FERNANDO'S NUMBER 34 RETIRED BY MEXICAN LEAGUE

Fernando with family, Salinas and Chacho

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

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

Fernando Valenzuela at 19

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

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

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

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


MEXICO CITY BALLPARK CONTRACTOR SUES HELU GROUP

Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City

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

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

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

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

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

Diablos Rojos owner Alfredo Harp Helu

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

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

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


CABORCA SEEKS TO CLINCH LIGA NORTE SECOND HALF TITLE

Caborca Rojos celebrating a win at home

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

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

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

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

Sunset at La Paz' Estadio Arturo C. Nahl

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

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

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

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

Umpire fined, suspended following argument in Monterrey

A reversed umpires' call in Monterrey Saturday resulted in a protracted on-field dispute, with several fines and suspensions later handed down by the Mexican League, including one of the umpires.

The visiting Saltillo Saraperos were leading archrival Monterrey, 12-10, in the bottom of the ninth, but the host Sultanes had Agustin Murillo standing on second base with two out when pinch-hitter Arturo Rodriguez swatted a pitch from closer Tony Pena over the wall above the left-field foul pole that third-base umpire Hugo Torres ruled foul, bringing Monterrey manager Felix Fermin out of the dugout to appeal the call, which was reversed by the crew into a game-tying, two-run homer.  At that point, Saltillo skipper Francisco "Paquin" Estrada and his coaches emerged from the Saraperos dugout to protest the reversal and the battle was on.

When the dust finally settled, the call stood (Monterrey eventually won, 16-14, in twelve innings) but things got ugly enough that the LMB has handed out the following suspensions and fines: Saltillo skipper Estrada was suspended a total of three games and fined $14,608 for insulting umpires Torres and Jair Fernandez upon his ejection, then remaining in the dugout following his expulsion; Saraperos coaches Fernando Elizondo and Luis Carlos Martinez will each miss a game due to their use of abusive language to the men in blue; Saltillo right fielder Carlos Alvarez was suspended for a game and fined $3,652 for using foul language and threatening Torres; and relief pitcher Rudy Gonzalez was suspended for the rest of the season after head-butting Torres during the argument.  Saltillo's entire coaching staff was given a blanket warning by the LMB that if they engage in similar behavior again, strong sanctions will come their way.

Even the umpires were not unscathed, although it was for what was NOT done Saturday.  Home plate umpire Fernandez was suspended two games and fined $3,000 for taking an inordinate amount of time to consult with his crewmates on Fermin's appeal, reversing the initial decision of his companions "without the strong elements to do so" ("sin tener los elementos contundentes para hacerlo"), failing to maintain control of the argument between Saltillo team members and coaches and the umpires and no applying a regulation that calls for a forfeit if an argument lasts more than 20 minutes.

The first-place Sultanes have won their last six games to improve to 66-34 on the season, becoming the first team in the LMB North Division to clinch a playoff berth with eleven games left on the schedule.  Monclova (62-39) is in second place, Tijuana (61-41) is third and Laguna (56-46) holds the fourth and final playoff berth, five games ahead of Mexico City (50-50).  Saltillo is next-to-last at 44-56.  Puebla (68-32), Yucatan (67-32), Quintana Roo (61-41) and Campeche (52-47) have all punched their tickets to the postseason.

Puebla catcher Cesar Tapia (.374) has a comfortable lead in the batting race, Monterrey third baseman Alex Valdez (whose two-run walkoff homer in the twelfth won Saturday's game) now has a Liga-best 27 longballs, Aguascalientes shortstop Diory's 90 RBI's tops the circuit and Saltillo outfielder Justin Greene's 32 stolen bases is one more than Christian Zazueta of Saltillo.  Among pitchers, departed Monclova ace Josh Lowey's 1.66 ERA and 131 strikeouts both remain best among the loop's hurlers, Cuban exile Yoanner Negrin is 16-1 for Yucatan to lead in wins and Monclova closer Arcenio Leon has 32 saves, one up on Puebla's Chad Gaudin.

Puebla has a pair of crucial LMB South series this week, starting with a three-game midweek set in Cancun against the Tigres and continuing next weekend with three more against Yucatan in Merida.  In the North, Aguascalientes tries to stay in the race as they host Laguna from Tuesday through Thursday while Monterrey has a big series in Tijuana starting Friday night.


