Sheryl Crow hasn’t played a concert in Culican recently, but you do have to wonder if her 1996 song, “A Change Would Do You Good” popped up on someone’s Spotify playlist in Tomato Town as the second half of the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico season began.
The Tomateros were a middling club through the first half under Roberto Vizcarra, who is a member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame for his exploits as both a player and manager, going 21-20 overall and 3-3 to start the second half. After the change was made, Culiacan won their first six games with Bundy, the second-winningest manager in LAMP history, at the helm, which helped them improve to 8-4 in the second half. They hold a one-game lead on Nayarit.
Their six-game win streak was the longest of the season so far, and they outscored their opponents 37-16 during that hot streak. Don’t be surprised if Bundy, who’s managed the Diablos Rojos del Mexico to consecutive titles in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, leads the Tomateros deep into the postseason.
Parity Is King, But There’s No Rest For the Road-Weary – It looks as though playing every game on the road has finally started to wear on the Tucson Baseball Team, who have yet to play a regular season game in Tucson while waiting for their visas to be approved by the U.S. Government.
After going 13-22 and claiming seventh place in the first half, the wheels on the Baseball Team’s bus have started to fall off in the second half. They’re 2-7 through nine games, three games behind ninth-place Mazatlan.
As you may remember from World Baseball Network’s 10 Things to Know About Winter Ball, the LAMP divides the 68-game regular season into two halves. Teams are awarded a number of points based upon where they finish in the standings in each half, with first place getting 10 points, second place getting nine, and so on. The teams are seeded in order of total points for the playoffs, with the team with the highest number of points being seeded first, the team with the eighth-most points seeded eighth, and the teams with the ninth- and 10th-most points missing the playoffs.
Finishing the first half in seventh place got Tucson 4 1/2 points, as points awarded descend by 1/2 point from sixth to 10th place. They’d get three points for finishing the second half in 10th place, which would be fatal to their playoff hopes, and likely need to finish in sixth place or better to claim the eighth and final playoff spot.
For the other nine teams, though, it’s going to be a battle down the stretch. From first place, where the Tomateros de Culiacan are 8-4 through 12 games, to ninth place, where the Venados de Mazatlan are 5-7, there is only a three-game difference, showing the league’s remarkable parity this year.
Player of the Week – Joey Meneses of the Tomateros de Culiacan, last year’s LAMP MVP who recently earned himself a minor league contract with the (don’t refer to them as the Sacramento) Athletics, won the LAMP’s player of the week award after batting .333 for the week with a homer and 10 RBIs. Also nominated were Bligh Madris of the Charros de Jalisco, who hit .478 with two homers and four RBIs, Leo Heras of the Algodoneros de Guasave, who hit three homers and drove in four runs, and Sebastián Elizalde of the Yaquis de Obregón, who batted .333 for the week with a homer and seven RBIs.
Pitcher of the Week – Veteran starter Odrisamer Despaigne continues to be a solid starter for Obregon, throwing 11 1/3 innings and allowing only two runs and striking out eight over two starts last week. The 38-year-old Cuban is durable, having thrown 223 innings in the LAMP over the past three seasons, with only Mexicali’s David Reyes, who’s thrown 227 1/3, having tossed more. Also nominated were Jacob Nix of Guasave, who threw six innings in one start, allowing one run and striking out seven, and José Urquidy of Mazatlán, who struck out seven over seven shutout innings in one start vs. Guasave.
Reliever of the Week – Daniel Duarte of the Cañeros de Los Mochis won the reliever of the week award. The native of Huatabampo, Sonora, Mexico, earned three saves in three opportunities as well as a win in four innings of work across four appearances, notching four strikeouts, not allowing a run, and posting a weekly WHIP of 0.750.
Where to Watch – Games from the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico can be streamed live via the league’s YouTube page. There is a monthly subscription fee. You can also watch LAMP games on MLB.tv with a subscription.
WBN Mexico: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mexico/
Photo: The Tomateros de Culiacan are 6-1 under Lorenzo Bundy, who took over as manager six games into the season’s second half. (Photo courtesy of the LAMP)
