Author: Monte Cely

SERIE DEL CARIBE 2019 – Panama City, Panama

PANAMA’ WINS SERIE DEL CARIBE 2019!!

Final Report – February 15, 2019

Panama’ 3 – Cuba 1

In an emotional final game on Sunday Feb. 10, before 18,000 (est.) fans in Estadio Rod Carew, the host team won its first Serie del Caribe since 1950.  Panama’ broke out on top 2-0 in the bottom of the first and never gave up the lead.

Panama 3B-SS Javy Guerra was named the Series MVP.

REFLECTIONS ON SERIE DEL CARIBE 2019

Considering the short amount of time (less than two weeks) that the hosts had to prepare for Serie del Caribe, I think everything went off smoothly.  Estadio Rod Carew is a great venue to watch baseball.  The field itself was in great shape and it was a pleasant experience in the stadium.  Sight lines were good.  There was enough food, drink and sportswear, although I’m sure there would have been more selection given more time to plan for the event.

The weather was great for baseball!  Temperatures ranged from 75F at night to 90F during the day.  With a pleasant prevailing breeze, watching the games at the stadium was very enjoyable.

Panama City is a modern, cosmopolitan city.  Banking is a huge industry and there were many large, new banks.  Lots of major construction projects in the city and I read of many investment projects being initiated across the country.

The six-team system of competition worked well – every game was important and there were meaningful games on the last day of group play as well as a great final game.  Two highly competitive teams made the finals and the Panama squad ended with a record of 4-1 and were deserving of the championship.  Most fans that I spoke with were in favor of keeping the six-team, two-group play, format of competition in the future.

Thelma Acosta (to left of flag) and her team from the Travesias Mundiales travel agency in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico did a great job on short notice in switching our group’s travel plans from Venezuela to Panama.  Arrangements and reservations went smoothly in Panama City.

Finally, thanks to mi buen amigo Juan Antonio Jasso (in picture with the author above) for his help and friendship.  Thanks also to my friends ‘Nacho Romero and Juan Antonio Diaz.  These three gentlemen add tremendously to my enjoyment of Serie del Caribe and travel to Latin America.

Current plans are for Serie del Caribe to be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2020 and in Mazatlán, Mexico in 2021.

THANKS FOR READING!

CUBA AND PANAMA’ WILL FACE OFF IN THE FINALS !!

February 9, 2019

Both games on Saturday were extremely important for the outcome of Serie del Caribe 2019.

Game 11 – Cuba defeated Venezuela 3-0 to win Group A.  Cuban starter Lazaro Blanco pitched five innings, working around five hits and three walks to record the win.  The bullpen did the rest, shutting out Cardenales de Lara on only three more hits in the remaining four innings.

Game 12 – Panama’ takes Group B with a 1-0 victory over Puerto Rico.  The hosts scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth and that stood up for the win.  Four Panama’ pitchers combined for the shutout, with starter Oriel Caicedo getting the win and Manny Corpus recording the save.

Both group winners were decided by tie-breaker rules.  Cuba prevailed in Group A with a superior Team Quality Balance – TQB – essentially run differential but with consideration for innings actually played on offense and defense.  In Group B, Panama’ and Venezuela were both tied at 3-1, were tied on TQB, and were tied on TQB considering only earned runs.  The third tie-breaker consideration awarded 1st place in the Group to the hosts.

February 8, 2019

Game 9 – The Dominican team defeated host Panama’ 5-3.  Catcher Wilkin Castillo was the hitting star, going 3-for-4 with four RBI.  Jumbo Diaz again got the save.

Game 10 – Mexico scored early and often, handing the Venezuela team their first loss 9-4.  1B Victor Mendoza was 4-for-5 and broke the game open with a 3-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.

Through five days of group play, the standings are —

Group A – Venezuela 2-1, Mexico 2-2, Cuba 1-2

Group B – Dominicana 3-1, Panama’ 2-1, Puerto Rico 0-3

On Saturday, Venezuela plays Cuba and Panama’ plays Puerto Rico.  These games are both very important and will directly affect which teams win the groups and advance to the finals.  Should the W-L be tied, a form of run differential will be used to break the tie.  Stay tuned …

February 7, 2019

Game 7 – Mexico gets into the win column with 3-2, 11-inning victory over Cuba.  Most of the scoring took place in the first inning, as the Mexican team posted a single run as they led off and Cuba answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame.  But that was all Cuba could manage as the Mexican pitching staff shut them out for the remaining 10 innings.  Mexico tied the game in the top of the sixth and pushed the winner across in the top of the eleventh.

CF Alonzo Harris was 3-4 with a walk and scored twice as he led off for Mexico.  The Cuban runs were driven in by long-time stars Alfredo Despaigne and Freddy Cepeda.  Mexico closer Sergio Romo came on in relief in the ninth, pitched 2 2/3 innings, struck out three and picked up the win.

Game 8 – The Dominican team won in walk-off fashion 5-4 over Puerto Rico.  The defending champs pounded out 12 hits to take a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the 8th, but the Puerto Rican bullpen issued walks leading to single Dominican tallies in the bottom of the 8th and 9th.   Junior Lake drove in the winning run.

Through four days of group play, the standings are now:

Group A – Venezuela 2-0; Cuba 1-2; Mexico 1-2

Group B – Panama’ 2-0;  Dominicana 2-1; Puerto Rico 0-3

February 6, 2019

Game 5 – Venezuela prevailed 1-0 over Cuba in a tight pitching duel.  The only tally was scored in the bottom of the seventh when 1B Rangel Ravelo reached on an error, advanced to second with a walk to the next batter, was sacrificed to third, and then scored on a sac fly.  One unearned run manufactured without a hit!

Game 6 was a wild affair, with the host Panama team coming from behind to defeat defending champs Puerto Rico 8 – 7.  Panama slugged out 14 hits but hurt themselves by walking 7 and committing two errors.  As a result, Puerto Rico led 6-1 at the end of seven innings.  Then the real fun began as the hosts put up 4 in the 8th and 3 in the 9th.  SS Javy Guerra again starred for Panama, going 3 for 4 with a key two out, two RBI double in the 8th.

At the end of the first round of group play, the standings look like this

GROUP A	W	L
Venezuela	2	0
Cuba	1	1
Mexico	0	2

GROUP B	W	L
Panama’	2	0
Dominicana	1	1
Puerto Rico	0	2

No team is statistically eliminated, yet, but the Mexican and Puerto Rican clubs would need to win their remaining two games, with a big run differential, and hope for help from Cuba and Dominicana respectively.  The second round of group play begins Thursday Feb. 7.

February 5, 2019

Game 3 saw the Mexican squad continue to struggle offensively as Cuba won 3 to 1.  Cuban starter Lazaro Blanco pitched seven shutout innings for the win.  Long time Cuban star Alfredo Despaigne was 3 for 4 and drove in all three Cuba runs.

With the new Cuba/MLB agreement, scouts were in attendance to get a first hand look at the Cuban players.

Game 4 was an exciting affair with the Panama squad defeating the Dominicans 4 to 2.  This game marked the first time since 1960 that Panama has fielded a team at Serie del Caribe.  The results were very positive for the hosts.  SS Javy Guerra, who debuted with the Padres last summer, opened the scoring with a solo homer in the bottom of the second.  Panama starter Harold Arauz pitched five shutout innings.  The Dominicans tied the game in the sixth at 2-2, but Panama came back in the seventh with two runs sparked by aggressive base running.  Manny Corpas closed out the ninth for the win.

February 4, 2019

The 61st edition of the Caribbean Series is underway!

Game 1 saw the Dominican team (Estrellas Orientales) defeat defending champion Puerto Rico 3 to 1.  Dominican starter Nestor Cortes and three relievers held the Santurce squad to only one hit!  Jumbo Diaz picked up the save.  The Dominicans pounded out 12 hits and put up single runs in the 2nd, 5th and 9th innings to pick up the win.

Recent HOF electee Mariano Rivera threw out the ceremonial first pitch in between games.  It seemed fitting that this occurred in Rod Carew Stadium, thus tying together the two Panamanian hall-of-famers.

In Game 2, Venezuela (Cardenales) defeated Mexico (Charros) 5 to 1.  Venezuela was scheduled as the “home” team, and it certainly seemed like a home game for them.  There were thousands of Venezuelan fans in the ballpark supporting their team.   Nestor Molina was the winning pitcher, working five effective innings and allowing only the one unearned run.  Cardenales broke the game open with three tallies in the bottom of the sixth, including a two run homer by 3B Carlos Rivero.

I would estimate attendance at the evening game was around 10,000.

Stay tuned, as we have 11 more games to play!

February 3, 2019

Single game tickets went on sale yesterday at local outlets and the stadium ticket office.  The Panamanians are making a big push to turn out a large crowd on short notice.  Tickets are priced to sell … $5 for the upper seats down the foul lines and $20 for good box seats.  These prices are USD (the dollar is legal currency in Panama’) and are good for both games each day.

There was a protest rally here in response to the Venezuelan opposition leader’s call for support.  The U.S. charge’ and Colombian ambassador were both in attendance.

Panama native and recent HOF electee Mariano Rivera will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the evening game Monday.

February 2, 2019

Your author is on-site in Cd. de Panama’.  Our group of fans will be gathering over the weekend and play will begin Monday, Feb. 4.  Stay tuned!

