TECOS, TIGRES FIRE MANAGERS: 3 OUT AFTER 4 WEEKS

Pablo Ortega out as Tecos skipper

    Three Mexican League teams have fired managers just four weeks into the truncated 2021 season after both the Dos Laredos Tecolotes and Quintana Roo Tigres changed horses in midstream last week. The Monterrey Sultanes let Homar Rojas go as their LMB skipper earlier this month.

    The Tecos sent first-year manager Pablo Ortega packing last Thursday on the heels of a 4-3 loss to Durango the night before. The defeat dropped Dos Laredos' record to 8-14 after 22 games, enough of a sample size for the front office to fire the former All-Star pitcher. Third base coach Rafael Rijo replaced Ortega on an interim basis, although it might be argued that all managing jobs south of the border are on an interim basis. The Tecos are now on their fifth helmsman since 2019, including a 2020 season that was canceled.

    Ortega is already becoming well-versed in the vagaries of managing a Mexican baseball team. Last November, he was elevated from pitching coach in Mazatlan to replace Juan Jose Pacho as skipper of the Mexican Pacific League's Mazatlan Venados. The Deer ironically had an 8-14 record when Pacho was cut loose, but Ortega was able to steer the team to a 20-16 mark over the remainder of the regular season before losing a first-round playoff series to Hermosillo in six games.

    The Dos Laredos front office issued the usual laudatory statement that accompany a managerial firing: “Mr. Pablo Ortega is thanked for the work and professionalism carried out during his time as manager of the Tecolotes, wishing him success in his future personal and sports-related projects.”

    Two days later at the other end of the country, the Quintana Roo Tigres parted ways with Adan Munoz as their skipper and named former Tijuana manager Oscar Robles as their new dugout boss. Munoz was fired for committing the cardinal sin of posting an 11-13 record over the Tigres' first 24 games, although seven losses in their previous ten games was likely a larger factor. Batting coach Javier Robles (no relation) filled in after Munoz' departure until Oscar Robles' arrival on Saturday for the second game of a series against rival Mexico City.

    Even though he led the Tigres to a 62-57 record and a playoff berth in 2019 in his only season at the helm, Munoz may have been on borrowed time even before the season opened. An erroneous report out of Cancun in February said that the ex-catcher had been fired by owner Fernando Valenzuela and replaced by another former receiver, Tigres bench coach Hector Paez. That never happened but the axe did swing four months later.

    Robles was named the LMP's Manager of the Year last season after leading the Guasave Algodoneros to a 31-26 record and a postseason slot after the Algodoneros went 26-37 and missed the playoffs in 2019-20, their expansion season. Earlier, Robles had managed Mex Pac teams in Obregon and Culiacan. The former MLB infielder had previously managed in the Liga with the Tijuana Toros, posting an 18-9 record in Fall 2018 and followed up with a 75-45 ledger in 2019 and reached the LMB North Championship Series, falling to eventual champion Monclova in seven games.

Oscar Robles is new Tigres boss

    Both Rijo and Robles have a short time to turn things around for their respective teams during the Liga's 66-game schedule. The Tecos won three of their first four games under Rijo and currently hold the sixth and final playoff position in the LMB North at 11-15, two games behind surprising Union Laguna (12-12). Guadalajara (19-7) and Tijuana (18-8) are in the top two slots, with Monclova (17-10) and Saltillo (16-11) within striking distance. The Mariachis have won eight of their last ten contests and have the best record in the league, but they'll be losing manager Benji Gil and Adrian Gonzalez to the Mexican Olympic Team in Tokyo next month. Shortly after being confirmed as Mexico's new Olympic manager, Gil confirmed that El Titan WILL make the trip to Japan.

    In the LMB South, the Tigres were in seventh place with a 12-15 after dropping two of their first three games after Munoz was fired. Mexico City is atop the standings at 16-9, one game up on 15-10 Puebla and two games ahead of 14-11 Yucatan. The hottest team in the division has been expansion Veracruz, whose seven wins over their last ten games has vaulted them into fourth place at 14-12. While ex-MLBer Yasiel Puig (.314/5/16) has done well thus far in his first season in Mexico, socking a pair of homers in last Thursday's 14-9 win over Quintana Roo, three other Aguilas (Alexei Amarista, Alejandro Ortiz and Jesus Valdez) are in the LMB's top ten batters as Veracruz has a .309 team batting average.

    Guadalajara's Niko Vasquez tops the batting race with a .475 average as one of five Mexican League players hitting .400 or above. Leandro Castro of Tijuana's nine homers are one ahead of three other batsmen with eight apiece while his 34 RBIs in 26 games is six more than Saltillo's Kennys Vargas in that category. Reigning MVP Alonzo Harris of Oaxaca leads with 13 stolen bases while Tijuana's Isaac Rodriguez is right behind at 12 swipes.

    Five pitchers have reached four wins, including Monclova's Bartolo Colon, Veracruz no-hit hurler Dylan Unsworth and former NPB starter Masaru Nakamura of Guadalajara. Matt Tenuta of Monterrey is only 1-0 after five starts but the former Royals prospect's 0.55 ERA is tops in the circuit. Mexico City's Hector Hernandez is winless in six starts and his 5.51 ERA doesn't impress many, but he's also struck out a league-high 36 batters in 32.2 innings. Jenrry Mejia of Laguna has converted eight saves in ten opportunities to top that table while Monclova's Carlos Bustamante is 7-for-7 in save situations and has a 1.08 ERA.

SPAIN TOURNEY INVOLVING GUASAVE POSTPONED UNTIL 2022

    An international tournament that the Mexican Pacific League's Guasave Algodoneros were going to play in as part of their preseason schedule in September has been postponed until 2022 because of the Wuhan virus pandemic.

    The Barcelona Baseball Cup tournament in Spain was announced four months ago and was to include the Algodoneros along with teams from Italy, The Netherlands, Asia and the Spanish Baseball League. Games would be played at two venues: Estadio Carlos Perez de Rosa (home of the host Barcelona Baseball Club) and at another Barcelona ballpark used for the 1992 Summer Olympics and currently home of the Spanish League's CB Viladecans.

