Cubans take big slide in international baseball standing

By Kevin Baxter
March 19, 2009

Reporting from San Diego -- Dynasties don't last forever.

The Ming in China, the Romanovs in Russia, the Jacksons in pop music -- all enjoyed unchallenged rule before eventually being felled by either rebellion or a combination of puberty and plastic surgery.

Time appears to be catching up with Cuba's national baseball program too.

The Big Red Machine, which once went a decade without losing an international tournament game, hasn't won a major international tournament in three years.

Cuba has reached the final of the last 50 tournaments in which it has played, dating back five decades, baseball historian Peter C. Bjarkman said. But in this year's World Baseball Classic, it faced elimination twice in the second round.

And where it once pummeled opponents, frequently putting up football scores, Cuba entered Wednesday's WBC game with Japan having averaged fewer runs than Mexico and with a higher earned-run average than the Netherlands.

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Cuba had reached the final of the last 50 tournaments in which it has played, dating back five decades, according to baseball historian Peter C. Bjarkman. But in this year's World Baseball Classic, it was eliminated in the second round, its earliest exit since the 1959 Pan American Games.

And where it once pummeled opponents, frequently putting up football scores, Cuba entered Wednesday's WBC game, which it lost to Japan, 5-0, averaging fewer runs than Mexico and with a higher earned-run average than the Netherlands.

"It's a team in transition," said baseball agent Joe Kehoskie, who has been following Cuban baseball for more than a decade.

Several factors have contributed to Cuba's fall, none more than the decision by baseball's ruling federation -- just before the 2000 Sydney Olympics -- to allow the use of top professionals in formerly amateur tournaments. Cuba lost to the U.S. in the gold medal game at Sydney and has had to settle for silver in three of its last four major international tournaments, including the most recent World Cup, its first loss there since 1951.

"International baseball has come so far; a good but great team is not enough anymore," Kehoskie said. "Before Cuba had, by far, the most veteran club in any tournament they entered. Now you've got major league all-stars on a lot of these teams."

The International Baseball Federation, using a complicated formula to rate countries based on performance in federation-sanctioned events over the last four years, still ranks Cuba No. 1 in the world, just ahead of Olympic champion Korea. However, age is also catching up on Cuba, making the federation ranking a precarious one.

Clubhouse leaders Ariel Pestano and Pedro Luis Lazo, both 35, have already announced they'll retire at the end of this year. They're just two of 12 players on the Cuban roster who are 30 or older. That's five more than the Tampa Bay Rays had on their World Series roster.

Defections also have hurt the Cubans.

Outfielder Alexei Ramirez, infielder Dayan Viciedo and pitcher Yadel Marti, who made the WBC all-tournament team in 2006, have all left Cuba in the last 17 months. And nine other defectors -- catcher Brayan Pena, infielders Yuniesky Betancourt, Yunel Escobar and Kendry Morales and pitchers Alay Soler, Alberto Castillo, Yoslan Herrera, Juan Miranda and Francisley Bueno -- have made big-league debuts since Cuba last won an Olympic title.

The possibility of defections often affects the way the Cubans choose their national teams, with deserving players sometimes left home in favor of less-talented but more loyal ones.

Which isn't to say Cuba doesn't bring good players. Frederich Cepeda, 28, entered Wednesday's game leading the WBC in four offensive categories, including hits (12) and runs batted in (10), while batting .600. Yoennis Cespedes, 23, isn't far behind with a .476 average and two homers in five games.

And they are not even the best outfielders on the team. That nod goes to slugger Alexei Bell, 25, who hit .500 with 10 runs and 10 RBIs in the 2008 Olympics but hasn't played in the WBC after being hit in the face by a pitch in the first game of Cuba's domestic season four months ago.

Yet, while everything around Cuba's national team has changed, one thing remains the same: the expectations of its No. 1 fan.

"They will come home either with their shields," former President Fidel Castro recently warned, "or on their shields."

At this position, it's a very short stop

Posted by Tony Massarotti, Globe Staff

In Boston, at least, the position could not be more aptly named. From Orlando Cabrera to Edgar Renteria to Alex Gonzalez and now to Julio Lugo, the layover always has been brief. Inarguably, it has been a short stop.

