LMP SHUTS DOWN FOR 11 DAYS TO BATTLE VIRUS SURGE

Los Mochis outfielder Leandro Castro

  Following an uptick of Wuhan virus cases that led to series delays and postponements or cancellations of games (including two entire series), the Mexican Pacific League held an emergency Assembly of Presidents meeting late last week, where it was decided to close the season down for eleven days, beginning Friday, November 6. Games are slated to resume on Tuesday, November 17.

    Things began to unravel Tuesday, October 27, when a scheduled series opener in Hermosillo between the Naranjeros and visiting Culiacan was delayed one day "in order to maintain the logistical protocols," according to a press release from the LMP office. The series instead started Wednesday, October 28 with two seven-inning games, the adjusted format for doubleheaders this winter.

    It was determined Monday of last week that two Los Mochis players, pitcher Santiago Gutierrez and outfielder Leandro Castro, were shown to have the virus in a second round of testing after general tests had indicated six "suspicious" results among Caneros players and coaches. Sports manager Carlos Soto said both Gutierrez and Castro had been sequestered in Mexicali hotel rooms and were to be transferred back to Los Mochis while the team awaited further results. 

    A third Caneros player, infielder Isaac Rodriguez, also initially tested positive and was being quarantined in his hotel room until secondary test results on the defending Mex Pac batting champion were received. Rodriguez was eventually cleared and back in the lineup Wednesday night as the Caneros continued playing.

LMP games to return on November 17

    The pandemic trickle then became a river, with the league office cancelling a midweek series between Hermosillo and Monterrey. The floodgates opened with the cancellation last Thursday of a weekend series between the Sultanes and Venados in Mazatlan while the LMP also postponed the third game of a midweek set that night between Mazatlan and Guasave until mid-November with the entire weekend triad of games between Hermosillo and Guasave called off.

    At that point, Mex Pac president Omar Canizales convened the emergency Assembly meeting on Friday, which led to the cessation of all games for eleven days, starting that evening. A press release from the LMP office in Guadalajara states the stoppage, the first in the loop's 76-year history, will be used to intensify testing of all players, coaching staffs and "collaborators" who have contact with them. All team members will need to present negative virus tests before they'll be allowed on the field when play resumes November 17. 

    Lost games will not be made up while the first half will be extended until Thursday, November 26, four days after its original conclusion on Sunday, November 22. The adjusted schedule will mean a reduction of nine games, with a first half of 29 games followed by a second half with a 30-game calendar.

YAQUIS STILL ON TOP, SWING 4-FOR-1 TRADE WITH MAYOS

Victor Mendoza sent to Yaquis for 4 players

    Amid an ongoing flurry of player movement, the Obregon Yaquis continued their red-hot play into the unscheduled work stoppage, maintaining first place in the Mexican Pacific League standings when the league office halted games for eleven days. Culiacan thwarted the Yaquis' attempt to complete a road sweep by topping Obregon, 14-4, Thursday night as Sebastian Elizalde's seventh inning grand slam capped a six-RBI night for the Tomateros rightfielder, but the loss only dropped the Yaquis' record to 17-3 for the season, good enough for a three-and-a-half-game lead over second-place Hermosillo (12-5). The win lifted fourth-place Culiacan to 11-9, a game-and-a-half behind idle Monterrey (11-6).

    Earlier in the week, Obregon completed a blockbuster trade with last-place Navojoa (6-14) by trading four players to the Mayos for first baseman Victor Mendoza, who was in his fifth winterball seasons in Navojoa but was also a two-time playoff reinforcement for the Yaquis. A hometown boy who turns 30 later this month, the Yaquis had sought to get Mendoza from Navojoa for some time, but the price they paid for the 6'2" 205-pounder raised eyebrows among observers throughout the Mex Pac.

    To acquire Mendoza, who was batting .209 with no homers and eight RBIs in 13 games, Obregon gave the Mayos starting pitcher Octavio Acosta (3-0 with a league-leading 2.12 ERA), outfielder Tirso Ornelas (a highly-regarded 20-year-old San Diego Padres prospect batting .267 in part-time duty), infielder Moises Gutierrez (a .250 hitter in his fourth LMP season) and veteran pitcher Francisco Moreno, who had yet to pitch for Obregon after being acquired from Mazatlan in yet another trade. The lefty-batting Mendoza had not suited up for the Yaquis before play was halted but manager Sergio Gastelum will count on him to augment his 19 career homers in 226 games over seven winters when he returns while sports manager Manuel Velez may have even more riding on Mendoza's success.

Navojoa brings in 3B D.J. Peterson

    Navojoa also helped themselves last week by adding a former Major league Baseball first-round draft pick to their roster. D.J. Peterson was selected out of the Unversity of New Mexico by Seattle with the 12th pick of the 2013 draft and went on to play in the Mariners system until the White Sox picked him up on waivers in 2017. He also spent time in the Cincinnati organization before playing the last two summers with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in the Houston area. Able to play third and first base, Peterson hit .264 with 108 homers in 673 games over seven minor league campaigns before batting .293 with 12 homers over 63 games the past two years. He hit .236 with two roundtrippers for Mexicali last winter and was due to play for Quintana Roo this year before the Mexican League canceled its season, returning to Sugar Land instead.

    Speaking of Mexicali, the Aguilas removed the "interim" part of Bronswell Patrick's title as manager of the team. Patrick replaced Pedro Mere on October 23 after the Eagles started the season by losing their first eight games. Since then Patrick led Mexicali to six wins in his first ten games at the helm, including a 4-0 triumph over Los Mochis last Wednesday in which starter David Reyes, a Los Mochis native, tossed both his first complete game and shutout in nine Mex Pac seasons. The Aguilas told Patrick the dugout boss job was his after that game and Mexicali topped the Caneros, 5-4, the next night before the season was halted. It's worth remembering that while the interim status was taken away from Patrick, this is Mexican baseball, where all managers work on an interim basis, one way or another.

CHRIS ROBERSON STEPS DOWN AFTER 16 YEARS OF WINTERBALL

Chris Roberson batting for Mazatlan

    One of the most popular ballplayers south of the border and a fixture in the Mexican Pacific League for years may be calling it good after 16 years of winterball. Outfielder Chris Roberson, who broke into the Mex Pac with Hermosillo in 2005-06 and also performed with Mexicali for nine years before being loaned by the Aguilas to Mazatlan last season, parted company with the Venados last Friday. After 15 games, the California product was batting .170 with one double and eight RBIs and had expressed his desire to leave the club for personal reasons. The LMP's pandemic-driven work stoppage created an opening and Roberson was granted a release last Friday and went home.

    Born in Oakland in 1979, Roberson was picked from Feather River College north of Sacramento on the ninth round of the 2001 draft by Philadelphia. He spent seven years in the Phillies system, earning AA Eastern League MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in 2005 on the heels of a .311 season at the plate with 15 homers and 34 steals for Reading. After making his LMP debut with Hermosillo later that year, Roberson played his first MLB game on May 12, 2006 during an 8-4 Philadelphia win in Cincinnati. He went on to appear in 85 big league games, mostly as a defensive replacement, and hit .232 in 72 plate appearances. The Phils sold Roberson to the Orioles in 2008 and he spend that season with Norfolk of the AAA International League before signing as a free agent with the Diamondbacks and playing for Reno in the AAA Pacific Coast League in 2009.

