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Monday,
April 30, 2 0 1 8
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Baseball Mexico Foreign Expansion but All-star game dropped
April 23, 2018April 9, 2018 - March 26, 2018 - March 19, 2018 - March 12, 2018 - March 5, 2018 - February 26, 2018
February 19,
2018, Rookiegate!
Trades: Tigres
add Manny, Solano;
Drake goes to Monterrey
It's been a
rather unusual April as far as the Mexican League
goes. While there has yet to be a
manager fired in the first month of 2018's opening season, a number of
high-profile players have changed teams earlier than normal. The Quintana Roo Tigres appear to have come
out much stronger as a result by netting disgruntled second baseman
Manny
Rodriguez from Monclova and veteran starting pitcher Javier Solano from
Monterrey, while Durango has shipped 2017 LMB batting champion Yadir
Drake to
the Sultanes in a move that gives Monterrey's first-year manager
Roberto Kelly
one more good bat.
Rodriguez,
you'll recall, left the Acereros three weeks ago
after a series in Puebla after getting fed up with the ongoing
shuttling of
players between Monclova and the Pericos orchestrated by Gerardo
Benavides, who
owns both teams. The 35-year-old MVP of
the Mexican Pacific League chose to stay with his family in Southern
California
rather than continue playing for a Monclova team that was severely
lacking in
happy ballplayers or chemistry.
Rodriguez himself has been on that shuttle, playing on Puebla's
2016
Liga champions before being shipped to Monclova in February of last
year as
part of a lopsided deal that sent six players to the Acereros in return
for
relief pitcher Joaquin Lara, who only won his first LMB career game
this month
for the Pericos.
After sitting
out since April 8, Rodriguez made his debut
last weekend for the Quintana Roo Tigres, who acquired him on loan from
the
Acereros last week, and it wasn't long before the career .316 batter
made his
mark by belting a decisive two-run homer in Saturday's 3-1 win over
Oaxaca at
home in Cancun. Although he was in
manager Tim Johnson's lineup as a designated hitter, Rodriguez is
expected to
take over at second for veteran Carlos "Chispa" Gastelum, a six-time
All-Star who has held that job for the Tigres since 2002.
For the season, Manny is batting .292 with
two homers and 18 RBIs over 17 games.
Another recent
addition to the Quintana Roo roster, Solano
gives the Fernando Valenzuela-owned Tigres a young veteran who became a
starter
for Monterrey in 2015 and had gone 25-12 for the Sultanes since 2016,
including
a 4-1 mark this year. However, Solano's
ERA was a healthy 6.59 after six starts before being shipped to Cancun
for
pitcher Jesus Adrian Castillo, a 33-year-old who'd been with the Tigres
since
2014 and was a solid 3-2 with a 3.75 ERA after five starts this year. Although Castillo is having the better year,
he has never won more than six games in seven LMB seasons and is
generally not
considered in Solano's class as a pitcher.
One Mexican columnist says Solano was sent south to avoid legal
issues
in Monterrey, particularly a civil lawsuit from a former player, but
BBM has
not verified that story. He'll join a
starting
rotation featuring Barry Enright, Tyler Kane, former Marlins hurler
Henderson
Alvarez and ageless Pablo Ortega.
Meanwhile,
Durango has loaned Drake to Monterrey even though
the Cuban expat was batting .383 with four homers and 27 RBIs in 30
contests
for Matias Carrillo's Generales. Money
may be at the heart of the move, since the Sultanes have plenty of it
while
Durango (now owned by a group led by former MLB catcher and Mexico City
manager
Miguel Ojeda) is struggling to right their financial ship after a 2017
season
under former owner Virgilio Ruiz during which a number of players,
including
Drake, went weeks without a paycheck.
Drake hit .385 for the Generales last year to top the Liga
before
finishing the season in Japan by hitting just .232 in 35 games for the
Nippon
Ham Fighters.
