Yuni Betancourt says language barrier shelters him from criticism

MILWAUKEE — Yuniesky Betancourt came here in the Zack Greinke trade, and it's widely believed the Kansas City Royals made the Milwaukee Brewers take him. Fangraphs lists Betancourt as the worst starting shortstop in the major leagues. His defensive range is poor. He's one of the most impatient, least potent hitters in baseball. And yet, there was Yuni, being escorted to the dais for a news conference following Milwaukee's 9-6 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday night. Betancourt went 2 for 4 with a stunning home run in Milwaukee's tide-turning, six-run fifth inning, and he put together two great overall at-bats — one in which he fouled off five pitches and another that went to a full count. If Betancourt had more performances like that, his critics would pipe down. Not that Betancourt minds what people say about him — so he says. A native of Cuba who was smuggled into United States via the Bahamas and Tijuana, Mexico after defect...