CUBA, MEXICO SECURE BERTH IN WBC SECOND ROUND

Pool B was the last group to begin play in the WBC, but Cuba more than made up for any lost time by easily winning two games to clinch a spot in the second round. After Frederich Cepeda’s two solo homers helped propel the Cubans to an 8-1 win over South Africa last Sunday afternoon in Mexico City, Cuba required a two-run roundtripper by Yosvani Peraza in the eighth inning to register a come-from-behind 5-4 win Wednesday night against surprisingly plucky Australia.


The Aussies opened their pool schedule with a 17-7 pounding of host Mexico Sunday night, setting a WBC record with 22 hits, including two homers by Chris Snelling. The Mexicans came back with a 14-3 win over South Africa one night later behind Adrian Gonzalez’ two homers before exacting revenge on Australia, 16-1, Wednesday night.

Cuba closed out pool play Thursday night with a 16-4 win over Mexico as Ariel Pestano and Cepeda each hit three-run homers in a nine-run seventh inning. Both teams advanced to round two.

CARIBBEAN LEAGUES ROUNDUP

Carolina will need a strong showing from Williams if they hope to break into the Puerto Rico League’s playoff picture. Currently, Ponce leads the league with a 23-11, giving the Leones a comfortable five-game cushion over 17-15 Arecibo. Ponce’s Andy Gonzalez leads Puerto Rico batters with a .385 average, while Arecibo’s Jorge Padilla continues his strong season with a .363 mark, 12 homers and 63 RBIs.

The regular season is over in the Dominican League, with the 30-20 Ciboa Gigantes edging the 30-22 Este Azucareros for first place. The two teams will be joined by Licey and Cibaenas in the first round of the playoffs. After an 18-game round robin, the top two finishers will advance to the final series. Oriente’s Pablo Ozuna led Dominican batters with a .390 batting average, while Victor Diaz of Cibaenas set a record with 17 homers.

Caracas continues to sit pretty in the Venezuelan League standings with a 38-19 record, five games ahead of 33-24 Aragua. Pablo Sandoval of Magallenes leads Venezuelan batters with a .396 average, and Caracas’ Jesus Guzman continues his phenomenal campaign at the plate with a .363 average, 12 homers and 63 RBIs. David Austen of Zulia is 7-2 with a 1.87 ERA, leading the league in wins and ERA.

In the Mexican Pacific League, 19-8 Mazatlan is three games ahead of 17-12 Guasave in the second half standings with a week to go in the regular season. Augie Murillo of Obregon leads the MexPac with a .356 batting average, while Arturo Lopez of Los Mochis is 6-2 with a 2.89 ERA. Among relievers, Tim Lavigne of Guasave leads the league with 19 saves. Lavigne is 3-0 and has a 1.80 ERA.

ROYALS SIGN MEXICAN RELIEVER TO MINOR LEAGUE CONTRACT

Hoping to repeat the great success they’ve had with the signing of Mexican closer Joakim Soria to a contract two years ago, the Kansas City Royals have inked another reliever from south of the border. Federico Castaneda was a classmate of Soria’s at the Mexican baseball academy near Monterrey, and (like Soria) is a 24-year-old with a good fastball and slider who has shown well in the Mexican Pacific League prior to signing with Kansas City.
A native of Torreon, Castaneda pitched last summer with the Mexican League’s Laguna Vaqueros, going 4-1 with a 4.28 ERA in 58 appearances out of the bullpen. Pitching for the Culiacan Tomateros in the MexPac this winter, the 6’3” righty middleman has a 1.19 ERA in 19 relief stints with 16 strikeouts in 22 innings. He has not been involved in any decisions.
Castaneda is expected to open the 2009 season with Northwest Arkansas in the Class AA Texas League after signing a minor league contract with the Royals, but may be invited to Kansas City’s major league training camp in February as a non-roster pitcher.

GUASAVE TAKES EARLY LEAD IN MEX PAC STANDINGS

The Guasave Algodoneros are the early leaders in the standings two weeks into the Mexican Pacific League standings. After 15 games, Guasave have an 11-5 record, 1.5 games ahead of the Mexicali Aguilas and Los Mochis Caneros (who are both 9-6). The Algodoneros have won seven of nine home games, best in the Mex Pac, and were victorious in seven of their past ten league games.

Guasave's Jose Rodriguez is the Mex Pac batting leader with a .414 average, just ahead of Obregon's Augie Murillo, who is hitting .410. Oscar Robles of Mexicali is off to a hot start with a .370 average, along with five homers and 15 RBIs. Jorge Vasquez of Culiacan has hit a middling .265 so far, but he's made the most of his 13 hits, with a Mex Pac-best seven homers. However, most of those have come with the bases empty, as Vasquez has just ten RBIs to show for it.

Among pitchers, Hermosillo's Juan Delgadillo is off to the best start, with a 3-1 record, a 1.29 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 21 innings.