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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

2008 CPBL Draft Results...

Order of draft:
1) Sinon Bulls 2) Brother Elephants 3) La New Bears 4) President Lions


SPECIAL DRAFT (former T-Rex/Whales players)
Round 1: 1) Chia-Hsien Hsieh 2) Fu-Te Ni 3) Chih-Yao Chan 4) Wei-Ming Chu
Round 2: 1) Ying-Chieh Lin 2) Yu-Chan Liu 3) Hung-(Jen)Ren Huang 4) Han Lin
Round 3: 1) Yu-Chieh Shen 2) Ssu-Chi Chou 3) Chih-Hao Chang 4) no pick
Round 4: 1) Yi-Wei Lee 2) Chih-Peng Chen 3) Chao-Hao Tseng 4) no pick
Round 5: 1) Shih-Yang Deng 2) no pick 3) Hao-(Jan)Ran Huang
Round 6: 1) Min-Hao Wang 3) Chia-Chun Tang


NEW PLAYER DRAFT
Round 1: 1) Ko-Chien Lin 2) Chin-Hui Tsao 3) Po-Hsuan Keng 4) Ching-Ming Wang
Round 2: 1) Kuo-Min Lin 2) Chih-Hsiang Huang 3) Yi-Cheng Wang 4) Yi-Chen Chen
Round 3: 1) Hsiao-Pai Lan 2) Pao-Lo Tseng 3) Hong-Yu Lin 4) Chia-Yi Mai
Round 4: 1)Tsung-Chun Wu 2) Cheng-Yang Chen 3) Hsin-Hsien He 4) Wei Lin
Round 5: 1) Pai-Cheng Chen 2) Wei-Ming Chu 3) Yen-Feng Chen 4) Kuang-Sheng Chou
Round 6: 1) (Jui)Rui-Mu Chen 2) Chi-Shu Huang 3) Hsueh-Ping Ma 4) Chi-Yung Tang
Round 7: 1) Cheng-Wei Chang 2) (Jui)Rui-Tsung Chu 3) Shi-Hung Chu 4) Cheng-Tsai Yen
Round 8: 1) Nan-Te Kuo 2) Fu-Chi Jen 3) Pao-Lo Yen 4) no pick
Round 9: 1) Chien-Ming Chiang 2) Ken-Wei Lin

CPBL Link (in Chinese)



Other News:
*There are reports that Fu-Te Ni has signed with a ML team. If true, it will be interesting to see what happens since the Elephants just drafted him with the second overall pick in the special draft.

*The La New Bears are holding true to their word and will NOT allow CFC or Chih-Sheng Lin to participate in the WBC.

*Bulls Manager Hsu held true to his word ( he was unwilling to take a risk on Tsao) and selected an amateur pitcher (KC Lin) with the top pick in the new players draft.

*The CPBL sent RHP Chien-Fu Yang to do a clinic at Changhua County's Chang-Yi HS.

*UPDATED

Monday, December 29, 2008

Monday Morning News.....

*La New GM Kuo said that CFC will get a multi-year contract extension; Kuo will also observe RHP PH Keng in a bullpen session in Taichung today.

*In the Division II College - Hsin-Chuan Cup, Cultural U. will play Hu-Wei Tech U. for the championship.

*CPBL Draft News: Teams want to see Tsao's medical records but his agency said that they will only show it after Tsao gets drafted.
Tsao's agent Kelvin Lee told CPBL teams that he's in Taiwan & is available via cellphone at all times. However both Sinon Bulls GM Liu and a Liberty Times journalist calls went directly to voice mail and the calls were not returned. President Lions GM Jason Lin said that he'll need to see the medical report before drafting Tsao. Tsao himself doesn't care if he's the 1st pick in the draft or not; his agent Kelvin said that any team should consider spending money on Tsao and stated that even a small market team like the Nationals tried to sign Mark Teixeira - which is interesting since he used an example of a player represented by another agency.

CH Huang is concerned that he might not get drafted by a CPBL team so his agency - Bros is trying to find him a new college (he was expelled by Taichung PE college) in order for him to postpone his military obligation.

*The Red Leaf Cup junior HS tourney begins on 12/31.

*At the Taipei International junior HS tourney, a team from Japan won.
Locally, the RBI award went to Liang (Da-Li), the HR award to Chi-Wei Lin (Chung-Hsiao), the batting champion - Wang (Da-Li)

*Octagon (formerly CSMG) has strengthened its relationship with Nan-Ying HS by sending many of its clients to train at Nan-Ying HS in Tainan during the off-season. Nan-Ying HS head coach Chen is a close friend with the Octagon rep in Taiwan, Kelvin Lee. Their relationship goes back to the days when Kelvin Lee worked for Nike. Coach Chen has supported players from his team to sign with Kelvin Lee of Octagon, including INF Fu-Lin Kuo, who met with Lee recently. It is rumored that INF Kuo will sign with Octagon in the near future with coach Chen's support.

*Taiwan PE College RHP Ying-Shan Wang, represented by 7-Figures, has been offered $150 K by the Atlanta Braves.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Catching Up on Old News...

*The President Lions have signed 4 players to multi-year deals: RHP Yueh-Ping Lin will make 10.8 million NT ($327 K) over the next 3 years. OF Wu-Hsiung Pan, DH Lien-Hung Chen, and C Chih-Kang Kao also agreed to multi-year deals as well.


*In the championship game of the Chu-Lo Cup, Kyoto - Japan won 4-0 behind their SP who was clocked at nearly 80 mph! He threw a no-hitter, K'ing 13.


*Rong-Hao Hsieh threw 1 inning of relief for NTCPE (TSU-Taichung) as it won 18-0 on the 25th. Hsieh gave up a hit, K'd 2 and was clocked at 91 mph. After the game, he stated that he still hopes to play overseas as a pitcher.
Teammate Chia-Hang Lee (who played in the ABL with the Oilers this past summer) helped his team clinch their group's top seed. TSU-Taichung won 5-2 on the 26th behind Lee's 7 K's in 6 innings of work (clocked at a high of 89, Lee stands only 5'7").


*The children's NT (12 and under) won the 5th Asian "A" Championships held in Hong Kong. The team defeated Japan in the championship game, thus earning bragging rights for the 4th straight competition ('02, '04, '06 Asian champs). The team came back after being upset in pool play, losing 9-5 to China in the opening game. The team then reeled off 4 straight wins (15-1 vs. Indonesia, 23-0 vs. Hong Kong, 7-1 vs. South Korea, 9-1 vs. Japan). P Shao-Wei Liu was instrumental in shutting down the bats of Japan and South Korea, while Che-Chung Yeh helped power the team to a few W's with 5 HR's in the 5 games played.

Team's roster:

1

林俊杰

LIN CHUN-CHIEH

M

LF

1996/08/31

165

60




2

陳譽亞

CHEN, YU-YA

M

CF

1996/05/07

167

58




3

鄧賀元

TENG, HO-YUAN

M

1B

1996/07/03

160

57




4

胡玉龍

HU, YU- LUNG

M

3B

1996/06/13

155

54




5

陳子軒

CHEN, TZU- HSUAN

M

RF

1996/11/01

155

53




6

游政揚

YU, CHENG-YANG

M

P

1996/08/11

160

60




7

HO, CHUN

M

2B

1996/05/19

158

54




8

張書豪

CHANG, SHU-HAO

M

C

1996/04/21

160

61




9

王挺亦

WANG, TANG-YI

M

1B

1996/07/20

170

64




10

林晏

LIN, YEN-CHUN

M

3B

1996/01/26

168

63




11

陳秉吾

CHEN, PING-WU

M

LF

1996/02/25

160

55




12

黃皓偉

HUANG, HAO-WEI

M

P

1996/07/02

174

64




13

葉哲榮

YEH, CHE-JUNG

M

P

1996/01/31

178

60




14

劉劭威

LIU, SHAO-WEI

M

P







15

謝育宏

HSIEN, YU-HUNG

M

RF

1996/02/04

175

70





Thursday, December 25, 2008

Holiday Cheer!

*Chin-Hui Tsao has decided to stay in Taiwan for the forseeable future. Despite interest from 4 ML teams, he will make himself available for the special CPBL draft on the 31st of this month. His decision to stay home will make things tough for Bulls GM Liu, who has the top pick in the draft (originally said that he would pick Ni or Hsieh with the #1 pick).

Po-Hsuan Keng is also going to play in the CPBL next year. He joins Tsao, CH Huang, CM Chiang, and YC Lin as former overseas players who will seek employment in Taiwan next year. There are potentially 60+ players who will be available to be selected on the 31st - including all former T-Rex (not indicted in the gambling scandal) and Whales players.


*Chu-Lo Cup - The championship game is set with a team from Kyoto Japan to face off against Fu-Hsin from Ping-Tung County.


*WY Chen stated that he wants to improve his stuff before attempting to make the jump to the US (MLB).


*College Cup - Kai-Nan College won 7-1 behind RHP Chie-Hao Lee.
Fu-Feng College won 5-2 behind submariner Chung-Han He.


*Fox Sports has a poll on CMW: 55% of participating pollsters said that CMW should get a new agent!


MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

News and Notes....

*CPBL Scoop:
-9 players along with the d-media owner were indicted in the gambling scandal. The players named are: Chi-Chung Yen, Chung-Hsiao Pan, Chung-Nan Lai, Jen-Wei Hu, Chien-Fu Chen, Jose Leon, Leovildo Pargas , Willy Lebron, & Napoleon Calzado.
-Former foreign player Len Picota helped to recruit players from Latin America who were willing to throw games.
-Per investigators, Chia-Hsien Hsieh will be handled as a "special investigations case". The CPBL will still enroll Hsieh in the special draft. The league's special draft will be held on 12/31. Sinon Bulls GM Liu said that the team will pick either LHP Ni or Hsieh with the first pick. Elephants owner Hong said that Hsieh is his team's top choice.


