Cubano

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 04:44 PM) Baseball America has a piece up about this. They have some quotes from scouts who indicate he has a big body type and that as he's put on the pounds his defensive ability has degressed. The scouts quoted seemed to indicate he would eventually slide to 1st base. It does sound like he has a lot of power potential, but it also sounds like he will be eligible for the 2009 draft, which means he won't be a free agent. Since he was in the US in May, Torres is going to have to convince baseball that he was eligible for the draft. However, since the draft sends an eligibility list to all teams and Torres name wasn't on it, it doesn't seem like Torres was eligible or the 08 draft (which means he'll have to wait a full season till he gets drafted). http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=1141 When was the last time these scouts saw him play? Scouts are banned in Cuba and may see cubans in international tournaments for 5 or 6 games a year.

I love the White Sox, but I live in WV close to D.C. I hate the Orioles and the Nats or Senators has a rich history with cubans. I like for him to sign with a bad team so he can be in the big leagues soon. I do not want him to sign with a big market team. Jamie Torres is a good agent and unlike other agents he tells his cuban clients that sometimes signing with a so so team is better than a big market club. Less money upfront but later on you are rewarded because you can shine with the bad team and make the big bucks once you are a free agent.

One more thing. The cuban season is only 90 games. His second season was not that good compare to his first and third I think. I"ll check on this.

He is only 19 years old playing against pitchers like El Duque and Contreras. He played 3 season en Cuba not 4. Watch out for misleading facts in the american media guys! He can be a 3B. Remember, Alexei is 26 years old. This kid is only 19. His agent will sell him as a SS to exploit the fact that Yunel Escobar (utility in Cuba), Yuni Betancourt (2B in Cuba) and Alexei (CF in Cuba) are holding SS or will hold (Alexei) SS positions in MLB in a very short time after defecting. The Braves sign a lot of cuban players. The Yanks and the Mets will probably make a run at him. I hope the Nats, however, sign him. If I knew hot to upload videos to youtube, I will show him to you.

QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 04:45 PM) Are you Dayan Viciedo? Yes, I am certainly Dayan Viciedo.

His agent says that he can become a free agent because the draft just passed. If his name was not available, Bud Selig will deny him his free agency. Then, he will go to a third country to waste time there for his legal papers. This is what I am writing about MLB policies against cubans. I hate to admit it but it is discriminatory. I really hate to imply this. Dayan Viciedo stats: Seasons 3 Career at bats 1001 Oficial at bats 868 ave 286 hit 248 doubles 35 triples 13 HR 26 RBI 124 TB 387 BB 89 HP 27 SO 151 SB 5 CS 9 I got him in a DVD.

Tell GM Williams if Contreras and Ramirez have not. He is using the same agant as those too. Puerto Rican agent Jamie Torres. He is only 19 years old. He can play 3B, SS, outfield and he can throw 90 + MPH. He used to play for Yuniesky Betancourt and former big leaguer RHP Rolando Arrojo team, the Villa Clara Oranges. He is ahead of more 19 years old. Llego Dayan Viciedooooooooooooooo! Height: 1.83 meters Weight: 92 Kilograms http://www.elnuevoherald.com/167/story/222430.html Viciedo in SS and Alexei in 2B will be a good combination for the Sox. He said that he wants to play for the Yanks but I think it is just a money thing. If the White Sox offers the right amount, they can get him.

Alexei has shown he can hit to all fields. He should hit in the number 2 spot though leadoff would not be bad either considering this team does not have a true leadoff guy.

In Cuba, players ussually protest and are very vocal against the umpires. In tha USA, they are model citizen because the do not speak English at least initially. Alexei probably thought he was safe and thought the home plate umpire called him safe.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 09:09 PM) Get banned for posting links to hot chicks? What kind of fascist hellhole do you think this place is? You never know. Some forums have rules. I took me a while to be accepted here. I am assuming the administrators have certain rules.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 05:01 PM) Cafe con leche I believe is the cuban term for the ladies I like from there. Cubans have a way of determining skin color as it relates to milk and coffee, pretty awesome IMO. Cafe con leche refers to the mulata. Mulata es the offspring between a white cuban generally from Spain and a black cuban from Africa. Mulatas Europeans and Latinos go there and do this. They take advantage of the situation there. Women want to leave or date a foreigner so they can live better. Just do whatever you do and keep it for yourself. This girl probably does not know she is in youtube and never have heard about it. She has no Internet access probably. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqK6sy01nAw...feature=related She can move:

