Cleveland Sports Forum

"There is always something more you can do" Campbell states, revealing an attitude well beyond his years. "More ground balls, more tee-work, learning more about the game. Don't settle with comfort. The work you put in your own time is what counts".

Venezuela

Standings (Each team with 3 game left, Zulia has 4 left)
Tonight-
Magallanes at LaGuaira
Caribes at Zulia

In a must win situation, The Aguilas have a 6-1 lead, top of the sixth in a game that was delayed by rain. Yoenis Cespedes just homered to make it a 6-1 ballgame. That was one of the longest homers I've seen hit during the winterball seasons. It was crushed on a 3-2 pitch. This is only the second game that I've seen him play but what little I've seen I like. I hope we make a concerted effort to sign this kid.

Looks Like Sudden Death Baseball

Baseball

Eagles defeat Giants will face the Licey

In the last game of the round robin schedule, the Cibao Eagles crushed the Gigantes 7-1 in a game held at the Quisqueya Stadium in the capital. The game was postponed yesterday in Cibao by rain and was re-assigned to the capital where the forecast was more suitable in that area of ​​the country.

With the victory the Aguilas have won the last 5 games in a row, tied with the Licey Tigers in the second position in the round robin tournament, each with 9 wins and 9 losses. Both play sudden death playofff game on Thursday for a berth in the finals against the Leones Escogido.

So far, the meeting would be held in Santiago.

Tonight was the first time in modern baseball history that a Round Robin game in this country had ti be outside the stadiums of the contending teams.

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Eagles beat the Giants 7-1

SANTO DOMINGO .-

How They Scored

Aguilas Top of the 1st
Elian Herrera lead off the game with a basehit followed by Joaquin Arias' single Elian Herrera to 3rd.
Hector Luna hit by pitch. Joaquin Arias to 2nd. Brandon Moss out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder John Matulia. Elian Herrera scored. Joaquin Arias to 3rd. Miguel Tejada singled and Joaquin Arias scored. Hector Luna to 3rd. Miguel Tejada advanced to second on an error. Jesse Gutierrez grounded out and Hector Luna scored. 3-0

Gigantes Bottom of the 2nd
Pedro Feliz homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. 3-1

Aguilas Top of the 3rd
Brandon Moss homered (5). 4-1

Aguilas Top of the 5th
Juan Perez singled and stole second base and then third. Elian Herrera reached on a fielder's choice Juan Perez out at home. Joaquin Arias singled Elian Herrera to 2nd. Hector Luna doubled Elian Herrera scored. 5-1

Aguilas Top of the 6th
Yoenis Cespedes homered. 6-1

Aguilas Top of the 7th
Elian Herrera led of the inning with a single. Joaquin Arias grounds into a force out Elian Herrera out at 2nd. Joaquin Arias to 1st. Hector Luna singled. Joaquin Arias to 2nd. Brandon Moss walked. Joaquin Arias to 3rd. Hector Luna to 2nd. Miguel Tejada out on a sacrifice fly Joaquin Arias scored. 7-1

W: Castro (3-0, 1.88) L: Pucetas (1-1, 3.68)

Aguilas
2B: Luna, H (2, Abreu).
HR: Moss (5, 3rd inning off Pucetas, 0 on, 2 out), Cespedes (1, 6th inning off Cruz, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Herrera 3; Arias 2; Luna, H 3; Moss 4; Tejada, M; Cespedes 4; Gomez; Perez, J.
RBI: Moss 2 (20), Tejada, M 2 (7), Gutierrez, Je (4), Luna, H (8), Cespedes (1).
SB: Perez, J 2 (3, 2nd base off Pucetas/Diaz, R, 3rd base off Pucetas/Diaz, R).
CS: Gomez (1, 2nd base by Pucetas/Diaz, R).

Gigantes
BATTING
HR: Feliz (3, 2nd inning off Browning, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Casilla, A; Jimenez, D; Diaz, R 2; Fernandez; Feliz 6; Hernandez, Di; Segura.
RBI: Feliz (7).
CS: Diaz, R (2, 2nd base by Browning/Pena), Casilla, A (2, 2nd base by Browning/Pena).
PO: Casilla, A (1st base by Browning), Diaz, R (1st base by Browning).

Game 1: Guasave 4, Culiacan 3
Game 2: Guasave 4, Culiacan 1
Game 3: Culiacan 17, Guasave 5
Game 4: Culiacan 1, Guasave 2
Game 5: Culiacan 8, Guasave 3
Algodoneros de Guasave lead series 3-2

Game 6: 01/18 7:30 p.m.
Game 7: 01/19 7:30 p.m.

Guasave at Culican this evening. Top of 8. Culiacan leads 4-3. Winner of this series goes on to play the Obregon Yaquis in the championship round.

Bibens does not allow the Caribbean offensive any liberties

CARACAS .-

Zulia Eagles, winners of two in a row after an 0-11 start to the tournament, dealt their second setback in a row against those teams with a chance to qualify for the finals in this round robin.

