NARANJEROS HOLD FIRST, YAQUS MOVE UP

Hermosillo RHP Wilmer Rios

    It seems like the Hermosillo Naranjeros have led the Mexican Pacific League standings most weeks in both halves of the current season and this week is no exception, but the Obregon Yaquis have started to move up in the second-half tables and now trail the Orangemen with just two weeks left in the regular season.

    Despite losing a 3-2 decision at Guasave Sunday after shutting out the Algodoneros twice in a Saturday doubleheader, Hermosillo has a one-game lead over Obregon with a 13-5 mark while the Yaquis are right behind at 12-6. Saturday was a pitcher's dream for the Naranjeros as Wilmer Rios went all seven innings in a 5-0 win, scattering six hits anstriking out six Cottoneers batters as Luis Alfonso Cruz went 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI to pace the offense. Then it was Jose Samayoa and two relievers who allowed just two singles in a seven-inning 2-0 whitewash for the nightcap with Isaac Paredes socking a solo homer in the sixth for the winners.

    Guasave avoided the sweep Sunday thanks to a Ramon Ramirez walkoff single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth off reliever Cesar Vargas that scored pinch-runner Ciro Norazgary from with the game-winning run. Although he didn't the the win, it was Algodoneros starter Gino Encina's turn to shine on the hill with seven scoreless innings on two hits and seven strikeouts.

    Meanwhile over the weekend, Obregon swept three games in Navojoa and likewise shut out the Mayos in the first two games. Friday's result was an 8-0 blanking with starter Dallas Martinez and four relievers combining on an 8-hitter. Yordanys Linares doubled twice and tripled to score two runs and drive in two more for the Yaquis. Saturday was more of the same with Obregon taking a shutout with as Arturo Lopez tossed a two-hitter over five innings and Carlos Sepulveda was 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI.

    The Yaquis broke out the brooms in Sunday's 3-2 win but they had to wait until the top of the ninth to start sweeping after Victor Mendoza and Jose Carlos Urena led off the frame with back-to-back homers, erasing a 2-1 deficit. Samuel Zazueta then retired the Navojoa side to nail down the win. Fans had lots of room to take in the action as fewer than 10,000 watched the three contests at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon, with two games attracting fewer than 3,000 spectators.

    In all, it was a pitcher's showcase in games on Friday and Saturday nights, with with eight of the ten games played ending in shutouts, unusual even for the Mex Pac. The bats woke up Sunday with nobody being kept off the scoreboard as 36 runs were scored over the five games. Not exactly Murderer's Row stuff, but not exactly Hitless Wonders material either.

    Los Mochis finished the weekend in third place with an 11-7 second-half record after dropping two of three to Culiacan, one game ahead of 10-8 Mexicali, who took two of three over defending champion Jalisco (who scored four runs in the series). It then becomes a logjam for the final six slots on the table, as 8-10 Mazatlan and Culiacan are just a game ahead of four teams with identical 7-11 records: Guasave, Jalisco, Monterrey and Navojoa.

    All four clubs tied for seventh finished at the bottom of the standings in the first half and need to start making a move to avoid missing the eight-team playoffs next month. Defending champ Jalisco and Culiacan, who've won four titles in six years under skipper Benji Gil, are tied for the worst overall record in the circuit at 22-31 each.

    Monterrey's Roberto Valenzuela still leads the batting race with a .350 average but things are tightening up as Los Mochis' Justin Dean is now only ten points back at .340 while his Caneros teammate Yosmany Tomas is third with a .325 mark. No real changes in the home run derby as Jesse Castillo (Guasave) and Anthony Giansanti (Mexicali) are tied at the top with 10 dingers each while Sebastian Valle (Obregon) ad Niko Vasquez (Mexicali) are tied for third at eight apiece. Victor Mendoza (Obregon) leads in RBIs with 43, ahead of Los Mochis' Tomas' 41 and Yadir Drake of Obregon with 39. Randy Romero of Mazatlan has reached 20 stolen bases for the season, Hermosillo's Jose Cardona is second with 17 swipes and three other players are tied for third with 14 each.

    With his shutout win Saturday over Guasave (assuming the LMP awards him a shutout by holding the Algodoneros scoreless over the league-allotted seven innings, unlike MLB refusing to recognize its own rules in denying Madison Bumgarner a no-hitter in 2020 because he didn't pitch an extra two innings that Rob Manfred ruled weren't required), Wilmer Rios of Hermosillo became the Mex Pac's first seven-game winner this winter. Mexicali's David Reyes and Juan Tellez of Mazatlan are tied for second with six win apiece. Los Mochis' Luis Miranda allowed six earned runs over his last two starts after letting in one over his first eight outings but still has a 1.15 ERA for the season, well below the 1.89 of Juan Pablo Oramas (Hermosillo) and 1.90 of Manny Barreda (Culiacan).

    Barreda's 60 strikeouts lead the lead, with Luis Payan's 55 for Navojoa and Matt Pobereyko's 53 for Guasave the next-highest totals. Mazatlan closer Elkin Alcala's string of consecutive saves ended at five after he didn't get the save Sunday against Monterrey, but the Colombian's 15 salvados still lead the loop. Brandon Koch of Guasave is second with 13 saves while Josh Lueke is tied for third at 12 saves with Mexicali closer Jake Sanchez, who got his 84th career LMP save Saturdfay against Jalisco to tie another former Aguila, David Cardenas, for second on the all-time list. Well ahead in first on the list is Salon de la Fama member Isidro Marquez with 134.

     Among the five upcoming midweek series beginning Tuesday, the most notable will involve third-place Los Mochis at second-place Obregon for three games. Next weekend, a couple of proud franchises will meet in a must-win series as Culiacan visits Guadalajara to take on the Jalisco Charros.