    However, after a meeting among tournament organizers that representatives from Guasave took part in, it was determined that the event will be held off for a year in the hopes that the global pandemic will have diminished by September 2022.

    Algodoneros CEO Luis Fernando Garcia and sports manager Alejandro Ahumada conferred with Jordi Valles, head of the BBC's organizing committee, to see the pros and cons of the measures taken by the Spanish government that would essentially make the Barcelona Baseball Cup a tournament with nobody in the stands and chose to postpone it instead

    “We regret the postponement of this event, since we had the objective of showing the Spanish fans our style of baseball, and also to be able to position the Algodoneros brand in Europe, said Garcia. “The pandemic has forced stricter measures to be taken and Spain is no exception...the event is still on for September 2022, if conditions allow it.”

Barcelona Olympic ballpark

    Ahumada said in a statement, "The security measures in Spain prevented, for the moment, the realization of the BBC, which was an excellent opportunity for our players to have international competition and to show that the Algodoneros brand is synonymous with stability, seriousness and improvement. We did not want this to happen, but health measures require it.”

    Valles said the Barcelona Baseball Cup remains firm for 2022: “It is difficult to do this since the times we are living in do not allow us to carry out the project with tranquility in this month of September.

    “Obviously, we seek the desired success for the public who would see the games out, but we will be prepared and wishing with all our might that the Algodoneros will arrive in Spain next year and can show us their great power in this beautiful sport, which is baseball.”

BEISBOL PURO INVESTIGATES RIELEROS CLUBHOUSE INCIDENT

    The recent incident in which Aguascalientes manager Luis Carlos Rivera punched Rieleros shortstop Richy Pedroza in the clubhouse caused both to be fined and suspended by the Mexican League as tongues across the country wagged about what caused the imbroglio.

    The Beisbol Puro website has investigated the confrontation, in which Railroaders third baseman Michael Wing also reportedly played a part. Wing later posted a tweet criticizing the incident and calling it “a joke” without mentioning details or his alleged role. The following is a lightly-edited Google translation of Beisbol Puro's investigation, detailed in an uncredited Bola Ensalivada column:

    Since the start of the season, or perhaps before, extra baseball problems have arisen within the Rieleros de Aguascalientes. The most notorious until recently had been 1) the poor condition of some food supplied by the Rieleros supplier, and 2) the fact that the team was traveling in a single bus, a situation that the Mexican Baseball League in some way approved because the team is fully vaccinated.

    But on Saturday, June 12, a bomb exploded in the Aguascalientes dressing room when the manager, Luis Carlos Rivera, hit dual nationality shortstop Richy Pedroza with a right hand. It is correct that the blood “reached the river” in a reprehensible way but after gathering information with several of the witnesses, we can tell you:

-Richy Pedroza has been a player who has not followed the internal rules. His bad attitude and strong personality have caused division within the team.

-The Rieleros coaching staff caught Pedroza (who was not line up that day) smoking marijuana in the clubhouse when this game against the Monclova Acereros took place, which evidently caused great annoyance.

-At the end of the match, in which the Rieleros fell 6-2 to Monclova for their fourth defeat in a row, Rivera tried to reprimand Michael Wing (another dual-national player) for his attitude when he was sent off in the sixth inning after throwing a ball to the stands as a claim to the counting of the home umpire after the marking of a pitch that he considered a ball in his turn at bat minutes ago.

-The Rieleros' manager asked Wing to show more discipline and that if he did not like the way things were carried out in the team, he asked for his dismissal. Otherwise he demanded dedication and total discipline. Wing has four ejections in 17 games played.

-While Rivera reprimanded Wing, Pedroza made fun of the helmsman and added a “fuck you,” which made the Rieleros manager explode and the unfortunate blow came.

-Pedroza demanded punishment for Rivera, while the LMB responded immediately with a penalty of $14,170 pesos and a one-game suspension for both manager and player.

Aguascalientes SS Richy Pedroza

-In its press release, the LMB points out that Pedroza's sanction was for “violating the team regulations,” which (although they did not disclose it) refers to the player's consumption of marijuana in the Estadio Monclova clubhouse.

-After the facts, Pedroza denied such an assertion but the LMB asked him to submit to an anti-doping test to be exonerated, a proposal that the player rejected while assuring that he preferred to leave the Rieleros and Mexican baseball. Said refusal, according to the regulations of the summer circuit, is taken as if he had tested positive in the prohibited substances test. Therefore, to return to play in the LMB, he'll have to pass an anti-doping test.

    For now, both Pedroza and Wing have been separated from the team and while Pedroza already promised to take his things to never return, Wing could be traded to another team in case of not aligning with the Rieleros and LMB rules.

    The season is just in its first third of life and both for Rieleros and all their members, it will be time to tighten the screws to improve the atmosphere in the clubhouse, which is an essential part of a good sporting result.

GUASAVE ALGODONEROS TO PLAY IN SPAIN TOURNEY

    The Guasave Algodoneros are planning to make a trip across the Atlantic Ocean this fall to play in a tournament involving European teams and perhaps an Asian squad as well. The Cottoneers announced last week that they'll be taking part in the Barcelona Baseball Cup between September 26 and October 3, thus making them the first professional team from Mexico to play on the European continent.

    Taking part in the virtual press conference were three event organizers (Catalan Federation of Baseball and Softball president Jordi Valles Mestres, Barcelona Baseball Cup CEO Rafaael Llames Cabrera and Base Internacional SA managing director Miguel Pazcabrales) along with Guasave general director Luis Fernando Garcia and team sports manager Alejandro Ahumada. According to a press release from the Algodoneros, Valles explained that the inclusion of a Mexican team in the tournament will cause a huge impact, since there is “a large Latino population that likes baseball.”

