CANEROS, GUASAVE WIN AWAY FROM LMP TITLE SERIES

Guasave RHP Geno Encina

    When it comes to listing traditional powers in the Mexican Pacific League, neither the Los Mochis Caneros nor the Guasave Algodoneros are placed high on that table. Now in their 61st LMP season but with a team history dating back to 1947, the Caneros have won but three titles (1968-69, 1983-84 and 2002-03) and entered the current season on the heels of two consecutive last-place finishes in the playoff points race.

    The Algodoneros entered the Mex Pac in 1965 but over 53 seasons (minus a five-year absence between 2014 and 2019 after the original version of the Cottoneers were sold and moved to Guadalajara), they have just a 1971-72 title to show. While they've been more competitive in recent years, the Algodoneros have rarely been considered a contender.

    That's partly why when the Mex Pac season opened in October, nobody would've predicted a Los Mochis-Guasave championship series this month. However, after Monday's games, it's a distinct possibility as both clubs stand one win away from semifinal triumphs heading into their respective Game Sixes on Wednesday night.

    Despite absorbing two straight road losses in Obregon, including a vicious 15-1 pounding in Obregon Sunday night that saw the Yaquis belt five homers after scoring just four runs over the first three games, Los Mochis still leads that series 3-games-to-2 heading back home to Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada on Wednesday. Victor Mendoza belted two roundtrippers Sunday while Sebastian Valle, Dariel Alvarez and Jose Figueroa each cracked homers for the Yaquis in their 15-1 laugher, with Figueroa's blast a pinch-hit grand slam off veteran reliever Fredy Quintero in the seventh.

    Monday's Game Five didn't feature nearly as much fireworks but Obregon still pulled out a 6-3 home win over the Caneros to continue keeping the series alive. Leadoff batter Allen Cordoba lined Los Mochis starter Nick Struck's first pitch of the game into the left field seats in the bottom of the first to give Obregon an early 1-0 lead. The Yaquis built their advantage to 4-0 in the fourth on consecutive two-out RBI singles by Juan Carlos Gamboa and Valle.

    Juan Uriarte's two-run homer for the Caneros off Manny Barreda in the top of the fifth cut the Yaquis' lead in half and a run-scoring single by Justin Dean in the sixth made it a 4-3 contest, but Yadir Drake stroked an RBI double and later scored on Maikel Serrano's groundout in the seventh to put Obregon up 6-3 and close the scoring. Barreda earned his second playoff win while Struck lost for the first time in three decisions.

    In the other LMP semi series, Guasave held a 4-2 lead over Hermosillo in the bottom of the seventh during Sunday's Game Four at home when play was halted by umpires due to fog. After the game resumed Monday, the Naranjeros loaded the bases twice in the top of the ninth inning with one out, but only scored one run on a Cardona sacrifice fly before reliever Felipe Arredondo recorded the last two outs by striking out Alejandro Mejia and inducing the dangerous Nick Torres to loft a fly ball to Elizalde in right with the sacks full to end Game Five to knot the series at two games apiece.

    Monday's Game Five nightcap was no less dramatic as what began as a pitching duel between Hermosillo's Tyler Alexander and Geno Encina of Guasave ended in a 1-0 Algodoneros win. In the bottom of the fourth, Alan Lopez singled and Jose Heberto Felix doubled with two out before Alexander (who was 4-11 for Detroit last season) was pulled with finger blisters. His replacement, Luis Marquez, bounced a 2-2 wild pitch to Julian Ornelas off the right foot of catcher Cesar Salazar into foul territory, allowing Lopez to scamper home from third with the lone run of the game. That was all Encina would need for his first playoff win, going six innings and allowing only a Salazar double in the second. Alexander took the loss for Hermosillo, which entered the postseason as the top seed among eight teams.

    Both Game Sixes on Wednesday will start at 9:30PM Eastern. In Los Mochis, the Caneros will send Pitcher of the Year Luis Miranda to the mound against Obregon's reinforcement from Mazatlan, Brazilian Braulio Torres-Perez, who finished third in POY voting. Hermosillo will host Game Six in the other semi as two-time POY Elian Leyva climbs the hill to face Guasave's Matt Pobereyko, a first-time starter after nine pro seasons as a reliever who led the LMP with 73 strikeouts en route to a 6-2 record and 2.05 ERA.

GUASAVE LEADS HERMOSILLO, 3 GAMES TO 2
Wed, 1/11: HERMOSILLO 8, Guasave 1 (Roel Santos went 3-for-4 with a run and 3 RBIs to support Tyler Alexander's 5.2 innings of pitching with 8 K's for the Naranjeros)
Thu, 1/12: Guasave 4, HERMOSILLO 3 (Esteban Quiroz homered twice for Guasave; a Sebastian Elizalde single in 8th scored Julian Ornelas with go-ahead run)
Sat, 1/14: Hermosillo 2, GUASAVE 1 (Wilmer Rios tossed 7 shutout innings, Irving Lopez and Jasson Atondo had RBI singles; Joey Terdoslavich homered late for Guasave)
Sun-Mon, 1/15-16: GUASAVE 4, Hermosillo 3 (Sebastian Elizalde homered and singled for Guasave in game that took two days to complete after fog suspended play Sunday)
Mon, 1/16: GUASAVE 1, Hermosillo 0 (Former Toronto minor leaguer Geno Encina allowed 1 hit over 6 shutout innings for Algodoneros, striking out 5 and walking 3)

LOS MOCHIS LEADS OBREGON, 3 GAMES TO 2
Wed, 1/11: LOS MOCHIS 2, Obregon 1 (Fabian Cota and Nick Struck combined for 7 IP of 1-run ball, Yasmany Tomas' RBI single in the sixth plated game-winning run)
Thu, 1/12: LOS MOCHIS 2, Obregon 1 (Tomas' grounder to SS Juan Carlos Gamboa was mishandled, Isaac Rodriguez scored walkoff run from third in 10^th)
Sat, 1/14: Los Mochis 3, OBREGON 2 (Fernando Villegas walked with bases loaded off Alberto Leyva to force in winning run in the 12th, one of 3 Leyva BBs allowed that frame)
Sun, 1/15: OBREGON 15, Los Mochis 1 (Victor Mendoza hit 2 HRs and had 4 RBIs, Jose Figueroa hit pinch grand slam in support of Arturo Lopez' 6 IP of 1-run ball)
Mon, 1/16: OBREGON 6, Los Mochis 3 (Yadir Drake was 3-for-4 with a double, 2 RBIs and a run while Allen Cordoba homered, doubled and scored twice for the Yaquis)


MIRANDA OUTDUELS RIOS FOR LMP PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Los Mochis RHP Luis Miranda

   Los Mochis right-handed pitcher Luis Miranda edged out Wilmer Rios of Hermosillo in voting among teams, media and fans for the Vicente "Huevo" Romo Trophy as the Mexican Pacific League's Pitcher of the Year for 2022-23. In the closest balloting among awards announced thus far, Miranda beat Rios by five percentage points from among six hurlers who received votes based on their respective performances during the regular season.

    The 28-year-old Miranda, a Hermosillo native who had briefly been a teammate of Rios' with the Naranjeros two previous winters, went 5-1 over 12 starts and was the Mex Pac's leader in effectiveness with a sparking 1.07 ERA. He was also the league's WHIP leader at 0.87 while also achieving 56 strikeouts in a total of 67 innings pitched. Miranda started off with a bang by pitching 36.1 innings before allowing an earned run at the beginning of the season.

    Despite having spent three years in Atlanta's minor league system and earlier pitching bits and pieces of three seasons with the Naranjeros and Guasave, Miranda was chosen Rookie of the Year in the 2020-2021 campaign as a member of the Algodoneros after going 8-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 11 starts. He's the Caneros' fifth Pitcher of the Year and the first to win the award since Yoanys Quiala in 2019-20.

    Miranda obtained 40 percent of the weighted vote by team front offices, media members and fans, leaving second place for Ríos at 35 percent. Third place went to Braulio Torres-Perez of Mazatlan (11%), followed by votes for Guasave's Matt Pobereyko (8%), Eduardo Vera of Mexicali (4%) and Pobereyko's Cottoneers moundmate Geno Encina (2%).

    Rios had a legitimate claim for POY honors after a winter during which he led the MLP with nine wins (nobody else had more than seven), finished third with a 1.86 ERA (Torres-Perez was second at 1.49), tossed one of the LMP's two complete game shutouts (Obregon's Arturo Lopez' no-hitter was the other), was second to Miranda with a 0.90 WHIP and allowed just 1.1 walks per nine innings to come in second to Kurt Heyer of Culiacan's 0.9.

