No specialist rules it out, but neither does anyone put it among the favorites, a palce reserved for the Tigres de Licey from the Dominican Republic, the Cañeros de Los Mochis from Mexico, and the Leones de Caracas, from the host Venezuela.

Even the Curaçao Wild Cats arouse greater respect, due to the presence on their roster of well-known figures from the Major Leagues.

The Curaçao team will be the first rivals of Cuba this Thursday, in what can mark the fate of the participation of both teams in the regional competition.

The team we are facing also has pitchers with a past in the Big Top, some of them even with good performances against Cuba, like Jair Jurjens and Juan Carlos Surbarán, some of whom have made us suffer playing for Netherlands or its former colonies. In fact, them and the major leaguers Andrelton Simmons, Jonathan Schoop, and Jurickson Profar, have their sights set above all on the upcoming World Classic, and the Series will serve as a set-up to later defend the colors of the Netherlands team.

This could be a point in favor of Cubans, since they are not supposed to be at their fullest, but the experience they have is priceless, and we must see how the sluggers from Agricultores see their pitches, and if César García is capable to control their offense.

Those are the great questions of mentor Carlos Martí before the play ball call, because it’s already known that the unbridled offense that we sometimes appreciate in our tournaments later does not correspond when there’s a pitcher who knows exactly what he is throwing, where to put it and how to throw it?

The dispute with the Wild Cats has the logical relevance of being the first game, and it’s always good to start off on the right foot, but it also stands out because they must be direct rivals for the tickets to advance to the semifinals, since Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela must take the top three, in any order.

For that fourth position, in our opinion, the battle will also be against Indios de Mayagüez, from Puerto Rico, and with fewer options we see the Vaqueros de Montería, from Colombia, and the Federales de Chiriquí, from Panama.

However, underestimating an opponent can cost dearly in this competition, and the best examples are precisely Colombia and Panama, which against all odds were crowned in the 2022 and 2019 editions, respectively.

For this reason, we must trust in Agricultores, and if they can get to win in the first match against Curaçao, it would be a huge step towards the semifinals, where Carlos Martí reached in his previous attendance in the Caribbean Series, with the Alazanes de Granma.

Not knowing the rivals is the same for almost everyone except the Cubans, because they announced their team a while ago and presented only five reinforcements, but as they say in this sport, all ballparks have the same dimensions and you simply have to go out and do it alright. Let’s hope Agricultores makes it.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff