SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Even on the baseball diamond, Cuba can't escape the politics of its No. 1 fan, Fidel Castro.

 

Members of the Cuban team at the World Baseball Classic complained about an anti-Castro sign displayed by a fan behind home plate during Cuba's 11-2 win over the Netherlands on Thursday night .

 

The sign, in Spanish, read "down with Fidel."

 

Cuba unsuccessfully tried to get the fan's sign removed, and in protest, the Cuban team did not participate in the post-game news conference.

 

Cuba and Puerto Rico are scheduled to play Friday, and WBC organizers expect the Cuban team will play. Both teams have already qualified for the second round of the tournament.

 

Pat Courtney, vice president of public relations for Major League Baseball, told ESPN "[The Cubans] feel they have done everything they can to play in the tournament, and they'd like this request [to remove the signs] honored, and it's upsetting to them ... but they have no recourse."

 

The first political eruption surrounding Cuba's participation in the WBC came before a single pitch was thrown.

 

The U.S. Treasury Department denied Major League Baseball's first application for a special permit allowing Cuba to play in mid-December. The permit was necessary because of laws governing financial transactions with Castro's communist government.

 

But the baseball commissioner's office and the players' association reapplied Dec. 22 after Cuba said it would donate any profits it receives to victims of Hurricane Katrina -- a guarantee that the communist country would receive no financial profit from the event.

 

Puerto Rico officials had threatened not to host the opening rounds of the tournament if Cuba was not allowed to play.

Source

 

The sign in question, though there were more than just this one that I saw during the broadcast:

two things:

 

1. it's possible that they have to act that way in order to save their own hides or family (unlikely)

 

2. these people dont know anything other than castros propoganda. why does cuba have the highest literacy rate in the world? so they can read the anti-american, pro castro crap in the papers. Look, i know that America isn't perfect but castro's depiction of the US is severly distorted.

 

one of the reasons i want cuba to win is that i want them to get to the later rounds and make it to the US. I hope that they will see a different way of how life COULD be. I hope that they see how they are being oppresed and how Castro deserves NO tribute at all.

 

they think castro is their father, their commander, their protector because it is all they have ever known. they are blind to the world. i hope to god that their trip to america will change that. i truly hope that they get the chance to see the beauty of choice, of free will and of independence.

 

 

you cant fault them for sticking up for the only thing they have ever known. in a way they are like children. all that is needed is complete education. If they had COMPLETE information and they still feel that castro is what they want, then so be it. But complete information is needed in order to CHOOSE. and they certainly dont have that

big deal.. not everyone is gonna share the same views as you and many others.. if the cuban players want to align with the government then they have every right to do so... and do you really think they don't know how things are in the US?? which by the way.. een all its cracked up to be.. then u livin in a pipe dream

Members of the Cuban team at the World Baseball Classic complained about an anti-Castro sign displayed by a fan behind home plate during Cuba's 11-2 win over the Netherlands on Thursday night .

 

The sign, in Spanish, read "down with Fidel."

 

Cuba unsuccessfully tried to get the fan's sign removed, and in protest, the Cuban team did not participate in the post-game news conference.

 

 

 

:lol Ah, freedom of speech. You guys can tell El Commandante about it.

The big sign i saw was Pelota Si, Castro No...Baseball Yes, Castro No....it was highlighted on ESPN all morning long today

two things:

 

1. it's possible that they have to act that way in order to save their own hides or family (unlikely)

 

2. these people dont know anything other than castros propoganda. why does cuba have the highest literacy rate in the world? so they can read the anti-american, pro castro crap in the papers. Look, i know that America isn't perfect but castro's depiction of the US is severly distorted.

 

one of the reasons i want cuba to win is that i want them to get to the later rounds and make it to the US. I hope that they will see a different way of how life COULD be. I hope that they see how they are being oppresed and how Castro deserves NO tribute at all.

 

they think castro is their father, their commander, their protector because it is all they have ever known. they are blind to the world. i hope to god that their trip to america will change that. i truly hope that they get the chance to see the beauty of choice, of free will and of independence.

 

 

you cant fault them for sticking up for the only thing they have ever known. in a way they are like children. all that is needed is complete education. If they had COMPLETE information and they still feel that castro is what they want, then so be it. But complete information is needed in order to CHOOSE. and they certainly dont have that

 

I agree with your views.

