MEXICO SPLITS WITH TOP-RANKED JAPAN IN OSAKA

The Mexican National Baseball Team currently sits sixth in the World Baseball Softball Confederation's latest rankings, but they entered the lion's den last weekend when they traveled to Osaka for a two-game series against the number one team in the world, Japan, in the Samurai Series.  The set served as a warmup of sorts for both teams months ahead of November's Premier12 tournament, which will be a qualifier for next year's Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

As host team, Japan will have a berth in the 2020 Games regardless of how they do next winter, but the series was a crucible for the Mexicans and new manager Dan Firova, who replaced Enrique "Che" Reyes at the helm after the Puebla Pericos would not allow their new skipper to make the trip to the Far East.  When the dust settled, Mexico had won one of the two tilts along with an added measure of respect from baseball observers around the globe.

Mexico won Saturday's opener, 4-2, in come-from-behind fashion.  Japan took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Masataka Yoshida singled in Seiji Uebayashi and added another run in the fourth when Takuya Kai pushed Yoshida across with a singleton.  The Verdes Grande put their first score on the board in the top of the sixth after Victor Mendoza crossed home plate on a Luis Juarez single to make it a 2-1 contest but the game really took a turn in the Mexicans' favor one inning later.

An Ali Solis double in the top of the seventh brought in Jose Juan Aguilar to knot the score at 2-2.  Solis then scored Mexico's go-ahead run on a single by Chris Roberson, a naturalized Mexican citizen who was not on manager Dan Firova's original roster.  The Mexicans plated an insurance run in the eighth on a Luis "Cochito" Cruz single that drove home Joey Meneses, who'll be playing his first season in Japan this year with the Orix Buffaloes in Osaka after winning MVP honors in the AAA International League last summer.  Reliever Javier Cota earned the win for Mexico while Jake Sanchez held the hosts scoreless to pick up the save.

Japan turned things around Sunday with a 6-0 shutout over Mexico to earn the series split.  The key blow for the home team came early when Yoshida belted a first-inning grand slam off Verdes Grande starter Manny Barreda as Japan staked opener Juri Hara a 5-0 lead heading into the second frame.  Hara, who got the win, combined with six relievers on the six-hit whitewash and Barreda absorbed the defeat.  Mexico got two-hit nights from Mendoza and Juarez while Roberto Lopez and Xorge Carrillo each contributed one hit apiece.

The Samurai Series was well-attended, with good crowds both nights at the 36,000-seat domed stadium.  Saturday's contest brought in 28,933 spectators while another 28,622 fans clicked the turnstiles Sunday night, very respectable numbers for an exhibition series a month ahead of the regular season.  

According to Puro Beisbol writer Bambino Sedano, one of the off-field highlights for the visitors came when a Japanese fan, 24-year-old Ryu Ishibashi, traveled about 500 miles from Sendai to Osaka to meet Juarez, his Mexican baseball idol who had three hits in the series.  Juarez invited Ishibashi (who hopes his favorite someday plays for his Rakuten Golden Eagles) to have dinner with him and teammates Mendoza and Aguilar. In return, Juarez received a shirt featuring a drawing Ishibashi made of the Yucatan slugger.

EX-NCAA PITCHER OF YEAR HEIMLICH SIGNS WITH TECOS

The NCAA's 2018 Pitcher of the Year, Luke Heimlich, has signed a free agent contract with the Mexican League's Dos Laredos Tecolotes.  While the presence of a left-handed hurler with such bonafides represents a baseball coup of sorts for the Tecos, the Oregon State University product also brings no small amount of controversy to the border team.

On the field, there's little question that Heimlich has the chance to be a Mexican League standout.  After turning in an 11-0 record with a 0.66 ERA as a senior at Puyallup (WA) High School, he was named Washington's 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year.  Playing collegiately for west coast powerhouse Oregon State, Heimlich was selected the Pac 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2017 as a Junior after leading the nation with an 0.81 ERA, and he followed that up with a standout Senior campaign last year in which he was named NCAA Pitcher of the Year on the heels of a 16-3 record with a 2.42 ERA (also winning his second consecutive Pac 12 POY award).

However, Heimlich is bringing considerable baggage to Nuevo Laredo with him.  During the 2017 season, it was discovered that he had pled guilty as a 15-year-old to sexually molesting his six-year-old niece.  The revelation created a firestorm that resulted in Heimlich being left behind in Corvallis when the Beavers travelled to the College World Series in Omaha, where Oregon State was eliminated by Louisiana State in the semifinals.  He did make the trip to the CWS last June, when the Beavers won their third NCAA title, but lost both his decisions to North Carolina and Arkansas, the latter in Game One of the title series (which would prove to be the final competitive game he's pitched to date).

After slipping through the MLB amateur draft in both 2017 and 2018, Heimlich began looking for work as a free agent.  The Kansas City Royals considered signing him last year, but backed off after protests were raised. He did eventually sign a contract with the Latigo Monkeys of Taiwan last August, but the Chinese Professional Baseball League voided the deal due to his criminal record and may be facing the same outcome with the Mexican League office.

LMB president Javier Salinas told the New York Times, "He's not registered in the league.  We have to analyze his case." Salinas added, "It's very difficult to see him registered in the Mexican League."  Tecos owner Jose Antonio Mansur says the Liga took the unusual step of requiring Heimlich to sign a letter vowing good behavior.  "I'm not a judge," Mansur told the Times. "I'm just a businessman and I'll give him an opportunity.  If he was guilty, he's already been judged. I'm just looking from here on forward."

For his part, Heimlich (who has since said he was innocent but pled guilty to spare his family from a drawn-out public legal process) had one of two charges dropped, was placed on two years' probation, took court-ordered classes, wrote a letter apologizing to his niece (now 14) and had to register for five years as a Level I sex offender, in which he is considered a low risk to the community and unlikely to become a repeat offender.

ROCKIES, D-BACKS PLAY TWO EXHIBITION GAMES IN MONTERREY

The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks were south of the border over the weekend for a pair of Major League Baseball exhibition games at Estadio Monterrey, home of the Mexican League Sultanes.

In Saturday's opener, Mike Tauchman went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI singles and a run and Roberto Ramos hit a run-scoring double and a solo homer to lead Colorado to an easy 5-1 win.  Four Rockies pitchers combined on a four-hitter as reliever Jeff Hoffman tossed four scoreless innings to earn the victory, allowing just two hits and striking out five Arizona batsmen.  Diamondbacks starter Taylor Clarke was tagged with the loss after giving up a pair of runs on five hits over 3.1 frames. The game was far from a sellout, as 9,372 fans were in the stands of the 22,061-seat ballpark.

Arizona came back Sunday with a 5-2 triumph.  This time, it was the Snakes' pitchers who shone on the mound as the Rockies were limited to three hits.  D-backs starter Matt Koch allowed one run on one hit in four innings, striking out three with no walks. Nick Green came on for three more strong entradas, giving up one run on two hits while Braden Shipley pitched two perfect innings and struck out four for the save.  The game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the third when Arizona's Eduardo Escobar lashed a double to right that brought in Tim Locastro with the go-ahead run.  The Diamondbacks picked up a pair of insurance runs in the eighth on Idelmaro Vargas' two-run homer off Rockies reliever Ben Bowden. Koch took the win for Arizona while Colorado starter Tyler Anderson was tagged for the loss.  Attendance was a little better Sunday as 10,746 watched the action.

A pair of Mexican-born former MLB performers served as "ambassadors" for the two teams. Oaxaca native Vinny Castilla, who is currently a special assistant to Colorado general manager Jeff Bridich after a successful playing career as a third baseman and will manage Hermosillo in the Mexican Pacific League next winter, was on hand as the Rockies ambassador.  Erubiel Durazo, born in Hermosillo and a one-time Sultanes first baseman who hit .364 in the 2001 World Series for Arizona's only championship team, represented the Diamondbacks. He was joined by another D-Backs '01 hero, Luis "Gonzo" Gonzalez, a Tampa product who hit .325 with 57 homers and 142 RBIs that year.

The visit of two Major League teams to Monterrey was not all sunshine and lollipops, however.  The Hitazo website (edited by respected Mexican baseball writer Hector Bencomo) says the occasion also served as a platform for about 50 fans who appear to have purchased lifetime passes to events in Estadio Monterrey when the facility was completed in 1990.  Through legal representative Oscar Martinez, the group claims that the contracts they signed 29 years ago gives them free entry to any event held at the ballpark for fifty years, including the Colorado-Arizona series. Instead, they say, the Sultanes, who hosted last weekend's two-game set, are charging them 9,900 pesos (about US$500) for two annual box tickets and another 5,000 pesos (US$250) for parking in 2019.  According to Hitazo, Sultanes co-owner Jose Maiz has refused to comment on the impasse.

MEXICAN NATIONALS IN OSAKA FOR SAMURAI SERIES

Mexican Nationals celebrate past win

The Mexican National Team will be in Japan this week to prepare for the upcoming two-game Samurai Series of exhibition games against the Japanese Nationals on March 9 and 10 in Osaka.  The set is a warm-up of sorts for November's Premier12 tournament in which twelve national teams vie for berths and seeding in next year's Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

As host team, the Japanese will receive an automatic slot but as the top-ranked team in the world (according to the governing World Baseball Softball Congress), they were likely qualifiers anyway.  Japan slipped past the United States for the top spot while Mexico held on to its sixth-place status in the latest world rankings. South Korea remained in third while Taiwan moved ahead of Cuba for fourth place.  The WBSC top ten is rounded out by Australia, The Netherlands, Venezuela and Canada.

Mexico manager Dan Firova holds team roster

The games will take place in the Kyocera Dome Osaka, a 22-year-old facility that seats 36,500 for baseball and serves as home for the Orix Buffaloes of NPB's Pacific League.  Dan Firova will manage the Verdes Grande while Japan is led by Atsunori Inaba, an eight-time All-Star outfielder with both the Yakult Swallows and Nippon Ham Fighters during a 20 year career.  Inaba was both the 2006 Japan Series MVP and a 2011 All-Star Game MVP for the Fighters.

Firova will have a 28-man roster of mostly Mexican League veterans, many with experience in either MLB or NPB.  One of his players, outfielder-first baseman Joey Meneses, will be playing in Osaka with the Buffaloes this year after winning International League MVP honors last summer while performing for the Phillies' Lehigh Valley affiliate.

MEXICAN NATIONAL TEAM SAMURAI SERIES ROSTER

Pitchers (14):  Andres Avila (Yucatan), Manny Barreda (Tijuana), Esteban Haro (Durango), Carlos Hernandez (Tijuana), Luis Mendoza (Mexico City), Aldo Montes (Yucatan), Jose Oyervides (Dos Laredos),  Zach Phillips (Monclova), Jorge Reyes (Dos Laredos), Wilmer Rios (Monclova), Francisco Rodriguez (Tabasco), Jake Sanchez (Tijuana), Jose Samayoa (Yucatan), Cesar Vargas (Monterrey).

Kyocera Dome Osaka

Catchers (2): Xorge Carrillo (Tijuana, Ali Solis (Monterrey).

