[jksander]

APRIL 8, 1963 . . . We’ve made the decision to move Roberto Diaz into the pitching rotation, moving backup shortstop Fernando Esquivel down to the reserve roster in the process. Diaz will move into our third starter spot, with Ortiz moving into the bullpen for the moment. We haven’t been needing a deep bench offensively at this point in the season, and I want to see how Diaz, at 18, can handle coming up and getting some action -- his fastball is quickly improving, as is his sinker, and he looks to eventually have a top-tier four pitch arsenal with great stuff and control. We may need to eventually cut our bullpen down, but for now I’d rather have a deeper reserve to pull from while everyone figures out their place -- especially with the big road trip coming up.

Today in game one of our three-game set against Pinar del Rio, we started Jose Guzman (0-2, 6.61 ERA, 16.1 IP, 4 K’s, 1.78 WHIP) against the Roosters’ Luis Moncada (0-2, 2.35 ERA, 15.1 IP, 8 K’s, 1.57 WHIP). This one turned into a rarity in this league: a legitimate pitcher’s duel! Finally in the bottom of the sixth we were the first to score a run, Jose Castro batting one in with a single to put us ahead 1-0! Jose Alcaraz batted one with a single a few moments later, and we went into the top of the seventh leading 2-0. The Roosters got a run back in the top of the seventh, but Guzman handled his business and kept the lead intact. Unfortunately he wasn’t so lucky in the top of the eighth, as catcher Charlie Gregory hit a sac-fly to center and tied the game up at 2-2. Lucien Rocchigiani came in with one out and a man on first, getting the second out and then giving up a slow-roller into right that turned into an RBI double. Just like that, the Roosters had their first lead of the game. Another hit just like it allowed them to add another run, before we finally came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth, now trailing by a pair. Jose Alcaraz beat out an infield single and they missed the throw to home, allowing a run to score and pull us within one. With two outs, Victor Diaz took a powerful swing and rocketed the ball into the right field corner, fighting his way to a triple and scoring two more runs, to put us back in the lead! Fernandez hit one to the same general area to drive in another, and we went into the top of the ninth leading by two. Rocchigiani stayed out to finish the game, getting three quick outs to end this as a 6-4 come-from-behind victory!

Guzman had a great night, lasting 7.1 innings with 11 hits but only walking two, striking out another and allowing three earned runs. He didn’t get the win, but his ERA improved to 5.70 through three starts. The win went to Rocchigiani, who is now 1-0 with an 8.10 ERA, allowing just two hits and an earned run through 1.2 innings. Each team wound up with 13 hits, ours led by Jose Castro who hit four times for a run and an RBI. Hernandez, Gonzalez and Brisset each added a pair of hits as well. Castro, who was starting at left field for the first time this year, was a revelation, and at least for the moment remains perfect from the plate while Juan Flores took a well-deserved rest day.

APRIL 9, 1963 . . . We’ve made a trade with the Barajona Tropics in the Dominican league, sending our backup first baseman Edgar Hernandez to the Tropics along with reserve roster reliever Mauricio Collin and $1,000 in cash, getting Victor Santos, a 31-year-old power-hitting third-baseman. Santos has the potential to be a league leading offensive player while also filling a huge need we’ve had to improve at third base. He’ll take over immediately at third base, with Jose Alcaraz taking over as a utility infield backup off the bench.

Ludovic Peltier (1-1, 5.06 ERA, 16.0 IP, 7 K’s, 1.88 WHIP) started today against Pinar del Rio’s Mahjoub Andongwisye (0-2, 27.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 2 K’s, 4.00 WHIP), who has been absolutely miserable on the mound so far. But he had a good start tonight, and his Roosters got on the board first with a run scored off a pop-out at center on two outs in the top of the third. Two more hits drove in runs and we were lucky to go into the bottom of the frame trailing by just three runs. They added another pair in the fifth, but we showed signs of life in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases and then scoring our first run off a flyout to center. We again loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh but no one came in to score. Victor Santos hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to three runs, but that was all we could muster. In the end this went down as another disappointing 5-2 loss.

Peltier pitched a complete game, falling to 1-2 with a 5.04 ERA, allowing eight hits with a walk and four strikeouts to go with five earned runs. The Roosters outhit us 8-7, our team led by Flores with a pair of hits to nowhere, and by newcomer Santos, who had a hit, a run scored and two batted in thanks to his flyout in the sixth.
 
APRIL 10, 1963 . . . For our last home game of this early stretch, we’re facing Pinar del Rio for a third day in a row, and we’re starting our rookie sensation Roberto Diaz, who will be going up against Tony Salas (1-0, 2.01 ERA, 22.1 IP, 6 K’s, 1.30 WHIP). He gave up a run in the top of the first, but we tied it up in the bottom of the first with a sac-fly by Santos which drove in Victor Diaz from third. And in the bottom of the second, Samuel Brisset hit a two-run homer more than 435 feet into the left field stands, bringing everyone in the stadium to their feet as we took a 3-1 lead. It didn’t last -- a two-run double by their right fielder David Lira tied it up 3-3 in the top of the third, and an error on an easy throw at shortstop let them retake the lead. They added a run in the top of the fourth, We brought Juan Ortiz in from the bullpen with a man on and no outs in the top of the seventh, and he got three quick outs to keep us in this one, still trailing 5-3 heading into the stretch. We just couldn’t buy a hit, and in the top of the eighth our luck ran out. The Roosters added a run off a wild pitch with the bases loaded, we walked in another run, and yet another scored on ANOTHER wild pitch, before we finally got into the bottom of the inning trailing 8-3. We scored a run in the bottom of the inning off a flyout, but Ortiz melted down in the top of the ninth, getting two outs quickly and then allowing three more runs -- we had to bring in Salinas with men on first and second and still those two outs, and HE gave up two more before finally getting us out of there. It was a humiliating defeat, as the Roosters destroyed us 13-4, dropping us to 3-6 on the season.

Diaz’s start was not terrible -- he lasted six innings and allowed 11 hits, striking out three and walking four with five runs (four earned) to give him a 6.00 ERA and an 0-1 record. But Ortiz had 2.2 innings with six hits, three strikeouts, four walks and EIGHT earned runs, inexplicably struggling whether he starts or plays in relief. And if our pitching’s going to be this off kilter, we need to find ways to score ... they outhit us 19-5 in our own ballpark which is absolutely not acceptable. Samuel Brisset led the team with two hits, a run and three RBIs, with Santos batting in our only other run with another sac-fly.

Maybe we’ll have better luck on the road. We continue to add players to our reserve roster, and I expect to test out players on the upcoming road trip to see if we can crack the code. One of those will be second baseman Logan Holmes, who will be joining the main roster as an extra offensive option -- we’re moving Ortiz down to the reserves for the time being. We have a day off tomorrow, and then play the next six days in a row, facing Guantanamo and Manzanillo on the road. Both teams, like us, currently hold 3-6 records, and we’re now in last place in our division in a tie with Pinar del Rio.