Let the Games Begin....

OQ:

LIKELY GAME 1 STARTERS: LIN (L), YANG (R)

Well, the Asian Olympic Qualifiers kick off in a short while. Taiwan's matchup with South Korea on opening day is huge. While Coach Kuo will most likely go with En-Yu Lin to start the game, Chien-Fu Yang is ready to go in case he is called upon. Regarding the SK team, Coach Kim will likely start Chan-Ho Park, although the other two likely candidates are Jae-Kuk Ryu and lefty Byung-Ho Jun. Here's some good insight on the matchup from The Korea Times, Donga.com, and The Taipei Times.

Both EY Lin and CH Park have big game experience against the opposing NT's "A" squad. En-Yu Lin and Chan-Ho Park faced off against one another in March of last year during the WBC. South Korea defeated Taiwan 2-0 in that game. Lin started the game and pitched well although he ultimately was charged with the loss after allowing 1 run on 3 hits over 3.2 innings. Park closed out the game for SK and was nearly flawless, throwing 3 shutout innings allowing only 2 hits.

Should Park start the game for SK, the NT's offense will need to get to him early and often in order to give Lin sufficient run support. It goes without saying that Lin will have to have his best stuff in order to keep the SK bats in check. I'm excited for what should be a great game among two of Asia's top powerhouses in the sport. Jiayo!


Some more 411 on the Japanese NT.

Thursday News...

OQ:
The Philippines won Group B (preliminary round) and will join Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers. Opening action will begin Sat. Dec. 1st matching up Japan against the Philippines and Taiwan against South Korea. As astutely noted by a few posters, Stadeo.tv will be broadcasting the games.

Coach Kuo has made his final roster cuts, trimming his team down to 24 guys. The unlucky 6 are: P's Sung-Wei Tseng and Yu-Cheng Liao, C Kun-Sheng Lin, IF Chao-Hsing Cheng, OF's Lien-Hung Chen and Kuo-Hui Lo. So the final roster looks like this:

Pitchers:
1)En-Yu Lin
2)Ying-Chieh Lin
3)Ming-Chieh Hsu
4)Yu-Chieh Shen
5)Fu-Te Ni
6)Po-Hsuan Keng
7)Chien-Fu Yang
8)Chin-Hui Tsao
9)Kevin Huang

Catchers:
1)Chun-Chang Yeh
2)Feng-Min Chen
3)Chih-Kang Kao

Infielders:
1)Chia-Hsien Hsieh
2)Kuo-Ching Kao
3)Chih-Sheng Lin
4)Tai-Shan Chang
5)Chin-Lung Hu
6)Chung-Shou Yang
7)Sen Yang

Outfielders:
1)Cheng-Min Peng
2)Chin-Feng Chen
3)Chien-Ming Chang
4)Wu-Hsiung Pan
5)Fu-Hao Liu


The Korean NT HC is confident in his team. More on the Korean NT SP rotation.

The heavy-favorite to win it all is Japan - they are loaded with talent at every position and unlike Taiwan and to a lesser extent - South Korea - have some serious pitching depth.

CPBL:

Kuo #45
Summer of '05

The President Lions signed former NT slugger Chun-Yu Kuo to a contract recently. Kuo played on the Lions' minor league team in 2007, hitting .270 with 1 HR and 17 RBI's in 115 AB's. The 23 year old was a member of the 2002 junior NT and played on the 2005 NT that competed in the World Cup that year. During the 2005 WC, on a team that included Chin-Lung Hu, Yung-Chi Chen, and Kuo-Hui Lo, CY Kuo led the squad with 4 HR's in the tourney.


In other CPBL news, 29 potential 2007 CPBL draftees (to be held in December) were under the scrutinous eyes of CPBL scouts Thursday. Of the 29 candidates, several players stood out:

1)RHP Sheng-Jung Wang (5'9 1/2"/176 pounds/DOB: 3/17/82) - brother of recent Elephants signee Sheng-Wei Wang, was clocked at 91 mph during the testing (best radar reading of the day).
2)OF Cheng-Chi Huang (6'0"/187 pounds/DOB: 11/15/83) - the lefty cracked a HR on Thursday which wasn't a surprise as he was the top slugger on the 2000 junior NT that competed in Edmonton - hitting .333 with 2 HR's and 7 RBI's. Was also a member of the 2001 junior NT that won the Asian Championships.
3)OF's Hsing-Feng Chang & Chih-Hsiang Cheng (both are 24 y.o.) also flashed some power with HR's on Thursday as well.

