Thursday Highs and Lows...

Amateur:

Taiwan lost to Puerto Rico 4-2 in the semifinals today. Ace Yu-Hung Lee chalked up double digit K's against PR, but ultimately lost his second game of the tourney to the talented squad. With the loss, Taiwan's last chance to win a world championship will begin tomorrow at the LLWS.

Taiwan will seek to host the next World Youth Championships.

US MINORS:
R - The Red Sox lost 8-3. CH Huang was 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a RBI. Box

A ss - Williamsport won 4-2. YF Lin picked up his second save of the season with a perfect 9th inning. Box

A - Greenville lost 5-0. Chiang was 0-4 with 2 K's. Box

A - Wisky is up 7-3 in the 8th. KH Lo has stolen his 25th base of the season and is currently 1-4 while committing error #7, picking up an OF assist, and has also been CS. Box

A+ - Tseng won his 6th game of the season as Kinston won 7-2. Tseng lasted 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. Box

AAA - Vegas lost game 1 of a DH 3-1. Hu was 0-2 with a walk and committed error #6. Box
Vegas won game 2, 5-3. Hu smacked his 6th HR for the 51's and was 2-4 with 2 RBI's. Box

NPB:
The Tigers lost 3-2. WC Lin was 0-4 with 2 K's. Box

The Fighters won 8-1. CS Yang was 1-3 with a walk and a RBI. Box

CPBL:

Elephants 2 - Bulls 1: Joey Dawley (game MVP) won his 7th game for the Elephants in a rain-shortened 8 inning game. JD allowed 1 earned run on 3 hits over 6 IP - he also had 7 K's and 2 BB's. The tough luck loser for the Bulls was Iba Tomokazu who allowed 2 unearned runs over 7 IP. Leading the way offensively for the Elephants was none other than Chia-Chia who was 3-3. For the Bulls, Tarzan was 1-3 while Chao-Hsing Cheng hit HR #7 - a solo shot in the 4th inning.

Cobras 6 - Lions 5: Wei-Lun Pan earned a ND after allowing 3 runs over 5 IP. He was seeking victory #13. Wei Kao earned game MVP honors after his 1-4, 2 RBI night. The sluggers from both sides cracked HR's: CH Hsieh of the Cobras hit HR #15 while Lion Kuo-Ching Kao hit HR #15 and was 2-4 with 2 RBI's. Fellow Lion Tai-Chi Kuo hit HR #5 and was 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI's. Tilson Brito was 0-3 with a walk.

Wed. Scores...

Amateur:
The World Youth Baseball Championships have been cancelled. Good to see the IBAF take action against the perpetrator(s) - although ultimately it's the kids who suffer the repercussions.

In the Pony League World Series, Taiwan defeated Chesterfield, VA 7-2 today. It's do or die now as Taiwan will play Puerto Rico tomorrow at 2:30 PM Pacific. Listen here. Should Taiwan win on Thursday, it would have to face Puerto Rico again on Friday (double elimination preliminary format).

The Taiwanese junior NT will play two tomorrow.

Taiwan will be making its first appearance in the 2007 LLWS on ESPN2 at 3:00 PM Pacific on Friday. Taiwan will be facing Latin American champ - Maracaibo, Venezuela.

In front from left are Tseng-Hsin Tseng, Jen Chieh Liu, Chun-Jen Cheng, Chia-Hung Lin, Chang-Cheng Wei and Tse-Yu Chang. In back from left are Manager Cheng-Nan Chang, Coach Chen-Jung Chen, Ko-Lun Yeh, Kai-Ying Chen, Chi-Yuan Chen, Chao-Min Wang, Chung-Yen Chen, Yu-Che Hsu and Interpreter Ming-Huang Yeh.
PHOTO and ROSTER Courtesy of Littleleague.org

US MINORS:

Chao-Kuan Wu has retired - the Indians and former Mariner farmhand will attempt to revive his career in the CPBL. He follows CFC, Kevin Huang, and TJ Yeh as players whose dream to play in the MLB ended prematurely (in CFC's case - not getting an ample opportunity in the ML's) and ultimately ended up back home.

R - The Red Sox won 2-1. CH Huang was 0-1 with 2 walks and a RBI. Box CH Lin should be back in action as early as this weekend.*edited

R - Bristol lost 7-1. PY Lin earned his 4th loss of the season after he allowed 7 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits over 3.1 IP - he did have 6 K's and 3 BB's. Box

A ss - Tri-City is in a 2-2 tie in the 3rd inning. SA Kuo is pitching for Tri-City. Box

A - Greenville lost 7-5. Chiang was 0-4 with 3 K's. Box

AA - Tulsa is tied at 4 runs a-piece with its opponent. CL Lo (will earn a ND) started and lasted 5.1 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits - he had 7 K's, 5 BB's, and hit 2 batters. Box

AAA - Vegas won 8-4 in game 1 of a doubleheader. Hu hit HR #5 and was 1-4 with 2 RBI's and had a SB. Box Game 2 will be underway shortly.

