The Latest News....Tsao/Nakagomi Gone...

CPBL Scandal:

Here's the latest 411 on this mess. 1 2

If the Elephants franchise survives this ordeal, it will undergo a significant face lift next year with the team roster.

FT Ni weighs in with his 2 cents.*updated

NPB:
One-time wonderkid Yi-Hao Lin was released by the Yomiuri Giants. You've got to wonder WTF happened here (in hindsight, the Giants failed to develop the phenom - tinkering with his mechanics & the advice he received from WH Huang and HW Lin to go to Japan didn't pay off) . Makes you ponder and think what if had he chosen the other route and decided to sign with a MLB team (in that scenario he would've received a lot more money - rather than the nominal $100 K he got from the Giants, and better development in the US).

News Briefs.....

*Leading the way for the two groups of Taiwanese kids heading to Japan are:

1) coach Hua-Wei Lin with the Yomiuri Giants (has steered top prospects Yi-Hao Lin and Yu-Hung Lee to the Giants)

2) former Elephants manager Si-Hsien Wu with the Yokohama Baystars*Edited

*Attending the Hanshin Tigers' fall camp are: RHP's Kai-Wen Cheng and Yi-Chieh Hsiao

HIGHS: 3-Peat for the Lions........ & LOWS: Another CPBL Scandal

CPBL:
Taiwan Series:

10/22 Thurs/Game 5: Elephants 5 - Lions 4 (10): game MVP: Kuan-Jen Chen 1-5, GWRBI in the 10th

10/24 Sat/Game 6: Elephants 5 - Lions 4 (17): game MVP: Chia-Rui Mai 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 4 K's, 3 BB's

10/25 Sun/Game 7: Lions 5 - Elephants 2: game MVP: Kuo-Ching Kao 1-4, 3 RBI

*The Lions have now won back to back to back championships - unfortunately for the team there is no Konami Cup to prove where it belongs on the Asian stage.

Scandals now becoming the norm rather than the exception in the CPBL:

There are new allegations regarding games being fixed in the CPBL. Allegations involve several big names in the CPBL, including former MLB player Chin-Hui Tsao, ex-Seibu Lion Chih-Chia Chang, Bulls slugger Chia-Hsien Hsieh, and former Red Sox farmhand and Bears reliever Kevin Huang. Several former and current players from 3 clubs (all but the Lions) are under suspicion for their involvement in the scandal.

Read more here and here.

Will they ever learn from past mistakes??!!

NPB:
CLCS - Stage 2:

10/22 Thurs/Game 2: Giants 6 - Dragons 4: WY Chen L 3.1 IP, 5 R, 9 H, 3 K's, 1 BB

(Dragons eliminated 3-1. The team will look to resign Chen to a 1 year deal.)

Other:

*CJ Lo garnered POW honors in the AFL.

*The Yomiuri Giants are hosting 6 Taiwanese university players who will be practicing with the nigun team at the EOM. Of those 6, the two most well known players are RHP's Keng-Hao Chang and Chih-Lung Huang (the Giants have followed Huang's career pretty closely).

The Baystars will be hosting former HS stars Kuan-Yu Chen and Wen-Hao Cheng also later this month.*Updated

Lions One Win Away.....

CPBL - 2009 Taiwan Series:
Tues 10/20
Game 3: Elephants 5 - Lions 4 (10): Game MVP: Chih-Yuan Chen - GW hit in the bottom of the 10th


Wed 10/21
Game 4: Lions 11 - Elephants 5: Game MVP: Tai-Chi-Kuo 2-5, 2B, 4 RBI

(The Lions lead the series 3-1. Game 5 starters are expected to be Wei-Lun Pan for the Lions and Yu-Cheng Liao for the Elephants.)

MLB - NLCS:
Mon 10/19
Game 4: Phillies 5 - Dodgers 4: HC Kuo 1.1 IP, 0 R/H, 1 K, 0 BB's


Wed 10/21

Game 5: Phillies 9 - Dodgers 4: HC Kuo 1 IP, 1 R/H, 3 K's, 0 BB's - 1 HR allowed

(Dodgers eliminated.)

Brief read on Kuo/Ni/Wang

Other:
*Chia-Jen Lo is faring well in the Arizona Fall League. He picked up a W last night.

*Chung-Shou Yang is a possible candidate for the NPB U-26 squad that will face the Collegiate All-Star team taking place Nov. 22nd.

Postseason Updates...

