The Cuban Dominican Baseball Association

[jksander]

JANUARY 1, 1963 . . . The baseball world has been greeted at the start of this new year with a brand new international baseball league, untethered to the rest of the sport’s world, based in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The league, dubbed the Cuban Dominican Baseball Association (CDBA) features two four-team Cuban divisions and two four-team Dominican divisions, each playing 84-game seasons with a Best of Five two-round playoff of division leaders which will culminate in a League Championship Series between the two leagues. The regular season begins on April 1, 1963, with games running through the first week of July. The league’s trade deadline will be on May 15, with the five-round Amateur Draft taking place on June 1.

The following teams will be participating in the CDBA’s inagural season:

Cuban League

CL West
Havana Hunters
Pinar del Rio Roosters
Santa Clara Saints
Cienfuegos Cubanos

CL East
Manzanillo Cattlemen
Nuevitas Naturals
Bayamo Bombadiers
Guantanamo Gators

Dominican League

DL West
Monte Christi Sea Merchants
Santa Domingo Dominicanos
San Juan Stingrays
Barahona Tropics

DL East
Isla Saona Islanders
Boca de Yuma Tigres
La Romana Rays
Santiago Explorers

An inaugural draft will take place this week, with 23 rounds. Each team’s active roster will be capped at 18 players, with a maximum of 15 players on a reserve roster. Each team will cultivate an International Roster over time which will be capped at 15 players. The inaugural International Draft is set for January 15th, 1964, with the first pool being revealed this October after the completion of our first season.

My name is Carlos Arroyo, and I will be taking over as the GM / Manager of the Havana Hunters in the Cuban League. I will update you as the offseason progresses with our development in the uncharted territory of this new league.

[jksander]

MARCH 3, 1963 . . . The league had a random draw for the draft order for this coming June’s first-ever CDBA Amateur Draft, and we came out with the 14th pick out of 16. That is unfortunate, as the pool does not look particularly deep this year. But we’ve put together a really solid team in my opinion, and we picked up some high quality young prospects in the league’s initial draft this January, so we’ve got plenty of room to develop. We’ll be opening the regular season with a three-game set against the Bayamo Bombadiers on April 2-4, followed by sets against the Nuevitas Naturals and the Pinar del Rio Roosters, before we hit the road in mid-April for a two week road trip.
 
APRIL 1, 1963 . . . Here are our opening day rosters for the upcoming season!

Starting Lineup (con / pow / eye / def) ... 20/80 scale
C - Jose Colon, 22 (50/65/55/50)
1B - Giordano Cantimori, 31 (65/50/50/40)
2B - Antonio Fernandez, 30 (60/50/45/55)
3B - Jose Alcaraz, 31 (50/65/45/50)
SS - Samuel Brisset, 28 (55/50/50/60)
LF - Juan Flores, 32 (70/45/45/50)
CF - Victor Diaz, 32 (65/70/80/50)
RF - Jonathan Gonzalez, 27 (65/50/40/45)

Bench (con / pow / eye / def) ... 20/80 scale
1B - Edgar Hernandez, 23 (60/70/65/40)
SS - Fernando Esquivel, 24 (60/40/40/55)
LF - Jose Castro, 28 (60/55/50/55)
CF - Ramon Adams, 25 (50/40/40/70)
RF - Alejandro Botello, 24 (40/65/70/65)

Pitching Staff (Stu / Mov / Con / Sta) ... 20/80 Scale
SP - Jose Guzman, 34 (55/65/50/55) ... best pitch is above average sinker, plus average fastball, slider, curve, changeup
SP - Ludovic Peltier, 28 (50/65/55/55) ... best pitch is above average sinker, plus average fastball, slider, changeup
SP - Juan Ortiz, 25 (50/65/45/55) ... best pitch is above average sinker, plus average fastball, curve, changeup
Setup - Esteban Salinas, 31 (55/75/70/35) ... best pitch is an average slider, plus below average sinker
Middle - Lucien Rocchigiani, 33 (60/70/50/40) ... has two pitches, a curve and a cutter, both above average

Due to roster limits, every team in the league has five pitchers on their rosters, and starters are eligible to pitch in relief. Based on the players the league has generated, this looks to be a very hitting-focused league at the moment -- it will be interesting to see how young pitchers coming up develop stronger arsenals. We currently have a five-man reserve roster, but are searching for free agents to add depth, as well as pursuing trade opportunities within the league. As for prospects, Roberto Diaz, age 18, is a five-star prospect with a four pitch arsenal ranked 2nd overall in the CDBA rankings. When he reaches his potential I expect him to be a dominant force in our fledgling league.

[Brad K]

So THAT'S what Brigade 2506 was intended to stop!

[jksander]

Originally Posted by Brad K

So THAT'S what Brigade 2506 was intended to stop!

Lol!

[jksander]

This is the first ballpark I've ever built in OOTP, and it was pretty fun to do. I haven't decided if I'm going to build individual ballparks for each team, but I may as the season progresses, keeping their capacities at the numbers initially created by the game at the start.

[jksander]

APRIL 2, 1963 . . . Opening Day at Hunters Field here in beautiful Havana, Cuba! We’ve got ourselves a stunning 2,450 capacity stadium, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city center. The weather was perfect for our CDBA debut, clear skies and seventy degrees with the wind blowing out to left at 11 miles per hour -- perfect weather for the nearly 1,800 fans who paid fifty cents each to watch some baseball. Jose “Wild Man” Guzman got the start for us, while the Bayamo Bombadiers brought out 26-year-old Tony Mendez, a three-star Guatamalan right-handed starter. The Bombadiers got going quickly, walking two batters in the top of the first and scoring a run via an RBI single on two outs by first-baseman Giordano Centimori, going up 1-0 in the top of the first. They added another run in the top of the second, and a third in the top of the third, giving them a pretty solid lead in the early goings, even moreso because their starter appeared to be unhittable, though he did have a propensity to walk batters -- we just couldn’t get them anywhere. Guzman got blown up in the top of the fifth as Baymo gave up four more runs to pretty much put this one out of reach. It’s becoming clear we’re going to need to find some players who can get hits, or this is going to be a very long season.

In the bottom of the sixth our centerfielder Victor Diaz got our first hit of the game, a double, and Antonio Fernandez hit an RBI double to get him around to score our first run of the evening. And with Mendez starting to show signs of weakness, Jose Colon picked up a single, but the rally ended quietly as we took a 7-1 deficit into the top of the seventh. Leadoff man Jonathan Gonzalez hit an RBI double for us in the bottom of the seventh to cut their lead to five runs, Reliever Lucien Rocchigiani came in with a man on first and one out in the top of the eighth, and you could tell he just wasn’t yet in top shape, quickly giving up three more runs to ensure we weren’t coming back to win this one. We did make a spirited attempt to come back, loading the bases with one out and then scoring on an RBI single by Victor Diaz, and Antonio Fernandez walked in a run to make it a six-run game. Jose Colon walked in another run to cut the lead to five, and after a flyout by Alcaraz, Samuel Brissett walked in yet another run! But we cuoldn’t make up that many runs, our leadoff man striking out to end this one as a spirited 10-6 loss.

Jose Guzman lasted 7.1 innings and threw 151 pitches, allowing 10 hits with five walks, two strikeouts and eight runs (seven earned), starting his season with an 0-1 record and an 8.59 ERA, while Rocchigiani allowed four hits, walked two, struck out one and added two earned runs, giving him a 10.80 ERA through 1.2 innings. The fans loved it when we started getting some hits, though the Bombadiers lived up to their name, outhitting us 14-9. Victor Diaz led the way with a pair of hits, two runs and an RBI, while Antonio Fernandez got a hit, a walk and drove in a pair of runs.

APRIL 3, 1963 . . . Ludovic Peltier got the start today, facing Baymo pitcher Roman Martinez, who has great movement and an above average changeup to go with four additional pitches where the “stuff” is questionable. Should be a fun matchup! The Bombadiers got on the board in the top of the second with an RBI single by leadoff man Carlos Silva, and Peltier struggled in the fourth inning, loading the bases in the top of the innning and giving up three more runs to the Bombadiers. They added a fifth run in the top of the seventh, and after a bases-loaded walk, Peltier finally got us out of the inning but we trailed at the stretch by a 6-0 margin with reliever Esteban Salinas warming in the bullpen. We finally picked up a run in the bottom of the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Giordano Cantimori, and Victor Diaz hit one deep, bouncing off the right field wall to stay fair, coming out of it with an RBI double. The bases loaded thanks to a walk, our catcher Jose Colon hit a slow roller into left field and suddenly this one was wide open -- two runs scored thanks to an RBI double, and we were within a pair! Jose Alcaraz hit an RBI single to make it a one-run game, and though we struck out to end the inning, we went into the top of the eighth only trailing 6-5. Esteban Salinas came in to pitch in the top of the eighth and quickly gave up all the momentum, the Bombadiers’ right fielder Daniel Rivera driving in a pair with a standing double. We went into the bottom of the ninth trailing by four, and we weren’t able to get a rally going, losing by a score of 9-5.

Peltier started out with an 0-1 record and a 6.43 ERA, allowing six hits and six runs (five earned) thanks to an absolutely insane 10 walks, striking out only three batters through seven innings. Salinas lasted two innings and allowed three hits and three runs with a strikeout and a walk, giving him a 13.50 ERA through his first appearance. Peltier’s walks doomed us in a game we could have won; we outhit them 12-9, led by Jonathan Gonzalez with three hits. Jose Colon hit once and walked twice, driving in a pair of runs, while Peltier hit twice and scored a run.

APRIL 4, 1963 . . . Tonight we started 25-year-old lefty Juan Ortiz, who on paper is our strongest starting pitcher, so it’s going to be interesting to see how he handles facing Bayamo’s Angelo Sotelo, who has a great sinker and excellent movement, but not a lot of stamina. This time we got out to a great start, loading the bases in the bottom of the first without an out, but we didn’t get anything out of it, a popout to their pitcher and a hit into a double play keeping the game scoreless. Bayamo got on the board with an RBI single by Jose Rodriguez, their shortstop, in the top of the second, and a wild pitch scored another. We felt lucky to get into the bottom of the second trailing just 3-0. Luckily their starter walked three batters in a row to give us a real chance at doing damage in the bottom of the frame, and Juan Ortiz did just that, scoring two with a double to get us on the board, and Jonathan Gonzalez hit an RBI single that tied us up 3-3! Edgar Hernandez kept things going with a hit into deep center, an RBI double that gave us our first lead of the season, up 4-3. Juan Flores batted in another though he grounded out at first, and a flyout by Victor Diaz drove in another. A Jose Colon RBI double kept the inning going, and Alcaraz hit our first homer of the year out of left, clearing the bases and giving us a 9-3 lead heading into the top of the third. Ortiz loaded the bases in the top of the sixth, allowing three runs to score off a triple by catcher Jesus Gueitz as the Bombadiers cut our lead to three runs. Alex Parada batted in another run with a single, but we got into the bottom of the inning with a 9-7 lead still intact.

