Guerreros playing exhibition games in Cuba

The Oaxaca Guerreros are spending a portion of their 2018 training on a trip to Cuba, where manager Jose Luis "Borrego" Sandoval has had his Warriors go up against one Cuban National Series team and among a number of exhibition games.  Oaxaca opened the island portion of their preseason schedule last Friday with a 1-1 tie against Matanzas of the CNS.  Raymundo Torres went 3-for-3 for the Guerreros, driving in Carlos Paulino all the way from first with a single in the third with his team's lone run of the game. 

A former Twins farmhand, Paulino had a 2-for-2 game for Oaxaca, who started Patrick Johnson on the mound after team owner Alfredo Harp Helu decided in the offseason to drop his "Mexicans-only" player policy after both his Guerreros and Mexico City Diablos Rojos failed to make the playoffs in 2017 while finishing near the bottom of the league attendance tables.  Johnson tossed three scoreless innings, walking one Cocodrilos batter and striking out three before he gave way to relievers Luis Payan, Rodolfo Aguilar and Axel Rios.  The Matanzas roster features longtime veteran Yoandy Garlobo, who finished second to the USA's Ken Griffey, Junior among batters in the 2006 World Baseball Classic with a .480 average en route to being named to the All-WBC Team that year.

The Guerreros then took on Occidentales, a team comprised of 25 players from CNS West Division clubs, Saturday in Havana.  Occidentales took a 5-1 victory over the guests as Oaxaca didn't score until the ninth, with Iker Franco singling in Manuelo Cruz from third.  The Westerners roster includes outfielders Yoelkis Cespedes and Frederich Cepeda.  The Guerreros came back Sunday by walloping Orientales (25 CNS East players, including several National Teamers) by an 8-0 count as Oaxaca's batters collected 12 hits to support aptly-named starter Daniel Guerrero and five relievers in their shutout effort. 

After an off-day Monday, the Guerreros will meet Occidental again Tuesday in Matanzas as starting pitcher Salvador Valdez makes his debut in a Oaxaca uniform.  The Guerreros will open the Mexican League's 2018 first season on March 23 at Leon.


Toros meet KBO, CPBL clubs in Tucson

The Tijuana Toros are conducting their training camp in Tucson, Arizona for the fourth year in a row and the 2017 Mexican League champions have spiced up their stay in Optics Valley with preseason games against visiting teams from the Korea Baseball Organization and Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Manager Pedro Mere's champions first met the CPBL's Chinatrust Brothers, a Taichung-based squad managed by former major leaguer Cory Snyder, last Wednesday afternoon.  The game was a reunion of sorts between Mere and Snyder, who last managed on the same field during the 2016 LMB title series between Tijuana and Snyder's Puebla Pericos, who won the series and pennant.  Snyder has been joined in Taiwan by two other ex-MLBers, pitching coach Rick Waits and batting coach Tommy Cruz, brother of Jose and Hector.  The Brothers are in their 29th season, winning seven CPBL titles.

The Toros came from way back Thursday to top Chinatrust, 7-6, thanks to Pedro Arenas' tiebreaking single in the eighth.  The win went to reliever Fabian Williamson while the save was credited to Jesus Pirela.  The contest was notable for a remarkable Tijuana comeback after the Toros were behind, 6-1, in the fifth inning.  Things culminated in the eighth when Gabriel Gutierrez singled Juan Kirk in with the tying run and Gutierrez scored the game-winner on Arenas' safety.

One day later, Tijuana met the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, making it two wins in a row by beating the Heroes, 6-1, at Kino Stadium as the Toros plated four runs in the bottom of the second and scored two more in the fifth in what turned out to be an easy win.  Ageless reliever Rafael Diaz, entering his 21st season at age 47 as the only hurler in LMB history with more than 100 wins and 100 saves, earned the win by tossing a scoreless fifth.

The Toros and Nexen, whose roster includes 2-time KBO MVP and former Twins first baseman Byung-Ho Park plus 2017 KBO Rookie of the Year Jung-Hoo Lee (who hit .324 last year at age 19) met again last Thursday.  This time, the Heroes were victorious, 10-5, to earn the split.  Joe Munoz swatted a two-run homer for Tijuana, but not before Nexen had already built a commanding 6-1 lead by the time Munoz clobbered his panoramic shot to left in the seventh frame.  Alex Sanabia absorbed the loss for the Toros, but he was hardly the only pitcher touched up by the Koreans.

The Toros then played the Quintana Roo Tigres, also training in Tucson, in a three-game series at Kino Stadium over the weekend starting with a 7-1 win over manager Tim Johnson's Cancun nine on Saturday.  The two teams then played to a scoreless draw Sunday before the third and final game Monday before the Toros start playing MLB teams this week.  Rumor has Angels prodigy Shohei Ohtani pitching against Tijuana on Friday.


Fernandez out in Mazatlan; Gil fined 100K pesos

It's already been a busy offseason in the Mexican Pacific League, whose season officially ended less than a month ago when Guadalajara hosted the Caribbean Series at Estadio Charros.  The Mazatlan Venados have said "adios" to manager Daniel Fernandez, Culiacan manager Benji Gil was fined 100,000 pesos by the LMP after he celebrated his team's Game Seven win in the championship series at Navojoa with an obscene gesture and speculation is that three-time pennant-winning manager Eddy Diaz is returning to Obregon, but not as dugout boss.

Let's begin with Fernandez, one of the all-time great batters of Mexican baseball (representing the Mexico City Diablos Rojos in 15 All-Star Games) and the LMB's Manager of the Year with Veracruz in 2008.  Fernandez also excelled for Mazatlan as a player, and he was brought back to the Pearl of the Pacific in 2016 to replace Juan Jose Pacho at the Venados' helm.  Although the Deer appeared in the postseason both seasons under Fernandez, they were first-round casualties each time.  Mazatlan improved eight games last winter to a composite regular-season record of 37-31, but owner Jose Toledo and GM Jesus "Chino" Valdez will be looking for a manager with a "smallball" philosophy of creating runs from scratch instead of one swing.

Now we move on to Gil, already known as a combustible sort during his first stint in Culiacan, where he won a title in 2014-15 but also nearly came to blows in the dugout with outfielder Rico Noel during a game and essentially wore out his welcome with the Tomateros and the Ley family, who has owned the franchise since its 1966 inception.  The former Angels shortstop was brought back this winter and rewarded the Leys and Culiacan with a second pennant, but made a gesture (think PeeWee Herman in an adult theater) during a celebration after the Tomateros won the LMP Championship Series deciding game in Navojoa in January.  Gil's rewards were a verbal rebuke from league president Omar Canizales and a fine of 100,000 pesos (about $5,300 in US dollars).  A statement signed by Canizales states that Gil violated Article 36 of Mexico's federal labor laws "based on maintaining respect and discipline."  Gil faces suspension or outright expulsion from the LMP if he commits any further transgressions.

Finally, there's Diaz, who managed Obregon to three consecutive LMP titles in 2011, 2012 and 2013 (the only skipper in MexPac history with a three-peat), winning the Caribbean Series in 2011 and 2013.   Things have gone south with the Yaquis after promised player bonuses tied to that 2013 CS title were never given, resulting in a lawsuit from former MLB pitcher Luis Ayala, a five-year suspension handed to then-GM Francisco Minjarez by the LMP and Diaz' eventual exit from the franchise.  The Yaquis missed the playoffs last winter while attendance at 15,000-seat Nuevo Estadio Yaquis was noticeably down.  Diaz has visited Obregon in recent weeks, leading to speculation that he may replace manager Juan Navarrete (who will not return next winter) or even move into the front office as GM.  Then again, Minjarez' suspension has been completed and the current Diablos Rojos general manager, embroiled in the "Rookiegate" scandal at present, may return to his old post in the Sonora city.

