2018 Caribbean Series moved to Mexico; will Jalisco host?

After weeks of rumors swirling about whether the 2018 Caribbean Series would be moved out of Venezuela due to ongoing political turmoil, the Confederacion de Profesional Beisbol del Caribe (or CPBC) announced Wednesday that next February's event would be shifted from Barquisimeto to Mexico.

The continued death spiral of Venezuela's oil-based economy and measures taken by the government under President Nicolas Maduro have been accompanied by worsening unrest throughout the nation of 32 million bordering the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  One result has been security concerns for both Barquisimeto, a city of 2 million residents, and 20,450-seat Estadio Antonio Hernandez Herrera, leading to CPBC's decision to move the Serie del Caribe.  Historically, the CS has rotated annually between Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.  It was held in Culiacan last February and was scheduled for Barquisimeto next year. Instead, the crown jewel of latin baseball will return to a Mexican Pacific League city for the second consecutive year.

The CPBC has not announced where the Caribbean Series will be sited, but Guadalajara may be the eventual pick.  The city hosted the first round of the World Baseball Classic in March. While Pool D play ended in controversy, attendance was strong over the first four four days at the expanded Estadio Charros (an average of 14,058 per game) and though there was much disgust directed toward WBC rules and processes, Jalisco Charros owner Armando Navarro and his organization received high marks as hosts.  Navarro has proven very ambitious since moving the LMP team from Guasave in 2014, and has actively lobbied to have the 2018 CS shifted to his city and ballpark.

This CPBC decision has done nothing to quiet concerns over the long-term viability of the Caribbean Series.  Long a cauldron of pride among Latino baseball fans, the Serie del Caribe has represented a convergence of passion, music and dancing in the stands to create an atmosphere unlike any other baseball tournament in the world.  It's more than a celebration of a sport, it's also a celebration of life.

Venezuela is not the only CS nation in which baseball is struggling.  Puerto Rico has been on shaky ground financially for years, including pro baseball.  The Roberto Clemente League was scheduled to host the CS in 2019, but the Al Bat website says the CPBC instead hopes to return to Venezuela if the political and economic situations there improve.  But what happens with the Dominican Republic, whose next turn was in 2019?  The idea of hosting the CS in Mexico (where the largest crowds attend) every even-numbered year while the other nations would rotate as host every odd-numbered year has been floated by at least one cronista south of the border.

Another problem Caribbean Series organizers and baseball fans alike is that Major League Baseball organizations are sending fewer prospects to play winterball in Latin America, choosing to direct them to training complexes in Arizona or even (in some cases) the Australian Winter League, which has nowhere near the quality or fan interest of the Caribbean leagues.  In addition, MLB Latin stars used to routinely play in the CS, but they're routinely discouraged from participating by their big league club and money does talk.  The result has been a drop in overall quality of winter teams, who rely more heavily on career minor leaguers and the occasional former big leaguer to fill the gap.  You don't see a Willie Mays or Roberto Clemente patrolling the outfield at Caribbean ballparks between October and February anymore.

The Caribbean Series added Cuba on a trial basis as the event's fifth participating nation in 2014, with Villa Clara representing the island nation for the first time since dictator Fidel Castro pulled Cuba out of the CS in 1960.  Pinar del Rio won the CS title in 2015 but the Serie del Caribe itself has yet to return to Havana.  A sixth nation will be added in 2019 when Panama (like Cuba, an original CS participant in 1949 along with Puerto Rico and Venezuela) will join the field.  Panama took part in the first twelve Caribbean Series, with Carta Vieja winning in 1950 and Panama City hosting three times.  Following the 1960 tournament, the CS was dormant through the rest of the 1960's.  Mexico and the Dominican Republic replaced Cuba and Panama to fill out the field in 1970, when the tournament returned.

Mexico in wild 11-9 win vs. Venezuela, still eliminated from WBC

Diminutive Esteban Quiroz swatted a three-run homer to key a five-run second inning, a blast that got bigger as the night went on with Mexico holding on to top Venezuela, 11-9, Sunday in a marathon at Guadalajara's Estadio Charros.  The win was Mexico's first in three games at the World Baseball Classic Pool D competition, and created a three-way tie for second with Venezuela and Italy at 1-2 apiece, behind Puerto Rico's perfect 3-0 mark.  Mexico and Italy were first cited by a number of websites (including the WBC's) to be the teams advancing to a tiebreaker game Monday night, but a set of rules based on runs allowed gave Venezuela a slight nod over Mexico in that regard, thus creating an Italy-Venezuela tiebreaker instead.

