.  He played well.  He hit a homerun.  It was quite the show.  Whether helped by testosterone enriched gummy snacks or whatever he was taking, it was quite a show to see.  In subsequent years, he led his team to the playoffs and won the league’s MVP.  He was someone you wanted to go to a game to see, even as an opposing player.

I’m pretty sure Freddie Freeman doesn’t come with the same fan fare when the Atlanta Braves are touring the country.

That was my only real argument that Puig should have been in the All Star Game.  Never mind the naysayers who bemoaned that he’d only played for six-plus weeks and didn’t deserve to be in the All Star Game.  Well by that theory, no rookie or even second year pitcher should ever be in an All Star Game because they only pitch every fifth day.  Matt Harvey of the Mets started the All Star Game and he only “played” in less than 20 games.  “But Harvey is a phenom and an attraction”, well so was / is Puig.  Of course he’s not going to continue hitting .430 and hitting homers every other game.  But during the short time he's been in the majors, he has been electrifying.  He was all anyone wanted to talk about.  While the Dodgers were drowning in last place and Mattingly’s job seemed as if it was on the line game by game, the legend of Puig was growing.  Why deprive the fans of baseball the chance to watch of the most exciting players in baseball.  God forbid Puig gets an AB in an All Star game and then turns out to be a bust.  We must not have such a blemish like that tarnish the MLB record books.  Nary a liar, nor cheat, nor racist, nor felon, nor etc. has ever graced a baseball field; and they never will corrupt America's pastime, by-golly.  We can all agree, the sacred history books of baseball have other problems to worry about than a potential superstar getting a few chances to swing the bat at an All Star Game.

It’s always fun when your team has, not just great, but exciting players.  Sunday, July 28^th, Puig had 3 strikeouts going into the bottom of the 11^th.  With one swing and crack of the bat, GAME OVER.  There was no question, that ball was gone.  A game winning homerun was exactly what the Dodger’s needed and all the Puig haters to shut up.  Later on Sunday, I was at a family dinner and there was a Padre fan in attendance.  He was amazed at how great Puig looked and how fast the Dodgers had turned their season around.  He implanted the “What if” the Dodgers had been healthy all year scenario in my head.  Immediately I ran off five “What if’s”:

Puig starts the whole season?

Greinke doesn’t get hurt and has to sit out for most of the first half?

Hanley Ramirez doesn’t start on the DL and plays like a potential MVP for the whole season?

Crawford’s inconsistent return from injuries?

Finally, Matt Kemp’s constant battle with the DL?

I’ve seen more of Anthony Weiner’s Louisville Slugger than Kemp on a lineup card.

Amanda Bynes and Lindsey Lohan have had more court appearances than Kemp has plate appearances.

C’mon, do a third one…umm…well…I’ll try… The only thing that's had a worse showing than Kemp this year was R.I.P.D. (That's too cruel.  I love you Kempy, I can't compare you to that train-wreck.  Just please get better and stay healthy.  Don't even watch Contagion or Outbreak.)

Kemp, find Kobe and just do whatever he's doing.  Don't ask, just do it.  If he's in Germany, I want you in Germany.  If he's taking stem cells from fetuses, I need you taking the same stem cells.

Enough fun and games, we’re talking “What if’s” here.  We finally have a roster that is almost healthy.  Aside from Kemp and Crawford, our lineup has been consistent and when ever these two players can contribute, the Dodgers become playoff favorites.  We’ve got 3 ½ quality starters, one of which might be the next Colfax (you can calm down Greinke, I’m talking about Kershaw).  Imagine if Kemp could play and be at least half the player he has been for the past few years?  The only things We’re (yes the Royal We) is a good third baseman and a steady / more reliable bullpen and closer.  I’m not sure that Carlos Marmol, who by all accounts the Cubs couldn’t wait to get rid of, is who I’m banking a World Series run on but I’ll take it.

I’ve tried to temper my Dodger fever but after a 20 strike-out game, featuring the SO hat-trick by 4 players, for Puig to rock a walk-off homerun is just pure enjoyment and excitement for the rest of the year.  These are the games that great seasons are made of.  Taking 3 of 4 from the Reds, a top tier team in the NL for sure, is something not to go unnoticed.  The Reds were seen as World Series contenders at the begging of the season.

