El Rascacielos Cubano (the Cuban Skyscraper) Pedro Luis Lazo announced that he will retire at the conclusion of the 2010-2011 Cuban National Series season.  The “37″ year old pitcher owns the Cuban National Series record for wins,with more than 250, spanning a 21-season career.

The 6’4″ 240 lbs. Lazo also has four Olympic medals, 2 gold and 2 silver.  Lazo plans to …

Cuban defector Leslie Anderson has been promoted to AA after having struggled at single A and is beginning to find his stroke.  The 28-year old Anderson can play all OF positions as well as 1B and has been playing both for the Tampa Bay Rays minor league affiliates.

The former Cuban national team standout has gap power similar to Lyle Overbay (when he …

Cuban Umpire Omar Lucero

Not long ago I visited Cuba to see some baseball games in Havana, which I documented in My Cuban Baseball Experience.  During my time there, I witnessed a game that was officiated by the most enthusiastic home plate umpired I had ever seen.  I wrote:

Another thing I noticed early on was the flair that the homeplate …

Editor’s Note: (Before reading this post, I recommend that you check out our Cuban Baseball Primer and Havana Cuba Sugar Kings posts.  Ariel Pestano, Reflections By Comrade Fidel, Commie Ball and Fuera de Liga are good supplementary readings as well.)

This past week I travelled to Havana, Cuba with former Mop Up Duty writer Early to experience Cuban baseball and to immerse ourselves in the Cuban culture.  …

If you are a Jays fan, not too much.  Adam Loewen, who struggled at single-A this season, struggled here.  Brad Emaus improved upon his AA production – albeit against inconsistent competition.  Reidier Gonzalez is good but how good? We don’t know, he pitched only a handfull of innings in relief.

I do know a little about Robert “Bobby” Ray on the …