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As the Los Angeles Dodgers bowed out of the 2013 NLCS, the player that helped spark their remarkable run through June, July and August, Yasiel Puig, suffered through a difficult series at the plate, in the field and through the voices of critics.

Puig burst onto the scene in Junr, electrifying the Dodgers, winning over the fans of Los Angeles and captivating baseball fans around the country. He was must-watch television on a nightly basis. From the literal (.319/.391/.534) to the figurative, Puig was a comet, soaring from Double-A Chattanooga to rescue a season on the brink.

In the end, he and the Dodgers fizzled. Losers in St. Louis by a 9-0 margin in Game 6, the NL West champions are heading home to retool, reload and vie for a World Series in 2014. Despite a regular season that should surely end in a first or second place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, along with a smattering of MVP consideration, Puig will face question marks in the offseason due to a difficult NLCS and a strange, twisting narrative having to do with his personality.

To be fair, Puig wasn’t good enough in the NLCS. Asked to carry more of an offensive load and hit in the middle of the order, the 22-year-old star didn’t produce the way his team needed. After posting a .471/.500/.529 slash line against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, Puig exits his first League Championship Series with an ugly .227/.261/.318 line. On defense, his overaggressive demeanor led to two errors in the deciding game.

Outside of an electrifying triple in Game 3, Puig’s impact was minor in the series. Prior that water cooler moment, the Dodgers right fielder went 0-for-10 in Games 1 and 2, left runners on base in one-run losses and seemed overwhelmed by the St. Louis pitching staff.

Over the next few months, expect writers, fans and rival executives to use broad narratives to explain Puig’s sudden decline during the biggest moments, innings and plate appearances of his season. While it can be convenient to blame his seemingly cavalier attitude, showboating style and flair for the dramatic, those personality traits had little to do with an NLCS slump.

Instead, blame the youth and inexperience of a player that entered the postseason with less than 400 career at-bats in the majors. Against a pitching staff as talented and well-schooled as St. Louis, led by their all-world catcher in Yadier Molina, Puig’s weaknesses were exposed.

At the plate, St. Louis’ plan was clear: bust Puig inside, disrupting his ability to extend his arms and drive the ball the other way. Outside of the ball he hit off Adam Wainwright in Game 3 that became the showboating triple, the Cardinals’ staff stuck to the game plan and it worked.

Clearly, pitchers adjusted against Puig on an at-bat by at-bat case during the regular season, yet he still thrived. The NLCS, however, was different because Puig simply wasn’t ready to adjust on the fly when the pressure of leading his team and batting in the middle of the order was placed upon him due to Hanley Ramirez’s rib injury.

When this season started, the Dodgers looked at Puig, obviously talented from what we watched of him all summer and fall, and decided to send him to Double-A. Part of that was due to a trio of expensive, veteran outfielders that all needed everyday playing time. Regardless, a team with a $200-plus million payroll didn’t place Puig on the opening day roster so he could mature, improve and work on his game.

After injuries and losses piled up, the Dodgers called on Puig. What he lacked in veteran savvy and maturity, he made up for in raw talent. The Dodgers didn’t expect Puig to play the role he ultimately did and can’t be surprised by his struggles on the NLCS stage.

With the World Series starting next week, baseball will quickly shift to the offseason, hot stove and talk of 2014’s breakout stars. When it comes to assessing the present and future of Yasiel Puig, block out the noise. His personality and stardom won’t be the reason for success or failure in Los Angeles. His talent and maturation will be.

His expressive personality and demonstrative on-field behavior are part of his dynamic and unique game and far, far from a reason for decline. Puig’s issues in the 2013 NLCS had more to do with sinking action on Michael Wacha’s fastball than failing to run as hard out of the box as some fans opined for while screaming at their televisions.

If the Dodgers qualify for the 2014 postseason, Puig will be better equiped to handle the moment, expectations and criticism that goes along with struggle, regardless of the regular season numbers and moments that he provides.

In the end, Puig wasn’t ready to take a franchise to the World Series. On a roster that includes Adrian Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Zack Greinke and Hanley Ramirez, he shouldn’t have had to assume that role at the age of 22.

As Vin Scully famously said about Puig in July, “The Wild Horse has led the team to the barn.”

On Friday night in St. Louis, the race ended for the Wild Horse and the team that rode him to October.

Within time, if his game matures, along with his approach at the plate and defensive prowess, he’ll be ready to overcome the pressure of October and lead the Dodgers to a World Series.

