The Play-Offs Are Here

Cuban baseball postseason will finally start, and as usual, it will have very attractive clashes, some even pay-backs from last year.

The latter case shows the clash of Sancti Spíritus and Pinar del Río, which were once again first and last among those classified, although this time the result could vary.

Last season, the Vegueros team had their fearsome closer duo from the Japanese League, and that weighed heavily in eliminating what was the best team in the preliminary phase. With one more year of experience, and without the contribution of those arms, I believe this time there will be no surprises and Los Gallos team will ratify why they have been the most stable team of the last two years.

Granma-Industriales series will also repeat, Granma won last time 3-2 in the previous version. Here the winner could also vary, because the Granma team doesn’t have the cousins ​​Roel and Raico Santos, who were a real threat for Industriales, nor the pitcher who guided them last year.

This last situation is repeated in Industriales, who also lost their star closer and their fourth bat, but Pedro Álvarez, Andy Vargas, and Yasiel Santoya have filled those boots in a somewhat unexpected way.

In a different incidence, Las Tunas and Matanzas went head-to-head, but this pairing is the third for both teams, and the previous two were won by Matanzas. I think that in this case history can repeat itself, because Matanzas won’t be able to count on their ace pitcher, Carlos Juan Viera, hired in the Mexican League.

It's true Las Tunas have also lost several players for the same reason, but they have more people to fill that gap. In any case, nothing is written, because Las Tunas will be eager for revenge and Matanzas won its ticket to the post season with the last whistle.

The last match is completely new, because makes it to play-offs for the first time. Mayabeque team maintained its stability throughout the campaign, but now comes the moment where experience weighs more, and that is on Ciego de Ávila's side.

Ciego de Ávila experienced a notable slump in the last third, but they are used to facing this kind of match, and they must survive by any means necessary.

As announced a few hours ago, in this phase the tiebreaker rule will not be used in extra innings, and are also modified the rest rules for pitchers.

Now whoever throws between 46-65 pitches must rest a day; two days if he threw 66-85; and three, between 86-100 throws; while those who perform more than 120 will not be able to climb the mound until the fourth day. These figures will vary later in the semi-finals, but we’ll get there.

As had been announced months ago, this first cross will have seven games, so pitching regulations will gain greater importance.

The stage is ready, let the fun begin.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff