Rockies pleased with Outman's development

11/06/12 7:50 PM ET

DENVER --

Rockies left-hander Josh Outman has continued his season-ending roll in the Dominican Winter League.

In three starts for Toros del Este, Outman is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA, with 13 strikeouts against two walks in 15 innings. This is on the heels of Outman finishing the 2012 Major League season by not giving up a run in nine of his final 12 appearances.

Chacin progressing nicely after tough 2012

Rockies right-hander Jhoulys Chacin finished the regular season strong, after missing nearly four months with a nerve issue in the right side of his chest, and he appears to be improving in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Chacin is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three starts for Caracas. His best start was last Sunday, when he went seven innings and held Margarita to one run on six hits, with four strikeouts against two walks.

"I was trying to pitch as many innings as possible, and our offense and defense helped me out a lot," Chacin said to reporter Dayron Padilla of the Meridano newspaper. "The Rockies told me to come to Venezuela so I could work more on my command. Thank God I'm achieving that goal and they are happy with the job I've done so far."

Blackmon thriving in Dominican Winter League

After struggling for much of the 2012 season with a nagging turf toe issue, Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is healthy and prosperous in the Dominican Winter League. A Toros teammate of Josh Outman, Blackmon has hit .296 with six RBIs, three doubles, a triple and a .361 on-base percentage.

Blackmon, who had a chance to make the Opening Day roster before the toe problem reared, finished the regular season with the Rockies and hit a healthy .283 in 42 games, after batting .303 in 59 games for Triple-A Colorado Springs. He went to the Dominican to make up for the at-bats he missed while rehabbing.

Santiago filling idle time in winter ball

Left-hander working on offspeed pitches with rotation spot in mind

11/07/12 1:07 PM ET

CHICAGO --

After about two weeks of offseason inactivity at home, Hector Santiago decided to start his preparation for the 2013 White Sox season a little bit early.

"I had too much free time and was getting fat. I felt like I gained 20 pounds," Santiago said during a phone conversation from Puerto Rico with MLB.com. "I decided that I'm going to winter ball."

Santiago, who turns 25 in December, now is part of Gigantes de Carolina in the Liga de Beisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico, making the trip with his fiancée as well as his brother, Anthony, who is a Minor League hurler in the White Sox system and will be pitching for the Gigantes. But this journey certainly stands as more than a way for the southpaw to avoid idle hands and a few extra calories.

The solid rookie 2012 campaign for Santiago, during which he began as a closer, moved to middle relief, briefly went to Triple-A Charlotte to stretch out as a starter and then excelled as a starter at the big league level, literally was just the beginning for this talented hurler. The White Sox plan on preparing Santiago as a starter for the 2013 campaign and have told him to be ready in said role, so he's going to add anywhere from 40 to 60 innings in Puerto Rico, supplementing his total of 85 from last year.

White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper approved of Santiago's decision and told him to check in after every second start just to discuss his approach. The winter results are not as important as the process to Santiago, who has a specific focus of finding greater consistency with his offspeed stuff, much as his plan was last November in Puerto Rico.

"I'm going to try to throw at least one slider and one screwball in every at-bat," Santiago said. "The way I look at it is I'm still not guaranteed a roster spot, and it doesn't matter I was [in the Majors] 98 percent of last year.

"Even if they tell me, 'You are the No. 3 starter,' I still look at it as nothing is guaranteed. I still have to perform and put up numbers."

Four of Santiago's final six 2012 appearances came as a starter, during which he allowed five earned runs on 12 hits over 19 1/3 innings, striking out 26 and walking 11. His screwball, the unique pitch used by Santiago that helps him neutralize right-handed hitters, never felt as good as it did during August and September, but nothing matched Santiago's finale on Oct. 1 at Progressive Field.

In seven innings and 108 pitches against the Indians, Santiago yielded a Michael Brantley walk in the second, Shin-Soo Choo's single in the third and nothing more. He struck out 10 in lowering his ERA to 3.33 as part of a performance that left him wanting his inaugural season to go another 100 games instead of just the remaining two on the schedule.

"Everything was so good," said Santiago of that Cleveland start. "Anything called or put down, I was able to get it over the plate for a strike."

Bringing Jake Peavy back on a two-year, $29 million deal and picking up Gavin Floyd's $9.5 million option left the White Sox with no fewer than six quality starters before last weekend's organizational meetings started. That abundance of starters could mean a veteran such as Floyd eventually is moved to help solidify an uncertain third-base slot, but the White Sox also could part with a younger, less-experienced starter such as Santiago as part of a package to accomplish the same goal.

Trades are not something that concern Santiago presently. He is happy to see the return of consummate teammates such as Floyd, whom he calls "one of the nicest guys I've met in my career" and Peavy, whom he considers as the team's motivator.

Continuing to build up Santiago as a starter simply increases the club's overall options. And by building off of last year's positive season-long experience, Santiago can work on his offspeed consistency in Puerto Rico as a starter who understands how those pitches fit into his overall success.

"Last year, I just worked on all offspeed stuff and got beat up a little bit," said Santiago of his last winter-ball experience. "So, I'm still going to attack the zone with my fastball like always, trying to get ahead of hitters. But whether I get ahead or fall behind, I'm going to try to mix in things.

"Like I said, I'm working right now to get a job. Hopefully, I'll start, but any way I can help the team, whether it's as the long guy, short guy, setup, left-handed specialist for one hitter or as the closer, I'll be ready."

They can't stop him, they can only try to contain him. Jose Ramirez is 2-2 so far this evening and has boosted the average up to (.500). He's got a nice swing and looks good at second. For a 20 year old in this league, Ramirez is doing exceptionally well.

CHEN CHUN-HUI CPBL Baseball Team Catcher



Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Cuba arrives for Thunder Series in Taichung and Taoyuan
Thunder Series to feature games between Cuba, Chinese Taipei and CPBL

Cuba has arrived in Taichung and Taoyuan for the Thunder Series – a series of games against the Chinese Taipei national team and a selection of players from the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

Games will be played from Saturday, November 10 to Tuesday, November 13 at Taichung Intercontinental Stadium and at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium.

A press conference was held after arrival of the Cuban delegation, which also was attended by IBAF 3rd Vice President Antonio Castro, Taoyuan Mayor John Chih-Yang Wu, Cuba’s manager Victor Mesa and veteran infielder Yulieski Gourriel.

The Cuban national team also has been invited to a youth clinic with junior high and high school players at Taoyuan Stadium, which features lessons in pitching, hitting, fielding and base-running.

The Thunder Series starts on Saturday with a game between Cuba and Chinese Taipei at Taichung Intercontinental Stadium. This match will also have implications for the IBAF Men’s Baseball World Rankings. On Sunday and Tuesday Cuba will face a selection of the CPBL at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium.

Chinese Taipei is currently finishing up preparations for the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Taipei City, where they will face Thailand, the Philippines and New Zealand from November 15 to 18.

On Wednesday Cuba will leave for Fukuoka, Japan to play the Samurai Japan Games on November 16 and 17 in Fukuoka and Sapporo. These two games also will have implications for the IBAF Men’s Baseball World Rankings.

Schedule Thunder Series:

Saturday, November 10:
17:00 Chinese Taipei – Cuba (Taichung)

Sunday, November 11:
17:00 Cuba – CPBL (Taoyuan)

Tuesday, November 13:
19:00 CPBL – Cuba (Taichung)

For the Toros, Jose Ramirez grounded out to third and walked to go along with his two hits and two runs score. Yan Gomes homered. His fourth of the winter. Gomes has three rbis. For the Licey Tigers, Vladimir Guerrero is 1-2 picking up his second hit of the winter but Vladdy is only batting .154 so far this winter.