*College Cup News:
-TSU-Taichung won 16-0 on Tuesday.
-OF MS Chen is only 1 for 10 in the tourney after returning to Taiwan since his showcase in the US.
-Li-Te College OF Kai-Lun Lin was 2-4 with a HR - his first collegiate roundtripper.

Monday, December 22, 2008

CMW Signs One Year/5 Million $$$ Deal.....

*The Yankees signed Chien-Ming Wang to a one year deal worth $ 5 million dollars. Staying healthy and productive could lead to a big payday in 2010 for CMW.

*Braves scout Jeremy Chou has expressed interest in RHP Ying-Shan Wang, saying that Wang's changeup is good & that he will get an offer for sure. Although Wang only topped out at 87 mph in the College Cup, he K'd 9 in 7 innings.

*It's unclear if CH Tsao will join the CPBL draft. CPBL teams are very concerned about his history of shoulder injuries and are unsure how much he'll be able to pitch.
RHP PH Keng is still considering entering the CPBL draft; CH Huang will join the draft while RHP PY Lin will hold off on joining the CPBL draft - he preferably wants to make the WBC roster first.

*CFC's 3 year guaranteed deal is up. La New will discuss with CFC about renewing his contract (amount) after the new year.

*In the Chu-Lo Cup, the Tong-Yuan B team advanced. The Bei-Nan & Gui-Jen schools also won. CFC's nephew, Chien-Chuan Chen (son of Lions slugger Lien-Hung Chen) is participating in the tourney. The 5th grader is already 5'6".


CC Chen pictured with dad (LH Chen)

*Police investigations have discovered that d-media players gambled in 16 games. Most players on the team participated, however star slugger Chia-Hsien Hsieh was deemed innocent.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Friday News...

*At the Japanese independent league tryout, 41 players attended. Most likely 4-6 players will get an opportunity to play overseas.
Former Chinatrust RHP Wei-Ming Chu said that if he's one of the 4-6 selected players from the tryout, then there's a 50% chance that he'll go play in Japan. Ex-d-media star OF Ssu-Chi Chou prefers to stay in Taiwan.

*Former T-Rex slugger Chia-Hsien Hsieh said that if he doesn't get an answer from the CPBL regarding the special draft by the end of year, he'll seek out opportunities overseas.

*College Cup: CCU beat TSU-Taoyuan 7-2. Kai-Wen Cheng made his debut in the tourney for CCU. In 6 innings, Cheng allowed 1 run to go along with 8 K's. Cheng touched 90 mph once and sat at 88-89 mph. TSU-Taoyuan INF CP Huang continues to rake. The tourney's leader in HR's had 3 hits in 4 AB including a double off of KW Cheng.

*Per Apple Daily, former T-Rex RHP Cory Bailey finally admitted to throwing games. Bailey put up 1 million NT he made from throwing games to pay for his bail. Three other d-media players also admitted to throwing games.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Thursday News Briefs....

*The CPBL will begin a good will tour for the first time, donating money to HS baseball programs.
President Lions slugger Kuo-Ching Kao donated 500 K NT of his own money to 5 junior high schools in Taitung. Kao himself came from a poor background and can relate to the CPBL's worthy cause.

*CCU RHP Kai-Wen Cheng didn't help his stock any after his recent workout. After topping out at only 89 mph in his showcase, Cheng did not receive any offers close to what he was seeking ($250-300 K). He will now work out in Japan in Feb. of next year.

*TSU-Taoyuan won 18-6 in the College Cup despite starter Che-Ming Su getting knocked around in the first inning (gave up 6 runs). IF Chih-Pei Huang slammed yet another HR, his 3rd in the tourney.

*Sadaharu Oh arrives in Taiwan tomorrow.

*HC Kuo earned the TYIB 2008 Setup Man of the Year Award.
*Updated

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

12/17 News...

*Po-Yu Lin will be back on the amateur circuit - the CTBA has given the former White Sox farmhand the green light to participate in college tournaments.

*The Japanese independent league tryout starts tomorrow.

*There are an increasing number of college teams participating in the collegiate/amateur tourneys.
College Cup Results: TSU-Taoyuan defeated Taipei PE College 3-2 in 11 innings. Chih-Pei Huang only had one hit in the game for TSU-Taoyuan, but it was a big hit indeed. He hit a game-tying solo HR in the bottom of the 10th to give him a tourney-leading 2 home runs.
Shi-Hsin College beat North Taiwan College 6-5.

