Cleveland Sports Forum

USA beats Cuba; 5-2 | 15-07-2012

Trea Turner steals the show as US beat Cubans 5-2 for second tournament win. Endless delay tactics of Cuban national team not enough to faze young American squad in slowest game of the tournament. Player of the Game: Trea Turner (USA)

Puerto Rico vs. Japan cancelled | 16-07-2012

Due to the bad weather conditions, the game has been cancelled. The game will be played at Wednesday 10:30 am.

Gates will be opened at 9 AM on tuesday and wednesday | 16-07-2012


Due to the cancellation of both monday's games, there will be extra games this tuesday and wednesday.


Cuba vs. Chinese Taipei will be played on tuesday July 17 at10:30 AM.
Puerto Rico vs. Japan will be played on wednesday July 18 at 10:30 AM.

On tuesday and wednesday, the gates will be open at 9 AM.

All That Starts Badly Doesn’t Always Necessarily End Badly

by Peter C. Bjarkman

Haarlem (Saturday, July 14, 2012)


Team Cuba has been all too regularly plagued by painfully slow starts over here on Dutch soil. Last year’s embarrassing opening day rain-plagued and error-filled loss to unheralded Curacao at the World Port Tournament in Rotterdam was a low-point of recent seasons, even if the Cuban squad on the field was a B-level club and not a top all-star roster. A 2008 knockout seven-inning 10-0 whitewashing suffered by another backup Cuban squad (managed by Germán Mesa) at the hands of the host Dutch in early Haarlem opening-round action provided the most lopsided defeat at any level for the red-clad forces in nearly a half-century. And also not to be overlooked in this litany of sluggish openings was a shocking early second-round upending by Puerto Rico in Amsterdam during World Cup 2009 (a setback that came on the heels of a 10-0 Cuban blitzing of the same Borinquen squad in Barcelona a mere week earlier). Such regular Holland disasters have remained a rare and inexplicable phenomenon for the long-reigned international baseball kingpins sporting Cuban colors.

The apparent “Dutch curse” even spilled over to Panama during last September’s IBAF World Cup sessions. The only blemishes on the Cuban ledger in that outing were registered by the eventual world champion Orangemen who logged 4-1 and 2-1 victories over a pre-tourney favorite islanders outfit managed by Alfonso Urquiola. In those recent encounters Cuba was limited to five hits and a single run in each outing by a pair of effective Dutch starters (newcomer Orlando Yntema and veteran Robbie Cordemans) plus a trio of veteran bullpen reinforcements. Uncharacteristically subdued Cuban bats came up short in the Gold Medal finale when Héctor Olivera’s sharp ninth-inning liner to third stranded the game-winnings tallies on first and second base.

It was precisely those bitter loses in Panama last fall that have spurred so much chatter (especially here in Holland) about the Cubans arriving in Haarlem this month with a very obvious revenge motive. A tournament win here over the Dutch (admittedly not the same World Cup club that was laced with top MLB prospects) on their home soil might work to even up the score a bit. And then there is also the revenge scenario when it comes to yet another face-off with the forces of USA Baseball. It was a USA minor-league all-star club that knocked the Cubans out of last fall’s Pan American Games finale in Guadalajara, Mexico; and it was also the Americans who ended Cuba’s two-decade-long World Cup domination with gold medal triumphs at Taipei in 2007 and Nettuno two years later.

Conceivably Victor Mesa and Company were simply looking too far ahead in the schedule – perhaps anticipating Sunday’s ballyhooed matchup with the rival Americans, or the locally much-anticipated square-off on Wednesday evening with the defending world champion Dutch squad. Or it might have been the aftereffects of a lengthy road trip, or even the fact that everyone seems to reserve both their top game and their top pitchers for the respected Cubans. Whatever the explanations, this year’s edition of Team Cuba has again stumbled out of the gate here in Haarlem with an underwhelming offensive performance and an unlikely opening night setback. An effective if not exactly eye-popping 3-innings-plus by veteran southpaw starter Luis Cintrón, coupled with a gutsy 4.2 innings of solid relief by replacement Benigno Cepeda, was sufficient to silence Cuban bats for all but one brief uprising. The result was an emotional 3-2 upset victory for the José Flores-managed and upset-minded Borinquen ball club. For the stunned Cuban forces it was yet another hard-to-swallow initial setback that has early-on already put the tourney favorites squarely behind the proverbial eight ball.