In the bottom of the seventh we got a run back, Edgar Hernandez getting an RBI single to make it 10-7, but Ortiz gave up a two-run double to center fielder Danny Jimenez and then loaded the bases with one out, so we had to bring in Esteban Salinas to try and get us out of there. A flyout to center got us our second out but surrendered the tying run, but Salinas did what he needed to do and we went into the bottom of the eighth with a chance to get our momentum back, knotted up at 10-10. We got the lead back in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single by Samuel Brisset, and Salazar got us through the ninth without giving it up as we won our first game of the year in an 11-10 slugfest!

Juan Ortiz gave us 7.1 innings and threw 132 pitches, allowing 12 hits and 10 runs, walking six and striking out two to give him a 12.27 ERA in his first start -- so far, none of our starters have escaped unblemished, though Salinas came through with 1.2 innings of solid work tonight, coming out of it without a hit, walk or strikeout, throwing 11 pitches and bringing his ERA down to 7.36, blowing the save but coming out of it with a win in the process. For the second night in a row we outhit Bayamo, this time 15-12, led by Ortiz the pitcher with three hits, a run and two RBIs, while Gonzalez hit three times in the leadoff spot for two runs and one batted in. Gonzalez is hitting .533 through the first three games, with eight hits in his first 15 at-bats.

[jksander]

APRIL 5, 1963 . . . We’ve signed an additional reliever, Edward Aguirre, a 30-year-old who has agreed to play for us for the current season, earning just under $500 for the season. He has an above average fastball coupled with a solid curve, and should have the overall stuff and movement to do well in the league, particularly since he can throw in the mid 90s. We’re sending one of our backup fielders, Ramon Adame, down to the reserve roster, to make room for Aguirre, who will become our sixth active pitcher just in time for our upcoming series against the Nuevitas Naturals here at Hunters Field.

Jose Guzman (0-1, 8.59 ERA, 7.1 IP, 2 K’s, 2.05 WHIP) started tonight against the Naturals’ Ivan Garcia (0-1, 7.04 ERA, 7.2 IP, 2 K’s, 2.22 WHIP) in our first of three games against them. The Naturals scored first, thanks to an RBI single by their shortstop Jose Roman in the top of the second, but we tied it up in the bottom of the inning, when Jose Colon tripled and was driven in by an RBI single by Jose Alcaraz to make it 1-1. Guzman got us into the lead with an RBI double, sending us into the top of the third leading 2-1. The game remained tightly contested from there, with both pitchers performing very well. The Naturals scored a run in the top of the sixth off a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-2, They added a run in the top of the eighth with an RBI single to take a 3-2 lead, but Jose Colon hit an RBI double to tie it again in the bottom of the inning. We went into the top of the ninth still tied up, but they retook the lead 4-3 on an RBI double by second baseman Mario Rojas, and leadoff man Danny Quintana hit an RBI double to make it 5-3. Guzman finally got us out of the inning, but we went into the bottom of the ninth trailing by three runs and needing a miracle to keep this one going. With one out, Juan Flores hit a double into deep left, and Victor Diaz got a hit up the gap to give us runners on the corners. Flores scored a run off a wild pitch with two outs to make it a two-run game, but Jose Colon batted himself out to left and we lost this one 6-4.

Guzman fell to 0-2 on the season, but lasted the entire game, allowing 12 hits and six earned runs with two walks and two strikeouts. But most of his damage came in the top of the ninth ... the meltdown happened so fast we couldn’t get a bullpen guy ready. Regardless, his ERA improved to 6.61 through 16.1 innings of work, and even at 34 he still has the drive to succeed in this league. Nuevitas outhit us 12-10 as a team, our offense led by Diaz, who hit three times and scored a run, and by Jose Colon who had a pair of hits for a run and two RBIs. He is currently hitting .429 with three doubles.

APRIL 6, 1963 . . . Ludovic Peltier (0-1, 6.43 ERA, 7.0 IP, 3 K’s, 2.29 WHIP) started game two against the Naturals, facing Juan Cerda (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 10.0 IP, 1 K, 1.20 WHIP). Peltier quickly loaded the bases in the top of the first, and though a run scored, we got the hitter out on a double play, and got out of the frame trailing just by the one run. We got the run back in the bottom of the third, Juan Flores hiting an RBI single to drive right fielder Alejandro Botello in to score, getting the first run of his career with a stolen base along the way! Botello picked up a hit in the bottom of the fourth, driving in a pair of runs with a double to put us in the lead, and Flores batted in another with a single. With the bases loaded, Antonio Fernandez hit a double that drove in three more runs, and the rout was on! Alcaraz batted in another run with a single, a run scored on a wild pitch, and by the time Peltier struck out swinging we’d built a massive 9-1 lead out of thin air! We added another run in the bottom of the fifth off a Diaz double, and Fernandez batted in our 11th of the night with a single to make it a 10-run lead after five. In the top of the ninth, the Naturals got back to back RBI doubles to pull within eight runs, and with two outs second baseman Ricardo Chavez hit a run scoring double to cut it to seven. But Peltier held tough and was able to get out of it without any further damage as we beat Nuevitas 11-4, improving to 2-3 on the season.

Ludovic Peltier improved to 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA, allowing 11 hits and four earned runs while walking three and striking out four in a complete game victory. We outhit the Naturals 15-11, led by Jose Alcaraz with four hits, a run and an RBI. Alejandro Botello, leading off in his first game of the season, had a hit and a walk, scoring three runs and batting in two more, picking up two stolen bases as well.

APRIL 7, 1963 . . . Juan Ortiz (0-0, 12.27 ERA, 7.1 IP, 2 K’s, 2.45 WHIP) pitched today against the Naturals’ Kevin Chauvet (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 13.1 IP, 9 K’s, 1.43 WHIP), They got on the board quickly with an RBI double in the top of the first, and another double by shortstop Jose Roman made it quickly a 2-0 lead for the Naturals. An RBI single put them up 3-0 before Ortiz finally got the final out via strikes. Ortiz got us on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, but his control from the mound left a great deal to be desired as he gave the run right back to them in the top of the third. Juan Flores hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, his first of the season, cutting the lead back to two runs, but Ortiz walked in a run with the bases loaded to again negate our offense. By the time we got up to bat again we trailed 7-2, and could seriously use a solid rally heading into the bottom of the fourth.

We brought in Edward Aguirre to pitch with a man on first and no outs in the top of the sixth, and he got us through the inning nicely. Bottom of the sixth, Alcaraz hit a double to drive in a run, and Aguirre got us into the stretch still trailing 7-3. Pinch-runner Alejandro Botello scored a run in the bottom of the seventh when Antonio Fernandez hit into a fielder’s choice, and Aguirre stayed out to pitch in the top of the eighth, continuing to shine as he shut their batters down three in a row to keep us within striking distance. Aguirre loaded the bases in the top of the ninth but got out of the jam perfectly, sending us into the bottom of the inning needing three runs to prolong the game and four to win it. Edgar Hernandez got us on base with a double to start the inning, and John Flores was hit by a pitch to take his base. Victor Diaz walked the bases loaded, and suddenly this was looking wide open! But we left them loaded, popping out three times in a row as we lost this one 7-4. What a heartbreaker!

Juan Ortiz struggled tonight, falling to 0-1 with a 10.22 ERA thanks to 12 hits for seven runs (four earned), striking out four and walking four through just five innings. Edward Aguirre was amazing to watch, however, giving us four full innings of relief work, allowing just two hits with three walks and four strikeouts, keeping his ERA perfect. If only he had better endurance, we’d be able to consider him for a starting role! Nuevitas outhit us 14-9 but we willed ourselves to stay in the game, led by Flores with three hits, a run and an RBI, while Jonathan Gonzalez led off with two hits, keeping his average at .417. And Ortiz may have struggled from the mound, but he did pick up a hit and batted in his third run of the season, giving him a .667 average through his first two starts.

We’re now 2-4 heading into the three game home series against the Pinar del Rio Roosters, who hold a 1-5 record, the worst in the CL West, a game behind us. We really could use a good stretch of hitting, because we’re currently two games behind the Santa Clara Saints and the Cienfuegos Cubanos, who both started the season with 4-2 records. After this series we’ll have four road series in a row, against the Guantanamo Gators (2-4), the Manzanillo Cattlemen (2-4), and then the Saints and the Cubanos, a brutal stretch indeed.

[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.

[jksander]

Here's a look at Gator Field, the home of the Guantanamo Gators!

[jksander]

APRIL 12, 1963 . . . For game one against the Guantanamo Gators, we’re pitching Jose Guzman (0-2, 5.70 ERA, 23.2 IP, 5 K’s, 1.77 WHIP) against Alex Rojas (1-2, 5.24 ERA, 22.1 IP, 17 K’s, 1.84 WHIP) at Gator Stadium. Victor Santos quickly got us on the baord with an RBI single, and another run scored when Jose Colon hit into a fielder’s choice, giving us a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first. But they loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning after scoring a quick run off an RBI single. Moments later they tied it up as Guzman walked in a run, though at least he managed to get out of it with a double play to avoid letting them take the lead. Victor Diaz batted in two runs in the top of the second with a double, and Logan Holmes batted in one with a double in the top of the third, giving us a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the inning. Guantanamo got one back with an RBI double in the bottom of the third, and they tied it back up in the bottom of the fourth with another RBI double, but Guzman did not surrender the lead. We loaded the bases without an out to start the top of the fifth, and Logan Holmes hit one deep into center, driving in a pair of runs to put us back in the lead. Diaz hit a sac-fly to right to drive in another run, giving us an 8-5 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. The Gators got a run back with an RBI single, but Guzman got us out safely and held on to some of the momentum we’d built, and from there the scoring seemed to turn off like a water faucet. We loaded the bases in the top of the eighth, and Juan Flores finally bought us some insurance, batting in a run with a single that kept them loaded. Logan Holmes hit a sac-fly to right, driving in another, sending us into the top of the eighth leading 10-6. Guzman stayed in and shut them down in the eighth, and they were no match for him in the ninth as we held tough to beat them by a 10-6 margin!

Guzman improved to 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA, pitching a complete game with 14 hits, two strikeouts, four walks and six earned runs. This was a slugfest, and we won the hitting battle 17-14, led by Juan Flores with four hits, a run and an RBI. Giordano Cantimori hit three times and scored twice, while Victor Diaz, Victor Santos, Jose Colon, Logan Holmes and Samuel Brisset each hit twice. Holmes, in his debut with our club, batted in four run, making great contact and proving to be a key player in our victory.
 