*An increasing number of graduating HS pitchers are entering college as damaged goods. Former Shi-Yuan HS RHP Shen-Chih Yang and Ku-Pao RHP Rong-Hao Hsieh both have severe injuries. RH Hsieh wants to quit pitching and become a catcher. HS grad RHP Chih-Wei Teng will have elbow surgery soon.

*2008 CPBL ROY Chi-Wei Lin of the Sinon Bulls is set to receive a bump up in his salary.

More Misc. News....

*The Chu-Lo Cup kicks off on the 20th. Roughly 110 elementary level teams will be participating, with 10 teams coming from abroad (South Korea, Japan) to Chiayi.






*In College Cup action from yesterday: Taipei PE College won 5-0 as did Chinese Culture University (13-0). Leading the way for Taipei PE College were Kuo-Hui Lo's lil bros - P Kuo-Hua Lo (7 shutout innings) and OF Kuo-Long Lo (2 2B's, RBI).


Kuo-Long (L) & Kuo-Hua (R)

*La New 3B and NT member Chih-Wei Shih had surgery on his right ring finger - he will not be available for the WBC.

*Sinon Bulls manager Sheng-Ming Hsu said that coaches in Taiwan should change their philosophy and help protect young pitchers (from being overworked).

*Former Cubbie farmhand OF Chih-Hsiang Wen hasn't served in the military yet so he is not eligible for the CPBL draft this year. However he will play in the spring college tourney.

Monday, December 15, 2008

MISC News....

*
In the College Cup, RHP Ching-Hao Tsai (#7) was clocked at 91-92 mph (has reportedly topped out at 94 in the past). The 21 year old (DOB: 6/1/87) was a member of the talented 2004 junior NT (7 went on to sign with ML teams - TK Chiu, CH Chiang, SA Kuo, PY Lin, WW Lin, CJ Lo, CC Lee). The Mei-Ho HS alum is a former IF in HS who was converted to P in college. Tsai led TSU-Taoyuan to a 10-0 (7 inning) win in the CC. He allowed only 3 hits and had 8 K's in 6 innings of work.


His teammate, Chih-Pei Huang (#16) flashed some power in the game, blasting a HR and a triple.


*-22 year old NT mainstay RHP Ko-Chien Lin plans on joining the CPBL draft.
-RHP CM Chiang is registered for the CPBL special draft; he has no interest inthe Japanese independent league.

*RHP Kai-Wen Cheng has reportedly drawn the interest from a few ML teams: the Royals, Tigers, Red Sox, and Pirates. Rene Gayo of the Pirates reportedly made an offer to Cheng which was turned down. Cheng's rep, Niba Chang (Bros) said that Kai-Wen is considering the NPB and is looking for $300 K.

*-Nan-Ying's baseball team returned to school to celebrate but the jubilation was overshadowed by yesterday's incident (media getting beat up by Nan-Ying fans).
-Regarding amateur play, the student baseball association said no to a pitch count restriction.

*-Yi-Jie Hsiao will wear #19 with the Hanshin Tigers.
-In other NPB news, LHP WY Chen showed some loyalty by staying with the Chunichi Dragons rather than going elsewhere - he was offered more money by the Yomiuri Giants and drew interest from ML teams.

*The CSMG/Octagon rep in Taiwan - Kelvin Lee (Wei-Chuang Lee) is reportedly scheduled to meet with Nan-Ying INF Fu-Lin Kuo this week.

More on the HS Wood Bat Tourney....

*Nan-Ying 2B/SS Ping-Chieh Chen, (who is 5'11'', bats left-handed, is an above average runner, & is represented by Bros) had a good tournament and is being shopped around by Bros' representative Niba Chang (Che-Chin Chang). The reported asking price is $200-300 K. NYY scout Ken Su has already called and expressed interest.

*Niba Chang (Bros) is also shopping around Hualien PE HS RHP Chung-Cheng Chiang but so far has not had any team express interest because of reservations about possible injuries since Chiang was overworked (essentially abused) in the tourney.

*JB with an honest assessment of the amateur talent level in Taiwan.
Is there hope for the future? Well some fans in Taiwan are taking matters into their own hands and trying to revive the Golden Dragon Flag Baseball Tournament. (Website - in Chinese though)
The now-defunct tournament use to be funded by the TML, which provided great financial support. Essentially every school that had a baseball team or baseball club was able to participate and during those years the best generation of baseball players from Taiwan were produced: including LHP Kuo, RHP Tsao, CFC, RHP Wang, 1B/OF Peng, etc.. Of course, the TML no longers exists.



*POWER OUTAGE?
There was only 1 home run hit in the entire tourney (and it was an inside-the-park job). Wood bats have something to do with that matter, but the players' physical stature and the fact that some coaches place an emphasis on pitchers sacrificing velocity for command/control all contributed to a number of low-scoring affairs in the tourney.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Nan-Ying Denies Ku-Pao A Repeat......

