Loose Ends....

Kuo and Wang

With just about all of the overseas players back home in Taiwan, it's time for some R & R for these guys before gearing up for the upcoming 2007 season. In the pic above, it's good to see Kuo and Wang reunited - too bad Tsao couldn't be there. As noted by a few of you, Tsao is currently a free agent after being non-tendered by the Rockies.

In other small news, it's good to know that the Boston Red Sox continue to work hard at scouting Taiwan's amateur scene. The Red Sox have definitely shown their commitment to scouting and signing some of the best players from the Pacific Rim - especially these past 2 years.

After a weak 2007 CPBL draft and in an effort to hold onto top domestic amateur talent, the CPBL has decided to include high school players in the draft next year.

Interesting note on foreign players being recognized as international athletes. In essence, there won't be any more incidences where players have problems returning (i.e. Chin-Feng Chen with the Dodgers - while trying to win a roster spot in ST) to the US because of a shortage of player visas.

There were a couple of noteworthy MLB acquisitions that could effect the PT of a few Taiwanese prospects/players:
1)The Mariners acquired 2B/DH Jose Vidro from the Nationals. So in addition to Jose Lopez, Yung-Chi Chen moves further down on the organizational 2B depth chart. However, his offensive skills and defensive versatility - 2B/3B work in his favor.
2)With the signing of Jason Schmidt and Randy Wolf by the Dodgers over the past month, Kuo's status as a 5th starter is up in the air. He could return back to the bullpen and/or make sporadic starts.

Yung-Chi Chen....

Baseball America recently released it's 2007 top 10 prospects for the Mariners. Chen was named the # 9 prospect in the system - and tools-wise was selected as the guy with the potential to best hit for average.
After a solid year in the minors, Chen didn't get much time to rest as he joined the NT and participated in the Intercontinental Cup and the Asian Games. On a roster-full of CPBL stars and young prospects at the I-Cup, Chen led the team in BA (.472) and RBI's (9). He also hit a key grand slam against South Korea that began a surprising power-surge that continued through the Asian Games. Chen was the only selected All-Star representative from Taiwan at the I-Cup. At the Asian Games, Chen's hot hitting continued as he was second on the team (# 7 overall) in BA - .450, #2 overall in slugging - 1.050, tops overall in HR's - 3, # 5 overall in RBI's - 7. Here are vids of Chen's 3 HR's at the Asian Games: 1)vs. South Korea 2)vs. South Korea 3) vs. the Philippines
One thing Chen has improved upon throughout this year is his ability to produce runs and hit for power. This was evident as he hit 3rd in the lineup for parts of the last month in AA ball and at the I-Cup and Asian Games. This marked a stark contrast from the WBC where Chen was utilized as a leadoff hitter or during the early part of the minor league season (in A-ball/AA) where he was the #2 hitter in the lineup.
The 23 year old will be one to watch out for next year as he will probably be the next Taiwanese Major Leaguer. Although most project him as a utility IF at the ML's, that is a pretty good return on a guy who signed for only $210,000.

MISC.
-Bo Sox farm hand Chih-Hsiang Huang bounced back from a rough first season in the US with a nice showing the Fall Instructional League. Huang hit .370, flashing some of that raw potential that the Red Sox were enamored with when they signed him.

-For their gold medal efforts in Doha, each member of the 2006 NT received $92,800 for their winning efforts. Sweetness!

Come-From-Behind Win!

Mr. Clutch - Lin Driving in the GWRBI

The Best Fans in the World!

Gold Around Their Necks!

As Tsong mentioned in the comments section, the Taiwanese NT had their hands full with the Japanese NT. It took a 2 run rally in the bottom of the 9th inning to eek out a 8-7 win. Hong-Chih Kuo did not pitch for Taiwan. Starting in place of Kuo was Yomiuri Giants rookie Chien-Ming Chiang. Chiang was erratic in his 1.1 innings, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits. He also had 3 costly walks to go along with 1 WP and 2 K's.
So down 3-0 after 2 innings, Taiwan would score 2 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning: after C.H. Hsieh doubled, C.L. Hu would drive him in with a single. Hu would advance on an error and score the final run of the inning on a single by Yung-Chi Chen. Japan would tack on 2 more runs in the top of the 6th and 7th innings off of relievers Po-Hsuan Keng and Wei-Lun Pan to make the score 5-2. That set up the big inning in the bottom of the 7th for Taiwan. 3 consecutive singles loaded the bases for Chien-Ming Chang. A WP would allow the lead runner to score and the 2 other base runners to advance 90 feet. C.M. Chang would then drive in both base runners with a single to tie up the game at 5 all. After Yung-Chi Chen singled to advance Chang to 3rd base, C.F. Chen would hit a sac-fly to score Taiwan's 4th run of the inning to put Taiwan up 6-5.
In the top of the 8th, Sung-Wei Tseng came in to relieve Wei-Lun Pan. After inheriting a runner on base, Tseng would then later allow a HR to plate both runners and put Japan up 7-6. Taiwan would fail to score in the bottom of the 8th.
In the top of the 9th, Japan would threaten to score again off Tseng. With runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out, Yung-Chi Chen would throw out a runner at the plate for a fielder's choice getting the 2nd out of the inning. Tseng would then allow his 2nd walk of the inning to load the bases before getting the final out of the inning on a lineout.
The bottom of the 9th would set up Chih-Sheng Lin's game-winning heroics. After C.M. Chang walked, Chin-Feng Chen finally got his first hit of the game as he doubled, advancing Chang to 3rd base. Next up, Lin would single driving in both Chang and Chen, giving Taiwan it's 3rd gold medal of the Asian Games!
Again, although it wasn't pretty, Taiwan's offense was clutch when it mattered. The pitching performance was disappointing, but I take my hat off to the Japanese team for a great showing and performance.