APRIL 13, 1963 . . . Tonight against the Gators we had Ludovic Peltier (1-2, 5.04 ERA, 25.0 IP, 11 K’s, 1.56 WHIP) pitching against Jose “Cooch” Ramirez (0-2, 5.25 ERA, 24.0 IP, 8 K’s, 1.79 WHIP). And this game started out as a pitching duel between the two. Juan Flores doubled with one out in the top of the fourth and Fernandez batted him home with a single to break the stalemate, and a Logan Holmes single drove Fernandez over to third! Diaz hit one that looked like it was going to blow out into the stands, but their center fielder leapt out to grab it and we went into the bottom of the fourth leading 1-0. Peltier walked a batter in the bottom of the fourth and then gave up an RBI single to tie it up, but we didn’t surrender the lead. And it stayed a nailbiter from there! The Gators picked up a double with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but Diaz made a KILLER throw to home off a single by their shorstop Carlos Leon, picking the runner off at the plate to get us out of the inning still knotted up 1-1. Holmes got a hit to start the top of the ninth, and Peltier hit a sac-bunt that moved him to second. They walked Diaz, and then Jonathan Gonzalez got one up the gap and into the outifeld, loading the bases! And we broke them from there, with a wild pitch allowing Holmes to score the go-ahead run, and Cantimori driving in two more with a single deep into the outfield! Peltier took a three-run lead into the bottom of the ninth, giving up a pair of hits around a pair of outs, and then allowing the Gators to get a run back with an RBI single. But a pop-out to right ended the game as a 4-2 Hunters victory, and we’ll be back tomorrow hoping to complete the road sweep!

Nothing I’d seen from Peltier this year suggested he had a game like this in him, but he came out of tonight with a complete game nine-hit win, striking out six, walking a pair and allowing just two earned runs. He improves to 2-2 with a 4.24 ERA in the process. We had 13 hits ourselves, led by Gonzalez (three hits, a walk, a run) and Flores (three hits and a run). Holmes, Cantimori and Santos each had a pair of hits as well, with Cantimori driving in two runs, giving him three on the year through eight games.

APRIL 14, 1963 . . . For our final game against Guantanamo, we started Roberto Diaz (0-1, 6.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 3 K’s, 2.50 WHIP) against Juan Ruiz (2-0, 3.28 ERA, 24.2 IP, 3 K’s, 1.34 WHIP). The Gators scored in the bottom of the first off an RBI single by left fielder Bill Guadarrama, and they picked up another in the bottom of the second, thanks mostly to our shortstop being petrified to make any throws at all when grabbing an infield hit. Diaz got called for an inexplicable balk in the bottom of the fourth, and a run scored from third because of it to make it 3-0 Guantanamo, and at that point they saw we were wounded and pounced. Three hits and two outs later we got out of the inning but they had us now shut out by six runs. Fernandez grounded out to first in the top of the sixth, driving in a run for us at last, and Jose Colon hit an RBI double in the top of the eighth to pull us within four. Logan Holmes pinch-hit for Flores, hitting an RBI triple, and they walked Fernandez. Brisset hit into a fielder’s choice, and Jose Alcaraz hit for Diaz with two outs, but he couldn’t get us out of the infield. We trailed 6-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth, with Esteban Salinas coming in to pitch, with Jose Castro coming in to play left field. With two outs, Salinas gave up an RBI single that extended the Gators’ lead to four runs, loaded the bases with another single, and then gave up two more on an RBI double. We went into the top of the ninth needing an insane rally, trailing by six. Jose Castro walked in a run with two outs and the bases loaded, but Fernando grounded out to first and we lost this one 9-4.

Roberto Diaz fell to 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA, allowing 11 hits and six runs (five earned) with four strikeouts and a walk during his seven innings of work. Salinas’ eighth inning was a mess, with five hits and three earned runs as his ERA ballooned to 10.80 through five innings of relief this season. They outhit us 16-10, with Victor Diaz, Victor Santos and Jose Castro each hitting twice. Holmes came through as a pinch hitter with a hit and an RBI, giving him a .625 average through eight at-bats.

Next Up: A three game set against the Manzanilla Cattlemen at Cattlemen Field (see below!)

[jksander]

APRIL 15, 1963 . . . Onward to play the Manzanillo Cattleman at Cattleman Field! Jose Guzman (1-2, 5.79 ERA, 32.2 IP, 7 K’s, 1.84 WHIP) went up against Jose Martinez (2-3, 4.76 ERA, 34.0 IP, 19 K’s, 1.59 WHIP). It didn’t start out like we’d hoped ... bases loaded, bottom of the first, the Cattlemen picked up an RBI triple that drove in three runs, giving them a 3-0 lead heading into the top of the second. Fernandez hit us an RBI double to get on the board in the top of the fourth, and we added another off a groundout at first that still drove a runner in from third. In the top of the fifth we loaded the bases without an out, but came out empty, heading into the bottom of the inning trailing still 3-2. Brisset hit a run-scoring double in the top of the eighth to tie it finally at 3-3, and Guzman hit one that rolled into the corn and led to a ground-rule double and gave us a one-run lead! Cantimori hit an RBI single to add on, giving us a two-run cushion heading into the bottom of the eighth. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Guantanamo got a run back on a groundout to first, but Guzman held our ground and got us into the top of the ninth still leading by a run. But we weren’t able to hold on, and the Gators walked it off in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run double as they stole this one from us 6-5.

Guzman now stands at 1-3 on the season, pitching 8.1 innings tonight in a complete game with 11 hits, three walks, two strikeouts and six earned runs, keeping his ERA at 5.71 through five starts and more than 41 innings of work. We outhit them 15-11 and had this one well in hand, so it’s frustrating that we couldn’t close it out. Alcaraz had three hits but never got anywhere, but Flores hit four times and scored a pair of runs, continuing to hit .442 through 12 games played. Cantimori and Fernandez each hit twice as well.
 
APRIL 16, 1963 . . . Ludovic Peltier (2-2, 4.24 ERA, 34.0 IP, 17 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) got the start in game two as we hoped to wipe the memory of the last-second loss in the first matchup against the Cattlemen. They started Ramon Melendez (1-0, 2.53 ERA, 21.1 IP, 11 K’s, 1.22 WHIP), and the duel was on early as both pitchers showed their best skills early in the contest. Peltier got into a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the third but got out of it unscathed, but we couldn’t buy a hit either. The Cattlemen picked up a run off a sac-fly in the bottom of the fourth, and they added another in the bottom of the fifth thanks to an RBI double. Repeatedly we got runners into scoring position and then left them stranded, like we’d forgotten how to score. Peltier did well under those circumstances, keeping us within striking distance if we could just make contact. Finally in the top of the seventh, with one out, Brisset brought in a run with a double, and we brought in Logan Holmes to pinch hit for Peltier -- Holmes laid down a perfect shot into center, driving in the tying run with a single, but we weren’t able to take the lead.

We brought in Roberto Diaz, who started two days ago, to try and power our way through the rest of this one. He got us through the seventh and eighth safely, and after they walked our first two batters of the frame, Brisset knocked in the go-ahead run with a double! We brought Juan Flores in to hit for Diaz, no outs, and he walked the bases loaded, and they walked Victor Diaz as well to extend the lead! Giordano Cantimori hit a run-scoring single to add to the fun, and we went into the bottom of the ninth leading by three runs! Edward Aguirre came in out of the bullpen to get us the rest of the way, and he got a quick out, but then gave up three hits in a row, allowing a run to score. A flyout to right gave us out number two, but he loaded the bases with a hit batter, before mercifully getting their final batter to ground to short, with a quick throw to first ending this one as a 5-3 win!

Peltier gave us six solid innings with just four hits and two earned runs, striking out a pair and walking four. Diaz, the 18-year-old rookie, improved to 1-2 with a two-inning stretch with one hit and two strikeouts, improving his ERA to 5.40, while Aguirre gave us all visions of a heart attack before escaping his inning with three hits, one walk and one earned run, giving him a 1.80 ERA through five bullpen innings, along with his first save of the year! We managed to outhit them 9-8, led by our shortstop Samuel Brisset, who hit three times, scored a run and drove in two more! Cantimori hit twice and drove in a run as well, and Holmes pinch-hit in an RBI, giving him a .667 average through nine at-bats.

APRIL 17, 1963 . . . Time for the series’ rubber match! Jose Guzman (1-3, 5.71 ERA, 41.0 IP, 9 K’s, 1.80 WHIP) started against Manzanillo’s Luis Ayala (0-2, 9.47 ERA, 25.2 IP, 8 K’s, 2.38 WHIP). In the top of the third, Victor Santos gave us a 1-0 lead with an RBI single, and Guzman had a no-hitter until the bottom of the fourth, but kept them scoreless despite a walk and a hit to get us out of the frame. Brisset hit a run scoring double in the top of the sixth, and Victor Diaz batted one in with a single. Juan Castro hit an RBI single of his own as we built momentum, sending us into the bottom of the sixth with a 4-0 advantage! Victor Diaz hit an RBI single in the top of the eighth to add a run, and though he walked more batters than I would have liked, Guzman held tough to preserve his complete game shutout as we beat the Cattlemen 5-0!

Guzman has his best game yet, improving to 2-3 with a three-hitter, striking out three and walking seven but holding them scoreless to improve his ERA to 4.68! We hammered them with 11 hits ourselves, led by Victor Santos with three hits and two RBIs, while Jose Alcaraz hit twice and scored a run. We won the series two games to one, and will now head to play the Santa Clara Saints on the road for three games (see their home field below), with a day off for travel and rest before it begins. We’ll then have a day off and then a three-game set against the Cienfuegos Cubanos, also on the road. We currently trail both those teams in our division by a single game, so this will be a big stretch for us.

[jksander]

APRIL 19, 1963 . . . Roberto Diaz (1-2, 5.40 ERA, 15.0 IP, 9 K’s, 1.87 WHIP) is up to pitch tonight against the Saints’ Luis Ibarra (4-2, 2.44 ERA, 44.1 IP, 15 K’s, 1.40 WHIP). Santa Clara got on the board in the bottom of the first with an RBI double, but Juan Flores got a hit in the top of the seventh and then was driven to third by a Victor Santos double, giving us a real shot to take this one over! Jonathan Gonzalez hit a sac-fly to center, driving in the tying run, and Jose Colon hit one into the right field corner to double in the go-ahead run! Logan Holmes drove a third run in with a single, sending us into the seventh-inning stretch leading 3-1! Diaz walked a pair in the bottom of the seventh but got out of the jam with a strikeout, and Gonzalez batted in another run in the top of the eighth, adding to our lead. Victor Diaz hit an RBI double with two outs in the top of the ninth, but the Saints got back into the game in the bottom of the inning with a two-run homer over the short wall at right field, pulling within a pair with just one out. Unfazed, Roberto Diaz shut them down with a groundout to first and a strikeout, getting out of this one with a 5-3 complete game victory!