After a scoreless first inning, Mexico opened the second with a five-run outburst off Venezuelan starter Yusmeiro Petit that gave his Verdes Grande counterpart, Luis Mendoza, a nice cushion.  A Japhet Amador double scored Brandon Laird from second base and sent Alex Verdugo from first to third. After Efren Navarro walked, Cochito Cruz' sacrifice fly brought in Verdugo and Xorge Carrillo's flyout to right sent Amador to third, the 5'7" Quiroz (pictured) worked Petit into a full count before swinging his red bat to send the ball rocketing over the right field wall past the scoreboard to bring the score to 5-0.

Venezuela was able to get one run back in the bottom of the third as Robinson Chirinos scored from second on Martin Prado's line single up the middle off Mendoza.  Neither team scored in the fourth but Brandon Laird detonated a three-run homer beyond the videoscreen in left center field off reliever Wil Ledezma in the top of the fifth to put Mexico up by an 8-1 count.  Carlos Torres replaced Mendoza on the mound in the bottom of the frame after the latter allowed an Alcides Escobar double and was touched for three runs.  Ender Inciarte doubled home Escobar, Martin Prado's ground-rule double drove Inciarte in and Miguel Cabrera singled in Prado to close the gap to 8-4.

An Adrian Gonzalez sacrifice fly brought Carrillo with Mexico's ninth run in the top of the sixth to make it 9-4, but Puerto Rico came back with a pair of runs on consecutive two-out singles by Chirinos and Altuve.  Chris Roberson, who entered the game as a pinch-runner for Quiroz in the sixth and remained defensively in center field, stroked a two-run single in the top of the seventh to bring Mexico's lead back to five at 11-6.  Sergio Romo came on in relief in the bottom of the seventh and lasted long enough to record an out among three runs, four hits (including a two-run Victor Martinez homer) and a walk before being pulled for Jake Sanchez, who got the final two outs without further damage, but the host team's advantage had been whittled to 11-9.

Robert Suarez and Jose Alvarez held the Mexicans scoreless in the eighth and Sanchez came back out for the bottom of the entrada long enough to walk Cabrera on five pitches (with some batters, one can never be too careful), then was replaced on the hill by Oliver Perez.  Perez got Carlos Gonzalez to ground to Adrian Gonzalez at first for an unassisted double play, then went seven pitches into the count with Martinez, who lined out to Navarro in left field for the final out.

Alvarez then battled to hold Mexico scoreless for a second straight inning in the ninth and after Perez coaxed Rougned Odor to dribble a comebacker to the mound for the first out, Roberto Osuna, who suffered a collapse of epic proportions against Italy Thursday, was sent out by manager Edgar Gonzalez with the game on the line once more.  Osuna's first pitch was drilled for a single to left by Escobar and Inciarte walked
on a full count to put the tying run on base.  The normally placid Gonzalez sprang from the dugout to argue the fourth ball with home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott, earning an early shower.  Osuna went on to srike out Chirinos swinging on four pitches and getting Altuve to sky a 1-2 delivery to Alex Verdugo in right for the game's final out.

Mendoza earned the win for Mexico and Osuna got the save while Petit absorbed the loss for Venezuela.  Amador went 3-for-5 for the winners while Laird scored twice and drove in three runs, but it was the bat of leadoff hitter Quiroz that set the early pace before he was replaced on the basepaths by Roberson.  Quiroz went 2-for-3 with two runs and three ribbies in the slugfest, keeping his WBC batting average at .667 with two homers and five RBIs in three games, two at second base and Sunday in right field.  The two teams required four hours and 45 minutes to play nine innings, between the combined 20 runs, 30 hits, 11 walks and 13 pitching changes.  The game ended shortly before 2:00AM local time.

Puerto Rico began Sunday's Pool D play by tripling up on Italy, 9-3, to finish the first round with a 3-0 record.  Italy ended the round robin 1-2.  Carlos Correa and Enrique Hernandez each had three of Puerto Rico's 13 hits.  Correa, Francisco and Mike Aviles both scored twice, Correa's three RBIs were augmented by Hernandez' two.

John Andreoli's two-run homer in the first inning and Drew Butera's solo shot in the second accounted for all of Italy's scoring, as Alessandro Vaglio's pinch single was the only other hit off Jose Berrios and two Puerto Rican relievers.  Berrios earned the win, pitching five innings and allowing three runs on two hits, while Luis Lugo took the loss for Italy after being scuffed up for four runs in 2.1 innings.  A crowd of 11,924 spectators, the smallest in four days at Estadio Charros, was on hand to watch.

