CULIACAN, JALISCO RISK MISSING LMP PLAYOFFS

Gracias y Adios, Chapo!

    With nine games remaining in the 2022-23 regular season, most of the intrigue over the Mexican Pacific League's final week will be at the bottom of the standings rather than the top. Two Mex Pac powers of recent winters, Culiacan and defending champion Jalisco, are in danger of missing the postseason altogether this season after meeting in a thrilling LMP championship series last January that required the maximum seven games to decide.

    How times have changed.

    Now, instead of their usual jockeying for playoff seeding over the last ten days of the schedule, both the Tomateros and Charros are fighting to simply keep playing when the first round opens in January. If the regular season had ended yesterday, the two clubs would be out of the running due to a projected total of 8.5 playoff points and a ninth-place finish for Culiacan while Jalisco projects to a last-place overall finish with 7.5 playoff points. Their respective front offices have noticed, with manager Benji Gill barely avoiding his ouster in Culiacan while the axe fell on Roberto Vizcarra in Guadalajara days ago.

    The two teams played each other over the weekend in Guadalajara with the Charros sweeping all three games over the Tomateros as over 25,000 fans were in the stands between Friday and Sunday. Jalisco broke out the brooms Sunday with a dominant 8-1 win over the visitors as starter Yoennis Yera scattered three hits over seven innings of one-run pitching with six strikeouts. Veterans Jose Aguilar and Agustin Murillo each had two hits and scored twice for the winners while Alexis Wilson singled in Joey Meneses with Culiacan's lone run in the top of the second as new Jalisco manager Gil Velazquez went to 3-0 after his hiring on Friday.

    Gil Velazquez? This being the “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately?” world of Mexican baseball, the season-long struggle for the Charros proved too tempting for Jalisco ownership to resist firing manager Vizcarra last Friday, less than a year after leading the team to their second pennant in four years and Caribbean Series appearance (both times under his leadership). Velazquez, who was canned himself in Mexicali after this season's first half, was named the new Charros manager before the series opener on Friday night. Along with ex-MLBers Vinny Castilla and Tony Perezchica, Velazquez was named as a coach for Mexico in next year's World Baseball Classic under manager Gil. All were named by team general manager Rodrigo Lopez, a former Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher.

    Meanwhile, in the more rarefied air at the top of the standings, Hermosillo holds a one-game lead over Los Mochis despite dropping a 6-2 game at Navojoa Sunday while the Caneros pounded out a 12-8 decision over Monterrey at home. Both teams are playoff shoe-ins due to finishing in first and third, respectively, in the first half. Obregon and Mexicali are tied for third in the second-half standings three games behind Los Mochis. The Yaquis came in second in the first half and have punched their ticket to the quarterfinals but Mexicali (who finished seventh) will have to maintain their current spot to hold off Mazatlan, Monterrey and Navojoa among the middle-tier teams fighting for postseason seeding berths.

    Monterrey's Roberto Valenzuela is batting .369 and, barring a precipitous late collapse at the plate, stands to beat out Los Mochis teammates Yasmany Tomas (.336) and Justin Dean (.329) for the batting title. Tomas socked three homers last week to bring his season total to 10, tying him with Mexicali's Anthony Giansanti and Jesse Castillo of Jalisco for the league lead.Tomas has also brought his RBI total to 52 to take a commanding lead over Obregon teammates Victor Mendoza (45) and Yadir Drake (41). Jose Cardona of Hermosillo and Mazatlan's Randy Romero are tied for the stolen bases lead at 20 swipes each, five ahead of the 15 pilferages by Los Mochis' Dean.

    Among pitchers, the numbers for wins leaders remain unchanged from last week as Hermosillo's Wilmer Rios' seven victories are one more than the six apiece for Nico Tellache (Guasave), David Reyes (Mexicali) and Juan Tellez (Mazatlan). Los Mochis' Luis Miranda rebounded from two bad starts to post seven shutout innings at Obregon last Wednesday to lower his ERA to 1.02, ahead of Braulio Torres-Perez of Mazatlan at 1.33 and Guasave's Matt Pobereyko's 1.94 mark. Pobereyko's 60 strikeouts trail only the 62 of Culiacan's Manny Barreda while Gusave moundmate Gino Encina's 56 K's rank third. Elkin Alcala of Mazatlan hasn't posted a save since December 9 but his 17 still lead the LMP, with Guasave's Brandon Koch's 14 and the 13 each of Joe Riley (Monterrey) and Jake Sanchez (Mexicali) good for the next three slots on the list.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE STANDINGS
Hermosillo 16-7 (10.0), Los Mochis 15-8 (7.0), Obregon 13-10 (8.0), Guasave 11-12 (9.0), Mexicali 12-11 (5.0), Culiacan 10-13 (3.5), Monterrey 10-13 (4.5), Navojoa 10-13 (5.5), Mazatlan 9-14 (6.0), Jalisco 9-14 (4.0). Note: First-half playoff points in parentheses.

REMAINING REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Dec. 20-21-22: Los Mochis at Mazatlan, Mexicali at Guasave, Culiacan at Hermosillo, Navojoa at Obregon, Jalisco at Monterrey.
Dec. 23-24: No games scheduled
Dec. 25-26-26: Obregon at Culiacan, Guasave at Navojoa, Monterrey at Mexicali, Hermosillo at Los Mochis, Mazatlan at Jalisco.
Dec. 27-28-29: Navojoa at Mazatlan, Mexicali at Hermosillo, Los Mochis at Guasave, Jalisco at Obregon, Culiacan at Monterrey.


MANNY RODRIGUEZ RETIRING AFTER MEX PAC SEASON

Manny Rodriguez (l) and Amadeo Zazueta

    One of Mexico's best (and most popular) ballplayers over the past two decades will hang up his mitt at the conclusion of the current Mexican Pacific League season at age 40.

    Jalisco Charros second baseman Manny Rodriguez was honored during a pregame ceremony Saturday night in Guadalajara, where the Charros hosted Culiacan in a crucual weekend series for both clubs. Rodriguez is in his ninth season for the Charros, all as team capitain, after playing eight winters for his hometown Guasave Algonoderos before the franchise was sold and shifted to Guadalajara in 2014.

    He's never played for another Mex Pac team and has compiled a very respectable. 295 batting average over 17 seasons with 123 homers and 611 RBIs in 1,037 regular season games. Rodriguez was a member of title-winning Jalisco teams in 2019 and 2022 and is a three-time LMP Most Valuable Player. His 233 doubles are second only to Hector Espino in league annals while he ranks fifth on the all-time Mex Pac list with 595 runs scored.

