Yasiel Puig Silences Critics

Puig Puig Puig. Puig went out clubbing. Puig was late. Puig got benched. Puig yelled at an umpire. Puig doesn't like the media. Puig has been looking bad at the plate.

Over the last couple of days, there has been much media fury over Puig. Of course media fury is usually manufactured and has no place in reality. It's not real fury as in when a rapist pitched at Dodger Stadium for three straight days: Tampa Bay Rays reliever Josh Lueke pleaded down to "false imprisonment with violence" and was given time served despite his DNA found on the victim's jeans, tank top and anal cavity.

But I suppose rape is too uncomfortable, so let's us old media fogies harp on about the frivolities of youth and play it safe.

Manager Don Mattingly gave Puig the day off against the Miami Marlins for his pretty awkward plate appearances as of late. So far on the roadtrip Puig had been batting .118 (2-for-17) with four strikeouts.

Well, that was the intention anyhow until Double-Switchin' Donnie decided to put him in the game in the bottom of the sixth with the game tied 4-4.

Puig came to the plate to lead off the eighth inning, and on the first pitch he saw he belted a solo shot to left-center field.

In an instant what looked like a game that seemed destined to go down into a third straight listless loss became a great 6-4 victory that was sparked by Puig. The same Puig that Bill Plaschke of the LA Times thought was a great idea. The same Puig that Jon Morosi of Fox Sports said will be the iceberg to sink the Dodgers Titanic.

The two of these articles imply that Puig hasn't learned anything. Before this little slump he's been in the past week, didn't we see Puig have some pretty good plate appearances working the count and laying off pitches designed to fool him? Didn't we see Puig hit a cutoff man in Monday night's game?

Sure we saw Puig make some baserunning errors, but haven't we seen Juan Uribe and Hanley Ramirez make a bevvy of them also? Didn't we see Matt Kemp tagged for the same transgressions as Puig before his 2011 MVP-caliber season?

Let's give this some time because the Dodgers have the luxury of time right now. They are 73-52 with a 7 1/2 game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

And let's save our moral outrage for someone who actually commits serious transgressions. You know, for athletes who commit rape, beat up on women and murder people.