    Roberson spent his fifth winter in Hermosillo in 2009-10 and appeared in his first Caribbean Series, then made his move to Mexico permanent by signing with Monterrey of the Mexican League for the 2010 campaign. He's patrolled the Sultanes outfield ever since, batting .333 (topping .300 nine of ten seasons) with 112 homers and 160 steals while scoring 657 runs from his customary leadoff spot in the batting order while performing in six All-Star Games and playing for the Fall 2018 champions.

    While his .285 average with 68 homers, 168 steals and 548 runs in 16 seasons of winterball mostly don't match his Mexican League marks, Roberson has been a distinctive Mex Pac performer over the years. He played in seven Caribbean Series between 2011 and 2018 and was named MVP of the 2014 Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball after leading Hermosillo to the title while leading all batters with ten hits (including the event's lone triple), six runs, two steals and 19 stolen bases over six games.

Roberson signs cap during 2017 WBC

    Whether Roberson, who turned 41 in August, has retired is partly his choice. While he's now a free agent in the LMP, he's still on Monterrey's Mexican League roster and the Sultanes fan favorite did hit .338 with eight homers and five steals in 72 games for manager Roberto Kelly in 2019. If he decides he's done with Mexican baseball, he's certainly not done with Mexico. Married to Monterrey native Yaneth and father to two daughters, Roberson became a Mexican citizen in 2016 and played for Mexico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic under skipper Edgar Gonzalez.

    Although Chris Roberson may have been born and raised in California, his heart and soul now appear to be firmly planted in Mexico.

YAQUIS RECORD AT 15-2, SWING A PAIR OF DEALS

Felix Perez now plays for Obregon

    Recent arrival Felix Perez socked a pair of homers, including a two-run bomb, while Moises Gutierrez added a solo blast as the Obregon Yaquis outlasted the Navojoa Mayos, 4-3, Sunday in Mexican Pacific League action before empty seats at Estadio Yaquis in Obregon. The Yaquis are one of three LMP teams (along with Hermosillo and Navojoa) ordered by Sonora's Secretary of Health Enrique Clausen to disallow fans in the stands after pandemic-related health protocols were ignored in several ballparks on opening weekend.

    The win extended Obregon's record to 15-2 for the first half as the Yaquis stayed three-and-a-half games ahead of second-place Hermosillo (11-5) and third-place Monterrey (11-6), who both won their games on Sunday. Obregon features a strong pitching staff paced by starter Octavio Acosta (3-0 with a LMP-best 2.12 ERA) and closer Miguel Aguilar (7-of-7 in saves and a 2.35 ERA). While the Yaquis batting order won't remind anyone of the 1927 Yankees, they're hitting well enough to win while catcher Sebastian Valle (.339, 4 homers) and outfielder Roberto Lopez (.306/3/12) have been the timeliest hitters.

    Defending LMP home run and RBI champion Dariel Alvarez is off to a hot start for Jalisco, as the Cuban outfielder leads the circuit with a .400 average. Culiacan's Sebastian Elizalde, who hit .308 with 10 homers and 21 steals last winter, leads the Mex Pac with seven homers and 22 ribbies after 17 games while Alonzo Harris has been Obregon's (and the loop's) best base stealer with 10 swipes in 12 tries. Besides the Yaquis' Acosta and Aguilar, the early pitching leaders include Hermosillo starter Juan Pablo Oramas with four wins and 23 strikeouts plus Oramas' Naranjeros moundmate Heriberto Ruelas, who has five holds in nine appearances and has yet to allow a run in 7.2 innings pitched.

    With the season only two weeks old, teams are already making deals to strengthen their rosters. One of the most noteworthy saw Monterrey loaning holdout outfielder Felix Perez to Obregon. A Cuba native who played three winters for his hometown Isla de la Juventud Toronjeros before spending five years in the Cincinnati Reds system, the 35-year-old also played in Japan and has put in five summers in the Mexican League with both the Sultanes and Aguascalientes.

    Perez was a member of Monterrey's first Mex Pac team last winter and one of the club's top hitters, leading the team with a .270 average, 48 RBIs and 36 runs scored while finishing second with 10 homers. However, Perez decided to sit out this LMP season after failing to come to terms with the Sultanes. He decided to report to Obregon and is already making an impact, belting a pair of homers and driving in three runs Sunday in their 4-3 win over Navojoa.

    Not content to coast on their league lead, Obregon also traded veteran utilityman Maxwell Leon to Mazatlan for journeyman infielder Issmael Salas. Son of former MLB reliever Maximino Leon, the younger Leon played five years (2006-10) in the Detroit system before embarking on a nine-year run in the Mexican League with Minatitlan in 2011. This will be his 15th winter in the LMP, where the 36-year-old has played every position but catcher and pitcher while batting .280 over 532 games. He had yet to appear for the Yaquis.

    Salas primarily plays third base but is proficient at all four infield positions. A former Cubs farmhand who has played solely in Mexico since 2009, the Tijuana-born 38-year-old made his LMP debut with Guasave in 2005-06. Obregon will be his eighth team in the loop. Salas has a career .267 winterball average and was batting .400 after six games with the Venados prior to the trade.

    And in Guadalajara, the likelihood of Roberto Osuna finally pitching in a game for the Jalisco Charros increased dramatically after the 25-year-old closer was waived by the Houston Astros last week. Osuna appeared in just four games for the defending American League champions before an elbow injury shelved him for the rest of the shortened 2020 season. There had been concerns that he'd require Tommy John surgery but instead has chosen to rehab in the MLB offseason. After clearing waivers, the righty is now a free agent who will likely need to pitch in the Mex Pac to demonstrate his recovery to potential big league employers. Osuna is reportedly due to begin pitching for the Charros on November 20.

TIGRES, VALENZUELAS TO REMAIN IN CANCUN FOR 2021

Fernando Valenzuela: Now and Then

  After weeks of speculation that the Quintana Roo Tigres were on their way out of Cancun (with the border city of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora thought to be the legacy franchise's destination), the Mexican League announced over the weekend that the 12-time champions will stay put in Cancun.

    An announcement from the LMB office in Mexico City says that Liga president Horacio de la Vega met last week with “the directors of the Tigres de Quintana Roo, the Government of the State of Quintana Roo and the Municipality of Benito Juárez to ensure the team stays in Cancun.” Jose Alfredo Otero of El Fildeo writes that both de la Vega and team owner Fernando Valenzuela verified at an Assembly of Presidents meeting last Friday that the Tigres will stay put in the resort city for the 2021 season.

    Ever since buying the Tigres from Carlos Peralta in February 2017, Valenzuela and his wife, Linda Burgos, have seemingly been beset by one issue after another while struggling to keep the franchise viable on the field and at the gate as well as with the banks. Three rocky years were followed by 2020's canceled season, which seemed to tip the scales toward the Valenzuelas seeking to relocate the team in greener pastures.

    There have long been calls to return the Tigres to their original home of Mexico City, where their longstanding rivalry with the Diablos Rojos would be revived in closer quarters, and there were rumors that there was interest in Veracruz as a possible landing spot. Instead, San Luis Rio Colorado emerged seemingly out of the blue as the team's destination. The city of 200,000 sitting on the Arizona border would be one of the Mexican League's smallest markets while never having hosted a team in either the LMB or the winter Mexican Pacific League.

