Mets Turn Triple Play, Assist Given to Yasiel Puig

I'm not going to lie, I like Yasiel Puig. Not in the way that Dodgers fans like Puig, but because every time he takes the field he ends up doing something that either makes my jaw drop or makes me point and do the Nelson laugh. Yesterday, Puig had one of those "Ha ha!" moments.

There was Puig, standing on second base, doing what Yasiel Puigs do, when Matt Kemp hit a groundball to the left of David Wright. Puig did what he was supposed to do, and that's run to third base. It was a routine double play ball, so the Mets were going to get two out of this unless the went all Mets on the play, but the Dodgers would still have a man on third with two out. Not an ideal situation, but not the worst situation either.

But then, Yasiel Puig did a Yasiel Puig thing and...well, here's the video:



In Puig's defense, this is the Mets. So I imagine he thought that there was no chance they could make three good throws on the same play. Let's ask Zack Greinke what he thinks:

Zack, what did you think of Puig's baserunning blunder?

/backs away slowly

Thank you, Yasiel Puig, for just one of many LOLZ. And thank you Mets as well for not going all Mets on that play and finding a way to allow three runs score on the groudball. Don't kid yourself. You know they could do it. 

Oh, NOW the Dodgers Want to Save Money

Running for cover

The Dodgers officially became the Yankees of the West when they signed Zack Greinke before the 2013 season. They got the ball rolling when they traded for Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Nick Punto and seven cups of New England's finest clam chowder in 2012. Now it seems that they wouldn't mind dumping a little bit of their $223MM payroll. Just a thought, maybe they should have thought of this before they handed out contracts that may be impossible to move.

Per the SB Nation post above - and the Ken Rosenthal report that it links to - the Dodgers are trying to move a member of their highly overcrowded outfield. Which, of course, to this blogger, sounds impossible.

Matt Kemp is the big name, but he hasn't played a full season since 2011 and is still owed $126MM. The Dodgers have a better chance of getting the Hollywood sign relocated to the left field bleachers than they do moving Kemp without eating a significant portion of that contract.

Carl Crawford had himself a nice bounce back season after drowning in the media fishbowl that is Boston, MA. He triple slash'd .283/.329/.407 and put up an fWAR of 2.9. He's still owed $82.5MM through 2017, and has already proven that when the going gets tough, he goes into a coma.

Andre Ethier is owed $67.5MM through 2017 with a player option for 2018 (an option that vests with 550 PA in 2017). But, like the other two, there's a bit of an issue with Ethier. He can't hit lefties. Like, not at all. His platoon splits are so obvious that he should be duct taped to the bench when a lefty is on the mound. How much of a split is there? How about a 140 wRC+ against righties and a wRC+ of 73 against lefties. Good start?

A better move? Trade Yasiel Puig.

Whoa. What? That's crazy-talk.

Yeah, I know, but hear me out.

Puig is as exciting a ballplayer as you will find in baseball. He's just as likely to hit a home run as he is to steal the mustache off of Al Hrabosky's face and Velcro it to his forehead.

In 104 games he posted an fWAR of 4.0 and a wRC+ of 160. He's good. Very good. He's so good at the plate that the other 29 teams in baseball will be happy to overlook his fielding inconsistencies and dump Brinks trucks full of prospects on the front lawn of Dodger Stadium.

This is also probably the reason why most Major League Baseball teams refuse to return my calls. Either way, the Dodgers have an over-abundance of outfielders, but they have handed or traded for contracts that don't look as good now as they did when they were written. If the goal is to move payroll - my guess is that that does not happen. If the goal is to fill an area of need through trades - then they are using the wrong players as bait on the trading block.

2013 Team Awards: Los Angeles Dodgers

In order to review the 2013 season, the crackpot staff of Off Base is handing out awards to each Major League team. Please send us $19.95 for the shipping and handling of your team's Hello Kitty stickers awards. Here are the Most Valuable Player, Least Valuable Player, Cy Young, Cy Yuck, Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year for the Los Angeles Dodgers. *Guidelines, prices and participation may vary by author*

MVP: Yasiel Puig
In his rookie season, Yasiel Puig was off the page phenomenal. Many scouting reports and scouts alike said Puig was to be considered an average to above average prospect. Nearly from the onset, the 'Wild Horse' seemed to provide an intangible spark that turned the Dodgers season from Titanic to Cuban cruise ship. Puig posted a 4.0 fWAR (Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement) in just 104 games played. As evidenced by his .319/.391/.534 slash line, it was obvious to those that spent late nights tuning into Puigmania that this kid has the chance to be something other-worldly. The first two months of his big league season provided a season's worth of signature moments. Puig was one of those rare players who left you wanting more when his season ended - and it was more exciting at times seeing him strike out or make an error than it was seeing others play the game fundamentally perfect. When you think of the Dodgers 2013 season you will forever think of Yasiel Puig. Or perhaps you will think of something else. But I name the young Cuban sensation the team MVP in 2013.