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Yasiel Puig strong play and youthful exuberance helped the Los Angeles Dodgers turn their season around, but sometimes his antics can rub opposing teams the wrong way. 

St. Louis Cardinals veteran Carlos Beltran, who has more than 2,000 games under his belt, didn’t approve of Puig celebrating what he thought might be a home run during Game 3 of the NLCS.

ESPN.com passed along comments from Beltran, who said Puig simply doesn’t know how to act at this point in his promising career:

As a player, I just think he doesn’t know [about how to act]. That’s what I think. He really doesn’t know. He must think that he’s still playing somewhere else.

He has a lot of passion, no doubt about that—great ability, great talent. I think with time, he’ll learn that you’ve got to act with a little bit more calm.

Puig’s shot didn’t get out of the park, but the Dodgers’ spark plug turned it into an RBI triple in the team’s 3-0 victory, which narrowed St. Louis’ series lead to 2-1.

Even though Los Angeles pulled out the win, Beltran said that is the type of moment that can give the other team added motivation. The eight-time All-Star believes Puig has to learn those finer points of the game over time. He continued:

When you try to do those things sometimes, you know, you get that attention. And you don’t want to wake up nobody. I always thought if you hit a home run off a pitcher, you’ve got to make him believe he made a mistake. You don’t wake him up. Or next time, the pitcher’s going to be more focused with you and he’s going to try harder to get you out.

So he will learn. I don’t think he’s a bad kid. I just think he doesn’t know right now.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale provides Don Mattingly’s take on the Cardinals’ comments:

In reality, baseball could use more exciting stars like Puig to increase its popularity on a national scale. But it’s a sport with a lot of unwritten rules, and doing anything that appears to show up the opponent is near the top of the forbidden list.

The Cardinals are a team with a lot of battle-tested players who have gone through numerous playoff runs. They play a very strong traditional game with remarkable consistency, which is why they seem to contend every year.

On the flip side, the Dodgers are more of a new-age club. The front office spent a lot of money to put the team together, and now it’s championship or bust. Puig’s style of play has helped them reach this point, and they don’t want him to lose that edge.

In the ESPN.com report, Jerry Hairston Jr. defended the Cuban phenom, saying he doesn’t mean any disrespect to opponents with his actions.

I know, with his exuberance, sometimes the opposing team might not like it. But they’ve just got to understand, he doesn’t mean anything by it. He just wants to do well.

I totally understand the opposite side and their view of it. But what I would say to them is, you’ve got to remember, this guy is like a 16-year-old kid playing Little League. He’s just so passionate, so emotional about the game. He really means no disrespect. He really means no harm. He just got excited tonight. He got a really big hit for us.

Ultimately, the back-and-forth debate about Puig just adds another layer of intrigue to an already tense series. The Dodgers needed a win in the worst way heading into Game 3, and they got it, setting up an extended battle for the NL crown.

The Cardinals might not like how Puig celebrates, but the only way to prevent it is getting him out consistently, like they did in the first two games.

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Cuban sensation Yasiel Puig didn’t get his moment on the international stage during the 2013 All-Star Game, but he’s certainly taking advantage of it in these MLB playoffs.

Puig flaunted his tremendous arm strength in the seventh inning of Game 1. His catch-and-throw doubled Jon Jay off of first base, ending a St. Louis Cardinals scoring threat: 

Let’s not forget that Puig had to bolt to his right just to make the catch. Against many other teams, David Freese gets a hit on that line drive, and the Red Birds would’ve been set up with runners at the corners in a tied game.

Turning that can of corn into two outs allowed Zack Greinke to escape the inning with a reasonable pitch count. As a result, he made it through the eighth inning too, thus preserving the bullpen in game that would eventually spill into extra frames.

Although Puig’s athletic feats continue to impress the masses, we’ve reached a point where nothing that he does surprises us. Actually, this particular defensive gem is awfully comparable to one he completed against the Atlanta Braves in last week’s NLDS:

The rookie superstar is spoiling us. Even in real time, the baseball world reacts as if this sort of defensive gem were routine:

Don’t run on Puig. Don’t even consider running on Puig.

— J.A. Adande (@jadande) October 12, 2013

somebody tried to run on puig? i don’t have my tv on, and i woulda told him to stop.

— Bomani Jones (@bomani_jones) October 12, 2013

The Los Angeles Dodgers would’ve struggled to qualify for the postseason without the 22-year-old. He batted .319/.391/.534 with 19 home runs in 104 games, filling a void in the outfield while Matt Kemp battled various injuries. 