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The Caribbean Baseball Confederation announced Monday afternoon, January 28, that the tournament will be moved from Barquisimeto, Venezuela to Estadio Nacional de Panama’ in Panama City.  The current Panama’ champs, Toros de Herrera, will join the field of league champions competing at the Series.

Estadio Nacional de Panama’ is also known as Rod Carew Stadium.  It seats 27,000 for baseball.  Dimensions are 321′ at both foul lines and 400′ in center.  The field is natural grass.

As of Thursday, January 31 it appears that the Venezuelan champions, Cardenales de Lara, will indeed participate.  The announced format-of-competition for the resulting six-team tournament is as follows:

The field will be divided into two groups for group play:

Group A – Venezuela (Cardenales de Lara), Mexico (Charros de Jalisco) and Cuba (Lenadores de Las Tunas)

Group B – Panama’ (Toros de Herrera), Dominican Republic (Estrellas Orientales – San Pedro de Macoris), Puerto Rico (Cangrejeros de Santurce)

Schedule – Group play from Feb. 4 to Feb. 9.  Each team will have two games against each of the other two teams in its Group – for a total of four games over the six days.  The two Group winners will then face off in the Final on Feb. 10 for the Serie del Caribe crown.

The detailed schedule is as follows:

DATE	TIME	GAME	BYE
Mon Feb 4	15:00	R. Dominicana vs Puerto Rico	Panamá
Mon Feb 4	20:00	México vs Venezuela	Cuba
Tues Feb 5	15:00	Cuba vs México	Venezuela
Tues Feb 5	20:00	R. Dominicana vs Panamá	Puerto Rico
Wed Feb 6	15:00	Cuba vs Venezuela	México
Wed Feb 6	20:00	Panamá vs Puerto Rico	R. Dominicana
Thurs Feb 7	15:00	México vs Cuba	Venezuela
Thurs Feb 7	20:00	Puerto Rico vs R. Dominicana	Panamá
Fri Feb 8	15:00	Panamá vs R. Dominicana	Puerto Rico
Fri Feb 8	20:00	Venezuela vs México	Cuba
Sat Feb 9	13:00	Venezuela vs Cuba	México
Sat Feb 9	19:00	Puerto Rico vs Panamá	R. Dominicana
Sun Feb 10	16:00	CHAMPIONSHIP GAME	–

•  Times are local time – Panama times are U.S. Eastern Zone in winter

PLAYOFFS UPDATE – January 27-28, 2019

DOMINICANA

Estrellas Orientales (San Pedro) cruised through the best-of-nine LIDOM final series, defeating Toros (La Romana) five games to one.  Centerfielder Jose Siri (AA with Cincinnati) was the hitting star of the playoffs, batting .591.

This is Estrellas’ first LIDOM championship since 1968, and will be the club’s very first visit to la Serie del Caribe.  Pictures above show the celebration parade in San Pedro in ’68 and last week.  (Photos courtesy of Shawn Flaherty in La Romana)

PUERTO RICO

Cangrejeros de Santurce swept Mayaguez in four games to claim the Puerto Rican league crown.  The largest crowd of the season, over 7500, saw the locals defeat the regular season champion Indios at Estadio Hiram Bithorn in San Juan.  The Crabbers will advance to Serie del Caribe and attempt to win Puerto Rico’s third straight Caribbean corona.

VENEZUELA

Cardenales de Lara won the LVBP championship, four games to one, with a 9-2 victory over Caracas.  This is the Redbirds’ fifth Venezuelan championship.  Shortstop Juniel Querecuto was named finals MVP after hitting .611 in the final series.  Querecuto is an Arizona Diamondbacks farmhand, having hit for a combined .337 at AA and AAA this past summer.

It’s very unfortunate that, due to the political situation in Venezuela, Cardenales will not be hosting Serie del Caribe in their home ball park.  They had an outstanding season, finishing second overall in the regular season and cruising through all three playoff rounds.

MEXICO

Charros de Jalisco defeated Yaquis de Obregon 11-1 in Game 6 to take the LMP championship four games to two.  Charros’ first baseman Dariel Alvarez was named Final Series MVP.  During the six games, the former Orioles farmhand batted .370 with 3 HR and 11 RBI.

CUBA – the Las Tunas roster will be heavily re-inforced at Serie del Caribe.  Fourteen of the 28 players will be refuerzos selected from the other Serie Nacional 58 clubs.

In the photo above (also courtesy of Shawn Flaherty), Cuban fans have some fun with a Spanglish banner.

PLAYOFFS UPDATE – January 16 – 20, 2019

One league winner has been determined, with the other four final series are either in-progress or about to begin.  Here’s the latest:

VENEZUELA

Leones de Caracas closed out their semi-final series four games to one against Caribes.  Cardenales de Lara also advanced to the LVBP finals by defeating Magallanes four games to two.

16,874 fanaticos saw their Cardenales clinch the final berth at home in Barquisimeto.  Their ball park is Estadio Antonio Herrera Gutierrez, the host site for next month’s Serie del Caribe 2019.

MEXICO

Charros de Jalisco took their semi-final series from Mazatlan four games to one.  Yaquis de Obregon played at Los Mochis in a decisive game seven of their semi-final series.  Yaquis prevailed 6-2, taking advantage of three Caneros errors to advance to the finals.

The LMP finals will open Monday, January 21 with Charros hosting Yaquis at Estadio de Beisbol Charros de Jalisco in Zapopan (Guadalajara).

Charros’ shortstop Manny Rodriguez was named LMP MVP.  He led the league with 52 RBI, while hitting .313 with 13 HR and 41 runs scored.  This is Rodriguez’ second consecutive MVP honor and third in his career.  He trails only the great Hector Espino, who had six MVP honors.

PUERTO RICO

Eleven games into the semi-final todos-contra-todos series, the two finalists have been determined.  Indios de Mayaguez clinched the first pass to the final series several games ago.  And, with Carolina’s loss Friday night, Santurce also advanced to the final series.

The round-robin standings as of close of play on January 18 are:

Team	Wins	Losses	Advance?
Mayagüez	8	3	Yes
Santurce	5	5	Yes
Carolina	3	8	Eliminated

The final series will commence Tuesday, January 22 at Estadio Isidoro “Cholo” Garcia in Mayagüez.  This will be the fifth consecutive appearance in the finals for Cangrejeros de Santurce.

CUBA

Las Tunas wins its first-ever Cuban title!  The Lumberjacks took the final series four games to one, clinching the Serie Nacional 58 title and a trip to Serie del Caribe.

The team played well all season, finishing the first-half only one game out of first place, winning the second half by two games, and dominating their semi-final and final series.  Their next game will be Saturday, February 2 in Barquisimeto and will be the opening game of Serie del Caribe 2019.

DOMINICANA – after the 18-game semi-final round-robin, the final field was still not decided:

Team	Wins	Losses	Advance?
Estrellas	11	7	Yes
Escogido	10	8	Tied for 2nd
Toros	10	8	Tied for 2nd
Licey	5	13	Eliminated

The second-place tie between Escogido (Santo Domingo) and Toros (La Romana) had to be resolved with a one-game tie breaker played at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal on Wednesday evening January 15.

Toros won that game 4-3 behind eight solid innings by their veteran pitcher Raul Valdes and a 2-RBI triple by DH Jordany Valdespin.

Consequently, the best-of-nine final series will be an “All Eastern” affair matching Estrellas Orientales (San Pedro) and Toros del Este.

The LiDOM finals will begin Thursday January 17, with Estrellas hosting Toros at Estadio Tetelo Vargas in San Pedro de Macoris.

Early results – as of January 19 action in the LIDOM finals, Estrellas lead Toros two games to one.

PLAYOFFS UPDATE – January 11, 2019

CUBA

Serie Nacional 58 is the first league to move on to their final series.  Favorites Las Tunas won their semi-final series easily over Ciego de Avila – four games to one.  Likewise, Villa Clara eliminated Sancti Spiritus four games to one.
The final series will open Saturday, January 12 at Estadio Julio Antonio Mella in Las Tunas.

MEXICO –  the semi-final field is set in la Liga Mexicana del Pacifico.

Los Mochis eliminated Hermosillo four games to two.

Charros de Jalisco defeated Culiacan four games to two.  The deciding game six went to Jalisco, 1-0, even though they tallied only one hit!  But that hit was an RBI double by catcher Gabriel Gutierrez in the top of the ninth to drive in the deciding run.

Mazatlán won the seventh and deciding game of their series with Obregon, 3-2.  Obregon also advances to the semi-finals as the wild card.  In the LMP system of competition, el mejor perdedor (the best loser) advances as the fourth team to the semi-final round.  Yaquis de Obregon won three games in their losing effort, so therefore they qualified for the semi-finals.

The semi-final play begins Friday January 11 with Jalisco at Mazatlan and Obregon at Los Mochis.

Naranjeros shortstop Jasson Atondo was named LMP Rookie of the Year and was the first selection (by Mazatlán) in the draft of refuerzos for the semi-final round.

Jalisco pitcher Elian Leyva was named LMP Pitcher of the Year.

