A belated Happy New Year! The beginning of the New Year saw the return to action for Eduardo Figueroa and Yoanner Negrin after a long layoff, while Frank Batista and Jonathan Mota received steady work as their teams tried to advance in the playoffs. Find out how they did in today’s report. And two announcements are included at the end of the report.
Note: Coverage of the winter leagues is by calendar week, Sunday through Saturday
Dominican Winter League
Aguilas Cibaenas
Frank Batista was able to shut the door on a victory as Cibaenas defeated Licey 14-3 on Monday. Batista set down the side in order in a scoreless ninth inning.
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On Thursday, Frank Batista was asked to stem the tide for the Eagles but it was too late and they fell 7-1 to Licey. Batista came in after seven runs were scored and recorded a walk and a strikeout in 0.1 innings.
The Raptors came up a run short on Saturday as they lost 4-3 to Cibao. Frank Batista gave Cibaenas a chance by striking out a batter in a scoreless ninth inning.
Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League
Leones de Ponce
Ponce continued its playoff push last Sunday as they defeated Mayaguez 4-2. Jonathan Mota started at third and was 0-for-3 with a walk in the contest.
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The Lions ended their regular season with a 5-4 victory over Carolina last Monday. Jonathan Mota played his fourth position of the winter. Mota started at first base and went 1-for-4.
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The Pride started the playoffs the right way on Friday as they beat Carolina 6-2 in the opener. Jonathan Mota was at third base for Ponce and went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
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Ponce looked as if they were going to win their second straight game on Saturday when Mayaguez scored three in the bottom of the eighth and beat the Lions 4-3. Jonathan Mota was 0-for-3 as he started at third base.
Venezuelan Winter League
Leones de Caracas
On Saturday, Yoanner Negrin was given his first start in over two weeks and Caracas lost 7-5 to La Guaira. Negrin allowed three earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out two in 3.1 innings.
Tiburones de La Guaira
La Guaira gave Eduardo Figueroa a rare start last Sunday and his lack of work showed as they lost to Aragua 7-6. Figueroa was hit hard. Figueroa yielded four earned runs on six hits and three walks in 3.1 innings.
Austrailian Baseball League
Brisbane Bandits
Ryan Searle had his worst outing of the season on Saturday as Brisbane lost 7-5 to Sydney. Searle tossed four innings and allowed six earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out four batters.
Attention CCO Readers
The Down on the Farm preliminary reader’s poll is now beginning. Please post the names of the minor league players you would like the Down on the Farm Report to follow next season. The CCO will then take the top 20 names and run a poll for the final month of Spring Training. The CCO will then track the progress of the top ten vote getters throughout the entire season. A representative sample of positions and levels of play is optimal. You can name as many players as you like, but remember, only ten will eventually be chosen. Last year, readers nominated 86 separate players and cast 361 votes. So from Luis Acosta to Tony Zych, all nominations will be accepted and given equal weight.
Race to Wrigley
For the second straight year, I will be competing in the Race to Wrigley 5K run on April 12, 2014. If anyone is interested in making a donation, please visit ChicagoCubsOnline – Race To Wrigley to register. All proceeds go to Chicago Cubs Charities.
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