Puig was also excellent during the NLDS (.471/.500/.529, 5 R in 18 PA).

Of course, he doesn’t necessary have to get on base constantly to help the Dodgers advance to the Fall Classic. This play reminded us of that.

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Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig was forced to leave Friday’s contest against the Colorado Rockies early with a foot injury, but it doesn’t sound like there’s anything to be overly concerned about. 

The team’s official Twitter feed had the news:

Scott Van Slyke will take over in right field after Yasiel Puig lines a foul ball off of his left foot. #Dodgers

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 28, 2013

Puig was held out of the lineup on Saturday.

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On deck is the season finale of the thrilling new drama that’s gripped the nation: “Puigmania: The Puigtastical Journey of Yasiel Puig.”

In Episode I, the mysterious young hero burst onto the scene with the Los Angeles Dodgers and started destroying baseballs and sharpshooting baserunners. In Episode II, the young hero was dealt a reality check and began to rub some people the wrong way with his brash style, earning him a reputation in some circles as more of an anti-hero than a true hero. He’s no Superman. He’s Wolverine!

Episode III is up next, and all we know is the premise. It is to be Puig in the postseason, baseball’s ultimate stage. We know not how it will end. Will the young hero thrive? Or will he crumble?

[Dramatic music.]

OK, we can get serious now. I started things off on the silly side because I wanted to make it somewhat clear off the bat that I’m not here to do what the headline might suggest. I’m not here to indulge in Puig bashing. It’s a thing, but not my thing.

The question at hand, however, is one worth asking because…well, consider the following.

Puig hit .305/.381/.477 in his first 52 games. In those, the Dodgers went a ridiculous 40-12. But in 23 September games, Puig has only hit .231/.341/.487. The Dodgers’ record: 10-13.

It’s not all Puig‘s fault that the Dodgers have had a mediocre month. Nor, indeed, are his numbers all that bad. But he has definitely slipped, and that the team has also slipped makes the following deduction out to be fair game: The Dodgers are better when Puig is better.

So he better be ready for the postseason. The Dodgers need him to be.

Since I want to keep the psychoanalysis at a minimum here, let’s let a few numbers have their say about Puig‘s postseason readiness. That’s a process that starts with taking a look at how he’s performed against the clubs the Dodgers could come up against in October.

Before the World Series, those would be the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds. Puig has faced all four of them, so how’s he done?

Pretty good, actually. Here’s a nifty table, with numbers courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com:

If you’re in the dark about ISO, that’s Isolated Power. It’s basically a slugging percentage that ignores singles, hence the reason Puig‘s ISO against the Pirates is zero. He didn’t have any extra-base hits against them in his 13 plate appearances.

But against the Braves, Cardinals and Reds, Puig did well. It’s a good thing that his numbers are particularly strong against Atlanta and St. Louis, as the Dodgers will be playing either one of them in the National League Division Series.

So yeah, encouraging stuff. 

To an extent, anyway.

The big caveats should be obvious. One is the small number of plate appearances. It’s nice that Puig has done well against the upcoming competition, but the small sample sizes make it hard to project success while wearing a straight face.

The other big caveat: The postseason isn’t the regular season. It’s a different animal, one that lures possible prey into a high-pressure environment, weakens them and then feeds. Some players are immune to the pressure. Others aren’t.

This is a harder topic to tackle from statistical perspective. To my knowledge, the dweebs at the Sabermetric Research Facility have yet to come up with a way to quantify a player’s guts. Maybe GARP (Guts Above Replacement Player) will be a thing someday, but it’s not now.

The best we have are leverage stats, which of course are designed to tell us how well players have performed in low-, mid- and high-pressure situations. They’re not terribly predictive, but they’re the kind of stats that can give us the lowdown on how clutch players have (or haven’t) been.

Unfortunately, pressure has not agreed with Puig during his rookie season.

Here’s a table, with data courtesy of FanGraphs:

In low-leverage situations, Puig has thrived. There’s been less ownage in medium-leverage situations, but he’s still been a highly productive player. 

But in high-leverage situations? Not so good. Puig‘s production has crumbled, and that strikeout rate is a doozy. 