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 04:38 PM) I just wanted to say that this thread is one of the best this year . Watching Alexei has been so much fun lately and Cubano you should be working for the Sox in an advisory capacity. I think you should email Kenny Williams the link to this thread. Oh and Cuban woman are some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. ! The White Sox won't pay me good enough. Ha, ha , ha. There are beautiful women everywhere. Some cubanamerican women are: Eva Mendes Quotable Quotes: "....It's fun to be a woman. It's fun to flirt and wear makeup and have boobs." "..I'm a girl's girl." "..One of the perks of being a girl is playing with makeup.." "...guys can be yucky, and girls are sweet, soft and smell good." http://www.evamendes.com/biography.html Cameron Diaz cubanamericangerman http://www.cameron-diaz.com/profile/page2.html Daisy Fuentes http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/557001342TbDlkd Sissi born in Cuba and emigrated in her 20's. http://www.stuffmagazine.com/cover_girls/girl.aspx?id=325 Vida Guerra born in Havana. Check this one out. Vida means life and Guerra means war. http://www.vidasworld.com/ I take Eva or Vida anytime. I better stop here in case I get banned from this forum.

All these Sabermetrics stats have a value. However, I do not think this one is a very good one. I am taking the player that hit more hits than receive walks. A hit can get me an error from the defense if the ball is not fielded cleanly or the throw misses the cutoff man. A hit can get me a guy from second to home or from first to third. Swisher has an OBP of 326 and an ave of 202. Therefore, his IsoD is 124. Alexei has an IsoD of 17. I'll take Alexei over Swisher in a heartbeat. The below are my reasons: I am taking the player that hit more hits than recieve walks. A hit can get me an error from the defense if the ball is not fielded cleanly or the throw misses the cutoff man. A hit can get me a guy from second to home or from first to third.

That's my boy from the Pinar del Rio Green Sox.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 02:50 PM) The big question, how old is Contreras? He is much younger than El Duke for sure. I do not think he lied becuase MLB had the Orioles-Cuba rosters info. Nowadays, lying about your age can be costly because team can void your contract. Many teams can go to the IBAF and request team info. The IBAF member is an american now too and he is close to MLB.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 03:55 PM) So, if you go the third country route, you are a free agent, while if you go straight to America or a place Puerto Rico, you are a draft eligible player? You are correct.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 04:30 PM) I have a question... why was a defector like Yunel Escobar drafted, while another defector like Ramirez was a FA? Escobar came to the USA by boat. He elected to stay in the USA and entered the draft. If someone comes after the draft, then you wait until next year draft. Escobar had no name so he had no business going to a third country to obtain legal papers. Nowadays, it becoming increasingly difficult for cubans to go use the third country route. many of these governments are lefty and simpathetic of the cuban regime. Alexei has a dominican wife. She was studying medicine in Cuba. He visited the D.R. in the past, but this time he did not return to Cuba. He got his D.R. paper through the wife. His wife is a doctor now.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 03:53 PM) That's a pretty good question. This happened just after the Orioles vs Cuba game. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb52...06/ai_n19690424 Since then, the Orioles had signed cubans but they have not bid for anyone coming new to America. When a foreigner come to America, they are whatever citizenship they have and they can be free agents. But we can not. MLB does not want to see it that way.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 02:35 PM) I'm not gonna lie, Morales looks a lot older than 25 or 26 to me. No, he is that age unlike El Duke.

This changes if someone can call this a change are better than having Ozzie Guillen comeback as a player. Ha,ha,ha. What a joke! I wonder why this team has not insubordinated against Guillen yet. Actually, my boy Alexei did that the other day when he did not bunt the ball. Maybe, this is what they have to do against a guy that likes to run his mouth often. Guillen has no plan b. He should shut up.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 12:45 PM) Cubano, also with the policies you were touching on, you figure MLB has to play within the rules the U.S. allows them to. Considering Cuba is an embargoed country and all their hands are kind of tied. But I have no doubt that if we changed our policies here, there would be a flood of Cuban players to the U.S. But once you defect, there is no reason why cubans can not be free agents for being a cuban. Why did Contreras have to go to Nicaragua and El Duke to Costa Rica to get those countries citizenship? They got it fast because they were famous but for less known players, this move may be detrimental for their careers because they have to wait longer. Age is very important for MLB.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 12:39 PM) Morales is a guy I've long wanted to pick up. The big problem with him is that defensively he's in a tough bind because he doesn't possess the typical power of a 1st baseman (although he has good power, I wouldn't consider it great power). That said he possesses a very natural swing and I see him capable of posting a .300, 20 HR type of season with a solid OPB and good slugging numbers. He's also major league ready as far as I'm concerned. I'm not sure how much the Angels have soured on him, but if the club wanted to make an adjustment and was able to move one of Paulie/Thome, I'd have no problem turning to the Angels and offering them a package to acquire Morales (who would clearly be available given Kochman's performance at 1B). Morales's 2008 numbers: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...ilb&cid=561 Career stats: http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/K...y-Morales.shtml One error only! Last year, it was the same thing. You may think I am crazy but I think Mike S. does not like him for some reason. First, the Angels said he needed to work on his defense just to send him to the minors. Kotchman's father works for the Angels too. Come on! His numbers in the minors are better than Kotchman so he has better projection than him. Last year, he had an stretch in August that was really good. Then, Mike S. benched him again. There is no reason why Juan Rivera and Rob Quinlan are playing ahead of him unless you want Morales to play every day. He is a switch hitter too which is a plus and he has a cannon for an arm. He used to be a pitcher too in the juniors. He may be a corner outfielder by now by the Angels did not use him in the outfield until now.

