MEZA OUT, PAQUIN IN AS PETROS SKIPPER

The merry-go-round that is the Minatitlan Petroleros managerial job took another spin this week when Cuban skipper Victor Meza submitted his resignation after an 11-15 start to the season. While the Petros’ current record is not panic-inducing, the pitching staff’s 6.01 ERA is.

Enter Francisco “Paquin” Estrada.

A Salon de la Fama member who caught more games (2,847) than any other player in minor league baseball history, Estrada (pictured)  is being brought into Minatitlan to address the team’s pitching woes while bringing a sense of calm that may have eluded the Petros under the volatile Meza, whose managerial reign in Veracruz last year likewise was a short one. Estrada has led several pennant-winners in both the Mexican and Mexican Pacific leagues and managed Mexico’s entry in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

This is the second time a Mexican League team has changed managers in the past week. Last Saturday, Gerardo “Polvorita” Sanchez (himself a Salon member as a player) was relieved as helmsman for the Monclova Acereros. Marco Antonio Davalillo, son of former player and manager Pompeyo and nephew of ex-MLBer Vic, has taken over as Monclova’s manager.

And it’s only April, folks.