    On the other hand, San Luis is a baseball hotbed in which the city's ballpark has undergone a refurbishing that more than doubled its capacity to 7,000 spectators. Local and state governments pledged their support for the team moving there, San Luis' closer proximity than Cancun to the Valenzuelas' home in Los Angeles was seen as a positive, as was a natural travel partner for the Tijuana Toros, the Liga's most geographically-remote franchise. As recently as Friday, Puro Beisbol editor Fernando Ballesteros wrote that the Valenzuelas were working to move the Tigres to San Luis, although nothing was official.

Estadio Beto Avila, Cancun

   Instead, it appears that Cancun will have another chance to better support Class AAA baseball after being a tepid host over the previous 14 years. The Tigres moved to the resort city from Puebla in 2007. While there's nothing to indicate that local interest will increase enough for the club to break even financially at the gate, state subsidies expected to disappear in 2021 may have been revived during talks involving de la Vega and the Valenzuelas with government officials. Money talks, whatever the source.

    It was a momentous week for the former National League Cy Young Award-winner. Besides deciding the fate of his ballclub, Valenzuela (who celebrated his 60th birthday Sunday) was given a National Sports Award for his contributions to Mexican baseball, both inside and outside the country. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will make a formal presentation on November 20 as part of events commemorating the Mexican Revolution, in which hostilities officially ceased on November 20, 1920.

LMB: RIELEROS TO STAY PUT, EXPANSION TEAM TO VERACRUZ

Veracruz won LMB title in 2012

    Another team that will be staying put is the Aguascalientes Rieleros. After word came out that the Tigres were hoping to move to San Luis Rio Colorado, rumors heated up that the Railroaders would be making a one-way trip to Veracruz for the 2021 season. An LMB team first appeared in Aguascalientes in 1975, when (ironically) the Veracruz Rojos del Aguila moved west from the port city. While it took just three years to win a Liga pennant, that remains the only title the city has ever won and the current franchise is the third incarnation of the Rieleros after the first two versions moved to Puebla in 1999 and Nuevo Laredo in 2008.

    The current iteration dates to 2012 (when the Tecolotes returned to the city of 800,000) but none of the three Rieleros teams have had much money to work with and crowds at 6,500-seat Parque Alberto Romo Chavez were never large enough to create enough revenues to build a contending team there since the earliest days. The cancellation of the 2020 Mexican League season meant no revenues coming in for a team already swimming in a sea of red ink, making them a target for potential buyers.

    Veracruz has seen its own share of Liga teams come and go since the circuit started in 1925, although the city and state could be considered Mexico's version of Florida in that baseball players are historically more plentiful than baseball fans. Still, business owners there have wanted to bring a team back to the Gulf Coast city ever since owner Jose Antonio Mansur moved the latest version of the Eagle Reds to Nuevo Laredo in 2018. The league office announcement that no team will move anywhere prior to the 2021 season put an end to a Veracruz pursuit of the Rieleros or any other vulnerable LMB franchise (and there are several).

Estadio Beto Avila, Veracruz

    However, a surprising announcement from the LMB put Veracruz at the front of the line in the future. De la Vega's office said that a letter of intent has been “successfully submitted” by a group of Veracruz investors seeking an expansion team. While no timetable has been given for such a move, that would increase the number of Liga teams from the current 16, the announcement said the LMB is “enthusiastic about the possible new addition of the Veracruz Aguilas as an expansion team in such an important and historic city for Mexican baseball.” The original Rojo del Aguilas were formed in 1903 and teams using that name have won six LMB pennants over the years, with Hall of Famer Martin Dihigo hitting and pitching Veracruz to back-to-back titles in 1937 and 1938.

    The statement concludes, “The Mexican Baseball League expects Veracruz fans can soon return to the iconic Parque Deportivo Universitario Beto Avila.”

MEXICAN LEAGUE PLAYERS UNPAID DURING SHUTDOWN

Professional baseball has shut down almost everywhere around the world due to the Wuhan Virus, with only Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League still planning to open their season on time when the CPBL commences their regular season on April 11 playing in empty stadiums. While major and minor league players in the USA are being paid during their indefinite stoppage of play, most of their counterparts south of the border have not been as fortunate.

According to the El Fildeo website, players on 14 of the Mexican League's 16 franchises have gone unpaid since training camps were ordered shut down and the LMB season delayed until at least May 11, with members of the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and Oaxaca Guerreros reportedly being given 20,000 pesos (US$800) apiece by billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu, who owns both teams.

The situation has not only created financial hardships for Mexican League players, but also team owners and the league office. The regular season was originally scheduled to open Monday, April 6 in Monclova, where the Acereros were to host rival Monterrey, with a full slate of eight games slated for the next day. Instead, the cash-strapped circuit will miss a minimum of five weeks' worth of badly-needed ballpark revenues.

Some owners of other Liga teams were said to be considering measures similar to Harp's in helping their players, but the nationwide economic freeze due to the Wuhan Virus has affected most of their non-baseball businesses as well and in many cases, the money just isn't there. Supposedly some players were offered loans from their teams to be returned via paycheck deductions after the season finally opens, but that option was said to have been met with resistance by the players, many of whom have been calling for a union.

The Puro Beisbol website reports that people with ties to the LMB have written letters to Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador seeking financial support for its teams, including former Quintana Roo state adviser Niza Puerto (who has served a similar role with the Tigres baseball team). There is no word whether AMLO, a noted baseball supporter, has responded, but Puerto was said to also be seeking a meeting with PROBEIS head Edgar Gonzalez to work on a solution.

Although the LMB has set May 11 for opening play, the date is not set in stone given an order from the nation's Secretary of Health for a quarantine lasting until April 30 and the possibility exists that the season may be delayed further.  LMB president Horacio de la Vega has stated that he'd be willing to extend a revised schedule into mid-October in order to play the planned 102-game regular season with full playoffs, but an even later start would seemingly make that all but impossible.

Mexican Pacific League president Omar Canizales has said that while his loop has set their own season opener for October 14, the LMP is waiting to see what the Mexican League does first before making it official.

THREE MULTIPLAYER DEALS SWUNG IN MEX PAC

Christian Villanueva's rights traded to Jalisco

While on-field action has ground to a halt in the Mexican League due to the Wuhan Virus, the front offices of the Mexican Pacific League have taken up the slack. Over a four-day period last week, three multiplayer trades were swung involving four teams and a total of 13 players, ten of them pitchers.

The first deal was on last Tuesday, when the Obregon Yaquis sent the rights to third baseman Christian Villanueva and left-handed pitcher Alex Delgado to the Jalisco Charros for a trio of right-handed pitchers: Octavio Acosta, Felipe Gonzalez and Jesus Camargo. Villanueva is no stranger to LMP fans, having spent six winters in Yaquis togs including a banner 2015-16 season in which he hit .322 with nine homers in 64 games. He spent last summer in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants, batting .223 with eight roundtrippers over 73 contests for the Central League team after belting 20 homers with San Diego as an LMB rookie in 2018. Delgado went 6-4 for the Yaquis last winter after posting an 8-4 record with Oaxaca in Mexican League in 2019, earning his first All-Star berth in the process. Though only 25, Delgado has pitched in the LMB for all or part of eight seasons (going 11-1 for Mexico City in 2016).

In return, Acosta gives the Yaquis a pitcher who was 6-1 with a 4.16 ERA for Jalisco last winter. He was the Mexican League Pitcher of the Year in 2017 after turning in a 14-1 mark (2.99 ERA) for Mexico City that year. A former Yankees prospect, Gonzalez was 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA in eight starts for the Charros in 2019-20. Gonzalez went 3-0 and had a 3.22 ERA in 52 relief appearances last summer for Monterrey and, like Delgado, was a first-time All-Star Gamer. While only pitching twice for Jalisco two years ago, Camargo has been a Cubs farmhand since 2015 and gone 13-7 for that organization over four seasons, mostly as a starter, with a career 3.01 ERA over 221.1 innings.

