FERMIN NAMED AGUILAS' THIRD SKIPPER IN A MONTH

Felix Fermin looking over his shoulder

The Mexicali Aguilas are on their third manager in a month's time as the Mexican Pacific League fired Juan Castro and replaced him with veteran skipper Felix Fermin.  The move was announced last Friday, just hours before the Aguilas played a game with no fans occupying the stands in Mazatlan (more on that in three paragraphs).

The Aguilas opened the season with former Yankees infielder Luis Sojo as their new manager after Pedro Mere was fired following last season, but Sojo only lasted 16 games before he was canned November 1 with a 7-9 first-half record and replaced by Castro.  The former Dodgers coach, who himself has survived a 2018 for the books (if the book was written by Robert Ripley or maybe Lewis Carroll), lasted exactly four weeks before feeling the axe.  After guiding Mexicali to a 10-7 record the rest of the first half to finish with a fifth-place tie and 4.5 playoff points, Castro was let go when the Aguilas won just two of their first six games of the second stanza to end his term in Mexicali with a 12-12 overall mark.

The former MLB shortstop has a more extensive Mexican League managerial record (with stops in Monterrey, Carmen and Dos Laredos) than the MexPac, but his winterball work in his native Dominican Republic has been impressive.  Fermin has led the Cibaenas Agilas to five Liga Dominica championships and won Caribbean Series titles in 2001, 2003 and 2007.

Jose Angel Chavez managed the Aguilas on an interim basis during their weekend in Mazatlan as Fermin planned to meet his new team in the border city Monday, a day before opening a home series with Obregon.  Mexicali's (and Chavez')  first game against the Venados on Friday night was played without anyone in the stands.  The City of Mazatlan ordered the ballpark closed to the public because of the renovated facility's lack of water and drainage.  Both were shut off early last week because of a reported 3 million peso debt owed by the Venados to state-owned Jumapam, which provides water service to the 16,000-seat venue. 

Thus, on a night in which the other three LMP games each drew over 10,000 spectators, a few warm bodies were in the Teodoro Mariscal grandstand as the Venados lost a 7-5 tilt to Mexicali as Francisco Cordoba socked a homer for the visitors.  The impasse between team and city was resolved over the next day and the ballpark was opened back up with restored  water service in time for Saturday's game, when 7,764 fans watched their Venados top Mexicali, 10-3, with Mitch Lively getting the win to go to 3-1 and Walter Silva relieving (!) the last three innings to earn the save, the three-time All-Star's first since 2003 when he was pitching for Reynosa in the Mexican League (and the first of his 13 seasons of winterball).

Mazatlan won Sunday's game as well to bring their second-half record to 4-5, two games behind defending champion Culiacan, Hermosillo and Obregon, who are all tied for first at 6-3.  Jalisco is fourth with a 5-4 mark while Mexicali, Navojoa and Los Mochis are tied for sixth with 3-6 ledgers.  Obregon had held sole possession of first until dropping a 9-2 home decision to Navojoa Sunday as the Mayos' Jovan Rosa went 4-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs and starter Ruddy Acosta carried a shutout into the ninth inning.  Pablo Ortega, who announced his retirement after 23 years as a pro after the LMB Fall season and took a pitching coach job with the Yaquis under manager Oscar Robles, pitched three scoreless innings of relief for Obregon after starter Nate Reed was knocked out of the box by giving up six runs in three frames.  Culiacan and Hermosillo won their games Sunday to pull into the three-way logjam at the top of the standings. 

LMP STANDINGS (Second Half): Culiacan 6-3, Hermosillo 6-3, Obregon 6-3, Jalisco 5-4, Mazatlan 4-5, Mexicali 3-6, Los Mochis 3-6, Navojoa 3-6. 
LMP BATTING LEADERS
Batting: Jasson Atondo, Hermosillo (.375), Homers: Jovan Rosa, Navojoa (10), Runs Batted In: Manny Rodriguez, Jalisco (38), Stolen Bases: Alonzo Harris, Navojoa (20).
LMP PITCHING LEADERS
Wins: Konner Wade, Mazatlan (5-1), Earned-Run Average: Elian Leyva, Jalisco (1.99), Strikeouts: Javier Solano, Mexicali (44), Saves: Casey Coleman, Culiacan (17).


