The Cuban 54-year absence in the Caribbean Series has come to pass the bill. The return has been just that, a show, a mere ¨we have to do it¨. Last year in Margarita Island with the Azucareros de Villa Clara, last place, and now, Cuba has already received two hammer blows on the back.
The Vegueros de Pinar del Río still needs to win one. While against Mexico, at times, it was somewhat close to success; against the Gigantes del Cibao (Dominican Republic) it had no room for doubt, for the futile innuendo. Since the beginning, they attacked the Cubans with a voracious offense with a lineup that did not have mercy of the wrongdoings of Norge Luis Ruiz on the mound.
The Dominican batters showed no mercy. The Cuban starter didn’t suffer much, the collapse came with reliever Jonder Martínez, who, for the second consecutive day was beaten. This, coupled with the rickety Cuban production at zero hour, determined the outcome: a 6 to 1 loss.
Losing just by one Pinar del Rio could not be effective with runners on base and his men were forced to hit three times for double play. That is all. A parenthesis to illustrate: when history was reversed, when the Dominicans were on bases, the RBI hit always arrived and that time when the connection was easy for an out, first baseman mallet couldn’t keep the ball in glove
We must say that this game, manager Alfonso Urquiola proposed a more offensive lineup than the debut´s. It included Yadier Hernández, Luis Yander The O and Moreira, and except the first one, the changes were effective, even Yulieski and Despaigne were encouraged to produce, but always when it was not necessary.
Now, Cubans have the water up to their neck once again at a relatively high level event (The Central American and the Caribbean Games were not). The calendar still has them to rivals as tough as the previous ones, host Puerto Ricans and perhaps the strongest team in the event, Venezuela.
The national team fails out of the doldrums in which it is immersed, still embroiled in a string of missteps that no longer accommodate the legs. It’s one after another in the international arena, it seems that the time has no end. Those who had been accustomed to having in their lips the sweet taste of victory, only speak of the past, not the present, they don’t grow accustomed, perhaps, this is very strong, and even repugnant.
Another setback for a change…
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