Yang on a Tear...

NPB:

C.S. Yang faced off against Si-Yo Wu in a nigun battle between the Fighters and Marines. In a game shortened because of rain, the Fighters prevailed 5-2. Yang continues to impress as he was 2-4 with 2 RBI's on the night. Wu tossed the first 3.2 innings for the Marines and was not impressive, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits. Wu, who clocked 88 mph on his fastball, managed to K Yang his first time up at the plate. However Yang would have the last laugh, as he would crack 2 hits and drive in the runs against Wu.

photos courtesy of libertytimes

CPBL:
Bulls 12 - Cobras 2: Game MVP went to Tarzan (Chang) who was 3-5 with 3 RBI's/His teammate Kuo-Long Hsu was also 3-5 with 3 RBI's.
Lions 9 - Whales 8: CFC's older bro Lien-Hung Chen was Game MVP - despite a 1-5 night, his lone hit was key as he crushed a game-winning 3 run HR in the 8th inning/The Whales Chien-Wei Chen was 2-3 with a HR and 3 RBI's.

It's All About the Lins....

NPB SPRING TRAINING TIDBITS:

On Sunday in the NPB, the Hanshin Tigers played the Nippon Fighters in ST.

Lin #1

Tigers OF Wei-Chu Lin cracked a 2 run HR in the 6th inning to help lead his team to a 10-9 win. Lin has been swinging the bat well in BP as of late. Youngster C.S. Yang did not see the field for the Fighters.

Lin x 2

Pitchers En-Yu Lin, Ying-Chieh Lin, and Chien-Ming Chiang all participated on their respective team's intrasquad games on Sunday as well. Nothing important to note, although E.Y. Lin was clocked at 91 mph on his fastball. Y.C. Lin maxed out at 85 mph on his fastball.

"I've Got Next!!"

Sheng-An Kuo was the first signing of 2007. Who's next? Well, the top two prospects are both in HS, although one is playing in Japan.

1)The top signable HS prospect gathering significant attention in Taiwan is Nan-Ying Vocational HS (This Tainan HS baseball powerhouse has produced current Dodgers: Hong-Chih Kuo and Ching-Lung Hu) OF Che-Hsuan Lin. Rumor has it that multiple MLB teams, including the Cubs, Reds, Red Sox, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Twins have interest in Lin. Arguably the top positional player on the island in his graduating HS class, the kid is blessed with a lot of plus tools. The 18 year old's (DOB: 9/21/88) best attribute is his outstanding speed. He has run a 10.9 in the 100m dash. Not only is he athletic, but he has a plus arm, hits for average, has above average power, and is plus-plus defensively. The 6'0 - 185 pounder bats and throws righty.

Lin competed for the Taiwanese junior NT in 2006 - a team that finished 5th at the 22nd AAA World Junior Baseball Championships. During the competition, Lin appeared in 8 games, starting all games in CF. In 34 AB's, he hit .353, slugged .471, cracked a double, a HR, scored 7 runs, had 2 RBI's and 2 SB's. He also played flawless defense with no errors in the field.

Lin burst onto the world stage in 2000 when he hit a grand slam (one of only 9 in Bronco Series history) in the Bronco League World Series (for kids 11-12 years old). He alongside fellow junior NT and HS teammate Kai-Wen Cheng, led their Tainan team to the 2000 Pony League (Bronco Division) World Series Championship.

In a year with a weak crop of graduating HS pitchers, Lin is expected to be the second member of the 2006 junior NT to join a MLB organization (the first being OF Wang-Wei Lin of the Minnesota Twins). Due to current CTBA rules, don't expect Lin's signing to become official until after he graduates HS.

Here is a video link (courtesy of Heavenly Star) of Nan-Ying in action. Lin is #8 in the white uniform and is the leadoff hitter in the video.

Y.W. Kuo

C.H. Lin's HS teammate and fellow 2006 junior NT member Yen-Wen Kuo (SS) is another prospect who has garnered some attention. However as you can see from this video, Kuo def. needs to fill out his frame with a good weight training program. The 18 year old (DOB: 10/25/1988) stands 5'11" and weighs 168 pounds.

