(ESP-ENG) La gran final está cerca!
Hello friends, good vibes to all.
We are getting closer and closer to the end of this baseball season as we find ourselves in the last week of the Round Robin, for some it has been a blessing, for others not so much. When we started a little more than two weeks ago everything seemed to be pretty even in terms of what we had seen in the regular season; the reality is that in this postseason many things have not been as we imagined, personally I expected a little more balanced competition but in baseball you do not know when the slumps, disconnections and mood can affect you, because if, at least with the Leones del Caracas, Bravos de Margarita and Cardenales de Lara I would think that it has been a little of these factors that have affected the performance and production of these teams.
Being something extremely short you cannot afford to be bad in one department, it does not mean that it is not normal, but you have to find a way to remedy that situation as quickly as possible. The only team that has not suffered so much are the Tiburones de la Guaira, a compact team, with an extraordinary offense and that until today have a record of 10-3 being the first qualified to the grand final. Honestly I was very surprised by their overwhelming pace in this Round Robin, I saw them as competitive but not at the level of being able to pass over the other 4 teams with such ease. It is true that in the last two games it seems that they have slowed down because they have lost both of them, but they still suggest that this 2024 could be "the year" for them.
The key to this team, as I said before, has been the offense. We are talking about the fact that until a couple of days ago they had in their ranks the RBI leader, the second and fourth in AVG with .415 and .390 respectively and the second and fifth in runs scored with Yasiel Puig being the true spark plug of the scualos. Are these last two losses something for their fans to worry about? - I wouldn't say no, but if I saw something it was a bit of listlessness and apathy in those games, I don't want to think that they are already thinking about the finals because getting in good tune is key for the team to keep the good energy. This baseball is very changeable, here you can't take anything for granted, you have to fight until the end.
And those who are fighting until the end are in theory the rivals to beat, Henry Blanco's Cardenales de Lara. A team that at the beginning of this Round Robin started with a record of 0-4 and that many thought to be dead, there they are, anchored in the second position depending only on themselves to face La Guaira in the final. Players such as veteran Hernán Pérez, Jermaine Palacios and Ildemaro Vargas have been the precursors of this awakening. Lara started off dull, apparently it was an issue within the dugout itself with certain differences, something happened there that from that turning point the team reacted and was on a winning wave of good play that took them to where they are today. They have been very consistent throughout the season, they were many people's favorites and I think for me, being from another team, they still are.
Unfortunately I can't say the same for the team that represents me, the Leones del Caracas have had a brutal decline in all departments of the game. Caracas was the second most offensive team of the season back in October and November with most of their lineup above .300 AVG, only behind the Braves. The thing is that the collective slump that this team went into is barbaric, players like Noriega and Rondon who were untreatable are barely hitting around .200, in reality it is the whole team except for a couple of players. Without batting you can't win, because the detail is also that they are not having that timely batting, many players in scoring position are left on base because of the inability to push runs.
There have been several times in which the bases have been full and that is the way they stay because of how complicated it is becoming to hit the ball, a matter of anxiety at home and little patience in the at-bats. The starting pitching has also suffered, not as much as expected, but it has been a little diminished and the relief pitching, in theory the strong point of this team, has also suffered a lot to control the games. An example of this was Tuesday's game against the Bravos, where they lost a game due to a full bases hit in extra innings. Jose Alguacil, manager of the team, has been questioned a lot for strange decisions he has made throughout the Round Robin. I am not one to criticize so much, but it is true that strange things have been seen in the games.
As for the Bravos, I can tell you that for me they were the disappointment. I expected much more from them, the ball they played in the regular season was spectacular in every way, that's why their manager won the best of the year award. They are not eliminated yet because mathematically there are possibilities but it is true that I saw them much higher than where they are. Their strong point was their offense, the best of the eight teams, and this Round Robin they were very off. The Tigres de Aragua, already eliminated, were never in the fight, in fact they qualified with extra games. It was not a good season for them, they never looked good during the season and it was known that it would not be different in this instance.
There are few games left, 3 or 4 approximately and nothing is defined. If Lara wins everything they have left, they are qualified. Caracas does not depend on them, they have to win everything and hope that the Cardinals fail in some game. And Bravos have to make sure that the top teams always lose and they win to force them to do something. We will see...
¡Un abrazo a todos, nos leemos en la próxima!
Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡Hugs to all, see you next time!
Yo tengo el presentimiento que habrá un juego extra por el segundo puesto de la clasificación a la final y personalmente espero que Lara, Bravos y Caracas estén envueltos en esos dos juegos extras, eso es bien emocionante.
Me ha sorprendido leer muchas opiniones sobre que esperan que sea Bravos los que lleguen a la final.
Es que Bravos durante toda la temporada fue un equipo que siempre estuvo en la pelea, mostraron cosas muy buenas que en este Round Robin no se han visto. Además, esos que dicen eso serán magallaneros o los propios de la Guaira y otro equipo eliminado.
Con que Lara pierda uno y los demás ganen todos, se arma ese escenario. Habrá que ver.
Todo llega a su final, pero esperamos que sea con mucha emoción y adrenalina, cada equipo dará todo por el todo para llegar a la final, que gane el mejor