Durango did pick
up injury-plagued veteran slugger Jorge
"Chato" Vazquez, who had retired from the Mexico City Diablos Rojos
last year after once having been considered one of the New York
Yankees' more
intriguing prospects. Vazquez went
0-for-3 with a walk in his Generales debut Saturday night against
Monclova and
is hoping the back problems that derailed his LMB career are behind him. The 5'11" 250-pounder, who turned 36
this month, once played under Ojeda in the nation's capital.
Sultanes still
rule LMB North,
three-way battle for South supremacy
The Monterrey
Sultanes continue to rule the roost in the
Mexican League's North Division with a 21-10 record, three games ahead
of
defending champion Tijuana and surprising Aguascalientes, but the LMB
South has
evolved into a three-way duel between Yucatan, Mexico City and
equally-surprising Quintana Roo, with only one game separating the
troika as
the LMB's Spring season heads into its final month prior to June's
playoffs.
While it can't
really be called a "surprise" that
Monterrey has done well over the first month of the campaign, few
expected that
manager Roberto Kelly's team would be showing as much power as they
have. Kelly stated at his hiring over the
winter
that speed and aggressive baserunning would be the hallmark of his
offense. The Sultanes are one of six
Liga teams batting over .300 (they're at .305), but it's the longball,
not the
stolen base, that's been the driver of a club averaging nearly six runs
per
game. Monterrey stands second in the LMB
with 42 homers, behind only Leon's 44 roundtrippers.
Much of that production belongs to Ricky
Alvarez, who leads the loop with 11 homers, while ex-MLB outfielder
Domonic
Brown (who hit 27 homers for Philadelphia in 2013) has seven and third
baseman
Agustin Murillo has six. Although
Monterrey has been successful on 25 of 36 stolen base attempts to rank
fifth in
that category (Chris Roberson and Leo German have six swipes apiece),
that's
not why the Sultanes have been winning.
Although Tijuana
was expected to be in contention for a
second consecutive pennant, Aguascalientes was accorded second-tier
status
after star first baseman Jesse Castillo was dealt to Monclova in the
offseason. Instead, Rieleros manager Homar
Rojas has cobbled together a very good everyday lineup with the likes
of
catcher Carlos Rodriguez, second baseman Michael Wing, third sacker
Jose Vargas
and a pair of old-timers in first baseman Saul Soto (who turns 40 in
August)
and outfielder Cristhian Presichi (38 in July).
Wing is batting .353 with four homers, Presichi is at .345 and
Soto has
a .306 average with a team-high five homers.
Beyond Roy Merritt (2-0 and 2.97 in six starts), the Rieleros
rotation
has been so-so but closer Anthony Carter (2-2/7 saves/2.29 ERA) and
middleman
Linder Casto (3-0/3 holds/1.69) have headed up a strong bullpen.
The LMB South
has become a three-way race between Yucatan
(22-10), Quintana Roo (20-10) and Mexico City (21-11).
The Diablos Rojos are the most productive
offensively, averaging 6.5 runs per outing playing in Mexico City's
rarified
air, but Yucatan's traditionally-strong pitching staff leads the Liga
with a
4.02 ERA, a half-run better than the Diablos or Tigres, and it's
pitching that
generally wins games and pennants. A
more interesting battle may be shaping up for the fourth and final
playoff
berth in the South as Puebla (16-14) and Leon (16-16) are only a game
apart in
the standings. While the Pericos have
reached the Serie del Rey the past two years (winning the title in
2016), the
Bravos have won five games in a row while Puebla has dropped five
straight.
Tijuana's Isaac
Rodriguez, the LMB Rookie of the Year in
2015, leads the league with a .409 average and his 17 stolen bases is
one
behind teammate Justin Greene's 18 to rank second in the Liga. Rodriguez already has a career high in steals
after he swiped 14 bases last year in 74 games.
Other offensive leaders include Monterrey's
Alvarez with 11 homers and Luis Juarez of Yucatan with 38 RBIs. Tijuana newcomer Kyle Lobstein, a former
Detroit starter, has a 1.69 ERA, Monclova's Josh Lowey is in his
accustomed
spot as strikeouts leader with 46 and three pitchers have five wins
apiece:
Tijuana's Carlos Hernandez, Mitch Lambson of Puebla and Juan Pablo
Oramas has a
5-0 record for the 13-19 Tabasco Olmecas (a 1.98 ERA in seven starts
might help
explain why).
MEXICAN LEAGUE
STANDINGS
North Division:
Monterrey 21-10, Aguascalientes 18-14,
Tijuana 18-14, Monclova 15-16, Durango 14-18, Los Laredos 13-19, Union
Laguna
11-20, Saltillo 11-21.
South Division:
Yucatan 22-10, Quintana Roo 20-10, Mexico City 21-11, Puebla 16-14,
Leon 16-16,
Tabasco 13-19, Campeche 12-19, Oaxaca 11-21.
Padres, Dodgers
to play Mexico Series
in Monterrey next weekend
Major League
Baseball will return to Mexico next weekend when
the Monterrey Sultanes host the defending National League champion Los
Angeles
Dodgers and the San Diego Padres (featuring rookie star Christian
Villanueva)
in a three-game series at Estadio Monterrey.
Tickets for all three games at the renovated 22,000-seat venue
were sold
out two hours after going on sale earlier this year.
The Padres will
serve as the home team in Monterrey after the
series was moved from Petco Park in San Diego.
This will mark the team's third visit to Monterrey.
San Diego took on the New York Mets in a
three-game series during the 1996 season and opened the 1999 campaign
against
Colorado at Estadio Monterrey, marking the first time MLB opened a
season
outside the USA or Canada. The Padres
have struggled out the gate this season and are currently last in the
NL West
with a 10-18 record, ten games behind division-leading Arizona. While manager Andy Green's roster contains
some recognizable names like Wil Myers, Eric Hosmer and Chase Headley,
their
unexpected star thus far this season has been the Guadalajara-born
Villanueva.
A former BBM
pick as the Mexican Pacific League's Most
Valuable Player in 2015-16 with the Obregon Yaquis, Villanueva was
expected to
fight for a roster spot with fellow third basemen Headley (a former
Padres
first-round pick who was reacquired from the Yankees in the offseason)
and
incumbent starter Cory Spangenberg.
Instead, Villanueva had a three-homer night early in the
schedule and
has since taken over the hor corner for San Diego and is an early
candidate for
Rookie of the Year honors. He's hitting
.348 with eight longballs and 18 RBIs to lead the Padres in all three
categories despite not being in the lineup for seven games. Villanueva's batting average would be second
in the National League to St. Louis's Tommy Pham with more at-bats,
he's tied
for second in homers behind the nine of Colorado's Charlie Blackmon and
his
slugging percentage of .768 would lead the NL with more plate
appearances.
The Dodgers, of
course, need no introduction. Skipper Dave
Roberts has a star-studded
everyday lineup featuring the likes of Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager,
Yasiel
Puig, Chase Utley, Joc Pederson and Matt Kemp while Los Angeles'
starting
rotation includes Clayton Kershaw, arguably the best pitcher in the
game, and
Alex Wood while closer Kenley Jansen and Josh Fields anchor the bullpen. Added to the mix is outfielder Alex Verdugo,
a 21-year-old Mexican American from Tucson who was called up Saturday
from AAA
Oklahoma City, where he was batting .276 with four homers in 19
contests. The Dodgers
have gotten off to a slow start with a 12-14 record, third in the NL
West
heading into the week. However, this is
still essentially the same team that came within one game of a World
Series win
against Houston last fall and they're expected to be in the thick of
things
when September comes.
ESPN will
broadcast the third game of the Mexico Series on
Sunday, May 6 at 10AM Eastern time.
Eight-year ESPN veteran announcer Adnan Virk will handle
play-by-play
duties while former MLB first baseman Eduardo Perez, whose father Tony
is a
Hall of Famer, will provide commentary.
The Mexico Series was originally scheduled to be played in Mexico City at the new Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, named after the Diablos Rojos' billionaire owner, but the venue's construction has faced delay after delay and will not be ready before 2019, meaning the Mexican League's 2018 All-Star Game had to be moved to Parque Kukulkan in Merida as well.