HS Wood Bat Tourney:


Nan-Ying won game 3, 3-2 to win the 2008 HS Wood Bat Tourney Championship. Nan-Ying SP Chia-Liang Hung threw a CG win (157 pitches!), allowing 2 runs (1 ER) on 6 hits over 9 IP (8 K's, 4 BB's). Ku-Pao starter Chieh Pan took the loss (7.1 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 8 K's, 1 BB). Offensively for NY: 3B Fu-Lin Kuo was 0-4 with a RBI/DH Wei-Yu Lai was 2-3 with a RBI/C Cheng-Ming Chen was 1-4 with a RBI. In the lineup for Ku-Pao: SS Wei-Chen Wang was 2-4 with a SB/RF Kuan-Yu Chen was 1-4 with a RBI.
The championship was the 5th in school history tying Kao-Yuan for the most titles in the event.

Video link to Nan-Ying scoring its first run of the game.

A side note to the championship game: After the game, Nan-Ying fans beat up journalists/reporters from UDN & Liberty Times. The junior HS coach from Kui-Jen (father of Nan-Ying RHP Hung) threatened journalists/reporters not to write anything. A can threw by fans hit Che-Hsuan Lin - current Red Sox prospect and former Nan-Ying alum.


Other:
-Taiwan Coop Bank won 5-2 over Meiji University on Sunday. Meiji had beaten Taiwan PE College 6-1 the night before.

-LHP Fu-Te Ni said that he's still considering the Mariners' offer; he wants his salary to be higher than what he got in the CPBL.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Nan-Ying Staying Alive......

HS Wood Bat Tourney:

KH Chang

-Nan-Ying forced a decisive game 3 tomorrow by beating Ku-Pao 1-0 behind a dominating performance from SP Keng-Hao Chang. Chang shutout Ku-Pao over 9 innings, allowing only 5 hits, while K'ing 11 and walking 4. Ku-Pao ace Kuan-Yu Chen put up nearly identical numbers but was the hard-luck loser (he also threw a CG two days ago!). Chen gave up 1 run on 5 hits over 9 innings (11 K's, 2 BB's).
NY 2B Ping-Chieh Chen drove in the game's lone run (1-4, 3B, RBI). Teammate Fu-Lin Kuo was 1-3. For KP, SS Wei-Chen Wang was 2-3.

Reds Director of International Operations, Jim Stoeckel, in an interview to a UDN reporter, stated that there are 15 players in the tourney who could come and compete in the US.


Other:
There were a lot of big names at Chia Chia's wedding banquet including CFC, Kuo-Hui Lo, Chih-Hsien Chiang, Chih-Yuan Chen, Fu-Te Ni, & Chih-Chia Chang.



Kuo may be in contention for the closer's role with the Dodgers.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Ku-Pao Takes Game 1....

HS Wood Bat Tourney:
-In the championship series, Ku-Pao took game 1 from Nan-Ying 2-0. KP starter Chieh Pan threw a CG shutout (9 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 9 K's, 1 BB) to win his third game of the tourney. KP SS Wei-Chen Wang was 1-4 with a RBI while C Chih-Hao Su was 2-3 with the other RBI. Teammate LF Jui-Lin Chang was 3-4. For Nan-Ying, SS Fu-Lin Kuo was 0-4 while 3B Ping-Chieh Chen was 2-4.

-Shi-Yuan beat Gao-Nong 9-3 to wrap up 3rd place in the tourney. Offensively for Shi-Yuan: LF Pin-Hung Chi was 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI; 1B Sheng-Po Yu was 2-4, 2 RBI; C Shih-Hao Liu was 3-4, 3B; SS Chun-Kai Liu was 3-4, RBI. Gao-Nong was held to 6 hits offensively: 3B Chin-De Chang was 0-4; 1B Wei-Da Su was 1-3; DH Huai-En Chang was 2-3, RBI; LF Pei-Lun Yang was 1-3, 2 RBI.

-Ping-Zhen earned 5th place with a 2-1 win over Mei-Ho. PZ starter Ming-Chie Lu earned a ND despite an impressive performance (5.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 9 K's, 2 BB's). He combined with 2 relievers to hold Mei-Ho's lineup to only 4 hits collectively. Offensively for PZ, CF Tai-Yan Kuo was 2-3, 2B, RBI; LF Chi-Wei Ke was 2-4, RBI.

-Chung-Dau won a close 4-3 game against Qiang-Shu to take 7th place. CD reliever Yu-Te He earned the save (#4 in the tourney) with a scoreless 9th and was also 2-4 with a 2B, RBI at the plate. Also for DC, CF Hung-Hsiang Pan was 1-5 with 2 SB's.



OTHER:
-The Elephants have released IF Huai-Shan Chen and a few others.

