OBREGON SIZZLES AS MEXICALI FIZZLES, MERE OUT

Obregon's Dallas Martinez pitches to Culiacan  

    One week into the Mexican Pacific League season, the Obregon Yaquis and Mexicali Aguilas are off to opposite starts and one manager is already looking for a new job as a result.

    The Obregon Yaquis shot out the gate with eight consecutive wins before suffering their first defeat, a 7-3 home loss to archrival Hermosillo last Friday. A three-run homer by veteran Luis Alfonso Cruz off Obregon starter Dallas Martinez keyed a four-run outburst in the fifth inning that broke open a 1-1 game. Cruz added a single and double while scoring three times to support Hermosillo opener Ryan Verdugo, who gave up three runs in 5.1 innings to collect the win. Roberto Lopez belted a solo homer for the Yaquis.

    Obregon vaulted to their hot start behind strong pitching and a solid batting order. Through Friday's defeat, ten Yaquis hurlers had appeared in at least one game without giving up a run while the eight wins during the streak were spread among eight pitchers. Despite being tagged with Friday's loss, Martinez (a former Yankees farmhand) still shows a 0.90 ERA, with Cruz' longball the only earned run among five the righty has allowed in two starts.

    The Yaquis offense has been led in the early going by catcher Sebastian Valle and first sacker Lopez. Valle, acquired from Mazatlan in the offseason, was batting .448 with two homers and six RBIs over eight games while Lopez had a .357 average to augment his three homers and seven ribbies. Outfielder Alonzo Harris' .306 average and six stolen bases have been helpful to manager Sergio Gastelum's squad while fellow gardener Tirso Ornelas was hitting an even .400 in limited appearances over six appearances.

    At the other end of the spectrum, the Mexicali Aguilas did a pratfall out the gate by losing their first eight games of 2020-21, tying a record for the start of the season previously shared by Obregon (1960-61) and Navojoa (2010-11) and it cost skipper Pedro Mere his job. The 50-year-old Mere has been one of the most successful managers south of the border over the past decade, winning Mexican League pennants in 2012 with Veracruz and 2017 with Tijuana. He took over the Aguilas last November after they finished ninth in the first half with a 13-19 record and brought Mexicali to a second-place finish in the second half to clinch a playoff berth.

    However, Mere had to wait until June before his return to El Nido for the current season was confirmed, making him one of the last managers in the LMP verified for 2020-21 and hardly the strongest vote of confidence. Last Thursday's 6-1 loss at home to Monterrey was the final straw for Aguilas owner Dio Alberto Murillo, who has never hesitated to pull the trigger on managers not meeting expectations (which is pretty much all of them). Bobby Magallanes learned that lesson when he was canned after losing 10 of his first 11 games in 2007-08. So did Roberto Vizcarra, who led Mexicali to the 2016-17 pennant (and took Jalisco to the title last winter) but was fired the following season after the Eagles were 16-19 in the first half. Vizcarra's replacement? Pedro Mere.

Interim Mexicali manager Bronswell Patrick

    Bronswell Patrick was tabbed as interim manager after Mere's firing. Patrick was brought in as pitching coach last year after managing Hermosillo to a 37-31 record and second overall in points for 2018-19, a good enough showing for him to poll second in Manager of the Year voting before he was replaced by Vinny Castilla one month after the season ended. Patrick put together a journeyman resume that saw him pitch in Milwaukee and San Francisco as well as Korea, Taiwan and Mexico over 18 seasons before retiring in 2006 and going into coaching. The 50-year-old North Carolinian has been around long enough to know that every managerial job in Mexico is “interim” whether the team uses that tag or not.

    Patrick got off to a good start Friday night with a 4-3 win over the Sultanes. Mexicali was trailing 3-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh before exploding for four runs as Michael Choice launched a three-run roundtripper off Daniel Cruz. Aguilas reliever Saul Castellanos was awarded the win while Greg Mahle pitched a scoreless ninth for the save. The loss dropped Monterrey to 7-2 on the season and a second-place tie with Hermosillo one game behind Obregon.

    While the Mex Pac season got underway on time and in full swing, the situation regarding fans attending games remains fluid. After giving the go-ahead allowing patrons to occupy up to 40 percent of seating at Estadio Sonora on October 9, the Hermosillo Naranjeros' board of directors said the state government reversed course last week and notified the team that no fans will be allowed to attend home games until further notice. Meanwhile, in Mazatlan, mayor Luis Guillermo Benitez Torres said earlier this month that while the governor of Sinaloa had okayed fans in the stands for that state's four LMP teams, he hadn't. Benitez did eventually sign off on opening up seating for Venados games at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal (among other sporting events), he lowered the allowed capacity from 40 to 30 percent.

    On a related note, Septima Entrada's Irving Furlong reports the league office has instituted a policy that allows teams to suit up as few as 14 players to avoid having to forfeit a game. Teams typically suit up 25 eligible players per contest. “This is a rule that we put in place this season,” says LMP president Omar Canizales. The policy was put into effect to address the possibility of several players on a single team testing positive for the Wuhan virus, as happened in Monterrey and Culiacan during training camp. Teams are also being allowed to carry more players on their Reserve List in the event that Active List players are required to be quarantined.

CHARROS HOPING TO ADD OSUNA, VILLANUEVA

Roberto Osuna may pitch for Jalisco

    Although the defending Mexican Pacific League champion Jalisco Charros were sitting in seventh place after winning three of their first nine games, there shouldn't be too much concern in Guadalajara about a collapse this season. After all, the Cowboys ARE the defending champions and (more to the point) it appears that considerable help is on the way. Two players that manager Roberto Vizcarra is hoping will join the team are Houston Astros closer Roberto Osuna and Nippon Ham Fighters infielder Christian Villanueva.

    After posting an American League-leading 38 saves for the 2019 American League champions and another save in the World Series, Osuna was placed on the Injured List August 1 after four appearances this year with what the team termed “right elbow soreness.” An initial diagnosis recommended Tommy John surgery but those concerns have lessened to the point that Houston's front office has given the okay for the 25-year-old righthander to pitch in the Mex Pac this season for rehab purposes.

    Osuna joined the Charros last weekend in Los Mochis and is expected to pitch for the team next month. “Expected” is the key word because while Osuna has said in the past that he wants to play in the LMP (and even held press conferences to that effect), he has never thrown a ball in winterball. He has two younger brothers in the Jalisco organization, however, and that may be enough to advance from posturing to pitching this time around. Just in case history repeats itself, MLB veteran hurler Sergio Romo (who HAS pitched for the Charros) says he plans to join the team for the second half while fellow reliever Humberto Castellanos, who made his big league debut with Houston this year, has joined the team.