The evening began on a rather ominous note when Yadier Pedroso surrendered a ringing homer to Aldo Mendez, the game’s leadoff batter. That single fateful shot would eventually provide the slim margin of defeat for the losers, but only after a tense nine-inning struggle that saw Cuban squander its limited opportunities while Puerto Rico at the same time managed to cash in on its own mere handful of offensive chances. On the whole Pedroso did not pitch badly, striking out six and walking but one in four innings of labor. Replacement Ismel Jiménez was also mostly solid over 3.2 frames, also striking out four but eventually yielding a two-out tally (on a single by Radames Nazario) that built the final 3-2 margin in the top of the eighth. Norberto González and Pablo Fernández closed out the final two frames without permitting further damage and normally the three-run opposition uprising would not have been insufficient to overhaul a usually potent Cuban offense. On this particular night, however, the Cuban mound corps was simply outshone and obviously upstaged by more solid clutch Puerto Rican bullpen work.

Each team managed only a scant pair of true scoring threats during a knuckle-whitening game highlighted by pitching heroics and offensive shortcomings. After the Mendez first-inning homer Puerto Rico remained largely dormant expect for the fourth and eighth frames when Jorge Jiménez and Nazario managed to slap their opportunistic two-out singles into right field with runners in scoring position. Cuba had its own chance to blow the game open in the home fourth when Bell was hit by an errant Cintrón pitch, Gourriel received a free pass, and Cepeda slammed a double off the center field wall. But with two runs already home, Cepeda logged on second, and still no outs, the golden opportunity quickly vanished. With cool-tempered Benigno Cepeda on in relief, Despaigne, Abreu and Reyes (a strikeout sandwiched between two infield rollers) all failed to deliver the lead-producing base hit.

Cuba’s only other serious late challenge was manufactured with two out in the bottom of the eighth. After pinch hitter Alex Guerrero struck out and additional replacement William Luis flied to deep center, Rusney Castillo singled into left and Alexei Bell walked to keep hopes alive. But fate was not on the Cuban side when Gourriel drilled a sharp liner into the glove of shortstop Nazario off a fat delivery from closer Rabell Rivera. At that point the door was effectively closed.

In the end the heroes for Puerto Rico were relievers Benigno Cepeda (designated “Man of the Match” by the Dutch press), who worked 4.2 near-perfect scoreless innings to pick up the victory, and Rabell Rivera, who eliminated the heart of the Cuban order (Cepeda, Despaigne and Abreu) in the ninth frame on a strikeout (Despaigne) and two harmless infield rollers. None among the trio of Puerto Rican hurlers possessed a particular overwhelming arsenal but throughout the game the Cuban batters seemed overanxious and off balance in their approaches at the plate.

No losses are ever entirely welcomed in a short-schedule event like this one, but it is always far better to lose early rather than to stumble later on during the round-robin tournament format. Hence the reality remains that only two of six teams will be eliminated during the opening-week round robin session and no single victory or defeat claimed on the first weekend is therefore likely to determine a team’s fate either up or down. Much serious baseball remains to be played over the coming nine days and once the free-for-all semifinals between the four surviving clubs are reached next weekend all early game results will obviously be thrown out the window. Momentum is always valued, however, and victory over the Americans on Sunday night is now of the highest priority. No team wishes to stand at 0-2 and thus to face the task of needing three straight wins to assure playoff qualification.

Team USA has to be worrisome since the Americans offer far more potent pitching than do the upstart Puerto Ricans. Several top collegians – including righties David Berg (UCLA) and Jonathon Crawford (Florida) and southpaws Carlos Rondon (NC State) and Marco Gonzalez (Gonzaga) – toss consistently in the mid-nineties and are top big league prospects. The five just-completed exhibition games staged in Havana were all competitive and four went down to the late-inning wire. Cuba will now need yet another strong outing from ace Freddie Asiel Alvarez, who already no-hit the Americans through five frames last week in Latin American Stadium on route to a series-clinching victory.

But more than anything the sluggish Cuban bats will now have to awaken if a championship pursuit is to be in the offering. Last year’s Cuban B-level lineup managed by Roger Machado never got completely untracked during a silver-medal runner-up finish in Rotterdam. The same was true for the Germán Mesa-led club a year earlier here in Haarlem. It has been an historical trend that will now have to be rather quickly reversed. If it is not, then a rather short five-game opening-round schedule might very well prove to translate into a painfully long week here in rain-soaked Haarlem.

The Cuban start (0-2) has to be extremly disappointing to their island fans. This is a potent Cuban team. The results in the two losses is very uncharacteristic. Moral has to be very low right now.

Cuba beats Chinese Taipei; 2-1 | 17-07-2012

Chinese Taipei's heroics not enough to keep Cuba from first tournament win. Excellent outing by Taipei's starter Fan negated by Cepeda's 8th inning 2-run homer (2-1). Player of the game: Frederich Cepeda (Cuba).

Puerto Rico vs. USA starts at 2:30 PM | 17-07-2012

Today's afternoon game - Puerto Rico vs. USA - will start at 2:30 PM. This is done to give the teams their time to warm up and to get the field ready for the game.

4000th Honkbalweek-run is in! | 17-07-2012

At 3:28 PMm Jorge Jimenez hit a homerun, putting runner Antonio Candelaria on the board as 4000th Honkbalweek-run!

Puerto Rico beats USA; 3-2 | 17-07-2012


Exciting preview of potential tournament final tips in Puerto Rican favor. Young Americans give it their all, but Puerto Rican hitting, pitching turns out to be too much.


Player of the Game: Jorge Jimenez (Puerto Rico)

Netherlands beats Japan quickly: 18-3 | 17-07-2012

Dutch release the Kraken on Japanese pitching staff, entertain crowd. World Champion-worthy performance by Team Orange shows no weak spots in Dutch lineup, as they break out for double-digit runs: 18-3.

Player of the Game: Rudy van Heydoorn (3-for-4, HR, 2B, BB, 5 RBI, 2 R).

The Tuesday night game between the Dutch and Japanese team was a game between two 1-1 teams fighting to stay alive in the tournament. Knowing they were about to play the Dutch in front of a home crowd, the Japanese tried their best to win the hearts of the fans by throwing baseball into the stands during the introductory lineup.

At 7:00 PM, Tomu Inoue gets the game under way with a first pitch to Dutch lead-off hitter Michael Duursma. Duursma looks at a few pitches, before lining a double into left field. Dwayne Kemp proceeds to bunt him to third, and Bryan Engelhardt smacks a single up the middle to score Duursma and put the Dutch up 1-0.

Down by a run, Inoue appears to lose his control. He walks Bas de Jong, but gets Wesley Connor to ground into a fielder’s choice (retiring Engelhardt). Consecutive walks to Van Heydoorn and Arends, however, bring De Jong across homeplate: 2-0 Netherlands.

In the bottom of the second, the crowd of a little over 3,000 watches Inoue unravel. Back to back walks on 10 pitches give him five walks in an inning and 2 batters, bringing manager Nakamura out of the dugout to bring in Masahiro Hori. Hori does not fare much better, as his second baseman cannot get a Bryan Engelhardt grounder under control. The lead-off walk (Daantji) races around to score to make the score 3-0 in favor of the orange team.
Meanwhile, Dutch starter Diegomar Markwell keeps the Japanese team off balance for the first twee innings, but runs into some trouble in the third, as Shinohara, Miyoshi, Hayasaki and Matsuda all hit singles and bring the score to 3-2 in favor of the Dutch. The game would not stay close for long, as the Dutch offense that struggled at the start of the tournament breaks loose.

Centerfielder Shaldimar Daantji leads off the inning by getting hit by a pitch, after which Duursma and Kemp (RBI) follow with singles. After Engelhardt moves them both up a base, rightfielder Bas de Jong (2-RBI single) and leftfielder Wesley Connor (single) bring catcher Rudy van Heydoorn to the plate. Van Heydoorn, already hitting the ball very well this tournament, releases the Kraken on the baseball and deposits it deep over the left field wall for a 3-run homerun, putting the game seemingly out of reach (9-2).

But the World Champions are not finished yet. Arends (single) and Daantji (walk) reach base before Michael Duursma bangs out his third hit of the night, plating Arends. Daantji scores from third on a passed ball, and Duursma comes around on Kemp’s laser double to the left field wall: 12-2 Netherlands. The inning mercifully ends on a Bryan Engelhardt strikeout.