    The Barcelona Baseball Cup will be played in two venues: The first is Estadio Carlos Perez de Rozas (home of the Division of Honor's BC Barcelona), while other games will take place at the C.B. Viladecans' ballpark, which was used for baseball during the 1992 Summer Olympics. Training will take place in Sant Boi, site of another Spanish League team.

    Besides the Algodoneros, teams from Italy, The Netherlands and host Spain will take part in the tournament, while efforts are being made to include at least one team from Asia. Depending on which (if any) team comes over from Asia, Guasave may be the tournament favorite going in due to both Mexico's fifth-ranked status in the latest World Baseball Softball Confederation ratings as well as the comparatively higher level of play in the Mexican Pacific League.

    The Netherlands (#9) and Italy (#17) are long established as Europe's premier baseball-playing nations (although the #16 Czech Republic has passed Italy in the rankings) and both have played in multiple World Baseball Classics, but neither the Dutch Major League nor Italian Serie A1 are regarded as competitive as the LMP. Spain (#20) is among the second tier of European baseball countries along with Germany (#19), France (#25) and Belgium (#26). The Division of Honor is one of the top leagues in Europe but professional players are in the minority and the only advantage any chosen host team will have in the Barcelona Baseball Cup is home-field advantage.

BORDER BOUNCE: GARCIA OUT IN MEXICALI, ROMERO FIRED IN TJ

Luis Alfonso Garcia at work in Mexicali

    For years, Baseball Mexico has chronicled the so-called “Mexican managerial merry-go-round,” in which field managers are hired, fired and recycled at a rate unseen in professional baseball north of the border. Case in point: The Quintana Roo Tigres last week parted ways with helmsman Adan Munoz and replaced him with another ex-catcher, Hector Paez. Munoz was hired to replace Jesus Sommers as skipper of the Cancun team on May 9, 2019 and led the Tigres to a 62-57 regular season record and a playoff berth. Paez had served as Munoz' bench coach.

    While the revolving door may not spin quite as fast in the front offices, being a general manager of a Mexican baseball franchise is still not the most stable way to warn a living. Two of the most difficult teams to work sit less that 100 miles from each other on the border with the United States in Baja California Norte and both are seeking to replace their respective GMs after departures of two respected former players last week.

    Luis Alfonso Garcia's “separation from the position of Sports Manager” was announced by the Mexicali Aguilas of the Mexican Pacific League. Garcia took over as GM in Mexicali in February 2019 and while the team did reach the playoffs each of the past two seasons, the Aguilas failed to make it past the first round both times and that was enough for owner Dio Alberto Murillo to make a change.

    Garcia, a 42-year-old Guadalajara native who spent a couple seasons as a first baseman in Japan during a 21-year career that saw him belt a combined 395 homers on both sides of the Pacific, released a statement thanking the Aguilas “for the opportunity they gave me to perform this role. It was a great experience where I was able to develop in a different and new facet for me, applying my knowledge within baseball.”

    In a press release, the team said they “appreciate the dedication and professionalism shown by Luis Alfonso García during the time he was in charge of this important position, wishing much success in his professional career and personal projects.” The Aguilas earlier announced that field manager Bronswell Patrick will be back for the 2021-22 season, or at least the start of it.

Ex-Toros' sports manager Oscar Romero

    Meanwhile, the Mexican League's Tijuana Toros announced last week “that as of this date, Óscar Romero will leave the position of sports manager in the organization,” adding that the move “is generated by mutual agreement.” Romero was hired by the Toros in September 2016, shortly after their loss to Puebla in the Serie del Rey championships, 4 games to 2. Replacing former MLB pitcher Jorge Campillo, Romero served as Tijuana's sports manager for the next four-plus years, during which the team has had a quartet of managers (Pedro Mere, Lino Rivera, Oscar Robles and now Omar Vizquel) while winning the 2017 LMB pennant under Mere.

    However, in the “What-have-you-done-for-me-lately?” environment under the Uribe family (who are every bit as expectant of titles as Murillo in Mexicali), the Toros have since failed to reach the Serie del Rey in either of two truncated 2018 seasons or in 2019, which could not have made the job easier for Romero, who spent 13 years in the Liga as an infielder for eight teams before retiring as a player in 2003. His son, Oscar Junior, is a 19-year-old third baseman in the Toros organization who led the National League of Prospects (LNP) in 2019 with a .434 batting average.

    The team released a standard statement about Romero similar to the one above regarding Garcia: “The board of the Club de Beisbol Toros de Tijuana appreciates the effort, work and professionalism of Óscar Romero Tirado throughout more than four years and wishes him the best of success in future projects.”

    Before he left, Romero did sign outfielder Johnny Davis as an import player for 2021. The 30-year-old speedster from California spent six years in the Brewers system before coming to the Mexican League for the Fall 2018 schedule. In two seasons, the Compton Comet hit over .300 and led the LMB in stolen bases both campaigns before he was signed by Tampa Bay and made his MLB debut later that year.

    It's not known what effect the ouster will have on current manager Vizquel, a Hall of Fame candidate who Romero brought in prior to the abandoned 2020 season but has since been charged with domestic violence by his second wife, which led to a drop in votes among baseball writers for enshrinement in Cooperstown this winter.

BEISBOL PURO INTERVIEWS MARIACHIS' TEAM PRESIDENT

Mariachis team president Rafael Tejeda

    They have a shortlist of possible managers but have never included names such as Benjamin Gil or Sergio Gastélum; Adrián “El Titán” González is someone they'd like to add as a player; they're looking for stellar players who enhance the arrival of the franchise to the Mexican League...these are some of the plans of the Mariachis de Guadalajara.

    In a telephone conversation with Beisbol Puro editor Roberto Espinosa, Mariachis president Rafael “Fayo” Tejeda points out that the management is on the right track to make the Pan American Stadium (aka Estadio Charros) their home, and reveals that the Mariachis already have a roster of more than 30 players. On the other hand, Tejeda says that neither he nor his partner Carlos "Calo" Valenzuela had in mind to have a baseball franchise in the summer, but was something that the LMB office offered them and that they did not hesitate to to accept.

