CANEROS WIN 5 OF 6, TAKE EARLY SECOND HALF LEAD

Los Mochis OF Yasmany Tomas

    Following a decent first half in which they went 19-16 to tie for third in the Mexican Pacific League standings (and collecting 7.0 playoff points), the Los Mochis Caneros have had a strong start in the Mex Pac's second half by winning five of their first six games to take a one-game lead over Obregon and first-half champs Hermosillo in the standings.

    New Caneros manager Jose Moreno, who replaced Victor Bojorquez in the offseason after a disastrous 2021-22 campaign during which Los Mochis won just 23 of 68 games, has gotten solid performances from a number of players thus far. Outfielder Yasmany Tomas tops Los Mochis hitters with a .335 average, five homers and 28 RBIs and has been among the LMP's batting leaders all season. Veteran third baseman Rudy Amador has given the team a .314 average and his usual solid defense at the hot corner, Braves farmhand Justin Dean is batting .299 and is second in the league with 11 steals while eighth-year infielder Isaac Rodriguez has a .294 average and ranks among Caneros leaders in several offensive categories.

    Luis Miranda has led a good Los Mochis pitching staff with a 4-0 record and a league-leading 0.20 ERA, allowing just one earned run in 44 innings over eight starts. Former Mariners minor leaguer Rafael Pineda is 4-2 with a 2.52 ERA, Fabian Cota is 2-2 and 3.09 and former Mexican League Pitcher of the Year Yoanner Negrin is 1-2 and 3.30. Moreno also has a solid bullpen with relievers Tomas Solis, Fredy Quintero, Juan Gamez and one-time Baltimore hurler Connor Greene, who leads the Caneros with six saves.

    The Caneros helped themselves greatly over the weekend by sweeping a three-game series in Mazatlan. They host Navojoa in a midweek series before defending champs Jalisco visits Los Mochis for three games starting Friday. Both the Mayos and Charros have overall losing records thus far and give the Caneros a prime opportunity to pad their 5-1 record.

    Monterrey's Roberto Valenzuela continues pacing Mex Pac batsmen with a .380 average, well ahead of Tomas' .335 mark and Jalisco's Fernando Villegas at .321. Venerable Jesse Castillo of Guasave belted six homers in as many games earlier this month to take over the LMP longball lead at 10, one more than Mexicali's Anthony Giansanti and three up on both Jesus Espinoza (Navojoa) and Sebastian Valle (Obregon). Valle's Yaquis teammate, Victor Mendoza, has 34 RBIs for a comfortable lead over yet another Obregon batter, Yadir Drake (29) and Tomas' 28 ribbies for the Caneros. Mazatlan's Randy Romero has 17 steals in 21 tries to lead the circuit, with Jose Carmona of Hermosillo right behind with 16 swipes while Pirates minor leaguer Jared Oliva has had 13 steals for both Obregon and Monterrey.

    Two pitchers have finally won their fifth games of the season, Hermosillo's Wilmer Rios and Cristian Castillo of Monterrey. After serving mainly as a reliever over his first six winters for the Naranjeros, Rios has become one of the Mex Pac's most reliable starters the past two seasons. Nine other pitchers have four wins, including ERA leader Miranda (0.20) of Los Mochis and strikeouts leader Matt Pobereyko of Guasave, who's tied with Culiacan vet Manny Barreda at 44 K's apiece. Miranda's 0.727 is also tops among starters. Guasave's Brandon Koch still leads the LMP with 10 while former big leaguer Josh Lueke of Jalisco is tied with Monterrey's Joe Riley at nine salvados apiece.

    Among managers, Mexicali fired Gil Velazquez a week ago (see below) and while in most baseball leagues the skipper of a defending champion usually has breathing room during a slow start to the subsequent season. However, this being Mexican baseball, Jalisco helmsman Roberto Vizcarra's seat may be getting hot in Guadalajara, where the Charros are following up a ninth-place finish and a 15-20 record in the first half with five losses in their first six contests in the second half.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE Second Half Standings
Los Mochis 5-1, Hermosillo 4-2, Obregon 4-2, Guasave 3-3, Mexicali 3-3, Monterrey 3-3, Navojoa 3-3, Culiacan 2-4, Mazatlan 2-4, Jalisco 1-5.


VELAZQUEZ FIRED, CANCEL NEW MEXICALI SKIPPER

    Puerto Rican Robinson Cancel has been named as interim manager of the Mexicali Aguilas after the Mexican Pacfic League team fired Gil Velazquez during the season for a second time after the Eagles finished tied for sixth in the first half standings with a 16-19 record. Velazquez was canned by the Aguilas during the 2016-17 season and took the reigns of the squad a second time after Bronswell Patrick was canned midway through the schedule last winter. The “interim” label isn't usually applied when a new manager is hired but in Mexican baseball, all managers seem to end up working on a interim basis.

    The 46-year-old Cancel took over from temporary dugout boss Jesus Arredondo this past Saturday after the Aguilas had dropped their series opener in Guasave, 7-0, on Friday night. Mexicali split the two remaining games of the weekend set, including Sunday's 3-0 shutout over the Algodoneros as David Reyes tossed five scoreless innings for the win.

    As a player, Cancel spent eight years as a catcher in the Milwaukee organization and appeared in the majors with the Brewers, New York Mets and Houston between 1999 and 2011, batting .200 with one homers and 10 RBIs over 45 games. He wrapped up his playing career in the Mexican League with Monterrey in 2012 and Minatitlan in 2013, hitting a combined .316 with 14 homers in 97 contests.

    Cancel has since managed six years in the minors in the Braves and Rockies system, taking Fresno to a first-place finish in the Class A California League's North Division last summer with an 83-49 record before falling to Lake Elsinore in the loop's championship series. He's had previous stints managing in the Mex Pac with Los Mochis and Mazatlan.

    Arredondo returned to coaching third base after filling in as manager after the ouster of Velazquez, bench coach Pedro Mere and pitching coach Eleazar Mora on November 22 (with the usual “We thank Gil Velázquez, Pedró Meré and Eleazar Mora for their dedication and professionalism towards our organization, wishing in advance the best of successes in their future projects” press release from the front office). A pair of ex-MLBers have been added to the coaching staff: Pitching coach Vicente Palacios and bullpen coach Jailen Peguero.


PROCESO: ESPIONAGE IN MEXICAN BASEBALL

Beatriz Pereyra of Proceso

    According to Mexico City's Proceso magazine writer Beatriz Pereyra, “The scandal over manipulation of television cameras in Games One and Two of the Mexican League South Division championship series between Mexico City and Yucatan is not the first in which Miguel 'El Negro' Ojeda (once a major league catcher and now a director of the Diablos Rojos) has been involved.”

    In an interview with Pereyra, entrepreneur Alredo Aramburo, a former owner of the Durango Generales, talks about the problems he had with Ojeda when he was the sole owner of that team. “ He did not transfer or steal from me,” referring to the hiring of the players, “he did more delicate things than that...”

    The following is a translated Pereyra column in which Ojeda's alleged transgressions are discussed and first appeared in Proceso in September. It's as fascinating as it is long and worth reading all the way through:

    The Yucatan Leones will appeal the fine and sanction that the Mexican League imposed on the Mexico City Red Devils and its sports director, Miguel Ojeda. One of the Leones owners believes the entire technical body of the Diablos should also be punished for manipulating the television broadcast of Games One and Two of the LMB South finals.

    Yucatan team president Juan José Arellano tells Proceso that they do not agree with the resolution made by LMB president Horacio de la Vega, who determined that Ojeda must comply with a one-year suspension and the Red Devils must pay a fine of 1.5 million pesos (approximately US$77,000). According to the Manual for the use of electronic and video devices in stadiums, Arellano argues, there are others involved who deserve to be penalized.

