Like many Dodger fans, I was livid when Yasiel Puig was left off of the Dodgers opening day roster. I spent nearly three weeks in Arizona watching this kid have what was arguably the best spring training in MLB history – rookie or otherwise. But the bottom line is that it didn’t matter what Puig did in spring training, Dodger general manager Ned Colletti never intended to include Puig on the opening day roster – not ever.

“He’s too raw.” “Spring training numbers don’t count.” “He’s not ready.” “Nobody can keep up that pace.” I heard all of the excuses and the attempts to justify excluding Puig and I call BS – and I have all along.

Yasiel Puig hit .517 (30 for 58) with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs and 11 RBIs in the 27 spring training games that he played in. There was absolutely nothing more he could have done to make the team.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Look at what the Dodgers have done since the day Puig arrived on June 3rd – they have gone 17-11. That’s .607 baseball, folks. And if you only look at the last 11 games, the Dodgers have won 10 of them. That’s .909 baseball, and no one… I mean no one can argue that it wasn’t the direct result of Yasiel Puig joining the team.

Granted, Hanley Ramirez’s return from the disabled list and the incredible numbers that he has put up since are every bit as impressive as Puig’s numbers, but everyone knows that it was the spark that Puig brought to the team (two weeks before Hanley’s return) that ignited the Dodgers incredible turnaround.

“It’s the kid, man… it’s the kid,” said Matt Kemp when asked by Charlie Steiner what has turned the Dodgers season around and fired them up.

I’m not big on playing the ‘what if’ game, but what if Puig had been on the Dodgers opening day roster? Where would they be in the standings today? And more to the point of this article, what would Puig’s numbers be? Even if you were one of the few who bought into Ned Colletti’s logic that they didn’t want Puig on the opening day roster so that his service time clock would start, he certainly could have (and should have) brought Puig up on May 10th instead of Scott Van Slyke. Between May 10th and June 2nd the Dodgers went 10-12. What would these numbers have been if Puig had been in the line-up during that time?

Now this is certainly not a knock on Scott Van Slyke who has done an outstanding job off the bench for the Dodgers, but what if the Dodgers had designated Luis Cruz for assignment on May 10th (as they should have) and brought both Puig and Van Slyke up? I’m guessing that the Dodgers would have done considerably better than 10-12 during that stretch.

If Puig had started the season in the Bigs or even if he had been called up earlier than June 3rd, guys like Bruce Bochy or the loud mouth (and ignorant) Jonathan Papelbon (among others) wouldn’t even be questioning or challenging Puig’s limited time in the Big leagues for All-Star consideration; his inclusion in the Mid-Summer Classic would have been a slam dunk instead of an annoying (and distracting) waiting game.

And it goes even deeper than this. Colletti’s reluctance to bring Puig up sooner could very well cost the 22-year-old Cuban defector a shot at the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year title or (Lord forbid) a shot at the 2013 NL MVP title – and for what? So Puig’s service time clock wouldn’t start earlier than they may have wanted? Nonsense, I say. The Dodgers signed Puig to a 7-year/$42 million contract for crying out loud. And even with the arbitration clause in the contract, the Guggenheim Baseball Management group would be foolish not to offer Puig a contract extension long before this clause would come into play.

And taking this yet another step further, if GBM really wants to win a championship ‘right now,’ as they have been telling us for over a year now, why did they allow Colletti to hold Puig back? One can only guess how many valuable wins this may have cost the Dodgers.

How many times did we hear Magic Johnson say that he wants to win a championship ‘right now?’
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

I’ll say it again, where would the Dodgers be in the standings today had Puig started the 2013 season on the 25-man roster or called up even only a month earlier than he was?

Common logic dictates that Puig needs to be on the 2013 NL All-Star team regardless of his short time in the majors. I mean really now, since MLB made the All-Star Game the deciding factor for home field advantage for the World Series, it is no longer just an exhibition game. One need look no further than the last three World Series to see how important home field advantage is – it’s huge. So it really boils down to whether Bruce Bochy wants to win the All-Star Game or not, and it is impossible to argue that having Yasiel Puig on his roster wouldn’t increase his chances of winning significantly.

Regardless, should Bochy decide not to select Puig as one of his final picks for the 2013 All-Star Game or should Puig fall short in The Final Vote (or should he miss out on the ROY or MVP titles), his blood will be on Ned Colletti’s hands.