Dominican pitcher weighs 334 pounds

Minor league pitcher Jose Diaz could be a lineman in the National Football League. That is if he had grown up in the United States. But as is the case, Diaz is a native of the Dominican Republic, so he was naturally led to baseball.

Diaz is listed at 6'4'' and 300 pounds. But Diaz admitted to the Indianapolis Star that he actually weighs 334 pounds. He throws in the high 90s and says that his size is an advantage as a power pitcher.

"I weigh 334 pounds," Diaz told the Star. "When I went from Double-A to Triple-A, they told me to lose 25-30 pounds, and my fastball went from 98 mph to 93 mph. So I said, 'It's time to put the weight back on."

The Dominican pitcher Diaz has been up and down over six years in the minors, possibly due to the weight loss. Now that he has his weight where he wants it to be, he looks like he could push for some big league time with the Indians. 

He should start the year with the Indians AAA affiliate in Indianapolis. Diaz is from La Romana, Dominican Republic.

Dominican pitcher Jose Diaz

Dominican beisbol player Vladimir Guerrero signs with Blue Jays

Dominican beisbol player Vladimir Guerrero has signed a minor league deal to play with the Blue Jays.  He was most recently rumored to sign with the Indians, and before that there were rumors he was Miami Marlins bound.  But alas the Blue Jays scooped him up, hoping to add depth to a lineup that is third worst in the American League in batting average.

Guerrero will report to the Blue Jays Spring Training complex in Florida for an extended Spring Training.  He then will join one of the Blue Jays minor league affiliates and if he does well there, he should be with the big league club sooner rather than later.

The Dominican Baseball Guy is surprised to see that it has taken this long for him to get picked up.  He hit .290 as a DH last year for the Orioles in 562 at bats.  And he is only two years removed from a .300, 29 HR, and 115 RBI season with the Rangers.

And as Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos says, "there's no such thing as a bad minor league signing."

The Blue Jays really do not have much to lose.  If he makes the big league club they get him for cheap.  And if he does not pan out, they only have to pay him a minor league salary.

Dominican beisbol player Vladimir Guerrero es Nizao, Republica Dominicana.

Dominican beisbol player Vladimir Guerrero pictured last year with the Orioles.
He recently signed with the Blue Jays, photo by Keith Allison on Flickr

Another day, another Dominican minor league baseball player suspended for performance enhancing drugs

Cleveland Indians minor leaguer Harold Guerrero has been suspended for 50 games after a first positive test for performance enhancing drugs.  Harold Guerrero is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Dominican baseball players getting busted for performance enhancing drugs has been an ongoing issue, since the MLB implemented it's new drug testing program.  The most famous incidence is of course Domincian baseball player Manny Ramirez receiving two suspensions and abruptly retiring after the second 100 game suspension.  The Dominican Baseball Guy recently blogged about two Dominican prospects in the Twins system getting suspended for performance enhancing drugs.

Dominican baseball players are under a lot of pressure to produce, more so than most American players.  In many cases young Dominican players have the hopes of their whole family riding on their abilities as baseball players.  

Furthermore, young Dominican players are often pressured from their trainers, also known as buscones in the Dominican Republic.  Buscones get a bad wrap for only looking out for themselves, to the detriment of their players, but all the buscones that the Dominican Baseball Guy knows are truly out for the best interest of their players, not solely trying to make money off their players.

With that caveat mentioned, their are probably trainers that give their players banned supplements without the knowledge of the players.  The Dominican Baseball Guy would venture to guess that in many cases the buscones themselves do not even know a particular substance is banned.  Also, many drugs that require a subscription from a doctor are available over the counter in the Dominican Republic.

So, the classic, "I did not know that I put that in my body" excuse actually holds some weight when it comes to Dominican baseball players and performance enhancing drugs.  With all that said, the list of banned substances is surely made readily available to all players in the majors and minors, and the Dominican baseball players always have the option to ask a staff trainer about a particular product.

While the Dominican Baseball Guy feels for young Dominican players like Guerrero that get suspended, it is up to them to not put these banned products in their body, despite much of the deck being stacked against them.

Dominican Manny Ramirez, the most notable Dominican baseball player to be
suspended for performance enhancing drugs, photo by shgmom56 on Flickr

Dominican beisbol player Vladimir Guerrero works out for Indians

Dominican beisbol player Vladimir Guerrero showed up at the Indians Dominican baseball academy on Monday for a workout.  He is one of the all-time top Dominican beisbol players in history, by the Dominican Baseball Guy's estimation and most others.  "Vlad" Guerrero is thought to be a sure fire Hall of Famer by most as well.

As much as the Dominican Baseball Guy hates to say it, the great Guerrero is showing his age.  He has been in the big leagues for sixteen years.  With that said, he did hit .290 with 13 homers and 63 RBI in 145 games last year.  Not bad for an off year, but he is a .318 lifetime hitter.

Well, the Dominican Beisbol Guy would sure love to see him in the majors for another season.  Vladimir Guerrero es de Nizao, the Dominican Republic.

