Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/201...l-puig-dodgers
Jeff Francoeur's Fate and Yasiel Puig's Future
Regardless, right now no one is saying that Puig's aggressiveness will assuredly doom him, much like people saw the glass at half-full with respect to Francoeur in 2005. The two righties' approaches during their rookie seasons, much like their results, are very similar, with Puig coming out slightly more aggressive.
There is a lot more to the article, but it is worth checking out.
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
Would I come in from the other room to watch Puig hit in the ASG? Yeah, so I would not be upset if he made it. And if he isn't chosen that's ok too.
The ASG has become so watered down its hard for me to get too bothered by any player choices.
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
Why not ?
The whole premise of the game is a sham, from top to bottom. Using an exhibition game to determine home field advantage is patently absurd, as is forcing each team to be represented.
Even more egregious is allowing the fans have anything to do with the voting process when the stakes are so high. MLB practically encourages fans to stuff the ballot box, and allows fans to decide the last player on each league's roster.
I'm sorry, the fans have not earned the trust to empower them with such decisions. Sure, there are plenty of rational, informative and responsible voters, but what's the point ?
I've read the voting tallies, and for the most part they appear fair. But then I see that Derek Jeter is closing in on a million votes, although he hasn't played a game this season. I read where a contributor of a sports blog was delighting himself by voting for the AL players he considered the worst, so as to weaken the opposition.
You don't think two computer geeks out in Mendocino aren't having a contest to see who can register the most votes ? You don't think The Buster Posey Fan Club isn't stuffing the ballot box ?
Which brings me to why I say to put him on the team. There are several reasons, but I'll start with the most important.
He's playing really good. As an NL backer, I want to have the best chance to win the game, since it means something. Sure, it's a small sample size, but I'll roll the dice. Puig on the bench suits me just fine.
MLB is in dire need for a ratings infusion. People = ratings. People will turn on the game to see a wunderkind. You don't think Miami's ratings will skyrocket if Puig is named to the team ?
MLB has deregulated the whole process, so who cares how many games a guy has played ? It's all about entertainment. If I was a casual fan, I might turn on the game just to see him take a hack.
All kind Bud has to do is send Joe Torre to Bruce Bochy's office, and it's a done deal. It's worked before, just look at the ratings when Fydrich was on the team. Yes, Fydrich was much more deserving, but that's not the point. A whole lot of people watched, that's the point.
To quote a dear friend
Quote:
Shana, they bought their tickets. They knew what they were getting into. I say, let 'em crash!
Of the people, by the people, for the people.
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
I think the most compelling argument is if he makes the team in place of a deserving player who has been at it for at least the first half of the season. Rookies are always a tough sell for the AS game
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
traderumor
I think the most compelling argument is if he makes the team in place of a deserving player who has been at it for at least the first half of the season. Rookies are always a tough sell for the AS game
Unless people go nuts with the ballot box (which is indeed possible), the only way he makes the team is to be picked by Bochy or get nominated and win the fan vote for the last roster spot.
I see your point, but Puig has arguably been one of the best players in the NL over the last month. He can hit, run and throw, so he could be useful coming off the bench.
However, MLB is more concerned with the viewership than the roster. The idea of the phenom is too juicy for them to pass up. The difference between a decent overnight rating and a great one is getting the casual fan to watch.
Puig is the number 1 story in baseball right now, give the fans what they want. If another player gets screwed, so be it. It happens all the time.
Revenue or integrity ? We know where the league sits.
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SpiritofStLouis
Unless people go nuts with the ballot box (which is indeed possible), the only way he makes the team is to be picked by Bochy or get nominated and win the fan vote for the last roster spot.
I see your point, but Puig has arguably been one of the best players in the NL over the last month. He can hit, run and throw, so he could be useful coming off the bench.
However, MLB is more concerned with the viewership than the roster. The idea of the phenom is too juicy for them to pass up. The difference between a decent overnight rating and a great one is getting the casual fan to watch.
