Cleveland Sports Forum

Despaigne is not one of the best pitchers in Cuba, but he is a very good pitcher. He could be a very serviceable #5 starter, maybe a #4.

When I saw Despaigne, I was hoping his first name was Alfredo

Pitching Keeps Short-Handed Cubans in Thick of Rotterdam Title Race

by Peter C. Bjarkman

(July 5, 2013)
Team Cuba split a pair of tight games with resurgent Chinese Taipei on Thursday night and Friday afternoon and now stands on the verge of reaching Sunday’s tournament final. All that is needed now is a repeat performance of last Saturday’s tournament-opening 3-0 whitewashing of a spunky Curacao club that has already been eliminated from any remaining championship hopes.

Ismel Jiménez will take the hill for a second time against the 1-4 Curacao ball club earlier he handcuffed exactly one week ago and his likely mound opponent will be former Dutch national team southpaw Nick Veltcamp. Veltkamp turned in a credible no-decision starting effort on Tuesday evening against his former teammates when the Curacao club managed by Johnny Balentina recorded its sole win – an extra-inning 3-2 surprise against the host Dutch.

Manager Yovani Aragón, handicapped with a pitching staff that boasts only seven arms, could not have hoped for better back-to-back starting performances than he has received over the last two days. Pinar veteran Vladimir Baños lasted 8.1 innings on Thursday evening and surrendered only a single tally before Ismel Jiménez (0.2 innings) and closer Raciel Iglesias (1.0 innings) came on for mop-up duties in a 3-1 victory.

Yesterday afternoon starter Jorge Hernández (3.2 frames) and reliever Noelvis Entenza (4.1 spotless innings) pitched artfully enough to win under almost any circumstances, although the rematch with Chinese Taipei eventually slipped away due to shoddy base running and unproductive clutch hitting on the part of the Cuban offense.

Hernández started well but stumbled in the fourth when the opportunistic Taiwanese successfully bunched three safeties, including a deadly two-out triple by speedy centerfielder Guo Long Luo that provided an early insurmountable 2-0 lead. Entenza kept his team in the game from that point on but Cuban bats could only muster a single minor uprising in the fifth before letting several golden late-inning shots at victory slip through their fingers.

Friday’s 2-1 defeat was indeed one of multiple missed opportunities for the Cuban forces who squandered several potent scoring chances and also sabotaged themselves with poor base running on at least two different occasions.

After loading the bases with two outs in the top of the first (via singles by Gourriel and Tomás and a walk to Fernández) Peraza was cut down swinging and an early chance to jump out on top when by the boards. Although the Cubans managed to narrow the gap to a single run in the fifth they never took full advantage of an Eriel Sánchez inning-opening two bagger.

Perhaps the best opportunity to climb back into the game was lost in the seventh when pinch runner Johan Moncada was unaccountably sent to the plate (and quickly gunned down) by third base coach Bárbaro Martin on a sharp single off the bat of Sánchez into left field. Had Moncada held third he would equally have scored the equalizer one batter later when Arruebarruena elevated a fly ball deep into right field.

One final gift-wrapped chance at victory was bungled in the ninth when leadoff man Guillermo Heredia grounded meekly to second to end the game with the bases once again jammed. On the day Aragón’s forces left ten men stranded and outhit the victors by a nine-to-seven margin. The tough defeat was especially costly since victory would have vaulted the Cubans into an automatic berth for Sunday’s finale and thus eliminated all pressure from a must-win Saturday encounter with the dangerous and extremely loose Curacao ball club.

A day earlier Cuba had moved into the tournament lead on the strength of masterful starting pitching by veteran Pinar right-hander Vladimir Baños and the kind of timely hitting that never materialized on Friday.