Lindor homers twice as Mexico loses to Puerto Rico, 9-4

Mexico fell behind Puerto Rico early and never caught up in their World Baseball Classic Pool D game Saturday, as the Puerto Ricans went on to win, 9-4, to clinch a berth in the WBC's second round in San Diego.  Francisco Lindor had three hits and three RBIs for the winners, including a pair of homers, as Puerto Rico raised their first-round record to 2-0.  Mexico fell to 0-2 as 15,647 looked on at Guadalajara's Estadio Charros.

Puerto Rico got off to a fast start in the top of the first inning when Angel Pagan led off with a single, followed by Francisco Lindor homer to right off Miguel Angel Gonzalez to take an early 2-0 lead.  Mexico got one run back in the bottom of the first when Esteban Quiroz drew a leadoff walk off Boricuan starter Jorge Lopez, moved to second when Luis Juarez lined a single to right, advanced to third on Adrian Gonzalez' grounder to short, with Juarez forced out at second, and scored on a single by Brandon Laird (pictured).  That would be the only run Lopez allowed in his 59-pitch start before he was replaced by Hector Santiago with one out in the fifth.

The favored Puerto Ricans scored again in the third when Carlos Beltran's liner up the middle plated Pagan with his second run of the night, and then opened a 4-1 lead after Reymond Fuentes came in on Carlos Correa's sacrifice fly to center.  Gonzalez began the frame by walking both Fuentes and Pagan before Mexico skipper Edgar Gonzalez replaced him with Jake Sanchez, who later gave up the Beltran single that scored Pagan, a run charged to pitcher Gonzalez.  Lindor then hit his second homer of the night in the top of the seventh off Yankees prospect Giovanny Gallegos to add one more run to Puerto Rico's lead at 5-1.

Mexico showed some fight in the bottom of the seventh, though.  After leading off with a two-strike double, Laird moved to third on an Efren Navarro single and scored on Chris Roberson's one-bagger two put the score at 5-2.  Xorge Carrillo then sent a grounder to third baseman Correa, who threw to second to force Roberson but the ball sailed into right field, allowing Navarro to come around from second to score with Roberson taking third to put Mexican runners at the corners with one out.  Puerto Rican pitcher Santiago struck out Manny Rodriguez on four pitches for the second out, creating a little breathing room for working against Alex Verdugo.  During the encounter, Santiago uncorked a wild pitch that Yadier Molina couldn't flag down, allowing Roberson to score from third to narrow Puerto Rico's lead to 5-4.  Verdugo eventually tapped a full-count comebacker to Santiago on the mound for the easy toss to first for the final out.

Fernando Salas replaced Gallegos on the hill for Mexico in the top of the eighth and tossed a scoreless inning but once again, trouble arrived in the ninth for the Verdes Grande.  Miguel Aguilar pitched to two batters, getting Pagan to ground out to short and letting up a Lindor singles, before Royals reliever Joakim Soria was brought in.  Soria induced Correa to fly out to right for the second out before walking Beltran and giving up a Molina single that scored Lindor before serving up a three-run homer to left center by Javier Baez.  Facing a 9-4 deficit, Mexico put runners on second and first with nobody out against young Mariners closer Edwin Diaz in the bottom of the ninth, but Carrillo struck out and Rodriguez lined into a double play to end the game.

Laird and Juarez each had two of Mexico's seven hits, with Laird's double the only extra-base knock.  The Nippon Ham Fighters slugger, who was the 2016 Japan Series MVP, scored once and drove in a run.  Lindor went 3-for-5 for Puerto Rico, with three runs and three ribbies.  Lopez got the win for Puerto Rico while Gonzalez absorbed the loss for Mexico.

In Saturday's first game, Venezuela nipped Italy, 11-10, in ten innings as both nations evened out their Pool D records at 1-1.  Martin Prado went a perfect 5-for-5 for the winners, knocking out a pair of doubles, including the game-winner in the top of the tenth, a line drive up the middle off Trey Nielsen than scored Jose Altuve with the go-ahead run.  Padres farmhand Jose Castillo pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the tenth for the save while Francisco Rodriguez got the win.

