Sunday’s full day of action saw both Industriales and Sancti Spíritus widen the gap to a 3-1 margin over their Occidental League quarterfinal opponents, while in the Oriente sector things tightened up considerably with Granma drawing even against Villa Clara and Ciego de Avila notching a first victory over Las Tunas. With four games on tap Monday, both the Blue Lions of Industriales and the Gallos of Sancti Spíritus are now poised to make quick work of their western sector challengers while Granma and Ciego need to repeated their home field successes in order to remain contenders out east.

Industriales mainstay Odrisamer Despaigne and Sancti Spíritus ace Ismel Jiménez each gained a second post-season victory Sunday in moving their respective teams within a single step of advancement to the semifinals. Lions outfielder Yasmani Tomás tipped the scales in his team’s favor with a second inning homer (his third of the series) and ace southpaw Norberto González was able to survive only three rocky inning against a robust Industriales offense that plated five runs in the first four frames. Jiménez coasted in José Antonio Huelga Stadium behind a Gallos offense that provided 13 hits and 11 runs against five ineffective Matanzas hurlers. Victory number 19 for the Gallos right-hander made him only the third hurler in league history to reach that many in a single season (post-season wins included). Only José Ibar has ever reached the 20-victory plateau. And while Victor Mesa’s Matanzas club was the most pleasant surprise of National Series #51 regular season play, the inconsistent Crocodiles are now poised to be the biggest flop of the current post-season.

Cuba’s Top National Series Winners

José Ibar (Habana Province) 1998 (20-2)

Braudilio Vinent (Serranos) 1973 (19-4) (No Post-Season Play)

Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 2012 (19-5)

In Bayamo, Granma finally overcame its sloppy fielding and poor base running to draw even at home with the Villa Clara Orangemen. Despite another three errors in the field and some sloppy base running that killed a possible game-opening rally in the fourth, the Stallions hung on this time around despite being outhit 10-7 on their home field. Home run king Alfredo Despaigne produced his third round-tripper of the series and an additional smash by Urmanis Guerra provided the final margin of victory.

The home field win for the Ciego de Avila Tigers at José Ramon Cepero Stadium was sparked by the return of ace hurler Vladimir García who produced a solid complete-game effort while allowing only five hits (including a two-run homer by Joan Carlos Pedroso). Tigers manager Roger Machado was put at a distinct disadvantage in his confrontation with Las Tunas simply because he was forced to use García on the season’s final day in a game needed for playoff qualification. That meant that Machado had to wait until the third game of the series to finally employ his most reliable starter – and thus to finally enter in the win column.

Games of April 29 (Sunday)

Industriales 6, Cienfuegos 2

Granma 6, Villa Clara 5

Sancti Spíritus 11, Matanzas 1 (KO 8 innings)

Ciego de Avila 5, Las Tunas 4 (5:30 pm EST)

Games of April 30 (Monday)

Matanzas at Sancti Spíritus (5pm EST)

Villa Clara at Granma (5pm EST)

Industriales at Cienfuegos (8:30pm EST)

Las Tunas at Ciego de Avila (8:30pm EST)

On Sunday the Cuban Baseball Federation announced that games original scheduled for Tuesday, May 1 (the two matches in the Occidental League) will not be played, due to the special May Day workers holiday celebrations.

After Saturday’s limited playoff schedule all four Cuban League series now boast a clear leader. Las Tunas (rained out of their first road match with Ciego de Avila) maintains a two-game edge over the winless Tigers while Villa Clara, Industriales and Sancti Spíritus are all now leading by precarious 2-1 margins. The two Occidental League squads earned their advantages on Friday with nail-biting victories that featured some clutch early-inning slugging by the Blue Lions and another strong starting pitching effort for the Gallos contingent.

Industriales held on to survive their first road game at Cienfuegos by pounding out 16 hits overall and plating eight runs in the first three frames on route to a 10-8 victory over the host Elephants. The two clubs employed nine different pitchers in a wild game that saw Alex Mayeta and Yasmani Tomás homer for the winners and José Dariel Abreu also go deep in a losing cause for the hosts. The Gallos squeaked out a tense extra-inning win over Matanzas that ended in dramatic fashion: a walk-off tenth-inning single by Yunier Mendoza plated Yulieski Gourriel with the victory margin. Gallos starter Noelvis Hernández coasted into the ninth frame with a 3-0 advantage before Matanzas rallied to knot the game and send it to extra innings. Although Cuba plays with the game-shortening IBAF extra-inning tiebreaker rule during the regular season, post-season games to not employ the controversial “Schiller Rule” scenario that places runners on first and second to start each extra frame.

Saturday’s planned four-game schedule was largely obliterated by weather with three games rained out in Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus and Ciego de Avila (all central region provinces). The lone contest played was staged on the far eastern end of the island in Bayamao (Granma) where the host Stallions fell in extra frames and thus dropped one game back of Villa Clara. The home club once again revealed its debilitating imbalance (strong offense and weak defense) with key slugging from Despaigne (3 RBI on the strength of his second homer of the series) but also crucial defensive lapses (three errors) that in the end sabotaged a crucial game. Only two of Villa Clara’s runs in the 5-4 victory were earned (both knocked home by second baseman Andy Sarduy). The game ended in the eleventh frame when Sarduy doubled for the Orangemen and eventually scored the game-winner as a result of consecutive errors by Despaigne and pitcher Alberto Soto.