Puig‘s issues in late and close situations are part of the problem. Per Baseball-Reference.com, he’s hitting .200 with a .284 OBP in such situations, with a 37.3 strikeout percentage to boot. The one good thing to be said is that he has a .233 ISO in late and close situations, so suffice it to say he’s more or less the definition of “hit or miss” when the pressure is at its highest.

That Puig hasn’t performed in pressure situations could be coincidence, in which case there’s no point in seeing these numbers as signs of an inevitable tragic end to his season. 

But then there’s the possibility that these stats are a symptom of something more real than coincidence. They could be confirmation that Puig tries to do too much when the heat is on.

I’ve gotten the sense in watching him over the months that this is a real issue with him. And while we’re admittedly straying into psychoanalysis now, I don’t feel like insinuating that Puig‘s focus has a tendency to wander in pressure situations requires that big of a leap.

That’s because the guy’s focus tends to wander, period. 

That’s not still a secret at this point, right? Puig‘s been a live wire since the moment he first stepped between the lines back in June. And for all the electricity he’s provided, he’s also provided his share of facepalm-worthy moments. Ugly at-bats. Bad throws. Baserunning blunders. Et cetera.

Since Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles nailed them in her recent (and quite good) piece on Puig, I’ll let her do the honor of asking the questions that come to mind:

The Dodgers have but one question: Can they trust [Puig] come playoff time?

‘You don’t want to break his spirit,’ Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. ‘I love the way he plays. But you don’t want it to end up costing us later.’

 And later:

What if, in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, Puig ignores the cutoff man, tries to throw out a guy he has very little chance of getting at third base, and the ball skips away and into the stands, allowing the runner to score? What if that’s the difference in the game, the series?

This stuff should sound familiar if you’ve read any “WHAT ARE THE DODGERS GOING TO DO ABOUT PUIG?!” columns. Seemingly all of them questioned whether his recklessness could be cured before it hurt the Dodgers. 

It was easy to roll one’s eyes at the time. But with the postseason looming and the Dodgers having come violently back down to earth in September, it’s not so easy now. Puig has failed to become a fundamentally sound ballplayer overnight at any point during the season. He’s not going to do so now just because the timing is convenient. It’s fair to expect there to be some, ahem, episodes in October.

Puig does, however, have one redeeming quality when it comes to his episodes: He has a tendency to make up for them.

The video above this text? That’s of a pinch-hit homer Puig hit in a game against the Miami Marlins back in August. If it doesn’t ring a bell, this would be the same game for which he was initially benched by Mattingly after he showed up late.

Remember the next time Puig was benched? That was a little later in the month when Mattingly got fed up with Puig‘s demeanor in a game against the Chicago Cubs and decided to replace him with Skip Schumaker midway through the proceedings.

The next time Puig played, he went 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

More recently, did you see Puig get picked off by Miguel Montero a couple of weeks ago? A small moment in the grand scheme of Puigmania, but it’s worth noting he later went on to hit a home run in what was a three-hit day.

While we’re talking about Montero and the Diamondbacks, remember how Puig responded to that nasty brawl back in June? Over his next eight games, he went 14-for-32.

I’m sure there are instances that are slipping my mind, but this is Puig for you. The bad stuff has happened, and then the good stuff has had a tendency to come and wash it away.

This is mainly because Puig is a talented ballplayer. Talented ballplayers are going to do good things more often than they’re going to do bad things (see also: those numbers in low- and medium-leverage situations). 

But these things have happened also because Puig is a talented major league ballplayer.

That emphasis is an important one to make, as there’s a long list of players who can vouch that talent alone isn’t a guaranteed ticket to success in the majors. The ability to adjust and bounce back are of paramount importance, and Puig has shown that he has both—Ben Lindbergh of Baseball Prospectus did a great piece on Puig‘s ability to adjust that’s worth your time.

If Puig didn’t have these abilities, he would have been back in the minors weeks ago.

I therefore suppose the “thick-skinned” label fits him well enough. As distressing as his mental errors and his struggles in pressure situations are with the postseason just around the corner, this is a guy who’s had an excellent rookie season for a big-market, high-profile team with the spotlight on him from day one.

Oh, and he’s only 22. Oh, and he was even younger when he fled his home country, pursuing whatever means necessary to eventually find the spotlight in which he’s thrived.

I’m not without doubts when it comes to Puig. The next day I am will be the first.

But even with those doubts…Yeah, I think he can handle October.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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Right-hander Jose Fernandez conquered the Washington Nationals on Friday night with seven marvelous shutout innings. He even maintained a no-hitter for most of the start, pushing him oh-so-slightly ahead of fellow Cuban phenom Yasiel Puig in a hotly contested National League Rookie of the Year race.