    Here is Beisbol Puro's translated interview with Tejada:

Why has so little officially been known about the Mariachis?

    “It's that just last month we participated in the Assembly of Presidents with owners of the Mexican League. There we were officially accepted and from then on, we are already an expansion franchise in the league.

    “We have not done many official things for the same reason. We are very respectful of the times and had not wanted to give so many statements until we were authorized. It was one thing that the president of the republic (who loves baseball) had announced us, and another that the LMB would authorize us to enter, and that just happened last week in the Assembly.”

Pablo Lemus, mayor of Zapopan, where the Pan American Baseball Stadium is located, declared in early December that the Guadalajara Mariachis should look for a stadium to play in Guadalajara and made it clear that the Mariachis would not be able to play there in the summer. what do you think of that?

    “We are in a process so the Mariachis have everything legal so that we can use the Pan American Stadium. That is an issue that our legal team is already addressing...we are young businessmen who somehow did not know the whole process to be able to use the stadium, so we have already been talking with them and everything is on the right track. We are trying to do everything necessary to legally comply and be able to use the stadium.”

    How ambitious is the Mariachis project?

    “We have an important project not only for the city, but for the entire metropolitan area of Guadalajara, and this project will benefit the entire state because there will be jobs and everything that generates a show.

    “We come from an atypical year like 2020, and for young entrepreneurs to come to invest in this beautiful sport, I think it should be valued, and the government people have already told us that we have all their support, and they only asked us to do what pertinent on the legal issue so that everything works. We have really received a very kind treatment from all of them, always looking for a way to make everything possible.”

What can your fans expect?

    “We want Guadalajara to continue with the quality it deserves in all aspects, so we seek to have an office, a technical body and a team that is in accordance with what the city deserves.

    “We seek to have an experienced team, although we will also give young people the opportunity, but we want people who come to capitalize, to give us quality and experience.

    “We are thinking that any type of name can come to the Mariachis. We want great players, whatever their names are. We have foreign players on the table who have played in the Major Leagues and who want to play in the summer in Mexico, which we can probably hire. We are looking for a 'Ronaldinho' of baseball ”.

    Adrián 'El Titán' González has been mentioned as a probable contract to play with Mariachis. How likely can it be that this is achieved, especially considering that the Veracruz Aguilas have announced him as a partner?

    “What I can tell you is that in the part that we learned about, Adrián was not coming with Veracruz as a partner. We would all love to have a figure with the stature of Adrián. I looked for Adrián to tell him that we have not announced anything about him and that we were not misusing his image. He told me that the only thing he could tell me was that he had prepared to play the 2020 Olympic Games but now with this issue of the pandemic, he no longer knows what is going to happen.”

We learned that you already have people working in the front office like Francisco Minjárez and Luis Alonso Mendoza...

    “Yes, in the office the sports director is Francisco Minjárez and we have Luis Alonso Mendoza as sports manager, who is already retiring as a player and is now undertaking a new role with us. It was not easy to offer him the position and ask him to retire, but he discussed it with his family and decided that it was a good option to stop playing and start another facet.

    “As a hitting coach we will have Wilie Romero, who is a very well-known person in Mexican baseball. For now, they are the people we have defined.”

What about the manager? Much has been said about Benjamín Gil and Sergio Omar Gastélum as options to direct the Mariachis...

    “We haven't talked to Benji Gil at all. Sergio is not an option. He has to digest this moment first (his departure from Diablos Rojos del México), and later he will be able to see his work options, but with us for now he is not contemplated.

    "At the table we have Mexican and foreign managers, but neither Benji nor Sergio Omar is there."

Do you already have players contemplated for your roster?

    “We already have a base of more or less 30 players, but it will be announced when the moment is right.”

Has it been difficult to negotiate to get players from the other teams?

    “No, I would say that it is something normal in the market of purchases, sale and trades. It was just knocking on the doors of the other teams and talking to them. The owners have been very accessible and inclusive.”

By the way, how did the idea of having a baseball franchise in the LMB come up?

    “We did not seek the franchise, we did not see this panorama. This opportunity opened up for us and we did not think twice about it, but this was in early December when we knew we were going to enter it.

    “Neither I nor my partner (Carlos Valenzuela) had asked for a summer baseball franchise but when the opportunity arose, we entered it for the taste of baseball. The Liga looked for us. They told us that Guadalajara could not stay without summer baseball and, knowing that we are baseball people, they offered it to us and we joined them.”

PREMIER12: MEXICO SWEEPS GROUP A, ON TO JAPAN

The Mexican National Team clobbered The Netherlands, 10-2, last Tuesday in Guadalajara to complete a three-game Group A sweep in the World Baseball Softball Confederation's Premier12 tournament.  The Verdes Grande had earlier defeated the Dominican Republic and the United States to clinch a berth in the second stage of Premier12 competition, the Super Round, this week in Japan.  No players on a 40-man roster in Major League Baseball are being allowed by their respective teams to play.

Mexico took an early lead over the Dutchmen in the bottom of the first when leadoff batter Jonathan Jones singled to left, advanced to third base on Noah Perio's single up the middle and then came home to score when Holland centerfielder Roger Bernadina made an errant throw to the plate that catcher Chadwick Tromp couldn't make a play with.  Perio advanced to second on Bernadina's throw, took took when Netherlands starting pitcher Tom Stuibergen uncorked a wild pitch to Efren Navarro and then plated a tally on Navarro's groundout to Sharlon Schoop at second base.

