Venezuelan Winter League Notebook

Aguilas de Zulia
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: After a hot start, the Aguilas lost three of four to drop to 9-4 and second place in the Venezuelan Winter League.

WHO'S HOT: OF Jonel Pacheco (Pirates) batted .533 (8-for-15) with four RBIs and four doubles in three games. ... C Guillermo Rodriguez (Giants) leads the team with a .359 batting average and nine RBIs. ... P Sean Burnett (Pirates) allowed three hits over five innings for his first win. He has a 1.64 ERA after three appearances. ... OF Carlos Gonzalez (Diamondbacks) is hitting .400 with three runs scored.

WHO'S NOT: P Chris Rojas (Phillies) lost both of his decisions, yielding nine runs on nine hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings. ... 3B Yurendell de Caster (Pirates) has two hits in his last 14 at-bats (.142).

NEWS AND NOTES: Pacheco leads the league with seven doubles. ... 2B Luis Bolivar (Reds) is fifth in the VWL with a .378 batting average. ... P Heath Totten (Phillies) leads the circuit with three wins. ... Zulia dropped to third with a 2.76 ERA.

Bravos de Margarita
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Bravos are in sixth place at 7-9 after splitting their last six games.

WHO'S HOT: C J.C. Boscan (Reds) hit .412 with two homers, eight RBIs and four runs scored this week. ... 2B William Bergolla (Giants) batted .384 (10-for-26) in six games. ... P Jesus Silva (Marlins) notched his second win, scattering four hits without issuing a walk over 6 1/3 scoreless innings. ... P Malvin Vasquez (Pirates) hasn't allowed an earned run in 14 1/3 frames.

WHO'S NOT: 3B Julio Cordido (Giants) fell into a 3-for-18 (.167) slide. ... Starters Kasey Olenberger (Angels) and Evan MacLane (Diamondbacks) combined to allow seven runs in 5 2/3 innings. ... The pitching staff leads the league with 60 walks.

NEWS AND NOTES: SS Ray Olmedo (Blue Jays) has hit safely in 14 of 16 games and is third in the league with a .391 average. ... Boscan and Rene Reyes are tied for fourth and seventh place in RBIs. ... Vasquez leads the circuit in ERA, while Silva and Luis Ramirez (Athletics) are in the top 10. ... Margarita pitchers are first in strikeouts (87) and second in ERA (2.72).

Cardenales de Lara
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Cardenales went 3-1 to take over third place.

WHO'S HOT: 2B Hernan Iribarren (Brewers) is 8-for-16 in his last four games. ... OF Robert Perez went 8-for-17 (.471) and had seven of his league-leading 14 RBIs in the past week. ... P Ryan Rowland-Smith (Mariners) nabbed a win after tossing a four-hitter for six innings at Magallanes. ... P Cesar Jimenez (Mariners) notched two wins in relief, yielding two hits and a walk over 3 2/3 scoreless frames.

WHO'S NOT: OF Charlton Jimerson (Mariners) is in a 3-for-16 (.186) funk. ... 1B Luis Antonio Jimenez (Red Sox) and Eddy Diaz are a combined 10-for-56 (.179). ... P Julio Pinto (Indians) has a 5.73 ERA in four appearances.

NEWS AND NOTES: The pitching staff ranks seventh in ERA (4.25) and eighth with 61 strikeouts. ... The offense is seventh in homers (six) and batting average (.236).

Caribes de Oriente
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Caribes won four of five games to take a two-game lead on second-place Zulia with an 11-3 record.

WHO'S HOT: OF Jody Gerut hit .455 (10-for-22) with six runs scored in five games. He leads the league with a .425 average and 17 runs scored. ... OF Andres Torres (Tigers) batted .500 (11-for-22) with two homers, five RBIs and nine runs scored in five games, including four multi-hit efforts. He is third with a .390 batting average, first in hits (23) and doubles (8) and second in runs scored (15).... IF Omar Infante (Tigers) hit .364 (8-for-22) with six runs scored in five games. ... IF Rico Washington (Cardinals) ranks second in the VWL with 13 RBIs.

WHO'S NOT: Catcher Eliezer Alfonzo (Giants) hit .167 (3-for-18) in four games and is batting .171 this season. He has struck out nine times in his last six games.