MICHOACAN GOVERNOR WANTS LMB TEAM IN MORELIA

Morelia's 3,000-seat Estadio Francisco Villa

During last month's Mexican League Assembly of Presidents meeting held in Morelia, Michoacan governor Silvano Aureoles said he would like to see a Mexican League team in his state's capital and largest city.

At first blush, Morelia might seem like a place with decent potential as an LMB market.  A city of 784,776 with deep colonial roots, Morelia has a temperate climate with average daily high temperatures ranging from the upper 70's to mid 80's during baseball season.  The Monarcas Liga MX soccer team is very popular locally, with attendance averaging just under 30,000 per match in last spring's Clausura tournament to rank seventh in the 18-team circuit.  And the governor promised a renovated ballpark for a Mexican League to play in when the time came.  All to the good.

On the other hand, Morelia experiences a rainy season between June and September that brings 5 to 8 inches of the wet stuff monthly.  Unlike soccer, baseball has never been a prominent sport in Michoacan, with 1966 Class A Mexican Central League Tigres representing the city's lone run in organized ball; the 59-79 Tigres drew fewer than 24,000 fans to 69 home game and slunk into oblivion.  Then there's Estadio Francisco Villa, a ballpark built in 1964 with seating for 3,000 in concrete stands that have never been renovated.  Governor Aureoles claimed between 12 and 15 million pesos (approximately 6-8 million US dollars) would be allocated by the state towards stadium upgrades, but that amount may pale in comparison to what will actually be needed to bring a relic to respectability.

While one Puro Beisbol columnist described the Assembly as being "embarrassed" while the subject of Liga baseball in Morelia was being broached, LMB president Javier Salinas seemed enthused by the notion, albeit on a more practical level.  Salinas said that if their ballpark was fixed up, Morelia could see the development of a baseball academy, exhibition games involving Liga clubs or the Mexican National Team and a franchise in the Mexican Winter League, but "we need entrepreneurs to invest."  According to Salinas, the LIM is taking this winter off for restructuring.  "It was a league that was working, but not as we wanted, nor with the standards that Major League Baseball demands, so this year we decided to interrupt it to reorganize and give it more continuity next year."

For his part, Aureoles said he had been in discussions with Assembly chair Gerardo Benavides (owner of both the Monclova Acereros and the now-dormant Puebla Pericos) about purchasing an existing LMB team to bring to Morelia, perhaps the Pericos themselves.  Benavides has put the Puebla franchise up for sale the past several months, asking 50 to 55 million pesos ($2.6-2.9 million in US dollars) but finding no takers.  According to Proceso's Beatriz Pereyra, Aureoles called purchasing the 2016 champion Pericos "an option.  I would be delighted if Gerardo thought of selling the team to Michoacan," adding that entrepreneurs would be needed to "guarantee" the franchise would last in Morelia.  Benavides did not deny the two sides had been in talks.  Referring to his own difficulties in owning teams in both Puebla and his hometown of Monclova, Benavides said, "The only thing I ask is for people to be from here so they have room to maneuver and be successful."

"There is one thing we all need to understand: Owners must live in that city."


VILLANUEVA SIGNS WITH JAPANESE TEAM, LEAVES YAQUIS

Christian Villanueva: The newest Yomiuri Giant

After cracking 20 homers as a rookie for San Diego in 2018, Mexico-born third baseman Christian Villanueva will be playing in Japan next year.  After designating him for assignment, the Padres sold Villanueva's contract to Toyko's Yomiuri Giants, who then signed the 27-year-old Guadalajara native for one year at a reported $2 million (including a signing bonus).  Winners of 36 Central League pennants and 22 Japan Series since their 1936 inception, the Giants finished third in NPB's Central League this year with a 67-71 record.  Former Brewers infielder Casey McGehee and onetime Dodgers outfielder Alex Guerrero were the team's two foreign position players last summer.

Villanueva played in both the Cubs and Rangers systems before signing with the Padres as a free agent prior to the 2017 season.  Playing for El Paso in the AAA Pacific Coast League, he hit .296 with 20 homers and 86 RBIs in 109 games before being called up to San Diego.  After going 0-for-3 his first two games, Villanueva cracked four homers over his next seven contests and finished his September call-up with a .344 average and seven RBIs over 12 games.