Northern Mexico League playoff semis underway

The Northern Mexico League's regular season has concluded and the Mexican League's AA minor circuit is currently in the midst of their playoff semifinals.

The San Quintin Freseros, Ensenada Marineros and Mexicali Centinales all finished the schedule with identical 42-32 records to lead the composite LNM standings, but the Freseros got the nod for top seed in the postseason by collecting 13.0 points over the two-half campaign, just ahead of Ensenada's 12.5 points and 12.0 for both Mexicali and the San Luis Rio Colorado Algodoneros, who finished at 36-35.  The Tecate Toritos picked up 10 points for the fifth playoff seed and the Puerto Penasco Tiburones copped the final berth with 9 points, two ahead of the last-place Caborca Rojos.

Currently, both San Luis and San Quintin are one win away from meeting in the LMN Championship Series.  The Algodoneros lead Tecate, 3 games to 2, in their series while the Freseros have a 3-to-2 advantage over Mexicali in the other semifinal set.  San Luis, San Quintin and Tecate all won their first round series while Mexicali earned the fourth and final wild card berth for putting up the best performance among the three teams who lost in the opening round.  All three first round sets were decided in six games.

Randy Arozarena of Tecate won the batting title with a .377 average.  The 21-year-old Cuban exile, who also led the LNM with 42 stolen bases, was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals to a $1.25 million contract last week, likely more than he used to earn playing in Pinar del Rio.  Puerto Penasco Karexon Sanchez led the loop with 11 homers and San Quintin's Yordani was tops in RBI's with 47.  Yeiper of San Quntin led all pitchers with eight wins and 105 strikeouts.


Mexican Baseball Fiesta returning to Tucson for sixth year

Five Mexican Pacific League teams will converge on Tucson, Arizona in late September for the sixth annual Mexican Baseball Fiesta.  Two teams of prospects from as-yet-named Major League Baseball organizations will also take part in the four-day, eight-game event between September 29 and October 2 at Kino Stadium.  The Fiesta was held at venerable Hi Corbett Field in downtown Tucson last year.

Play will open Thursday, September 29 when the Hermosillo Naranjeros and Obregon Yaquis each take on teams with MLB farmhands.  Hermosillo and Obregon have taken part in all five previous Fiestas and will play all four days while Culiacan, Los Mochis and Mexicali will play two games apiece.  The Naranjeros and Yaquis will meet head-to-head in nightcap games both Friday and Saturday in a matchup that has drawn over 5,000 fans each of the past five years, according to event organizer Mike Feder.  Feder was GM of Tucson's Pacific Coast League teams from 1989 through 2000 and again between 2011-13, earning the PCL's Executive of the Year award in 2013, the last year The Old Pueblo had a AAA franchise before the parent Padres moved their top affiliate to El Paso.

The two MLB-affiliated teams will likely come from among the 15 organizations with Cactus League training facilities in Arizona, with the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres arguably the two franchises that have been the most proactive at marketing south of the border.

Prior to the Tucson event, Hermosillo and Mexicali will play single games against each other in Round Rock, Texas on September 24 and 25, then move west to El Paso for games September 25 and 26.  The Naranjeros and Aguilas will play an afternoon game in Round Rock before playing that evening nearly 600 miles away in El Paso on September 25.

MEXICALI TO PLAY IN MEXICAN NORTHERN LEAGUE

The Mexicali Aguilas have announced the formation of an associated team that will play this spring and summer in the Class A Mexican Northern League. According to Puro Beisbol, the Mexicali Aguiluchos (or Eaglets) have signed working agreements with the Mexican League Reynosa Broncos and Laguna Vaqueros, but will also be drawing from the parent Aguilas’ 60-man Mexican Pacific League winter roster for players. The Aguiluchos will play their home games at Casas GEO, the Aguilas’ winter home and site of the 2009 Caribbean Series.

“In accepting participation in the Liga Norte,” said Aguiluchos director Jose Luis Rodriguez, “we saw the chance to have better proximity to our prospects. It’s a privilege to have baseball in any of its concepts, and we want to continue building it.”