The Cubans jumped on top early when three singles by Tomás, Fernández and DH Yadiel Hernández handed Baños a slim early cushion in the second. A second tally came in the home fourth when Fernández reached on an inning-opening infield error and was eventually plated via an RBI single off the bat of first baseman Alexander Mayeta. Subbing for injured José Dariel Abreu, Mayeta then provided welcomed insurance in the sixth with a ringing home run over the right field wall off southpaw starter Meng Chen Fan.

Mayeta’s timely blast was the first round tripper of the eight-day tournament and may well hold up as the week’s only dinger. Balls never travel well in the lowlands atmosphere here in Holland (either here at Rotterdam’s spacious Neptunus Family Stadium or in Haarlem’s Pim Mulier ballpark) and this year the use of soft and non-lively baseballs has taken long-ball slugging completely out of the equation. Few fly balls have reached the warning track and only one other smash in ten games has actually reached the outfield wall. Ba-Netherlands rematch with both the tournament title and further boasting rights squarely on the table.

The Red Machine can actually now reach the finals of the World Port Tournament for the tenth straight occasion (stretching back to 1993) with the unfolding of either of two possible scenarios. A victory over Curacao on Saturday would put the 4-2 Cubans over the top; Taipei and The Netherlands both boast 3-2 ledgers heading into their Saturday night rematch and therefore the loser of that second tilt will own three losses and be handed elimination.

Should the Cubans somehow fail again on Saturday the door is not completely slammed since a Dutch victory in the evening would leave the Cubans and Taiwanese in a deadlock and the Cubans hold the tie-breaker advance (since they have surrendered one less run in the head-to-head matchups). What cannot be allowed to transpire would be a Cuban defeat coupled with a Taiwanese victory, since a Holland-Cuba tie in the standings would leave the islanders on the outside looking in for only the third time in the 14 renewals of the Rotterdam event.

Today’s Scoops: Despaigne’s Mexican Record and Cuba’s USA Roster

Stellar Los Angeles Dodgers Cuban rookie sensation Yasiel Puig may have fallen ever so short of Joe DiMaggio’s all-time big league first-month base hits standard (46 for Hall of Famer DiMaggio in 1936 and 44 for Puig last month). But another sensational Cuban slugger has just equaled a unique standard for Mexican League base-hitting proficiency that had stood the test of time for nearly eight decades.

In brief, if Puig only shadowed DiMaggio, Despaigne has now caught up with four-hall-of-fame Cuban immortal Martin Dihigo. Wednesday night in Nelson Barrera Romellón Stadium. The slugging outfielder (currently on loan from the Cuban Federation to the AAA league Campeche Pirates) banged out six straight base hits in as many at bats during a 10-4 victory over Saltillo’s Saraperos. On the night Despaigne singled five times (in the first, third, fourth, sixth and ninth) and capped the onslaught with a homer off Dominican veteran Willy Lebrón in the visiting team seventh frame.

The six-for-six Mexican League milestone was first achieved by Cooperstown resident Dihigo on September 18, 1936 during a game between Aguila and Agrario played at Mexico City’s Delta Park. A full half century later (on march 28, 1989) the cherished record was equaled by native Mexican batting star Daniel Fernández Méndez during a contest between the hometown Mexico City Reds and rival Tabasco.

Despaigne – a multiple-year Cuban League batting and home run champion– is currently coming off a season (National Series #52) in which he outdistanced José Miguel Fernández for the league hitting crown (.382 to .355). The Granma “Stallion” recently joined the Campeche club along with Granma teammate Yordanis Samón (the National Series number-three hitter at .354) and long-time Cuban national team third baseman Michel Enríquez. But Enríquez was discovered to have a nagging previous undiagnosed leg injury that slowed his defensive play, and Samon simply could not adjust to Mexican pitching; the result was that the pair was quickly released and shipped back to their Cuban homeland.

So far Despaigne has obviously experienced no such disappointing setbacks.
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Team Cuba Personnel Coming to American Soil

While there has been no official announcement of the Cuban squad slated to travel to the American Midwest and east coast in late July for a renewal of their series with the USA Baseball Collegiate all-stars, I have been able to uncover here in Rotterdam reliable information on the makeup of most of the traveling island ball club.

