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| Quintana Roo 1B Reynaldo Rodriguez |
It's been an unexpected rise for the Tigres after a tepid first half in which they finished sixth in the LMB South at 25-35 (13-17 at home) and Salon de la Fama member Jesus Sommers was fired as manager 28 games into the season. New skipper Adan Munoz has seen an entirely different Tigres team since coming back from the All-Star Break for the second half of the season. Quintana Roo has won 10 of 15 home games and gone 10-2 on the road en route to the best record in the LMB in the second half.
One revelation for Munoz has been Colombian first baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez, a former Yankees and Red Sox minor leaguer who joined the team in late May and has since hit .366 with 14 homers in 40 games. Third baseman Brian Hernandez is batting .333 with nine homers and 53 RBIs and catcher Francisco Cordoba has 14 homers and 48 homers but the Tigres are not a team that will batter opponents into submission. The pitching is little better so it remains to be seen how long the team will remain atop the table, but no doubt they're enjoying the ride.
Even though they're in second, things have not been so sanguine in Yucatan, where the defending LMB South champions fired manager Luis Carlos Rivera Friday following a 5-3 home loss to Campeche. The Leones finished fifth in the division for the first half with an uninspiring 26-32 mark but the Merida squad began the second half by winning eight of their first nine games and was second in the standings at 16-9 when the axe fell for Rivera. Geronimo Gil, who was hired as a bench coach during the All-Star Break at Rivera's request, was named interim manager.
While the Tigres and Yucatan are 1-2 in the South (surprising Tabasco and Mexico City are virtually tied for third at five games behind Quintana Roo, things are a bit murkier in the LMB North, where two games separate the top four teams and two more sides are less than four games out of fourth. Tijuana is in first at 17-10 but another surprise team, Saltillo, is hot on the Toros' heels at 16-10 after sweeping a weekend road series in Aguascalientes. It was a good weekend for road teams in the North as Monclova (16-11) took all three big games at defending champion Monterrey (12-13) while Dos Laredos (15-12) won two of three at Tijuana to pass the Sultanes into fourth place. Even moribund Union Laguna staggered into Durango with a 3-20 ledger and managed to post 35 runs in three wins over the Generales.
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| Oaxaca's Alonzo Harris (r) joins the 30-30 Club |
Yucatan's Cesar Valdez has won three games since suffering his lone loss of the season June 28 at Durango, bringing his season record to 12-1. Yoanner Negrin of Yucatan and Monterrey's Edgar Gonzalez (both 10-3) are tied for second in wins. Valdez also leads the LMB with a 2.32 ERA. Yasutomo Kubo of Leon's 116 strikeouts top the whiff list and Dos Laredos closer Ramon Mendez' 25 leads the league after the Dominican converted his last eight save opportunities beginning July 4.
Among the more important midweek series opening Tuesday night will be when Monterrey visits Dos Laredos while Oaxaca hosts Mexico City in a big LMB South matchup. Next weekend will see Monclova at home for three against the Sultanes and Tijuana on the road at Dos Laredos.
DIABLOS SIGN BRANDON PHILLIPS, VARGAS TRADED TO MONCLOVA
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| Brandon Phillips playing for another Rojos team |
Now 38, Philiips was drafted by Montreal in 1999 and played in the Expos system before he was traded to Cleveland in June 2002 as part of a six-man swap that also sent Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens to the Indians for Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew. After limited success with the Tribe, with a .206 average in 135 MLB games over four seasons mostly spent in AAA, Cleveland traded Phillips to Cincinnati in April 2006 for a player to be named later (pitcher Jeff Stevens). The Reds gave the Stone Mountain, Georgia product their starting job at second base and Phillips' fortunes turned.
Over the next eleven years, Phillips would be awarded four Gold Gloves and play in the 2010, 2011 and 2013 All-Star Games, garnering MVP votes in 2007 and 2012 (ironically, neither were All-Star seasons). Between 2006 and 2016, he played 1,616 games for Cincinnati and batted .279 with 191 homers and 194 stolen bases while leading National League second sackers in fielding percentage three times.
