In case anyone has forgotten, let me remind everyone that the initial forecast for the round robin was Aguilas and Licey. And the generality did so, based on the results of the regular round, when both teams dominated as they pleased.
That included the true, statistical fact that the Giants had a middling performance at 25-25, though they qualified without much trouble. But the Stars only won 23 games with 27 losses, and hence the profile of the semifinal.
Now it turns out that the Stars have won 4 in a row, including a 5-2 easy win over the Giants last night.
And write down this fact: in the round robin Licey won his first 4 games against the greens, who barely achieved their only victory last Friday, in San Pedro.
STAGE: Both Licey and Estrellas are 3 games away from Gigantes and Aguilas, the bottom two are in check, with a very close “mate”. But, there is some mathematical possibility that we must respect until things materialize.
The only chance of a possible tie for second place is as follows:
– If Eagles or Giants win their 3 games.
– If Licey or Estrellas lose their 3 games.
Licey and Estrellas have a game on Friday the 13th, the last day of the calendar. Before that, the teams will be facing each other and between Licey and Estrellas the first one to win one will automatically go to the final. At any time the two could pass and right there the semifinal ends.
HISTORY: And how many times have Licey and Estrellas met in a final, when was the last time?
My colleague Alex Rodríguez gives me the information. These clubs have met 3 times in the final. The first was in 1954, the first crown for the greens with the Cuban Ramón Bragaña as manager. The second was in 1972-73 with the Blues winning and the manager was Tom La Sorda. And Licey repeated against the Stars in 1980 with Del Crandall as leader.
THE HERO: Emilio Bonifacio, the Owner of the Play, did everything yesterday. He started with his fourth triple of the day, then contributed two doubles making things easy for the cats. Before yesterday’s game, Bonifacio had a .311 batting average, 2 home runs, 13 RBIs, a .346 OBP. The owner of everything.
AWESOME. Spectacular what happened yesterday at the Quisqueya Juan Marichal stadium. High school students and eaglets attended en masse, as always happens with matches between the two teams. For the high school students it was a day of euphoria, for the eaglets it was a day of hope, but not much. Because Yunesky Maya was not a good guarantee for the Cibaeños, as he was not, allowing four scores in his brief outing. In addition, the Eagles had just lost two straight games against the Stars and in 18 innings they barely scored a return.
And the tickets, what? The black market rules, while the pro-consumer people, Eddy Alcántara, continue to be delighted with the photo of him in the newspapers promising a solution. Simple as that.
THE GIANTS: The Stars won 5 for 2, in the 7th. bases-loaded home run by catcher José Briceño made it 5-0, and that was it. In the ninth, the Giants made two, the ones of shame.
IS IT ALL OVER? We would say that for Gigantes and Aguilas yes, that Licey and Estrellas are going to the final, and that you just have to fill out the required form. Or is it not? They say that the ball is crazy, and anything can always happen. So wait for the miracle: someone from the front loses their three games, and someone from the back wins their three games. I will be out there witnessing history, but I don’t believe in that possibility.