A hush fell over the crowd of 12,187 following a collision at home plate in the ninth when Italy's Drew Butera awkwardly ran into Venezuela catcher Salvador Perez, injuring Perez' knee.  The play developed after two outs as Alex Liddi singled off Rodriguez and was replaced at first base by Drew Maggi, followed by a walk to Butera and then a single up the middle by Gavin Cecchini that scored Maggi to tie the game at 10-10.  Butera tried to come in all the way from first but reached home plate just behind a relay throw to Perez from Rodriguez.  Butera, like Perez a Royals catcher, tried to avoid his All-Star teammate in KC but fell into Perez' knee on the play.  Perez was helped off the field and to a local hospital for an MRI.

Sunday's day-night doubleheader will get underway at 1:30 CDT (1930 UTC) when Italy meets Puerto Rico, followed by the nightcap at 8:00pm CDT (0200 UTC) when Mexico takes on Venezuela.

WBC: Mexico hopes to rebound against Puerto Rico Saturday

After dropping a shocking 10-9 World Baseball Classic Pool D opener against Italy on Thursday in Guadalajara, the Mexican National Team will try to keep their hopes for advancement to the quarterfinals alive Saturday when they take on Puerto Rico, a team that crushed Venezuela and starter Felix Hernandez, 11-0, Friday night before 14,806 fans at Estadio Charros.  Mexico faces the daunting task of sweeping both Puerto Rico and Venezuela in their final pool play games to punch their ticket to San Diego's Petco Park and the WBC Elite Eight.  Israel, The Netherlands, Japan and Cuba have already qualified out of Pools A and B.

Thursday night's loss was an epic collapse on the part of Mexican relievers Roberto Osuna and Oliver Perez, who allowed five Italian runs to cross the plate without recording a single out.  Osuna in particular had a rough outing for the Verdes Grande, looking every bit the pitcher who has not rounded into shape.  A fair amount of criticism south of the border has been directed toward Mexico manager Edgar Gonzalez for his use of a pitching staff considered one of the WBC's deepest, but it's hard to fault the older brother of Dodgers All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez for turning to Osuna in the ninth.  The 22-year-old wunderkind posted 36 saves last year for Toronto and was a key figure as the Jays reached the American League Championship Series for the second season in a row.

However, the Osuna who regularly sent batters back to the Skydome visitors dugout muttering was not the same Osuna who took the mound Thursday at the mile-high launching pad that is Estadio Charros, where the two teams combined to belt six homers, four by the Italians.  After five batters reached base safely, punctuated by a two-run double from the newest Tijuana Toro, Alex Liddi, Gonzalez pulled Osuna in favor of 14-year MLB veteran Oliver Perez.  Although Perez stayed in shape over the winter by pitching in the Mexican Pacific League, he gave up a bases-loaded, run-scoring single to Brandon Nimmo and a two-run safety to John Andreoli that ended the contest and sent 14,296 homeland fans home in stunned silence.

Things won't get easier Saturday for Mexico, who'll send White Sox starter Miguel Angel Gonzalez to the mound against a powerful Puerto Rican squad that systematically demolished the former Cy Young winner Hernandez and Venezuela Friday night after a slow start.  King Felix did not pitch badly, allowing a pair of third inning runs in 2.2 innings, but relievers Jhoulys Chacin and Deolis Guerra were scorched for a combined nine runs in the sixth and seventh inning as the mercy rule was invoked with the Boricuans leading 11-0 after seven frames.  Right fielder Eddie Rosario led Puerto Rico with a single, double and triple while scoring twice and driving in two more runs while Yadier Molina, Carlos Correa and T.J. Rivera all homered for the winners.  Not that he needed that much support, but starting pitcher Seth Lugo dominated the Venezuelan lineup by allowing one hit and no walks until being relieved with one out in the sixth with a 2-0 lead.

The Mexico-Puerto Rico game will be played at 8:30PM Central Time (0330 GMT) after Italy and Venezuela meet in Estadio Charros at 2:00PM Central (2100 GMT) in Saturday's first game.  Sunday's docket has Italy and Puerto Rico squaring off at 1:30 Central Daylight Time (2130 UTC) while Mexico and Venezuela lock horns at 8:00PM CDT (0200 UTC).

Five-run ninth gives Italy 10-9 upset of Mexico in WBC opener

Mexico stood three outs away from posting a 9-5 win over Italy in the opening game of Pool D play in the 2017 World Baseball Classic in Guadalajara Thursday.  Instead, the Italians scored five times without suffering a single out in the bottom of the ninth to post a 10-9 victory over the favored Mexicans.  It was a doubly bitter pill to swallow for Mexico, whose loss to Italy in the 2013 WBC first round rounded out a winless first round for the Verdes Grande, forcing Mexico to win a qualifier pool last winter in Mexicali to return for their fourth Classic.

