Yaquis de Obregon (Mexico) 10, Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico) 0

Does Luis Mendoza understand the definition of pressure? Well, in 2012, he entered the season for the Kansas City Royals with his career on the line and delivered a nice season, going 8-10 with a 4.23 ERA, a 104-59 strikeout to walk ratio, and a 52.1% groundball rate in 25 starts, 5 relief appearances, and 166 innings pitched. But Wednesday verus Caguas was a different story. He was an established major leaguer on a team of has-beens. He was going to be fine no matter how he pitched. But that didn’t matter- his countrymen needed him, and he had to deliver. Mendoza proceeded to dominate the Criollos and a great offensive performance by the Yaquis made sure this one wasn’t even close as they won 10-0. Mendoza went 7.1 innings allowing just 2 hits, striking out 9 while walking 4 and posting an 11-2 groundout to flyout ratio. He had a no-hitter going through 7 innings, something even more impressive given the big layoffs he was experiencing as Obregon was scoring so many runs. Barbaro Canizares set the tone early for the Obregon offense with a 2-run homer in the second inning, Marlon Byrd had 2 doubles, a stolen base, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored, and Iker Franco, who had been benched by the Yaquis after slumping in the Caribbean Series, was able to assuage some of his frustration with a 6th inning 2-run single. Obregon clinched a berth in the Caribbean Series championship game in resounding fashion. As a 3-3 team facing off against the 5-1 Leones de Escogido from the Dominican, it’s going to be a tough matchup, but after a game like this, the Yaquis’ confidence is sky-high and of course anything is possible in one game.

Leones de Escogido (Dominican Republic) 4, Navegantes de Magallanes (Venezuela) 2

Speaking of the Leones, they had already clinched an appearance in the championship game, but this game was very important because had Magallanes won, they would have to play a one-game playoff versus Obregon to see who would play in the championship game. It looked for a while like that happen, but the Leones showed off just how good they are with a late comeback as they came away with a 4-2 victory. The Navegantes got off a nice start in this one, taking a 1-0 lead in the 3rd when Cesar Suarez reached on a two-base error, stole third base, and then scored on another error, but Julio Lugo responded for Escogido with a solo home run. Suarez came up big again for Magallanes in the 5th, following up Renny Osuna‘s 2-out triple with an RBI single to give the Navegantes a 2-1 lead. But in the 7th, a huge error by Luis Nunez on a Hanley Ramirez groundball tied the game at 2. Through 7 innings, both teams had shown outstanding pitching. For Escogido, Carlos Pimental went 4 innings allowing just an unearned run on 2 hits, striking out 4 while walking 1, and then Lorenzo Barcel went 3 innings allowing 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 2 while walking none. Magallanes’ pitching was just as good as Sergio Perez went 5.2 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1 before Gabriel Alfaro allowed an unearned run in 1.1 innings of work, although he did record 3 of his 4 outs via the strikeout. With 2 innings left in the game, the game was down to a battle of the bullpens with the question being who would wilt first. In the end, it the Dominicans who came through in the clutch in the end, with Mets catching prospects Francisco Pena slamming a go-ahead 2-run home run in the 9th inning before Jailen Peguero nailed down the save in the bottom of the inning as Escogido won 4-2 and finished the Caribbean Series with a 5-1 record, 2 games better than the second place Obregon squad. But you can throw that out the window as the Caribbean Series will come down to one game between the Leones and the Yaquis, and the Leones better hope the magic they have shown the last six games persists when it matters most.

Mexican Pacific League: Yaquis de Obregon 16, Aguilas de Mexicali 3

Wes Bankston did his part for Mexicali in this one, going 1 for 3 with a solo homer and a walk, but it was far too little and far too late as Obregon moved onto the Caribbean Series in resounding fashion with a blowout win. Batters number 1 to 5 in the Obregon order all had multiple hits and at least one extra-base hit, including 3-hit games by Alfredo Amezago and Barbaro Canizares and homers by Canizares and Jesse Gutierrez, but we’ll focus on the ex-Rays at the bottom of the Yaquis’ lineup, Iker Franco and Juan Miranda. Franco has been renowned for his handling of the Obregon pitching staff all winter, but he was able to have a nice game with the bat as well in this one, going 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, an RBI, and a run scored. It wasn’t just an offensive effort for Franco either as he was able to weather a tough outing from starter Roman Colon where he lasted just 3 innings to help this blowout from becoming a slugfest. Miranda, meanwhile, was the only Obregon hitter without an RBI after a bizarre game, going 1 for 2 with two hit-by-pitches and 2 runs scored. Miranda would prefer to get on base in less painful ways, but he has settled in nicely as the Yaquis’ first baseman since joining them for the MPL playoffs. Jon Weber, meanwhile, went 0 for 3 for Mexicali, seeing an incredible MPL regular season conclude with a disastrous playoff experience, and that especially stings for Weber because he was going to need to continuously come up huge to even think of getting a minor league contract from a big league organization and have the slightest chance of fulfilling his dream of playing in the major leagues. Rooting for the Rays players in this game, it was a bittersweet experience as Franco, Miranda, and the Yaquis move on but Bankston, Weber, and the Aguilas have been sent packing as Obregon sweeps the MPL Championship Series and will play in the Caribbean Series versus the winners of the leagues in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.