I like Ramirez. He doesn't look like a 20 year old. He looks like a confident, young ballplayer. He sure does not look intimidated. I thought Fedroff was playing well until Ramirez came along.

Juan Diaz had a couple of more hits tonight. He seems to be getting on track after an horrendous start.

Tim Fedroff (1-3) had another hit.

Delvi Cid pinch ran for Miguel Tejada who singled and was 1-3.

Vladimir Guerrero had a pair of hits but looks very much out of shape. He looks like he's been on the burritos but he still hits the ball with authority.

Yan Gomes was 2-3 with 2 runs scored, a homer, and 3 rbis.

Gregorio Petit had a basehit in four tries.

Hector Rondon with hold #4 in a perfect inning of relief with one strikeout. This is the 6th consecutive game that Rondon has appeared in without surrendering any runs but that first appearance (4 earned runs without an out) skews the ERA (6.48). Looks better than (100+).

Jesus Aguilar was a no show again. Aguilar has had only one pinch hit appearance in the last two weeks. The Leones are on a roll though. Five straight wins.

All in all, a very good evening for members of the home team.

Cuba Baseball Season Starts November 25th

By Circles Robinson

HAVANA TIMES —

The 2012-2013 Cuban baseball season begins on November 25th, announced the country’s baseball federation announced this week. The first game pits last season’s champs, Ciego de Avila hosting Industriales, the runners-up.

One of the big changes announced was the death of the Metropolitanos team that played out of the capital. Havana will now only be represented by its popular squad the Industriales.

The season consists of 87 games divided into two stages. In the first stage, 16 teams will compete in 45 games through February 3, with each team facing its 15 rivals in three games.

After a long break to select and prepare the Cuban national team and then its participation in the 3rd World Baseball Classic in March, the second phase of the season will begin a week after Cuba finishes its play at the Classic.

The schedule has yet to be made public. The announcement did note that just as last season, afternoon games will be played at 1:00 p.m. and night games at 8:15 p.m.

The games will be played in three-game series followed by a travel-rest day.

Meanwhile it was also announced that the Cuban national team would play exhibition games against professional teams of Chinese Taipei, South Korea and Japan between October 20 and November 20.

DPL POWER SHOWCASE Tournament week

Posted November 6th, 2012 by DPL & filed under DPL News, Events, Featured Post.

The Dominican Prospect League is proud to announce the DPL POWER SHOWCASE Tournament scheduled at the New York Yankees complex in Boca-Chica on November 12th-15th. The 2013 eligible DPL All-Star Game, Home Run Derby and Vitilla Tournament are scheduled at Temistocles Metz Stadium in San Cristobal, D.R. the weekend of November 16th-18th.
November 12th-15th: The 3 day, 6 team round robin tournament and All-Tournament game will gather the best July 2nd and eligible prospects playing in all 4 DPL circuits (Boca-Chica, Santiago, San Pedro and Puerto Plata). Batting Practice and Infield will start at 12:00 pm, Game time 1:30pm. Eligible Players will be selected to participate in the All-Tournament game on Thursday.

On Friday November 16th, players eligible in the 2013 July 2nd International signing period will be selected to the DPL POWER SHOWCASE Tournament All-Star Game. Batting Practice, Infield and the 60 yard dash will begin promptly at 10:30am at Temistocles Metz Stadium.

On Saturday November 17th at 11:00am Players will swing for the fence in the DPL Power-Showcase Challenge. Qualifiers will get the opportunity to represent their country at the 7th annual POWER SHOWCASE Home Run Derby and All World Classic (USA vs World) at Marlins Park in Miami Fl December 27th – 30th. The event will be broadcasted and stream lined live on the POWER SHOWCASE website.

Saturday 17th at 2:00pm and Sunday 18th at 9:00am the DPL will host its first VITILLA tournament at Temistocles Metz Stadium lot; 24 of the best Vitilla teams will compete for bragging rights and DPL Cup. There will be music, food, beverages, raffles and promotions the whole family can enjoy. Come out, support the players and have a great time.