The Mexicans added two more runs in the third when Navarro doubled in Perio and Jesus Araiza later punched a two-out single to plate Navarro, bringing the score to 4-0.  After three scoreless innings, Mexico essentially put the game in their hop pocket with four seventh-inning runs.  A combined three runs came in on two Dutch errors and another scored on a wild pitch in an ugly defensive frame for the European side.  Ageless Yurendell de Caster, who played for Reynosa of the Mexican League in 2010 and 2011, accounted for The Netherlands' only scoring when the 40-year-old Curacao native rapped a two-run single up the middle off Jesus Rios in the top of the eighth but Mexico scored twice more in the bottom of the entrada for the final 10-2 margin of victory.

Mexico outfielder Noah Perio

Arturo Reyes started on the mound for the Verdes Grande and tossed three scoreless innings of one-hit ball, but it was reliever Manny Barreda who got the win by pitching 1.2 frames of no-run ball into the fifth frame.  Stuifbergen took the loss for The Netherlands.  Jones went 3-for-5 with two runs for the winners, who collected ten hits and three walks on the night.  Holland had seven hits and drew seven walks but 12 Dutch runners were left stranded on base as they finished 0-3 in the Premier12 under manager Hensley Meulens and coaches Bert Blyleven and Andruw Jones.  One night earlier, the United States beat the Dominican Republic, 10-8, to clinch Group A's second Super Round berth.

The Mexican National Team is now in Japan, where they'll open Super Round play against Taiwan Monday at Noon local time at Chiba Marine Stadium.  Taiwan finished second to unbeaten Japan with a 2-1 record while hosting Group B action in Taichung.  Mexico will open the second stage with a 1-0 record because they defeated the United States, 8-2, in the opening round while Taiwan starts the Super Round 0-1 after losing to Japan in Group B.  South Korea (3-0) and surprising Australia (2-1) emerged from Group C in Seoul, with the Aussies topping both Canada and Cuba to advance.  Each of the six remaining teams will play four games this week, followed by two games at the Tokyo Dome on Friday: A Bronze Medal game between the third and fourth place finishers at Noon and a Gold Medal Game between the top two seeds at 7:00PM.  Two teams will advance to next year's Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

It was a good week all around for Mexico manager Juan Gabriel Castro, who was also hired as an infield coach for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2020.  Castro gave up a coaching job with the Los Angeles Dodgers for an ill-defined with the Tijuana Toros in 2018, only to be fired two months after his hiring.  Castro spent last summer in the Phillies organization as coordinator of minor league infielders and will join new manager Joe Girardi in Philadelphia to replace Bobby Dickerson, who left for a bench coaching job with the San Diego Padres.

MEXICO PREMIER12 SUPER ROUND SCHEDULE
Monday, Nov. 11 (12pm) vs. Taiwan, Chiba Marine Stadium
Tuesday, Nov. 12 (12pm) vs. Australia, Tokyo Dome
Wednesday, Nov. 13 (7pm) at Japan, Tokyo Dome
Thursday, Nov. 14 (7pm) at South Korea, Tokyo Dome


THREE LMP MANAGERS FIRED; WILL OSUNA PITCH FOR CHARROS?

New Mexicali manager Pedro Mere

Less than one month into the 2019-20 season, three Mexican Pacific League managers were fired with the usual thanks from teams not thankful enough to spare their jobs.  While it's a little unusual to see three skippers axed after fewer than four weeks, this is an LMP expansion year and there are now ten helmsmen to show the door.

The first firing came November 2 in Guasave, one of the MexPac's two new clubs, who parted ways with manager Rigo Beltran.  A former MLB and NPB pitcher who was a winterball mainstay in Culiacan, Beltran has spent the past six summers as pitching coach for the Indians' AAA Columbus affiliate. The Algodoneros decided they'd seen enough after a 6-12 start, jettisoning both Beltran and pitching coach Jose Silva.  The Cottoneers' new dugout boss will be Oscar Robles.  Robles was LMP Rookie of the Year in 1995-96 for Guasave and has managed both Culiacan and Obregon, and was recently fired from Tijuana in the LMB after leading the Toros to the best regular-season record in the Liga.

Four days later, the axe fell on Adan Munoz in Navojoa.  The longtime catcher who did a decent job in Cancun after being named Quintana Roo manager on May 9 and leading the Tigres to the postseason.  Munoz was in his first season with the Mayos when he was let go with the team in last place after going 6-14 over the first 20 games.  Pitching coach Hector Heredia was named interim Navojoa manager while the front office looks for a permanent (relatively speaking) replacement for Munoz, who may be reassigned elsewhere within the Mayos organization.

The Mexicali Aguilas capped the opening week of canning season by pink-slipping yet another first-year manager, Bobby Dickerson.  A former Yankees draft pick and farmhand, Dickerson was an infield coach for Baltimore for seven seasons and spent last summer with Philadelphia before taking a similar job in San Diego next season.  This was his second stint with Mexicali (he managed the Eagles to the playoffs in 2009-10), but ownership became disaffected with the Aguilas' 7-16 record, although they did "thank Bobby Dickerson for his dedication and professionalism, recognizing him as a hard working and committed manager, wishing him much success in his future projects."  Pedro Mere becomes the latest to enter the revolving managerial door in Mexicali.

Osuna signed with Charros in 2017, but didn't pitch

Meanwhile, a couple of MLB players have been talked about as possible MexPac performers this winter, although one of them has ruled out the possibility.  Telediario of Guadalajara reports that Houston closer Roberto Osuna has told Jalisco team president Salvador Quirarte that he wants to pitch for the Charros this winter.  "When it was the Houston game in Monterrey," Quirarte said, "I was talking to Roberto and he said, 'Hey, I want you to take me with the Charros this year."  Quirarte admits it's up to the Astros to allow Osuna to pitch anywhere this winter, saying "We have to wait, although being very clear and seeing the Houston team so strongly, I don't see much hope."  Another big league pitcher, Sergio Romo, is already in Guadalajara with the Charros, but the 12-year MLB veteran is a free agent and not under the same restrictions Osuna is.