    Receiving applause from over 9,000 fans at Estadio Pan Americano as well as members of both teams, Rodriguez addressed those assembled: “I would like to thank my family and my teammates. Thank you very much for so much support to all the fans. Thank you for being here. I have no words. Thank you, Culiacan Tomateros, for so many years of competition and respect. I admire you and I wish you all the best. I did not know how this farewell was going to be and it exceeded all my expectations. Thank you very much, Jalisco.” 

    Rodriguez had received a Culiacan jersey with his number 13 moments earlier from Tomateros manager Benji Gil, who himself escaped involuntary “retirement” weeks ago after a meeting between Culiacan players and ownership reversed the ex-MLB infielder's firing.

    Born Jose Manuel Rodriguez (but known as “Manny” to fans south of the border), the 5'10” 187-pounder played for Chillicothe of the indepedendent Frontier League in 2004 and 2005, batting an even .300 with 17 homers in 114 games over two years for the Paints (and leading the loop with a .380 average in 2005), before signing with Saltillo of the Mexican League in 2006.

    He hit .344 in 55 games for the Saraperos that year and then batted .333 in his first winter for Guasave in 36 games. He's gone on to top the .300 mark nine times in the Mexican League, where he has a career .307 average with 149 homers over 1,037 games while playing in four All-Star Games and winning Comeback Player of the Year in 2014. Rodriguez represented Mexico in the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2017 World Baseball Classic.

    After hitting .250 with six homers in 48 games for Saltillo last summer, Rodriguez has a .181 average with one homer for the Charros over 19 contests this winter.


VERACRUZ AGUILAS TO HOST THREE GAMES IN LA PAZ

Estadio Arturo C. Nahl, La Paz

    The Mexican League's Veracruz Aguilas will face the Puebla Pericos de Puebla in the so-called "Baja Series" between March 31 and April 2 at Arturo C. Nahl stadium in La Paz, Baja California Sur, prior to the start of the 2023 regular season. The Aguilas will host the event and serve as home team.

    Friday's official presentation of the Baja Series was headlined by Gilberto Garciglia, General Director of La Paz' Instituto Sudcaliforniano del Deporte, representing the Governor of Baja California Sur; Aguilas general director Hector Fitch, Pericos sports manager Enrique Lopez and members of the event's organizing committee, where they gave details of what they hope will become a tradition for the people of Baja California Sur.

    According to a press release from Veracruz, all three games will be of high caliber, as several players will have the opportunity to show their talent to the fullest to seek a place with both the Aguilas and Pericos for the 2023 Mexican Baseball League season. "We are very excited to be able to come and play,” said Fitch. “We have a great rival in the Pericos so what better way to start the preseason with some games in La Paz?

    "The players are very excited to be able to come to La Paz for the preseason, to be able to live with the children and with the people. A big part of being here is seeing the new prospects and making a mark here."

    In addition to a full Veracruz roster headed by stars such as Alexi Amarista and Jesús "Cacao" Valdez, the press release states, Veracruz team mascot Pachi Aguilar will also attend La Baja Series to infect the children of Sudcalifornia with his “jarocha joy.”

    La Paz has a team called the Delfines (“Dolphins”) that competes in the Northern Mexico League during the summer after being awarded a franchise in 2019, becoming the first city in Baja California Sur to field a professional ballclub. However, the LNM's shaky fiancial situation following the withdrawal of formal Mexican League support and the arrival of the Wuhan virus in Mexico led to a two-year hiatus for the loop between 2020 and 2021.

    Play in the Liga Norte resumed this year as the Ensenada Marineros won their fourth pennant since 2012 by defeating San Quintin, 4 games to 1, in the championship series. A second BC Sur team, the Los Cabos Bucaneros, has been added to the LNM. The Delfines and Bucs will open the 2023 season on April 27 in La Paz at Estadio Arturo C. Nahl, a 4,200-seat ballpark opened in 1967 and renovated a number of times over the years.

IS HE OR ISN'T HE? CASTILLA OUT IN HERMOSILLO

Vinny Castilla fired as Naranjeros manager

After a period of time during which the general public was unsure of his job status in Hermosillo, Vinny Castilla was formally fired last week as manager of the Mexican Pacific League Naranjeros. The former Colorado Rockies All-Star third baseman was officially shown the door despite leading the Orangmen to a 38-27 overall record, second-best in the LMP, before being bounced in six games by Mazatlan in the first round of the playoffs. It was Castilla's first season at the helm in Hermosillo, where he'd played parts of four winters between 2006-07 and 2010-11.

Last Wednesday's announcement by the Naranjeros front office ended speculation as to whether or not Castilla was still employed by the club. The questions arose after Hermosillo sports manager Juan Aguirre told Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros that Castilla was expected to manage the team in the 2020-21 season. This brought a response from his namesake nephew, Vinicio Castilla, who said, "How strange. My uncle was fired a month ago." A Naranjeros fan named David Orantes added to the confusion by saying, "I saw a live interview on TUDN (a Hermosillo TV station) when he said he'd been fired a month ago. I don't understand what's happening with the directors."

The Naranjeros responded a day later by finally issuing a formal (if somewhat convoluted) statement that Castilla had indeed been let go, opening with this: "Yesterday afternoon, a social media and some sports portals circulated news mentioning firstly that Vinicio Castilla was still our manager, and later it was also denied by other sports portals and social media accounts associated with sports journalism."

After blaming the Fourth Estate for conflicting information about their own managerial position, the press release went on to say that Castilla had been cut loose. "The decision to do without his services as Manager was not at all easy, mainly due to not having reached the objectives set and having been again eliminated in the first series of playoffs," it reads. "The decision was made at the end of March, during the same dates that the health contingency situation arrived in our country and travel restrictions prevented the knowledge of Vinicio made this decision personally, as he himself stated last night. On April 14, the decision was communicated to him by telephone so that he would know it directly from the club."

MLB All-Star Castilla playing 3B for Hermosillo

Ballesteros listed the Hermosillo skippers fired under Naranjeros owner Enrique Mazon since Matias Carrillo was canned in November 2014, nine months after leading the team to their last Mex Pac pennant and a Caribbean Series title: Lino Rivera, Jose Luis Sandoval, Delino DeShields Senior, Lorenzo Bundy, Bronswell Patrick and now Castilla. For those scoring at home, that's six pilots in less than six years.

Now the search is on for a new hot seat occupant in Hermosillo, where the club stated, "the situation has been complex at the moment but once this is achieved, we will give news to our fans directly and in all certainty. Unfortunately our intention to respect the fans, Vinicio and our next manager did not materialize due to the publication of said news" regarding Castilla's termination. Ballesteros speculates the new Naranjeros helmsman will be former MLB catcher Geronimo Gil, who served as Castilla's bench coach and has managed Ensenada to a Liga Norte championship.