The Cuban catching corps debuting on American soil July 18 in Des Moines will represent a complete change from the squad here at the World Port Tournament; the receiving duties will be handled by Lorenzo Quintana (Pinar del Río), Lednier Ricardo (Cienfuegos) and Lázaro Herrera (Matanzas).

Nine pitchers will make the trip and seven are known at the moment. The group will be headlined by Ismel Jiménez (Cuba’s all-time career winning percentage leader) and Freddy Asiel Alvarez (Villa Clara) who is fresh off a record 40.2 consecutive scoreless innings hurled in last month’s National Series semifinal and final playoff rounds.

Other hurlers will be Diosdani Castillo of Villa Clara (the league ERA pacesetter at 1.55), Noelvis Entenza (Cienfuegos 14-game winner currently here with Team Cuba at the Rotterdam World Port Tournament), Jonder Martínez (bullpen ace for Villa Clara during the recent playoffs), Villa Clara southpaw Misael Siverio (the only left-hander on the incomplete roster), and rookie of the year Norge Luis who divided his season between Camagüey (his assigned regular season team) and Sancti Spíritus (where he helped fuel a near-miss championship run as a “second half reinforcement” addition).

Two further pitchers have yet to be revealed.

Team Cuba’s starting infield on the American tour will be largely the same as the one now here in Rotterdam this week: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) at first; José Miguel Fernandez (Matanzas) at second, veteran slugger Yulieski Gourriel (Sancti Spíritus at third), and Erisbel Arruebarruena (Cienfuegos) manning shortstop.

Additional infielders include Andy Sarduy (Villa Clara) and Yurisbel Gracial (Matanzas third baseman). But there will likely be at least one major change as home run king Abreu is currently suffering from a nagging rib cage injury and will most probably have to be pulled from action.

The outfield, however, will boast a fresh appearance with Yasmani Tomás being the only World Baseball Classic and Rotterdam holdover. Newcomers to the Team Cuba outfield include Dairon Varona (Camagüey), Rusney Castillo (Ciego de Avila), and William Luis Campillo (Camagüey).

Castillo is bouncing back from a sensational 2011 fall season in which he lead the entire field in batting during the Panama-based IBAF World Cup; William Luis moved from Camagüey to Cienfuegos this season as a second-half replacement player and tied Elephants teammate José Dariel Abreu for the league long-ball boasting rights with twenty.

One additional holdover and also one new wrinkle in the World Port Tournament roster currently on display have also been quietly leaked. World Baseball Classic skipper Victor Mesa will replace Yovani Aragón in the manager’s seat while Juan de Dios (Sancti Spíritus) will continue to handle the pitching staff.

Too bad! José Dariel Abreu is undeniably one of the three best hitters in Cuba right now. The other two are Frederich Cepeda and Alfredo Despaigne. Frederich Cepeda was injured during the Cuban playoff season and is out for approximately three months. Alfredo Despaigne is on "loan" to Mexico as noted above and he will not make the USA tour.

Monday, July 08, 2013

Cuba wins 2013 World Port Tournament

Record world title holder defeats Netherlands in title game of IBAF sanctioned tournament

Cuba has won the 2013 World Port Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The record world champion claimed the title at the international tournament, which is officially sanctioned by IBAF, with a 4-0 shutout over the Dutch national team on Sunday.

It was a tight game between the two rivals, but this time Cuba had the Dutch number. Wilber Perez and Rasiel Iglesias combined to keep the host to a mere three hits and four walks through nine innings. At the plate veterans Yulieski Gourriel and Eriel Sanchez broke a scoreless tie with RBI singles in the third. Alexander Malleta added a pair of insurance runs with a two-run double in the eighth.

Rob Cordemans took the loss, conceding four runs (2 ER) on 12 hits in 7 2/3 innings. David Bergman closed it out. The Dutch offense had their best opportunities to score in the first and in the sixth, when they left two men on with no respective one outs. Otherwise they were completely shut down.