One day later, Mazatlan and Monterrey swapped four pitchers as the Venados shipped Arturo Barradas and Jesus Alcantar to the Sultanes for Felipe Arredondo and Oscar Arzaga. The most recognizable may be lefty Barradas, a 14-year veteran who was 1-1 in 42 relief outings for the Venados in 2019-20. Barradas appeared in the 2015 LMB All-Star Game while pitching for Quintana Roo and the 2016 Caribbean Series with Mazatlan. Alcantar has gone 2-7 with a 7.02 ERA since 2017 with Durango but the Los Mochis native has never pitched in the Mex Pac.

A longtime veteran hurler like Barradas, Arredondo was an Angels prospect for four years before embarking on his 13-year LMB career in 2008 with Quintana Roo and is likewise a middleman who was 0-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 14 outings on loan for Jalisco last witner. The 21-year-old Arzaga signed with the Dodgers in 2016 and went 3-2 for their Arizona Rookie League affiliate that summer, but has been plagued by injuries and never pitched again before being released last May.

Jose Oyervides will return to Guadalajara

The week's final LMP trade was made last Friday when Jalisco dealt shortstop Alberto Carreon and pitcher Luis De Luna to Monterrey for outfielder Sergio Perez and hurler Jose Oyervides, who has previously pitched for the Charros. A two-time All-Star Game performer for Puebla, the versatile Carreon has a career .300 batting average over eleven seasons with the Pericos and can also play second and third bases as well as both corner outfield positions. He hit .254 for the Charros last season. De Luna has made 19 relief appearances for the Charros over two seasons with no record but had a good 2.74 ERA for the Guadalajara team. He's also pitched sporadically for Saltillo, with 40 outings since 2017 for the Saraperos.

In return the Charros get a veteran in Perez, who was a Puebla teammate of Carreon's for five years as a reserve outfielder before being sent to Aguascalientes by way of Monclova last December. A career .307 batter in the LMB, Perez adds little power (25 homers in 11 years) but can get on base and keep a rally going. He hit .260 for Monterrey last season, his first LMP campaign in six years. The 38-year-old Oyervides is a Texan who signed with the Angels in 2002 and has gone on to be one of the Mexican League's most effective pitchers, making five All-Star appearances between 2010 and 2017 and earning Comeback of the Year honors with Dos Laredos in 2018, leading to the question of what he was coming back FROM the year after pitching in an All-Star Game? At any rate, he has a 90-63 career record over 11 LMB seasons and was 1-3 with a 4.12 ERA for the Sultanes last winter after going 9-9 with his hometown Tecolotes in 2019.

PADRES SEND ESTEBAN "EL PONY" QUIROZ TO TAMPA BAY

Esteban Quiroz at 2016 LMB Home Run Derby

After spending seven years working his way into stardom in the Mexican League before signing with Boston, diminutive second baseman Esteban Quiroz will be playing for his third major league organization in as many years after the man called El Pony was sent by San Diego to Tampa Bay to complete a five-player swap between the two clubs. The Padres traded rightfielder Hunter Renfroe and middle infielder Xavier Edwards to Tampa Bay on December 6 in exchange for outfielder Tommy Pham and infielder Jake Cronenworth, who also opened six games as a pitcher for AAA Durham last summer and gave up no earned runs. Quiroz was added to the swap as the proverbial "player to be named later" on March 26.

The 5'7" Quiroz, an Obregon product who turned 28 in February, made his Mexican League debut with Quintana Roo as a teen in 2011. He was overmatched at first, hitting .120 with one RBI in 24 games for the Tigres, but showed his versatility by playing all three outfield slots as well as second base. Quiroz improved to .255 with four homers in 2012, playing every position but pitcher and catcher over 85 contests, but he would struggle at the plate the next two seasons while being shuttled around defensively (when he got to play at all). Although Quiroz had been a member of two LMB championship teams under manager Roberto Vizcarra, he faced an uncertain future at age 22.

Quiroz finally hit stride in 2015 for the Cancun team. Although he only spent eight games at second as Vizcarra played him at six positions that year, he hit .315 and knocked out seven homers over 96 games as the Tigres won their third title in five years as El Pony filled a role similar to Gil McDougald's with the Yankees dynasty of the 1950's. Quiroz also took part in the Home Run Derby in that summer's LMB All-Star Game an reached the finals before losing to Tigres teammate Alex Liddi (who runs 6'4" and 225 pounds). He then had a banner 2015-16 winter for his hometown Obregon Yaquis, batting .317 and winning the Mexican Pacific League's Rookie of the Year award, then hitting an even .400 while scoring seven runs in six errorless games at second as a reinforcement for Mazatlan's Caribbean Series champs.

Following a solid 2016 campaign for Quintana Roo (with career highs of a .335 average, 15 homers and 63 RBIs), Quiroz was traded to rival Yucatan. After being named Mexico's MVP in the 2017 World Baseball Classic (hitting .400 for the Verdes Grande), he rewarded the Leones with a .293 average, 11 homers and his first LMB All-Star game as a player. MLB scouts had noticed Quiroz during the WBC and Boston signed him at the conclusion of the 2017 season. The Red Sox invited him to their Florida training camp the following spring, assigning him to their AA Portland affiliate in the Eastern League to begin another odyssey.

After getting off to a great start with the Sea Dogs, beginning the season with a nine-game hitting streak and batting .302 with four homers and 11 RBIs over his first 15 games, Quiroz was shelved with a sports hernia. He rehabbed with an eight-game stint for the Bosox' Gulf Cost League affiliate before returning to Portland on August 24 and finished what ended up being a "lost" season with a .299 average, seven homers and 24 RBIs in 24 games. After the campaign, he was traded to San Diego for pitcher Colten Brewer.

El Pony looks to go deep for El Paso in 2019 

The Padres brought Quiroz to their major league camp as a non-roster invitee last spring and subsequently assigned him to El Paso of the AAA Pacific Coast League. Despite two stints on the 7-day disabled list, El Pony had a solid season for the Chihuahuas, batting .271 with 19 homers while turning double plays with fellow Sonoran Luis Urias, who spent time in San Diego before the Padres dealt him to Milwaukee last November. Popular among fans in the border city, Quiroz hit .351 with 11 four-baggers over 47 home games, including a May 6 contest against Salt Lake during which he went 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs at Southwest University Park.

After he hit .188 as a Padres non-roster invitee at this season's aborted spring training, though, Quiroz was sent packing to the Rays and assigned to Montgomery of the AA Southern League, where (once the sesaon starts) he'll be starting over. Again.

Entering his tenth season of pro ball, Esteban Quiroz has seemingly faced a litany of challenges all along the way. However, only someone who hasn't read the above seven paragraphs will doubt that he's up to facing this one.

TJ WINS 8 STRAIGHT TO TIE MONCLOVA IN LMB NORTH

Tijuana Toros pitcher Hector Ambriz

The Tijuana Toros have reeled off eight consecutive wins (and 9 of their past 10 games) to pull into a dead heat with Monclova atop the Mexican League North Division standings.  The Toros overcame a 6-3 deficit to pull out a 7-6 home victory over former LMB South leader Oaxaca at Estadio Gasmart on Sunday.  The Toros scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to knot the contest up at 6-6 and finally took the lead one frame later when an errant pickoff attempt by Guerreros reliever Luis Vasquez allowed Isaac Rodriguez to streak in from third base with the eventual game-winning run.  Daniel Moskos then came in from the TJ bullpen and recorded a 1-2-3 ninth on nine pitches to seal the triumph and secure the Toros' second straight series sweep after new manager Lino Rivera's men took three games from visiting Puebla in a midweek series on the border.

While the Toros have been a middle-of-the-pack offensive team thus far in the LMB's Fall season, the pitching staff has been solid, turning in a 3.04 ERA over Tijuana's 14-4 start to trail only North co-leader Monclova's 2.83 mark among the Liga's 16 teams.  It's been a true staff effort, as the highest-ranking Toros starterer among ERA leaders is 0-1 Hector Ambriz, a former MLBer who's 20th at 3.38 after three starts.  Former MLBer Tom Wilhelmsen leads the squad with five saves in eight outing, although his own 3.86 ERA is a bit higher than the rest of the team.  Wilhelmsen hasn't pitched since earning a save against Spring champ Yucatan in Merida on Sunday, July 15 after joining the team just before the opening of the MXL's second season, but is still listed on the Toros' active roster.  For his part, Moskos has been unscored upon in 10.1 innings over 11 appearances while fellow reliever Jesus Pirela has a 1.74 ERA out of the bullpen.  Centerfielder Justin Greene's .411 average is fifth in the league batting race and leftfielder Junior Lake, a newcomer who came from Leon in exchange for reliever Cesar Carrillo on July 10, is among the circuit's leaders with 16 runs over 16 games despite a .220 average.

Meanwhile, in the LMB South, Lake's former Bravos teammates have won six in a row to surge into the division lead with a 10-6 record, one game up on equally-surprising Campeche (10-8).  There'll be a guest story below on Leon's comeback win over Union Laguna Sunday, but skipper Luis Rivera's men moved up the ladder by virtue of home series sweeps over Durango and the Algodoneros last week while last Monday's leader Oaxaca fell to the mythical BBM curse by being swept in road sets at Monterrey and Tijuana after being our headline story (the pressure no doubt got to the Guerreros). 

The Bravos have shown a nice balance between batting and pitching thus far.  Centerfielder Eduardo Arredondo is batting .396 to rank eighth in the batting derby and Felix Pie, a former MLB outfielder, has a .317 average, but Leon is fourth (.296) in the MXL through a team effort at the plate.  Starter Dustin Crenshaw, who went from Laguna to Quintana Roo before arriving in Leon in March after being released by the Tigres, leads the mound staff with a 2.55 ERA to augment his 2-0 record.  Recent arrival Joe Colon, who pitched for Cleveland's 2016 American League champions, has yet to allow a run in eight outings and has four saves to show for it since coming to the Guanajuato team on July 5.

Quintana Roo third baseman Brian Hernandez leads the LMB with a .452 average, Monclova's Cesar Tapia is tops with seven homers after knocking out a longball Sunday against Campeche, Eric Aguilera of Union Laguna has 22 RBIs to lead Felix Perez (Aguascalientes) and Ricardo Serrano (Yucatan) by one and Perez' Rieleros mate Tony Campana heads the stolen bases list with ten.  Josh Lowey (Monclova) has been joined by Acereros reliever Carlos Fisher, Tiago da Silva (Durango) and Edgar Gonzalez (Monterrey) as three-game winners.  Another Monclova hurler, Andre Rienzo, has an Liga-best 0.49 ERA in four starts, Puebla's Enrique Oquendo has the most strikeouts with 28 in 20.2 innings and Wirfin Obispo of Monterrey has eight saves to top that list.

The biggest midweek series of the MXL will commence Tuesday when Monterrey (11-7) visits Monclova (14-4), followed by a big one between the Acereros and Tijuana (14-4) at Estadio Monclova next Friday through Sunday.


GUEST GAME STORY: LEON TAKES 10-8 WIN OVER LAGUNA

Bob Broughton is a Canadian expat now living in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.  Bob is a baseball nut who oversees the CourtesyRunner.com website, which is primarily devoted to NAIA college baseball but also has included stories on the Caribbean Series and his adopted Mexican League team, the Leon Bravos.  It's a good, lively site worth looking at.  The following is his writeup of Sunday's exciting 10-8 Bravos win over visiting Union Laguna in which Leon maintained first place in the LMB South:

Leon Bravos outfielder Felix Pie

The Bravos de León (10-6) defeated the Algodoneros (Cotton Farmers) de Unión Laguna (7-11) 10-8 at Estadio Domingo Santana in León on July 22. This was the Bravos' sixth straight win, and they are in first place in the South Division of the Mexican League.

The game was scoreless for the first three innings, with the Bravos getting a double play in the top of the third inning, and leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the third. The shutout ended with an RBI single by 3B Eudor Garcia in the top of the fourth, and his single loaded the bases with nobody out. Bravos starter RHP Eder Llamas struck out the next batter, and the following batter hit a ground ball that resulted in a force out at home. Llamas was relieved by RHP Marco Quevedo, and he was greeted by a grand slam home run by CF Jonathan Jones. The Algodoneros added another run in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by C Daniel Mercado. They led 6-0 going into the bottom of the sixth, and it looked like the Bravos' winning streak was coming to an end.

The Bravos ended the shutout in the bottom of the sixth when LF Felix Pie scored on a ground out by DH Julio Perez. The next batter, 3B Joe Munoz, hit an RBI single. Munoz was followed by C Israel Nunez, who hit a single (good dive into first base), putting runners on first and second. Algodoneros starter RHP Saul Castellanos was relieved by LHP Roman Pena, and Pena got out of the inning with two fly outs.

Pena was relieved by RHP Humberto Montiel in the bottom of the seventh, and all hell broke loose. 2B Niko Vasquez got it started by reaching on an error, then scored on a single by CF Cedric Hunter. Hunter stole second on a call that was reviewed, but the next batter, Pie, hit a home run, and the score was 6-4. Montiel was relieved by RHP Alejandro Chavarria (Indio, CA) without recording an out. Chavarria walked the first batter he faced, and the second one, Perez, reached on an error. Munoz bunted the runners to second and third, and Nunez hit a double to bring them home. The next batter, SS Marco Jaime (Phoenix, AZ), hit another double to score Nunez, and the Bravos led 7-6. Chavarria was relieved by RHP Jose Barajas, and the only out recorded by Chavarria was the bunt by Munoz. Barajas was greeted with an RBI double by 1B Eduardo Arredondo. Vasquez flied out for the second out of the inning, and Hunter hit a single for his second RBI of the inning. Barajas struck out Pie to end the inning, with the Bravos leading 10-6.

The Algodoneros got within striking distance in the top of the eighth with a two-run home run by Mercado. The Bravos responded by sending in LHP Marco Ramirez. He recorded two ground outs and a strikeout to end the inning. He started the top of the ninth with a ground out and a walk. Another ground out put a runner on second, and a passed ball put him on third. Another walk put the tying run on first, and the Bravos bullpen was busy. However, Garcia flied out to end the game.

RHP Ulises Lopez, who recorded the final out of the seventh and gave up the home run by Mercado, got the win. Chavarria got the loss. Nunez, the ninth hitter in the batting order, finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Arredondo finished 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. For the Algodoneros, Garcia finished 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and three runs scored.

Jones (Vacaville, CA) played college ball at Long Beach State, was in the Blue Jays organization 2010-14. Garcia (El Paso, TX) was a JUCO All-American at El Paso CC, was a fourth round draft pick by the Mets in 2014. He was in the Mets organization through 2017. Castellanos (Jalostotitlan, Jalisco) was in the Dodgers organization 2015-2017. Pena (San Diego, CA) was drafted in the ninth round by the Indians in 2005, was in the Indians organization through 2010. Barajas (Las Vegas, NV) was in the Orioles organization 2008-10.

Pie (La Romana, Dominican Republic) played 425 Major League games, for the Cubs in 2007-08, the Orioles in 2009-11, and the Pirates in 2013. He had a career batting average of .246. Munoz (Hacienda Heights, CA) was drafted in the second round by the Diamondbacks in 2012, was in the Diamondbacks organization through 2016. Vasquez (Oxnard, CA) was drafted in the third round by the Cardinals in 2008, was in the Cardinals organization through 2012, then the Reds organization in 2012. Hunter (Decatur, GA) was drafted in the third round of the 2006 draft by the Padres, played in six Major league games for the Padres in 2011, and 13 games for the Phillies in 2016. Lopez (Cananea, Sonora) played college ball at Central Oklahoma, played some independent league ball and played in Australia.

The third base umpire for the game was Luz Gordoa, the first female umpire in the Mexican League.


MEXICO OPENS 1-2 AT CENTRAL AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN GAMES

Mexico's Octavio Acosta pitching to Nicaraguan batter 

The Mexican National Team was expected to have a fairly easy go of things at the Central American & Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia.  After all, manager Enrique "Che" Reyes had the only fully professional team in the baseball portion of the event (although Cuba typically sends teams of top "amateurs" to such tournaments) and it was thought they'd make short work of the eight-team field.

Instead, the Verdes Grande dropped their first two games before picking up a Sunday win to end the weekend at 1-2 with four games to play.  The Mexicans opened play last Friday with a 5-0 shutout loss to Cuba as veteran Lazaro Blanco combined with two relievers on a four-hitter.  Alan Espinoza had two of Mexico's hits with a single and double but starter Javier Solano was roughed up for all five Cuban runs on ten hits over 4.2 innings before being replaced by David Reyes as 2,500 looked on at Estadio Edgar Renteria.

Losing to Cuba can't be considered a shocker but Saturday's 9-1 defeat at the hands of host Colombia can.  Mexico actually had a 1-0 lead until the Colombians tied the score in the bottom of the fifth inning as starter Jose Samayoa was cruising along, but Samayoa and his teammates suffered a nightmarish sixth as Colombia posted five runs to take a 6-1 lead.  The home side plated another three tallies in the eighth on a bases-loaded single by Cristian Cano to put the game away for good.  Mexico's seven hits on the day were recorded by as many players, with Alberto Carreon and Luis Juarez each rapping doubles, but Sebastian Valle's RBI single in the top of the fourth brought in the only Mexican run of the night as 10,000 mostly-Colombian spectators were sent home happy.

Mexico finally broke into the win column Sunday by topping Nicaragua, 5-0, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first and never looking back.  Amadeo Zazueta and Jose Alvarez both singled and doubled for the winners while Ricardo Rodriguez had two singletons, but it was Octavio Acosta's solid 5.1 innings on the mound that set the tone for what ended up as a three-hitter shared among Acosta (who got the win) and three relievers.  After Saturday's great crowd, only 800 hearty souls showed up for this one in Barranquilla. 

Mexico's four remaining round-robin games will come Tuesday against Puerto Rico, Wednesday against Panama, Friday against Venezuela and Sunday against the Dominican Republic.  Puerto Rico has a 2-0 record, including an unexpected 8-1 win over Cuba, to lead the standings along with 2-0 Colombia, who preceded their win over Mexico with a 3-1 triumph over Nicaragua. 

There was a controversy before the tournament when two-time Mexican League MVP Jesse Castillo was dropped from the Mexican roster without explanation.  Initially it was thought that Castillo's LMB team in Monclova refused to allow him to make the trip to Colombia, but Castillo himself said that was not the case and all but dared Liga president Javier Salinas to give the real reason why.  Castillo was suspected by some to have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, but that contention has not as yet been proven. 

BBM 2017 Summer Awards: Pitcher of the Year

Veracruz Rojos del Aguila pitcher Nestor Molina

There were a number of strong pitching performances in the Mexican League during the 2017 season.  Yucatan's Jose Samayoa was a surprising 11-2 while finishing second with a 2.29 ERA, Tijuana's Carlos Hernandez (10-2, 2.67) and Miguel Pena (11-2, 2.77) led the circuit's top mound staff while 2016 Pitcher of the Year, Yoanner Negrin of Yucatan (11-4, 2.93), had a second straight standout season.  However, the choice for our 2017 Summer Bammy Pitcher of the Year Award came down to two hurlers.

Mexico City's Octavio Acosta, who won only a combined three of eight decisions over the previous two campaigns for Oaxaca in 2015 and the Diablos Rojos, turned in a career year this summer.  The onetime Mets minor leaguer led the league in wins while posting a superb 14-1 record for a team that missed the playoffs for the second year in a row, finished tenth with a 2.99 ERA and registered 102 strikeouts to come in sixth in that category.  The Guasave native's lone loss in 2017 came back on May 21, when defending champion Puebla topped Acosta and the Red Devils, 7-4, at Estadio Fray Nano in the capital city.  It was a career year for the 27-year-old righty, but not quite enough to edge out an even more spectacular season-long performance by Veracruz ace Nestor Molina.

Like Acosta, not much was expected from Molina when the 2017 campaign dawned.  The Valencia, Venezuela product had turned in a combined 7-4 record for Oaxaca and Tabasco with a 4.94 ERA last year before going 2-0 and 2.95 in a late-season, four-game stint with the Braves' AA Eastern League affiliate Richmond under manager Miguel Ojeda, who ironically served as Acosta's skipper this year in Mexico City.  Although he had his moments in 2016 (winning seven games for either the Guerreros or Olmecas in one season is no mean feat), nothing prepared the Mexican League for what was to come this season.

Pitching for one of the Liga's most underpowered lineups, Molina had to bring his "A" game every five nights and while he faded a bit in the late going, he was otherwise up to the task.  After showing an 0-1 record following his second start on April 8, Molina would not lose a second game until dropping a 1-0 heartbreaker to Tabasco on July 27 in Villahermosa.  Over the 15 weeks between defeats, the 6'1" right-hander won eleven straight decisions and lowered his ERA to a microscopic 1.41 after tossing six scoreless innings in Tabasco during a 3-2 win.

Although only two of his final five starts in the regular season could be considered "quality," Molina finished with a league-leading 1.89 ERA and was tied for second in wins with Aguascalientes starter Yohan Flande with a 12-3 record.  Molina also led the LMB with a 1.08 WHIP, his 124 strikeouts were second to Monclova's Josh Lowey's 148 while his three complete games topped the loop.

One cursory glance at Veracruz' everyday lineup might bring a sense of wonder that they were able to qualify for the postseason, even if it was a single play-in game home loss on August 11 to Walter Silva and fifth-place Leon in the weaker LMB South.  Molina was not one of the seven Rojos del Aguila pitchers sent to the mound in that contest by manager Eddy Castro, who surprised some by surviving the entire season at the helm in Veracruz (where in-season firings had become as common as shrimpboats in the port city's harbor).  The Eagle Reds finished fourth in the LMB South with a 48-57 record.  While that may be the definition of backing into the playoffs, they wouldn't have had a sniff of playing beyond the regular season without Molina.

