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Japan

Rockies interested in Kuroda: report

NEW YORK, Dec. 4 (12:53) Kyodo


The Colorado Rockies are pursuing free-agent right-hander Hiroki
Kuroda, according to a report Saturday in the online edition of the
Denver Post.

The report said the Rockies ''believe they have a decent shot
(at acquiring Kuroda) based on preliminary conversations,'' adding
that Kuroda ''fits the profile Colorado has been seeking since the
final out in September.''

''He (Kuroda) eats innings, averaging 199 over the past two
seasons. He's capable of anchoring a rotation and has a strong work
ethic, an important trait given the (Rockies) staff could include
three impressionable rookies,'' the report said.

The 36-year-old Kuroda, who had a steady season with the Los
Angeles Dodgers, going 13-16 with a 3.07 ERA, has attracted interest
from 10 teams, including nearly the entire National League West, the
report said.

USA Clings to its Spot as the World’s Number Two Baseball Nation

Cuba Retains its Number One World Ranking

by Peter C. Bjarkman

November 5, 2011


New IBAF rankings released on the heels of the recent IBAF World Cup (Panama) and the Pan American Games (Guadalajara) show Cuba clinging tenaciously to its perennial top ranking and Team USA managing to hold onto second slot a step ahead of Asian powers Korea and Japan. Both the Cubans and Americans posted similar performances last month (each walking off with silver and bronze medallions during back-to-back October tournaments), while Holland’s first-ever world championship (earned in Panama) and Canada’s initial Pan American title (Mexico) nudged those two emerging powers into fifth and sixth slots in the fourth annual IBAF rankings of the world’s 72 active baseball-playing nations.

Those in North America addicted to the corporate big league version of what was once “the American national pastime” will likely discard these rankings as illegitimate simply by claiming that USA Baseball never fields teams comprised of top-level major leaguers. But that caveat has at least a couple of drawbacks, both of which are underscored by two earlier editions of the MLB-sponsored World Baseball Classic. It might first and foremost be argued that a full-fledged employment of top big leaguers in IBAF events would more than likely vault either the Japanese, Venezuelans or Dominicans to the top of the heap before it ever put the Americans there. And fans arguing for American superiority in the sport also have to expunge from memory two WBC events in which a star-studded MLB version of Team USA failed to make the tournament finals on either occasion: Japan (twice), Korea and IBAF kingpin Cuba have so far been the only three World Baseball Classic gold medal competitors.

Viewed from a somewhat more realistic perspective, a number two slot on the world baseball stage is not at all inappropriate for a nation where baseball was once “the only game in town” but where the game of bats and balls has of late faded well behind professional and collegiate football as the country’s leading spectator pastime. Anyone who still believes that baseball ranks near the top of America’s preferred entertainment spectacles in this age of iPhones. iPods and iPads needs only to check the most recent network or cable television ratings. While an MLB fanatic might point proudly to a surge in ratings (14.7) for this year’s gripping World Series Game 7, he/she can only do so by ignoring the fact that a yawn-producing one-sided NFL blowout game the following Sunday night drew the very same viewership numbers. And anyone who believes that the diamond sport still tugs very strongly at the heartstrings of our American youth need only head out to the nearest vacant street corner lot any summer Saturday morning and listen in vain for the long-since-subsided crack of bat on ball.
Cuba continues its grip at the top of the world baseball pecking order despite a continued flood of complaints back home that the Cuban game has somehow slid from former prominence and now languishes in a wash of second-place international performances. It is true enough that a bronze medal finish in Guadalajara represented only the second occasion during the full half-century run of the island’s communist government that the islanders did not either win or at least reach the finals of a major senior-level international tournament. (The only other occasion was the disappointing second-round elimination suffered at the 2009 WBC in San Diego.) And even the most forgiving Cuban baseball booster has to chafe at a third straight World Cup silver-medal consolation praise and the realization that the vaunted Red Machine has now claimed only one major international title (2010 Intercontinental Cup) in the past half-dozen summers.