*Sinon Bulls star P Chien-Fu Yang's younger brother also participated in the tryout. Yang's younger brother was part of the first wave of Taiwanese kids (4 total) that went over to Fukuoka, Japan in 1997 - paving the way for Chung-Shou Yang (went to Fukuoka in 2003). Chung-Shou Yang's talented older brother Yao-? Yang (the middle bro - Yao-Hsun Yang of the Hawks is the oldest one) also played in Fukuoka (attended HS in 2001 and then later Fukuoka University - but wasn't selected in the recent NPB industrial/college draft).

The Yang Bros: L-R Yao-?, Yao-Hsun, Chung-Shou

Sunday News....

Olympic Qualifiers:
The NT had a scrimmage yesterday splitting up the team into blue and white squads.

The lineups:
Blue:
1)2B Sen Yang
2)3B Chung-Shou Yang
3)DH Lien-Hung Chen
4)1B Kuo-Ching Kao
5)RF Fu-Hao Liu
6)CF Kuo-Hui Lo
7)SS Chao-Hsing Cheng
8)C Chun-Chang Yeh
9)LF Chien-Jung Su (Sinon Bulls)

White: (Likely starters on the NT)
1)SS Chin-Lung Hu
2)LF Wu-Hsiung Pan
3)RF Cheng-Min Peng
4)DH Chin-Feng Chen
5)3B Tai-Shan Chang
6)1B Chia-Hsien Hsieh
7)2B Chih-Sheng Lin
8)C Chih-Kang Kao *Updated
9)CF Chien-Ming Chang

En-Yu Lin started for the White squad and faced off against Ying-Chieh Lin's Blue squad. EY Lin threw the first 3 innings, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits - including HR's to Kuo-Hui Lo and Chao-Hsing Cheng. YC Lin didn't fare much better as he also pitched the first 3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits - including a HR to Tai-Shan Chang. YC did have 4 K's. The star of the blue squad was Chin-Lung Hu, who was 3-4 with a HR. Other key additions to the national team - relievers Kevin Huang and Chin-Hui Tsao made a favorable impression in the scrimmage as they both threw a scoreless inning each for the White squad. Tsao (clocked in the low 80's) ended his inning of work by K'ing CPBL MVP Kuo-Ching Kao and fellow Lion Fu-Hao Liu. All in all, the pitching staff for both squads got worked over as they allowed 6 HR's cumulatively in the 7 inning scrimmage.


The Japanese NT is already in Taiwan. The best pitcher in Asia not playing in the ML's is biding his time until his likely matchup with South Korea. The Japanese NT swept the Australian NT in a two game tilt prior to making their trip over to Taiwan.

Update on the Korean NT.

Slow Times....

MLB:
For his outstanding performance in the AFL, Yung-Chi Chen was added to the Mariners 40-man roster on Tuesday. The kid is one step closer to The Show.


Other:
There's not too much going on these days. I dug up some pics from past news to help pass the time. Check 'em out:

*Here's some pics (1 2 3) of Mariners signee Yao-Wen Chang's 2005 Pony League World Series Championship team. Album

-I believe this is Yao-Wen Chang's blog.


*The 2006 "AA" Asian Youth Championship squad featuring Yi-Hao Lin (Far R) and Rong-Hao Hsieh (#18). Team Pic Album *Updated

*Here's a link to a pic of the championship team (From Hsin-Ming Jr. HS) that represented Taiwan at the 2007 Kenko International Youth Gala in Italy. Album 1 2


*Here are some pics (1 & 2) of the 2007 Pony League World Series representatives from Taichung.


*Pics of the 2007 Junior NT during the Asian Championships in Taiwan.

2007 Junior NT in Joplin, Missouri
-Album

*

CTBA/WMG Partnership
Album 1 - Page 1 2 3
Album 2

8th Place Finish...

WC:
Read the above title.....that's nothing to be proud of. After starting the WC 5-1, the Taiwanese NT fell flat on its face with 4 consecutive losses to finish in 8th place at the WC. Taiwan lost its final game on Sunday, 6-4 to Mexico in a rematch of earlier pool play.
Box Score/V.O.D./Recap


The coach's decision to start 18 year old Chih-Lung Huang was baffling (even though it was Huang's turn to start in the pitching rotation). Despite his excellent track record against kids his own age, Huang was clearly over-matched (11.37 ERA) in the competition. It was also good to see Chih-Hsien Chiang FINALLY get a start at 2B. CPBL veteran 2B Chao-Hang Cheng's anemic bat (.150 BA) didn't help the team's offensive woes. What was supposed to be the strength of the NT (the offensive lineup) going into the competition, faltered badly down the home stretch. The team ended up hitting .259 collectively (10th out of 16 teams in the tourney). The pitching staff, which was glaringly thin on premium talent, actually held its own with a 3.54 team ERA (8th best in the tourney). For more team stats go here.