    The only award remaining to be announced is the Hector Espino Trophy for Most Valuable Player. The six players nominated for that honor are Miranda, Rios, outfielders Yasmany Tomas and Justin Dean (both of Los Mochis) and infielders Victor Mendoza (Obregon) and batting champ Roberto Valenzuela (Monterrey).


PUEBLA HIRES HECTOR HURTADO AS SKIPPER FOR 2023

    The Puebla Pericos Board of Directors have announced the appointment of Héctor Hurtado as manager for the 2023 campaign. Hector Estrada and Miguel Angel Lopez also join the Pericos coaching staff along with holdovers Russel Vázquez, Gilberto Sotomayor, Eduardo Ríos, Jorge Luis Loredo, Ignacio Vargas, Marco Duarte and Humberto Rojas.

    A 51-year-old native of Navojoa, Hurtado spent 22 years as a catcher in the Mexican League before retiring after the 2011 season. Beginning in 1989, he donned the tools of ignorance for (drawing deep breath) Leon, Minatitlan (twice), Mexico City Tigres, Monterrey (twice), Campeche (twice), Union Laguna, Cancun, Monclova (twice), Dos Laredos, Tijuana, Puebla, Chihuahua (twice), Nuevo Laredo, Laguna and Quintana Roo. Over the 831 LMB games the baseball-reference website has stats for, Hurtado hit for a .253 average with 53 homers and 283 RBIs. Not being a speed merchant at 6'1” and 230 pounds, he was caught stealing all seven times his attempts were recorded.

    Hurtado was smiling during the formal announcement of his hiring and declared it to be the most important day of his career, thanked the entire Board for the opportunity. "I know that there were many important people considered for this position and they decided on me. I am very grateful. I have a lot of commitment to the fans and the Board."

    Pericos vice president Alfonso López was in charge of the press conference announcing the hiring of Hurtado as manager and said, “Héctor Hurtado is a graduate of the Pasteje Academy and a lover and strategist of the game, as he has shown us in the last two years. Since I've known him, he has shown a great responsibility towards our beautiful game.

    “I compare him, with all due respect, with a wise man of this game, Don Jorge Calvo. Hurtado develops baseball players, he has full knowledge of our organization from below. All the guys who are going to debut and have already debuted, he knows them perfectly. His commitment to the organization led us to think a lot about him to be the new manager.”

    Hurtado has directed the Pericos in the Mexican Winter League the last two years, obtaining great results by reaching the Serie del Principe both occasions and being crowned in the last edition.

    Previously, he managed the Reynosa Broncos (2016) and Quintana Roo Tigres (2018) in the Mexican League. As an active baseball player, he wore the flannel of the Pericos in the 2005 season. Hurtado will replace Willie Romero at the helm in Puebla.

    Romero was fired on December 15, exactly one year after his 2021 hiring. In his lone year as Pericos dugout boss, the Venezuelan led the team to a 48-39 record in 2022, good enough for third place in the LMB South and a playoff berth. However, the Parakeets were knocked out in the first postseason round by eventual Serie del Rey champion Yucatan and in a league where many owners have the highest (and often unrealistic) of expectations, a playoff series loss can undo everything accomplished during the regular season.

ROMERO OUT AS YAQUIS HELMSMAN AFTER 14 GAMES

Romero (r), Vasquez (c) out in Obregon

    Seventeen days into the 2022-23 Mexican Pacific League season, the Obregon Yaquis board of directors fired manager Willie Romero last Friday. Bench coach Russel Vasquez was also sent packing after the Yaquis had posted a 5-9 record and were one game ahead of last-place Jalisco when the axe fell a little over two weeks into the schedule.

    The Mexican managerial merry-go-round (and the accompanying lack of job security running a baseball team south of the border) has been chronicled here for years, but few helmsmen have been given the pink slip as soon into their first season as Romero. The 48-year-old Venezuelan was spirited away by Obregon last spring from the Magallanes Navegantes, who he'd led to the Venezuelan League title last winter, to replace Sergio Gastelum, the 2020-21 LMP manager of the year.

    Replacing Romero at the helm of the Yaquis will be Luis Carlos Rivera, a former Atlanta and Baltimore pitcher who had been serving as Mazatlan's pitching coach after ironically coaching Romero's mound staff in Magallanes last season. The 44-year-old Rivera has managed Yucatan, Leon and Aguascalientes in the Mexican League but this will be the first time he's run a team in the Mex Pac. If history is any indication, it won't be the last.

    The Hermosillo Naranjeros have lifted their record to 12-5 and opened a three-game lead over six teams tied for second place with identical 9-8 records: Culiacan, Guasave, Los Mochis, Mazatlan, Mexicali and Navojoa. Monterrey and Obregon are tied for eighth at 7-10 while defending champion Jalisco brings up the rear at 5-12.

    One of players Rivera inherited from Romero in Obregon, outfielder Yadir Drake, leads the LMP in batting with a .365 average, ahead of Culiacan's Ramiro Pena (.359) and Leo Heras of Mexicali (.351). Monterrey slugger Fernando Perez, who's batting .323 for the Sultanes is the co-leader with four homers (matched in roundtrippers by Niko Vasquez of Mexicali, Hermosillo's Nick Torres and Sebastian Valle of Obregon). Perez also leads the Mex Pac with 18 RBIs, two ahead of Jalisco's Christian Villanueva. Hermosillo outfielder Jose Cardona has eight steals, topping Randy Romero of Mazatlan by one on the swipes chart.

    Three pitchers are tied at the top of the wins list with three victories apiece: Jalisco's Tyler Alexander, Juan Paul Oramas of Hermosillo and Mexicali's Davis Reyes. The veteran Oramas is third in ERA at 1.10, trailing only Los Mochis' Luis Miranda's 0.00 and Nico Tellache's 1.07 ERA for Guasave. The 2-0 Miranda, a former Atlanta farmhand who was 1-8 with a 9.64 ERA for Guadalajara last summer in the Mexican League, has allowed just seven hits over 13 scoreless innings in three starts for the Caneros. Guasave's Jeff Kinley and Javier Solano of Jalisco are tied for the lead in strikeouts with 21 apiece while Elkin Alcala of Mazatlan and Guasave's Brandon Koch each have eight saves to split the lead in that category.


CARIBBEAN SERIES SCHEDULE RELEASED; CUBA RETURNS

   In conjunction with the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, the Caribbean Series organizing committee has released the nine-day schedule for the 2023 version of the Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball, to be held between Thursday, February 2 through Friday, February 10 in Caracas, Venezuela.

    The 65th Serie del Caribe will feature eight national champions for the first time as Cuba returns following a two-year absence while Curacao makes its initial entry into the competition. Longtime combatants Puerto Rico, Mexico, host Venezuela and the Dominican Republic have taken part almost every winter since the Caribbean Series was revived in 1970 after an 11-year layoff while Panama and Colombia have joined the fray on a conditional basis in recent years.

    Panama hosted the event in an emergency capacity in 2019 after political and economic turmoil forced Venezuela to back out of hosting the tournament weeks before it took place, with the Panamanians surprising the baseball world by winning the CS. Colombia joined the roster of nations in 2020 and after going winless their first two years, they won the championship last February in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

    With eight teams competing in Gran Caracas 2023, four games will be played daily over the first seven dates of round-robin competition. The newer Estadio Rinaconda will host three games per day while venerable Estadio La Guaira will feature one game. On the Thursday, February 2 Opening Day, Cuba and Curaçao will meet at Rinconada Stadium at 10:30 AM. Colombia and Puerto Rico will do battle at La Guaira Stadium at 2:00PM. The final two contests of the day will take place at Estadio Rinconada as Mexico and the Dominican Republic will face each other at 3:00PM and in the official opening match after opening ceremonies, Panama and Venezuela will square off at 8:15PM.

    Game times and venues will remain the same throughout seven days of first-round action, with Venezuela playing in each nightcap as the host team. One semifinal on Thursday, February 9 will be played at Estadio La Guaira while the other semi is slated for Estadio Rinaconda. The following day, both games will take place at Rinaconda with the third-place game scheduled for 2:30PM and the title contest set for 7:30PM

    The calendar proposed by the Organizing Committee was approved by the CBPC Assembly and endorsed by the Confederation of Professional Players of the Caribbean (CONPEPROCA). CBPC commissioner Juan Francisco Puello Herrera said, "We want to congratulate the members of the Organizing Committee and the Venezuelan Baseball League for the tremendous work they have been doing to set up a great Caribbean Series in February 2023."

