Vizquel hoping to stay on as Venezuela's manager
Venezuela's World Baseball Classic officially came to a close following Saturday's 13-2 loss to Puerto Rico, even though the team was already eliminated from semi-final eligibility by losing its first two games in the second round.
Manager Omar Vizquel said he wants to stick around as Venezuela's manager, Evan Woodberry of MLive.com reports, citing a Spanish ESPN article.
"I'd like to remain Venezuela's manager," Vizquel said. "I don't know if they want me back."
The uncertainty around his future is potentially linked to rumored rifts with Venezuela's baseball federation from December, when he was reportedly fired from his post as the team's manager, and replaced by Atlanta Braves coach Eddie Perez. The change resulted in star players Felix Hernandez, Victor Martinez, among others, threatening to boycott the tournament.
Venezuelan general manager, and former big-league shortstop, Carlos Guillen claimed the rumors were false at the time. In the end, Vizquel and Guillen settled whatever differences they had and Vizquel retained his manager's role.
The results were not to his liking, however. After working its way to a tie-breaker, and defeating Italy 4-3 to advance, Venezuela scored only four runs in three games against Pool F rivals.
"Honestly, I thought we were going to play better ball," Vizquel said, according to Woodberry.
His future as Venezuela's manager remains uncertain.