But is this so-called “slide” in Cuban international tournament domination actually a result of diminished Cuban talent; or rather is it the inevitable fallout of a more level playing field brought about by opening IBAF events after 1999 to top-level professional prospects and even a substantial sprinkling of former major leaguers? I have repeatedly argued that it is the latter and not the former. Cuban teams of the 2000s are equally as talented as those of the 1980s or 1990s (in fact likely quite a bit more talented); they no longer win every game or every gold mental simply because the sport is no longer being played with aluminum bats and against unseasoned collegiate or amateur league ball clubs. The fact that Cuba continues to march into the title games of tournament after tournament – despite the recent surge in professional opposition – should be the true headline story and the true measure of continued island baseball dominance.

Team Cuba’s performance in October – despite the disappointment of again being shut out of the gold medal circle – was far stronger than Havana denizens wish to admit. If victory-spoiled Cuban fans lament a third straight World Cup silver medal finish after nine straight tiles between 1984 and 2005, they also too quickly ignore the fact that Cuba has never finished lower than second place in a single World Cup event over the past sixty years (23 tournaments since 1951). And if the bronze medal earned in Guadalajara represented the end of a ten-tournament gold medal run it nevertheless also meant that Cuba has still only once ever finished out of the medal-winner’s circle in the fifteen Pan American Games events it has entered. If this failure, then by what possible standard could success ever be measured? Cuba’s international record over the past half-century-plus remains the most remarkable achievement in all of baseball history. And the current repeat at the top of the IBAF world rankings is only one additional small footnote to that remarkable story.

North American press reports of course also fail to appreciate Cuba’s current achievements and can only seem to stretch repeatedly for plausible-sounding explanations that demonstrate a dip in the quality current Cuban national teams. This is doubtless the inevitable price of so much relentless winning. In analyzing the recent October tournaments Baseball America emphasized that “the intimidation factor that Cuba used to have is totally gone now, especially on the mound.” The report traces a Cuban collapse to a decade of defections by top pitchers, beginning with the 2003 loss of José Contreras, and thus concludes that “a dozen years later Cuba has no Contreras, no ace, and its shows.”

But the Baseball America account, with its dismissal of current Cuban pitching, hardly rings quite true. Cuba lost but two games in Panama, both to the talented and prospect-rich Dutch, and both games were nip and tuck pitcher’s duals that went to the wire. The only team to display much offense against Cuba in Panama was Team USA (in an 8-7 Cuban victory) and even in that match the game in the end was salvaged by the brilliant Cuban relief hurling of Yadir Pedroso across the game’s final three frames. In Guadalajara the Cubans lost only once (to the rival Americans) and by a margin of a mere two runs. Granted, on that one occasion (the only occasion in 17 total October games) Cuban pitching was battered early on and thus Urquiola’s club fell behind 12-2 at the outset, thanks to a pair of disastrous innings. But then again the bullpen eventually held the Americans at bay during the game’s second half and in the end Cuba was but a single hit away in the eighth inning (with the bases loaded) from salvaging a contest that was finally lost by only a 12-10 margin. One single pitching breakdown with negative consequences can be isolated across a month-long stretch during pressure-packed tournament competition. Is this actually a signal of Cuban baseball collapse, or more a measure of baseball’s inevitable law of averages? Since the Americans failed to defend their own recent World Cup titles (or to reach the finals in Panama), and since Team USA also ran their own string without a Pan American title to four long decades, perhaps Baseball America would be better served to puzzle over a continued malaise in American baseball (not a slippage in Cuban baseball).

An official press release from IBAF headquarters in Lausanne (Switzerland) accompanying the latest ranking is quick to emphasize the growth of stature for baseball in Europe and such a reading is in large part reasonable. It has been emphasized that Holland is now the first Europe-based team to crack the top five, while European clubs now (also for the first time) hold seven positions among the top twenty-five. But it seems at the same time something of a distortion to claim that “the gains by the European sector reflect a growing balance at the elite international level.” It might instead be noted the top ten list continues to feature four Latin American countries, three Asians entrants, two North American clubs, and but one European entry – the identical balance of the initial three world rankings.

