Tag Archives: winter baseball

Keeping Track

Venezuelan View

Where they stand:  Magallanes leads Anzoategui by 2.5 games.  La Guaira is third, 3 back.  Then comes Caracas, 4 behind; Aragua, 4.5 out; Zulia, 5 back; Lara, 6 out; and Margarita, 6.5 games back.  Assuming they've made no changes to the playoff procedures since last year, the first five teams will go to the playoffs, which are in a round-robin format.

Who's hot:  Deolis Guerra is 1-0, 2.57, 1.29 WHIP in 7 innings (5 appearances) for Magallanes.  Pedro Guerra is 0-0, 2.00, 0.67 WHIP in 9 innings (4 appearances) for Magallanes.

Who's in the middle:  Joe Benson is hitting .216/355/.373 in 51 at-bats for Aragua.  Jairo Perez is hitting .231/.375/.269 in 26 at-bats for Lara.

Who's cold:  Rene Tosoni is hitting .195/283/.195 in 41 at-bats for Lara.

Who's barely played:  Oswaldo Arcia is 0-for-2 for Aragua.  Josmil Pinto has played in two games for Aragua and walked in his only plate appearance.  Cesar Ciurcina is 0-0, 2.08, 0.92 WHIP in 4.1 innings (3 appearances) for Aragua.  Lester Oliveros is 0-0, 3.86, 2.14 WHIP in 2.1 innings (2 appearances) for Anzoategui.  Junior Subero is 0-0, 9.00, 3.00 WHIP in 1 inning (1 appearance) for Caracas.

Note:  I wonder if Andrew Baldwin has signed with someone, as I don't see him listed as one of the Twins players in winter ball any more.  I'll try to track that down for This Week in Ex-Twins Friday.

Keeping Track

The Rest of the Story

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Escogido 3, Este 2 in Este.  Ramon Santana was 0-for-3 for Este.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Caguas 6, Ponce 0 in Caguas.  Angel Morales was 1-for-4 for Ponce.  Aaron Bates was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run for Caguas.  Dereck Rodriguez was 0-for-1 as a reserve for Caguas.

Carolina 6, Mayaguez 4 in Mayaguez.  Eddie Rosario was 0-for-4 for Mayaguez.  Nelvin Fuentes pitched one inning, allowing a run on two hits for Mayaguez.

Keeping Track

Venezuelan View

Lara 6, Aragua 5 in Aragua.  The Cardenales scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth to overcome a 5-2 Tigres lead.  Luis Valbuena (Cleveland) led Lara with two hits.  Oswaldo Navarro (Houston) hit a home run and drove in three.  Johnny Montoya worked 2.1 scoreless innings to get the win, while Scott Patterson (Seattle) struck out two in a perfect ninth to get the save.  For Aragua, Luis Maza had three singles and a double and Luis Hernandez had two singles and a double.  Yangervis Solarte pinch-hit and was 1-for-1.  Victor Moreno allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in one inning to take the loss.

Magallanes 5, Anzoategui 4 in Magallanes.  The Navegantes lost a 4-0 lead but scored in the bottom of the ninth to win.  Jose Altuve (Houston) led the way with three hits.  Bryan LaHair (Cubs) hit a home run.  Jean Machi (San Francisco) got the win by allowing two runs on three hits in the top of the ninth.  The Caribes were led by Luis Nunez (Yankees), who doubled and singled.  Eliezer Alfonzo (Colorado) hit a game-tying homer in the ninth.  Lester Oliveros worked 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.  Matt Palmer took the loss, allowing a run on a hit and a walk in a third of an inning.

In games not involving Twins players, La Guaira defeated Zulia 5-2 and Caracas blanked Margarita 6-0.

There are no games scheduled in the Venzuelan Winter League today.  Tomorrow, Aragua is at Margarita, Caracas travels to Lara, and Magallanes goes to La Guaira.

Keeping Track

The Rest of the Story

This is what, for now, I'm calling the round-up of Twins players in fall/winter ball who are not in the AFL or the VWL.  I'm not in love with the title, but it'll do until something better comes along.  Today, the only games involving Twins players came from the Australian League.

Perth 7, Adelaide 4 in Perth (Game 1--Scheduled 7 innings).  Allan de San Miguel was 3-for-3 with a double for Perth, scoring once.

Perth 3, Adelaide 2 in Perth (Game 2--Scheduled 7 innings).  Allan de San Miguel was 0-for-2 with a walk.

Brisbane 9, Canberra 6 in Canberra.  Rory Rhodes was 1-for-4 with a walk for Brisbane.

Sydney 2, Melbourne 0 in Sydney (5 innings--rain).  Joshua Hendricks was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter for Melbourne.  Sam Gibbons surrendered two runs on two hits in a third of an inning, taking the loss.  Jacob Younis was 0-for-1 for Sydney.

Keeping Track

Other Winterball Stuff

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As the season rolls on, the Twins are getting more players who are not playing in either Venezuela or Arizona.  Here's what they did yesterday:

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Cibao 3, Escogido 1 in Cibao.  Alexi Casilla was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI for Cibao.  Estarlin De Los Santos was 0-for-2 with the same club.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Carolina 7, Caguas 6 in Caguas.  Aaron Bates was used as a reserve for Caguas but did not bat.

Ponce 4, Mayaguez 1 in Mayaguez.  Angel Morales was 0-for-1 as a reserve for Ponce.  Deinys Suarez started and pitched four shutout innings, giving up four hits, for the same club.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE

Brisbane 7, Canberra 4 in Canberra (Game 1).  Rory Rhodes was 0-for-4 for Brisbane but walked once and scored twice.

Canberra 5, Brisbane 4 in Canberra (Game 2).  Rory Rhodes was 1-for-4 and scored once.