NPB:
The Tigers lost 2-0 as the offense was limited to 3 hits. WC Lin was 1-3. Box

CPBL:
Whales 3 - Bulls 1: Lorenzo Barcelo was game MVP for his strong performance against the Bulls. LB allowed 1 run (0 earned) on 5 hits over 7 IP - he picked up victory #5. Offensive production from the Whales came from Chun-Chiang Kao who hit HR #6 and Yi-Min Wang who hit his first HR of the year. Tarzan was 1-4 for the Bulls.

ND for CMW...

MLB:CMW earned a ND against the Orioles after leaving the game in the 7th with a 6-4 lead. Unfortunately for Wang, reliever R. Villone and closer M. Rivera would each give up a run to allow the Orioles to tie things up in the 9th. The Yankees would score a run in the bottom of the 9th to pull out a 7-6 win. CMW pitched 6 innings, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits - he also allowed his first HR since June 28th - when he last faced the Orioles . Box/Recap

US MINORS:
R - The Red Sox won 3-2. CH Huang was 2-4. Box

A - Greenville won 4-2. Chiang was 0-3. Box

AAA - Vegas is down 3-0 in the third. Hu is currently 0-1. Box

AMATEUR:

1)Here are the final stats for the senior NT at the WPT. The team Cuba sent to the WPT was essentially their "B" team - although they did have a few players that played on their '06 WBC team (finished 2nd to Japan). Cuba will be sending their top squad to the World Cup that will be held later this year (November) in Taiwan. Three members of the Taiwanese NT made the All-Star team:

1)2B Ming-Chue Tsai

2)SS Han Lin

3)LHP Wei-Hua Lee

Here's a pic of the senior NT. Congrats on your second place finish! A big thank you to Cor for providing the 411 and pic for the WPT!

photo courtesy of Cor

2)At the Pony League World Series, Taiwan lost 4-2 to Puerto Rico. Taiwan gets the night off tomorrow before it plays Chesterfield, VA one more time - this time in an elimination game on Wednesday. Should Taiwan win that game, it will face Puerto Rico in the division finals once again on Thursday.

3)Here is the schedule for the 2007 AAA - Junior Asian Baseball Championships to be held in Taichung, Taiwan:

-8/25 Taiwan vs. Japan

-8/26 Taiwan vs. Sri Lanka

-8/27 Taiwan vs. the Philippines

-8/28 Semifinals: Group A #1 vs. Group B #2/Group A #2 vs. Group B #1

-8/29 Championship & Consolation Games

Taiwan is in group A along with Japan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.
Group B consists of South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
Based on the teams competing, Taiwan is almost guaranteed a spot in the semifinals.

The junior NT will be playing in a series of warm-up games here in the US. Taking place at Joe Becker Stadium in Joplin, Missouri, Taiwan will face:

1)the Canandian junior NT on 8/16 Thursday at 5 PM followed by a doubleheader against the Premier Baseball All-Star team at 7 PM the same day.

2)the Canadian junior NT on 8/17 Friday at 4 PM

3)the US junior NT(Blue/Red) on 8/18 Saturday at 7 PM

4)the Premier Baseball All-Star team on 8/19 Sunday at 2 PM

5)the Canadian junior NT on 8/20 Monday at 6 PM

Opportunities to catch the Taiwanese junior NT in the US are extremely rare - so if you are in the area, go out and support the kids. Here's some ticket info: "Tickets will be on sale at the gate. Adults are $5, students and seniors are $3 per day and children six and under are free. Tournament passes may also be purchased with adults prices at $25 and student and seniors at $20. For more information contact Trish Wynne or Martha Getz at 625-4789."
For more info go here.

Tuesday Scoop....

Amateur:
1)Taiwan lost to Tamiami, FL 16-10 in the semis of the Bronco World Series - thus ending their run in Monterey, CA. The team had fallen behind early in the game 8-1, but had managed to crawl back into the game tying things up at 10 runs apiece in the 6th inning. Unfortunately, the Tamiami squad was too powerful as they hit 2 HR's in the 7th inning to complete the scoring. Taiwan, on the basis of its record, finished 3rd in the World Series.

2)Taiwan will not be competing in the World Youth "AA" Baseball Championships that will be held in August in Venezuela - the team was not issued player visas from the host country for BS political reasons. Link If you ask me, Venezuela should NEVER be allowed to host another IBAF event again. It is sickening to see the kids from Taiwan get punished for some political platform when the only thing they really care about is playing baseball. Sports should be used as a means to unite people not segregate them! *EDITED - UPDATED

3)In the WPT, Taiwan lost another close game to Cuba - this time in 13 innings. Despite leads of 3-0 after 4 and 5-4 after 8, Taiwan came up short as Cuba pulled out a 6-5 win. DH Chun-Tai Wang cracked a HR and drove in 2 for Taiwan while OF Chih-Yao Chan was 3-7 with a double and a RBI. Box Taiwan will play the host team tomorrow.

MLB:

CMW faces off against Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay tomorrow. Should be a good one.

NPB:

The Tigers lost to the Giants 3-2. WC Lin was 1-3 with a walk. Box

US MINORS:
R - CH Wen is currently 0-1 as the Cubs play the Angels in the AZL. Box

CPBL:
Lions 17 - Bulls 6: Bulls starter Chien-Fu Yang continues to struggle this year as he fell to 3-10 on the season. Yang has been one of the top concensus domestic pitchers in the CPBL. Game MVP honors went to Lion Sen Yang, who was 3-5 with 5 RBI's. Teammate Tilson Brito was 4-6 with a double and 2 RBI's, while KC Kao was 3-5 with a RBI. For the Bulls, Tarzan was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI's/Kuo-Long Hsu was 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI's/& Da-Hung Tseng was 2-4 with 2 RBI's.

So Close.......

Amateur:
1)In the Palomino World Series, Taiwan lost in the championship game to Puerto Rico 3-2 in extra innings. As relayed to me by someone (thanks JC!) at the game, lefty De-Jen Chen pitched a complete game - throwing the full 8 innings. From the perspective that he probably was the #3 pitcher on the staff, the kid was outstanding. The hardest part about today's loss was the fact that the game was lost on an error from the SS - in the bottom of the 8th with the score knotted at 2 runs apiece, Puerto Rico had a runner at 3rd with 1 out. The next batter was intentionally walked to set up the double-play ball. The very next hitter hit a ground ball that was fielded cleanly, flipped to 2nd for the force out there, but an errant throw by the SS led to the GW unearned run. Tough way to lose, but the kids have nothing to be ashamed of - the outcome easily could have been reversed had they capitalized on some earlier missed scoring opportunities. The kids will fly back to Taiwan tomorrow. When time permits, I'll post some vids that I took during Saturday's game vs. Redlands.

2)After losing 4 of 5 games to the US earlier in the summer, Taiwan extracted a small measure of revenge by beating the US in the WPT 10-5 on Sunday. The hitting star for Taiwan was Yi-Chuan Lin who was 3-5 with 2 RBI's. With the win, Taiwan evens its record at 2-2 and will have an off-day tomorrow. It will then play the same 4 teams again beginning August 7th. Box/Recap

3)The outcome of today's matchup in the Bronco World Series between Taiwan and Lafayette, IN has not been posted yet - although I like the team's chances. As for the Pony Asian-Pacific Qualifier, the outcome between Taiwan and Japan in the championship game (took place 8/4) is still unknown to me at this time. *UPDATED 8/6 - Taiwan defeated Lafayette, IN 16-1 on Sunday to finish first in its pool. The team will play the #2 team in the other pool - Tamiami, FL in one semifinal today - 8/6.



US Minors:
R - The Red Sox won 3-1. CH Lin was 0-4, while CH Huang was 0-3. Box

R - The Twins and Reds played two today: In game 1, WW Lin was 2-4 with a double, a triple, and a RBI. Box In game 2, TK Chiu threw well despite earning a loss - he allowed 2 runs on 7 hits over 5.1 IP - to go along with 7 K's. Box

R - Bristol lost 6-3. PY Lin lost his 3rd game of the season, lasting 3.1 innings - allowing 4 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits. Box

A ss - Tri-City lost 9-3 today. SA Kuo had his worst outing of the season - allowing 6 runs on 4 hits over 2 innings. He is now winless in his last 5 starts. Box

A - Lansing won 12-4. Keng allowed 2 runs on 4 hits over 1.2 IP. Box

A - Wisky won 19-10. KH Lo was 2-3 with 2 doubles and 2 walks. Box

AAA - Vegas lost 9-8. Hu was 4-5 with 2 doubles and a RBI - he also committed his 4th error in Vegas. Box



NPB:
The Tigers won 4-2. WC Lin was 2-4 with a RBI and a walk. Box



CPBL:
Bears 4 - Cobras 3: SP Feng-Hua Lee gave the Bears a good outing allowing 1 run on 5 hits over 6.2 IP. He received run support from game MVP Long-Yi Huang, who was 3-4, drove in 1 run, and hit HR #6 as well as CS Lin who hit HR #13 and was 1-3 with 2 RBI's. CFC was 0-4. For the Cobras, CH Hsieh hit HR #14 and was 1-4 with 2 RBI's.

Whales 18 - Bulls 4: Yu-Chieh Shen picked up victory #3 after allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits over 6 IP. The Whales put on a 20 hit barrage led by game MVP Carlos Villalobos, who was 3-5 with 4 RBI's as he hit HR #4. For the Bulls, Tarzan hit HR #14 as he was 2-4 with 2 RBI's.