MAZZ'S HOT STOVE SERIES: Starting today and ending on Nov. 13, the day before free agents can sign with any team, the Globe's Tony Massarotti will tackle an offseason topic of interest to Red Sox fans. Check out the schedule below. Tuesday, Nov. 4: Shortstop in focus Wednesday, Nov. 5: Yankees: Under contruction Thursday, Nov. 6: Manny of the moment Friday, Nov. 7: Top prize: Mark Teixeira Tuesday, Nov. 11: Potential Sox trade partners Wednesday, Nov. 12: Big-ticket starters and the art of building a bullpen Thursday, Nov. 13: Tony's best- and worst-case offseason scenarios for the Red Sox and Yankees MORE FROM MAZZ: Sox' 5 biggest offseason questions Player-by-player Sox overview Big names in play Agent could Boras to death Red Sox aren't afraid to be bold Sox look soft in the middle

And so today, as America gathers to elect its next leader, we instead pose the question:

Who will be the next Red Sox shortstop?

Think of the possibilities: With Michael Douglas playing the lead role, we produced "The American President." Maybe Kevin Costner can become "The Red Sox Shortstop." Easy storyline there: A man takes over a position that has experienced less stability than the stock market, then brings productivity, grace, and dignity to a place that badly needs it.

Added benefit: the ageless Annette Bening co-stars.

For those keeping score, the Red Sox now have had six regular shortstops in the last five seasons, which is as much a meaningless statistical aberration as it is any sign of volatility. During the same period, the Sox have been to four postseasons and three American League Championship Series while winning two world titles. The Red Sox are building teams first, which means they're going to hit on some positions, miss on others.

At midseason 2007, just before the All-Star break, general manager Theo Epstein was asked about the problems the Sox have had at shortstop and offered the following reply: "You sure you don't want to talk about second base instead?" Indeed, from 2003 through 2006, the Sox had a succession of second basemen. including Todd Walker, Mark Bellhorn, Tony Graffanino and Mark Loretta. All of them generally played well, Bellhorn serving as a key contributor on the 2004 club that won the world title.

Now the Sox second baseman is none other than Dustin Pedroia, who is one of the best players in baseball.

But shortstop? That has been Theo's Waterloo. Beginning in 2004, when Epstein made the gutsy, franchise-altering trade that swapped Nomar Garciaparra for Cabrera, the Red Sox have changed shortstops like wiper blades. It really has been nothing short of an annual hardball transfusion. Going back to 2003, in fact, no Sox shortstop has made it through two full seasons as the starter, suggesting that the Sox have somehow constructed a dead-end position in the middle of the infield.

How many rotaries have you driven with a stop sign in the middle?

For the sake of accuracy, here is the lineage: Garciaparra, Cabrera, Renteria, Gonzalez, Lugo, and now Jed Lowrie, the last of whom assumed the lease after Lugo was lost to a leg injury. Those obsessed with technicalities might point out that, due to Lugo's ailment, Lowrie never was truly named the starter, but we all know in our hearts that a healthy Lugo wasn't getting his job back.

Which brings us to where we are now.

This week, along with the rest of his peers, Epstein is at baseball's annual general managers meetings, surrounded by the breathtaking views of the Pacific. On those cliffs, baseball's 2008-09 offseason will truly begin. The GM meetings typically are where the game's decision-makers do their fact-finding for the coming weeks, when teams will make many of the decisions that could very well determine the outcome of next year's playoff races.

For the Red Sox, shortstop certainly does not seem like a priority given the club's issues at catcher and in the middle of the lineup. Nonetheless, one can only wonder: What if the Sox must include Lowrie in a trade for a middle-of-the-order bat? What if someone will take Lugo? How do the Sox really feel about the parcel between second and third bases at Fenway Park, a piece of land that seemingly nobody wants to buy?

In recent years, during the ownership and administration headed by John Henry, the Sox have made many things clear. One is that they are not afraid to think big. Another is that they are not afraid to cut their losses. As evidence of the latter, the Sox cut bait with Renteria after just one season, agreeing to pay $11 million of the remaining $29 million on his four-year, $40 million contract, meaning the Sox ultimately paid Renteria a whopping $22 million for one year of service during which he committed a major league-leading 30 errors.