    The Organizing Committee is also preparing the start of ticket sales for the first days of November.


MLBers LINING UP TO PLAY FOR MEXICO IN WBC NEXT YEAR

 

Julio Urias to pitch for Mexico in 2023 WBC

   The countdown to the 2023 World Baseball Classic has already begun and with it, the assembling of the 20 teams that will play the tournament next March also began. Mexico has not been left behind and some of the names that will see action on the field of play during the international event are already known. Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urías, Tampa Bay Rays infielder Randy Arozarena and Houston Astros hurler Jose Urquidy were all confirmed earlier in October.

    Urías is coming off a historic season in the Major Leagues with the Dodgers, finishing as the National League's ERA leader with a 2.16 mark (becoming the first player born in Mexico to do so) while finishing with a record of 17-7 and an 0.96 WHIP in 175 innings pitched and recording 166 strikeouts in 31 starts.

    Arozarena played 153 games with Tampa Bay, posting a .263 batting average with 20 home runs, 72 runs scored, and 89 RBIs. In April of this year, the man born in Havana, Cuba but now a resident of Merida, Yucatan in the off-season received his Mexican citizenship and reiterated his desire to represent the Verdes Grande in the World Baseball Classic.

    Urquidy was announced as the third member of Mexico's WBC team. The 27-year-old Mazatlan product is currently pithing for Houston in the World Series after going 13-8 wth a 3.94 ERA over 28 starts for the Astros in 2022. Urquidy, who has yet to pitch in the current postseason, won both his starts against Atlanta in last year's World Series.

    Three more major league players join the list of players who have confirmed their interest in participating with Mexico: Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo, New York Mets starter Taijuan Walker and St. Louis Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos, reported the Mexican National Team Commission.

    Verdugo has six seasons of experience in the Major Leagues and is currently with the Red Sox. For his career, he boasts a .286 batting average, 44 home runs and 210 RBIs. He began his big league career as a Dodgers outfielder.

    Walker is a starter for the New York Mets and has 10 years of experience in the Major Leagues, where he has an overall record of 54-50 with a 3.89 ERA and 806 strikeouts. In 2021 he was chosen to participate in the All Star Game as a Mets representative.

    Gallegos has built a six-year MLB career in which he's also worn a Yankees jersey. The 31-year-old Obregon native had 57 appearances in 2022 for the Cards, registering an ERA of 3.05 with 73 strikeouts, a 1.02 WHIP and 14 saves in 20 opportunities.

    Mexico is part of Group C of the World Baseball Classic alongside the United States, Colombia, Canada and Great Britain. The Mexican squad will begin play on Sunday, March 11 against the Colombians at noon local time, followed by games against the USA on March 12, Great Britain on March 14 and Canada on March 15.

    All Group C contests will take place in Phoenix at the Arizona Diamondbacks home ballpark. The top two teams from each of four groups will advance to the quarterfinals in Miami on March 17 and 18 while the final four will continue play at Marlins Park for the semifinals and championship game March 19-21.

LMP PLAYOFFS SET: MAZATLAN, LOS MOCHIS MISS CUT

    The eight-team field for the first round of the upcoming Mexican Pacific League playoffs was in doubt all the way until the last week of the regular season, as nine of the LMP’s ten clubs were within close proximity throughout the second half of the 2021-22 campaign. However, all doubts as to who reaches the postseason were dispelled after two games played Tuesday night.

    The defending two-time champion Culiacan Tomateros had been candidates for elimination before they shut out the Jalisco Charros, 2-0, in Guadalajara behind a strong start by starter Manny Banuelos, the Mex Pac’s most recent Pitcher of the Week. At the same time, the Mazatlan Venados were being blanked in a 6-0 road shocker by Kyle Friederichs and tailenders Los Mochis, knocking the nine-time champions out of the postseason for the first time since their 26-40 season in 2013-14.

    It has to be a shocker for the Venados and their fans, who last February witnessed the Caribbean Series at Mazatlan’s Estadio Teodoro Mariscal (which Major League Baseball declared as the most beautiful place in the world to play baseball on its TikTok account) but now will have no more games at the 16,000-seat ballpark until next October. 

    On the other hand, Culiacan manager Benji Gil and his Tomateros are breathing a collective sigh of relief over avoiding elimination. Gil in particular has faced mounting criticism in Culiacan for failing to win the Caribbean Series in fourth try at the crown jewel of Latin baseball since 2015 by fans failing to note that to get that far, you have to win your league pennant. 

    Gil then received heat on a nationwide basis for managing Mexico to an 0-4 record at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, breaking protocol along the way by having Culiacan players who’d been chosen to the team pose wearing their Tomateros jersey in the Olympic Village.

    No such worries in Mexicali, where the Aguilas and interim manager Gil Velazquez have clinched the second half title after defeating first half champion Navojoa, 2-1, Tuesday night in Navojoa despite only collecting three hits on the night (including RBI singles by Victor Ruiz and Gilberto Vizcarra in the seventh. Even though Mexicali closer Jake Sanchez was touched for the Mayos’ lone run on two hits and a walk in the bottom of the ninth, he got the final out for his LMP record 26th save.

    After a 14-18 first half that ended in a ninth-place finish that cost then-manager Bronswell Patrick his job, Velazquez has led the Aguilas to a 21-13 ledger in the second half (two games up on 19-15 Navojoa with one game left) and a probable return to start the 2022-23 season with the Eagles, but let’s face it: the term “interim manager” is a redundancy in Mexicali.  

    Navojoa will be the top seed entering the playoffs whether they finish second or third in the second half. Skipper Matias Carrillo’s Mayos will finish with 19.0 playoff points for the season should they win Wednesday night, well ahead of Guasave’s projected 14.5 points. After a day off Friday, the quarterfinals will open on Christmas Day, The Mayos appear to be on a course to host defending champion Culiacan in the first two games, their “reward” for a first-place finish.

    Wherever playoff games will be held, veteran umpire Humberto “El Lobito” Saiz won’t be working any of them. Saiz was reportedly drunk and was physically removed from the field while working third base during the third inning of Sunday’s game in Mazatlan between the Venados and Navojoa after making obscene gestures at fans and confronting players and coaches. He was suspended indefinitely by the LMP on Monday. The son of Salon de la Fama umpire Victor “El Lobo” Saiz was also suspended by Mex Pac president Omar Canizales ten years ago for alleged drug use.

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE Second Half standings (through December 21)
Mexicali 21-13 (4.0), Navojoa 19-15 (10.0), Hermosillo 18-16 (5.5), Obregon 18-16 (7.0), Monterrey 17-16 (5.0), Guasave 17-17 (9.0), Jalisco 16-17 (8.0), Culiacan 16-18 (6.0), Mazatlan 15-19 (4.5), Los Mochis 12-22 (3.5)  First Half playoff points in parentheses

LMP OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Batting: Victor Mendoza (OBR) .349, Tirso Ornelas (NAV) .346, Ramon Rios (MAZ) .328
Homers: Kyle Martin (NAV) 17, Victor Mendoza (OBR) 10, Felix Perez (JAL) 10
RBIs: Jesse Castillo (GUA) 44, Joey Meneses (CUL) 44, 2 players tied with 43
Stolen Bases: Dairon Blanco (CUL) 21, Alonzo Harris (OBR) 17, 2 players tied with 16

LMP PITCHING LEADERS
Wins: Elian Leyva (HMO) 7, 5 pitchers tied with 6
ERA: Elian Leyva (HMO) 1.54, Wilmer Rios (HMO) 2.39, David Holmberg (NAV) 2.43
Strikeouts: Octavio Acosta (NAV) 66, Ryan Verdugo (HMO) 60, Many Banuelos (CUL) 56
Saves: Jake Sanchez (MXI) 26, Fernando Salas (HMO) 12, 2 pitchers tied with 11


NEW LMB MANAGERS NAMED IN PUEBLA, LAGUNA

    As the Mexican Pacific League prepares to open their first round of playoffs this weekend, their summerball counterparts are making offseason moves in anticipation of their 2022 season. Two Mexican League teams announced managerial hirings with a pair of familiar faces named to take over.

    The Puebla Pericos announced that Venezuelan Willie Romero will be their new skipper next season. Romero has a long history in Mexican baseball,  making his managerial debut during the 2012 campaign with Yucatan. Later, he directed the Monclova Steelers in 2013 and coached for Quintana Roo in 2014 before returning to Yucatan, where he was named Manager of the Year in 2015 and 2016, earning the same distinction in the LMP with the Navojoa Mayos in 2017-2018.