Leadoff batter Esteban Quiroz served early notice that this wasn't likely going to be a pitcher's duel by launching former Cubs minor leaguer Alex Maestri's 3-and-1 pitch for an opposite field homer that just remained fair as it passed the left field foul pole.  John Andreoli returned the favor for Italy in the bottom of the first by detonating a Yovani Gallardo serving with a long fly that carried into the temporary stands in right-center field for a solo bomb that tied the score at 1-1.

After a scoreless second, Mexico regained the lead in the top of the third when Reds farmhand Sebastian Elizalde led off with a grounder to short that Gavin Cecchini made a bad throw to first that allowed Elizalde to reach base, then the speedy outfielder came all the way in to score on a Quiroz double to right.  The Mexicans made it a 4-1 advantage with two more runs in the fourth on a Japhet Amador solo homer to left center off reliever Tiago Da Silva (a Brazilian who split last summer in the Mexican League between Carmen and Aguascalientes) and an Elizalde single off Da Silva that drove in Efren Navarro from second.

Not to be outdone, Italian cleanup hitter Rob Segedin jolted Gallardo with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, followed one out later by a solo bomb from Indians free agent signee Chris Colabello, whose blast pinged off the top of the stands in right field to tie the contest at 4-4.  Switch-pitcher Pat Venditte replaced Da Silva in the top of the fifth and immediately ran into trouble.  Pitching lefty, he plunked leadoff batter Quiroz and coughed up a single by Alex Verdugo.  After pitching righty to strike out Brandon Laird, Venditte went southpaw again to get Adrian Gonzalez to fly to Segedin in left for the second out.  Going righty again, he allowed an Amador single to load the bases, walked Navarro pitching lefty to push Quiroz in from third, and then let up a Luis Alfonso Cruz double to left as a right-hander that plated both Verdugo and Amador to give the Mexicans a 7-4 lead.

Mexico manager Edgar Gonzalez brought Fernando Salas in to replace Gallardo in the bottom of the fifth. Leadoff hitter Drew Butera greeted Salas with a two-strike homer that brought Italy to within two runs, but Mexico scored twice more in the seventh to make it a 9-5 contest after Elizalde's bases-loaded single brought in both Amador and Chris Roberson.  From that point, Joakin Soria pitched a shutout seventh and Sergio Romo blanked Italy in the eighth, but Blue Jays star Roberto Osuna ran into all kinds of problems trying to close out the win in the bottom of the ninth.

Francisco Cervelli led things off by stroking a 3-and-1 Osuna pitch up the middle for a double, then was replaced by pinch-runner Sebastian Poma.  Colabello rapped a first-pitch double to send Poma over to third, followed by yet another double by Alex Liddi to score both Poma and Colabello to close the gap to 9-7.  Butera chopped a grounder to short that Cruz couldn't handle to move Liddi to third, putting runners at the corners with no outs.  Drew Maggi worked Osuna for ten pitches before getting a full-count walk to advance Butera to second.

Manager Gonzalez had seen enough and waved veteran Oliver Perez in to pitch to Brandon Nimmo with the bases full and nobody out.  Nimmo lined Perez' fourth delivery into right field to score Liddi, bringing the Azzurri to within a run.  Andreoli stepped up next and sent a grounder that eluded second baseman Luis Urias as Liddi scored from third and Maggi streaked in from second to score the game-winner for Italy.

Verdugo had three of Mexico's 13 hits while Quiroz, Amador, Navarro and Elizalde each had two hits.  Andreoli's homer and single resulted in three runs driven in while Colabello's homer and double produced two more.  Blue Jays prospect Jordan Romero pitched a scoreless ninth for the win while Osuna was burdened with the loss for Mexico, who have Friday off before playing Puerto Rico Saturday night at 8:30PM CT (0330 UTC).  Miguel Angel Gonzalez will start for the host team.

Gallardo named WBC opener starter; will Adrian play?

With the 2017 World Baseball Classic less than two weeks away, Mexican National Team manager Edgar Gonzalez has announced his five-man starting rotation for the tournament, which will see the Verdes Grande open their Pool D schedule in Guadalajara with a March 9 game against Italy at Estadio Charros.

Gonzalez has named Yovani Gallardo, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Jaime Garcia, Luis Mendoza and Jorge De La Rosa as his pitching starters.  All have significant major league experience.  Gallardo, Gonzalez and Garcia are currently on 40-man MLB team rosters, De La Rosa recently signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks and Mendoza is prepping for his fourth season with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan's Pacific League.  The Fighters are training in Arizona this month.