Villanueva followed up his late-season debut with a strong start to the 2018 season for the Padres, hitting .321 with eight homers in April alone, but cooled off considerably over the next three months before a strong August brought his numbers up until a fractured finger in an August 21 game against the Rockies ended his season.  He hit .236 over 110 games for the Friars (including a sizzling .336 against lefties), with 15 doubles, 20 homers and 46 RBIs, striking out 104 times in 384 plate appearances.  The 5'11", 210-pounder was sometimes shaky in the hot corner, committing 12 errors at third over 96 contests to finish with a .948 fielding percentage.

After playing five winters in Obregon (including a breakout 2015-16 campaign during which he hit .322 with 9 homers for the Yaquis in 64 games), Villanueva sat out last season but returned to the Cajeme club this winter to rehab his finger while his status was being worked out.  He was batting .227 with three homers in eleven games when the Japan deal was made, doubling and walking against Navojoa last Friday in his last home game for the Yaquis.

Edgar Gonzalez named Jalisco manager

Houston Jimenez must feel like a serial bridesmaid who never catches the wedding bouquet.  The former big league shortstop and veteran Mexican baseball manager has taken the reins of the Jalisco Charros twice in the past month after owner Armando Navarro let go one manager, only to have to hand the reins to a new manager following brief stints as dugout boss.  Last month, Jimenez filled in for two games after Homar Rojas was fired before Felix Fermin was brought in to manage the team.  Now, after leading the Charros for two games when Fermin stepped down for "health reasons," less than one month into the job, Jimenez once again is stepping aside for a new skipper.  This time it's Edgar Gonzalez.

Gonzalez (pictured between Sergio Romo and Navarro), you'll recall, was named the Mexican Pacific League Manager of the Year last winter after leading the Mexicali Aguilas to a 38-29 record during the regular season before piloting the Eagles to the LMP championship series against Mazatlan.  It was his first year as a manager and he was rewarded by being named manager of Mexico's national team in early 2016.  Gonzalez stepped down as the Aguilas helmsman before leading Mexico to a sweep of a World Baseball Classic qualifier against Nicaragua, Germany and the Czech Republic in Mexicali last March to qualify for next March's 16-team main event.

The older brother of Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (who'll play for Mexico in the WBC), Edgar was born June 14, 1978 in San Diego, California to Mexican parents.  Father David, an Obregon native, has been deeply involved in baseball on both sides of the border for decades and will serve as a coach under his son when the Verde Grande open their WBC pool schedule in three months in Guadalajara.  Edgar completed his college career at San Diego State in 2000, after which he was selected in the 30th round of the June draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  That began a minor league odyssey that included nine seasons with six organizations before he made his major league debut at age 29 on May 12, 2008 when he played second base for the San Diego Padres alongside brother Adrian after being called up from AAA Portland.

Gonzalez spent two seasons with the Padres, batting .255 with 11 homers in 193 games between 2008 and 2009 before crossing the Pacific to spend a year in Tokyo with the storied Yomiuri Giants.  He batted .263 with 12 homers over 100 games at second base for the Kyojin in 2010 before returning to North America to spend a year with the SF Giants' AAA Fresno affiliate.  Then he went back to Japan for one more season with Yomiuri (.236 and 4 HRs in 57 games) in 2012 prior to wrapping up his playing career with AAA Iowa in the Cubs organization in 2013 and 2014.  He also spent parts of five winterball seasons playing alongside Adrian in the Mazatlan Venados infield between 2005 and 2009.  In all, Gonzalez played 1,526 games at all levels of his 15-year pro career, batting .288 with 119 homers and stealing 115 bases.

The Charros held a press conference Tuesday to present Gonzalez as their latest manager while also introducing MLB reliever Sergio Romo to the Guadalajara media after he'd joined the team on the road last week. Jalisco dropped their first game under Gonzalez Tuesday night with a 9-4 loss in 12 innings to Obregon in front of 9,129 fans at Estadio Charros.  The defeat dropped the seventh-place Charros to a 6-13 record in the MexPac's second half after they came in seventh with a 15-19 mark in the first half.

Yomiuri Giants looking at Saltillo LHP Rodriguez

It doesn't matter where baseball is played for one axiom of the game to hold true: There is no such thing as too much good pitching.  In this case, the Yomiuri Giants are expanding their search to improve their pitching staff to Mexico, specifically Saltillo, where veteran left-hander Hector Daniel "Danny" Rodriguez is working for the Saraperos.