    Also, Justine Siegal is in the middle of her annual peripatetic tour of Mex Pac cities during which she spends a couple days coaching for the local LMP teams and holding clinics for young female players. Siegal has already done short stints in Hermosillo, Jalisco and Guasave and is currently spending a couple days in Mexicali.


PUEBLA SWEEPS MONCLOVA IN LIM'S SERIE DEL PRINCIPE

Puebla celebrates LIM pennant

    After winning the first two games of the Mexican Winter League's Prince Series, including one marathon match that lasted into a second day, the Puebla Pericos returned home to complete their sweep over defending champion Monclova with a 14-6 win Wednesday against the Acereros at Estadio Hermanos Serdan. Monclova had defeated the Parakeets in last year's Serie del Principe, the first since the Mexican League resuscitated its Liga Invernal Mexicana for prospects and some veterans after shutting it down following the 2017 campaign.
 
    The Pericos clinched the LIM pennant last Wednesday night by breaking open a 5-5 game with four-run outbursts in both the fifth and sixth innings. Raudel Meraz' two-run homer in the bottom of the fith gave Puebla a 9-5 lead while Luis Cossio's two-run single and a homer by Victor Landeta made it a 13-5 contest in favor of the hosts. Meraz and Rogelio Cobos both had two hits and a homer while Cossio finished with a pair of hits and two ribbies. Aldo Nunez scored on Dominic Bethancourt's two-run singleton in the top of the first to give Monclova a quick 2-0 and later belted a solo homer for the Acereros.

    The opening game of the series on Saturday, December 3 saw Puebla outlast the Acereros, 2-1, in a pitcher's duel at Estadio Monclova. Hector Sepulveda pitched five shutout innings for the Pericos, allowing just two hits for the win. Monclova starter Isaac Esqueda took the loss despite a great outing of his own over five frames, letting in one run on a Herman Alvarado RBI single in the second while scattering six hits. Puebla reliever Jose Hernandez sparkled by striking out all five Steelers batsmen he faced.

    Game Two was no less thrilling, although the 11-8 Puebla win took considerably longer to finish. While pitchers took center stage in the opener, this one featured batters and Mother Nature in a late Sunday night appearance delayed the contest until Monday night. Monclova raced off to a 7-0 lead that featured a nightmarish first inning for Parakeet pitchers, who gave up seven walks in the entrada, five with the bases loaded. 

    The Pericos fought back and even took an 8-7 lead in the top of the sixth on Giancarlo Servin's two-run homer off Acereros reliever Jonathan Lopez. Monclova tied it up in the bottom of the sixth on a solo blast by pinch-hitter Edgar Salazar off Hernandez. The score stood at 8-8 until fog stopped play in the top of the eleventh at 11:11PM. After the game resumed Monday, Armando Aguilar's three-run roundtripper in the top of the twelfth gave Puebla an 8-7 that held through the end of the game, after which the two teams disembarked for the third (and final) game in Angelopolis.


MEX PAC, LiDOM CALL FOR CHANGES TO CARBBEAN SERIES

   We've called the annual Caribbean Series the “Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball” for years here on BBM and while some of its luster has diminished in recent winters due to fewer major league players and smaller attendance, the Serie del Caribe remains the most important baseball tournament among most countries involved, with national pride remaining a common denominator among fans.There is still no other event like it in the sport.

    In recent seasons, Mexico and the Dominican Republic have staged the best-attended Caribbean Series and now leagues from both nations have come together to create a protocol called the Miami Agreements in which they seek improvements to the event, which is scheduled to resume in Venezuela in February.. What follows is a translated story from ESPN Deportes by writer Juan Arturo Recio, who concludes that while the LiDOM and Mex Pac state a shared desire for changes to the CS, those changes weren't spelled out while the scarcity of financial details makes it impossible to determine what their points of contention are:

    A recent agreement between the Dominican and Mexican winter leagues indicates that both circuits want improvements in terms of the economic aspect of the international event.

    On Tuesday, November 29, the Professional Baseball League of the Dominican Republic (LiDOM) and the Mexican Pacífic League (LMP) announced the signing of a "collaboration protocol" which they called "The Miami Agreements." The press release through which the announcement was made does not go into much detail about what is being sought, but it does give hints regarding aspects of cooperation between the Latin American winterball circuits.

    The joint statement published by the leagues talks about fostering ties to work together for the benefit of baseball in the region, but the most interesting point is that they will seek to promote joint initiatives within the Caribbean Baseball Confederation. Among several aspects mentioned in the press release, it talks about the economic aspects of the tournament.

    The agreement states that the two leagues want to "promote the definition of a business model that allows the Caribbean Confederation and its main product, the Caribbean Series, to be placed commercially at its fair value and at efficient levels of profitability."

    Said wording brings up the question of how profitable it is to hold a Caribbean Series and if the event creates a profit for all involved.

    Based on the words used by the leagues in their own statement, it can be inferred that the current business model is one that they consider deficient. Unfortunately, the little access there is to the monetary information of the event makes it extremely difficult to access the data in this regard. However, for the year 2020, according to MB Sport president Antonio Muñoz Grajales, whose company is in charge of assembling the event in Puerto Rico, its economic impact would be closely related to the creation of two thousand jobs and a hotel occupancy of five thousand rooms.

    Muñoz himself indicated during an interview in 2015, when the event was held on the Caribbean island, that the profits generated were about four or five million dollars but with indirect jobs, the sum could quadruple.

    Without more information in this regard, doubts remain as to whether the member countries of the Caribbean Baseball Confederation see a real benefit in staging and holding the event. For several years, Mexico has been the nation with the most venues since, at least in terms of ticket sales, it surpasses other countries while the Dominican Republic is coming off what is considered its best Caribbean Series in decades. However, it is clear that both leagues see room to grow, at least financially.

    We will only have to wait to see what will be the best joint ventures that will be proposed in the future by Mexico and the Dominican Republic in search of a "better" Caribbean Series.