Diaz had a great night, allowing seven hits and three earned runs, but striking out six and walking six while throwing 151 pitches. His ERA now sits at 4.50 through 24 innings of work, and his strong confident pitching helped us stay in the one-run game until our bats woke up in the seventh, eighth and ninth. We wound up outhitting the Saints 12-7, led by Victor Diaz with three hits and an RBI, and by Victor Santos with three hits and a run on the ground. Jonathan Gonzalez then powered us over the top with two hits and a pair of RBIs, while Holmes hit twice, scoring and batting in a run. He has played in five games since joining our 18-man roster, and he’s hit in all five of them!
 
APRIL 20, 1963 . . . With the win last night, we moved into a tie for second place in the division, just one game behind the Cubanos who stand at 9-7. Ludovic Peltier (2-2, 4.05 ERA, 40.0 IP, 19 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) pitched tonight against the Saints’ Patrick Godin (3-2, 5.12 ERA, 38.2 IP, 14 K’s, 1.86 WHIP). And Peltier got into a jam immediately, loading the bases and surrendering a run so quickly we were absolutely stunned. He fell apart from there, and by the time we got out of the bottom of that first inning we trailed 4-0 and he’d thrown 35 pitches. Not a great start, but could we get some hits and give him a chance to recover? Brisset drove in our first run in the top of the second with one out, putting Alcaraz in scoring position at second, but Peltier struck out and we batted out to right to end the inning trailing by three. With two outs in the bottom of the third and the bases loaded, Peltier gave up an RBI single to make it a 5-1 lead for the Saints, and he’d thrown nearly 100 pitches through four innings, meaning, most likely, this was going to be a game where the bullpen was going to play a real role.

Then we got going in the top of the fifth, three consecutive hits including an RBI double by Juan Flores getting a run back for us. Victor Santos walked the bases loaded, and they walked Logan Holmes to make it 5-3! Juan Colas hit a single into right to make it a one-run game, and Brisset hit a deep shot into center that scored three runs off a double, and suddenly we led 7-5 and Peltier had a reprieve! A sac-fly to center by Alcaraz made it a three-run lead in the top of the seventh, and with two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the eighth we brought in Edward Aguirre to close this one out and protect the lead. He did so convincingly, as we shut the Saints down 8-5!

After a miserable start, Peltier settled in very well, and was able to give us 7.2 innings with just eight hits, five walks, two strikeouts and the five earned runs -- and because of our strong hitting in the fifth inning he got the win, improving to 3-2 with a 3.78 ERA! Aguirre, meanwhile, go this second save, pitching 1.1 innings with just a hit and a strikeout, improving his ERA to 1.42. He’s earning a reputation as a bullpen arm I can depend on. Holmes picked up a hit, a walk and scored twice while batting in a run, keeping his impressive hit streak going, while Flores and Colon each hit three times, scoring three runs and batting in a pair between them.

With the win, we improved to 9-8, getting above .500 for the first time this season, red hot as a team and on a four-game winning streak, the longest current streak in the CDBA! We still trail the Cubanos by a game in our division, while the Bayamo Bombadiers (14-3) are dominating the East Division by six games over the Gators and Naturals who are each 8-9.

APRIL 21, 1963 . . . Roberto Diaz (2-2, 4.50 ERA, 24.0 IP, 15 K’s, 1.71 WHIP) got the start today against Francisco Reyes (1-0, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 1 K, 1.56 WHIP), with the intention of sharing innings with Guzman if necessary, though he’s fully rested despite pitching two nights ago. And he was on his game early in this one, and we got our bats going quickly as well, taking the lead on an RBI single by Brisset and adding another when Victor Diaz hit an RBI single moments later, sending us into the bottom of the second leading 2-0! They got the runs back in the bottom of the frame, however, as catcher Luis Salazar hit a stunning bomb over the gigantic wall in left field to tie us at 2-2. Diaz then ave up a three-run blast, this time to right, and this was suddenly a 5-2 deficit for us. We brought Guzman in to pitch in the bottom of the fourth, and in the top of the sixth we got a run back thanks to a double by Flores. Alas, we gave it right back in the bottom of the inning, trailing 6-3 heading into the top of the seventh, and that was how the game came to an end, as a disappointing three-run loss.

Starting Diaz was a mistake, I’ll own it straight out ... he stayed out for three innings, but his movement was inconsistent and he gave up the pair of homers for five runs combined. His five hits, four walks and a pair of strikeouts led to the five earned runs and dropped his ERA to 5.67. Guzman was solid through the remaining five innings, allowing five hits with a walk and a strikeout, adding just the one earned run and giving himself a 4.42 ERA through 55 innings this year. Each team had 10 hits this evening, our Hunters led by Logan Holmes, who hit twice and scored two runs. We have the day off before our series against the Cubanos (their ballpark is below), so we’ll be able to get back into a normal rotation, with everyone back to full rest, and we’ll need it to take them down and prove the four wins before tonight’s loss weren’t a fluke.

[jksander]

APRIL 23, 1963 . . . Ludovic Peltier (3-2, 3.78 ERA, 47.2 IP, 21 K”s, 1.49 WHIP) took the mound tonight against the Cubanos’ Jose Herrera (3-3, 4.38 ERA, 51.1 IP, 22 K’s, 1.46 WHIP), an evenly matched pair of aces ready to see who can outlast the other. The Cubanos took the lead 1-0 in the bottom of the second on a controversial balk call, but we tied it up in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by Victor Santos, and Antonio Fernandez hit a double moments later that batted us into the lead 2-1! Peltier was solid all night, but gave up a solo homer to Danny Hernendez, their right fielder, tying the score at 2-2 with one out in the bottom of the eighth. He got us the outs we needed to get back up to bad without surrendering the lead outright. Holmes pinch hit for him in the top of the ninth, but his hitting streak came to an end with a weak groundout to first. Esteban Salinas came in to pitch in the bottom of the ninth with the score still tied, and would have had the first out easily, were it not for a Fernandez error at second. A double put two in scoring position, he walked the bases loaded, and then he walked in the winning run for the Cubanos ... what a piss-poor way to lose this one 3-2.

Peltier might as well have stayed in, but we’d hoped to buy an extra run by batting Holmes. Instead he had to settle for eight innings with seven hits, three strikeouts, four walks and two earned runs, giving him a 3.56 ERA. Salinas took the loss, falling to 1-1, allowing a hit, two walks and the unearned run. His ERA will remain at 10.80 through five innings of relief. They outhit us 8-5, with Fernandez easily being our best batter of the evening -- he hit twice and batted in a run, while Victor Santos added a hit, a run and an RBI.
 
APRIL 24, 1963 . . . If you’re a fan of seeing young prospects compete from around latin America, you’ll want to stay tuned for updates regarding a recently announced Development League tourney which will take place this August in Havana, featuring teams from Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Venezuela and Haiti. Players for these teams will be announced in early June, with the tournament expected to begin in mid-August! The leauge is being tenatively called the CDBA Development League (CBDA-DL) and hopes to stage this competition on a yearly basis if interest holds up.

For tonight’s game against the Cienfuegos Cubanos, we started Jose Guzman (2-3, 4.42 ERA, 55.0 IP, 13 K’s, 1.64 WHIP) against Izzy Ochoa (3-0, 3.66 ERA, 46.2 IP, 29 K’s, 1.50 WHIP). Victor Santos quickly batted in a run to get us on the board in the top of the first, but the Cubanos tied it up in the bottom of the second with a solo homer by their second baseman / center fielder Rico Zurate, sending us into the top of the third knotted up 1-1. Guzman hit a double to start the third, and we quickly loaded the bases, Guzman scoring off an RBI single by Cantimori to put us back up by a run! Flores then hit a deep shot to left, coming out with a double that scored Botello, Cantimori and Colon ... with Flores getting greedy, trying to come around to make it an inside the park homer, only getting picked off on a 7-3-5 play to end the frame with us up 5-1! The Cubanos loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth, scoring a run on a sac-fly to left, but Guzman got them out on a great double play to keep the lead at three runs. Brisset hit an RBI double to get our lead back to four runs, and Guzman got another solid hit into left for a run-scoring double of his own, giving us a 7-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. The Cubanos hit an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh, followed by an RBI triple that cut our lead back to three. Guzman got our second out with a great throw from short to first that allowed another run to score, and we went into the top of the eighth with our lead sliced to 7-5. But Logan Holmes came in to replace Brisset at shortstop in the top of the eighth and hit an RBI double, giving us a three-run lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. Edward Aguirre came in with two outs and men on first and second, getting us out of the inning without a run scoring, and he performed admirably in the final inning to end this one as an 8-5 victory for our Hunters!

Guzman improved to 3-3 with a 4.60 ERA, allowing 12 hits with a walk, a strikeout and five earned runs. Aguirre, meanwhile, earned his third save of the season with a hit and a walk in 1.1 innings, improving his ERA to 1.17 through four appearances and 7.2 innings! The Cubanos outhit us 13-12, but we had five doubles and only left four runners on base. Flores led the way with two hits and three runs batted in, while Brisset and Guzman each hit twice for a run and an RBI.

APRIL 25, 1963 . . . After tonight’s game we’ll be a quarter of the way through the first-ever CDBA season, and we have the chance to win another series if we can find a way to beat the Cubanos tonight on their turf. We’ll then head home to play series against Pinar del Rio and the Santa Clara Saints as we bring April to a close. Roberto Diaz (2-3, 5.67 ERA, 27.0 IP, 17 K’s, 1.85 WHIP) got the start, facing Edwin Rodriguez (2-2, 4.34 ERA, 45.2 IP, 14 K’s, 1.62 WHIP) in the rubber match. Victor Santos gave us a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the top of the third, and Fernandez drove in a pair with a double, giving us a three-run lead in the blink of an eye. Diaz was hitless until the fourth inning, when he gave up back to back doubles to allow the Cubanos to score a run. Jose Colon hit an RBI single to get the run back in the top of the fifth, but they kept it close with two RBI singles in the bottom of the sixth, and we brought Aguirre out in the bottom of the seventh with one out and a man on second hoping to keep the 4-3 lead intact, and he did exactly that, stranding the runner at third with a pair of efficient outs! Jose Castro quickly got us some insurance in the top of the eighth with an RBI double, and Victor Diaz added an RBI single to extend the lead to 6-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth. Aguirre was phenomenal from there, getting through the rest of the game without looking like he’d sweated a drop and we held tough to win this one 6-3!

Roberto Diaz improved to 3-3, allowing eight hits and three runs with four walks and a pair of strikeouts, keeping his ERA at 5.40 through 33.1 innings. But our real ace in the hole has been Aguirre, who gave us his best relief effort yet, 2.2 innings with just one hit, two walks and a strikeout, dropping his ERA to 0.87 with his fourth save! He has only given up one earned run in his five relief appearances, earning a save in his last four in a row! We outhit the Cubanos 14-9, led by Victor Santos with three hits, two runs and an RBI, and by Jose Colon with three hits, a run and an RBI. Holmes got himself another hit as well as a run on the ground, giving him a .481 average through ten games and 27 at-bats.

[jksander]

CBDA Quarterly League Update: April 26, 1963

CL West
1. Cienfuegos Cubanos (12-9)
2. Havana Hunters (11-10, 1 GB)
3. Santa Clara Saints (11-10, 1 GB)
4. Pinar del Rio Roosters (7-14, 5 GB)

CL East
1. Bayamo Bombadiers (15-6)
2. Guantanamo Gators (10-11, 5 GB)
3. Nuevitas Naturals (10-11, 5 GB)
4. Manzanillo Cattlemen (8-13, 7 GB)

In the Cuban League, Bayamo’s Bombadiers lead the league with a +17 run differential but have benefitted from excellent play in close games, going 1-0 in extra innings and 3-1 in one-run games, so the distance between them and the Gators should eventually even up over the course of the season. Cienfuegos’ Cubanos are in a tight race with us, and though we have a -1 run dif to their +11, we just outscored them 16-11 in three games on their field and we went 8-4 on the road ... if we can play this way on our home field there’s no reason to think we can’t stay in contention for the division pennant. Cienfuegos is 2-0 in extra innings games and 3-1 in one-run games, while we’re 1-2 in similar situations.

DL West
1 (tie). Monte Christi Sea Merchants (13-8)
1 (tie). Barahona Tropics (13-8)
3. San Juan Stingrays (10-11, 3 GB)
4. Santa Domingo Dominicanos (7-14, 6 GB)

DL East
1. La Romana Rays (13-8)
2. Isla Saona Islanders (12-9, 1 GB)
3. Boca de Yuma Tigres (12-9, 1 GB)
4. Santiago Explorers (4-17, 9 GB)

The DL East is a heavy-hitting league for offense, with the Rays, Islanders and Tigres each with +10 to +40 run differentials, mostly due to their continued destroying of the hapless Santiago Explorers (who are 0-2 in extra innings and 0-6 in one run games, giving them a -4 pythagorean record!) The entire Dominican league seems to be up for grabs, however, as nearly half the games by Monte Christi and Barahona have ended by one-run margins and the San Juan Stingrays have won seven of their last ten games to get back into the race in the West.

Statistical Leaders
Batting -- Combined Leagues

Batting Avg Leader: RF Willie Restro (GUA) .447*
Home Run Leader: RF Sergio Carreto (SAN) 3
RBI Leader: LF Enrique Ortega (IS) 23
Batting WAR Leader: SS Omar Garcia (ROM) 2.3
Slugging Leader: CF Nelson Montes (IS) .667**
OPS Leader: CF Nelson Montes (IS) 1.102***
Hits Leader: RF Willie Resto (GUA) 38
Runs Leader: SS Omar Garcia (ROM) 31
2B Leader: CF Nelson Montes (IS) 14
3B Leader: 2B Mel Rodriguez (SJ) 4
SB Leader: 2B Rey Castro (SC) 9
ISO Leader: CF Nelson Montes (IS) .278****

* Flores is currently in fourth place with a .437 average.
** Flores is currently in third place with a .606 slugging percentage.
*** Flores is currently in fifth place with a 1.099 OPS percentage.
**** Brisset is currently in fifth place with a .188 ISO average.

Statistical Leaders
Pitching -- Combined Leagues[

ERA Leader: Tony Mendez (BAY) 1.38
Wins Leader: Mario Sanabria (MC) 7
Saves Leader: Rafael Rodriguez (BAY) 7*
Pitching WAR Leader: Chris Hernandez (BAR) 1.6
IP Leader: Chris Hernandez (BAR) 64.0**
CG Leader: Angel Palomarez (BOC) 7
Shutouts Leader: Mario Sanabria (MC) 2
Strikeout Leader: Kevin Chauvet (NUE) 37
K/BB Leader: Chris Hernandez (BAR) 1.7
K/9 Leader: Kevin Chauvet (NUE) 6.0
BB/9 Leader: Angel Palomarez (BOC) 2.3
WHIP Leader: Mario Sanabria (MC) 1.18
ERA+ Leader: Tony Mendez (BAY) 354
BAPIP Leader: Ruben Aldana (ROM) .246

* Aguirre is currently in second place with his four saves.
** Jose Guzman is currently in fourth place with 62.2 innings pitched.

[jksander]

APRIL 26, 1963 . . . I have decided to move Salinas and Rocchigiani out of the bullpen and back to the reserve roster, bringing Juan Ortiz back up to join the bullpen with Aguirre. I’m also bringing shorstop Fernando Esquivel back up as an extra bat and defensive option behind Brisset as we get into the heart of the season. Tonight we started Ludovic Peltier (3-2, 3.56 ERA, 55.2 IP, 24 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) against Pinar del Rio’s Luis Moncada (1-5, 4.29 ERA, 56.2 IP, 29 K’s, 1.64 WHIP). With one out in the bottom of the first, Victor Diaz hit a double that drove in two runs to get us on the board, and Cantimori hit a double that drove in two more, before he got picked off trying to turn it into a triple, sending us into the top of the third with a 4-0 lead. Flores hit an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth, and another run scored on a sac-fly to left by Santos, extending our lead to six runs heading into the sixth. The Roosters scored a run off a sac-fly to right in the top of the sixth, but Castro drove in a pair with a double in the bottom of the inning to extend our lead, Cantimori added an RBI double, and another run scored on a fielder’s choice, By the time they came up to bat again in the top of the seventh, we’d added seven runs to our tally and led by a staggering 13-1 margin. We walked in a run and then Colon hit a three-run triple in the bottom of the seventh and another scored in the bottom of the eighth. Peltier stayed out to complete the rout, as we throttled the Roosters 18-1.

Peltier improved to 4-2 with a four-hitter, striking out nine batters and walking only two as he allowed just one earned run and improved his ERA on the year to 3.20. We out-hammered the Roosters 17-4, led by leadoff-man Jose Castrol with four hits, five runs and two RBIs! Cantimori added three hits, four runs and three RBIs, making those two responsible for more than half our scoring output! Every starter wound up with at least a hit.

APRIL 27, 1963 . . . Jose Guzman (3-3, 4.60 ERA, 62.2 IP, 14 K’s, 1.64 WHIP) started tonight against Mahjoub Andongwisye (1-5, 13.36 ERA, 33.0 IP, 10 K’s, 2.55 ERA. Juan Flores hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first to put us ahead 1-0, and with the bases loaded we walked in a second run with two outs, taking a 2-0 lead into the second inning. The Roosters scored a run in the top of the fourth thanks to an error on a put-out attempt at home plate, but we got the run back in the bottom of the fifth when Victor Santos and Logan Holmes hit RBI singles, sending us into the top of the sixth with a 4-1 lead. Cantimori hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth, and Victor Diaz doubled him home to extend our lead to five runs. Guzman struggled in the top of the seventh, loading the bases and walking in a run, but he got out of it without a ton of damage, sending us into the stretch leading 6-2. We loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth, Logan Holmes walked in a run, and Colon doubled in two more to put this one away. Guzman stayed out to complete the game, and we won this one easily 9-2.

Guzman improved to 4-3 despite allowing eight walks and seven hits, handing the Roosters just two earned runs as he improved his ERA to 4.27. We outhit them 13-7, led by Holmes who hit four times, walked once, and drove in two runs. Cantimori was also excellent, hitting twice, walking twice and scoring three while driving in a run as well. Holmes is now batting .548 through 11 appearances since signing his two year contract back on the 11th of April, and the 34-year-old has wasted absolutely no time putting himself on the rest of the league’s radar.
 
APRIL 28, 1963 . . . We head into tonight’s final game against Pinar del Rio tied for first place in the division with the Cienfuegos Cubanos at 13-10, so completing the sweep would mean a great deal at this still-early point in the regular season. Roberto Diaz (3-3, 5.40 ERA, 33.1 IP, 19 K’s, 1.86 WHIP) got the start, facing Juan Hernandez (3-2, 3.77 ERA, 31.0 IP, 9 K’s, 1.45 WHIP). So of course the Roosters came out hot, going up 2-0 on an inside the park homer by their second baseman Ruben Gonzalez in the top of the first. They batted in another run with a single, and then Diaz gave up two more on a single before finally striking out their final batter and sending us into the bottom of the FIRST trailing by five runs. Victor Santos got us on the board with an RBI single, and we added a pair thanks to a Juan Flores double, sending us into the second inning trailing by only two, down 5-3. But Diaz again struggled to get anyone out once he had his first two, allowing a three-run homer to put them back up by five runs, and I started warming up Juan Ortiz to play the role of spot starter if it should become necessary. We picked up an RBI single by Cantimori with two outs in the bottom of the second, and Diaz held on to get us through the fifth inning without any further offensive explosions. In the top of the sixth, however, they hit an RBI double to extend their lead to five runs, and we brought Ortiz in to pitch with one out and the man on second. They scored their 10th run off an RBI single, but Ortiz got out of the inning without surrendering a run of his own though we now trailed by six runs. They added two more runs in the seventh, and we finally got one of our own with one out in the bottom of the eighth to get us within seven. Needing seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to force this game to continue, Flores hit a one-out double to bat in a run, but that was all we could muster -- Holmes grounded out to first to end this slog as a 12-6 defeat.

Roberto Diaz dug himself an early hole and never found a way out, allowing 13 hits and 10 runs (seven earned) in 5.1 innings, striking out five against no walks. Juan Ortiz got us through the remaining 3.2 innings with four hits, two walks, two strikeouts and two earned runs. Diaz is now 3-4 with a 6.28 ERA, while Ortiz’s is at 11.57 through 18.2 innings. The Roosters outhit us 17-13, with Victor Diaz leading the way with three hits, a walk and two runs on the ground. Flores hit twice, batting in three runs.

[jksander]

APRIL 29, 1963 . . . We sit a game back of the Cubanos, heading into this series with the Saints trailing us by a pair, so a lot can happen over the next three nights. Ludovic Peltier (4-2, 3.20 ERA, 64.2 IP, 33 K’s, 1.36 WHIP) pitched in the first game, facing Luis Ibarra (4-5, 4.21 ERA, 66.1 IP, 21 K’s, 1.63 WHIP). Peltier had a rough second inning, walking three batters, including the one that drove in the first run of the game with the Saints taking an early 1-0 lead. And it got ugly as hell from there, as he just completely lost all control, walking, walking, walking, until I had to start warming up Guzman on two days’ rest -- bases were still loaded, six runs had scored, and we only had one out. He finally got the two outs, but we trailed the Saints 8-0 heading into the bottom of the inning, and his night was done. Antonio Fernandez batted in a run for us with a double in the bottom of the second, giving us an 8-1 deficit to overcome from the third inning onward. Fernandez hit into a double play in the bottom of the fourth but drove in a run, cutting the Saints’ lead to six, but they got the run back in the top of the fifth when Fernandez bobbled a catch and couldn’t make a throw in time to get an out at first. They scored their 10th run of the game in the top of the sixth off a sac-fly to left, and added another in the seventh, while our bats remained completely and inexplicably impotent. The Saints added more insult to our injury in the top of the ninth, adding three more runs to their total, and they made it quick in the bottom of the inning as they whipped us completely 14-2.

Peltier fell to 4-3, allowing three hits, walking seven batters and striking out three while allowing eight earned runs in just two innings. Guzman came in and pitched seven innings, giving up 10 hits and six earned runs while walking six and striking out four. They outhit us 13-8, but we did next to nothing with the hits we got, led by Fernandez with two hits and an RBI.

APRIL 30, 1963 . . . Juan Ortiz (0-1, 11.57 ERA, 18.2 IP, 11 K’s, 2.68 WHIP) will be getting the start today against Patrick Godin (4-4, 6.59 ERA, 56.0 IP, 25 K’s, 1.98 WHIP). He threw 60 pitches two days ago, but is better rested than our starters at the moment so he’s our best option. Considering he’s been wanting a chance to play more often, this should be a good test of his mettle. And he took to the challenge well, holding them scoreless through the first three innings, and we took the lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Juan Flores! Victor Diaz drove in another pair with a double of his own, and with two outs Logan Holmes hit one deep into right center field, taking second and driving in a fourth run! A balk called on Godin made it 5-0 Hunters heading into the top of the fourth. They got one run back in the top of the fourth, Cantimori drove in another run with a double in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 6-1 lead, and Juan Flores doubled in another! But we brought Aguirre in with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh, and he got the final out there to keep the lead from quickly evaporating -- I’d say Ortiz owes him a few good cigars for that one! Unfortunately his streak of scoreless innings ended tonight, as the Saints hit a two-run homer off him with two outs in the top of the eighth, but he shut them down just the same and we were able to hold tough and win this one 7-3.

Juan Ortiz picked up the win, improving to 1-1 with an 8.88 ERA by allowing just three hits, with six walks and six strikeouts to go with his one earned run. Aguirre put in 2.1 innings with just three hits, a strikeout and two earned runs, bumping his ERA up to 2.13 through 12.2 innings. We outhit them 12-6, led by Flores with three hits, a run and two RBIs, while Cantimori added three hits, two runs and an RBI.
 
MAY 1, 1963 . . . Roberto Diaz (3-4, 6.28 ERA, 38.2 IP, 24 K’s, 1.94 WHIP) started our third game against the Saints, facing Francisco Reyes (3-1, 3.34 ERA, 35.0 IP, 7 K’s, 1.60 WHIP). Victor Diaz hit an RBI double, managing to take third when Cantimori decided to go for it and gave us that first run of the game! But in the top of the third the Saints hit a solo homer over the wall at center to tie it all up. Victor Diaz then hit an RBI double in the bottom of the inning in an almost identical play to the one in the first inning, with Cantimori sizing the defense up and successfully going home, allowing him to advance to third with just one out. But again we left him stranded and had to settle for taking a 2-1 lead into the fourth inning. Roberto Diaz got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the seventh, getting an out at home plate and a strikeout to end the frame with our 2-1 lead still safe. But his luck didn’t last through the eighth, when with two outs he allowed a hit into center to drive in the tying run. Unable to score in the bottom of the eighth, we brought in Aguirre to hopefully get us a chance to walk this one off in the bottom. He did his part, getting three outs around a single infield hit, and he picked up a hit himself in the bottom of the inning with one out, advancing to second on a sac-bunt by Alejandro Botello. But Cantimori grounded out to first and we headed to extra innings for the first time all year, knotted at 2-2.

Aguirre got us through the top of the 10th without any runs scoring, but again we couldn’t score, and we had to bring in Ludovic Peltier to pitch in the top of the 11th, with the intention that he’d be in for the duration. He did well to start, three quick outs to get us another shot at finishing this one. But in the bottom of the 11th the story was the same: groundout, strikeout, groundout and we were still going. Peltier stumbled in the top of the 12th, giving up a double and a single to put runners on the corners without an out. We got our first out with a quick throw to first on a weeak grounder, but they scored the go-ahead run from third. Peltier got us out of the inning, but we trailed 3-2 and needed something to happen on offense! With Guzman warming up in the bullpen, we pinch-hit Jose Alcaraz for Peltier ... he took the count full and then hit one straight to the center fielder. Out number one. Alejandro Botello hit one straight to the left fielder for out number two, bringing up Cantimori. He completed the trifecta, hitting it straight to the right fielder and we lost this one 3-2 in the bottom of the 12th. Thankfully we have a day off before our road trip begins, because everyone but Guzman went at least an inning.

Roberto Diaz lasted eight innings with eight hits, six walks, two strikeouts and two earned runs, improving his ERA to 5.59, and Aguirre gave us two solid innings with two hits and a strikeout to get his ERA back down to 1.84. Unfortunately someone was going to have to break the stalemate, and in this case it was Peltier who fell to 4-4, allowing two hits and an earned run in his two innings, giving him a 4.19 ERA. They outhit us 12-9 and yet we were still in this one til the end. Logan Holmes hit three times but never made it home, while Cantimori hit once, walked twice and scored two runs. Victor Diaz’s two doubles early in the game batted in our two runs, but we couldn’t get anyone around to score after the third inning.

After the off day tomorrow, we’ll play road series against the Bayamo Bombadiers (16-11) at Bombadier Stadium (see below) and the Nuevitas Naturals (14-13).We currently are in second place in the division, a game ahead of Santa Clara but three games back of Cienfuegos.

[jksander]

MAY 3, 1963 . . . Jose Guzman (4-3, 4.58 ERA, 78.2 IP, 21 K’s, 1.70 WHIP) pitched in game one against the Bombadiers’ Carlos Ravelo (3-3, 3.80 ERA, 47.1 IP, 23 K’s, 1.67 WHIP) at Bombadiers Stadium. We got going quickly, Victor Diaz batting in a run to put us on the board, then loading the bases and driving in another with a single by Jose Colon! Logan Holmes scored two more with a single of his own into center, and we had a 4-0 lead before Guzman even had to throw a pitch. The Bombadiers got on the baord with a run in the bottom of the second on two outs, scoring on a flyout to center, but we got out of the inning without any further damage. We loaded the bases and walked in a run with one out in the top of the fourth, and then Santos hit a bases-clearing double to make it 8-1! With the bases loaded again in the top of the sixth, Antonio Fernandez drove in two more runs with a double, and Juan Flores scored from third on a flyout moments later to give us an 11-1 lead. Guzman loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, and the Bombadiers got a run off a sac-fly to left before he shut them down with a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning. Logan Holmes batted in a run with one out in the top of the eighth, and Gonzalez hit one deep into the left corner, driving in another with a double! Bayamo got a run back in the bottom of the eighth, but we still led by ten heading into the top of the ninth, and Guzman shut them down quietly in the bottom of the inning to complete the 13-3 victory.

Guzman only allowed eight hits in his complete game, striking out eight and walking seven and allowing just three earned runs, giving him a 5-3 record and a 4.41 ERA. We outhit them 18-8, led by Cantimori with four hits and three runs, while Holmes added three hits and a walk, scoring one and driving in three to give him 15 RBIs and a .510 average through 51 plate appearances.
 
MAY 4, 1963 . . . Roberto Diaz (3-4, 5.59 ERA, 46.2 IP, 26 K’s, 1.91 WHIP) got the start tonight against Marcus Yanez (5-2, 5.97 ERA, 57.1 IP, 24 K’s, 2.06 WHIP). We took the lead in the top of the second with an RBI double by Antonio Fernandez, but the Bombadiers tied it up in the bottom of the fourth with a solo homer into the left field stands, and they took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double. They padded the lead with another run in the bottom of the sixth, and though Diaz kept them from scoring any extra runs after that point, we still went into the top of the ninth trailing by a pair, and the way we were hitting tonight, that was an insurmountable lead. We lost this one 3-1, just no match against their lockdown defense in the infield this evening.

Roberto Diaz slipped to 3-5 with a 5.27 ERA, allowing just seven hits with four strikeouts, two walks and three earned runs, numbers that any other day would have gotten him a win. They outhit us 7-5, with only Cantimori getting more than one hit, and his two got him nowhere. Fernandez batted in our only run, and Santos scored it on the ground.

MAY 5, 1963 . . . Ludovic Peltier (4-4, 4.19 ERA, 68.2 IP, 36 K’s, 1.46 WHIP) got the start in game three, going up against Tony Hernandez (1-5, 6.30 ERA, 50.0 IP, 17 K’s, 1.98 WHIP). Victor Diaz batted in our first run of the night with a single, and then a second run scored when Victor Santos hit a flyout, thanks to a throwing error at third base. Fernandez batted in another with a single, and Colon hit one off the center field wall, stretching for a triple that brought home two more runs, sending us into the bottom of the first leading 5-0. Fernandez hit another run-scoring single in the top of the third, and the Bombadiers finally got on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the third. They added another moments later with an RBI double, but Peltier got out of the inning without further incident. Logan Holmes picked up an RBI single in the top of the fifth, and Fernando brought another run home with an infield hit in the top of the sixth, building our lead up to 8-2! Peltier got in trouble and loaded the bases without an out in the bottom of the sixth, but he got a quick putout at home plate, and then a quick double play for outs at home and first to escape unscathed! He wasn’t as lucky in the seventh, walking in a run with the bases loaded and forcing us to bring in Juan Ortiz with one out to close out the threat. Ortiz allowed a run with a single to cut the lead to four, but a flyout to left held the runners, and he got through it with a strikeout to send us into the eighth leading still by four. With the bases loaded and one out, bottom of the ninth, all the runners held on a flyout to center, and a hit into a fielder’s choice ended this one as an 8-4 victory!