    As of this edition, the directors of the Leones had not yet presented their appeal. Or had the Red Devils, whose owner, businessman Alfredo Harp Helú, announced that they would file the appeal after the LMB released the punishment on September 4. “The Diablos Rojos support Miguel Ojeda Siqueiros, sports director, and Marco Antonio Ávila, television producer. We are in the process of appealing to the accusation made to the team,” Harp posted on his Twitter account September 5.

    Likewise, through a statement, the Mexico City club emphasized that if the LMB concludes that “there is no evidence of signal theft” derived from the investigations requested by the Yucatan Leones, these unsubstantiated allegations have caused them moral harm.

    The conflict originates from the fact that on September 1, Leones executive president Érick Arellano asked the LMB to open an investigation folder against the Red Devils “for manipulating the television shots” during the first two games of the LMB South title series held at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City.

    “The television broadcast was done fraudulently and with all the intent to benefit the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and harm the Yucatan Leones” Erick Arellano states, ”since the shots showed the signs of the catcher (Sebastián Valle) when the Leones were on defense and deliberately there was never the same shot when the Diablos were on defense (with catcher Julián León), this is clearly a theft of signals...”, accused the plaintiff, who accompanied his complaint with the videos that demonstrate “the willful manipulation.”

Diablos sports manager Miguel Ojeda

    Before the formal request, during play of Game Two, Érick Arellano denounced what was happening to LMB executives who were at the stadium. Two of them, Alberto Guadarrama and Diego Patricio Pérez, went to the broadcast booth where they spoke with producer Marco Antonio Ávila, an employee of the Red Devils, who informed them that he was doing the switches and frames that way at the request of Miguel Ojeda.

    In response to the accusations from Merida, team directors in Mexico City replied: “We can say categorically that in no way and at no time was it intended to commit any breach of the regulations, especially on the subject of sign theft. In this sense, the only intention was to take care of any situation with the Diablos Rojos catcher. In such a way that there was a difference between the shots during the turns to the Diablos Rojos batters and the shots during the shifts to the Yucatan Leones batters which, at that time, the league was asked to equalize and it was immediately done.

    “Within the analysis we carried out, in any case, the only thing the Yucatan Leones team could have been affected by was not allowing them to see the signs for the Diablos catcher but since sign theft is not allowed, it cannot be considered that there was such.”

    Based on the above, although the LMB emphasized that it could not be verified that the Diablos stole the signals, both the team and the sports manager deserve sanctions because what was done violates the Manual for the use of electronic and video devices in stadiums, specifically regarding the theft of signals established therein.

    “The above, together with the fact that manipulating the production and transmission of games has other effects, such as generating a reasonable and genuine doubt about the delivery of replays for review in case of game challenges during the matches, during the regular and postseason season of the LMB, which would update a manipulation in the television broadcast that could lead to damages for the defendant's rival teams, as well as favorable benefits for Diablos,” explained the LMB in its resolution.

    In accordance with the LMB regulations, both appeals will be presented to the council that is made up of the following owners: Alejandro Uribe (Tijuana), Gerardo Benavides (Monclova), Eustacio Álvarez (Aguascalientes) and José Antonio Mansur (Dos Laredos).

    If the parties do not agree with the ruling issued by these presidents, they may appeal to the LMB assembly where the owners of the 18 clubs will decide by majority. If that other resolution does not satisfy them either, they will have the option of resorting to ordinary courts. The LMB does not rule out forming a Dispute Commission to vent this case.

Alfredo Aramburo and the Durango case

    This is not the first time that Miguel Ojeda has questionable behavior. In 2019, the LMB, then led by Javier Salinas, did not dare to sanction him for posing as the owner of the Durango Generals and even brought before the assembly a certain Fernando Espinosa del Campo, a logging businessman who was supposedly his partner.

    But the reality is that the owner was businessman Alfredo Arámburo, who owned a modest batmaking company, that Ojeda had to accept in a corporation that lasted just a year due to the abuses that the now-director of the Red Devils committed. When other owners were upset, the businessman appeared before the LMB to say that he was the sole owner, having gone from having 90% to 100% of the shares. This upset the owners of the other clubs and he was forced to sell the team for getting into the league through the back door (via Process 2284). Unlike the businessman who was punished in this way, Ojeda did not suffer any retaliation.

    This reporter interviewed in February 2020 the former owner of the Generals of Durango, who recounted on tape recorder the abuses that Miguel Ojeda committed with that team, then requested that information not be published due to the damage it could cause.

    Following the events involving manipulating the transmission of games during the South Division championship series in which producer Marco Antonio Ávila (who works for the Diablos Rojos) pointed to Ojeda as the person who asked him to alter the signal, this reporter asked Aramburo again for his authorization to publish the full interview.

    The businessman confirmed something that was rumored for months when Miguel Ojeda appeared as the owner of the Generals of Durango: the LMB veteran did not have enough money to buy a baseball club. In 2018, the sale and purchase of this equipment amounted to around 28 million pesos (about US$1.5 million in 2018). Then he lied blatantly, knowing that he only owned 10% of the shares but pretended to be the sole owner.

Former Generales owner Alfredo Aramburo

    “The reality is that I was the owner from day one and Miguel was my partner,” Aramburo said. “I gave him shares. It was a project where he contributed the workforce and his relationships in baseball to develop the sports theme, but he did not contribute capital. ‘You are going to show your face...you are known,’ that was the agreement. But something happened on the way.

    “I think something that collided was my rigid training to manage weight over weight. I am risking my capital, he wanted more freedom (to handle money) and there was a disagreement. He said he was not comfortable and that he was leaving, and that's when I notified the LMB that I already had 100% of the equipment. When I was not accepted, I sold the team and thus ended my ephemeral passage through the LMB.”

Did Miguel Ojeda put his money in it? Did he have anything left, or you?

    “I did owe him money and I did not pay him of my own free will. I was left owing 300 thousand pesos that I wanted to give him as a decent departure from Generals. He said to me, 'The team cost so much, so my share is worth is so many millions,' and I said, 'No, Dad, it's not like that. These are the financial statements, I invested in this so don't be confused. I'm going to pay you because you don't have any support left. I 'll give it to you in payments.' And it was so because I wanted to take care of some situations and I wanted him to act correctly because I did have to pay him in a single exhibition.

    “The company brought millions in losses so I said, ‘Let's agree. You owe me and I can tell you that since you aren't going to contribute the money, I dilute your actions. But neither you nor me. I'll give you so much.’ I gave him 50% of what was agreed upon and the other 50% was to be paid in a year because my situation in the LMB was going to be defined there. Why did I default on those 300 thousand pesos? Because he spoke of me. I found out. I'm not stupid and I connected the dots. He threw dirt on me with the Diablos and with Mr. Harp and that did not make me look professional.

    “They played me a recording where he spoke ill of me with Harp and the LMB. He (Ojeda) sent me messages and I no longer answered him. I don't want to stain his career. He lives on it. If I tell what he did on my team, you'd run it. I don't think Don Alfredo Harp would see it well. He got into serious trouble. He did not transfer or steal,” referring to the hiring of the players,” he did more delicate things than that. For me it is a closed chapter.”

LMB president weighs in

    The president of the LMB, Horacio de la Vega, emphasizes that in the body he heads, “we are not going to allow any director of any team to get into an international transmission.”

    This was possible because the Mexico City Diablos Rojos are the only LMB club with its own television production. That of the other 17 teams is generated by LMB Media Company, a company that was born from a merger between the League and AYM Sports.