In other WC news, the US defeated Cuba 6-3 to win the WC and snap the Cuban's stranglehold on the event that dates back to 1984! Congrats to the US!
Final Standings of the 2007 WC (1-8):
1)US
2)Cuba
3)Japan
4)Netherlands
5)South Korea
6)Australia
7)Mexico
8)Taiwan


Olympic Qualifiers:
Coach Kuo announced his 30 man roster for the upcoming event.
Pitchers (11):
1)En-Yu Lin
2)Ying-Chieh Lin
3)Ming-Chieh Hsu
4)Yu-Chieh Shen
5)Fu-Te Ni
6)Po-Hsuan Keng
7)Sung-Wei Tseng
8)Chien-Fu Yang
9)Yu-Cheng Liao
10)Chin-Hui Tsao
11)Kevin Huang

Catchers (4):
1)Chun-Chang Yeh
2)Feng-Min Chen
3)Kun-Sheng Lin
4)Chih-Kang Kao

Infielders (8):
1)Chia-Hsien Hsieh
2)Kuo-Ching Kao
3)Chih-Sheng Lin
4)Chin-Lung Hu
5)Chung-Shou Yang
6)Sen Yang
7)Chao-Hsing Cheng
8)Tai-Shan Chang *Edited

Outfielders (7):
1)Cheng-Min Peng
2)Chin-Feng Chen
3)Kuo-Hui Lo
4)Chien-Ming Chang
5)Wu-Hsiung Pan
6)Fu-Hao Liu
7)Lien-Hung Chen

Coach Kuo cut all of the amateur players except for C Kun-Sheng Lin (storied amateur - star of 2001 Pony World Series team), little used 2B Chih-Hsien Chiang, added 6 President Lions and a few other CPBL veterans, as well as Chin-Hui Tsao to the roster. (Compare to the WC roster)

NT Shutout by South Korea...

WC:
Korean SP Doo-Sung Hwang threw a gem of a game, quieting Taiwan's offense and the rowdy home crowd. Hwang twirled a 1-hitter over 7 innings to go along with 5 K's and 1 walk. Taiwan's SP Chien-Fu Yang pitched fairly well, giving up 1 ER over 6 IP. Final score: South Korea 3 - Taiwan 0.
Box Score/V.O.D.

The disturbing part about the loss is that the batting lineup is only missing potentially 5 starters: OF Wei-Chu Lin, IF Yung-Chi Chen, IF Chin-Lung Hu, C Chih-Kang Kao and IF Kuo-Ching Kao. Of those 5 named, only 3 will be available to play in the Olympic Qualifiers. To make matters worse, the team South Korea sent to the WC was essentially its "B" team. We'll see a much stronger (SK) team at the Olympic Qualifiers in December. With the loss, Taiwan will be playing Mexico Sunday for 7th place in the WC (Taiwan is currently down 5-1 in the 8th inning as I type this). If the score holds up, Taiwan's 8th place finish would be better than its 2005 showing. However, Coach Kuo and any baseball fan in Taiwan can't be thrilled with how poorly the team finished in the tourney.

KO'd....

WC:
The Dutch NT knocked Taiwan out of medal contention with a come-from-behind win. Down to their last out with the score 2-1 in favor of Taiwan, the Netherlands would rally to tie things up when IF Vince Rooi cracked a solo HR off of Blue Jays farmhand Po-Hsuan Keng to put the game into extra innings. A couple of key hits (a big double by Mariners prospect Greg Halman) and errors in the 11th inning allowed the Dutch NT to secure a lead it would not relinquish. The Dutch pitching staff was impressive, keeping the NT's bats in check for most of the game.

Despite the loss, there was one bright spot on the NT. Starter En-Yu Lin was outstanding, K'ing 7 in 6 innings of work. He also allowed only 1 run on 2 hits - both of his walks in the game came in the 6th as he began to fatigue a bit. After being pulled with a pitch count in the low 90's, Lin had to sit and watch his bullpen blow the save and eventually the game. The 11 inning 6-3 victory by the Netherlands put them into the semifinals along with the US, Cuba, and Japan.