Peltier improved to 5-4 with a 4.32 ERA, allowing eight hits with four strikeouts, walking eight and allowing all four of our earned runs, lasting 6.1 innings. Ortiz then came in for 2.2 innings and picked up a save, with three hits, two walks and two strikeouts improving his ERA to 8.04. We outhit them (barely) 12-11, led by Antonio Fernandez with four hits, a walk, two runs and three RBIs. Holmes picked up two hits and is now batting .491 with six doubles. We’re off tomorrow and then will play three games against the Naturals in Nuevitas. (Field pictured below)

[jksander]

MAY 7, 1963 . . . We’re 16-14 heading into this series, with the Naturals sitting at 15-15, so both teams are still fighting to compete. Jose Guzman (5-3, 4.41 ERA, 87.2 IP, 29 K’s, 1.70 WHIP) took the mound for us, facing Ivan Garcia (4-5, 4.78 ERA, 79.0 IP, 29 K’s, 1.66 WHIP). We loaded the bases in the top of the first, scoring a run as Holmes hit into a fielder’s choice. In the top of the fifth we broke the game open -- with Logan Holmes at the plate, bases loaded and two outs, a wild pitch brought Jonathan Gonzalez home, and then Holmes singled, driving Cantimori and Diaz in to score. We went into the bottom of the inning leading 4-0, and we scored another in the top of the sixth thanks to an error at first! With the bases loaded, they hit Holmes with a pitch to score a run, Fernandez drove in another with a single, Colon walked in a run, and the rout was on! Jose Castro hit into a double play but another run scored in the process, giving us a nine run lead heading into the stretch. Guzman blew the shutout in the bottom of the seventh, two runs scoring for the Naturals off a single by center fielder Ramon Rivera, but we added a run in the top of the eighth and held them scoreless from there to win this one 10-2.

Guzman now holds a 6-3 record and a solid 4.19 ERA, getting though today’s complete game with seven hits, four strikeouts and just one walk, to go with two earned runs. We outhit them 10-7, led by Holmes who had a hit, a sac-fly, scored a run and batted in five, and by Jonathan Gonzalez, who hit four times and scored four runs on the ground.
 
We’ve signed a few contract extensions for players on the team this year. First, Victor Santos, age 32, has signed a four year deal worth $3,550 over the life of the contract, to keep his power bat here in Havana. He had signed a free agent deal this spring worth $168, but will earn $800 next year, $850 in 1965, $900 in 1966 and a player option for $1,000 in 1967. Our closer, Edward Aguirre, who signed a deal to play here for just shy of $500 this season, has agreed to play for $850 in 1964 and $950 in 1965 -- he’d wanted to stay long term, but I’m not going to rush to lock in a bullpen arm long term and risk an injury, though we’ll be open to discussions if he can keep pitching at the level he has this season. We also inked a deal that keeps 25-year-old shortstop Fernando Esquivel here long term. He’s hitting .286 with two RBIs off the bench this year, and was our 15th round pick in the league draft back in January -- but he has rapidly developed as a defensive player, and I wanted to lock him up as a franchise player while we work on developing him some power with his bat. He is earning $406 this year, but signed a nine year deal that starts at $550 for next year, with a lifetime value of $6,050 (and with a player opt out after year three).

We still have a number of veteran players whose contracts will expire at the end of the season, but we’ll maintain some flexibility by waiting until the end of the season to work on further extensions. As it stands we’ve still got $2,000 or so in budget space left if we want to keep next year’s salaries on the level of this year’s team, with about $6,000 in cash keeping our club liquid.

OOC: Incidentally, I have also raised the roster limit on the reserve rosters to 25 for now, with the amateur draft coming up on June 1. Eventually I want to try and add some kind of minor league system rather than the reserve roster system, but I don’t want to futz around with that until after the first season is complete -- the roster limit of 18 for the “active” roster will remain the same.

MAY 8, 1963 . . . Roberto Diaz (3-5, 5.27 ERA, 54.2 IP, 30 K’s, 1.79 WHIP) started tonight against Juan Cerda (5-5, 6.78 ERA, 69.0 IP, 30 K’s, 1.74 WHIP) in game two against Nuevitas. Just a week remains until the trade deadline, so everyone is shoring up their rosters and making sure they’re ready for the heart of the season. Victor Santos drove in our first run of the day with a single in to right in the top of the first, and Juan Flores drove in a second with a double, opening the flood gates. Antonio Fernandez batted in a pair with a single, and we went into the bottom of the inning leading 4-0. We loaded the bases in the second inning and added another pair, and by the middle of the third it was a 9-0 rout in progress. The Naturals were no match for Diaz, who didn’t give up back to back hits until the bottom of the sixth, and they still didn’t score on him. We went into the stretch leading 11-0, and he held on to his shutout as we beat them by the same margin.

Roberto Diaz is now 4-5 on the season with a 4.52 ERA, allowing just eight hits with four strikeouts and two walks in the 11-run shutout while hitting three times and driving in a pair of runs. We outslugged them 17-8, with Victor Santos dominating with three hits, a walk, two runs and four RBIs, reaching 20 runs batted in this season. We now have five players (Victor Diaz, Victor Santos, Antonio Fernandez, Jose Colon and Logan Holmes) with 20 or more RBIs, and Samuel Brisset has 19!

MAY 9, 1963 . . . Ludovic Peltier (5-4, 4.32 ERA, 75.0 IP, 40 K’s, 1.55 WHIP) started in our final game against the Naturals on their field, facing Kevin Chauvet (6-4, 4.34 ERA, 85.0 IP, 57 K’s, 1.48 WHIP). We loaded the bases in the top of the third, but couldn’t get anyone in to break the scoreless stalemate. Peltier, meanwhile, was perfect until two outs in the bottom of the third when he gave up a hit down the right field line for a double, giving them their first baserunner. And the next one batted a single, giving them runners on the corners. Still, he pitched confidently and they came out of the situation with their first two stranded runners. The game stayed nailbitingly close from there, with both pitchers trying to prove their mettle from the mound by completely flummoxing all batters. We loaded the bases in the sixth inning for the second time of the night and again were unable to score! In the bottom of the sixth the Naturals finally broke through, an RBI single giving them a 1-0 advantage. In the top of the ninth, two outs, no one on, we brought Jose Alcaraz in to pinch-hit for Peltier and he got hit by a pitch, taking first. But Jonathan Gonzalez batted out to the left fielder and we lost this one in a heartbreaker, 1-0.

Peltier fell to 5-5, but only allowed five hits, three walks and struck out five batters, improving his ERA to 4.01. We outhit them 6-5, led by Jose Colon with two hits. Crazy that we won the first two games by a combined score of 21-2 and then lost the third 1-0.

We got a trade offer from the Isla Saorna Islanders from the Dominican League, asking for 3B Juan Alcaraz off our bench in exchange for 28-year-old closer Manny Hernandez. We got them to sweeten the deal with $500 cash, and I jumped on the offer, as I think they’ve been misusing Hernandez, who has all the makings of a great spot starter or back of the rotation man. Hernandez is only on a one year deal worth around $300 this season, but we’ll be looking to resign him long term, as he has excellent stuff and movement, with above average control to go with a plus-level slider, curve and sinker. If his average fastball can improve, he’ll be unstoppable. So far this year he’s gone 4-2 with a save, a 5.08 ERA, 24 K’s and a 1.83 WHIP through 44.1 innings.

Next up: a three game series at home against Manzanillo’s Cattlemen, a day off, and then two series in a row against Guantanamo and Cienfuegos. We’ll then play Pinar del Rio for the first time on the road, along with a three-game set against Santa Clara before wrapping up the month of May back here in Havana. We’re only two games behind Cienfuegos right now, holding an 18-15 record, so there’s plenty of room for this upcoming stretch to help put us in control of the division ... or fall into irrelevance.

[jksander]

MAY 10, 1963 . . . Our game tonight was cancelled due to bad weather conditions, so we’ll play a doubleheader tomorrow!

MAY 11, 1963 . . . Jose Guzman (6-3, 4.19 ERA, 96.2 IP, 33 K’s, 1.62 WHIP) got the start in game one, facing Manzanillo’s Ramon Hernandez (3-4, 4.84 ERA, 74.1 IP, 35 K’s, 1.71 WHIP). Juan Flores hit a double in the bottom of the first that drove in two runs, giving us a quick lead, They got an RBI single in the top of the second to get back within a run, and they batted in the tying run in the top of the fourth with a double by their first baseman Willie Rojas. We got men on the corners in the bottom of the inning but Botello hit into a double play to keep it knotted 2-2 heading into the top of the fifth. They took the lead quickly, an RBI double with one out putting them up 3-2, and another double with two outs made it a two-run lead, and in the top of the sixth they hit a two-run homer to break the game open. Samuel Brisset came in to pinch-hit for Guzman with men on second and third and two outs, hitting a two-run double to get us back into the mix! Cantimori then hit a shot up the middle, loading the bases, but Victor Diaz batted himself out with a shot to the right fielder to end the frame with their lead now 6-4 heading into the seventh. Juan Ortiz came in to pitch, and he got two quick outs, then gave up an RBI single that extended their lead to three runs. Fernandez hit an RBI single to get us back within two in the bottom of the inning, and their reliever in the bottom of the eighth loaded the bases with a walk and two beaned batters, giving us a real shot! But they twice got batters out on throws to home, the second of which became a double play out at first as well, and we got nothing. Ortiz was exellent, getting us through the top of the ninth quickly, and Fernandez got on base with a hit immediately in the bottom of the frame. Colon batted out to right field, but Logan Holmes got a single to put Fernandez in scoring position. It just wasn’t enough -- we couldn’t get them around to score, and we lost this one 7-5.

Guzman fell to 6-4 on the season with six innings pitched, eight hits, two walks, six strikeouts ... and six earned runs, expanding his ERA to 4.47 through 102.2 innings. Ortiz was solid, giving three innings with two hits and the one earned run, and it is to his credit that we kept the game close. We outhit them 13-10, but their pitchers were masterful in keeping us from getting runners through. Holmes led the way for us with four hits, scoring just one run on the ground and batting in no one. He continues to hit savagely, batting .486 through his first 22 games, but despite having 72 at-bats during that period, he’s still not yet eligible for the league’s batting lead.

To keep our rotation on schedule despite the doubleheader, I decided to start Manny Hernandez (4-2, 1 SV, 5.08 ERA, 44.1 IP, 24 K’s, 1.83 WHIP) in game two, facing Luis Ayala (2-6, 7.67 ERA, 63.1 IP, 21 K’s, 2.21 WHIP). He gave up a single run in the top of the first, but handled the pressure well and got us into the bottom half without a ton of damage. But the weather’s not great for baseball -- low, dark clouds coupled with a 14 mile per hour wind blowing right to left, which kept making the ball do crazy things and we struggled to get hits out deep enough to make a difference. They did us a favor in the bottom of the third, walking three batters to load the bases with one out. And then, with Diaz at the plate, they walked in the run rather than give him anything to hit -- tie game! Victor Santos got a shot to bounce into left field, driving in the go-ahead run while keeping the bases loaded, and Fernandez grounded out to first but drove in our third run, giving us a 3-1 lead heading into the fourth inning. Antonio Freeman got a hit deep into left in the bottom of the fifth, driving in a run with a single, and Colon hit one into center to add another. With the bases loaded, Manny Hernandez hit one into center for another run batted in, and Jonathan Gonzalez brought us two more runs with a hit that rolled to the wall, sending us into the top of the sixth leading by a much more comfortable seven run margin. We had a 15 minute rain delay in the seventh inning, but Hernandez got to stay out there and finish what he started as we held tough to beat the Cattlemen 8-1.