 

I don't fault the players, maybe we would be acting the same if we had wife and kids back in a dictatorship regime

big deal.. not everyone is gonna share the same views as you and many others.. if the cuban players want to align with the government then they have every right to do so... and do you really think they don't know how things are in the US?? which by the way.. een all its cracked up to be.. then u livin in a pipe dream

 

 

Yeah thats real smart especially someone commenting from the Bahamas where you people are such great buddies with the Cuban government. I live in the US and it is the greatest country and no it's not a pipe dream either!! It's everything it's cracked up to be and a lot more. A lot of people share the same views as the previous post was mentioned. You are just a minority. Back to baseball...these players thats all they were ever taught. They don't know any better until they get an opportunity to play in a free country and when they see that Castro's propaganda is not true what do you think happens next? It's called defection. Many of them do it when they get an opportunity to play here. Others will not because they are in fear what would happen to their families back home.

That's awesome. I still hate the fact that Cuba is playing in the WBC but oh well.

big deal.. not everyone is gonna share the same views as you and many others.. if the cuban players want to align with the government then they have every right to do so... and do you really think they don't know how things are in the US?? which by the way.. een all its cracked up to be.. then u livin in a pipe dream

 

 

yes, i absolutley believe that people in cuba are given a severly distorted representation of the US. I would suggest that YOU are living in a pipe dream if you think otherwise.

I personally am against anything pro cuba or pro castro. I would like nothing better then to see the man shot and the country return to a democratic country. I know many friends from cuban heritage and many of them would love to go back there if it was turned around.

 

 

Now that being said isnt the WBC about playing a game and not bring the politics into it? If that is so, should the WBC stop the individuals from bringing in the sign? If it was a tear down Bush, or Bush = Hitler sign would it be the same reaction?

 

just asking for opinions and beliefs for these questions. I think the players are innocent in this situation either way.

Now that being said isnt the WBC about playing a game and not bring the politics into it? If that is so, should the WBC stop the individuals from bringing in the sign? If it was a tear down Bush, or Bush = Hitler sign would it be the same reaction?

 

I don't think the WBC can do anything about. The Puerto Rican authorities said they won't stop anyone from showing the signs as long as it is done on a civilized way.

the players' protest was forced by the cuban government. these players don't have any free will.

I think a vast majority of these players know that there situation is deplorable. Unfortunately they feel they have to play along with the regime's orders and expectations, knowing they have much to lose otherwise.

So you don't like the players anymore because they don't have your same political views? That's silly.

 

Sure chances are good they've been brainwashed, but like the Elian case showed us, some people rather live in Cuba than the US, its just a matter of principles. I hate to say this, but there are people that support Castro.

big deal.. not everyone is gonna share the same views as you and many others.. if the cuban players want to align with the government then they have every right to do so... and do you really think they don't know how things are in the US?? which by the way.. een all its cracked up to be.. then u livin in a pipe dream

 

 

Yeah thats real smart especially someone commenting from the Bahamas where you people are such great buddies with the Cuban government. I live in the US and it is the greatest country and no it's not a pipe dream either!! It's everything it's cracked up to be and a lot more. A lot of people share the same views as the previous post was mentioned. You are just a minority. Back to baseball...these players thats all they were ever taught. They don't know any better until they get an opportunity to play in a free country and when they see that Castro's propaganda is not true what do you think happens next? It's called defection. Many of them do it when they get an opportunity to play here. Others will not because they are in fear what would happen to their families back home.

 

 

:lol doan let your blood pressure go up to far ma man, last i checked we are not a territory of the united states so we will do what we see fit in regards to our foreign affairs.. yuh check?

 

 

big deal.. not everyone is gonna share the same views as you and many others.. if the cuban players want to align with the government then they have every right to do so... and do you really think they don't know how things are in the US?? which by the way.. een all its cracked up to be.. then u livin in a pipe dream

 

 

yes, i absolutley believe that people in cuba are given a severly distorted representation of the US. I would suggest that YOU are living in a pipe dream if you think otherwise.