HIRED, FIRED, REHIRED: GIL'S MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR

Past, present Culiacan manager Benji Gil

    Benji Gil had a most interesting month in November, even by Mexican baseball standards. First, the former Rangers and Angels infielder was picked to manage Mexico in next year's World Baseball Classic. Then he was fired as manager of the Mexican Pacific League's Culiacan Tomateros, only to be reinstated and back in the dugout within hours of being sacked. Even for someone like Gil, as voluble as he is volatile, that's a head-spinning series of events. Ready? Here we go...

    After leading Mexico to a sixth-place finish at last year's Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Gil will manage the Verdes Grande at the World Baseball Classic 2023. The 50-year-old Gil served as a coach with the Los Angeles Angels last summer under managers Joe Maddon and Phil Nevin after managing Guadalajara's expansion team in the Mexican League in 2021, earning Manager of the Year honors that season. As a player, Gil participated in the World Baseball Classic 2006. He played eight MLB seasons as a utility infielder and was on the 2002 World Series-winning Los Angeles Angels roster.

    "Benji Gil is a winner," commented National Team general manager Rodrigo Lopez, a starting pitcher and Gil teammate for Mexico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. "As a player, he is on the list of World Series winners; as a manager, he's shown leadership, attitude and passion. He is fluent in English and Spanish and knows the Mexican Leagues as well as the Big Leagues."

    Ranked fourth in the world, Mexico will compete in Group C of the WBC and face host USA (ranked fifth), Colombia (#11), Canada (#12) and Great Britain (#23) in Phoenix from March 11 through 15 next year. So far, so good but as November drew to a close, things got weird.

    First, he was fired last Monday as helmsman in Culiacan, where he had managed the Tomateros to four pennants (but no Caribbean Series titles) in six winters. However, the team had a cumulative 16-25 record this current season, including a last-place finish in the first half with 14 wins over 35 contests. Bench coach Noe Munoz was also let go as the team's board of directors issued the usual thanks for professionalism to both as the door was hitting them on the way out. While MLB fans may be shocked over the dismissal of a manager who had been one win away from a fifth pennant since 2014 last season, as Culiacan lost the LMP championship series to Jalisco in seven contests last January, it's a common occurance south of the border. What happened next, though, is a bit rarer.

    In officially announcing the ouster of both Gil and Munoz last Tuesday at noon, a press release from the team stated that Tomateros bullpen coach and former pitching star Francisco Campos (who also manages Campeche in the Mexican League) would be Gil's replacement in the dugout beginning with that night's home game against Guasave. This brought an immediate response from the Culiacan players, who let the board know in no uncertain terms during an impromptu meeting that afternoon that they supported their deposed skipper. After the meeting ended, it was announced by Campos himself (alongside sports manager Mario Valdez) that both Gil and Munoz would be back that night.

    "Upon arriving at the stadium, the boys approached me and told me that it's nothing against me, that I shouldn't take it in that way, but they wanted to talk to Benjamín to let him know that they want him to return," said Campos, who remains as bullpen coach.

    "They asked for an opportunity to show that they can make a difference and that they can make positive results to obtain victories, they wanted Benjamin to return, Mr. Héctor (Ley, executive president) said that they should talk to him and if I accepted, go ahead."

    The Tomateros indeed went ahead and split their first six games after Gil's reprieve.


NARANJEROS WIN, PULL ONE GAME AHEAD OF LOS MOCHIS

Monterrey OF Roberto Valenzuela

    With just over three weeks remaining in the Mexican Pacific League's regular season schedule, there has not been a lot of separation between teams twelve games into the second-half standings. Los Mochis was in the driver's seat a week ago but first-half champion Hermosillo was never far behind and the two teams found themselves in a tie for first on Saturday before the Naranjeros pulled into a one-game lead by virtue of their 12-5 win at home over Monterrey while the Caneros dropped a 5-1 decision to visiting Jalisco Sunday.

    The Orangemen had to overcome an early 3-0 deficit after Ricardo Serrano socked a three-run homer off starter Jose Samayoa in the top of the first, but knotted the game up at 3-3 in the bottom of the frame, thanks in part to a two-run roundtripper by Luis Alfonso Cruz off Sultanes opener Frank Duncan.

    The two teams went back and for the the next few innings and the score was 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth when Cruz singled in Jasson Atondo and Scott Schebler scored on a fielding error by Monterrey second baseman Alberto Carreon to make it a 7-5 game. A five-run outburst in the eighth put the game away for Hermosillo as Ramon Mendoza stroked an RBI double and Cesar Salazar, Roberto Ramos (who'd homered earlier) and Atondo chipped in with run-scoring singles to end the scoring as 11,395 spectators watched at Estadio Sonora.

    Hermosillo now leads the LMP second half with a 9-3 record, just ahead of 8-4 Los Mochis. The Caneros fell at home to Jalisco Sunday, 5-1, as Julian Ornelas scored on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third to give the Charros a 1-0 lead that they'd build to 5-0 until Brayan Mendoza plated the Caneros' lone run of the night on a Justin Dean single. Ornelas went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, adding a two-run homer off reliever Daniel Duarte in the top of the seventh.

    Jalisco starter Brennan Bernardino and four relievers scattered 10 hits and four walks as Los Mochis went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 on base. Nick Struck did not pitch badly for the Caneros, allowing one earned run on three hits in four innings, but his offense just couldn't put together enough support.

    Just off the Mex Pac pace are Mexicali and Obregon, who are tied for third with identical 7-5 records. The Aguilas lost a tough 6-5 game in Navojoa Sunday after trailing 6-0 heading into the seventh. Reynaldo Rodriguez (a former twins farmhand) just missed hitting for the cycle, delivering a double, triple and two-run homer for Mexicali. Likewise, Obregon fell a game back by losing on the road in Guasave, 4-2, Sunday. The Yaquis could only gather seven hits, two by Victor Mendoza, as Nico Tellache won his fifth for the Algodoneros.