CARACAS. -

David Davalillo Lauro got his first internship as the Lions strategist. The Caracas Lions returned to winning ways by winning with a score of 6 runs to 3 for Aguilas del Zulia in University Stadium in Caracas this Wednesday night.

An altercation which emptied the benches at the height of the second inning led to the expulsion of Victor Garate starter and Ender Inciartea who charged the mound causing both benches to empty.

Paolo Espino returns with Anzoantegui Caribes

11/07/2012 2:23:34 PM

The Panamanian comes to Anzoátegui after pitching in the World Baseball Classic qualifier

CARACAS. -

The Panamanian Paolo Espino will start on 19 November. The information was confirmed by Carlos Rios , sports manager of the club. "Espino comes with us after the game he will pitch for Panama in the inaugural qualifier for the WBC , "said the executive. That meeting will be on November 15 with Panama facing Brazil at the stadium Rod Carew Panama. The righty of 25 years is leaving 7-4 with 3.29 ERA in 123.0 innings, between subsidiaries AA and AAA for the Cleveland Indians. Also struck out 111 and walked 38 tickets. Espino played last year with La Guaira Tiburones , where he was not very good: left with a mark of 2-2, with 7.71 ERA in eight games. "At that time we forward his release date ... We trust in his development. That he has matured as was the case of Luis Durango, "said Rios.

The "Guti" and Jesus Guzman will join the herd

11/07/2012 5:34:02 PM

Both players report to the lineup of Caracas

CARACAS . -

The Caracas club president, Luis Avila, said the arrival of Franklin Gutierrez is planned for this week. For Guzman, he would be reporting next week.

Via the twitter account @ leones_cbbc , Avila noted that " Franklin Gutierrez will arrive on Saturday. Sunday should join the team . " " Jesus Guzman will start training next week. In two weeks he will be playing " Franklin Gutierrez has not played in Venezuela since the 2008-09 season. That season, the "Guti" batted .277, had five homers and drove in 19 runs.

Alcides Escobar and Kelvim Escobar debut 21/11

7/11/2012 3:57:12 pm

The Cardinals pitcher announced his debut and said his cousin wants to accompany on that day

CARACAS. -

The pitcher Kelvim Escobar announced that he will make his debut with the Cardinals Lara , between 21 and 22 November. But that's not the only news published by the major leaguer on Twitter (@ kelvimescobar). Kelvim also said: "The good thing is that my cousin Alcides Escobar wants to play that day," The righty has not pitched in the country since the 2009-2010 season, when he performed a single inning. Alcides played from 2005 to 2006.

Panama will play warmup with the Ciego de Avila.

Written by Cesar Delgado Tuesday, November 6, 2012 2:32

The 2011-2012 Series champions from the nation of Cuba, Ciego de Avila, will play three games with a preselection team from Panama as part of the preparation from 15 to 19 November at the Rod Carew stadium for Third World Baseball Classic, as reported by the Panamanian Sports Institute (Panamanian Sports Institute).

The three-game series between the Panama and Ciego de Avila was sponsored by the CEO of Panamanian Sports Institute, in coordination with Javier Tejeira Baseball Federations Cuba and Panama.

The Ciego de Ávila team will be arriving in Panama on Thursday 8 November and the games are scheduled for Friday 9, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 at 7 pm at the stadium Omar Torrijos Herrera, which is the training field for the Panama team members.

Panama will host between 15 and 19 November representatives of Brazil, Colombia and Nicaragua in the qualifying tournament that grants an advancement to the winner for the third edition of the World Baseball Classic to be held in March 2013.

Paolo Espino has been in the two previous editions. (Archive)

Experience gives a bonus to Panama

08 | 11 | 2012

The Panamanian team is composed of 28 players, of which 17 have already played in previous editions of the World Baseball Classic.