MLB - NLCS:
10/15 Thurs
Phillies 8 - Dodgers 6: HC Kuo 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K's, 0 BB's


10/16 Fri
Dodgers 2 - Phillies 1: HC Kuo - W , 0.2 IP, 0 R/H/K's/BB's


Nice article on the resilience of Kuo






NPB - CLCS:
10/17 Sat
Swallows 3 - Dragons 2: WY Chen - L, 7 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 8 K's, 2 BB's - 1 HR allowed






CPBL - Taiwan Series:
10/17 Sat
Game 1: Lions 5 - Elephants 4: game MVP: Fu-Hao Liu 2-4, HR, 2 RBI

10/8 Sun
Game 2: Lions 6 - Elephants 3: game MVP: Wei-Lun Pan - W , 7 IP, 1 R, 8 H, 2 K's, 1 BB





Other:
*Check out The Cubs Reporter to see how TA Wang, PC Chen, and YL Wang (topped out at 94 mph in his last outing) are doing in the Instructional League (in AZ).

*In the recently completed Mei-Hua Flag Collegiate Tournament won by NCPES, there was a Rong-Hao Hsieh sighting. The righty topped out at 87 mph in his last outing. Finishing out the top 3 in the tourney were Chinese Culture University and Chiayi University.

Chih-Lung Huang Update....

UDN.com is reporting that RHP Chih-Lung Huang may sign as early as later this month with a MLB or NPB club. Reportedly the Rangers, Mariners, as well as NPB teams (perhaps the Yomiuri Giants) all have interest in Huang. Huang began to display his trademark fastball (low 90's) in the Asian Championships as well as the recently completed World Cup - after suffering through some down years following his storied junior NT (high school) career. Huang himself, prefers to play professionally in Japan.

Archived articles on Huang

10/5 to 10/12 Scores....Taiwan Series Set......WY Chen - 2009 CL ERA Crown....

MLB:
Tues 10/6:
Twins 6 - Tigers 5: FT Ni 0.1 IP, 0 R/H/K's/BB's


Wed 10/7:
G1 NLDS: Dodgers 5 - Cardinals 3: HC Kuo 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 K's, 0 BB's





NPB:
Tues 10/6:
Fighters 5 - Lions 4: MC Hsu SP - ND, 4 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 2 K's, 5 BB's


Sun 10/11:
Swallows 4 - Dragons 3: WY Chen SP - ND, 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 7 K's, 2 BB's
(WY Chen has locked down the ERA title in the Central League with a 1.54 ERA)






CPBL:
Tues 10/6:
Bulls 11 - Elephants 2


Wed 10/7:
Bears 4 - Elephants 1

Lions 4 - Bulls 3


Thurs 10/8:
Bears 9 - Elephants 3

Bulls 13 - Lions 2 (YC Lin HR #18)


Sat 10/10:
Bears 3 - Lions 1 (CS Lin HR #31 / A. Rakers W #13)

Bulls 3 - Elephants 0 (S. Itsuki W #14)


Sun 10/11:
Bulls 11 - Elephants 5 (KC Lin W #10)

Bears 9 - Lions 7 (CC Chang W #10)


Mon 10/12:
Bulls 8 - Lions 3


The 2009 Taiwan Series is set - The Lions (first half champs) will face the Elephants (second half champs). The best of 7 series will begin on October 17th.

First Half Standings:

Team	W	D	L	GB	E	WP
Lions	34	2	24	--	-	0.586
Bears	33	1	26	1.5	e	0.559
Bulls	29	2	29	5	e	0.5
Elephants	21	1	38	13.5	e	0.356

Second Half Standings:

Team	W	D	L	GB	E	WP
Elephants	33	2	25	--	-	0.569
Lions	29	1	30	4.5	e	0.492
Bulls	28	1	31	5.5	e	0.475
Bears	28	0	32	6	e	0.467

Finals Standings:

Team	W	D	L	GB	E	WP
Lions	63	3	54	--	-	0.538
Bears	61	1	58	3	e	0.513
Bulls	57	3	60	6	e	0.487
Elephants	54	3	63	9	e	0.462

Top 5 - Stats (Final):
BA:
1)Wu-Hsiung Pan (Lions) .367
2)Chia Chia (Elephants) .366
3)Wilton Veras (Bulls) .360
4)Yi-Chuan Lin (Bulls) .348
5)Chih-Sheng Lin (Bears) .332
(CFC was #7 with a .320 BA)

Hits:
1)Wilton Veras (Bulls) 176
2)Yi-Chuan Lin (Bulls) 169
3)Chien-Ming Chang (Bulls) 148
4)Chih-Sheng Lin (Bears) 143
5)CFC (Bears) 132

HR:
1)Chih-Sheng Lin (Bears) 31
2)CFC (Bears) 27
3)Yi-Chuan Lin (Bulls) 18
4)Tarzan (Bulls) 17
5)Chia Chia (Elephants) 17

RBI:
1)Yi-Chuan Lin (Bulls) 113
2)Chih-Sheng Lin (Bears) 111
3)CFC (Bears) 99
4)Lien-Hung Chen (Lions) 76
5)Wilton Veras (Bulls) 73

SB:
1)Sheng-Wei Wang (Elephants) 42
2)Chia Chia (Elephants) 25
3)Cheng-Wei Huang (Elephants) 20
4)Jose Castillo (Lions) 20
5)Sung-Hsien Yang (Lions) 15