No press release announcement of a managerial firing in Mexico would be complete without gratitude being expressed to the newly-unemployed, and the Orangemen did not disappoint: "We take this opportunity to thank Vinicio for his dedication, his passion for baseball and his love for both the Naranjeros and the Hermosillo fans." Selah.

MAZATLAN DISPUTE CONCERNS LMP AHEAD OF CARIBBEAN SERIES

Playing dates for the 2021 Caribbean Series in Mazatlan have been tentatively set and Mexican Pacific League president Omar Canizales may be breathing a sigh of relief that it will not begin earlier during what may be a shortened season due to the Wuhan virus. However, the LMP leader is concerned that the ongoing dispute between the City of Mazatlan and the Mazatlan Venados (slated to host the Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball) may compel the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, who oversees the Serie del Caribe, to move the event elsewhere.

Canizales recently announced that the Caribbean Series has been scheduled to run between Sunday, January 31 and Saturday, February 6 next winter. "Right now, we're fortunate that the Super Bowl is scheduled for Sunday, February 7," Canizales told Septima Entrada. "That means we won't have any conflicts since that's a week where there are no NFL games because it's the Media Week there." The NFL's championship game will be held in Tampa, Florida.

During last February's Caribbean Series in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Mex Pac's presentation to COPABE did not include specific dates because there has been talk of moving the tournament back to the last week in January, allowing players some extra rest time before Major League Baseball training camps begin opening a week into February while creating more space between the CS and the Super Bowl, which consumes the lion's share of attention among sports media outlets.

However, Canizales expressed worries about the present imbroglio between Mazatlan's political leaders and the city's LMP baseball club, which led to the Venados' office staff being evicted from Estadio Teodoro Mariscal a month ago. The many-layered dispute between city and team has not been resolved, an impasse Canizales frets may cause COPABE to step in and relocate the Serie del Caribe to another LMP city or out of Mexico altogether because the Venados would not have control over the venue.

"I confess that I'm a little concerned that COPABE has the authority to decide to change countries or if it requires some other things from us, "Canizales explained to Septima Entrada. "I am concerned about Mazatlan but, hey, let's wait. Rather than speculate, we will wait."

The Caribbean Series was awarded last winter to Mazatlan, where the LMP and Venados were planning to showcase the Pacific coast city's renovated 16,000-seat ballpark, which was reopened October 13, 2018 after over 400 million pesos (US$18 million) in renovations increased its seating capacity by 2,000 while adding modern amenities throughout the facility.

Instead, the City has seized control of the stadium, Venados owner Jose Antonio Toledo has apparently lost the concessions contract his family has held since 1980 (years before they bought the team in the 1990's) and an injunction the franchise sought to regain control of the ballpark was rejected by a local judge. While there are expectations that the City and Venados will resolve their dispute in time for the upcoming season, it's not a sure thing.

Canizales concluded, "I want to clarify the situation as soon as possible to give certainty to COPABE and not run the risk that they'll want to make a change in relation to the venue or the country." While the former may be a possibility, the latter is highly unlikely given how Mexican cities are now drawing the highest attendance of all the Caribbean Series' host nations.

DORMANT LEAGUE HOPES TO RESTART, BECOME LMB AFFILIATE

Estadio de Beisbol Martires 1906 in Cananea

Leaders of a longtime Class AA league based in one of Mexico's baseball hotbed states but dormant for the past six seasons are hoping to fire the circuit back up in the summer of 2021, with its member teams serving as Mexican League farm clubs.

Puro Beisbol reports that in January, LMB president Horacio de la Vega met with representatives of the eight-team Sonora Professional Baseball League (LBPS), who had planned to begin play on April 12 this year before the Wuhan virus led to the cessation of all professional baseball south of the border and elsewhere, save for Taiwan and South Korea. Now the Liga Sonora is looking at playing a 2021 schedule.

The LBPS hopes to create an affiliation agreement with the Liga, who had a similar arrangement with the Northern Mexico League in which each LNM team received a 40,000 peso stipend and had players supplied by LMB teams before the latter severed the agreement after the 2018 campaign. The Liga Norte struggled through a 2019 season in which its five teams cobbled together informal agreements with LMB teams as the San Luis Algodoneros won the pennant.

The eight clubs who'd planned on suiting up this year were the Agua Prieta Vaqueros, Caborca Rojos, Cananea Mineros, Magdalena Membrilleros, Nogales Internacionales, San Luis de Rio Colorado Datileros, Sonoyta Misioneros and Puerto Penasco Tiburones.

Caborca and San Luis fielded teams in the Liga Norte last summer, leading to questions whether both have officially withdrawn from the LNM, which had planned to expand this year before their own season was halted by the Wuhan virus. A story on their website from last November states that the Rojos and Algodoneros had both confirmed their participation in 2020. Now, however, LNM president Jorge Rivera Marquez is saying that his league may play a winter schedule instead while seeking affiliation agreements with Mexican Pacific League teams. More on that next week.

Estadio Dr. Alberto Hoeffer in Nogales

The Sonora Professional Baseball League can trace its roots through numerous name and structural changes as far back as 1944, predating the winter Mexican Pacific League's origins by two years. The loop was known at various times as the Sonora League, Northern Sonora League, Northern Mexico League and (after a 2011 split that led a number of teams to leave and take that title with them) once again the Northern Sonora League until it went on hiatus following the 2014 season. The Magdalena Membrilleros led all teams with ten pennants, won between 1956 and 2005, while the Hermosillo Diablos won the last LNS title by beating Caborca in four straight games in the 2014 championship series before the loop shut down for financial reasons. That a Hermosillo team would win the league's final crown seemed fitting, since the Hermosillo Chueliteros had won the first flag sixty years earlier.

MEXICAN LEAGUE CHOOSES NEW PRESIDENT

Mexican League president Horacio de la Vega

The Mexican League has named Horacio de la Vega as their new president.  The 44-year-old de la Vegas is a Mexico City native and two-time Olympic pentathlete for Mexico (1996 and 2000) with a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas and has an extensive background in sports.  He'll replace Javier Salinas, a former Liga MX pro soccer marketing executive who served as LMB president for two years before leaving office following the 2019 season.

De la Vega was the Commercial and Marketing Director for the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara prior to serving as General Director of Sports in Mexico City, helping coordinate events involving the NFL, MLB, NBA, PGA, UFC and Formula One organizations, among others.  During his time in Mexico City, according to an LMB press release, de la Vega oversaw more than 35 international sporting events per year along with about 400 local or national events. 

