Odalis Perez-an enigma

Odalis Perez has been villified in the media since his days in a Dodger uniform. There have been many times where what he has said was miscontrued or blown out of proportion. I have been fortunate to know him since 2004 and I have been exposed to a side many don't know and the media refuses to see.

He has been criticized for things such as refusing to pitch with a split fingernail (we know the outcome of having to pitch anyway) and blasting his teammates for the lack of run support yet he tied the major league record with 18 no decisions in one year. Maybe it is the way that he has expressed himself that has not come across as acceptable, but the media chooses to focus on the negative.

He is mostly known for the fact that his O's 45 kids club that was discontinued for reasons that are unknown to the public which differ from what the media reported. He has always participated in hospital visits, clinics, and teammates' charitable events. Perez has been donating equipment back in the Dominican Republic for years now and that has never been mentioned. He has held softball games in his hometown of Las Matas de Farfan and has provided entertainment free to the public for a few years running. He has also donated equipment to Little Leagues and Adult Leagues in Los Angeles even after his departure.

Last night he seemed to turn a new leaf in his professional career as it was evident that he lost weight in the offseason. He seems more comfortable on the mound and in control of his pitches. As an ODP fan, I am glad to see him reunited with Paul LoDuca who was his catcher in all of his memorable games. Hope his hard work in the offseason pays off and we see the old ODP that pitched well enough to warrant the $24 million dollar contract given to him in 2005.

Cuban Baseball Update

Pedro Luis Lazo became the all time leader in wins in Series Nacionales with 237. He just helped his team, Pinar del Rio, accomplish what many struggle to do and that is eliminate Habana's Industriales in the playoffs. They are the first team to secure a spot in the semifinals.

Yulieski Gonzalez accomplished 15 victories in the season and remained undefeated. His team is facing Sancti Spiritus in the playoffs.

Alexei Bell became the all-time leader in homeruns with 31 and RBI with 111. Impressive considering they play a 90 game season. Bell also became the first player to have a 25-25 season. You can keep up with him in playoff action where his team Santiago de Cuba is facing Las Tunas.

The remaining series feature Sancti Spiritus vs Habana and Ciego de Avila vs Villa Clara.

Keep up with the Cuban playoffs at www.radiococo.cu or www.baseballdecuba.com

Alexei Bell breaks single season homerun record and Yuliesky Gonzalez reaches 14 wins in Cuban baseball

Alexei Bell from the Santiago de Cuba team hit his 29th homerun to break Joan Carlos Pedroso's of 28 set in 2003. Pedroso played in the 2006 WBC. Bell has also set a record of 100 RBI breaking his previous mark of 97.



WBC hurler Yuliesky Gonzalez has earned his 14th victory of the season therefore tying the record for the most victories a single season. He has no losses and is looking for a league record 15th win in Wednesday's game. You can follow the action at www.radiococo.cu

WBC closer Pedro Luis Lazo ties all-time leader for victories

Pedro Luis Lazo earned his 234th win in Cuban baseball tying now retired Jorge Luis Valdez. He reaches that mark in one season less than Valdez did. He is one of six who has won more than 200 games.

Lazo is a two-time Olympic Champion and was a key cog for the 2006 WBC team. He debuted with Pinar del Rio in 1990 and has an array of pitches that have allowed him to have a long and successful career.

He is a sure bet to participate in this year's Beijing Olympics and most likely will grace the 2009 WBC roster again.

WBC hurler throws no hitter

Jonder Martinez threw nine innings of no hit and no run ball. He pitched the 49th no hitter of Cuban league history. He had 6 strikeouts without allowing a walk in a 7-0 victory over Ciego de Avila.

He is the second pitcher to throw a no hitter for the Habana team. The first no no was pitched by Jose M. Pedroso in 1982.

With the victory he tied teammate and also WBC pitcher Yuliesky Gonzalez for the league lead with 12 wins. He also lowered his era to 1.40.