The most impressive stat is the 8-0-3 series record over the last eleven series played.  Baseball is not about being perfect.  All great teams are beatable.  Any team can be on the wrong side of the other teams pitching Ace and you’re going to loose 9 out of 10 times.  It’s what you do with the rest of the games OR the 1 out of 10 times you beat that Ace. 

Here’s a side question for you seam-heads.  What’s worse, winning 2 of 3 but you’re beating say the 4^th and 5^th starter on the Astros OR winning the one game against a teams Ace but loosing the other two games to go 1 for 3 on a series?  I say it’s worse to win the two games.  The reason is, those are games you should be winning.  If you’re a middling team, then yes, all you’re trying to do is rack up wins however and against whomever you can.  But if you’re trying to show that you’re a World Series team, you want to beat 1^st and 2^nd starters.  If you’re good / lucky enough to make it into the playoffs, you’re going to see the other team’s best pitchers.  You need to know that your pitchers can keep up with the other Aces (which Kershaw and Greinke can certainly do) and you can score just enough runs to win the close games. 

To win series after series, or in this case not get beat in a series, the team has to be locked in every game.  There are no nights off.  Sure, you’ll loose a few games here and there but you’re not letting the losses pile up.  To win series after series, no matter who the opponent is, that means you’re winning the easy games, tough games and lucky games.

Starting tonight, the Yankees are in town.  The Yankees, albeit not Murder’s Row, are still “The Yankees” and to win a series against them will only boost the Dodger’s confidence.  This series will be telling because Yankee / Dodgers will be a high profile series.  We’ll see if the team is ready for the bright lights (which can be as intimidating as a good pitcher).  The Yankees are a team the Dodgers should beat.  In the next week or two, if the Dodgers can stay hot and put some distance on the rest of the NL West, then to have Kemp come back (hopefully for the rest of the year), we’ll be in a great position for a post season run. 

Lastly, I have to address this picture of Puig sliding in on his game winning homerun.  He’s the spark that this team needed.  Who cares if he runs to third base when he hits the ball or doesn’t stop running until he’s tagged out or has never seen a pitch he doesn’t like. I’d love to see an over / under on Puig’s pitches per plate appearance, it’s got to be 5 pitches?  Regardless, Puig is awesome.  “Wild Stallion” was a perfect call by Vin Scully on Sunday.  You never know what you’ll get but Puig is going to put on a show.  Unlike most cases, I think it’s an advantage to be so young, doesn’t speak the language, is in Los Angeles (transplant / Spanish speaking central) and isn’t the only superstar in the city like if he were playing for Kansas City, Cleveland or Arizona where he’d be the biggest celebrity in town right now.  Also, the LA press isn’t as desperate to create and destroy players like Boston or New York.  Those towns would be scrutinizing every over-run base or quick strikeout.  These “pluses” should help allow him to grow as a person and a player without all the pressure that other young studs like Bryce Harper or Matt Harvey must be under.  Also, the Dodgers have a roster of better players like Kemp and Kershaw that will take some of the spotlight away from Puig.  If we could live with Manny being Manny, we certainly can live with Puig being Puig.

All-in-all, the Dodgers have come around to being a great story and something that the LA sports scene has needed in 2013.  We don’t have football (Which by the way NFL, this is fine with 99% of the people who live here.  We don’t need a new team or some other city’s throwaway team like the Jags.)  and our basketball teams (Which is what this city is, a basketball city) both experienced huge disappointments this year.  The Kings doing well is great but no one really cares until they make a decent run for the cup, but they ended on a whimper.  When the Dodgers are rolling, there’s a special fire that gets lit under the city.  Vin Scully seems to be coming out of every speaker and Dodger blue starts to cover all the city’s woes for a few hours a night.  As Vin would put it, “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”

What's the Puig Deal?

For a player that has had, arguably, the best six week debut in baseball history; Yasiel Puig has caused a massive debate over whether he is worthy of being in an All Star Game and assertions regarding his attitude and the roll of a rookie player.