+'s for Kuo: soft hands, good range in the field, accurate arm, good bat control, plus runner
-'s for Kuo: lacks power, weak arm

2)The other top prospect is LHP Heng-Hsiao Kuo, who is currently playing HS baseball in Japan. Kuo who stands 5'11" has a max fastball of 92 mph. H.H. Kuo is following in the footsteps of Chung-Shou Yang by playing at his alma mater - Fukuoka Daiichi HS. Kuo is joined by 2 other Taiwanese kids currently playing in Fukuoka, Japan. Kuo is good enough to be considered a possible first round pick in next year's NPB HS draft.

*Updated*

One and Done....

TJ - Damn, we hardly knew you!

TJ Yeh was released by the Red Sox per Frank via BaseballAmerica's recent minor league transaction detail list. TJ played one year in the organization with the Lowell Spinners and posted subpar numbers in limited appearances. TJ will head back home and play in the CPBL - he'll probably join the team that originally drafted him - the Elephants. TJ is the second Taiwanese flameout for the Red Sox, following in the footsteps of Kevin Huang.



Spring training news on Chung-Shou Yang: Yang tweaked a hammy doing windsprints on Friday. The injury isn't too bad as Yang cranked out 7 HR's in 33 swings yesterday.

In other NPB ST news, sad to say, but it looks like Wei-Chu Lin's chances of getting more PT might hinge on the health of CF N. Akahoshi. Lin cranked out 9 HR's in 63 swings in a recent session.

Comparing the Power of CS Yang and CF Chen

Watching vid highlights of CS Yang at the plate has me reminiscing to the earlier days of Chin-Feng Chen. The power generated by both guys at the plate is impressive when you look at their vids. Check out this video of CFC in 1997 when he was 20 years old, cracking a HR against China (I do believe he used an aluminum bat during that game/tourney). The following year, CFC had a breakout year on the international stage when he crushed 5 HR's (to lead the entire tourney) at the Baseball World Cup (click on 1998 link) - that led to him being scouted and signed by the LA Dodgers in 1999.

The impressive thing about CS Yang is that despite being only 19 years old, he is already flashing good power using a wood bat in this year's international tourneys. After only one year in the minors, Yang's power has translated well to the pro game (after having prolific power numbers in HS using an aluminum bat). Being selected to the NT in 2006 for the WBC, the I-Cup, and the Asian Games is a testament to the talent and potential of Yang. In fact, a friend informed me that MLB scouts at the Intercontinental Cup (scouting the Cubans) were extremely impressed by Yang - stating that he could have been a first round pick in the MLB draft (if only he was American).

See Yang's HR vs Japan 11/19/06 in the Intercontinental Cup and HR vs. the Netherlands 11/13/06 also in the Intercontinental Cup.
For more vids please check out this sweet site: Daiyi.idv.st. Although it is a Chinese language site, it is easily navigatable (use the mouse over technique) and has many highlights of Taiwanese star ballplayers.

Finally! A Win Versus Japan....

Taiwan won the bronze after it extracted a small measure of revenge against the Japanese NT by beating them the second time around in the I-Cup. Taiwan blanked Japan 4-0 on a dominant performance by Chien-Fu Yang and Sung-Wei Tseng. The 2 combined to K 10 hitters and allowed only 4 hits throughout the game. Taiwan's offense managed 10 hits and 2 HR's against their opponent. After a double by Chien-Ming Chang in the opening frame, Yung-Chi Chen would drive in the game's first run by singling Chang home. Chen was 3-3 with a RBI. Taiwan would add 2 more runs in the 3rd inning on Tai-Shan Chang's 2-run HR. Chung-Shou Yang would complete the scoring by cranking a solo HR in the 8th inning.
Box Score

The 3rd place showing was Taiwan's best effort since 1983 when it also won 3rd at the Intercontinental Cup. As for the tourney all-star team, only Yung-Chi Chen made the roster at 2B.

All-Star

Overall the team tied Australia for most HR's hit by a team with 10. Chung-Shou Yang led the tourney in runs scored while also tying for second overall in SB's and HR's hit. See more individual leaders here. The team's cumulative stats can be found here.

Close Loss to Cuba....