After going 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 14 regular season start for Culiacan, Rodriguez was named as BBM's Winter Playoff MVP following a strong performance in the Mexican Pacific League playoffs and two wins for the champion Mazatlan Venados at the Caribbean Series in Santo Domingo.  He also pitched Mexico to victory over Nicaragua in last month's World Baseball Classic qualifier final at Mexicali.

The 31-year-old Culiacan native had a couple of rough outings for the Saraperos to start the Mexican League season before settling down to throw seven shutout innings against Oaxaca with seven strikeouts on April 16, followed by another strong outing at Veracruz on April 22.  In that one, Rodriguez allowed just one Aguila Rojos hit with nine strikeouts in six frames, recording nine strikeout and just one walk.

Edgar Gonzalez, who managed Rodriguez in the WBC qualifier, doubles as Yomiuri's Mexican scout in addition to his role as skipper for the Mexicali Aguilas in the LMP (for whom Rodriguez pitched in the playoffs before the Aguilas lost to the Venados in the championship series).  Gonzalez was in Veracruz with other Giants reps for Danny's last start, during which he wore a splint on his right arm because of a fracture but obviously showed no worse for wear.

Although Rodriguez is pitching for Saltillo (where he's 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA after four starts), his rights still belong to the Baltimore Orioles after spending all or part of three seasons pitching for AAA Gwinnett in the Braves system (he pitched briefly for the O's AAA affiliate in Norfolk last spring before returning to Saltillo), so the Giants will have to negotiate with Baltimore if they decide to bring him to Japan.

EDGAR GONZALEZ TO MANAGE MEXICO IN WBC QUALIFIER

Mexicali Aguilas manager Edgar Gonzalez has been named to lead Mexico's national team in an upcoming World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament.

Gonzalez led Mexicali to the Mexican Pacific League's first-half title and has the Aguilas well-positioned for a postseason run.  He won't have to leave town for the qualifier, which will be held in Mexicali between March 17 and 20 and include teams from Germany, Nicaragua and the Czech Republic along with Mexico.

The host nation will be the heavy favorites, with a passel of MLB pitchers like Yovani Gallardo, Roberto Osuna, Miguel Gonzalez and Joakim Soria likely to be added to Mexico's initial 50-man roster.  Whether big league teams allow those players to leave spring training to take part in the Mexicali games is another matter.  It's anything but automatic, although the MLB office is likely to employ persuasive tactics on franchises to support the WBC, former commissioner Bud Selig's brainchild that made its debut in 2006.

The 37-year-old Gonzalez was born in San Diego in 1978 and was selected by Tampa Bay in the 30th round of the 2000 draft while playing college ball for his hometown UCSD.  After nine seasons and five different organizations in the minors, Edgar made his MLB debut for San Diego on May 12, 2008 against the Cubs, singling off Carlos Zambrano in his first plate appearance in the seventh inning.  Gonzalez went on to play parts of 2008 and 2009 with the Padres, hitting .255 with 11 homers in 193 games before returning to the minors.  He spent time with Japan's Yomiuri Giants in 2010 and 2012, batting a combined .253 with 16 roundtrippers over 157 NPB contests.  Although he primarily played second base in San Diego and Tokyo, Edgar was equally at home playing third with much additional playing time at first, shortstop and the outfield before retiring in 2014.

Gonzalez played for Mexico in both the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classics alongside brother Adrian, a Dodgers' All-Star first baseman, after the two spent time in 2008 and 2009 in the Padres infield to become the first siblings of Mexican descent to play major league ball on the same team.  They also played winter ball several times together with the MexPac's Mazatlan Venados prior to Edgar's retirement as a player.

KOREAN TEAM RELEASES P EDGAR GONZALEZ

There is now just one Edgar Gonzalez playing pro ball in Asia. One of them, the former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher, was released last week by the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization after going 0-6 with a 7.68 ERA in nine starts (although his last start was decent enough as he allowed two runs in six innings of work). He had reportedly signed with LG for over $200,000 in the offseason.

The other Edgar Gonzalez, an ex-San Diego Padres infielder (pictured), has had his own struggles with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Central League, batting .221 with one homer in 24 games as a part-timer.