However, the Reds traded Phillips to Atlanta prior to the 2017 season. He hit .291 for the Braves in 120 games before he was dealt to the Los Angeles Angels, for whom he batted .255 the rest of the season. Phillips was released that November. Boston picked him up last year and he played nine games in September for the Red Sox, batting .130, but was left off the eventual World Series champion's postseason roster and granted free agency after the season. In his first four games with Mexico City, Phillips was 2-for-15 with a double while handling 19 chances flawlessly at second.
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| New Oaxaca DH/1B/3B/RF Jose Vargas |
In 59 games with the Rieleros prior to last Thursday's trade, Vargas hit .366 with 29 homers and 70 RBIs before being shelved in late June with a broken hand. While Vargas is naturally a third baseman, the Acereros have perhaps the best defensive third sacker in the LMB with Rodolfo Amador holding down the position. First base? Well, there's Chris Carter (who has 38 homers and 90 RBIs, both tops in the Liga) and veteran Jose Amador and ex-LMB Rookie of the Year Ricky Rodriguez, so opportunities are limited there. Since Vargas has played just 46 games in the outfield during his 12 pro seasons, that's not a likely option but also not out of the question. The Californian's bat has been too hot to keep out of the lineup, so expect Vargas to mostly be in the designated hitter's slot for new Monclova manager Pat Listach, who replaced Pedro Mere at the helm July 1, but he'll also likely fill in at the infield corners and perhaps even right field.
NEW MEXICAN PROSPECTS LEAGUE OPENS PLAY IN JALISCO
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| Edgar Gonzalez (l) and LMP prez Omar Canizales |
"It will be eight intense weeks," said ProBeis commissioner Edgar Gonzalez, "with daily workouts and two games daily at 4 and 7 from Thursday through Sunday. Four teams will be formed with 28 players each plus reserves." Each team is carrying the name of former Mexican major league players while jerseys will contain elements of the MLB team to which each player belonged.
LPM players will be evaluated over the course of the short season to determine their ability to land pro contracts or college scholarships. "We are very happy to start this great project that will be one of the pillars of the new way to promote Mexican youth talent of excellence, "Gonzalez explained, adding that this marks the first time in history that there will be a showcase of international stature with the scope and support of the Mexican government. "The key to this project is inclusion, in which we have invited young people from all over the country with diverse backgrounds and histories. It's the jewel in the crown of ProBeis." Players were recruited in part via invitations to different professional and semipro leagues, private academies, and both MLB and local scouts.
Mexican Prospect League doubleheaders began July 10 and will continue four times per week until the 32-game season concludes on August 22.
4 comments:
Hi.
The deadline date for NPB teams to add new players for 2019 season is set at 7/31. I thought that a Pacific League (like AL or LMB, the DH is adopted) team may take a chance on Chris Carter, but it is unlikely to happen, unfortunately. So far, no player has been signed by NPB teams out of Mexican League. But I want to mention that Carlos Peguero has joined LG Twins of KBO. I wish him the best.
Hello. I'd forgotten that the Central League still requires pitchers to be in the batting order, which is why I'm a National League fan despite having been born and raised in Seattle. I accept the DH's existence (and I respected Edgar Martinez) but I will never like it. What next? Courtesy runners?
Carter has to be someone NPB teams would be looking at because he's having a great year and certainly has the bonafides. Alonzo Harris should also be getting some attention. However, I wonder if Amador and Meneses have made Japanese teams wary of signing players in Mexico? Good to see Peguero sign with the KBO. Always liked his potential with the Mariners.
Hi. When the Astros were "forced" to move to AL in 2013 as a condition of ownership change (I was in Houston at that time), I hated the idea because I also was a fan of National League baseball without the DH rule. I still love the strategy involved in NL baseball (e.g. when to make a double switch, when to pinch hit for the pitcher, the batting order of the pitcher etc), but as time goes by, I have gotten over it. Maybe DH rule gives players like Carter or Evan Gattis (but he is still a free agent) playing time.
But I am against the universal adoption of DH rule.
The Class A Northwest League used a variation of the DH rule in 1972, one year before the DH was adopted by the American League. What the NWL used was the Designated Pinch Hitter rule, in which a player was allowed to bat twice in a game for anyone in the batting order (as long as the order had cycled through once after his first plate appearance). Nothing changed on defense.
Now THAT rule was fine with me because managers really had to think about how the DPH would be used rather than just put his name on the lineup card while pitchers still batted, even though the DPH was usually used for them.
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