WBC IGT: Cuba v. Panama (3/8/06, 1:00 p.m. EST)

[Guest Rotblatt]

"Scouting the Cubans," from BA:

]World Baseball Classic: Scouting The Cubans By Matt Meyers February 2, 2006 As the World Baseball Classic approaches and Cuba's presence appears more and more assured, the mystery surrounding its team diminishes. Though fans of international baseball will be familiar with many of the players, Cuba's provisional roster, revealed Tuesday, is geared towards youth, with the average age of the 60 names being 24. Much of this youth is concentrated in pitching, where 24-year-olds Dany Betancourt and Yunesky Maya provide the team with two of its most promising young arms. Maya is a power righthander who operates in the low 90s but can touch 96 mph with his fastball. At the World Cup in September, he had a 1.23 ERA in seven innings while Betancourt had a 1.84 ERA in 15 innings. Betancourt rose to prominence on the international stage when he closed out the gold-medal game at the 2004 Olympics in Athens against Australia. Betancourt will most likely not be doing the closing for Cuba at the WBC, as that role will fall to veteran Pedro Luis Lazo. Though he is a starter in Cuba's Serie Nacional, Lazo has long been Cuba's primary closer and is probably most equipped to step in and contend with a major league lineup late in a game. At the World Cup, he posted a 0.54 ERA in 17 innings with a 27-1 strikeout-walk ratio. Armed with a mid-90s fastball, the righthander attacks the strike zone and is very efficient with his pitches. As a result, it would not be a surprise to see him pitch in every game, as long as he does not surpass any of the pitch count regulations. Beyond Lazo closing, it is unclear how Cuba will use most of its remaining pitchers, as they are all adept at starting or relieving. Adiel Palma, 35, is a lefthander in the Al Leiter mold. Relying more on movement and location than velocity, Palma has been known to throw a lot of pitches and is a very slow worker. Lefty Yulieski Gonzalez appeared in three games at the World Cup and was 3-0, 1.62, while righthander Ormari Romero threw eight shutout innings. One intriguing name on the roster is righthander Vicyohandri Odelin, a staple of Cuba�s national teams from 2001-2003 but who failed to make the Olympic �04 roster or the �05 World Cup team. He is back in the mix, however, after a strong season in Serie Nacional. The most notable exception on the roster is righthander Norge Vera, who started an exhibition game Cuba played against the Orioles in 1999. In the 2003 World Cup in Havana, he got the victory in the semifinals in a 6-3 victory over Taiwan and came out of relief the next day to get the win as Cuba defeated Panama 4-2 to win gold. The 34-year-old, second to Orlando Hernandez in career winning percentage in Serie Nacional, has been hampered by arm problems, which likely led to him being left off of the provisional roster. The youth of the team is apparent on the offensive side, with 21-year-old Yuliesky Gourriel and 26-year-old Michel Enriquez leading the way. This tandem terrorized the opposition at the World Cup, as Gourriel hit .319-8-19 in 47 at-bats while Enriquez hit .500-1-20 in 46 at-bats. Tall and wiry, Gourriel is a third baseman with lighting quick wrists and boasts the best power on the team. Enriquez, typically the DH, is their most consistent hitter who rarely strikes out and sprays line drives across the field. Another key hitter is outfielder Osmani Urrutia, who has won five straight batting titles in Serie Nacional. The most intriguing youngster is 16-year-old Dayan Viciedo, MVP of the World Junior Championships last fall. In Serie Nacional, the 5-foot-10, 195-pounder made the all-star team while playing for Villa Clara. While Viciedo is far from a lock to make the team, his appearance on the provisional roster stamps him as one of Cuba�s brightest young talents. The Villa Clara manager, former national team star Victor Mesa, told Cuba�s Granma news that Viciedo has �as good arm and tremendous power. He�s got excellent technique, but at the same time is surprisingly calm for his young age and very secure in defense.� Cuba's offense also includes a couple of veterans who will be key contributors in 33-year-old shortstop Eduardo Paret, who reached base 19 times in 26 plate appearance in September's World Cup before getting hurt and missing the rest of the tournament, and 30-year-old Eriel Sanchez, a catcher/first baseman who rivals Gourriel for best power on the team. Cuba will shut down its top league, Serie Nacional, from Feb. 12-March 24, a sign of the importance it has placed on the World Baseball Classic. Once the season shuts down, the 60 players on the provisional roster will be invited to a camp where they will vie for the 30 spots on the roster that will play in the Classic. To help prepare, Cuba has invited the teams from Puerto Rico, Panama and Venezuela to come to Cuba in late February for a small exhibition tournament. Because Cuba does not have much in the way of international scouting, this will provide them with a chance to size up the competition. None of these countries, however, has yet to accept the invitation. Cuba�s Provisional World Baseball Classic Roster: Catchers: Ariel Pestano; Eriel S�nchez; Yulexis La Rosa; Vladimir Garc�a; Roger Machado. Infield; Joan Pedroso; Danny Miranda; Loidel Chapell�; Ariel Borrero; Leslie Anderson; Yorelvis Charles; Rudy Reyes; H�ctor Olivera; Michel Enr�quez; Yulieski Gourriel; Amaury Su�rez; Vismay Santos; Eduardo Paret; Yorbis Borroto; Juan Carlos Moreno; Luis Miguel Navas. Outfield: Carlos Tabares; Osmani Urrutia; Frederich Cepeda; Juan Carlos Linares; Yoandry Urgell�s; Alexei Ram�rez; Yoennis C�spedes; Yoandy Garlobo; Andy Zamora; Alfredo Despaigne; Day�n Viciedo; Reutilio Hurtado; Serguei P�rez Pitchers: Danny Betancourt; Alberto Bicet; Pedro Luis Lazo; Yunesky Maya; Deinys Su�rez; Yadel Mart�; Yosvani Fonseca; Jonder Mart�nez; Yulieski Gonz�lez; Jos� �ngel Garc�a; Vicyohandri Odel�n; Yadier Pedroso; Luis Borroto; Norberto Gonz�lez; Adiel Palma; Robelio Carrillo; Valeri Garc�a; Alien Mora; Ormari Romero; Luis M. Rodr�guez; Ubisney Berm�dez; Alberto Soto; Israel Soto; Maikel Folch; Vladimir Ba�os; Yosvani P�rez.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I wonder if there will be any defections, and if so, how many.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Mets born in Cuba (6)