DOMINICANA – the todos-contra-todos semi-final round continues to be a tight three-way race.  Toros won a key game last night against Escogido at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal.  41-year-old veteran Cuban pitcher Raul Valdes hurled 7.2 innings, allowing no earned runs, in the Toros 7-2 victory.  Estrellas eliminated Licey with a 6-3 victory, the difference being a Fernando Tatis, Jr. three run homer in the bottom of the ninth.

With only three games remaining in the round-robin phase, the standings are:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Toros	9	6	—
Estrellas	9	6	—
Escogido	8	7	1
Licey (eliminated)	4	11	5

VENEZUELA – three of the four semi-finalists have been decided.

Serie del Caribe host Cardenales de Lara made quick work of Bravos de Margarita, taking their first-round series four games to one.

Leones de Caracas defeated Tigres de Aragua four games to two.  Likewise, Caribes bested Magallanes four games to two.

Per the LVBP system of competition, Tigres will now play Magallanes at the Navegantes’ home park in Valencia in a one-game wildcard match-up tonight (Friday January 11).  The winner of that game will also advance to the semi-finals.

note – Magallanes won the Jan. 11 wild-card game 11-7.  The semi-final pairings are:  Magallanes at Cardenales; Caribes at Caracas.

Veteran manager Luis Dorante was named Manager of the Year in the LVBP.  After taking charge of Magallanes, the club went 25-13 the rest of the regular season to take first place in the standings.

PUERTO RICO – with 10 days left on the round-robin calendar, the standings in the semi-final round are:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Mayaguez	4	2	—
Santurce	3	2	0.5
Carolina	1	4	2.5

Indios de Mayaguez have six games reminaing; Santurce and Carolina have seven games remaining.

UPDATE – January 1, 2019

¡ Feliz y próspero Año Nuevo !  The winter regular season has completed and playoffs are either underway or about to begin.  The next thirty days will determine which five teams will represent their leagues at Serie del Caribe 2019.  Here’s the latest:

DOMINICANA – the regular season final standing were:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Estrellas (San Pedro)	29	21	—
Escogido (Santo Domingo)	27	23	2
Licey (Santo Domingo)	27	23	2
Toros (La Romana)	25	25	4
Aguilas (Santiago)	22	28	7
Gigantes (San Francisco)	20	30	9

The top four teams advanced to a round-robin semi-final playoffs.

Former major-leaguer Fernando Tatís was named manager of the year for his work leading Estrellas Orientales.

The current round-robin standings (as of games completed by December 31), are:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Toros	5	2	—
Escogido	4	3	1
Estrellas	3	4	2
Licey	2	5	3

Free agent major leaguer Hunter Pence is playing with Toros and causing a stir in the playoffs:

(Thanks to colleague Shawn Flaherty – above right wearing Toros jersey – for the Dominican updates and photos from La Romana)

CUBA

On December 19, Major League Baseball and the Cuban Baseball Federation announced their agreement on procedures for the recruitment of Cuban players by MLB clubs.  The agreement is similar to those between MLB and the top leagues in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.   MLB’s announcement is here.

The Second Half of the Serie Nacional 58 season came down to a photo-finish on Christmas Day.  Of the six teams participating in the second half, there was a possibility of a four-way tie for second place.  Industriales had to play a make-up game against Sancti Spiritus on Dec. 25, and had the Havana club won the game, four teams would have been tied at 31-29.  However, the Blue Lions lost that key game and were eliminated from further play.  Holguin also was eliminated.  The final standings were:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Las Tunas	34	26	—
Sancti Spiritus	32	28	2
Villa Clara	31	29	3
Ciego de Avila	31	29	3
Industriales (eliminated)	30	30	4
Holguin (eliminated)	22	38	12

The SN58 best-of-seven semi-finals will open January 4.  Las Tunas will have home-field advantage vs. Ciego de Avila; Sancti Spiritus will have home-field nod over Villa Clara.

MEXICO – the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico completed its second half season on Sunday, December 30.  Second-half standings were:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Los Mochis	21	12	—
Cd. de Obregon	19	12	1
Hermosillo	19	14	2
Jalisco	17	15	3.5
Culiacan	17	16	4
Mazatlán	16	17	5
Navajoa	12	21	9
Mexicali	9	23	11.5

The LMP teams earn points for their position finish for the first- and second-half seasons.  Points are awarded as follows:  8 points for first place, 7 for second, 6 for third, 5 for fourth, 4.5 for fifth, 4 for sixth, 3.5 for seventh, and 3 points for finishing last.  The points are added together to determine the teams that qualify (the top six) and to seed the playoff series.  The final points totals are as follows:

Team	1st half points	2nd half points	total
Culiacan	8	4.5	12.5
Cd. de Obregon	5	7	12
Hermosillo	6	6	12
Los Mochis	3	8	11
Mazatlán	7	4	11
Jalisco	3.5	5	8.5
Navajoa (eliminated)	4	3.5	7.5
Mexicali (eliminated)	4.5	3	7.5

First-round playoff games will commence January 1 with Tomateros de Culiacan hosting Charros de Jalisco; Yaquis de Obregon hosting Venados de Mazatlán; and Naranjeros de Hermosillo hosting Caneros de Los Mochis.

Charros de Jalisco pitcher Elian Leyva won a rare “pitching triple crown” this season in the LMP.  The Cuban native led the league in wins (6), ERA (2.02) and strikeouts (67).  This past summer he pitched 87 innings with a 2.69 ERA across AA and AAA stints in the Atlanta Braves system.

VENEZUELA – the final league standings are as follows:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Magallanes	36	27	—
Lara	35	28	1
Caracas	34	29	2
Aragua	33	30	3
Margarita	32	31	4
Anzoátegui	31	32	5
La Guairá (eliminated)	28	33	7
Zulia (eliminated)	21	40	14

The top six teams advance to the first-round playoff series beginning January 3.  The pairings are:  Magallanes vs. Anzoátegui; Lara vs. Margarita; and Caracas vs. Aragua.

Veteran major-leaguer Delmon Young led the league in numerous batting categories.  Playing for Navegantes de Magallanes, he topped the circuit in HR (19), RBI (52) and runs scored (41).

PUERTO RICO – the final regular-season standings are:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Mayaguez	21	14	—
Carolina	17	18	4
Santurce	17	19	4.5
Caguas (eliminated)	16	20	5.5

Criollos de Caguas were eliminated and will not be defending their two-time Puerto Rican and Serie del Caribe titles.  The other three clubs will begin a 12-game round-robin semifinal series starting on January 2.

St. Louis Cardinals prospect SS Delvin Perez in action for Carolina.

Saul “Monaguillo” Rivera pitching for Mayaguez.  (Gracias to colleague Angel Colon for the action photos).

Stay tuned – the various league playoffs will take up the month of January and I will post updates as the clubs advance towards their league championships and Serie del Caribe 2019.

Thanks!! for reading.

UPDATE – December 15, 2018

There are about two weeks left to play in the rol regular of the Latin American Winter Leagues.  Here’s the latest:

DOMINICANA – current standings are:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Estrellas	28	20	—
Licey	26	22	2
Escogido	25	23	3
Toros	24	24	4
Aguilas	21	27	7
Gigantes	20	28	8

The top four teams will advance to a todos-contra-todos (round robin) “semi final” phase in January.

Estrellas’ and former major leaguer Junior Lake leads all hitter with 24 RBI and is tied for the HR lead with 4.

Escogido’s Josh Lowey leads all pitchers with six wins, plus has a nice 2.29 ERA.

PUERTO RICO – through the first month of play, the standings are:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Mayaguez	17	8	—
Carolina	13	12	4
Santurce	11	13	5.5
Caguas	8	16	8.5

The top three teams advance to post-season play in January.  The second- and third-place teams will play a short “wild-card” series, with the winner advancing to play the first-place finisher for the league title.  Criollos de Caguas are defending two-time champs of both the Clemente League as well as Serie del Caribe; but they will have to rally to defend their titles.

Muchas gracias a mis amigos and fellow SABR colleagues Angel Colón and Jorge Fidel López for the following action photos from Puerto Rico:

Yadiel Rivera (Mayaguez) and Heliot Ramos (Santurce).

Willie Abreu (Caguas) and Jumpei Takahashi (Carolina).

Indios’ Kennys Vargas (Twins and AAA Rochester) leads all hitters with a .403 average and 4 HR.

VENEZUELA – the current standings are:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Lara	30	21	—
Magallanes	29	23	1.5
Margarita	28	25	3
Caracas	27	25	3.5
Aragua	23	24	5
LaGuaira	24	26	5.5
Caribes	21	29	8.5
Zulia	20	29	9

The top six teams will advance to “quarter-final” play in January.

Play in the LVBP was cancelled for games scheduled Saturday, December 8 in memory of players José Castillo and Luis Valbuena.  The Cardenales de Lara teammates were killed in a car crash the previous day.  Both were accomplished major leaguers who were also stalwarts in the Venezuelan winter league.

CUBA – with one week remaining, here are the Serie Nacional 58 standings:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Las Tunas	33	21	—
Villa Clara	29	25	4
Sancti Spiritus	27	26	5.5
Ciego de Avila	27	27	6
Industriales	25	28	7.5
Holguin	20	34	13

The top four teams will advance to the semi-finals.  Las Tunas is “in” and Holguin is “out”, but the three remaining playoff spots are TBD.  Industriales has won three straight to pull back into contention.