Box Score/Recap/V.O.D.

Taiwan will now play in the classification bracket where it will face long-time Asian rival South Korea on Saturday.

Thursday News...

WC:
Taiwan's quarterfinal game against the Netherlands should be kicking off shortly. En-Yu Lin will be taking the mound against the European champions.



AFL:
The regular season is over. Yung-Chi Chen finished in the league top 10 in BA.
*YC Chen's AFL stats
*CL Lo's AFL stats
*CL Hu's AFL stats



Olympic Qualifiers:
Wei-Lun Pan will not be on the NT in November. He will need some down time to rest an inflamed shoulder. More on the Korean NT's roster.



MLB:
As mentioned by someone earlier, the Dodgers may be coming to Taiwan in March next year.

Taiwan Vs. USA Vid Highlights...

10-7 Loss to Team USA

WC:

Taiwan fell to the US on the final day of pool play. The US's offense was too much for the NT pitching staff to handle. Also, US SP Josh Outman was outstanding in his 5 innings of work. Bright spots for the NT included CH Hsieh's 2-3 double/4 RBI performance and CFC's 2-5 double/RBI night.
Box Score/Game Recap 1 & 2/V.O.D.

Despite the loss, Taiwan still managed to claim the #2 seed from its pool and will now advance to the quarterfinals against the #3 seed from pool B - that team being the Netherlands, a talented squad that handed Cuba its first loss at the World Cup.

Big Game Tomorrow...

WC:

CF YANG

With Tuesday's 10-0 win against Panama, Taiwan will play the US for first place in the final game of pool play tomorrow. Should be a good one!

As for today's victory, SP Chien-Fu Yang continues to flash some of the brilliance he once exhibited in the CPBL. Yang shut down the Panamanian bats, allowing only 3 hits over 6 shutout innings to pick up his 2nd win of the tourney. Chia-Chia led the way offensively as he was 3-5 with a double and 3 RBI's. CH Hsieh hit his 3rd HR of the tourney. Box/Recap/V.O.D.
See the team's updated cumulative stats here.

Yao-Wen Chang Update....

MLB:
*Yao-Wen Chang's signing and profile has been updated, check previous post. The kid sounds like a stud.



*Here's a few more pics of Chia-Chu Chen's signing from his official web site.

Making It Official...

MLB:
Chia-Chu Chen's signing with the Red Sox was officially announced. Check out pics (seen with Craig Shipley) from his big day:
With Chen's signing, the Red Sox now have 5 players from Taiwan in their farm system. The Mariners are close behind with 4 players (if you count Chia-An Huang).


WC (Lins to the Rescue):

EY LIN

CS LIN

The Italian NT gave the NT all it could handle before Chih-Sheng Lin's late inning heroics gave Taiwan a 1-0 win on Monday. Former CPBL'er (ex-La New Bear) Anthony Fiore shut down the NT offense over 7 innings. Fortunately for Taiwan, En-Yu Lin was just as dominant as he threw a CG 4-hit shutout to go along with 13 K's and no walks allowed. Box/Recap/V.O.D.
With the win, Taiwan is tied with the US for first place in Group A. Taiwan will play Panama tomorrow.


AFL:
YC Chen is currently 0-2 with a walk and has committed 2 errors as his team is up 4-0 in the 7th inning. Box/Game Log



Other:
CL Hu is back in Taiwan practicing with the NT in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers.


CPBL:
This is for you Cor. Your boy Sheng-Wei Wang is a Brother Elephant. The former amateur SS played on several NT's and participated in the 2005 ABL alongside Indians farmhand Sung-Wei Tseng.

Mariners Sign Yao-Wen Chang...

CHANG - (14 y.o. in August of '05)

pics courtesy of ponyworldseries.com

As mentioned by Mariner Minors and Baseball America, the Seattle Mariners signed 17 year old RHP Yao-Wen Chang (DOB: 10/31/1990). Chang joins Yi-Hao Lin (Yomiuri Giants) as the second signee from the talented class of 2009. The young man stands around 6'3" and weighs ~ 190 pounds. Chang first gained notoriety when he helped lead Taichung, Taiwan to the 2005 Pony League World Series Championship (see pics above). The righty reportedly has a fastball in the low 90's. The rest of his pitching repertoire includes a changeup, curve, slider, and a splitter. Chang's transition to the US may be smoother than most Taiwanese players as he already has a pretty solid grasp of the English language.