LMB Home Run Derby in Mexico City Zocalo

He was Mexico City Commissioner for the Formula One Grand Prix of Mexico, general coordinator for the 2016 MLB Mexico Series between the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros and Fray Nano Stadium, one of the main drivers of the 2015 Mexican League Home Run Derby in Mexico City's Zocalo (the first time a public square was converted into a ballpark) and helped stage NFL and NBA games in Mexico City.  De la Vega was also president of the organizing committee for the 50th Anniversary celebration of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.  He most recently was a senior advisor for the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

De la Vega will take the Mexican League reins from longtime Liga executive Gabriel Medina, who served as interim president after the LMB and Salinas parted ways.  He'll inherit a 16-team circuit in which many franchises are bleeding red ink with teams playing in front of sparse crowds, although the league did top five million in attendance for the first time since before the turn of the 21st Century.  The vote to name the former National Sports Award winner as a pentathlete reportedly involved all teams, a change from Salinas' 2017 selection originating from just three owners.


CHARROS WIN 7 OF FIRST 8 GAMES TO OPEN LMP SECOND HALF

Jalisco Charros outfielder Dariel Alvarez

The Jalisco Charros had a good first half to their Mexican Pacific League season, finishing one game behind first place Obregon with a 21-14 to come in third, garnering eight playoff points in the bargain.  Now the Guadalajara side has broken out the second-half gate in a big way by winning seven of their first eight games to take a two-game lead over the 5-2 Mexicali Aguilas, who are trying to rebound from an 18-24 showing in a first half that saw manager Bobby Dickerson fired and replaced by Pedro Mere (whose coaching staff includes former skippers Eddy Castro, Bronswell Patrick and Adan Munoz, who was canned as Navojoa helmsman in the first half).

Back to Jalisco, the defending champions have shown well under manager Roberto Vizcarra.  The Charros have a veteran roster that includes catcher Bruce Maxwell, infielders Stephen Cardullo, Manny Rodriguez, Amadeo Zazueta and Agustin Murillo plus outfielders Carlos Figueroa, Henry Urrutia and Dariel Alvarez.  Four Jalisco everyday starters are batting over .300, led by Zazueta's .350 average and Figueroa at .333.  Much of the power has been supplied by Alvarez, whose team-leading eight homers and 33 RBIs supplement his .295 average.  The Cuban-born rightfielder played six winters in that country's National Series before signing with Baltimore in 2013 (and eventually had two cups of coffee with the Orioles).  Alvarez is not regarded as a power hitter, per se, but he's found his groove in Guadalajara after belting 14 roundtrippers for the Charros last season to finish second in the MexPac behind the 15 of Navojoa's Joan Rosa.

Jalisco left-handed pitcher Marco Tovar

Jalisco's pitching staff isn't as star-studded as their daily lineup, with a team ERA of 3.88 in the bottom half among the LMP's ten teams, but Guadalajara is not the easiest place to pitch with its high altitude so those numbers can be a little deceiving at first glance.  The best starter thus far this season has been lefty veteran Marco Tovar, whose 3-2 record hides an ERA of 2.19 that ranks fourth among qualifying MexPac hurlers.  Tovar is a 30-year-old Tijuana product who's pitched in five Mexican League All-Star Games and was named the LMB's Pitcher of the Year in 2011 after going 12-4 for Reynosa that summer.  Among other Jarros starters, import Mitch Atkins, who pitched in several minor league All-Star Games and had two short stints with the Chicago Cubs in 2010 and 2011, is 4-3 with a 2.80 ERA (8th in the LMP) while Octavio Acosta has a perfect 4-0 record and a 4.03 ERA (12th in the loop).  If the Charros have a weak spot, it's in the bullpen.  Although closer Grant Sides is sixth in the league with seven saves, the former Indians farmhand isn't likely writing home about his 12.75 ERA or opponents' batting average of .373.  Even so, you have to outscore your opponents to win a baseball game and the Charros have shown the offense to continue doing just that and are in good position to repeat as LMP champions.

The aforementioned Zazueta (he of the .350 average) now leads the MexPac in hitting, twelve points ahead of Christian Zazueta's .338 for Navojoa.  Culiacan's Seastian Elizalde, Leandro Castro of Los Mochis and Monterrey's Michael Choice are all tied for the lead in homers with 10 each while Jalisco's Alvarez and Jesus Valdez of Obregon both top the RBI table with 33.  Rico Noel of Culiacan recently stole five bases in a seven-game stretch to bring his season total to 20 swipes in 24 attempts, well ahead of the 13 apiece for Elizalde and Obregon's Taiki Sekine.

Los Mochis starting pitcher Yoanys Quiales picked up his first win since November 15 last Wednesday in Mazatlan to go to 7-1 for the season, comfortably ahead of eleven pitchers who have four wins each.  One of them, Mike Kickham of Hermosillo, is tops in ERA at 1.96, with Mexicali's Greg Mahle in second at 2.01.  Another four-win pitcher, Obregon's Brazilian starter Andre Rienzo, heads the strikeouts table with 51 ponches, six more than Quiales and Juan Pablos Oramas of Hermosillo.  An Oramas teammate, Trey McNutt, is tied with Jose Rosario of Guasave with an LMP-best 11 saves while Obregon's Samuel Zazueta is best with 11 holds.  It does not appear that any of the three Zazuetas are related.


LIGA NORTE EXPANDS TO SIX TEAMS; TWO MORE ON WAY?

The Northern Mexico League has added an expansion franchise with the Otay Industriales set to join the Class AA circuit in time for the 2020 season.  At a recent LNM presidents meeting in Tijuana, five existing teams confirmed their participation next year, including the San Quintin Freseros, Caborca Rojos, Ensenada Marineros, La Paz Delfines and the defending champion San Luis Algodoneros.  However, the main topic moving forward was expansion, with Otay brought into the fold and talk of two more new franchises to turn the LNM into an eight-team loop next season.

Mesa de Otay is not an independent city but rather a section of Tijuana, Baja California Norte.  The Industriales will not play in Tijuana's Mexican League ballpark currently used by the Toros during the spring and summer.  Instead, they'll play in Estadio Angel Camarena, a smaller facility where former MLB All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez cut his teeth as a young player, according to El Titan's father David.  The elder Gonzalez is now general director of B.C. Norte's Institute of Sports and Physical Culture, and will help coordinate what is being called "a significant investment" in  the ballpark's remodeling, to be completed by next April, prior to the 2020 LNM schedule.

B.C. Norte governor Jaime Bonilla's first pitch

Gonzalez was joined by Baja California Norte governor Jaime Bonilla, who tossed a ceremonial first pitch before the inaugural game of the Tijuana Amateur Baseball League in late October.  The renovations were announced weeks before the new Liga Norte franchise was granted to Otay, but the two are undoubtedly linked to each other.