Taiwan lost a heartbreaking 1 run game to Cuba in the semifinals of the Intercontinental Cup 5-4. After falling behind 5-1, Taiwan would rally to score 3 runs in the top of the 8th inning. As for Taiwan's offense: Chung-Shou Yang (1-4) would drive in Taiwan's first run with a RBI-double in the 5th inning. In the 8th inning, Taiwan would mount it's rally with RBI's coming from the heart of it's order - Tai-Shan Chang, Yi-Chuan Lin, and Chia-Hsien Hsieh would all drive in runs. However pinch hitter Guan-Ren Chen would strike out to end the threat in the 8th inning. Taiwan's starter Wei-Lun Pan was unable to hold down the explosive Cuban offense as he gave up 4 runs on 8 hits in 3.1 innings. Sung-Wei Tseng continued to impress as he held the Cubans scoreless over the last 3 innings, giving up 3 hits to go along with 3 K's.
Box Score
Despite the loss, Taiwan will get another shot at beating Japan on Sunday in the bronze medal game. The Netherlands defeated Japan on Saturday, putting them in the finals against Cuba. On the brighter side of things, this is the first time that we've defeated the Cuban NT in 3 different age groups in the same year. Earlier in the year, our junior NT & collegiate NT defeated their Cuban counterparts. The significance of the victories? Not only can we compete with the world's best amateurs, but the overall quality of baseball in Taiwan has improved significantly over the past few years.

Other News:
Cor has kindly uploaded a short video clip of Taiwan's victory (2nd and 3rd innings) over Cuba in the I-Cup over at Taiwaneseballplayers.com. Check it out!

Lo lost his 3rd game of the season in the HWB on Wednesday night. Lo pitched 4 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits. Lo had a 10 inning scoreless streak broken up after he allowed a run in the first inning.
Box Score

NT Loses 4-2 to the Netherlands....

Facing the most important game to date in the I-Cup, the NT lost in extra innings 4-2 to the Dutch NT. Wasting a great performance by starting pitcher Chien-Fu Yang, who pitched 5.2 innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits to go along with 5 K's and 3 walks and reliever Yueh-Ping Lin (2.1 scoreless innings - 4 K's), the Taiwanese NT now finds itself in a deep hole. After the Dutch team had taken an early 1-0 lead, youngster Chung-Shou Yang finally got untracked as he cranked a solo HR in the 3rd inning to tie things up - he would finish with a 2-4 night. Yang, who had hit well in the exhibition matches prior to the I-Cup, was hitting only .077 (1-13) prior to tonight's game.

Yang(R) after the HR

Yung-Chi Chen also continued his hot hitting streak by going 3-5 with a double. The game would remain scoreless until the 10th inning when NT reliever Po-Hsuan Keng would allow a couple of walks/hits/sac-fly that would produce 3 runs for the Dutch team. Taiwan would score a run in the bottom of the 10th, but that was it.
Box Score

With the loss, Taiwan now finds itself in 6th place (2-3) with 2 games remaining (Taiwan loses the tiebreaker to Italy). Taiwan will amost certainly have to win both games or have Lady Luck on their side in order to have a shot at making it to the semis. While a win over the RP is almost a guarantee, beating Cuba - the only undefeated team in the tourney will be a very difficult task. Aside from Cuba and Japan, who are virtually guaranteed the top 2 spots, the other 3 teams ahead of Taiwan have the following games remaining:
1)Australia 3-2: Cuba, the Netherlands
2)Netherlands 3-2: Korea, Australia
3)Italy 2-3: Japan, Korea
Based on the above matchups, it is highly likely that Taiwan will leapfrog Italy should Italy lose to both Asian teams. Therefore, Taiwan would need one of a few things to happen in order to advance to the semis:
1)Both Australia and the Netherlands would need to lose tomorrow and then Australia would need to defeat the Netherlands on Thursday. Taiwan would have to take care of business and beat Cuba. With that scenario, Taiwan would advance as the #3 seed.
2)Or if Australia and the Netherlands both lose tomorrow, Taiwan could still advance as the #4 seed if they lose to Cuba and the Netherlands beat Australia on Thursday.
3)Australia loses both games - we win one game, regardless of how the Dutch team does, we win the tie-breaker vs. Australia and advance as a probable 4 seed.