    Although Osuna's season with the Astros ended when they were eliminated by Tampa Bay in the American League Championship Series, Villanueva is still playing in Japan. While the Fighters are out of playoff contention for all intent and purposes, the ex-Padres third baseman is hoping his final two weeks with the Hokkaido team will rehab his ailing bat. After batting .223 with eight homers over 73 games for the Yomiuri Giants last season, a change of teams and leagues did nothing to improve things as Villanueva has a .220 average and four homers to show for 50 games with the Fighters. Villanueva's plan is to finish the season in Japan and take a couple weeks off for rest before debuting with his hometown team (after playing six previous winterball seasons in Obregon) during the second half of their schedule.

    Once he reports, Villanueva will present Vizcarra with the sort of dilemma most managers hope for: Where to play the onetime Mex Pac MVP? According to Puro Beisbol's Fernando Ballesteros, Jalisco already has longtime star Agustin Murillo holding down third base, veteran Henry Urrurtia has been playing first and is batting .379 for the young season and no less than Mexico's most-feared slugger, Japhet Amador, is the team's designated hitter., although the 38-year-old Murillo is off to a slow start (.230) while Amador (.269) is still adjusting after a year off from playing. There's a possibility that Urrutia could return to the outfield, his normal position during a 13-year career that began with five seasons in Cuba, but the Charros already have Dariel Alvarez, Carlos Figueroa and Julian Ornelas as flychasers with Sergio Perez in reserve.

FOUR-TEAM TOURNAMENT IN MEXICO CITY TO OPEN NEXT MONTH

 

Baseball returns to Mexico City next month

  At a press conference held in Mexico City last Thursday, the Mexico City Diablos Rojos announced that they'd be hosting a tournament consisting of four teams with players drawn from both the Diablos organization and their Mexican League sister team Oaxaca Guerreros. Both franchises are owned by billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu, whose namesake ballpark in the capital city will host all games.

    The Copa Juntos por Mexico (Together for Mexico Cup) will be played Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays over five weeks, with the regular season opening Tuesday, November 10 and ending Thursday, December 10. It appears teams will play doubleheaders of seven-inning games for four games per day, but the schedule was only defined as 56 games. A nine-inning consolation game for third place between teams finishing third and fourth will take place Friday, December 11 while a nine-inning title match involving the top two seeds will be held one day later.

    Games will be played daily on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with afternoon tilts slated for 1PM and nightcaps beginning at 7PM. The four teams will be comprised mostly by prospects, several of whom have already been signed by major league organizations out of the Alfredo Harp Helu Academy in Oaxaca.

    Among team representatives at the press conference were Diablos vice president Miguel Ojeda, a former MLB catcher and onetime Mexico City manager, and Guerreros sports manager Jaime Brena, who played second base on Opening Night of the 2019 season for Oaxaca before officially retiring after appearing in 21 seasons for that club.

    Ojeda told the gathering, “I had to create four teams made up of the 106 players that we have on our Reserve Lists, including players who have already signed with Major League Baseball organizations. The Diablos will have 56 players divided into two teams called Jose Luis Sandoval and Daniel Fernandez, two historical players who will be the managers of those nines.” Oaxaca will be represented by the remaining 50 players on teams named after Alfredo Ortiz and the late Nelson Barrera. Managers for those two teams were not announced.

    Among the prospects who'll be representing Mexico City in the tournament are Javier Sánchez (Royals), Oliver Zepeda (Blue Jays), Brandon Valenzuela (Padres), Carlos Pacheco (Cubs), Hansen López (Athletics), José Ignacio Rodríguez and Hendrick Briones (Dodgers) and Jhoxan Alfaro (Mets).Oaxaca will send MLB signees Yamir Leal and Oscar Valenzuela (Royals), Cristian Pacheco (Padres) and Edgar Zuniga (Phillies).

    While games will be played in bubble conditions with no fans in the stands, watching them shouldn't be a problem. All games will be broadcast live on TVC Deportes and streamed online on MediaTiempo.com plus social media channels (Facebook, YouTube and Instagram) for both the Diablos and Guerreros.

MLB CANCELS APRIL PADRES-D'BACKS MEXICO SERIES

The outbreak of the coronavirus and the resulting panic that led to the delay of the Major League Baseball regular season has unsurprisingly meant the cancellation of a planned two-game series between the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks in Mexico City next month. The so-called Mexico Series would've pitted the two National League West rivals against each other on the weekend of April 18-19 at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City.

Instead, the two contests will be rescheduled later in the season in Phoenix, as the Diamondbacks had relinquished two home dates to make room for the Mexico Series. "It breaks our heart we won't be playing in front of the incredible fans in Mexico," a statement from the Arizona front office reads, "but health and safety come first." A tweet from the Padres states, "Our series in Mexico City has been cancelled do to the delayed start of the 2020 season. We look forward to the next time we are playing in front of our beloved fans in Mexico." MLB also cancelled a planned three-game series between the New York Mets and Miami Marlins between April 28-30 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. No decision has been made yet regarding the fate of this June's London Series in England between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.

Mexico City's Estadio Harp Helu

The Mexico Series would've marked the first MLB regular season games ever played in Mexico City, where the Diablos Rojos' 20,576-seat ballpark (named after their billionaire owner) opened a year ago this Monday when the Diablos hosted a team of Padres minor leaguers in front of a full house. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador became the first Mexico president to throw out a ceremonial first pitch since 1947 and Mexico City's Jesus Fabela scored the first run in the new facility, but the rest of the contest belonged to the Padres, who won 11-2 in a game that was overshadowed by the festivities surrounding it. The Diablos went on to draw 389,641 fans over 54 regular season games last year (an average of 7,216 per opening) to finish fourth in the LMB in attendance, trailing only Tijuana (11,291), Monterrey (9,770) and Yucatan (8,673). The Toros and Sultanes led all of Minor League Baseball in average attendance while the Leones finished fifth. Mexico City was 18th overall.

The cancellation of the Mexico City will cause a financial hit to the host Diablos Rojos. Ticket prices for the two games started at 450 pesos (US$18.41) for outfield seats and rose to 3,200 pesos (US$130.95) for VIP seats and 2,500 pesos (US$102.30) to sit behind home plate. Ticket refunds are being offered to those who already purchased their ducats.

MLB has previously held eleven regular season games in Mexico, all at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey, home of the Sultanes.  The first was a Padres-Colorado Rockies game on April 4, 1999, which brought in a ballpark record 27,104 spectators. A pair of two-game series last year (Cardinals-Red and Angels-Astros) drew in the 16,000-18,000 range per opening. 

MEX PAC NAMES 2019-20 GOLD GOVE AWARD WINNERS

Jalisco catcher Gabriel Gutierrez

The Mexican Pacific League has announced the winners of its 2019-20 season Rawlings Gold Glove awards, given annually to players considered the best fielder at their respective positions. Four of then ten players receiving honors were members of the LMP champion Culiacan Tomateros.

Pitcher of the Year Yoanys Quiala of Los Mochis aided his own cause by handling 18 chances in the field without a miscue in 87.2 innings over 14 starts without to earn the Gold Glove for hurlers, his second in a row with the Caneros. As a Culiacan postseason addition, Quiala was perfect on four chances during his lone start in the Caribbean Series.

Two catchers also played errorless ball in 2019-20 to share the Gold Glove. Jalisco's Gabriel Gutierrez, already known as a top-notch receiver, burnished his reputation by not committing an error on 458 chances behind the plate. He also nailed 25 of 49 base-stealers for a 51% mark in that category. Another stalwart defensive backstop, Mexicali's Xorge Carrillo, was awarded after fielding 376 chances cleanly in 51 games. Carrillo threw out 17 of 46 base-stealers, a 37 percent rate.

Culiacan anchored the right side of the LMP's defensive dream team. First baseman Joey Meneses committed two errors on 454 opportunities to finish with a .996 fielding percentage. Meneses, who hit .332 during the regular season, was flawless in 35 chances in four games at the initial hassock during the Caribbean Series and hit .417 before signing with Boston after the tournament.

Tomateros second baseman Ramiro Pena, a favorite of manager Benji Gil, earned top honors at the keystone position by turning in a .988 fielding percentage after committing just three blunders over 256 chances. The former Yankees infielder, who also had MLB stints with Atlanta and San Francisco, handled 24 chances without error in the Caribbean Series and turned three double plays.

Culiacan second baseman Ramiro Pena

Jalisco veteran Agustin Murillo is not a newcomer when it comes to winning Gold Gloves at third base in the Mex Pac, and 2019-20 was no exception. Murillo turns 38 in May but showed no sign of slowing after augmenting his .314 batting average with a .993 fielding percentage, committing just one gaffe in 139 chances and taking part in nine twin-killings.

Daniel Castro's glovework is what led to MLB opportunities with both Atlanta and Colorado between 2015 and 2018, thus it's no surprise that his work at shortstop for Mexicali has been rewarded. Castro, who also plays second and third, was 261-for-266 in fielding chances for the Aguilas to finish with a .981 average after splitting the 2019 season between the Mariners and Dodgers systems.

Culiacan players also anchored two of three positions on the LMP's Gold Glove team. Speedy Rico Noel, who led the league in steals (30) and runs scored (47), earned the nod in centerfield with a .986 fielding percentage, committing five errors in 138 chances during the regular season. He handled 18 chances without sin during the Caribbean and started a double play from the outfield.

Tomateros teammate Sebastian Elizalde was named the Gold Glove rightfielder after recording a .983 fielding average, committing two errors in 115 chances over 54 regular season contests. A former Reds farmhand who played for Mexico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Elizalde played three games in the Serie del Caribe, fielding eight fly balls cleanly before signing with the New York Mets.

Navojoa's Alonzo Harris, the 2019 Mexican League MVP, was given a Gold Glove for his play in left field for the Mayos. Harris was 133-for-135 in chances for a .985 fielding percentage and threw out six baserunners. The Mississippi native broke into pro ball in 2008 as a second baseman before being converted into an outfielder as a Mets minor leaguer during the 2011 season.

MEXICO HOLDS FIFTH PLACE IN LATEST WBSC BASEBALL RANKINGS

The World Baseball Softball Confederation released its first set of global baseball rankings for 2020 last Friday. There were no changes among the top six teams, which means Mexico maintained its number five ranking from the previous rankings released on December 31, 2019. In all, 86 nations were listed.

Japan held on to the top spot with 6,167 total points, providing the Baseball Samurai a comfortable lead over the second-ranked United States, who came in with 4,676 points. South Korea is breathing down the USA's neck with 4,648 points while Taiwan held on to fourth place at 4,385. Mexico's 3,375 points was good enough to keep the fifth slot but Australia is not far behind in sixth at 3,249. Cuba and Venezuela leap-frogged past The Netherlands into seventh and eighth place, respectively, while the Dutchmen slipped from seventh to ninth. The Dominican Republic rounded out the Top Ten with Puerto Rico hanging on to its #11 ranking while Panama slipped past Canada into twelfth on the list as Latin American countries make up half of the dozen leading nations on the listing. At the other end of the spectrum, Bahrain, Haiti and Iraq were tied for 84th and last with five points apiece.

In other categories, Japan also led in the women's baseball rankings, ahead of Canada, Taiwan and Venezuela, who bypassed the USA into fourth place while the Americans dropped to fifth. Mexico moved past the Philippines into 14th place in women's baseball. In men's softball, Japan holds the top slot in those rankings as well after slipping past former #1 Argentina in the latest listing. New Zealand, Canada, Australia and the United States round out the top six while Mexico moved up one berth to eighth, trailing the seventh-place Czech Republic. In the WBSC women's softball rankings, the USA preventing Japan from sweeping all the top spots by holding the number one position on that table while Japan stayed in second. Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico complete the first five.

Mexico's 2018 U-23 World Cup champions

Global rankings from the WBSC are compiled on a points system based on how well respective national teams perform at various levels of competition. Baseball rankings are drawn from the World Baseball Classic and Premier12 events as well as Baseball World Cup tournaments at the U-23, U-18, U-15 and U-12 age groups. Continental events such as Europe's CEB Championships or the Pan-American Games are also included, albeit for fewer points in the ranking system, while co-called friendlies between national teams in non-tournament settings (such as last winter's Samurai Series between Japan and Mexico) round out the points system. Rankings are released on an irregular basis, although the WBSC usually compiles them at least once a year.

HARBER LIGHTS OUT, ACEREROS REACH SERIE DEL REY

Monclova pitcher Conor Harber

Monclova starting pitcher Conor Harber pitched 6.2 innings of two-hit shutout ball and Francisco Peguero's solo homer highlighted an Acereros' three-run fourth inning as the Steelers went on to win, 3-0, in Tijuana Sunday night to take the Mexican League North Division Championship Series, 4 games to 3.  That outburst in the fourth was all the support Harber needed in earning the win while allowing only a Junior Lake single in the first and a Luis Alfonso Cruz safety in the fourth among 25 Toros batters faced (unfurling 98 pitches along the way).  With two out in the bottom of the seventh, Harber walked Yelson Asencio and Monclova manager Pat Listach brought in Al Albuquerque. A Detroit Tigers' 2011 Rookie of the Year who pitched all or parts of seven MLB seasons, Albuquerque got pinch-hitter Logan Watkins to pop out to Acereros second baseman Erick Aybar to end the entrada and struck out the side in the eighth before closer Carlos Bustamente had a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.

