Cuban Infusion

[15fan]

US should buy Cuba. Make it the 51st state.

Problem solved.

[tommycash]

US should buy Cuba. Make it the 51st state.

Problem solved.

After we get a loan from China to buy it.

[OnBaseMachine]

There's a rumor going around that Aroldis Chapman has defected. I hope it's true. I want to see him pitch in the majors. His stuff is on par with a young Randy Johnson.

Rumor: Cuban LHP Aroldis Chapman has defected in Holland at the World Port Tournament. Seems unlikely, but never know

http://twitter.com/joe_kehoskie

The pitcher Aroldis Chapman left the national team in Holland
The news could not be confirmed by secondary sources CUBAENCUENTRO.com.

Editors CE | 01/07/2009

The pitcher Aroldis Chapman, the greatest promise among the pitchers of the island, would have left the baseball team on Thursday to participate in the tournament in Rotterdam (The Netherlands).

Chapman, of 21 years and owner of a line that reaches 100 miles per hour, as scheduled starter for the first match that the Cubans will compete against Taiwan.

A person who identified himself as left-handed pitcher was communicated by telephone Wednesday with CUBAENCUENTRO.com, from an unknown place, to report that he had left the team with the help of some friends.

This newspaper tried unsuccessfully to confirm the news with the Cuban authorities involved in the baseball tournament.

Rotterdam Cuba leads a staff of 24 new players, in which four out of Beijing Olympic runners and five team members who attended the II World Classic

http://www.cubaencuentro.com/es/depo...holanda-190890

[Big Klu]

US should buy Cuba. Make it the 51st state.

Problem solved.

We had that option in 1898. we passed.

(damned Platt Amendment....) :

[OnBaseMachine]

11:10 AM: A source close to the situation says that 21-year-old Cuban LHP Aroldis Chapman indeed has defected. There were conflicting reports about the accuracy of a report about this story yesterday.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=1327

[Scrap Irony]

This year's Joba for the Yanks? Possible. According to the eye test, he could probably relieve in the majors now.

As for starting, he probably needs a year. Maybe a year and a half. But he's ace material and soon. I'd pay through the nose for him.

[OnBaseMachine]

Top Cuban prospect defects
By Jorge Arangure
ESPN The Magazine

Aroldis Chapman, a Cuban considered by many scouts to be the best left-handed pitching prospect in the world, has defected from the national team, several sources have confirmed to ESPN The Magazine.

Chapman, 21, walked out of his hotel in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where Cuba was participating in a tournament, and never returned, according to the Spanish-language Web site cubaencuentro.com, which first reported Chapman's defection.

Chapman told the site he was still in Europe, but would not reveal his location for safety reasons.

"I walked out easily, right through the hotel door, and I hopped into a car and left," Chapman told cubaencuentro.com. "It was easy. Now the plan is to sign with a major league team."

A source said Chapman was scheduled to fly to Miami on Thursday.

Chapman would be the most heralded defector since Jose Contreras, who left the national team in 2002 during a tournament in Mexico.

By several estimates, Chapman could garner a contract worth anywhere from $30 million to $60 million. Contreras received a four-year, $32 million contract from the New York Yankees in 2003, which at the time was the biggest ever given to a Cuban defector.

"Without a doubt [he is the best player to defect since Contreras]," agent Jaime Torres said Thursday.

Torres, who represented Contreras and is considered the top agent for Cuban defectors, said he has had no contact with Chapman yet.

Chapman is not a complete unknown; he pitched for Cuba at the World Baseball Classic this past spring.

"This is shocking," one international scouting director said about the magnitude of the defection.

Yet Chapman is still considered a fairly raw prospect. Though many considered him to be the most talented pitcher on the Cuban squad, Chapman posted only a 5.68 ERA in 6 1/3 innings during the WBC. Last year in the National Series in Cuba, Chapman had a 4.03 ERA in 118 1/3 innings.

And though his pitches have been clocked at 100 mph, some consider Chapman's secondary pitches to be only average. For that reason, many believe Chapman likely would have to start his professional career in the minors.

There also might be a question of Chapman's maturity level. Several times at the WBC, Chapman was demonstrative in his displeasure at the umpire's strike zone. At times, several of his teammates had to go to the mound to calm him.

And when he was finally removed in the third inning of a 6-0 loss against Japan in pool play, Chapman did not look at manager Higinio Velez, running straight into the clubhouse without slapping hands with any of his teammates.

Yet in that start, Chapman showed exactly why he will be highly coveted: In the first inning, Chapman threw a 100-mph pitch. Later in that game, Chapman hit 102 mph.

"I think the fastball he showed at the Classic was good enough," Torres said, jokingly.

Chapman also appears to have the charisma to make him a star in the majors. During the WBC, he regularly mugged for cameras and always offered smiles at reporters, though because of Cuba team rules, he was not allowed to speak to any of them.

"I'm very happy," Chapman said on cubaencuentro.com. "Until now everything has come out fine. This is the plan that I had and this was a decision I took. I wanted to test myself in the highest levels of baseball."

Because it's likely Chapman surrendered his passport to Cuban officials after arriving in Europe -- all Cuban players routinely do so, prior to any appearance outside of Cuba -- he will have some complications in establishing residency.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4302422

[reds1869]

There is so much talent in Cuba. It is shameful that we don't get to see them and until the Castros die stubborness on both sides will keep it this way. There is a very easy way to get the Cuban government to open up (we deal openly with China and dozens of two-bit dictators for goodness sake), but that's for the Peanut Gallery and I won't even touch it on here.