His signing bonus with the Mariners is reported to be ~ $400,000, the highest bonus given to a Taiwanese pitcher since Chien-Ming Chiang (~$600 K with the Yomiuri Giants in 2005) and Chia-An Huang (~$700 K with the Seattle Mariners in 2004).

*Edited/Updated*

NT Loses to Mexico...

WC:
The NT took its first loss of the WC, losing to Mexico 9-5 on Sunday. Taiwan's pitching staff was ineffective against a potent offensive attack from Mexico. CH Hsieh, KH Lo, and CS Lin all hit solo HR's for the NT. Read more about the game here. Box Score/V.O.D.
With the loss, Taiwan falls a half game behind the US in Group A and will now play Italy, the surprise of the pool so far, on Monday. En-Yu Lin will start for Taiwan.

Saturday Scoreboard...

KC:
Over in Japan, the President Lions were embarrassed by the KBO champs. The SK Wyverns tore into starting pitcher Pete Munro for 8 runs (7 earned) over 1+ innings. The Wyverns would go on to tack on 5 more runs in the next 2 innings for a 13-0 lead after 4 innings. The Lions would score their only run of the game on a solo shot by Sun-Hsuan Yang. Final score: Wyverns 13 - Lions 1 in a 7 inning laugher for the KBO champs. To make things worse for the Lions, slugger Tilson Brito DNP in today's game due to a foot injury.
The undefeated Wyverns will now play the Dragons (only loss to the Wyverns) for the Konami Cup Championship tomorrow.
The biggest disappointment in the Cup was the failure of the Lions' two big-name foreign pitchers (Figueroa - Taiwan Series MVP, Munro - CPBL ERA leader) to come through with quality innings. On the brighter side of things, SP Wei-Lun Pan and CPBL MVP Kuo-Ching Kao (7-11 with 3 RBI's in the K Cup) proved that they can compete with anyone in Asia. The Lions earned 3rd place in the 3rd annual Konami Cup.
Box/Recap


WC:
Taiwan defeated Spain 8-4 at the WC Saturday. CFC hit his 2nd HR of the tourney and led the way offensively with a 3-5 double/HR/3 RBI night. Tarzan also hit his 1st HR of the tourney. Starter Chih-Lung Huang was pulled after 1+ innings - he allowed 2 ER on 5 hits to go along with 1 K and 0 walks allowed. With the win, Taiwan is currently alone at the top of group A with a 3-0 record. Taiwan will play Mexico Sunday. Box/Recap/V.O.D.

Win Some, Lose Some....

WC:
Taiwan defeated Japan 6-1 at the WC Friday. Another solid pitching effort was given by starter Chien-Fu Yang, as he allowed only 1 run on 5 hits over 6 innings. Kuo-Hui Lo led the team with 2 RBI's while Tarzan collected 3 hits. Box/V.O.D.
With the win, Taiwan finds itself in a tie with Italy for first place in pool A. Italy shocked the USA earlier in the day.
Taiwan's game against Spain is starting in a few minutes. 18 year old Chih-Lung Huang is on the mound to begin the game.


KC:
The Lions lost to the Dragons 4-2. The Lions actually outhit the NPB champs 9-8. Two costly errors in the 3rd and 5th innings led to two unearned runs for the Dragons. Wei-Lun Pan, despite picking up the loss, threw a gem of a game. He allowed 2 unearned runs on only 4 hits over 6 innings to go along with 6 K's and 1 walk. Box/Recap
The Lions will have to step up their game as they face the SK Wyverns who have been winning in impressive fashion, today.


AFL:
Chen was 0-3 as his team won 5-3. Box


Other:
Tsao outrighted to Vegas....*Updated*

Following in his Brother's Footsteps....

WC:

CFC

YC LIN

Taiwan defeated South Africa 16-1 in its opening game Thursday. The team was led by SP Ying-Chieh Lin's dominating performance (6 IP - 1 ER - 4 H - 10 K's - 2 BB's) and bombs by two CPBL star sluggers. Not too long after his brother smacked 2 HR's to help the Lions defeat the China Stars in Japan, Chin-Feng Chen would follow suit with a 3-run HR in the first inning against SA. CFC was 2-4 with 3 RBI's. Cobras star Chia-Hsien Hsieh hit the team's other HR, a 2 run shot to complete the scoring in the first inning for Taiwan. Starting 3B Yi-Chuan Lin left the game with a lower extremity injury and was replaced by CPBL veteran Tai-Shan Chang who was 4-4 with 2 RBI's. Box/Recap/V.O.D.
Taiwan plays Japan tomorrow.


