Yoan Manuel Moncada Olivera has long been hyped as the next big thing in Cuba during a distinguished amateur career. He was born May 27th, 1995. He’s a switch-hitter who primarily played third base in international tournaments as a youth, but mostly second and a bit of shortstop with Cienfuegos in Serie Nacional. There’s a good chance that he’s seeking …
Yoan Moncada: The Next Great Cuban Defector?
Since it has become socially acceptable to speculate on which Cuban great will be the next to play in the Major Leagues, allow me to throw in my two cents: Yoan Moncada. Unlike Alfredo Despaigne’s case, there’s good reason to think it could happen soon. Yoan Manuel Moncada is a switch-hitting second-basemen who played for Cienfuegos alongside Jose Abreu and …
Raicel Iglesias Stats, Video, and a Comparison with Armando Rivero
Raicel Iglesias is a right-handed Cuban pitcher who defected in October of last year. His first attempt failed, after which he hid out until running out of food and water. Iglesias is sometimes known as Raisel (which I actually believe is correct), and commonly misspelled as Raciel. He pitched for Isla de la Juventud in Cuba’s National Series for three seasons, will …
Mets, Red Sox, Others Interested in Cuban Defector Ernesto Molinet
Ernesto Molinet is a 29 year-old first baseman who defected at some point after the 2013 Cuban National Series. Like Daniel Carbonell, Molinet's defection has mainly gone unnoticed in the press. Even Spanish-language accounts are difficult to find. Someone needs to direct his agent to Jesse Sanchez's twitter account. It's possible that Molinet "retired" early in Cuba and received permission to travel …
Dalier Hinojosa Stats, and a Comparison with Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez
Updates: If interested in more defector profiles and comparisons, here are Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, Odrisamer Despaigne, Aledmis Diaz, Dariel Alvarez, Alexander Guerrero, and Misael Siverio. Last week, I profiled Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, a Cuban defector drawing lots of attention on the free agent market. Gonzalez is still seeking approval from the US Treasury, but could sign with the Dodgers an MLB team soon. Dalier Hinojosa is …
Series Preview: Boston Red Sox (31-32) at Chicago Cubs (21-42)
Wait, the Red Sox have a losing record? That was a surprise to me. Pythagoras disagrees with their record, as they have a +26 run differential, second in the AL east and 4th in the whole AL. If their non-winning trend continues they might have to watch out for some sleeper cell cultists. Luckily the Red Sox are playing the …
Dempster trade to Boston makes sense to Heyman
Jon Heyman is providing some suggestions about how the Red Sox can be fixed. One of them is acquiring a starting pitcher and he names Ryan Dempster. One obvious suggestion could be Ryan Dempster of the Cubs. He has an 0.95 ERA, the lowest ever for a pitcher who has yet to win a game through five starts. He is …
So John Henry Walks Into a Radio Station…
Apparently the Boston radio duo of Felger and Massarotti were doing their show on 98.5 FM when they got word that Boston owner, John Henry had come into the station and wanted to come on the radio to address “misinformation” that they had been spreading during this whole post-collapse implosion. It is a surreal interview that involves some refreshing candor, …
Caution: Falling Wild Card Teams
As of last night’s games, the American League Wild Card standings are all tied up and the National League Wild Card standings are separated by a single game with two days remaining in the regular season. This is exciting for baseball fans no matter the circumstances, but these particular close races were not always so. The Red Sox are heading …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (19-23) at Boston Red Sox (23-20)
This could be interesting. Or very ugly. If you’re looking to be patronized, be sure to check out today’s column by Gordon Edes. Team Overview Team stats with respective league rankings wOBA: Sox: .331 (7th), .328 (3rd) UZR: Sox: 5.1 (5th), Cubs: -6.7 (11th)DRS: Sox: -16 (12th), Cubs: -28 (15th)SP FIP: Sox: 4.25 (12th), Cubs: 4.03 (10th)RP FIP: Sox: 3.75 …