By Joel Ortiz Rivera
10/01/2020 | 00: 03 a.m.
As defending champions, the Santurce Cangrejeros
They came out as the team to beat from the first day of the season. The phase
to regulate it dominated comfortably at the end with 22-10 mark.
Now in the postseason, in the semifinals, they dispatched the
Manatí Athenians in four games, which gives the leader pride
cangrejero, José ‘Tony’ Valentín, but the mission has not been completed.
“This is one more step, the first was to reach the semifinals and
the second to the final, ”said Valentín, who takes the Crabmen to their sixth
consecutive final series.
“I didn’t expect things to be so easy. And I say easy
because we won in four games, but they were four very good games,
closed. The Manatee team has a lot of veteran who did things to you
difficult, ”he added.
But he added that, according to his philosophy, it was pitching that
He helped the Crabs all year, like Thursday, when Adalberto Flores
He threw six innings without being hit. And he added that a team that
He pitches like his own, and also defends a lot, always has good
chances of winning.
“We also hit the key hit when it had to be,” he said
Valentín referring to a triple by Jay González and a solitary home run
of Vimael Machín who created the only two races necessary for the victory
santurcino
Valentín did not want to speculate on the players that could
choose from the eliminated Athenians or the team that loses the other semifinal,
which continues on Friday and dominate the Carolina Giants 2-1.
“We have several scenarios but they depend on the team that goes
to face Carolina and Mayaguez are different offensive teams. Must see
who are available and if we need another initiator or another batter ”,
express.
The rest that the Cangrejeros will have now could be a
double-edged sword for his team and Valentin knows it. With the arrears you have
had the other semifinal, the leader has proposed a series of practices to
from Friday and they will last depending on what the other extends
semifinal.
“Sometimes rest is beneficial because the arms
they rest. But I’ve seen teams that the more often you play, the better,
especially the offensive. That is the concern we have. So
We practice Friday, Saturday, we rest Sunday and we continue on Monday,
depending on how the other series is developed, ”he said.
Valentín’s tone of voice reflected his satisfaction with the
classification to the final and the execution of his team, although he knows he is missing.
“Definitely this was the goal. Be in the final. Why
to win the championship we have to arrive, and here we are ”, he concluded
Valentine
Pride in the Athenian dressing room
After excellent work on the hill, the pitcher
Jason Garcia ‘squared’ what he owed to the ‘clubbies’ of the Athenians of
Manatee, while players took out packages and property from the Hiram clubhouse
Bithorn, who was affected by a blackout.
It is never easy the environment in the dressing room of a team that
removed, but in that of the Athenians, there was some relaxation, maybe even
pride.
“When the league started many people and many fans
they thought that my team was not going to reach the postseason … that we were going to win
Eight games But from day one I knew that my team was special and that
Mine had a heart. A brotherhood was created in the clubhouse that was amazing to
despite the casualties of players we could not replace, and my team never
removed. He had guts and gave everything, ”said the leader of the Athenians, Hector
‘Bowling’ Ortiz.
As an expansion team, the Athenians confronted
difficulties to play in his park, Pedro Román Meléndez de Manatí, who does not
had lighting or tarpaulins to protect the terrain from the rain, and in a moment
they fell to the bottom of the standings before resurfacing and
keep the last qualifying position to the postseason with the mark of
13-18.
“This team gave everything they had to give. There were boys
They played injured, sick, with many inconveniences. But nobody knows
removed, ”added Ortiz, coach of the Texas Rangers.
After the game, Ortiz and his group of coaches met in
the darkness provided by the blackout and talked about the plans for the next
year with the owner of the team, Javier Hernández. Ortiz said the
there are plans, and if he is summoned for the next campaign, he would return with
Your whole group.
“We fell short, we reached the semifinal. But
we are going out through that door with our heads up, ”Ortiz concluded.
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