Dude. I’ve done my damndest to defend you, but at some point you gotta help me help you:
Seems Puig was confused over what time to be at ballpark this morning. Was late. Could see a Kemp start after all.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) April 4, 2014
Here we go again: Yasiel Puig shows up late for BP and Mattingly replaces him with Matt Kemp for #Dodgers home opener.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 4, 2014
Kemp was supposed to sit this one out, but Mattingly has benched Puig. Which — my past defenses of him notwithstanding — is exactly what he should do in this situation. Do the crime, such as it is, do the time.
My beef has never been with Mattingly or the Dodgers handling Puig the way he should be handled. It’s been about overreaction of the media with respect to his behavior and the implication that he’s not manageable via the same means via which any other ballplayer is subject.
This is a clear violation of Puig’s responsibilities. Mattingly has made him pay for it. Now let’s see if that’s good enough for everyone. I feel like it won’t be.
UPDATE: Nope, it isn’t. Read this for the most ridiculously over-heated response to this.