LVP: Matt Kemp
Matt Kemp made $20.25 million dollars in 2013, and he provided a -0.4 fWAR. Then Kemp hurt his shoulder. Then he hurt his hamstring. Then the final pin was stuck in the Matt Kemp voodoo doll when he hurt his ankle and was done for the year. Dodgers fans spent much of the season waiting for the return of a mythological figure - but that figure was more Hyperion than Zeus. Kemp hit .270, slugged .395, and posted a meager .150 ISO. His future as a Dodger is now in question, with the one reason Kemp remains a Dodger being that albatross of a salary.

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
Who else would it be? Kershaw had arguably his finest season as a big league player in his age 25 season posting a 1.83 ERA and 6.5 fWAR. Any time that the guy could win the award league-wide, it should make for a pretty easy write-up in this space. Kershaw is about to become a very rich man. Don't be surprised if he has $300 million in his near future and signs a lifetime contract with the Dodgers. And right on cue, Kershaw was named the top NL pitcher by his peers. These guys are no dummies.

Cy Yuck: Brandon League
Before I even saw the numbers, I wanted to include Mr. League right here. And then I saw that he ranked lowest among Dodgers pitchers in fWAR (-1.0) and yup, he's going where I had him slotted. After 14 indigestion inducing saves, League relinquished the closer's role to Kenley Jansen shortly after the season's first month. Despite how our editor-in-chief in these parts (M.J.) feels about the save as a whole - I wouldn't trust this guy to effectively build a Whopper sandwich - let alone record the three most important outs of a ballgame. League's 4.64 K/9 and 5.30 ERA would find a way to screw things up. League is one of those guys who reminds you that a guy can have phenomenal stuff and pass the eye test and still be entirely horrible. Thank goodness that bearded man arrived later in the season to bring peace to the late innings in Dodgerland.

ROY: That Puig guy again
I don't need to say a whole lot more than I said when I named him team MVP. I just need to post his first big league bat flip:

Reliever of the Year: Kenley Jansen
I love me some Kenley Jansen. I love him so much I am considering keeping him in my fantasy baseball league over the likes of teammate Hyun-Jin Ryu and Patrick Corbin. That's completely stupid, but I feel that he'll be one of fantasy (and real baseball's!) most valuable relievers over the next few seasons. Jansen was dominant, posting a 13.03 K/9 and posting a 1.88 ERA. When you see him take the mound and the Dodgers are wearing white, it's a matter of minutes until you're hearing 'I Love L.A.' by that guy who sung the songs in the Toy Story movies, Randy Newman. It's one of the coolest baseball victory traditions in existence, all made possible by the dominant closer and the fact that the Dodgers won a lot of baseball games in 2013. People were talking about his dominant fastball back in 2011. This past year he threw it almost ten percent more of the time (94.1%) than back in those days. Let me check.... yep... it's still dominant.

Bill Plaschke: Can't we all Just get Along?

“I think it's odd that grown-ups quarrel so easily and so often and about such petty matters. Up to now I always thought bickering was just something children did and that they outgrew it.” Oh, that Anne. She's a hoot. As long as their is red blood flowing through a man's veins, I expect bickering to forever be apart of his psyche. And with bickering comes fighting. So, my apologies, Miss Anne Frank, but some things never go away. And the escalation from bickering to fighting was on full display earlier this week when the D-Backs and the Dodgers go themselves into a bit of a scuffle. I guess, boys will be boys.

Dodgers Spend $25.7MM to Talk

It looks like money does grow on trees somewhere near Chavez Ravine. As if the Dodgers hadn't spent enough money over the last six months through trades, personnel additions and signing Cuban defectors to send Fort Knox into financial ruin, they felt it was necessary to pony up $25.7MM......just to talk. I guess the front office didn't get the memo that Verizon has plans starting at $30 a month.

Of course, it's not like they are blowing it on just anything. The amount is the posting fee for Korean pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, giving the team 30 days to negotiate a contract with the 25 year old pitcher. To be fair to Ryu, he has been an absolute monster in the KBO. In 2006 he won the ROY and the MVP (the only member of the KBO to do so), has one Wins Title, two ERA Titles and five Strikeout Titles. He also led South Korea to the Gold Medal in the 2008 olympics and then in 2009 led South Korea to the championship game in the WBC.