Cleveland Sports Forum

Juan Diaz, (SS, Estrellas Orientes): 2-for-4. Juan Diaz (.095) picked himself up off the floor tonight and picked up his first two hits of the season, both singles. Estrellas over the Gigantes 3-2.

Jerad Head, (RF, Tigres de Licey) 1-for-3, 1 H, 1 W, 2 R (.276). Jerad Head continues to play very well for the Tigres both in the field and at the plate.

(Kelvin De La Cruz LH Aguilas Cibaenas): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Kelvin appeared in his 3rd game this evening for the Aguilas Cibaenas and so far this season: 1 g, 1.0 inn, 9.00 era, 1 h, 1 r, 1 ER, 1 w, 2 k, .333 ave.

Luis Valbuena (2B Cardenales de Lara, .250), 1-for-4, 1 H, 1 RBI.

Raul Padron (1B, Leones de Caracas .286) 2-for-5, 2 H, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 K.

(Hector Rondon, RH, Leones de Caracas): 1.1 IP, 6.75 ERA, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K.

Padron drove in three runs

Grindle, Padron Offensive Players of the Game

Caracas

Leones only scored five runs in their last four games until Caleb Gindl decided to break this trend. Gindle homered and doubled, scored three runs and batted home two more.

Raul Padron was the great ally of Gindle, with a pair of hits, one double, and three RBIs to help further the dual between the two friends.

In general, Caracas came together with 13 ​​hits, after accumulating only nine in their last two games against the Bravos and Tigres, respectively.

Padrón respondió a la confianza del manager /AVSPhotoReport

Padron is a career minor leaguer who the Indians picked up for the Aeros when they lost players to injury and promotion. He's 27 years old, had an OPS of 624 for Akron after he was signed from Camden in the Independent Atlantic League. Even if he hits .500 this winter he is in no way a prospect for Cleveland.

Sands drives in a pair in Tigres' victory

Dodgers outfielder delivers key hit in six-run seventh inning

Dominican Winter League

Licey 11, Aguilas 6

Dodgers outfielder Jerry Sands and Reds infielder Juan Francisco knocked in two runs apiece for the Tigres. Both players doubled and and scored in a decisive six-run seventh inning. Major League veterans Anderson Hernandez and Rene Rivera combined for six hits for Licey, while Rockies catching prospect Wilin Rosario went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs.

Estrellas 3, Gigantes 2

Red Sox farmhand Alex Valdez homered and knocked in a pair as the Estrellas edged the Gigants. Phillies Minor Leaguer Ryan Edell yielded two runs on three hits over five innings for the win. Mariners prospect Carlos Peguero homered for the second straight night and the third time in his last four games in a losing cause.

Escogido 9, Toros 2

Braves farmhand Diory Hernandez racked up three hits and drove in three runs, while former big leaguer Fernando Tatis went 2-for-5 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored for the Leones. Major League veteran Alejandro De Aza reached base in all four plate appearances for the Toros. A's right-hander Jordan Norberto struck out three over 1 1/3 innings for the win.

Venezuelan Winter League

Caracas 10, Laras 5

Brewers prospect Caleb Gindl homered, doubled, drove in four runs and scored three times to lead the Leones. Nationals farmhand Josh Wilkie retired the final four batters to notch his third save, while Mariners Minor Leaguer Luis Antonio Jimenez led the Cardenales with three hits, including a solo homer.

La Guaira 5, Margarita 2 (10 innings)

Minor League veteran Terry Tiffee went 2-for-4 with a homer as the Tiburones outlasted the Bravos. Oscar Salazar provided the go-ahead single in the 10th, while fellow former big leaguer Yusmeiro Petit gave up two runs on four hits over seven innings for Margarita.

Magallanes 2, Aragua 1

Astros farmhand Sergio Perez struck out nine over five shutout innings, outdueling former Mets Minor Leaguer Jose Sanchez. Pinch-hitter Adonis Garcia launched a solo homer in the ninth and Angels prospect Kole Calhoun was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Ex-Minor Leaguer Lino Urdaneta earned the win with a scoreless inning.

Zulia 8, Caribes 6

Nationals farmhand Seth Bynum belted a pinch-hit three-run homer and Astros Minor Leaguer Freddy Parejo doubled and knocked in two for the Aguilas. Blue Jays prospect Balbino Fuenmayor and Tigers farhmand Alexis Espinoza went deep for the Caribes. Former big leaguer Marcos Carvajal tossed a scoreless inning for the victory.

Mexican Pacific League

Hermosillo 2, Culiacan 0

Juan Delgadillo allowed three hits over scoreless innings as the Naranjeros blanked the Tomateros. Fellow Mexican Leaguer Francisco Campos yielded two runs and struck out seven over five innings but took the hard-luck loss. Indians farmhand Jason Rice struck out one in the ninth to register his third save.