Representatives of a second possible team in Baja California Sur were on hand at the meeting.  The LNM made its debut in that state last season when the La Paz Delfines took the field.  No word on where a second team there would be located; the Los Cabos region is the only area with the population to support a franchise but the Mexican League Quintana Roo Tigres could probably testify that selling tickets to baseball games in a tourist center is not the easiest thing to do.  Another potential expansion site was termed "an old acquaintance in the league" in a story posted on Puro Beisbol, but no further details could be given for now.

The Liga Norte also gave Tuesday, April 14 as their 2020 season inaugural date.  If eight teams indeed play next year, each would play an 84-game schedule with the season wrapping up the second week of August.  The LNM is still searching for an executive president, but that topic was tabled at the recent meeting.  The president of the league's Board of Directors, San Luis Algodoneros owner Francisco Montano, has sat behind the big desk the past two years.


Notice to Readers: BBM to go monthly on interim basis

This will be the only Baseball Mexico scheduled to be posted in December.  I'm moving from the U.S. Pacific Northwest to the Philippines this week and will need some time to somehow get settled during the holiday season.  I'm moving to Baguio, a city of 370,000 with ten universities nestled nearly 5,000 feet above sea level in the Cordillera Mountains.  Baguio is noted for its relatively cool temperatures and is nicknamed "The Summer Capital of the Philippines" for that reason.  

Jose Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium, Manila

They do play baseball in the Philippines, by the way, but only at the amateur or scholastic level. There IS a great old 12,000-seat ballpark in Manila named Jose Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium, where the first homers hit after its 1934 opening were by guys named Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth (you may have heard of them), and I would like to catch at least a couple ballgames there while it's still standing.

Anyway, Baseball Mexico will hopefully be back to a weekly basis by February 2020, just in time for the Caribbean Series.  I'll try to post unscheduled updates between now and February when I can, but I expect to be a little preoccupied until then.

LMB PLAYOFF PICTURE BEGINNING TO GET CLEARER

Saltillo slugger Rainel Rosario connects

With 15 games remaining in the Mexican League's second-half schedule, the Saltillo Saraperos and Quintana Roo Tigres continue to lead their respective divisions as the September playoff picture begins to come into focus.

The Saraperos had Sunday off after sweeping a doubleheader over Union Laguna Saturday in Torreon, 15-6 and 7-5.  Rainel Rosario cracked two homers and drove in five runs in Saltillo's opening win, then he stroked two doubles and a single in the nightcap to finish the twinbill 5-for-6 at the plate with seven RBIs and four runs scored.  Saltillo is now 28-16 for the half, leading Tijuana and Monclova (both 26-18) by two games while 22-22 Dos Laredos and 21-21 Monterrey are tied for fourth, six games out of first. Aguascalientes (17-27), Durango (16-28) and Union Laguna (15-29) are all well behind and out of the playoff picture.

In the LMB South, Quintana Roo has the best record in the league at 30-14 but Yucatan is hot on the Tigres' tail with a 29-16 mark, 1.5 games out.  Mexico City won both ends of a doubleheader in Puebla Saturday for the Diablos' eighth win in ten outings, including their last four games, to go to 27-18 and trail the Tigres by 3.5 games.  Campeche is holding fourth with a 21-21 record, ahead of Oaxaca (20-24), Puebla (18-23), Tabasco (17-26) and Leon (16-28).

The Tigres won their fifth straight Sunday by crushing Tabasco, 8-0, in Cancun as Jorge Castillo tossed three-hit ball over the first six innings and striking out seven to go to 10-8 on the season. Although he's pitched in three All-Star Games and is a decent 73-60 over his LMB career, the 37-year-old Castillo reached double figures in wins for the first time since debuting in 2003.  It was a 1-0 game until Quintana Roo exploded for six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, highlighted by Manuel Orduna's three-run homer off reliever Antonio Guzman.

Although the Mexican League is using points to determine playoff seedings, a la the Mexican Pacific League, the numbering system is different, with 8.0 points for first (like the LMP) but awarding one less point per standings placement down to 1.0 point for eighth place.  Monclova, Monterrey and Tijuana are all but assured three of the four LMB North postseason berths but the final slot will be a battle between Saltillo and Dos Laredos. The Saraperos got 4.0 points in the first half, one fewer than the Tecos' 5.0, so it's imperative to manager Roberto Vizcarra's team to finish two places above Dos Laredos for that last slot in September.

While the LMB North is fairly clear-cut, it's a little more muddled in the LMB South. Oaxaca got 8.0 points for finishing on top in the first half and while the Guerreros are struggling in fifth place for the second half, the 4.0 they'd receive should be enough to punch a playoff ticket.  Quintana Roo, on the other hand, got only 3.0 first-half points after finishing sixth so the Tigres really need those 8.0 points they'd get for winning the second half. Likewise, Yucatan got just 4.0 points in the first half so finishing second and picking up 7.0 points might not be enough.  Mexico City is in a position to burnish their 7.0 first-half points with another 6.0 if they don't move up or down and that would be enough for the top division seed. If the season ended today, Puebla would be the fourth seed, following a 6.0 first half with a sixth-place finish and 3.0 points for a total of 9.0.

Leon's Felix Pie still leads the batting race but the ex-Oriole has dropped to .399, falling below the .400 mark since May 12.  Pie also has 22 homers and 78 RBIs. Chris Carter of Monclova continues his monster season, leading the LMB with 43 homers and 104 RBIs.  Carter is redefining "risk/reward" by leading the Liga with 137 strikeouts but trailing only Pie (.483) in on-base percentage at .460. Johnny Davis continues to lead the loop with 53 stolen bases, but the Compton Comet is doing it for Oaxaca now after the Guerreros received him on loan from Dos Laredos on July 29.  It's a hard move to figure out because the Tecos are fighting for the playoffs without many outfielders, but the Guerreros ARE owned by Alfredo Harp Helu and Tecos owner Jose Antonio Mansur can ALWAYS use any cash considerations a loan might bring.