    Tellache is one of five pitchers tied for second in wins in the LMP, one behind the six of Hermosillo's Wilmer Rios. Rios has won five games in a row with one no-decision since November 4, lowering his ERA from 7.84 to 2.24 in his last eight starts. Los Mochis' Luis Miranda, who'd given up one earned run in his first seven starts, allowed four against Jalisco last Friday and saw his ERA jump from 0.20 to 0.92 but that still leads the Mex Pac. Juan Pablo Oramas of Hermosillo is second at 1.28 while Mazatlan's Casey Harman's 1.83 ranks third. Two strikeouts separate the three league leaders as the 50 K's of Matt Pobereyko (Guasave) and Manny Barreda (Culiacan) lead the 48 by Luis Payan (Navojoa). Mazatlan's Elkin Alcala has recorded three saves since the start of December to bring his season total to 15, three more than the 12 each of Josh Leuke (Jalisco) and Brandon Koch (Guasave).

    Monterrey's Roberto Valenzuela saw his batting average drop from .380 to .363 over his last six games but he still enjoys a comfortable lead over Justin Dean (.339) and Yosmany Tomas (.330), both of Los Mochis. Mexicali's Anthony Giansanti belted a homer against Mazatlan last Tuesday to pull into a lead with Jesse Castillo of Guasave at 10 apiece. Obregon's Sebastian Valle is third with eight dingers. The Caneros' Tomas now leads in RBIs with 37, ahead of Obregon teammates Victor Mendoza (36) and Yadir Drake (35). A nice race in stolen bases (so to speak) has developed between Randy Romero of Mazatlan and Hermosillo's Jose Cardona, who have 18 and 17 swipes, respectively. Justin Dean (Los Mochis) and Jared Oliva (Monterrey) are tied with 14 each.


LIM: YUCATAN SOUTH CHAMP; MONCLOVA, PUEBLA IN FINALS

Puebla LIM P Hector Sepulveda

    In restructuring the Mexican Winter League for a second season after its revival last winter, the Mexican League created a somewhat-unwieldy circuit with ten teams representing 14 LMB clubs (including four combined squads) spread out over three divisions: Monclova, Monterrey and Union Laguna in the North; Mexico City/Oaxaca, Veracruz/Leon and Puebla in the Central; and Durango, Yucatan, Tabasco/Guadalajara and Tijuana/Aguascalientes in the South.

    The format made for uneven scheduling and at least one team sitting out every day during the regular season between October 12 and November 28. Teams in the LIM North and Central played 24 games each while LIM South clubs, all playing in Yucatan towns, took the field 28 times. It was determined at one time that the South Division playoff winner would serve as a stand-alone champion among their larger group of teams while North and Central playoff winners would meet in the Serie del Principe for the nominal LIM championship, which was won by Monclova last winter.

    Yucatan earned the LIM South title by defeating the combined Tijuana/Aguascalientes club in three playoff games, including last Thursday's 7-6 win in Uman. Leones starter Cesar Cervantes pitched seven innings to earn the win while closer Anhuar Garcia got the save. Garcia was the LIM's leader in salvados during the regular season. Toros prospect Porfirio Guerrero was tagged with the loss.

    "I'm very happy and very proud of the boys,” said Leones sports manager Santos Hernandez. “We're sure that they will continue to show great capacity for this sport and I'm very grateful to all those fans who have been supporting these future stars from day one."

    Meanwhile, Monclova and Puebla have already begun their Serie del Principe rematch from last season, which was won by the Acereros in dramatic fashion on Shawon Dunston, Junior's walkoff homer in the bottom of the tenth in the fifth and deciding game. Monclova is managed by Matias Carrillo while Hector Hurtado, who spent 22 seasons as a catcher in the Mexican League, is dugout boss for the Pericos, who he led to an LIM-best 16-7-1 record during the regular season.

    The first two games took place in Estadio Monclova, where Puebla won Saturday's opener in a 2-1 pitcher's duel. Pericos starter Hector Sepulveda contributed five shutout inning to earn the win while Parakeets reliever Jose Hernandez sparkled by striking out all five Acereros batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings. Puebla took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on Herman Alvarado's RBI single and the visitors added a run in the eighth on a run-scoring one-bagger by Giancarlo Servin. With runners at the corners and nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, the Acereros pulled off a double steal that brought Evan Carrillo home from third to break the shutout bid and narrow Puebla's lead to one. That was as good as it would get as Caleb Perez ultimately grounded to Luis Medina at third for the final out.

MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE Final 2022 Standings
North: Monclova 14-8-2, Monterrey 10-12-2, Union Laguna 9-13-2.
Central: Puebla 16-7-1, Mexico City/Oaxaca 14-10-0, Veracruz/Leon 5-18-1.
South: Yucatan 14-10-2, Tijuana/Aguascalientes 15-11-1, Tabasco/Guadalajara 12-12-2, Durango 9-17-1.

YUCATAN, TIJUANA TO MEET IN 2021 SERIE DEL REY

    The Yucatan Leones and Tijuana Toros closed out their respective Mexican League Division Championship Series last week and will clash in Game One of the Serie del Rey Monday night in Tijuana. The Leones defeated Mexico City in five games the LMB South title while the Toros required six games to dispatch Guadalajara in the LMB North finals. Both the Diablos Rojos and Mariachis finished first in their respective divisions during the regular season.