The Miami Marlins stunned the baseball world by recalling Fernandez from their minor league system at age 20 despite zero experience against Double-A and Triple-A competition.

A few months later, we’re all looking foolish for doubting them.

His 2.23 ERA through 165.2 innings pitched ranks second only to Clayton Kershaw among qualified starters. Moreover, Fernandez leads the entire Senior Circuit in strikeout rate, and he continues to gradually improve in that department.

Keep in mind, Fernandez is working his miracles with an inexperienced—and quite frankly, inadequate—supporting cast. The Fish have averaged an MLB-worst 3.27 runs per game in 2013, and a .301 BABIP against their pitching staff indicates below-average fielding.

It’s not a perfect comparison, but last season, voting for the NL’s best first-year player also came down to an outfielder and starting pitcher. Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals eked past Arizona Diamondbacks difference-maker Wade Miley. It’s clear that combining excellent September production with team success tempted numerous voters to choose Harper.

Puig may wind up with those same two advantages.

His Los Angeles Dodgers have virtually locked up the NL West title. They were on the verge of collapse only three months ago, and it’s no coincidence that their fortunes began to change when Puig received his call-up in June.

Playing the game with unparalleled ferocity has resulted in a few injuries, but his remarkable physique undoubtedly helped minimize the damage from those collisions.

Through 82 games, the 22-year-old is batting .348/.408/.558 with 14 home runs and 56 runs scored. Given a full summer and the opportunity to sustain that production over a sample twice the size would at least put him on the fringe of NL MVP award contention.

One disadvantage Puig probably won’t overcome is his turbulent relationship with tenured baseball writers, a few of whom directly decide the major award winners. More than a few national columns have been committed to overstating his immaturity and nitpicking his outstanding overall performance. Shouting expletives at them tops his list of regrettable actions/responses.

If Joe Frisaro of MLB.com has trustworthy sources, then we can expect Fernandez to conclude his ultra-successful debut after five innings against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 11. That would give Puig an extra two-and-a-half weeks of meaningful matchups to distinguish himself.

As things currently stand, however, there’s overwhelming statistical evidence stating that the former has made the greater impact.

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On Friday, embattled Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig collected a double, three singles and two stolen bases on his way to a four-hit night. His performance certainly helped lead the way in the Dodgers’ 9-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Considering he had been benched after four innings by manager Don Mattingly on Wednesday versus Chicago, it’s certainly fair to ask the question: Does his four-hit night show that he learned something from the discipline?

It’s likely a question to be debated, considering the massive attention that Puig has generated since making his much-ballyhooed debut in early June. 

Mattingly originally played down the sit-down of Puig on Wednesday, telling the media after the game that he felt like Skip Schumaker was a better option in the hopes of winning the game.

Yeah, right. 

It should also be noted that Puig had a tete-a-tete with both Mattingly and his boss, Ned Colletti, before the game.

Generally, players aren’t called into meetings with their boss and their boss’ boss because they want to talk about warm, fuzzy things.

Puig’s antics both on and off the field were clearly becoming a concern, and the higher-ups were absolutely right in taking the action of sitting Puig.

Puig took the disciplinary action quite well, saying after the game that Mattingly made the right call. With a full day off, many fans were wondering just how Puig would respond.

They got the message loud and clear on Friday.

But does it mean that Puig learned his lesson? 

In a word, no.

Puig simply had a good game against a subpar team. The Padres are playing out the string right now, and while Puig’s performance certainly lends credence to the “lesson learned” school of thought, one game simply won’t answer that question.

At 22 years of age, armed with seven-year, $42 million contract and being exposed to a way of life he never would have dreamed possible on his native island of Cuba, Puig is absolutely going through growing pains.

Collecting four hits doesn’t mean he’s turned a corner in his maturity level.

Can he start carrying out simple fundamentals like hitting the cutoff man? Will he stop running through hold signs at third base? Will he stop recklessly trying to take an extra base when the prudent thing to do is stay where he is? 

The Dodgers can’t control what Puig does off the field, but they can darn sure try to control what he does between the lines. Mattingly took a step in the right direction with his actions on Wednesday. 

Puig responded with a fabulous night on Friday.

A one-game sample size is nowhere near enough to say that Puig has turned a corner. Still, four hits and two stolen bases in one game has a way of healing wounds quickly. 

Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle.

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