After the Toros had copped the first two games in Tijuana, the series shifted to Monclova for last Tuesday's Game Three.  The home team cut TJ's series lead in half with an 11-2 shallacking as Jose Vargas and former MLBer Eric Young, Jr. belted two-run homers for the Acereros.  Young hit .315 with two homers in 27 games after Monclova signed him in late July, but only batted .143 (7-for-47) over his first ten playoff games for the Steelers.  Former Rays MiLB reliever Spencer Jones tossed one scoreless inning and got the win.

One night later, Jose Amador's solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a deadlocked score as Monclova evened the series with a 4-3 Game Four win.  Vargas (his second two-run blast in as many games) and ex-Angels shortstop Erick Aybar both went deep for the Acereros off Toros starter Terance Marin in the bottom of the second as Bustamante tossed a scoreless ninth for the save.  Ricky Alvarez had a two-hit night for Tijuana, doubling in one run and scoring another.

The Acereros took the series lead with their third straight home win last Thursday, 7-2, as former Oakland catcher Bruce Maxwell hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Tijuana starter James Russell and another two-run roundtripper in the third off reliever Aaron Kurcz.  Alvarez drove in both Toros runs on singles in the third and fifth frames.  Wilmer Rios, who came on in relief after Monclova starter Danny Rodriguez injured his hand while issuing a game-opening walk to Maxwell Leon, was awarded the win for tossing 2.2 innings of one-run ball before giving way to Jones in the third.  A third straight sellout crowd at Estadio Monclova (8,500 per night) watched as their heroes joined the Toros in the trek back to Tijuana for Game Six.

The Toros won Saturday night when they held off Monclova, 5-4, in front of 16,973 fanaticos in the border city ballpark.  Tijuana took the lead in the bottom of the second on Asencio's two-run homer, but the visitors knotted the contest back up when Chris Carter returned the favor in the top of the fourth.  The Bulls went back in front in the bottom of the fourth on Asencio's RBI single, then opened a 5-2 lead in the seventh on run-scoring singletons by Javier Salazer and Lake.  Peguero singled in Beau Amaral and a bases-loaded walk to Maxwell pushed across Alex Mejia to bring Monclova to within one run before Kurcz (who'd walked Maxwell, his first batter) struck out Amador and Vargas, both swinging, to end the game and force Sunday's Game Seven.

Acereros third baseman Rodolfo Amador

Monclova will advance to the Serie del Rey against Yucatan, starting Tuesday night in Monclova after winning home field advantage for the title with a better overall season won-lost record than the Leones.  This will be the third trip to the championship series for the Acereros, who are celebrating Monclova's 45th season in the Mexican League.  They fell in 2008 to Oaxaca and in 2015 to Quintana Roo.  Conversely, the Leones won their fourth LMB pennant over 65 years in last year's Spring season.

The Acereros have one of the Liga's scariest offenses, belting out a .326 team average with 196 homers over 120 games and featuring with such hitters as Peguero (.386/31/106), Maxwell (.325/24/112), Chris Carter (.293/49/119) and Rodolfo Amador (.326/19/102).  Monclova will need all the runs they can get because their pitching staff doesn't remotely compare to Yucatan's.  With ace Josh Lowey out since May, the only pitcher with more than 11 starts has been Rodriguez, who opened 22 times en route to an 8-6 record with a 4.73 ERA.  The 36-year-old lefty has been a big game pitcher in the past, but was 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA in four playoff starts before getting hurt Thursday and landing on the Reserve List one day later.


YUCATAN SWEEPS MEXICO CITY FOR LMB SOUTH CROWN

The Yucatan Leones defeated Mexico City in Games Three and Four in Merida last week to complete a four-game Mexican League South Division Championship Series sweep of the hard-hitting Diablos Rojos.  Yucatan, who knocked out defending LMB South champs Oaxaca in five games in the first round, now advances to the Serie del Rey and Tuesday's Game One.

Yucatan pitcher Dustin Crenshaw

The Leones won the first two games of the series in Mexico City before the two teams shifted to Parque Kukulkan in Merida for Game Three last Tuesday. Yucatan took away a 7-5 victory as Luis Juarez and Jorge Flores each cracked two-run homers. Juarez' roundtripper in the third off Arturo Lopez reversed a 2-1 Diablos advantage and the Lions never looked back, with Dustin Crenshaw giving up two runs in 5.2 innings for the W.  Japhet Amador drove in four runs on three singles for Mexico while Carlos Figueroa had three hits and scored twice.

Yucatan brought out the brooms in last Wednesday's Game Four, completing the sweep with a 4-1 triumph over the Red Devils in front of a second sellout crowd of 14,917 at Parque Kukulkan.  Jose Samayoa and three relievers combined to hold the visitors to four hits. Alex Liddi gave the Leones an early lead with a two-run homer in the first, but David Vidal made it a 2-1 game in the top of the second by singling in Amador from third.  Liddi responded in the bottom of the frame with a two-run double to end the game's scoring early.  From that point, Samayoa (one run on four hits over 6.2 innings) and the bullpen held the potent Diablos scoreless to vault Yucatan into the Serie del Rey for the second time in three seasons.  Samayoa got the win while Mexico City starter Patrick Johnson, who gave up both of Liddi's two-run hits, absorbed the loss.  Liddi later added a single and ended the night 3-for-5 for the winners.

Leones infielder Alex Liddi (c)

The Leones have shown unusual (for them) power this year, as eight batters reached double figures in homers, led by Leo Heras' 15, en route to 126 bombs during the regular season.  Among the leaders in the power surge has been June free-agent signee Liddi, an ex-Seattle corner infielder who hit .344 with 12 homers and 66 RBIs in 59 games. The Italian National team stalwart has hit .359 with three homers and 11 RBIs in nine playoff games for Yucatan.  The Lions have always relied on good pitching and while 2019 was a down year for hurlers across the LMB, the Merida club did finish second to Tijuana with a team ERA of 4.45 (the Toros turned in a 4.41 mark) while giving up both the fewest homers (100) and walks (311).  Manager Geronimo Gil comes off the elimination of his former team and will bring four solid starters into the Serie del Rey: Cesar Valdez (15-2/2.26), Yoanner Negrin (13-6/3.22), Samayoa (9-5/4.05) and Crenshaw (5-1/2.72 over seven starts).

While the Diablos headed back to the nation's capital in disappointment, it's been a good year for baseball in Mexico City.  The March 23 opener of the new Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu kicked things off as the San Diego Padres beating the Diablos Rojos, 11-2, as a full house of 20,000 looked on.  Baseball devotee Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador became the first Mexican president since Miguel Aleman in 1947 to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at an LMB ballpark opener.  The next afternoon saw another sellout witness a 9-6 Padres win, although 2018 Southern League batting champion Kevin Medrano became the first Diablos player to homer in the new facility.  Mexico City also hosted the Mexican League All-Star Game (another sellout) while the Diablos drew 389,641 fans over the regular season for an average of 7,216, good for fourth in the Liga. Mexico City led the league with a .330 team batting average en route to an overall 67-49 record, best in the LMB South.


EL TITAN: "IF I RETURN TO LMP, I RETURN WITH VENADOS"

Adrian Gonzalez in his earlier Mazatlan days

Perhaps as a reply to rumors that he might play winterball in Culiacan this season, five-time Major League All-Star Adrian Gonzalez has tweeted that he would prefer the same team he's always played Mexican Pacific League ball with: the Mazatlan Venados.  A four-time Gold Glove first baseman with two Silver Slugger awards during his 15-year MLB career, Gonzalez tweeted last Friday: "I really doubt that I can play with the Tomateros.  Great team with a lot of history.  But I've always said it.  If I return to LMP, I return with Venados."

According to an ElFildeo.com writer only identified as Otero (maybe longtime Laredo Morning Times sports editor and former Baseball America scribe Salo Otero?), "Much has been said, specialted and written about Adrian Gonzalez, whether he is retired or not from baseball, if he will play in the LMP in the 2019-2020 campaign, if he will do so with the Charros de Jalisco, even if he is also going to play with Mexico in the Premier12 tournament."  For the record, while the 37-year-old has only played in the LMP for Mazatlan, he does not appear on a protected roster for any of the Mex Pac's ten teams and is free to make a deal with any team of his choosing.

Will he or won't he? And where?

The San Diego-born "El Titan," Gonzalez spent a few years growing up across the border in Tijuana, where he and older brother Edgar learned baseball from their father, former Mexican National Team member David Gonzalez.  With Edgar manning second base, the Gonzalez brothers played side-by-side with Mazatlan a number of times during the '00s before becoming the first Mexican brother duo to play together in MLB with San Diego in 2009.  Adrian went on to play for Boston, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets before recurring back issues shelved him last season after he hit .237 with six homers before the Mets released him in June 2018.  In his MLB career, Gonzalez batted .287 on 2,050 hits, including 317 homers and 1,202 RBIs over 1,989 games.  He has not played in a game since going 0-for-3 on June 10, 2018, when the Mets hosted the crosstown rival Yankees at Flushing Meadows.

FERNANDO'S NUMBER 34 RETIRED BY MEXICAN LEAGUE

Fernando with family, Salinas and Chacho

Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitching sensation Fernando Valenzuela's jersey number was retired by all 16 Mexican League franchises on Sunday.  Valenzuela's 34 becomes the second number retired on a leaguewide basis by the LMB, joining legendary slugger Hector Espino's 21 as digits that will never again be worn on a Liga diamond.  Currently owner of the Quintana Roo Tigres along with wife Linda Burgos, Valenzuela was feted in a pregame ceremony Sunday in Cancun's Estadio Beto Avila, with league president Javier Salinas on hand while similar festivities took place in seven other LMB ballparks, all showing highlights of the laft-handed hurler's storied career on their respective scoreboards.

Prior to bursting on the big league scene with the Dodgers, Valenzuela signed a contract at age 16 with his hometown Navojoa Mayos of the Mexican Pacific League in 1977.  He eventually reached the Mexican League with Yucatan in 1979, going 10-12 with a 2.79 ERA in 26 starts for the Leones, good numbers for a 19-year-old in a AAA circuit notorious as a hitter's league.  LA scout Mike Brito attended a Leones game that summer to scout an opposing shortstop but after Fernando whiffed the shortstop on three straight pitches after falling behind 3-0 in the count, Brito's focus shifted and the Dodgers bought Valenzuela's contract from Yucatan for $125,000.  He finished the year with Class A Lodi of the California League, going 1-2 with a 1.12 ERA.  During training camp the following spring, Dodgers pitcher Bobby Castillo taught Valenzuela how to throw a screwball.

Fernando Valenzuela at 19

After looking good in a late-season call-up that year, Valenzuela's meteoric rise to stardom in 1981 begat an All-Star game start, an MLB strikeout title, Rookie of the Year honors, a Silver Slugger award, the NL Cy Young Award and a World Series title.  Attending all this was Fernandomania, during which he captivated baseball fans much as Mark Fidrych of Detroit had five years earlier.  Unlike the tragic Fidrych (whose arm went bad his second year and lost his pitching mojo), Valenzuela went on to pitch in five more All-Star Games and toss a no-hitter in 1990 during a 17-year big league career in which he went 173-153 with a 3.54 ERA and 2,074 strikeouts.  While those numbers won't get him into Cooperstown (he was inducted in Mexico's Salon de la Fama), they also don't reflect what a cultural phenomenon he became, especially among millions of Mexicans on both sides of the border.

Valenzuela had two more one-year stints in the Mexican League in the 1990's, both with the Jalisco Charros.  He went 10-9 with a 3.86 ERA over 22 starts in 1992; after spending time in Baltimore the following year, El Toro was back in Guadalajara in 1994, going 10-3 and 2.67 in 17 starts for the Charros.  He retired from baseball three years later, although Valenzuela would continue to work sporadically in the Mexican Pacific League before tossing his final pitch for Mexicali on December 20, 2006 at the age of 46.

After his playing days ended, Valenzuela coached at several levels, serving the Mexican National Team in four World Baseball Classics, before buying the Tigres with wife Linda in early 2017 and installing son Fernando Jr. as general manager.  El Toro's time in the front office has not been accompanied by the same glory that surrounded him on the mound.  The Tigres have found the sledding tough since the Valenzuelas bought them, both on the field (141-149 overall record through Sunday, no division titles) and at the gate (an average attendance of 3,266) while being at the center of the Rookiegate scandal, in which five Tigres prospects were transferred to Mexico City while the couple was buying the franchise from former owner Carlos Peralta.  Fernando was said to be mad enough about Rookiegate at one time to think about selling the team.

Although everyone made nice over the weekend, it's not known whether the Diablos ever gave the Tigres the more than two million dollars the former received for subsequently selling two of the prospects to the Texas Rangers, money the Valenzuelas could use to cover the Tigres' operating expenses.  Having your number retired on a leaguewide basis is a wonderful gesture but it doesn't help you meet payroll.


MEXICO CITY BALLPARK CONTRACTOR SUES HELU GROUP

Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City

Proceso.com's Raul Ochoa reports that a contractor involved with building the Mexico City Diabos Rojos' new ballpark has filed a lawsuit against the franchise.   Dünn Arquitectura Ligera is suing the Alfredo Harp Helu Sports Center organization for breach of contract in connection with costs of construction and installation of the futuristic roof above the main grandstand at 20-564-seat Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, which sits within Mexico City's Magdalena Mixuca Sports City complex.