Think of it this way: In 2008, the Sox were still paying $3.67 million of Renteria's salary with the Detroit Tigers. That is on top of the $9 million they paid Lugo, who was the worst defensive shortstop in baseball (at least based on errors) during the first half of the season. Should the Red Sox find a taker for Lugo this offseason, they will find themselves in a familiar predicament: paying a shortstop to play for someone else. Lugo has two years and $18 million remaining on his contract, and in all likelihood, the Sox would have to eat at least half of his salary in any deal, which means they'd be paying him in the vicinity of $4.5 million this season to ply his trade elsewhere. All of that has made shortstop nothing short of a money pit, which is something the Red Sox can afford only because they have a license to print cash.

Lugo's appeal to a potential trade partner would be based on the fact that his contract is short and relatively inexpensive (again, with the Sox picking up a large chunk of his salary), particularly in comparison to the more expensive shortstops currently available. This winter, in the event you are wondering, Renteria, Cabrera and Rafael Furcal, among others, are free agents at a position that has riddled the Sox in recent years.

Given that history, the Sox are not likely to bid on any of them so much as they are likely to hand the keys to Lowrie, who was sure-handed, reasonably productive and absurdly cheap. Lowrie (who played with a sprain and small non-displaced fracture in his left wrist from May to October) batted just .195 and struck out 43 times in his final 153 at-bats of the regular season -- from the left side, the switch hitter batted .222 for the season and struck out once every 3.3 at-bats -- but the Red Sox seem to believe that Lowrie has the necessary offensive and defensive tools to be an everyday shortstop.

If they're right, the Sox won't be making any moves at shortstop this offseason and they will be celebrating newfound stability at this position come this time next year.

If they're wrong, the keys will be left under the mat for the next man who dares venture into the pit.

Boras says relationship with A-Rod repaired

By RONALD BLUM

DANA POINT, Calif. (AP) — Scott Boras says his relationship with Alex Rodriguez has been repaired.

A-Rod criticized his longtime agent last fall after the star's messy opt-out from the Yankees. When the third baseman re-signed with New York less than two months later, Rodriguez said he negotiated the contract without Boras' help.

"We're fine," Boras said Tuesday at the annual general managers' meetings. "When Alex came out to Anaheim during the season, we had a chance to spend a lot of time together."

Rodriguez opted out of the final three seasons of his $252 million, 10-year contract with the Yankees, forfeiting $72 million. Boras informed Yankees general manager Brian Cashman of the decision during Game 4 of the World Series between Boston and Colorado, prompting criticism of the timing.

"I was very angry about the whole situation," Rodriguez said after his record $275 million, 10-year agreement with the Yankees was finalized in December. "I was very upset, and, you know, I voiced that to him. The one time we spoke I conveyed that message."

When he reported to spring training in February, the three-time AL MVP said he had not spoken with Boras since that conversation. He hired Guy Oseary, who works with Madonna, as his manager and joined the William Morris Agency to represent him beyond baseball.

Still, he kept Boras as his baseball agent.

"We've always represented him," Boras said. "We have a good relationship. We're in communication all the time about baseball with him. Things are good."

Boras declined to discuss the alleged liaison between A-Rod and Madonna, a fixture this year in New York tabloids. Both have denied a romance.

Rodriguez's wife, Cynthia, filed for divorce in July and the sides reached a settlement in September.

Pittsburgh Steelers starting to worry about Ben Roethlisberger's slump

PITTSBURGH — Maybe it's the accumulated wear and tear from all the sacks. Maybe it's his slightly separated shoulder, the bad thumb, his reduced practice time or the spotty offensive line protection. Perhaps it's all the above.

Whatever the reason, Ben Roethlisberger isn't the quarterback he was last season, or even a few weeks ago. He's certainly not the quarterback the Pittsburgh Steelers expected when they chose to pay him nearly US$28 million in salary and a signing bonus this season.

Roethlisberger's problem is one more befitting a rookie than a five-year veteran who has won a Super Bowl: He keeps throwing the ball to the guys in the other shirts.

His mistakes - eight interceptions in 10 quarters - have cost the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) their last two home games, their once-comfortable AFC North lead over Baltimore (6-3) and maybe a bit of confidence.

