This Saturday, at 13:15, is the appointment for the opening ceremony of the 63rd Cuba’s National Baseball Series, at the Julio Antonio Mella Stadium. An hour and a quarter later, the word "¡play ball!" will be called, and the Leñadores de las Tunas (Las Tunas Lumberjacks) will begin the journey in search of revalidating their title, guided for the second consecutive year by Abeisy Pantonja, facing the Alazanes de Granma (Granma Sorrells).
Las Tunas, Cuba.- The base of the green-and-red roster, flagged on Friday, is very similar to the one that led them to their second title last season when they defeated the Leones de Industriales (Havana Lions). Although the absences of the international Carlos Juan Viera (subject to evaluation after testing positive for an anti-doping control) and of right-hander Alejandro Meneses, who is recovering from an injury, stand out. However, both sides, locals and opponents consider the the Lumberjacks as candidates to - at least - be included in the postseason, thus consecrating the stability of their performance in recent years.
As early as in the games against the difficult Granma team, good news could come for the home team because when he enters the batter's box, Dánel Castro will become the first Cuban player to compete in 30 national series; meanwhile, closer Alberto Pablo Civil is just one game away from surpassing his countryman José Miguel Báez as the Las Tunas pitcher with the most saved challenges. Yordanis Alarcón and his son Yor will also become the second father-son couple -from Las Tunas- to integrate the roster -and even the lineup- in the same Series, previously done by the pitching duo Yoalkis and Yoelkis Cruz.
This season, as reported at the Technical Congress, the particular series will be five games, taking place from Tuesday to Sunday, with Friday for active rest and Mondays for transfers. For now, the meetings will always start at 2:00 in the afternoon, due to the energy situation.
Likewise, from Tuesday to Thursday, the host province will be the home club team, and the roles will be reversed on the weekend. According to the official schedule, after receiving Granma, the Lumberjacks will remain in the “Forest on Frank País Avenue” where the Guantánamo Indians will arrive. Then, they will embark on a tour that will take them to deal with the Tobacco Growers of Pinar del Río and the Pirates of the Isle of Youth. They will be back on April 2, to face the Cienfuegos Elephants.
Also in the Technical Congress, it was learned that mentors can replace up to eight players from their official rosters, out of 40, at any time during the series. However, in the case of athletes hired on a personal basis abroad, they may only be registered in the qualifying stage to be used in the playoffs. The managers anticipated that they would be stricter in monitoring the conduct of training, discipline within the benches, and the use of the pitchers.