Palomino World Series: Taiwan vs. Redlands Recap...

PRE GAME PICS

Sat. night's game in the PWS between Taiwan and Redlands was one helluva game - and it was a shame that one team had to lose. Before the start of the game, when I was chatting with the team's interpreter, Andres Liao - I was informed that the kids felt that the team from Redlands was the team to beat in the tourney (having several D-1 players on the team).

The game started late after Puerto Rico won in extra innings to help put them in the championship game against the winner of tonight's game. The SP pitcher for Taiwan, Wei-Yu Lin struggled and Taiwan fell behind quickly 6-1 after 3 innings. However once Coach Tsai decided to go with the team's ace - Chih-Lung Huang, you could feel the momentum shift as the team was able to rally offensively & Huang did his job - shutting down the potent Redlands bats. Taiwan put up 3 runs in the 4th inning, 1 run in the 5th, and 3 runs in the 7th and final inning to rally for a huge win behind a large (at least 200+) and raucous Taiwanese crowd (former NT head coach and 1984 Olympian Chih-Shien Yeh was also at the game with his family). Final Score: Taiwan 8 - Redlands 6. Here's a look at the final scoreboard:

Team Roster:

-Andres informed me that the pitching coach Feng-Yu Weng - was a former star pitcher with the Mercury Tigers

Lineup & Stats:
1)#7 2B Po-Ting Hsiao - 4 PA's: hitless
2)#5 1B Ho Lin - 4 PA's: Single, BB, SB
3)#10 C Chia-Chu Chen - 4 PA's: Double, Triple
4)#9 RF Tsung-Yi Chang - 4 PA's: 3 Singles, 2 RBI's, BB
5)#13 SS Wei-Han Chen - 4 PA's: Single, BB
6)#17 CF Kuo-Lung Lo (Kuo-Hui Lo's lil bro)- 4 PA's: 2 Singles, 2 RBI's
7)#6 DH Yu-Lung Chiang - 4 PA's: 2 Singles, RBI
8)#14 LF Wen-Chieh Lin - 4 PA's: hitless
9)#4 3B Yu-Ju Lee - 3 PA's: Single

SP: #8 Wei-Yu Lin - 2.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R(including a 3 run HR in the 1st), 1 BB, 1 K
RP: #1 Chih-Lung Huang - 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's (9 ground ball outs) - picked up the W for the team

The two biggest names on the team - Chih-Lung Huang and Chia-Chu Chen came up big for the team and lived up to the hype. Chen exhibited the best power in the game for Taiwan - driving one deep to RF while Chih-Lung Huang effectively shut down the opposition's offense in impressive fashion. Huang was the game MVP without a doubt.

The only down side to last night's game is the fact that the team's ace - Chih-Lung Huang had to be used in the game, effectively eliminating him from today's championship game. Coach Tsai will probably have to start lefty De-Jen Chen against Puerto Rico.

MORE PICS

#1 - CL Huang

#10 - CC Chen

#17 - KL Lo

Post Game Celebration

Saluting the Crowd

A big thank you to Andres Liao for his time and 411 as well as Glynda Clark for hooking me up with media credentials! JIAYO!

Wang Wins #13.....

MLB:
CMW had an outstanding performance against the KC Royals tonight. Scattering 7 hits over 7+ innings, he allowed only 1 ER to go along with 3 K's and 1 walk. Wang's mechanics were much better tonight as he threw 68 of 98 pitches for strikes and induced 12 ground ball outs vs. 6 fly outs. The Yankees beat the Royals 7-1. With the win, Wang now joins the AL leaders in wins with 13 - although it looks like CC Sabathia will pick up win #14 tonight.
Box/Recap

AMATEUR:

1)Taiwan lost 3-0 to the Netherlands in the WPT on Friday. Box
Taiwan's next game is against Japan tomorrow.

2)Here's a shot of the Taiwanese team at the Palomino World Series:

pic from SoCalWinterball

Click here for more pics. Taiwan played a representative from Mexico today and won 10-3 > check here for scores. Taiwan plays the host team from Redlands, CA tomorrow night at 8 PM - the winner of the game will play in the championship game on Sunday. I'll try and make it out there and snap some pics.*UPDATED*

3)The kids are off today at the Bronco World Series, but as a poster mentioned in the comments section, Taiwan won 15-3 yesterday. Tomorrow's game is vs. Pacific Grove, CA. The HR derby will also commence tomorrow morning.

