Sebastian Valle singled home Yunesky Sanchez with the winning run in the ninth inning as Mexico rallied to defeat the Dominican Republic 3-2 Thursday night.
The Mexican team advanced to Saturday night's Caribbean Series final at Margarita Island, Venzuela, against the winner of Friday's semifinal between Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
For information purposes, I'll designate the contract status and other pertinent information for the players mentioned in this post because most of them are 1) who's he or 2) I didn't know he was still playing.
Valle is a 23-year-old catcher in the Phillies' organization. He backslid last season, but he has hit 25 homers the last two seasons for Double-A Reading. 3B Sanchez, 29, played last summer in the Mexican League but has been as high as Triple-A in the U.S.
LHP Oliver Perez (32, free agent) was the winning pitcher even though he walked one batter and hit another in his one inning, the ninth. Mexico had tied the game with a run in the bottom of the eighth.
On Wednesday, the Dominican Republic had defeated Mexico City 7-6 in the final game of the round-robin qualifier. OF Eugenio Velez (31, Brewers) hit a two-run home run in a four-run third inning. It was the second homer of the series for Velez, better known as a base stealer.
The losing pitcher was RHP Guillermo Mota (40, Royals), who entered the game with a 2-1 lead, the bases loaded and two out in the eighth inning. He didn't retire any of three batters in the ninth. In addition to blowing a save, he had two of the Dominicans' three losses and a 10.80 ERA in the series.
Puerto Rico qualified for the semifinals by handing Venezuela its only loss of the round robin, 5-4. RHP Tyler Herron (27, Nationals) retired 2B Alberto Callaspo (30, Athletics) with the tying run at first base for Herron's second save of the series. He could be someone to watch. Herron, a converted starter, had six saves in high-A and Double-A ball last summer, then was a Puerto Rican All-Star with 12 saves during the winter season.
Puerto Rico finished the round robin tied with Mexico and the Dominican Republic at 2-2. If the Puerto Rican team had lost, it would have been eliminated at 1-3 because it lost to Cuba, which did finish 1-3 in the five-team event.
The starting pitchers for Friday's semifinal were teammates last season at Triple-A Las Vegas (Mets organization. Giancarlo Alvarado, 36, is scheduled to start for Puerto Rico against Venezuela's Daryl Thompson, 28.
Other statistical leaders during round-robin play:
Batting average -- C Ronny Paulino (32, Tigers) .545 (6 for 11), Dominican Republic; and 2B Emilio Bonifacio (28, free agent) .462 (6 for 13), D.R.
Home runs -- 3B Zelous Wheeler (27, Yankees) 3, Mexico. He spent the last three years in Double-A and Triple-A in the Orioles organization.
RBI -- Wheeler; OF Chris Roberson (34, has played three of the last four seasons in Mexico, a former Phillie), Mexico; and C Ramon Hernandez (37, Royals), Venezuela, all with 5
ERA -- Alfredo Aceves (31, Orioles), Mexico; Juan Delgadillo (31, Mexican League veteran), Mexico, and Jon Leicester, D.R., who hasn't played in organized baseball since 2011, all 1-0, 0.00 in seven innings. Aceves started Thursday's semifinal game as well.
RHP Joel Pineiro (35, free agent) was 0-1 but with an 0.00 ERA in 6 2/3 innings.
Saves -- Jean Machi (32, Giants), Venezuela, 3
Carlos Marmol, 31, pitched a perfect inning in each of two games during the round robin for the Dominican Republic with a save, an 0.00 ERA and an 0.00 WHIP. On Thursday, Marmol's representatives said he had agreed to a 2014 contract with the Marlins. He could offer an alternative if RHP Steve Cishek struggles as Miami's closer.
Showing posts with label Carlos Marmol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carlos Marmol. Show all posts
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Little things could mean a lot in final standings
I have some extra baseball information ready for later today, to commemorate the Diamondbacks pitchers and catchers' reporting today. I'll post that after this usual report.