Games of April 27 (Friday)

Industriales 10, Cienfuegos 8 (Industriales leads Series 2-1)

Sancti Spíritus 4, Matanzas 3 (10 innings) (Sancti Spíritus leads Series 2-1)

Games of April 28 (Saturday)

Villa Clara 5, Granma 4 (11 innings) (Villa Clara leads Series 2-1)

Industriales at Cienfuegos (Postponed)

Matanzas at Sancti Spíritus (Postponed)

Las Tunas at Ciego de Avila (Postponed)

Games of April 29 (Sunday)

Industriales at Cienfuegos (2 pm EST)

Villa Clara at Granma (2 pm EST)

Matanzas at Sancti Spíritus (5:30 pm EST)

Las Tunas at Ciego de Avila (5:30 pm EST)

It has also now been announced by the Federation that games original announced for Tuesday, May 1 (the two matches in the Occidental League) will not actually be played on the date, due to the special May Day workers holiday celebrations.

The only post-season hopeful so far able to take full advantage of their home playing field, Las Tunas jumped out to a convincing lead Thursday night in their quarterfinal series with Ciego de Avila. Benefitting from a three-run uprising in the sixth – keyed by Yosvani Alarcón’s 2-RBI single – the Leñadoes were able to survive a couple of late rallies and move out to a two-game cushion over the visiting Tigers. Darian Nuñez mopped up for starter Dael Mejias to earn the save for manager Juan Miguel Gordo. Joan Carlos Pedroso enjoyed a three-for-three night (including a first inning round-tripper) for the winners while Rusney Castillo also homered for the Tigers in a losing cause.

In yesterday’s late match Villa Clara was able to get back on track and deadlock their series with Granma by squeezing out a 7-4 triumph in César Sandino. Alfredo Despaigne’s three-run homer in the third provided the bulk of the Granma offense but was largely cancelled out by a two-hit, three-RBI performance (including a solo homer) from Ariel Borrero. Yosvani Pérez provided four innings of efficient middle relief for the Orangemen and Yolexis Ulacia picked up the series-knotting save. Villa Clara pitching managed to largely contain if not entirely silence Despaigne and Yordanis Samón in Santa Clara, but it may well be a far different story this weekend when the series moves on to tiny Martires de Barbados Stadium in Bayamo. Despaigne smacked no fewer than 17 homers on the home field during this season’s record-breaking performance.

Both series in the Occidental League remain deadlocked heading into Friday’s renewals in Cinco de Septiembre (early game) and José Antonio Huelga (nationally televised nightcap). Both Industriales and Matanzas will now have to win at least one of three road games in order to remain alive and push their quarterfinal hopes back onto friendly home turf. Matanzas came out on top in a pair of regular-season road matches against the Gallos while also Industriales managed to find success on one earlier occasion this year when visiting the Elephants. Prospects would therefore seem promising for both Western quarterfinal series stretching out at least until a sixth game.

Games of April 26 (Thursday)

Villa Clara 7, Granma 4

Las Tunas 5, Ciego de Avila 4

Games of April 27 (Friday)

Industriales at Cienfuegos (5pm EST)

Matanzas at Sancti Spíritus (8:30pm EST)

Games of April 28 (Saturday)

Matanzas at Sancti Spíritus (5pm EST)

Las Tunas at Ciego de Avila (5pm EST)

Industriales at Cienfuegos (8:30pm EST)

Villa Clara at Granma (8:30pm EST)

Saturday will once more feature a full slate of games, with late afternoon matches (5 pm EST) scheduled at Sancti Spíritus and Ciego de Avila and the night contests (8:30) penciled in for Cienfuegos and Granma. All eight clubs will also be in action on Sunday afternoon, with the later games (5:30) being staged in José Huelga and Ramón Cepero stadiums.

Both Cienfuegos and Matanzas got back on track during the second day of Occidental League play – the Elephants riding the arm of Noelvis Entenza to shut down a sputtering Industriales offense and Matanzas getting just enough pitching from starter Jorge Alberto Martínez to hold off the upset-minded Sancti Spíritus Gallos. Before 34,000-plus in Latin American Stadium Entenza wove his magic for 7.1 innings of near flawless work, allowing but three harmless hits and scattering six walks while striking out five. Two runs in the third frame gave the Elephants all the edge they would need as Industriales was kept off the scoreboard until Yasmani Tomás cracked a solo homer in the final at-bat for the Lions. Duniel Ibarra closed out the eighth and worked the ninth to pick up his 23rd save of the year for the visitors.

Matanzas gained their first-ever post-season victory (under the Matanzas team label) by manufacturing three tallies in a seventh-inning uprising that was opened by Yoandy Garlobo’s double and closed out by Yurisbel Gracial’s run-producing single. Lázaro Herrera also chipped in with a sacrifice fly. Earlier in that same inning José Alfonso had lifted the Gallos into a temporary lead with a two-run shot off starter Martínez. Another disappointing crowd of only 8,000 turned out to witness the first post-season victory for any team representing the city in two full decades. It was precisely twenty years ago (1992 and National Series #31) that a team then known as Henequeneros reached the playoff finals in its final campaign before the name switch to Matanzas.

