Joe Cubas

In the last three years, Joe Cubas has evaded one of the world's most feared security forces, slipped past both the Mexican army and Mexican rebels, and stolen some of Cuba's most precious resources right out from the under the watchful eye of their caretakers. Or so Joe Cubas says.

Joe Cuba, 78, dubbed the "Father of Latin Boogaloo" for weaving a fluid, bilingual mix of musical influences, died Sunday at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City of complications from a persistent bacterial infection, the Associated Press reported. "He had a dynamic group," with a signature vibraphone-fronted sound that "caused a craze because it was different," Cheo Feliciano, a longtime friend and singer in Cuba's band, told the AP. Cuba was born Gilberto Miguel Calderon in New York City to parents from Puerto Rico.

Joe Cuba, 78, dubbed the "Father of Latin Boogaloo" for weaving a fluid, bilingual mix of musical influences, died Sunday at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City of complications from a persistent bacterial infection, the Associated Press reported. "He had a dynamic group," with a signature vibraphone-fronted sound that "caused a craze because it was different," Cheo Feliciano, a longtime friend and singer in Cuba's band, told the AP. Cuba was born Gilberto Miguel Calderon in New York City to parents from Puerto Rico.

In the last three years, Joe Cubas has evaded one of the world's most feared security forces, slipped past both the Mexican army and Mexican rebels, and stolen some of Cuba's most precious resources right out from the under the watchful eye of their caretakers. Or so Joe Cubas says.

Al Leiter, who tore a tendon in his left knee on June 26, is scheduled to start for the New York Mets next Saturday. Leiter was told by doctors that he might sit out six weeks or longer depending on how bad the tear was. "The first doctor said it was a 50% tear of the tendon," Leiter said. "But the second said it was a 20% tear." * Sports agent Joe Cubas plans to meet with Florida Marlin owner H. Wayne Huizenga this week to make an offer to buy the baseball team, a spokesman said Saturday.

Cleveland and Seattle each have signed Cuban defectors, with outfielder Osmani Santana going to the Indians and catcher Francisco Santiesteban going to the Mariners. Rene Guim, a spokesman for the players' agent, Joe Cubas, said the two left Costa Rica and headed for the United States on Monday night to join minor league teams. Santiesteban, who defected last November while the Cuban team toured Colombia, is considered one of the top Cuban prospects.

Cuban pitcher Rolando Arrojo has defected to the United States from Albany, Ga., where his nation's team was preparing for this month's Olympics, Miami television station WLTV reported Tuesday. Arrojo, a right-hander said to be in his late 20s, left the team on Monday night. Joe Cubas, a Miami-based agent who said he is representing Arrojo, called the TV station and told them he was en route to Miami with the player.

Right-hander Esteban Loaiza was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Texas Rangers for minor league infielder Warren Morris and right-hander Todd Van Poppel. Loaiza was 6-5 with a 4.52 earned-run average in 21 games with the Pirates this season. Morris, 24, batted .331 with 14 home runs and 73 RBIs in 95 games with double-A Tulsa this season, where he was an All-Star. Van Poppel, 26, was 1-2 with an 8.

The Cuban national baseball team's starting pitcher who defected will seek residency in the Dominican Republic so he can become a free agent and play in the major leagues, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday. Rolando Arrojo's defection Tuesday came only nine days after Cuban boxers Joel Casamayor and Ramon Garbey defected in Mexico. Arrojo, 28, left his hotel room in Albany, Ga., where the Cuban team was preparing for the Olympics, the newspaper reported.

The Angels were blown out of their first exhibition game by the Oakland Athletics, 10-1, Friday, but the afternoon was a rousing success for second baseman Randy Velarde. Playing his first game in almost a year, Velarde doubled his first time up, scored the Angels' only run and made a diving stop of Ben Grieve's grounder into the hole before throwing wide--from his back--to first base.

Orlando Hernandez, the pitcher who left Cuba on a raft in late December, will showcase his talent at the Caribbean Series in hopes of landing a free-agent contract with a major league team. In a speech Saturday, Cuban President Fidel Castro referred to the pitcher, without naming him, as a "mercenary of sports" who had "betrayed his country." He complained about press reports repeatedly saying that Hernandez made the equivalent of about $8 per month in Cuba. "They made him a hero," Castro said.

Mo Vaughn, who is in the final year of his contract and recently rejected a four-year, $37-million offer, said he thinks he's on his way out with Boston Red Sox. "It's a shame to say, I think I have," Vaughn said when asked if he has seen his last days in Boston. He spoke during an interview with WBZ-TV the same day the Toronto Sun quoted him as saying his first choice for a team to play with next season is the Blue Jays.