Today's report is dedicated to the memory of Ralph Kiner. RIP to the Pirates' second-leading career home run hitter.
The Marlins have agreed to terms with RHP Carlos Marmol, but aren't expected to announce that move until they squeeze him into the 40-man roster and move someone else off. More about Marmol in one of what now appear to be two extra posts today.
Signed to minor league contracts:
C Koyie Hill by the Nationals
Infielder Justin Turner by the Dodgers
1B/OF Bryan LaHair by the Indians
The Rangers have picked up some extra revenue by renaming the stadium Globe Life Park in Arlington. Don't expect me to tell someone I'm going to Globe Life Park. I'll also refer to it by that name in writing about as often as I refer to Arlington's football stadium as AT&T Stadium.
* * *
Basketball. After Wednesday's games, Team Fresh Prints' lead increased to 7-1. I trail only in 3-point field goals, 19-17. Six of the guys in my lineup combined for nine 3s. New addition Jose Calderon made only one. Somehow I went ahead in field goal percentage even though Calderon and fellow new Fresh Print Boris Diaw were 4 for 14 combined. They were also the only two players in the full 10-man lineup who didn't score in double figures. Marco Belinelli, on my bench, scored 14 points in his real game for the Spurs despite not hitting any 3s. He'll be one of three players active Thursday; my opponent had no one playing tonight when I last looked at his lineup.
Important key: Find some time or typical times during each day when you can update and upgrade your lineup for daily league.
For me, that time is late the previous night or early in the morning. My sleep is on an irregular schedule, so sometimes late night and early morning are the same thing. I didn't sleep much Tuesday night, so I went to bed at 8 p.m. Wednesday and got up at 1:30 a.m. to start Thursday.
* * *
Hockey. Watching the schedule and switching Joe Pavelski for Corey Perry was somewhat successful. Pavelski played 22 minutes, with only one shot on goal, and was at 0 in plus/minus. Perry was minus-1, but he did take six shots.
Dustin Penner, Perry's teammate in Anaheim and with the Texas Puckin Penguins. was minus-2. Penner was on my bench. So observing that the Ducks were playing the Blackhawks, while Pavelski's Sharks were going against Dallas, was helpful.
Matt Niskanen was plus-1, with a power-play assist, increasing his season lead for my team to plus-27. He's also averaging better than 20 minutes per game.
Two important keys here: 1. I should have begun monitoring games played earlier in the season. Instead of just throwing every available player on fantasy ice, I should have avoided unfavorable matchups and sat players such as Penner against Chicago. 2. Don't always listen to the "experts." Teams will always find a place for those who are playing well. After I picked up Niskanen, every time a Penguins defenseman was returning from injury, I'd read how much playing time Niskanen would be losing and how I should replace him. I figured I'd wait to see if he actually was playing less. As it turned out, it was never enough time that I should give up his strong performance in other statistical categories.
As it happens, the only owner with more games already played than I have is the owner of the second-place team just ahead of me. His skaters have 30 more games, and his goalies 22.
While my team remained at 67 points, each of the top two teams lost half a point to teams in the lower half of the standings. I trail the second-place team by nine assists and nine power-play points, and it's conceivable that I could catch him by season's end by taking advantage of my extra games (really his fewer games) and judicious selection of players for each day's lineup.
From the Thursday lineup I laid out Monday, I made two changes. I replaced forward Paul Stastny with Clarke MacArthur, in part because MacArthur has been filling up more categories recently and also because Stastny will be playing against my only starting goalie, Steve Mason. I don't want anyone, even Stastny, to score against Mason. Well, OK, if another Avalanche player, Nathan MacKinnon, scores Colorado's only goal, that would work. The other change was Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson for teammate Jan Hejda. Johnson has more shots, penalty minutes and ATOI than Hejda.Who knows? An assist, a penalty, or a few extra seconds could make a difference in the final standings.
Today's report is dedicated to the memory of Ralph Kiner. RIP to the Pirates' second-leading career home run hitter.
The Marlins have agreed to terms with RHP Carlos Marmol, but aren't expected to announce that move until they squeeze him into the 40-man roster and move someone else off. More about Marmol in one of what now appear to be two extra posts today.
Signed to minor league contracts:
C Koyie Hill by the Nationals
Infielder Justin Turner by the Dodgers
1B/OF Bryan LaHair by the Indians
The Rangers have picked up some extra revenue by renaming the stadium Globe Life Park in Arlington. Don't expect me to tell someone I'm going to Globe Life Park. I'll also refer to it by that name in writing about as often as I refer to Arlington's football stadium as AT&T Stadium.
* * *
Basketball. After Wednesday's games, Team Fresh Prints' lead increased to 7-1. I trail only in 3-point field goals, 19-17. Six of the guys in my lineup combined for nine 3s. New addition Jose Calderon made only one. Somehow I went ahead in field goal percentage even though Calderon and fellow new Fresh Print Boris Diaw were 4 for 14 combined. They were also the only two players in the full 10-man lineup who didn't score in double figures. Marco Belinelli, on my bench, scored 14 points in his real game for the Spurs despite not hitting any 3s. He'll be one of three players active Thursday; my opponent had no one playing tonight when I last looked at his lineup.
Important key: Find some time or typical times during each day when you can update and upgrade your lineup for daily league.
For me, that time is late the previous night or early in the morning. My sleep is on an irregular schedule, so sometimes late night and early morning are the same thing. I didn't sleep much Tuesday night, so I went to bed at 8 p.m. Wednesday and got up at 1:30 a.m. to start Thursday.
* * *
Hockey. Watching the schedule and switching Joe Pavelski for Corey Perry was somewhat successful. Pavelski played 22 minutes, with only one shot on goal, and was at 0 in plus/minus. Perry was minus-1, but he did take six shots.
Dustin Penner, Perry's teammate in Anaheim and with the Texas Puckin Penguins. was minus-2. Penner was on my bench. So observing that the Ducks were playing the Blackhawks, while Pavelski's Sharks were going against Dallas, was helpful.
Matt Niskanen was plus-1, with a power-play assist, increasing his season lead for my team to plus-27. He's also averaging better than 20 minutes per game.
Two important keys here: 1. I should have begun monitoring games played earlier in the season. Instead of just throwing every available player on fantasy ice, I should have avoided unfavorable matchups and sat players such as Penner against Chicago. 2. Don't always listen to the "experts." Teams will always find a place for those who are playing well. After I picked up Niskanen, every time a Penguins defenseman was returning from injury, I'd read how much playing time Niskanen would be losing and how I should replace him. I figured I'd wait to see if he actually was playing less. As it turned out, it was never enough time that I should give up his strong performance in other statistical categories.
As it happens, the only owner with more games already played than I have is the owner of the second-place team just ahead of me. His skaters have 30 more games, and his goalies 22.
While my team remained at 67 points, each of the top two teams lost half a point to teams in the lower half of the standings. I trail the second-place team by nine assists and nine power-play points, and it's conceivable that I could catch him by season's end by taking advantage of my extra games (really his fewer games) and judicious selection of players for each day's lineup.
From the Thursday lineup I laid out Monday, I made two changes. I replaced forward Paul Stastny with Clarke MacArthur, in part because MacArthur has been filling up more categories recently and also because Stastny will be playing against my only starting goalie, Steve Mason. I don't want anyone, even Stastny, to score against Mason. Well, OK, if another Avalanche player, Nathan MacKinnon, scores Colorado's only goal, that would work. The other change was Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson for teammate Jan Hejda. Johnson has more shots, penalty minutes and ATOI than Hejda.Who knows? An assist, a penalty, or a few extra seconds could make a difference in the final standings.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Caribbean Series could be last chance to make a new impression
At this stage of the hot stove season, when the groundhog could have told us (but didn't) that winter's over, there are five possible areas of activity:
1) Signing free agents
2) Signing minor league free agents
3) Signing a veteran who was impressive in winter ball
4) Going to arbitration
5) Avoiding arbitration
6) Designating players for assignment
Forget about 1. It appears that the remaining "name" free agents who would cost the signing team a draft pick will be remaining on the sidelines until after the draft or until a team has an emergency opening caused by an injury.
