The Navegadores finished spring training with a mission: prove their success wasn't just the result of facing lineups clumsily stitched together from bench players and fringe relievers who'd find themselves on the train back home when April rolled around.

Week One was the first step in accomplishing that mission.

Game 1, at Luquillo: The primaverales established proof of concept, but anxious Naves fans probably wanted to know if the new team's trademark emphasis on speed and clutch hitting would get the job done when facing actual pitching. It didn't. At first.
Game 2, at Luquillo: David Marrero's third inning was a disaster, which is unfortunate, because he otherwise pitched a decent game and went the distance, to boot. Feaster, Shrdlu and Valdez combined for five steals off Greg Steward, which allowed the Naves to plate the winning run in the sixth. Jacques Ceinture's first hit as a Navegador tied the game.
Game 3, vs. Cotorras: For their first game at La Timonera, the Enchumbaos went to Ben Downie, their God of Spring, to face a lineup full of lefties and switch-hitters. They knew they'd need to cover every blade of grass in the outfield—but so would Río Grande. It would require both defenses to run out every ball, no matter where it landed. It went well.
Game 4, vs. Cotorras: In typical Naguabo fashion, the Naves blew up Senén Pérez for three unearned runs in the first, then immediately allowed the Cotorras to tie it in the third. They remedied that, and managed to cling to a 5-4 lead into the seventh, when a tiring Rodney Luckwell gave up three straight one-out walks, followed by an RBI HBP, followed by an RBI walk to give up the lead. Roos entered the game and promptly allowed Jorge Apodaca to hit a 2-run single. Balk and Valdez got the only two hits after that.
Game 5, at Juncos: Ted Balloon didn't quite repeat his success from Game 1, and it was obvious he'd have trouble when he gave up a two-run triple in the first. Luckily, Juncos' defense is an easy one to rush, and the Naves jumped all over them in the 5th, mounting a two-out rally in which Stonehand, Valdez, del Castillo, Shrdlu and Kalsakau's successive singles scored five runs. Juncos was able to respond with a two-run fifth, but the Naves kept topping their lead off into the ninth. Rod Paz, in for the ninth, gave up a leadoff triple, got the runner thrown out at home, and ceded the mound to Varela, who promptly gave up a double that put two runners into scoring position—before flying out the next two to end it.

Weekly Awards

Batsman: CF #14 Roberto Kalsakau (🇻🇺)—A boring pick, but a stable one. Kalsakau proved management was right to start him in the cleanup spot by putting up a .368/.429/.474 line, and even added two stolen bases into the bargain. That kind of consistent production from the #4 spot is exactly what the Naves need if they're going to mount serious offensive threats.
Tenth Man: C #17 Pablo Salmerón (🇨🇺)—Possibly the clutchest pinch hitter on the Naves bench; he's currently 2-2 with three RsBI as a pinch hitter, including Game 1's go-ahead two-run single and Game 3's game-tying double.
Moundsman: RHP #2 Ted "Loony Balloony" Balloon (🇺🇸)—This is cheating a bit, because he's pitched the most innings by far, but Ted pitching with a decent infield is a very different man. He's held opponents to a .170 average, the lowest of anyone on the team, and has plenty of 1902 left to settle down.
Fireman: RHP #41 Héctor Varela (🇨🇷)—With a win and two saves under his belt, Varela proved he can effectively close games if he's put in a decent situation to succeed.

Other News

Rob Feaster is currently tied for third-most stolen bases in Betances with seven. The difference between him and the two guys ahead of him is that they've played two more games than he has, and he's a perfect 7/7.
Benigno Valdez snuck onto the Top Players list, at #16. Both he and Feaster were runners-up for this week's Batsman Award.
Spike Stonehand, an absolute unit of a catcher, hit a double into Luquillo's much shallower outfield and ran out a dropped third strike. We can't wait until he steals a base.

Around the League

On April 8th, Caleb Pilgram signs with the Cerros de Jayuya during their second game—a 6-0 shutout of the Montañeses. (Etaoin Shrdlu's old team!) One day later, in his very first LNP game, Caleb Pilgram hits three home runs against the Petateros de Sabana Grande:
- a 107-meter first-inning 2-run shot;
- a 119-meter sixth-inning club sandwich that chases Martín Plascencia from the game;
- a 112-meter ninth-inning grand slam off Plascencia's replacement, Eric Smith.
- It's the first 3-HR game of the twentieth-century LNP, and ties Pedro Mejía's 1894 three-dinger night for second-most runs batted in during a 3-HR game.
Speaking of fun debuts, Silvio Ramírez strikes out three Artesanos over six innings and, when the game is called due to inclement weather, officially completes the first no-hitter of 1902. Sure, it's only eighteen outs, but Criollos fans have not had much joy in the last few years. Let them have this.
- Ironically, the opposing pitcher, Jason Wilbanks, pitched the first twentieth-century LNP no-hitter last year. It went all nine innings.
Alberto Silva, whose trade from the Peregrinos to the Cítricos last year was one of the biggest moves of the season, has so far struck out 17 batters. He has given up one walk.
Quilón Gómez, on top of starting his season with an 8-for-17 tear that includes a double, 6 RBI, and three walks, is the Rob Feaster of catchers, in that he's a perfect 7/7 on catching runners stealing.
Perhaps thanks to having pitchers like Silva, the Cítricos finished their first week undefeated at 7-0. (So did the Cuervos and Grises, but they only played five games.)
On the other side of the equation, the Caciques and Mulos closed out the week without a single win. Their problems are opposite each other's: the Mulos gave up 59 runs over seven games (an average of 8.4 runs allowed!), while the Caciques only scored 6 in the same amount—an average of 0.9 runs scored per game. (The Avancinos are 0-5, due to abysmal hitting of their own.)

Players of the Week

Betances: 2B #22 Jeremías López (MOC)—Batting .536, drawing three walks, and swiping eight bases will do that for you. The Rebeldes gave up a highly-rated pitching prospect to acquire the Cuban phenom, and so far he's rewarding them beautifully.
Hostos: CF #17 Marcos López (PON)—With seven doubles and two triples, López (no relation) is hitting the ground running in his first season opened with Ponce. He'll have to do better on defense to really prove he was worth trading away from the Amigos.

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