Just let me have this one

Yasiel Puig is an island of hope in the abysmal season the Dodgers continue to have. By Owen Main

A few weeks ago, amidst the most spectacular first week I’ve ever seen a major league hitter have, I called Luke a Yasiel Puig wet blanket. He was bagging on Puig and on comparisons to Mike Trout after Puig’s first week in Major League Baseball.

At the time, Puig was hitting about .500 and had hit three home runs in his first four games, including a  grand slam in a game I was at. Puig drew one of the greatest twitter account names ever and was (still kind of is) the talk of the town. So I was excited. Of course he couldn’t keep it up, but in the middle of what has become an agonizing Dodgers season, Puig has been a flash of brilliance. His at-bats are compelling, whether striking out on three pitches or hitting a home run.

He has now played 18 games, a shooting star across the galaxy of a Major League Baseball season. Certainly he will not maintain his BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) of over .500. But here are some fun stats.

* Puig has a hit in 15 of the 18 games he’s played in the majors.

* In 18 games in the majors, he leads the Dodgers in WAR (Wins Above Replacement), a statistic usually accumulated with high performance over time.

* He has had multiple hits in 11 of his 18 games.

* Even after an 0-3 night vs. the Padres on Saturday, his line is still impressive: .435/.473/.739

* With two walks yesterday, Puig’s total is now at three. In 18 games. For those of you who are really bad at math, that means he walked once in his first 17 games, a carry-over from Spring Training when a walk was as rare as a boring at-bat for the Cuban star.

* In 18 games, (remember, the Dodgers have played 73 games overall), Puig is second on the team with six home runs (nobody has 10 yet), first in slugging, and first in OPS.

In a season where the Dodgers are 11 games under .500 (after yesterday’s win in San Diego), sitting in last place in the division, and spending so much money it would make your head spin, there are probably lots of things to gripe or complain about. It’s true, Puig could go into a tail spin and end up in the minor leagues again this season, but the way he”s playing, that possibility gets slimmer and slimmer every day. So please, let me have this one. Puig is really fun to watch, whether the Dodgers are winning or losing.

What’s that, you say? They are 8-10 with him in the lineup, still a pretty disappointing team? He strikes out 21 percent of the ti…. wait, shut up. Puig’s up again. Talk to me later.