2 has been slow this weekend.
I'll come back to 3 later.
The 4 hearings are scheduled between now and Feb. 21, but haven't started yet.
Teams are more active in 5. The Nationals avoided arbitration with RHP Doug Fister by signing him to a 1-year contract. The salary wasn't announced, but splitting the difference between the salaries proposed by each side would put it at $7 million. Is Fister worth twice as much as Dodgers catcher? Probably more. But LA and A.J. Ellis agreed on a 2014 contract for $3.555 million plus incentives.
For 6, the Royals designated 2B/OF Emilio Bonifacio for assignment to make room on their 40-man roster for LHP Bruce Chen. Bonifacio's steals give him more value on a fantasy roster than on a major league team. His best bet is as a utilityman for a contending team, which could use him as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.
Now, on to winter ball.
The Caribbean Series began Saturday at Margarita Island in Venezuela. Puerto Rico's champion, Mayaguez, defeated Licey from the Dominican Republic 7-6 in 10 innings, and Hermosillo from the Mexican Pacific League won over Cuban champion Villa Clara 9-4.
Cuba is in the Caribbean Series for the first time since 1960. Because it's a five-team tournament, the top four from a round robin would advance to the semifinals, with those winners meeting Saturday, Feb. 8, for the championship.
Venezuelan champion Hermosillo is scheduled to play its first game at 7:30 p.m. EDT against Cuba. the series is being televised only on ESPN Deportes.
Bonifacio can use his Caribban Series performance to attract another team. His Dominican teammate, free-agent RHP Carlos Marmol, pitched a perfect ninth inning against Puerto Rico.
For Puerto Rico, SS Rey Navarro doubled and scored the winning run. He played during the last three of his seven minor league seasons for the Royals' Double-A affiliate at Northwest Arkansas.The hero of Mexico's opening victory was Chris Roberson, 4 for 5 with a home run and four RBI. He last played in the majors with the 2007 Phillies, and has spent his last three summers with Monterrey of the Mexican League.
Antoher player for Mexico, Zelous Wheeler, hit a three-run homer in the seventh game of the MPL finals. He has signed a minor league contract with the Yankees.
In Australia, where it's actually summer ball, the regular-season-champion Perth Heat will host the Canberra Cavalry at Barbagallo Ballpark next weekend for the Australian Baseball League championship.
Perth would seem to be a prohibitive favorite. Brandon Tripp led the league with 41 RBI and was second in homers and batting average. He played at Cal State-Fullerton, and last performed in the minors in 2012 in the Phillis organization. Former major league RHP Mike Ekstrom, released from the Angels organization last summer, led the Australian league with an 0.72 ERA and was 5-1. Jack Frawley, who didn't make it past short-season Class A and independent ball in the U.S., led the league with seven wins. If Canberra can stay close, the Cavalry charge could be led by Sean Toler, who tied for the ABL lead with 11 saves. He pitched at Missouri State and last season with the Kansas City T-Bones of the independent American Association.
* * *
Basketball. I'm down to a 6-2 lead, trailing now in field goal percentage as well as rebounds. I had Anderson Varejao in my lineup Saturday, hoping he would play despite his injury, but he didn't play. Reminds me that I need to check the free agents to see if there's a rebounder who can shoot a little bit playing today.
* * *
Hockey. I gained a point in power-play points, but lost half a point in goalie wins. Both teams that were tied with me two days earlier have new passed me. Tim Thomas let me down, allowing four goals in a loss.