    Currently, Romero manages the Magallanes Navegantes in the Venezuelan Winter League after serving last summer in the LMB as a hitting coach for expansion Guadalajara under Benji Gil, as the Mariachis had the number one offense in the League. He also has experience coaching in American minor league baseball with the San Francisco Giants organization. Like Gil, Romero has been a winning manager while also a volatile sort who can raise the ire of umpires and opposing players, coaches and fans while raising blood pressure among directors of clubs he’s worked for. The Pericos, who finished 33-33 under Carlos Gastelum and Gerardo Sanchez last summer, promise to be entertaining under Romero one way or another. 

    Meanwhile, as expected, the Union Laguna Algodoneros have elevated bench coach Oscar Robles to manager after the tragic suicide of former skipper Omar Malave. A former MLB infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego, Robles played in the Mexican League between 2009 and 2017, retiring after his birthplace Tijuana Toros won their lone LMB pennant that summer. He stayed on with the team as a coach in 2018 and was named manager midway through the season. Robles compiled a 110-66 record through the 2019 season before he was fired, as all managers in Tijuana are, because he failed to win a title either season.

    Robles has managed the past two winters in Guasave and is a major reason the Algodoneros have risen from a 26-37 expansion team in 2019-20 to a playoff contender with an overall 66-56 record in the Mexican Pacific League’s smallest market. He was named the LMP Manager of the Year last winter after leading the Cottoneers to a five-game improvement, a third-place finish in the overall standings and stretching their first round playoff series with eventual champion Culiacan to six games. 


MAESTROS OF MEXICO: Alfredo Ortiz, P (1963-87)

    Comparable to former Philadelphia Athletics star Bobby Schantz, Alfredo Ortiz overcame a slight frame (5’7” and 135 pounds) with pinpoint control and crafty pitching to become the best left-hander in Mexican League history.  

    Born January 12, 1944 in Medellin de Bravo, Veracruz, Ortiz played Class A ball in the Mexican Center League for three years prior to debuting with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos as a 19-year-old in 1963. He went on to pitch 25 years in the Liga, playing on five LMB pennant winners in Mexico City as he and righty Ramon Arano formed the best 1-2 pitching combo in Mexican annals.

    Ortiz averaged 15 wins a year between 1966 and 1975 for the Red Devils, with an outstanding 1969 campaign in which he went 23-9 with a 2.26 ERA, including five shutouts and 27 complete games. Even when he pitched for poor teams he was effective, as Ortiz turned in a 2.77 ERA despite a 2-13 record for Tabasco in 1977. His last big year was in 1979 as he went 16-10 with a 2.44 ERA for Nuevo Laredo, although he did pitch six shutouts for Tabasco in 1982 and went 10-7 with a 3.70 ERA and just 20 walks in 139 innings as a 40-year-old in 1984. Ortiz wrapped up his career in 1987 by pitching three games for Puebla.

    For his career, Ortiz went 255-210 (second in wins to Arano) with a 3.13 ERA and 51 shutouts, fifth on the all-time list in the latter category. Despite his lack of size, Ortiz was a workhorse, tossing 256 complete games among his 3,841 innings. Not a power pitcher by any means, he was a master of location who struck out 1,824 batters (eighth all-time) while walking just 830 batters over 25 seasons.  He reached double figures in wins 14 times while turning in an ERA below 3.00 ten times. Ortiz could also swing a bat well enough to appear as a first baseman at times when he wasn’t on the mound and hit .261 with 11 homers for the Diablos in 405 at-bats between 1967-69.

    Ortiz was almost as successful in 19 winter seasons in the Mexican Pacific League, although he set a still-standing LMP record with 23 strikeouts in a 13-inning game in January of 1965. The man nicknamed “Zurdo” (or “Lefty”) was 104-96 (7th in all-time wins) with a 2.98 ERA (17th) and 925 strikeouts (11th) for his winterball career.  He went 0-1 for Hermosillo in the 1971 Caribbean Series, the first time a Mexican team appeared in that competition after leading the LMP with 13 regular season wins.

    Ortiz was a player-manager for Tabasco, Cordoba and Veracruz as well as a bench manager with the Mexico City Tigres and Aguascalientes.  He also managed the Mazatlan Venados to the LMP title and the Caribbean World Series in Venezuela during the 1976-77. 

    Nicknamed El Zurdo de Oro (“The Golden Southpaw”), Alfredo Ortiz was selected to the Salon de la Fama in 1993. He still played amateur baseball in Mexico City into his 60’s, taking turns at first base and the outfield as well as on the mound. He turns 78 next month.

OLMECAS' ORAMAS ENJOYS LIGHTS-OUT OUTING

Tabasco pitcher Juan Pablo Oramas

Juan Pablo Oramas has been one of the many pitchers in Mexican baseball who've crossed back and forth over the border during their careers.  After signing with San Diego as a 16-year-old international free agent from Tabasco, Oramas toiled two summers for the Padres' Dominican Summer League team in 2007 and 2008 prior to a spectacular Mexican League debut in 2009. Pitching for the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, the 5'10" lefty went 9-1 with a 2.31 ERA in 25 games (14 starts) and was named Rookie of the Year.

Oramas went back to the Padres and pitched another five years in their system and reached the AAA Pacific Coast League with Tucson and El Paso before his release following the 2014 campaign.  He signed with Toronto and attended spring training with the Jays before being let go in early April and returning south of the border for good with the Diablos in 2015.  Oramas went 15-8 over his first two summers back in Mexico City before a 1-6 record and 6.68 ERA over 15 starts in 2017 resulted in his offseason trade to Tabasco for veteran reliever Sergio Valenzuela.

He had a good Spring 2018 season for the Olmecas, going 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA in 11 outings, but fell to 2-3 and 5.09 last Fall.  Oramas was off to a rocky start in 2019 under new Tabasco manager Ramon Orantes at 2-6 and 4.97 this spring and there was nothing to indicate what would happen when he took the mound for the Olmecas to open the second half of the schedule against Durango in Villahermosa last Friday.

Oramas shut out Durango on 4 hits with 15 K's

Oramas turned in one of the most dominant performances of his 13-year career, blanking the Generales by a 1-0 count and scattering four singles.  He struck out 15 batters and walked two as 85 of his 118 pitches went for strikes. In an almost-prescient moment, the lights at Parque Centenario 27 de Febrero went out just after Oramas whiffed Durango leadoff batter Aneury Tavarez to start the game.

After the 20-minute delay, the 210-pounder went on to paint a nine-inning masterpiece in front of an intimate announced gathering of 1,234 spectators in the gallery. His Olmecas teammates would only score once, in the bottom of the first when Cuban newcomer Roel Santos led off with a triple and scored on a Gerson Manzanillo sacrifice fly to left, but that was all the support Oramas would need. His complete-game shutout was the Liga's third this season, following two Campeche hurlers, Francisco Rodriguez (April 27 vs. Oaxaca) and Manuel Flores (June 4 at Tabasco).

Tabasco dropped their next two games to the Generales to fall to open the second half at 1-2 (with a 22-39 season record).  The Olmecas are not without talent and definitely have a Cuban flavor: Besides recent-arivee Santos, outfielder Ronnier Mustelier is batting .407 with nine homers in 55 games while fellow gardener Daniel Carbonell has a .338 average with 11 homers and 12 steals.  Another import, Puerto Rican third baseman Jovan Rosa, is hitting .346 with seven homers and 33 RBIs in 36 contests as the entire Tabasco team has a .303 average to tie for ninth with Saltillo and Yucatan, which tells you how things have gone for pitchers with the new Franklin ball this year.  Orantes' mound staff has had it worse than most with a team ERA of 6.39 (and that's with FOUR shutouts, including Oramas' gem last Friday).

We say "worse than most" because Laguna (7.30), Aguascalientes (7.55) and Leon (7.88) pitchers may be forgiven for taking on nervous tics a la Herbert Lom's Inspector Dreyfus character in the Pink Panther movie series.   Rieleros pitchers in particular might be in a state of collective shellshock after serving up the most homers (138) and walks (297) while their 713 hits allowed and 490 runs allowed rank second.  Somehow amid the carnage surrounding him, Aguascalientes reliever Anthony Carter is 7-2 with seven saves and a 3.06 ERA over 25 appearances. Carter HAS given up eight homers in 32.1 innings so he's not exactly been unscathed.