The facility was financed by team owner Harp, who had originally expected to spend 800 million pesos (or about US$42 million) for the stadium.  Instead, project delays and cost overruns more than quadrupled the cost of Mexico's newest ballpark to 3.5 billion pesos (US$184 million).  Harp and the Diablos have since balked at paying for many of the cost overruns, causing the architectural firm to seek payment in court.

Dünn lawyer Luis Villasenor told Proceso that the cost went up because Harp's company was making modifications that affected where and how the ballpark's columns and roof were installed, and that the resultant price increase was caused by Harp and associates, whose property administrator countered that the prices were raised by Dünn.  In January, Alfredo Harp Helu Sports Center prevented Dünn from continuing their ongoing work readying the ballpark for its late March opening, arguing the costs had risen well above the agreed amount.  In response, Dünn filed a complaint before a Mexico City civil court demanding to be allowed to complete the work and payment of related wages.

Harp's company claimed that Dünn had abandoned the project three years after signing the contract.  A document provided by Dünn to Proceso countered that the entire project was ill-defined by the team from the outset, the numerous design changes submitted by Harp's group kept altering design calculations and that there is now concern about the roof's stability.  The civil court judge awarded Harp and the team a so-called counter guarantee, which was then earmarked to a new contractor for taking over the project from Dünn and completing the work (which Dünn says was 95 to 97 percent complete) in less than three weeks prior to the venue's March 23 opener.

The Dünn suit is, among other things, calling for expert appraisals to be carried out to determine whether the structural design calculations "are correct and, where appropriate, establish the measures that must be adopted to guarantee the security operation of the same before the well-founded fear that this structure collapses."

Diablos Rojos owner Alfredo Harp Helu

Writer Ochoa describes a tour of the ballpark involving a number of Diablos officials, including executive president Othon Diaz, found cracks to the finish of the main hall of the stadium, an auxiliary power system that had been operating the facility for over a month because official approval for standard electricity had not yet been approved by the Secretary of Energy, a lack of direct drinking water for patrons and an inadequate water pump system in the basement of the Sports City.  In addition, workers were spotted a week after the ballpark's inauguration doing some welding on lower and upper parts of columns.

Another issue brought up has been the quality of soil the structure was built on.  When asked about whether there were concerns about building atop a clay-laden surface in which a true "bottom" was never found on which to set a foundation, stadium operations director Alicia Andonegui replied, "Never. If you hire experts who know about the subject, you can build whatever you want in the area you consider it."

Stadium administrator Jose Ortiz defended the quality of the work.  "There is no problem, we assure you," Ortiz said.  "The property is operating perfectly and in excellent condition."  However, Mexico City Head of Government (similar to a mayor) Claudia Scheinbaum, who took office in December and accompanied president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu's March 23 opener, now says it was a "mistake" to build it in the Sports City.


CABORCA SEEKS TO CLINCH LIGA NORTE SECOND HALF TITLE

Caborca Rojos celebrating a win at home

With less than a week remaining in the regular season, the Caborca Rojos are hoping to hang to their two-game lead over the San Luis Algodoneros in their battle for the Mexican Northern League second half crown and the eight playoff points that accompany first place in each half.  Caborca finished the first half with a 13-17 record and fourth place in the five-team circuit, but they went in to last weekend's series in San Quintin with a 17-8 mark.  The Freseros entered the set with a 12-13 record, five games behind the Reds and three games behind 16-11 San Luis.

The Rojos have represented Caborca in Mexican Class AA baseball since 1948, winning Northern Sonora League pennants in 1966, 1975 and 2004 and a Liga Norte flag in 2011, playing their home games in 5,000-seat Estadio Heroes de Caborca.  While there have been other strong Red nines over the years, Caborca has not been one of the traditional powers in the regional loops of northwest Mexican states (and baseball hotbeds) of Sonora, Sinaloa and now Baja California Sur.

Caborca's current season was chugging along as usual in the middle of the short-circuit pack until two things conspired to happen simultaneously: The Rojos got hot in the second half while first half winners (and defending champion) Ensenada stumbled out the game and have yet to recover.  The Marineros took the crown with an 18-12 record to edge San Luis by a game in the first half but stand fourth at 11-16 under first-year manager Ramon Esquer while expansion team La Paz, who surprised many with a third-place finish in the opening half at 15-15, are in fifth and last with an 8-16 mark.

 The Rojos, who receive players from working agreements with Yucatan and Union Laguna of the Mexican League, have led the Liga Norte in batting under manager Gilberto Sotomayor with a .295 average while their pitching staff's ERA of 4.14 also tops the LNM.  Caborca has four batsmen among the league's top seven hitters: Juan Manuel Kirk is third with a .366 average, Brayan Quintero is fourth at .351, Yadil Mujica ranks fifth with a .340 mark and Adan Velazquez (.333) is seventh.  Osniel Madera of San Quintin leads with a .381 average.  The versatile Velazquez, who can play either second or third base as well as the outfield, topss the LNM with 50 RBIs and is tied with La Paz' Maikel Serrano for fourth in homers with seven, four behind Serrano's Delfines teammate Rene Reyes' 11.  Caborca pitcher Misael Silverio Meza leads the Liga Norte with eight wins and is third in ERA at 2.83, trailing San Quintin moundmates Porfirio Lopez (2.20) and Alejandro Arteaga (2.75).  Lopez leads Meza in the strikeouts race, 90 to 87.

Sunset at La Paz' Estadio Arturo C. Nahl

The LNM was formed in 2008 and has served as the Mexican League's top feeder loop, but it's been a turbulent year for the Liga Norte.  First, the Tecate Indios requested (and received) a year off after a poor financial showing in 2018.  They were replaced by the new La Paz Delfines, marking the debut of professional baseball in Baja California Sur after interests in the peninsular city had first explored entry in the winter Mexican Pacific League.  La Paz' entry kept the LNM at six teams until the Puerto Penasco Tiburones followed Tecate's suit and dropped out shortly before the April 2019 opener over money issues.  The league has since muddled its way with a five-team lineup, ensuring at least one idle team every night of the campaign.

Another blow was dealt in the offseason when the Mexican League withdrew its formal support and the pesos that came with it after LMB president Javier Salinas cited financial irregularities, although he delined to elaborate.  The move meant a cutoff of needed cash from the AAA Liga, with LNM president Francisco Ochoa talking with Mexico's national baseball coordinator, Edgar Gonzalez, to seek restoration of funding via pro-baseball president Andres Manuel Lopez (who took a very hands-on approach to his favorite sport shortly after assuming office in December, but has quieted down somewhat since).

Salinas did say that while the LMB was withdrawing structural and financial support, individual Liga teams were free to cobble together their own affiliation agreements with Liga Norte clubs and now all five teams in the latter have at least two Liga affiliates (San Quintin has set ties with Tijuana and Campeche but the Freseros roster also contains many Saltillo AA players).

The LNM regular season will conclude when Caborca visits Ensenada in a series of top teams from each half and La Paz hosts San Quentin in a three-game midweek set.  San Luis will be the bye team.  The four-team playoffs will open next weekend.

DIABLOS OPEN NEW BALLPARK WITH LOSS TO PADRES

Full house at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu opener

While it's rarely fun to lose a lopsided exhibition baseball game to a team of prospects, players with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos may be forgiven if they were smiling after such a result last Saturday in the nation's capital.  The Red Devils were pounded, 11-1, by a collection of San Diego Padres minor leaguers but the game itself took second billing to its environs as over 20,000 fans packed the stands at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, the Diablos' brand-new home.

The man for whom the ballpark was named (after he provided all funding for its construction) was the Man of the Hour during pregame ceremonies.  Also known as Don Alfredo, Harp addressed the capacity crowd by thanking the people who built the stands they were sitting in.  "I want to thank the more than nine thousand people who participated in the construction of this dream, the construction of the home of the Diablos Rojos," Harp said.  "With this, we show that we can do great things together.  Mexico is a championship country and we will continue to be a championship country.  I hope that together, we will enjoy our new home."

Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has practically become a ubiquitous presence at baseball events south of the border as a power-broker in the sport and an ally of billionaire Harp.  AMLO was on hand for Saturday's opener and took part in the pregame ceremony.  Although Puro Beisbol reports that many in the crowd booed the country's new leader, Lopez Obrador revelled in the moment, telling those in attendance, "We will support baseball, a sport that requires intelligence, heart and a lot of passion."

The game itself was almost anticlimactic and, for all intent and purposes, settled somewhat early.  The Diablos took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Jesus Fabela (back from his trip to Japan with the Mexican National Team) scored the stadium's first run from third base on an Adonis Garcia sacrifice fly, but the Padres roared back with four scores in the top of the fourth to take the lead.  San Diego scored four more times in the sixth, with a two-run homer by Michael Gettys giving the visitors an 8-1 lead and effectively salting the contest away.  Despite the final 11-1 score, few (if any) attendees went home disappointed.

Prior to Saturday's game (the first of two played between the two sides over the weekend), a number of Mexican players with the Padres visited with players and coaches from the Liga Olmeca, a Mexico City youth baseball organization and Little League Baseball affiliate headed by Carlos Fragoso, who has scouted for both the Red Sox and Yankees over the years while building strong ties within Mexican baseball.  In his Septima Entrada column for Solo Beisbol, writer Gilberto Ruiz Razo said that Esteban Quiroz and Luis Urias were among those San Diego players expected to spend time at the Liga Olmeca facility.  Ruiz added that Fragoso is a longstanding friend of Monterrey Sultanes co-owner Jose "Pepe" Maiz, who was a member of Monterrey's 1957 Little League World Series champions (along with Hector Torres and Angel Macias) and instrumental in Liga Olmeca's later inclusion as an LLB affiliate.


LMP LEADERS DISCUSS EXPANSION DRAFT, PLAYOFF FORMAT

Guasave ballpark will see extensive renovations

Executives from the Mexican Pacific League met in Culiacan recently to talk about developments regarding the LMP's two new teams as well as a potential change in next winter's playoff format (including the elimination of the "lucky loser" method of advancing teams who lose their first round series to the second stage of the postseason.

According to Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros, MexPac president Omar Canizales was at Culiacan's Fiesta Inn Hotel with LMP league directors Hector Ley of Culiacan and Joaquin Vega from Los Mochis Caneros to confer with representatives from the league's two new franchises, the Monterrey Sultanes and Guasave Algodoneros.  Although the Monterrey entry will be owned by the same Multimedios group that oversees the city's Mexican League club (along with part-owner Jose "Pepe" Maiz), the LMP version of the Sultanes will be operated separately from their summer LMB counterpart.  Rosters will not carry over from one team to the other, although it's possible that some players may perform double duty without changing cities.  Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador facilitated Monterrey's entry into winter baseball to partner with Guasave, where AMLO promised the return of the MexPac during his campaign last year.

 The Algodoneros are partly owned by a group of Guasave businessmen who will operate the team, but they will be largely underwritten by Mexico City Diablos owner Alfredo Harp Helu.  Harp will be funding the majority of an offseason renovation of Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon for 120 million pesos, which is approximately US$6 million.  The ballpark was completed when Guasave joined the LMP along with Navojoa in 1970 and was used for 44 seasons (with some 2002 upgrades) before the original Algodoneros were sold to moved to Guadalajara in 2014.  It'll be expanded from 8,000 to 10,000 seats in time for October's opener.  The facility's traditional playing surface was smallish: Both foul lines are 305 feet away from home plate while the centerfield wall is a chummy 375 feet away.

Franchise fees for the respective new entries were considered with Guasave, the loop's smallest market, expected to have received a price break.  An expansion draft was also discussed and a format comparable to when Arizona and Tampa Bay joined Major League Baseball was decided upon.  Each existing Mexican Pacific League team will be allowed to protect 18 players on their current rosters.

Finally, the LMP playoffs were restructured into a three-stage competition involving the top eight teams. The league opted to align as a single entity of ten teams rather than split into two five-deam divisions while the 68-game regular season schedule was retained for 2019-20.


TOROS P BARREDA COMPLAINS ABOUT LMB'S NEW FRANKLIN BALL

Manny Barreda celebrates no-hitter for Caneros

The Mexican League is switching to Franklin baseballs this season after decades of using Rawlings balls.  The Liga announced the signing of a multiyear agreement with Franklin in February that also includes the manufacture and public sales of licensed team products and merchandise.  Franklin's new OL4000 baseball will be used.

It didn't take long for one of a group of people whose success depends on what they throw to register his concerns.  Tijuana pitcher Manny Barreda was quoted on the Hitazo site last Tuesday as saying the Mexican League had not sent the new balls to the Toros training camp in Tucson, Arizona yet.  "It's difficult.  It's not long before the season and we haven't really tested them," Barreda said.  "We don't know how they look and we don't know how it'll feel in our hands.  We don't know how it's going to work, like how our pitches will break."

A 30-year-old Arizonan who spent eight years as a reliever in the Yankees organization before becoming a starter with Los Mochis in 2016-17, Barreda subsequently authoring two no-hitters months apart in both the LMB and LMP (using 138 and 135 pitches, respectively).  He was 5-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 11 starts for Culiacan over winter after splitting last summer between the rotation and the bullpen with Tijuana.  The 5'11" righty does seem certain in advance of one likely feature of the new ball:  "We do know it'll fly farther.  It's the show that they (the Liga) want to give to the fans and we as pitchers will be affected.