The 30-year-old Gallardo is the expected starter for Mexico's opener against Italy.  A 2010 All-Star while pitching for Milwaukee, Gallardo was traded by Baltimore to Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto's merry-go-round in Seattle after going 6-8 with a 5.43 ERA for the Orioles in 2016.  After ten MLB seasons, the 6'2" Gallardo has a career 108-83 record, including 72 wins for the Brewers between 2009 and 2013.  Although he's not likely to pick up a bat in the WBC, the 2004 second-round draft pick for Milwaukee wouldn't be out of place doing so.  He's come up to the plate 476 times in his big league career and while his .200 average won't turn any heads, the right-hander's 12 homers and 42 RBIs have shown he was anything but an automatic out for opposing moundsmen.

He'll face an Italian team that is not a pre-WBC favorite to advance beyond Pool play but could surprise observers in Jalisco next month.  While manager Marco Mazzieri will not have the services of Chicago Cubs All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo for the tournament after the latter opted to play preseason games in Arizona instead of the WBC (he hit .235 in the 2013 tourney), Italy's roster includes Cubs minor league outfielder John Andreoli as well as Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli, Royals receiver Drew Butera, Mariners switch-pitcher Pat Venditte and Indians first baseman Chris Colabello.

While Gonzalez has his starting rotation set and a strong bullpen featuring the likes of Roberto Osuna, Yoakim Soria and Oliver Perez, the former Padres infielder continues to plug holes among his position players.  After A's outfielder Khris Davis backed out of playing for Mexico earlier this week, Gonzalez' latest alteration came after infielder Daniel Castro pulled out of the WBC because he wants to concentrate on making the Colorado Rockies roster.  Castro signed with the Denver club as a free agent over the winter after the 24-year-old Guaymas native hit .217 over 80 games with Atlanta in 2015 and 2016 after callups from AAA Gwinnett.

Castro will be replaced on Mexico's roster by 19-year-old infielder Luis Urias, a Padres minor leaguer.  Although the slight (5'9" and 160 pounds) Urias is a longshot to reach San Diego this year, the big club has high hopes for him after he was named Rookie of the Year in the Class A California League last summer after batting .330 to lead the league, adding 26 doubles and 71 runs scored for Lake Elsinore. He's primarily been a second baseman in three minor league seasons, but is expected to see a lot of time at shortstop in training camp.  Urias is said to likely be heading to Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League.

Gonzales did receive some needed good news this week when younger brother Adrian's tennis elbow, which has limited him in the Dodgers' camp thus far, has improved enough the the All-Star first baseman is more likely to be in the Mexican lineup at the WBC.  "El Titan's" participation in the Classic as a player was in doubt after the Los Angeles organization told him to lay off swinging a bat for two weeks, but the longtime linchpin of the Verdes Grande lineup is said to be more likely to be in Guadalajara in two weeks.  With bats in tow.

*     *     *

On an unrelated note, one infielder who definitely would've been a boon to Mexico's WBC fortunes in his prime was Aurelio Rodriguez, the late former MLB infielder regarded by many as the best third baseman in his country's history.  A member of Mexican baseball's Salon de la Fama since 1995, Rodriguez spent all or part of 17 big league seasons as one of the top glove men in the game with a throwing arm that Tigers broadcaster Paul Carey called a "howitzer."  Rodriguez died at age 52 when he was struck by a car while walking a sidewalk during a visit to Detroit for a card show in 2000. Weird fact:  Of the three major league players who've had the first name of Aurelio (Rodriguez, Lopez and Monteagudo), all three played for the Tigers and all three were killed in car accidents.

Aurelio Rodriguez' body was brought to Los Mochis, where he had played winterball for the Caneros, and thousands attended his funeral, including Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo.  His remains were interred at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada, where his cross still stands atop the ballpark.  Rodriguez' loss was also felt in Detroit, where he'd been an extremely popular player, often venturing into the inner city to conduct clinics.  Fred Feliciano, a one-time community relations manager for the Tigers, has been quoted as saying, "He was really the first prominent Hispanic figure in the Detroit community."

Fast forward to 2017.  In his "En la Pelota" column for Puro Beisbol, columnist Juan Vene says that Rodriguez' tomb now lies in ruins.  According to Vene, politician Mario Lopez was behind the effort to place the Cananea product's remains behind the fence in the ballpark's right field corner.  Lopez then neglected it thereafter (not even visiting the site) and no maintenance has ever been performed on it.