It might also be pointed out here that the surging Netherlands team is comprised in large degree of imported Caribbean ballplayers bred in the Dutch Antilles – a factor which seems to argue more for continued Caribbean dominance than for any European increases in talent level. What is clear nonetheless is that the Asian teams have recently faltered in the rankings and no longer control a majority of the top five slots (with Chinese Taipei now being overhauled by both the Dutch and the Canadians). Also inarguable is the fact that Cuba has managed to maintain its iron-clad grip on first place, despite the chorus of debatable claims that Cuban baseball is now slipping in quality and that the Cubans can no longer dominate as in past eras against the rapidly improving levels of North-American trained professional talent. Cuba’s led over the runner-up Americans actually doubled this time around (from a 32.95 to 62.77 margin).

For those unfamiliar with the IBAF ranking system a refresher course is perhaps in order here. Rankings are compiled on the basis of all IBAF sanctioned tournaments over the course of the previous four years, including both junior and senior level tournament events. (A separate ranking is also now produced for women’s baseball but is not considered here.) Points are assigned on the basis of tournament finishes for each country in each outing, with a weighed system giving added importance to results in more competitive and prestigious events as follows:

Major world championship tournaments with competing teams from five continents carry a multiplication factor of four (4x the points earned): these events including the IBAF World Cup, the World Baseball Classic (MLB), and the IOC Olympic Games (discontinued after 2008).

Minor world championships with teams from three or more continents have a multiplication factor of only one (1x points earned): these events include the IBAF Intercontinental Cup (discontinued after 2010), IBAF “AAA” (18 and under) world championships, IBAF “AA” (16 and under) world championships, FISU world university championships, and world qualifying events with three or more continents competing (such as Olympic qualifying tournaments).

Continental or regional championship tournaments (such as the Pan American Games, European championships, or Asian Games) hold lesser multiplication factors ranging from .25 to 1.00, depending on the level of competition; for example, a tournament which includes at least three countries ranked in the previous year’s “top ten” received a full multiplication factor of one.

With no senior-level international championships on the docket for 2012 (now that baseball has been dropped from the Olympic Games) Cuba’s lead in the poll is likely to stand unchanged until at least the next version (likely in March 2013) of the MLB-sponsored World Baseball Classic.

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Dominican

Nationals scout Soler, Rivero in Dominican

By Bill Ladson / MLB.com | 12/01/11 8:25 PM EST

WASHINGTON --

Center fielder Yoenis Cespedes wasn't the only player the Nationals were scouting in the Dominican Republic this week.

According to a baseball source, general manager Mike Rizzo was also scouting outfielder Jorge Soler, 19, and right-hander Armando Rivero, 23. Both players are from Cuba, and they are both expected to become free agents sometime this offseason.

Soler has power and speed. According to the Washington Post, Soler is a center fielder who most likely will become a corner man.

As for Rivero, his fastball has been clocked as high as 98 mph. He can also throw a slider, split-finger fastball, sinker and changeup.

Jorge Soler Rumors

AUTHOR: Blaine Blontz

While he hasn’t drawn the same level of attention fellow Cuban native Yoennis Cespedes has, 19-year-old prospect Jorge Soler has developed his fair share of interest this offseason. Last week we learned that the Phillies were joining the list of Soler’s suitors which included the Rangers, Yankees, Nationals, Marlins and Cubs. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus listed the three clubs he believes to be the early favorites to sign Cespedes yesterday.

When asked on Twitter where he thought Soler would end up this winter, Goldstein named the Yankees, Rangers or Phillies, in that order, as his early favorites.

Unlike Cespedes, Soler is not major league-ready. It is believed that he will have to spend a few seasons in the minors, but the center field prospect may be well worth the wait.

While Cespedes is said to possess 30-30 power and athleticism, some believe that Soler may develop the type of power that would allow him to hit 40 long balls at the major league level. Scouts believe that the raw potential is there and, standing 6-foot-3, Soler has the body type of a power hitter.

Soler may have to eventually move from center field and into a corner outfield position, but his projected bat should play well either way. Nationals director of International Scouting Johnny Dipuglia has compared Soler’s body to that of another Latin slugger, Hanley Ramirez. Dipuglia says Soler possesses a plus arm and bat speed and describes him as “a good kid, a good-energy kid”.

But just how much should prospective suitors expect to pay Soler and his “good-energy”? Early estimates of Soler’s pending free agent contract were in the range of the $15.5 million deal Leonys Martin signed with the Rangers last year. However, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post is hearing that Soler is now projected to earn a contract “richer than” Martin’s.

