In the blink of an eye the first quarter of tournament is already behind. And there is something to note in these first National Series challenges is how passionate they are playing baseball.
Perhaps the strategy of the Cuban Federation (BPF) has nailed it in that sense, the struggle of 16 teams to win 8 berths to the second round in a very short span of 45 games, has given at least to the way they play, a more balanced tone in principle hides the rough edges of our baseball and shows a more praiseworthy face of the domestic championship.
The National Series needed a good start up, striking, a top notch opening to ensure audiences. One, for the nth level players’ absences and two, because of the exalted Cuban wins away from homes that somehow have a contradictory impact on the show of the series.
Thus the season started with unknowns, with many changes of structure and function, and with a bar higher than Everest. But after the first ball thrown simultaneously on Sunday November 4 in all the stadiums of the country, the event was back on track and crystallized a start not seen in Cuba for a long time.
Fans have returned with cracked voices and painted faces, and also the magical atmosphere of the baseball evenings. From the first moment burst passion play ball and unleashed the biggest party in the Caribbean nation.
And the state of grace of the historic teams has influenced this feeling, specifically Santiago de Cuba and Industriales. Santiago , that needs to recover the ground lost in recent seasons , has started at full throttle, after bringing back several great former players, has managed to assemble a deadly offensive again that along the new comers and it is already near the top in the table, ensuring not to be out for the fourth consecutive year of the second round.
Industriales also has started at full steam from the first day, has known how to use properly his defective bullpen, which despite being nullified throughout the preseason it has performed masterfully and is located in the second place among the best pitching staff of the country. Their offense still needs an awakening and Malleta, Yulieski and Tomas are still below their usual productions, but even so, the Blues are anchored at the top of the standings.
Another one that goes with good wind in its sails is Villa Clara, brand new national champion. With the best pitching staff in the event and a batting that has begun to bring easiness to those who get on the mound, Villa Clara have finished a first quarter that undoubtedly puts them again in the way to the title.
Of course among the leading teams the Victor Mesa Matanzas had to be, a team that increasingly plays better under its manager and without any individuality remains in the struggle to get a space in the front of the series. With the combination Moreira – Fernández around the second base, with Joel Suarez from the mound and the guarantee deigned hitter Garlobo is, Matanzas has known to further regulate its performance.
Pinar del Río and Ciego de Avila are not far behind. The first one with a great manager, Alfonso Urquiola, emerges as a rival to be taken seriously by all contenders. They have some of the best in the pitching in the series and its power offense has performed at a high level. On the other hand, Ciego de Avila, full of rookies, has managed to sail this first quarter without many difficulties, mainly based on a dynamic game that gets opposition defenses into trouble.
However, the surprise of the series is so far Holguin. Solid in all aspects of play, it has climbed to the third place in the tournament thanks to its pitchers, best staff in the statistics. Meanwhile, its offense is not lagging behind, led by the trio of Caceres, Manduley and Paumier and can be considered among the candidates to pass to the second round.
With the rest of the team is not the case. In this group, unfortunately, are Santis Spiritus and Cienfuegos, two teams that in the last five years had been among the most feared and respected ones. But the weakening of their rosters has taken its toll in the first part.
Santi Spiritus without the Gourriel brothers have not accomplished much. Meanwhile, Cienfuegos have seen in a jiffy its workforce has been disassembled for various reasons. From last year to date they have lost Abreu, Arruebarruena , Norberto , Ferran , Arias and Hernandez; they cannot be in a different position than the cold basement.
Data to highlight
The tournament is still very young, but already there have been a few milestones that deserve to be highlighted. This particularity is that Santi Spiritus has been involved in both events and never as protagonists.
Yosvani Aragon’s team had the misfortune to cross the path of Freddy Asiel Alvarez that Saturday afternoon when the right-handed was at his very best. He was the main architect of the Villa Clara victory last year (even above Pestano).
Climbing on the mound of the Sandino stadium Alvarez entered Cuban baseball history for mistreating Santi Spiritus, by not letting them connect a hit or score a run for nine consecutive innings, the only concession, and therefore he did not reach perfection, was to walk his national team mate Frederich Cepeda.
So far this season the other milestone was performed by Yosvani Alarcón , Las Tunas catcher, and took place last Friday when his team faced as I said Santi Spiritus . In a sequence of plays, Alarcón reached third base, the most uncomfortable of all bases, to move from that piece of land he must be batted in or for any inaccuracy of defense. Then, perhaps Yosvani was too restless to wait for someone and made a decision on his own, perhaps because he didn’t trust to be batted in by one of his colleagues, remember that Las Tunas lumberjacks apparently lost even their axes.
Then , he began to move towards the home plate, with short strides , by deceit, elusive enough to avoid suspicion and in a moment of absolute surprise for pitcher and catcher , Alarcon kicked into high speed toward home plate when the pitcher started his motion presentation , before the race he should have remembered that this feat was almost extinct in Cuba after the retirement of Victor Mesa (illustrious thief of home plates) , once near it he slid with his right touching the base leg before the mizuno 200 along with the catcher come into contact with his body.