It's easy to say this as I write from a location much closer to Canada than Mexico, but Aurelio Rodriguez deserves better.  Heroes should never be forgotten, especially where thousands once cheered their exploits.

Davis bows out, "El Titan" questionable for Mexico in WBC

One aspect of the World Baseball Classic that the event's critics rarely fail to bring up is that a nation's best baseball players are often made unavailable to represent their country in the WBC, either because their major league organization wants to withhold their services during spring training or because the player himself does not want to jeopardize his chances of making a big league roster if he's considered on the fringe.  Injuries are also a concern, of course, no matter what the MLB organizations or players have in mind.

Two of the expected power sources for Mexico's 2017 World Baseball Classic squad may end up being scratches next month for Pool D play in Guadalajara.  Oakland outfielder Khris Davis, who khrashed 42 homers for the A's last summer, has pulled out of the WBC altogether while Dodgers first baseman Adrian "El Titan" Gonzalez may have to sit out his fourth Classic after coming down with tendinitis in his right (non-throwing) elbow during winter training.

Davis, whose 42 roundtrippers helped him drive in 102 runs in 2016 after a slow start in which he was hitting just .222 with 5 homers on May 22 before picking up the pace the rest of the season.  The Cal State-Fullerton product, whose mother Sonia was born in Mexico before coming to the USA at age 4, expressed remorse at his withdrawal from the WBC.  "I'm not going to be able to do it due to some timing issues," the San Jose Mercury News quoted Davis as saying.  "I feel kind of overextended personally.  You take on a lot.  It's days away.  May main focus is this organization.  I feel this year I want to get off on the right foot this year..."

"I feel horrible about it.  I feel terrible.  At the same time, I have to be here."

On the other hand, Gonzalez' decision may be predicated on his physical fitness more than a desire to get off to a better start. The five-time All-Star first sacker, who hit .285 with 18 homers and 90 RBIs for Los Angeles last year, says he first noticed a twinge in his elbow two months ago.  "It's tennis elbow from jsut working out," Gonzalez tells MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, "too much hitting and too much boxing.  I felt it while working out in early December and it didn't seem like much, but it hasn't gone away."  Gonzalez has been shut down from swinging a bat for two weeks.  Although he's been one of the most durable first basemen in baseball, playing in at least 156 games in each of the past eleven years, the 34-year-old career .290 hitter (308 homers, 1,146 ribbies) may need to miss the WBC to continue resting his elbow after representing Mexico in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

Mexico manager Edgar Gonzalez, Adrian's brother and former teammate in both Mazatlan and San Diego as well as with the Verdes Grande, will have to adjust his lineup even before their first game.  Losing Davis left him with three outfielders on the roster: Chris Roberson, Jose Juan Aguilar and Alex Verdugo.  Efren Navarro, a former Angels first baseman who hit .275 with seven homers splitting 126 games between AAA Tacoma and Memphis last year, can play the outfield, but it's likely Gonzalez will replace Davis on the roster with a regular outfielder.

Replacing Adrian Gonzalez would prove an impossible task.  Although the aforementioned Navarro has MLB experience at first base, the call might go to the mountainous Japhet Amador, the 6'4" 330-pound El Gigante de Mulege.  Amador, the 2015 Mexican League MVP when he hit .346 with an LMB-topping 41 homers and 117 RBIs in 103 games, will be playing his second season in Japan in 2017 with the Rakuten Golden Eagles.  In an injury-nagged 2016 debut in the Pacific League, Amador hit .258 with nine homers and 19 RBIs in just 39 games.  The big fella is more nimble than one would expect and has made himself into a decent fielder at first base, but he doesn't compare to the four-time Gold Glove-winning Gonzalez.

Losing Gonzalez would mean more than losing Mexico's best ballplayer, as if that wouldn't be enough on a standalone basis.  For ten years, El Titan and Edgar helped form the heart and soul of the Verdes Grande lineup and clubhouse, so losing even one of them would leave a hole in the team that can't be quantified by hardware or sabermetrics.  However, there are 22 million rea$on$ why Adrian Gonzalez may have to beg off from playing in his fourth Classic and I can't blame him.

Mexican roster for WBC Pool D play in Guadalajara set

A 27-player active roster (with eight more in reserve) for Mexico's national baseball team has been set for next month's World Baseball Classic.  Manager Edgar Gonzalez will lead the Verdes Grande into battle in Pool D play against Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Italy from March 9 through 13 at Guadalajara's Estadio Charros, which will be expanded to 15,000 seats for the event.

