[bourbon]

"Today he has Venezuela, tomorrow he'll rule South America, and ultimately the whole world," prophesied Antonio Osuna, leader and medium of a Spiritist temple in El Carpintero in a hillside slum near Caracas.



WOW! This whole time I thought Antonio Osuna was a relief pitcher for the White Sox, not some wacko cult-member Chavez supporter!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

You want baseball. I've got baseball.

Astros' Venezuelans keeping an eye on country's political unrest - Castro likes baseball too*** Carlos Hernandez laughed heartily at his countrymen's chants each time outfielder Endy Chavez went to the plate for Venezuela in the Caribbean World Series this winter in Caracas. It seemed cute and clever, but definitely not a prelude to a coup.

Whether the host Venezuelans were playing Mexico, Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic, it didn't matter. The fans saved their greatest scorn for their own president, Hugo Chavez, a man many consider Latin America's next Fidel Castro.

"Endy, si!" the fans cried out. "Chavez, no!" In other words: Endy, yes. Chavez, no.***