AFL:
YC Chen was 0-2 with 2 walks as his team lost 5-2. Box



Other:
Chin-Lung Hu, Chin-Hui Tsao, and Chung-Shou Yang will be reporting tomorrow to register for the NT (Olympic Qualifying).


KC:
More on the Lions win over China.

Sluggish Start for the Lions....

Konami Cup:
The President Lions struggled against the CBA All-Stars in the opening game of the Konami Cup. Nelson Figueroa, who was lights out in the CPBL playoffs, was hit frequently by the Chinese team. The Chinese All-Stars actually outhit the Lions 16-14. Figueroa allowed 4 runs on 12 hits over 7 innings. Things were looking bleek as the Lions were trailing their opponents 4-1 after 6 innings. However a big grand slam by DH Lien-Hung Chen would help rally the Lions for 6 runs in the 7th inning. Chen would hit another 2 run bomb in the 9th to account for 6 of the 9 runs scored by the Lions. The older brother of Chin-Feng Chen carried his team to a 9-5 victory on Thursday. Roster/Box Score/Line Score

Wed. News....

WC:

Coach Kuo is expected to start lefty Ying-Chieh Lin against South Africa tomorrow.

The projected starting rotation for the remaining games is as follows:

1)Chien-Fu Yang vs. Japan

2)Chih-Lung Huang vs. Spain

3)Ming-Chieh Hsu vs. Mexico

4)En-Yu Lin vs. Italy

The starters for the two remaining games against Panama and the US are still TBD.

AFL:
The Javelinas lost 6-2. Taking the loss for Peoria was CL Lo. He allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 3 hits over 4 IP. YC Chen was 1-4 with a RBI. Box/Log

Other:

Baseball Prospectus's Kevin Goldstein has Che-Hsuan Lin listed as the #11 prospect in the Red Sox organization.

A Lack of Respect....

Konami Cup:
The K Cup kicks off tomorrow. Opening games will match up the CBA All-Stars and the President Lions; & the SK Wyverns against the Chunichi Dragons. 2007 Taiwan Series MVP Nelson Figueroa is expected to start against the Chinese All-Stars. Figgy's teammates Wei-Lun Pan and Pete Munro are expected to match up against the Dragons and Wyverns respectively.

Here's a shocker: more disparaging remarks about Taiwanese baseball from the Korean media. It's obvious the Korea Times isn't giving much respect to the CPBL and the President Lions. With headlines like "Wyverns, Dragons Clash for Bragging Rights", and a comparison of the CPBL to the CBA:
"The Wyverns and Dragons are considered a level above Taiwan's Uni-President Lions and China's China Stars, which means that the winner of today's opener would be a good bet to win it all."
you would think that the President Lions have no chance in the K Cup.

Two things are a given in this tourney: the Chunichi Dragons are the tourney favorite while the CBA All-Stars will be hard-pressed to win one game. Contrary to the general concensus in Korea, the President Lions will be extremely competitive in this competition. This year's CPBL representative has more overall talent and depth than the 2006 La New Bears. Also when you look at the brief history of the K Cup, the games between the KBO and CPBL champs have been decided by one run both times. In 2005, the Sinon Bulls lost 4-3 to the Samsung Lions. In 2006, the La New Bears defeated the Samsung Lions 3-2. If anything, the two games have proven how similar the talent level is in Korea and Taiwan.
I hope Lions Manager Lu pins this crap on the team bulletin board to help get the team fired up for Saturday's game.

Home Again...

CMW:Wang is back home. Read more about his press conference here.

Blame it on the Rain....

WC:
Due to heavy rain, Tuesday's opening slate was postponed until November 12th.

Be sure to check out the new revamped IBAF site, which will have ongoing coverage of the World Cup.

Monday News...

AFL:
Yung-Chi Chen is currently 1-3 as his team is down 5-2. Box/Log

WC:

Although Coach Kuo has announced three possible starters for tomorrow's opening game against Italy, the most likely candidate is En-Yu Lin.

EY LIN

Here's an in depth look at the team the USA will be bringing to the WC. Cuba and the US have to be the prohibitive favorites based on the talent on their rosters.