Angels 1B/outfielder switch hitter Kendry Morales will look good in a White Sox uniform. He should not be in the minors. His minor league numbers are better than Casey Kotchman. Two years ago, Morales almost broke the Dominican winter league HR record. He blasted 14 balls to the stands. He also won a gold glove there. He may be getting out of minor league options soon. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...&pid=434778

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome. I live in the USA. I bought a satelite dish and I watch cuban TV. This is how I follow cuban baseball and also through web sites. I live in West Virginia, but I work in Washington D.C metro area. I got tired of traffic and the big city (D.C., MD and VA) so I move the the country side. I left by boat in 1994 and spent one year and six month in the refugee camps in Cayman Islands and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There is a rumor than infielder/outfielder Dayan Viciedo left Cuba. If this is true, he would be a great player to sign. He is around 19-20 years old. Great talent! He plays for SS Yuni Betancourt's team, Villa Clara Orange. Former big leaguer RHP Rolando Arrojo and 1B Jorge Toca played there too. In case you miss this article, MLB is thinking big about a future free Cuba. I can wait for cubans to compete in equal footing at least being free to come and go like others. MLB policy now stinks against cubans. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/sports/b...amp;oref=slogin This is what I like about the article: Hopefully, when the cuban economy improves, we can have a major league team. We should have had one by now before Canada, but the man with the long beard took power and that's it. No more fun! "Baseball is also considering moving a minor league team to Cuba and building training academies similar to those that nearly all teams have in the Dominican Republic, according to a report earlier this month by Fortune magazine." This is the main reason why Japanese players get the entrance they get. It is a business more than baseball decision. It is true some are good, but their contract do not justify their talent nor their amount of playing time even more when they struggle. When Chinese players get so so, you will see MLB selling chinese players to us. When Cuba be free, we are going to have some entrance too because MLB would want to secure a new fan base. Then, many will be MLB ready unlike now. MLB will sell this to the media. "But Cuba, which is 90 miles from Florida, has a rich baseball history and is considered a future source of players, fans and revenue." I have formed my opinions on cuban baseball and players researching stats in my projects, watching baseball and attending minor league games. I also asked cuban players in big and minors to compare the Cuban National Season vs the league they are playing. There is a book in Spanish called "Confesiones Mas Alla del Dugout"/ "Dugout Confessions" where some defectors are interviewed. They tell their stories and talks about their US baseball experience. Many coincide that in Cuba there are many players MLB ready. I went so see the Yankess AA team last year where 1B Juan Miranda was playing. I asked him to campare that AA league to the cuban league. He told me that the cuban league is stronger. Miranda played for Alexei and Contreras's team Pinar del Rio Green Sox. He spent 2 o 3 years in the D.R. waiting for legal papers.

These are some clips from cuban baseball. The cuban speed gun is obsolete. This year they bought a new one and the technology was incompatible with the TV. The old one is around 3 MPH slower than the scouts speed gun used in the USA. The USA TV and stadium speed guns are on roids. The Industriales Lions and the Santiago de Cuba Wasps are the most emblematic teams in Cuba. Pinar del Rio Green Sox and Villa Clara Orange are two good ones too. My team is like the White Sox. They win once in 60 years. Ha, ha, ha. This game took place in the Coloso del Cerro, the Latinoamericano stadium. Often you see 55,000 fans there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70RxYL7P24o...feature=related Notice how bad the fields are. The bounds are terrible and the defense must be extra alert. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnPJZc36UlY Doble play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dkM7Af6fJg...feature=related