Flurry of activity as Tuesday LMB trade deadline passes

Yucatan catcher Sebastian Valle

Tuesday marked the final day that Mexican League teams can make trades or sign free agents to their active rosters with one month remaining in the regular season, and fans of such transactions were not disappointed.  Dozens of players were either traded, brought in or cut loose throughout the LMB, and rather than go through the entire eye-glazing list, let's take a look at some of the key transactions made before the July 11 deadline passed.

The deal that drew the hottest reaction was the trade of the rights to catcher Sebastian Valle from Tabasco to Yucatan in exchange for pitcher Juan Delgadillo, infielder Kristian Delgado and two more players prior to the 2018 season.  The 26-year-old Valle played for Mexicali in last winter's Caribbean Series, putting the Aguilas into the semis by belting a walkoff homer in a 5-1 win over Venezuela's Zulia Aguilas in a battle of Eagles before catching for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in Guadalajara.  The former Phillies prospect was signed as a minor league free agent by Seattle in the offseason but has spent almost the entire season on the disabled list, making one July 6 plate appearance in a rehab assignment with the Mariners' Arizona Rookie League team before his release two days later.

A Los Mochis native who has never played in the Mexican League, Valle has hit .253 with 74 homers over 822 games in his minor league career.  His LMB rights have been held by the Olmecas, who've had their own problems even without paying what will likely be a good salary for a catcher of Valle's status in Mexico, so the Olmecas jumped at the chance to add a veteran pitcher like Delgadillo (a son of Villahermosa in his 13th LMB season with 77-66 career record, including a 5-1 mark this year) and the versatile Delgado, who plays three positions and has hit .239 this year for both Tabasco and Union Laguna, where he played eight games on loan.

"Foul!," cried Monterrey Sultanes part-owner Jose "Pepe" Maiz, who came out of his season-long hibernation to complain to LMB president Plinio Escalante and president-in-waiting Javier Salinas that the Sultanes had a deal worked out with Tabasco to obtain Valle's right.  The LMB responded quickly, replying that there is no record of such an arrangement in the Liga's Mexico City offices and that the Olmecas' swap with Yucatan would hold.  Not that the Sultanes ended up standing still, signing All-Star third baseman Daniel Mayora (who was released by the financially imploding Durango Generales on Monday) and inking free agent first baseman-catcher Jesus Montero, a onetime top Yankees prospect who was released by the Orioles organization in late June after three injury-plagued months at AAA Norfolk.  Mayora, of course, fell one game short of tying the Mexican League record of 36 consecutive games with a hit and is among the LMB batting leaders with a .367 average.  Montero, who hit .260 with 15 homers and 62 RBIs for Seattle in 2012, will give the Sultanes a powerful bat and suspect glove.

Monclova was also busy up to the deadline.  The Acereros signed former major leaguers Carlos Quentin and James Loney as free agents while placing second baseman Tim Torres on the reserve list.  Quentin, who briefly played in the Puebla outfield last summer, appeared in two MLB All-Star Games and hit 154 homers in 834 games over nine big league campaigns (including a .288/36/100 season for the White Sox in 2008) .  Loney has eleven years of experience as an MLB first baseman, seven with the Dodgers, after finishing sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2006.  He has a career average of .284 with 108 homers.  Torres spent nine years as minor leaguer in four organizations, playing in the 2010 Southern League All-Star Game, before making his LMB debut with Oaxaca in 2015.  A versatile Oral Roberts product who can play seven positions, Torres hit .348 in 32 games for Tabasco and Monclova before being placed on reserve.

Other player moves included the signing of free agents OF Eliseo Aldazaba (Mexico City), OF Jeremias Pineda (Veracruz), IB-3B Alex Valdez (Saltillo) and 3B Eudor Garcia (Tijuana).  The most notable of that foursome may be Valdez, who hit 30 homers and drove in 100 last year for Monterrey and added 12 more longballs for the Sultanes this summer.  He represented Carmen at the LMB All-Star Game in both 2014 and 2015 and brings five-year Liga totals of .296/112/424 to the Saraperos lineup.  Unlike the power Valdez will add to the Saltillo batting order, Pineda is all about speed.  The Gulf Coast League's MVP in 20112, the 26-year-old Dominican was an All-Star for Veracruz in 2015, where he hit .285 with a Liga-leading 60 steals.  He's since spent time in the Marlins system before his release from AA Jacksonville on July 3.  Aldazaba belted 41 homers with 138 RBIs for Campeche over the 2014 and 2015 campaigns and will give the Diablos a reliable vet in the outfield.