Sydney 8, Melbourne 6 in Syndey (Game 1).  Jacob Younis was 1-for-3 for Syndey, driving in a run.

Melbourne 13, Syndey 9 in Synden (Game 2).  Joshua Hendricks was 0-for-1 with a walk and a run for Melbourne.   Jacob Younis was 1-for-5 with a run.

Keeping Track

Venezuelan View

Aragua 1, Caracas 0 in Aragua.  The game's lone run scored in the third inning, when Jorge Cortes doubled and scored on a Guillermo Rodriguez single.    Hector Gimenez had two hits for the Tigres.  Yangervis Solarte made his season debut for Aragua and was 0-for-4.  Joe Benson was used as a defensive replacement and did not bat.  Sergio Perez (Houston) gave up three hits and a walk in 6.2 innings to get the win.  Francisco Butto retired the only man he faced for the save.

Margarita 7, Magallanes 5 at Magallanes.  The Bravos led 6-0 after two and a half, but Navegantes scored five in the bottom of the third to make it a close game throughout.  Sean Burroughs had four hits to lead Margarita.  Marcel Prado pitched 2.2 scoreless innings to get the win, with Ronald Belisario retiring all four batters he faced to get the save.  Jose Altuve (Houston) had two doubles and a single to lead Magallanes.  Deolis Guerra retired all five batters he faced.  Albert Suarez (Tampa Bay) allowed four runs on five hits and two walks in 1.2 innings to take the loss.

In a game in which no Twins played, Lara edged La Guaira 4-3.

In one that we missed, Lester Oliveros made his debut for Anzoategui Wednesday, allowing a run on three hits in one inning.

In this evening's action, La Guaira is at Zulia, Magallanes hosts Caracas, Margarita travels to Aragua, and Anzoategui goes to Lara.

Keeping Track

Venezuelan View

Zulia 4, Aragua 3 in Zulia.  The Aguilas scored three in the fourth to overcome a 3-1 Tigres lead.  Darin Mastroianni (Toronto) had three hits to lead Zulia, while Freddy Galvis (Philadelphia) drove in three.  Moises Melendez retired both men he faced to get the win and Arcenio Leon (Houston) gave up just a walk in the ninth to get the save.  Lastings Milledge doubled and singled to lead Aragua.  Joe Benson was 0-for-3.  Victor Moreno took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning.

In games not involving Twins players, Magallanes defeated Lara 4-1, La Guaira edged Caracas 7-6, and Margarita easily beat Anzoategui 11-3.

In other Twins news, we note that Rene Rivera has been playing for Licey in the Dominican League.  He is currently 5-for-12 (.417).

In the Venezuelan League tonight, La Guaira is at Lara, Caracas is at Aragua, and Margarita travels to Magallanes.

Keeping Track

Venezuelan View

Zulia 5, Aragua 3 in Zulia.  The Aguilas built a 5-0 lead after six innings.  Darin Mastroianni singled and doubled for Zulia, scoring twice.  Dwayne Pollock gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in six innings to get the win.  Edgardo Alfonzo had two hits to lead the Tigres.  Joe Benson was 1-for-3 and drove in a run.  Cesar Ciurcina pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit.  Darin Downs (Florida) took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk in 4.2 innings.

In Venezuelan action not involving Twins players, Caracas overwhelmed La Guaira 14-4, Lara defeated Magallanes 5-3, and Anzoategui edged Margarita 1-0.

In other Caribbean action involving Twins players, Estarlin de los Santos made his debut for Cibao in the Dominican League.  He was used as a pinch-hitter and laid down a successful sacrifice bunt as Cibao lost to Escogido 3-2.  Gonzalo Sanudo made his debut for Culiacan in the Mexican League.  He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, giving up only a walk, as Culiacan lost to Mazatlan 10-4.

In today's Venezuelan League action, Aragua is at Zulia, Lara visits Magallanes, Caracas travels to La Guaira, and Caribes is at Margarita.

Keeping Track

Weekly Winterball Whiparound

Who's hot:  Andrew Baldwin (Anzoategui) is 2-0, 2.41, 0.86 WHIP in 18.2 innings (3 starts).  Pedro Guerra (Magallanes) is 0-0, 2.57, 0.71 WHIP with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts in 7 innings (3 appearances, 1 start).

Who's in the middle:  Joe Benson (Aragua) is hitting .238/.396/.429 in 42 at-bats.  Deolis Guerra (Magallanes) is 1-0, 3.38, 1.69 WHIP with 7 strikeouts in 5.2 innings (4 appearances). 

Who's cold:  Jairo Perez (Lara) is hitting .231/.375/.269 in 26 at-bats.  Rene Tosoni (Lara) is hitting .195/.283/.195 in 41 at-bats.

Who's barely played:  Oswaldo Arcia (Aragua) is 0-for-2.  Josmil Pinto (Aragua) has appeared in two games, walked once, and has yet to get an official at-bat.  Cesar Ciurcina (Aragua) is 0-0, 0.00, 0.30 WHIP in 3.1 innings (2 appearances).  Manuel Soliman (Escogido, Dominican League) is 0-0, 0.00, 2.00 WHIP in 1 inning.  Junior Subero (Caracas) is 0-0, 9.00, 3.00 WHIP in 1 inning.

Venezuelan standings:  Magallanes leads Caribes and La Guaira by a game and a half.  Aragua and Caracas are tied for fourth, two and a half back.  Zulia and Lara are tied for sixth, six and a half out.  Margarita is last, seven games behind.

Schedule:  Today Aragua is at Zulia, La Guaira is at Caracas, Magallanes is at Lara, and Anzoategui is at Margarita.