Infielders (7): Rodolfo Amador (Monclova), Luis Cruz (Tijuana), Brian Hernandez (Quintana Roo), Luis Juarez (Yucatan), Victor Mendoza (Monterrey), Ramiro Pena (Monterrey), Isaac Rodriguez (Tijuana).

Outfielders (5): Jose Juan Aguilar (Yucatan), Jesus Fabela (Mexico City), Roberto Lopez (Dos Laredos), Joey Meneses (Orix NPB), Fernando Perez (Tijuana).

Manager: Dan Firova.

Coaches (4): Martin Arzate (Monclova), Miguel Lopez (Mexico City), Isidro Marquez (Campeche), Javier Robles (Tijuana).

SARAPEROS HIRE ROBERTO VIZCARRA AS 10TH NEW LMB SKIPPER

New Saraperos manager Roberto Vizcarra

Roberto Vizcarra has been named manager of the Saltillo Saraperos, filling the final Mexican League vacancy.  He replaces Len Picota, who failed to lead Saltillo to the playoffs in either of last year's abbreviated seasons, finishing with a 48-63 overall record while placing fifth and sixth in the LMB North.  A Panama native, Picota pitched seven years in the Cardinals system before embarking on a baseball odyssey that took him to leagues on both sides of the Pacific Ocean prior to his 2007 retirement after a 23-year career.  Last year was his first managing in Mexico.

Vizcarra was a top Mexican League infielder between 1986 and 2008, starting as a middle infielder before converting to the corners as he got older.  Wherever he played, the San Luis Rio Colorado product could hit, turning in 2,644 career LMB hits (including 482 doubles and 229 homers) for a .304 average over 23 summers for five teams.  Vizcarra also played several winters in the Mexican Pacific League, where the Obregon Yaquis retired his number 4. He took over as manager of the Quintana Roo Tigres late in the 2013 season and led them to LMB pennants both that year and in 2015, but was fired in 2017 after the Cancun squad won 37 of 86 games.

Vizcarra led Yucatan to the Mexican League's Spring pennant in 2018 after coming first in the LMB South at 40-17 before a Fall campaign in which the Leones again were the South's top seed with a 32-24 (holding off Mexico City by a half-game) before losing a first-round upset to Oaxaca, who had to beat Leon in a wild card contest after finishing fifth in the standings. That was enough for Leones owners Erick and Jose Juan Arellano to not bring back the former infielder for 2019 and bring in Luis Carlos Rivera (former Leon pilot) to manage in Merida for the coming season.

Saltillo's Estadio Francisco I. Madero

Vizcarra then spent the winter leading the Jalisco Charros to their first MexPac title (he also won an LMP flag with Mexicali in 2016-17) and a berth in the Caribbean Series, where they fell one run shy of a title game against the eventual champion Herrera Toros from host Panama.  He'll have his work cut out for him in Saltillo, once one of the Liga's franchises before operating under state ownership the past few seasons but the Saraperos have just been sold to a group of local businessmen led by prominent financier Cesar Cantu and they've remained one of the LMB's attendance leaders despite the lean times so there is hope moving forward.

With his hiring in Saltillo, Vizcarra becomes the tenth new manager in the 16-team Mexican League for the coming season, a rather high number even for a league where owners change managers as often as Sparky Anderson used to change pitchers.  For the record, here is a list of the LMB's new managers (and the men they replaced):

AGUASCALIENTES RIELEROS - Joe Alvarez (replaces Homar Rojas)

CAMPECHE PIRATAS - Tim Johnson (replaces Romulo Martinez)

DURANGO GENERALES - Lorenzo Bundy (replaces Matias Carrillo)

LEON BRAVOS - Tony Aguilera (replaces Luis Carlos Rivera)

PUEBLA PERICOS - Enrique "Che" Reyes (replaces Lorenzo Bundy)

QUINTANA ROO TIGRES - Jesus Sommers (replaces Raul Sanchez)

SALTILLO SARAPEROS - Roberto Vizcarra (replaces Len Picota)

TABASCO OLMECAS - Ramon Orantes (replaces Alfonso "Houston" Jimenez)

UNION LAGUNA ALGODONEROS - Jonathan Aceves (replaces Ramon Orantes)

YUCATAN LEONES - Luis Carlos Rivera (replaces Roberto Vizcarra)

LIGA TO DIGITALLY TRACK PLAYER TRANSACTIONS IN 2019

In the wake of the Rookiegate dispute, during which up to seven Quintana Roo Tigres prospects were transferred to the Mexico City Diablos Rojos just prior to the February 2017 sale of the Tigres to former Dodgers ace Fernando Valenzuela and wife Linda (who were not informed of the switch), the Mexican League is implementing a so-called Player Transfer and Control Digital System for the upcoming season.  The software, which the LMB will operate with links to all 16 teams using per-user passwords and fingerprint recognition, will track all player transactions between teams to keep them transparent to all parties.

According to Beatriz Pereyra of Proceso, the platform will require teams to record information on all players under their control, including birth certificates, passports, contracts and addendums, etc.  Sometime during the coming season, a Dispute Commission will be formed to address disagreements between franchises as well as players' claims to breach of salaries by their employers. "Agreements between executives will have to be in the system and endorsed with the respective documents," says Mexican League president Javier Salinas.  "What is not in the system will not be valid before the LMB." Salinas went on to add, "Same with the players. Everything they agree to with the teams, such as the rent of an apartment, plane tickets or whatever they promise must be stated in the contract because if it isn't in writing, it won't be valid."

Mexican League president Javier Salinas

Pereyra says the new system will also allow each club to review its digitized financial status before the LMB, including all debts.  The system will automatically refuse to allow any player movements until the information is updated. Teams will not be able to register more than 38 total players under contractual control, including the new Liga limit of seven foreign players per franchise.  A database will be compiled with a 17-point checklist per player to verify that no information therein is false. Any player who doesn't comply with the checklist (along with the required documentations) cannot be registered.

