While Yasiel Puig's exciting play has sparked the Dodgers to an impressive turn around, the rookie sensation can still be very immature, and his latest antics haven't gone over well with manager Don Mattingly. The skipper benched him in the middle of Wednesday's game.
Puig was pulled from the team's game against the Chicago Cubs in the fifth inning, and it wasn't due to injury reasons as he was being disciplined by his manager. The Dodgers ultimately won the game 4-0 and Puig was replaced by Skip Schumaker from the fifth inning on.
The video of Mattingly explaining the decision can be seen below:
Mattingly denied pulling the rookie out of the game for discipline, and even said he thought Schumaker gave the team a better chance of winning, but it's definitely hard to believe that as Puig is hitting an astounding .346 with 13 homers, 30 RBIs and 18 doubles and has 100 hits in 76 games.
"It's not an action vs. Yasiel. At that point in the game, I felt like Skip gave us a better chance to win today," Mattingly said after the game per ESPN.
If that's the case, it's curious that Mattingly and Puig had a meeting with general manager Ned Colletti after the game. If the benching was only because Mattingly believed Schumaker gave the team a better chance, it's uncertain why a meeting would be necessary. Through 103 games, Schumaker is batting .272 with two homers and 28 RBIs on the season.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Puig said that Mattingly told him in the lengthy meeting that he was benching him because he wasn't ready on defense for every pitch and that Puig understood Mattingly's decision.
Puig went 0-for-1 in the game with a walk and a strikeout before being lifted, and the Dodgers (78-55) eventually brought their record to 23 games above .500. Los Angeles now holds a 9.5 game lead in the National League West.
According to ESPN, Mattingly seemed irked that Puig failed to slide on a ground-ball double play and may have cost the team a run as Hanley Ramirez slugged a solo shot right after the play. Puig also wasn't in any hurry to get back to defense as ESPN reports he didn't hustle from the dugout to right field when the inning was over.
It isn't the first time that Puig, who came up to the Dodgers in June and helped them turn around their season by having one of the best months in MLB history, has gotten in trouble and been the center of controversy. Puig was fined by the Dodgers for showing up late last Tuesday to a game at Marlins Park in Miami and also was criticized by Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero for trying to bowl him over at the plate last month.
Puig is only 22, and sometimes he really acts like it.
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