MAYOS NAME ADAN MUNOZ MANAGER FOR 2019-20

New Navojoa Mayos manager Adan Munoz

A familiar figure among longtime Mexican baseball observers has been signed as the Navojoa Mayos' new manager.  Former catcher Adan Munoz will take the reins of the Mexican Pacific League team from Willie Romero. A combustible personality who won two Manager of the Year awards with Yucatan in the Mexican League and led the Mayos to the Mex Pac championship series in 2017-18, the 44-year-old Romero's contract was not renewed after Navojoa finished with a 26-31 overall record and missed the LMP playoffs last winter.  Prior to managing, the Venezuelan spent six years as an outfielder in the Dodgers organization and played another 14 summers in the Mexican League for Saltillo and Yucatan, batting .334 with 147 homers before his 2012 retirement. Romero hit .331 for the 2006 Liga champion Leones, collecting 24 of his 300 career stolen bases (eighth all-time in the LMB).

While Romero earned his playing reputation as a flamboyant centerfielder and baserunner, Munoz has been known as a tough, no-nonsense catcher over two decades in the Mexican League.  A career .279 hitter with 303 doubles and 162 homers among his 1,522 Liga hits, Munoz was named manager of the Quintana Roo Tigres on May 9, replacing Salon de la Fama member Jesus Sommers (the only man in LMB history with over 3,000 hits) at the helm with the Cancun club showing an 11-18 record.  Since then, the Tigres have gone 11-17 under Munoz. While not as visibly demonstrative as Romero, the 6'2", 215-pound Munoz is not without a boiling point and (like Walter Alston with the Dodgers years ago) the Empalme, Sonora native is tough enough to back up orders issued to his charges.

Adan Munoz batting earlier during his career

Munoz will take over a Navojoa team that had some talent in the dugout last season.  First baseman Victor Mendoza hit a team-high .323 with six homers and 30 RBIs and has since performed in the Caribbean Series and for the Mexican National Team in Japan, Alonzo Harris played second base and batted .302 with seven homers, scoring 51 runs, while third baseman Jovan Rosa clubbed 15 longballs with 45 RBIs to augment a .275 average.  Other Mayos vets last winter included shortstop Paul Leon, outfielder Alan Sanchez and catcher Fernando Flores, all former LMB All-Stars. Top Navojoa pitchers included Jaime Lugo (5-3 with a 2.75 ERA), Marco Carrillo (5-4, 3.08) and closer Jesus Pirela (3.22, 16 saves).

SEARCH CONTINUES FOR INVESTORS IN GUASAVE

Juan Navarrete to manage Guasave in 2019-20

          The search continues for investors in the Guasave's new Mexican Pacific League ballclub.  The Algodoneros were hastily established over the winter as fulfillment of an earlier campaign promise to voters in the Sinaloa city by then-candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, now president of Mexico.  Guasave re-enters the LMP next season along with Monterrey and while the Sultanes will bring one of the country's top baseball organizations and its largest ballpark into winterball with them, Guasave holds no such advantage in either history, facilities or resources.

The Algodoneros will play in the LMP's smallest market and in one of its oldest ballparks, although 49-year-old Estadio Francisco Carranza Limon is getting a major facelift thanks to billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu, who owns both the Mexico City Diablos Rojos and Oaxaca Guerreros.  Harp was induced by AMLO to put some pesos into the reborn Cottoneers and is largely footing the bill for stadium renovations (the 8,000-seat venue is expected to be ready when the Mex Pac opens play October 12), but has indicated he has no desire to own a third baseball team at this time.  

As a result, efforts are being made to find new investment money to maintain the fledgling franchise. Among the names being bandied about is Francisco Ochoa, a Guasave resident and founder of the El Pollo Loco chain of restaurants. Another is Guadalupe Miranda, called the "King of Beans" for his role as director of agribusiness giant Grupo Cintar in Los Mochis.

Veteran GM Gabriel Low, who has run teams in Leon and Guadalajara and been an MLB scout, announced the hiring of Salon de la Fama member Juan Navarrete as Guasave manager.  One of the greatest second basemen in Mexican League history (a .327 average on 1,979 hits with 236 steals over 16 seasons), the 65-year-old Durango native led the final iteration of the old Algodoneros in 2013-14. New owner Armando Navarro moved the team to Guadalajara, where Navarrete led the Jalisco Charros to the LMP Championship Series against eventual champion Culiacan in 2014-15. He's also in his third decade coaching in the Oakland minor league system. Son Juan, Jr. was an infielder at Grays Harbor College near the Washington coast last year.

Guasave shortstop Marco Jaime

A special mini-draft between the two LMP newcomers was held last week during which each team selected four players with dual citizenship (thus not counting against the six-foreigner limit).  The Algodoneros took shortstop Marco Jaime and pitchers Mark Serrano, Geno Encina and Adam Quintana. Jaime represented Leon at last week's All-Star Game in Mexico City while the three pitchers are all Monclova moundsmen in the LMB. For their part, the Sultanes selected pitcher Mario Morales (Monclova), first baseman Eric Aguilera (Union Laguna), utilityman Alex Mejia (Monclova) and third baseman Michael Wing (Aguascalientes).  Like Jaime, Wing performed in the recent LMB All-Star game and also took part in the Home Run Derby.

Between the expansion draft and last week's special draft, both Guasave and Monterrey each own the rights to 36 players with the July 3 LMP draft of unprotected players next in the roster-building process.

Culiacan wins LMP pennant on Amezaga RBI single in 12th

Veteran Culiacan Tomateros infielder Alfredo Amezaga

Alfredo Amezaga's bases-loaded single with one out drove in Joey Meneses from third base broke a 4-all tie as the Culiacan Tomateros went on to top the Navojoa Mayos, 6-4, Sunday night in Navojoa to win Game Seven of the Mexican Pacific League championship series.  The win gives manager Benji Gil's Tomateros their eleventh MexPac pennant and a berth in the upcoming Caribbean Series in Guadalajara.  Culiacan has won two Serie del Caribes, in 1996 and 2002.  The Mayos were looking for their third LMP title since the team's inception in 1959-60 and their first since 1999-2000.

Navojoa got off to an early 1-0 lead when Leo Heras' second-inning single off Culiacan starter Sergio Mitre brought in Fernando Flores, but the Tomateros struck back in the top of the fourth when Meneses belted a Tyler Alexander delivery for a two-run homer to take a 2-1 lead.  Not do be outdone, Jesse Castillo returned the favor with a two-run blast of his own off Mitre in the bottom of the fifth to put the Mayos back ahead, 3-2, but Culiacan drew even in the top of the seventh when Justin Greene hit a bases-loaded pitch from reliever Esteban Haro off the glove of Navojoa third baseman Jovan Rosa to plate Ronnier Mustelier from third.

Castillo crunched his second longball of the night in the bottom of the eighth (this one off Derrick Loop) to push the hometown Mayos back on top, 4-3, but Sebastian Elizalde lofted a sacrifice fly with the sacks full in the top of the nine to send Jose Guadalupe Lopez home to knot the game back up and in effect send it into overtime.  After two scoreless innings, Amezaga's safety broke the deadlock for good and the visitors added an insurance run when Andy Wilkins scored on Jonathan Aceves' sacrifice fly to center, a play that drew an appeal from Mayos skipper Willie Romero on Wilkins' tag-up that was turned down by the umpires to give the Tomateros their eventual 6-4 margin.  Culiacan closer Chad Gaudin pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to earn the save for Casey Coleman's relief win.  Carlos Bustamante, who served up the ageless Amezaga's fateful safety, took the loss for the Mayos, who used eleven pitchers in the must-win game.  The Tomateros used six hurlers themselves as a full house of 11,500 at Estadio Manuel "Ciclon" Echeverria watched a game that went 5 hours and 11 minutes.

After opening the title series with two losses at home last weekend, the Mayos stayed alive by winning two of three contests in Culiacan to bring the finals back to Navojoa and the last remaining old-school ballpark in the MexPac, now that facilities in Mazatlan and Los Mochis are being modernized.  The Mayos won last Tuesday's first game at Estadio Tomateros, 4-2, as the Mayos' 13-hit attack was keyed by a two-run Rosa homer and a solo blast from Alejandro Gonzalez.  The visitors then knotted the series up at two games apiece one night later with a 5-3 triumph led by Paul Leon's two-run homer and run-scoring single.