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Cuba

Cuba plans to 'stop the robbery' of their athletes
Happier times for Industriales, who won the Cuban National Series in March 2010. Since then, the defection of several of its stars has caused debate in Cuba to allow athletes to play abroad.

Enrique De La Osa

Cuba's version of the New York Yankees, the powerhouse Industriales, won the country's 2010 baseball championship with lights-out pitching by Armando Rivero and Joan Socarras and stellar hitting from Leguim Barroso. All three players have since defected, along with four other members of the team.

Those were hardly isolated cases, as baseball players and other athletes have fled Cuba for decades - Communist-run Cuba has always had a problem keeping its prodigious sports talent on the island, not to mention its doctors, lawyers and other professionals.

In June, Yosniel Mesa, the Cuban football player, was competing at a tournament in the US when he shimmied down a hotel fire escape, hopped into a waiting car and defected.

Now, as president Raul Castro's government embarks on a wide-ranging initiative to let more people work for themselves instead of the state, there are increasing calls for the same to apply in athletes.

Cuba must find a way to "stop the robbery of players", said the legendary former baseball player, Victor Mesa, in comments reported in state media.

While hundreds of thousands of Cubans suddenly are going into business for themselves, Mesa said, it is unfortunate that "there is no proposal to contract athletes to play abroad".

Mesa, who manages Matanzas in the Cuban league, said he favours letting Cubans play in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Japan, South Korea or Mexico after playing eight seasons at home. He did not mention Major League Baseball (MLB) in the US.

His comments reflected the chatter among Cuban athletes, coaches and fans, but it was significant that they were even published.

In the past, sports figures have got into trouble for disputing the official line, and talk of defectors was discouraged.

Now, Mesa is not alone in airing his views.

"Times change … There are Cuban players who have wanted to test their luck," Rey Vicente Anglada, the former manager of Industriales and the Cuban national team, told Prensa Latina. "They see themselves as having possibilities and see others who have done well.

"I don't see how that can stop."

Delegates at a recent Communist Party summit on economic reforms approved the general idea of "a reference to athletes being hired abroad", according to an official report on the debate, although the idea remains under discussion.

There is precedent: in 1999, the Cuban Sports Institute allowed a few volleyball and baseball players to work abroad, especially at the end of their careers, at salaries negotiated by officials. But that opening was shut in 2005.

Most Cuban athletes get monthly government salaries of US$16 (Dh59). The government pays for entertainment, education, health, travel, housing and cars.

Olympic medallists receive an additional lifetime monthly stipend: $300 for gold medal winners and less for others.

So athletes take notice when someone such as Aroldis Chapman leaves the island and signs a five-year, $30 million contract to pitch for the MLB's Cincinnati Reds.

Defections drew rare mention recently in state newspapers Granma and Juventud Rebelde, which detailed the "abandonment" by Gerardo Concepcion, the Cuban league rookie of the year, during a tournament in the Netherlands.

After his departure, the national team lost the championship game to Taiwan.

The papers also reported that Roberlandy Simon, the captain, and players Joandry Leal and Raydel Hierrezuelo had quit the national volleyball team which were runners-up at the 2010 World Championship in Italy. The reports said they left the team for personal reasons, but their absence sparked rumours they wanted to defect. Hierrezuelo has since returned to the squad.

Six volleyball players defected from the national team in 2001 during a tournament in Belgium, the beginning of an exodus of many others. All volleyball stars dream of the biggest leagues, said Philippe Blain, the French coach, whose team have played Cuba four times this season. "For this, the Cubans leave, and for them, there's the athletic aspect and financial incentives."

From the beginning of the revolution he fomented more than 50 years ago, baseball-loving Fidel Castro placed high value on sporting and cultural talent to burnish his cause abroad.

Cuba eliminated for-profit sports in 1961, but Castro put significant resources into a highly organised system of free education and training. Successful athletes are considered national treasures.

When offered millions of dollars to fight Joe Frazier for the heavyweight title in 1972, the Cuban boxer, Teofilo Stevenson, famously said: "What is $1m compared to the love of eight million Cubans?"

Cuba has often punched above its weight in amateur competitions. At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, the island of 11 million people was fifth in gold medals won. But three years ago in Beijing, it came in 28th as a wave of defections was felt.

There is no official tally of how many have left, but avid fans notice when stars' names disappear from the roster for international tournaments. Hundreds of athletes are believed to have abandoned the country in the last decade, "a throat slitting against Cuba, robbing us of minds, muscles and bones", Fidel Castro raged in a 2008 opinion column.

Speaking after his defection, Mesa said staying in Cuba would have meant setting aside his dreams of playing professional football and possibly earning millions of dollars.

He recounted how his Cuban coaches were in his hotel lobby late at night when he sneaked out of his room to a fire escape.

"I brought a glass in my hand because if they saw me, I could say I was going for ice," Mesa said.

Jose Fuster, the Cuban painter and sculptor, who lives in Cuba but has shown his work in Europe, Latin America and the US, said the government should consider treating athletes like artists, many of whom are allowed to contract independently, with a part of their earnings going to the state.

"I pay taxes that are pretty high, but it's normal," Fuster said. "In Cuba, we have grown used to seeing the athletes as ours and think that with professionalism, we will lose these athletes … We have to urgently look for ways to change this mentality."

Zambrano has recovered from the surgery he underwent in the jaw |

CARACAS .-

Carlos Zambrano could be activated in the roster of 34 of Anzoategui Caribes for the ninth week of the championship, said Samuel Muscat , general manager of Anzoategui.

"He will visit us today and discuss the possibility to reactivate. I have understood that recently Zambrano traveled to the Honduras and took his personal catcher with him to stay in shape. If so, will be included in the team again, "said the executive in the University Stadium, where the Caribes would face in a double header against the La Guaira Sharks .

If activated, the "Bull" could come back on Thursday, the only day the Caribbeans have not yet named a starter. The rest of the rotation will work like this: Alex Herrera (Monday), Ramon Ramirez (Tuesday), Renyel Pinto (Wednesday) and Andrew Baldwin (Friday).

Martinez will hang 'em up with a record of 219-100 and a 2.93 ERA in 18 seasons with the Dodgers, Expos, Red Sox, Mets and Phillies. The advanced metrics are equally flattering as the traditional stats: 154 ERA+, 2.91 FIP, 89.4 WAR. Pedro's 291 ERA+ in 2000 is the highest single-season adjusted ERA in the modern era.

Pedro Martinez To Announce Retirement

By Dan Mennella [December 3, 2011 at 9:06pm CST]

Right-hander Pedro Martinez, who last pitched in the Majors in 2009, said he will soon officially announce his retirement, according to Cash Kruth of MLB.com.

Martinez had apparently remained open to a return to the bigs since appearing in nine regular-season and two postseason games with the Phillies in '09, but nothing materialized, and now at age 40 and two full years removed from big league action, it's hard to imagine him catching on anywhere.

A three-time Cy Young Award winner and arguably the best pitcher of the offense-heavy 1990s and early aughts, Martinez has already cemented his legacy as one of the top hurlers in MLB history and projects as a lock for the Hall of Fame.

Martinez will hang 'em up with a record of 219-100 and a 2.93 ERA in 18 seasons with the Dodgers, Expos, Red Sox, Mets and Phillies. The advanced metrics are equally flattering as the traditional stats: 154 ERA+, 2.91 FIP, 89.4 WAR. Pedro's 291 ERA+ in 2000 is the highest single-season adjusted ERA in the modern era.

Will Manny return?????

Manny Ramirez Files For Reinstatement

By Steve Adams [December 4, 2011 at 4:01pm CST]
Manny Ramirez apparently isn't done "being Manny" yet. The troubled slugger will file for reinstatement from Major League Baseball's voluntary retired list according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Ramirez has hired agents Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro, and will be eligible to play in the 2012 season following a 50-game suspension.

Ramirez signed a one-year deal to be the Rays' primary designated hitter last season, but abruptly retired in the season's first week after he tested positive for a banned substance for the second time in his career.

4:01pm: Olney tweets that the early response from evaluators around baseball is that an AL team will give Manny a non-roster invite to Spring Training to see if he can still hit. Olney also speculates that the following teams will have no interest in Ramirez: the Red Sox, Yankees, Royals, Tigers, White Sox, Indians, Twins, Rangers, Angels, and A's (more Twitter links).