Dos Laredos lefty Luke Heimlich shows form

At this point, the Pitcher of the Year award is Cesar Valdez' to lose.  The Yucatan righty has won five of his seven starts after losing at Durango on June 28 to go to 14-1 with a 2.42 ERA on the campaign and now leads the LMB in wins, ERA and WHIP (1.09).  In 126.2 innings, Valdez has walked just 14 batters while striking out 104. He stand sixth among Liga pitchers in whiffs, where Leon's Yasutomo Kubo is now tied for the lead with Juan Pablo Oramas of Tabasco at 138 each. Roman Mendoza continues to lead the league in saves with 29 (in 31 opportunities).  Mendoza has lost three games in his last ten trips from the bullpen to fall to 0-6 on the season, but the Dominican is a big reason the Tecos are in the playoff picture. Another is rookie Luke Heimlich, the former NCAA Pitcher of the Year from Oregon State who is 8-7 for Dos Laredos and ranks fifth in strikeouts with 109 over 118 innings pitched.  Heimlich's season ERA is an unimposing 4.58, but that's still just outside the top ten in that category and he gave up just one run over 19.2 combined innings in three of his last four starts.

The biggest upcoming midweek series will be a crossover matchup when Tijuana visits Mexico City while the most important weekend set may be when Dos Laredos travels to Monclova hoping to keep their postseason hopes stoked with Saltillo heavily favored in a home set against Union Laguna.

IS SALINAS ON HIS LAST LEGS AS MEXICAN LEAGUE PRESIDENT?

Javier Salinas (r) with Plinio Escalante

After serving several months as a de facto leader-in-waiting, Javier Salinas took the reins from Plinio Escalante as Mexican League president after the 2017 season on the heels of a schism among team owners that had threatened to split the LMB into two separate eight-team loops or cancel the 2017 schedule altogether.  Although neither fate came to pass, Salinas (a former marketing executive for Mexico's popular top-tier Liga MX soccer league) inherited a mess and events of the past two-plus years have not made his job any easier. Now Salinas is staring down the barrel of another in-house insurrection that may cost him his job. Although Salinas has had his difficulties, he's also had successes to point to.

Under his watch, the LMB has been more proactive about putting its product on the internet, with games streamed nightly during the regular season and playoffs.  Also, the popular Quien es Quien annual yearbook with statistics and records (think of something The Sporting News might've published during its heyday) has been digitized the past two years and made available free online under Salinas' watch.  Although many of the Liga's 16 teams have been financial basket cases, Salinas has been able to find new owners to keep the teams alive on the field, if not necessarily at the ticket office. Even after new Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador rescinded the decision last winter to have four of those LMB franchises take 2019 off, Salinas managed to find investors (for better or worse) for all the teams to continue this season.  He even managed to pull off a league-wide tribute to pitching legend Fernando Valenzuela that the former Dodgers star took part in this summer, two years after a number of Quintana Roo prospects were surreptitiously transferred to the Mexico City Diablos Rojos roster while Valenzuela and his wife were in the process of buying the Tigres franchise, a move that embittered the most popular figure in modern Mexican baseball history.

However, there've been some low points during Salinas' two-year reign, too.  He pushed through last year's two-season schedule, which turned out to be a disaster (especially at the gate in the Fall season).  His league’s Monterrey franchise now owns a team in the rival Mexican Pacific League while Mexico City owner Alfredo Harp Helu is paying for ballpark renovations in Guasave, the Mex Pac's other new team (conveniently owned by Durango's LMB owner Alfredo Aramburo.  Among several franchise shifts and sales since 2017, only last winter's resurrection of the Puebla Pericos appear to be working out artistically and financially and while attendance has risen from the Fall 2018 season, nine of the Liga's 16 teams are drawing fewer than 4,000 fans per opening (with four of them below the 3,000 mark).  However, the deal Salinas signed that broke a Major League Baseball ban on signing Mexican prospects may be the final straw.

After some shady player sales between LMB and MLB teams over the years, things came to a head when it was discovered that the Pittsburgh Pirates, Latin American scouting director, Rene Gayo, received illegal payments from more than one Mexican League team as part of player sales involving players whose rights were owned by LMB teams. Gayo was subsequently fired, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred placed a signing ban on Mexican prospects in June of last year.  While the new deal brokered in part by Salinas and signed in March meant the ban was lifted, it came at a price that was not discovered until after the fine print was looked at closer.

While Mexican League teams can indeed recoup 35 percent of the bonus one of their players is given, as was touted when the new agreement was announced, the player has to have been on an LMB roster for one season, a condition that does not apply to prospects developing at the numerous baseball academies in the country.  Since the ban was lifted, none of the players signed by MLB teams has reportedly had to give up any of their bonus money. That latter point is what may get Salinas fired, since the sale of prospects in the past has meant the difference between a profit or loss for the year with LMB teams.

Monclova Acereros owner Gerardo Benavides

A league meeting has been scheduled for this Thursday that will likely bring things into the open, although Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros believes Salinas will not be let go at that meeting.  Still, there are deep divisions that nearly split the Liga down the middle. According to Ballesteros, seven team owners seek to either replace Salinas or form their own league: Mexico City, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Puebla, Leon, Union Laguna and Durango. Eight of the remaining nine LMB teams do not seek to fire Salinas while, perhaps surprisingly, the Tigres are somewhat on the fence.  Ballesteros says that while the Valenzuelas are not against letting their embattled league president walk, they do not want to break up the league if Salinas survives.

It should be noted that Ballesteros is admittedly not a Salinas fan (and considers Monclova owner Gerardo Benavides the puppet-master), but he's also one of Mexico's best-sourced baseball scribes and, as such, should be taken seriously.

SAN LUIS TOPS CABORCA IN FIVE GAMES FOR LIGA NORTE PENNANT

2019 LNM champion San Luis Algodoneros

The San Luis Algodoneros defeated Caborca, 8-3, on July 28 to top the Rojos in five games to win the Northern Mexico League championship series, four games to one.  The pennant is the third for the Cottoneers in the present-day Liga Norte's 12-year history and their first since 2014. Ensenada won consecutive flags in 2017 and 2018 but the Marineros were eliminated in this year's playoff first round by Caborca.  San Luis, whose players are supplied by Monterrey and Leon of the Mexican League, knocked out San Quintin in the opening round after going a combined 33-27 over two halves during the regular season.

In the deciding Game Five, held in Caborca, San Luis left-hander Alsis Herrera tossed the first five innings and gave up three Rojos runs while striking out six before the Algodoneros bullpen held Caborca scoreless over the final four innings.  Herrera, who earned the win, was named the Finals MVP. Bryan Sosa went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for San Luis in Game Five while Caborca's Jorge Sesma led both teams with three hits in four at-bats.

The Algodoneros were led offensively this season by Danry Vasquez, who led the team in all three Triple Crown categories by batting .380 with nine homers and 46 RBIs in 53 games.  Vasquez was an Astros farmhand until he was caught on video assaulting his then-girlfriend while playing for Corpus Christi in the AA Texas League, leading to his 2016 release. Vasquez is now batting .340 with three homers after 11 games for Aguascalientes in the Mexican League.  Longtime indyball figure Jermy Acey hit .324 with five homers and 35 RBIs in 30 contests after signing with San Luis in midseason. The 38-year-old Acey played three years (2003-05) in the Jays organization and spent parts of three seasons in the Mexican League between 2010 and 2014 with Minatitlan, Tabasco and Veracruz and hit .295 and belted seven homers in 53 total games.