-Apple Daily is reporting that of the 5 players that went to LA for a showcase, OF Chih-Yao Chan was probably the most impressive one and drew the interest of a few teams. Chan was the top pick of the T-Rex last year and is scheduled to be in the CPBL special draft.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

12/11 Scores/News..

HS Wood Bat Tourney:
The semis were played today with Ku-Pao winning 1-0 over Gao-Nong and Nan-Ying defeating Shi-Yuan 6-4.
In Nan-Ying's win, starter Chia-Liang Hung picked up the win after allowing 4 unearned runs over 8.2 innings - he also needed 157 pitches! NY 3B Fu-Lin Kuo was 2-5 with a RBI while teammate DH Wei-Yu Lai was 3-3 with a double and 2 RBI.
Ku-Pao relied on lefty ace Kuan-Yu Chen to pick up the key win - he threw 9 shutout innings (5 H, 8 K's, 3 BB's). Reliever Chun-Lung Chang saved the game for KP, he also drove in the game's only run (2-4 with a 2B and RBI). Teammate SS Wei-Chen Wang was 0-4. Gao-Nong reliever Wei-Da Su earned the loss (and was 0-3 at the plate).

Ku-Pao, the defending champs, will face Nan-Ying in a best of 3 series starting tomorrow the 12th and running through the 14th (if necessary). The winner of the series between the two powerhouses will be crowned the 2008 champs.

In the consolation bracket: Ping-Zhen defeated Chung-Dao 6-4. Ming-Chie Lin started for CD and earned a ND after allowing 3 runs on 3 hits over 2 IP (3 K's, 1 BB). CD SS Hung-Hsiang Pan was 2-5 with a double and 2 SB. PZ SS Hao-Chun Chiu was 2-4 with a RBI.

Ping-Zhen will play Mei-Ho today for 5th place in the tourney. Mei-Ho defeated Qiang-Shu 3-2 in 11 innings. Although he earned a ND, MH starter Wen-Hao Cheng allowed only 1 run on 7 hits over 9 IP - he also had 14 K's and 1 BB. MH SS Chih-Fang Pan was 2-5 with 2 RBI while 2B Hung-Jen Yen was 3-4 with 2 2B's.

Qiang-Shu and Chung-Dao will play for 7th place.


OTHER:
-The athletic department prefers that the CPBL will continue to push for the current minor league system rather than a national-military training team.

-In the college cup, Fu-Jen University won. FJU starter Wai-Jen Cheng threw a CG shutout - allowing 5 H, K'ing 7, and walking 4. Chiayi University was also victorious.

-Five La New Bears will be receiving raises for next year: P Wen-Hsiung Hsu, C Feng-Min Chen, OF Long-Yi Huang, IF Chih-Wei Shih, and OF Chien-Wei Tsai.

-Meiji University beat Taiwan Power 8-3.

Response to News Media on Cheng-Hao Wang...

It seems as if this post on Wang has riled up some people in Taiwan with claims that my post was irresponsible and "fabricated" after witnessing Wang throw a CG shutout on Wednesday. The information in my post was obtained from multiple sources including MLB scouts and reputable fans.

One thing people have to remember is that all UCL tears are not alike - usually the tear/sprain is graded I, II, or III (a grade III sprain is a complete tear of the UCL). The method of injury is usually gradual (in many cases in Taiwan - from being overworked). The severity of the injury can only be determined from an MRI, which is no cheap procedure, especially with the socialistic health care system in Taiwan. If a MLB team is truly interested in Wang, then he'll have to pass a standard physical in order to avoid the unfortunate Hsin-Hong Tsai fiasco. To date, Wang has not had an MRI examination of his elbow.

Also it is commonly seen in Taiwan that pitchers continue to throw in games despite suffering from some pretty severe injuries. Former Qiang-Shu ace RHP Yu-Hsun Chen had a complete UCL tear (he had TJ surgery last year) and his HS head coach Hsiao told him to take pain meds and still throw in a tourney. In one of the games, he pitched a CG as well - but alas with no velocity (he was throwing in the low 70's but was able to get by with his superb control and command). Here's another example: a few years back former Boras rep Kyle Chung brought then 19 year old RHP Chin-Wei Yu to the US for a showcase. Yu was throwing 92-94 in every outing and attracted the attention of many MLB scouts until he heard a pop resulting in severe elbow pain with swelling. He continued to pitch and in his next outing, although he topped out at 91 mph, he was at sitting at 84-85 after a steroid injection. He pretty much had suffered a complete tear of his UCL and unfortunately did not choose to have reconstructive surgery. He was never was the same again. He later switched agents and was represented by agents Adam Chang and Jerry Sung and came back to the US for a showcase as a 22 year old with a severely damaged UCL - he again topped out at 91 mph but sat at 86-88 mph. He never did receive an offer.

