Cuba's politics is news again...

[cuban_aficionado]

Cuban exiles protested the Castro dictatorship in the bottom of the 7th inning behind home plate in the Cuba vs. Netherlands game.

[aarond23]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/worldc...ory?id=2361986

Cuba team members protest anti-Castro signESPN.com news services


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 .

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.

What did the sign say if anyone saw it?

[Cubano100%]

Abajo means down and Fidel means snake.

Down with Fidel "the Snake"!!!!!!!!

[Kiefer]

[efin98]

Wah wah! We don't like that sign!

If they think that was bad wait until they see the signs in the second and third rounds.

[KCGHOST]

Someone should have told them that being quiet might have gotten rid of the signs. Now they will be out in droves.

[cuban_aficionado]

The political protest worked!!!

First of all the sign that I saw being played in the american media over and over again reads: Peloteros SI, Castro NO!! Translated word by word it means: Baseball players Yes, Castro NO!!!. The cuban exiles support the cuban baseball players but they do not support Castro's Cruel Dictatorship.

This political act worked both ways. To those players that are truly communist (very few on the team) this sign protesting Castro may have piss them off and therefore they played with rage. To support my hypothesis: Urrutia hit a 3 run home run.......

To those players that are not true supporters of the dictator, It seems the sign help them play better for those fellow countrymen victims of an evil dictatorhip gevernemnt. Overall I think cuban players were pleased to see someone with real courage voicing their opinion on Castro (something not allowed back in Cuba) and they put up a show and played a really good game versus the Netherlands.:gt

Whatever the final outcome of this incident, I call for more sings in Todays game versus Puerto Rico!!!!!!

Disclaimer: In Cuba even if you really don't believe in communism and Castro's dictatorship you better "pretend" you do, more so if you are a high caliber baseball player; otherwise you can find yourself never making it to team CUBA or possible in jail like 300 or so political prisioners Castro has at this moment.

[Agente Libre]

I think there are at least 10 hardcore communists on the Cuban team and at least another 10 who might be. Anyone who isn't a communist would be thinking about moving to U.S., and about 25 of the players have had about 10 chances each to do so.

[aarond23]

Libre,
I agree with what some of the other people on the board have said, it is not as easy to defect as it may seem. I'm sure most of them would if it only affected them, but its the families they leave behind that pay the price. I think that is what keeps many of them from defecting.

Gourriel, the best of the players has very very strong ties to Cuba and Cuban baseball, I doubt he would ever defect. I think they brought 30 guys who they were sure would come back. I doubt we see any defections.

[efin98]

I doubt we see any defections.

No defections in Puerto Rico. If/when they make it to the final rounds on US soil and under a whole new set of laws there may be some.

[MiamiBaseball]

communists they are.. i know personally two players from the national team that are here now and they say they are communist.. But there are some that act just to get a chance to get out... There are tons of player that are better then the ones in the national team around tha country...

[Cucamongadan]

i know personally two players from the national team that are here now and they say they are communist

isn't it kind of dangerous to say you're anything but when you're over there?

[Agente Libre]

aarond -- You sort of proved my point. If Cuba brought 30 players they are sure will return home, that means those 30 players are either communist or neutral. I understand it can be tough on families, but the consequences are not that great. It's not like family members are tortured after players defect. A lot of family members join the players in freedom within a year anyway. A player could defect and go work at Wal-Mart and be able to provide better for their families in Cuba.


efin98 -- P.R. *is* U.S. soil. From an immigration standpoint, the laws in San Juan are exactly the same as in San Diego.

[MainSlot]

aarond -- You sort of proved my point. If Cuba brought 30 players they are sure will return home, that means those 30 players are either communist or neutral. I understand it can be tough on families, but the consequences are not that great. It's not like family members are tortured after players defect. A lot of family members join the players in freedom within a year anyway. A player could defect and go work at Wal-Mart and be able to provide better for their families in Cuba.


efin98 -- P.R. *is* U.S. soil. From an immigration standpoint, the laws in San Juan are exactly the same as in San Diego.

That was good and all but just one mistake. Working at wal-mart is not going to help your family back in Cuba. Working there could be just like start to get some money and then find something better.

[Agente Libre]

How do you figure? People in Cuba make $25 per month. If a player defected and all he did was end up working at Wal-Mart for $1,500 per month, he could still send more money home than the rest of his family is making.

Sure, maybe the family will have a tough time for a couple months, but that's life, and the same thing has happened to every family split up by Castro over the last 40 years.