Blame Mr. Goba.

I know a lot less about Venezuela than I thought I did. I thought that Chavez ruled the country with an iron fist (which he does in many ways) but the paper this Marco Scutaro interview appeared in seems to be independent. And then I thought for sure that the equator ran through Venezuela but it would appear to sit completely north of the line. Apparently my 7th grade geography lessons have either failed me or have been completely forgotten but I do know one thing for certain: Winter ball is a big deal in Venezuela.

For the past fifteen years Marco Scutaro has played for the Caracas Lions but didn't this year and as the season draws to a close the Caracas paper The Universal was on the case. He told the paper that it was a little sad not being able to play and a little boring sitting at home but he was a free agent and he had to think about not only getting a contract but also about his future. He hasn't really talked with the Lions this season but he's happy for them and believes that they can win the championship for the fans after they let them down last season. Apparently Marco's dream scenario of the last two teams standing (Caracas and Magallanes) is a possibility and he's a bit misty-eyed over the prospect. It will apparently be a spectacular game that will cause the country to come to a standstill and will be taken note of by the entire world. And he would play if he could but he can't.

He's ready for the Major League season to start. (Aren't we all?) He wants to get to spring training so he can start the new challenge in his career. He took less money to play in Boston (the interviewer asked why he didn't get a better contract after the season he had in Toronto) so that he would have a shot at the post-season and what better team could there be to try and do that than with Boston? From his experience playing with Oakland in 2006, he says that it's marvelous to play for a team that has a shot at the post-season. He's in constant contact with countryman Victor Martinez. Victor told him that he had to sign and after he did it seemed that Victor was happier about it than Marco was. They're good friends because they started their careers together with Cleveland. He doesn't care where he bats in the lineup, he just wants to play. He's always thought that his job was to get on base and run the bases well and to score runs; that's what he intends to do where ever he's hitting. He doesn't know yet where Francona will put him but he'll adapt.

He also says that the Blue Jays told him that they were rebuilding and didn't think that they would be able to compete during that time. And they were sorry that he was leaving them. And he loves Venezuelan ball and he will be back every season until his health doesn't allow him to play anymore.