This time the victim was Caribes of Anzoategui which was a painful defeat. The result was 3-1 in favor of Zulia in the stadium Luis Aparicio "The Great", Maracaibo.

The Caribes offensivel, one of the most effective in the round robin, ran into the best version of Austin Bibens-Dirkx (1-2) , who handcuffed them for seven innings in which no runs were allowed for his first victory of the round robin.

In the absence of starters, The Caribbeans had to try a relief pitcher like Pedro Rodriguez (0-1) , who came from a string of 14 scoreless innings in a relief capacity, but the Eagles ended that streak early in the very first inning as Jose Flores singled, Fidel Hernandez singled and Jose Flores advanced to 3rd.
Jose Pirela walked loading the bases. Carlos Maldonado singled home Jose Flores. With the bases loaded once more Ernesto Mejia grounded into a double play as Fidel Hernandez scored on the play.

The Caribes were shutout for the first eight innings but mounted a threat in the ninth trailing 3-0. Gorkys Hernandez led off the inning with a double followed by a Niuman Romero single advancing Gorkys Hernandez to 3rd. Juan Camacho's sacrifice fly brought Gorkys Hernandez home but Marcos Tabata came on for his first save ending any further damage.

The Caribbean record fell to eight wins and six losses in what was their fifth straight loss and are now tied for second place with La Guaira Sharks and are a game and a half out of first place.

Cespedes hits first Winter League homer

Cuban defector powers Aguilas in round-robin playoff finale

Dominican Winter League

Aguilas 7, Gigantes 1

Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes hit his first Dominican League homer and Dodgers prospect Elian Herrera went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored as the Aguilas ended the round-robin playoffs with a 9-9 record. A's outfielder Brandon Moss slugged a two-run homer for Cibaeñas, which got 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief from former Minor Leaguer Angel Castro. Major League veteran Pedro Feliz went 3-for-4 and drove in the Gigantes' lone run with his third postseason homer.
Yoenis Cespedes was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2009 World Baseball Classic. (Denis Poroy/AP)

Venezuelan Winter League

La Guaira 9, Magallanes 8

Former Major Leaguer Alex Cabrera went 2-for-2 with a solo homer and three runs scored, helping the Tiburones climb into third place in the round-robin playoffs. White Sox farmhand Jose Martinez, Giants newcomer Gregor Blanco and Cesar Suarez drove in two runs apiece for La Guaira, while Nationals catcher Jesus Flores homered and scored twice for the Navegantes.

Zulia 3, Caribes 1

Nationals newcomer Austin Bibens-Dirkx allowed one hit over seven shutout innings as the Aguilas won for only the second time in 13 round-robin playoff games. D-backs prospect Ender Inciarte was 2-for-2 with an RBI out of the ninth spot in the lineup for Zulia, while Juan Camacho drove in the Caribes' lone run off the bench.

Puerto Rican Winter League

Caguas 4, Mayaguez 1

Former Giants Minor Leaguer Mike Loree allowed one run and scattered seven hits over five innings as the Criollos evened the best-of-9 Championship Series at 2-2. Former Nationals farmhand Edgardo Baez had two hits, including a solo homer, and scored twice for Caguas, while Rangers Minor Leaguer Jose Ruiz drove in the lone run for Mayaguez.

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Venezuela Winter League

•Jose Lopez (3B, Caribes de Anzoategui): 0-for-4. Ouch. Lopez has now gone hitless in 3 straight games and is currently in an 0-for-14 stretch at the plate. With play in Venezuela wrapping up this weekend, he is not finishing up very strong as he is hitting just .191 in 12 playoff games, which is a far cry from how well he did in 43 games during Venezuela’s regular season when he hit .310 and was very productive at the plate. Because of his right-handed bat, versatility and Major League experience he has a decent chance to make the Indians opening day roster as a player off the bench, but if he is to make the team he is going to need to play extremely well this spring for the Indians and benefit from a few injuries as well.

Sharks beat a Sinking Ship

With this win was the Sharks record moves to 8-6

CARACAS .-

On the stage of the Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas, La Guaira Sharks knocked around the Magallanes Navigators in the seventh inning, better known as the "episode of luck", trailing 6-3 scored six times to reverse the trend by taking a 9-6 lead and ended up with a 9-8 victory.

Although Caribes starter Matt Wright left the meeting after allowing four hits and four runs, the relievers manager Carlos Garcia put on the mound failed to maintain zeros against the Sharks as the most explosive moment was precisely in the the seventh inning when Mark Davalillo's team put six runs on the scoreboard.

At the bottom of the ninth with the game 9-6, Francisco Rodriguez came to close the game, but gave up a pair of runs and scored his third save. Final 9-8. Sandy Nin (1-0) was the winner while Lino Urdaneta lost (0-1).

I guess the place to be this evening is in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The game between the arch rivals will have a 7th game world series atmosphere. These teams and their fans do not have much regard for the others. You can bet there will be some good old fashion partying going on tonight.

Enhanced security for the Series Final

Quisqueya Stadium management will have 50 extra police officers to reinforce security at the entrances of the capital in the face the sudden death playoff game this evening. The measure seeks to prevent riots like those that occurred last Monday during the celebration of the game between the teams Tigres del Cibao Eagles and Licey.

These 50 will join 70 uniformed private security officers and 20 members of the Army, stationed permanently around the stadium.

Roberto Bejarano, capital park manager, announced that it will open the gates to fans beginning at 5:00 pm.

A number of people high above normal came to Quisqueya Stadium on Monday and many of them tried to enter the stadium at the same time, while the game was in progress.

The situation erupted into riots when angry fans wanted access to the game.

"They wanted to come and despaired because there was not enough security to organize seating arrangements. Then came a stampede, "said the executive.

Although fans without tickets were among those who participated in the confrontation with security, the executive said that most were fans who had paid. "The problem was that there were a lof of fans desperate to enter the stadium and watch the game," he said. The box office manager, Diomedes Castellanos, said only numbered tickets were sold. "There was an over sale of tickets were not the so-called standing room only tickets", he said.

Increase 100 pesos for each ticket sold:

The sudden death game promises thrills but will not be free. Attendees will pay 100 extra bucks per ticket, although the increase is only 50 pesos in the stands (old bleachers).

The corporate boxes will cost 1,100 pesos, the boxes A, 700 and double boxes A, 500. Preferences will be sold at 350 pesos, extensions 300 and the bleachers will cost 150

Licey vs AC, Sudden Death

Call your doctor. Keep your phone close to your cardiologist. Strengthen your heart.

The Eagles have forced what everyone wants to see: a decisive match against the Tigers at Estadio Cibao, Santiago de los Caballeros, Santiago.

Brandon Moss homered and drove in two runs, another homer by Yoenis Céspedes to conduct a ruthless attack of 12 hits and the Eagles dumped 7-1 on the Gigantes del Cibao, at a meeting held at the Quisqueya Stadium due to the rains that affected San Francisco de Macoris in recent days.

The victory gives the troops of Felix Fermin a tie with the Tigers in second place in the round robin tournament and the right to celebrate tonight's game that will define the companion of the Leones Escogido in the Championship Final Series which must be started 48 hours after completion of the Round Robin, unless there is a modification made ​​to the regulations.

All roads lead to Estadio Cibao, Santiago de los Caballeros tonight, where rain has had a strong presence in recent days. There will be another duel between the Aguilas Cibaenas and the Licey Tigers, huge rivals, that have filled our sports pages in recent days. Ramon Ortiz will start for the Tigers while Lorenzo Barcelo gets the start for the Eagles.

Be it is advised, find your doctor.

Fausto Carmona Arrested for the double identity

The National Police announced Thursday the arrest of Major League pitcher Fausto Carmona, accused of using double identity.

According to the spokesman of the institution, Maximo Aybar Baez, the player, whose real name is Roberto Hernandez Hall, was arrested as he left the U.S. Consulate, where he performed procedures for visa renewal.

Through Twitter, Aybar said the arrest took place in coordination with the consulate as part of measures taken by the police and the representation of the U.S. government.

He said the pitcher's true age is 31 and not 28 as stated.

The police station urged major league prospects "not to be confused by those who sell false hopes based on illegality."

The major league baseball is the pitcher for the Cleveland Indians and the national baseball team plays in the Cibao Eagles.

It looks like a very large crowd forming outside the gates. The local television crew is on sight doing a lot of interviews with the fans. The local station is having a segment on Fausto Carmona. They were showing a lot of highlights from his last outing. At the moment, the request line is open and they are fielding questions and comments regarding Carmona prior to the first pitch tonight. Don't understand Spanish so I really don't know what's going on but there seems to be a lot controversy surrounding the issues.

Yep! For sure a full house, standing room only crowd.

The home town fans were treated to a 3-0 lead on the strength of a Hector Luna sac fly in the first and Yoenes Cespedes' double in the third that bumped the Aguilas lead to 3-0.

The home crowd was rock'n.

Top of the fourth quieted the fans down a bit. Licey scored three times to tie the game. Anderson Hernandez opened the inning with a single, Erick Aybar tripled, and Ronnie Paulino homered to tie it.

Looked like a walkoff homer in the seventh game of the world series as all the players including some members of the bullpen area came running to the homeplate area to greet Paulino. That was something to see. I don't think I've ever seen bullpen members come to greet anyone at homeplate before.

Both starting pitchers have been removed from the game.

Licey still batting in the fourth. Yamaico Navarro walked, Robinson Cancel fanned. One out. Bouncer by Luis Matos to third and the ensuing run down between second and third eliminated the lead runner Navarro, however, Matoas advanced to second on the play. Wil Nieves fanned to end the inning.

Definitely a sellout. They even have folding chairs up in the bleacher areas and fans standing behind the back rows.

End of 3.5 innings, game is tied at 3. Exciting stuff!!!