Kudos to the Japanese for not giving up: they start their half of the inning with two singles. With two men out, Miyoshi doubles down the left field line, plating Wakizono for the third run. The Dutch, however, strike right back in the top of the 5th to put the game in mercy-rule territory again. Connor reaches on an E-6, and Van Heydoorn continues his raking by hitting a double onto the warning track in left-center field. On a fielder’s choice for Arends, Connor races home for run no. 13, and Van Heydoorn scores one batter later on Daantji’s single to right (14-3).

A double by Kemp and a RBI-single by De Jong in the sixth bring the score to 15-3 and after Connor doubles, two-time “Player of the Game” winner Van Heydoorn hits a 2-RBI single down the middle to complete the Dutch onslaught: 17-3. They add another run in the 7th, as Daantji reaches base for the fifth time (4 walks and a single) and later comes around to score on Bas de Jong’s single. The appear ready for their game against Cuba on Wednesday.

Puerto Rico beats USA; 3-2 | 17-07-2012

Exciting preview of potential tournament final tips in Puerto Rican favor. Young Americans give it their all, but Puerto Rican hitting, pitching turns out to be too much.

With the morning’s weather carrying over to the afternoon, a decent-sized crowd showed up (or stayed) to watch the US battle it out with the fellow-tournament-leaders Puerto Rico. With plenty of big league experience on or around the Puerto Rican team, and plenty of potential future Major League skills on the American team, this game had all the makings of an instant classic; maybe even a preview to Sunday’s final.

The Americans did not waste any time taking the lead. In the second inning DH Michael Conforto reached with a double, and he was moved to third by Kris Bryant’s flyout to right. Jose Trevino followed with a single, and the US took a 1-0 lead. With now only one run to go until the Honkbalweek would reach 4,000 runs in the rich history of the tournament, the excitement was building.

This illustrious 4,000th run would score in the bottom of the 4th and came courtesy of a two-run homerun by Jimenez, scoring Candelaria ahead of him with the actual 4,000th run. Jimenez’ admiring of the homerun did not seem to go over well with the American starter, but with a 2-1 lead the Puerto Ricans could not care less.

As momentum kept shifting back and forth, the game had an interesting flow to it. In the top of the 6th, the Americans tried to take back initiative, and with mid-week tournament MVP candidate Trea Turner leading off, this was their chance. Turner did what he has been doing all week, besides stealing third, and that was hit. His line-drive single to left started the rally and when the Puerto Rican defense could not handle Fields’ sac bunt, the US had runners on second and third. A sac fly by Peterson tied the game (scoring Turner), but the Americans failed to capitalize any further as Conforto and Bryant struck out to end the inning.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Puerto Ricans clawed their way back. A walk to Mendez signaled the departure of Stanek, who was replaced by David Berg. With one out, Berg walked Ortiz, who was consequently retired on a fielder’s choice at second. With Mendez at third, Berg threw a wild pitch which scored the runner from third. Puerto Rico took a 3-2 lead, but the US was not going to roll over and die just yet.

In the top of the 7th the US threatened again, but with two men on and one out, short stop Kyle Farmer grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning, keeping the score at 3-2 Puerto Rico. Despite their best efforts, the US is not able to mount a comeback. Puerto Rico stays unbeaten. With both teams winning fans all over the ballpark with their fresh and athletic play, we may just have seen a preview to Sunday’s final.

W: Padilla, L.
L: Stanek, R.
SV: Rivera, R.

Cuba beats Chinese Taipei; 2-1 | 17-07-2012

Chinese Taipei's heroics not enough to keep Cuba from first tournament win. Excellent outing by Taipei's starter Fan negated by Cepeda's 8th inning 2-run homer (2-1). Player of the game: Frederich Cepeda (Cuba).

Monday turned out to be the day that the field at Pim Mulier Stadium finally needed a breather. With the infield drenched, tournament director Roderick Balk decided to cancel both games for the day. Cuba – Chinese Taipei was moved to Tuesday morning, and it seemed the Asian team felt very comfortable with their new 10:30 AM timeslot.

Lead by efficient starter Fan (he threw only 83 pitches in 8 innings), Chinese Taipei was able to keep Cuba off the bases for most of the game. The Cubans only mustered three basehits off of Fan and seemed overmatched for most of the game.

Because of the fact that the Taipei team seemed to struggle with Odrisamer Despaigne’s pitches as well, the game remained scoreless until the fifth. It was then that the Cubans did something the Haarlem crowd has not seen them do too often in the history of the tournament: their field showed started throwing outs away.