Something's wrong with Big Ben, but neither the quarterback nor his team is saying exactly what it is. The numbers are telling, however: one touchdown pass and eight interceptions in his last three games, compared to nine TDs and three interceptions in his first six games.

"I am not concerned about his confidence," coach Mike Tomlin said after Roethlisberger's three interceptions proved pivotal in a 24-20 loss to Indianapolis on Sunday. "He is our quarterback because he is. If you play that position in this league, you have to remain unwavered."

Maybe unwavered isn't a word, but the Steelers are having trouble finding the right ones to describe what is wrong with their franchise quarterback. Two weeks ago, his four interceptions were the major reason they lost to the Giants 21-14 in another game they led late.

Roethlisberger's lower-grade shoulder separation has been an ongoing problem since he was hurt in the Sept. 7 opener, but not enough to prevent him from leading the Steelers to a 5-1 start. He also has a damaged ligament in his left little finger.

The achy shoulder has twice kept him from practising until Friday of a game week, meaning he missed the two most important practices each week.

"I don't think it's that big of an issue," Roethlisberger said of the reduced practice time. "I'm taking mental notes and I'm seeing everything that is going on, so it's not as tough as it may seem."

The falloff in Roethlisberger's play is a worry, especially with the Steelers readying to play two home games in five days, on Sunday against the Chargers (4-5) and a week from Thursday against the Bengals (1-8).

Roethlisberger's slippage is evident. He has been sacked the third-most times of any NFL quarterback (28) and he is tied for second with 11 interceptions, or as many as he had last season. His 76.1 passer rating ranks only 25th - he trails Dan Orlovsky and Tyler Thigpen, among others - and is far below his 104.1 of last season.

There was nothing wrong with his 71.4 per cent throwing accuracy against Indianapolis, but what ruined his day was his 7.1 completion percentage to the Colts.

His first interception came with the Steelers trying to sit on a 10-point lead and led to a game-changing score by the Colts with six seconds left before halftime. The second set up Indianapolis' go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. The third, thrown into the Colts' end zone, ended the game.

"When you feel like it's your fault, it really hurts," said Roethlisberger, who said his discomfort was more emotional than physical.

None of his teammates would guess afterward how much the bad shoulder is affecting Roethlisberger's play. The Steelers were coming off a dominating 23-6 win at Washington six days before, but Byron Leftwich - not Roethlisberger - directed the two key TD drives in that second half.

With only three days off between their next two games, the Steelers won't have much recovery time given their fast-growing injury list that includes running back Willie Parker (shoulder), linebacker LaMarr Woodley (calf), cornerbacks Deshea Townsend (hamstring) and Bryant McFadden (broken forearm), left tackle Marvel Smith (back) and, yes, Roethlisberger.

Parker's shoulder injury appears to be worse than originally thought - the Steelers aren't saying if he has a torn labrum - but Tomlin said he could play against San Diego.

A bigger concern now might be how Roethlisberger will play.

"It's frustrating because you feel like you played well, and there's a turnover at the end of the half and the turnover at the end," he said. "I take it on myself. I let the guys down, offence and defence, but the good thing is it's not the end of the season. We'll come back."

Major League Baseball Made Major League Error

By JOHN HERBERT, From Where I Sit

Hernando Today

Exactly 60 years ago, my father took the afternoon off from work to drive little me to a World Series baseball game between the Boston Braves and Cleveland Indians.
Afternoon baseball? That really dates me. It belongs to the nostalgic "good old days."
In recent years, the highest-bidding TV network dictates when the World Series will be played. Games start at 8:37 p.m. and usually continue until after midnight — on week nights, no less. Many bleary-eyed baseball fans had to juggle a 7 to 8 a.m. job start.
There's no unearthly reason why we can't stage afternoon games, at least on weekends. Except for feared competition from football. But, isn't the American way all about competition?
Current holders of World Series rights, Fox TV reminds us of viewers three hours behind on the West Coast. So what! This year's fall classic wasn't, and often isn't, even between West Coast teams. It was between Philadelphia and Tampa Bay. Series games should have started at 7 p.m. on the East Coast, regardless. West Coast viewers will always find a way; Fox came off as greedy.
I suspect Fox has been twisting the arms of Major League Baseball so the World Series could compete with popular late talk shows. Major League Baseball (MLB) was spineless for not rejecting such inhumane hours. No wonder TV viewership was at an all-time low for the championship of our national pastime.
NBC didn't have Fox's chutzpah when that network negotiated to broadcast the Olympics from Peking. Broadcasts from the Red Chinese capital were at 3 a.m., live, or at 8 p.m., taped; take it or leave it. The Games, like the World Series, were reality shows, after all.
How many of us baseball fans, in school, on a job schedule or retired, can keep our eyes open until a game ends at 1:45 a.m., like last week?
The recent World Series was also plagued by steady rainfall. All-too-frequent drenchings and frigid wind gusts delayed the start of one game in Philly until 10 p.m. while another was suspended in the sixth inning. Common sense alone should have ruled out a 10 p.m. first pitch.
Finished when the weather cleared up two days later, that second controversial game was ripe to have been called off at least an inning earlier. Pools of rainwater formed beyond the foul lines and on the clay infield. In short, the field was often unplayable, laughably disgusting.
Game Five had to be interrupted twice, for 20 to 30 minutes each time, to rebuild the soggy pitcher's mound and so the players could scrape mud out from between their spikes with emergency supplies of tongue depressors.
Players' and umpires' jackets were soaking; some players even wore Elmer Fudd earflaps against the biting 20 mph wind. Many fans donned plastic rain capes. Drenched spectators paid well over $2,000 each — for supposedly the "best" seats in the rain-soaked stadium.
If the dampest games had been postponed, though, Fox stood to take a big commercial hit in its bottom line. Ultimately, so would MLB, which earned a percentage of TV's income. I'm sure MLB and Fox colluded, if not conspired, to play under conditions that introduced hydroplaning as a new element of the sport.
Baseball executives should know better and care more. The average baseball player today is a finely-tuned super-human athlete worth millions of dollars. Who among them wants to risk shattering a kneecap to catch a ball or steal a base in a bone-chilling rain?
Game quality deteriorates in inclement weather. Players shouldn't have to see their own breath, keep their big leather gloves dry by tucking them under their uniform shirts or contend with powerful gusts of wind that redirect a fly ball's normal trajectory. And, they shouldn't have had to splash-slide just to grab a more-or-less "routine" extra base.
Clearly, something was radically wrong when one of Tampa Bay's fastest players narrowly scored from second base on a long single, something even notoriously slower players can do without a hitch when they don't have to slog through the rain.
More was at stake during the suspended game. Tampa Bay won a World Series berth in part with its explosive team speed. The lousy weather slowed the Rays, both offensively and defensively. Playing through heavy rain robbed both the players and the spectators of any speed thrill.
The Philly storms should have stifled the last outbursts from loud advocates for a new, outdoor baseball stadium in Tampa Bay. Domed Tropicana Field is just fine for rainy-season baseball in the lightning capital of the world.

A regular columnist for Hernando Today, John Herbert lives in Spring Hill.

Jose Canseco Guilty

Jose Canseco pleaded guilty to drug charges today. Read the rest of the story and see photos and video of Jose Canseco below.

Jose Canseco guilty of drug charges

Former baseball slugger Jose Canseco pleaded guilty in court today to misdemeanor drug charges stemming from an arrest in October. Saying he was tired, depressed, and nearly bankrupt, Canseco apologized to U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruben B. Brooks:

“I made an honest mistake.”

Canseco was sentenced to 12 months of unsupervised probation. Last month, Canseco was detained by immigration officials as he was driving back into the country from a trip to Mexico. Officials found a the former baseballer to be in possession of a fertility drug commonly used to boost low testosterone levels caused by steroid use. It is illegal to posses the drug without a prescription. Canseco has long admitted that he used steroids while playing baseball, and attributes much of his success to doing so.

More photos and a video of Jose Canseco are below.

Jose Canseco Photos

What is it with football players and Halloween parties?

Special to the Free Press

What is it with football players and Halloween parties? There's a snapshot making the rounds of the Internet that appears to show former Michigan offensive lineman Justin Boren, with a friend, dressed as coach Rich Rodriguez, complete with a whistle and red wristband. Boren, of course, transferred from the Rich Rod regime to Ohio State.