The Tomateros fought back Thursday by topping Navojoa, 5-3, as Leon scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh on a Flores single.  Wilkins contributed two hits (including a solo longball) and two RBIs for the Tomateros, raising his average in the title series to .462.  Three consecutive sellouts drew 56,130 to the ballpark in Culiacan before the series moved back north to Navojoa for Game Six with the Tomateros holding a 3-games-to-2 lead.

Back home to end the series one way or another, the Mayos took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on Saturday's Game Six when Alejandro Gutierrez socked a solo homer to straightaway center off Tomateros starter Edgar Gonzalez and made it 2-0 one frame later on a bases-loaded walk to Heras that brought in Max Ramirez from third.  The Mayos lead held until the top of the eighth when a Fernando Perez solo homer put Culiacan on the board and a subsequent two-run single from LMP batting champion gave the visitors a 3-2 lead, but Leon's homer in the bottom of the ninth knotted the game up and Randy Arozarena's walkoff single ended the game with a Navojoa win to force Sunday's deciding game.

Meneses was named Finals MVP after Game Seven. The Culiacan-born first baseman, a free agent after seven years in the Braves system, had a quiet regular season for the Tomateros with a .248 batting average to go with five homers and 32 RBIs in 66 games before turning in a standout postseason by batting .348 with five longballs and 13 ribbies in 18 games over three stages.  The 6'3" 25-year-old hit .370 with a pair of homers, six runs and five RBIs in the title series.

The Tomateros will be joined in Guadalajara by the Anzoategui Caribes of Venezuela, who beat Lara in six games for the crown, and the defending champion Caguas Criollos, who won their second straight Roberto Clemente League title in Puerto Rico by topping Santurce, 2 games to 1, in their final series capping a season abbreviated by Hurricane Maria.  Two more teams will be determined this week.  The Granma Alazanes took a 3-games-to-2 lead over Las Tunas in the Cuban National Series finals with a 3-2 win Sunday night.  In the Dominican League championship series, the Cibaenas Aguilas have won two of three games against Licey in their best-of-7 set.

The Caribbean Series will open Friday.


Tucson, El Paso interests explore potential Mexican League franchises

Mexican League president Javier Salinas

Citing his league's return to Laredo, Texas via the newly-moved Dos Laredos Tecolotes, Mexican League president Javier Salinas says there's interest in bringing LMB teams to at least three more cities in the USA.  According to Puro Beisbol, Salinas said "Cities like Tucson, San Ysidro, California and El Paso want to have a Mexican League team, on both borders, and there is a history between us and Laredo that was formed in 1930.  I think this will be a watershed and I think that together, we are going to be able to make a very good story out of this."

Tucson would seem a natural location for ann MXL beachhead in the States.  The southern Arizona city has a metropolitan population of one million people (of whom about 40 percent are Hispanic), no viable in-season competition for the sports entertainment dollar after the popular University of Arizona baseball team finishes their home schedule in May and TWO ballparks (Hi Corbett Field and Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium) that have both hosted MLB spring training games and AAA teams.  Mike Feder, who organizes the Tucson Baseball Fiesta every October, is a two-time Pacific Coast League Executive of the Year and knows how to operate a team.  From this standpoint, Tucson is the best open market north of the border for the Liga, although baseball historically has received lukewarm interest there.

El Paso would certainly rate as prime territory for Mexican League expansion.  While similar in population to Tucson, with a million people residing in El Paso's metropolitan area, the market swells to more than 2 million when Greater Juarez is factored in.  Arguably a better baseball town that Tucson, minor league ball has been a constant part of El Paso's summer fabric since 1930 and 9,725-seat Cohen Stadium is available.  The problem?  El Paso's already got a AAA team, the PCL's Chihuahuas, playing at a newer facility, Southwest University Park (7,500 capacity).  That team finished fourth in the PCL attendance derby with 544,668 fans attending 69 games, an average of 7,894 per opening.  Does anyone imagine MiLB president Pat O'Connor doing nothing if an LMB team comes to El Paso?  Neither do I.  The answer might be to set up across the border at 15,000-seat Estadio Juarez Vive with a heavy marketing effort in Texas, but I'm not convinced that O'Connor would allow that, either.

That leaves San Ysidro, which sits across the Mexico-California border from Tijuana and has a population of 28,000 with neither a history of pro ball or a suitable ballpark for even a Rookie league team.  While San Ysidro has easy access to the lucrative San Diego market to the north, one could expect Tijuana Toros owner Alberto Uribe to raise a hand at an Assembly of Presidents meeting and say, "Hey, wait a minute!" if San Ysidro is even considered in jest for an MXL franchise.  Not gonna happen at this point.

After all is said, Tucson would appear to be the clearest destination for the Mexican League as their second set of footprints in the fertile-but-untapped Southwest USA market.  It's obvious that Salinas is willing to listen but it'll ultimately be up to investors anywhere to blaze that trail first.


Tim Johnson named new Tigres skipper for 2018

New Quintana Roo Tigres manager Tim Johnson

It's been quite a year for Tim Johnson.  After starting 2017 as manager for the San Luis Algodoneros, a Puebla Pericos affiliate playing in the Class AA North Mexico League (or LNM), the former Brewers infielder and Blue Jays manager found himself summoned to Puebla in early June to replace Von Hayes as the Pericos helmsman with the team holding a 26-28 record.  He went on to take the defending champions to a 30-26 mark the rest of the way for a second-place finish in the LMB South, a division playoff title and a berth in the Serie del Rey against eventual winners Tijuana for the second year in a row.  Johnson did this with a roster decimated when owner Gerardo Benavides transferred most top players on the 2016 champions to his hometown Monclova Acereros, who were eliminated in the first round by Monterrey.  His reward?  Being let go in favor of Lorenzo Bundy during the offseason.

Johnson has shown he's nothing if not a survivor, however, and Quintana Roo Tigres owner Fernando Valenzuela was obviously impressed enough when Johnson's Pericos eliminated the Tigres in the playoffs last August to hire him in Cancun for 2018.  Johnson will take over the reins from Hector Hurtado, a former MXL catcher for 22 years who himself had assumed team leadership during last season when manager Roberto Vizcarra (who led the Tigres to two pennants, including their 12th and last flag in 2015) was sacked.

Johnson takes over a team with a glorious past but an uncertain future.  The Valenzuelas are locked in battle with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos over five prime Tigres prospects who were transferred to the Diablos while sales negotiations with former owner Carlos Peralta were ongoing, a move former Tigres exec and current Diablos GM Francisco "Pollo" Minjarez called a "gentleman's agreement.  Two of those prospects were subsequently sold to the Texas Rangers for a combined US$2.7 million, money the cash-strapped Valenzuela's could use in Cancun.  A complaint has been filed with Minor League Baseball and Fernando has said that he would consider putting the Tigres back up for sale if he is not given restitution.  The Diablos have reportedly offered US$500,000 but were turned down.

On the field, the Tigres are a team in transition, too.  Many veterans have been shown the door over the past two years to make the team younger.  Still, some longtime LMBers like Carlos Gastelum, Sergio Contreras and Pablo Ortega are still on the roster.  Johnson will not have the communication problems with players that helped sink Wally Backman as manager in Monclova (Johnson was considered as Backman's replacement at the time) and he has the luxury of playing in the weaker LMB South, although Mexico City swapping places with Leon make it a tougher division.  On the other hand, he takes over a heritage franchise that has never caught on in either Puebla or Cancun since moving out of Mexico City in 2002 and is now operating with precarious finances since the Valenzulas' two partners bailed on them not long after the sale, leaving the former Cy Young winner solely responsible for a team no longer receiving the sort of largesse from the State of Quintana Roo that Peralta enjoyed.

Again, Johnson has shown resilience since tall tales of service in Vietnam led to his firing in Toronto after a winning 1998 season.  He has bounced between Mexican and independent teams in the US ever since, always finding work.  He's shown he can win south of the border, copping a Mexican League title with Mexico City in 1999 and Mexican Pacific League titles leading Hermosillo in 1989-90 and 1991-92.  Winning either MXL pennant in 2018 with the Tigres is highly unlikely and the snake-bitten franchise may have to be willing to settle for some resilience themselves.

Culiacan blanks Mayos twice to take 2-0 LMP finals lead

Culiacan Tomateros P Anthony Vazquez

The Culiacan Tomateros earned a pair of 4-0 shutout wins in Navojoa over the weekend to take a 2-games-to-0 lead in the 2018 Mexican Pacific League championship series, with the next three games slated to take place at Estadio Tomateros.  The winner will advance to next month's Caribbean Series in Guadalajara.

