At least initially, the stands of Cuban baseball stadiums will liven up again, when the 61st season of the National Series begins this weekend.
Everything will depend on the development of the epidemiological situation, but it is already a cause for joy that the color and bustle return to our baseball venues (although it is played only during the day), where the established measures must be complied with to avoid contagion.
Coming to the matter, the 16 teams start with similar enthusiasm in this race, first to advance to the postseason, and then to raise the pennant. But for the latter there is too much, we go in parts.
Several sets have interesting new features, and that suggests that there may be changes from last season’s qualifiers.
Between absences for different reasons and dismissals due to hiring (which can become reinforcements at some point in the calendar) the physiognomy of the campuses can vary quite a bit.
In any case, there are lists that maintain their power and should have no problem sneaking into the top eight, as is the case of Matanzas and Las Tunas.
Industriales and Granma will not have their leading starters or their fourth players, but they still seem in a position to remain in the elite, so the other four positions are the ones that should show the most determination.
In this remaining group, Pinar del Río stands out, because it is the ninth with the best number of pitchers, but it lacks dynamite on offense. However, I think the Vegueros will be among the eight.
Sancti Spíritus, which surprisingly led the regular phase last year, is one of the teams that suffered the most important casualties, but could return to be among the eight.
In my opinion, there would be two positions left, and here those who occupied them last year must battle hard: Santiago de Cuba and Cienfuegos, in addition to Mayabeque, Villa Clara and Ciego de Ávila, without ruling out Isla de la Juventud and Holguín.
Indomitable and Cienfuegos will also miss important men, and here these absences can have an influence because their payrolls are not very deep.
On the contrary, Mayabeque has his mainstays at the ideal age to take the final step, after staying on two occasions at the gates of the second round.
In the case of the people from Villa Clara, they trust a lot in what Pedro Jova’s wisdom can contribute from the command post, since they also lost some talents, and Ciego must show that what happened last year was a temporary drop in performance, because It is a squad full of recognized figures.
La Isla and Holguín also brought back their most emblematic helmsmen, Armando Jhonson and Héctor Hernández, respectively, and they will surely fight until the end.
Of the rest, Artemisa is the other that I see the potential to even reach the next stage, because Guantánamo seems like a conglomerate without enough drive, and Camagüey will not have the fundamental pieces to sustain its good recent performance.
But remember, all this is a priori, we have to see how things start to happen on the field, and who can really contribute to their respective teams for an important time.
