They might have been fighting words two or three years ago, when Yasiel Puig had turned from an eccentric personality to a nuisance within the Dodgers clubhouse. Stop hitting, and all of a sudden blowing off coaches and showing up late is not silently tolerated.
Puig did not display a sense of smarts on the bases Sunday, but he got away with it. He plays hard most days. He gets along with teammates. And, perhaps most important, he hits.
And so it came to pass that, after Puig's brain cramp on the bases weirdly enabled the Dodgers to score their first run, Cody Bellinger could thank Puig with words that triggered a smile, not a brawl.