 

you only see and hear what the us media and these generational cubanos in the us choose to tell you.. ive been to cuba several times and you would be surprised....

 

i know im rootin for cuba to win.. tohell with however they want to support castro.. they play damned good baseball and thats all that counts

skyjuice, i would wager that the cuba you see, the tourist part, is far different from the cuba most of the population experiences

skyjuice, i would wager that the cuba you see, the tourist part, is far different from the cuba most of the population experiences

 

 

 

i dont stay in the tourist parts... i come from a tourist laden country.. the last thing i wanna do is spend my time in a touristy area...

also, we do have first hand accounts. all the cubans that leave the country and come here. they are the best accounts because they have lived in both castro's cuba and have experienced america. so it's not just US media and generational cubans

 

hundreds of cubans still try to make the voyage to the US. Something tells me their view of Cubas current state would be different from yours.

 

again, it's just a question of complete information. Are cubans getting it? NO, they aren't, and you cant argue otherwise for the simple fact that they dont have freedom of speech and freedom of information

 

i agree, they play great baseball

 

i'm rooting for them too

 

they are a ton of fun to watch

also, we do have first hand accounts. all the cubans that leave the country and come here. they are the best accounts because they have lived in both castro's cuba and have experienced america. so it's not just US media and generational cubans

 

hundreds of cubans still try to make the voyage to the US. Something tells me their view of Cubas current state would be different from yours.

 

again, it's just a question of complete information. Are cubans getting it? NO, they aren't, and you cant argue otherwise for the simple fact that they dont have freedom of speech and freedom of information

 

i agree, they play great baseball

 

i'm rooting for them too

 

they are a ton of fun to watch

 

 

i want to know where i said anything about the current state of cuba.. i just said i do not blame them for supporting their leader... and don't forget... if it weren't for the embargo.. the numbers of cubans that do make that voyage would be cut down drastically... i dont necessarily agree with castro... but there are somethings they have in place in cuba that are good.. im not gonna get into that before i get labelled as a pipe-dream-havin-cuban-lovin-bahamian-who doan know jack sh*t about whats really goin on again

 

also.. that cuba - panama game the other day was one of the most enjoyable games ive watched in a while.. and i wonder why espn isnt airing more of these games?

i wasn't trying to jump on you. you said that "i would be surprised if i visited cuba" suggesting that you think that state of cuba isn't that bad. i was just questioning that.

 

i'm not labeling you as anything. just having a convo. i disagree with your statement about the embargo....but this is a baseball thread, we should talk about baseball.

 

the cuba vs panama game was incredible. watching the cubans play is really impressive. everyone on that team would play in the majors. and there are a couple of them that would be big stars.

 

they are very talented

I don't know, but maybe this has something to do with it, too?

 

Doctor for Cuban World Baseball Classic is Fidel Castro's son

 

BY R?Y SANCHEZ

Posted March 10 2006, 10:43 AM EST

 

SAN JUAN -- The doctor for Cuba's World Baseball Classic squad is no ordinary team physician.

 

Before last night's 11-2 victory over the Netherlands, there was Antonio Castro Soto del Valle, 37, signing baseballs and Team Cuba caps for fans at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. After Cuba's designated hitter slammed a two-run homer in the fourth inning, there was Castro with the rest of the team outside their heavily guarded dugout to congratulate Yoandy Garlobo.

 

This team physician was a former third baseman at the University of Havana - a "decent player," according to a big-league scout who knew his coach. He's also the son of Team Cuba's most prominent fan, President Fidel Castro.

 

Not many team doctors are seen signing autographs, Castro was told on the field while the team warmed up nearby. He laughed.

 

"I'm the doctor for an Olympic championship team," he said. "I guess that makes me famous."

 

The Cubans, winners of the 2004 Olympic gold medal and 2005 World Cup, play Puerto Rico tonight in a highly touted contest between Pool C's only undefeated teams. The talent-rich American team, which was heavily favored and accommodated with placement in a weaker bracket, is 1-1.

 

What would it mean for Cuba to win the first Classic? "Imagine that," Castro said. "That would be grand. We came to compete. We came to demonstrate our style of baseball, our modest baseball with valor and honor. That's what we want to show the world, the baseball that's played in our country. If we win, well, that would be marvelous."

