Congratulations to Tony Castro IBAF 3rd VP

Castro begins his 4-year term today as he was named 3rd Vice President of IBAF. I want to extend my congratulations as I know that he will work hard in the advancement of baseball in his home country and around the world.

I'm back!

One would think that I was suspended right along with Manny since I had been silent since his suspension was announced. Manny is less than a month away from being back in action and is currently fifth in voting for NL outfielders.

Big Papi is slowly coming out of his slump and I predict that he will be back to his normal production before season's end.

Nelson Cruz has been the producer that all Dominican league fans knew he would be. Check out his webpage at nelsoncruzbaseball.com

La Habana won the Cuban League this year for the first time in their history with the help of Yulieski Gonzalez (2009 and 2006 WBC), Jonder Martinez (2006 WBC), Miguel Lahera (2009 WBC) and Yadier Pedroso (2006 WBC) who was also the ERA champion.

Bday shout out to Yulieski Gourriel who turns a quarter century today. He batted .399 this season losing to Michel Enriquez .401.

My book will be due out this month and a link to purchase will be available here.

Manny suspended 50 games

Manny Ramirez has accepted his suspension for PEDs and it begins tonight. The Dodgers are undefeated at home with a 13-0 record and Manny's absence will surely affect the team as he is scheduled to return on July 3rd in a period where he will lose over 7M in salary.

Ramirez is claiming that a medication that he took is to blame for this outcome. As much as they get paid and most have 2-3 handlers, this could have been avoided if what he is claiming is true. It is very easy to pick up the phone and make a call to confirm if what they are planning to take contains a banned substance. These players owe it to the fans and the game to take all the precautions possible.

It all began with ARod lying to the fans and then later having to retract his statements and apologize. Unfortunately I believe that Manny isn't the only one who will be suspended this year, but he is the biggest name thus far.

As a lifetime baseball fan, I am disheartened by this news and as an educator I am angry that athletes are not taking their role model responsibilities seriously. Children look up to these athletes and having to explain an adult's decision to take PEDs will be hard to do. I just hope that some "natural" players rise from the ashes of the inferno that baseball has become to save America's pastime.

Runblings around MLB

Angels' Nick Adenhart passed away in a hit and run accident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family...

Rangers' Nelson Cruz belts two 400+ ft home runs in victory against Indians...

Rangers' Elvis Andrus hits first home run of career...

Brewers' Gallardo takes the Unit deep...

Manny doing his thang with the Dodgers...

Happy belated bday to Frederich Cepeda

Frederich Cepeda celebrated his birthday on the 8th of April as his Sancti Spiritus team was on a 10 game winning streak.

Check out outofpark.com

My new book will be out soon and you can take a sneak peek at outofpark.com

Yu Darvish not interested in MLB

Darvish who is a star in Japan has no interest in coming to the majors of the US. The 21 year-old pitcher of Japanese and Iranian descent told me that he is happy to be in Japan. Who can blame him? He is at HOME, has a million dollar contract, his wife and son are there, and he has reached sex symbol status. Look to see him only in international competition like in this year's World Baseball Classic.

Spring Training Breaks for some teams

I had been missing in action...check out ebeisbol.com to see some of my work

Nelson Cruz to play for the Dominican team in the WBC...

Venezuela crowned champ in the Caribbean Series...

Manny's locker awaits him in Glendale, AZ...

Bobby Abreu to Angels on one year deal...

Ervin Santana an Angel fo four more years...

Adam Dunn to Nats...

Serie del Caribe entries nearly set

Mazatlan will represent Mexico...

Licey will represent Dominican Republic...

Ponce will represent Puerto Rico...

Tigres del Aragua have advantage in Venezuela...

USA WBC Roster

Pitchers

Broxton, Jonathan
Danks, John
Devine, Joey
Fuentes, Brian
Guthrie, Jeremy
Howell, J.P.
Kazmir, Scott
Lackey, John
Lilly, Ted
Lindstrom, Matt
Nathan, Joe
Oswalt, Roy
Peavy, Jake
Putz, J.J.
Qualls, Chad
Ryan, B.J.
Sherrill, George
Shields, Scot
Thornton, Matt
Verlander, Justin
Ziegler, Brad

Catchers

Iannetta, Chris
McCann, Brian
Pierzynski, A.J.
Schneider, Brian

Infielders

Jeter, Derek
Jones, Chipper
Lee, Derrek
Longoria, Evan
Pedroia, Dustin
Roberts, Brian
Rollins, Jimmy
Wright, David
Youkilis, Kevin

