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Excited for the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico is more like it!
Last week, I decided I wanted to see how the Hermosillo baseball team was doing. The Naranjeros (which I've seen translated as the orange growers and orange pickers. Can I get an official ruling on this?) are like the Yankees of the Mexican Pacific League winning 15 titles since the league was formed in 1957.
Not knowing Spanish made it difficult to navigate their home page, but it led me to learn more about the league they've been dominating. And after a while, I also discovered they won the league championship in the end of January.
The Liga Mexicana del Pacífico (LMP) is the premier winter league of Mexican baseball, and some current and former MLB players take part in the league. For example, the Naranjeros' starting third basemen is former MLB two-time All-Star Vinny Castilla and coming out of the bullpen is current Mets' reliever, and Hermosillo native, Elmer Dessens.
The LMP winner then represents Mexico in the four-country Caribbean Baseball World Series, which includes the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, which hosted this year's event. The tournament is a double-round robin, and the Naranjeros finished third, beating Venezuela twice but losing to the other two countries each time.
Aside from the thrill of getting to cheer for a team that is playing to represent Mexico in the Caribbean Series, apparently LMP games are like minor league games complete with cheap tickets, interesting mascots and a general county fair-like atmosphere.
Let's look at the competition. Three other mascots in the league are the Sugarcane Pickers (Los Mochis), Tomato Pickers (Culiacán) and Cotton Pickers (Guasave). I particularly love the Cotton Picker logo, 
but for obvious reasons, this mascot would never fly in the United States. And before you laugh at these teams' expense, remember in the MLB, we have the Red and White Sox, and the Reds, who formerly were the Red Legs. (And yes, that is cotton ball holding a flaming baseball...what's not to love about that?)
I also love the Tomato Pickers' Web site, but it might not be appropriate for viewing in the office because it plays music. But you can't visit this Web site and not get excited about LMP games. If you watch the scrolling pictures at the top, those are cheerleaders you see. Kind of gives a new meaning to fantasy baseball. (Nerd note: If there is an LMP fantasy baseball league, someone please contact me and reserve a spot for me. I'm all over it.) Also have to enjoy the last song snippet they play is about five seconds of Black Eyed Peas.
To win the LMP, the Naranjeros had to knock out the regular season champs, Deer (Mazatlán). The remaining three teams comprise two indigenous peoples, the Mayos (Navojoa) and Yaquis (Obregon), and the Eagles (Mexicali). Though it is a bit confusing because the Sugarcane Pickers also use an eagle as their mascot, too.
I also love that their jerseys sport sponsors like NASCAR uniforms do. Even better, one of the Naranjeros' sponsors is Tecate beer. I had planned on adopting Dos Equis as my Mexican cerveza of choice, but unless I gag on Tecate, this beer has bought my loyalty. Sorry Dos Equis guy, but I still love your commercials. (He speaks fluent French, in Russian.)
No doubt, I will try to make it to every home game, which is probably like 30-40 games. Are season tickets an option? I'm legitimately excited about the baseball south of the border!
Too much going on these days that I'm going to have to bust out some bullet points to cover events. But I'll lead off with some highlights from last night's Fatiguing, Self-Inflicted (FSI) course on the logistics of moving overseas.
First, let me say that I did learn some good pointers about preparing for the movers. Piles, people. From anecdotal evidence, the movers pack everything in site, so you're best off creating piles of things you want packed together. Some examples included the movers packing a family's garbage, which they received with their second shipment*. Another funny story was about a cat getting packed. Fortunately, depending on your perspective, they realized the cat was packed before boxes left the building and were able to get it out**.
*I plan on addressing this more later, but the State Department uses the expressions (and acronyms) unaccompanied baggage (UAB) and household effects (HHE) to denote the two shipments of luggage you receive after arriving at your post. Wouldn't be a lot easier just to call them the first and second shipment? That seems less confusing.
**I like animals, even cats. But cats make terrible pets. Sorry, it's just how it is. If a house cat weighed 90 pounds instead of 9 pounds, it would eat you. Even at 9 pounds, cats spend most of the day thinking if they could fit you in their mouth. As an historical side note to this, cats are last animal that have been domesticated (dogs were the first), so maybe in another 50,000 years, they'll make for better pets.
So while the class had some good stuff, the main pitfall was that it was too general to be applicable. And I noted as much on my evaluation. Maybe start with the general stuff and then break into groups that will have similar pack-out day experiences. For example, the people moving to China will have a different experience - and therefore need different information - than those of us driving to Canada or Mexico. Or maybe create courses called The Logistics of Moving Overseas...in (X Country).
To wrap up, so far I haven't had great FSI experiences, but I'll keep going if for no other reason than to get more material to write about. That's right, I'll keep sacrificing my own time for you, the readers. Now let's tackle some bullets:
• First a shout-out to my local in-laws, and regular EF'M readers, Eric and Mindy, for taking Natalie and me to a Wizards game Monday night. I'm not much into the NBA, but seeing a game in person is an entirely different and more enjoyable experience than watching it on TV. Secondly, as bad as the Wizards have been the past two years, when I attend the game, they've gone something like 5-1. (Wizards, you should treat me to every game, and maybe you'd win more.) We plan on returning the favor by taking Eric and Mindy to a Naranjeros baseball game when they come to Hermosillo (2010 Mexican Pacific League Campeones! That is number 15, baby!)
• A member of our Hermosillo contingent had a baby boy earlier this week, so congratulations are in order.
• You probably won't be getting any weekend updates because Natalie and I are going to Charlottesville, Va., to hit up some wineries and Monticello with another couple. We created a list of things we wanted to do while living in Virginia, and this has been on there for a long time. And we realize this is not the last time we'll be living in this area, but this is kind of a farewell-see-ya-later tour that we are doing because we are foreign service rookies, and this is the kind of things rookies do.
• And finally, there is a new, unofficial countdown as Natalie received word from the Hermosillo Consulate that they would like her first day to be June 28. This moving thing keeps becoming more real every day.
Excited for the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico is more like it!
but for obvious reasons, this mascot would never fly in the United States. And before you laugh at these teams' expense, remember in the MLB, we have the Red and White Sox, and the Reds, who formerly were the Red Legs. (And yes, that is cotton ball holding a flaming baseball...what's not to love about that?)
