INDEPENDENT PRESENCE CARRIES OVER INTO EARLY-MORNING HOURS AS MEXICO WINS CARIBBEAN SERIES

It takes more than a little old blizzard here in Connecticut (it was a dandy) to keep us from thinking baseball, especially with pitchers and catchers reporting to major league teams in a day or two.

 

Chris Roberson should have plenty of stories to tell when he reports back to the Winnipeg Goldeyes for the American Association season after being part of Mexico's championship team in the Caribbean Series his country hosted.

 

How about the 2:43 a.m. wrapup when Mexico pushed across the winning run in the top of the 18th inning of the seven-hour, 28-minute championship game that took down a dominating Dominican team, 4-3.  Come to think of it, Roberson can have some fun at the expense of new Lincoln (NE) Manager Ken Oberkfell, who was the Dominican skipper, when tha Goldeyes and Saltdogs meet.

 

Roberson went 0-for-6 in the finale while 2012 Winnipeg teammate Barbaro Canizares had a single and double in six at-bat.  Mike Benacka, who will be in minor league spring training with Toronto, got in an inning spread between the 12th and 13th innings.  He struck out two, but continued his late-winter wildness by allowing three bases on balls.

 

For the Dominican, Angel Castro (Lincoln, 2010), started and allowed only two hits and one earned run in the first 7.2 innings.  Dustin Richardson (Sugar Land, TX, Atlantic League) and Edward Valdez (Calgary, North American League, 2011) also pitched in the marathon, with Valdez allowing a home run to Doug Clark, who won the game with a second shot in the top of the 18th.

 

Twenty-one pitchers were used during the game.

 

T-BONES' GRENING SHARP IN AUSTRALIAN FINALE

 

Right-hander Brian Grening, one of several Kansas City (KS) T-Bones players to spend the offseason in Australia, was the clear star of Game 1 of the best-of-three series to determine the league champion Friday.

 

Grening, 10-5 with Kansas City (3.69) although not on the current roster, pitched seven scoreless innings before allowing the Perth Heat to get on the board in the eighth in leading Canberra to a 6-4 triumph.  He allowed six hits and struck out the same number in 7.2 innings.

 

Nearly a dozen current or former Independent players are on the two teams as is first baseman K.C. Hobson (Canberra), the son of Lancaster, PA (Atlantic League) Manager Butch Hobson.

 

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