Outfielders

Braun, Ryan
Granderson, Curtis
Hawpe, Brad
Ludwick, Ryan
Quentin, Carlos
Sizemore, Grady
Victorino, Shane
Wells, Vernon

Utility

DeRosa, Mark

WBC Rosters continued

Venezuela

Pitchers

Ascanio, José
Betancourt, Rafael
Carrasco, Carlos
Galarraga, Armando
Guzmán, Ángel
Hernández, Félix
Jiménez, César
Julio, Jorge
Mijares, José
Moreno, Victor
Nieve, Fernando
Pinto, Renyel
Rincón, Juan
Rodríguez, Francisco
Santana, Johan
Silva, Carlos
Zambrano, Carlos
Zambrano, Víctor

Catchers

Blanco, Henry
Hernández, Ramón
Navarro, Dioner
Quintero, Humberto
Ramírez, Max
Sandoval, Pablo

Infielders

Alfonzo, Edgardo
Cabrera, Alex
Cabrera, Miguel
Castillo, José
Guzmán, Jesús
Izturis, César
Izturis, Maicer
López, José
Mora, Melvin
Salazar, Oscar
Scutero, Marco
Vizquel, Omar

Outfielders

Abreu, Bob
Blanco, Gregor
Chávez, Endy
González, Carlos
Guillén, Carlos
Ordóñez, Magglio
Parra, Gerardo
Rivera, Juan

Panama

Pitchers

Acosta, Alberto
Acosta, Manuel
Atencio, Abraham
Campos, Manuel
Castro, Yeliar
Chen, Bruce
Corpas, Manuel
Cortes, Jorge
Agente libre
Cuan, Angel Antonio
Deago , Roger
Delgado, Dimasther
Delgado , Randall
Espino, Paolo
Garcia, Diomedes
Gomez, Miguel
Machuca, Luis
Medina, Rafael
Mendez, Gilberto
Mendoza, Ramiro
Navarro, Eliecer
Nieto, Arquimedes
Peñalba, Ricardo

Catchers

Camarena, Jose
Espino, Damaso
Quintero , Cesar A.
Ruiz, Carlos J.

Infielders

Asprilla, Avelino
Castillo, Javier
Chavez, Angel A.
De Leon, Audes
Garcia, Isaias
Macias, Jose P.
Ramos , Kevin
Rodriguez, Manuel O.
Tejada, Ruben
Zuleta, Julio

Outfielders

Agnoly, Earl
Cumberbatch, Cirilo
Durango, Luis
Lee, Carlos N.
Rivera, Ruben
Rodriguez, Concepcion
Rosero, Ciro
Santamaria, Jahdiel
Seguignol, Fernando

Rosters released for all 16 teams participating in WBC

I have already previewed Cuba and Dominican Republic, here are Mexico and Puerto Rico:

Mexico

Pitchers

Aceves, Alfredo
Ayala, Luis Ignacio
Campillo, Jorge
Campos, Francisco
Cortes, David
De la Rosa, Jorge
Dessens, Elmer
Diaz, Rafael
Gallardo, Yovani
Garza, Matt
Gonzalez, Edgar
Guardado, Eddie
Lopez, Arturo
Lopez, Rodrigo
Mendoza, Luis Alonso
Ortega, Pablo
Perez, Oliver
Reyes, Dennis
Rincon, Ricardo
Ruelas, Heriberto
Silva, Walter
Soria, Joakim
Villarreal, Oscar

Catchers

Barajas, Rod
Cota, Humberto
Gil, Geronimo
Ojeda, Miguel

Infielders

Cantu, Jorge
Castro, Juan Gabriel
Cruz, Luis Alfonso
Durazo, Erubiel
Gonzalez, Adrian
Gonzalez, Edgar
Murillo, Agustin
Quintanilla, Omar
Robles, Oscar
Sandoval, Freddy
Vasquez, Jorge Alberto

Outfielders

Amezaga, Alfredo
Garcia, Karim
Hairston, Jerry
Hairston, Scott
Ojeda, Augie
Presichi, Christian
Valenzuela, Mario


Puerto Rico

Pitchers

Alvarado , Giancarlo
Baez, Federico
Cabrera, Fernando
Calero, Enrique "Kiko"
Feliciano , Pedro
Figueroa , Nelson
Gutierrez, Carlos
Lopez, Javier
Maldonado , Ivan
Matos, Josue
Padilla, Juan
Pineiro , Joel
Rivera , Rabell “Saul”
Roman , Orlando
Romero , Juan “J.C.”
Sanchez, Jonathan
Santiago , Jose
Santiago , Tomas
Snell , Ian
Vazquez, Javier

Catchers

Casanova, Raul
Molina , Bengie
Derecho/Derecho
Molina , Yadier
Rodriguez, Ivan
Soto , Geovany
Valentin , Jose “Javier”

Infielders

Aviles, Michael
Cora , Alex “Jose”
DeJesus, Jr., Ivan
Delgado , Carlos
Figueroa , Luis
Gonzalez, Angel “Andy”
Lopez, Felipe
Lowell, Mike
Valentin , Jose A.
Vazquez , Ramon
Beltran , Carlos

Outfielders

Bocachica, Hiram
Feliciano , Jesus
Matos , Luis
Montanez, Luis
Padilla , Jorge
Rios , Alex
Torres , Andres
Williams , Bernabe “Bernie”

Gigantes reach finals vs Tigres del Licey

The Gigantes outslugged the Toros del Este, 12-7, in a one game playoff at home last night.

The Gigantes secured a berth in a final against the Tigres del Licey. The finals begin today in Santo Domingo where Alfredo Simon will be pitching for the Gigantes and Ubaldo Jimenez for the home team.

Mexico Winter League

Cañeros de Los Mochis vs Venados de Mazatlan reach the finals in Mexico. The Venados were led by Adrian Gonzalez.

The last time Mexico won the Serie del Caribe was in 2005 represented by a Venados de Mazatlan team in Mexico. Can they do it again?

El Clásico en la mira

Moises Alou
Si me invitan y si estoy en salud
Yo tuve una bonita experiencia ahí

Jose Arredondo
Si, si me dan la oportunidad

Erick Aybar
Si me invitan yo voy

Jorge Campillo
Hablando con Vinicio si se hace lo que ha dicho se que podremos hacer buen papel

Francisco Cordero
Se puede formar un mejor equipo y ya se sabe que esperar esta segunda vez

Johnny Cueto
Si, si me dan permiso

Jorge De La Rosa
Fuera bien que Mexico jugara en Los Angeles en frente de tanto apoyo de la fanaticada Mexicana

Octavio Dotel
100% listo para jugar por mi pais

Edwin Encarnación
Estoy dispuesto pero no de recoge bate
Que demostremos lo que somos los mejores del mundo

Ervin Santana
Si si me dan la oportunidad
Ganar

Franklin Gutierrez
Si si soy invitado
Hacer un buen papel y mejorar lo que si hizo en el Clasico anterior

Cesar Izturis
Si
Vamos a ganar
Que todos esten en forma

Maicer Izturis
Seguro
En el béisbol todo puede cambiar en un inning
Mientras se enfoquen en jugar pelota todo se definira en el terreno

Jhonny Peralta
Claro que si
Me interesa apoyarlos

Odalis Pérez
Estoy dispuesto a jugar de nuevo si me dan la oportunidad

Albert Pujols
Vamos a estar mas preparados
Fuera un orgullo jugar contra los Cubanos, ellos juegan la pelota como se debe de jugar. Juegan la pelota siempre fuerte.

Jorge Sosa
Como ellos me lleven voy hasta de bat boy

Ramon Troncoso
Me gustaria

Ubaldo Jimenez
Seguro que si

Manny Corpas
Si, quisiera jugar
Que ganen el mejor

Javier Vasquez
Claro que si
Prediccion de primera ronda: Puerto Rico y Dominicana

Yadier Molina
Si si el dirigente me escoge
Ganar todo
Me hubiese gustado que Cuba estuviera ahí, es tremendo equipo y le pone mas emocion a la serie
Los dos vecinos: Puerto Rico y Dominicana

Yulieski Gourriel
Ganar, ganar y ganar

Rumblings around MLB

Derek Lowe to Braves 5 year $60M...

Jose F. Capellan to Astros...

Mark Kotsay to Red Sox...

David Eckstein to Padres...

Angel Berroa to Yankees...

Sergio Mitre to Yankees (will serve 50 game suspension)...

JC Romero suspended 50 games....

Alex Cora to NY Mets...

Koji Uehara to Orioles...

Tim Redding to Mets...

Gabe Kapler to Rays...

John Smoltz to Braves...

Dominican Republic announces WBC 45 man roster

Infielders:
Albert Pujols, Alex Rodríguez, David Ortiz, Adrian Beltré, Hanley Ramírez, Plácido Polanco, Alexi Casilla, Ronnie Belliard, Emilio Bonifacio, Erick Aybar, Christian Guzmán, Pedro Feliz, Willy Aybar, Edwin Encarnación, Wilson Betemit, Kendry Morales, Carlos Peña, Miguel Tejada, José Reyes, Carlos Gómez, and Aramis Ramírez.