MEXICO – second-half standings are as follows:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Hermosillo	13	7	—
Cd. de Obregon	12	7	0.5
Jalisco	12	8	1
Culiacan	11	9	2
Los Mochis	10	10	3
Mazatlán	8	12	5
Navajoa	7	13	6
Mexicali	6	13	6.5

Each club will earn an appropriate number of “points” based upon their second-half finish.  When added to the team’s first-half points, the sum will determine the top six teams that will advance to the January playoffs.

Hermosillo’s Jasson Atondo leads all hitters with a .376 average.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

I visited my good friend and béisbol amigo Ing. Juan Antonio Jasso in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico for a long weekend earlier in December.  I was a guest in his home, as well as on his weekly radio show – Peña Beisbolera on Radio Naranjeros.  Juan treated me to two Naranjeros games at Estadio Sonora.  I was also a guest at un gran carne asada at the home of his colleague Francisco Salazar.  Some pictures follow:

Group picture at Estadio Sonora.  I am back row, second from right (wearing Cardenales de Lara jersey).  My good friend Juan Antonio is front row, center.  The main guest is Naranjeros player Norberto Obeso (front row, second from right).  Obeso is signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and played in the Class A Midwest League in 2018.

At the carne asada – our host “Paco” Salazar and his wife are on the far left.  My other buen béisbol amigo – ‘Nacho Romero – is second from right (in blue shirt to my left).

I also got to spend time with my travel agent and friend Thelma Acosta (second from left, to my right), owner of Travesias Mundiales.  Thelma organizes our annual group adventures to La Serie del Caribe.  With her help, I have secured my Venezuelan tourist visa and we are ready to travel to Barquisimeto, Venezuela in February for Serie del Caribe 2019.

MUCHÍSIMAS GRACIAS for a great baseball trip to my good friend Juan Antonio, and especially to his fabulosa esposa Carmen.  Thanks also to Thelma Acosta and her team at Travesias Mundiales, my good friend Nacho Romero, and my new friends Paco, Oscar, Jesus Alberto, Julio (Manny), Sammy, Juan Carlos, and mi amiguito Pepetián.  ¡GRACIAS POR TODO!

UPDATE – November 23, 2018

PUERTO RICO

Play began in La Liga de Béisbol  Profesional Roberto Clemente on November 15.  This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Puerto Rican winter league.  The 2018-19 season is being dedicated to Alex Cora, manager of the 2018 World Series champion Red Sox and long-time stalwart of the Criollos de Caguas franchise.

After a week of play, Indios de Mayagüez have the early lead at 4-2.  Defending LBPRC and Serie del Caribe champs Criollos are at 3-3.  Santurce is also at 3-3 and Carolina is at 2-4.  Due to ongoing repairs/upgrades at their primary fields, Criollos are playing home games at Estadio Evaristo Roldan in Gurabo and Gigantes de Carolina are playing at Estadio Hiram Bithorn in San Juan.

MEXICO – the first half of the LMP season ended on November 21, with the standings and points earned as follows:

At the midway-point, Naranjeros de Hermosillo shortstop Jasson Atondo leads the league in hitting at .392.

DOMINICANA – through the games played on Nov. 22, only two games separate the entire field in the LiDOM:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Estrellas	17	14	—
Escogido	16	15	1
Aguilas	15	16	2
Gigantes	15	16	2
Licey	15	16	2
Toros	15	16	2

Hanser Alberto leads the league in hitting at .349.  Alberto split his 2018 summer season between AAA Round Rock (Texas) and the Texas Rangers.

VENEZUELA – the current league standings are:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Lara	23	13	—
Magallanes	20	15	2.5
Margarita	18	18	5
Caracas	17	17	5
Aragua	15	17	6
Zulia	15	19	7
LaGuaira	15	19	7
Caribes	15	20	7.5

MLB veteran Alejandro de Aza, playing with Cardenales de Lara, is leading the LVBP in hitting at .384 and also leads the circuit in runs scored with 27.

CUBA

As mentioned earlier, an important change in the system of competition was made for the Serie Nacional 58 season.  In the recent past, the six teams that advanced to the second-half competition brought their entire first-half W/L record (45 games) forward to second-half play.  This year, the advancing teams only bring forward their W/L record against the other five advancing teams (15 games).  Consequently, second-half play began with the following standings carried forward:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Las Tunas	10	5	—
Villa Clara	9	6	1
Ciego de Avila	8	7	2
Sancti Spiritus	7	8	3
Industriales	7	8	3
Holguin	4	11	6

The new system of competition had a big negative effect for Holguin.  They finished the first half in second place (28-17), but against the other qualifying clubs they began the second half in last place (4-11).

Through second-half play on Nov. 22, the SN58 standings are:

Team	Wins	Losses	GB
Las Tunas	23	13	—
Sancti Spiritus	22	14	1
Ciego de Avila	19	17	4
Villa Clara	18	18	5
Industriales	16	20	7
Holguin	10	26	13

Stay tuned – there’s a lot more béisbol to be played leading up to Serie del Caribe 2019 !

UPDATE – October 23, 2018

Winter league action is now underway in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.  Serie Nacional 58 has reached the half-way mark in Cuba.  Play will begin in Puerto Rico in three weeks.  Here’s a current summary:

CUBA

Many of us were both shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death of SABR colleague Peter Bjarkman.  The noted baseball author died of a heart attack at the Havana airport on October 1.  A brief memorial article from the SABR site is here.

Descansa en paz, Pedro.

Serie Nacional 58 reached the end of the first phase (45 games) with the standings at:

Team	Wins	Losses	Advance?
Ciego de Avila	28	17	Y
Holguin	28	17	Y
Villa Clara	27	18	Y
Las Tunas	27	18	Y
Industriales	29	19	WC
Santiago	25	20	WC
Sancti Spiritus	24	21	WC
Mayabeque	24	21	WC
Isla de Juventud	23	22	N
Pinar del Rio	21	24	N
Artemisa	20	23	N
Camaguey	19	26	N
Granma	18	25	N
Guantanamo	17	28	N
Cienfuegos	16	28	N
Matanzas	14	30	N

The top four teams now advance to second round play.  The next four clubs in the standings entered a best-of-three wild card series to determine the additional two clubs to advance.  Industriales defeated Mayabeque and Sancti Spiritus defeated Santiago to complete the second-half field of six teams.  The second phase of SN58 – another 45 games – begins on October 26.

DOMINICANA – the 2018-19 winter season is being dedicated to recent HOF inductee Vladimir Guerrero.  Their season is now about 10 days old, and Gigantes del Cibao (San Francisco de Macoris) has an early lead with a record of 6-2.

PUERTO RICO – the 2018-19 winter season will mark the league’s 80th anniversary.  On November 15 four teams will take the field – Caguas, Mayaguez, Santurce, and Carolina.  Criollos de Caguas are two time defending champs in Puerto Rico, and of Serie del Caribe.

MEXICO – after eight games, Mazatlán, Culiacan, and Jalisco are all tied atop the league standings at 5-3.

VENEZUELA – Navigantes de Magallanes are on top of the standings at 5-2 in the early going.

NOTES FROM YOUR AUTHOR – I made a “quick trip” to Venezuela on October 17 – in a manner of speaking.  I went to the Venezuelan consulate in Houston to apply for my tourist visa in order to attend Serie del Caribe 2019 in Barquisimeto.  All of my paperwork was in order, so I’m expecting my visa in a few weeks.

I always enjoy hearing from fellow members of the SABR Latino Committee.  Muchisimas gracias for your many kind emails.  I wanted to especially thank colleague Jane Hewitt – proprietor of Baseball Goes Global – for sending me one of her firm’s shirts:

Baseball Goes Global is on the ‘net at:  baseballgoesglobal.shop

Stay tuned!!  There’s a lot more baseball to be played south of the border.

UPDATE – September 9, 2018

Winter league action is underway in Cuba and training camps will begin in another week in most of the other winter leagues.  Here’s the latest:

CUBA – Serie Nacional 58 play has been underway for about a month, and la primera etapa – the first 45 games of the season with all 16 clubs participating – is about at the half-way point.  Here are the current standings:

TEAM	W	L	GB
Villa Clara	14	7	—
Ciego de Avila	15	8	—
Industriales	13	8	1
Artemisa	14	9	1
Santiago	13	9	1.5
Las Tunas	14	10	1.5
Holguin	12	9	2
Guantanamo	12	11	3
Sancti Spiritus	12	11	3
Isla de Juventud	11	11	3.5
Camaguey	9	12	5
Cienfuegos	9	13	5.5
Mayabeque	9	13	5.5
Granma	9	14	6
Pinar del Rio	6	15	8
Matanzas	5	17	9.5

MEXICO – representatives from Guasave, Sinaloa met with LMP officials in Guadalajara to discuss the possibility of the city being granted an LMP franchise.  This would have to be tied to the LMP expanding to 10 teams.  Other contenders for winter league franchises include Tijuana, Durango, Tepic, and (per rumor) Tucson.

On September 5, the LMP issued a press release stating they had been informed by the Mexican Summer League (LMB) that the LMB is planning to extend their 2019 season into November.  This will cause another escalation in tensions between the two Mexican leagues, as many Mexican nationals will then be unavailable for the first month or so of the winter league schedule.  The press release stated that LMP is focused on launching its 2018-19 season, and then will have to deal with the LMB changes.