The Mexican Northern League season will get underway March 28 with six teams, including the Ensenada Marineros, Magdalena Membrilleros, Puerto Penasco Tiburones, San Luis Algodoneros, Tijuana Truenos and now the Mexicali Aguiluchos. Ensenada, Tijuana and Mexicali will represent the state of Baja California while Magdalena, Puerto Penasco and San Luis will represent Sonora. An All-Star Game between teams from the two states is slated for May 13 in Tijuana. The regular season will conclude June 28, with the playoffs to follow.

The Mexican Northern League has been in existence for several decades as a developmental league for the LMB. Mexicali and Magdalena joined the LNM for 2012 after Caborca, Agua Prieta, Empalme and Guaymas broke away in the offseason to form the new Northern Sonoran League along with new clubs in Nogales and Cananea. Caborca won the LNM title last year. The LNS will play a 60-game schedule plus playoffs beginning April 17.

TIJUANA TO HOST THIRD BASEBALL FESTIVAL

Tijuana will once again host a three-day baseball event featuring four teams from the Mexican Pacific League. The Caribbean Series champion Obregon Yaquis will be in the Baja California Norte city from September 30 through October 2 along with the Culiacan Tomateros, Mazatlan Venados and Mexicali Aguilas. This will mark the first time the Venados have played in the tournament after local fans in Tijuana requested they be invited.

The Beisbol Fest began in 2009, a year after the Tijuana Potros Mexican League franchise shifted to Reynosa. Since then, the border city has had teams come and go. Tijuana presently has a franchise in the summer Class A Mexican Northern League, although it has been mentioned as a possible future MexPac city if expansion talk ever becomes reality (a foolish move given the ongoing mess in Navojoa).

The Beisbol Fest is being promoted by Pro3 Sports & Entertainment and will take place in the 19,500-seat Estadio Cerro Colorado (formerly known as Calimax Stadium). The four teams will play a round-robin format, with a Home Run Derby also planned for October 1.

LIGA NORTE TO OPEN SEASON ON APRIL 14

The Mexican Northern League is slated to open its 2011 season on Thursday, April 14 with a lineup of eight teams on the league rostrum. The defending champion Ensenada Marineros will host the Tijuana Truenos in the first of a 72-game regular season schedule that will last into mid-July, followed by a six-team playoff.

There had been concern in the offseason that both Ensenada and Tijuana might be forced to withdraw from the LNM because the two Baja California cities represented costly road trips that some of the remaining league teams in Sonora could not afford to make, but at a January meeting, it was determined that they would be back in the fold for 2011. However, Tecate has dropped out of the league and been replaced by the Magdalena Membrilleros this year. Groups from Mexicali and Puerto Penasco have applied for membership but the requests were tabled until a later date.

The LNM is considered a “Class A” league and affiliated with the AAA Mexican League. Liga Norte teams will be allowed to carry 28 players, including four imports, but only two players age 30 or more (one Mexican and one extranero). The circuit began in 2000 as the Liga Norte de Sonora, but changed its name after the later addition of teams in Baja California.

BASEBALL FEST HELD IN ENSENADA

A four-team baseball festival was held in the Baja California city of Ensenada in early October on the heels of a similar event in Tijuana. The Ensenada fest consisted of three daily doubleheaders, a home run derby and autograph signings.

The Ensenada Marineros of the Mexican Northern League were the home team for the three-day round-robin tournament held October 5-7, hosting the Mexicali Aguilas, Obregon Yaquis and Hermosillo Naranjeros of the Mexican Pacific League. The Marineros won the LNM pennant last summer by defeating Guaymas in the title series in five games.

Marineros president Juan Arellano, who organized the festivities, said, “We spent one year trying to bring a baseball event for the people of Ensenada with teams from the Mexican Pacific League.” Mexicali manager Dave Machemer added, “I’m very happy to be here in Ensenada.”

MEXICALI SIGNS PITCHER SISCO TO WINTER CONTRACT

The Mexicali Aguilas have signed 6’10” pitcher Andy Sisco to a contract for the upcoming Mexican Pacific League season.