Barreda doesn't think his fellow pitchers will easily adapt to the Franklin ball.  "It's something very different," he said.  "We've been pitching all our career with the Rawlings ball.  It's thrown in the minor leagues, in winter and summer.

"Now that we have to change it, we're not very happy about that."

DIABLOS TO OPEN NEW BALLPARK VS. PADRES

Mexico City's Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu

After a number of unexpected delays, the Mexico City Diablos Rojos are finally going to be able to inaugurate their brand new ballpark this coming weekend when they take on a team of San Diego Padres prospect at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in a two-game exhibition series.  Both contests have already been been sold out for several days.

The new facility, which was funded entirely by Diablos team owner Alfredo Harp Helu, cost in the neighborhood of three billion pesos (or about US$161 million) and will have a capacity of 20,233, making it the second-largest ballpark in Mexico behind only Estadio Monterrey, which now seats 22,061 following its 2018 renovation.  The original capacity of Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu was going to be closer to 13,000 permanent seats with a grass berm above the outfield providing room for a few thousand more spectators.  However, it was subsequently determined that permanent seating would occupy all available areas within the ballpark, with the only grass located in the bullpens beyond the left and right field fences.

The Diablos have spent the past four summers playing home games at 5,000-seat Estadio Fray Nano after leaving Foro Sol following the 2014 season.  Foro Sol had replaced Social Security Park, a 25,000-seater that opened in 1955, in 2000 and served the Diablos for 15 years.  While it was certainly large enough (25,000 capacity), Foro Sol was designed as a concert venue and never a good fit for watching baseball, although the playing surface was considered good.  The return of Grand Prix auto racing to Mexico City meant a remodeling of the facility that would not work for baseball. 

This meant a move to Estadio Fray Nano, which is more baseball-friendly but was the smallest ballpark in the Mexican League.  Fray Nano was expected to only be used for one or two seasons while the new ballpark (originally announced in 2010) was constructed but natural disasters and soil issues combined with the usual delays for such a project to require the Red Devils to remain at Fray Nano for four years.

The future is finally now for baseball in the nation's capital, however, and president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will be on hand for Saturday's opener.  Managed by former star outfielder Victor Bojorquez, the Diablos have moved to the LMB South for 2019 and are expected to contend with the Yucatan Leones for divisional supremacy with such veterans as Japhet Amador, Ivan Terrazas, Carlos Figueroa, Cyle Hankerd, Luis Mendoza and Octavio Acosta dotting the roster.  Hopes are that the Padres and manager Andy Green will bring some of their best Mexican minor leaguers, including infielders Luis Urias and Esteban Quiroz and outfielder Tirso Ornelas, to Mexico City.  Quiroz spent an injury-shortened 2018 in the Boston Red Sox system before being traded to San Diego for pitcher Colten Brewer in the offseason.


WBSC'S TOP UMP WORKS WITH LMB ARBITERS AT ACADEMY

WBSC chief umpire Gustavo Rodriguez

The World Baseball Softball Confederation has signed a working agreement with the Mexican League in which both organizations will exchange umpires in an attempt to bring more Mexican arbiters into the fold for future WBSC tournaments and other competitions.  As part of the arrangement, the WBSC's Director of Umpires, Gustavo Rodriguez, was recently a visitor at the LMB's High Performance Academy near Monterrey, where he observed Liga umpires in training while consulting with his LMB counterpart, Luis Alberto Ramirez.

"I'm here partly as an observer," Rodriguez said, "and talking to the umpires about some rules like obstruction and balks."  From what he'd seen, Rodriguez said he was satisfied with what he saw from the 52 umpires who'll be working in both the LMB and its Class AA Academy League this summer.  "Mexican umpires are among the best performers in Latin America," he observed.  "I've found some here that I already know but in general, they all do a good job." 

With joint work between the WBSC and LMB, Rodriguez said, he plans for more and more Mexican umpires to participate in international tournaments.  One of those umpires he watched at the Academy, veteran Jair Fernandez, was in Osaka earlier this month as one of the crew for the WBSC-sanctioned Samurai Series between national teams from Japan and Mexico.

Along with the training and rules analyses with Rodriguez, the Mexican umpires also worked with a multidisciplinary team including nutritionist Adriana Aguila, psychologist Gabriela Rodriguez, physical trainer Josue Galvan and sports doctor Angel Lugo.  No word on whether an opthamologist was also on hand, as some fans might suggest.


PUERTO PENASCO OUT, LIGA NORTE DOWN TO FIVE TEAMS IN 2019

Some Puerto Penasco players in dugout

The Class AA North Mexico League has already had a tough offseason, with the withdrawal from their formal league-wide affiliation agreement by the AAA Mexican League offsetting the addition of the new La Paz Delfines.  La Paz became the first Baja California Sur franchise in LNM history when the loop expanded to the city after the Tecate Indios requested and received a year off to regroup financially, creating a need for a new sixth team for scheduling purposes. After all that, the Liga Norte is back down to five clubs after the Puerto Penasco Tiburones bowed out for the 2019 season in late February, also due to financial reasons.  As with Tecate, Puerto Penasco owners have have stated a desire to return in 2020.

The Tiburones entered the Liga Norte in 2015 and had yet to win their first LMN pennant, but baseball is no stranger to Puerto Penasco, a resort city of 62,000 on the Gulf of California in northeastern Sonora 62 miles south of the Arizona border featuring the closest beaches to Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma.  Prior to joining the Liga Norte, the Tiburones won four titles in the old Northern Sonora League (1974, 1978, 1979 and 2013), but the sport dates to at least 1960 locally.  The Sharks turned in a winning record last year by going 50-45 over two halves but missed the fourth and final playoff berth by one point.  Even worse, turnout for home games was sparse at Estadio Francisco Leon Garcia, an 1,850-seat facility remodeled in 2017 for 35 million pesos and one of Mexico's relatively few ballparks sporting artificial turf.  The low turnout and uncertain LMB affiliation situation ultimately proved too much for Tiburones ownership to handle.

The result of the Puerto Penasco's pullout has been a scramble to create a schedule for a five-team league in which one team will always be taking a night off.  The Liga Norte has yet to release its full docket of regular season games for 2019 but it has announced where and when home openers for each of the remaining teams will take place.  The LNM season will open Tuesday, April 11 in Ensenada when the defending champion Marineros host Caborca.  One night later, La Paz will make its pro baseball debut when the Delfines welcome San Luis to Estadio Arturo C. Nahl and April 13 will see the Caborca Rojos at home in Estadio Heroes de Caborca against Ensenada.  After that, La Paz will be in San Luis Rio Colorado's Estadio Andres Mena Montijo to face the Algodoneros on April 16 while the final home opener is played April 19 in San Quintin, where the Freseros take on Caborca in Estadio Dr. Miguel Valdez.