PUERTO RICO – at the Caribbean Confederation conference held in Miami in late August, Puerto Rican officials announced a new economic plan for their winter league.  The plan seeks to improve the strength of the league by entering into a league-wide marketing/merchandising agreement, revamping financial rules governing team support, payroll and operating caps, and improving broadcasts.  The league also announced their intention to return to a six-franchise setup over the next few years.

Roster size will be expanded to 30 active players for 2018-19, with a minimum requirement of 22 native Puerto Rican players.

CARIBBEAN CONFEDERATION – at their first major meeting of the season, held August 28-30 in Miami, the winter leagues’ ruling body announced that Panama, Nicaragua, and Colombia are joining the Confederation.  Panama was one of the founding leagues, participating in Serie del Caribe from 1949-1960.  The three new countries’ leagues will participate in Serie del Caribe 2020 to be held in Puerto Rico.  The format of competition has yet to be decided, but speculation is that the three new countries will play against each other in a preliminary tournament, with the winner advancing to Serie del Caribe 2020 as a sixth contestant.

Confederation officials also hinted that future Series del Caribe will not necessarily be hosted in a participating league city; and that the traditional early February dates for Serie del Caribe may have to be adjusted.

Stay tuned …

************************************

Here are a few items of interest during the Winter Leagues’ “off season” —

CUBA – Serie Nacional 58 will begin play on August 9.  The first half of the season – during which all 16 teams participate – will run through Oct. 7 and wild-card play-in games will complete by Oct. 18.  This will narrow the field to six teams for second-half play, which will commence October 25.  The second half is scheduled to complete Dec. 22 – with the top four teams then advancing to the league championship playoffs in January.  The playoffs are due to finish no later than January 28.

A change is being made to the system-of-competition for SN58.  In the immediate past, the first-half won-loss record for the six advancing teams was carried forward – in total – to the second-half standings.  For the upcoming season, only the won-loss records among the six advancing teams will be carried forward.  So – for example – if Industriales (Havana) was 30-15 in the first half, and 10-5 against the other five clubs advancing to the second half, only the 10-5 record would be carried forward to the second half standings.  It will be interesting to see what effect this will have on the final standings.

MEXICO – in March the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (LMP) announced that its league offices would move from Hermosillo, Sonora to Guadalajara, Jalisco.  The main reason given was so that the league HQ would be in a larger media center.

In April some key operational announcements were made.  The LMP schedule will open October 12.  League playoffs will be held throughout the month of January, 2019 and will end no later than Jan. 29.  Also, roster rules were changed in order to deal with the expanded Mexican Summer League (LMB) schedule that will run into the Fall beginning this year.  LMP active rosters were expanded to 30 players.  For the first-half season, up to 12 extranjeros (foreign-born players) can be on the roster.  In the second-half, that number is reduced to eight.  Expect to see more U.S. minor league players in LMP, both from affiliated and independent leagues.

Mazatlán team officials announced a major remodeling of Estadio Teodoro Mariscal.  Mazatlán will be the site for Serie del Caribe 2021.

DOMINICANA – a major remodeling of the press and media transmission facilities was announced for Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo.  The new area will be named Séptimo Cielo – Seventh Heaven.

The Dominican winter league (LiDOM) schedule will open Saturday, October 13 with a full slate featuring all six clubs.

PUERTO RICO – league president Héctor Rivera Cruz announced he was stepping down after seven years at the helm.  Sr. Cruz led the league through extremely challenging times, and was rewarded with seeing Caguas win both of the last two Series del Caribe.   Tony Flores was announced as the new president of the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC).

Puerto Rican success continues in international play, with their club winning the baseball championship of the Central American & Caribbean Games, held in Barranquilla, Colombia.

The LBPRC schedule will get underway on November 15 with a 36-game slate.

VENEZUELA – the LVBP will open play on October 12 will all eight clubs in action.

February 9-11

PUERTO RICO WINS SERIE DEL CARIBE 2018

A crowd of 15,551 sat through a half-hour rain delay at the start of the game, but were then treated to an exciting and emotional finale on Thursday night.

Criollos de Caguas staged another dramatic comeback and successfully defended their Serie del Caribe crown.  Too many walks and a few Puerto Rico errors allowed the Dominican nine to post an early 3-0 lead.  Forty-year-old Dominican starter Raul Valdez pitched well through six innings.  However he was lifted with one out in the bottom of the seventh as Puerto Rico put their first two batters on base.  Ruben Gotay then slammed a two-RBI double and later in the inning catcher Jonathan Morales hit a three run homer to put Criollos up 6-4.  The Puerto Ricans added three more in the 8th and shut down the Dominican offense to take the game, series, and become bicampeones (two consecutive Series titles).

Final score — Puerto Rico 9 – Dominicana 4

Puerto Rican OF/DH Anthony Garcia was named Serie del Caribe 2018 MVP.

Some observations and more news:

The competition was balanced and most games were hotly contested.  The Mexican squad was eliminated from semifinal play, and my amigos were critical of the manager’s moves as well as the quality of play on the field.  Excepting the Mexican team, the overall record of the four semi-finalists I think displayed this balance:

Puerto Rico     4 wins – 2 losses

Cuba                   3 wins – 2 losses

Dominicana    3 wins – 3 losses

Venezuela        2 wins – 3 losses

The sale of two tickets per day, rather than a double-header format, made for an extremely long day.  We generally left for the ballpark at 1pm and did not return to the hotel until 1am.

The locations for upcoming Series del Caribe was announced as:  2019 – Barquisimeto, Venezuela; 2020 – Puerto Rico; 2021 – Mexico (probably Mazatlán).  There was lots of discussion regarding the possibility of returning to Mexico again next year should Venezuela not prove feasible.  There was also discussion about Cuba hosting a future Serie del Caribe.  In an interview, the head of the governing body – the Caribbean Confederation – indicated his desire to return to Havana as it was the site of the initial Serie del Caribe in 1949.  However, he indicated it would be dependent on political issues being solved, such as lifting of the U.S. embargo.

As always, a big part of Serie del Caribe for this author is renewing friendships with my friends south-of-the-border as well as with SABR colleagues.  My thanks to amigos Ignacio Romero and Juan Antonio Diaz for their friendship and help.  Likewise, many thanks to travel empresaria Thelma Acosta for making my arrangements.  I got to spend time with SABR member and well-known Mexican broadcaster and sportswriter Eddie Almada.  Good friends Lewis Rubman and his wife Gail were at the games (see picture below), with Lewis reporting for a Bay Area sports service.

Finally – as always – Saludos a mi buen amigo Juan Antonio Jasso who was not able to attend this year.  We have been good friends for over seven years and I hope to see him again soon.

Thanks for reading!

February 8

PUERTO RICO WILL DEFEND SERIE DEL CARIBE CROWN VS. DOMINICANA

Puerto Rico 6 – Venezuela 5

Criollos de Caguas staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Caribes and advance to the Serie del Caribe 2018 final game.  Venezuela starter Daryl Thompson was cruising into the 6th inning with a 2-hitter in hand and his club leading 4-0.  But then two singles and a walk loaded the bases.  Thompson was relieved by Nestor Molina, who then faced Puerto Rican slugger Anthony Garcia.  Garcia promptly hit a blast over the wall for a game tying grand slam.  Venezuela took the lead again in the bottom of the seventh, only to be overcome by a 2-run Puerto Rican 8th inning.  The defending champs held on for an emotional 6-5 victory and a boleto to the finals.

Dominicana 7 – Cuba 4

Cuba took an early 3-0 lead as Freddy Cepeda drove in the first run with a 2nd inning triple, and then scored on a Dominican throwing error.  The Dominicans put up two runs in the top of the 6th on a homer by Ronny Rodriguez.  A succession of Cuban relievers could not shut the door as Aguilas Cibaenas scored three more in the 7th and two more in the 8th.  Despite committing four errors, and a Freddy Cepeda solo homer in the 8th, the Dominicans prevailed and advance to the finals on Thursday night.

Game attendance was announced as 14,050 – a great turnout considering the Mexican home team has been eliminated.

The Serie del Caribe final will be Thursday night, February 8, at 8pm (U.S. central time).  Stay tuned …

February 7

The final standings of the round robin phase of Serie del Caribe are —

Cuba   3-1
Venezuela  2-2
Puerto Rico 2-2
Dominicana 2-2
Mexico  1-3

The semi-final games today are —

Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela  2pm

Dominicana vs. Cuba  8pm  (games are central time)

February 6

The day opened with the annual induction of new members to the Serie del Caribe Hall of Fame. Darryl Brinkley, Jaime Orozco and Cornelio Garcia were inducted into the Salon de Fama.

Quick game results are —

Cuba 6 – Puerto Rico 3

This ensures that Cuba wins the round robin phase of the tournament.

Mexico 8 – Dominicana 1

Mexico avoided being swept at home, but still will not advance to the semifinals.

Prior to the second game, the three new Hall-of-Famers threw out a first pitch. They were joined by Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers.

February 5

“Jose Cuervo, he was a friend of mine …” and even more so as our group took a trip out to Tequila, Jalisco and toured the Jose Cuervo plant.