Another MLBer, Luis Urias, was rumored to be a possible addition to the Obregon roster this winter, perhaps as soon as this month.  However, El Fildeo reports that Urias himself is discounting the talk on social media.  A middle infielder, the 22-year-old Urias played 71 games for San Diego this year, batting .223 with 4 homers, and is considered one of the Padres' top prospects.  He hit .280 over 36 games for the Yaquis as an 18-year-old in 2015-16.  Like Osuna, Urias' availability would be subject to his parent club's approval and it's not known whether the San Diego organization would sign off on it.

The battle for first place remains tight with only nine games remaining in the first half.  Culiacan (16-9) holds the narrowest of leads over Hermosillo (15-9) and Jalisco (15-10) at the top of the table, while Lobregon and Los Mochis (both 14-11) sit two games out of first.  At the bottom of the standings, Mexicali (8-17) is eight games out of first and as mentioned above, former manager Bobby Dickerson bore the brunt of the Aguilas' slow start.

Jose Aguilar of Obregon leads the batting race with a .373 average while Culiacan's Sebastian Elizalde is second at .361.  Jalisco's Stephen Cardullo may be hitting a pedestrian .255. but he's making the most of what he can with an LMP-best seven homers among his 24 base hits.  Teammate Dariel Alvarez and Obregon's Art Charles are among three players trailing Cardullo by one homer while being tied at the top with 21 RBIs apiece.  Culiacan outfielder Rico Noel has stolen 14 bases in 16 attempts to take a healthy lead in that category.

Yoanys Quiala of Los Mochis leads the LMP in wins with a perfect 5-0 mark after six starts.  Quiala's 1.95 ERA is third behind Hermosillo's Mike Kickham (1.55) and Teddy Stankiewicz of Guasave (1.91).  Quiala also leads in strikeouts with 31 (Obregon's Arturo Lopz has 30) and his 0.81 WHIP is also tops, just ahead of Kickham's 0.86.  Monterrey's Ralph Garza and Trey McNutt of Hermosillo are tied for saves supremacy with eight apiece.  Even though Garza's Sultanes teammate Nick Struck's ERA of 4.09 may not be overly impressive, his eight holds are.

The MexPac says the one-million mark in attendance had been surpassed by the 21-game mark of the first half on November 8.  The LMP states that a total of 1,108,336 attendees witnessed games across the loop's ten cities through seven series, a number that projects to an overall average of 10,556 per opening, which is higher than any MiLB league north of the border.  According to a story on the league website, Culiacan leads with 15,853 attendees per game, followed by Hermosillo's 15,155 average.


MEXICAN LEAGUE CUTS BACK TO 102 GAMES IN 2020; 80 GAMES IN 2021?

After expanding its regular season schedule to 120 games per team for the first time since 2001, the Mexican League is making a drastic cut in games for 2020 and at least one prominent baseball writer south of the border things the LMB could be looking at even fewer openings in 2021.

The Liga once played as many as 140 games per season but gradually adopted shorter schedules until adopting a 110-game calendar in 2002, a format the circuit kept until creating two separate 56-game seasons last year.  When that proved unworkable, the LMB returned to a single-season format in 2019 with 120 games and although the loop drew 5 million fans for the first time in the 21st Century, the decision was made among owners last month to cut back to 102 games, the fewest since the reorganized Mexican League joined the National Association (Minor League Baseball's predecessor) in 1955 with a Class AA designation.

The 2020 schedule will open Monday, April 6 when the newly-crowned champion Monclova Acereros host the rival Monterrey Sultanes at Estadio Monclova, the "Biggest Oven in Mexico" (as per the LMB's own website).  Even though the schedule has been shortened, the format has each team hosting and visiting every Liga opponents so home fans will be able to watch all 15 other LMB teams in their own ballparks next season.

The two-half system will be back for a second year in a row, with the First Half closing on June 4, followed by All-Star Weekend between June 5-7 in Monclova.  The Second Half opens on June 9 and ends August 6.  As in past seasons, if three games or fewer separate the fourth and fifth place teams in either division, a wildcard game will be held August 7 at the fourth-place team's ballpark.  The full playoffs (all best-4-of-7 series) will begin Tuesday, August 11 with the Division Semifinals.  Division Championship Series will open Saturday, August 22 while the Serie del Rey for the LMB title opens Tuesday, September 1, with a Game Seven (if needed) slated for Wednesday, September 9.

Tabasco Olmecas game in Villahermosa

The point system for playoff seeding will now reflect the one used in the Mexican Pacific League per half:  First place in each division gets 8 points, second place gets 7 points while third place gets 6 points.  Fourth place gets 5.5 points, fifth place gets 5.0 points, sixth place gets 4.5 points, seventh place gets 4.0 and eighth place gets 4.5 points.

Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros notes that the elimination of almost one month from the Mexican League season is in response to "great economic losses" after what he said was "another of the bad decisions taken in the Javier Salinas era by the council of owners."  The new 2020 calendar will be approved at December's Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego.  Ballesteros, who says the LMB wants to cut its schedule back further to 80 games in 2021 (which would make it difficult for the Liga to remain at Class AAA in the MiLB structure), all 16 franchises will vote for a new president to replace Salinas.  According to Ballesteros, Salinas was installed by just three clubs, "and today they are sorry as a league in general."

TIGRES IN FIRST, WIN STREAK SNAPPED AT EIGHT GAMES

Quintana Roo 1B Reynaldo Rodriguez

Even though the Quintana Roo Tigres saw their eight-game winning streak snapped Sunday in a 3-2 loss at home to the Tabasco Olmecas, the Tigres have gotten off to a hot start in the second half of the Mexican League schedule and now sit alone in first place in the South Division standings with a 20-7 record.  As 3,975 fans looked on at Estadio Beto Avila in Cancun, Tabasco's Daniel Carbonell lofted a sacrifice fly to Quintana Roo centerfielder Yordanys Linares to bring Roel Santos from third to break a 2-2 tie with the game-winning run.  Despite the loss, the Tigres have a three-game lead over 17-10 Yucatan, who topped Campeche, 9-4, Sunday in Merida as Leones starter Yoanner Negrin got the win to go to 10-3 on the season.