With all due respect to Octavio Acosta, whose great year while backed by one of the the Liga's top offenses (the Diablos posted a team .301 batting average), Molina was performing miracles with a lineup that came in 15th with a .271 average and finished near the bottom in nearly all offensive categories.  Whether the Rojos del Aguila remain in Veracruz for 2018 or move to the Texas border, Nestor Molina should give his team a chance to win no matter where they're playing or who's in the field behind him.

BBM PITCHER OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS
Summer 2010    Bobby Cramer, Quintana Roo
Winter 2010-11  Jose Silva, Culiacan
Summer 2011    Francisco Campos, Campeche
Winter 2015-16  Javier Solano, Mexicali
Summer 2016    Yoanner Negrin, Yucatan
Winter 2016-17  Jake Sanchez, Mexicali
Summer 2017    Nestor Molina, Veracruz

LMB regular season ends, Bravos at Veracruz for qualifier

2017 LMB batting champion Yadir "El Comandante" Drake

The Mexican League's 2017 regular season came to a close Wednesday and when the dust settled on the schedule, the bedraggled Leon Bravos were three games behind the Veracruz Rojos del Aguila, who finished fourth in the LMB's South Division, triggering a wild card qualifying game for the playoffs.  Leon came in at 45-60 while Veracruz was 48-57.  Liga rules state that whenever a fifth-place team finishes within three games or less behind the fourth-place team, a single game will be played to determine which team advances to the division semifinals.  Thus, the Red Eagles will host the Bravos Friday night at Estadio Universitario Beto Avila for the right to play LMB South-leading Yucatan in the first round, which starts Sunday.

The other three series are set in stone.  In the LMB North, the Aguascalientes Rieleros were able to hold off Union Laguna for fourth place by three-and-a-half games, meaning the Railroaders will travel to Tijuana for Sunday's opener against division kingpin Toros.  Monterrey came in second by a half-game over Monclova during the regular season, meaning the Sultanes will host the Acereros in Sunday's Game 1 of their best-of-seven opening round series.  Meanwhile, in the South, defending champion Puebla finished second and will welcome Quintana Roo to Estadio Hermanos Serdan Sunday for the inaugural game of their series.

After some initial confusion, former Durango outfielder Yadir Drake was awarded the batting title after batting .385 for the Generales prior to leaving for Japan in late June to play for the Nippon Ham Fighters.  The Cuban exile is finding the going tougher in the Pacific League, hitting just .185 with no homers and 2 RBIs after 18 games.  The LMB office initially gave the batting crown to Drake's former Durango teammate, Daniel Mayora, who hit .375 for both the Generales and Monterrey through his last game on July 20 (subsequent absence still unexplained), including a 35-game hit streak which fell one shy of the regular season record.  Once someone at the Liga determined that Drake's 300 plate appearances barely met the requirement of 299.7 plate appearances for the batting title, a correction was made and Drake's name was re-entered at the top of the list and Mayora's bumped to second.

No controversy arose in any other statistical category.  Saltillo's Rainel Rosario's breakthrough season, similar to fellow Dominican Diory Hernandez' year in 2016, concluded with a Liga-high 26 homers, two more than Corey Brown's 24 dingers for Tijuana.  Rosario, who hit .331, finished with 104 RBIs to come in second to Ricky Alvarez of Yucatan's Ricky Alvarez' 105.  Alvarez drove in two runs in the Leones' season finale against Quintana Roo to slip past Rosario and claim leadership of a category he'd led most of the season.  Mexico City infielder Ramon Urias led the circuit with 91 runs scored, two more than Justin Greene of Monclova (by way of Saltillo).  Greene, by the way, easily won the stolen bases title with a combined 51 swipes for the Saraperos and Acereros.  Monterrey's Chris Roberson was tops in doubles with 35 while Yosmany Guerra of Campeche led with 12 triples.

Nestor Molina, who finished 12-3 for Veracruz, had the lowest ERA among LMB starting pitchers with a 1.89 mark.  Molina allowed 13 earned runs in 31 innings over his last five starts after his ERA had been just 1.41 heading into a July 13 start against Monterrey.  Mexico City's Octavio Acosta, who began the year with a 3-5 record and 6.84 ERA in two previous Liga campaigns, ended up with a 14-1 record for the Diablos Rojos to lead the loop in wins, two more than Molina and Yohan Flande of Aguascalientes.  Acosta and Molina are the two top candidates for Pitcher of the Year.  While 2015 POY Josh Lowey of Monclova wasn't as dominant as he was in 2016 before heading off to South Korea in midseason, he did win his second consecutive strikeout title with 146 ponches in 127 innings.  Lowey finished 8-5 while his ERA was 2.69 (it was 1.65 last year), but the Floridian put together a string of eight strong starts to bring his ERA down from 4.14 in mid-June.  He'll likely be a factor in the postseason for the Steelers.

Among relievers, Monclova closer Chad Gaudin recorded seven saves in his last ten outings to finish with 29, one more than Tijuana's Jason Urquidez and Wirfin Obispo of Monterrey.  Gaudin let in seven earned runs over 9.1 innings for an ERA of 6.75 in that timespan, however, and will need to pick things up in the postseason, starting with the Acereros-Sultanes series.  In other pitching categories, Molina's 152.2 innings, 1.08 WHIP, 3 complete games and 23 starts (tied with Flande) were all most in the LMB, 2016 Pitcher of the Year Yoanner Negrin of Yucatan led with two shutouts, Tijuana middleman Juan Sandoval easily had the most holds with 29.  After putting that last sentence together, it'll be tough to not choose Molina as POY for this summer's BBM Awards even though Acosta lost only one of 15 decisions for a Mexico City team that failed to qualify for the playoffs a second consecutive season after 33 straight postseason appearances.

Note: Leon second baseman Carlos Valencia, a 17-year veteran who has played in several All-Star Games (winning the All-Star MVP trophy in 2009), was suspended for 100 games by the Liga after testing positive for amphetamines a second time in the past year.  The 37-year-old Valencia was suspended the first 50 games of the 2017 season and went on to hit .255 with 5 homers over the 45 games he did play.  For his Mexican League career, he has 237 homers and 951 RBIs in 1,510 games.  North American outfielder Jason Pridie of Puebla was suspended 50 games after testing positive for oxycodone.  Pridie, an All-Star in three leagues before moving south of the border, went 1-for-6 in two May games for the Pericos before being released one week after the team signed him as a free agent.

Tigres sweep Tabasco, hold third in South with 3 games left

Two-time All-Star infielder Abel Martinez

It's been a long season in Cancun.  While many tourists may rejoice in that, the Quintana Roo Tigres would not likely share the sentiment.  Ever since Carlos Peralta, son of team founder Alejo Peralta, sold the Mexican League legacy franchise last winter to a small group of investors led by former Cy Young Award winner Fernando Valenzuela, little has seemingly gone right for the Tigres.  Off the field, Valenzuela's two partners bailed out on him, leaving the former Dodgers All-Star and wife Linda to go it alone in a city that has never really warmed to the team, with attendance at just over 3,000 per game in 2017.