Dominican beisbol player Vladimir Guerrero still had a pretty darn good
year last year with the Orioles, photo by Keith Allison on Flickr

Chicago Cubs to build training academy in Dominican Republic, Cubs va a contsruye academia en la Republica Dominicana

The Dominican Baseball Guy is always scouring the news to learn about the happenings with all the Dominican Baseball Academies of the MLB teams.  Every team now has a facility and Dominican Summer League team.  The Indians just opened a brand new Dominican baseball training academy last year.

Well, the Cubs are the latest team to revamp their Dominican baseball academy.  Their new facility will feature four fields, four covered batting cages, eight bullpens, a weight room, a cafeteria, two locker rooms, two meeting rooms, a large classroom, a video room, and an on-site dormitory.  Whew, that was a mouthful.

The team released some pics of what the new facility will look like.  Here is one of them:

Like most Dominican baseball academies, the Cubs facility will serve as a baseball classroom, but players will also have the chance to get their GED and learn English.  The Cubs estimate the project will take 12-18 months to complete, at a price tag of $6-8 million.  It is located in La Gina, outside the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Dominigo.

MLB team to sign Dominican baseball player Manny Ramirez? Pelotero Dominicano va a jugar en MLB este año?

So, I am the Dominican Baseball Guy (DBG), not the "Manny Ramirez Guy," even though we have seen tons of Manny Ramirez posts recently.  With that said, any news on Manny Ramirez is news to the Dominican Baseball Guy.  Manny is, after all, one of the most beloved Dominican Baseball players of all-time.

ESPN first reported and the Big Lague Stew blogged that Manny Ramirez wants to return to MLB this year.  Well bloggers are coming out of the woodworks saying they want him on their team.  One article makes a convincing case that there is no downside to signing Manny Ramirez.  Basically he will have to serve a 50 game suspension in the minor leagues, so any team that signs him can send him to the minors and if he does not perform well in triple A then he will not get the call up to the big league squad.  And in the case that he stays in the minors, he will also earn a minor league salary.  So, the article seems to be right on point, not much risk for a big league club in signing him.

Indians bloggers are calling for Manny to return to the Indians.  Mets bloggers want him for their team.   And how about Manny Ramirez with the Yankees?  The Pinstripe Alley bloggers say bring Manny Ramirez to the Yankees.

As the Mets blogger says in a final point, "If nothing else, Manny will provide daily news."  Not exactly an argument a GM wants to hear.  But for a blogger such as the Dominican Baseball Guy, that is a great reason to have him on your team!

Manny Ramirez es de Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana.  Here's hoping he lands somewhere for the upcoming season.

Manny Ramirez rounding the bases with the Red Sox, by Keith Allison  on Flickr

Ex-Pirate Tony Pena elected to Latino Baseball Hall of Fame, Dominicano Tony Pena va a Salon de Fama

The Latin Baseball Hall of Fame, or Salon de la Fama del Beisbol Latino, is based in La Romana, Dominican Republic.  The organization works in coordination with MLB and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

They recently announced their class for 2012.  Aiden Gonzalez of MLB.com covered the story from the perspective of Bernie Williams and the Yankees.  But the Dominican Baseball Guy has not seen one article covering from the perspective of the Dominican inductee and former Pittsburgh Pirate Tony Pena.  Shocking, (the Dominican Baseball Guys knows) MLB and other major media outlets covering the Yankees and not the Pirates.

So, as the Dominican Baseball Guy it is my duty to cover Tony Pena's side of this great honor.  Pena is of course one the most revered Dominican players, and the Dominican Baseball Guy would consider him one of the leaders of what he considers the "modern wave" of Dominicans coming into the big leagues since the 1980s.    He is certainly one of the greatest Dominican catchers to ever play in the big leagues.  You know what, the Dominican Baseball Guy is going to say it: Tony Pena is the greatest Dominican catcher of all-time.

Which bring the Dominican Baseball Guy to another point...THERE ARE NO DOMINICAN CATCHERS nowadays.  The Dominican Baseball Guy noticed this down in the Dominican Republic.  In all the pick up games there is rarely someone playing catcher.  The Dominican Baseball Guy also hypothesizes that there is rarely good catching equipment in La Republica Dominica, so this could be another reason for the dearth of catchers in the country.  Lastly, the Dominican Baseball Guy surmises that "it's just not cool" to play catcher in for young Dominican players.  Just the opinion of the Dominican Baseball Guy, maybe some other reasons for this anomaly.

Pena had a great career that spanned 18 MLB seasons. He came up with the Pirates and went on to play with the Cardinals, Red Sox, and Indians. Tony was known for his defense behind the plate. He won 4 gold gloves and made 5 All-Star teams. He made it to the World Series with the Cardinals in 1987, losing to the Twins.

Tony also had a long career in the Dominican Winter Baseball League, playing late into his career with his original team, the Aguilas from Sanitago. The Dominican Baseball Guy could not find any statistics on his career in the DWL, but he played for more than ten years and won several titles with the Aguilas.

Tony went strait into coaching after his career was over, as many catchers do. He has managed the Aguilas for several years, winning DWL in 1998, 2000, 2001, and a Caribbean Series Championship with the team in 2001.  He spent 2002-2005 as the Royals manager and has been the Yankees bench coach for three years. 

