Industriales, the most successful club in the history of Cuban baseball after 1959, will tirelessly go for its thirteenth National Series titles, and to conquer it its manager Lázaro Vargas has designed several working guidelines, but "Unity" is the cornerstone of the project.
"This season Industriales comes to do the same that last year; we will go into the field to give everything for the win, to play as a family, together, we will play every day in order to win and take the championship," said Vargas, who is in his second year at the helm of the Blues from Havana.
The former third baseman of Industriales said that "this new adventure will have some variations from the previous one, but the most important change in the lineup will be Stayler Hernandez for Carlos Tabares, a veteran of 20 Series, but this movet is to face right-hand pitchers.”
Vargas, 48, also disclosed that slugger "Yasmani Tomas will have much more responsibility in driving in runs," but due to his young age (22 years) “we do not want to rush him up, despite being one of the members of Cuban pre-selection for the III World Baseball Classic.”
This is the 52th season of the Cuban Baseball Championship which will be played with a new competition format, with two qualifying stages before the playoffs, a factor that changes the modus operandi of all teams.
The Series is now "much more demanding, much more intense, that´s why the player who will be in better shape is the one who will play daily. In general we have a good bench to make interesting tactical moves throughout the season. We are confident; Industriales will always fight for the title, no matter what the structure is," said Vargas, who played for Industriales from 1982 to 2003, with four titles of Cuba under his belt (1986, 1992, 1996 and 2003).
"The new structure creates new situations, we can´t now try out as many players as in previous seasons but we cannot afford to have a player in slump, whoever he is. We can either gamble looking to make the playoffs because only eight teams will reach the second stage and the games against them are valid for the next round, "said the double Olympic champion (Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996).
To achieve his objectives, Vargas and his technical team announced a starting pitching staff consisting of Odrisamer Despaigne, Darwin Rafael Beltran, Abel Viego (lefty) and Frank Montie. Only four starters, the fifth can be Antonio Baró, but we will keep that position open, we will see the pitcher who will be in better shape and that is the one we will use as the fifth starter to round out the pitching staff. "
In closers functions are designated "Julio Rayzán Montesinos and Yoandri Portal (lefty), two very good pitchers for an inning, who are both now in great shape," Vargas said.
Vargas is one of the icons of Industriales baseball history. During his playing career he was always a leader even performing in squads made up entirely of superstars, such that today are rare, to the point of being named the best player of Havana in the twentieth century.
As manager he debuted in the 2011-2012 season and managed to win the West Division title, but then he lost in the final against Ciego de Avila.
Under his aegis, Industriales bounced back from the disaster suffered with the direction of German Mesa and, incidentally, they turned into a competitive team and a reference for the rest of the contestants in the tournament.
Industriales has 12 Cuban titles in its showcases, plus 10 subtitles. The Blues won the title in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1973, 1986, 1992, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2010. This is the only team in Cuban baseball history which has won four consecutive titles.
