Print  Print © 2007 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.

Venezuelan Winter League Notebook
11/06/2007 10:00 AM ET
By Steve Conley and Shane Figueroa / Special to MLB.com

Aguilas de Zulia
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Aguilas went 3-4 and remained in second place with a 12-9 record.

WHO'S HOT: 1B/DH Randy Ruiz (Giants) batted .444 (12-for-27) with two homers, five doubles, five RBIs and five runs scored. ... 1B Gerardo Avila (Mariners) hit .438 (7-for-16) with two homers, six RBIs and scored six times. ... OF Darnell McDonald (Twins) snapped out of an 0-for-25 funk with nine hits in his last 22 at-bats (.409), including a homer and six RBIs.

WHO'S NOT: 3B Yurendell de Caster (Pirates) is in a 4-for-27 (.148) slide and is hitless in his last seven at-bats. ... P Moises Melendez (Phillies) was tagged for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings (23.60 ERA).

NEWS AND NOTES: Despite his recent slump, de Caster leads the team with four homers and 13 RBIs. Ruiz is second with three homers and 11 RBIs. ... P Rich Garces is tied for the league lead with eight saves. ... Zulia catapulted to second in batting (.285), but dropped to fifth in league ERA (4.03).

Bravos de Margarita
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Bravos went 3-4 and are in fifth place at 10-12.

WHO'S HOT: P Jesus Silva (Marlins) went 2-0 and allowed a run on 10 hits and a walk over 13 1/3 innings (0.66 ERA). ... 1B Victor Rodriguez hit safely in five of his first six games for a .391 batting average. He also homered twice and drove in nine runs. ... 2B William Bergolla (Giants) hit safely in seven of eight games and batted .290.

WHO'S NOT: After his six-game hitting streak ended, SS Ray Olmedo (Blue Jays) fell into a 1-for-8 mini-slump (.125). ... OF Francisco Leandro has three hits in his last 18 at-bats (.167).

NEWS AND NOTES: J.C. Boscan (Reds) and Rene Reyes are tied for the team lead in homers (three) and RBIs (14). ... Reyes and Olmedo are both among the league leaders in total hits (30). ... Silva is 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA in five appearances. ... P Malvin Vasquez (Pirates) is second in the league with 0.49 ERA.

Cardenales de Lara
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Cardenales had a 4-3 week and held onto third place at 10-9.

WHO'S HOT: P Scott Patterson (Mariners) is 1-0 and hasn't allowed a run in eight innings. ... 2B Hernan Iribarren (Brewers) has 12 hits in his last 27 at-bats (.444) with nine runs scored. ... 3B Carlos Mendoza (Yankees) batted .438 for the week and has scored nine runs in his last 10 games. ... OF Selwyn Langaigne had a seven-game hitting streak snapped on Nov. 4.

WHO'S NOT: P Mike Gallo (Mariners) is 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA in his last three appearances. ... P Sergio Escalona (Phillies) went 0-1 and allowed seven runs in four innings (15.75 ERA). ... OF Charlton Jimerson is in a 6-for-39 (.154) funk.

NEWS AND NOTES: OF Robert Perez is third in the league with 17 RBIs. ... The pitching staff lowered its ERA from 4.25 to 3.93, but still has a league-worst 95 strikeouts. ... The offense is seventh in batting average (.242) and hits (152).

Caribes de Anzoategui
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Caribes went 4-3 but maintained their hold on first place with a 15-6 record. They lead Aguilas by three games.

WHO'S HOT: IF Rico Washington hit .368 (7-for-19) with eight RBIs and five runs scored and leads the league with 21 RBIs. ... OF Jody Gerut batted .385 (10-for-26) with five runs scored. He is second in the league with a .410 batting average, tied for first in hits (32), first in on-base percentage (.489) and first in runs (22). ... OF Andres Torres (Tigers) is seventh with a .349 average, ranks second with six stolen bases, first in doubles (11) and slugging percentage (.651) and third in runs (19). ... RHP Travis Hughes (Red Sox) saved three games and leads the league with eight. ... LHP Alex Herrera tops the league with 26 strikeouts.