    “It is not a matter of having evidence of signal theft,” caims de la Vega, ”but unfortunately the conversations will go that way. The LMB is not sanctioning that. They are sanctioning a subject of unequal intervention, and call it what you want in terms of whether they (the Red Devils) have an advantage or not,. It is simply not equal and if it is not equal, it is not a fair game. That is what the league is not going to allow,” says De la Vega.

    So why is this issue serious if the Diablos insist, and you yourself have said, that it is impossible to steal signs in a transmission?

    “The fact that the LMB allows that with any of the teams is wrong because obviously, as you point it out, there is speculation or a possibility of doing it (to steal the) signs. The LMB is impartial in a difficult decision, but I think the evidence is clear about what we don't want to happen with franchises.'

    They insist that the signals are indecipherable on television. Don't you think it's strange that Miguel Ojeda, someone who was a catcher and who played baseball for many years, decides that to avoid sign theft, to removes Julián León of the Devils from the transmission if this is useless?

    “You will have to ask him.”

    Did YOU ask him?

    “No, we have a specific criterion of what happened, we are sanctioning based on that evidence and we consider that what was done is incorrect.”

    Horacio de la Vega anticipates that the owners of the LMB clubs are already analyzing the possibility of implementing the same electronic devices in Mexico that are already beginning to be used in the Major Leagues, through which the catchers ask the pitchers for the pitches.

    The LMB president also clarifies that if the Diablos Rojos television signal is the only independent in the entire league, it is because when Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú was built, the team made a huge investment in technology. But at the same time, there is the Manual for the use of electronic and video devices in ballparks that regulates the use of other cameras, radar and other equipment that clubs such as the Tijuana Toros have installed in order to generate data for scouting and advanced statistics, like the Bats and True Media System or even Trackman, which the LMB installed in stadiums this year.

    Obviously, the use of any technology that transmits information in real time directly to dugouts is prohibited.

    The LMB president also stressed that, although in the resolution of the LMB it was determined that it will be the personnel of the LMB who will be in charge of generating the transmission of the games of the Red Devils for a year – so that Marco Antonio Ávila no longer intervenes – “ it's something that the LMB is already going to do permanently.”

    De la Vega was questioned about a post that Monclova Acereros pitcher Héctor Velázquez made on the Instagram social network after one of the Toros players, Leandro Castro, celebrated his home runs in the playoffs. “Warned, even I batted,” the pitcher wrote to the batter, in clear reference to Tijuana stealing signals and knowing what pitches their rivals will throw.

    “As a result of sports scores, you can speculate many things and the joke is to demonstrate it. When you have strong evidence that something is wrong, you are co-responsible for the information you put on the table and if there is a player who is saying that, it is only fair that they prove it,” de la Vega says.

    “I am left with the task of investigating more on this subject. What we cannot do is that by mentioning any player, we have to open research folders. I urge any player to provide the information so the LMB can act accordingly,” the manager concludes.

LMB DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS OPEN; LISTACH FIRED

    The Mexican League's final four field was set after Mexico City eliminated Veracruz last Monday night and Guadalajara knocked out surprising Aguascalientes one night later, setting up both Division Championship Series. In the LMB North, the top-seed Mariachis are facing second-place Tijuana while the regular season champion Diablos Rojos take on third-seed Yucatan in the LMB South Championship Series.

    The following is a wrap of the first two games of both LCS, in which both underdogs took a pair of road games over the weekend, as well as the clinching games for the respective division semifinals plus the firing of the defending champion's manager:

TIJUANA LEADS GUADALAJARA, 2 GAMES TO 0

Ricky Alvarez, Tijuana Toros

    The LMB North Championship Series began last Friday, when visiting Tijuana held off Guadalajara, 4-3. The Mariachis were nursing a 2-1 leading going into the top of the sixth inning, when Tijuana pushed three runs across the plate as Xavier Carrillo's two-run single provided the go-ahead run and Leandro Castro added an RBI single. LMB batting champion Leo Heras clubbed a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to narrow the Toros' lead to 4-3 but ex-MLBers Oliver Perez, Michael Tonkin and Fernando Rodney pitched shutout ball over the final three innings. Rodney struck out three batters in the ninth for the save as the Mariachis ended the game batting 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Veteran Luis Alfonso Cruz' two singles for Tijuana made him the only player on either side with more than one hit.

    Tijuana made it two wins away from home on Saturday with an 11-9 triumph at Estadio Panamericano. The game was a scoreless tie until Guadalajara scored five runs in the bottom of the third (with Heras contributing a two-run single) and the Mariachis held an 8-5 lead through six innings. The roof caved in for the home team in the top of the seventh, when the Toros scored five runs on four hits (including a two-run single from Efren Navarro) plus four walks to take a 10-8 lead. Each team scored once the rest of the way but Rodney earned his second save in as many nights by pitching the final 1.1 innings, allowing one walk. Ricky Alvarez went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer for the Toros while Heras and Anthony Garcia went deep for the Mariachis. After Sunday's travel day, Game Three is tonight in Tijuana.

    The Mariachis advanced to the division finals last Tuesday by bopping Aguascalientes, 10-3, at home to clich the series, 4 games to 2. Guadalajara scored five times in the bottom of the second (sending 11 batters to the plate in a half-inning that saw four hits, two walks, an error, a hit bastman and a wild pitch) to chase Rieleros starter Ernesto Zaragosa after Carlos Mendivil's two-run single.

YUCATAN LEADS MEXICO CITY, 2 GAME TO 0

Luis Juarez, Yucatan Leones

    Yucatan is traditionally not a high-scoring team, but they put 13 runs on the scoreboard while winning the first two games of the LMB South title seres in Mexico City. Friday's opener at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu was a 7-6 Leones win, as the visitors scored six third-inning runs to reverse a 3-1 deficit into a 7-3 lead and then held on the rest of the way. Luis Juarez stroked a three-run double in the top of the third as Yucatan starter Yoanner Negrin overcame a shaky first in which he let in three Diablos Rojos runs to toss shutout ball until he was pulled with two out in the sixth. Diablos starter J.C. Ramirez was sent to the showers after failing to record an out in the Leones' third-inning outburst. Alex Liddi hit a solo homer for the winners while Mexico City's Emmanuel Avila wnt 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

    Saturday's Game Two saw the team from Merida pull out another win, this time by a 6-4 count. The contest was tied a 1-1 going into the top of the fifth, when Juarez punched a two-out double off Mexico City reliever Arquimedes Caminero to score Yadir Drake and give the Leones a 2-1 advantage. Walter Ibarra's two-run single in the sixth made it a 4-1 Yucatan lead and the visitors never looked back, although the Diablos did score three more runs the rest of the way. Leones starter Rhadames Liz earned the win by allowing two runs on two hits over 6.2 innings of work, striking out five Diablos. Juarez went 5-for-5 with two ribbies for the night. Avila sliced a pair of doubles for Mexico City, scoring once. Game Three is scheduled for Monday night in Merida's Parque Kukulkan.

    The Diablos punched their ticket to the division championships last Monday by taking a 5-2 win in Veracruz to close their second round series, 4 games to 1. The Aguilas led, 1-0, until Jesus Fabela's two-run single in the top of the fourth gave Mexico City a 2-1 advantage. Juan Carlos Gamboa later hit a solo homer and Luis Sardinas added a two-run homer for the winners as Red Devils starter Hector Hernandez allowed one earned run on three hits over five innings for the win.

    Meanwhile, Pat Listach has been fired as manager of the Monclova Acereros on the heels of their second round playoff loss to Tijuana in five games following a fourth-place regular season finish in the LMB North with a 35-31 record. Listach had led Monclova to the city's lone Mexican League pennant in 2019, posting a Liga-best 75-45 season record before copping the flag by winning three postseason series that all required a seventh game to decide. The Acereros made the standard-issue announcement “thanking” Listach for his “professionalism” and “wishing him the best in his future projects,” comments that accompany every fired Mexican baseball manager on his way to the unemployment line.