3:14pm: A source tells ESPN's Buster Olney that Ramirez has already filed for reinstatement and that he will indeed serve a 50-game suspension rather than 100. Ramirez is currently working out in Florida. He and his agents have told teams that he is ready to begin discussions. Ramirez's suspension clock wouldn't begin until he signs a contract (all Twitter links).

2:22pm: Morosi clarifies that the Players' Union will argue that Ramirez effectively served his 100-game suspension last season. MLB will need to apply some form of punishment though, and Morosi says a 50-game suspension is a likely compromise. The 50-game violation isn't official, but both sides "seem amenable to it," says Morosi (Twitter links).

1:55pm: Manny Ramirez apparently isn't done "being Manny" yet. The troubled slugger will file for reinstatement from Major League Baseball's voluntary retired list according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Ramirez has hired agents Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro, and will be eligible to play in the 2012 season following a 50-game suspension, though his initial punishment was a 100-game suspension.

Ramirez signed a one-year deal to be the Rays' primary designated hitter last season, but abruptly retired in the season's first week after he tested positive for a banned substance for the second time in his career.

Without the PED controversy, the 39-year-old's career numbers would make him a lock for the Hall of Fame. He owns a career .312/.411/.585 triple slash line with 555 long balls. Those credentials are obviously questionable in light of drug testing though, and nearly 74% of MLBTR readers who responded to this April poll said they didn't feel Ramirez should make it to Cooperstown.

Team Foreigners walked away with a tight victory achieved yesterday by a score 6-4 over Team Panama in the Panama Winter League All-Star Game.

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Aviles' bat powers Leones to victory

Big league veteran swats pair of homers, including walk-off shot

Puerto Rican Winter League

Ponce 5, Mayaguez 3 (14 innings)

Major League veteran Mike Aviles smacked a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of 14th inning Sunday to give the Leones the victory. He finished the day 2-for-5 with two long balls, four RBIs and a pair of runs scored out of the No. 3 hole. Hitting in front of him, Dodgers infielder Ivan De Jesus collected three hits, including a triple, while crossing home twice and knocking in one. A's farmhand Yadel Marti enjoyed a strong start for Ponce, allowing just one unearned run on three hits over eight innings. He struck out three and walked one as he lowered his ERA to 2.56. Peter Andrelczyk (Marlins) earned the win after fanning two in three perfect innings of relief.

Carolina 10, Caguas 4 (Game 1)

Mexican Leaguer Hiram Bocachica went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored, while Royals prospect Adrian Ortiz also went deep, knocking in two. Pedro Valdez, a former Astros farmhand, led both clubs with three RBIs. Gigantes starter and former Major Leaguer Matt DeSalvo lasted 3 1/3 innings, yielding three runs -- one earned -- on five hits. Luis Arroyo followed DeSalvo with 1 2/3 scoreless frames of relief en route to his first win.
Mike Aviles batted .255 with 27 extra-base hits and 39 RBIs in 91 Major League games in 2011. (Ed Zurga/AP)

Caguas 4, Carolina 2 (Game 2, 7 innings)

Royals prospect Rey Navarro doubled and drove in two out of the leadoff spot as the Criollos split a doubleheader with the Gigantes. Caguas starter Mu-Young Kim allowed two runs -- one earned -- on two hits over five innings, fanning five and walking two. Closer Saul Rivera (Mexican League) generated three consecutive groundouts in the ninth for his sixth save.

Mexican Pacific League

Navojoa 6, Mazatlan 5 (Game 1, 7 innings)

Mexican Leaguer Alejandro Gonzalez delivered a walk-off sacrifice fly, knocking in Amadeo Zazueta, who played in the Padres system in 2011. Former Orioles farmhand Kraig Binick went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored out of the leadoff spot. Former Minor Leaguer Jon Weber had the strongest day at the plate for the Venados with a homer and two RBIs. Mayos reliever Leonardo Gonzalez improved to 3-0 after allowing one run on one hit in one inning.

Navojoa 13, Mazatlan 4 (Game 2, 7 innings)

Mexican Leaguer Steve Moss led a Mayos offense that scored in each of the first five innings -- including three in the second, third, fourth and fifth -- by going 4-for-4 with two homers and five RBIs. Christian Zazueta (Mexican League) drove in three with a long ball of his own. Overall, all but one starting player in the Mayos lineup recorded at least one hit, with five putting forth multi-hit performances. Starter Nick Singleton (Mexican League) also enjoyed a strong outing, allowing just two hits over five scoreless innings as he improved to 5-2. The 28-year-old right-hander struck out six and walked four.

Culiacan 2, Mochis 0

Tomateros starter and Padres farmhand Matt Buschmann yielded just three hits over eight shutout innings, improving to 3-0 as he lowered his ERA to 0.86 in three starts. He struck out six and walked three. Amauri Sanit (Yankees) closed the door with a scoreless ninth, tallying his 10th save. He has allowed just one run in 31 1/3 Winter League innings (0.29 ERA). Mexican Leaguer Maxwell Leon led Culiacan offensively, going 2-for-4 with a solo homer.

Mexicali 9, Hermosillo 7

Angels infielder Gil Velazquez drove in three for the Aguilas, while teammate Matt Clark (Padres) went deep for the fourth time in five games. The outfielder totaled 23 homers in 129 games for Triple-A Tucson this season. Major League veteran Jorge Cantu and Mexican Leaguer Jesse Gutierrez both left the park for the Naranjeros, driving in two runs apiece. Together, the pair combined for four hits, 11 total bases and three runs scored.

Guasave 4, Obregon 3

Jose Felix (Rangers) went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs after entering the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning, coming through with a walk-off, bases-loaded single in the ninth. Mexican Leaguer Mario Valenzuela went 2-for-3 with a solo homer for the Algodoneros, while Jose Rodriguez (Mexican League) also knocked in a run. Former Met Victor Diaz went deep for the Yaquis, giving him 12 long balls in 46 games. Reliever Alan Guerrero (Mexican League) was credited with the win after recording the final two outs in the top of the ninth.

Venezuelan Winter League

Lara 3, Caracas 2 (5 innings)

Minor League veteran Hernan Iribarren drove home a pair of runs with a second-inning triple and Alcides Escobar (Royals) plated the Cardenales' other run as Lara held on to beat the Leones. Brian Sweeney, who made 32 appearances for Triple-A Buffalo this season, allowed two runs on six hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings to earn his first victory. Justin Ruggiano (Rays) snapped an 0-for-9 streak by smacking his first homer in a losing cause.

La Guaira 7, Anzoategui 6 (Game 1, 7 innings)

Mexican Leaguer Cesar Suarez slugged a grand slam and scored twice and Jose Martinez (White Sox) plated the go-ahead score with a fifth-inning double as the Tiburones edged the Caribes to stay in first place. Stuart Pomeranz (2-0) picked up the victory despite allowing three runs -- two earned -- in an inning of relief. La Guaira starter Alberto Bastardo surrendered three runs on two hits and a walk while fanning four batters over four innings and did not factor in the decision. His opponent, Andrew Baldwin (5-2), yielded seven runs -- two earned -- on eight hits and five walks while striking out three over five frames.

La Guaira 4, Anzoategui 3 (Game 2, seven innings)

Former Major Leaguer Gregor Blanco went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run out of the leadoff spot as the Tiburones swept their doubleheader. Oscar Salazar tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with a single to left field and pinch-runner David Paisano scored the winning run on left fielder Dave Sappelt's fielding error. Sergio Escalona (Astros) pitched a scoreless inning of relief to maintain his perfect 0.00 ERA, and Jon Link retired the only batter he faced to earn his first win of the year. Sappelt (Reds) was 3-for-3 at the plate to raise his average to .278 and Alexi Amarista (Angels) reached base safely three times in the loss.

Margarita 4, Magallanes 0

Luis Chirinos (3-1) scattered four hits over six scoreless innings and David Peralta went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored as the Bravos blanked the Navegantes for the second straight night. Astros right-hander Carlos Quevedo surrendered one run on three hits over 4 2/3 innings in his Venezuelan Winter League debut, but Major Leaguer Ernesto Frieri (Padres) gave up three runs in an inning of relief. The victory gave last-place Margarita its second consecutive win and handed Magallanes its fifth loss in a row.