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.

Oaxaca's Alonzo Harris (r) joins the 30-30 Club

Leon's Felix Pie went 4-for-28 over his last ten games before going on the 7-day injured list July 9 (he still hasn't reappeared), but still leads the Mexican League in batting with a .410 average.  Mexico City's Emmanuel Avila is second at .388.  Chris Carter of Monclova has socked five homers in nine games to bring his season total to 39, eight more than the 31 of Oacaxa's Alonzo Harris, who also has 36 stolen bases over 86 games in what is becoming an MVP-style season.  He has become the third member in the LMB's 30-30 Club, joining James Steels (1991) and Luis Terrero (2011).  Harris is second in steals, trailing only Dos Laredos' Johnny Davis, who has 48 swipes.

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

Brandon Phillips playing for another Rojos team

A pair of recent major players transactions have strengthened two Mexicna League teams battling for playoff seeding within their respective divisions.  The Mexico City Diablos Rojos signed three-time MLB All-Star second baseman Brandon Phillips as a free agent on July 15 while the Monclova Acereros traded with Aguascalientes for All-Star third baseman Jose Vargas three days later.

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.

New Oaxaca DH/1B/3B/RF Jose Vargas

Vargas was in the middle of an MVP-worthy season for Aguascalientes before the financially-strapped Rieleros shipped him to Monclova for pitcher Juan Carlos Perez and two players to be named later on July 18.  A 2008 White Sox 22nd round draft pick out of Ventura (CA) College, Vargas hit .255 with 25 homers over three years in the Chisox system, then spent six years with Traverse City in the independent Frontier League (belting 29 homers with 110 RBIs in 2012) before coming to Aguascalientes in 2017. 

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

Edgar Gonzalez (l) and LMP prez Omar Canizales

Mexico's Office of the President for Development and Promotion of Baseball, aka ProBeis, has created a new league for promising players age 14 through 17. The Mexican Prospects League opened play earlier this month in Guadalajara, Jalisco and will continue through August 22.

"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.

Gonzalez thanked the Mexican Pacific League and Jalisco Charros owner Salvador Quirarte for their support, including the use of Estadio Charros for games and training. He also cited the Mexican League's role in coordinating the nascent league, which is an outgrowth of new president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's desire to raise the profile of his favorite sport.  Gonzalez is a former MLB and NPB second baseman who more recently managed LMP teams in Mexicali and Jalisco before being tabbed by AMLO to oversee the development and growth of baseball on a national level.  The longterm goal inludes the creation of several government-subsidized academies throughout the country.

Mexican Prospect League doubleheaders began July 10 and will continue four times per week until the 32-game season concludes on August 22.

OLMECAS' ORAMAS ENJOYS LIGHTS-OUT OUTING

Tabasco pitcher Juan Pablo Oramas

Juan Pablo Oramas has been one of the many pitchers in Mexican baseball who've crossed back and forth over the border during their careers.  After signing with San Diego as a 16-year-old international free agent from Tabasco, Oramas toiled two summers for the Padres' Dominican Summer League team in 2007 and 2008 prior to a spectacular Mexican League debut in 2009. Pitching for the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, the 5'10" lefty went 9-1 with a 2.31 ERA in 25 games (14 starts) and was named Rookie of the Year.

Oramas went back to the Padres and pitched another five years in their system and reached the AAA Pacific Coast League with Tucson and El Paso before his release following the 2014 campaign.  He signed with Toronto and attended spring training with the Jays before being let go in early April and returning south of the border for good with the Diablos in 2015.  Oramas went 15-8 over his first two summers back in Mexico City before a 1-6 record and 6.68 ERA over 15 starts in 2017 resulted in his offseason trade to Tabasco for veteran reliever Sergio Valenzuela.

He had a good Spring 2018 season for the Olmecas, going 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA in 11 outings, but fell to 2-3 and 5.09 last Fall.  Oramas was off to a rocky start in 2019 under new Tabasco manager Ramon Orantes at 2-6 and 4.97 this spring and there was nothing to indicate what would happen when he took the mound for the Olmecas to open the second half of the schedule against Durango in Villahermosa last Friday.

Oramas shut out Durango on 4 hits with 15 K's

Oramas turned in one of the most dominant performances of his 13-year career, blanking the Generales by a 1-0 count and scattering four singles.  He struck out 15 batters and walked two as 85 of his 118 pitches went for strikes. In an almost-prescient moment, the lights at Parque Centenario 27 de Febrero went out just after Oramas whiffed Durango leadoff batter Aneury Tavarez to start the game.

After the 20-minute delay, the 210-pounder went on to paint a nine-inning masterpiece in front of an intimate announced gathering of 1,234 spectators in the gallery. His Olmecas teammates would only score once, in the bottom of the first when Cuban newcomer Roel Santos led off with a triple and scored on a Gerson Manzanillo sacrifice fly to left, but that was all the support Oramas would need. His complete-game shutout was the Liga's third this season, following two Campeche hurlers, Francisco Rodriguez (April 27 vs. Oaxaca) and Manuel Flores (June 4 at Tabasco).

Tabasco dropped their next two games to the Generales to fall to open the second half at 1-2 (with a 22-39 season record).  The Olmecas are not without talent and definitely have a Cuban flavor: Besides recent-arivee Santos, outfielder Ronnier Mustelier is batting .407 with nine homers in 55 games while fellow gardener Daniel Carbonell has a .338 average with 11 homers and 12 steals.  Another import, Puerto Rican third baseman Jovan Rosa, is hitting .346 with seven homers and 33 RBIs in 36 contests as the entire Tabasco team has a .303 average to tie for ninth with Saltillo and Yucatan, which tells you how things have gone for pitchers with the new Franklin ball this year.  Orantes' mound staff has had it worse than most with a team ERA of 6.39 (and that's with FOUR shutouts, including Oramas' gem last Friday).