GENERALES SOLD TO VENEZUELAN ENTREPRENEUR

Generales owner Carlos Lazo (l)

  The sale of one Mexican League team was approved at an Assembly of Presidents meeting earlier this month while a rumor has surfaced that a pair of current LMB owners are interested in buying another club and moving it to their hometown on the Pacific coast.

    The sale of the Durango Generales by Juan Carlos Martinez to Venezuelan entrepreneur Carlos Lazo was given the owners' stamp of approval at a meeting headed by LMB president Horacio de la Vega and board of directors head Gerardo Benavides, owner of the Monclova Acereros.

    Lazo was born in Venezuela in 1971 but the 49-year-old has lived in Mexico the past 13 years and currently resides in Guadalajara. Holder of a college degree in Economics, Lazo is founder and CEO of 17 different companies, 16 in Mexico and one in Panama. This is not his first venture in sports. Four months ago, Lazo purchased 50 percent of the Queretaro Libertadores of Mexico's National Professional Basketball League (after having sponsored the Jalisco Astros of Guadalajara) and his Upick Sports company became the NHL's first Mexican team sponsor with the Vegas Golden Knights. He is purchasing 100 percent of the Generales franchise.

    Out 27 columnist David Braverman notes that this will be the third time the Generales have changed hands since Virgilio Ruiz moved the team from Carmen following the 2016 season. The Ruiz era in Durango was dogged with financial and operational problems almost from the outset and after two years, the Generales were one of four Liga franchises granted a year off in 2019 to get their house in order. However, Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ordered the LMB to restore the quartet to active status and the team played on. By then, a group headed by former MLB catcher and current Mexico City manager Miguel Ojeda had bought the team from Ruiz and operated it for the 2018 season before selling out to businessman Alfredo Aramburo.

Estadio Domingo Santana, Durango

    The Generales turned in a 46-72 record and drew 180,250 fans (about 3,000 per game) to Estadio Domingo Santana in 2019 while Aramburo had nothing but trouble with his fellow owners and then-LMB president Javier Salinas, who never fully ratified him as owner. Once he had a chance to own a Mexican Pacific League expansion team in Guasave, as mandated by political ally Lopez Obrador, Aramburo sold his Durango team to Martinez. Despite a first season being canceled due to the pandemic and a last-place finish with attendance dipping to 836 per opening, The El Siglio newspaper says Martinez (who will be running for governor of Durango) gave assurances that incoming owner Lazo will keep the Generales in the capital city. Braverman says that “according to reliable sources,” Martinez had not paid Aramburo the full amount of his purchase price for the team.

    Braverman adds that the Aguascalientes Rieleros may be getting ready for a sale. The Railroaders are owned by the Aguascalientes state government and operated by team president Eustacio Alvarez, a former mayoral candidate for Ciudad Aguascalientes who the columnist says is not a baseball fan but is mainly fulfilling an appointment by former governor Armado Medina. The Railroaders have been for sale several years, but Braverman says he's been told that the current owners of the Yucatan Leones (brothers Erick and Juan Jose Arellano) have presented an offer to buy the team, which they would then move to their hometown of Mazatlan and rename the Marineros.

    Braverman is well-connected in the Mexican baseball community, but this is something that was also rumored when the Arellanos owned the Laguna Vaqueros for the 2016 and 2017 seasons down to the Mazatlan Marineros name. Instead, the team was sold prior to the 2018 campaign. Aguascalientes is no more stable than Laguna was, raising the question of why the brothers would go through a similar set of frustrations a second time?

MLB, CBPC COME TO TERMS FOR WINTERBALL IN 2021-22

Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo

    According to the El Fildeo website, Major League Baseball and the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation have agreed on the terms for the new agreement for the 2021-2022 winter league season.

    According to a report by Enrique Rojas of ESPN, MLB and the CBPC have agreed on the parameters of a new "Winter Leagues Agreement," but the agreement will not be finalized until Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association, approves it.

    The winterball agreement is a document that regulates relations between organized baseball in the United States and the various independent Caribbean circuits. The last one expired almost two years ago but was renewed by the parties to cover the 2020-21 season, as they negotiated amid the coranavirus pandemic.

    The winter seasons for leagues in Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela will be played between October and January and the champions of each circuit will face each other in the 64^th edition of the Caribbean Series between January 28 and February 5 next year, scheduled to be held at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic.

    However, leagues in both Panama and Colombia, which have participated in recent Caribbean Series as special guests, are not part of the agreement between MLB and the CBPC, although an August 27 story in Santo Domingo's El Diario Nuevo mentioned the two nations as expected entries along with regulars Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and host Dominican Republic.

 

Juan Francisco Puello, CBPC

   Panama was enlisted as emergency host of the 2019 Serie del Caribe on late notice and ended up being the surprise winner after the planned tournament in Venezuela was scrubbed weeks before it was to be held due to political and economic unrest. Colombia was invited late to the 2020 event after Cuba declined to play due to stated visa concerns traveling to San Juan, Puerto Rico that year.

    Cuba was subsequently suspended from participating in the Caribbean Series indefinitely by CBPC president Juan Francisco Puello, who cited a desire to see human rights improvements in the communist nation, which returned to the event (which they co-founded in 1949) on a conditional basis in 2014 after an absence of 53 years.

YAQUIS SWEEP BOTH HALVES, TOP LMP PLAYOFF SEED

When Obregon's Nathanael Santiago tossed eight pitches (seven for strikes) in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out a 4-0 Yaquis road shutout over Hermosillo on December 30 in front of 16,604 fans at a packed Estadio Sonora, it culminated a standout regular season for manager Sergio Gastelum's team in which they won both halves en route to a 44-22 record and a maximum 20 playoff points heading into

Obregon players celebrate new LMP wins record

January's postseason.  Centerfielder Aneury Tavarez went 4-for-5 with an RBI double and shortstop Isaac Paredes singled twice, doubled and scored two runs to give starter Alex Delgado and four relievers who combined on a three-hitter all the offensive support they'd need.  Obregon's 44 wins set a new record for single-season victories.

Despite being blanked by the Yaquis, Hermosillo (38-27) finished in a three-way tie with Jalisco and Culiacan for second in cumulative points with 15 apiece.  The Charros ended their schedule with an overall record of 39-28 after losing to the 37-29 Tomateros, 7-2, in Estadio Culiacan (attendance 19.357).  Joey Meneses clubbed a two-run homer off Jalisco starter Octavio Acosta in the bottom of the second to help stake the Tomateros to an early 5-0 lead that was never threatened.

Elsewhere on closing night in the Mex Pac, Mexicali (34-33) held off Navojoa (25-41) by a 3-2 score as Alex Valdez singled and homered for the Aguilas to finish all alone with 13 points and the fifth playoff seed while the Mayos came in tied with expansion Guasave for last in points with 8.5 each as both will miss the postseason.  The Algodoneros (27-39) ended their first season on a high note with a 3-2 win over fellow expansionists Monterrey (26-41) when Moises Gutierrez' walkoff single off Sultanes reliever Salvador Valdez with two out in the bottom of the ninth drove in Bryant Aragon.

Finally, Los Mochis' Josuan Hernandez came in from third base on a wild pitch by Mazatlan's Ryan Newell in the top of the 16th inning followed by a 1-2-3 bottom of the frame from reliever Irving Machuca as the Caneros (32-36) snuck past the 31-37 Venados, 3-2, in a game that lasted 5 hours, 18 minutes.  Los Mochis was their own worst enemy as the Caneros only batted 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position while leaving 19 men stranded on base.

The first round of playoffs will feature an eight-team field instead of six and no "lucky loser" format this year, a result of the LMP expansion to ten teams this season. As usual, each series will be a best-of-7 set with the higher seed hosting Games 1 and 2 with the lower seed hosting Games 3, 4 and 5 before returning to the higher seed's home park for games 6 and 7, if needed. Here are the matchups for the quarterfinals:

#1 Obregon Yaquis vs. #8 Monterrey Sultanes
#2 Hermosillo Naranjeros vs. #7 Mazatlan Venados
#3 Jalisco Charros vs. #6 Los Mochis Caneros
#4 Culiacan Tomateros vs. #5 Mexicali Aguilas


ALVAREZ, QUIALA HIGHLIGHT MEX PAC STATS LEADER LISTS

Caneros' Yoanys Quiala led LMP in wins, ERA

Los Mochis second baseman Isaac Rodriguez won the batting title with a .340 average, four points ahead of Hermosillo's Yadiel Hernandez at .336.  Hernandez drew 50 walks in 60 games to lead the loop with a .462 on-base percentage.  Jalisco outfielder Dariel Alvarez homered twice over his final ten games to finish with an LMP-best 16 homers, ahead of the 12 each by Los Mochis' Leandro Castro and Michael Choice of Monterrey.  Alvarez' 55 RBIs were also most in the circuit, outdistancing the 47 of Monterrey's Felix Perez.  Alvarez also had an LMP-leading .527 slugging percentage as the Cuban (who spent five seasons playing for Camaguey before defecting to Mexico in 2012 and subsequently signing with Baltimore, is a potential Most Valuable Player choice for 2019-20.  Rico Noel led in stolen bases for weeks and the Culiacan outfielder finished with 30 to easily beat the 21 from teammate Sebastian Elizalde while also edging Obregon's Taiki Sekine in runs scored, 47 to 46.  Sekine, a popular 24-year-old outfielder who has returned to Japan's Yokohama BayStars and will miss the Mex Pac postseason, hit .293 and led the league with five triples while stealing 20 bases in 55 games.  Jalisco veteran second baseman Manny Rodriguez was tops with 19 doubles.

If the MVP award goes to a pitcher, the odds-on favorite among that group has to be Los Mochis' Yoanys Quiala.  The 6'3" Cuban righthander led the LMP in wins with a 9-2 record, his 2.57 ERA was second only to Mexicali veteran Javier Solano's 2.23 mark (somehow Solano won only two of his 13 starts, one of them the LMP's only shutout of the season) and Quiala registered 71 strikeouts to tie with Andre Rienzo of Obregon for second behind the 76 of Hermosillo starter Juan Pablo Oramas.  Quiala was also the top workhorse in the Mex Pac with 87.2 innings pitched over 14 starts (tying Monterrey's Edgar Gonzalez and Luis Payan of Navojoa for first)   There was a three-way tie for the saves title between Brandon Cunniff (Navojoa), Jose Rosario (Guasave) and Mario Meza (Mexicali) with 12 apiece.  Among the trio, Meza's 1.99 ERA was the best.  Veteran lefty middleman Arturo Barradas, who struggled in the summer with Monclova (12.10) and Tijuana (16.20) before hitting stride in Puebla (2.95), led the Mex Pac with 16 holds in 42 appearances for Mazatlan.  Barradas was second in apprearances to Samuel Zazueta's 46 trips from the bullpen for Obregon.


HARRIS, VALDEZ TOP 2019 MEXICAN LEAGUE AWARDS LIST

To the surprise of few, if any, observers, Oaxaca outfielder Alonzo Harris and Yucatan pitcher Cesar Valdez headed the list of award winners for the 2019 Mexican League season announced last month.

Mexican League MVP Alonzo Harris

Harris, who was signed as a free agent by the Guerreros at the beginning of the season after spending 2018 with Quintana Roo prior to a two-week training camp stint with Mexico City, was named the Liga's Most Valuable Player after the 2007 Mets draft pick hit .343 and led the circuit in runs (131) and total bases (324), was second in steals (45), RBIs (117) and slugging percentage (.691), finished third in homers (39) and came in fourth with 161 hits, a 1.122 OPS and 34 doubles (tying with three other players).  A 30-year-old native of McComb, Mississippi, Harris just missed becoming the LMB's first 40-40 Club member but still joined James Steels and Luis Terrero as the only Mexican Leaguers to reach 30 homers and 30 swipes in the same season.  Harris spent all or part of seven seasons in the Mets system before going into independent ball in 2014.  He was the Atlantic League Player of the Year in 2017 after 315 with 23 homers and 73 RBIs for York that season.

LMB Pitcher of the Year Cesar Valdez

Valdez was the easy choice for Pitcher of the Year after the Dominican topped the loop in wins with a 15-2 record and ERA at 2.26.  The Leones righty allowed nearly a full run per nine innings less than teammate Yoanner Negrin, who turned in a 3.22 mark (the 2016 POY, Negrin's 13 wins were also second in the LMB).   Valdez also led the Liga with a 1.06 WHIP and finished fifth in strikeouts with 122 while allowing just 17 walks over 147.2 innings pitched.  The 34-year-old Santo Domingo product began his professional career with Yakima of the Northwest League in 2006 (where he was a teammate of current LMB outfielder Cyle Hankerd) after signing a free agent contract with Arizona and went on to play parts of three MLB seasons with the Diamondbacks, Oakland and Toronto before making his Maxican League debut with Tabasco in the Spring 2018 season.  The Olmecas actually released Valdez in May of that year and he spent three months out of work before Yucatan signed him in early August, after which he was 5-0 with a 2.48 ERA (proving there's a reason the Leones are the Leones and the Olmecas are...well...you know).

Other Mexican League award winners for 2019 included Manager of the Year Roberto Vizcarra, who led Saltillo to a 66-53 record and their first playoff appearance in four years. Reliever of the Year went to Carlos Bustamante, who was third in the LMB with 27 saves and a 2.57 ERA for champions Monclova.  Quintana Roo outfielder Erick Migueles was Rookie of the Year after the 23-year-old Tucson native hit .252 with eight homers for the Tigres.  Veteran Durango outfielder Santiago Gonzalez was named Comeback Player of the Year by batting .306 for the Generales, the seventh time he's topped .300 in his 14-year career, after missing both 2018 LMB seasons.  Executive of the Year went to Monclova owner Gerardo Benavides, who brought (some say "bought") the first Mexican League pennant to his hometown team, which was founded by his grandfather in 1974.


OMAR VIZQUEL NAMED TIJUANA MANAGER FOR 2020

New Tijuana Toros manager Omar Vizquel

Former MLB shortstop great Omar Vizquel has been picked to manage the Tijuana Toros during the 2020 Mexican League season, replacing Oscar Robles.  The Venezuelan was introduced at a press conference during the Baseball Winter Meetings last month across the border in San Diego.

Vizquel earned his playing reputation with his glove over a 24-year career in the majors, earning 11 Gold Gloves (including nine in a row between 1993 and 2001) while making three All-Star Game appearances.  His career .985 fielding percentage ranks highest among shortstops with more than 1,000 MLB games played (leading his league six times in that category) while Vizquel also ranks first all-time among shortstops with 1,734 double plays over 2,709 games (also first), is third in assists with 7,676 and 11th in putouts with 4,102.

What is often overlooked is that the 52-year-old from Caracas also developed from a bottom-of-the-order hitter into a batsman who was pesky enough to do some damage at the plate.  His 2,877 career hits ranks 47th on the all-time list and is first among Venezuelan players, including 2,264 singles (17th).  Vizquel accrued a total of 456 doubles, 404 stolen bases and scored 1,445 runs en route to a career batting average of .272 with an on-base percentage of .336.  The man nicknamed "Little O" during his playing days is on the Hall of Fame ballot for a third time this winter after appearing on 37% of ballots his first year and 42.8% last year.  While he's got ground to cover in reaching the 75% required for election, Vizquel has at least a puncher's chance of entry into Cooperstown.

