With over 20 international players across AL and NL rosters last night, the quotes were flowing in both of America's native tongues. Links are in Spanish…
- Felix Hernandez wants to stay in Seattle well beyond the end of his contract in 2014, the reigning Cy Young winner told Manuel Lira at the Venezuelan paper Líder en Deportes. "Hopefully Seattle locks me up further," Hernandez said. "I want to sign for more. At least five years more." As for any chance of being traded to New York or elsewhere, Hernandez dismissed the notion as "just rumors."
- At a charity event in the Dominican Republic yesterday, six-time former All-Star Miguel Tejada sounded undecided about the direction of his career. "I won't disgrace myself in order to continue playing," he told Juan Mercado of the Dominican daily Hoy. "With the pride that I have, I don't think anyone is going to see me embarrassing myself in baseball, when I feel that I'm not useful enough to be in the Major Leagues." On the other hand, Tejada told Freddy Tapia from Listin Diario, "I'm used to having good years with losing teams. Now the opposite is happening, and the truth is that I'm enjoying it."
- Cuban National Team star center fielder Yoennis Céspedes has been missing for almost two weeks. In a piece today, Jorge Ebro at the Miami-based El Nuevo Herald explains, "His presence hasn't been reported, nobody responds at his telephone, and people are talking about three possible hypotheses: that he is in the power of the island authorities, that he is hidden somewhere in the country, or that he took to the sea," in an attempt to escape Cuba. Cuban baseball writer Fernando Vilá tells Ebro, "In years of following Cuban baseball, I don't remember a case like this."
