Everett, Wash.
Published: Saturday, November 22, 2008

Cuba kicks two players trying to defect off top league team

Associated Press

 HAVANA -- Ace pitcher Yadel Marti and star outfielder Yasser Gomez have been thrown off Cuba's top league team for "a grave act of indiscipline," likely ending their hopes of playing in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

The one-sentence announcement Friday in the Communist Party newspaper Granma offered no details on why Marti, picked to the all-tournament team at the 2006 WBC, and Gomez, a former Olympian, were released from Havana's Industriales.

Two people close to the team said the action came after the pair was caught trying to defect to the United States.

The 29-year-old Marti was 1-0 with two saves and a 0.00 ERA in 122/3 innings during four games in the inaugural WBC, when Cuba finished second to Japan. The 28-year-old Gomez is a left-hander who batted third slot in the Industriales' lineup and hit .394 in 2007.

Notes

RED SOX: Boston pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is ready to help Japan defend its title at the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Matsuzaka, the MVP of the 2006 tournament, said he will start preparing for the WBC in December. The right-hander went 3-0 in the 2006 WBC with a 1.38 ERA. One of his wins came in the final against Cuba.

WHITE SOX: Chicago reached a tentative agreement with young Cuban star Dayan Viciedo. The 19-year-old infielder/outfielder must pass a physical for the contract to be finalized, according to the player's agent, Jaime Torres. Viciedo had 36 homers and 162 RBI with a .287 average over four years in Cuba's top league while playing 327 games.

MARLINS: A key legal obstacle was removed for a new downtown Florida Marlins stadium, and the team will now determine whether the ballpark can open for the 2011 season. Marlins president David Samson said the months of delay caused by a lawsuit challenging the ballpark's financing package might push the completion date to 2012. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jeri Beth Cohen issued formal, final orders ending a lawsuit filed by auto dealer Norman Braman against the proposal for several huge projects, including a 37,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium. Estimated to cost $515 million, the ballpark is to rise on the site of the now-demolished Orange Bowl in Little Havana.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA