Met a retired Cuban pitcher

[TonytheTiger]

While walking through the book fair in Havana last week I ran into a man named Lasaro Rodriguez, aka El Gato. He claimed to have won over 100 games for Industriales in the seventies. He's shown here with one of my friends.151. I wish there was a Cuban roster history online. I haven't been able to find one. We gave El Gato 20 pesos and sent him on his way.

[redflagantifa]

While walking through the book fair in Havana last week I ran into a man named Lasaro Rodriguez, aka El Gato. He claimed to have won over 100 games for Industriales in the seventies. He's shown here with one of my friends.151. I wish there was a Cuban roster history online. I haven't been able to find one. We gave El Gato 20 pesos and sent him on his way.

Oh my, 20 pesos, how generous! What's next on your mission of worldly generosity? Holding the door open for someone? Let us all bow in your shining example of selflessness.

Sorry...but really...20 pesos?

Go for a beer with the guy and talk about baseball - giving someone 20 pesos and "sending them on their way"? Talk about arrogant.

[asere]

"20 pesos" likely referred to convertible pesos, dikkhead. Even if it were MN, it's still better than nothing. Talk about arrogant. Even when the currency was USD, Cubans still referred to the monetary unit as a "peso" or "cavilla" or "verde" or "fula" or "dolare". But peso works for chavito too.

Very generous but highly unnecessary. A Cuban should not going around thinking that idle chit chat and friendly conversation comes at a price or with a premium. The more dangerous aspect about the thread is that someone attached money to a friendship. It denegrates both the donor and the recipient.

[mellisas]

dikkhead asere....this name calling really lets you down....:rolleyes5

[saborami]

UH HUH....20 pesos likely is 20 CUCS is enough to call someone a diiickhead in my books. yeah right. assere can't post anything without calling someone down.... perhaps that is part of his "charm".


the point is diiickhead asssere, RED was spot on with your last sentence, for once you both agreed but because it's RED, you have to get a dig in, for no other resaon because it was a person that calls your shhiiit. No other resaon. VICTIM. You are so pathletic and the sooner your few worshippers can see this and stop validating your narcisstic, omniscient, posts...the more people will hate your guts. 100 to 3...that's three that validate you over the dozens and dozens that believe and know you are a fat, middle aged, bitter, lonley old fart....with man breasts ...yes cassarole you are so well liked at CubaMania. Welcome to your Fan Club. You truly make the majority of us sick and we don't give a fuuuck what you think or say.


Don't forget about the back support, you need it, your head is too big.

[TonytheTiger]

Oh my, 20 pesos, how generous! What's next on your mission of worldly generosity? Holding the door open for someone? Let us all bow in your shining example of selflessness.

Sorry...but really...20 pesos?

Go for a beer with the guy and talk about baseball - giving someone 20 pesos and "sending them on their way"? Talk about arrogant.

Sorry Redflag, perhaps I should've given more detail. After taking the pict of El Gato with my friend I introduced a third friend to El Gato. My first friend and I went to a shop as my third friend decided to chat more with El Gato. A few minutes later we all met up minus El Gato. My friend explained that they chated for a few minutes and that El Gato invited us to drink with him. My friend declined due to time constraints and gave El Gato 20 convertibles and wished him well. Upon hearing this I said to my friend "that's all fine and well, but we still have to watch who we give money to and how much". First we had to deal with the 20% conversion fee, and now we have hustlers (street kids) and cabbies trying to scam us left and right. El Gato was one of only two people I met on the whole trip that did not ask for money. I felt for the guy. That being said, once I run out of money I can't exactly run to the ATM for more.

A final note here. Before anybody calls myself or my friend arrogant I will say this. I have only been to Cuba twice. My friend has been there close to fifteen. During our trips we have given school supplies, candy, toys and clothes. This to people we know and don't know. My friend is a supporter of Fidel, I am not. When we visit, it's about the people. Everything else is secondary. We argue about politics like we do baseball.

With that said Redflag, I can only hope your trips to Cuba are as, if not more, enlightening.

[saborami]

It sounded quite arrogant but you certainly have explained your post. It is really easy to jump to conclusions and that is what happened, and yes you do have to watch what you spend or give away. I think it's great that you bring stuff.

[Prospero]

That being said, once I run out of money I can't exactly run to the ATM for more.Well, yes, you can actually if you have a Visa or Mastercard drawn on a non-US bank. Forgive me, but I'm only making this point to avoid misleading others reading this thread. Cards can be used in Cuba and you don't have to carry all the cash you need when you go.

It's actually safer to use the card in a bank of Cadeca to draw an advance that way. Once when my Cuban wife was using her card in an ATM there was a power cut and the machine swallowed the card. It was early in the morning and she had to wait outside until the bank opened and then beg the manager to give her back the card - which was not easy as she didn't have her ID with her and the card had my name on it anyway.

[redflagantifa]

Sorry Redflag, perhaps I should've given more detail. After taking the pict of El Gato with my friend I introduced a third friend to El Gato. My first friend and I went to a shop as my third friend decided to chat more with El Gato. A few minutes later we all met up minus El Gato. My friend explained that they chated for a few minutes and that El Gato invited us to drink with him. My friend declined due to time constraints and gave El Gato 20 convertibles and wished him well. Upon hearing this I said to my friend "that's all fine and well, but we still have to watch who we give money to and how much". First we had to deal with the 20% conversion fee, and now we have hustlers (street kids) and cabbies trying to scam us left and right. El Gato was one of only two people I met on the whole trip that did not ask for money. I felt for the guy. That being said, once I run out of money I can't exactly run to the ATM for more.

A final note here. Before anybody calls myself or my friend arrogant I will say this. I have only been to Cuba twice. My friend has been there close to fifteen. During our trips we have given school supplies, candy, toys and clothes. This to people we know and don't know. My friend is a supporter of Fidel, I am not. When we visit, it's about the people. Everything else is secondary. We argue about politics like we do baseball.

With that said Redflag, I can only hope your trips to Cuba are as, if not more, enlightening.
Hey dude - no worries. That explains a lot more about the situation. How you wrote it before just sounded pretty bad (typical tourist tramping - especially the "sent him on his way" thing), that's why I nagged on you a bit. Thats cool that you got to meet El Gato. My trips are always enlightening, that's without a doubt. I've never met any major sports figures there, but I have had personal meetings with political folks - such as the families of the Five Cuban Heroes, and Camilo Guevara (Che Guevara's son).

[TonytheTiger]

The five Heroes is quite a story. What was Che's son like?

[redflagantifa]

The five Heroes is quite a story. What was Che's son like?

He was really friendly (and patient), and put up with a lot of similar questions about his father (who he obviously didn't remember, as he was quite young, 5 years old I believe, when he died). It was really, really strange though - he looks almost exactly like el Che (slightly longer hair, etc - everything).

[qbanazaqbiche]

I don't understand what is the big deal with giving a Cuban money. Everyone knows that the Cuban people are desperate for anything they can get....that's typical in most third world countries.....they start begging from the moment tourists set foot on land for anything they can get. I find nothing wrong in handing out a few bucks to the locals, but when tourists get swarmed by beggers constantly, it can get downright depressing and expensive.

[Habanero45]

Hello!
I am a Cuban, 45 years old. In the 70's, as almost everybody of my age, I used to follow each and every single baseball game by television or by radio. I must say that I don't remember at all any player with that name and nick name (and I remember a lot of them, even with their respective player numbers!).
I don't want to say it for sure, but I think that guy was..................
Well, God forgive me for this.

[redflagantifa]

I don't understand what is the big deal with giving a Cuban money. Everyone knows that the Cuban people are desperate for anything they can get....that's typical in most third world countries.....they start begging from the moment tourists set foot on land for anything they can get. I find nothing wrong in handing out a few bucks to the locals, but when tourists get swarmed by beggers constantly, it can get downright depressing and expensive.

You're truly stupid. I'm sure you find the instructions on your shampoo bottle to be very helpful.

[007JB]

Hello!

I have this auction on eBay and thought you might be interested.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Baseball-Athens-2004_W0QQitemZ8803398825QQcategoryZ73418QQrdZ1QQcm dZViewItem

[007]

whoever is saying cubans beg from the time tourists step off the plane is a little wrong ,i could say other words then wrong but being nice here,i think you have your info all mistaken,i live in calgary and i get bothered more from beggers here then i did in cuba the times i go down,ITS EVERYWHERE not just cuba,dont hand out dollars to beggers and the problem will stop,problemn is people hand out to beggers and well if you get money once well why not keep trying,want to stop the problem give money to some legit oranization