Venezuela in do-or-die match against Mexico in Caribbean Series
Venezuela’s fate in the Caribbean World Series 2011 will be decided at the Isidoro Stadium when they face Mexico for a do-or-die match on Monday afternoon.
Venezuela is currently sharing the bottom of the points table with the Dominican Republic, the champions of 2010, with a 2-3 win-loss record and .400 percentage in five games. A defeat at the hands of Mexico will see the team out of the Caribbean World Series
2011.
Venezuela won the opening game of the tournament against Puerto Rico 5-3. But failed to keep its winning momentum and lost three matches in a row from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. It then bounced back to clinch a stunning 3-0 win over
the Dominican Republic in its last match.
Monday’s match-up against Mexico is the team’s only hope of staying in the series. But Mexico does not intend to make it easy for Venezuela. Mexico is the current favourite, sharing the points table lead with Puerto Rico with a win-loss record of 3-2.
Mexico was never a strong team, but its leading the points chart this season says a lot for the team’s performance. All of Mexico’s victories were with high margins.
Mexico has won the series only five times, the lowest among all the playing nations. Mexico won the title in 1976, 1986, 1996, 2003 and 2005. Will it win this year’s title to raise its tally to six? Only time will tell.
In Mexico and Venezuela’s previous match-up, the former had dominated the game. Despite Henry Rodriguez’s two home runs, Venezuela had not been able to hold on to the game. Mexico had won the match 7-3, securing a .600 PCT and jumping to the head of the
points table.
The Venezuelans have again pinned their hopes to Rodriguez, the former New York Yankees player. Rodriguez has hit eight home runs in the series so far, witha .444 OBP and a slugging average of .529. He is currently third on the list of batting leaders. Ruddy
Yan from the Dominican Republic holds the first position followed closely by Alex Cora of Puerto Rico.
Marco Carillo of the Chicago White Sox and Alberto Castillo of Baltimore are Mexico’s star batters with Jorgo Vazquez at the infielder position.
If Mexico is to defeat the Venezuelan’s, the psychological advantage can be enough to help them win the Caribbean Series title.
Tags: