THUNDER STRUCK: CANEROS WIN MEX PAC PENNANT

Los Mochis RHP Nick Struck

    A superb performance by pitchers Nick Struck and Fabian Cota and a bases-loaded double by Most Valuable Player Yasmany Tomas on Saturday keyed a 5-0 Los Mochis win at home over Guasave to give the Caneros a 4-games-to-2 Mexican Pacific League championship series win, the fourth pennant since the city's entry into winterball in 1947 and the first since 2002-03. In winning the flag, the Caneros will represent Mexico at the 2023 Caribbean Series beginning Thursday in Venezuela.

    The 33-year-old Struck began the winterball season in the Dominican Republic before joining the Caneros in December for five starts, going 1-2 but turning in a sparkling 1.64 ERA. A two-time Cubs organizational All-Star as a farmhand, the Oregon native native is now 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA in five postseason starts after limiting the Algodoneros to a first-inning single by Jesse Castillo over seven innings of work, striking out four and throwing 61 strikes in 93 pitches. Cota, who represented Oaxaca in last summer's Mexican League All-Star Game, took over in the eighth and held Guasave scoreless on one hit over the last two frames to close out the title-winning game.

    Tomas gave the Caneros all the runs they'd need with a two-out, three-run double off Cottoneers starter Jeff Kinley in the bottom of the third to send the sellout crowd of 11,770 at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada into a paroxysm of joy one day after chaos erupted outside the ballpark when fans stampeded the team office to buy tickets for Game Six. Los Mochis added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth when Isaac Rodriguez scored on Rudy Amador's sacrifice fly and a Fernando Villegas single plated Roberto “Tito” Valenzuela. Kinley took the loss and was charged for all five Caneros runs on eight hits before being yanked following Valenzuela's one-out single in the fifth.

    Juan Uriarte was named MVP of the championship series after batting .410 (10-for-21) with a homer, six RBIs and three runs scored for first-year manager Jose Moreno's Caneros. Thousands of Los Mochis fans celebrated the team's championship after the game and a parade through the streets of downtown was scheduled for Monday at 3:00PM local time.

    The team will travel to Caracas, Venezuela in preparation for their first Caribbean Series game against Dominican champion Licey at noon Thursday in the first-ever game at Estadio La Rinconada, a new 36,500-ballpark being inaugurated during the Serie del Caribe. The facility will be hostile to right-handed power hitters, given its dimensions of 442 feet to the center field wall and 351 feet to left, although the right-field foul line is a more approachable 338 feet away from home plate. Estadio La Rinconada has taken ten years for construction, indicative of Venezuela's unsteady economy.

    Los Mochis held off Guasave in the series opener, 9-6, on Saturday, January 21 behind Uriarte's three hits and four RBIs (including a three-run homer); then won a Game Two thriller the following night by a 3-2 count as Amador launched a two-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Caneros a 2-games-to-0 lead before the two teams traveled to Guasave for three midweek games.

    The Algodoneros bounced back with a 10-0 home thrashing over Los Mochis at Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon on Tuesday, January 24. Guasave starter Matt Poberyko dominated the visitors over six innings as the LMP strikeout king allowed just one Uriarte single and one walk while striking out nine, including Justin Dean for his final out in the sixth.

Los Mochis fans celebrating LMP title

    Conversely, the Cottoneers sent Pitcher of the Year Luis Miranda to the showers with one out in the third after the Caneros opener let in five runs on seven hits and two walks. Guasave scored in each of the first four innings to enter the fifth with a 5-0 advantage and continued pulling away thereafter. Jesse Castillo had a triple and homer, scoring twice and driving in two runs for the winners while Alejandro Ortiz singled and tripled in two at-bats to score two times and drive in two more counters.

    Los Mochis bounced back with a 4-1 Game Four win Wednesday, January 24 to take a 3-games-to-1 lead in the series. The Caneros took a 2-0 lead right out the gate in the top of the first on RBI singles from Valenzuela and Uriarte, but Guasave cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth when Joey Terdoslavich singled in Castillo. That would be all the scoring that night for the Algodoneros, however, as an RBI one-bagger by Amador in the top of the fifth gave Los Mochis their two-run lead back and Edgar Robles' solo homer to right off Cottoneers starter Geno Encino on a full count one inning later gave the Caneros their final margin of victory.

    Starting pitcher Darel Torres took the win for the visitors by tossing five innings of one-run ball and scattering three hits. Reliever Cota, who was awarded the Game One win out of the bullpen, followed Torres and contributed 3.1 frames of two-hit scoreless pitching. Encina was saddled with the loss after being touched for four runs (three earned) over 5.2 entradas before being pulled following Robles' roundtripper in the sixth.

    Game Five on Thursday, January 26 in Guasave began as a pitcher's duel between Los Mochis' Manny Barreda and Nico Tellache of the Algodoneros. The two teams traded zeros through four innings until a two-out Amador single up the middle off Tellache plated Valenzuela with the game's first run to give the Caneros a 1-0 lead. Guasave's Castillo erased that edge with one swing in the bottom of the sixth, launching a 2-1 Barreda over the right field wall for a solo homer to tie the tilt at one run apiece. The score remained knotted at 1-1 as Tellache was replaced after six innings by reliever Rafael Cordova and Barreda was lifted for 40-year-old veteran Tomas Solis two outs into the bottom of the seventh.

    Solis got the final out and after a scoreless top of the eighth for the Caneros, Los Mochis skipper Jose Moreno brought Daniel Duarte (who made his MLB debut for the Reds last summer) in from the bullpen. Duarte got the first two outs but his 1-1 delivery to Julian Ornelas was sent sailing over the right field wall for a homer to put Guasave up 2-1. Algodoneros closer Brandon Koch, who gave up two ninth-inning homers in their Game Two loss to the Caneros, came in and held the visitors scoreless on 13 pitches to end the game, cutting Los Mochis' series lead to 3-games-to-2 and bringing Guasave within a game of tying up the finals, which moved to Los Mochis for Saturday's Game Six.


FIELD NEARLY SET FOR 65th SERIE DEL CARIBE

Caracas' new Estadio La Rinconada

    The competition has almost been set for the start of this week's Caribbean Series as eight winterball national champions will converge on the greater Caracas, Venezuela region, where four games will be played for seven days at two ballparks, followed by two semifinal contests on Thursday, February 9 and the championship game Friday, February 10. Seven of the pennant-winners had been determined by the end of the weekend, with only the title series between Caracas and La Guaira for the host Venezuelan League title still in doubt. The Leones lead by a 3-games-to-2 margin.

    Curacao will send a team for the first time while Cuba is back after a two-year ban to join holdovers Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. Colombia's Barranquilla Caimanes won last year's title in Santo Domingo after teams from that nation had been winless over the two previous Caribbean Series, their first after entering the competition in 2020.

    The Caimanes topped Dominican champions Cibao, 4-1, in the title game as this season's Reliever of the Year in the Mexican Pacific League for Mazatlan, Elkin Alcala, earned the victory. Surprisingly, only one Colombia, player, first baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez (who spent this winter in Mexicali), was named to the CS Dream Team along with Barranquilla manager Jose Mosquera. The lone player from Mex Pac champion Jalisco to make the team was outfielder Felix Perez, who was a teammate of Alcala's in Mazatlan in 2022-23.

    Here is a list of the eight national champions who will be battling for Serie del Caribe supremacy this year:

COLOMBIA – Monteria Vaqueros (Won second LPB title since 2019 formation; went 0-5 in 2020 Caribbean Series in San Juan, including 5-4 loss to eventual champ Este Toros)
CUBA – Bayamo Agricultores (Combined team of Las Tunas and Granma players from Cuban National Series, now a summer league, won first Elite League championship)
CURACAO – Willemstad Wildcats KJ74 (Have won last three Curacao National Championship AA League pennants and 17 overall since 1975; Dutch League affiliate)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Licey Tigres (Debuted in 1907; 23 LiDom pennants and 10 Caribbean Series; alumni include Bob Gibson, Mike Piazza and Pedro Martinez)
MEXICO – Los Mochis Caneros (First pennant in 20 years, seeking initial CS title; past Caneros include Aurelio Rodriguez, Jose Valverde and Andres Mora)
PANAMA – Chiriqui Federales (Went 16-4, beat Bocas Atlanticos in playoff to win flag; won twice at 2021 Serie del Caribe in Mazatlan despite canceled regular season)
PUERTO RICO – Mayaguez Indios (19 pennants, 2 Caribbean Series crowns; Denny McLain, Lance Parrish, Luke Easter and Dave McNally played for Mayaguez)
VENEZUELA – TBD (Caracas Leones beat LaGuaira Tiburones, 7-2, Saturday to take a 3-games-to-2 lead in LVBP championship series; Game 6 set for Monday in Caracas)

MEXICO FALLS TO NUMBER 5 IN WBSC RANKINGS

    The World Baseball and Softball Confederation has revealed the end-of-the-year World Rankings for men's baseball with Japan leading' the way (a position it has held since 2014) with 4,179 points to top a list of 81 baseball programs worldwide. Mexico fell one slot from fourth to fifth place after the United States jumped two places into third in the rankings, which measure National Team performances from U-12 to the top level in WBSC-sanctioned international competitions over a four-year period. The end-of-the-year rankings reflect the expiration of all points earned in 2018.

    Japan and Taiwan (3,819 points) retained the top two positions in the rankings while the United States became the baseball program which improved the most among the top 10 thanks to its title triumphs at the WBSC's U-12, U-15 and U-18 Baseball World Cups last year to move from fifth to third position with 3,449 points.

    South Korea and Mexico both dropped a position and rank now fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Venezuela, the Netherlands and Cuba. The latter three programs each gained one place. With their 7th place ranking, the Netherlands lead the European programs. The Dominican Republic lost three positions and is now in ninth while Australia remained stable in rounding out the Top Ten.

    Positions from 11 to 20 are split between American and European programs. Puerto Rico is now at number 13, gaining three places to became the most improved of the baseball programs in the Top 20. Canada (14th) and Nicaragua (17th) both lost two positions. Seven of the nations with winter champions competing at next month's Caribbean Series in Venezuela finished among the top 13 in the rankings. The eighth participant, Curacao (playing in their first Serie del Caribe) ranks 33rd in the world, representing a leap of eleven slots from the last rankings released.

    Nicaragua has sought to send its winterball champion to the tournament for the past few years and is ranked 16 places higher than Curacao but has never been invited by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, led since 1991 by Dominican commissioner Juan Francisco Puello. A communist government headed by Daniel Ortega has been cited as the reason for Nicaragua's exclusion by Puello, who has been more forgiving of Cuba and its own one-party communist rule since 1959 as initial Elite League champions Bayamo are expected to be in Caracas later this week.

LOS MOCHIS LEADS GUASAVE 2-0 IN LMP TITLE SET

Rodolfo Amador, Los Mochis Caneros

    The Los Mochis Caneros continued their surprising quest for a Mexican Pacific League pennant with a pair of weekend home wins over Guasave heading into three scheduled midweek games at the Algodoneros' Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon. The Caneros finished last in the LMP playoff points race in 2020-21 and 2021-22 prior to this winter, where they stand poised to win just their fourth title since their 1947 formation and first since the 2002-03 season. For their part, Guasave seeks the second pennant of that city's existence as an LMP franchise site beginning in 1965 (their first came in 1971-72).

    Saturday's Game One was a 9-6 slugfest during which the Caneros broke open a 1-1 contest with six runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a three-run homer by DH Juan Uriarte off Guasave starter Nico Tellache, who'd pitched one-run ball through three frames but did not survive the Los Mochis onslaught in the fourth. Tellache absorbed both the beatdown AND the loss, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks in 3.1 entradas, striking out four.

    Manny Barreda only fared slightly better as the Caneros opener, tossing four innings of one-run ball himself (the one run coming on an Esteban Quiroz solo homer in the second) before being chased during a four-run Algodoneros fifth that saw Sebastian Elizalde take him deep for another three-run bomb on what proved to be the last pitch the veteran lefty would throw. Fabian Cota came in and registered the third out. The Caneros scored twice more in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 9-4 lead that was never threatened. Uriarte finished with a 3-for-4 night for four RBIs and two runs scored. Elizalde went 3-for-5 for the Cottoneers in a losing cause as Cota's one inning of relief work was enough to be awarded the win.

    Things were a little tighter for Sunday's Game Two as the Caneros scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 walkoff win over the visitors. Longballs factored in this one, starting with Joey Terdoslavich's line-drive roundtripper off Caneros starter Nick Struck in the top of the second to give Guasave a 1-0 lead. It would prove to be the only run Struck allowed in four innings and when he left after six inning, the game was tied at 1-1 thanks to a run-scoring Uriarte single in the bottom of the fourth that knotted the score. That was the only run Guasave starter Jeff Kinley gave up in seven innings as the former Marlins minor leaguer continued to show his move out of the bullpen after ten years as a reliever is working.

    The score remained at 1-1 until the top of the ninth, when the Algodoneros nudged ahead on an Alejandro Ortiz double off Carlos Vazquez scored Juan Carlos Gamboa from second. However, fate proved a cruel mistress to Guasave closer Brandon Koch, whose third pitch to leadoff batter Roberto Valenzuela was redirected over the wall in left-center for a homer that brought the Caneros back even at 2-2. Then, with two down and a 1-0 count on Rudy Amador, the veteran third sacker smoked a Koch offering for a line-drive circuit clout to left that ended the game and sent a second straight sellout crowd of 11,662 at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada home with smiles on their faces.

    Game Three is slated for Tuesday night at 8:30PM local time. Pitcher of the Year Luis Miranda will open on the mound for Los Mochis while Guasave will send Geno Encina to the hill. Miranda is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in four playoff starts for the Caneros while Encina has won one of three starts with a 3.60 ERA for the Algodoneros.

    The two teams reached the LMP title series with respective Game Six wins last Wednesday. Los Mochis topped Obregon, 5-2 at home behind the solid pitching of Miranda, who allowed one run on one hit with six strikeouts over six innings. The Yaquis opened the scoring in the top of the third when Dariel Alvarez launched a solo homer off Miranda, but the Caneros fought back to take the lead with a three-run fifth during which Wagner Lagrange singled in Uriarte with the go-ahead run and later scored on Isaac Rodriguez' safety.

    Obregon scored a single tally in the seventh when Yadir Drake scored from second on a Victor Mendoza one-bagger but Los Mochis put the contest away one inning later when reinforcement Valenzuela, the LMP batting leader, belted a two-run homer. Miranda got the win for the Caneros while Braulio Torres-Perez took the loss after letting in three runs over five innings.

    Strong pitching made all the difference in Wednesday's other Game Six, this time a 2-0 Guasave shutout in Hermosillo that closed out that series, 4 games to 2. Mex Pac strikeouts champion Matt Pobereyko tossed seven beautiful innings, allowing just two hits and no walks with five strikeouts to take the win home for the Algodoneros, who qualified for their first LMP championship series since 2011-12.

    Jesse Castillo socked a two-run homer to center in the top of the seventh off Hermosillo starter Elian Leyva as the Cottoneers pitching staff held the potent Naranjeros scoreless over the final 18 innings of the series. Leyva, a two-time Pitcher of the Year, absorbed the loss despite a strong start himself in which he took a shutout of his own into the seventh before Castillo broke the scoreless tie.