By Humberto O. Cornejo

An experienced team will present the Preliminaries of Panama in the World Baseball Classic III, in which several of its members have been in this type of competition.

This will be an important ingredient for team looking to be in the WBC to thereby erase bad memories in this prestigious tournament.

Of the 28 players that make up the selection Panamanian, 17 have participated in at least one edition of this competition.

The most veteran players are Damaso Espino, Ruben Rivera, Carlos Lee, Javier Castillo, Carlos Ruiz, Paolo Espino and Manny Corpas, who played the classic 2006 and 2009.

Of these, "El Caballo" Lee, Rivera and Ruiz are still the backbone of the national offensive that seek to make careers needed to secure victories.

Meanwhile, pitcher Paolo Espino was assigned to start against Brazil, on 15 November at the Estadio Nacional Rod Carew.

Meanwhile, players Luis Durango, Angel Chavez, Ruben Tejada, Concepción Rodríguez, Gilberto Mendez, Angel Cuan, Eliecer Navarro, Yeliar Castro, Ramiro Mendoza and Manny Acosta played in his career a WBC.

For Tejada comes from being in his first season as a starter and his best offensive year with the New York Mets.

With these players, the coach of Panama, Roberto Kelly, seeks to find the formula to help achieve victory as the goal in his first experience as national director.

Peguero powers Gigantes in wild slugfest

Bucs' Marte, Red Sox's Gomez nearly hit for the cycle in losing effort

11/08/12 2:25 AM ET
Carlos Peguero hit .179 with two homers and seven RBIs in 17 games with Seattle this season. (Elaine Thompson/AP)

Dominican Winter League

Gigantes 15, Escogido 13

Mariners outfielder Carlos Peguero homered twice, drove in three runs and drew a pair of walks as the Gigantes outslugged the Leones. Brewers infielder Jean Segura also went deep, collected four RBIs and scored three times for Cibao, which got a two-run blast from former Major Leaguer Rhyne Hughes. Pirates outfielder Starling Marte and Red Sox infielder Mauro Gomez both fell a triple shy of the cycle and scored three runs for Escogido.

Estrellas 8, Aguilas 1

A's farmhand Bruce Billings allowed three hits and struck out six over 5 1/3 scoreless innings as the Estrellas climbed into a first-place tie with the Aguilas. Twins top prospect Miguel Sano went 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored for Oriente, which got three RBIs from Angels Minor Leaguer Alberto Rosario. Mets prospect Juan Lagares delivered an RBI single in a losing effort.

Toros 8, Licey 3

Yan Gomes (Indians) homered, drove in three runs and scored twice to lead the Toros past the last-place Tigres. Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs for Este, while Rangers prospect Leonys Martin tripled and drove in two runs for Licey, which has lost four straight.

Venezuelan Winter League

Magallanes 12, La Guaira 11

Erold Andrus collected three hits and four RBIs as the Navegantes held on to snap the Tiburones' three-game winning streak. Astros infielder Jose Altuve and Rays prospect Leslie Anderson both chipped in two hits and drove in two runs for Magallanes, while Dodgers prospect Scott Van Slyke had three doubles, an RBI and two runs scoredfor La Guaira.

Caracas 6, Zulia 3

Rays farmhand Henry Wrigley homered for the fifth time in his last eight games, helping the Leones surprise the first-place Aguilas. Brandon Barnes (Astros) and Tigers prospect Hernan Perez also drove in two runs apiece for Caracas, while Reds prospect Henry Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for Zulia.

Caribes 1, Lara 0, 7 innings

Former Major Leaguer Renyel Pinto gave up three hits over five innings as the Caribes climbed over the .500 mark. Marlins outfielder Gorkys Hernandez doubled home the game's only run in the fifth, while Joe Thurston singled and walked twice for the Cardenales.

