⚾The Shift🔥 | The Lost Generation
Industriales' title drought continues, along with a history of chaotic defeats.
🔏I hope you have a great week! This Tuesday on The Shift, I hope you enjoy this read about the outcome of the Ciego de Ávila vs. Industriales semifinal and its respective ramifications. In the analysis, I dedicated a few words to the chronology of Industriales' playoff losses over the last 15 years. I promise to write a few more chapters on this topic in the coming months, perhaps as the next National Series approaches in early September. But you definitely can't miss this quick rundown of the most underrated reasons why the Ciego de Ávila Tigers became the toughest team to beat throughout the entire tournament.
Suppose you've followed baseball in the last 15 years. In that case, you've probably experienced something similar to what I thought when Ronaldo Castillo stepped up to the plate on Sunday with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning against Industriales.
I could describe the feeling as when you look at the overcast sky and realize it could start raining at any moment.
Every baseball scene is so unpredictable that any metaphor can work. And then you hear some of the odds at play: “Ronaldo Castillo is 0-for-11 with a strikeout and a grounder into a double play since arriving at Latinoamericano stadium”… “Fher Cejas has been one of Industriales’ most reliable relievers”… “It’s Game 5 and the Tigres are trying to finish the series here, while the Leones still have some hope of roaring back and having one more day of life.”
Castillo hadn’t been able to produce since hitting an RBI single to give the team a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning of Game 2. Tigres manager Dany Miranda met with Ronaldo before he entered the batter’s box. The legendary Frederich Cepeda gave him some advice from the on-deck circle. For the Leones, Fher Cejas faced his most critical situation since relieving starter Remberto Barreto in the top of the fifth inning. At that moment, Cejas faced Ronaldo and struck him out with a runner on second. Two innings later, in the seventh, Cejas dominated Ronaldo again, who hit a fly ball out to center with a runner on first.
So Ronaldo is 0-for-4 in Game 5 and 0-for-2 against Cejas, who is trying to process the information coming from the Blues' dugout.
No one could guarantee that Industriales' offense would wake up if Cejas managed to finish a third consecutive scoreless inning. But lacking rhythm and determination, Industriales needed a turning point, perhaps to gain some inspiration.
In baseball, inspiration can't be measured in statistics. But sometimes it can work. So, the magnitude of the situation could turn this Fher Cejas vs. Ronaldo Castillo matchup into the key moment of the game.
After a dominant start by right-hander Luis Alberto Marrero, who took the mound after being hampered by an injury, Ciego de Ávila had a 3-1 lead with two outs.
The few Industriales fans in the Latinoamericano stadium were hoping for a comeback from the team, but Ronaldo Castillo's swing dashed all hopes. Fher opted to throw a fastball. The pitch stayed in the inner half of the strike zone. Castillo crushed it and hit a grand slam.
The ball ended up in the aisle between the first and second sections of the concrete bleachers in right field. The game was over. The Tigres' excitement was uncontainable, and the fans' cheers echoed throughout the Latinoamericano stadium.
“Ciego, Ciego!” That fan chant that used to be heard with every Tigres victory during their three-title dynasty in the 2010s was back in the air.
During the celebration, pinch-hitter Jonathan Bridón greeted reliever Fernando Betanzos with a solo home run to right field. Ciego de Ávila 8, Industriales 1, and the Tigres' qualification for the Grand Final of the III Cuban Elite Baseball League was a matter of time.
Once again, as has happened over the past 15 years, Industriales was on the verge of being eliminated in a Cuban baseball playoff. This Industriales Elite League team is not the same one that has endured a history of postseason losses over the past 15 years. But many of the key players, except for some reinforcements, have been part of the disaster in recent seasons.
In fact, in the last Elite League, Industriales was also eliminated in just five games by the Cazadores de Artemisa. So the history of defeats continues for what I've called “The Lost Generation.”
The feeling that new chaos would break out was inevitable, as has happened every postseason since Industriales won their last title in 2010:
2012: The loss in Game 5 when Ricardo Bordón hit the walk-off double that gave the Ciego de Ávila Tigers the title.
2014: Pinar del Río's comeback, reviving from a 3-1 deficit with home runs from William Saavedra and a gem of pitching from Erlys Casanova in Game 7.