WHO'S NOT: IF Luis Gonzalez is batting .191 with five strikeouts in his first seven games.

NEWS AND NOTES: The Caribes have three pitchers with three wins apiece. ... They lead the league with a .286 team batting average, but rank eighth with a 4.74 ERA.

Leones del Caracas
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Leones went 2-3 and are in seventh with an 8-12 record.

WHO'S HOT: IF Jose Castillo (Pirates) hit .400 (8-for-20) in five games. ... Giuseppe Norrito (Dodgers) pitched six shutout innings in a win over Aragua on Nov. 4 and ranks eighth in the league with a 2.14 ERA. ... LHP Jose Ortegano (Braves) tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings in two outings. He has allowed one earned run and struck out 13 in 18 2/3 innings and leads the league with a 0.48 ERA. ... IF Mario Lisson is tied for first with four homers.

WHO'S NOT: IF Carlos Mendez (Braves) went 2-for-14 in four games to drop his average to .146 on the season. ... Catcher Henry Blanco (Cubs) went 2-for-13 in four games and is batting .143.

NEWS AND NOTES: The Leones are last in the league with a .232 average. ... They rank seventh with a 4.46 ERA.

Navegantes del Magallanes
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Navegantes had their first winning week (3-2), but are still in last place with a 6-12 mark.

WHO'S HOT: 2B Tomas Perez (White Sox) is batting .440 during a seven-game hitting streak. ... 3B Marcos Vechionacci (Yankees) hit safely in five of six games and batted .296 (8-for-27). ... OF Jose Cortes (Cubs) hit .400 for the week. ... P Chris Baker (Rangers) is 1-0 with a 0.93 ERA after allowed just two runs -- one earned -- in eight appearances over 9 2/3 frames.

WHO'S NOT: Outfielders Luke Scott (Astros) and Erold Andrus (Rays) are a combined 22-for-92 (.239). ... C Jesus Flores (Nationals) is mired in a 6-for-27 (.222) slump.

NEWS AND NOTES: Perez is third in the league with a .389 batting average and fourth with a .424 on-base percentage. ... The Navegantes improved to fourth in batting (.265). ... The pitching staff has yielded only 162 hits (second in the league) but 14 homers (seventh).

Tiburones de La Guaira
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Tiburones posted a 4-2 record to climb past the .500 mark with a 10-9 record and move into fourth place.

WHO'S HOT: IF Chris Carter (Red Sox) went 12-for-24 with a homer and six RBIs in six games. He leads the league with a .416 average and ranks second with 18 RBIs. ... OF Gregor Blanco (Braves) hit .400 (8-for-20) with five runs scored in six games. He is fourth in the league with a .375 average. ... RHP D.J. Carrasco (Diamondbacks) and LHP Stephen Randolph each tossed five shutout frames and picked up a win. ... LHP Richard Salazar (Orioles) leads the league with four wins.

WHO'S NOT: OF Jackson Melian (Tigers) is hitting .120 (3-for-25) with six strikeouts in 10 games this season. ... IF Danny Sandoval is hitting .086 (3-for-35) with five strikeouts in 12 games.

NEWS AND NOTES: The Tiburones rank sixth in hitting with a .258 average and third in pitching with a 3.05 ERA. ... RHP Jonathan Albaladejo (Nationals) threw 3 1/3 scoreless frames and picked up two saves.

Tigres de Aragua
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Tigres went 2-4 to put them in fifth place with a 9-11 record.

WHO'S HOT: IF Luis Maza (Dodgers) batted .417 (10-for-24) with four runs scored in six games to raise his average to .290. ... IF Mike Aviles ranks fifth in the league with a .365 average, is tied for first with four homers and ranks fourth with 16 runs scored. ... RHP Cory Bailey (Cubs) is second with 19 strikeouts. ... RHP Brian Bass (Twins) is fourth with 16 strikeouts.

WHO'S NOT: OF Alex Romero went 1-for-12 in five games to drop his average to .113. He has just six hits in 53 at-bats.

NEWS AND NOTES: The Tigres are fifth in hitting with a .260 average. They lead the league with a 2.73 ERA.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.