We'll have to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best in the next couple of days.


Other News:
Ching-Lung Hu was removed from Mesa's roster on 11/13. I'm assuming it's because he's on his way home to prepare for the upcoming Asian Games. Hu had a rough time in the AFL as he couldn't get his bat going.

NT 4-2 Win Over Italy....

Yang

In the third exhibition match for the NT in preparation for the Intercontinental Cup, the NT managed to defeat the Italian NT 4-2. Starting pitcher Sung-Wei Tseng pitched 5 scoreless innings, K'ing 4. The Italian NT scored both of their runs in the 9th inning off of NT reliever Yueh-Ping Lin. Lin, who was clocked ~ 89 to the low 90's, continues to struggle after failing to shut down the LA New Bears in his closer role during the CPBL Championships. Again, the offensive star for the NT was 19 year old Chung-Shou Yang who collected 2 hits and drove in 2 runs.

CPBL NEWS:Lin - MVP

En-Yu Lin, the CPBL triple crown winner (Wins/ERA/K's), was voted MVP of the CPBL. Lin, who will continue his career next year in Japan, beat out Chin-Feng Chen (finished 2nd in voting) and Tai-Shan Chang.

Chen - ROY

As expected, the CPBL ROY award went to Guan-Ren Chen of the Brother Elephants.

AFL

Hu was 0-3 in tonights 4-2 Mesa loss. Box
Hu's 4th journal entry is now up. Check it out.

HWB
Lo earned his second victoy in the HWBL yesterday. Lo easily has his best outing in Hawaii as he pitched 5 scoreless innings, giving up 4 hits to go along with 4 K's and 1 walk. Box

ND for Chiang....

NPB
Chien-Ming Chiang earned a ND today as his Giants lost 9-3 to the CL Champs - the Chunichi Dragons in extra innings. Chiang's only mistake of the game was a 3 run shot given up to Tyrone Woods in the 4th inning. Those were the only runs Chiang would give up as he threw 7.1 innings, giving up 6 hits to go along with 2 walks and 2 K's. Chiang left the game with the score all knotted up at 3 in the 8th inning. Box

On Sunday, Wei-Chu Lin was 0-1 in a pinch hit appearance for the Hanshin Tigers. The Tigers lost to the Yomiuri Giants 5-1. Box

As for teenage prodigy Chung-Shou Yang, his first year with the Fighters organization is officially over. Yang hit .276 in 352 AB's - he had 9 HR's and 36 RBI's with the nigun team. Not too shabby a campaign for the 19 year old as he garnered All-Star recognition and picked up the August minor league player of the month award.

Following in the footsteps of Lin and Yang...

Top Prospect:
Yi-Hao Lin

Talking to a friend the other day, I was amazed to learn that each year a number of top Taiwanese middle school/high school prospects go on to Japan to play HS baseball there. The amazing part of the story is the fact that of all the kids who've gone over to Japan, only two have panned out: Wei-Chu Lin of the Hanshin Tigers and Chung-Shou Yang of the Nippon Fighters - and both guys are positional players (OF and IF). None of the Taiwanese pitchers have ever panned out. Well, Yi-Hao Lin, a 15 year old righty, will try to change all of that. Lin, who throws easily in the 90 to 93 mph range already, will attend HS in Japan. Lin has a contract with the Yomiuri Giants, so in the event Lin is successful, he will end up in the NPB. The negotiations on Lin's behalf were assisted by Lin's junior high school coach, Wu-Hsiung Huang and the WBC NT coach Hwa-Wei Lin. The best compliment paid by my friend to Lin is the fact that Lin's raw ability at his age is already better than both ML's Wang and Tsao were at the same age. Lin will represent Taiwan's under 16 National Youth Team that will play in Indonesia and compete for the title of Asia's finest in September.

*edited 7/20/06

Chung-Shou Yang at the All-Star Break...

Yang(R) pictured with all-star teammate Kawasima

The Pacific League was matched up against the Central League in the Minor League All-Star Game today. Representing the Pacific League with the Nippon Ham Fighters was Chung-Shou Yang. Normally a SS for his minor league team, Yang played 3B and was slotted 5th in the Pacific League lineup. The Central League ended up winning the game 8-4. Yang was 0-3 with 1 K. Yang's older brother, Y.H. Yang, who was also selected to the Minor League All-Star Game, DNP due to injury.