Gourriel was named Most Valuable Player of the World Port Tournament after the game. He batted .304 in the event. Other prize winners were Malleta as home run king, Ismel Jimenez as best pitcher, Dwayne Kemp as best batter and most popular player, Stijn van der Meer as best rookie and Michael Duursma won the Donald Bax Press Award.

The 2013 Citrix World Port Tournament is being held every two years since its inaugural edition in 1985. This year it was played between June 30 and July 7 at Familie Stadium in Rotterdam. Chinese Taipei and Curacao also participated, but missed out on the championship game with losses to Cuba and the Netherlands on Saturday.

Complete Results:

Sunday, June 30, 2013:
Cuba 3 – Curacao 0
Netherlands 7 – Chinese Taipei 2


Monday, July 1, 2013:
Chinese Taipei 4 – Curacao 2
Cuba 0 – Netherlands 7

Tuesday, July 2, 2013:
Curacao 3 – Netherlands 2

Wednesday, July 3, 2013:
Curacao 2 – Chinese Taipei 5
Netherlands 0 – Cuba 4

Thursday, July 4, 2013:
Cuba 3 – Chinese Taipei 1

Friday, July 5, 2013:
Chinese Taipei 2 – Cuba 1
Netherlands 5 – Curacao 4

Saturday, July 6, 2013:
Curacao 0 – Cuba 11
Chinese Taipei 0 – Netherlands 3

Sunday, July 7, 2013:
Netherlands 0 – Cuba 4

Final Standings:

1) Cuba
2) Netherlands
3) Chinese Taipei
4) Curacao

Dynamic effort: Eagles right-hander Masahiro Tanaka tosses a four-hit shutout against the Fighters on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome. | TOHOKU RAKUTEN BEAT HOKKAIDO NIPPON HAM 5-0.


Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Tanaka blanks Fighters, improves to 12-0

Kyodo

Jul 9, 2013

Eagles hurler Masahiro Tanaka scattered four hits, all singles, in another brilliant outing en route to winning his 12th consecutive decision since the beginning of the season and recorded his second shutout this year.

Tohoku Rakuten defeated the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 5-0 on Tuesday night at Tokyo Dome.

Casey McGhee homered, a two-run blast off the top of billboard in left in the third for his 17th homer, and drove in three runs, and Hiroaki Shimauchi also went deep with a solo drive. Masaru Takeda (5-5) took the loss for Nippon Ham, which returned to .500.

Monday, July 08, 2013

Czech Republic wins European U12 Championship

IBAF 12U Baseball World Cup participant remains undefeated in Chocen

The European U12 Championship was played in Chocen, Czech Republic last week. The Czech Republic, which together with Russia and Italy will represent Europe at the upcoming II IBAF 12U Baseball World Cup in Taipei City, won the title.

The Czech team claimed gold by winning all five games during the round-robin formatted tournament. They out-scored their opponents 95-9 in the European Championship and seem to be equipped to play a good role in Taipei City.

Lithuania finished in second place, followed by Austria, Russia, Slovenia and Belarus.

Complete Results:

Wednesday, July 3, 2013:
Lithuania 27 - Slovenia 2
Austria 9 – Russia 2
Belarus 3 – Czech Republic 30

Thursday, July 4, 2013:
Russia 13 – Belarus 10
Slovenia 9 – Austria 21
Czech Republic 10 – Lithuania 6

Friday, July 5, 2013:
Russia 16 – Slovenia 6
Lithuania 13 – Belarus 3
Czech Republic 9 – Austria 0

Saturday, July 6, 2013:
Austria 10 – Belarus 11
Russia 10 – Lithuania 21
Slovenia 0 – Czech Republic 31

Sunday, July 7, 2013:
Belarus 6 – Slovenia 10
Lithuania 13 – Austria 12
Czech Republic 15 – Russia 0

Final Standings:

1) Czech Republic
2) Lithuania
3) Austria
4) Russia
5) Slovenia
6) Belarus

Medal Ceremony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... oAg6A17gqU

Gotta love it if you love baseball. Baseball has spread across the oceans. Baseball is over. Baseball is under. It's great!