Omar Vizquel during his glory days in Cleveland

After retiring following the 2012 season, Vizquel was an infield coach with the Los Angeles Angels in 2013, before serving as first-base coach with Detroit between 2014 and 2017 under manager Brad Ausmus.  He interviewed for the Tigers managerial post after Ausmus was fired but passed over for another ex-MLB infielder, Ron Gardenhire.  Vizquel has spent the past two summers managing in the White Sox system, in Class A Winston-Salem in 2018 and Class AA Birmingham in 2019, before the front office in Chicago decided to cut ties with him in November.

Tijuana marks Vizquel's first experience of any kind in Mexican baseball and it comes under the microscope of the Uribe family, one of the LMB's most unforgiving ownerships who cut Robles loose after the former Padres infielder merely led the Toros to the best regular season record in the LMB last season (75-45, tied with Monclova) before falling to the Acereros in seven games for the LMB North title.


MANAGERIAL CHANGES IN MEXICO CITY, OAXACA

Sergio Gastelum is now Diablos Rojos helmsman

After showing he could manage with success in Oaxaca, former Mexican League infield star Sergio Gastelum has been elevated to dugout boss with the Guerreros' "big brother," the Mexico City Diablos Rojos.  In turn, longtime catcher Erick Rodriguez will he handed the reins in Oaxaca with his first managerial post.  Both teams are owned by billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu.

Gastelum had a solid 22-year Mexican League playing career, during which he batted .314 between 1995 and 2016 before retiring and going into coaching.  He took over as Guerreros manager midway through the shortened Fall 2018 LMB schedule and took them to a playoff berth despite a 12-14 regular season record before two playoff series wins catapulted Oaxaca into the Serie del Rey, where they lost to Monterrey.

Gastelum followed that up in winterball by leading his hometown Obregon Yaquis to the best record in the Mexican Pacific League and a playoff berth while earning Manager of the Year honors.  Oaxaca fared much better in 2019 by going 68-51 over both halves (fifth-best in the 16-team circuit), but fell to Yucatan in the first round of the postseason.  This winter, he has led Obregon to first place in both halves of the MexPac season as the Yaquis will enter the playoffs as the LMP's top seed.  That apparently was enough to please Harp, Diablos team president Dr. Othon Diaz, deputy president Miguel Ojeda and general manager Francisco Minjarez, who is apparently immune from his league suspension following his role at both ends of the Rookiegate scandal.

Gastelum will replace Victor Bojorquez at the helm after the former Diablos star outfielder led Mexico City to an LMB South-best 67-49 record last summer but failed to bring a pennant to the capital city.  Bojorquez went 134-92 over two years with the Red Devils after being brought up from their Ensenada affiliate in the Liga Norte and it's impossible to imagine him without a new job in Mexican baseball for long.

Erick Rodriguez takes over in Oaxaca

In turn, Oaxaca team president Guillermo Spindola Morales introduced Rodriguez as manager to fill the dugout void created by Gastelum's departure.  Long regarded more highly for his work behind the plate than while swinging a bat astride it, the Monterrey native (who just turned 40 on November 27) nonetheless has hit a creditable .293 over his 19-year Liga playing career, all with the Guerreros.  In fact, Rodriguez led Oaxaca batters with a .356 average in 2019, adding a career-high 12 homers and 47 RBIs over 87 regular season contests.  For some reason, he attempted to steal a base but was caught, making him 15-for-33 in lifetime stolen base attempts.  Rodriguez faltered during the playoffs, batting just .176 (3-for-17) in the Guerreros' five-game loss to Yucatan in the first round.

Rodriguez will continue catching for the Guerreros in 2020 in an attempt to emulate the late Nelson Barrera, who led Oaxaca to their lone LMB title as a player-manager in The seven-time All-Star (and MVP of the 2015 Juego de Estrellas) is expected to convert his calm demeanor and vast experience as a player into success as a manager, and he'll have the good fortune of making that conversion in an environment where expectations are historically no higher than they used to be in Kansas City six decades ago when the Athletics served as a de facto intramural farm team of the New York Yankees.


AMLO CALLS FOR LMB, LMP TO COMBINE INTO ONE LEAGUE

Mexico president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has never hidden the fact that he is passionate about baseball, often interjecting himself into both Mexican League and Mexican Pacific League affairs since ascending to the nation's highest office in December 2018.  While it's generally going to be a plus when your country's highest-ranking politician gives your sport preferential treatment, AMLO's involvement has often carried with it a two-edged sword.

Although AMLO personally kept four Mexican League franchises from going dark last year while making sure the Mex Pac expanded two more teams this winter, only Puebla appears to be a popular retention among the four saved LMB teams, the jury is still out in Monterrey on hosting year-round pro baseball and there's no assurance that Guasave will be any more successful this time than the Algodoneros were prior to that team's 2014 sale and move to Guadalajara (where the Jalisco Charros have been an unqualified success).

AMLO doesn't limit his of baseball to the stands

Lopez Obrador has now apparently called for the LMB and LMP to merge into one league.  According to Mexico City's Reforma, AMLO requested that the two loops form a single 26-team entity to begin play in 2021.  A December 17 meeting was convened in Mexico City by AMLO and attended by representatives from all existing franchises, who were urged to take part in a letter from Probeis director Edgar Gonzalez, as well as billionaires Carlos Slim and Carlos Bremer along with National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport head Ana Gabriela Guevara. According to the Reforma story, a source said the 16 Mexican League teams approved a merger but only three of the LMP's ten clubs (Jalisco, Guasave and Monterrey) were in favor of the proposal.

Ultimately, the merger was at least put on hold at the meeting while Lopez Obrador has repainted the picture somewhat.  Proceso's Beatriz Pereyra quotes the president as saying, “Now they are in a good moment because there is unity in the leagues, but if there is only one League, that will depend on the owners. That is not resolved by presidential decree. It has to be an agreement and, if it is convenient, if it works, let it be done, but they have to do that." Mexico City Diablos Rojos and Oaxaca Guerreros owner Alfredo Harp Helu claimed that a merger was not discussed at all, but rather an agreement was worked out in which the Mexican League would unconditionally make players available to play for the National Team at the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.


GENERALES SOLD, WILL REMAIN IN DURANGO

Players modeling new Durango jerseys 

After months of speculation, the Mexican League's Durango Generales have been sold.  Ever since Durango re-entered the LMB when then-owner Virgilio Ruiz moved the Carmen Delfines to the central Mexico city in November 2016, the Generales have been plagued by problems both on and off the field, including renovations to Estadio Francisco Villa that ran so late that the team had to play a month of road games during their inaugural 2017 schedule before they could play their home opener.  From that point, the situation devolved into a proverbial dog's breakfast marked by missed payrolls, players walking off the team until they were traded (usually for cash), low attendance and other maladies that beset problem teams.

Former MLB catcher Miguel Ojeda and local businessman Fernando Espinosa de Campo bought controlling interest in the Generales in January 2018, a move approved by LMB owners, but the sale disintegrated after Ojeda (who was going to run the team) decided to drop out so he could take a front office position with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, for whom he'd once played and managed.  Ultimately, entrepreneur Alfredo Aramburo bought controlling interest in the Generales but felt slighted by the rest of the Liga's executives and owners from the start (El Sol of Durango says the Assembly of Presidents refused to approve him as team president) and the writing was on the wall for Aramburo's exit from the LMB when he emerged to buy the Mexican Pacific League Guasave Algodoneros last July to end a weeks-long search for an owner after Guasave had been awarded an LMP expansion franchise. For what it's worth, Mex Pac owners readily approved Aramburo as the Algodoneros team president.