    The following is a recap of last week's Liga playoff games:

YUCATAN DEFEATED MEXICO CITY, 4 GAMES TO 1

Leones celebrate LMB South title

    After the Leones won the first two games of the LMB South Championship Series in Mexico City, both teams moved to Merida for the next three contests, starting with last Monday's 5-3 Yucatan win over the Diablos. Mexico City drew initial blood in the top of the first inning when Jesus Fabela scored from third on Japhet Amador's bases-loaded, 6-4-3 double play grounder. Yucatan answered in the bottom of the frame with Yadir Drake launching a two-run homer to put the hosts up 2-1. Another longball by Leones outfielder Jose Juan Aguilar in the bottom of the second made it a 3-1 contest and Yucatan maintained their advatange the rest of the night. Drake ended the game batting 3-for-4 in support of starter Jake Thompson, who let in two runs on three hits over six innings. Diablos opener Luis Rodiguez took the loss after allowing four runs in five innings.

    Mexico City won their only game of the series, 6-4, last Tuesday. The Leones held a 3-2 lead after six innings before the Diablos posted two runs in the top of the seventh, including a Fabela RBI single, and two more tallies in the eighth when Yucatan reliever Rafael Ordaz came in for Enrique Burgos with the bases loaded and promptly plunked Fabela to push across one run and walked Juan Carlos Gamboa to score another, ending Ordaz' night. Luis Juarez slammed a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth but the Leones drew no closer. Yangervis Solarte belted a pair of roundtrippers for the winners (both off Yucatan starter Casey Harman) while Sebastian Valle and Walter Ibarra socked solo homers for the Lions.

    Yucatan ended the series at home last Wednesday with a 9-7 triumph in comeback fashion. The Leones were up 6-4 going into the top of the eighth, when Mexico City took the lead with three runs, including a single by Gamboa that sent Julian Ornelas home. Juarez reversed the Red Devils' 7-6 lead in the bottom of the eighth by rocking his second homer of the night (and third in two games), a three-run blast over the left-field wall on Roberto Osuna's second pitch of the game. It was left to Burgos to record a 1-2-3 ninth and whiff Eduardo Revilla swinging for the final out to end the contest and the series. Juarez, who hit .550 for the series, went 3-for-3 with three runs and four RBIs for the LMB South champs while Gamboa was 3-for-5 with a pair of ribbies.

TIJUANA DEFEATED GUADALAJARA, 4 GAMES TO 2

TJ's Luis Alfonso Cruz and Ricky Alvarez

   Like Yucatan, Tijuana opened the LMB North Championship Series with two wins but after losing two of three games at home, the Toros had to wait until Friday's Game Six victory in Guadalajara to put the Mariachis away and advance to the Serie del Rey. Guadalajara won last Monday's contest, 4-3, in TJ's Estadio Nacional. The game was tied 3-3 in the top of the ninth before the Mariachis scored the go-ahead run off Toros closer Fernando Rodney without a hit: Issmael Salas's grounder to third was badly mishandled by Luis Alfonso Cruz, with Salas advancing to third on the play and later scoring on a Luis Sardinas sacrifice fly. Fernando Cruz tossed a scoreless ninth for the win. Carlos Mendivil clubbed a two-run homer for Guadalajara and added an RBI single while Gabriel Gutierrez went deep for the Toros.

    Last Tuesday, the Toros topped Guadalajara, 7-3, to come within a game of clinching the series. In the bottom of the first, TJ manufactured an old-school run when Isaac Rodriguez singled, moved to second on a Junior Lake safety, stole third and then scored when Mariachis rightfielder Anthony Garcia couldn't hang on to a Leandro Castro fly ball. However, it was Efren Navarro's three-run double off Guadalajara starter Zack Dodson in the bottom of the third to give Tijuana a 4-0 that proved the decisive blow. Rodriguez went 2-for-5 on the night with a pair of runs while the Mariachis' LMB bat champ Leo Heras was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer. Carlos Hernandez got the win for the Toros by tossing five innings of two-run ball and Rodney earned his third save of the series. Dodson absorbed the loss.

    The Mariachis came back Wednesday to make it two road wins in three games, pounding Tijuana, 12-5. Holding a 4-2 lead at the time, Guadalajara put together an eight-run fifth to chase Toros starter Teddy Stankiewicz. Sardinas clubbed a two-run homer for the visitors while reliever Jose Samayoa's throwing error on a Beau Amaral comebacker on the mound resulted in two more Mariachis scores. Sardinas posted a 3-for-5 night with two homers, four RBIs and three runs scored for the winners. Edson Garcia homered for Tijuana, who drew an announced 44,719 for their three home games. After losing the series opener in Guadalajara, LMB wins champion Masaru Nakamura got the win with six innings of work, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts.

    After the series moved back to Guadalajara for Game Six, Tijuana eliminated the Mariachis on Friday by a 5-4 count. Heras' three-run homer off Toros starter Joe Van Meter in the bottom of the fourth gave Guadalajara a 3-0 lead, but TJ came back to score four times in the top of the fifth, with Cruz busting a two-run homer and Rodriguez punching a run-scoring single. Ricky Alvarez gave the Toros a 5-3 lead with an RBI singleton in the top of the ninth and while Christian Ibarra's double in the bottom of the ninth off Rodney brought Heras in to bring the Mariachis within a run, but after Rodney walked Mendivil to put runners on first and second, he induced Amaral to hit a grounder to Daniel Castro for a game-ending double play, escaping with his fourth save of the series and Tijuana advancing to the finals.