Games of April 24 (Tuesday)

Industriales 2, Cienfuego 1

Sancti Spíritus 6, Matanzas 1

Games of April 25 (Wednesday)

Cienfuegos 3, Industriales 1

Matanzas 5, Sancti Spíritus 3

Las Tunas 6, Ciego de Avila 1

Granma 1, Villa Clara 0

Games of April 26 (Thursday)

Granma at Villa Clara (5pm EST)

Ciego de Avila at Last Tunas (8:30pm EST)

On the opening evening of Oriental League action Las Tunas got all the scoring it would need behind Yoelkis Cruz in the form of a sixth-inning three run homer by shortstop Alexander Guerrero. Cruz scattered nine hits over seven strong innings of work that was marred only by a Yorelvis Charles solo homer in the top of the sixth. But the game of the day unfolded in Augusto César Sandino Stadium when Ciro Silvino Licea and Freddy Asiel Alvarez locked horns in one of the best post-season mano-a-mano pitching duals in several seasons. In one of his strongest-ever career outings veteran Licea (often in the past criticized for subpar playoff efforts) bent but never cracked. The stocky Granma right-hander kept the Orangemen off the scoreboard for nine innings despite striking out only three and permitting nine Villa Clara safeties. The game’s solo run came in the top of the eighth when number-eight batter Adrian Moreno doubled, was moved to third on an infield roller, and then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ramon Tamayo. The inability of the home club to muster any offensive thrust against Licea also wiped out a brilliant if largely futile complete-game effort from Freddy Asiel Alvarez. Freddy Asiel struck out seven, surrendered only four hits (two of them in the fateful eighth) and held Granma’s biggest guns – Alfredo Despaigne and Yordanis Samón – at bay for the entire nine innings.

Pitching always dominates in post-season baseball. At least that has always been the prevailing wisdom from the major leagues right on down to the local sandlots. It is simply another way of saying that a good defense will usually find ways to stymie just about any potent offense – at least most of the time. On the opening night of Occidental League quarterfinals action it was definitely skilled pitching – with a small boost from some timely clutch hitting – that was the clear order of the evening as hometown Industriales edged Cienfuegos 2-1 and visiting Sancti Spíritus jumped out in front of Matanzas by a deceptive 6-1 count. The early game was a true pitching classic while the nightcap was a much closer affair than the scoreboard might suggest.

In Havana respective aces Odrisamer Despaigne (league strikeout leader) and Norberto González (the island’s best left-handed starter) locked horns in a double-pronged masterpiece before more than 27,000 patrons in historic Latin American Stadium. The just-concluded 96-game National Series season headlined numerous batting feats and was far more noted for offensive heroics than for defensive artistry. But all that changed last night. On the more pressure-packed stage of the post-season two stellar starters combined to provide a true rarity in modern-era baseball – a pair of nine-inning complete game outings in which neither manager had to make even a single call to the bullpen for relief.

Industriales manufactured an early 2-0 lead against González on the strength of a pair of run-producing singles by Frank Camilo Morejón (second inning) and Carlos Tabares (sixth inning), but only the first tally was earned. What turned out to be the game-deciding margin in the sixth came after an inning-opening error by Cienfuegos second sacker Darian González allowed Rudy Reyes to reach base with the eventual winning tally (produced by Tabares’ two-out single). The Elephants managed to narrow the gap in the seventh when Erisbel Arruebarruena singled to center and continued on to second after Tabares bobbled his outfield roller; two batters later a Pavel Quesada single produced the game’s second unearned tally. On the night winner Despaigne faced only one batter over the 27-man minimum and struck out seven while walking only a pair. It was precisely the kind of effort manager Lázaro Vargas needed from his top righty to silence the normally potent Cienfuegos lineup.

Except for one mighty swing from Gallos veteran catcher Eriel Sánchez the contest in Matanzas might have been every bit as tight. Starters Ismel Jiménez and Yohan Hernández remained locked in a 1-1 nail-biter through five frames before Hernández worked himself into a tight spot in the visitor’s half of the sixth. After Yunier Mendoza singled and Yulieski Gourriel doubled with one out, manager Victor Mesa decided to issue a free pass to Freddie Cepeda and take his chances with Eriel Sánchez. It proved to be a fatal tactic. The powerful catcher took advantage by lining the first pitch from Hernández into the left field seats for a grand slam homer that instantly turned a gripping pitchers’ duel into a dull one-sided affair.

Ismel Jiménez (the league’s top winner with 17 regular season victories) coasted through the final innings and picked up his 18th win on the strength of a five-hit complete-game effort. The lone Matanzas tally came via a solo shot in the fifth struck by catcher Lázaro Herrera. It was a disappointing night for the Matanzas faithful who turned out for the ball club’s first-ever post-season appearance. And the Matanzas crowd itself was in the end one of the night’s largest disappointments, since only slightly more than 15,000 loyl patrons passed through the gates of Victoria de Girón Stadium for the historic event – leaving more than 10,000 surprisingly empty seats.

The just-concluded fifty-first edition of the Cuban National Series was packed with plenty of unprecedented twists and a full measure of substantial surprises. Now a renewal of post-season action promises to prolong this special brand of Cuban baseball excitement. Most attention likely will be focused squarely on the Occidental League where Matanzas is this year’s true Cinderella team and also where Havana Industriales enjoys the island’s most rabid fan following. Yet if Oriental League games may not spur quite as much entusiasm in the capital city – at least during opening quarterfinal round matches – the eastern sector clashes may in the end provide the more heated rivalries and the greater possibilities for some mild if not major surprises.

Matanzas makes its first post-season appearance in more than a quarter-century of Cuban League playoff competition; home run heroes Alfredo Despaigne and José Dariel Abreu carry their hefty slugging onto island baseball’s most glamorous stage; colorful Victor Mesa has yet another shot at proving that he can manage just as successfully in the post-season has he so often has with Villa Clara during an earlier decade of regular season competitions; infrequent playoff entrants Granma, Las Tunas and Ciego de Avila set out to finally grab some championship glory of their own. Indeed there are plenty of fascinating story lines to keep fans on the edges of their seats from one end of the island to the other. Well, almost from one end to the other, since the extreme ends of the map represented by last year’s champion Pinar del Río and perennial powerhouse Santiago de Cuba won’t be part of the playoff festivities this time around.

