Serie del Caribe 2009
Np farewell to arms
After two days, the hitters still can’t get untracked against the sterling pitching in Mexicali. But after two days, one team has done just enough to leave themselves as the only undefeated team in the Serie.
3 Feb 2009
Game One: Puerto Rico 1, Dominican Republic 2
It was Puerto Rico’s misfortune to catch the Dominicans the day after the perennial Serie favorites got stung by Venezuela. Even so, the sparkling pitching of held mighty Licey to a mere two runs.
Unfortunately for the men from Ponce, Licey pitching hung even tougher.
The result was another moral victory that will show nowhere in the standings, and a 2–1 win for Licey, Puerto Rico still has yet to win a game in this series in two years.
Game Two: Venezuela 1, Mexico 0
The Venezuelan squad from Aragua threw four different pitchers at los muchachos from Mazatlan, and left them seeing zeroes the whole night. Mexico had their chances but could not break through, stranding seven baserunners in the last three innings.
The Venados pitching staff pretty much matched the Venezuelans out for out — until a homerun by Pittsburgh prospect Hector Gimenez. Aragua pitchers slammed the door shut after that.
A mere two days into the competition and there is only one undefeated team left. It’s beginning to look like there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s from Venezuela.
2 Feb 2009
Game One: Venezuela 3, Dominican Republic 2.
No, Hell has not frozen over, but keep those down jackets handy, just in case. Some defensive sloppiness from veteran Ronnie Belliard and good pitching by Oakland A’s prospect Brad Knox opened the door to an upset by Los Tigres de Aragua.
A Belliard error opened the scoring for Venezuela, but he almost made up for it, accounting for both DR runs with a two–run homer. It didn’t come off Knox, who had a no–hitter and five strikeouts through 6 1/3 before his five walks got him pulled.
Belliard’s shot tied the game, but Luis Maza, who drove in all of Venezuela’s runs, untied it and Venezuelan relief pitching slammed the door thereafter.
This loss may send a tremor through the eastern half of the isle of Hispaniola. The DR has won this tournament 17 times, and the team representing the DR this year, Los Tigres de Licey, owns 10 of those 17 titles.
In the red, white and blue view of the Dominican baseball fans, a loss right out of the gate is just not supposed to happen. But Venezuela has been playing tough in the Series since 2004, and they served notice today that they aren’t here just for the dry desert air and the margaritas.
Game Two: Puerto Rico 2, Mexico 3
As the team from the country where baseball is barely hanging on, los boricuas have everything to prove in this tournament. On the other side, with the Dominicans looking vulnerable early, los mexicanos have everything to win.
After the first game, the Puerto Rican team, los Leones de Ponce, proved they have some life and toughness in them, as well as some nasty pitching. Starter Giancarlo Alvarado struck out 11 for Puerto Rico.
Still, it wasn’t enough to get past los Venados de Mazatlan, who are playing on their national soil and have wpn this series before.
Good as their pitching was, Ponce had no answer for the González brothers, Adrian and Edgar, who between them accounted for all three Mazatlan runs. Mexico was just as tough on the mound. Starter Walter Silva saw Alvarado’s 11 K’s and raised him 11 of his own, giving up only three hits in seven innings.
But the strikeout that mattered most was the one Hector Navarro rang up in the top of the ninth. With two outs and a man on third, he screwed Raul Casanova into the ground to send the Mexican fanaticos home happy.
2 Feb 2009
Thirteen could turn out to be not only unlucky, but bizarre in this year’s Serie del Caribe.
Series organizers have agreed to a new rule governing extra—inning games that threaten to stretch into the next millenium:
Once a contest reaches the 13th inning, the inning will begin with two runners omn base for the batting team.
I don’t know who came up with this or how, but it bears watching — including by Major League Baseball.
2 Feb 2009
The Mexicali desert goes tropical this week as the 2009 Serie del Caribe kicks off today for a week–long round–robin tournament, beisbol with some serious Latin flavor. The winner claims the Class AA baseball championship among Latin American countries and a year’s worth of chest–thumping bragging rights for their country.
MLB Network will be carryng the games live this year, as well as offering highlights, pre–game shows and recaps. You can find the details at MLB.com.
The entire series also is available, live and on–demand on your computer, from eBeisbol.com. The cost: $9.95 for all 12 games.
The first two games today feature Venezuela against the Dominican Republic inth day game and Puerto Rico v. Mexico in the night game.
As usual, the Dominican Republic is the favorite to win the tourney — and as usual, the DR is reresented by Los Tigres de Licey. Licey are sort of the NY Yankees/Manchester United of Latin American ball, having won 25 national titles and 10 of the 17 Serie crowns won by by Dominican teams.
While they may be a Double–A club, that hardly makes them a collection of unknowns and wannabes. Their roster includes such major–leaguers and Erick Ayabar and Ervin Santana of the Angels, Amaury Cazaña of the Cardinals, Jose Bautista of the Pirates, Ubaldo Jiménez of the Rockies and Nelson Cruz of the Rangers, who was borroweed from a rival dominican club, the Gigantes, for this tourney.
(Don’t trip over the above; all the clubs in the Serie get to cherry–pick talent from other league clubs for the tourney).
Facing Licey today are the other Tigers in this tournament, Los Tigres de Aragua. After some difficulties in mid–decade related to political turbulence at home, Venezuela has come back and is consistently a strong presence in the Serie.
Aragua had to mount a fairly ferocious comeback in the playoffs against Caracas just to get here. They too have their share of major leaguers on their roster, including Miguel Cabrera amd Juan Rincon of the Detroit Tigers, and Alexander Romero of the Diamondbacks.