2021 SERIE DEL REY Schedule
Game 1: Monday, September 6 (10:05PM EDT) Yucatan at Tijuana
Game 2: Tuesday, September 7 (10:05PM EDT) Yucatan at Tijuana
Game 3: Thursday, September 9 (7:00PM EDT) Tijuana at Yucatan
Game 4: Friday, September 10 (7:00PM EDT) Tijuana at Yucatan
Game 5: Saturday, September 11 (7:00PM EDT) Tijuana at Yucatan*
Game 6: Monday, September 13 (10:05PM EDT) Yucatan at Tijuana*
Game 7: Tuesday, September 14 (10:05PM EDT) Yucatan at Tijuana*
*-If necessary

MEX PAC CAMPS OPEN, FIVE IMPORTS ALLOWED PER TEAM

Hermosillo infielder nabs grounder

    As the Mexican League season enters its final days, training camps for Mexican Pacific League teams have begun opening. Sessions for players and coaches began last Thursday in Los Mochis, Hermosillo, Navojoa and Culiacan. All ten Mex Pac teams should have their camps running at full speed by the end of the week in preparation for the 2021-22 regular season, which opens with three games on Tuesday, October 5 when Mazatlan plays at Culiacan, Mexicali visits Hermosillo and Monterrey travels to Guadalajara to take on the Jalisco Charros (who may be under new ownership by then)

    This season, the LMP's ten clubs will be allowed to carry five foreigners on their active rosters after teams were limited to just three imports each as the pandemic made travel across the border a near impossibility. After an Assembly of Presidents meeting this summer, the league office issued a statement that read in part, “By a majority of votes, the number of imported players was made official. Each team may have up to five foreigners on its active roster, maintaining the inactive periods of 5 days for position players and 10 days for pitchers.” During the 2018-19 campaign, teams were allowed twelve imports in the first half and eight imports for the second half.

Culiacan coach instructing players

    One of those imports will be infielder Addison Russell, a former National League All-Star who was a member of the Chicago Cubs' 2016 World Series championship team. After spending part of the 2020 season with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, where he hit .254 with two homers and 31 RBIs over 65 games, Russell spent this summer in the Mexican League with the Monclova Acereros. Playing primarily at third base for the defending champions, the Florida native hit .318 with eight longballs and 47 RBIs in 66 games, leading the Steelers in batting and ribbies and finishing tied for second in homers. It's not known where Hermosillo manager Juan Navarrete, a Salon de la Fama second baseman, will place Russell in the Naranjeros infield.

    Another import with big league due to make his LMP debut is hulking designated hitter Kennys Vargas, a Puerto Rico native who'll toil for the Los Mochis Caneros this winter. The 6'5” 290-pound Vargas spent parts of four seasons with the Minnesota Twins between 2014 and 2017, hitting an aggregate .251 with 3 homers and 116 RBIs over 116 games. After belting 21 homers for the Twins' AAA Rochester affiliate in 2018, Vargas spent 2019 in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines and batted .179 with a homer and six RBIs in 35 NPB games while also hitting .267 for the Marines' Eastern League farm team. This summer, Vargas played his first season in the Mexican League for Saltillo and had a solid campaign for the Saraperos with a .318 average, finishing third in homers with 18 while playing all 66 regular season games. There is concern that Vargas will only play the first month of the LMP season with the Caneros before heading home to Puerto Rico, where he's played winterball for Mayaguez. The Roberto Clemente League starts its schedule later than the Mex Pac.

U-23 WORLD CUP, CARIBBEAN SERIES SCHEDULES RELEASED

    The full schedules have been released for both the 2021 WBSC Under-23 Baseball World Cup and the 2022 Caribbean Series tournaments.

    The 12-team U-23 Baseball World Cup in Mexico will open Thursday, September 23 with tripleheaders in both Obregon and Hermosillo and conclude with the Gold and Bronze medal games on Saturday, October 2 in Hermosillo.

    Group A nations in the opening round at Estadio Yaquis in Obregon include Cuba, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Taiwan and host Mexico. Group B teams in Hermosillo's Estadio Sonora are Colombia, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, South Korea and Venezuela. The top three finishers in each Group will advance to the Super Round in Hermosillo while the bottom three seeds will be relegated to Obregon for the Consolation Round, both beginning on Wednesday, September 29.

    Tripleheaders will be played throughout the World Cup except for the final day. Games at both venues are scheduled for 10:30AM, 3:00PM and 7:30PM local time from September 23 through October 1 (with a rest day set for September 28). The Bronze Medal game on October 2 in Hermosillo begins at 1:00PM with a 7:30PM start for the Gold Medal game.

    The WBSC previously ruled to expand the age category for the U-23 Baseball World Cup in Mexico to include players up to the age of 24. Previous tourneys have included young professional players from the Australian Baseball League (ABL), Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Major League Baseball (MLB), Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Mexican Baseball League (LMB), Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League (LNBP), Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and other leagues around the world. 

   Meanwhile, the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation has released the schedule for the 2022 Caribbean Series to be played in the Dominican Republic at Santo Domingo's Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal. Built in 1955 and renovated in 2007, the 14,469-seat ballpark serves as home for both the Licey Tigres and Escogido Leones of the Liga Dominicana and will be hosting its ninth Serie del Caribe since 1972.

    As with the U-23 Baseball World Cup in Sonora, the Caribbean Series will feature tripleheaders throughout the five-day opening round-robin portion of the tournament between January 28 and February 1, with games scheduled for 10:30AM, 3:00PM and 8:00PM (as per tradition, the host LiDom champions will play in every nightcap). A doubleheader with games at 3:00PM and 8:00PM is set for the February 2 semifinals while first pitch for the February 3 championship game will take place at 7:00PM. All times are local.

    The same six nations represented in 2020 (San Juan) and 2021 (Mazatlan) will be sending their heavily-reinforced national champions to Santo Domingo: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. The host Dominicans are seeking their 22nd Serie del Caribe title, Puerto Rico is looking for number 17 and the Mexican Pacific League will be hoping for a tenth title. Venezuela has seven championships, Panama has won the event twice and Colombia's pennant-winner will try to win that country's first game.

AGS, LAGUNA WIN LAST NORTH SLOTS; PLAYOFFS OPEN

   After Aguascalientes and Union Laguna emerged from a four-way dogfight for the final two playoff berths in the Mexican League's North Division while Puebla and Quintana Roo pulled away from Leon for the last two slots in the LMB South last week, the 2021 postseason got underway over the weekend.