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Dragons’ Luna to miss All-Star series

Kyodo

Jul 17, 2013

Central League batting leader Hector Luna will miss the All-Star games after he was deactivated by the Chunichi Dragons on Tuesday due to pain in his left knee, Nippon Professional Baseball said Wednesday.

Luna, who is leading the CL with a .369 batting average in his first season in Japan ahead of Wednesday’s games, was voted on to the CL All-Star squad by his peers.

He will be replaced by Takayuki Terauchi of the Yomiuri Giants, who will be making his first appearance in the All-Star series starting Friday at Sapporo Dome.

Dragons third baseman Luna was pulled from a July 6 game against Yakult with inflammation in his left knee. He returned to action on Saturday and had two pinch-hit appearances over the weekend.

NPB rules stipulate that players who withdraw from the All-Star games are not eligible to play for the first 10 games after the All-Star break.

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Eagles hurler Tanaka runs record to 13-0 to start season

Kyodo

Jul 16, 2013

OSAKA –

Masahiro Tanaka saw his scoreless-inning streak snapped at 42, but held on to improve to 13-0 this season as the Pacific League-leading Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles beat the Orix Buffaloes 4-1 on Tuesday.

Tanaka surrendered the game’s first run in the third inning at Kyocera Dome. Shunta Goto led off with a grounder that struck the first-base bag and rolled for a double. He scored from third on Ryoichi Adachi’s single.

“It was easy to put that run behind me, because of the way it happened,” said Tanaka, who settled down to go the distance with the help of some offensive support from his teammates.

“The guys had my back and got me some runs. That made my job easier. (The winning streak) is due to the guys leaving it all out on the field. I owe them a debt of gratitude.”

Tanaka has won 17 straight decisions since his last defeat on Aug. 19 2012, equaling the second-longest winning run in PL history.

Hiroaki Shimauchi singled in two runs in the fifth off Orix right-hander Brandon Dickson (5-3). Kazuo Matsui singled in another in the sixth that was also charged to Dickson, who lasted 5 2/3 innings. Shimauchi completed the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth.

After surrendering the lead, Tanaka didn’t allow another hit or walk after that until Kazunao Yamamoto singled with one out in the seventh, and by then the Eagles had taken a 3-1 lead. The right-hander, who allowed five hits and struck out eight, issued his only walk in the ninth.

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Rakuten ace Tanaka turning heads

Kyodo

Jul 15, 2013

Although Masahiro Tanaka didn’t get to showcase his wares in the World Baseball Classic final, interest from major league clubs should be intense if he is posted this autumn by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Tanaka would have started in this year’s WBC final, had Japan not been bounced in the semis. But that hasn’t stopped a flock of scouts from shadowing him this season. Scouts from at least seven big league teams were on hand last week at Tokyo Dome when Tanaka posted his 12th win in 15 starts this season without a loss. The 24-year-old right-hander has won his last 19 decisions and has a string of 22 consecutive quality starts since his last loss on Aug. 19.

“He is a warrior,” one scout said Saturday of the Eagles’ ace. “He knows how to pitch and he hates to lose.”

In his most recent start, Tanaka shut out the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on four hits despite having nothing close to his best stuff.

Andruw Jones, a five-time major league All-Star with 17 seasons and 434 home runs in the bigs, is playing in Japan this season for the Eagles and has liked what he’s seen of Tanaka.

“He’s a great pitcher. He’s got all the tools. He’s got the heart, he’s got the will,” Jones said.

“He knows when a guy is going to swing at a pitch, and he throws it out of the zone. Greg Maddux did that. You’d look for a pitch and it would be in the dirt. I’m glad I don’t have to face him (Tanaka).”