I love baseball.  It’s the most American of sports (it’s slow and lazy, has no time frame, you can be 100 pounds overweight and still be a great player, talent trumps everything and if you’re the best there is no limit to how much you can make).  It’s the oldest of the four major sports in America and it’s the one that has changed the least during its time.  Other than the recent (and current) steroid debate, the reason why baseball’s record book means so much is because the sport is essentially the same as it was 100 years ago.  If, we can table the steroid debate for just this article and agree that you could have horse testosterone pumping through your veins, being “stronger, faster, bigger” doesn’t help you “hit the ball, throw the ball or catch the ball” which are the three staples of baseball. Mickey Mantle would be one of the best players today and conversely Miguel Cabrera would be a Triple Crown threat 60 years ago.  Do you doubt that if the Dodgers put out Sandy Colfax and Clayton Kershaw as their one/two pitchers, they wouldn’t dominate in any decade?  You couldn’t take football players from the 40’s and put them in the NFL now, they’d get killed.  Would the Minnesota Lakers win even one game against the 2001 or 2011 Los Angeles Lakers in a seven game series?  The games have changed and the players have changed.  In baseball, you still need to hit the ball and no steroid in the world can help you with that.  The “traditions” of baseball are where we run into the debate and issues people have about Yasiel Puig.

The debate this week is, “Should Yasiel Puig be an All Star?”  The reasons for is that he has burst onto the scene like no one who has ever played before.  In just the first few weeks in the majors he’s been electrifying and we could be seeing one of the best players to ever play the game, of course he should be an All Star.  The reasons against is that he’s barely played 40 games in the majors and a player who may just be riding a hot streak shouldn’t be put into the All Star Game.  There’s no evidence that he could be out baseball in two years.  To become an All Star, you need to show that you’re the best of the best and if not for your first year but at least for the entirely of the first half of the season.  Some people would debate that no rookie should be in the All Star game at all but if they are, they should have had to play since opening day.  Puig was brought up late to the majors (mainly because of MLB’s CBA rules and bringing up a rookie after a certain amount of games already played allows the team to have control over the player’s rights for an extra year) and has played about half as many games as all the other participants in the All Star game this year.

As of July 11, 2013 Puig’s number are .392 average / 1.054 OPS / 8 HR / 19 RBI.  The only thing low is the RBI but he’s hitting 2^nd and considering he’s gotten over 50 hits, we’ll excuse his low-ish totals (extrapolate his RBI over a full season, you're still looking at a number over 80).  Double all these numbers for a full half and you’re talking about MVP numbers.  Puig has a cannon for an arm and runs like the wind.  Unfortunately he “runs until he’s tagged out” so sometimes he can frustrate you with his decision making.  Consider that he’s going to be 23 years old this year and that this is his first year of “American” baseball (he’s a defector from Cuba) all his shortcomings can be easily corrected with time and coaching. 

All you need to know as to if he should be an All Star is two things.  One, re-read the first line of the last paragraph.  He’s a monster player.  Maybe it’s only for a season or two but right now he is all anyone can talk about.  Henley Ramirez is hitting .400+ since coming back from injury for the Dodgers and that would be the headline in every newspaper if not for this Puig kid.  The Dodgers were 9 ½ games back in the division and after sweeping the Diamondbacks, they’re now just 1 ½ games back.  He’s the hottest name in the league, on a historic franchise.  He should be carried on the backs of other players to the All Star game.  Secondly, the All Star game is an exhibition game.  It’s to show off the best in baseball and it’s for the fans.  People want to see this guy play.  Since he wasn’t officially on the All Star ballot, people had to write in his name.  Puig received the highest amount of write-in votes in the history of the current All Star voting process.

The two rules that are the most ridiculous rules in baseball are that the All Star game winning team decides which league, NL or AL, will get the home field advantage for the World Series.  The other is that every team gets a player to represent each team.  So, even the dreadful Houston Astros have someone from their team who is an All Star.  This rule alone diminishes the brand “All Star”.  There are at least half a dozen guys playing in the All Star game that are solely there because their team MUST have a representative.  Whether he ends up being a one season wonder or an all time great, he’s on fire now and MLB should trot him out there to entertain the crowd.  Let’s not forget, the whole point of having sports, AND having an All Star Game to begin with, is to entertain the audience.  This is an exhibition game for the fans to see all the best players at the same time.