    At the conclusion of the Guasave-Hermosillo series, Naranjeros pitcher Wilmer Rios (who led the Mex Pac with nine wins) was removed from the reinforcement draft pool by signing a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds. Rios' Mexican League rights remain with the Monclova Acereros, for whom his nine wins last summer were tied for the LMB lead with Veracruz' Luis Marquez.

    In the subsequent third installment of the reinforcement draft, the Caneros picked first after some arcane proceedings and selected Obregon pitcher Manny Barreda, who himself had been picked by the Yaquis from Culiacan in the first reinforcement draft. Barreda had gone 2-1 with a 3.65 ERA in four starts for Obregon. In the second round, Los Mochis picked another Obregon starting pitcher in Torres-Perez, who we mistakenly identified as Brazilian last week. Torres-Perez, who pitched for Mazatlan during the regular season, actually hails from the tropical paradise of Auburn, Washington.

    Choosing second, Guasave fortified their infield by choosing Obregon's Juan Carlos Gamboa in the first round and Jasson Atondo from Hermosillo in the second. Neither have distinguished themselves during the current postseason (Atondo was batting just .216 at the conclusion of the semifinals while Gamboa's average was only .146), but Gamboa is a former Mets farmhand who was MVP of the 2014 Serie del Rey in Mexico City's last Mexican League title-winning season while Atondo is a former Mex Pac Rookie of the Year who can play several positions.


CANEROS' YASMANY TOMAS NAMED MEX PAC MVP

LMP MVP Yasmany Tomas

    After two consecutive last-place finishes in the playoff points standings, the Los Mochis Caneros are the surprise team in this winter's Mexican Pacific League championship series after finishing second in both the regular season combined standings and points race. One of the prime movers for that turnaround is Cuban-born outfielder Yasmany Tomas, who has been named the LMP's Most Valuable Player for 2022-23.

    Tomas finished tied for the league lead with 10 homers while topping the tables with 57 RBIs. He also hit for a .328 average (4th), a .383 OBP (6th), a .510 slugging percentage (3rd), an .893 OPS (4^th) and 27 extra-base hits (2nd). That regular season plate success hasn't yet carried over into the playoffs, where Tomas was batting .245 with just one homer and five ribbies over 13 games through Sunday, but Los Mochis wouldn't be where they are today without him.

    Nicknamed “El Tanque,” the 32-year-old Havana native spent five winters playing for his hometown Industriales between 2008 and 2014 in the Cuban National Series, batting a composite .290 with 39 homers and 151 RBIs over 272 games. He defected to Haiti after the 2013-14 season and after some legal maneuvering, the 6'2” 260-pounder was able to audition in the Dominican Republic for various MLB teams and eventually signed with Arizona to a six-year, $68.5 million contract. He made his MLB debut in 2015 and one year later clubbed 31 homers for the Diamondbacks, although he had the dubious distinction of finished in the National League's top five in errors committed by both left fielders and right fielders that year.

    Tomas appeared on his way to stardom but injuries in 2017 and a 2018 incident that resulted in speeding and reckless driving charges after he was clocked driving 105 mph in Tempe, Arizona led to a demotion to the minor and his eventual release in late 2019 despite two strong years for AAA Reno. He had only played 26 games for AAA Rochester in 2021 since prior to his arrival in Los Mochis last fall.

    Now primarily a first baseman, Tomas becomes the seventh player from the Caneros to win the Héctor Espino Trophy and the first since Brian Burgamy in the 2013-14 season. The ballot vote that prioritized members of all ten LMP team front offices, the specialized media and the fans gave 45 percent of the votes to Tomas so it wasn't really close among the six candidates to choose from.

    Other finalists included Monterrey's batting champion Roberto Valenzuela (21 percent), Hermosillo pitcher Wilmer Rios (16 percent), Caneros outfielder Justin Dean (11 percent), Obregon first baseman/DH Victor Mendoza (5 percent) and Los Mochis pitcher Luis Miranda (2 percent). While Miranda edged out Rios for Pitcher of the Year honors in the balloting for that award, Rios led Miranda by an 8-to-1 margin in MVP voting.


SULTANES TO REOPEN BASEBALL ACADEMY

El Carmen Baseball Academy

    After three years of inactivity, the former Mexican League Baseball Academy in El Carmen, Nuevo Leon will come back to life in 2023 with the support of the Monterrey Sultanes. Team's president Jose Maiz García made the anouncement, according to Septima Entrada writer Tomas Lopez. Interviewed on the Bateo Libre radio program, Maiz stated that an agreement has been reached with the Mexican League to once again develop players at the facilities.

    “Monterrey is going to continue training Mexican baseball players,” Maiz declared, “especially now that no other team in the league wanted to participate in El Carmen. Possibly we are just going to participate. It has already been arranged with the league. The other 17 teams did not want to take part in the El Carmen Academy. The Sultanes have already sent people to see the facilities and in about two or three months we will be working in El Carmen. Sultanes only.”

    Maiz, a member of Monterrey's Little League World Series champions along with future big league shortstop Hector Torres and Mexican League star Angel Macias, added that it may be called Academia Cerro de la Silla or Academy Cerro de Las Mitras.

    The academy was inaugurated in 1996 as the brainchild of then-LMB president Pedro Treto Cisneros, Mexico City Tigres owner Alejo Peralta and Mexico City Diablos Rojos president Roberto Mansur to develop prospects for future play in the Mexican League. In more than two decades of operation, thousands of young players called the dormitories home as such future MLB players as relievers Roberto Osuna and Joakim Soria plus infielder Ramiro Pena cut their teeth on the diamonds in El Carmen, as did eventual LMBers like shortstop Heber Gomez and first baseman Japhet Amador.

    The academy's expenses (which included housing, dining and education in addition to baseball development) were shared for years by all Liga teams at approximately US$500,000 each. LMB organizations would send teenage signees for some seasoning before bringing them up to the LMB if they were good enough, although the contracts of many were sold to Major League organizations while they were still at the facility.

    However, as many teams were struggling to pay the bills at home while others began building academies of their own (especially after MLB determined that teams cannot sell players to its organizations but academies can), support faded for the El Carmen operation and it was shut down in 2019. It has remained closed since.

LMP: FIRST ROUND OVER, SEMIS OPEN WEDNESDAY

Obregon P Samuel Zazueta

    The first round of the 2022-23 Mexican Pacific League playoffs are history and the four remaining teams are slated to square off in the semifinals beginning Wednesday night.

    Los Mochis made short work of Navojoa by eliminating the Mayos, 4 games to 1 while it took six games for top seed Hermosillo to knock out Mazatlan in a series delayed by violence throughout Sinaloa after the arrest of the son of drug cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman last week. Obregon and Guasave were stretched the full seven games before defeating Mexicali and Monterrey, respectively, in their opening round series.

    Here is a game-by-game capsule of each LMP quarterfinal series. Home teams are in all caps:

LOS MOCHIS DEFEATED NAVOJOA, 4 GAMES TO 1
SUN 1/1: LOS MOCHIS 7, Navojoa 6 (Rudy Amador scored walk-off run on throwing error by Mayos P Edwyn Valle in bottom of 11th)
MON 1/2: LOS MOCHIS 7, Navojoa 1 (Bruce Maxwell had RBI double and scored as Nick Struck allowed 1 run in 6 innings)
WED 1/4: Los Mochis 5, NAVOJOA 2 (Maxwell's 2-run HR keyed 4-run ninth after Caneros trailed 2-1, wasting Octavio Acosta's 5IP/1R start for Mayos)
THU 1/5: NAVOJOA 3, Los Mochis 0 (Ruddy Acosta allowed 2 hits in 5 shutout innings as Olmo Rosario doubled and homered for Mayos)
FRI 1/6: Los Mochis 4, NAVOJOA 3 (Amador doubled in Isaac Rodriguez in top of 11th, Esteban Haro held Mayos scoreless on 10 pitches for save in Mochis clincher)

HERMOSILLO DEFEATED MAZATLAN, 4 GAMES TO 2
SUN 1/1: HERMOSILLO 2, Mazatlan 1 (Elian Leyva allowed 1 run on 9 scattered hits over 6 innings for Naranjeros)
MON 1/2: HERMOSILLO 3, Mazatlan 0 (Wilmer Rios pitched 7 shutout innings, Jose Cardona went 4-for-4 with 2 doubles)
WED 1/4: MAZATLAN 3, Hermosillo 2 (Christian Villanueva went 3-for-3 with 2 RBIs and Fabricio Macias tripled and scored twice for Venados)
FRI 1/6: MAZATLAN 2, Hermosillo 1 (Leo German scored go-ahead run from third on Cesar Vargas wild pitch in 5th after Thursday's postponement due to cartel street violence)
SAT 1/7: Hermosillo 4, MAZATLAN 3 (Nick Torres' 2-run HR in top of 11th gave Hermosillo 4-2 lead; Venados got run back before pinch-hitter Leonardo Reginatto flew out to end game)
SUN 1/8: HERMOSILLO 3, Mazatlan 1 (Wilmer Rios allowed 1 unearned run in 8.1 innings as Naranjeros scored 2 runs via 2 Mazatlan errors on same play in bottom of 6th)

OBREGON DEFEATED MEXICALI, 4 GAMES TO 3
SUN 1/1: OBREGON 9, Mexicali 4 (Niuman Romero hit solo HR in 7-run sixth inning as Yaquis overcame 4-1 deficit)
MON 1/2: OBREGON 4, Mexicali 3 (Allen Cordoba's single scored Victor Marquez with walkoff run in bottom of the 13th)
WED 1/4: MEXICALI 10, Obregon 6 (Anthony Giansanti and Xorge Carrillo combined for 4 RBIs as Aguilas chased Yaquis' P Mitch Lively for 7 runs on 6 hits in 1.2 innings)
THU 1/5: MEXICALI 2, Obregon 0 (Miguel Pena and two relievers combined for 3-hit shutout as Carrillo singled, doubled and scored twice for Mexicali)
FRI 1/6: Obregon 6, MEXICALI 5 (Carlos Sepulveda hit 2-run double and scored as Yaquis built 6-1 lead; Aguilas scored 4 in the 7th but Samuel Zazueta got save on 9 pitches)
SUN 1/8: Mexicali 4, OBREGON 2 (Niko Vasquez' 2-run single paced Aguilas' 3-run 6th, then Vasquez hit solo HR in 9th to clinch win for Mexicali)
MON 1/9: OBREGON 5, Mexicali 2 (Yadir Drake's 3-run double in bottom of 2nd helped Yaquis take 4-0 lead, Zazueta's 3 shutout innings of relief for save helped maintain it)

GUASAVE DEFEATED MONTERREY, 4 GAMES TO 3
SUN 1/1: GUASAVE 2, Monterrrey 1 (Joey Terdoslavich scored from first on Francisco Hernandez single in bottom of 10th)
MON 1/2: GUASAVE 2, Monterrey 1 (Solo HRs by Jesse Castillo and Terdoslavich in 2nd held up as Nico Tellache tossed 7.1 innings of 1-run ball)
WED 1 /4: Guasave 6, MONTERREY 1 (Julian Ornelas hit 3-run homer for Cottoneers to back Jeff Klnley's 6 innings of 1R/2H/4K pitching; Ricardo Serrano homered for Sultanes)
THU 1/5: MONTERREY 5, Guasave 4 (Bat champ Roberto Valenzuela had 3 singles, 2 RBIs and scored once as Sultanes held off elimination)
FRI 1/6: MONTERREY 6, Guasave 1 (Kennys Vargas' 2-run HR keyed 3-run Sultanes 3rd en route to 3-hit night; Frank Duncan tossed 6 shutout innings for win)
SUN 1/8: Monterrey 3, GUASAVE 0 (Six pitchers combined on 4-hitter for Sultanes as Valenzuela, Vargas and Gilberto Galaviz had RBI singles to force Game 7)
MON 1/9: GUASAVE 8 Monterrey 4 (Kinley got his second win with 6 shutout innings while Orlando Pina's 3-run HR off Kurt Heyer in 3rd gave Guasave a 6-0 lead that held)

    The conclusion of the first round on Monday led to a second reinforcement draft on Tuesday. Hermosillo drew the first pick, followed by Obregon, Los Mochis and Guasave for the two-round selection process of picking reinforcements from among the four teams vanquished in the first round. As with the first such draft, one reinforcement will be allowed to be placed on his new team's active roster for the semifinals while the other will be placed on the Reserve List for that series.

    With their two picks, the Naranjeros took two catchers: Gabriel Gutierrez (Mazatlan) and Xorge Carrillo (Mexicali). Obregon chose LHP Braulio Torres-Perez (Mazatlan) and LHP Marcelo Martinez (Mexicali). Los Mochis selected IFs Roberto Valenzuela (Monterrey) and Christian Villanueva (Mazatlan) and Guasave picked OF Sebastian Elizalde (Mexicali) and 1B Reynaldo Rodriguez (Mexicali). Thus far, Gutierrez, Valenzuela and Elizalde have been activated by their respective new teams while Obregon has not made their roster add choice.

    The Final Four is scheduled to open Wednesday night. Guasave will send Gino Encina to the mound in Hermosillo while the Naranjeros have chosen Tyler Alexander as their Game One starter. In Los Mochis, the Caneros have tabbed Nick Struck as their opener against Obregon and veteran Manny Barreda.


MEX PAC BEGINS NAMING 2022-23 AWARD WINNERS

    As the postseason enters into its second stage this week, the Mexican Pacific League has begun naming its individual award winners for the 2022-23 season as selected by front office and media members in all ten LMP cities as well as an online fan vote.

    The first winner named was Hermosillo's Juan Gabriel Castro as Manager of the Year. Castro led the Naranjeros to the highest points harvest with 19.0 while their 43-25 record in the regular role was the best in the LMP, closing with 16 consecutive victories in Estadio Sonora, where they won all home series in the second half. In his second season at the helm of the Orangemen, Castro lead his team to victory 11 out of 12 times in the Mex Pac's Clasico against Culiacan.

    Castro collected 42 percent of the vote to be named winner of the Benjamin “Cananea” Reyes Trophy. The second most-voted-for skipper was Jose Moreno of Los Mochis with 33 percent, 14 percent went to Luis Carlos Rivera of Obregon and 11 percent was for for Oscar Robles of Guasave. All four will be managing in the semifinals.

    Jalisco outfielder Fernando Villegas has been chosen Rookie of the Year after finishing third in the LMP in batting percentage at .337 and in on-base percentage with a .399 mark, second in slugging percentage at .519, second in on-base plus percentage at .918 and tied for fifth in extra-base hits with 23.

    The 24-year-old Villegas, who was classified as a rookie despite two seasons in the Pittsburgh organization and 48 games for the Charros over the previous three winters, is the first Jalisco player to win the Baldomero “Melo” Almada Trophy in the nine-year history of the franchise. He took 42 percent of the vote to finish first ahead of Hermosillo reliver Luis Marquez (29 percent), starter Juan Pablo Tellez of Mazatlan (19 percent), Obregon hurler Faustino Carrera (7 percent) and Yaquis reliever José Carlos Medina (3 percent).

    And Colombian Elkin Alcala of Mazatlan has been selected as reliever of the Year for 2022-23. The right-hander finished as leader in the saves department, with 20 salvados in 22 opportunities while posting a 1.57 ERA, pitching a total of 34.1 innings in 34 games with 31 strikeouts. Alcala emerged as the winner by closing with 36 percent of the votes.

    Second place went to left-hander Luis Márquez from Hermosillo with 34 percent, followed by Jake Sánchez of Mexicali (12 percent), Guasave's Brandon Koch (10 percent) and Samuel Zazueta from Obregon (8 percent). The Reliever of the Year Trophy is named after Salon de la Fama member Isidro Marquez, the all-time saves leader in both the Mexican League and Mexican Pacific League who still had to wait until 2020 to be elected for enshrinement in Monterrey nine years after retirement. Marquez took himself off the shelf last winter to pitch a combined 29 times at age 56 for Navojoa and Monterrey, going 2-0 with one save and a 2.78 ERA.

    Other award winners, including Pitcher of the Year and Most Valuable Player, will be announced by the LMP league office in Guadalajara as the postseason progresses.


VERACRUZ CUP SEMIS, FINAL SET FOR JAN. 14-15

Estadio Beto Avila, Veracruz

    After more than 300 young Veracruzanos competed on 16 teams, Estadio Beto Ávila (home of the Mexican League Veracruz Aguilas) will be the scene of the Semifinals and Finals of the Veracruz Cup Winter League on January 14 and 15. The first game of the Semifinal will match the Chahuapan Águilas, directed by Fredy Ruiz, against the Papantla Voladores, managed by Noe Mata. In the other confrontation, the Chacaltianguis Mangueros (manager Adelaido Rodríguez) take on the Alvarado Pescadores (manager Juan Palacios).

    The first semifinal game at Estadio Beto Avila is scheduled for Saturday, January 14 at 12:00 pm and the second at 4:00 pm. The game for third place will be on Sunday, January 15 at 12:00 pm followed by the Grand Final at 4:00 pm.

    The tournament was divided into four venues: Deportivo Colon in Xalapa, Campo Anáhuac in Papantla, Campo Raciel Hernández in Otatitlan and Estadio Gustavo Burjois Fernández in Tierra Blanca. Sixteen teams saw action in 72 regular-day games, with an average attendance of more than 2,000 spectators per venue. The teams that participated in Xalapa were the Xalapa Tomateros, Emiliano Zapata Limoneros, Xico Vikingos and the Chahuapan Aguilas. In Papantla, the Papantla Voladores, Tampico Alto Cachorros, Poza Rica Tecnológicos and Coatzintla Maiceros did battle. Chacaltianguis and Alvarado also emerged from similar four-team groups in Otatitlan and Tierra Blanca.

    Copa Veracruz president Vladimir Cruz Acosta says he's satisfied that 300 young players were physically activated from various municipalities of the state and supported by the LMB Veracruz Aguilas. Tournaments such as Copa Veracruz are intended to increase the competitive level of Veracruz prospects sought by the Aguilas and/or other profesional baseball organizations as well as young players who like to practice the game recreationally. Outside the traditional hotbed of northwest Mexico, Veracruz has been the most fertile state in the country for developing ballplayers for years.

CANEROS WIN 5 OF 6, TAKE EARLY SECOND HALF LEAD

Los Mochis OF Yasmany Tomas

    Following a decent first half in which they went 19-16 to tie for third in the Mexican Pacific League standings (and collecting 7.0 playoff points), the Los Mochis Caneros have had a strong start in the Mex Pac's second half by winning five of their first six games to take a one-game lead over Obregon and first-half champs Hermosillo in the standings.

    New Caneros manager Jose Moreno, who replaced Victor Bojorquez in the offseason after a disastrous 2021-22 campaign during which Los Mochis won just 23 of 68 games, has gotten solid performances from a number of players thus far. Outfielder Yasmany Tomas tops Los Mochis hitters with a .335 average, five homers and 28 RBIs and has been among the LMP's batting leaders all season. Veteran third baseman Rudy Amador has given the team a .314 average and his usual solid defense at the hot corner, Braves farmhand Justin Dean is batting .299 and is second in the league with 11 steals while eighth-year infielder Isaac Rodriguez has a .294 average and ranks among Caneros leaders in several offensive categories.

    Luis Miranda has led a good Los Mochis pitching staff with a 4-0 record and a league-leading 0.20 ERA, allowing just one earned run in 44 innings over eight starts. Former Mariners minor leaguer Rafael Pineda is 4-2 with a 2.52 ERA, Fabian Cota is 2-2 and 3.09 and former Mexican League Pitcher of the Year Yoanner Negrin is 1-2 and 3.30. Moreno also has a solid bullpen with relievers Tomas Solis, Fredy Quintero, Juan Gamez and one-time Baltimore hurler Connor Greene, who leads the Caneros with six saves.

    The Caneros helped themselves greatly over the weekend by sweeping a three-game series in Mazatlan. They host Navojoa in a midweek series before defending champs Jalisco visits Los Mochis for three games starting Friday. Both the Mayos and Charros have overall losing records thus far and give the Caneros a prime opportunity to pad their 5-1 record.

    Monterrey's Roberto Valenzuela continues pacing Mex Pac batsmen with a .380 average, well ahead of Tomas' .335 mark and Jalisco's Fernando Villegas at .321. Venerable Jesse Castillo of Guasave belted six homers in as many games earlier this month to take over the LMP longball lead at 10, one more than Mexicali's Anthony Giansanti and three up on both Jesus Espinoza (Navojoa) and Sebastian Valle (Obregon). Valle's Yaquis teammate, Victor Mendoza, has 34 RBIs for a comfortable lead over yet another Obregon batter, Yadir Drake (29) and Tomas' 28 ribbies for the Caneros. Mazatlan's Randy Romero has 17 steals in 21 tries to lead the circuit, with Jose Carmona of Hermosillo right behind with 16 swipes while Pirates minor leaguer Jared Oliva has had 13 steals for both Obregon and Monterrey.

    Two pitchers have finally won their fifth games of the season, Hermosillo's Wilmer Rios and Cristian Castillo of Monterrey. After serving mainly as a reliever over his first six winters for the Naranjeros, Rios has become one of the Mex Pac's most reliable starters the past two seasons. Nine other pitchers have four wins, including ERA leader Miranda (0.20) of Los Mochis and strikeouts leader Matt Pobereyko of Guasave, who's tied with Culiacan vet Manny Barreda at 44 K's apiece. Miranda's 0.727 is also tops among starters. Guasave's Brandon Koch still leads the LMP with 10 while former big leaguer Josh Lueke of Jalisco is tied with Monterrey's Joe Riley at nine salvados apiece.

    Among managers, Mexicali fired Gil Velazquez a week ago (see below) and while in most baseball leagues the skipper of a defending champion usually has breathing room during a slow start to the subsequent season. However, this being Mexican baseball, Jalisco helmsman Roberto Vizcarra's seat may be getting hot in Guadalajara, where the Charros are following up a ninth-place finish and a 15-20 record in the first half with five losses in their first six contests in the second half.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE Second Half Standings
Los Mochis 5-1, Hermosillo 4-2, Obregon 4-2, Guasave 3-3, Mexicali 3-3, Monterrey 3-3, Navojoa 3-3, Culiacan 2-4, Mazatlan 2-4, Jalisco 1-5.


VELAZQUEZ FIRED, CANCEL NEW MEXICALI SKIPPER

    Puerto Rican Robinson Cancel has been named as interim manager of the Mexicali Aguilas after the Mexican Pacfic League team fired Gil Velazquez during the season for a second time after the Eagles finished tied for sixth in the first half standings with a 16-19 record. Velazquez was canned by the Aguilas during the 2016-17 season and took the reigns of the squad a second time after Bronswell Patrick was canned midway through the schedule last winter. The “interim” label isn't usually applied when a new manager is hired but in Mexican baseball, all managers seem to end up working on a interim basis.

    The 46-year-old Cancel took over from temporary dugout boss Jesus Arredondo this past Saturday after the Aguilas had dropped their series opener in Guasave, 7-0, on Friday night. Mexicali split the two remaining games of the weekend set, including Sunday's 3-0 shutout over the Algodoneros as David Reyes tossed five scoreless innings for the win.

    As a player, Cancel spent eight years as a catcher in the Milwaukee organization and appeared in the majors with the Brewers, New York Mets and Houston between 1999 and 2011, batting .200 with one homers and 10 RBIs over 45 games. He wrapped up his playing career in the Mexican League with Monterrey in 2012 and Minatitlan in 2013, hitting a combined .316 with 14 homers in 97 contests.

    Cancel has since managed six years in the minors in the Braves and Rockies system, taking Fresno to a first-place finish in the Class A California League's North Division last summer with an 83-49 record before falling to Lake Elsinore in the loop's championship series. He's had previous stints managing in the Mex Pac with Los Mochis and Mazatlan.

    Arredondo returned to coaching third base after filling in as manager after the ouster of Velazquez, bench coach Pedro Mere and pitching coach Eleazar Mora on November 22 (with the usual “We thank Gil Velázquez, Pedró Meré and Eleazar Mora for their dedication and professionalism towards our organization, wishing in advance the best of successes in their future projects” press release from the front office). A pair of ex-MLBers have been added to the coaching staff: Pitching coach Vicente Palacios and bullpen coach Jailen Peguero.


PROCESO: ESPIONAGE IN MEXICAN BASEBALL

Beatriz Pereyra of Proceso

    According to Mexico City's Proceso magazine writer Beatriz Pereyra, “The scandal over manipulation of television cameras in Games One and Two of the Mexican League South Division championship series between Mexico City and Yucatan is not the first in which Miguel 'El Negro' Ojeda (once a major league catcher and now a director of the Diablos Rojos) has been involved.”

    In an interview with Pereyra, entrepreneur Alredo Aramburo, a former owner of the Durango Generales, talks about the problems he had with Ojeda when he was the sole owner of that team. “ He did not transfer or steal from me,” referring to the hiring of the players, “he did more delicate things than that...”

    The following is a translated Pereyra column in which Ojeda's alleged transgressions are discussed and first appeared in Proceso in September. It's as fascinating as it is long and worth reading all the way through:

    The Yucatan Leones will appeal the fine and sanction that the Mexican League imposed on the Mexico City Red Devils and its sports director, Miguel Ojeda. One of the Leones owners believes the entire technical body of the Diablos should also be punished for manipulating the television broadcast of Games One and Two of the LMB South finals.

    Yucatan team president Juan José Arellano tells Proceso that they do not agree with the resolution made by LMB president Horacio de la Vega, who determined that Ojeda must comply with a one-year suspension and the Red Devils must pay a fine of 1.5 million pesos (approximately US$77,000). According to the Manual for the use of electronic and video devices in stadiums, Arellano argues, there are others involved who deserve to be penalized.

    As of this edition, the directors of the Leones had not yet presented their appeal. Or had the Red Devils, whose owner, businessman Alfredo Harp Helú, announced that they would file the appeal after the LMB released the punishment on September 4. “The Diablos Rojos support Miguel Ojeda Siqueiros, sports director, and Marco Antonio Ávila, television producer. We are in the process of appealing to the accusation made to the team,” Harp posted on his Twitter account September 5.

    Likewise, through a statement, the Mexico City club emphasized that if the LMB concludes that “there is no evidence of signal theft” derived from the investigations requested by the Yucatan Leones, these unsubstantiated allegations have caused them moral harm.

    The conflict originates from the fact that on September 1, Leones executive president Érick Arellano asked the LMB to open an investigation folder against the Red Devils “for manipulating the television shots” during the first two games of the LMB South title series held at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City.

    “The television broadcast was done fraudulently and with all the intent to benefit the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and harm the Yucatan Leones” Erick Arellano states, ”since the shots showed the signs of the catcher (Sebastián Valle) when the Leones were on defense and deliberately there was never the same shot when the Diablos were on defense (with catcher Julián León), this is clearly a theft of signals...”, accused the plaintiff, who accompanied his complaint with the videos that demonstrate “the willful manipulation.”

Diablos sports manager Miguel Ojeda

    Before the formal request, during play of Game Two, Érick Arellano denounced what was happening to LMB executives who were at the stadium. Two of them, Alberto Guadarrama and Diego Patricio Pérez, went to the broadcast booth where they spoke with producer Marco Antonio Ávila, an employee of the Red Devils, who informed them that he was doing the switches and frames that way at the request of Miguel Ojeda.

    In response to the accusations from Merida, team directors in Mexico City replied: “We can say categorically that in no way and at no time was it intended to commit any breach of the regulations, especially on the subject of sign theft. In this sense, the only intention was to take care of any situation with the Diablos Rojos catcher. In such a way that there was a difference between the shots during the turns to the Diablos Rojos batters and the shots during the shifts to the Yucatan Leones batters which, at that time, the league was asked to equalize and it was immediately done.

    “Within the analysis we carried out, in any case, the only thing the Yucatan Leones team could have been affected by was not allowing them to see the signs for the Diablos catcher but since sign theft is not allowed, it cannot be considered that there was such.”

    Based on the above, although the LMB emphasized that it could not be verified that the Diablos stole the signals, both the team and the sports manager deserve sanctions because what was done violates the Manual for the use of electronic and video devices in stadiums, specifically regarding the theft of signals established therein.

    “The above, together with the fact that manipulating the production and transmission of games has other effects, such as generating a reasonable and genuine doubt about the delivery of replays for review in case of game challenges during the matches, during the regular and postseason season of the LMB, which would update a manipulation in the television broadcast that could lead to damages for the defendant's rival teams, as well as favorable benefits for Diablos,” explained the LMB in its resolution.

    In accordance with the LMB regulations, both appeals will be presented to the council that is made up of the following owners: Alejandro Uribe (Tijuana), Gerardo Benavides (Monclova), Eustacio Álvarez (Aguascalientes) and José Antonio Mansur (Dos Laredos).

    If the parties do not agree with the ruling issued by these presidents, they may appeal to the LMB assembly where the owners of the 18 clubs will decide by majority. If that other resolution does not satisfy them either, they will have the option of resorting to ordinary courts. The LMB does not rule out forming a Dispute Commission to vent this case.

Alfredo Aramburo and the Durango case

    This is not the first time that Miguel Ojeda has questionable behavior. In 2019, the LMB, then led by Javier Salinas, did not dare to sanction him for posing as the owner of the Durango Generals and even brought before the assembly a certain Fernando Espinosa del Campo, a logging businessman who was supposedly his partner.

    But the reality is that the owner was businessman Alfredo Arámburo, who owned a modest batmaking company, that Ojeda had to accept in a corporation that lasted just a year due to the abuses that the now-director of the Red Devils committed. When other owners were upset, the businessman appeared before the LMB to say that he was the sole owner, having gone from having 90% to 100% of the shares. This upset the owners of the other clubs and he was forced to sell the team for getting into the league through the back door (via Process 2284). Unlike the businessman who was punished in this way, Ojeda did not suffer any retaliation.

    This reporter interviewed in February 2020 the former owner of the Generals of Durango, who recounted on tape recorder the abuses that Miguel Ojeda committed with that team, then requested that information not be published due to the damage it could cause.

    Following the events involving manipulating the transmission of games during the South Division championship series in which producer Marco Antonio Ávila (who works for the Diablos Rojos) pointed to Ojeda as the person who asked him to alter the signal, this reporter asked Aramburo again for his authorization to publish the full interview.

    The businessman confirmed something that was rumored for months when Miguel Ojeda appeared as the owner of the Generals of Durango: the LMB veteran did not have enough money to buy a baseball club. In 2018, the sale and purchase of this equipment amounted to around 28 million pesos (about US$1.5 million in 2018). Then he lied blatantly, knowing that he only owned 10% of the shares but pretended to be the sole owner.