The most intriguing pickup may be Garcia in Tijuana.  The 23-year-old El Paso native spent four years in the Mets system after being picked in the fourth round of the 2014 draft before being let go in late June.  While Garcia has been slowed by injuries, he's shown a good bat with gap power.  His signing will allow Toros manager Pedro Mere the chance to rest retiring veteran infielders Jorge Cantu and Oscar Robles by shifting Alex Liddi to first base and inserting Garcia at third.  In the postseason, that will matter.

One more notable roster move was the placement on the 60-day disabled list of catcher Iker Franco by the Quintana Roo Tigres.  A five-time All-Star for the Cancun team who was MVP of the 2011 LMB Championship Series, the 36-year-old Franco had hit just .157 in 17 games for the Tigres before he was shelved for the season Tuesday.  Franco played sparingly in 2015 and 2016 and is nearing the end of a solid, workmanlike career as a tough customer behind the plate and opportunistic batter.  His 14-year Liga totals include a .269 average with 112 homers and 531 ribbies.

BBM Winter Awards LMP PLAYOFF MVP: Iker Franco, Obregon Yaquis

Some players might look back on a regular season after hitting .273 with 9 homers and 44 RBIs in 66 games and call it good, but for Obregon Yaquis veteran catcher Iker Franco, it was just a warmup.

Franco, a 29-year-old native of Ensenada who kicked around the Rays and Braves systems in between scattered stints in the Mexican League with the Tigres before settling in Quintana Roo for 2008 and turning in three straight All-Star Game appearances since then, turned on the burners for the Yaquis in the Mexican Pacific League playoffs last month.

He hit .340 in 15 LMP postseason contests to lead Obregon batters and seemed to have a knack for coming up with clutch hits along the way for the Yaquis: There was that two-run double in the Yaquis opening 2-1 first round win over Mexicali. Then that three-hit night with two doubles and two runs in a 7-4 win over Guasave. It didn’t stop in the Caribbean Series, where Franco’s two-out RBI single won Obregon’s 15-inning tilt with Este, 4-3, in the CS opener. Franco went on to be selected to the tournament’s All-Star Team with a .316 average over six games.

While it was a Jorge Vazquez homer that keyed Obregon’s CS-clinching win, the Yaquis couldn’t have made it that far without their 6’2” 240-pound catcher along the way.

FRIDAY'S BBM WINTER AWARD: LMP Most Valuable Player

VAZQUEZ JOINED BY FOUR YAQUIS MATES ON CS ALL-STAR TEAM

Caribbean Series Most Valuable Player Jorge Vazquez was joined by four Obregon Yaquis teammates on the 2011 CS All-Star Team, announced shortly after the last game Monday night in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

Vazquez, who batted .310 with 2 homers and 6 RBIs in six games, was named as the All-Star first baseman for the tournament won by the Yaquis, who posted a 4-2 record. Also selected were catcher Iker Franco, right fielder Karim Garcia and designated hitter Barbaro Canizares, while Obregon skipper Eddie Diaz got the nod as All-Star manager.

The Dominican champion Este Toros landed four players on the All-Star squad: third baseman Danny Richar, left fielder Ruddy Yan, center fielder Jose Constanza and starting pitcher Raul Valdes. The host Caguas Criollos placed second baseman Alex Cora and reliever Juan Padilla on the list, while Venezuela’s Anzoategui Caribes had just one representative named: shortstop Henry Rodriguez.

The 2012 Caribbean Series will be played in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

FRANCO GETS CLUTCH HIT AS YAQUIS WIN CS OPENER IN 15 INNINGS

The Obregon Yaquis and Este Toros opened the 2011 Caribbean Series Wednesday in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, with the Yaquis sneaking past the Toros, 4-3, in 15 innings. As has happened so often in the postseason, Obregon catcher Iker Franco registered a clutch two-out single off Este's Jose Rosario to score Gabriel Gutierrez from second with the game-winning run.

