On the same day he was named National League player of the month, Yasiel Puig was a few minutes late to Dodger Stadium. Manager Don Mattingly scheduled early pregame drills, so players were expected to be in uniform approximately 20 minutes earlier than usual.
“I don’t think he understands the system today,” Mattingly said of Puig.
Is that an issue?
“Yeah it will be,” Mattingly said a few hours before the game.
Whatever Puig’s punishment was, it didn’t keep him from starting the game in right field. Much like Opening Day, when Puig was so late that he missed his scheduled BP turn, the Dodgers are treating Puig’s tardiness as an oversight.
“It’s not like he’s trying to hide it,” Mattingly said. “I don’t think he quite understood the concept.”