Two seven-game quarter-final  series will kick things off Tuesday evening in the Occidental League with Sancti Spíritus traveling to Matanzas for a primetime 8 pm match in Victoria de Girón Stadium while Cienfuegos visits Industriales in Latin American Stadium three hours earlier. A pair of Wednesday evening games in Villa Clara and Las Tunas will inaugurate the Oriental League action on Wednesday night. Below are assessments of all four series as well as some insights into what might be expected from the first-round elimination battles.

Matanzas versus Sancti Spíritus

Season Series Results: Matanzas 5 wins (7-2, 9-1, 10-0, 4-1, 5-1); Sancti Spíritus 1 win (10-3)

Matanzas (58-38) Overview: The Crocodiles have been the biggest Cinderella story of Cuban baseball all season long and there is little doubt that Victor Mesa has re-earned his stripes with his “manager of the year” performance. But Victor was handed some very good cards to play when he inherited a roster of numerous young prospects only beginning to realize their full potential. There are no true “headliner” stars in Matanzas but there are a number of sold performers, especially Guillermo Heredia who led the league in runs scored (and also batted .343), Yurisbel Gracial (15 homers, 115 hits) and Yasiel Santoya (.331, 49 RBI). This was one of only three teams (the only one in the Occidental League) that hit a composite .300-plus across the 96-game schedule. But more impressive still has been a Matanzas pitching staff that registered the league’s lowest opponent batting average (.262) and featured three double-figures winners: Yohan Hernández (11-3), Jorge Alberto Martínez (11-5), and Yoanni Year (10-3). The one looming problem here is the fact that since this is the first-ever Matanzas post-season appearance, there isn’t a single player on Crocodile roster with even a single game of previous playoff experience. Mesa will quickly learn this week what his charges are made off.

Sancti Spíritus (49-46) Overview: Under new manager Ruperto Zamora the Gallos hung on down the stretch to earn yet another post-season appearance despite the severe handicap of playing without star slugger Freddie Cepeda. There is no arguing that – despite the immense tools of Yulieski Gourriel – Cepeda is the undisputed on-field leader and emotional heart of this team and his healthy return will be crucial to any post-season successes. The middle of the Gallos lineup packs plenty of run-scoring potential, but it has been the starting pitching of veterans Ismel Jiménez (17-5, 2.48 ERA) and Angel Peña (11-4, 2.88) that has kept Sancti Spíritus in the midst of the hunt. Some important numbers seem to tell much of the story for this matchup: Matanzas has scored a hundred more runs than Zamora’s club over the course of the season, but that might be in large part due to the fact that Cepeda missed a full third of the campaign. Both the Gallos down through the years, and also earlier teams managed by Victor Mesa, have been known for their unaccountable post-season collapses. This time around it might simply be a matter of who collapses first.

Series Assessment: This was the most one-sided regular-season series of any of the post-season pairings. The Gallos (Roosters) scored as many as two runs in only one game, their lone 10-3 win at home in late February. Sancti Spíritus has not drawn much notice this winter outside of the pitching heroics of Ismel Jiménez, and the club’s post-season ticket may have been written mainly due to the season-long slump of Pinar del Río. But any team with Cepeda, Gourriel, Yenier Bello and Eriel Sánchez at the heart of the order is capable of causing substantial grief for any opponent. Victor Mesa will have to continue his magic if the Matanzas “dream season” is going to escape an early post-season upset disappointment. Prediction: Matanzas in six games

Industriales versus Cienfuegos

Season Series Results: Industriales 3 wins (4-1, 3-1, 2-1); Cienfuegos 3 wins (5-3, 3-2, 11-5)

Industriales (55-41) Overview: Industrials has bounced back well this season behind rookie manager Lázaro Vargas after last winter’s disappointing outing under Germán Mesa. But the Blue Lions have a rather large “Achilles’ heel” in their shaky front line pitching. Only Odrisamer Despaigne (13-8, 2.60 ERA and a league-best 128 Ks) and Frank Montieth (8-4, 3.91) have proven to be reliable starters; the Industriales combined staff ERA (4.79) is more than a run higher than that of series rival Cienfuegos. The Lions have featured their share of slugging, especially from catcher Lisbán Correa and outfielder Yasmani Tomás who have each contributed 16 round trippers. But Correa is something of a defensive liability behind the plate (Frank Camilo Morejon has a much better glove but not as robust a bat). The team is also slow of foot and stole only 20 more bases that Cienfuegos leaguer-leader Lázaro Rodríguez himself managed to pilfer. One huge plus side for Industriales is the presence of three veterans – Alexander Mayeta, Rudy Reyes and Yoandri Urgellés – who sport a history of coming up big during the added pressures of post-season games.

Cienfuegos (54-42) Overview: There are many plusses on the Cienfuegos side of the ledger. First and foremost there is José Dariel Abreu, a one-man offensive wrecking crew. Erisbel Arruebarruena owns the flashiest if not the most reliable glove among league shortstops and also hits well (.320, 19 doubles) and runs the bases (10 steals) with some authority. This is one of the very few clubs in league history featuring teammates – Lázaro Rodríguez and Yoelvis Leyva – who each robbed more than 20 bases. Ageless Norberto González (13-8, 3.00 ERA) is still the island’s best left-handed starter and Noelvis Entenza (11-7, 3.74) proved solid as the number two man in the rotation. Closer Duniel Ibarra saw his league-record for saves go by the wayside this winter but nonetheless managed to log over 20 in that department for the second straight year. One negative is a lack of heavy hitting surrounding Abreu at the heart of the order and it is thus tempting for opponents to always pitch around the Elephant’s most potent slugging weapon.

Series Assessment: The season series split right down the middle with each team winning twice at home and once on the road; all six games were close except the one 11-5 Cienfuegos blowout in Cinco de Septiembre Stadium in late December. If Abreu hits the way he is capable of hitting and if Industriales doesn’t get some quality work out of its secondary starters Darwin Beltrán (10-7, 4.75) and Ian Rendón (5-6, 4.95) this series might not last quite as long as most of the Havana partisans are expecting. Prediction: Cienfuegos in six games

Villa Clara versus Granma

Season Series Results: Villa Clara 3 wins (3-2, 9-4, 8-5); Granma 3 wins (8-4, 8-3, 8-0)

Villa Clara (58-38) Overview: Somehow (mainly because of a boatload of solid pitching) the Orangemen under first-year manager Ramon Moré managed to match Matanzas with the league’s top victory total. But Villa Clara doesn’t feature the expected profile (on paper at least) of a legitimate championship ball club. There is not a single hitter in their entire lineup that can boast a resume with more than a dozen homers or as many as 60 runs batted in. Yet if there are no individual “studs” featured in the tame batting order there is plenty of balance, with nine .300 hitters on the full roster and a composite .299 team mark. And when it comes to pitching the Orange have the best arsenal in the entire 17-team league. Alain Sánchez (12-3, 2.69 ERA) was the only double-figure winner but four other regular starters all contributed plus-side winning ledgers. And Moré’s pitching staff boasts a rarity for the current-era Cuban League – two top starters (Robelio Carrillo and Misael Siverio) that both throw from the left side of the hill.

Granma (54-42) Overview: For several years now Granma has featured a team handicapped by the league’s worst fielding and sloppiest base-running; Granma hangs around in most of its games merely by outslugging the opponents. Despaigne is a multi-dimensional offense all by himself, but even with the loss of Yoennis Céspedes, Despaigne is hardly the only weapon in the Stallion arsenal. Clean-up hitter Yordanis Samón paced the circuit in base hits and also batted .363 (third in the league); Samón was also fourth-best in RBIs and game-winning hits. Ramon Tamayo (13) and Luis Ferrales (11) also both reached double figures in long balls and Urmanis Guerra hit above .300. But pitching was hardly a bright spot: while Alexei Alarcón (10-2) and Leandro Martínez (11-4) both rang up stellar won-lost ledgers, Martínez (2.62) was the only regular starter with a sub-4.00 ERA.

Series Assessment: This was another evenly split series, with each team interestingly enough winning only once at home yet twice on the road. Only one of six matches (the earliest one at Villa Clara in the opening week of the season) was a nip-and-tuck affair. Granma (mainly thanks to some dramatic slugging from Despaigne) survived much longer in the post-season last year than anyone expected, and “el Caballo de los Caballo” will have to produce in a big way once again to offset his team’s disadvantages in pitching and defense. Villa Clara featured the best club ERA (.3.40) in the entire league this winter and the Orangemen staff includes half-a-dozen arms that also logged more than 80 innings apiece. Admittedly the Stallions for their part owned the league’s second best club batting mark at .302 (trailing only Las Tunas) and were the only team to hit over 100 homers. The universal wisdom, however, is that good pitching – in this or any other league – almost always sinks good hitting in post-season baseball. Prediction: Villa Clara in five games

Las Tunas versus Ciego de Avila

Season Series Results: Las Tunas 4 wins (4-3, 16-1, 4-3, 6-4); Ciego de Avila 2 wins (6-5, 9-2)

Las Tunas (54-41) Overview: Just about every year there is a post-season surprise and Las Tunas definitely has the potential to match what upstart Pinar did last year and what underdog Industriales accomplished one year earlier. If the Las Tunas Leñadores (Woodcutters) hold a slight advantage it comes with their deep if not outstanding pitching headed up by Yoelkis Cruz (13-6, 3.72 ERA), Yudiel Rodríguez (10-8, 4.07) and solid closer Rigoberto Cabrera (12 saves, 2.79). Juan Miguel Gordo’s club can also generate plenty of offense from a balanced lineup featuring Joan Carlos Pedroso (the ninth most proficient home run producer in league history), Alexander Guerrero (21 homers, fourth in the league this season), and veteran Danel Castro (who enjoyed a great comeback season as runner-up to José Dariel Abreu in the batting race). Also not to be overlooked are table-setting right fielder Andres Quiala (with 118 base hits) and slugging catcher Yosvani Alarcón. Veterans Castro (18 seasons) and Pedroso (15 seasons) have not benefitted from much post-season experience over their long careers, but this could be their opportunity for one grand final hurrah.

Ciego de Avila (54-42) Overview: Roger Machado has several large weapons in his arsenal and two of the largest are Vladimir García (perhaps Cuba’s best pitcher at the moment) and Yadier Rabi (the island’s most durable young arm out of the bullpen and National Series #51 league leader in pitching appearances). Machado was forced to use García on the season’s final day in the effort to reach the playoffs and that move will likely cost one start for the Tigers ace in the quarterfinal round – perhaps a decisive factor in a short series. On the other hand Machado has never been afraid to use García often and also on very short rest. The Tigers manager has often been criticized, in fact, for displaying little confidence in his overall pitching outside of Vlad García, and therefore of going to the well far too often with his overused mainstay. Ciego doesn’t have as many outstanding bats as Las Tunas but they do feature Rusney Castillo. Castillo was the league-leader in doubles and a potent .332 hitter, but also the only Tiger slugger to reach double figures in homers (16). As a team Las Tunas outhit Ciego by 30 points overall (.304 to .272) and outslugged them by 30 homers and such a distinct power deficiency could spell Ciego’s doom.

Series Assessment: Las Tunas held the regular season edge, winning twice at home and twice on the road. They also overcame Vlad García the one time they faced him, but relief ace Yadier Rabi and not García took the loss in that February game in Julio Antonio Mella Stadium. There is no question that García must get a couple of starts (and win them both) and Rabi must be solid out of the pen to offset the Woodcutter’s large advantage in raw power. Las Tunas seemingly has everything going for it in this series, but you can always throw “the book” out the window at playoff time. Also Roger Machado is a much craftier skipper than many in Cuba give him credit for being. This series will likely drag on a lot longer than some of the pundits might surmise. Prediction: Las Tunas in six games

In brief, none of the four series are especially easy to call and all four promise the possibility of expected suspense and unanticipated surprises. It should all be a true delight for fans and a true test for the remaining octet of teams vying to survive the heat of championship competition. Let the games begin.

Cuba’s final National Series weekend finished with a true flourish – a Sunday afternoon crammed with sufficient action that included a new league home run record and three teams reaching playoff status on the final day of the campaign. Alfredo Despaigne “walked off” with the hotly disputed home run crown and upped his league record on his second-to-last at-bat of the season. Despaigne also claimed the RBI title but the talk of the day was the sixth inning homer – number 36 of the year, number 200 of his brief career, and ironically an “inside-the-park” smash that never left the field of play. Also stirring plenty of conversation was the fact that Despaigne’s close rival José Abreu lost out on any chance at a Triple Crown when he sat out the final game, after have closing the RBI gap to but a pair in recent days. It was the second straight year that Abreu surrendered a Triple Crown opportunity in the season’s final game.

On other individual fronts, Artemisa flamethrower Yadir Pedroso managed to tie Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales) for the league strikeout lead while Holguín’s Pablo Millan Fernández (1.52) barely clung to his sparse lead over Ciego’s Valdimir García (1.72) for bragging rights in the ERA department. Ciego manager Roger Machado was forced to use his top hurler García on the final day of the season (rather than saving him for the playoff opener) since the Tigers desperately needed a victory for post-season qualification. Vladimir responded and turned in a brilliant 7-inning outing for a winning effort during which he surrendered only a single unearned tally.

The chaotic Oriental League playoff picture was not finalized until late afternoon when injury-riddled Santiago was knocked off the post-season calendar for the second year in a row. Sunday opened up with a four-way race still raging for the three league runner-up slots. Las Tunas needed a win in their two-game set with Industriales to avoid possible elimination. Yet despite their 10-9 defeat in the twin-bill opener the Leñadores backed into the post-season thanks to Santiago’s second loss of the weekend to basement-dwelling Mayabeque (the team that finished play with the season’s worst record). Ciego managed to qualify by holding on against Abreu-less Cienfuegos. Thus the final tussle game down to Granma and Santiago, once the Stallions had kept their own slim hopes alive on the strength of a 10-1 romp over Isla. It looked for a while like Santiago would be able to salvage their season on home turf but weak pitching and a short lineup (with Héctor Olivera and Reutilio Hurtado on the sidelines) spelled doom in an embarrassing eleventh-hour 9-7 stumble against pesky if not very potent Mayabeque.

The opening round playoff matches are now set for this coming week. In the Western Division first-place Matanzas will host underdog Sancti Spíritus. Evenly matched Cienfuegos and Industriales will square off in the other Occidental quarterfinal shootout. In the Oriental League clashes Villa Clara entertains Granma and Despaigne during the quarterfinal round while Las Tunas and Ciego de Avila slug it out in perhaps least predictable series of the four. North coast neighbors Villa Clara and Matanzas seem to be on a collision course toward this year’s finals – but numerous surprises are still likely to unfold as the season moves towards its exciting conclusion.

Playoff Quarterfinal Matchups:

Matanzas versus Sancti Spíritus (Occidental)

Industriales versus Cienfuegos (Occidental)

Villa Clara versus Granma (Oriental)

Las Tunas versus Ciego de Avila (Oriental)

Results of Saturday, April 21, 2012

(Boldface team is home club)

Granma 11, Isla de la Juventud 6

Cienfuegos 4, Ciego de Avila 3

Matanzas 9, Camagüey 4

Villa Clara 6, Sancti Spíritus 1

Metropolitanos 8, Holguín 7

Guantánamo 3, Artemisa 0 (5 Innings)

Las Tunas at Industriales (Rained Out)

Santiago de Cuba 6, Mayabeque 0

Idle: Pinar del Río (season complete)

Results of Sunday, April 22, 2012

(Boldface team is home club)

Granma 10, Isla de la Juventud 1

Ciego de Avila 3, Cienfuegos 2

Matanzas 10, Camagüey 5

Villa Clara 6, Sancti Spíritus 3

Holguín 7, Metropolitanos 1

Guantánamo 3, Artemisa 2 (10)

Industriales 10, Las Tunas 9

Mayabeque 9, Santiago de Cuba 7

Idle: Pinar del Río (season complete)