The bottom line is that a lot of these kids are being overworked (Shi-Yuan sidearmer Po-Chen Chi, who is usually a reliever, stated that he was very sore after the 4th inning in yesterday's 8 inning outing. After the 6th inning, he said he couldn't even feel his arm - Even his high school coach said that Chi has a history of injuries back in junior high school and was used mainly as a reliever with a much lower pitch count over the past 2 years in high school.) Something needs to be done about protecting these kids' arms and safeguarding their future. This is a serious matter with no resolution in sight. A strict pitch count needs to be implemented - but how do you go about changing the mindset of coaches who might not have the kids' best interest at heart?

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Wednesday Scores & News...

*HS Wood Bat Tourney - Elite 8 Action:
-Nan-Ying defeated Ping-Zhen 4-2. Picking up the CG win was Keng-Hao Chang. In 9 innings, he allowed 2 runs on 5 hits (7 K's, 5 BB's). Teammates: 3B Fu-Lin Kuo was 0-4, DH Wei-Yu Lai was 1-2 with a 2B and 3 RBI, CF Yung-Hsuan Chuang was 3-3 with a SB and a RBI. Ping-Zhen's starter was knocked out after giving up 4 unearned runs over the first 3.1 innings. Reliever Hao-Chun Chiu shut down Nan-Ying's offense over the last 4.2 innings (0 R, 3 H, 5 K's, 0 BB's).

-Shi-Yuan knocked off Chung-Dao from its undefeated perch with a close 1-0 victory. The game featured two of the tourney's top pitchers and they did not disappoint. Po-Chen Chi started for SY and threw 8 shutout innings, picking up the win (0 R, 5 H, 3 K's, 2 BB's). He was clocked in the upper 80's (88 mph). Pitching a CG in a losing effort was Yu-Te He of CDHS. He allowed 1 ER on 7 hits over 9 IP (8 K's, 0 BB's). CD leadoff hitter SS Hung-Hsiang Pan managed 2 of his team's collective 5 hits against Chi.

-Gao-Nong behind a CG shutout and gutty performance by Cheng-Hao Wang (9 IP, 0 R, 9 H, 5 K's, 2 BB's) defeated Qiang-Shu 1-0. Ching-Hung Lee took the loss after allowing 1 unearned run on 5 hits over 7.1 IP (6 K's, 5 BB's). GN 1B Wei-Da Su was 1-2.

-Ku-Pao defeated Mei-Ho 9-2 in 7 innings. After being spotted a 6-run lead, KP starter Kuan-Yu Chen was pulled in his 1 inning of work (3 K's, 0 BB's). Offensively for Ku-Pao: SS Wei-Chen Wang was 2-4 with 2 SB/ 2B Yu-Hsiang Chen was 3-4 with a 2B, 3B, and 2 RBI/1B Chun-Hung Kuo was 2-4 with a 3B and RBI.


*The Lions' top pick from last year, Wei-Hua Lee, has signed with the team after agreeing to a 3 million NT bonus ($89,700 USD). He'll make roughly $3,000 USD/month next year. Lee fared well this past year in the CPBL minors - he was 5-1 with a 1.70 ERA (56 K's in 58.1 IP). The lefty has been clocked at a high of 91 mph.

*More on the HS Wood Bat Tourney - Classic Examples of Overuse:
Despite taking the loss yesterday against Ku-Pao HS, Hua-Lien PE HS RHP Chung-Cheng Chiang was still clocked at a high of 88 mph. Pretty amazing when you consider the fact that he threw 432 pitches over 27.2 innings (5 game appearances) in a 10 day span!
Qiang-Shu's winning starter yesterday, Chi-Hao Yang threw a CG win that required 122 pitches.

*RHP Kai-Wen Cheng is weighing his options right now and may make a decision by next week if he'll play in Japan or the US should he get the right offer.

*The technical college league baseball tourney has kicked off.

*Japan's Meiji University is in Kaoshiung right now. The team will face three local squads: Taiwan Power on the 11th to open the series and finishing on the 14th against the Taiwan Coop Bank.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Nearly a Millionaire.....

HS Wood Bat Tourney:
-Ping-Zhen rallied for 2 runs in the top of the 9th to defeat Da-Li 3-2. PZHS relievers Hsien-Ting Peng (2.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 4 K's, 0 BB's), Ming-Jie Lu (2.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K's, 1 BB) and Hao-Chun Chiu (2.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 K's, 0 BB's - earned the W) combined to shut down Da-Li after it scored 2 unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning. Teammate RF-2B Chi-Tang Pan was 3-3 with a 2B, 3B, SB, and a RBI.

-Shi-Yuan won 5-1 over San-Hsin HS. SYHS 2B-3B Chu Lin was 3-4 with 2 doubles and a RBI.
3B Chia-Ming Huang was 1-4 for SHHS.

-Qiang-Shu defeated San-Min 8-1. QS starter Chi-Hao Yang threw a CG (9 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 8 K's, 2 BB's) to pick up his second win of the tourney. Teammate RF Wei-Sen Yang was 3-5 with 4 RBI.