CPBL Awards & WC NT Roster Announced...

CPBL:

2007 MVP

The CPBL handed out its hardware today. The league champs took home a lot of trophies with Kuo-Ching Kao being the most decorated one.
Check out the list below:

*MVP - Kuo-Ching Kao (President Lions)
*ROY - Wu-Hsiung Pan (President Lions)
*Most Impoved Player - Yu-Wei Hsu (La New Bears)
*Best Pitcher - Wei-Lun Pan (President Lions)
*Best Catcher - Chih-Kang Kao (President Lions)
*Best 1B - Kuo-Ching Kao (President Lions)
*Best 2B - Sen Yang (President Lions)
*Best 3B - Tilson Brito (President Lions)
*Best SS - Chih-Sheng Lin (La New Bears)
*Top 3 OF - Fu-Hao Liu (President Lions)
*Top 3 OF - Chia-Hsien Hsieh (Macoto Cobras)
*Top 3 OF - Wu-Hsiung Pan (President Lions)
*Best DH - Chin-Feng Chen (La New Bears)
*Gold Glove (P) - Pete Munro (President Lions)
*Gold Glove (C) - Feng-Min Chen (La New Bears)
*Gold Glove (1B) - Kuo-Ching Kao (President Lions)
*Gold Glove (2B) - Sen Yang (President Lions)
*Gold Glove (3B) - Wei Kao (Macoto Cobras)
*Gold Glove (SS) - Chih-Sheng Lin (La New Bears)
*Gold Glove (OF) - Long-Yi Huang (La New Bears)
*Gold Glove (OF) - Wu-Hsiung Pan (President Lions)
*Gold Glove (OF) - Fu-Hao Liu (President Lions)



WC NT:
The revised final 24 man roster for the NT has been announced. You can check out the preliminary roster here.

Pitchers (10):
1)Ying-Chieh Lin (Rakuten Eagles)
2)En-Yu Lin (Rakuten Eagles)
3)Ming-Chieh Hsu (Seibu Lions)
4)Chien-Fu Yang (Sinon Bulls)
5)Po-Hsuan Keng (Toronto Blue Jays)
6)Sung-Wei Tseng (Cleveland Indians)
7)Yu-Chieh Shen (Chinatrust Whales)
8)Fu-Te Ni (Chinatrust Whales)
9)Yu-Cheng Liao (Brother Elephants)
10)Chih-Lung Huang (Amateur)

Catchers (3):
1)Chun-Chang Yeh (Sinon Bulls)
2)Feng-Min Chen (La New Bears)
3)Kun-Sheng Lin (Amateur)

Infielders (6):
1)Tai-Shan Chang (Sinon Bulls)
2)Chao-Hang(Hsing) Cheng (Sinon Bulls)
3)Yi-Chuan Lin (Amateur)
4)Chih-Hsien Chiang (Boston Red Sox)
5)Chih-Sheng Lin (La New Bears)
6)Chia-Hsien Hsieh (Macoto Cobras)

Outfielders (5):
1)Cheng-Min Peng (Brother Elephants)
2)Chin-Feng Chen (La New Bears)
3)Kuo-Hui Lo (Seattle Mariners)
4)Chih-Yao Chan (Amateur)
5)Ying-Chieh Liao (Amateur)

3-2 Loss in Final Tuneup...

NT:
The NT lost 3-2 to the Netherlands on Saturday. Chien-Fu Yang of the Sinon Bulls started the game and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits over 5 IP. A costly hit-batsman thrown by MC Hsu in the 9th inning would come around to score in the 9th, proving to be the difference in the game.

Coach Kuo is now expected to make an impending decision on his final 24 man roster for the WC. Aside from the 4 Lions playing in the Konami Cup, Chung-Shou Yang of the Nippon Ham Fighters won't be playing in the WC, as he is participating in the Phoenix Instructional League. Cobras slugger Chia-Hsien Hsieh is also not 100% health-wise and DNP in the 4 warm-up matches. Pitchers Chih-Lung Huang and Yu-Cheng Liao are expected to make a push for one spot on the team, while OF Kuo-Hui Lo has pretty much cemented his status on the roster. See original NT roster here.

Friday Scoreboard....