1) Signing free agents
2) Signing minor league free agents
3) Signing a veteran who was impressive in winter ball
4) Going to arbitration
5) Avoiding arbitration
6) Designating players for assignment
Forget about 1. It appears that the remaining "name" free agents who would cost the signing team a draft pick will be remaining on the sidelines until after the draft or until a team has an emergency opening caused by an injury.
2 has been slow this weekend.
I'll come back to 3 later.
The 4 hearings are scheduled between now and Feb. 21, but haven't started yet.
Teams are more active in 5. The Nationals avoided arbitration with RHP Doug Fister by signing him to a 1-year contract. The salary wasn't announced, but splitting the difference between the salaries proposed by each side would put it at $7 million. Is Fister worth twice as much as Dodgers catcher? Probably more. But LA and A.J. Ellis agreed on a 2014 contract for $3.555 million plus incentives.
For 6, the Royals designated 2B/OF Emilio Bonifacio for assignment to make room on their 40-man roster for LHP Bruce Chen. Bonifacio's steals give him more value on a fantasy roster than on a major league team. His best bet is as a utilityman for a contending team, which could use him as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.
Now, on to winter ball.
The Caribbean Series began Saturday at Margarita Island in Venezuela. Puerto Rico's champion, Mayaguez, defeated Licey from the Dominican Republic 7-6 in 10 innings, and Hermosillo from the Mexican Pacific League won over Cuban champion Villa Clara 9-4.
Cuba is in the Caribbean Series for the first time since 1960. Because it's a five-team tournament, the top four from a round robin would advance to the semifinals, with those winners meeting Saturday, Feb. 8, for the championship.
Venezuelan champion Hermosillo is scheduled to play its first game at 7:30 p.m. EDT against Cuba. the series is being televised only on ESPN Deportes.
Bonifacio can use his Caribban Series performance to attract another team. His Dominican teammate, free-agent RHP Carlos Marmol, pitched a perfect ninth inning against Puerto Rico.
For Puerto Rico, SS Rey Navarro doubled and scored the winning run. He played during the last three of his seven minor league seasons for the Royals' Double-A affiliate at Northwest Arkansas.The hero of Mexico's opening victory was Chris Roberson, 4 for 5 with a home run and four RBI. He last played in the majors with the 2007 Phillies, and has spent his last three summers with Monterrey of the Mexican League.
Antoher player for Mexico, Zelous Wheeler, hit a three-run homer in the seventh game of the MPL finals. He has signed a minor league contract with the Yankees.
In Australia, where it's actually summer ball, the regular-season-champion Perth Heat will host the Canberra Cavalry at Barbagallo Ballpark next weekend for the Australian Baseball League championship.
Perth would seem to be a prohibitive favorite. Brandon Tripp led the league with 41 RBI and was second in homers and batting average. He played at Cal State-Fullerton, and last performed in the minors in 2012 in the Phillis organization. Former major league RHP Mike Ekstrom, released from the Angels organization last summer, led the Australian league with an 0.72 ERA and was 5-1. Jack Frawley, who didn't make it past short-season Class A and independent ball in the U.S., led the league with seven wins. If Canberra can stay close, the Cavalry charge could be led by Sean Toler, who tied for the ABL lead with 11 saves. He pitched at Missouri State and last season with the Kansas City T-Bones of the independent American Association.
* * *
Basketball. I'm down to a 6-2 lead, trailing now in field goal percentage as well as rebounds. I had Anderson Varejao in my lineup Saturday, hoping he would play despite his injury, but he didn't play. Reminds me that I need to check the free agents to see if there's a rebounder who can shoot a little bit playing today.
* * *
Hockey. I gained a point in power-play points, but lost half a point in goalie wins. Both teams that were tied with me two days earlier have new passed me. Tim Thomas let me down, allowing four goals in a loss.
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