-Ku-Pao narrowly defeated Hualien PE HS 2-1. KP pitcher Chie Pan earned the win (9 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 8 K's, 2 BB's) while Hualien starter Chung-Cheng Chiang was the hard-luck loser (CG - 9 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 11 K's, 5 BB's). For Ku-Pao, SS Wei-Chen Wang was 1-4 while 2B Yu-Hsiang Chen was 2-4 with a double. For Hualien, 2B Kai-Wen Cheng was 2-4 with a RBI.



Other:
*Yung-Chi Chen will not be participating in the WBC. In other NT news, HC Yeh has said that he won't take any player who will not be participating in the Australian training session onto the WBC team.

*
The Hanshin Tigers signed their top pick, Yi-Jie Hsiao to a huge signing bonus (the largest for an overseas player since Ching-Lung Lo - US/Chih-Chia Chang - Japan) - 90 million yen (~$973 K USD). His annual salary for 2009 will be 13 million yen ($140.5 K USD). Hsiao is taking aim of Seibu great Kaku Taigen's (Tai-Yuan Kuo) record of 117 career NPB wins.

*The only way for the CPBL to entice Tsao to stay home and play is to offer a salary comparitive to what President Lions RHP Wei-Lun Pan is making right now (roughly 6 million NT a year - which translates to $179 K USD).

Monday, December 08, 2008

KW Cheng in a Showcase today...

Bros representatives Kai-Wen Cheng and two other young pitchers participated in a showcase today. The workout was held in Taichung in front of scouts from several organizations.

-RHP Kai-Wen Cheng topped out at 89 mph.
-LHP Yong-Chun Liu topped out at 82 mph.
-RHP Chun-Hao Wang topped out at 83 mph.

Almost to the Elite Eight.....

HS Wood Bat Tourney:
Four teams have advanced to the Elite Eight (third round of action): Nan-Ying, Chung-Dao, Mei-Ho, and Gao-Nong are moving on.

There are no games today, but tomorrow the other four final contestants will be determined:
-Ping-Zhen vs. Da-Li - winner will face Nan-Ying on the 10th.
-San-Hsin vs. Shi-Yuan - winner will face Chung-Dao on the 10th.
-San-Ming vs. Qiang-Shu - winner will face Gao-Nong on the 10th.
-Ku-Pao vs. Hualien PE - winner will face Mei-Ho on the 10th.

Tourney Leaders:

BA:
1)Kuan-Yu Chen (Ku-Pao) .667
2)Chih-Fang Pan (Mei-Ho) .524
3)Chan-Chia Liu (Mei-Ho) .500
4)Pin-Chie Chen (Nan-Ying) .462
5)Fu-Lin Kuo (Nan-Ying) .455

RBI:
1)Hsien-Ting Peng (Ping-Zhen) 9
2)Chih-Fang Pan (Mei-Ho) 7
3)Shao-Ming Ke (Ping-Zhen) 7
4)Chih-Tang Pan (Ping-Zhen) 7
5)Chi-Hao Yang (Qiang-Shu) 6

HR:
1)Chih-Fang Pan (Mei-Ho) 1

SB:
1)Chih-Fang Pan (Mei-Ho) 7
2)Chia-Hao Chen (Chiayi) 5
3)Yu-Fan Tsai (Chiayi) 4
4)Hsien-Ting Peng (Ping-Zhen) 4
5)Hong-Hsiang Pan (Chung-Dao) 4

Wins:
1)Yan-Wei Lee (Chung-Dao) 5
2)Po-Ru Lin (Ping-Zhen) 3
3)Wen-Hao Cheng (Mei-Ho) 3
4)Hsien-Ting Peng (Ping-Zhen) 3
5)Ching-Hong Lee (Qiang-Shu) 2

ERA:
1)Po-Chen Chi (Shi-Yuan) 0.00
2)Keng-Hao Chang (Nan-Ying) 0.00
3)Chia-Liang Hung (Nan-Ying) 0.00
4)Chi-Hao Yang (Qiang-Shu) 0.00
5)Chi-Hao Lin (San-Min) 0.00

K's:
1)Chung-Cheng Chiang (Hualien PE) 27 (18.2 IP)
2)Chi-Hao Huang (Chiayi) 20 (14.2 IP)
3)Yu-Fan Tsai (Chiayi) 20 (15 IP)
4)Ching-Hong Lee (Qiang-Shu) 20 (16.2 IP)
5)Wen-Hao Cheng (Mei-Ho) 19 (15.1 IP)

WHIP:
1)Chie Pan (Ku-Pao) 0.23
2)Keng-Hao Chang (Nan-Ying) 0.25
3)Yu-Te He (Chung-Dao) 0.27
4)Shun-Sung Chen (Kao-Yuan) 0.46
5)Yao-Chun Lin (Da-Li) 0.48