The Dominicans scored once in the top of the third and twice more in the sixth to go up 3-0, but Obregon came back with two scores in the seventh when Carlos Valencia sliced an infield single that drew a throwing error by Toros third sacker Victor Mercedes, and the Yaquis knotted the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth on a two-out, run-scoring single by Barbaro Canizares.

The score remained unchanged into the 15th, when Gutierrez and Doug Clark both singled with two out to set up Franco’s first hit in seven at-bats.
Marco Carrillo, the tenth reliever to follow starter Alberto Castillo, retired one batter to get the win. Rosario suffered the loss after 3.2 innings out of the bullpen.

In the nightcap, Venezuela's Anzoategui Caribes put together a four-run first inning and went on to top the host Caguas Criollos, 5-3. Both teams had six hits, with Caribes shortstop Luis Nunez and Criollos second sacker Alex Cora each collecting a pair of hits. Seth Etherton got the win for the Venezuelans, allowing two runs on three hits in six innings. Willie Collazo took the loss for Caguas despite letting in one earned run in 6.2 frames as four unearned runs were his undoing.

Obregon takes on Caguas Thursday at 7:30PM ET. All CS games can be seen live online at www.espn.go.com/espn3/, while Yaquis games are being carried in Spanish at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/beisbolmexicano.

THREE HITS, TWO RUNS FOR FRANCO AS YAQUIS ROLL AGAIN

Iker Franco (pictured) collected three hits (including two doubles) and scored twice to lead the Obregon Yaquis to a 7-4 win over Guasave on Saturday before another sellout crowd of 13,000 at Estadio Tomas Oroz Gaytan in Obregon. The Yaquis now have a 2-games-to-0 lead over the Algodoneros in the Mexican Pacific League championship series.

Obregon scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning when Franco and Carlos Valencia slashed back-to-back doubles before Barbaro Canizares launched a homer to left. Guasave put two on the board in the third on RBI singles by Leo Heras and Jose Rodriguez, but Victor Diaz’ run-scoring double in the third and Daniel Fornes’ solo homer in the fourth made it a 5-2 contest. The Cottoneers got two back in the sixth on a Yurendell de Caster homer, but Obregon out the game away when Franco doubled and scored on a Valencia single in the bottom of the sixth and Everth Cabrera plated a run on a Diaz grounder in the seventh to close the scoring at 7-4 Yaquis as Rolando Valdez got his third win of the playoffs and Luis Ayala picked up his seventh postseason save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

The two teams move to Guasave for Game Three of the finals on Monday night.

FRANCO, QUEVEDO STAR AS YAQUIS WIN FIRST ROUND OPENER

Iker Franco (pictured) cracked a two-run double and Marco Quevedo pitched six innings of one-run ball to lead Obregon to a 2-1 win at Hermosillo in the Mexican Pacific League playoff opener for both clubs. Franco’s extra-base hit to right field in the fourth inning off Edgar Gonzalez gave enough run support to Quevedo, who allowed four hits before giving way to three relievers who held on for the win.

Elsewhere in first round action, Juan Carlos Gamboa scored from third on Carlos Orrantia’s bunt down the first-base line in the top of the eleventh frame to give Los Mochis a thrilling 7-6 win in Guasave in their series lidlifter. Caneros reliever Luis Vazquez pitched hitless ball over both extra innings for the win as Orrantia finished with three RBIs on the night. Both teams combined to use 14 pitchers in the contest.

Also, top-seed Culiacan held off sixth-seed Mazatlan, 4-3, at Estadio General Angel Flores. The Venados held a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth until Jorge Vazquez tied the game with an RBI double and Sergio Gastelum’s ground-out scored pinch runner Ramiro Pena with the go-ahead run from third. Then LMP saves champion Jose Silva struck out the Mazatlan side in the ninth to preserve the win.

Hermosillo, Guasave and Culiacan will host their respective Games Two on Sunday night.