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.”

Mexican Pacific League Championship Series Game 2: Yaquis de Obregon 4, Aguilas de Mexicali 2

After Obregon emerged victorious in Game 1 of the series, the Aguilas came out strong in the first inning of this one, scoring twice on a run-scoring single off the bat of Jon Weber (there was an error involved), and an RBI single by Jorge Guzman. But their momentum was short-lived as an RBI double by Alfredo Amezaga and an RBI single by Doug Clark tied the game in the 3rd, and four innings later, Juan Miranda compounded the Aguilas misery with a go-ahead solo homer. Mexicali’s bats when silent after the 1st- they had three hits in the first inning and just two afterwards- and they would lose the game 4-2. For Obregon, Miranda went 1 for 2 with his big homer and a walk before being removed for a defensive replacement while Iker Franco went 1 for 4 with a run scored at the plate and an even better job behind it as the Yaquis 5-hit Mexicali. Starter Rolando Valdez was fabulous following the tough 1st, going 6 innings allowing just 2 runs, 1 earned, on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1. For Mexicali, Weber went 1 for 4 with a run scored while Wes Bankston had a tough day, going 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. The Aguilas have a daunting task ahead of them as they hope to get back in this best-of-seven series after losing the series’ first two games.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico) Championship Series: Criollos de Caguas 4, Idios de Mayaguez 2

Not too much that Rays fans should care about form this game, but the pitching matchup was interesting as ex-big leaguer and Rays Triple-A player Matt DeSalvo matched up against Michael Nix, who was Scott Kazmir‘s teammate this season on the Independent SugarLand Skeeters. It was DeSalvo who came away looking like an enigmatic Kazmir while Nix cruised. DeSalvo went 4.2 innings and allowed just 3 hits, but he allowed 4 runs as one of the hits was a Johnny Monell homer and he walked 4 while striking out just 3. On the other side, Nix was sharp for Caguas to earn the win, going 6 innings allowing just 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 6 while walking 2 and posting a 10-1 groundout to flyout ratio. DeSalvo was a solid prospect in the Yankees organization for a time (and briefly made the majors with New York), but his outing Wednesday was similar to his stint in the Rays organization back in 2009 when he walked 39 versus just 36 strikeouts on his way to a 6.44 ERA in 13 appearances and 57.1 innings pitched.

Dominican Pacific League Postseason: Aguilas Cibaenas 5, Toros del Este 4

Cibaenas’ two ex-Rays in the middle of their lineup completely failed in this game, with Hector Luna and Manny Ramirez going a combined 1 for 7 with a walk. But Joaquin Arias came up big-time for the Aguilas, going 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI, and a third ex-Ray, Bobby Livingston, picked up the win for Cibaenas, going 1.1 innings allowing just 1 hit, striking out 1 and forcing a pair of groundballs.

Estrellas de Oriente 7, Leones de Escogido 6

Oriente very nearly blew a 5-0 lead in this game, but Ray Olmedo had a nice game out of the 9-hole to help insure that they didn’t, going 2 for 3 with a run scored. He’s hitting a solid .297 for Oriente so far in the DWL Postseason. Willy Aybar went 0 for 3 with a walk in the loss for Escogido.

Mexican Pacific League Playoffs: Yaquis de Obregon 6, Tomateros de Culiacan 5

Things got extremely dicey for Obregon at the end of this one as they led 5-0 after 6 innings, but all the great that starter Rolando Valdez did (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5-3 K/BB ratio) was negated by a complete bullpen collapse. The Yaquis got lucky that Juan Miranda added an insurance run on a solo homer in the 6th when the game was still a blowout, his third of the MPL of the season, and Jesus Colome pitched well to escape a 7th inning jam, going 0.2 innings working around a hit, and Angel Ramirez did the same 0.2 innings trick in the 8th inning for Obregon as they managed to come away with an ugly but well-deserved win.

Aguilas de Mexicali 11, Algodoneros de Guasave 5

This one was a blowout, but the Aguilas did not get much from the ex-Rays hitting 3rd and 4th in their lineup. Jon Weber went 1 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored while Wes Bankston went 0 for 3 with a walk. Weber and Bankston have had their moments in the MPL playoffs, but the Aguilas are going to need more consistency from them as the games get closer and closer.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico) Postseason: Criollos de Caguas 14, Gigantes de Carolina 2

Not hard to imagine what Jesus Feliciano is thinking right now. After getting his postseason off to a disastrous start, Feliciano finally broke out on Tuesday night, going 3 for 4 with a double- and the Gigantes lost by 12 runs. Hopefully Feliciano’s good game is a sign of things to come for him (and not for the rest of the team as they would like to pretend that this game never happened). Leslie Anderson went 0 for 5 for Carolina while Javier Vazquez, who is not far away from signing with a major league team, pitched well for Caguas, going 5 shutout innings allowing 6 hits and a walk while striking out 4.

Cangrejeros de Santurce 10, Indios de Mayaguez 3

This one turned into an easy win for Santurce, and the nail in the coffin was a 3-run homer by ex-Rays farmhand Jose Ruiz, who went 2 for 4 with a homer, a walk 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored in the game and is hitting .357 so far in the RCPBL playoffs (yes, that acronym reminds everyone else of Communist Russia too). Pretty good for a player who lasted just 36 games in the Rays system after they signed him out of Cuba.