Sisco began his professional baseball career with the Chicago Cubs’ Arizona Rookie League team in 2001. He was at one time a highly-regarded Cubs prospect, but his star gradually fell and he ended up being picked by Kansas City in the 2004 Rule V draft. Sisco spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Royals, going 3-8 with a 4.87 ERA in 132 relief appearances. He was dealt to the Chicago White Sox and went 0-1 with a 8.39 ERA in 18 trips from the bullpen before being released after the 2007 season. Sisco missed the 2008 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery before pitching for the Athletics and Giants organizations the past two years.

Sisco gained notoriety his first time south of the border while with Mazatlan in 2006 when a team official spotted him munching a taco in the ballpark concourse during the first inning of a ballgame. Sisco was released the next day…after tossing six innings of two-run ball.

ENSENADA TOPS GUAYMAS FOR LIGA NORTE CROWN IN FIVE-GAME FINALS

The Ensenada Marineros defeated the Guaymas Ostioneros, 4-0, on August 9 to cop the Mexican Northern League championship series in five games over the defending champions. Dominican pitcher Alexis Candelario went seven shutout innings for Ensenada to win the LNM title clincher while Jose Alexis Galician took the loss after allowing three runs in 6.1 frames.

Ensenada finished with the second-best record in the LNM at 49-21, but the Marineros were third in points behind 40-26-2 Caborca in points, 6.5 to 7.0, because (for whatever reason) the league decided not to award points for the second half in which Caborca went 11-16-1 while Ensenada was 20-10.

Tijuana finished first both halves with an overall record of 54-14-2, but was bounced from the playoffs by Guaymas in the first round in seven games. Ensenada eliminated Caborca, 4 games to 1.

FOUR-WAY BATTLE FOR LIGA NORTE SECOND-HALF LEAD

Agua Prieta, Tijuana and defending champion Guaymas are all tied for the second-half lead in the Class A Mexican Northern League with identical 14-4 records, one game ahead of 13-5 Ensenada. Tijuana nudged out Caborca for the first-half crown with a 29-9-2 record.

Ex-Cubs farmhand Kevin Soto of Empalme leads the LNM with a .413 batting average in 53 games, former Mexican Leaguer Jayson Bass of Caborca has a commanding lead in homers with 15 and onetime Japanese Pacific League player Yuji Yoshioka of Ensenada is tops with 57 RBIs.

Pitchers Omar Urquidez of Empalme and Agua Prieta’s Jose Quintero each sport 8-1 records, Ensenada’s Alexis Candelario (who is a perfect 6-0) has a microscopic 1.28 ERA while Tijuana’s Carlos Teller leads the Norte with 74 strikeouts in 58 innings. Urquidez has pitched sparingly in the Mexican League in recent seasons (including four games for Nuevo Laredo this year), while the other three hurlers have all pitched affiliate ball in the low minors.

Guaymas (pictured) defeated Agua Prieta in the LNM finals last August for the 2009 pennant.

RALLY FALLS SHORT AS WORLD CUP ENDS FOR MEXICO

Although they ended up losing their third straight game, Mexico definitely made thing interesting to the end in a 6-5 loss to Australia Sunday at the Baseball World Cup in Macarata, Italy. The defeat ended the second-round schedule for the Mexicans, who were eliminated from contention one day earlier with a loss to the United States.

Trailing 6-3 going into the bottom of Sunday's ninth inning, Oswaldo Morejon led off with a single before Abel Martinez (pictured) strode to the plate and blasted a two-run homer to bring Mexico to within one run of Australia with nobody out.

At that point, Aussie pitcher Matthew Williams was replaced by Adam Bright, who was greeted by a single to right field by Ivan Terrazas. Terrazas advanced to second on an Oscar Robles tapper to the mound, and then to third on Cristian Presichi's 5-4 groundout.

Mexico stayed alive when Noe Munoz was struck by a pitch from Brendan Wise, Australia's third pitcher of the inning, to put runner at the corners with two men down. Tim Cox then became the Aussies' fourth pitcher of the entrada when he strolled in from the bullpen to face Jesus Cota, who was batting .325 with four homers in nine BWC games. With the count at 2-2, Cota hit a Cox pitch into left field, where former major leaguer Chris Snelling made the catch to end the game and Mexico's World Cup run for 2009.

Paul Mildren was awarded the win with two scoreless innings in relief as Australia sent eight men to the mound in the contest. Francisco Cordova was pinned with the loss for Mexico after allowing two runs on four hits in 1.2 innings of relief.

Both teams collected ten hits for the game, as Martinez finished with a double, homer, two runs and three RBIs for the Verde Grande. Mario Valenzuela clubbed a solo homer in the fourth for the Mexicans.

Mexico ended the secound round with a 2-5 record to finish in a tie with Japan for fifth place in the eight-team Pool G standings. Overall, the team was 5-5 under manager Enrique "Che" Reyes.

GUAYMAS WINS 1-0 THRILLER TO CLINCH NORTE PENNANT

Although Guaymas team officials were able to hold off fans outside the ballpark who wanted to watch the sold-out game going on inside, there was nothing that could hold off Rafael “El Toro” Flores and his Ostioneros from defeating Agua Prieta, 1-0, last Sunday to close out their Mexican Northern League championship series in five games.
Flores drove in Julian Laurean with the game’s only run by drilling a pitch off the wall in the bottom of the first, and then went on to toss a shutout in his fifth complete game of the postseason to cinch the pennant for Guaymas, who ended the Vaqueros’ three-year run for the Norte championship.
Over 5,000 fans jammed Guaymas’ Estadio Abelardo L. Rodriguez for the game.

GUAYMAS TAKES ON AGUA PRIETA FOR NORTE FLAG

The Guaymas Ostioneros are playing the Agua Prieta Vaqueros in the Class A Northern League championship series in Sonora.
Guaymas swept the San Luis Algodoneros in four straight games to win their Norte semifinal series, thereby punching a ticket to the league finals. For their part, Agua Prieta reached the title set by topping the Magdalena Membrilleras in five games.
The Vaqueros won last Tuesday night’s title set opener, 3-1, in Agua Prieta behind catcher Manuel Del Campo’s three-run homer in the fourth inning. Starter Leo Figueroa won his third playoff game for Agua Prieta, tossing six innings of one-run ball while scattering nine hits. Rafael Flores turned in his fourth complete game of the postseason for Guaymas in a losing effort.

SONORAN NORTHERN LEAGUE SEMIS UNDERWAY

The semifinals of Sonora’s Northern League have begun as both Magdalena and Guaymas took opening night road victories on Tuesday.

Magdalena topped the Agua Prieta Vaqueros, 10-6, in Agua Prieta. Rodolfo Gonzalez took the win for the Membrilleras by tossing seven innings of one-run ball. On the same night, Guaymas scored four runs in the third inning and went on to beat San Luis, 9-2, in San Luis Rio Colorado. Texan Rafael Flores earned the pitching win for the Ostioneros. Both semis are best-of-7 series.

In the opening round of Northern League playoff action, San Luis knocked out Ensenada, 4 games to 1, Agua Prieta eliminated Mexicali in six games, and Magdalena outlasted Guaymas in a full seven games. While all three series winners automatically advanced to the final four, Guaymas also moved into the second round as the fourth “lucky loser” team by virtue of their three first-round wins as compared to Mexicali’s two victories and Ensenada’s lone triumph.

MEXICAN NORTHERN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS UNDERWAY

The 2009 playoffs have begun in Mexico’s Northern League. The Mexicali Azules slipped past the Agua Prieta Vaqueros to win the second half title with a 26-18 record after stumbling to an 18-25 mark in the first half of the season and finishing seventh in the eight-team league. The San Luis Algodoneros won the first half crown at 26-17, and finished the regular season with the best overall record at 50-38 and topping the Norte with 14.5 points over two halves. Joining Mexicali, Agua Prieta and San Luis in the postseason are the Guaymas Ostioneros, Ensenada Marineros and Magdalena Embrilleras, while Caborca and Empalme both missed the cut.

In the three best-of-7 first round series, San Luis leads Ensenada, 3 games to 0, Agua Prieta has a 2-0 edge over Mexicali, and Magdalena is ahead of Guaymas, 2 games to 1. The three series winners will advance to the semifinals, as will a fourth “lucky loser” team which wins the most games in a losing effort during the first round.