I’m sure Freddie Freeman is a fine man and he’s got decent stats.  But no one gives a shit about seeing Freddie Freeman at the All Star game.  Due to some half assed plan, cooked up by the Toronto Blue Jays and the Atlanta Braves where they both voted for each other’s candidates, Freddie Freeman is going to the All Star game.  I could write 1000 words on this travesty and how this damages the integrity of baseball more than any steroid issue could but I’ll leave it to this one quip… This Toronto / Atlanta team-up sounds like the fifth Lethal Weapon movie.  The white pot smoking cop that doesn’t play by the rules, teams up with the black no nonsense southern cop that has a chip on its shoulder for being passed up for promotion because of the color of his skin; they get together to figure out who was secretly behind the fleecing and grand theft of the Miami public’s money when its baseball team was held hostage for a new stadium and tax incentives.  This episode would be called, Maple Town Freaknik and the case of the slippery Marlin.

Here is the true problem.  If this was a white player that had come up through the traditional farm system or out of college, MLB would find a place for him.  The truth is that Puig is an enigma to everyone.  He’s as black as Hispanics get.  He doesn’t speak English.  He’s literally “off the boat.”  He’s seen as a totally raw talent that doesn’t listen to authority.  He’s eccentric.  He’s seen as not giving the proper respect to veteran players.  His translator has been reprimanded for trying to get women’s phone numbers on behalf of Puig.  He rarely does interviews.  And the sin of all sins in sport, he’s cocky while being young and hasn’t won anything.  I don’t play the race / ethnic card very often.  In fact I despise it 99% of the time.  But let’s face it; race and baseball have had a long history.  As we celebrate Jackie Robinson, let’s also remember why we have to.  Puig is Mike Trout with better numbers.  He’s Bryce Harper but with consistency.  Matt Harvey is the Mets’ pitcher who will be starting the All Star game this year.  He’s a rookie as well but he’s played the whole first half.  This is not to knock Harvey, who looks like he’ll be apart of the Cy Young talk for the next 10+ years, but he only plays every 5^th day.  He’s played in less games than Puig but he gets to not only be in the All Star game but will start because it’s in Mets CITI Field, and guess what… he happens to be white.

Puig is young, rich, doesn’t speak the language, he chases women, likes to party, he’s new to Los Angeles (one of the most dangerous cities to be all the above in) and plays a reckless exciting brand of baseball.  If you had all these things going for you, what would you do?  How would you act being a defector to a new country?  How did all of us act at 23 years old?  Should his punishment be to be left out of the All Star game?  If he continues his current play, he could very well be the MVP or lead the Dodgers to at least the playoffs.  Then we’ll look back at the 2013 season and be dumbfounded that this guy, who sparked a drowning team, saved the coach from being fired and set the league on fire, didn’t make the All Star game?

He should be in the All Star game without all this debate.  The plus side of the debate is that he’ll probably get more recognition than if he’d just been voted into the game normally.  God willing, he’ll keep up his awesome play for the rest of the season.  As a Dodger unabashed “homer”, if Kemp can get healthy, we’re looking at a lineup with Puig, Gonzalez, Kemp, Ramirez and whatever you can get out of the Ethier / Crawford duo as the heart of the lineup?!  Nothing could make me happier or sounds scarier for opposing pitchers. 

Sports have become Religions, Corporations and Monopolies.  Writers, enthusiasts, owners, players (mostly veterans and retired players) and management all forget what is at the heart of sport.  It’s supposed to be fun and entertaining.  My favorite line is from Tim Kirchen, an ESPN writer / analyst, is “Every time you go to a game, you’ll see something you’ve never seen before.”  With Puig playing, you’re chances of that “something” being amazing multiplies by 1000%.   

Then again, looks who’s talking.  My blood runs Dodger Blue.  I could be bias.