NT:

The Submariner

Line Score

The NT lost to Cuba 6-2 Friday. SP Yu-Cheng Liao fared well, considering the immensely talented Cuban lineup he was facing. The submariner pitched the first 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. Indians farmhand Sung-Wei Tseng, on a strict pitch-count gave up 2 runs in the 8th. Tseng was clocked at a high of 94 mph. Providing the only runs of the game for Taiwan were 2 La New Bears - Chih-Sheng Lin and Feng-Min Chen who hit back-to-back doubles to plate two in the 5th inning.
Taiwan plays Holland tomorrow in its final tuneup for the WC.

AFL:

YC Chen's team lost 6-2 today. Yung-Chi was 1-3 with a double and a walk. Box

The Mariners official site has an excellent article on YC.

Hit-Parade in Taiwan....

WC:

The MC


Get LO!

The NT defeated Australia 8-7 Thursday as the two teams combined for 28 hits. The most impressive players in the ball game for Taiwan were MC Hsu who threw two scoreless innings in the 8th and 9th innings, K'ing all three batters he faced in the 9th and Kuo-Hui Lo who cracked the first HR for the team in warm-up matches. Hsu may have sewn up the closer spot on the team with his clutch performance today. Lo, on the other hand has hit Australian pitching well, cracking 2 HR's against the Perth Heat last month. It's good to finally see Lo flash some of his power potential - he hit only 4 HR's in 358 AB's in the minors this past season. Rakuten Eagles teammates En-Yu Lin and Ying-Chieh Lin weren't very impressive - EY Lin allowed 4 runs in 4 innings, giving up a HR, while YC Lin pitched the 7th, allowing 4 runs. Fu-Te Ni threw two shutout innings (in the 5th and 6th), K'ing 3. 3B Yi-Chuan Lin had a bases-clearing bloop triple in the 4th inning to help power the offense - he also committed 3 errors in the game. Game Recap

The NT plays Cuba tomorrow. Elephants starter Yu-Cheng Liao is expected to start the game.



AFL:
CL Lo earned a ND after throwing 4 scoreless innings in Arizona. Lo only allowed 1 hit to go along with 4 K's and 2 BB's. His team lost 5-3. Box


From the HeraldNet on YC Chen's play in the AFL:
"Yung Chi Chen, a highly regarded second baseman who played just five games for Class AAA Tacoma before injuring his left shoulder, has batted .389 with one homer and eight RBI. McLaren heard glowing reports about Chen from the Mariners' player development department and was eager to watch him this fall. "I like what I see," McLaren said. "He's always been highly thought-of, but he had some injury problems. But he has looked really good in the games I've seen. He's swung the bat and played a good second base. He's very impressive.""



Other News:
Some news on CM Wang - he's heading home for some R&R beginning Nov. 6th.



The Korean NT's head coach ( Gyeong-Mun Kim) is bent on beating Taiwan in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers. From Donga.com, "he (Kim) promised Korea would “defeat Taiwan at all costs, because Taiwan defeated Korea in the Doha Asian Olympics last year.” His intention is to demonstrate that Korea is better than Taiwan in baseball."

WC to be Broadcast on Internet....Free!

WC:
Good news for avid baseball fans! Stadeo.tv will be broadcasting 41 games at the World Cup live & on-demand for free!
All of the NT's preliminary games will be broadcast on Stadeo.tv:
1)Nov. 6th vs. Italy - will be broadcast at 2:00 AM PST Nov. 6th
2)Nov. 8th vs. South Africa - broadcast at 2:00 AM PST Nov. 8th
3)Nov. 9th vs. Japan - broadcast at 2:00 AM PST Nov. 9th
4)Nov. 10th vs. Spain - broadcast at 8:00 PM PST Nov. 9th
5)Nov. 11th vs. Mexico - broadcast at 8:00 PM PST Nov. 10th
6)Nov. 13th vs. Panama - broadcast at 2:00 AM PST Nov. 13th
7)Nov. 14th vs. USA - broadcast at 2:00 AM PST Nov. 14th

In other WC news, the Panamanian NT has been offered plane tickets by Taiwan. A nice gesture by the government, but when you recall this article, it makes you think that the money would be better vested in the country's youth programs.


Konami Cup:
The Chunichi Dragons won the 2007 Japan Series, defeating the defending champs 4 games to 1. I missed this earlier, but CS Yang did make one appearance in the Series, K'ing in his only AB in game 3. Box

With the K Cup field set, the President Lions will play:
1)Nov. 8th vs. the CBA All-Stars
2)Nov. 9th vs. the Chunichi Dragons
3)Nov. 10th vs. the SK Wyverns

The final will take place Nov. 11th.