On the field, several well-paid veterans were dispatched during the offseason but the newcomers that first-year GM Fernando Valenzuela, Jr. replaced them with have mostly failed to pick up the slack.  Manager Roberto Vizcarra, who led the Tigres to pennants in 2013 and 2015, was fired last month as a result but neither he nor new skipper Hector Hurtado have had much to work with.  Quintana Roo is last in the LMB in batting average (.264) and runs per game (3.91) and while the pitching has been better, only wily veteran Pablo Ortega is among the top 20 in ERA (12th at 3.17).  The 10-8 Ortega is also the only Tigres pitcher to reach double figures in wins.

Into this bleak picture, however, some late-arriving hope has arrived in the form of a seven-game winning streak, including sweeps last week of series against LMB South Division leaders Yucatan and South cellar-dwellars Tabasco at home in Estadio de Beisbol Beto Avila.  With three games left in the regular season, the Tigres have a 48-54 record.  In any other season, being six games under .500 gives little reason for optimism but in the crazy 2017 Liga campaign, it's good enough for Quintana Roo to take over third place in a South Division where only two of eight teams have winning records. Veracruz has dropped into fourth at 46-57 while Leon is fifth with a 43-59 mark, virtually assuring the Tigres a playoff berth at a time in which it appears the team may be peaking.

The Tigres wrapped up their home schedule Sunday with an 11-inning win over Tabasco, 5-4, in front of a season-high 6,309 fans.  Quintana Roo starter Kameron Loe was reached for four runs on nine hits over five innings, but five relievers combined to hold the Olmecas scoreless on two hits for the next six frames until 21-year veteran Abel Martinez lined a walkoff single up the middle off Tabasco reliever David Gutierrez to score Brian Hernandez from third in the bottom of the eleventh.  It was sweet revenge for the 40-year-old Martinez, who was released by Tabasco on June 6 despite a .313 average and spent the next month jobless until the Tigres came calling on July 4 and signed him.

While the Tigres have won seven in a row, Yucatan has struggled a bit of late at the top of the division.  Although the Leones have clinched the top postseason seed in the LMB South with a 61-41 record, the Merida club lost three of their last five games of July before embarking on a five-game losing skid to begin August until beating Campeche, 2-1, Sunday.  The Piratas had won seven of their last nine games.  The Lions host the Tigres for three games at Estadio Kukulcan Monday through Wednesday to close the regular season.  Second-place Puebla (55-52) will be at home to face fifth-place Leon (43-59) for three games.  The defending champion Pericos have picked up the pace under new manager Tim Johnson and clinched second but it's do-or-die time for the Bravos, who are two-and-a-half games behind fourth-place Veracruz (46-57) and need to finish within three games of the Aguilas to force a play-in game for the fourth and final seed in the South.

Things are only a little less muddled in the LMB North, where Tijuana (74-33) has clinched the division with a six-and-a-half-games lead over Monterrey (67-39).  The Sultanes are trying to hold off Monclova (66-39) for second, but regardless of who finished where, the two teams will open the playoffs against each other.  Who will Tijuana play in the first round?  That would be the Aguascalientes Rieleros (63-44), who won two of three over the Acereros in Monclova over the weekend, including a doubleheader sweep Saturday during which former MLB reliever Jose Valverde picked up saves in both games to bring his season total to 25.  Union Laguna (57-49) has not been eliminated from postseason contention but the Vaqueros need to sweep a home series against Durango (43-63) with the Rieleros dropping all three home games against Saltillo (42-63) to sneak into a play-in game.  Mexico City (55-51) will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season after qualifying for the postseason 33 straight times.  The Diablos Rojos' demand to remain in the LMB North despite closer geographic proximity to LMB South teams now looks dubious; the Red Devils would be a half-game ahead of Puebla for second place in the South.

Former Durango outfielder Yadir Drake will back into the LMB batting title with a .385 average, just barely qualifying with exactly 300 plate appearances (the threshold was 299.7) before heading off to Japan at the end of June.  Only Monterrey's Daniel Mayora (.375) had a chance but Mayora hasn't played since July 20 with no explanation or transaction accompanying his absence.  Mayora had batted 17-for-40 (.425) with a homer and nine runs scored for the Sultanes in nine games after coming over from Durango, where paychecks are a rare treat, before disappearing from the lineup.  No word on when his visage will adorn milk cartons.

Saltillo's Rainel Rosario knocked out four homers last week to take the Liga lead with 25 for the season, one more than Tijuana's Corey Brown.  Rosario has a modest eleven-game hitting streak going, including two 3-hit games and five 2-hit nights, to bring his average up from .320 to .335 in that span.  The former Cardinals and Red Sox farmhand has also driven in 21 runs during his hit streak to overtake Yucatan's Ricky Alvarez for the RBI lead, 103 to 102.  Conversely, Alvarez has gone nine games without driving in a run for a total of 27 ribbies in 40 games with the Leones after bringing in 75 runs in 66 games for Laguna prior to the controversial June 20 trade that sent him to Merida.  Justin Greene of Monclova has had the stolen bases title locked up for some time, swiping two last week to bring his season total to 48, well ahead of former Saltillo teammate Christian Zazueta's 30 steals.

Although there've been some strong pitching performances in 2017, the list of candidates for Pitcher of the Year appears to be narrowed to two: Mexico City's Octavio Acosta and Nestor Molina of Veracruz.  A former Mets minor leaguer, Acosta beat Tijuana last Thursday to bring his record to 14-1, assuring him of the LMB wins title with no other hurler within three victories of him.  He also lowered his ERA to 2.99 (tenth in the circuit) with a strong outing against the potent Toros at Estadio Fray Nano, which is not a pitcher's park, and his 102 strikeouts rank sixth.  Molina was touched for five runs on seven hits over six innings last Thursday in Oaxaca, losing his second straight game to fall to 11-3 while his ERA went up from a phenomenal 1.54 to a merely remarkable 1.78.  Molina is tied for second in wins with five other pitchers and his 118 strikeouts are second only to the 138 of Monclova's Josh Lowey.

Acereros closer Chad Gaudin saved two games last week and now has 29, one more than Monterrey's Wirfin Obispo.  Obispo drilled Tijuana's Cyle Hankerd with an eighth-inning pitch and while Hankerd did finish the game, he'll be out of the Toros lineup with a resulting injury.  Some Tijuana observers believe Obispo deliberately hit Hankerd, stirring up bad blood between the two franchises that has existed since the Toros eliminated the Sultanes in the LMB North finals with a team laden with Mexican-American players (who do not count against the six-foreigner limit), a bone of contention with Monterrey owner Pepe Maiz that grew into a major offseason schism threatening the Liga's very future.

The biggest regular season-ending series?  They're all big for one reason or another, so here they are:  Mexico City at Monterrey, Saltillo at Aguascalientes, Durango at Union Laguna, Monclova at Tijuana, Leon at Puebla, Oaxaca at Veracruz, Campeche at Tabasco and Quintana Roo at Yucatan.  There will be no traditional Monday travel day so the schedule is slated to end Wednesday night.  Any seeding tiebreakers would be played Thursday.  If a play-in game is needed, they'd be played on Friday (or Saturday if a tiebreaker is first required).  The opening-round division semifinals will begin Sunday.

Mexican League Standings (through games of August 6)
LMB NORTH: Tijuana 74-33, Monterrey 67-39, Monclova 66-39, Aguascalientes 63-44, Union Laguna 57-49, Mexico City 55-51, Durango 43-63, Saltillo 42-63
LMB SOUTH: Yucatan 61-41, Puebla 55-52, Quintana Roo 48-54, Veracruz 46-57, Leon 43-59, Campeche 42-61, Oaxaca 40-65, Tabasco 36-68