Tony is from Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic. His son Tony Pena Jr. has pitched in the LIDOM and has had a cup of coffee as a pitcher with the Royals, and his other son, Francisco Pena, is in the Mets organization.  He joins Felipe Alou, Juan Marichal, Tetelo Vargas, Rico Carty and Horacio Martinez as the Dominican members of the Latino Hall of Fame.

Tony Pena, Yankees bench coach, by Keith Allison on Flickr

Dominican Coco Cordero hopes to remain Cincinati Red, Coco Cordero quire quedarse en Cincinati

The Dominican Baseball Guy has been a big fan of Coco Cordero since he busted on the scene with the Texas Rangers around 2000.  He truly made his mark with the Rangers in the 2004 season in which he went 49 or 54 in save chances.

That season he set the all-time save record for a Dominican pitcher in one season.  He broke Jose Mesa's Dominican record for saves in a season that year, and should pass him for the Dominican record of all-time MLB saves.  Cordero is currently 14th on the all-time list with 319 and Mesa is just 2 ahead of him.  Mesa is of course remembered by the Dominican Baseball Guy as a great closer on those classic Cleveland Indians of the mid-1990's, but also as having one of the most classic "lost in translation" names in MLB history: Joe Table.

Cordero sees Mesa as a role model and sees him often, as they both make their permanent homes in Santo Domingo, DR.  So, breaking Mesa's records are a major milestone for Cordero.

According to the recent article the Dominican Baseball Guy just cited above, Cordero has no plans after his contract expires this year or next: he is playing to win a World Series this year.  But as the title says, he would love to stay in Cincinati.

Coco is a nickname, and his real name is actually Francisco.  He has gone by both throughout his career.  Coco is from Santo Domingo, DR and Mesa is from Azua, DR.

Francisco Cordero pitches for the Reds, by FujiMatt on Flickr

Dominican baseball player Ubaldo Jimenez to make first start for Indians, Jugador de Dominican beisbol va a jugar primer vez por Indians

Dominican baseball player Ubaldo Jimenez has had an up and down existence in Major League Baseball with the Rockies, and he was recently traded to the Cleveland Indians.

Just last year, Jimenez pitched a no-hitter and was in the running for the Cy Young at the end of the season, after finishing with a 2.88 ERA and 19-8 record.  He was named the ace of the Rockies pitching staff this past off-season, and got off to decent start to the year.  Then he cracked his cuticle and could not pitch, and it all fell apart.

He was 6-9 with a 4.46 ERA and the Rockies decided to trade him to the Indians for three minor leaguers.  Interesting move.  The Rockies seemed to trade him at the first sign of trouble.  He did have two complete games and one shutout for the Rockies.  Complete games and shutouts do not just fall out of thin air.  It takes some real skill to achieve that stuff on a consistent basis, which Ubaldo seems to do.

The Indians got an ace, or at the very worst a number two starter.  Aces are like gold in the MLB landscape, so the Dominican Baseball Guy cannot agree with this move from the Rockies.  Even if they were out of the playoffs this season, Jimenez is just 26, so would seem to have a long career ahead of him.

He makes his first start today, and the Dominican Baseball Guy will of course be following him.  Ubaldo Jimenez es de Nagua, Republica Dominicana.

The Indians logo has to be one of the coolest in MLB:

Cleveland Indians open Dominican training academy

The Cleveland Indians increased their presence in the Dominican Republic this week by opening a brand new $2.6 million facility in the country.  The team of course already had a team in the Dominican Summer League and a small complex, but the new facility features brand new baseball facilities as well as dorm and living quarters to house 72 players.

The Indians are just keeping up with the curve here.  Every single Major League Baseball team now has facilities in the Dominican Republic and a team in the Dominican Summer League.  In fact, the Mets, Yankees, and Cubs all have two teams in the vaunted summer league.

The facilities and teams host mainly Dominican players between the ages of 16 and 20, but also hosts players from other Latin American countries.  If the players show good enough stuff in the Dominican academies or the summer league, then they get a shot at the low-A ball in the states.

The Indians new facility is in San Antonio de Guerra which is just outside the capital of Santo Domingo.

Fausto Carmona will be Indians ace

Manny Acta announced that his fellow Dominican Fausto Carmona will be the opening day starter for Acta and the Indians.  Acta says that Carmona deserves the chance to be the ace, after going 13-14 with a 3.77 ERA.  Those may not sound like great numbers, but they are pretty good for a team that finished 69-93 last year.

Carmona had no idea he was going to be the ace going into spring training, even though Acta and a lot of the Indians assumed that would be the case.  This is Carmona's sixth year in the big leagues and he has a career record of 46-51.

Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports says that there should be plenty of Carmona to the Yankees rumors later in the season.  It seems like the Indians are providing aces for the rest of the league.  First, CC Sabathia, then Cliff Lee, and now possibly Carmona.

Fausto is from Santo Domingo, DR.

Carmona pitches in 2008, by Eric Kilby on Flickr