The aforementioned 2017 transfer of prospects from Cancun to Mexico City, which took place while Plinio Escalante was league president, was approved in part by the Tigres' then-deputy president Francisco "Pollo" Minjarez, who shortly left the team to become a Diablos Rojos VP.  Minjarez has since been suspended indefinitely by the LMB. Although a ruling ordered the Diablos to return both proceeds of the Rangers sale and the remaining five prospects to the Tigres, the Valenzuelas have said in the past that neither had happened.

DAN FIROVA TO MANAGE MEXICAN NATIONALS IN JAPAN

Former major leaguer and longtime Mexican league catcher and manager Dan Firova has been selected to lead the Mexican National Team when they play a two-game series against their Japanese counterparts on March 9 and 10 in Osaka.

Dan Firova coaching for Washington Nationals

The 62-year-old Texan, who had cups of coffee with Seattle and Cleveland in the 1980's, spent five seasons with the Dos Laredos Tecos during his 13-year playing career before taking their reins in 1993.  Firova later managed the Mexico City Tigres to LMB pennants in 1997, 2000 and 2001 before embarking on a further journey that took him to eight more Liga teams, managing Monclova to a 29-27 record last Spring before the Acereros replaced him with Pedro Mere in early July after starting 2-4 in the Fall season.  Over 19 seasons managing in the Mexican League, Firova has a career record of 1,387-1,169 and is one of only six helmsmen in the loop's 94-year history with over a thousand wins.  He also spent three seasons between 2015 and 2017 as bullpen coach for the Washington Nationals under managers Matt Williams and Dusty Baker. 

Firova was given the task of managing the Mexican Nationals by the Mexican Baseball Federation (FEMEBE) after Enrique "Che" Reyes (another longtime LMB manager who led Mexico to the U-23 World Championship last year) had to step down from the post.  Reyes is now managing the reconstituted Puebla Pericos, who refused to let him travel to Japan during the team's training camp.  Likewise, coaches Luis Carlos Rivera (Yucatan manager) and Oscar Robles (Tijuana helmsman) will not be allowed to make the trip, although Javier Robles and Martin Arzate are going to make the journey.

When Firova and his team arrive in Japan on March 5, they'll have a pair of new players waiting for them.  Third baseman Christian Villanueva and first baseman Joey Meneses will be playing their first Nippon Professional Baseball seasons for the Yomiuri Giants and Orix Buffaloes, respectively, and while both were considered questionable for the Mexican lineup due to their own training camp commitments, they got OK'ed for the two-game set.  Villanueva and Meneses will replace pitcher Sergio Romo and infielder Danny Espinosa on the Mexican roster.  Romo recently signed a free agent contract with the Miami Marlins while Espinosa inked a non-roster deal with the New York Mets and both will be training in Florida.  Second baseman Manny Rodriguez will also be staying behind to rehab from a muscle injury sustained while playing for Jalisco in the Mexican Pacific League title series.  The Mexican team is also hoping to add pitchers Yovani Gallardo and Jorge de la Rosa, who have yet to sign MLB contracts for 2019.


GUADALAJARA TO HOST PREMIER12 GROUP PLAY IN NOVEMBER

Estadio Charros in Guadalajara

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced groups and venues for their so-called Premier12 tournament to be held later this year.  The Premier12 will serve as a qualifier for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo with group play set to take place at Guadalajara, Taipei and Seoul in November.  The announcement was made last week at the National Palace in Mexico City by WBSC president Riccardo Friccari, with president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and officials from the Mexican Baseball Federation (FEMEBE), National Commission of Physical Culture and Sports (CONADE), Jalisco's state government, Mexican Pacific League and Jalisco Charros also taking part.

The Premier12 is scheduled to run from November 2 to 17 with twelve of the world's top-ranked national teams broken up into three groups with four teams each:

GROUP A (Guadalajara) - United States (#2), Mexico (#6), Netherlands (#8) and Dominican Republic (#12).
GROUP B (Taipei) - Japan (#1), Taiwan (#4), Venezuela (#9) and Puerto Rico (#11).
GROUP C - (Seoul) - South Korea (#3), Cuba (#5), Australia (#7) and Canada (#10).

Play will open in Guadalajara's Estadio Charros on November 2, followed by games in Taipei's Taichung Intercontinental Stadium and Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome.  The Korea Baseball Organization moved the opening of its 2019 schedule to March 23, earliest in KBO history, to allow their season to conclude in October so top domestic players can participate in the tournament.

South Korea won the initial Premier12 in 2015.


FORMER NL HOMER CHAMP CHRIS CARTER SIGNS WITH MONCLOVA

Chris Carter hit 41 HRs for Brewers in 2016

The Monclova Acereros have added a proven longball hitter for the 2019 season by signing former National League home run co-champion Chris Carter to a free agent contract.  The 32-year-old California-born Carter joins reigning Mexican League MVP Francisco Peguero, two-time MVP Jesse Castillo, 2016 LMB batting champ Cesar Tapia and former big leaguer Ruben Rivera (still playing at 45) on a power-laden team seeking its first championship.  Manager Pedro Mere's roster also includes 2018 Pitcher of the Year Josh Lowey, arguably the best LMB starter over the past few seasons.

Carter broke into pro baseball in 2005, when he was a Chicago White Sox 15th-round draft pick out of Las Vegas' Sierra Vista High School.  After three summers in the Chisox system, the 6'4" right-handed batter was dealt twice prior to the 2008 campaign, first to Arizona and then to Oakland, the latter a trade that netted the Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren.  Carter spent three more years in the A's organization, belting 97 homers and driving in over 300 runs in that span before making his MLB debut on August 9, 2010 in Seattle.  After batting .186 and .136 over 39 games in 2010 and 2011, Carter began hitting his stride for Oakland in 2012, cracking 16 homers in 67 games while splitting the season between the A's and their AAA affiliate in Sacramento. 