Final Regular Season League Standings (April 22, 2012)

Boldface teams have clinched playoff appearance

Occidental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Matanzas	96	58	38	.604	–
Industriales	95	55	40	.579	2.5
Cienfuegos	96	54	42	.563	4.0
Sancti Spíritus	95	49	46	.519	8.5
Pinar del   Río	96	47	49	.490	11.0
Isla de   la Juventud	96	39	57	.406	19.0
Metropolitanos	96	38	58	.396	20.0
Artemisa	96	36	60	.375	22.0
Mayabeque	96	33	63	.344	25.0

Oriental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Villa Clara	96	58	38	.604	–
Las Tunas	94	53	41	.564	3.5
Ciego de Avila	96	54	42	.563	4.0
Granma	96	54	42	.563	4.0
Santiago   de Cuba	96	53	43	.552	5.0
Guantánamo	94	45	49	.479	12.0
Holguín	96	44	52	.458	14.0
Camagüey	96	43	53	.448	15.0

Final Individual National Series #51 Batting Leaders

Ave: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .394

Hits: Yordanis Samón (Granma) 133

Runs: Guillermo Heredia (Matanzas) 91

HR: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 36 (new league record)

RBI: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 105

Doubles: Rusney Castillo (Ciego de Avila) 28

Triples: Lázaro Rodríguez (Cienfuegos) 11

Steals: Lázaro Rodriguez (Cienfuegos) 29

Slugging: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .837

Final National Series #51 Individual Pitching Leaders

Wins: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 17

Win Pct.: Alain Sánchez (Villa Clara) .800 (12-3)

ERA: Pablo Millan Fernández (Holguín) 1.52

Games: Yadir Rabi (Ciego de Avila) 46

Complete Games: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 11

Saves: Danni Aguilera (Isla de la Juventud) 27 (ties league record)

Shutouts: Yosvani Torres (Pinar del Río) 5

Ks: Yadier Pedroso (Artemisa) 128

Ks: Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales) 128

Innings: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 185.0

A dramatic battle for mythical title of “Cuba’s Home Run King” raging for the past month has finally come to a dramatic and somewhat odd conclusion on the season’s final day of action. Granma’s Alfredo Despaigne took back sole position of the league record with his 36th smash of the campaign on Sunday afternoon in his second-to-last at-bat of the season. The blow in Nueva Gerona’s Cristobal Labra Stadium came off a delivery from Isla right-hander Alesky Perera and was ironically Despaigne’s only inside-the-park home run of the year. With four RBIs on the day the Granma “Stallion” also pushed his league-leading final total in that department to 105, a margin of six over runner-up José Dariel Abreu.

Despaigne’s final record performance was accompanied by some obvious oddities and notable ironies. First and foremost was the almost certain claim that this was the first time in any modern-era league where a home run title was decided or a new all-time record established with a four-bagger that never left the field of play. So far there has been no video available to demonstrate precisely what occurred on the historic hit. Isla made two substitutions in the outfield to start the inning (and also one replacement in the top of the previous inning). Did confusion on Despaigne’s fly ball to center result from the constant outfield “musical chairs” by the home team? Was Despaigne’s blast slightly tainted by lackadaisical effort (either intentional or otherwise) on the part of the Isla outfielders? Or was there a misplay during the action that might well have resulted in a defensive error that was never credited by a home field official scorer. There is little reason to suggest that Despaigne’s rather strange homer was in any way illegitimate, and yet without a video replay or some further description from the Cuban press it is hard not to speculate, or at least to ponder the circumstances.

A second irony attached to the final day’s events is the fact that Despaigne was handed something of an assist by the absence of José Dariel Abreu from the playing field. Cienfuegos manager Iday Abreu had moved his slugger to the top of the batting order for the Friday and Saturday games – presumably to provide the big first baseman a few extra plate appearances that might increase his chances of overhauling Despaigne. Abreu had made up a six-homer deficit over the last couple weeks and had also closed the gap on Saturday to only two in the RBI department. At stake for Abreu was not only his piece of the home run record (which he had previously shared with Yoennis Céspedes) but also a potential first-ever National Series Triple Crown batting feat. But then, for some so far inexplicable reason, Abreu sat helplessly on the sidelines Sunday afternoon.

The odd absence of the top Cienfuegos slugger not only handed the title to Abreu’s Granma rival but also gave a huge boost to visiting Ciego de Avila. The visitors eked out a narrow 3-2 win over the Abreu-less Elephants that pushed them into a post-season playoff spot. It is indeed possible that it was injury that sent Abreu to the bench; he did also miss an entire series last weekend in Isla. But that scenario seems rather unlikely given the move to the top lineup spot on Friday and Saturday and the effort to gain extra ABs for Abreu in the opening matches of the series. Some explanation seems in the offering.

This was the second consecutive year that José Dariel met bitter disappointment in the final game of the campaign. Last season the Cienfuegos star was able to tie Céspedes for the home run lead (and league record) in the final contest yet also fell one short in the RBI chase. He thus missed an historic Triple Crown by only the slimmest of margins. The Despaigne home run and four RBIs on Sunday meant that in retrospect Abreu would likely have been outdistanced today even if he had taken his normal spot in the lineup. But nonetheless it has to be far more of a disappointment to “go down sitting” than to “go down swinging” on the season’s final day. Despaigne raced around the bases in Nueva Gerona with a new spot in the record book (if possibly a controversial one) but his top rival Abreu never had a chance to answer.