 

Since their arrival on Monday, Team Cuba has been one of the most closely watched squads in the tournament - not only by the fans but also by major-league scouts as well as local and federal law enforcement.

 

At El San Juan Hotel, where the team is staying, police officers and plain-clothed security guards are stationed in every corner. Agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stand on the field as the team warms up. FBI agents sit behind the dugout during games.

 

"It doesn't bother us," Castro said. "Maybe some teams have more security than others but it helps us relax."

 

The team's participation in the Classic was uncertain until January, when the Treasury Department granted Cuba permission to play after it agreed to donate its tournament proceeds to Hurricane Katrina relief. Castro's presence on Team Cuba seems unusual. An orthopedic surgeon, he's been team doctor six years. Except for his father's brothers, Raul and Ramon, and his oldest son, "Fidelito," the president's close relatives hold no publicly visible posts.

 

A talented third baseman at the university, Castro had to decide between fighting in Angola with other Cuban mercenaries or attending medical school, according to a baseball scout who knew Castro's coach.

 

"He liked baseball a lot and he wanted to play baseball," said Fernando Arango, a Cuban who is coordinator of Latin American scouting for the Milwaukee Brewers. "But Fidel said to him, 'I'm going to give you an option: You either become a doctor or you go to Angola to fight.' So he became a doctor." Asked if Castro's presence on the team was intended to discourage potential defectors, Arango said no.

 

"He loves baseball," he said. "That's why he's in baseball."

 

His father, Castro said, would gladly attend the Classic finals in San Diego should Team Cuba get that far. And provided President George Bush extended an invitation.

 

"Every president whose country wins a championship medal would be happy to watch his team win," he said. But, he added, "We would face a very difficult second round. We have a long way to go."

 

At one point, Castro deflected a question that began, "Your father ... "

 

"Only baseball," he said. "Baseball, medicine and orthopedics."

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/sou...-home-headlines

Per ESPN

 

MLB has guranteed Cuba that there won't be any more political protest sign. How the hell can MLB do that?

For those of you that didn't read this article it really is worth reading. That way you know the facts.

 

TUCSON, Ariz. -- White Sox starter Jose Contreras resides comfortably in the present as a millionaire, a star, a World Series champion and baseball hero here in this country.

 

He'll also occasionally, sometimes daily, dip into his past in another land. It's a journey to a yesteryear that saw him dominate every hitter and rise to fame on his way to becoming one of Cuba's most popular athletes. The path included poverty, several soul-searching decisions, and the eventual defection to the United States in 2002.

 

Contreras' past and present are coming together again and he knows it. When Cuba takes the field in the first round of the World Baseball Classic next month in Puerto Rico, Contreras' heart will be with them.

 

His body will be a thousand of miles away, still in White Sox camp.

 

"If Cuba wins, it is expected. If they lose, there will be a lot of explaining because baseball is the top sport and if you don't win, it's a problem," Contreras said. "The pressure is going to be double for Cuba. You have the government watching and you are playing against the best players in the world. This will be the best competition Cuba has ever played against."

 

Contreras knows of what he speaks. A seven-year veteran of Cuba's national team, Contreras compiled a 117-50 career record with a 2.82 ERA in Cuban League play. In the 1999 Pan American Games, 2000 Olympics and '01 World Cup, he went 7-0 with a 0.59 ERA and allowed only 36 hits in 66 innings pitched while striking out 66. Fidel Castro nicknamed him "The Titan of Bronze."

 

As a team, Cuba won the gold medal for baseball in the Olympic Games in 1992, 1996 and 2004. In 2000, the team lost in the final to the United States. Contreras said he made about $20 a month as the star of the team.

 

"I want Cuba to win [the World Baseball Classic]," Contreras said. "I know some people associate the worst things in the world with Cuba but I support the baseball team, the players and my friends. ... I'm Cuban and I love my country and the people, but I can't play with them because of politics."

 

Unlike other Latin American countries, Cuba does not allow its players to leave the country to play professionally in the Major Leagues. For Cuban players, defection is the only way to play in the big leagues since Castro took over power in 1959. Current Cuban players are not allowed to associate with defected players.

 

The selection process for the Cuban national team is an in-depth process, Contreras said.