The title series opened Saturday when Anthony Vazquez tossed a beautiful one-hitter for the visitors in their 4-0 conquest over the Mayos.  Joey Meneses belted a two-run homer off Mayos starter Barry Enright in the top of the first inning to give Vazquez a 2-0 cushion to start with.  After allowing a leadoff Alejandro Gonzalez single in the bottom of the first inning and a walk to Max Ramirez in the second, Vazquez retired the final 22 Navojoa batters of the game without allowing a baserunner after Ramirez' free pass (which was erased by Fernando Flores' 4-6-3 double-play ground out to end the frame.  Andy Wilkins stroked a two-run homer of his own in the third off Enright to put the Tomateros up 4-0, but the story of the game was Vazquez.  The 31-year-old lefty, who had a combined 12-10 record last summer with AAA Toledo and AA Erie in the Tigers' system, struck out seven while throwing strikes on 67 of his 95 pitches.

Game Two was more of the same on Sunday, with Culiacan winning another 4-0 contest while recording 11 hits for the second night in a row.  The hometown Mayos batters fared a little better by putting up seven hits for the game, but none of them resulted in a run as Navojoa ended up going scoreless over 18 innings in their two home games.  Edgar Gonzalez pitched six innings for the win, allowing four hits and striking out four.  Gonzalez and Mayos knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa locked up in a scoreless pitcher's duel through the first three innings until the dam burst on Gamboa in the top of the fourth, when Issmael Salas and Ronnier Mustelier each contributed two-run doubles to give Gonzalez all the runs he'd need.  Gamboa was tagged for the loss after lasting one out into the fifth inning, allowing those four runs on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts as a second consecutive sellout crowd of 11,500 at Estadio Manuel "Ciclon" Echeverria looked on.

Mayos first-year skipper Willie Romero, a prime candidate for Manager of the Year,  now has a travel day to figure out how to jump-start his offense before the series resumes Tuesday in Culiacan.  The Mayos reached the finals last Wednesday by beating Jalisco, 4-2, to knock out the Charros in six games in their semifinal set.  Ramirez socked his fourth homer of that series with a two-run bomb to aid starter Jaime Lugo, who got the win.  The 25-year-old Lugo was primarily a reliever for his five-year Mexican League career until after being shuttled from Monclova to Puebla last summer, starting all 13 of his appearance for the Pericos and 5-2 with a 3.92 ERA and helping the defending champions reach their second straight title series before falling to Tijuana.  He went 5-3 for the Mayos during the LMP regular season with a 2.53 ERA.

However, pitching isn't the Mayos' primary concern going into Tuesday's Game Three in Culiacan.  Somehow, Romero and his coaches are going to have to figure out how to wake up his batting order after last weekend's slumber party and win at least twice to bring the series back to Navojoa.  For his part, Culiacan helmsman Roberto Vizcarra is halfway to his goal of winning a second consecutive pennant after winning the title last winter with Mexicali.


Roberto Kelly named manager in Monterrey, signs three-year contract

New Monterrey Sultanes manager Roberto Kelly

Former major league outfielder Roberto Kelly is the Monterrey Sultanes' new manager.  The well-traveled Panamanian played for eight teams in his 14-year MLB career (including seven seasons with the Yankees), compiling a career .290 batting average with 124 homers and 235 stolen bases, making two All-Star Game appearances and reaching the playoffs four times.  His most productive season came in 1991 with the Yanks when he belted 20 homers, stole 32 bases and drove in 69 runs to augment a .267 average.  Kelly topped the .300 mark five times.

Kelly is no stranger to Mexican baseball.  After his MLB days were over, he spend two summers with the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, batting .334 with 19 homers in 2002 and .328 with 10 homers in 2003 before retiring as a player following that season at age 38.  He went on to spend several years in the Giants system, managing their Class A Augusta team in the South Atlantic League between 2005 and 2007.  He earned Manager of the Year honors in 2006 after leading the GreenJackets to a Sally League-best 92-47 record and a berth in the championship series.  He was brought up to San Francisco in 2008 and spent nine seasons coaching under manager Bob Brenly as the Giants won three World Series titles.  He was replaced as third base coach by Phil Nevin after the 2016 season.

The Sultanes' hiring of Kelly highlights an offseason during which they thought they had ex-MLB catcher Miguel Ojeda lined up to manage the team in 2018, only to have Ojeda back out to take a similar position with a Durango club that endured endless problems during their first season in the LMB last summer.  Although it was first thought that Ojeda would manage the Generales this summer, indications are that he may instead end up working in the front office if that team's ownership situation is ever resolved.  While Monterrey doesn't have nearly the off-field issues that the Generales do, they are coming off a campaign in which they were eliminated in the playoffs by Tijuana a second straight time after finishing second to the Toros in the LMB North during the regular season with a 68-43 record under manager Felix Fermin, who was not rehired.  Kelly's deal is for three years, a remarkable figure in a league with almost manic levels of managerial turnover.

One of the Sultanes' shortcomings was on the basepaths, where they finished 14th in the Liga in stolen bases with 55 swipes.  That should change under Kelly, who gained notice while managing in Augusta for his team's aggressive baserunning tactics as the GreenJackets stole 624 bases in three years while putting together an aggregate 258-157 record.

With Kelly's hiring in Monterrey and Tim Johnson being tabbed as the new manager in Quintana Roo (more on that next week), that leaves the Saltillo Saraperos and Tabasco Olmecas as the remaining Mexican League teams in search of new pilots, although the perpetually uncertain situation in Durango regarding Ojeda (who is part of a group bidding to buy the team from owner Virgilio Ruiz) could make that three clubs.


MLB bans scouts from working for Mexican League teams

P Luis Heredia during his Pirates days

The fallout over the Pittsburgh Pirates' firing of their Latin America scouting director, Rene Gayo, after he reportedly gained a personal financial windfall in the Bucs' 2010 signing of Mazatlan teen pitching prospect Luis Heredia for a reported $2.6 million, has led to Major League Baseball issuing a decree that scouts working for MLB organizations will not be allowed to simultaneously work for Mexican League franchises. 

Beatriz Pereyra of Mexico City's Proceso writes that MLB's ruling comes at the behest of new Mexican League president Javier Salinas during last month's winter meetings in Orlando, according to a claim Salinas made in an interview.  "We told MLB that we want to prohibit LMB executives from participating as scouts because there is a conflict of interest," says Salinas.  "Those scouts would not only be able to work for teams of the LMB, but for any league in the world."  The former Liga MX soccer commercial and marketing director, who was working for MedioTiempo website when he was picked to succeed Plinio Escalante as LMB presidente last year, added that "you can't work buying and selling at the same time because there is no clarity when you are judge and party."

The Miami-born Gayo spent five years as the Cleveland Indians' Latin America scouting director before being hired by Pittsburgh in 2004 to fill a similar position that had been vacant for five years.  Among his signings over the years for both teams were Danys Baez, Jhonny Peralta, Starling Marte and Willy Taveras (who now plays for Monclova).  He was fired by the Pirates in November after an MLB investigation found that Gayo received a kickback from the Veracruz Rojos del Aguila (who owned Heredia's LMB rights, which MLB organizations officially recognize) when Heredia signed his 2010 deal with the Bucs.  Team owner Jose Antonio Mansur, who reportedly owns 16 mansions and is a close friend of imprisoned former Veracruz governor Javier Duarte, moved the franchise to Nuevo Laredo last fall.  Mansur has owned Mexican League teams in Aguascalientes, Poza Rica and Cancun as well as Veracruz and now Nuevo Laredo over the years.  He was named Executive of the Year in 2012 when Veracruz won the pennant under current Tijuana manager Pedro Mere, but Mansur's teams have typically not seen success either in the standings or at the box office.

Interestingly, MLB's edict does not extend to Mexican Pacific League teams like the Mazatlan Venados, whose general manager, Jesus "Chino" Valdez, is a Heredia family friend, also works as a Pirates scout and may have been key in Heredia's signing with Pittsburgh (although there have never been rumors of kickbacks to Valdez).  Heredia, who is now 23, was released by the Pirates after last season and is once again a free agent after turning in a 26-26 record with a 3.88 ERA over seven years in the Pittsburgh organization.  It was thought he might pitch for the Venados this season, but the 6'5" righty decided to rest for the winter instead while seeking employment for the coming season after being a Baseball America Top 100 prospect as recently as 2013.  Mansur and the Tecolotes still own his LMB rights.

Tijuana win skein at 13; Tigres fire skipper Vizcarra

Tijuana Toros pitcher Horacio Ramirez

Former Diamondbacks prospect Cyle Hankerd scored from third base when Tabasco third baseman Kristian Delgado bobbled Jorge Cantu's grounder in the top of the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie and the Tijuana Toros went on to post a 7-3 win over the Olmecas Sunday to stretch their season-high Mexican League winning streak to 13 games.  Dustin Martin's three-run homer in the seventh gave TJ their final margin of victory as former MLB pitcher Horacio Ramirez got the win to raise his record to 3-2 in his ninth start of the year after missing ten weeks between April and June due to injury.

The contest was played in front of a cozy gathering of 960 fans at Villahermosa's Estadio Centenario 27 de Februar, where the Olmecas have been plagued by poor attendance and a faulty ballpark lighting system all season.  The 67-28 Toros have the best record in the circuit and hold a three-and-a-half-game lead over 63-31 Monterrey in the LMB North standings with 15 games left in the regular season.  The Sultanes have mostly kept pace with their own six-game win string.  Manager Pedro Mere's Toros have found July to their liking, winning 18 of 20 contests thus far. Tijuana opened the month with a five-game winning streak before losing a pair of games in Monclova, then launched their current run with a 1-0 win over the Acereros July 9 to avoid the sweep.  Since then, they've reeled off consecutive sweeps against South Division weak sisters Campeche and Tabasco, first in a six-game homestand and then another six on the road.

The LMB North's top four teams have made hay in their two weeks of cross-divisional play.  Besides TJ's 12-0 run, Monterrey had a record of 9-3 against Veracruz and Oaxaca, as did Monclova (who played the same two clubs), while overachievers Aguascalientes posted an 8-4 mark against defending champion Puebla and Leon to continue the North's season-long mastery over their counterparts to the south.  Tijuana, Monterrey, Monclova and Aguascalientes are well out in front of the rest of the LMB North pack and all but assured playoff berths.

That dominance has not applied to the Yucatan Leones, however.  The LMB South leaders drew Union Laguna and Durango as their crossover opponents and came away winning 8 of 12 games.  Yucatan has brought in Monterrey coach Juan "Chico" Rodriguez to replace the fired Willie Romero as manager after coach Oswaldo Morejon filled in for a couple games.  Rodriguez was a Salon de la Fama shortstop during his 20-year Liga playing career, mostly with Veracruz and Aguascalientes.  Romero will manage in Navojoa next winter but has not landed with another LMB team yet.  That will likely change for someone with his credentials.  Puebla went 7-5 against Aguascalientes and Saltillo so it wasn't a total wash for the southern sides.  Teams will play only within their divisions over the final five series of the regular season schedule.

Romero isn't the only former helmsman looking for work.  The Quintana Roo Tigres relieved manager Roberto "Chapo" Vizcarra of his duties following a series-opening 3-1 loss at home to Union Laguna. Vizcarra was in his fifth season running the Tigres and had been quite successful over his first four, winning two pennants and posting a 182-122 record after taking over the team late in the 2013 season.  However, 2017 was not kind to the Sonora native as Quintana Roo was 36-49 after losing 12 of their first 14 games this month (including a nine-game losing skid).  Vizcarra, who becomes the ninth LMB manager fired this season but will remain with the Tigres organization working with prospects, was replaced by third base coach Hector Hurtado.  A former catcher who managed the ill-fated Reynosa Broncos last season, Hurtado led Quintana Roo to a four wins over his first five games.  The beleaguered team, which has been plagued by financial problems off the field under new owner Fernando Valenzuela, is now in a virtual tie for third with Veracruz in the LMB South at 40-50.  With the bottom four teams in the division fading to the finish line, both the Tigres and Rojos del Aguila are almost sure bets to join Yucatan and Puebla in the postseason.

Former Durango outfielder Yadir Drake's .385 average compiled before his exit to Japan (where paychecks presumably arrive on time) has made the LMB batting title the Cuban exile's to lose.  A former Drake teammate with the Generales, third baseman Daniel Mayora, now plying his trade in Monterrey, is second at .375.  Mayora was hitting .425 in his first nine games with the Sultanes but did not play during their weekend home series with Oaxaca as veteran Agustin Murillo manned the hot corner.  Mayora's absence from the lineup was not felt too acutely as manager Felix Fermin's squad, who lead the Liga with a collective .317 average, put 30 runs and 45 hits on the scoreboard in the Sultanes' three-game sweep of the Guerreros.

Tijuana outfielder Corey Brown pummeled two homers against Tabasco to give him a league-leading 22 for the season, one more than Aguascalientes infielder Jose Vargas.  A Ventura, California product, the 29-year-old Vargas is making his Mexican League debut in 2017 after spending three years in the White Sox system and another six playing independent ball, but he's making up for lost time after joining the Rieleros, homering in five straight games earlier this month and socking his 21st longball in 69 games Sunday against Leon.  Yucatan's Ricky Alvarez is regaining his stroke in Merida following his midseason trade from Laguna.  He had two homers and six RBIs last Tuesday against Durango and is hitting .366 over his last ten games with the Leones while his 97 ribbies lead Monclova's Manny Rodriguez by 13 in that category.  Monclova centerfielder Justin Greene had three stolen bases last week to bring his season total to 45 swipes, continuing to run away with the steals title (I'm not tired of that line QUITE yet).

Veracruz ace Nestor Molina had a no-decision Friday at Monclova in his first start in eight days, but pitched well (7 IP, 1 ER, 9 K) to lower his Liga-leading ERA to 1.62 and crack the century mark in strikeouts at 104.  The 11-1 Molina has singlehandedly kept the Eagle Reds in playoff contention and is the frontrunner for BBM's Summer Pitcher of the Year award.  Monclova's Josh Lowey hasn't been as dominant as in year's past at 7-5 with a 3.08 ERA, but the Floridian is cruising to his third straight strikeout title with 121 ponches over 108 innings.  Mexico City hurler Octavio Acosta was reached in Campeche for three runs on nine hits over 5.1 innings in Saturday's no-decision, but still leads the loop in wins with a 12-1 record in the Guasave product's breakout year.  There's a spirited competition for the saves crown among five closers going down the stretch.  Chad Gaudin (Monclova) and Wirfin Obispo (Monterrey) are tied for the lead with 25 saves each, one ahead of Jason Urquidez (Tijuana) at 24 while Tiago da Silva (Durango) has 22 and ex-MLBer Jose Valverde (Aguascalientes) has 21.  Da Silva may have trouble gaining ground with Generales management white-flagging the season via the jettisoning of stars Drake and Mayora, but Urquidez has been solid all year while Valverde has been the linchpin of an otherwise marginal Rieleros pitching staff, converting his 21 saves in 24 opportunities.

With the Liga's interdivisional games concluded until the Serie del Rey in September, the rest of the regular season schedule becomes doubly important as playoff contenders will now play head-to-head over the final five series.  The biggest midweek faceoff will undoubtedly be in Tijuana, where the Toros host a Monterrey side they've been unable to shake off despite TJ's dozen straight wins.  While this series won't settle the question of who wins the LMB North's top seed, it'll go a long way in that direction.  There are more than one series that matter next weekend.  Tijuana will be on the road to take on an Aguascalientes team playing well under manager Homar Rojas.  While the Rieleros may be the fifth-best team of the five given a realistic shot at the pennant, they may also be the squad that nobody wants to draw in the postseason.  They've been finding ways to win all year long.

An intruiging LMB South weekend matchup will be Yucatan at Puebla.  The Leones have led the division almost wire-to-wire this year and while the ouster of Romero (the defending two-time Manager of the Year) is a bit of a headshaker, the less-volatile Rodriguez has kept the team winning.  The Pericos, for their part, were emaciated following their 2016 pennant-winning campaign when owner Gerardo Benavides transferred Puebla's core players to his newly-purchased Monclova team, but they've hung in there this season and have played better since former Blue Jays skipper Tim Johnson took the reins from Von Hayes earlier this season.  The Parrots will not be a pushover.

One interesting sidebar is that Benavides is now making noises about possibly moving the Pericos to either Juarez or Nuevo Laredo next season, disappointed with attendance figures in Puebla this year (3,051 per game, a decline of 29 percent from 2016) but apparently not connecting the dots as to why.  Veracruz owner Jose Antonio Mansur has made similar comments about relocating the Rojos del Aguila to the Texas border.  Puebla and Veracruz are two of the LMB's longest-standing cities, although franchises have come and gone in both over the years.