We say "worse than most" because Laguna (7.30), Aguascalientes (7.55) and Leon (7.88) pitchers may be forgiven for taking on nervous tics a la Herbert Lom's Inspector Dreyfus character in the Pink Panther movie series.   Rieleros pitchers in particular might be in a state of collective shellshock after serving up the most homers (138) and walks (297) while their 713 hits allowed and 490 runs allowed rank second.  Somehow amid the carnage surrounding him, Aguascalientes reliever Anthony Carter is 7-2 with seven saves and a 3.06 ERA over 25 appearances. Carter HAS given up eight homers in 32.1 innings so he's not exactly been unscathed.

MAYOS NAME ADAN MUNOZ MANAGER FOR 2019-20

New Navojoa Mayos manager Adan Munoz

A familiar figure among longtime Mexican baseball observers has been signed as the Navojoa Mayos' new manager.  Former catcher Adan Munoz will take the reins of the Mexican Pacific League team from Willie Romero. A combustible personality who won two Manager of the Year awards with Yucatan in the Mexican League and led the Mayos to the Mex Pac championship series in 2017-18, the 44-year-old Romero's contract was not renewed after Navojoa finished with a 26-31 overall record and missed the LMP playoffs last winter.  Prior to managing, the Venezuelan spent six years as an outfielder in the Dodgers organization and played another 14 summers in the Mexican League for Saltillo and Yucatan, batting .334 with 147 homers before his 2012 retirement. Romero hit .331 for the 2006 Liga champion Leones, collecting 24 of his 300 career stolen bases (eighth all-time in the LMB).

While Romero earned his playing reputation as a flamboyant centerfielder and baserunner, Munoz has been known as a tough, no-nonsense catcher over two decades in the Mexican League.  A career .279 hitter with 303 doubles and 162 homers among his 1,522 Liga hits, Munoz was named manager of the Quintana Roo Tigres on May 9, replacing Salon de la Fama member Jesus Sommers (the only man in LMB history with over 3,000 hits) at the helm with the Cancun club showing an 11-18 record.  Since then, the Tigres have gone 11-17 under Munoz. While not as visibly demonstrative as Romero, the 6'2", 215-pound Munoz is not without a boiling point and (like Walter Alston with the Dodgers years ago) the Empalme, Sonora native is tough enough to back up orders issued to his charges.

Adan Munoz batting earlier during his career

Munoz will take over a Navojoa team that had some talent in the dugout last season.  First baseman Victor Mendoza hit a team-high .323 with six homers and 30 RBIs and has since performed in the Caribbean Series and for the Mexican National Team in Japan, Alonzo Harris played second base and batted .302 with seven homers, scoring 51 runs, while third baseman Jovan Rosa clubbed 15 longballs with 45 RBIs to augment a .275 average.  Other Mayos vets last winter included shortstop Paul Leon, outfielder Alan Sanchez and catcher Fernando Flores, all former LMB All-Stars. Top Navojoa pitchers included Jaime Lugo (5-3 with a 2.75 ERA), Marco Carrillo (5-4, 3.08) and closer Jesus Pirela (3.22, 16 saves).

SEARCH CONTINUES FOR INVESTORS IN GUASAVE

Juan Navarrete to manage Guasave in 2019-20

          The search continues for investors in the Guasave's new Mexican Pacific League ballclub.  The Algodoneros were hastily established over the winter as fulfillment of an earlier campaign promise to voters in the Sinaloa city by then-candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, now president of Mexico.  Guasave re-enters the LMP next season along with Monterrey and while the Sultanes will bring one of the country's top baseball organizations and its largest ballpark into winterball with them, Guasave holds no such advantage in either history, facilities or resources.

The Algodoneros will play in the LMP's smallest market and in one of its oldest ballparks, although 49-year-old Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon is getting a major facelift thanks to billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu, who owns both the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and Oaxaca Guerreros.  Harp was induced by AMLO to put some pesos into the reborn Cottoneers and is largely footing the bill for stadium renovations (the 8,000-seat venue is expected to be ready when the Mex Pac opens play October 12), but has indicated he has no desire to own a third baseball team at this time.  

As a result, efforts are being made to find new investment money to maintain the fledgling franchise. Among the names being bandied about is Francisco Ochoa, a Guasave resident and founder of the El Pollo Loco chain of restaurants. Another is Guadalupe Miranda, called the "King of Beans" for his role as director of agribusiness giant Grupo Cintar in Los Mochis.

Veteran GM Gabriel Low, who has run teams in Leon and Guadalajara and been an MLB scout, announced the hiring of Salon de la Fama member Juan Navarrete as Guasave manager.  One of the greatest second basemen in Mexican League history (a .327 average on 1,979 hits with 236 steals over 16 seasons), the 65-year-old Durango native led the final iteration of the old Algodoneros in 2013-14. New owner Armando Navarro moved the team to Guadalajara, where Navarrete led the Jalisco Charros to the LMP Championship Series against eventual champion Culiacan in 2014-15. He's also in his third decade coaching in the Oakland minor league system. Son Juan, Jr. was an infielder at Grays Harbor College near the Washington coast last year.

Guasave shortstop Marco Jaime

A special mini-draft between the two LMP newcomers was held last week during which each team selected four players with dual citizenship (thus not counting against the six-foreigner limit).  The Algodoneros took shortstop Marco Jaime and pitchers Mark Serrano, Geno Encina and Adam Quintana. Jaime represented Leon at last week's All-Star Game in Mexico City while the three pitchers are all Monclova moundsmen in the LMB. For their part, the Sultanes selected pitcher Mario Morales (Monclova), first baseman Eric Aguilera (Union Laguna), utilityman Alex Mejia (Monclova) and third baseman Michael Wing (Aguascalientes).  Like Jaime, Wing performed in the recent LMB All-Star game and also took part in the Home Run Derby.

Between the expansion draft and last week's special draft, both Guasave and Monterrey each own the rights to 36 players with the July 3 LMP draft of unprotected players next in the roster-building process.