US MINORS:

R - The Red Sox beat the Reds 7-5. CH Huang was 1-4 with a walk. Box

A - Greenville won 3-1. Chiang was 0-4. Box

AA - Tulsa is up 7-5 in the 5th. CL Lo has pitched 4.2 innings so far, allowing 5 runs on 12 hits. Box

AAA - Vegas lost 2-0. Hu was 0-2 with a walk. Box

NPB:

The Tigers won 6-2. WC Lin was 0-4. Box

The Giants won 3-2 in a come-from-behind effort. CM Chiang picked up a win after throwing 1/3 of an inning in relief in the 8th inning. Box

CPBL:

Elephants 8 - Bears 2: Chun-Nan Liu won his 7th game of the season for the Elephants - he pitched 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits. Game MVP honors went to Elephants LF Ming-Hsien Lin who was 2-5 with 2 RBI's. Teammate Chia-Chia was 1-5 with a RBI. For the Bears, CFC was 1-3 with a walk, while CS Lin hit HR #12 - he was 1-4 with a RBI.

Lions 6 - Bulls 0: Pete Munro won his 10th game of the season, throwing a complete game shutout, allowing only 3 hits while K'ing 7. He was selected game MVP. Tilson Brito jacked his league leading 27th HR and was 2-4 with a double and 4 RBI's. KC Kao was 1-3 with a double. For the Bulls, Tarzan managed to collect one of the hits against Pete, he was 1-4.

Thursday Rundown...

Amateur:
1)Taiwan lost to Cuba 2-1 in the WPT. Taiwan was actually leading Cuba 1-0 over 6 innings, before Taiwanese SP Kai-Wen Cheng fatigued and allowed 2 runs in the 7th inning. Cheng pitched 7.1 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits - he also had 4 K's. Box Score

Taiwan plays the home team tomorrow.

2)In the Palomino World Series, Taiwan won 10-0 in their opener against the Guilford Patriots.

WY Lin

DJ Chen

Wei-Yu Lin and De-Jen Chen combined on the shutout. Taiwan will play Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico tomorrow.

CL Huang

Here's a little bit more info on the team representing Taiwan - the kids are from Taipei County hailing from Kupao High School. The biggest names on the team are P Chih-Lung Huang and C Chia-Chiu Chen - junior NT regulars (Both on the '06 and '07 squads). Rong-Hao Hsieh is NOT on the team though.

3)Check here for results of today's game vs. Stratford, CN in the Bronco World Series. Tomorrow is an off day for the kids. The next game will be on Saturday vs. Pacific Grove, CA.


US MINORS:
R - The Twins won 3-2 in 1/2 of a doubleheader. WW Lin was 0-1. Box

A - Wisky lost 2-1. KH Lo was 0-3 with a walk. Box

A - Greenville lost 6-5. Chiang was 1-4. Box

A+ - Kinston won 22-10! Wu was 0-1. Box

AAA - Vegas lost 3-1. Hu was 0-4. Box

NPB:
The Tigers won 6-5. WC Lin was 0-4. Box

CPBL:

Bears 5 - Elephants 0: Gary Rath picked up win #11 for the Bears with a complete game 5 hit shutout to go along with 8 K's. Despite Rath's dominance, game MVP honors went to CFC who hit HR #17 and was 3-4 with 4 RBI's. Chia-Chia was 1-4 for the Elephants.

Lions 7 - Bulls 1: Brian Reith picked up the win for the Lions, allowing 1 run on 5 hits over 7 IP. Chien-Fu Yang lost his 9th game of the season, giving up 6 runs over 5.2 innings. Lions RF Fu-Hao Liu picked up game MVP honors after hitting HR #7 on the season - he was 1-3 with 4 RBI's. Other Lions: Tilson Brito was 3-5 with a RBI while KC Kao was 2-5 with a RBI. For the Bulls, Tarzan was 1-4 with a RBI.

Monday Minors....

US Minors:
R - The Red Sox lost 9-4 to the Orioles in the GCL. CH Lin was 0-5 while CH Huang was 0-4 and committed 2 errors in the field. Box

R - Po-Yu Lin picked up win #4 with an impressive 5.2 innings - he allowed 2 runs on 6 hits - to go along with 6 K's and 1 walk - the only bad part about his performance tonight was the 3 WP's and 1 HBP. Bristol won 6-4. Box

A - Wisky won 6-1. KH Lo was 1-2 with 3 walks, 2 SB's - he now has 23 SB's on the season. With 34 games remaining, Lo has a good chance to reach the 30 SB mark - the last Taiwanese minor leaguer to do it: CFC in 1999. Box

A - Greenville won 5-1. Chiang, who's been dropped down in the lineup, was 1-4 with a double, but also committed error #8 on the season. Box

AAA - Vegas is down 3-0 in the first. Hu is currently 0-1. Box


Amateur:
Regarding the Palomino World Series, I spoke with some of the event organizers to clarify Taiwan's schedule later this week. Here it is:

1)August 2nd - Thursday: vs. East Zone rep at 11 AM
2)August 3rd - Friday: vs. Mexico at 5 PM
3)August 4th - Saturday: vs. Redlands at 8 PM

Should Taiwan win it's bracket, it would play in the championship game on Sunday August 5th at 1 PM

Map of the RC Epicenter

Taiwan is looking to defend its title after winning last year's PWS championship in Puerto Rico. For those of you that live in So Cal, come out and support the kids! Tickets cost $8 - which covers all of the games in the day and parking is free. Jiayo!!

Wang Picks up Win #12....

MLB:
Staked to an early 4 run lead, Wang was able to hold on, despite another so-so performance from the young man. CM Wang pitched 6 innings against the Orioles and allowed 3 runs on 9 hits - to go along with 4 walks and 1 K. For the second start in a row, Wang exhibited problems with his command (it also didn't help that the ump seemed to be calling a tight strike zone) and allowed almost as many fly balls vs. ground balls (7-8). Fortunately for Wang, the Yanks offense would come up big again as they snapped a three game losing streak to defeat the Orioles 10-6 on Sunday. With today's win, Wang is now 12-5 on the season with a 3.61 ERA. Box/Recap


Amateur:
Well, it looks like Taiwan has won the Asia-Pacific championship in the Palomino Division (17-19) of Pony League Baseball. Visit the official site here. The Palomino World Series will take place here in Southern California - at the Epicenter in Rancho Cucamonga. *UPDATED*


NPB:
The Tigers won 9-4. WC Lin was 0-4. Box


US Minors:
R - The Reds and Red Sox played two today. Game 1 - The Red Sox lost 4-2. CH Lin was 1-3. Box
In game 2, the Red Sox lost to the Reds 10-4. Picking up the win for the Reds was TK Chiu who allowed 4 runs on 7 hits over 6.2 innings - he K'd 4, walked 2, and had a WP and a balk. Facing Chiu were CH Lin and CH Huang. CH Lin was 2-4 with a double, a walk, and his 8th SB of the season - he also committed his first error of the season. CH Huang was 1-4. Box

R - The Cubs are up 3-1 in the 4th inning. CH Wen is currently 0-2 as the team's DH. Box

A ss - YF Lin was charged with his second loss of the season as he allowed 2 runs (via a HR) in the top of the 11th in a tie game as Williamsport fell 7-5 in 11. Lin pitched 3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits - to go along with 4K's and 3 walks (1 was intentional). Box

A - Lansing won 3-0. Keng picked up his 4th save of the season as he threw a scoreless final frame. Box

A - Wisky lost 8-5. KH Lo was 1-5 with a double. Box

AAA - Las Vegas won 5-3. Hu finally got back to his hitting ways as he was 2-4 but was CS. Box


CPBL:
Bears 10 - Elephants 2: The Bears offense came up big as: CS Lin (game MVP) was 2-3 with HR #11 and 3 RBI's, OF Long-Yi Huang was 2-3 with a RBI and HR #5, CFC was 1-5 with a double and a RBI, and 2B Chih-Wei Shih was 3-5 with 2 RBI's. For the Elephants, Chia-Chia was 2-4 while Guan-Ren Chen was 2-4 and drove in the team's only runs.

Cobras 3 - Lions 2: CH Hsieh was the game MVP after driving in the GW run in the bottom of the 9th - he was 2-5 with a RBI. Fu-Hao Liu drove in both Lions runs on his 5th HR of the year - he was 1-4. KC Kao and Tilson Brito were hitless in 6 AB's combined. The Lions wasted an excellent performance from starter Pete Munro, who allowed only 1 run on 7 hits over 7 innings.

On to Monterey!!!

Amateur:

photo - broncoworldseries.org

I)Taiwan will have a representative in the Bronco World Series (11-12 year olds in Pony Baseball). The team from Taipei County defeated Japan in the Asia-Pacific championship game 9-0. SP Yu-Jen Hsu threw a one-hit shutout over 7 innings. The BWS will take place from August 2nd through the 7th in Monterey, CA - check here for the schedule of games. Click here for the team roster.*updated*

II)The Taiwanese senior NT will be participating in the World Port Tournament in Holland. The competition Taiwan is facing will be fierce.

The tourney will take place August 2nd through the 12th - check here for the schedule. As for the roster (thanks to Cor for providing the list) there have been a few changes made to the team. The team's core roster is pretty much the same as the one that competed in the US recently. However, pitchers Cheng-Yang Chen, Cheng-Long Luo, Chia-Ming Huang, and Chia-Jui Mai as well as positional players Kuo-Min Lin, Fu-Yuan Lin, and Chih-Hao Chang have been removed from the current roster. Taking their place are:

1)Ko-Chien Lin (P)

2)Ching-Ming Wang (P)

3)Wan-Lin Tsai (P)

4)Chu-Kuan Lee (P) - was playing in the ABL not too long ago (It looks like both he and CC Lee have returned to Taiwan)

5)Ming-Chue Tsai (IF)

6)Chun-Tai Wang (C)

7)Chao-Ting Tang (OF)

US MINORS:

R - The Red Sox lost to the Orioles 4-2. CH Lin was 0-4 with 2 K's. CH Huang was 1-4 and was CS. Box

R - The Twins won 6-2 in the GCL. WW Lin was 2-3 with a walk and his 3rd SB of the season. Box

R - Bristol lost 4-1. Po-Yu Lin earned the loss despite K'ing 8 in 4 innings. Lin also allowed 4 runs on 7 hits (including a 2-run HR). Box

A ss - Williamsport lost 4-1. YF Lin pitched 1 inning in relief, allowing 1 run on 2 hits. Box

A - Greenville lost 7-5. Chiang was 0-5 with 3 K's. Box

NPB:

The Tigers won 8-6 behind an 18-hit barrage. WC Lin was 3-6 with a double and 3 RBI's. Box

CPBL:

Bears 4 - Whales 0: Game MVP honors went to Bears starter Yu-Wei Hsu, who picked up his 6th victory of the year. Hsu pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing only 4 hits. Backing up Hsu's dominant performance were Chih-Sheng Lin (who was 2-4 with a double, his 10th HR of the season, and 4 RBI's) and CFC (3-3).

Lions 11 - Bulls 4: Wei-Lun Pan picked up victory #12, as he threw 5 shutout innings and allowed 5 hits. Pan received plenty of run support early from Sen Yang who was 2-3 - hit a 2-run HR (6th of the year) - and drove in 3, and Lien-Hung Chen who was 2-5 with a 3-run HR (5th on the year) and 4 RBI's. After Pan departed the game, the Bulls would pick up a few runs on the strength of Tarzan's 11th HR of the year (he was 2-4 with 2 RBI's) and Chih-Wei Chen's 2nd HR of the season (2-4). Other notable hitters for the Lions: Tilson Brito was 1-4 with a double and Kuo-Ching Kao was 1-4 with a RBI.

Wednesday News....

MLB:
Chien-Ming Wang will face off against Dustin McGowan of the Jays tomorrow.

US MINORS:
A - Greenville won 7-3. Chiang was 0-3 with a walk. After a hot start in May (.309 BA), Chiang's been mired in a slump - he hit .266 in June and after today's game, he's hitting .206 in July. Box

AAA - Hu and the 51's are playing Portland at home. It's scoreless in the first and Hu is currently 0-1. Box

Other - Per BA, Braves prospect Chen-En Hong has been placed on the 60-day DL. *Updated*

NPB:

WC Lin was 1-4 with a double and 2 RBI's as the Tigers beat the Giants 5-3. Chiang made another relief appearance, throwing 1.1 innings - allowing 1 run on 2 hits to go along with 2 K's. Box

The Fighters lost 7-1. CS Yang was 1-1 with a pinch hit single in the 9th inning. Box

CPBL:

Bears 10 - Cobras 6: Gary Rath won his 10th game for the Bears, throwing 7 innings - allowing 1 run on 5 hits to go along with 5 K's and 2 walks. Rath received plenty of run support from his 2 big guns: Chih-Sheng Lin hit HR #9 and was game MVP for his 3-5, 3 RBI night while CFC hit HR #14 and was 1-3 with 3 RBI's. For the Cobras, CH Hsieh was 2-5 with a RBI.

Elephants 3 - Whales 0: Yu-Cheng Liao was dominant against the Whales lineup, picking up win #3. Liao, game MVP, threw a 1 hit shutout over 7 innings - he had 3 K's and 2 walks. Chia-Chia was 2-4.

Amateur:

In an effort to match their 11 and 12 year old brethren in Williamsport, two more youth/junior aged teams from Taiwan will try and qualify for the World Series in the Pony Baseball organization. Taiwan has a representative in the Pony Division (ages 13-14) and in the Palomino Division (ages 17-19). To qualify for the Pony World Series, Taiwan will play in the Asia-Pacific qualifier taking place from July 31st - August 4th. The Asia-Pacific qualifier for the Palomino World Series will take place in Taipei, Taiwan from July 22nd through the 26th.

"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*

Rockies Sign Taiwanese Pitcher....

Sheng-An Kuo
- photo from Apple - Taiwan

As posted by someone in the comments section, the Colorado Rockies signed their latest prospect from Taiwan - Sheng-An Kuo. Following in the footsteps of Tsao and Lo, Kuo is the 3rd pitching prospect the Rockies have signed from Taiwan. The 21 year old received a signing bonus rumored to be in the ballpark of around $150 to 200 K. The 6'4" 185 pound righty, follows in the footsteps of onetime teammate Ching-Lung Lo. As chronicled a while back, Kuo and Lo teamed up to lead their Tainan team to the 2000 Pony League World Series title (for 13 to 14 year olds). Following the title game, C.L. Lo went on to bigger and better things when he was signed by the Rockies as a 16 year old. Nearly 5 years later after having his career sidetracked by injuries, Kuo now gets his opportunity to live up to the advanced billing that had some hailing Kuo as a future Major Leaguer when he was a teen. Despite only clocking 85 mph on his fastball, the Rockies like his projectability and size.

Tamiami, FL Wins Bronco World Series....

In a faceoff between the top two teams in the tourney, Taiwan lost 6-1 to the boys from Tamiami, FL on Tuesday night.
Congrats to the Tamiami team!!
To the kids on the Taiwanese team, keep your heads up, we're proud of your effort and look forward to seeing you guys play in the future.

HR Derby Champ!

photo taken from broncoworldseries.org site

Tse-Yang Peng (pictured in the middle) of Taiwan won the Bronco World Series HR Derby that took place on Saturday morning. Peng launched 12 HR's before reaching his 10 out quota! His teammate, Chen-Long Chen (on left) earned 3rd place with 4 HR's, 3 behind the runner-up from Puerto Rico. Congrats! Hopefully the big bats will carry these kids to a championship this year!

On to Monterey!!!

Chinese Taipei will represent Asia in the 2006 Bronco World Series (11-12 year olds). The World Series will take place August 3rd through the 8th in beautiful Monterey, CA. Chinese Taipei will seek to avenge last year's loss to Puerto Rico in the championship game. In the Asian regional, Chinese Taipei was a perfect 4-0, as it steamrolled the competition: 17-3 vs. the Philippines, 13-2 vs. Taipei City, 15-1 vs. Hong Kong, and 15-0 vs. Japan. Taipei City finished as the runner up, losing only to Chinese Taipei. Keep an eye out for Chen-Long Chen, the star P/IF for the Chinese Taipei team.

In the Asian regional tourney for the Little League World Series, Chinese Taipei split it's two toughest games vs. Japan and South Korea. CT lost 7-0 to Japan and then beat South Korea 10-4. CT is currently holding down the #2 spot and if it can win it's remaining 3 games vs. Hong Kong, Thailand, and China, should secure a spot in the championship game on Saturday, pitting the #1 and #2 teams in the tourney.

MINORS:
Jacksonville lost 3-1. Hu was 1-4 and drove in the only run of the game for his team. Box

Dunedin lost 12-9. Keng pitched 1 inning, giving up 3 hits, 2 runs, with 0 K's and 1 walk. Box

Wisconsin lost 9-4. Lo managed to go 1-3, with 2 runs scored and a walk. Box

In the GCL, the Phillies won in extra innings, making Y.F. Lin a two-time winner. Lin pitched the last 3 innings, giving up 1 hit, 0 runs, on 2 walks and 3 K's. Box
In other GCL action, the Red Sox played a doubleheader. In the first game, Chiang DNP. Huang started at 3B and was 0-2 with a walk. Box In the second game, Huang DNP. Chiang was 0-3 with a run scored. Box

MAJORS:
Wang will start Friday vs. the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is set to pitch against Tim Corcoran (4-1, 3.09 ERA) Wang has already faced Tampa Bay twice this season and has only given up 3 earned runs in 15.1 IP. Let's hope the trend continues Friday.

CONGRATS TO TAINAN CITY, CT!!!!!!

Tainan City, Taipei won the 2005 Pony World Series over a team from San Diego 2-1 on Saturday. It was their first championship since 2000. CT was able to win on the strength of good pitching and small ball. Yao-Wen Chang, the tallest player for CT, was probably the most impressive player for the team, dominating with his pitching performances against Puerto Rico and in the championship game. Visit here for more details and pics.

Little League/Pony League - Chinese Taipei 2005

Well, there will be no trip to Williamsport this year for the Chinese Taipei Little League (11-12 year olds) representatives. In the qualifying Asian regional hosted in Fukuoka, Japan, Chinese Taipei tied Japan and Korea with a 3-1 record in round-robin play. However, Chinese Taipei beat Japan (4-1). Japan beat Korea (10-0). Then, Korea upset Chinese Taipei (3-1). Instead of a playoff to determine the winner, a tie-breaker system was implemented and Japan was awarded the trip to Williamsport. Talk about needing to change the system. I feel bad for the kids from Korea and Taiwan, both of whom deserved another shot at Williamsport.


In Pony baseball action (a youth baseball organization separate from Little League) , the Chinese Taipei representatives lost in the Bronco age division (11-12 year olds) in the championship game versus Puerto Rico 2-1. Game results can be found here. Chinese Taipei's roster and photo can be found here.

In the Palomino age division (17-18 year olds) of Pony baseball, Chinese Taipei lost in the semifinals to the eventual champions - Santa Clara, CA 3-2.

Chinese Taipei will have one last shot at winning a world championship in the Pony division (13-14 year olds) World Series beginning August 13th. Be sure to follow all the action here.