Red Sox @ Dodgers preview

The Dodgers-Red Sox game at Holman Stadium provided much more than a preview of the upcoming series that will take place at the end of the month. The Dodgers won 4-0 and they saw some good pitching from Esteban Loaiza who was able to pitch out of jams and escape unscathed. The Red Sox brought with them David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jacoby Ellsbury among others who made the trip to Vero Beach.

Matt Kemp hit a three-run homerun against Daisuke Matsuzaka to take the early lead. This game was also a sneak peek of what the Dodgers' future holds. Nineteen-year-old Clayton Kershaw pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth and did it in a convincing manner. He might be up in the bigs sooner than we think.

As a Dodger fan, I am definitely excited for the upcoming season. I am confident in our young guys and am looking forward to what Joe Torre brings to the table.

True Gamerz sportswear

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with Marco Estrada Jr. of True Gamerz. A former player who reached AA ball before an illness cut his career short who has now started his sportswear company. He comes from a family of ballplayers and baseball is what brough them to El Segundo, California years ago. When his father, Marco Estrada Sr. was 11 years old he traveled with a Mexican All-Star team that brought him to the United States. He played pro ball in Mexico and eventually moved his family back to El Segundo. Middle brother Kevin reached AAA with the St. Louis Cardinals before opting for a career as a firefighter. Robi at 19 is in the Tampa Bay organization and youngest brother Kobe is 9 and playing as well.

California pumps out the most ballplayers in the league and that inspired him to start his clothing line. Capitalizing on the amount of Latinos in baseball, he has geared the line towards them with catchy phrases used throughout Latin America. Once the company has established itself, it will broaden to other sports.

They plan to donate a percentage of each purchase that will go towards the purchasing of equipment for underprivileged kids in Latin America and in the US that cannot afford to buy it.

You can check it out at www.truegamerz.com

Rumblings from around the league

The Mets are the "team to beat" barring injury...since that was said...Moises Alou has gone down and will be out until May...

Mets search for OF option for Alou...

The Rangers have a surplus of outfielders and either Nelson Cruz or Jason Botts will be moving zip codes...

The Braves will most likely opt to not carry three catchers and Brayan Peña might be heading out of town before Spring Training is over...

Odalis Perez is impressing the Nationals, but must get into real games before he can snag a spot on the roster...

Bartolome Fortunato impressing the Giants with his "palm ball"...

Cuban Miguel Valdez has been hired as a special assistant to the Mets...

Giants' Noah Lowry to have surgery on pitching arm...

Marlins' Alfredo Amezaga's versatility not overlooked by Fredi Gonzalez...

Red Sox Jonathan Papelbon gets $775k deal...he needs to pitch another good year before discussing multi-year deal...he's no Mariano Rivera or Eric Gagne yet...

Mariner's Miguel Batista feeling back pain...

Bonds seen everywhere except a spring training camp...

Orioles' Brian Roberts still being mentioned in possible trade with Cubs...

Astros' Shawn Chacon to wear #1...

Anaheim fans can watch spring training games for free on Angels' website...

Spring Training-Cactus League

I went over to Tucson, AZ for the first time in 12 years and it was also my first time attending Spring Training games. The city has changed a lot over the years and it is definitely worth it to catch some games before the White Sox move to Glendale, AZ in 2009. There is also a rumor floating around that the Colorado Rockies have been looking at a Goodyear, AZ location for a future move. The Diamondbacks are the other team in Tucson and I fully understand the reason why they train there, a way to spread the love throughout the state. The 113 mile drive to Tucson from Phoenix is not that bad and it is a straightshot on the 10 where the speeding cameras have yet to catch on. Beware of commute on the 101, Big Brother is watching and sending speeding tickets home.

My friends and I went to catch a couple of games last weekend. We hit up the White Sox-Diamondbacks game and I got to see Alexei play baseball since he left Cuba. He was doing well and looked comfortable which is important. We also hit up the Rockies-Mexico game and my second country got the 2-1 win. Those are the types of games I love to watch. After the seventh inning they no longer charge and it is definitely worth it. I did not get the chance to get to many pictures because we were being really lazy with our cameras.