• Florida Camaguey
  Ed Bauta
• Havana
  Chico Fernandez, Cookie Rojas, Rey Ord��ez
• Matanzas
  Jos� Cardenal
• Villaclara
  Jorge Toca

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Mets born in Panama (2)

• Aguadulce
  Juan Berenguer
• Panama City
  Bruce Chen

[soupcan]

Berenguer had a nickname, no?

'Senor Smoke'?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Se�or Smoke was the late lamented Aurelio Lopez.



I don't recall Berenguer having a nickname, but he was the first Met who could throw 100 since Nolan Ryan (and Ryan is presumably).

[Guest Rotblatt]

From Baseball Prospectus (subscription only), Davenport translations of Serie Nationale League stars (2006 stats only):

Pitchers

Danny Betancourt (25 YO), RHP, 56 IP, 3.70 DERA, 1.41 WHIP, 5.5 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9

Yunieski Maya (24 YO), RHP, 82.3 IP, 5.25 DERA, 1.42 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.7 HR/9

Pedro Lazo (33 YO), SP, 102.7 IP, 4.65 DERA, 1.10 WHIP, 6.5 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9

Yadier Pedroso (20 YO), RHP, 70.3 IP, 4.48 DERA, 1.35 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 1.5 HR/9

Best translated K/9:

Jose Garcia, RHP, 31.3 IP, 5.74 DERA, 1.57 WHIP, 11.2 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, 1.7 HR/9

Batters (2005 stats used except where indicated--for those slumping in the paused 2006 season, I figured I'd display their full 2005 seasons instead). Viciedo was left off the roster, which is too bad--a 16 year old with those numbers is unbelieveable!

Eriel Sanchez (31 YO), C, .248 AVG/.326 OBP/.483 SLG/.809 OPS
Joan Pedroso (26 YO), 1B, .206 AVG/.323 OBP/.423 SLG/.746 OPS
Yorelvis Charles (?), 2B, .266 AVG/.320 OBP/.461 SLG/.781 OPS, 4 SB, 0 CS
Yuliesky Gourriel (22 YO), 3B, .278 AVG/.318 OBP/.537 SLG/.855 OPS
Michel Enriquez (27 YO), 3B, 2006: .310 AVG/.424 OBP/.485 SLG/.909 OPS
Eduardo Paret (33 YO), SS, 2006: .267 AVG/.430 OBP/.336 SLG/.766 OPS, 5 SB, 1 CS
Yohenis Cespedes (?), OF, 2006: .283 AVG/.348 OBP/.512 SLG/.860 OPS
Yoandry Urgelles (24 YO), OF, .298 AVG/.373 OBP/.476 SLG/.849 OPS
Alexei Ramirez (24 YO), OF, .302 AVG/.348 OBP/.492 SLG/.840 OPS, 8 SB, 2 CS
Frederich Cepeda (26 YO), OF, .264 AVG/.399 OBP/.415 SLG/.814 OPS

Dayan Viciedo (16 YO), RF, 2006: .301 AVG/.341 OBP/.508 SLG/.849 OPS

[soupcan]

Edgy DC wrote: Se�or Smoke was the late lamented Aurelio Lopez. I don't recall Berenguer having a nickname, but he was the first Met who could throw 100 since Nolan Ryan (and Ryan is presumably).

Yeah, I'm stupid. I knew that.

How do you type a tilde?

[Guest Edgy DC]

In Html, you can type "ñ" but that doesn't work on this site, so I type it in a word document and copy/paste it over here. There's also a keyboard shortcut on most computers, but I've never learned it.

I think I'll go add ñ to the HTML this place accepts.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Looks like I already did it, because there it is.