Here's a look at Yang's numbers through the All-Star Break:
213 AB's
56 hits
.263 BA
24 runs scored
6 doubles
0 triples
7 HR's
21 RBI's
4 SB
55K's
28walks

Those numbers aren't too shabby for a 19 year old playing against older competition in the minors.

Chiang's Debut...

18 year old Chih-Hsien Chiang made his professional debut in the GCL today. Chiang started at 2B and was 2-4, hitting out of the 9 hole. Lin and Huang DNP. The Red Sox lost 4-2.

Kuo-Hui Lo is still in search of his first hit of the season. He was 0-4 with a walk in Everett's 10-1 loss. He hit out of the 2 hole tonight.

Cheng started for Lansing tonight and lasted 5 innings. He gave up 4 hits, 3 earned runs, while walking 3 and K'ing 5. He earned a no-decision in Lansing's 4-3 loss.

Facing off against C.L. Lo's team, Chen went 0-4 in IE's 4-1 win tonight.

Jacksonville lost 4-2, with Hu going 0-4.

In Alaska:
Chu had the game winning hit last night vs. the Beatrice, Bruins, as the Panners won 2-1 in 10 innings. Chu also managed a 3-5 night at the plate. Box/Recap

In Japan:
C.S. Yang has been elected to represent the Nippon Ham Fighters in the minor-league all star game taking place on July 20th. The game will match representatives from Pacific League farm teams vs. Central League farm teams. Yang's bro, Y.H. Yang - representing the Hawks, will join him on the Pacific League all star team as well.

Chung-Shou Yang Update.....

Yang is playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters Ni-Gun (minor league) team in the Eastern League. Yang has been hitting out of the leadoff or 3 spot in the lineup and is playing SS defensively.

Statistically, including the result of today's game, Yang is hitting .267 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI's through 17 games.

"You" Da Man!!!

Who's Da Man?!

Future Puppeteer??

Yang with future teammates (4th from right)

The Nippon Ham Fighters officially introduced their draft picks to the public yesterday.

Yang, the top pick for the Fighters, will wear # 24, and have his name emblazoned on the back of his jersey as "You", the Japanese pronounciation of his Chinese character.

The (Yin) Yang Brothers!!!!

Here's a pic of the Yang brothers united again in Taiwan. Older brother and future Hawk, Yao-Hsun Yang is on the left. Lil brother and NPB first round pick, Chung-Shou Yang, is on the right.

Photo taken by Chun Liang Lin.

Taiwanese high schooler picked in 1st round.....

In the 2005 NPB draft, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters drafted Taiwanese high school infielder, Chung-Shou Yang with their first round pick. Yang, who is a Taiwanese citizen, played SS forFukuoka Daiichi High School. Yang, who was born 1/17/87, stands 182 cm tall, weighs 78 kg, throws and bats righty. Highly coveted because of his all-around game, Yang hit 39 home runs in his 3 year HS stay, ran the 50 meters in 6.0 seconds, and played great defense with the ability to cover a lot of field because of a strong arm and quick feet.

Yang is the younger brother of amateur pitcher Yao-Hsun Yang. The older brother faced off against Ian Kennedy this past summer. The elder Yang is expected to make the jump to the NPB next year with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. A mix-up during the 2005 draft caused elation and tears for the younger Yang, when Hawks manager Saharu Oh originally thought that he had won the rights to draft Yang. The younger Yang was obviously hoping to be drafted by the Hawks because of his Fukuoka connection, his brother's expected signing, and the fact that the revered Sadaharu Oh is the manager there. However, when the error was corrected, Yang's happiness turned to sadness when the Fighters were given the rights over the Hawks to pick Yang.

In other notes of the 2005 NPB draft, super stud high school pitcher, Tsujiuchi Takanobu was selected by the Yomiuri Giants. The rich get richer with the selection of Takanobu, who dominated Taiwan's high school kids earlier this summer.

Edited: 10/4/05 3:00 AM