The other “cats” in this Serie will be lions, the Leones de Ponce, representing Puerto Rico.
Baseball in Puerto Rico has been declining in general for the last several years — to the point that the sport’s survival on the island has been in doubt — and los boricuas have been the sick man of the Serie, sometimes going the entire tourney without winning a single game. They didn’t even take part in the 2008 Serie after goig 4–2 the year before.
Such is the lack of respect for PR baseball these days that on the Serie’s official English–language Web page, the Puerto Rican league and its teams weren’t even listed. ¡AY!
The fourth team amidst all these predators, and the one facing the Leones today, will be los Venados de Mazatlan. The Mazatlan Stags.
Stags? Deer? The Mazatlan Deer?
Don’t roll your eyes too fast. The team mascot may be a deer, but that hardly makes these guys Bambi. The last time Mexico hosted the Serie four years ago, it was in Mazatlan. Los Venados also happened to be re’ping Mexico that year — and guess who took the title?
That’s right, these very same Stags, who include on their roster a player familiar to Padres fans, slugger Adrian Gonzalez.
Game for the day games is 2 p.m., night games 7 p.m.
29 Jan 2009
The issue of which team is going to represent Mexico in the 2009 Serie del Caribe has been settled. That honor goes to los Venados de Mazatlan, the Mazatlan Stags.
A team of deers? Stop laughing — these guys can play. Just ask los Cañeros de Los Mochis, the team that dumped the hometown favorite Aguilas de Mexicali out of the playoffs. After dismissing Guasave in the semifinals, Mazatlan literally swept aside the Cane Growers, four games to none, to take the championship of the la Liga Mexicana del Pacifico.
Comes now the Serie, feasturing some of the most talented players on the planet. The perennially favored Dominican Republic team always looks like a major league All–Star lineup.
So what chance does a herd of deer have against these guys? The last time a Mexican team won this series, in 2005, it was Mazatlan who won it. Not coincidentally, the Serie was being played in Mazatlan that year!
They were underdogs to the Dominicans — but who isn’t? I mean, when your lineup includes Rafael Furcal, Miguel Tejada and David Ortiz, what else can you say? What I said back then was:
“The other three teams in this tourney are David, and the Dominicans are Goliath. On steroids. With a gun.”
You know what happened next. Behind some stifling pitching, David struck.
With the Serie being played this year in Mexicali, Mazatlan won’t quite have the absolute home–field advantage it had in ’05, but it will still be in Mexico, whose fiercely loyal sports fans are legendary. National pride makes a powerful pinch–hitter.
9 Jan 2009
So much for that fantasy.
Los Aguilas de Mexicali had a chance to win the championship of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico and represent Mexico in the 2009 Serie del Caribe — which coincidentally is being hosted this year in Mexicali. All they had to do was get past los Cañeros de Los Mochis to reach the semifinals.
Only the Aguilas got “caned” four games to two by the Cane Growers, which means they’ll be watching the Serie at home.
The Aguilas seemed to have motivation on their side, given the long lapse since a Baja California represented in the Serie. But the Cane Growers may have had extra incentive of their own.
The last time Los Mochis won the LMP title was 2003, which took them to the Serie in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They were a steaming pile of dung in that series and lost all six games.
Maybe this could be their shot at redemption.
But first, they have to knock off perenniel contender Hermosillo, which will not be easy.
Guasave made it to the semifinals through the back door on “run average” after losing their playoff series to Hermosillo. They now face Mazatlan, which features San Diego Padres slugger Adrian González — and also happens to be the last Mexican team to win the Serie, back in 2005.
2 Jan 2009
Los Aguilas de Mexicali have made it into the playoffs. At stake is the championship of the la Liga Mexicana del Pacifico and the right to represent Mexico in the Serie del Caribe — which coincidentally is being hosted this year by Mexico…in Mexicali.
They’re up against los Cañeros de Los Mochis. The other playoff pairings pit Obregon v. Mazatlan and Hermosillo v. Guasave.
For a time, it looked as if they were trying to play their way out of the playoffs, but they made it, so the fantasy of having the home team representing the country in the Serie remains within reach.
First, however, they have to get past Los Mochis, including pitcher Francisco Rodriguez (no relation to that other pitcher named Francisco Rodriguez, formerly of the geographically challenged Angels and now property of the NY Mets), who happens to be a native of Mexicali.
Bring the drama…
16 Oct 2008
The 2009 Caribbean World Series, the 2009 Serie del Caribe is coming to Mexicali — and yes, I know that the Mexicali desert is nowhere near the Caribbean, so no geography jokes!
If it stays true to form, you’ll see well–played ball and an even better show in the stands from the supremely passionate fans of four Latin American nations.
The tournament, held the first week of February to decide the best Class AA winter ball team in the Caribbean region, rotates among Puerto Rico, Venzuela, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. This year is Mexico’s turn to play host, and Mexicali is the venue.
The team that wins the championship of the Double–A Mexican Pacific League, la Liga Mexicana del Pacifico, will represent Mexico in the 2009 Serie in Mexicali. Los Aguilas just happen to play there.
Aguilas is Spanish for Eagles, but you don’t need to habla español to know what this team is thinking. Win the LMP title, then represent Mexico right in our own house…and win it all.
The last time Mexico won the series was 2005. No Baja California team has won it since 1986.
The games are great, but the real show is the fans — gigantic flags and banners, painted faces, handmade noisemakers, whistles, trumpets, drums. Dancing on the dugout roofs, impropmtu parades through the stadium. It may be a game on the field, but it’s a party in the stands.
And it’s a party that welcomes baseball fans from everywhere.