In his debut with our Havana Hunters, Hernandez was exceptional, going nine innings with four hits, two walks, a strikeout and one earned run, giving him a 1.00 ERA as a Hunter. We outhit the Cattlemen 13-4, led by Victor Santos with three hits and an RBI. Fernandez added two hits, a run and two batted in, and Gonzalez led off with two hits and two RBIs.

The Cubanos sent us a message asking to send us a couple middling reserve players for Brisset, who is hitting .304 and has 10 doubles and a homer. If that’s the best they can offer, They lead us by one game in the standings, and if they think I’m going to agree to that, they’re absolutely insane. I know their town’s name means “Hundred Fires” when translated from the spanish, but if I took a deal like that, I’d be getting fired a hundred times.
 
MAY 12, 1963 . . . It’s a hot one in Havana this evening, cloudy and with a brutal hot wind blowing across the field as the temperatures hover in the low 90s. Roberto Diaz (4-5, 4.52 ERA, 63.2 IP, 34 K’s, 1.70 WHIP) got an extra day of rest, so he’s ready to go tonight against Manzanillo’s Luis Gomez (1-4, 6.95 ERA, 33.2 IP, 11 K’s, 2.05 WHIP). Manzanillo got a run through in the top of the first, same as yesterday, but we hit back to back doubles to tie it up without an out in the bottom of the first and their pitcher didn’t handle it well, walking two batters in a row to load the bases! Antonio Fernandez hit a deep shot into left with one out, driving in another run with a single, and our pitcher got a hit into left to make it a 4-1 lead as we batted around. Gonzalez hit an infield single that drove in another run, and we went into the top of the second up 5-1. They got a pair of runs back in the top of the second, and an RBI double in the top of the third pulled them within a run, with two outs and runners in scoring position. Diaz fumbled the pitch, and a single batted them into the lead 6-5 -- this hard-hitting league can be ruthless for a struggling pitcher. Our bats stayed hot, however. Flores got a hit into right to bat in the tying run with a single in the bottom of the third, They got the run back in the top of the fourth, and then Colon batted in one with a double in the bottom of the inning to tie it up! With two outs in the top of the fifth, Diaz gave up an RBI double and the lead yet again, and he melted the hell down for good in the sixth, loading the bases and giving up a run before I could barely get Ortiz warmed up in the bullpen.

Ortiz came in with the score 9-7, three men on, no outs. Pop-out to left field, a run scores. A base hit, another scores. Pop-out to center field, another run scores, and then finally, mercifully, we got an out and escaped the hellish inning trailing now 12-7. But we kept fighting -- we loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, Gonzalez hitting a single that batted in a run, then Cantimori hit a sac-fly that drove in another. Fernandez hit an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to cut their lead to two, and Colon then nailed one deep into center, batting in another with a double that put two in scoring position. Bases loaded, two outs, Cantimori comes back up to bat, and incredibly he walked in a run to tie it up 12-12, setting up Flores perfectly to get his RBI single that drove in two more and put us into the lead! The hits kept coming like a volcanic eruption, and by the time they came up to at in the top of the eighth we’d scored 11 runs in the inning, had 15 batters hit, and we led this one 20-12! They scored one run in the top of the ninth but Ortiz wasn’t letting them back in this one. We won it 20-13, in a performance that proves in this league you’re not done until you’re done.

Roberto Diaz only lasted five innings and gave up 15 hits, four walks, struck out a pair and allowed 12 earned runs, blowing his ERA up to 5.77. But he was saved by Juan Ortiz who got through the last four innings on four hits, a walk, three strikeouts and an earned run, giving him a 2-1 record and a 6.94 ERA. We outhit them 21-19, and everyone hit but Ortiz. Jose Colon hit four times, walked once and scored three times with three RBIs, setting a team record with three doubles in the game! Antonio Fernandez, not to be outdone, hit four times, walked once and scored four times while driving in four more. Gonzalez and Flores each hit three times, combining for three walks, five runs and five RBIs between them as well. Midway through the sixth they had a more than 90% chance of winning this one, and then we had a game’s worth of action in that bottom of the seventh. What ... a ... game.

Heading into our three-game series against the Guantanamo Gators, the race for best in our division is a tight one:

1. Cienfuegos Cubanos (20-15)
2. Santa Clara Saints (21-16)
3. Havana Hunters (20-16, 0.5 GB)
4. Pinar del Rio Roosters (17-19, 3.5 GB)

In two days the trade deadline will pass and all we’ll left before the playoffs will be the amateur draft on June 1, and then everything will be set until the race to the postseason ends!

[jksander]

JUNE 14, 1963 . . . Ludovic Peltier (5-5, 4.01 ERA, 83.0 IP, 45 K’s, 1.49 WHIP) started in game one against the Gators, facing Juan Ruiz (5-5, 3.59 ERA, 90.1 IP, 30 K’s, 1.47 WHIP). The Gators got on board with a run in the top of the second off a sac-fly to left, but we tied it up in the bottom of the third with an RBI double by Fernando Esquivel. We loaded the bases and got another run when Cantimori hit into a double play, and Victor Diaz hit an RBI double that scored a third run, giving him his 30th RBI of the season! We held a 4-1 lead going into the top of the fourth, but they got a run back in the top of the sixth, though Peltier stranded two runners in scoring position to keep the lead safe. Cantimori batted in a run in the bottom of the seventh with a double, and with the lead still at three runs, Edward Aguirre came in to pitch in the bottom of the ninth. He got the first out easily, then gave up back to back doubles to let the Gators back within two. Another hit bounced over the center fielder’s head, hitting the wall and allowing the runner to eke out another RBI double. And Aguirre completely faded from there, allowing another hit into right ... you guessed it, a double! ... and this game was tied at 5-5. He got a flyout at right, and then got the final out when the runner tried to come around on a single to score, Colon making a perfect tag at the plate to keep the game tied. With Ortiz warming in the bullpen, we were unable to make anything happen offensively, and this one went into extra innings -- just our second extra-innings game this year. In the top of the 11th inning the Gators took a one run lead thanks to an RBI single with two outs, and though we got two runners on in the bottom of the inning, we couldn’t bring them home. For the second time this year we lost in extras, this time 6-5.

Peltier had a great night, with eight innings of four-hit baseball, striking out four and walking two while allowing just two earned runs. In retrospect I should have let him keep the ball in the ninth, but Aguirre has been so solid all year, I thought we could count on him to get us there. Instead, in one inning of work, he blew the save with five hits and three earned runs, while Ortiz then took the loss, allowing three hits, a walk and a run to fall to 2-2 on the season. Aguirre has a 3.45 ERA now through 15.2 innings, and he was due a bad night. It just hurts knowing we outhit them 14-12 and should have had this one in hand. No particular batter starred tonight, it was more of a team effort -- Cantimori, Diaz, Flores, Colon and Peltier each hit twice.

JUNE 15, 1963 . . . Jose Guzman (6-4, 4.47 ERA, 102.2 IP, 39 K’s, 1.63 WHIP) pitched tonight against Alex Rojas (8-6, 1 SV, 5.66 ERA, 98.2 IP, 49 K’s, 1.83 WHIP). We took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI triple by Antonio Fernandez, and Flores added a run in the bottom of the third with an RBI single. Fernandez hit an RBI single, Colon added an RBI double, and we went into the top of the fourth leading 4-0. Logan Holmes batted in a run in the bottom of the fifth with a single, but they wouldn’t be shut out tonight -- top of the sixth, an RBI single gives the Gators two runs to get on the board. Guzman stayed out there and held on to that lead, and we were able to close this one out to win it 5-2!

Guzman improved to 7-4 with a 4.27 ERA, allowing just seven hits, two walks and two earned runs, striking out eight through 154 pitches, one off his record! This was the fourth time this year he’s thrown at least 150 pitches in a game, and only the second time he’s thrown that many and lasted through the whole game. We outhit them 14-7, led by Fernandez with four hits and two RBIs.

JUNE 16, 1963 . . . Manny Hernandez (5-2, 4.39 ERA, 53.1 IP, 25 K’s, 1.63 WHIP) started tonight’s final game against the Gators, facing Jose Ramirez (5-5, 5.76 ERA, 95.1 IP, 34 K’s, 1.81 WHIP). Hernandez was on fire early -- he struck out the side in the top of the second, which I believe is the first time that’s happened for a Havana team this year! In the bottom of the third we finally found a chink in their pitcher’s armor, loading the bases and getting Antonio Fernandez to bat in three runs with another triple, his second of the season! Victor Diaz batted in a pair in the bottom of the fourth with a single, and Jonathan Gonzalez batted one in with a double in the bottom of the sixth, giving us a 6-0 lead heading into the top of the seventh inning. Holmes batted in another run in the bottom of the seventh, and before we could start the eighth inning it started to pour down rain and the game was called as a 7-0 shutout win.

Hernandez is now 2-0 since joining our team, allowing just three hits through seven innings with seven strikeouts for an 0.56 ERA. Isla Saorna\s Rebels were among the worst hitting teams in either league, overall, so I understand why they traded for Alcaraz, but I think it’s going to prove incredibly shortsighted that they gave up on a pitcher of his potential when there are so few great ones in our league. We outhit the Gators 11-3, led by Victor Diaz with three hits, a run and two RBIs. Holmes hit twice and batted in a run, giving him a .461 average and 25 RBIs so far this year.

In contract news, Juan Ortiz has signed an 11-year $6,800 deal to stay with his hometown team! At 25 it was a no-brainer to get him signed long term, and the deal still gives him an opportunity to explore free agency after five years with a player opt-out after the 1968 season. If he stays, he has four more years guaranteed and then player options for the 10th and 11th years. He wants, however, the chance to prove he can start regularly. We’re going to move our rookie, Diaz, back into the bullpen and give him a shot at playing more as a member of a four-man rotation with Peltier, Guzman and Hernandez.

We’ve got a three-game home home series against Cienfuegos this weekend, and then we’ll be officially at the mid-point of the season! Heading into the series, we are tied with Santa Clara at 22-17, half a game behind the Cubanos who are 22-16. Ours is by far the most competitive division -- no other division has three teams who all could be playoff contenders, and only one of us actually will be one.