Jermy Acey with Acayucan in 2014

Although Herrera was named Finals MVP, he was not San Luis' most effective pitcher this season.  That distinction goes to Gabriel Arias, who went 6-1 in seven starts with a 1.71 ERA. Arias, who spent ten years in MiLB (including seven years in the Phillies system), struck out 49 batters in 42 innings for Cottoneers manager Hector Garcia.  His summer in San Luis Rio Colorado was bookended by stints with Yucatan and Puebla in the LMB, where he's gone 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA in eight appearances since the Pericos picked him up in late June.

The Algodoneros' playoff pennant run capped a most interesting season in the Liga Norte, considered a AA loop in the country's pro baseball structure.   The LNM welcomed an expansion team in La Paz to mark pro baseball's debut in Baja California Sur but also was marked by the loss of formal affiliation and subsidies with the Mexican League (although Liga teams were able to cobble their own deals with LNM franchises) after losing existing teams Tecate and Puerto Penasco due to financial problems.

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.

CHARROS FINISH 2-2, JUST MISS CARIBBEAN TITLE GAME

Jalisco's CS Dream Team 1B Victor Mendoza

The Jalisco Charros won two of their four double round-robin games at the Caribbean Series in Panama City last week, but the Guadalajara team lost out on a berth in the final game against Panama's Herrera Toros via mathematics.  Jalisco, Cuba's Las Tunas Lenadores and Venezuela's Lara Cardenales all finished Group A competition with identical 2-2 records but Jalisco barely missed qualifying despite a 9-4 win over Lara last Friday due to a tiebreaker.  One more run over their four games would've made the difference for the Mexican Pacific League champions.

The Charros scored only two runs over their first two games at Rod Carew National Stadium, beginning with last Monday's 5-1 defeat at the hands of Lara.  Cardenales starter Nestor Molina allowed one Jalisco run in the top of the fifth when Stephen Cardullo singled in Agustin Murillo to take the win.  A familiar face to Mexican League fans as the 2017 Pitcher of the Year with Veracruz and an All-Star Game selection last summer with Dos Laredos, Molina scattered four hits and struck out four over his five frames of work.  Carlos Rivero, who spent part of 2018 with Tijuana, belted a two-run homer off Francisco Moreno in the sixth for Lara but a two-run fourth for the Cardenales gave Molina and mates all the scoring they'd need for the night.  Orlando Lara (3.2 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 BB) took the loss for Jalisco, who went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

One night later, the Charros fell, 3-1, to Las Tunas as the Lenadores' Lazaro Blanco, a 32-year-old veteran of international competition, blanked Jalisco on three hits over seven innings to take the victory.  Another longtime figure for the Cuban National Team, Alfredo Despaigne, hit three singles in four at-bats to drive in three Las Tunas runs.  Despaigne spent parts of the 2013 and 2014 seasons with Campeche in the LMB before moving to Japan, where he has become one of NPB's premier power hitters with 118 homers since mid-2014 for the Chiba Lotte Marines and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.  Jesus Valdez' two-out single brought in Amadeo Zazueta with Jalisco's lone run in the bottom of the ninth, but Murillo ended the contest by flying out to right on the first pitch he faced from Raidel Martinez as the Mexicans dug themselves an 0-2 hole midway through the round.

Mexican baseball fans representing in Panama

After a day off Wednesday, Jalisco came back Thursday with a revenge win over Las Tunas, a 3-2 knucklebiter that wasn't settled until the eleventh inning.  At the top of that entrada, Ramon Rios drilled a Livan Moinelo pitch up the middle for a two-out single that drove in Dariel Alvarez from second with the go-ahead run.  Ramirez actually whiffed Alvarez for the second out but the third strike sailed past Lenadores catcher Yosvani Alarcon, allowing the former Orioles minor leaguer to reach first safely.  Sergio Romo came in with one out in the ninth and went on to pitch 2.2 scoreless innings for the win, including a 1-2-3 eleventh for Jalisco.  Leadoff hitter Alonzo Harris had three singles and a walk, scoring twice for manager Roberto Vizcarra's Charros.

The Charros' offense finally woke from their torpor on Friday by recording 15 hits during their 9-4 win over Lara.  Jalisco took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Victor Mendoza singled in Harris for one run and a Japhet Amador sacrifice fly scored Amadeo Zazueta from third for another.  A Gabriel Gutierrez RBI single made it a 3-0 Mexican lead in the fourth and while the Cardenales went on to plate four runs over the next two innings, there was no denying the Horsemen a win in this one.  Mendoza wrapped up a productive Caribbean Series by going 4-for-5 with two runs and four RBIs, including a three-run homer off Elvis Araujo in the sixth, while Zazueta singled twice and scored a part of tallies.  Starter Marco Tovar left the game with a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth, but it was Rafael Martin (from among seven relievers sent in by Vizcarra) who got the win by tossing 2.1 scoreless innings.

In the end, the tiebreaking formula did in Jalisco.  Despite outscoring both Las Tunas and Lara during group play, a slice of arcana called "Total Quality Balance" required the LMP kingpins to outscore the Cardenales by six runs Friday to have a chance of advancing to the finals.  As a result, even though the Cubans beat the Venezuelans, 3-0, Saturday to put all three Group A teams at 2-2, the Charros were done.

In Sunday's title game, Las Tunas met surprising host Herrera, who went 3-1 in Group B after winning only two of six games the previous week at the Latin American Series in Veracruz.  The Panamanians completed their Cinderella performance Sunday with a 3-1 win over Las Tunas, an amazing feat for a team whose country hadn't played in the Caribbean Series since 1960 and were only added to the field as tournament host after political turmoil forced organizers to move the event from Barquisimeto, Venezuela for the second year in a row.

The Charros can console themselves knowing they'd earned some redemption after losing their first two games, came in second among the six combatants with a .261 average and pitched reasonably well with a 2.92 team ERA, although that figure only ranked fifth among the teams as hurlers ruled the week (Las Tunas' team ERA was a paltry 1.40, yet the Cubans only won two of five contests).  Gutierrez led Jalisco with a .385 average over four games while Mendoza and Zazueta each batted .375.  Mendoza, who hit Mexico's only homer of the week, was named as first baseman on the CS Dream Team for his work.  Martin and Romo combined to allow no earned runs in nine innings out of the bullpen, with Romo collecting six strikeouts and letting up just one hit in his 4.2 frames of work.


