Earlier this week the tale of Yasiel Puig's defection from Cuba hit the internet, and was wilder than many movies. The story involves kidnapping, human traffickers, drug cartels and even murder. The sordid and scary details put into perspective the past instances in which Puig made headlines.
Mattingly upset with Puig's mistakes, thinks they caused an injury?
The negative associations could become a bigger distraction for Puig's Dodgers than anything has before, including his celebrations, occasional lapses in hustle, or even myriad speeding violations. Puig and manager Don Mattingly have clashed at times, but in this case it seems Mattingly is backing his outfielder.
"We haven't see any differences from the time we've had him," Mattingly said. "We continue to try to help him mature as a player. That's what we do. We don't know about the other stuff.
"He hasn't changed since he's been here, really. He's still Yasiel. He's been the same kind of kid, really, the whole time. Hopefully, from our standpoint, baseball-wise, he's a little better all the time."
Mattingly indicated he hadn't delved into the things that were written, and showed no inclination that he's planning on doing so. I haven't read it. I've just heard little tidbits. I wouldn't even know what I was talking about."
Puig hasn't talked about the story, and Dodgers' manager of international scouting said it's unlikely he will. "He's probably not going to talk," Roman Barinas said.
With Puig silent, and Mattingly trying to stamp out all the chatter, Puig's play may have to speak for itself. In that regard he appears fine. He's hitting .256 with one home run, one stolen base, and seven RBIs thus far while dealing with a few injuries.
He also has two doubles and a triple in 2014 while rating as a slight positive in the outfield. Chances are Puig will be just fine, but Dodgers brass must be pining for a stretch of time during which the only headlines Puig makes are for his play.
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