Oriente 2, Cibao 1

Manauris Baez (Royals) allowed a run on two hits and a pair of walks while striking out five batters over five innings. The Oriente bullpen combined for four hitless frames. Mat Gamel (Brewers) hit a solo homer -- his second of the year -- and second baseman Argenis Reyes was 2-for-3 with a double in the triumph. Lenny DiNardo, who split time between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Sacramento this season, took the loss after giving up two runs -- one earned -- on six hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out one batter.

Cibaenas 4, Licey 0

Former Major Leaguer Shane Youman yielded two hits and two walks over seven dominant innings and Wilin Rosario (Rockies) went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored as the Aguilas extended their lead at the top of the standings. The victory gave Youman, who struck out three batters and lowered his ERA to 0.96, his third win of the winter. Luis Perdomo (Twins) pitched a scoreless eighth and Tony Pena (Red Sox) worked around a hit in the ninth to complete the shutout. Elian Herrera (Dodgers) reached base safely three times and Hector Luna scored twice.

Escogido 6, Este 3

A's catcher Josh Donaldson went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, two walks and a pair of runs scored and Mauro Gomez smacked his third round-tripper of the year to lead the Leones. Nelson Perez (Cubs) added two hits, an RBI and a run scored, while Julio Borbon (Rangers) reached base three times out of the leadoff spot in the win. Tigers pitcher Ramon Garcia (1-1) struck out four batters over 2 1/3 innings of relief to pick up his first win of the season. Jose Constanza (Braves) went 3-for-5 with a run scored for Este.

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Australian Baseball League

•Mitch Nilsson (DH, Brisbane Bandits): 0-for-2, K. Nilsson came in as a late game pinch hitter and stayed in the game. This was his second game in a row he has played and third game overall and is now 1-for-9 at the plate.

•Andrew Campbell (PR, Brisbane Bandits): 0-for-0. Campbell came into the game as a pinch runner late in the game and did not have any official plate appearances.

Venezuelan Winter League

•Ezequiel Carrera (CF, Navegantes del Magallanes): 0-for-3, BB, K. Even with the 0-fer effort Carrera is still hitting .333 in his last 10 games. In 32 games he is hitting a healthy .277 with a .763 OPS and 9 stolen bases.

•Eric Berger (RP, Bravos de Margarita): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Berger’s second appearance in Venezuela and so far in 1.2 innings he has not allowed a run and has 3 strikeouts.

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Dominican

Justin Masterson, of the Cleveland Indians, was yesterday at the Julian Javier Stadium and distributed soft drinks among children present at the Gigantes baseball game ...

Soft drinks are not healthy for children. Justin Masterson should have distributed milk to the children; maybe milkshakes.

I would assume a soft drink company was sponsoring the entire event.

Caracas

The Caracas Lions have two major additions on offense, Asdrubal Cabrera and Marwin Gonzalez. Caracas who is in seventh place in the standings, three games out of fifth place (first five teams qualify for post season), after falling yesterday to Lara Cardinals,and is in immediate need of offensive contributions. Gonzalez with Cabrera are expected meet those need and to keep alive the hopes of a berth in the postseason.

Cabrera said Saturday that he will debut on Wednesday against the Aragua Tigers in the University Stadium. The grandeliga risked putting a starting date for his debut even without receiving the approval of the general manager of the Cleveland Indians Chris Antonetti, who has strong reticent about letting him work with the Lions.

However, the player's agent, Jose Mijares, who is in Dallas, at the winter meetings of Major League Baseball, will meet with management to achieve a favorable settlement. Having Cabrera is a plus for the offense of Caracas, which has struggled all season to produce.

Also the inclusion of Gonzalez, who was off the roster from 34 the previous week, who traveled to the U.S., will provide greater depth and danger to the line up of the Lions.

Armando Galarraga, debuts today against the Caribes of Anzoategui, in the University Stadium. Galarraga is another of the additions that joined the team roster this week He will also be joined by the addition of the imported one Justin Thomas and Justin Lehr.

Ronald Uviedo also enters the roster of 34 this week.

There is approximately three weeks left in the season. I guess there is still a chance to claim the fifth spot which is the final position to qualify for the post season.