Frequent updates concerning Cuban League action and periodic video clips/links on Cuban baseball are also regularly available on my Facebook page. Those interested in Cuban baseball may also wish to “friend” me on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001753561208

Big league baseball has its sufficient examples of ballplayers sitting out the season’s final game in order to product a slim lead during a down-to-the-wire race for a league batting title. Or there is the well-worn tale of MLB’s last .400 hitter – Ted Williams in 1941 – refusing to play it safe by remaining on the sidelines during a final-day double-header. Cienfuegos manager Iday Abreu tried a new wrinkle in a similar scenario yesterday by moving clean-up slugger José Dariel into the leadoff spot in his lineup for the season’s final weekend series. The move was designed to potentially gain the star slugger a few additional plate appearances and thus increase Abreu’s chances of overhauling Alfredo Despaigne in the individual National Series home run and RBI races.

Abreu responded well Friday with a three-for-four outing that included a single, double, triple and 3 RBIs, narrowing runs-batted-home differential to only three. Despaigne was held hitless at Isla but Granma did win a crucial match that propelled the Stallions into a dead heat with Santiago for the final Oriental League playoff spot. Granma benefited from Santiago’s 11-4 defeat at the hands of Eastern Division tail ender Mayabeque. The biggest slugging display on Friday came from Matanzas first sacker Yasiel Santoya (on loan from Sancti Spíritus) who collected a pair of homers and six RBIs. The win for Victor Mesa’s Crocodiles clinched at least a share of first place in the Occidental League as well as upping to 56 the club record for single-season victories.

In other games Sancti Spíritus rolled over Western League leader Villa Clara 8-0 behind homers by Orlando Acebey and Yenier Bello while Metros enjoyed a similar shutout victory over basement-dwelling Holguín. Guantánamo also benefitted from a two-home-run outburst by Vismay Santos in squeezing out an 8-6 road win over Artemisa. And in one of the most crucial afternoon matches, Las Tunas squandered an early lead by surrendering five runs to Industriales in the home eighth and then dropped the vital contest during a tie-breaker tenth inning. The costly loss prevented the Leñadores from solidifying their position in the still-heated Oriental League post-season qualifying race. With the dramatic come-from-behind victory Industriales clung to a slim mathematical possible of tying Matanzas for first place in the Western Division.

Results of Friday, April 20, 2012

(Boldface team is home club)

Granma 4, Isla de la Juventud 1

Cienfuegos 6, Ciego de Avila 5

Matanzas 10, Camagüey 2

Sancti Spíritus 8, Villa Clara 0

Metropolitanos 7, Holguín 0

Guantánamo 8, Artemisa 6

Industriales 7, Las Tunas 6

Mayabeque 11, Santiago de Cuba 4

Idle: Pinar del Río (season complete)

League Standings (April 20, 2012)

Boldface teams have clinched playoff appearance

Occidental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Matanzas	94	56	38	.596	–
Industriales	94	54	40	.574	2.0
Cienfuegos	94	53	41	.564	3.0
Sancti Spíritus	93	49	44	.527	6.5
Pinar del   Río	96	47	49	.490	10.0
Isla de   la Juventud	94	39	55	.415	17.0
Metropolitanos	94	37	57	.394	19.0
Artemisa	94	36	58	.383	20.0
Mayabeque	94	32	62	.340	24.0

Oriental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Villa Clara	94	56	38	.596	–
Las Tunas	93	53	40	.570	2.5
Ciego de   Avila	94	53	41	.564	3.0
Santiago   de Cuba	94	52	42	.553	4.0
Granma	94	52	42	.553	4.0
Guantánamo	92	43	49	.467	12.0
Camagüey	94	43	51	.457	13.0
Holguín	94	43	51	.457	13.0

Individual Batting Leaders

Ave: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .396

Hits: Yordanis Samón (Granma) 129

Runs: Guillermo Heredia (Matanzas) 87

HR: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) 35 (new league record)

HR: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 35 (new league record)

RBI: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 101

Slugging: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .845

Individual Pitching Leaders

Wins: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 17

ERA: Pablo Millan Fernández (Holguín) 1.52

Complete Games: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 11

Saves: Danni Aguilera (Isla de la Juventud) 27

Shutouts: Yosvani Torres (Pinar del Río) 5

Ks: Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales) 128

Innings: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 185.0

Saturday, April 21 marks the 62nd anniversary of Conrado Marrero’s big league debut with the Washington Senators. On this date in 1950 at Yankee Stadium Marrero replaced Jim Pearce in the bottom of the eighth frame with Yogi Berra standing on first base for the Yankees and Joe DiMaggio occupying third. The first batter than Marrero faced was Billy Johnson who rolled out to the second baseman while advancing Berra to second and scoring DiMaggio. Hank Bauer then singled scoring Berra from second. The Cuban ace (a few days short of turning 39 at the time) completed his first outing by retiring Jerry Coleman on a fly ball to center. The Yankees won the game 14-7 with Joe Page the winner in relief and Mickey Harris the losing hurler. Marrero would stick around the big leagues for five seasons and compile a lifetime 39-40 ledger. But far more remarkable yet is the fact that Connie Marrero is still hanging around in Havana as MLB’s oldest surviving veteran. Connie will turn 101 next week on April 25.

For all the details of Marrero’s remarkable saga, try any and all of the following links:

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/7920d04b

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/sports/baseball/conrado-marrero-a-bridge-to-cubas-baseball-past.html?_r=2&ref=sports

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/centenarian-in-need-receives-overdue-aid/?ref=baseball

http://sabr.org/content/mysteries-and-misconceptions-surrounding-conrado-marrero