Wins:
1)Shoda Itsuki (Bulls) 14
2)Aaron Rakers (Bears) 13
3)Yu-Cheng Liao (Elephants) 11
4)Wei-Lun Pan (Lions) 10
5)Ko-Chien Lin (Bulls) 10

ERA:
1)Wei-Lun Pan (Lions) 3.30
2)Yu-Cheng Liao (Elephants) 3.31
3)Aaron Rakers (Bears) 3.45
4)Ko-Chien Lin (Bulls) 4.02
5)Chih-Chia Chang (Bears) 4.31

Saves:
1)Yueh-Ping Lin (Lions) 26
2)Ryan Cullen (Elephants) 20
3)Jermaine Van Buren (Bears) 15
4)Yu-Chieh Shen (Bulls) 5
5)Hao-Jen Lee (Elephants) 5

K's:
1)Shoda Itsuki (Bulls) 115 (158 IP)
2)Aaron Rakers (Bears) 110 (159.1 IP)
3)Chih-Chia Chang (Bears) 94 (135.2 IP)
4)Ying-Chieh Lin (Bulls) 93 (115.2 IP)
5)Wei-Lun Pan (Lions) 81 (133.2 IP)

WHIP:
1)Aaron Rakers (Bears) 1.31
2)Wei-Lun Pan (Lions) 1.32
3)Ko-Chien Lin (Bulls) 1.41
4)Shoda Itsuki (Bulls) 1.44
5)Chih-Chia Chang (Bears) 1.44

Yi-Chuan Lin: A Rookie Like No Other......

23 year old CPBL rookie Yi-Chuan Lin has had an unbelievable first year with the Sinon Bulls. With only a few games remaining in the regular season, the young slugger has shattered several rookie league marks and is chasing a few all-time league records in numerous offensive categories.

(As of 10/7) Currently hitting .348 with 163 hits in 469 AB's, Lin also has 17 HR's and 107 RBI.

1)His 163 hits currently rank second in the league (behind teammate Wilton Veras's 169) and breaks the old league record of 152 hits held by Lions IF Kuo-Ching Kao (*the league expanded games played to 120 this year vs. 100 in past years). The old rookie mark was 117 H, held by Chih-Wei Shih in '04

2)He currently co-holds the league lead with 107 RBI (tying Bears slugger Chih-Sheng Lin). This also is the current league record (held by former Lions slugger Tilson Brito). The old rookie mark was 72 RBI, set by Tarzan way back in 1999.

3)His .348 BA is the 4th best in the league this year. The highest rookie BA is .342, held by former Elephants slugger/manager Kuang-Hui Wang (1990).

4)His 17 HR tie him for 3rd in the 2009 CPBL season, trailing only Bears sluggers Chih-Sheng Lin (30) and CFC (27). The rookie league mark is held by Ming-Hsiung Liao (18 set in '93 with the now defunct China Times Eagles).

9/28 - 10/4 Rundown..

MLB:
Mon 9/28
Pirates 11 - Dodgers 1: CL Hu 0-0, RBI


Tues 9/29
Padres 3 - Dodgers 1: HC Kuo 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 K's, 1 BB


Thurs 10/1
Twins 8 - Tigers 3: FT Ni 0.1 IP, 0 R/H, 1 K, 0 BB's


Fri 10/2
Rockies 4 - Dodgers 3: CL Hu 0-0, R


Sat 10/3
Dodgers 5 - Rockies 0: CL Hu 0-0, R / HC Kuo W 2-0, 1 IP, 0 R/H/K's/BB's

White Sox 5 - Tigers 1: FT Ni 0.1 IP, 0 R/H/K's/BB's


Sun 10/4
Dodgers 5 - Rockies 3: CL Hu 2-4, 2B, RBI






NPB:
Mon 9/28
Dragons 10 - Giants 1: WY Chen 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB's


Wed 9/30
Marines 9 - Lions 2: MC Hsu L 1-2, 5.2 IP, 4 R, 9 H, 4 K's/BB's


Sat 10/3
Dragons 6 - Bay Stars 3: WY Chen ND, 4 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 4 K's, 1 BB

Swallows 6 - Tigers 4: KW Cheng 1 IP, 0 R/H/K's, 1 BB





CPBL:
Tues 9/29
Elephants 5 - Bears 2

Bulls 12 - Lions 1


Thurs 10/1
Lions 10 - Bears 5

Bulls 6 - Elephants 4


Fri 10/2
Bears 5 - Bulls 3 (12)

Elephants 3 - Lions 0


Sat 10/3
Bulls 11 - Bears 3

Lions 9 - Elephants 3


Sun 10/4
Bulls 8 - Bears 5

Elephants 7 - Lions 2




Other:
Follow the story of some lucky Taiwanese baseball-playing teens in the US