 

"The invited are young players who are followers of the revolution and have a clean background. If you have relatives who live in other places in the world, it will be really difficult to be taken out of Cuba on that team," Contreras said. "For example, if you have an uncle who lives in Miami, it's going to be real hard for you to leave the country. They worry that you will stay there."

 

Contreras grew up in the rural area of Las Martinas, outside of Havana, and was a believer in Castro's communist government. He admits to not having the best things in life, but he had his family and friends and that was enough. Baseball was not his way out of poverty. It was a way of life.

 

Television and free-speech newspapers were unheard of. The Internet? Nobody has the Internet. Information, all information, was limited -- which at the time was fine for Contreras.

 

"I lived 32 years in Cuba, eight years traveling with the team, and I came to the United States five times and I never stayed," Contreras said. "For me Cuba was the best. All I heard before was about the "Imperialist Yankee" and how bad the government is in this country, and you grow up believing Cuba is the best. Fidel is the best. The U.S. is the worst.

 

"Think of a horse, we in Cuba have blinders on the side of our face and do not see everything on the side. In front of us, we do not see everything because there is another wall in front of us keeping us from seeing it all."

 

The U.S. Government originally refused to give Cuba a license to participate in the World Baseball Classic because of financial concerns, but the issue was eventually resolved. Cuba will play Panama on March 8 in their first game of the World Classic, and Contreras expects a good showing from his country. He also expects opposing players to be surprised by the behavior of the Cuban team.

 

He believes the fear of the unknown off the field will be apparent.

 

"On the team, there are probably 10 players who work like spies. They see you doing something that is suspicious, and they go tell on you," Contreras said. "Players [from other teams] will talk on the field. I know that, but you can't talk anywhere else. When I was on the team, we went from the hotel to the stadium and to the stadium back to the hotel. People see you talking to people, you will be in trouble. I know some players are going to ask the Cubans to go eat or go get a beer. The Cuban players will be scared. They will run away because of the fear. That's how it is in Cuba."

 

On the field could be a different story. Michel Enriquez and Osmani Urrutia are expected to anchor the offense. Outfielder Yoennis Cespedes, along with infielders Joan Pedroso and Leslie Anderson, are also expected to star for the team. Pitchers like 35-year-old left-hander Adiel Palma and 38-year-old Ormari Romero will anchor the staff.

 

Recognize the names? Most don't.

 

"They are a little bit of a mystery because of the uncertainty of who they are going to bring," United States manager Buck Martinez said. "We hear that the roster that they have submitted has an average age of 24. That's a pretty young roster. It's kind of surprising, but everybody expects that they will have a very representative team."

 

"Everybody knows the quality of players from Cuba," Contreras said. "All of the championships we won -- you have to be one of the best in the whole country to be one of the 25 who are coming."

 

How many of the Cuban players will make an attempt at defecting? It's a question not even Contreras knows the answer to. He does not want to guess. His wife and two daughters joined him in 2004 after reaching Florida via speedboat. Contreras' family was denied permission to leave the country by the Cuban government.

 

"I don't criticize the players in Cuba and I don't blame them," Contreras said. "It is such a personal decision that I don't think anybody knows until you do go through it and walk by our sides.

 

"Some say they know Cuba or have been to Havana, stayed in the nicest hotels and walked around. That's not Cuba. Walk in our shoes. Eat what we eat and get on those crowded buses and live in the homes like we do. Try to spend money and have people not accept it because you are Cuban. I have more money than I dreamed of, but my family cannot spend it in Cuba. You come as a tourist, yes, they will take your money and show you a good time. You live there and have money, they shut doors on you.

 

"Don't tell me what it is like to be in Cuba or play for the team if you have not done it because you don't know."

 

The world will get a peek next month.

Per ESPN

 

MLB has guranteed Cuba that there won't be any more political protest sign. How the hell can MLB do that?

 

 

guarantee that if you show up to Dolphins stadium or any other stadium in the US for that matter with a "Bush Sucks" sign, they would confiscate it...

That's an awesome article.

 

I think when people see how the players are so heavily guarded and monitored it will create some new buzz about the conditions in Cuba. Alot of people here and around the world think its just another Latin American authoritarian dictatorship and brush it off.