Game results are —

Puerto Rico 12 – Venezuela 7

Dominicana 7 – Cuba 1

The Dominican victory ensures that Mexico will not qualify for the semi-finals even if they win their last game.

February 4

Dominicana 6 – Puerto Rico 3

What a difference a day makes for the Dominicans. They put up five runs through the second inning and held on to beat the defending champs. Lots of singles in this game as there was a total of 26 hits between the two teams.

Venezuela 6 – Mexico 4

Solo homers by Rafael Ortega and Williams Astudil contributed to a 6-2 Venezuela lead going into the bottom of the ninth. Long time LMP and LMB star Chris Roberson entered the game to pinch hit for Mexico in the bottom of the ninth and blasted a two run homer to narrow the Venezuelan lead, but los Caribes held on for the win. The host team is now 0-3 and facing elimination.

Observations on Estadio Panamericano – also known as Estadio Charros de Jalisco, this stadium was built in 2011 to host the Pan American Games. In 2014 the LMP franchise from Guasave moved to Guadalajara and play here. The stadium originally seated 8,000 but was upgraded to 11,500 to host baseball. It has since been expanded to 13,000. The outfield dimensions are 330 ft. down both lines and 415 ft. to center. It has a reputation as a hitters ballpark and we have seen numerous homers down the lines and to the alleys. It has artificial turf and that has been a factor as some batted balls take very high bounces, as well as the infield playing fast.

February 3

Venezuela 15 – Dominicana 4

Los Caribes de Anzoategui tallied 20 hits to even their record at 1-1. Venezuelan slugger Balbino Fuenmayor blasted two homers and a double to tally five RBI. The Dominicans committed two key errors to contribute to the beating.

Cuba 5 – Mexico 4

Alazanes de Granma again played error-free ball and scored two in the seventh and one in the eighth to post a come-from-behind win. Cuba is now 2-0 and Mexico 0-2 through two days of play. The big home crowd was not happy with the results so far.

February 2

Let the games begin! Here are the opening day results:

Cuba 6 – Venezuela 4

The Cuban team played error-free ball and escaped a ninth inning jam to take Game One. Venezuela had the bases loaded with DH Balbino Fuenmayor at the plate but los cubanos escaped to take the opener.

Opening Ceremonies – this was a pleasant spectacle of fireworks, dancing, singing and the playing of all the clubs´ national anthems. An unexpected highlight (at least to the Americans at the game) was an appearance by former president Bill Clinton. He gave a brief, friendly welcoming speech. In a nice touch, he spent a considerable amount of time at the Puerto Rican dugout shaking hands and inquiring about players´ families.

Puerto Rico 7 – Mexico 4

In a repeat of last year`s final, the Puerto Rican team mounted a 15-hit attack to open the defense of their Caribbean Series title. A highlight of the game was an attempted straight steal of home in the top of the third inning. The Puerto Rican runner was called out at the plate, the play was appealed, and the call was upheld to the (temporary) delight of the big Mexican crowd.

February 1 – reporting en vivo desde Guadalajara.

Finally the field is set for Serie del Caribe 2018.  Last night in Santo Domingo, Aguilas de Cibaeñas defeated Tigres del Licey 11-5.  This was the 21st LiDOM title for Aguilas (Licey leads with 22).  Fortunately for the winners, they have a bye on Day 1 (tomorrow) of Serie del Caribe.

To recap, the contestants for Serie del Caribe 2018 are:

MEXICO (hosting) – Tomateros de Culiacan

CUBA – Alazanes de Granma

DOMINICANA – Aguilas de Cibaeñas

PUERTO RICO – Criollos de Caguas (defending champs)

VENEZUELA – Caribes de Anzoategui

I feel that this is a very balanced group of teams and should result in a great series.  Vamos a ver … stay tuned.

 

January 30 – there will be a decisive Game Seven in the Dominican winter league finals!  In the doubleheader played today at Estadio Cibao, Aguilas and Licey split – with the home team taking the opener 5-2 and los Tigres winning the nightcap 4-3.  Game 7 will be played at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo on Wednesday evening.

 

January 29 – in the remaining final series in the Dominican Republic, Licey bested Aguilas 10-1 in a Game Four marred by five ejections.  The two clubs are even at 2-2 in the best-of-seven series and play returns to Estadio Cibao Tuesday for a double-header.  Stay tuned …

 

January 28 – we have two more league winners and another rain-out in Dominicana:

MEXICO

Tomateros de Culiacán tied the game with a run in the top of the ninth and scored the decisive runs in the 12th inning  to defeat host Mayos de Navajoa 6-4 in an exciting Game Seven of the LMP Finals.  They will make the short trip to Jalisco state to represent the hosts in Serie del Caribe 2018.

CUBA

Alazanes de Granma are bicampeones  after defeating Las Tunas 3-2 in Game Seven before more than 20,000 disappointed Leñadores fans.  Granma successfully defended their Serie Nacional title and will represent the Pearl of the Antilles in Serie del Caribe 2018.

DOMINICANA – ¡ Más lluvia !  For the third time in the final series a game was rained out.  Game 4 will be moved to Santo Domingo for Monday night’s game, and a double-header will be played back at Estadio Cibao Tuesday (if both games are needed).  If the series goes to seven games, that will be held back in Santo Domingo on Wednesday.

 

January 27 – We have some league winners!

PUERTO RICO 

Los Criollos de Caguas swept the LBPRC best-of-five final series 3-0 against Santurce and become bicampeones of the Enchanted Island.  They will defend their Serie del Caribe crown in Guadalajara.

VENEZUELA

Los Caribes de Anzoátegui took the LVBP title four games to two against Cardenales de Lara.

… we also have two finals going to an exciting Game Seven on Sunday …

MEXICO – Mayos de Navajoa tied up the LMP final series at home against los Tomateros de Culiacan.  Los Mayos staged a dramatic two run rally in the bottom of the ninth to take Game Six 4-3.   Game Seven will be 5pm local time Sunday at Estadio Manuel “Ciclon” Echeverria in Navajoa, Sonora.

CUBA – Las Tunas forced the SN57 final series to Game Seven by winning 6-2 at home against defending champs Granma.  Game Seven will be 2pm local time Sunday at Estadio Julio A. Mella in Las Tunas.

DOMINICANA – more rain delays as Saturday’s game was washed out.   The final series resumes Sunday afternoon at Estadio Cibao with Aguilas (Santiago) leading Licey (Santo Domingo) 2-1.

 

January 26 – la Serie del Caribe is fast-approaching, with play set to begin in Guadalajara, Mexico on Friday, February 2.  As of play ending Friday night, January 26, none of the league champions have yet to be determined.  However that will surely change over the weekend.

Here’s the latest:

MEXICO – the results so far for the LMP final series are:

Thurs. Jan. 25 – Tomateros 5 – Mayos 3

Wed. Jan. 24 – Mayos 5 – Tomateros 3

Tues. Jan. 23 – Mayos 4 – Tomateros 2

Sun. Jan. 21 – Tomateros 4 – Mayos 0

Sat. Jan. 20 – Tomateros 4 – Mayos 0

Culiacan leads the final series three games to two.  Game Six will be Saturday evening in Navajoa.

VENEZUELA – after five games Caribes de Anzoátegui lead the best-of-seven final series three games to two.  Game Six will be Saturday evening in Barquisimeto.

Thurs. Jan. 25 – Caribes 5 – Cardenales 2

Wed. Jan. 24 – Caribes 3 – Cardenales 2

Tues. Jan. 23 – Cardenales 8 – Caribes 3

Sun. Jan. 21 – Cardenales 4 – Caribes 0

Sat. Jan. 20 – Caribes 4 – Cardenales 2

CUBA:

Thurs. Jan. 25 – Granma 11 – Las Tunas 5

Wed. Jan. 24 – Granma 4 – Las Tunas 2

Tues. Jan. 23 – Granma 10 – Las Tunas 6

Sun. Jan. 21 – Las Tunas 11 – Granma 4

Sat. Jan. 20 – Las Tunas 6 – Granma 5

After falling behind 2-0, the defending champs Alazanes de Granma have gone ahead in the final series three games to two.  Game Six will be Saturday afternoon back in Las Tunas.

DOMINICANA – Aguilas lead the final series 2-1:

Thurs. Jan. 25 – Licey 4 – Aguilas 3 (10 innings)

Wed. Jan. 24 – Aguilas 8 – Licey 4

Tues. Jan. 23 – Aguilas 8 – Licey 1

Previously … after tying for second place in the round-robin “semi-finals” series, Aguilas hosted Escogido at Estadio Cibao on Sunday, Jan. 21.  Aguilas registered a convincing 7-0 victory to advance to the finals to meet Licey.  Los Tigres will host the first game at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal on Tuesday evening.

PUERTO RICO – Defending LBPRC and Serie del Caribe champs Criollos de Caguas lead Santurce 2-0 in the best-of-five final series:

Fri. Jan. 26 – Caguas 6 – Santurce 1

Thurs. Jan. 25 – Caguas 2 – Santurce 1

Previously – in the sudden-death wild card game, Santurce prevailed over Mayaguez 2-1.  The Cangrejeros therefore advance to the five-game final series against defending LBPRC and Serie del Caribe champs Criollos de Caguas.

At the completion of the 18-game regular season, the standings were:

Caguas  11-7 – clinched first place

Mayaguez and Santurce tied at 9-9

Carolina is 7-11 and eliminated.

Los Indios and Cangrejeros will meet in a sudden-death game on Wednesday, January 24 to determine who will advance to the final series against the defending champions Criollos.

January 20 – the Caribbean Series opens in just 12 days, and the league finals are in-progress or are just about to start.  Here’s the latest:

MEXICO – in the semi-finals of the LMP, Tomateros de Culiacan swept Mexicali four games to none and Mayos de Navajoa defeated Charros de Jalisco 4-2.  This sets up the league finals with Navajoa hosting Culiacan for game one of the best-of-seven choque.

Game One update – Tomateros defeated Mayos 4-0 behind a complete game, one hitter by Culiacan starter Anthony Vasquez.

VENEZUELA – Cardenales de Lara swept Magallanes 4-0 to take their semi-final series.  The Cardenales have been playing well all season.  Caribes de Anzoátegui prevailed over Caracas 4-1.  Therefore, Cardenales will have home-field advantage for the best-of-seven finals.  Los finales open in Barquisimeto tonight.

Game One update – Caribes defeated Cardenales 4-2, disappointing the 18,107 Lara aficianados.

CUBA

¡Al combate, corred, Bayameses!  Granma fans storm the field in Bayamo as los Alazanes clinch their semi-final series.  The defending champs were underdogs vs. Matanzas, but they prevailed four games to one.

In the other semi-final series, Las Tunas and Industriales went to a decisive seventh game with Las Tunas winning 10-0.  Las Tunas will therefore open at home in the final series.

Game One update – Las Tunas won at home 6-5 over Granma.

DOMINICANA – the “semi-final” round-robin results are as follows:

Team	W	L	GB
Licey	11	7	—
Escogido	9	9	2
Águilas	9	9	2
Gigantes	7	11	4

Licey therefore qualifies for the best-of-seven final series and will open at home.  Escogido and Águilas Cibaenas will play a one-game tie-breaker at Estadio Cibao Sunday to decide who will join Licey in the finals.

PUERTO RICO – the 18-game hurricane shortened season continues on the Enchanted Island with the current standings at:

Team	W	L	GB
Caguas	10	5	—
Santurce	8	7	2
Mayaguez	7	8	3
Carolina	5	10	5

At this point, Caguas is assured of advancing to at least the “wild card” (2nd vs. 3rd place) game.  Everything else depends on the remaining three games.

December 30 – “regular season” play in the Winter Leagues has wrapped up and the winter “post-season” is getting underway (Puerto Rico is an exception – see below).  Here’s the status of the various leagues, and which clubs are still playing in January:

DOMINICANA – the final standings for the rol regular , the regular season which completed play on December 21, were:

Team	W	L	GB	Qual?
Gigantes	29	21	—	Y
Aguilas	27	23	2	Y
Escogido	27	23	2	Y
Licey	25	25	4	Y
Estrellas	23	27	6	N
Toros	19	31	10	N

The top four clubs advance to an 18-game round-robin “semifinals” which will complete on Jan. 18.  The top two teams from the round-robin phase will then play for the league championship.

In the early going of the todos-contra-todos (round robin), Licey is in the lead at 3-0.

Escogido outfielder Franchy Cordero has been named both the regular season league MVP and the Rookie of the Year.  The 23-year-old debuted with the San Diego Padres this year after posting a .972 OPS with El Paso of the AAA PCL.

CUBA – the second half of Serie Nacional 57 was completed on Dec. 25 with the standings as follows:

Team	W	L	GB	Qual?
Matanzas	61	29	—	Y
Las Tunas	59	31	2	Y
Industriales	51	39	10	Y
Granma	49	39	11	Y
Artemisa	42	46	18	N
Pinar del Rio	41	49	20	N

Los Cocodrilos de Matanzas won 9 of their last 1o to overtake Las Tunas for 1st place.  The semi-final best-of-seven series open January 4 with Matanzas hosting defending champion Granma, and Las Tunas hosting Industriales (Havana).

Alfredo Despaigne was named Cuban player-of-the-year for 2017 based upon his outstanding season in Japan with the Softbank Falcons and his SN56 post-season play with the defending champion Granma Alazanes.

MEXICO – the LMP regular season wrapped up on December 29.  Counting points earned for both the first- and second-half seasons, here are the final consolidated standings:

The top six teams now advance to the “quarter-finals”.  Tomateros de Culiacan will open the best-of-seven series at home against Charros de Jalisco.  Likewise, Aguilas de Mexicali will host Venados de Mazatlán and Mayos de Navojoa will host Naranjeros de Hermosillo.  You might ask how this can be the “quarter-finals” when there are only three match-ups?  Not only will the three winners advance, but the losing team with the best playoff record will also advance.

VENEZUELA – likewise, the LVBP finished their rol regular on December 29.  The top six clubs will advance to the post-season in a playoff format similar to Mexico’s.  Final standings are:

Team	W	L	GB	Qual?
Cardenales	38	25	—	Y
Navegantes	35	28	3	Y
Leones	35	28	3	Y
Tigres	32	31	6	Y
Caribes	32	31	6	Y
Aguilas	31	32	7	Y
Bravos	25	38	13	N
Tiburones	24	39	14	N

PUERTO RICO – due to the extensive damage from Hurricane Maria, the winter league in Puerto Rico will play an abbreviated schedule beginning on Three Kings Day – January 5.  Four teams – Santurce, Carolina, Caguas, and Mayaguez/Aguadilla – will play an 18-game schedule due to complete January 23.

After this shortened rol regular, the 2nd and 3rd place finishers will play a single wild-card game, with the winner advancing to a best-of-five final series vs. the 1st place finisher.  The winner then advances to defend Puerto Rico’s 2017 Serie del Caribe championship.

November 26 – play continues south of the border as the Latin American winter leagues enter their final month of “regular season” action.  Here’s the latest:

MEXICO – first-half play in the LMP (Liga Mexicana del Pacifico) concluded on Sunday, November 19.  First-half results were:

Naranjeros de Hermosillo were awarded first place, and the eight points that go along with it, by virtue of their winning the first-half series against both Tomateros de Culiacan and Venados de Mazatlán.

Second-half play is now only a week old, with Aguilas de Mexicali and Venados tied for the lead at 4-1.

Sebastian Elizalde of the Tomateros leads LMP hitters with a .383 batting average.  He is a Reds farmhand who had a solid summer season at Louisville of the International League, recording a .707 OPS in 134 games played.

CUBA – second-half action continues with the current standings at:

Team	W	L	GB
Las Tunas	44	21
Matanzas	43	23	1.5
Industriales	40	26	4.5
Granma	38	28	6.5
Artemisa	35	33	10.5
Pinar del Rio	34	33	11.0

Las Tunas and Matanzas have played well in the second half and seem to be consolidating their positions as 1-2.  Artemisa and Pinar will both have to rally to make the playoffs (the top four clubs advance to the semi-finals in January).  There are four weeks remaining in the SN57 regular season.

Veteran Las Tunas DH/OF Danel Castro logged his 2000th hit in Serie Nacional play earlier this month.  He is only the 21st player to achieve that mark in 57 years of SN play.

DOMINICANA

Tigres del Licey are celebrating the club’s 110th anniversary this season.  They have achieved 22 LiDOM league titles and won 10 Series del Caribe in their long, successful history.

Current standings in the Dominican Republic are:

Team	W	L	GB
Aguilas	18	12
Gigantes	18	13	0.5
Estrellas	16	13	1.5
Licey	15	17	4.0
Escogido	14	17	4.5
Toros	11	20	7.5

VENEZUELA – Leones de Caracas have won 15 of 20 games since last report and have surged into first place in the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional (LVBP).  Current standings are:

Team	W	L	GB
Caracas	25	15
Aragua	22	16	2.0
Magallanes	22	18	3.0
Zulia	19	19	5.0
Lara	18	19	5.5
Caribes	18	22	7.0
La Guaira	16	22	8.0
Margarita	15	24	9.0

Magallanes OF/DH Jesus Valdez, a veteran Dominican who has played in the minors with the Cubs and Nats, leads the LVBP in HR (13), RBI (46) and Runs Scored (34).

PUERTO RICO – as the Enchanted Island continues to recover from Hurricane Maria, planning continues for a short 21-game “regular season” to begin January 6.

In the meantime, Puerto Ricans can celebrate the naming of Dave Martinez as manager of the Washington Nationals.  A New Yorker of Puerto Rican heritage, he joins Alex Cora as current dirigentes puertorriqueños en Grandes Ligas.

November 3 – there’s no need for “baseball withdrawal” after an exciting World Series in the U.S. — there’s plenty of baseball action south of the border.  Here are some highlights:

CUBA – Serie Nacional 57 second-half action is underway.  Defending champs Granma, along with Artemisa, won their wild-card rounds and join Industriales, Las Tunas, Matanzas, and Pinar del Rio in second-half action.  Each of the advancing six teams selected five refuerzos (reinforcements) from the rosters of the teams that were eliminated.  Slugging DH/1B Frederich Cepeda was drafted by Pinar del Rio.