Former Generales owner Alfredo Aramburo

    “The reality is that I was the owner from day one and Miguel was my partner,” Aramburo said. “I gave him shares. It was a project where he contributed the workforce and his relationships in baseball to develop the sports theme, but he did not contribute capital. ‘You are going to show your face...you are known,’ that was the agreement. But something happened on the way.

    “I think something that collided was my rigid training to manage weight over weight. I am risking my capital, he wanted more freedom (to handle money) and there was a disagreement. He said he was not comfortable and that he was leaving, and that's when I notified the LMB that I already had 100% of the equipment. When I was not accepted, I sold the team and thus ended my ephemeral passage through the LMB.”

Did Miguel Ojeda put his money in it? Did he have anything left, or you?

    “I did owe him money and I did not pay him of my own free will. I was left owing 300 thousand pesos that I wanted to give him as a decent departure from Generals. He said to me, 'The team cost so much, so my share is worth is so many millions,' and I said, 'No, Dad, it's not like that. These are the financial statements, I invested in this so don't be confused. I'm going to pay you because you don't have any support left. I 'll give it to you in payments.' And it was so because I wanted to take care of some situations and I wanted him to act correctly because I did have to pay him in a single exhibition.

    “The company brought millions in losses so I said, ‘Let's agree. You owe me and I can tell you that since you aren't going to contribute the money, I dilute your actions. But neither you nor me. I'll give you so much.’ I gave him 50% of what was agreed upon and the other 50% was to be paid in a year because my situation in the LMB was going to be defined there. Why did I default on those 300 thousand pesos? Because he spoke of me. I found out. I'm not stupid and I connected the dots. He threw dirt on me with the Diablos and with Mr. Harp and that did not make me look professional.

    “They played me a recording where he spoke ill of me with Harp and the LMB. He (Ojeda) sent me messages and I no longer answered him. I don't want to stain his career. He lives on it. If I tell what he did on my team, you'd run it. I don't think Don Alfredo Harp would see it well. He got into serious trouble. He did not transfer or steal,” referring to the hiring of the players,” he did more delicate things than that. For me it is a closed chapter.”

LMB president weighs in

    The president of the LMB, Horacio de la Vega, emphasizes that in the body he heads, “we are not going to allow any director of any team to get into an international transmission.”

    This was possible because the Mexico City Diablos Rojos are the only LMB club with its own television production. That of the other 17 teams is generated by LMB Media Company, a company that was born from a merger between the League and AYM Sports.

    “It is not a matter of having evidence of signal theft,” caims de la Vega, ”but unfortunately the conversations will go that way. The LMB is not sanctioning that. They are sanctioning a subject of unequal intervention, and call it what you want in terms of whether they (the Red Devils) have an advantage or not,. It is simply not equal and if it is not equal, it is not a fair game. That is what the league is not going to allow,” says De la Vega.

    So why is this issue serious if the Diablos insist, and you yourself have said, that it is impossible to steal signs in a transmission?

    “The fact that the LMB allows that with any of the teams is wrong because obviously, as you point it out, there is speculation or a possibility of doing it (to steal the) signs. The LMB is impartial in a difficult decision, but I think the evidence is clear about what we don't want to happen with franchises.'

    They insist that the signals are indecipherable on television. Don't you think it's strange that Miguel Ojeda, someone who was a catcher and who played baseball for many years, decides that to avoid sign theft, to removes Julián León of the Devils from the transmission if this is useless?

    “You will have to ask him.”

    Did YOU ask him?

    “No, we have a specific criterion of what happened, we are sanctioning based on that evidence and we consider that what was done is incorrect.”

    Horacio de la Vega anticipates that the owners of the LMB clubs are already analyzing the possibility of implementing the same electronic devices in Mexico that are already beginning to be used in the Major Leagues, through which the catchers ask the pitchers for the pitches.

    The LMB president also clarifies that if the Diablos Rojos television signal is the only independent in the entire league, it is because when Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú was built, the team made a huge investment in technology. But at the same time, there is the Manual for the use of electronic and video devices in ballparks that regulates the use of other cameras, radar and other equipment that clubs such as the Tijuana Toros have installed in order to generate data for scouting and advanced statistics, like the Bats and True Media System or even Trackman, which the LMB installed in stadiums this year.

    Obviously, the use of any technology that transmits information in real time directly to dugouts is prohibited.

    The LMB president also stressed that, although in the resolution of the LMB it was determined that it will be the personnel of the LMB who will be in charge of generating the transmission of the games of the Red Devils for a year – so that Marco Antonio Ávila no longer intervenes – “ it's something that the LMB is already going to do permanently.”

    De la Vega was questioned about a post that Monclova Acereros pitcher Héctor Velázquez made on the Instagram social network after one of the Toros players, Leandro Castro, celebrated his home runs in the playoffs. “Warned, even I batted,” the pitcher wrote to the batter, in clear reference to Tijuana stealing signals and knowing what pitches their rivals will throw.

    “As a result of sports scores, you can speculate many things and the joke is to demonstrate it. When you have strong evidence that something is wrong, you are co-responsible for the information you put on the table and if there is a player who is saying that, it is only fair that they prove it,” de la Vega says.

    “I am left with the task of investigating more on this subject. What we cannot do is that by mentioning any player, we have to open research folders. I urge any player to provide the information so the LMB can act accordingly,” the manager concludes.

HARBER LIGHTS OUT, ACEREROS REACH SERIE DEL REY

Monclova pitcher Conor Harber

Monclova starting pitcher Conor Harber pitched 6.2 innings of two-hit shutout ball and Francisco Peguero's solo homer highlighted an Acereros' three-run fourth inning as the Steelers went on to win, 3-0, in Tijuana Sunday night to take the Mexican League North Division Championship Series, 4 games to 3.  That outburst in the fourth was all the support Harber needed in earning the win while allowing only a Junior Lake single in the first and a Luis Alfonso Cruz safety in the fourth among 25 Toros batters faced (unfurling 98 pitches along the way).  With two out in the bottom of the seventh, Harber walked Yelson Asencio and Monclova manager Pat Listach brought in Al Albuquerque. A Detroit Tigers' 2011 Rookie of the Year who pitched all or parts of seven MLB seasons, Albuquerque got pinch-hitter Logan Watkins to pop out to Acereros second baseman Erick Aybar to end the entrada and struck out the side in the eighth before closer Carlos Bustamente had a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.

After the Toros had copped the first two games in Tijuana, the series shifted to Monclova for last Tuesday's Game Three.  The home team cut TJ's series lead in half with an 11-2 shallacking as Jose Vargas and former MLBer Eric Young, Jr. belted two-run homers for the Acereros.  Young hit .315 with two homers in 27 games after Monclova signed him in late July, but only batted .143 (7-for-47) over his first ten playoff games for the Steelers.  Former Rays MiLB reliever Spencer Jones tossed one scoreless inning and got the win.

One night later, Jose Amador's solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a deadlocked score as Monclova evened the series with a 4-3 Game Four win.  Vargas (his second two-run blast in as many games) and ex-Angels shortstop Erick Aybar both went deep for the Acereros off Toros starter Terance Marin in the bottom of the second as Bustamante tossed a scoreless ninth for the save.  Ricky Alvarez had a two-hit night for Tijuana, doubling in one run and scoring another.

The Acereros took the series lead with their third straight home win last Thursday, 7-2, as former Oakland catcher Bruce Maxwell hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Tijuana starter James Russell and another two-run roundtripper in the third off reliever Aaron Kurcz.  Alvarez drove in both Toros runs on singles in the third and fifth frames.  Wilmer Rios, who came on in relief after Monclova starter Danny Rodriguez injured his hand while issuing a game-opening walk to Maxwell Leon, was awarded the win for tossing 2.2 innings of one-run ball before giving way to Jones in the third.  A third straight sellout crowd at Estadio Monclova (8,500 per night) watched as their heroes joined the Toros in the trek back to Tijuana for Game Six.

The Toros won Saturday night when they held off Monclova, 5-4, in front of 16,973 fanaticos in the border city ballpark.  Tijuana took the lead in the bottom of the second on Asencio's two-run homer, but the visitors knotted the contest back up when Chris Carter returned the favor in the top of the fourth.  The Bulls went back in front in the bottom of the fourth on Asencio's RBI single, then opened a 5-2 lead in the seventh on run-scoring singletons by Javier Salazer and Lake.  Peguero singled in Beau Amaral and a bases-loaded walk to Maxwell pushed across Alex Mejia to bring Monclova to within one run before Kurcz (who'd walked Maxwell, his first batter) struck out Amador and Vargas, both swinging, to end the game and force Sunday's Game Seven.

Acereros third baseman Rodolfo Amador

Monclova will advance to the Serie del Rey against Yucatan, starting Tuesday night in Monclova after winning home field advantage for the title with a better overall season won-lost record than the Leones.  This will be the third trip to the championship series for the Acereros, who are celebrating Monclova's 45th season in the Mexican League.  They fell in 2008 to Oaxaca and in 2015 to Quintana Roo.  Conversely, the Leones won their fourth LMB pennant over 65 years in last year's Spring season.

The Acereros have one of the Liga's scariest offenses, belting out a .326 team average with 196 homers over 120 games and featuring with such hitters as Peguero (.386/31/106), Maxwell (.325/24/112), Chris Carter (.293/49/119) and Rodolfo Amador (.326/19/102).  Monclova will need all the runs they can get because their pitching staff doesn't remotely compare to Yucatan's.  With ace Josh Lowey out since May, the only pitcher with more than 11 starts has been Rodriguez, who opened 22 times en route to an 8-6 record with a 4.73 ERA.  The 36-year-old lefty has been a big game pitcher in the past, but was 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA in four playoff starts before getting hurt Thursday and landing on the Reserve List one day later.


YUCATAN SWEEPS MEXICO CITY FOR LMB SOUTH CROWN

The Yucatan Leones defeated Mexico City in Games Three and Four in Merida last week to complete a four-game Mexican League South Division Championship Series sweep of the hard-hitting Diablos Rojos.  Yucatan, who knocked out defending LMB South champs Oaxaca in five games in the first round, now advances to the Serie del Rey and Tuesday's Game One.

Yucatan pitcher Dustin Crenshaw

The Leones won the first two games of the series in Mexico City before the two teams shifted to Parque Kukulkan in Merida for Game Three last Tuesday. Yucatan took away a 7-5 victory as Luis Juarez and Jorge Flores each cracked two-run homers. Juarez' roundtripper in the third off Arturo Lopez reversed a 2-1 Diablos advantage and the Lions never looked back, with Dustin Crenshaw giving up two runs in 5.2 innings for the W.  Japhet Amador drove in four runs on three singles for Mexico while Carlos Figueroa had three hits and scored twice.

Yucatan brought out the brooms in last Wednesday's Game Four, completing the sweep with a 4-1 triumph over the Red Devils in front of a second sellout crowd of 14,917 at Parque Kukulkan.  Jose Samayoa and three relievers combined to hold the visitors to four hits. Alex Liddi gave the Leones an early lead with a two-run homer in the first, but David Vidal made it a 2-1 game in the top of the second by singling in Amador from third.  Liddi responded in the bottom of the frame with a two-run double to end the game's scoring early.  From that point, Samayoa (one run on four hits over 6.2 innings) and the bullpen held the potent Diablos scoreless to vault Yucatan into the Serie del Rey for the second time in three seasons.  Samayoa got the win while Mexico City starter Patrick Johnson, who gave up both of Liddi's two-run hits, absorbed the loss.  Liddi later added a single and ended the night 3-for-5 for the winners.

Leones infielder Alex Liddi (c)

The Leones have shown unusual (for them) power this year, as eight batters reached double figures in homers, led by Leo Heras' 15, en route to 126 bombs during the regular season.  Among the leaders in the power surge has been June free-agent signee Liddi, an ex-Seattle corner infielder who hit .344 with 12 homers and 66 RBIs in 59 games. The Italian National team stalwart has hit .359 with three homers and 11 RBIs in nine playoff games for Yucatan.  The Lions have always relied on good pitching and while 2019 was a down year for hurlers across the LMB, the Merida club did finish second to Tijuana with a team ERA of 4.45 (the Toros turned in a 4.41 mark) while giving up both the fewest homers (100) and walks (311).  Manager Geronimo Gil comes off the elimination of his former team and will bring four solid starters into the Serie del Rey: Cesar Valdez (15-2/2.26), Yoanner Negrin (13-6/3.22), Samayoa (9-5/4.05) and Crenshaw (5-1/2.72 over seven starts).

While the Diablos headed back to the nation's capital in disappointment, it's been a good year for baseball in Mexico City.  The March 23 opener of the new Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu kicked things off as the San Diego Padres beating the Diablos Rojos, 11-2, as a full house of 20,000 looked on.  Baseball devotee Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador became the first Mexican president since Miguel Aleman in 1947 to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at an LMB ballpark opener.  The next afternoon saw another sellout witness a 9-6 Padres win, although 2018 Southern League batting champion Kevin Medrano became the first Diablos player to homer in the new facility.  Mexico City also hosted the Mexican League All-Star Game (another sellout) while the Diablos drew 389,641 fans over the regular season for an average of 7,216, good for fourth in the Liga. Mexico City led the league with a .330 team batting average en route to an overall 67-49 record, best in the LMB South.


EL TITAN: "IF I RETURN TO LMP, I RETURN WITH VENADOS"

Adrian Gonzalez in his earlier Mazatlan days

Perhaps as a reply to rumors that he might play winterball in Culiacan this season, five-time Major League All-Star Adrian Gonzalez has tweeted that he would prefer the same team he's always played Mexican Pacific League ball with: the Mazatlan Venados.  A four-time Gold Glove first baseman with two Silver Slugger awards during his 15-year MLB career, Gonzalez tweeted last Friday: "I really doubt that I can play with the Tomateros.  Great team with a lot of history.  But I've always said it.  If I return to LMP, I return with Venados."

According to an ElFildeo.com writer only identified as Otero (maybe longtime Laredo Morning Times sports editor and former Baseball America scribe Salo Otero?), "Much has been said, specialted and written about Adrian Gonzalez, whether he is retired or not from baseball, if he will play in the LMP in the 2019-2020 campaign, if he will do so with the Charros de Jalisco, even if he is also going to play with Mexico in the Premier12 tournament."  For the record, while the 37-year-old has only played in the LMP for Mazatlan, he does not appear on a protected roster for any of the Mex Pac's ten teams and is free to make a deal with any team of his choosing.

Will he or won't he? And where?

The San Diego-born "El Titan," Gonzalez spent a few years growing up across the border in Tijuana, where he and older brother Edgar learned baseball from their father, former Mexican National Team member David Gonzalez.  With Edgar manning second base, the Gonzalez brothers played side-by-side with Mazatlan a number of times during the '00s before becoming the first Mexican brother duo to play together in MLB with San Diego in 2009.  Adrian went on to play for Boston, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets before recurring back issues shelved him last season after he hit .237 with six homers before the Mets released him in June 2018.  In his MLB career, Gonzalez batted .287 on 2,050 hits, including 317 homers and 1,202 RBIs over 1,989 games.  He has not played in a game since going 0-for-3 on June 10, 2018, when the Mets hosted the crosstown rival Yankees at Flushing Meadows.