Hererra

There's a very good article by Dejan in the PG today about Hererra and his journey to leave Cuba and come to the US, specifically Pittsburgh, to pitch. I was most impressed by this part of the article:

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox also showed interest, Herrera said, but he stuck with the Pirates in large part because of Gayo's persistence and because of a visit by general manager Dave Littlefield last summer.

That actually seems like some good GMing. Not that it forgives all the bad GMing he does or anything.

Anyways, like I said, it's a good read about Hererra. He really hasn't pitched in a year and a half, but since he's only 25 it's probably not as big of a deal as it would be if he was, say, Masumi Kuwata's age. Of course, that is assuming he's 25. The main reason I bring that up is that he pitched on the Cuban National Team from 2001-2004, meaning he started when he was about 19. Certainly not impossible, but it is worth noting, I think. Anyways, seeing him pitch is something I'm actually interested in this spring.