Gonzalez, who was selected as the Mexican Pacific League's Manager of the Year last winter in his debut as a skipper for Mexicali, will have a team of MLB and Mexican League veterans with a decent mix of power and speed and a pitching staff loaded with hurlers who have big league experience.

Mexican National Team 2017 WBC roster
P (13) - Jorge De La Rosa, Yovanni Gallardo, Jaime Garcia, Geovani Gallegos, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Vidal Nuno, Roberto Osuna, Oliver Perez, Sergio Romo, Fernando Salas, Jake Sanchez, Joakim Soria, Carlos Torres.
C (20) - Xorge Carrillo, Sebastian Valle.
IF (8) - Japhet Amador, Daniel Castro, Luis Alfonso Cruz, Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon Laird, Efren Navarro, Esteban Quiroz, Jose M. "Manny" Rodriguez.
OF (4) - Jose Juan Aguilar, Khris Davis, Chris Roberson, Alex Verdugo.
Reserves (8) - Miguel Aguilar, Andres Avila, Marco Estrada, Carlos Fisher, Rafael Martin, Mario Meza, Ivan Salas, Julio Cesar Urias.

The pitching staff combines starters with past MLB success like Yovanni Gallardo, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Jorge De La Rosa and Jaime Garcia with a strong bullpen that includes Roberto Osuna, Joakim Soria and Sergio Romo (along with 2016-17 LMP Reliever of the Year Jake Sanchez, an A's farmhand).  One name missing from the list of 13 pitchers is the Dodgers' highly-touted lefty, 20-year-old Julio Urias, a Culiacan product that LA has developed slowly since his Class A Midwest League debut as a 16-year-old in 2013.  Urias is on the reserve list, as is Nats reliever Rafael Martin.  Conspicuous by their absence are right-hander Hector Velazquez and southpaw Danny Rodriguez, both of whom distinguished themselves in the Mexican Pacific League playoffs and recently-concluded Caribbean Series.

Mexico's catching situation is nowhere near as flush, with two career minor leaguers for Gonzalez to choose from.  Sebastian Valle is a former Phillies prospect who was dealt to the Mariners this winter.  Valle made national headlines in Mexico last week with his walkoff grand slam in the Caribbean Series, but his ten-year minor league career has been longer on potential than delivery.  A CS teammate of Valle's with Mexicali, Carrillo has been a six-year Mets farmhand with two cups of coffee at the AAA level.  Valle will likely be the starter, but this is not a Verdes Grande strong point.

The infield looks better.  Dodgers' five-time All-Star Adrian Gonzalez will serve as anchor at first base for his fourth WBC and first without brother Edgar playing alongside him.  Second base will be shared between Manny Rodriguez, a rocksteady veteran and career .307 hitter over 11 Mexican League seasons, and 5'7" Esteban Quiroz, who hit .335 for Quintana Roo last summer.  Things aren't as settled on the left side.  Daniel Castro, who split 2016 between MLB and AAA with the Braves, figures to start at shortstop but third base is up for grabs among Brandon Laird and Efren Navarro.  Quiroz could slide to third with Rodriguez taking permanent status at second.  Man-mountain Japhet Amador (all 6'4" and 330 pounds of him) figures to DH for Mexico after spending last year in Japan with the Rakuten Golden Eagles while Luis Alfonso Cruz, who's played three years in Japan, will plug any gaps in the middle infield.  When he's in a groove, Amador can go deep on anyone.

Mexico's outfield will include Khris Davis, who it 42 homers and drove in 102 runs for Oakland in 2016 after knocking out 49 longballs the two previous campaigns in Milwaukee.  Longtime followers of Mexican baseball will have no trouble recognizing Chris Roberson in center field.  A 37-year-old Oakland native and former Phils prospect, Robo made his winterball debut with Hermosillo in 2005 and has mostly played year-round south of the border since 2009 providing speed (he's lost little), extra-base power and some defense wherever he's gone.  Twenty-year-old Alex Verdugo has averaged .302 over three minor league seasons in the Dodgers system but is a little shaky with his glovework.  Juan Jose Aguilar is, like Roberson, an LMB veteran who lacks the latter's power but matches his speed and should be the best defensive outfielder on Mexico's roster.

Mexico has had to fight its way to a fourth consecutive appearance in the WBC after going winless in 2013 and being required to qualify to play in Guadalajara this year.  They did so last March by cruising through a qualifying round with wins over Germany, Nicaragua and the Czech Republic to earn a berth in Pool D while removing the "interim" from Gonzalez' managerial status.

BASEBALL MEXICO WINTER AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS BEGIN MONDAY, FEB. 13