Puig is the number 1 story in baseball right now, give the fans what they want. If another player gets screwed, so be it. It happens all the time.
Revenue or integrity ? We know where the league sits.
I think that is the primary point against it for him. It's been a month. While I agree that integrity and the AS game is an oxymoron, the question was should he be an All-Star Candidate? The question is not "will MLB be a slave to the MLB pop culture and cave in to accomodate the next great thing who actually timed his historic hot streak close enough to the AS game to make people seriously consider an ignorant stance?" If he had done this in April or May, then came back to earth in June, no one is even having the conversation.
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
I don't really have a problem with Puig being an All Star because of a hot month but where do you draw the line? Let's say the Mets or Yankees or Red Sox called someone up around the last week of June. Then the kid just goes on a Puigesque tear and captures the fancy of the nation; so much so that MLB Network is cutting away to his every AB and ESPN is treating him like the second coming of Tebow. Does he go to the ASG?
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Chip R
I don't really have a problem with Puig being an All Star because of a hot month but where do you draw the line? Let's say the Mets or Yankees or Red Sox called someone up around the last week of June. Then the kid just goes on a Puigesque tear and captures the fancy of the nation; so much so that MLB Network is cutting away to his every AB and ESPN is treating him like the second coming of Tebow. Does he go to the ASG?
So you wonder if MLB should be a slave to the MLB pop culture and cave in to accommodate the next great thing who actually timed his historic hot streak close enough to the AS game to make people seriously consider an ignorant stance?
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
traderumor
So you wonder if MLB should be a slave to the MLB pop culture and cave in to accommodate the next great thing who actually timed his historic hot streak close enough to the AS game to make people seriously consider an ignorant stance?
I wonder what people think about it. I wonder where do you draw the line. 2 weeks? 3 weeks? A month? 6 weeks? I wonder if MLB will put some kind of eligibility rule in there. I wonder if people feel that the ASG should have enough integrity to keep such a thing from happening or if people feel that ship has sailed.
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
He's been the hottest player in baseball for one month.
The first half of the season is nearly 3 1/2 months.
Sorry, no soup for you, Puig.
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
Puig was just named NL Player Of The Month, becoming the first player ever to win the award in his first month in the league.
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
traderumor
I think that is the primary point against it for him. It's been a month. While I agree that integrity and the AS game is an oxymoron, the question was should he be an All-Star Candidate? The question is not "will MLB be a slave to the MLB pop culture and cave in to accomodate the next great thing who actually timed his historic hot streak close enough to the AS game to make people seriously consider an ignorant stance?" If he had done this in April or May, then came back to earth in June, no one is even having the conversation.
I say yes, although I wouldn't use the term ignorant. No sport needs an infusion of juice more than MLB. Baseball has been blamed for being late to the party when it comes to marketing. Here's a golden opportunity to sell the product. They need to stop worrying about pleasing the die hard baseball fan and start tapping the 18-34 yr. old market.
It seems to me that the whole " has he played enough to be considered " argument is but another of MLB's unwritten rules. I could understand the argument if the game was strictly an exhibition, but since it counts for something, give me a guy who is raking now, not a household name who had a great month in May.
You are correct that if this had happened at a different time, the conversation would be moot. But it isn't a different circumstance, it's now.
Take integrity and tradition out of the equation, the game is a popularity contest and Puig is the most popular player right now.
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
If the object is to win and give the nl homefield, then yes he should play in the game. If the object is to entertain the fans and let them see who they wanna see, then yes he should play in the game.
Re: Should Puig be an all-star candidate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Brutus
He's been the hottest player in baseball for one month.
The first half of the season is nearly 3 1/2 months.
Sorry, no soup for you, Puig.
I think that if he continues the hot streak up until selection time, say is still hitting over .400, I would take him in a heartbeat. His OPS (obviously in limited time) is .300 points above the next best. You could probably add 2 weeks of Ofers and his numbers would still be as good as the best in the NL.