Puigmania and Beyond

Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines a "catalyst" as "an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action."

Incredibly, at this writing, the dictionary has not yet included Los Angeles Dodgers' rookie sensation Yasiel Puig in an example sentence for the word.

Early this season, the longtime denizens of Chavez Ravine were mired in a pathetic five-team tangle of mediocrity that has become the norm for the National League West division over the years. On June 22, the Dodgers sported a 30-42 record, leading many in Dodgertown to believe that manager Don Mattingly's job was in jeopardy.

Enter Puig, the name of whose hometown of Cienfuegos, Cuba roughly translates to "a hundred fires." All that fire may as well have found its way into his bat; through August 27, Puig had already accumulated 100 hits in his first 75 big league games, sporting a .347 batting average with 13 home runs and 30 RBI while boasting an impressive .405 on-base percentage and .964 OPS. From that June 22 date, the Dodgers took 40 of their next 48 games, grabbing first place in the NL West by seven and a half games. The Dodgers had finally found the catalyst to their lineup in their energetic new right fielder.

Meanwhile, on the east coast, the Washington Nationals entered the season as preseason favorites to represent the Senior Circuit in the World Series. The Nats caught lighting in a bottle last season, as young phenom Bryce Harper, first baseman-outfielder Michael Morse, and ace lefty Gio Gonzalez combined with numerous journeymen, inexperienced youngsters and replacement-level players to win the NL East title.

But lightning never strikes the same place twice. Harper spent substantial time on the disabled list early in this summer, Morse's once-potent bat has gone missing in his new home on the Puget Sound, and Gonzalez has proven unable to carry the load for a club still vying for its first World Series appearance in franchise history.

We've all seen if before: the hotshot rookie who comes back down to earth after taking the big leagues by storm. Harper, the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, hit the wall (literally) in his sophomore attempt. Puig, a sure ROY contender, has exhibited a lack of discipline on the basepaths, as well as a glaring weakness against inside pitches. It all serves as a reminder of the fickle nature of baseball.

The question remains: who's next?

The possibilities abound. Rays outfielder Wil Myers strikes fans and scouts alike as the next Dale Murphy. Byron Buxton is a 19-year-old Georgia high school product awaiting his shot in the Twin Cities. Mike Zunino, the Johnny Bench Award-winner out of the University of Florida, is ready to take charge behind the plate on a regular basis in Seattle.

As fans, we live with the hope that these hotshot rookies--these catalysts--can maintain their performances over long periods of time. Harper returned to the Nationals in grand fashion after his injury, and the jury remains out on Puig, who rebounded convincingly from a brief slump.

But plenty can happen over the course of a 162-game season, and it's that mere possibility that keeps us riveted on the great American game.

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"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is."

-Bob Feller

Introduction

Quick, what are the three most popular songs in America?

If the first songs that come to mind are Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," Katy Perry's "Roar" or Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop," shame on you.

What about "Happy Birthday," that lovable song that family and friends sing to you once a year as you awkwardly shift your gaze across the room, or peer straight down into your lap, depending on personal preference?

What about "The Star-Spangled Banner," the nearly two and a half centuries-old ode to our great nation?

What about "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," a song that unifies that same great nation in cities from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon, between April and October?

This blog will offer glances at the great game to which that song pays homage. About the men and boys who play it. About the legacies they leave. And above all, about what you and I--the fans--make of it.

This blog will provide accounts of personal experience, insight and speculation.

This blog will examine not just the mammoth home runs, clutch RBI doubles and inning-ending double plays, but also the in-betweens. The blown umpiring calls. The late-inning substitutions. The walks and the balks.

From the usual to the unusual. From Little League to big league. From Ruth and Gehrig to Cabrera and Fielder.

All baseball, all the time.

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"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time."

-James Earl Jones as Terrence Mann, Field of Dreams