Guasave 8, Mexicali 0

Former Minor Leaguer Francisco Cordoba gave up two hits over seven innings to help the Algodoñeros blank the Aguilas. Japhet Amador went 3-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored, while former Pirates farmhand Yurendell de Caster also went deep for Guasave. Ambidextrous Yankees Minor Leaguer Pat Venditte recorded two outs in the seventh and was the lone Mexicali pitcher who did not give up a run.

Navojoa 5, Mazatlan 3

Padres farmhand Amadeo Zazueta went 5-for-5 to push his average to .489, while Flavio Romero homered, doubled and scored twice for the Mayos. Former Blue Jay Corey Thurman allowed three runs on six hits while fanning seven over seven innings to improve to 2-0. Major League veteran Miguel Ojeda homered and recorded the only two-hit game for the Venados.

Los Mochis 11, Obregon 10

Cardinals prospect Jermaine Curtis went 4-for-5 with two RBIs for the Cañeros, while former Braves farmhand Barbaro Canizares duplicated the feat for the Yaquis. Noe Munoz and Carlos Orrantia each added a pair of RBIs for Los Mochis.

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Dominican Winter League

•Juan Diaz (SS, Estrelles de Oriente): 2-for-4. Hooray! Diaz finally has a batting average this fall! After going 0-for-17 in his first 5 games he was more than due in Game #6 with a multi-hit effort and now sports an .095 batting average.

•Jerad Head (OF, Tigres del Licey): 1-for-3, 2 R, BB, CS. Head is having a solid showing so far this winter getting a hit in 7 of his 8 games and hitting .276 with 1 HR, 5 RBI and .792 OPS.

•Kelvin De La Cruz (RP, Aguilas Cibaenas): 0.2 IP, 1H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 2 K. A more extended outing for De La Cruz as he faced four batters. In his first three outings he faced a total of 6 batters.

Venezuelan Winter League

•Luis Valbuena (2B, Cardenales de Lara): 1-for-4, RBI, SB. Valbuena has played and started all 11 of his team’s games at 2B this fall. He is only hitting .242 but thanks to 8 walks has a .390 on-base percentage.

•Hector Rondon (RP, Leones del Caracas): 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R/ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 0 K. Rondon’s first rough outing this fall between Arizona and Venezuela. He has 4 walks in 2.2 innings

Mexican Winter League

•(Jason Rice RH Naranjeros de Hermosillo): 0.00 ERA, 3 SV, 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K. Indians farmhand Jason Rice struck out one in the ninth to register his third save.

[Changed Jerry Rice to Jason Rice]

I posted a tad concerning Jason Rice previously.

Here is some additional information.

Jason Rice | Starting Pitcher

Team: Cleveland Indians

Ht / Wt: 5'10' / 190

Age / DOB: (25) / 5/13/1986

Bats / Throws: Right / Right

Indians designated RHP Jason Rice for assignment.It's been an interesting couple of weeks for Rice. He was traded from the Red Sox to the A's for Conor Jackson at the trading deadline. Oakland promptly waived him and the Indians were awarded the claim. One week later, he was bumped off Cleveland's 40-man roster to make room for reliever Zach Putnam. Rice, 25, had a 3.69 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 85 1/3 Triple-A innings this year. He throws in the mid-90s and has a nice curve, so he shouldn't have trouble finding a new job with his fourth organization in three weeks. Sep 13 - 3:21 PM

From Red Sox Prospects:

Scouting Report:

Small-framed righty with a live arm and impressive strikeout numbers. Pounds the zone with his 92-94 mph fastball, which gets up to the mid-90s. Also works in a high-70s curveball. Can be a little wild at times. Was moved a lot between the rotation and the bullpen in the lower tiers of the White Sox system
A’s lose Jason Rice on waivers to Indians five days after trading Conor Jackson for him

Aaron Gleeman

Sep 6, 2011, 4:46 PM EDT

Last week the A’s traded Conor Jackson to the Red Sox for Triple-A reliever Jason Rice and now five days later they lost Rice on waivers to the Indians for nothing.

He’s hardly an impact prospect, but it still seems odd to trade for someone and then immediately waive them. Obviously the A’s were hoping Rice would clear waivers, which would have allowed them to keep him in the organization while removing him from the 40-man roster, but the Indians ruined those plans.

Rice threw 85 innings with a 3.69 ERA and 89 strikeouts at Pawtucket, but the former 11th-round pick also walked 42 batters. All of which is a long way of saying that the A’s basically just gave Conor Jackson to the Red Sox for nothing. And considering his .634 OPS during the past three seasons that seems like the right price.

Navegantes de Magdallanes

Ezequiel Carrera Reports

Valencia

The Venezuelan major leaguer of the Cleveland Indians met with manager Carlos Garcia and feels like he is ready for battle, even asked to be included in the roster of 34 for the next week. The organization has the last word.

ESTRELLAS .-

Juan Diaz at last put the house number one hit on the grounds of the pitcher and the other towards the opposite side of your hand to pull ...

[Broke his opening season hitless streak at 17 at bats with a pair of singles, a drag bunt to the pitcher and an opposite field basehit]

CARACAS .-

Magallanes Navigators reported on their Twitter account players entering and leaving the roster of 34 of this week, with the big news the addition of outfielder Ezequiel Carrera. The team made five movements as a whole.

Tigers win season finale, no batting title for Murton

HIROSHIMA, Oct. 24 (21:30) Kyodo

Hanshin's Matt Murton missed out on the Central League batting
title after going 0-for-4 as the Tigers won their last game of the
season 2-0 against the Hiroshima Carp on Monday.

Murton, chasing the Yomiuri Giants' Hisayoshi Chono who leads
the league at .316, lowered his average to .311 after going hitless
in batting leadoff for the first time since August.

The Tigers scored twice in the seventh inning with back-to-back
sac flies by Kazunari Morita and Yamato Maeda before Kyuji Fujikawa
closed the game out to pick up his 41st save.

Hanshin finished the year with a 68-70 record.

Yankees scouted Yu Darvish

By Wallace Matthews

ESPNNewYork.com

The New York Yankees have scouted Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish and have not dismissed the idea of pursuing the 25-year-old if he goes through the posting process required for entry into Major League Baseball.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told ESPNNewYork.com on Thursday that the team scouted Darvish during the 2011 season, in which he went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA for the Nippon Ham Fighters.

"We scout Japanese baseball the same way we scout the American League and the National League," Cashman said. "We had a wave of scouts there all season."

Cashman refused to say whether the Yankees would be interested in bidding on Darvish, which likely would cost upward of $100 million with the posting fee.

Clearly, the Yankees are likely to be gun-shy, given their own checkered history in signing Japanese pitchers Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa, as well as the difficulty in gauging how a Japanese pitcher's effectiveness will translate to Major League Baseball, due to differences in the baseball, the size of the strike zone and the height of the pitcher's mound between the Japanese and U.S. versions of the sport.

But with Yankees ace CC Sabathia likely to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract sometime in the next week, Darvish could provide an alternative for next year's rotation, along with free agents C.J. Wilson, Mark Buehrle and Edwin Jackson.

According to the Kyodo News, Darvish requested to be placed into the posting process, and quoted the Fighters' owner, Hiroji Okoso, as saying, "If he wants to play at a higher level, then that's his wish."

Darvish later tweeted that reports of his asking to be posted are false, and that no decision has been made. In his seven-year career, Darvish, who is listed as 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, is 93-38 with an ERA of 2.12. In 2011, he struck out 276 batters in 232 innings and walked just 35.

"We know the talent is real," said a baseball executive who also has scouted Darvish. "And I'm sure 30 teams have scouted him and all 30 of them love Darvish. But how many will be serious bidders?"

Under the Japanese posting system, if a player's request is granted, all interested major league teams submit sealed bids to the team that owns the player's rights. If the bid is accepted, the MLB team has an exclusive 30-day window to negotiate with the player.

The highest posting fee ever paid was the $51 million bid by the Boston Red Sox for the right to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka, who eventually signed a six-year, $52 million contract, pushing Boston's investment in the pitcher to $103 million.

In return, Matsuzaka has gone 46-27 with a 4.18 ERA in five seasons, and missed most of 2011 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Cashman, who on Thursday was set for a second day of organizational meetings with Yankees scouting and player personnel executives, refused to address specific players, citing baseball's anti-tampering rules.

"We're addressing every area of need on the team," he said. "We're evaluating our own personnel as well as whoever might become available this offseason."

Wallace Matthews covers the Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com.

We know one thing.....Darvish ain't coming to the Indians.

I don't think so !

The highest posting fee ever paid was the $51 million bid by the Boston Red Sox for the right to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka, who eventually signed a six-year, $52 million contract, pushing Boston's investment in the pitcher to $103 million.

In return, Matsuzaka has gone 46-27 with a 4.18 ERA in five seasons, and missed most of 2011 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Lovely !

The two highest-profile players that have been acquired by MLB teams through the posting system are Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka. They attracted high bids of $13.125 million and $51.1 million respectively.

Think the Mariner's are happy with that deal.