    With six teams in each division qualifying for the playoffs this year and Guadalajara (46-17) and Mexico City (41-23) winning their divisions in commanding fashion, most of the drama was reserved for the lower seedings in the LMB North. Aguascalientes won seven of their last ten games to finish in fifth place at 30-31, a half-game game ahead of 31-33 Union Laguna. Monterrey had been in eighth most of the season prior to a late charge that made it close before closing in seventh with a 30-33 mark, a half-game behind the Algodoneros to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Dos Laredos had been in the hunt before losing six of their last ten to drop below the Sultans into eighth at 30-36.

    Things weren't as tight in the LMB South, where Leon had a puncher's chance to reach the playoffs entering the final three games of the regular season. The Bravos had to win all three of their games while Puebla had to lose all three of theirs to force a one-game play-in. Leon's 8-1 home loss to Aguascalientes and a Puebla doubleheader sweep of Oaxaca last Wednesday served to knock the Bravos (29-37) out of contention. In fact, the Pericos won all three of their games over the Guerreros to finish at 33-33, leapfrogging in to fifth place ahead of 32-33 Quintana Roo (who lost all three to Veracruz to end the regular season).

    With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the playoffs got underway Saturday with six games. In the LMB North, Guadalajara thumped Laguna, 13-4, as Adrian Gonzalez socked a two-run homer and scored three times for the Mariachis. Aguascalientes surprised Tijuana, 6-1, at El Nido behind Henry Rodriguez' two homers and seven innings of one-run pitching by Rieleros' starter Erick Leal. Monclova held on to take a 5-4 victory in Saltillo as Addison Russell's two-run homer and RBI double helped overcome a shaky Bartolo Colon start (5IP/3R/9H/2E).

Yucatan Leones vet slugger Luis Juarez

    In Saturday's LMB South first round games, visiting Quintana Roo walloped Mexico City, 12-2, as all nine Tigres batters had at least one hit, including Alex Robles' two-run double during QRoo's 10-run second inning. Yucatan's uncharacteristic power display (five homers, two by Luis Juarez) keyed a 15-2 swamping of Veracruz in Merida. Puebla's Miguel Guzman scored from third on an eighth-inning Derrick Loop wild pitch to give the Pericos an eventual 2-1 win over Tabasco.

    Sunday's action saw five of the six series tied up at one game each as the previous night's losers came back with wins. Guadalajara topped Laguna again, 7-3, as Christian Ibarra and Johnny Davis belted sixth-inning homers off Cottoneers starter Rafael Pineda. Venerable slugger Luis Alfonso Cruz had three hits (including a homer and double) and scored three runs as Tijuana bounced back with an 8-4 win over Aguascalientes. Saltillo knotted things with Monclova with a 4-2 win with Henry Urrutia's two-run bomb in the eighth breaking a 2-all tie. Yasiel Puig's two-run homer capped a four-run first as Veracruz went on to cop an 8-3 win in Puebla. Mexico City rebounded with a 7-5 triumph over Quintana Roo, thanks in part to Julian Leon's two-run roundtripper. Juan Pablo Oramas tossed six innings of one-run ball as Tabasco beat Puebla, 3-1, to level their set.

    Monday will be a travel day for all series with six Game Threes scheduled for Tuesday night at ballparks for the lower seeds.

HERAS (.401) TAKES BAT TITLE; 8-0 NAKAMURA COPS WINS CROWN

2021 LMB batting champion Leo Heras

   Baja California product Leo Heras finished 2021with a .401 average to become the 16th native son to be awarded a Mexican League batting championship. The Guadalajara outfielder went 63-for-157 to become the first Mexican to cop a batting title since Tijuana's Isaac Rodriguez in the Spring 2018 season. Heras played 46 of the Mariachis' 65 games, or 70.8 percent. Mariachis teammate Niko Vasquez, a Californian played 59 games and finished second at .387 while Cuban Henry Urrutia of Saltillo came in third at .385 over 56 contests.

    Saltillo slugger Rainel Rosario won his second home run title by crashing 20 to edge out Leon's Xavier Batista's 19. Rosario, a Dominican who led the LMB in 2017 with 26 HRs, becomes the second Sarapero batsman to win more than one homer crown (Andres Mora did it three times). Rosario also led the league with 41 extra-base hits and 174 total bases.

    Another Dominican, Leandro Castro, finished with 72 runs batted in over 64 contests for Tijuana to lead in that category. Batista and Mexico City's massive Japhet Amador tied for second with 57 RBIs, well behind Castro (who had a great season in batting .378 for the Toros while leading the loop with 93 hits, including 20 doubles and 14 homers.

    Quintana Roo's Reynaldo Rodriguez stole 21 bases to finish first in that category, just beating out the 20 of Tabasco outfielder Herlis Rodriguez. A first baseman from Colombia, Rodriguez beat his previous personal best of 14 swipes to become the first Tigres player to lead the Liga in steals since Luis Polonia's 48 in 1997.

    Other LMB batting leaders included Guadalajara's Beau Amaral with 65 runs, Veracruz' Jesus Valdez stroked 30 doubles, Durango outfielder Tito Polo legged out 7 triples, Mexico City's Jon Singleton had a .503 on-base percentage and 1.196 OPS over 46 games and Puebla rookie David Olmedo-Barrera's .694 slugging percentage ranked first.

Tijuana's Fernando Rodney won saves title

    Japanese import Masaru Nakamura capped a great Mexican League debut by finishing with an 8-0 record over nine starts, good enough to lead the LMB in both wins and won-lost percentage. Nakamura also finished fourth with a 3.25 ERA, striking out 46 batters on 52.2 innings of work after compiling a 15-17 ledger over all or part of nine NPB seasons.

    Tabasco starter Luis Escobar joins fellow Cartagena product Reynaldo Rodriguez of the Tigres in leading the LMB in an individual category. Escobar's 2.54 mark makes him the fifth Olmecas hurler to win an ERA title, joining former Red Sox pitcher Mike Nagy (1978) and becoming the first Tabasco player to do so since Jean Jesus Alvarez in 1999.

    Two pitchers tied for the strikeouts championship with 69 apiece, with Dos Laredos' Jackson Stephens and Puebla's Jose Valdez sharing the award. Stephens (a former Cincinnati Reds starter) got his K's in 65 innings while walking just 16 while Valdez needed 72 innings, walking 32 opponents in the process.

    Former MLB All-Star Fernando Rodney capped a successful first year in Mexico by winning the saves title, securing 16 salvados in 19 chances. Rodney won all three of his decisions and had a 1.80 ERA in 28 appearances. Tabasco' Fernando Salas finally allowed his first earned run in 21 outings to finish with an 0.42 ERA, going 12-for-12 in saves.

    Other LMB pitching leaders included Yucatan's Jake Thompson with a 1.07 WHIP, fellow Leones hurler Radhames Liz had two complete games, Veracruz' Dylan Unsworth and and Aguilas moundmate David Reyes tossed the year's only two shutouts (Unsworth's was a no-hitter), Rafael Pineda of Laguna was tops with 77 innings pitched, Monterrey middleman Norman Elenes led with 38 games pitched and Derrick Loop of Tabasco had 12 holds.

BRAVERMAN: MANY RESPONSIBLE FOR OLYMPIC COLLAPSE

Out 27 columnist David Braverman

    While many Mexican baseball fans have been vocal with their outrage and disgust over their country's 0-for-3 performance at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, it appears that few journalists and broadcasters have joined the chorus. Not so with syndicated columnist David Braverman, whose “Out 27” is one of the most widely read commentaries in Mexico.
 
   Braverman's column last Friday outlined what he believes were the causes of Mexico's collapse during their first foray into Olympic baseball. In this edited Google Translate version of that column, titled “Ostrich of Baseball,” he shares his observations:

    With the great Olympic failure of the Mexican baseball team still fresh in the minds of the fans and the protagonists back with their different teams in the LMB and other leagues, a very small sector of the Mexican baseball press continues to question what the hell happened but even more so, what the main responsible parties will face.

    Give opinions, point out, criticize, always with arguments: that is the true work of the journalist who boasts of being one. The rest is the least and Mexican baseball is full of characters who call themselves journalists or reporters, but whose criteria do not go beyond "looking good" with whom they agree. The same thing happens with narrators and commentators. I deeply respect their admirable work and there are very good ones, but their work will never be journalistic and much less critical when they put on the shirt of the team for which they work. They are part of the promotion and, I repeat, very respectable.

    The poor results in Tokyo were simply the chronicle of a death foretold. Removing those who achieved the Olympic qualification, paying attention to tantrums and stubbornness of those who feel like owners of the bats and balls because they were major leaguers or simply allowing that ridiculous occurrence of publishing a photo of several selectees with the uniform of their winter team are clear samples that it was never understood that they were going to an Olympic Games and the importance of what that represented.

    Of course, everyone involved is to blame. The players disappointed Mexico and only a couple responded on the diamond. The majority created a fiasco ending as the worst offense of the tournament and one of the two worst pitching staffs. In baseball, the statistics don't lie. Managers and coaches never studied their rivals and thought they were going to face poor teams like the Oaxaca Guerreros or the Durango Generales. They were very wrong.

    But for that failure to occur on the field of play there were those who orchestrated it and not just now, but long ago. It was during the management of Javier Salinas, the worst president that the Mexican League has had in its history, when the FEMEBE that Enrique Mayorga inherited after the death of Lieutenant Alonso Pérez handed him the management of the Mexican team.

    Salinas, an illiterate baseball player but a good seller of mirrors, stuck his nose in until he reached the president of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation, Riccardo Fraccari, with that unsuccessful attempt by the hesitant called Baseball 5 and other “business”. From then on, there were characters in the LMB who played the tambourine of the relationship with Fraccari at their convenience as well as the management of the team. You can not forget that "Chabelo Tour" of 2019 for two games in Japan and Salinas taking his entire entourage for a walk, of course, in exchange for loyalty.

    The subject had been inherited since his arrival by the current president of the summer circuit, Horacio de la Vega, a chess expert with total ignorance of baseball and a former Olympian who knows the strict doping controls in the event that brings together more than 200 countries every four years. It was precisely the doping that presented problems in assembling the team, especially if we take into account that currently in the LMB the controls are hesitant and the positive tests are paid with financial fines, not with punishments to the player. So imagine the result of the mixture that gives us a total ignorance of baseball with the risk that the players will test positive for Olympic doping.

    With the endorsement of the inoperative baseball federation and the hidden but direct supervision of Edgar González's PROBEIS, the LMB (through its president and sports director Gabriel Medina) removed the manager who had obtained the Olympic berth, Juan Gabriel Castro, to bring in Benjamín Gil and from there form the team fulfilling the whims such as Adrián González, who clearly agreed to play in Mariachis with the condition of going to the Olympic Games. The result? Tremendous disappointment.

    Those responsible for the worst failure of Mexican baseball internationally have names and from my point of view, they have been clearly named in this column, which ends with the following questions:

    Why do some of the members of the Mexican team find it so hard to call failure to failure?

    Finishing in last place being a country with professional baseball all year...isn't that failure?

    Who orders and who executes decisions for the Mexican baseball team?

    Will LMB, FEMEBE and PROBEIS sleep soundly?

    Will those responsible stand up and resign?

    Knowing Mexican baseball for decades and its current reality, the answer to the last question is a resounding NO. It will be the fable of The Ostrich of Baseball.

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.