NEWS AND NOTES: IF Jonathan Herrera (Rockies) homered and drove in a career-high five runs on Oct. 23 against Caracas. ... The Caribes lead the league with a .279 batting average and rank fifth with a 4.22 ERA.

Leones del Caracas
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Leones split six games to move to 6-9, but are in seventh place in the eight-team league.

WHO'S HOT: IF Jose Castillo (Pirates) batted .370 (10-for-27) during a six-game hitting streak, including four multi-hit efforts. ... IF Mario Lisson (Royals) hit .330 (7-for-21) with four homers and eight RBIs. He had a two-homer game against Caribes de Oriente on Oct. 23 and belted a grand slam against Tiburones de La Guaira. Lisson leads the league with four homers and ranks sixth with nine RBIs. ... IF Carl Loadenthal (Braves) has a league-best nine stolen bases after swiping four in five games.

WHO'S NOT: IF Luis Castillo (Royals) hit .167 (3-for-18) in five games. ... IF Carlos Mendez went 1-for-11 in two games and is batting .147.

NEWS AND NOTES: The Leones rank eighth with a .219 batting average, while their pitchers own a league-worst 5.26 ERA.

Navegantes del Magallanes
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Navegantes went 2-3, but remained in last place with a 3-10 record.

WHO'S HOT: 3B Marcos Vechionacci (Yankees) stayed hot, hitting .421 (8-for-19) with a homer. ... 2B Tomas Perez (White Sox) is batting .500 since Oct. 22. He has hit safely in 10 of 11 games.

WHO'S NOT: Outfielders Jorge Cortes (Cubs) and Erold Andrus (Devil Rays) combined for nine hits and two RBIs in their last 44 at-bats. ... Starters Jeff Farnsworth (Red Sox), Jim Magrane (Nationals) and Ramon Ramirez (Reds) combined to go 1-5 while allowing 31 runs in 33 innings.

NEWS AND NOTES: Vechionacci and Perez are both in the top 10 in batting. ... The Navegantes are last in homers (five) and errors (19).

Tiburones de La Guaira
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Tiburones went 2-2 and sit in fifth place with a 6-7 record.

WHO'S HOT: OF Gregor Blanco (Braves) hit .429 (6-for-14) with five runs scored in four games. He is second in the league with a .396 batting average. ... IF Chris Carter (Red Sox) batted .533 (8-for-15), including a 4-for-4 effort on Oct. 26 against Caracas. He is tied for third in the circuit with 12 RBIs. ... RHPs Jeff Bennett (Braves) and Kendy Batista (Rangers) both rank in the top 10 in ERA. ... LHP Richard Salazar (Orioles) leads the league with three wins.

WHO'S NOT: IF Danny Sandoval (Phillies) went 0-for-6 in two games and is 1-for-31 overall this season. ... IF Javier Colina recorded his first two hits this week and is batting .111 (2-for-18) in six games.

NEWS AND NOTES: The Tiburones rank sixth with a .239 batting average and fourth with a 3.22 ERA. ... Carter has seven hits in his last eight at-bats and is batting .415 over his last 10 games.

Tigres de Aragua
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Tigres are 7-7 and in fourth place after dropping three of their last five games.

WHO'S HOT: IF Mike Aviles (Royals) continued to swing a hot bat, hitting .381 (8-for-21) with four runs scored in five games. Aviles ranks second in the league with a .667 slugging percentage, fifth with 10 runs scored and eighth with a .357 batting average. ... RHP Brian Bass (Twins) ranks third with an 0.46 ERA . ... RHP Kyle Middleton (Astros) is fourth with an 0.57 ERA after tossing six scoreless frames against Margarita. ... RHP Cory Bailey (Cubs) leads the league with 12 strikeouts.

WHO'S NOT: IF Martin Prado (Braves) batted .143 (2-for-14) in four games. ... OF Alex Romero (Diamondbacks) went 0-for-7 and is hitting .122 (5-for-41).

NEWS AND NOTES: IF Brian Buscher (Twins) has hit safely in seven of his last eight games. ... Bass struck out five in 11 1/3 scoreless innings. He has allowed one run in 19 2/3 innings over four starts. ... LHP Horacio Estrada tossed six shutout frames against Caracas.