Unfortunately joining the ranks of the ex-Rays is a pitcher that was beloved by Rays fans for years and years and was a central part of the Rays’ success, James Shields. Traded by the Rays to the Kansas City Royals this offseason, Shields talked to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times about leaving the area for the final time.

“There’s a lot of memories, so many memories, good memories,” Shields said. “There’s just a lot of stuff. It’s amazing to sit here and think about how many years and how many things I’ve done. It’s awesome.”

Sad a bit, too. Amid the obligatory excitement Shields shares about joining the Royals thanks to the December trade, he admits there is pain in leaving, especially of someone else’s volition.

“It’s just bittersweet for me,” he said.

Even when Rays fans saw what the Rays were going to be getting in return for Shields- a group of the Royals’ top prospects headlined by outfielder Wil Myers- it was a major shock for Rays fans to realize that Shields, the most dependable pitcher the Rays have even seen, the pitcher they stuck with through all his ups and downs in 2010 and were rewarded with a huge 2011 and second half of 2012, and the pitcher they had dubbed “Big Game” for his ability to always come through when it mattered most was gone.

A move is hectic for any family with young kids, including a pro ball player with a $10 million salary. They’ve been packing for weeks, planning to sell the Clearwater house they had built four years ago and move to a new home base near San Diego, then figure out where James will live during spring training in Arizona and eventually get a house to rent for the season in Kansas City.

So when James, now 31, and Ryane took a break the other night, all they wanted was a quick bite at Carrabba’s — but came home with much more.

“We had people passing us notes like we were in high school again,” he said. “They didn’t want to bother me at dinner, but they said they were going to miss me and that I’ve done a lot in this community.

“I think that’s great. That’s the stuff I’m going to miss. A lot of people say, ‘Yeah, you did a great job. You’re doing great with the team.’ But what I’m most proud of is that a lot of people are going to miss me in the community and some of the things I’ve done.”

Dominican Winter League Championship Series Game 3: Leones de Escogido 3, Aguilas Cibaenas 0

Aguilas third baseman, 3-hole hitter, and one-time Rays Rule 5 Draft pick Hector Luna has pulled an Alex Rodriguez this postseason for the Aguilas, hitting under .200 just about the entire time. But the Aguilas decided to stick with him, and he finally came through on Tuesday night with a 3-hit game… and of course the Aguilas still lost. Luna went 3 for 4 in the game- the rest of the team, including fellow ex-Ray Manny Ramirez, went a combined 2 for 26 with a pair of walks. It was a tough day for them against former Boston Red Sox first round pick Kris Johnson, who went 6 innings allowing just 4 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1, followed by three Escogido relievers who have seen time in the big leagues including two of the best in the game: Octavio Dotel, ex-Rays minor leaguer Jhonny Nunez (who like Dotel appeared in the big leagues with the White Sox), and of course Fernando Rodney. The trio allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 4 in their 3 innings of shutout relief to end it. Also appearing for the Leones was Julio Lugo, who went 1 for 4 with a run scored, Jesus Feliciano, who went 1 for 5, Jorge Cantu, who went 0 for 4 but scored a run, and Leslie Anderson, who went 0 for 3 but actually drew a walk! Anderson is only hitting .211 in the postseason, but at least he’s taking his walks, something Rays fans have been waiting for him to do since the moment he signed. Probably just a fluke, but hey, a man can dream. Recent Rays signee Juan Sandoval also got into the game for Cibaenas, throwing 1.2 perfect innings of relief to follow 4.1 one-run innings for Lorenzo Barcelo, but 7 innings by the Aguilas’ bullpen allowing just one run went to waste as their offense (other than Luna) could not get anything.  The good news for the Aguilas is that the DWL Championship Series is a best-of-nine series. The bad news is that they’re down 3-0 now, and it’s going to be awfully hard to come back.

Mexican Pacific League Championship Series Game 1: Yaquis de Obregon 5, Aguilas de Mexicali 3

It the MPL Championship Series opener, and it quickly became apparent how important starting pitching is in the playoffs. This game was over pretty quickly after Mexicali’s starter Jorge Campillo allowed 4 runs in just 2.2 innings while the Royals’ Luis Mendoza went 6 innings for Obregon allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 11 while walking 3. Guided by former Rays catcher Iker Franco, Obregon pitching struck out 14 by the time the game was through. Franco isn’t hitting at all, but he’s catching so well that the Yaquis almost couldn’t care less (could the Rays or someone offer him a minor league deal?). Wes Bankston did have a solid game in the loss for Mexicali, going 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored, while Jon Weber went 1 for 5.