Lin started the 5th inning rally with a single and was followed by Hsiao, who did the same. The second Lin to bat in the inning hit a chopper to the pitcher, who tried to start the double play via second base. Unfortunately for the Cubans, the second baseman threw the ball away after recording the out at second, allowing Lin to score and Lin to reach second base: 1-0 Taipei. With Fan pitching a great game, a third sensational Cuban loss was in the air.

However, the Cubans did what Haarlem crowds have seen them do before: they used their power to mount a comeback. Deadly duo Gourriel/Cepeda took care of business in the 8th, as Gourriel walked and Cepeda hit a monster homerun to give the Cubans the 2-1 lead. They would not relinquish the one-run advantage and the Cubans finally had their first win of the 2012 tournament.

W: Jimenez, I.
L: Fan, M.C.
SV: Fernandez, P.

Player of the Game: Frederich Cepeda

Luis Castillo agrees with the Chicago White Sox

Posted July 16th, 2012 by DPL & filed under DPL News,
Physically impressive at 6’3 200lb, Castillo is a prototypical corner guy with raw power and a lot of upside.

San Pedro de Macoris has been known for producing baseball talent on the island, Castillo becomes the latest prospect to continue the tradition. He works-out with trainer Carlos Hernandez known as Cambo.

DPL scout Lizahio Baez noticed his talent last year as a 15 year old and decided to recruit him due to raw tools, size and projection. At first site Castillo is impressive physically, he’s a man child, and when he starts swing the bat he makes your attention draw closer. He extends his arms and squares up pitches with authority. He has quick hand through the hitting zone and his bat path is consistently on an even plane. He doesn’t produce much elevation with his swing but he hits the ball harder than any player on the field. Castillo is a dead pull hitter learning how to use the entire field. Defensively he has good lateral movement, average hands and makes routine plays. His arm strength is average and he runs well for a big guy. His raw athletic talent makes him a prospect to take note of, he has the tools that transfer into production on the diamond. The W-Sox and Luis Castillo agree to a contract value of $450,000.00

Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox, Carlos Hernandez and the Castillo family!

Puerto Rico beats Japan; 7-5 | 18-07-2012

In chilly Pim Mulier Stadium, Puerto Rico remains undefeated. Japan battles, but team from Central America too strong for land of the rising sun: 7-5.

Player of the game: Luis Rivera (Puerto Rico), 2-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI.

After getting blown out by the Dutch on Tuesday night (18-3), the Japanese team had little time to recover; their make-up match against the Puerto Ricans was scheduled for 10:30AM the following morning.

Like the Dutch team a mere 15 hours before them, the Puerto Ricans start their game against Team Japan with success. Mendez reaches with a walk and moves to second on a passed ball. A line-drive basehit by Rivera scores Mendez and provides the Puerto Ricans with a quick 1-0 lead.

The Japanese come right back in the top of the second. Eto reaches with a walk and ends up at third after consecutive balks by Puerto Rican starter Juan Burgos. With two outs, Keisuke Mekaru drills a double to the warning track in left to score Eto and tie the game at 1-1.

After Puerto Rico sees its starter leave with an apparent injury in the 3rd, the Japanese capitalize off new pitcher Rawell Rivera in the 4th inning. Hayasaki leads off the inning with a ringing double to left and he’s driven in by Uema, who singles to left. As Eto walks, the Japanese are in business. Another two-out single by Mekaru plates Uema and moves Eto to second: 3-1 Japan.

The lead is short-lived, however, as the Puerto Ricans take care of business in the 5th. Mendez (single), Nazario (single), Ortiz (double) and Rivera (double) take back the lead (4-3), and when Jimenez hits the ball off the first base bag, the Japanese panic. The fifth run scores and Jimenez goes all the way to third on a Japanese throwing error.

In the cold Pim Mulier Stadium, both teams appear to have trouble to keep the engine running. Even though the Japanese score a comeback run in the top of the 6th, the Puerto Ricans find ways to keep hitting. In the bottom of the 6th they score an additional two runs to make the score 7-S4, but both teams struggle getting to the level they reached earlier in the tournament.

The Japanese score a courtesy run in the 9th, but closer Rivera ends the final outs without anymore trouble, as the Puerto Rico remains undefeated.

W: Rivera, Rawell.
L: Morizono, N.
SV: Rivera, Rabell.

Player of the Game: Luis Rivera (Puerto Rico) (2-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI)