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Bruce
Baskin /
Jackie
Robinson Moments
B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
May
29, 2 0 1 7
MONTERREY, YUCATAN
CONTINUE TO LEAD LMB DIVISIONS
It's been a long time
since BBM has done a team-by-team
weekly wrap. Five interrupted hours and
1,600+ words after starting to write this, I remember why. It takes a
pretty
fair amount of time to write capsules for 16 baseball teams.
Even so, it was fun to
take a closer look at who's been doing
well (or not so well) in the Mexican League as it approaches the
midpoint of
the 2017 season, with the All-Star Game in Campeche just three weeks
away. Monterrey and Yucatan continue to
lead their
respective divisions (with both teams opening their leads a bit), there
are
still 60 games to go in the regular season schedule and if there's
anything to
be learned about baseball in Mexico in general, it's to expect the
unexpected...in other words, there's a lot of season left to play.
With that in mind, let's
look at who's doing what at the
50-game mark of the LMB season:
LMB NORTH
MONTERREY (36-13) won 4 of 6 road
games in
Puebla and Leon to stretch their lead over second-place Tijuana to 4.5
games. CF Chris Roberson
(.380/10HR/35RBI) continues to hit well, as does LF Zoilo Almonte
(.361/10/38). 3B Agustin Murillo is
batting .360 in 25 games after an injury delayed his season debut until
April
28. Angel Castro beat Leon Saturday to
run his LMB-best record to 8-0. He's won
eight straight starts but allowed four earned runs in each of his last
three
outings.
TIJUANA (32-18) continues to hold
second
place after winning two of three against the Tigres in Cancun over the
weekend. OF Cyle Hankerd (.339/10/42) is
quietly putting together a very strong year in the shadows of Toros
power
hitters OF Corey Brown (.312/13/51) and 3B Alex Liddi (.269/12/44). Brown still leads the LMB in homers despite
not hitting one out in two weeks.
Pitching has been a concern in TJ, although closer Jason
Urquidez
(2-0/0.47) is 10-of-10 in save situations.
MONCLOVA (29-21) has won 7 of 8
games since
manager Wally Backman was replaced by Jorge Loredo, including two of
three in
Puebla last weekend. SS Amadeo Zazueta
leads Acereros batters with a .358 average.
2B Manny Rodriguez (.351) has 6 homers, 48 RBIs and 11 steals. Monclova has four pitchers with 4 wins
each. Jose Oyervides (4-1/3.52) and
Mauricio Lara (4-3/3.64) have looked good, but Josh Lowey (4-4/4.58)
has won
just 1 of his past 5 starts. Chad Gaudin
has 15 saves and a 2.06 ERA.
LAGUNA (29-22) is on a five-game
win streak
after sweeping Campeche over the weekend.
1B Ricky Alvarez (.332/10/57) had a 4-hit night Friday and leads
the LMB
in RBIs, but 2B Anderson Hernandez (.344) is just 6-for-37 over his
past 10
games. OF Ethan Chapman (.265/14 steals)
is writing a season diary for Sports
Spectrum, a Christian magazine. P
Dustin Crenshaw (6-2/4.03) lost at Veracruz last Tuesday, but pitched
well his
last three start. Edgar Osuna is 0-3 this month after winning his first
five
starts in April.
AGUASCALIENTES (27-24) split their
six-game
homestand against Oaxaca and Veracruz last week, beating the Rojos
Aguilas two
of three in a weekend series. 1B Jesse
Castillo (.373) has hit .335 or better the past three seasons with the
Rieleros
and is among the LMB leaders in homers (12) and RBIs (52).
OF Dave Sappelt has hit .365 in 21 games
after he was released by Tabasco in April.
P Roy Merritt (4-1/3.10) has been solid and ex-MLB P Jose
Valverde
(2-2/2.70/8 saves) has shored up the Aguascalientes bullpen.
MEXICO CITY (27-24) has gone 3-6 over
their last
three series after threatening to move up in the standings earlier this
month. Vet OF Ivan Terrazas (.343) is
looking to top .320 for the eighth time in sine summers with the
Diablos while
SS Ramon Urias (.326/9/41) is in the midst of a career year. Ace P David Reyes (3-5/4.88) and former
Rookie of the Year Juan Pablo Oramas (1-2/5.84) have both struggled but
unsung
Octavio Acosta (5-1/3.21) and vet Arturo Lopez (5-1/4,37) have picked
up some
of the slack.
SALTILLO (21-28) manager Orlando
Sanchez was
fired earlier this month. The Saraperos
won four games at home against Veracruz and Oaxaca last week under new
skipper
Fernando Elizondo. 2B Luis Borges (.374)
has cooled considerably after leading the Liga with a .417 average two
weeks
ago but 1B Max Ramirez (.397) is second in the LMB. OF Justin Greene
(.343)
leads the league with 25 steals. Ps
Frankie de la Cruz (4.29) and Danny Rodriguez (4.63) each have 5 wins,
Neither
has set the world on fire.
DURANGO (21-30) has won 9 of
their last 12
games, winning all four series in the process.
The Generales blew out Tabasco, 23-5, Friday night at home as DH
Jairo
Perez (.352) went 5-for-6 with two homers and nine RBIs.
OF Yadir Drake (.401/11/45) leads the Liga in
hitting as the Cuban refugee is becoming the LMB's feel-good story of
the
year. Closer Tiago da Silva (2.28/18
saves) has been the only consistent Durango pitcher as fans across
Mexico have
apparently embraced the hard-luck team.
LMB SOUTH
YUCATAN (31-18) took 2 of 3
against both
Tijuana and Mexico City last week in Merida to strengthen their grip on
the
Southern Division, drawing nearly 34,000 for the Diablos series. LF Jesus "Cacao" Valdez (.356) and
2B Jordany Valdespin (.349) top the team's batting table, but this is a
typical
Leones club with more pitching and defense than offense.
P Yoanner Negrin (6-2/3.79) hasn't dominated
as he did in 2016, but Jose Samayoa (6-0/2.25) has been a revelation,
winning four
straight starts since joining the rotation.
PUEBLA (25-26) dropped a pair of
important
home series to Monterrey and Monclova to go 2-4 last week. Former A's
1B Dan
Johnson (.375) has hit 5 homers in 12 games while ex-MLB OF Endy Chavez
(.355)
and last year's bat champ C Cesar Tapia (.349) are hitting well but
pitching
has been problematic, Josh Roenicke (5-3/3.20) notwithstanding. Former
Monclova
manager Wally Backman is now Von Hayes' bench coach.
The Pericos would be seventh in the LMB
North, which says it all about the LMB South.
QUINTANA ROO (23-25) is hard to figure
out. In the past two weeks, the Tigres
have swept
a series in Monclova, dropped three in Monterrey, won two at home
against
rivals Mexico City and lost two to Tijuana in Cancun.
Q-Roo's offense is anemic: Last in the LMB
with 22 homers, last at 3.94 runs per game and 15th with a .262
average. 3B
Brian Hernandez (.339/4/35) and 2B Carlos Gastelum (.333) need help.
The
pitching's fine, though, fourth in the Liga with a 4.07 ERA. Ageless
Pablo
Ortega (5-2/2.89) continues to amaze.
VERACRUZ (23-27) lost 4 of 6 games
in
Saltillo and Aguascalientes last week, but the Rojos Aguilas have won
12 of
their last 19 games to climb to fourth.
One reason is newcomer 1B Balbino Fuenmayor (.335/9/32 in 32
games), who's
injected power into a lineup of slap-hitters.
Another is RF Luis Suarez (.310), a 20-year vet and lifetime
.321 hitter
coming off a pair of .242 seasons. 3B
Juan Martinez (.324/5/26) has helped, too.
P Nestor Molina (5-1/2.33) leads the Liga in ERA to lead an
overmatched
mound staff.
OAXACA (22-28), owner Alfredo
Harp Helu's
"other" team (and, like their counterparts in Mexico City, fielding
an all-Mexican roster), hit a rough patch earlier this month by losing
8 of 10
contests between the 11th and 21st before splitting six games last week. CF Alan Sanchez (.330/4/23), C Erick
Rodriguez (.326) and vet DH Mario Valenzuela (.274/6/22) head the
offense. Irwin Delgado (7-2/2.39/69K) has
been the top
pitcher, with 6'6" Ruddy Acosta (2-3/2.23) throwing well this month
after
coming off the disabled list.
CAMPECHE (21-30) has lost five in
a row (all
on the road, including a sweep in Laguna) after starting last week with
a win
in Durango. SS Paul Leon (.353/4/24) and
2B Yosmany Guerra (.306) give the Piratas a good keystone duo while 1B
Frank
Diaz (.302/9/38) and 3B C.J. Retherford (.282/6/26R) provide power from
the
infield corners. The pitching no better
than so-so. Rolando Valdez (4-3/3.97)
has been the best starter with Francisco Campos (0-2/3.55) hurt most of
the
year and Oscar Rivera (0-6/6.17) ineffective.
TABASCO (17-33) hasn't done any
better under
manager Marco Antonio Guzman than they did under Che Reyes. Waiving OF Dave Sappelt while adding ex-MLB
IFs Ronny Cedeno and Carlos Triunfel didn't work out. Signing free
agent 2B
Jordany Valedspin (.372/32R in 33 games) HAS worked, while OF Alex
Romero
(.368) and DH Sandy Madera (.340/5/29) are having good years. None of the 24 pitchers who've thrown for the
Olmecas have won more than twice. In
short, another long year in Villahermosa.
LEON (17-34) lost six in a row
before
surprising LMB-best Monterrey, 6-4, Sunday at home as 2B Carlos
Valencia
homered after coming off a 50-game drug suspension.
Vet 3B Miguel Torrero (.293) and ex-Phils OF
prospect Leandro Castro (.279/10/33) are hitting well and SS Niko
Vazquez
(.297) has been solid after missing three weeks to injury.
P Mitch Lively (4-1/1.88) was inexplicably
moved to the bullpen by manager Luis Rivera after one bad start. Walter Silva (3-4/2.83) has pitched better
than his record shows.
FOR MORE BASEBALL NEWS
FROM MEXICO, VISIT
www.BaseballMexico.com