Outfielders:
Vladimir Guerrero, Alfonso Soriano, Robinson Canó, José Guillén, Willy Taveras, Moisés Alou, Melky Cabrera, and Fernando Martínez.

Pitchers:
Pedro Martínez, Ervin Santana, Ubaldo Jiménez, Francisco Liriano, José Valverde, Carlos Mármol, Francisco Cordero, Daniel Cabrera, Fausto Carmona, Edinson Vólquez, Johnny Cueto, Odalis Pérez, Wandy Rodríguez, Octavio Dotel, Santiago Casillas, Juan Carlos Cruz, Jesús Colomé, Dennys Bautista, José Arredondo, Dámaso Marte, Edwar Ramírez, José Veras, Rafael Pérez, Ramón Troncoso, Julio Mañón, Carlos Villanueva, Leo Núñez and Pedro Viola.

Catchers:
Ronny Paulino, Miguel Olivo, and Wilkin Castillo.

Rumblings around MLB

Milton Bradley is now a Cub and has secured a multiyear deal ( I'm a fan of Bradley and wish him the best, wish it could have been LA)...

Former Dodgers Takashi Saito and Brad Penny now with the Red Sox...

Tim Redding now a Met...

Rocco Baldelli a Red Sox...

Shawn Estes gets a minor league deal from Dodgers...

Cuba announces preliminary 2009 WBC roster

Cuba has announced the 45 possible candidates for the upcoming WBC. There are a few that played in 2006 and many who have since retired or have not played to the level expected. You can find a detailed listing at:

http://bjarkmanlatinobaseball.mlblogs.com/
http://www.baseballdecuba.com/

Catchers:
Ariel Pestano* (Villa Clara), Yosvany Peraza (Pinar del Rio), Reinier Bello (Sancti Spiritus), Rolando Merino (Santiago de Cuba), Eriel Sanchez* (Sancti Spiritus).

Infielders: Yulieski Gourriel* (Sancti Spiritus), Hector Olivera (Santiago de Cuba), Alex Malleta (Industriales), Michel Enriquez* (Isla de la Juventud), Eduardo Paret* (Villa Clara), Yadil Mujica (Matanzas), Yoandy Garlobo* (Matanzas), Luis Miguel Navas (Santiago de Cuba), Rudy Reyes* (Industriales), Yorelvis Charles (Ciego de Avila), Jose Daniel Abreu (Cienfuegos), Donald Duarte (Pinar del Rio).

Outfielders:
Alfredo Despaigne (Granma), Yoandry Urgelles (Industriales), Frederich Cepeda* (Sancti Spiritus), Alexei Bell (Santiago de Cuba), Leonys Martin (Villa Clara), Giorvis Duvergel (Guantanamo), Yoelvis Fiss (Ciego de Avila), Leslie Anderson* (Camaguey), Yoennis Cespedes (Granma), Osmani Urrutia* (Las Tunas).

Pitchers:
Pedro Luis Lazo* (Pinar del Rio), Jonder Martinez* (Habana Province), Luis Miguel Rodriguez (Holguin), Aroldis Chapman (Holguin), Norge Luis Vera (Santiago de Cuba), Yunieski Maya* (Pinar del Rio), Yulieski Gonzalez (Habana Province), Miguel Lahera (Habana Province), Norberto Gonzalez* (Cienfuegos), Vladimir Garcia (Ciego de Avila), Yadier Pedroso* (Habana Province), Ismel Jimenez (Sancti Spiritus), Maikel Folich* (Ciego de Avila), Reinier Roibal (Santiago de Cuba), Vicyohandri Odelin* (Camaguey), Yaumier Sanchez (Santiago de Cuba), Yolexis Ulacia (Villa Clara), Wilber Perez (Isla de la Juventud).

*2006 WBC team member

2009

I wanted to start the year off on the right foot and blog on this first day of the year. Signings and trades have been slow, but figure to pick up within the next few days. There has been little movement which included:

Angels signing Brian Fuentes
Mark DeRosa's trade to the Indians
Aaron Miles signs with the Cubs
Mark Hendrickson signing with Baltimore
Rays signing Joe Nelson

Scott Boras picked up his phone and called Ned Colletti to discuss reworking Andruw Jones' contract which may secure his exit from Los Angeles and Manny's return. Nice move by Andruw, not very common for a player to look at the big picture. Hope he bounces back in 2009 whether he is in LA or not.

MLB network kicked off and it is a gift to baseball fans across the country.

Happy New Year!