LIGA ANNOUNCES 2019 SCHEDULE, LAGUNA FRANCHISE SOLD

Mexican League president Javier Salinas

The Mexican League held an Assembly of Presidents meeting last week in Mexico City, where they announced they have finalized the 2019 season schedule (although it has not yet been released to the public), confirmed their June All-Star Game and approved the sale of one of its franchises.

The regular season will open Thursday, April 4 in Monterrey when the defending Fall champion Sultanes will host the Yucatan Leones, who defeated Monterrey in last year's Spring title series.  One day later, the rest of the Liga's 16 teams will play their inaugural games.  The Mexico City Diablos Rojos are set to open their new Estado Alfredo Harp Helu on April 5 against longtime rival Quintana Roo, who shared the nation's capital with the Diablos for 46 years before moving to Puebla in 2002 and eventually landing in Cancun five years later.  The Diablos and Tigres have 28 Mexican League pennants between them, with Mexico City winning 16 titles.

The LMB will play a 120-game schedule this year, divided into two 60-game halves.  The first half will conclude just before All-Star Weekend commences on Saturday, June 15, a day which will feature both the traditional Home Run Derby and the Double Play Derby, a competition among top keystone combinations from around the league that debuted at last year's All-Star Weekend in Merida.  The host Yucatan Leones got the sweep as Luis "Cacao" Valdez beat Monterrey's Ricky Alvarez in the final round to win the Home Run Derby while Everth Cabrera and Diego Madero teamed up to beat out four other duos and cop the Double Play Derby last June 28.  One day later, the South crushed the North, 10-2, with veteran Mexico City outfielder Ivan Terrazas winning MVP honors at Parque Kukulcan.

The second half of the Liga season will open Friday, June 21 and run through Thursday, August 29.  If a single elimination game is required should the fourth- and fifth-place teams in either division finish within three games of each other, it would be played Saturday, August 31 at the fourth-place team's ballpark.  The full playoffs will begin September 3 with the division semifinals and conclude with the Serie del Rey between September 24 and October 2 (if a Game Seven is required).

Union Laguna players after 2018 win in Durango

Also at the Assembly meeting, owners approved the sale of the Union Laguna franchise by brothers Jose Juan and Erick Arellano to a group of businessmen headed by Francisco Orozco, the executive director of the Solucionika telecommunications company.  Orozco also owns his hometown Saltillo Dinos franchise in Mexico's League of American Football (LFA), a semipro circuit which will open its third season later this month.  Terms of the sale were not disclosed but the Arellanos made no secret of the fact that they wanted to take the Torreon-based team off their hands so they could focus all their time and resources on the Yucatan Leones, which they also own.

One of the conditions of the transaction was that the team, which may change its nickname from Algodoneros, will stay in the Torreon-Gomez Palacio area.  Last year, Union Laguna went 41-73 overall and missed the playoffs both seasons while playing in front of 176,931 fans in 55 openings at Estadio Revolucion, an 86-year-old ballpark seating 9,500.  One of the first items on the new ownership group's docket was to find a new manager and they did so with the selection of Jonathan Aceves, a former catcher who spent nine years in the White Sox system and one with the Marlins organization before playing another twelve summers in the Mexican League (all but one game with Saltillo).  He retired in the offseason.  Last year's Laguna skipper, Ramon Orantes, has taken the reins in Tabasco for 2019.

An added note from LMB president Javier Salinas was that while Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador recently promised the return of the Veracruz Rojos del Aguila to the port city, that will not happen before 2020 at the earliest and that the Liga is expected to play with the same 16 teams it ended last year with.

However, the jockeying may not be over yet.  Beatriz Pereyra of Proceso says that AMLO is determined to fulfill his promise to bring the LMB back to Veracruz this year, and that the Jalisco Charros of the Mexican Pacific League are being lobbied to field a summer team to bring the number of Mexican League teams up to 18.  The Monterrey Sultanes recently agreed to create an LMP team to play winterball with the reconstituted Guasave Algodoneros, the latter fulfilling another Lopez  Obrador promise.  An admitted baseball fanatic, AMLO seems to be remaking the sport in Mexico in a way not seen since the days of Jorge Pasquel.


LMB ENDS AGREEMENT WITH LIGA NORTE, LA PAZ ADDED TO LNM

In a move that sent shockwaves throughout the baseball community in northwest Mexico, the Mexican League has decided to not renew an agreement with the Northern Mexico League for the 2019 season.  The decision, which was announced by LMB president Javier Salinas late last month, means the Class AA Liga Norte will not receive financial assistance from the Class AAA Liga this year.  Teams in the LNM have served as affiliates for LMB franchises over the past several summers, which Salinas said may continue on an individual team-by-team basis despite the lack of a signed interleague agreement.

The move comes as a blow to the Liga Norte, which has relied on the Mexican League to help cover operating expenses for the six-team loop.  In his announcement, Salinas referred to a debt of 240,000 pesos (about US$12,585) that he would like to have paid to the LMB.  The LNM held a meeting in Tijuana last week that was attended by former major league infielder Edgar Gonzalez, who has been tabbed by Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to oversee the development and promotion of baseball on a nationwide basis.  Liga Norte president Francisco Ochoa Montano and others appear to be hoping their league, which is considered by some to be the top player development circuit in Mexico, can receive assistance from the federal government in lieu of lost support from the LMB league offices.

Estadio Arturo C. Nahl in La Paz

Earlier this year, the Liga Norte announced a new franchise, the La Paz Delfines, who will begin play in the Baja California Sur city this spring.  There has been past interest among officials from La Paz in securing a Mexican Pacific League franchise in the future, but the city of 244,000 will instead receive an LNM team to replace Tecate after the Indios requested a year off.  The Delfines will represent the first Liga Norte franchise to ever play outside the states of Sonora and Sinaloa in the loop's seven-year history.  Baja California Sur governor Carlos Mendoza Davis said, "We are proud of the announcement of the LNM and of the entrance of La Paz to this professional baseball circuit, fulfilling a wish of the fans who will be able to enjoy the games at Estadio Arturo C. Nahl, which will be completely rehabilitated."  The ballpark is expected to seat 3,800 spectators when league play opens April 12.

The Ensenada Marineros have won the last two LNM pennants.  They'll be joined in 2019 by La Paz, the Caborca Rojos, Puerto Penasco Tiburones, San Luis Algodoneros and San Quintin Freseros.  San Luis will play one more season at Estadio Andres Mena Montijo before moving into a new 7,500-seat in 2020, a year in which both Tecate and the Mexicali Sentinales are expected to return, making the Liga Norte an eight-team association.