Use & # 2 4 1 ; but take out the spaces between the six characters, and the magic internet will return to you an n-tilde.

[Guest cooby]

ñ

[Guest cooby]

Cool, bring back Rey Rey, now we can type his name correctly!

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

cooby wrote: Cool, bring back Rey Rey, now we can type his name correctly!

Now there's a terrible idea!

[Guest Rotblatt]

Panama is definitely the underdog in this contest, but Carlos Lee & Olmedo Saenz won't be their only offensive threats. From the Japan League (translated Davenport stats):

Fernando Seguignol (31 YO), OF, .253 AVG/.317 OBP/.419 SLG/.736 OPS

Inexplicably left of their roster from the Japan League: Julio Zuleta (31 YO), 1B, .290 AVG/.353 OBP/.517 SLG/.870 OPS

from the Mexican League, filling the Honorary Julio Franco Roster Slot for the club:

Ricardo Saenz (44 YO), LF, .243 AVG/.314 OBP/.414 SLG/.728 OPS

27-year old Phillie prospect Carlos Ruiz © should probably start over Einar Diaz, but won't: .261 AVG/ .313 OBP/.400 SLG/.713 OPS

Pitching-wise, there's a sharp drop-off after Chen and a lot of unknowns.

Blue Jays prospect Davis Romero (23 YO), LHP, is probably their best bet after Chen & Mendoza. 5.53 DERA, 1.48 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9

Rockies RHP relief prospect Manuel Corpas (23) looks decent as well and certainly kept the ball in the park last year: 5.25 DERA, 1.32 WHIP, 4.0 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.4 HR/9

Santos Hernandez of the Mexican League (33 YO), RHP, was good for 73 innings in 2003, missed 2004, then struggled with his control last year. If he's recovered from whatever was ailing him, he might be good--he posted a 2.70 DERA in the Mexican League in 2003 with a fine K/BB ratio.

RHP Jorge Cortes (33 YO) hasn't pitched since 2003, but he was pretty decent back then--5.79 DERA, 1.38 WHIP, 4.7 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9.

Lenin Picoto of the Puerto Rico League did well last year, but only threw 12.7 innings--3.55 DERA, 1.34 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 2.1 HR/9

[soupcan]

Edgy DC wrote: Looks like I already did it, because there it is. Use & # 2 4 1 ; but take out the spaces between the six characters, and the magic internet will return to you an n-tilde.

Bueno!

Muchas gracias Señor!

(looks like I'm cursing at you as I write it.)

[Guest cooby]

Why didn't you use one for bueno?

[Guest Rotblatt]

cooby wrote: Why didn't you use one for bueno?

I don't think there is one for bueno.

[Guest cooby]

Yeah, you're right. That's a vowel blend.

Never mind.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Chen getting the start for Panama. Cuba's reshuffling their lineup and the start for the game's a bit delayed.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Lineups

Cuba
1. Eduardo Paret, SS
2. Michel Enriquez, 3B
3. Yuliesky Gourriel (21 YO), 2B
4. Osmany Urrutia, DH
5. Frederich Cepeda, LF
6. Ariel Pestano, C
7. Joan Pedroso, 1B
8. Alexei Ramirez, RF
9. Carlos Tabares, CF

P: Pedro Luis Lazo

Panama
1. Miller, SS
2. Herrera, RF
3. Saenz, 3B
4. Lee, LF
5. Obando, DH
6. Rivera, CF
7. Ruiz, C
8. De Leon, 1B
9. Lasso, 2B

P: Bruce Chen

[Guest Rotblatt]

Quick 1-2-3 inning for Chen.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Lazo breaks Miller's bat in a ground out to third. One down.

Lazo has over 200 career wins, according to the announcers.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Base hit up the middle for Herrera, who worked a full count first.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Lazo working in the mid-90's. Apparently a big pitcher who resembles El Duque in appearance. Also has a split finger.

Saenez bounces a ball over the short-stop's head. Runners at 1st & 2nd for Carlos Lee.

[soupcan]

Yuliesky Gourriel (21 YO), 2B

This guy's sipposed to be really, really good.

Article in the NYTimes yesterday said he could be an impact player in the majors right now. HIs dad is a Cuban baseball legend and his brother is also a very good player.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Lee hit by pitch--bases loaded for Obando.

[Guest Rotblatt]

. . . who grounds into a 6-5-3 double play.

Inning over.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Urrutia (.301 AVG/.381 OBP/.473 SLG/.854 OPS) singles off the wall.

Cepeda pops up to the right side, but the 2B drops the ball. Urrutia out at second, Cepeda at 1st. Pestano GIDP.

[Guest Rotblatt]

="soupcan"]Yuliesky Gourriel (21 YO), 2B This guy's sipposed to be really, really good. Article in the NYTimes yesterday said he could be an impact player in the majors right now. HIs dad is a Cuban baseball legend and his brother is also a very good player.

Cool. His translated stats are certainly amazing for a 21-year old.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Rivera grounds out.

Ruiz walks.