Current SN57 standings for the second half are as follows (remember that first-half W/L results carry over to the second half):

Team	W	L	GB
Industriales	34	16	—
Las Tunas	33	16	0.5
Granma	32	19	2.5
Matanzas	31	19	3.0
Pinar del Rio	29	22	5.5
Artemisa	27	24	7.5

Granma is riding a 12-game winning streak that has jumped them up to third place currently.  Pinar del Rio has won only three of their last ten.

VENEZUELA – Navegantes de Magallanes are celebrating their 100th anniversary this season.  Venezuelans around the baseball world are reveling in the success of countryman Jose Altuve (el Astroboy) in the World Series.

Current LVBP standings are:

Team	W	L	GB
Tigres de Aragua	16	4	—
Aguilas del Zulia	10	9	5.5
Leones de Caracas	10	10	6.0
Navegantes	10	10	6.0
Bravos de Margarita	9	11	7.0
Cardenales de Lara	9	11	7.0
Tiburones de La Guaira	8	12	8.0
Caribes de Anzoátegui	8	13	8.5

MEXICO – the LMP is in its fourth week of play and the standings are crowded; only 2 games separate the top five clubs:

Team	W	L	GB
Culiacan	12	8	—
Jalisco	12	8	—
Hermosillo	11	9	1.0
Mazatlán	11	9	1.0
Mexicali	10	10	2.0
Los Mochis	9	11	3.0
Navojoa	8	12	4.0
Cd. de Obregon	7	13	5.0

DOMINICANA – Estrellas (San Pedro) have taken a one-game lead in the LiDOM standings through three weeks of play:

Team	W	L	GB
Estrellas	10	4	—
Gigantes	9	5	1.0
Escogido	8	6	2.0
Aguilas	7	7	3.0
Licey	4	10	6.0
Toros	4	10	6.0

PUERTO RICO – native son Alex Cora is having a great baseball year.  The native of Caguas has played, managed, and been the GM of hometown Criollos de Caguas and they won la Serie del Caribe in February.  He was GM of the Puerto Rican team in the World Baseball Classic, and they had a great run finishing second in March.  He has just won a World Series as bench coach for the Astros.  And to top it off, he has signed a multi-year deal to become manager of the Boston Red Sox.

October 17 – the Cuban Serie Nacional has reached the half-way mark and the winter leagues are now underway in Mexico, Dominicana, and Venzuela.  Here’s the latest:

CUBA – SN57 has completed the first half of its season.  The top-four teams in the standings advance to the second half.  They are:

1-Industriales, 2-Las Tunas, 3-Matanzas, 4-Pinar del Rio

The teams in positions 5-8 advance to best-of-three wildcard series, as follows:

5-Granma (the defending SN champion) plays 8-Villa Clara; and 6-Artemisa plays 7-Ciego de Avila.  The two winners will also advance to the second half of the season.

MEXICO – the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico has completed its first week of play.  Culiacan and Jalisco are in the early lead with perfect 5-0 records.

DOMINICANA – likewise, the LiDOM is also under way.  Escogido, Estrellas and Gigantes are all 2-0.

VENEZUELA – Tigres de Aragua and Aguilas de Zulia are 4-1, with Leones de Caracas at 5-2.

October 7 – the weather made big news for baseball in Latin America.  Mother Nature and her offspring Irma, Maria, and the Terremoto twins caused havoc in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.

CUBA – Hurricane Irma forced the postponement of two series (six games) of Serie Nacional 57.  These games are being made up now in order to complete the first half of the season and determine which six of the sixteen clubs will advance to the second half of the SN57 season.

Riding a 5-game winning streak Las Tunas has pulled to within a half-game of first-place Industriales (Havana) and both clubs have passed Pinar del Rio – who now sit in third place after going 3-7 in their last 10 games.  First-half games are due to complete October 9.

Your author had the unique experience of attending Cubaball 2017 in late September.  Our weeklong trip to see Cuban baseball is the creation of SABR member Kit Krieger, and was hosted this year by his brother Bob, travel empresario Clem Paredes Rodriguez, and Cuban baseball expert and writer Peter Bjarkman.  We visited ballparks in Havana, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara, Artemisa, and Pinar del Rio.  The interaction with Cuban ballplayers – past and present – as well as the Cuban people was memorable.   I would recommend this trip to any aficionado of beisbol latinoamericano.

A typical SN stadium, Estadio 5 de Septiembre in Cienfuegos (top).  Cubaball travelers at grave site of El Inmortal Martin Dihigo in Cruces (bottom).  Martin Dihigo Jr. is second from left and your author is kneeling on the right.  Photos courtesy of Joel Greene with additional thanks to Ted Leavengood and Elena North.

PUERTO RICO – Hurricane Maria caused tremendous damage to the island and has forced a major postponement of the winter season.  At a press conference held Thursday (October 5), it was announced that a much-shortened season would begin January 6, 2018.  The “regular season” will consist of 21 games, played during the day and including Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders.  Admission will be free.  A short playoff series will be held in late January to determine which team will advance to the Caribbean Series.  Puerto Rico is the defending Serie del Caribe champion.

MEXICO – a two-game All Star Series was held jointly by the summer (LMB) and winter (LMP) leagues as a demonstration of cooperation and solidarity in support of earthquake victims.  The teams were integrated across the two leagues and the games were held in Culiacan (home of the LMP Tomateros) and Monterrey (home of the LMB Sultanes) on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

The winter regular season will commence next week in MEXICO (Oct. 10), VENEZUELA (Oct. 10), and DOMINICANA (Oct. 13).

September 3 – the Caribbean Confederation, the ruling body of Latin American winter leagues, held its Assembly of Presidents in Jalisco, Mexico and confirmed details of the upcoming Serie del Caribe 2018 to be held in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.  Items of note are:

Schedule – the Series will open Friday February 2 and conclude on Thursday February 8.  The complete schedule is posted above.

Format of competition – the five-team format used since Cuba re-entered competition in 2014 will be continued.  The five clubs (the champions of the Cuban, Mexican, Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Venezuelan winter leagues) will play an initial four game round-robin.  When the round-robin phase is concluded, the bottom team in the standings will be eliminated and the top four teams will enter a knock-out semi-final round.  The two semi-final winners will then play one game for the championship.

Estadio Charros expansion – the host ballpark will be expanded from 12,000 to 16,000 seats, using private investment committed for the project.

Cuban participation – the commissioner of the Caribbean Confederation, Juan Francisco Puello, was asked about the current and future status of Cuban participation in the Series.  He commented that the Cubans are again participating as invitees in 2018, but that he was confident that they would eventually rejoin the Caribbean Confederation.  When asked a follow-up as to when that might occur, he responded “That depends on the politics.”

In other winter leagues news:

CUBA – SN 57 is well underway, and the current standings follow.  Remember that the Cubans play a split season, and after the initial 45 games only the top six teams advance.

Team	Wins	Losses
Pinar del Rio	16	3
Las Tunas	14	6
Industriales (Havana)	13	7
Santiago de Cuba	12	7
Ciego de Ávila	13	8
Matanzas	12	9
Artemisa	12	9
Villa Clara	10	11
Sancti Spíritus	10	11
Holguín	10	11
Granma	10	11
Camagüey	8	13
Isla de la Juventud	8	13
Mayabeque	8	13
Cienfuegos	6	15
Guantánamo	3	18

VENEZUELA – the LVBP announced that it will proceed with its 2017-18 schedule after the government committed $10M USD from its foreign exchange reserves to help the league buy equipment and pay for the contracts of imported players.

PUERTO RICO – the LBPRC announced approval for a new ownership group for the Santurce franchise.  Also announced were cost-control measures for the upcoming 2017-18 season, including playing more doubleheaders.

MEXICO -the LMP has changed their roster rules to increase the number of foreign-born players allowed per active club roster to eight (8).  This is viewed as a necessary hedge should the Mexican summer league (LMB) follow through with its plans to play an elongated split-season schedule in summer-fall 2018.  Should the LMB extend its schedule into November 2018, this will impact the number of Mexican players that would be available to the LMP for the first month of the Mexican winter league schedule.

August 4 – the start of the Winter Leagues is upon us!  Serie Nacional 57 opens play in Cuba on August 5 with defending champs Granma hosting Villa Clara.  Here are a few news items from the “off season”:

CHANGE IN LOCATION FOR SERIE DEL CARIBE 2018 – The host location for the upcoming Caribbean Series had been announced as Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela.  However, due to the ongoing social and political unrest in Venezuela, the Caribbean Confederation voted on June 14 to move the Series to Mexico.  The Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (LMP) then promptly voted to host Serie del Caribe 2018 in Guadalajara, Jaliso.

The location for the upcoming Series will be Estadio Charros in Zapopan, Jalisco State, a suburb of Guadalajara.  This is the same stadium that hosted second-round play in the World Baseball Classic 2017, and is the home field of the Charros de Jalisco club of the LMP.

OPENING WINTER LEAGUE DATES:

SN 57	Cuba	August 5
LVBP	Venezuela	October 10
LMP	Mexico	October 10
LiDOM	Dominicana	October 13
LBPRC	Puerto Rico	November 9

INTER-LEAGUE CONTROVERSY IN MEXICO – the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (LMB), the Mexican summer league, has announced plans to operate a split-season in 2018 that will extend that league’s schedule into November.  This will overlap with the beginning of the winter league schedule of the LMP, as well as cause conflicts among those players that currently play in both the LMB and LMP.

More to come on this hot topic.