Aragua 3, Margarita 2

Former Angels farmhand Carlos Colmenares doubled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the Tigres snapped a 10-game losing streak. A's prospect Carlos Hernandez struck out five over six strong innings but did not figure in the decision for Aragua. Mets prospect Wilmer Flores homered and doubled for the Bravos, who have dropped three in a row.

Mexican Pacific League

Guasave 5, Obregon 3

Zelous Wheeler (Orioles) delivered a two-run single as the Algodoñeros handed the Yaquis their third straight loss. Twins prospect Chris Colabello slugged a solo shot, his fifth homer in six games, for Guasave, which got 7 1/3 strong innings from Juan Delgadillo. Doug Clark homered for Obregon.

Hermosillo 9, Mexicali 6

Braves prospect Todd Cunningham went 3-for-3 with a solo homer and three runs scored, falling a triple shy of the cycle, in the Naranjeros' third straight win. Jorge Cantu also homered and scored twice for Hermosillo, while Minor League veteran Chris Roberson had two hits and two RBIs in a losing effort.

Culiacan 7, Los Mochis 3

Former Major Leaguer Cory Aldridge smacked his league-leading 12th homer, a three-run shot that powered the first-place Tomateros past the Cañeros. Former Tigers farmhand Maxwell Leon went 4-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored for Culiacan, while Jason Botts homered for the fourth time in his last nine games.

Navojoa 10, Mazatlan 6

Jonny Kaplan collected three RBIs and scored a run as the Mayos erased an early five-run deficit and beat the Venados. Former Eastern League All-Star Matt Padgett singled in the go-ahead run in the fourth inning for Navojoa, while Ivan Terrazas homered and drove in four runs for Mazatlan.

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Dominican Winter League

•Jose Ramirez (2B, Toros del Este): 2-for-4, 2 R, BB. I’m running out of superlatives for this kid. Since the middle of June when he started play for short season Single-A Mahoning Valley he has been on fire. He hit .354 with a .869 in 70 games this season, and is now hitting .458 with a 1.088 OPS in 8 games this fall.

•Yan Gomes (C, Toros del Este): 2-for-3, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI. This was actually Gomes’ second game this fall as an official member of the Indians as he played Sunday (0-for-3), but this game represents the type of potential and the offense the Indians hope he provides them for the next several years.

•Tim Fedroff (LF, Aguilas Cibaenas): 1-for-3, K, E. Fedroff continues to put up solid, unspectacular showings this fall and has had a hit in 7 of his last 8 games. He has yet to steal a base and has one extra base hit, and continues to be pinch hit for late in games.

•Delvi Cid (PR-DH, Aguilas Cibaenas): 0-for-0. Cid is sort of the designated runner on the Aguilas roster. He has appeared in 3 games but has one official at bat and has almost solely been used as a pinch runner to take advantage of his very good speed on the basepaths late in games.

•Juan Diaz (SS, Estrelles de Oriente): 2-for-4, 2B, RBI. Diaz is the everyday shortstop for Estrelles and is starting to heat up with the bat going 5-for-11 in his last 3 games to bring his overall average up to a respectable .250 this fall. He has also doubled in 3 straight games.

Venezuela Winter League

•Gregorio Petit (SS-3B, Leones del Caracas): 1-for-4. Petit is unlikely to be resigned by the Indians now that they have signed Luis Hernandez to a minor league contract for next season. But, for as long as he is still listed as a member of the Indians, we will continue to note how he is doing in Venezuela.

•Hector Rondon (RP, Leones del Caracas): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Don’t look now, but Rondon is really starting to settle in out in Venezuela. Since his rough outing on October 12th where he allowed 4 runs in 1/3 of an inning to open the winter ball season, he has made 9 appearances and allowed just 3 runs in 8.0 innings. His last 6 outings have been superb as he has not allowed a run in 5.2 innings and has allowed 2 hits and 1 walk with 2 strikeouts.

By Tony Lastoria