Despite his impressive power, Carter was sent to Houston the following February in a trade that sent Jed Lowrie to the Bay Area and it was with the Astros that the 245-pounder got his first chance to play regularly.  Although he never batted above .227 in three seasons while striking out over 500 times, Carter did slam 90 homers and drive in 234 runs between 2013 and 2015 before signing as a free agent with Milwaukee, where he would achieve his greatest notoriety.  Although again burdened by a low batting average (.222) and high strikeout total (an NL-leading 206), the first baseman cracked 41 homers to tie Colorado's Nolan Arenado for tops in the senior circuit and knocked in 94 runs.  Carter did draw 76 walks to finish with a respectable .321 on-base percentage but the Brewers designated him for assignment after signing Eric Thames, who'd been playing in Korea.

After that, Carter signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the New York Yankees, where he struggled to a .201 average with eight homers over 62 games in 2017 before being released July 10.  He returned to the A's on a minor league deal and finished the year with AAA Nashville (.252/9/22 in 36 games) before splitting last season with two more organizations in 2018, first for the Angels' AAA Salt Lake City affiliate (.255/15/41 in 38 games) before being traded in May to the Twins for future considerations and wrapping up the year with AAA Rochester (.187/7/15 in 35 contests).

Although he's suffered through a pair of forgettable seasons, the Acereros are hoping that Carter can regain enough of the form that resulted in 131 homers and 328 RBIs in MLB between 2013 and 2016.  Although a first baseman by trade, that is also Castillo's position and it's expected that the massive slugger will spend most of his time as designated hitter while also playing the outfield in a pinch.

Cabrera hero as Leones tie LMB South title series

Yucatan Leones shortstop Everth Cabrera came up big

Former San Diego Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera capped a two-run comeback for Yucatan in the bottom half of the ninth inning with a walkoff single that scored Ruben Sosa from second base, handing the Leones a 6-5 win over Quintana Roo Sunday in Game Two of the Mexican League's South Division championship series in Merida.  The victory knotted the Leones-Tigres catfight at one game apiece as 13,147 spectators looked on at Parque Kukulkan.  Cabrera, Sosa and Jesus "Cacao" Valdez each had three hits for the winners while C.J. Retherford belted a pair of homers (one of them a three-run bom) for the Tigres, who won Saturday's opener, 4-1, behind the complete game pitching of Henderson Alvarez.

As Cabrera was performing his heroics in Yucatan, the defending champion Tijuana Toros were delivering a 15-2 beatdown to the Monterrey Sultanes to tie the LMB North title series at one gabe apiece.  Dustin Martin cracked a grand slam in the top of the second off Sultanes starter Felipe Gonzalez to highlight a five-run inning that gave the Toros a lead they would widen as the game went on.  Martin finished the night with six RBIs, Cyle Hankerd contributed a three-run homer to the cause and batting champion Isaac Rodriguez went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and two more driven in for manager Pedro Mere's men.  TJ starter Kyle Lobstein pitched six pressure-free innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out five batsmen to send 21,909 fans at Estadio Monterrey home disappointed.  Sultanes reliever Gonzalo Ochoa had a nightmarish appearance in the seventh frame, allowing six runs on five hits (including Hankerd's roundtripper) and a walk before being pulled by skipper Roberto Kelly with one out remaining, which Marcos Rivas mercifully recorded.

Yucatan and Quintana Roo both reached the LMB South finals by dispatching Leon and Mexico City, respectively, in five games.  Sebastian Valle's two-run homer gave Leones starter Jose Samayoa (6 innings, 1 run) all the support needed in Yucatan's 5-1 win over the Bravos last Monday in Leon while Jason Bourgeois' single drove in Angel Erro with the game winner in the bottom of the tenth in the Tigres' 6-5 win over the Diablos Rojos the same night in Cancun.  The victory had to be doubly sweet for Tigres owners Fernando and Linda Valenzuela, who've had their own well-chronicled issues with the Red Devils organization over the past year.

Monterrey had to go the extra mile to win their LMB North semifinal series over Monclova in six games.  The Acereros outlasted the Sultanes, 7-6, last Monday at home with the aid of four homers, including a two-run shot coming off the bat of former Yankees outfielder Ruben Rivera, now 44, who hit .385 for the series.  Monterrey wrapped things up two nights later by a 6-3 count over the Steelers as veteran third baseman Agustin Murillo had a big night for the Sultanes, socking a pair of homers (one of them a three-run dinger off Acereros starter Mauricio Lara in the bottom of the fifth.  The 39-year-old Lara had sailed through the first four frames without being scratched for a run before running into trouble in the fifth.  Tijuana had earlier eliminated Aguascalientes in a four-game sweep, giving the Toros a week to rest before opening their series with Monterrey Saturday.

Both division championship series will resume Tuesday night after Monday's travel day, as the LMB South title set shifts to Cancun for Game Three while Tijuana will host Game Three in the LMB North series.


Bravos late with payment, lose SS Amadeo Zazueta to Dos Laredos

Former Leon Bravos shortstop Amadeo Zazueta

Your friendly bank officer issuing a foreclosure notice has nothing on the Monclova Acereros, who waited just one week for a late installment check from the Leon Bravos before reclaiming shortstop Amadeo Zazueta from the Guanajuato team and immediately trading him to the Dos Laredos Tecolotes.

According to Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros, the Bravos agreed to a series of payments to Monclova as part of an offseason deal that sent the 32-year-old Culiacan product to Leon after batting .341 for the Steelers last summer, socking 9 homers and driving in 64 runs over 101 regular season contests in 2017.  The trade surprised many Mexican League observers at the time, but the Acereros were committed to Puebla Shuttle passenger Alberto Carreon and LMB veteran Kevin Flores, who spent three years with Yucatan after nine summers with the Quintana Roo Tigres before arriving in Estadio Monclova as a free agent last winter.

Instead, Carreon never got untracked with the Acereros and was shuttled back to sister team Puebla during the Spring 2018 season while Flores ended up playing just 27 of 57 games, batting .320 with 7 RBIs.  And Zazueta?  He became one of the faces of the Leon franchise by batting .356 with 5 homers, 9 steals and a team-high 46 runs scored while adding some adventurous defense in the 6 spot with 10 errors in 55 games.  Despite being one of the Liga's more troubled franchises, the Bravos have managed to reach the playoffs in each of their first two seasons and Zazueta was a key member of this Spring's squad.

However, Zazueta apparently wasn't so important to either the Leon front office or Arturo Blanco, the Potosinos transportation company majordomo and one of the MXL's wealthier owners.  Ballesteros reports that Monclova allowed a week for the Bravos' June installation check to arrive before taking Zazueta back for a nanosecond prior to shipping him off to the Tecos in exchange for pitcher Jose Pina, a useful righty who's gone 45-37 with a 3.52 ERA in six seasons pitching for mostly dreadful teams in Tabasco, Veracruz and Dos Laredos (he was 4-5 with a 4.07 ERA this Spring for the Tecos, who had the worst record in the Liga at 18-39.  The two-time All-Star is a much better pitcher than even his decent stats would indicate and the 6'2" Dominican will finally give Acereros star Josh Lowey a decent complement in the starting rotation.  While their moves were definitely draconian, it's hard to blame Monclova for making them after a second straight first-round playoff exit.  Owner Gerardo Benavides has proven that, if nothing else, he is a hands-on guy who'll make a move at the drop of a hat to improve his hometown team (often at the expense of his Puebla franchise).

But what of the Bravos?  This would be embarrassing to any self-aware ballclub seeking to build credibility among an already-skeptical fan base.  Manager (as of this week) Luis Rivera will likely move Niko Vasquez (.341/10/36) back to his natural position of shortstop with little drop-off in production, but he's left with former Diamondbacks prospect Joe Munoz, a 2014 Midwest League all-star, at third base for Fall 2018 after Munoz played just seven games for Tijuana and Leon in Spring.  The bigger question mark may be regarding what credibility the Bravos have with Leon baseball fans after letting one of their best players leave with nothing in return but even more egg on its face after yet another front office snafu.

One more note worth passing along.  Ballesteros reports that Zazueta may choose to not report to Dos Laredos, one of the few franchises more rudderless than the one he was reclaimed from.  This may all end up in the lap of Liga president Javier Salinas, who certainly doesn't need any more problems in what has been a tough first year for the former Liga MX soccer marketer after replacing Plinio Escalante at the top of the circuit last September.


Managerial firings: Firova out in Monclova, Sandoval canned in Oaxaca

Former Monclova Acereros manager Dan Firova

After showing remarkable restraint throughout the Spring 2018 season, Mexican League owners are using June to make some corrections of their dugout bosses.  Two more managers lost their jobs over the past week after only one midseason firing in Dos Laredos, when the Tecolotes cut Eddie Castro loose last month.  After Tabasco fired skipper Alfonso "Houston" Jimenez in a rather puzzling move, given that Jimenez spun some silk from a sow's ear of a roster (Castro will be Jimenez' replacement n Villahermosa), Oaxaca severed ties with first-year manager Jose Luis "Borrego" Sandoval, a 2008 MVP shortstop for Mexico City during his playing days and a favorite of Diablos/Guerreros owner Alfredo Harp Helu, but the most surprising firing would have to be Dan Firova's reported ouster in Monclova.

 Owner Gerardo Benavides has proven with both the Acereros and Puebla that he has an affinity for hiring managers with Major League Baseball backgrounds such as Wally Backman, who was brought in to Monclova for a disastrous term last despite the former Mets second baseman only having enough prior experience speaking Spanish to order off the menu at Taco Bell.  Hired last December, Firova was seen as a compromise choice of sorts, possessing a less-extensive MLB background but also a Mexican-American who'd both played and managed successfully in the Liga in past years (winning Manager of the Year laurels in 2000 with the Quintana Roo Tigres).  Language and experience in baseball south of the border were not concerns with the former catcher from Texas.

The Acereros finished a disappointing 29-27 in the Spring 2018 regular season, coming in fourth in the LMB North before a first-round playoff exit at the hands of Monterrey.  While fault for failing to meet expectations may lie more with a dissension-ridden clubhouse of transient ballplayers yo-yoing between Monclova and Puebla (star second baseman Manny Rodriguez left the team and was subsequently traded to Quintana Roo) or a pitching staff that allowed more men to reach first base than Stormy Daniels (Josh Lowey notwithstanding), but it's easier to scapegoat a manager and that appears to be what may happening with Firova.  His firing, which has been reported in the Mexican baseball media, had not been officially confirmed by either the Acereros or MXL offices as this story was written and no replacement has been announced.

The firing of Sandoval in Oaxaca was not so surprising.  The 49-year-old Los Mochis native spent 14 seasons between 2000 and 2013 with Mexico City and remained as a coach or manager in the Diablos system before owner Alfredo Harp Helu send him to manage the billionaire's other Liga team in Oaxaca this year.  The Guerreros serve a similar, if not as direct, role to the Diablos that the Kansas City A's used to serve as the New York Yankees' de facto Class AAA affiliate in the American League (which both teams conveniently played in).   Sandoval took Oaxaca's perennial red-headed stepchild team to a last-place finish in the LMB South at 22-35.  While he had more talent than Castro in Dos Laredos or Jimenez in Tabasco had to work with (including such notables as Yuniesky Betancourt, Adan Munoz and Erick Rodriguez), Sandoval's roster reflected the old wartime song, "They're Either Too Young or Too Old," and sank out of contention early.

Sandoval will be replaced at the Guerreros helm by Cuban Jose Alvarez, the former Durango manager who was recently hired to manage Mazatlan this winter in the Mexican Pacific League.  Alvarez won two Gulf Coast League rookieball pennants and one Class A Florida State League title between 1986 and 1990 managing in the Dodgers system.  He spent 2017 as the helmsman in Durango, keeping the newborn Generales at .500 while the team played their first month on the road while their ballpark at home was being readied, but the team ran out of steam the rest of the season as players missed paychecks as the schedule played out (many were traded to save costs) and Durango missed the playoffs.

MexPac playoff field determined, regular season winds down

Mexicali's MexPac ERA leader Rolando Valdez

Although the pairings for the opening round of the upcoming Mexican Pacific League playoffs have yet to be set, the six teams advancing to the postseason have been determined with four games remaining on the regular season schedule.

The defending champion Mexicali Aguilas have run away with the LMP second half, sporting a 23-6 record to lead 17-12 Navojoa and Culiacan by six games to lock up the eight points accompanying a first-place finish.  The Aguilas collected four points after a 16-19 first half finish landed the borderites in sixth place and led to the replacement of manager Roberto Vizcarra with Pedro Mere.  Under Mere, who won the Mexican League pennant with Tijuana in September, the Aguilas' 12.0 combined points assures them of a playoff berth and home-field advantage at least through the first round.

Things have not gone as well for first-half champion Hermosillo.  Skipper Lorenzo Bundy's Naranjeros have struggled to an 11-17 record in the second half and currently sit seventh on the table, a half-game game behind 12-17 Obregon and three games back from fifth-place Jalisco at 14-14.  The Orangemen will reach the playoffs no matter what because even if they finish with only 3.5 points in the half, the 11.5 total points will be enough to play into January.   Culiacan projects to be the top playoff seed.  The Tomateros picked up 7.0 first-half points after finishing tied with Mazatlan for second at 20-15 while their 17-12 second half mark would give them third place behind Navojoa, good enough for 6.0 points for the half and a combined 13.0 points overall.  Mazatlan and Navojoa will join Mexicali, Hermosillo, Culiacan and Jalisco in the postseason.  The 14-14 Charros sit in sixth, where the 4.5 points attached to a finish in that slot would be added to the 5.0 first-half points garnered by the Guadalajara squad for a 9.5-point overall total and a sixth (and final) seed.

On the outside looking in after this week will be Obregon and Los Mochis.  The 12-17 Yaquis are currently in sixth, two-and-a-half games behind Jalisco, but the most overall points they can mathematically qualify for are 8.0, well behind the Charros' projected 9.5.  The Yaquis canned manager Miguel Ojeda earlier this month and brought in Juan Navarrete, but problem with the Obregon organization run beyond the playing field and any manager would've struggled there this winter.  The 6-23 Caneros have suffered through a total collapse under manager Ramon Orantes, who replaced Luis Sojo at the helm on November 16 after Mochis finished seventh with a 14-21 record in the first half for 3.5 points.  The Caneros will finish with 6.5 overall points no matter what happens this week.

Three ongoing series will conclude Monday night with Obregon at Mexicali, Culiacan visiting Mazatlan and Jalisco hosting Navojoa while Tuesday night will see the Hermosillo at Los Mochis series end.  Starting Wednesday, Hermosillo will host Mexicali, Obregon will welcome Mazatlan, Los Mochis will be in Navojoa and Culiacan will entertain Jalisco in openers of season-ending three-game sets.  

The six playoff teams will choose reinforcements from Obregon and Los Mochis in a two-round draft next weekend prior to next week's first-round openers.  Among the nuggets to be mined from Obregon will be centerfielder Justin Greene, rightfielder Dustin Martin and closer Manny Acosta, the LMP's saves leader with 16.  Los Mochis has infielder Ramon Urias, outfielder Olmo Rosario and veteran first baseman/DH Saul Soto, still a dangerous hitter at age 39.

LMP SECOND HALF STANDINGS (through Sunday, December 24)

Mexicali (4.0) 23-6, Navojoa (4.5) 17-12, Culiacan (7.0) 17-12, Mazatlan (6.0) 15-14, Jalisco (5.0) 14-14, Obregon (3.0) 12-17, Hermosillo (8.0) 11-17, Los Mochis (3.5) 6-23

First half point totals per team are in parentheses

LMP BATTING LEADERS

AVG-Sebastian Elizalde (CUL) .379, H-Sebastian Elizalde (CUL) 92,  R-Randy Arozarena (NAV) 48, HR-Randy Arozarena (NAV) 14, RBI-Manny Rodriguez (JAL) 56, SB-Jeremias Pineda (MAZ) 31.

LMP PITCHING LEADERS

W-Mitch Lively (MAZ) 9, ERA-Rolando Valdez (MXI) 1.87, SO-Tyler Alexander (JAL) 65, SV-Manny Acosta (OBR) 16, HLD-Edgar Gomez (MXI) 17, WHIP-Mitch Lively (MAZ) 0.96.

Ojeda to manage in Durango, not Monterrey, in 2018

Durango's Miguel Ojeda as an MLBer

In what has to be one of the more surprising managerial moves of the Mexican League offseason, former MLB catcher Miguel Ojeda went from being considered a shoo-in as the new manager in Monterrey to signing a contract to lead Durango in 2018 instead.  The deal was announced Sunday by Aguascalientes' El Heraldo, citing "sources close to the negotiations."  

Ojeda will replace Joe Alvarez as Generales skipper after the latter took the team to a 43-66 record for a last-place finish in the LMB North this summer, Durango's first in the Liga in 38 years after owner Virgilio Ruiz moved his franchise there from Carmen.  The Generales spent the first month of the season on the road while ballpark preparations at home were ongoing, winning 11 of their first 21 games before embarking on a crushing 14-game losing streak (six in a row at home) from which they never recovered.  Money problems plagued the team Ojeda is inheriting, with late paychecks and league support to keep the club alive through season's end.  The league wants to replace the underfinanced Ruiz with new ownership, but nothing has been announced on that front.  Durango gave the club remarkably good support given the situation, with the Generales finishing seventh in attendance with a 4,094 average per opening, but Ojeda (who hit .224 with 15 homers in 212 games for San Diego and three other MLB teams between 2003 and 2006) is stepping into a volatile situation.

Meanwhile, back in Monterrey, the Sultanes are back to the drawing board.  Details have not been found as to why things didn't work out between the team and Ojeda.  One omen came during the recent Winter Meetings in Orlando, a  potential "big splash" publicity moment for the Sultanes by introducing a former big league catcher and manager of the 2014 LMB champion Mexico City Diablos Rojos as their new manager.  Instead, he did not appear to even be mentioned by the team during the four-day event.  Ojeda's pending hiring in Monterrey was widely reported in mid-November.

One hiring that did come off was in Monclova, where the Acereros named another ex-MLB catcher as their new helmsman.  Dan Firova, 61, is a bilingual Texan who had three cups of coffee with Seattle and Cleveland in the 1980's and also played all or part of seven seasons in Mexico between 1981 and 1993, mostly for Nuevo Laredo, and hit .264 with 13 homers in 419 games as a defense-oriented backstop.  Firova then spent over two decades managing in the Mexican League winning three pennants with the Mexico City Tigres (1997, 2001, 2001) in his seven-year stint before going on to manage six other LMB teams between 2002 and 2013, reaching the postseason twice in Monterrey and once in Campeche.  He was a coach for the Washington Nationals the past two seasons under Dusty Baker.  

Firova will take over a loaded team that was expected to contend for the pennant last season but instead was knocked out in the first round.  Ex-Mets infielder Wally Backman was hired to manage the Acereros last winter, but his inability to speak or understand Spanish plagued him all the way up to Backman's midseason firing in Monclova, something that won't be a problem for Firova.  Backman, by the way, finished the year as a coach in Puebla and will manage the New Britain Bees of the independent Atlantic League in 2018.

Diablos win Mexican Winter League for third straight year

2017 LIM champions Mexico City Diablos Rojos

It's been a tough baseball year for Alfredo Harp Helu.  The billionaire owner of the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, has seen his Mexican League team miss the playoffs for a second straight year with attendance of only 2,503 per game was 14th in the LMB; his new 13,000-seat ballpark (named after himself) has been plagued by construction problems and delays resulting in the move of an anticipated MLB series next season to Monterrey and the possible loss of the 2018 LMB All-Star Game as well; and his franchise is embroiled in a controversy involving the allegedly corrupt transfer of five prospect to the Diablos and an opposing team owner who may arguably be the most popular Mexican ballplayer ever on either side of the border and is also threatening to take the matter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.  That bad run of luck for Harp extended to his own farm system, as his combined team with the Oaxaca Guerreros (which he also owns) was unable to win their third consecutive Academy Rookie League title, finishing fourth among six teams.

So forgive us for showing a little espíritu navideño when we say we're glad to see Harp's Mexican Winter League team save his year (a little) by winning the pennant, making it three titles in as many seasons for the Little Red Devils.  They copped the regular season crown by going 29-16 in the six-team circuit, which serves as the LMB's sanctioned winter league and includes Liga veterans and prospects alike.  First baseman Yousamot Cota led the league with a .392 average but it was left fielder Daniel Jimenez who swung the big stick by topping the LIM in hits, runs scored and runs batted in.  Jimenez, a 21-year-old Caracas native who played four year of rookieball in the Reds system at home in Venezuela and Arizona, is currently listed on Oaxaca's LMB roster but we've seen how that goes.  Starting pitcher Luis Miranda won five games with a 2.01 ERA to rank first in both categories.

The playoffs followed, with Mexico City being stretched to five games before knocking out Salamanca in a first round series mostly noted for Petroleros player Andres Martin Garcia attacking home plate umpire Carlos Leon, resulting in Martin's suspension from all LMB-related leagues throughout 2018.  The championship series was a trifle quieter, as the Diablos beat Oaxaca, 4 games to 1.  The Guerreros, who had finished in third at 22-23 in the regular season, shocked second-place Moroleon by sweeping the Toros Bravos in three straight games in their semi series.  Mexico City was stretched in Game Five, requiring 13 innings to extinguish the Warriors, 7-5, and claim the flag.

The finals featured two teams owned by the same man, making Harp a winner no matter what happened, and managed by the men who'll lead their respective "big teams" next season: Victor Bojorquez in Mexico City and Jose Luis Sandoval in Oaxaca.  Both are former longtime Diablos stars.  Bojorquez takes the reins of the Red Devils from Miguel Ojeda, who may be having as bad a year as Harp (who still has his billions), while Sandoval succeeds Houston Jimenez with the Guerreros.