Estadio Francisco Villa on Opening Day

Puro Beisbol's Fernando Ballesteros reports that Aramburo agreed to sell the Generales to a group of local investors, who agreed to keep the team in Durango for at least the 2020 season.  Although Ballesteros said the picture in Durango had started to improve in 2017 during their first year in the city, that sense of stability more likely didn't begin to take place until last season after Aramburo bought the Generales.  Even so, the Cottoneers play in the league's smallest ballpark, although Estadio Francisco Villa's 4,983 seats were usually more than enough to accomodate the average 3,219 backsides that attended 56 home games last summer, placing Durango 12th in the 16-team attendance derby.  The Generales ranked seventh in their first season by drawing 4,094 per game in 2017.

Durango was one of the four LMB franchises earmarked for shutdown last year before Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador intervened and ordered league president Javier Salinas to reverse the contraction and while they survived 2019, the new owners have a daunting task ahead of them.  While new manager Juan Jose Pacho has had success leading Mex Pac teams in Mazatlan, he'll work with a roster that includes 2019 LMB batting champion Daniel Mayora, Comeback Player of the Year Santiago Gonzalez and third baseman Moises Gutierrez, who responded to his first starting job with 25 homers and 91 RBIs but little else to put on the field along with a pitching staff on which Amilcar Gaxiola (6-5) was the only hurler with more than four wins and no starter had an ERA of lower than 5.00.


FORMER CATCHER, MANAGER PAQUIN ESTRADA DIES AT 71

Francisco Estrada as a Mets player

Former catcher and manager Francisco "Paquin" Estrada, whose Mexican baseball career spanned five decades, passed away December 9 in Obregon after a long illness.  Estrada was 71.

Born on February 12, 1948 in Navojoa, Estrada's playing career began in 1964 when the then 16-year-old receiver debuted with San Luis Potosi of the Class A Mexican Center League.  After two seasons with the Rojos, the stocky (5'8" and 182 pounds) backstop was brought up to the Mexico City Diablos Rojos in 1966.  He spent five years with the Diablos before being sold to the New York Mets prior to the 1971 campaign.  Estrada split that year between AA Memphis and AAA Tidewater before playing his first (and last) major league contest for New York on September 14 against Montreal at Shea Stadium, when he went 1-for-2 after replacing Jerry Grote in the seventh inning.  Suitably impressed with Estrada's .500 batting average, the California Angels traded six-time All-Star shortstop Jim Fregosi for him in the offseason, with the Mets throwing in Leroy Stanton, Don Rose and Nolan Ryan to make Gene Autry feel better about the deal.

From that point, Estrada bounced between the Angels, Orioles and Cubs systems for two years before returning to Mexico for good in 1974 when he joined the Puebla Pericos.  He would continue catching in the LMB for 21 more years (he also played 30 seasons in the Mexican Pacific League) before retiring in 1994 at age 46.  In his 31-year playing career, Estrada set minor league records for most games caught (2,847) while gaining a reputation as a decent, if not great, batter with some pop who was a master at working with pitchers.  However, it was as a manager that he achieved his greatest successes in baseball.

Paquin's last time behind home plate in Culiacan

Starting in 1982 as a player-manager with the Campeche Piratas, Estrada would lead teams to Mexican League pennants in 1983 with Campeche, 1990 with Leon and 2004 with Campeche (again).  In 31 seasons as a manager in the Liga, Estrada was 1,604-1,435 to rank second to Jose "Zacatillo" Guerrero's 1,971 wins on the all-time list.  He also won seven winterball pennants in the Mexican Pacific League (six in Culiacan), copped Caribbean Series championships in 1996 and 2002 with the Tomateros and managed Mexico's first World Baseball Classic team in 2006.  He has been enshrined in the Salon de la Fama since 2000 in a career that can hardly be defined on one plaque.

STREAKING SARAPEROS TAKE FIRST IN LMB NORTH

Saltillo infielder Juan Perez

The Saltillo Saraperos have put together a nine-game winning streak to vault into a race with Tijuana and Monclova for the Mexican League’s North Division second-half championship.  Saltillo began their skein with a July 19 win at Aguascalientes and went on to sweep the Rieleros, cop three wins in a midweek home series against Durango and then topped Aguascalientes in a trio of home games to run their second-half record to 21-10.

As 6,275 looked on at Estadio Francisco I. Madero, Manny Rodriguez’ grand slam in the bottom of the eighth broke open Sunday’s contest with the Saraperos clutching a 4-3 lead.  Rodriguez, now 37, has had a very quiet year with only six homers and a .249 average after 89 games, the first 25 with Quintana Roo before the Tigres loaned the four-time LMB All-Star to Saltillo on May 7 after he’d hit just .202 for the Tigres, who retain his rights.

The Saraperos were just 28-32 in the first half, finishing fifth in the LMB North and collecting just 4.5 playoff points.  Beyond Rodriguez, they’re not a star-studded team. Former Reds minor league infielder Juan Perez is batting .335 with 20 homers and 63 RBIs, outfielder Rainel Rosario has a .319 average with 19 homers and 61 ribbies and veteran first baseman Jorge “Chato” Vazquez homered four times in six games last week to reach 17 for the year. He’s hitting .313 with 56 RBIs in 60 games as the injury-prone, 37-year-old slugger shows he can contribute when healthy.

Tijuana won two of three weekend games at Dos Laredos to stay two games behind Saltillo at 20-12.  The Tecolotes won Sunday’s game, 9-5, at Laredo’s Uni-Trade Stadium as catcher Arturo Rodriguez had a solo homer and three RBIs on three hits.  Monclova (19-13) is in third after beating Monterrey, 6-3, at home Sunday as Chris Carter belted his 41st homer and Alex Mejia, Francisco Peguero and Ricky Rodriguez each singled, doubled and drove in a run.  Monterrey and Dos Laredos are virtually tied for fourth: The Acereros are 16-16 while the Tecos are 15-15.

While Saltillo, Tijuana and Monclova duke it out for LMB North supremacy, Durango and Aguascalientes are in freefall at the bottom of the division.  The Generales (11-16) have been swept in four straight series for 12 losses in a row, changing managers and apparently being put up for sale in the process (more below) to fall to 11-21 and out of playoff contention for all intent and purposes.  Durango and Union Laguna (11-16) are fighting to stay out of last place but while the Generales haven’t won for two weeks, the Algodoneros have helped themselves by winning four in a row and eight of their last ten under new manager Jonathan Aceves.  For their part, the Rieleros (9-23) have the worst record in the league while turning into a train wreck, so to speak.  

The perpetually cash-strapped team’s trading of star third baseman Jose Vargas to Monclova removed one of their larger salaries and likely netted then some money in return, but at the cost of goodwill with remaining Aguascalientes players and fans.  Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros writes that he received an email from several Rieleros claiming owner Armando Medina threatened to “freeze” them if they didn’t sign for what he was offering, called sports manager Leo Clayton an “agent” and accused team president Eustacio Alvarez of corruption.  Ballesteros says sources tell him the franchise is for sale and that businessmen in San Luis Potosi have shown interest. Other than that, everything’s fine in Aguascalientes.

Quintana Roo pitcher Wilfredo Boscan

Meanwhile, in the LMB South, Quintana Roo and Yucatan have separated themselves from the pack to make it a two-team race for first place.  The Tigres pounded Tabasco, 11-0, Sunday night in Villahermosa to bring their record to 23-9, giving them a one-game lead over idle Yucatan in the battle for those eight playoff points.  In Sunday’s rout, Eric Aguilera went 2-for-5 for Quintana Roo with a run scored and three RBIs while Brian Hernandez had three hits to score once and drive in two more. Ex-Pittsburgh pitcher Wilfredo Boscan tossed seven shutout innings for the Tigres, allowing five hits and striking out eight to lift his season record to 6-3.  Like Saltillo, the Tigres are a surprise team in the second half after they went 25-35 in the first half to finish sixth in the LMB South with 4.0 playoff points.

Yucatan is right behind the Tigres at 22-10 and carried a five-game winning streak into Monday’s travel day.  The Leones swept a midweek road series in Tabasco and won the first two games of their weekend set in Campeche before Sunday’s tilt was rained out.  Cesar Valdez won his LMB-leading 13th game Saturday in a 6-2 Yucatan victory. Mexico City is third at 18-15 and Tabasco holds forth with a 15-16 mark in a decent second-half showing.  Oaxaca (15-17), Campeche (13-16) and Puebla (13-17) are all less than two games behind the fourth-place Olmecas. Last-place Leon (10-21) won in Oaxaca Sunday, 7-2, as Felix Pie went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs for the Bravos.

Pie still leads the batting race with a .406 average but Mexico City teammates Emmanuel Avila (.388) and Jesus Fabela (.384) have closed the gap a bit.  Chris Carter of Monclova leads in both homers and RBIs. Carter homered off Tijuana’s Orlando Lara last Tuesday to become the first player in pro ball to reach 40 roundtrippers this season.  Carter is in the discussion for MVP honors along with Oaxaca’s Alonzo Harris. The former Mets and Cards farmhand is second in homers (33), RBI’s (89), runs scored (100) and stolen bases (38), trailing only Dos Laredos’ Johnny Davis’ 48 in that category to augment a .339 average.  Prior to coming to Mexico, Harris was the Atlantic League’s 2017 Player of the Year playing for York.

Yucatan moundmates Cesar Valdez and Yoanner Negrin are the only two legitimate candidates for Pitcher of the Year.  Valdez’ win in Campeche Saturday gives him a 13-1 mark and league leadership in wins (13), earned-run average (2.38) and WHIP (1.12), microscopic numbers during a season where only five starters qualifying for the ERA title are at less than 5.00.  Negrin (11-3) is second to Valdez in wins (11), ERA (2.85) and WHIP (1.19). Leon’s Yasutomo Kubo leads the Liga with 119 strikeouts. Ramon Mendez is 0-5 for Dos Laredos and the Tecos must accept it as a trade-off for his LMB-best 26 saves in 27 opportunities and 3.47 ERA.  All-Star middleman Jesus Pirela still leads with 24 holds. Pirela also has a 4-3 record and three saves for the Toros.  

Important midweek series opening Tuesday night include Monclova visiting Tijuana and Mexico City hosting Oaxaca.  Yucatan will welcome Quintana Roo Friday for a huge LMB South weekend series while Tijuana heads to Saltillo for three against Roberto Vizcarra’s surprising Saraperos.

PACHO NAMED THIRD DURANGO MANAGER SINCE MAY

Juan Jose Pacho managing in Mazatlan

The Durango Generales made their second managerial change in a two-month span when the Mexican League team fired Efren Espinoza last Monday and brought in longtime Mazatlan Venados skipper Juan Jose Pacho as dugout boss.  Pacho becomes the third manager in Durango this season.  

The Generales began the 2019 campaign with veteran helmsman Lorenzo Bundy running the team, but Bundy was fired May 22 following an 18-9 home loss to Leon and Espinoza, a 14-year LMB outfielder with no prior managerial experience, was named interim manager with Durango holding a 16-25 record.  Espinoza led the Generales to a 21-24 mark but the club had lost six games in a row when the change was made. A Salon de la Fama shortstop who has guided Mazatlan to three Mex Pac pennants and two Caribbean Series titles, Pacho made his Durango debuted last Tuesday with an 8-4 loss in Saltillo.

One day after Durango installed Pacho as manager, the Leon Bravos severed ties with manager Tony Aguilera, making him the ninth skipper fired this season in the LMB.  In comparison, no Major League Baseball manager has been handed his walking papers this year. The firings have happened in two bursts, with five skippers getting pink-slipped between May 9 and 21 while the other four were shown the door between July 1 and 23.  Here is a current list of 2019 managerial changes in the Liga:

May 9:    Quintana Roo fired Jesus Sommers, replaced by Adan Munoz

May 12:  Campeche fired Tim Johnson, replaced by Jesus Sommers

May 18:  Dos Laredos fired Felix Fermin, replaced by Houston Jimenez

May 21:  Aguascalientes fired Joe Alvarez, replaced by Feliz Fermin

May 22:  Durango fired Lorenzo Bundy, replaced by Efren Espinoza

July 1:     Monclova fired Pedro Mere, replaced by Pat Listach

July 20:   Yucatan fired Luis Carlos Rivera, replaced by Geronimo Gil

July 22:   Durango fired Efren Espinoza, replaced by Juan Jose Pacho

July 23:   Leon fired Tony Aguilera, replaced by Luis Carlos Rivera

Monclova manager Pat Listach

All, of course, publicly received thanks from the teams firing them for their hard work and professionalism along with best wishes in future endeavors. 

In case you didn’t notice, Sommers found work in Campeche three days after being fired in Quintana Roo, Fermin landed in Aguascalientes three days after losing his job in Dos Laredos and Rivera was hired in Leon three days after Yucatan jettisoned him.  Bundy caught on in Monclova as Listach’s bench coach but as a longtime figure in Mexican baseball, mostly in the Mex Pac, he may be considered a hot property among other LMB owners looking to make a chance. Mere, who was reassigned to another position within the Acereros organization, would be another while Johnson and Alvarez are potential candidates to manage teams for owners with itchy trigger fingers.

GENERALES OWNER ARAMBURO IS NEW OWNER IN GUASAVE

Durango, Guasave owner Alfredo Aramburo

The Guasave Algodoneros have been scrambling to put together a team in time for next winter’s Mexican Pacific League season after joining the loop earlier this year along with Monterrey as the LMP’s two new expansion franchises.  Along with players, coaches, ticket takers and popcorn sellers, the Algodoneros have spent their short existence looking for a team owner after billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu made it clear that while he would foot the bill for renovations at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon, he has no desire to be the primary owner in the Mex Pac’s smallest market.

The search for an owner of the Cottoneers ended last week when Mazatlan businessman Alfredo Aramburo was introduced at a press conference in Guasave as the man who will sign the paychecks.  At the press conference, Aramburo thanked LMP president Omar Canizales, other team owners and Algodoneros general director Sebastian Sandoval for their support, adding that “we come with great enthusiasm, with a lot of seriousness and a lot of professionalism.”

That latter point might be disputed by fans in Durango, where Aramburo is also the owner of the Mexican League Generales.  Shortly after the press conference in Guasave, the Generales fired their second manager in two months, the team is sliding out of playoff contention, attendance ranks in the lower half of the league and Aramburo himself is rumored to want out of Durango, according to Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros.

Guasave's Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon

With the Mexican League about to enter into another schism among owners over the agreement with Major League Baseball regarding the signing of domestic prospects making it nearly impossible for LMB teams to recoup the cost of developing them, Aramburo may simply prefer operating in the less-fractured Mex Pac, although he told Durango’s El Siglio newspaper  in June that rumors the league is seeking a new owner for the franchise is speculation.

Although Aramburo is a Mazatleco, he is friends with Venados owner Jose Antonio Toledo, who encouraged him to purchase the Algodoneros and was at the press conference, during which Canizales said, “The philosophy is that the franchise stays here for a long time, but it is clear to us that we cannot force anyone if the city does not respond” with support.