Former New York Yankees pitcher Darrel Rasner has been Tanaka’s teammate since 2009 and said he simply enjoys the sight of Tanaka doing his thing.

“He’s got everything,” Rasner said. “He’ll get (guys to) swing at (pitches in) the dirt, he’ll change timing on the guy, he’ll go quick, he’ll go slow. He’ll throw a slow curveball. He’ll throw a hard curveball. It’s fun. It’s like playing Nintendo. It’s fun watching. The guy’s special.”

This season, when the fat has really been in the fire, Tanaka has had the ability to get out of trouble, holding batters hitless in 12 at-bats with the bases loaded. That’s gone a long way toward helping him put together his current streak of 40 consecutive scoreless innings.

“He’s kind of his own thing,” Rasner said. “He can be a power pitcher or he can be a finesse guy and control the ball. You don’t see many guys who have control who have the extra gear. If he gets in trouble, he can dial it up another notch and be a power pitcher. Not many pitchers are like that in the States. He’s got ‘A’ stuff, so he’s going to be an ace in the States.”

Although Tanaka signed a three-year contract in December, the team said it would be willing to discuss how Tanaka could play in the majors as early as next year if he so desires.

When Tanaka does make the jump, Jones believes a determining factor in his success will be how eager is to make changes.

“A lot is going to depend on his willingness to make adjustments,” Jones said. “The guys who go over from here and succeed every year make adjustments every year.”

Cuba Promises Less Hitting and More Pitching on USA Friendly Tour

by Peter C. Bjarkman

July 13, 2013
Several commenters on my Facebook page (in the aftermath of last week’s victories in Rotterdam) expressed more than mild surprise that “the Cubans appear so excited about beating the Dutch” – a point of view that seems to overlook the modern realities and recent history of top level international tournament competitions. Of course it is the Dutch (and not the Americans) that have arisen as the biggest thorn in the side of Cuban national team pride, especially after a string of recent high-profile triumphs. Those bothersome recent Cuban setbacks featured a pair of defeats at the 2011 Panama IBAF World Cup (including a memorable 2-1 heartbreaker in the finals) as well as two losses that ousted the Cubans from second-round action at the recent MLB World Baseball Classic in Tokyo. By comparison it would seem that the Americans have been rather easy pickings of late: Cuba took the inaugural renewal of a long-dormant series with the Team USA Collegiate All-Stars last summer in Havana and then also booted the same North American team from the semifinals of the prestigious Haarlem Baseball Week only a handful of days later.

That the Cubans now appear to take the Dutch a bit more seriously than the long-time-rival Americans might be signaled by a simple comparison of the rosters sent into action this month against first the Dutch national club at the Rotterdam World Port Tournament and now the Americans in the upcoming “friendly” series. The announcement yesterday of a 32-man pre-selection roster (eight players still to be cut) for the USA tour provided amble evidence that the team now traveling North will not be quite as potent as the squad just returned from Rotterdam – at least on the offensive end of the equation. Although the squad sent to Holland was merely the Occidentales Cuban All-Star Game winners, nonetheless that team did feature a dozen holdovers from the recent Japan MLB Classic squad, including two starting outfielders, the entire starting infield, and also the entire corps of WBC backstops. Where the World Port club was weakest was in pitching, with only seven available arms and only veterans Ismel Jiménez and Wilber Pérez and young bullpen prospect Raciel Iglesias representing the best among island hurlers. Ironically in the end there was no real handicap on the pitching front in Rotterdam since the above three hurlers were brilliant and Cubans dominated the WPT field with four shutouts among its tournament-leading five victories. In the fifth win Vladimir Baños and Noelvis Entenza combined to yield but a single additional tally.

The team now going to the USA (whatever the final reduction of eight players might be) will definitely suffer a dip in offensive punch with slugging catchers Eriel Sánchez and Yosvani Pereza now out of the mix, as well as the absence of a pair of heavy-hitting outfield stars in Guillermo Heredia and Yadiel Hernández. Also missing for the games in North America will be top young infield prospects Andy Ibáñez and Johan Moncada. What will be considerably stronger – on the other hand – will be the Cuban mound staff which will now add perhaps the island’s two best young starting hurlers, Freddy Asiel Alvarez and Vladimir García. Both already own a wealth of international experience; García is this season’s domestic season strikeout leader (with 99 in 156.1 innings) and Freddy Asiel is coming off a brilliant record-breaking post-season performance in which he tossed 40.2 consecutive scoreless innings during the league championship semifinals and finals.

Rotterdam stars Ismel Jiménez (Cuba’s all-time career won-lost percentage leader) and Raciel Iglesias (newly anointed national team closer) now look like locks to make the final Cuban lineup, giving the team its top starter from the recent MLB Classic (Jiménez) as well as its most dependable late-inning bullpen stopper (Iglesias). Also supplementing the strong Cuban mound corps will be an additional pair of WBC holdovers in Villa Clara workhorse Diosdani Castillo (this season’s ERA champion at 1.55) and Ciego de Avila right-hander Yander Guevara (12-6, 2.02 ERA in the recent National Series campaign). And if that were not already enough healthy arms, the staff is likely to be supplemented by 18-year-old rookie sensation Norge Luiz Ruiz (owner of a debut 9-4 record and a sub-2.00 ERA), 14-game-winner Joel Suarez (who lost only once all winter), and reemerging southpaw Misael Siverio (with the league’s third-best ERA and an 81-34 strikeouts-to-walks ratio).

Team Cuba Pre-Selection USA Tour Roster

Catchers (4)

Lazaro Herrera Catcher 29 Right-Right Matanzas
Lednier Ricardo Catcher 24 Right-Right Camagüey
Lorenzo Quintana Catcher 23 Right-Right Pinar del Río
Luis Abel Castro Catcher 26 Right-Right Isla de la Juventud

Infielders (8)

José Dariel Abreu* First Base 26 (1/29/1987) Right-Right Cienfuegos
José Miguel Fernández* Infielder 25 (4/27/1988) Left-Right Matanzas
Erisbel Arruebarruena* Shortstop 23 (3/25/1990) Right-Right Cienfuegos
Yulieski Gourriel* Third Base 29 (6/09/1984) Right-Right Sancti Spíritus
Andy Sarduy Second Base 29 Right-=Right Villa Clara
Yurisbel Gracial Third Base 27 (10/14/1985) Right-Right Matanzas
Yordan Manduley Shortstop 26 Right-Right Holguín
Yunior Paumier Third Base 28 Right-Right Holguín

Outfielders (8)

Yasmani Tómas* Outfielder 22 (11/14/1990) Right-Right Industriales (Havana)
Rusney Castillo Outfielder 25 (9/7/1987) Right-Right Ciego de Avila
William Luis Campillo Outfielder 29 Right-Right Camagüey
Darion Varona Outfielder 24 Right-Right Camagüey
Edilse Silva Outfielder 31 (3/12/1981) Left-Left Santiago de Cuba
Ariel Sánchez Outfielder 28 Left-Left Matanzas
Maikel Cáceres Outfielder 29 Right-Right Holguín
Irait Chirino Outfielder 28 Left-Left Industriales (Havana)

Pitchers (12)

Ismel Jiménez* Pitcher 27 (2/10/1986) RHP Sancti Spíritus
Freddy Asiel Alvarez* Pitcher 24 (4/29/1989) RHP Villa Clara
Raciel Iglesias* Pitcher 23 (4/01/1990) RHP Isla de la Juventud
Vladimir García* Pitcher 25 (5/24/1988) RHP Ciego de Avila
Yander Guevara* Pitcher 27 (1/18/1986) RHP Ciego de Avila
Diosdani Castillo* Pitcher 25 (11/22/1987) RHP Villa Clara
Noelvis Entenza Pitcher 27 RHP Cienfuegos
Norge Luis Ruiz Pitcher 18 RHP Camagüey
Misael Siverio Pitcher 23 (12/6/1989) LHP Villa Clara
Jonder Martínez Pitcher 35 (6/22/1978) RHP Artemisa
Joel Suarez Pitcher 27 RHP Matanzas
Ariel Miranda Pitcher 23 LHP Mayabeque

Coaches/Staff

Victor Mesa Manager (Matanzas)
Lázaro Lopez Coach (Villa Clara)
Alexis Garro Coach (Matanzas)
José Ramón Riscart Pitching Coach (Matanzas)
Jesus Manso Trainer (Villa Clara)
Ramón Moré Technical Director (Villa Clara)

NOTES: * Indicates players on roster of 2013 Cuba WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC Team

One of the most intriguing features of the Cuban pre-selection roster is the likely inclusion of Ciego de Avila multi-tooled outfielder Rusney Castillo. The 25-year-old power-hitting speedster was the darling of big league scouts when he debuted in sensational fashion as the leading tournament hitter during the Panama World Cup. But a series of nagging injuries caused a major dip in performance during the two subsequent National Series seasons and Castillo was never even in the early mix when it came to choosing last spring’s World Baseball Classic team. Castillo continued to struggle at the plate during the recent homeland campaign but his reemergence on this team suggests that the Cuban baseball brain trust has not completely lost faith in his still rather rosy potential as an outfield star and prototype national team leadoff hitter.

This year’s series begins at the home of the AAA-league Iowa Cubs in Des Moines on Thursday night, moves on to the AAA Omaha venue the following two days, and then (after a single travel day next Sunday) wraps up with a pair of matches in Cary and Durham, North Carolina. Last year’s matchup was exceedingly competitive both in its first phase on Cuban soil and then in two rematch games in Holland. Cuba ultimately won the initial affair in Havana with three-straight mid-series victories, all the contests were extremely close, and the overall margin in runs was minimal; only one game was decided by more than one run and the runs-scored totals in the end favored Cuba by a slim 28-25 final total. Team USA quickly evened the count both in the win column and on the scoreboard during the opening match of the Haarlem Baseball Week. After nine frames of the Haarlem semifinal rematch the two clubs still remained exactly even down to the precise number of runs scored – 33 apiece. Two Cuban tallies during the “Schiller inning” (tenth-inning tie-breaker rule used in international play) not only decided the Haarlem championship but also ultimately turned the inaugural “friendly” series narrowly in Cuba’s favor.

This year’s USA squad features five holdovers from last summer’s matches – right-handed pitcher David Berg, southpaw Carlos Rondon, infielder Trea Turner, and outfielders Austin Cousino and Michael Conforto. The Americans are returning from a five-game overseas series with the Japanese college all-star team (played at the same time the Cubans were in Rotterdam) which finally played out three-games-to-two in favor of the host nation. The Americans won the lid-lifter 6-3 but dropped the deciding series finale in Tokyo by a 7-4 count; over the entire five matches the Japanese outscored Team USA by only a single run (21-20). Like the Cubans, the American’s strongest suit this season should be pitching. And if last year’s series in Havana was any indication, more nail-biting one-run games and see-saw series swings will likely be in store during the coming week here on North American soil.

José Dariel Abreu* First Base 26 (1/29/1987) Right-Right Cienfuegos is undoubtedly one of the 5 best hitters in Cuban baseball right now. Alfredo Despaigne is on loan to Mexico right now. Frederich Cepeda will not make the trip. He's on their 90 day DL list. Yasmani Tómas* Outfielder 22 (11/14/1990) Right-Right Industriales (Havana) and Rusney Castillo Outfielder 25 (9/7/1987) Right-Right Ciego de Avila are also a couple of Cuba's finest hitters.