Recap
Box Score
PlayByPlay

15-0 Win vs. RP

As expected, the Taiwanese NT easily defeated the RP NT in a mercy-shortened 5 inning affair. The Taiwanese offense got untracked, cranking out 15 runs on 17 hits. Yung-Chi Chen slugged his tourney-leading 3rd HR of the Games while Chih-Sheng Lin added a roundtripper as well. Essentially all of the big guns for Taiwan had multiple hits as Hu, YC Chen, CF Chen, CS Lin, and WC Lin combined to go 11-18 with 9 RBI's driven in. Taiwan started amateur Ko-Chien Lin, who earned the win by throwing 4 shutout innings.
Box Score
PlayByPlay
Recap
In the other game of the day, Japan defeated Thailand 6-0 to set up the showdown on Thursday with Taiwan. On paper, Taiwan holds the advantage over Japan in several statistical categories as it leads the tourney in team slugging, batting, pitching, and fielding. Hopefully, the NT will be able to live up to it's advanced billing and win a rare gold medal for Taiwan.

Narrow Win Versus Cross-Straits Rival....

Tseng - Winning Pitcher

Taiwan pulled out a tight 4-2 win over China on Monday. China, who was crushed a day earlier by Japan 16-0, managed to keep things fairly even with the Taiwanese team. Taiwan would score first in the 2nd inning on a solo HR by Tai-Shan Chang. China would strike back and tie things up on a sac-fly in the top of the 3rd. Taiwan would then retake the lead in the bottom of the inning by adding 2 more runs thanks to a Yung-Chi Chen triple and a WP/error committed by the Chinese squad. Sung-Wei Tseng, who pitched a great game - throwing 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits to go along with 8 K's and 2 walks, gave up a solo HR in the 7th inning to make things interesting. Leading by only one, C.F. Chen would blast a clutch leadoff solo blast in the 8th inning to give us a lil more breathing room and give us our final score 4-2.

The 2-run win continues a disturbing recent trend where the Chinese NT continues to give the Taiwanese NT a much closer game than anticipated. I will assume that we shake off this game and handily beat the RP NT tomorrow. That sets up the showdown with Japan for the gold medal on Thursday. The Japanese team, despite their amateur/industrial league status, is talented as evidenced by several members of the team being selected fairly high in the recent NPB draft. Matchup wise, if Kuo is available to pitch on Thursday, then the game should be a low scoring affair for the most part. The wild card will be the Japanese pitching staff - if they can hold down our hitters, then the winner of this game is anyone's guess.

Box Score
PlayByPlay

On the Road to Gold? (Pics from Yesterday's SK Game)

Well, as most of you know by now, Taiwan defeated South Korea 4-2 (see last post for scoring recap) yesterday to help position itself towards the top seed in the preliminary phase. The biggest contributors to the NT were it's overseas stars: Kuo, Chen, and to a lesser extent Chiang.

Star of the Game - Y.C. Chen with 2 HR's

Winning Pitcher - Kuo

Reliever - Chiang

Circling the Bases after a HR - Hsieh

CF Chen Being Congratulated by Teammates after Scoring Run

Game Recap
Box Score
PlaybyPlay

NT vs SK Update....

I gotta hit the sack, but follow the rest of the game here. Jiayo!!

*Top of the 8th: Yung-Chi Chen cracks his 2nd HR of the game to put Taiwan up 4-2!!!!!!!!

*C.M. Chiang replaces Kuo in the bottom of the 6th. Solid job by Kuo - 5 innings - 1 run allowed on 6 hits to go along with 6 K's and 1 walk. Chiang allows a double and a single to plate another run for SK.
After 6 innings: Taiwan 3 - SK 2.

*Taiwan adds another run in the top of the 5th with a leadoff solo HR by Chia-Hsien Hsieh, knocking SK starter Son out of the game.
Heading into the bottom of the 5th: Taiwan 3 - SK 1.

*SK gets a run back in the bottom of the 4th after Kuo gives up a leadoff triple to the cleanup hitter. The next batter drives in the baserunner to make the score 2-1. Kuo gets out of the inning with a DP and a K.
Taiwan 2 - SK 1 heading into the top of the 5th.

*Taiwan's hitters have finally figured out SK starter M.H. Son in the top of the 4th inning. After 1 out, Yung-Chi Chen cracks a solo HR to put Taiwan up 1-0. Chin-Feng Chen follows that up with a double and a SB. Chih-Sheng Lin avenges an earlier K and drives in Chen with a RBI single. After getting out of a little jam in the 2nd inning, Kuo has 3 K's and 0 walks through 3 innings.
Taiwan 2 - SK 0 going into the bottom of the 4th.

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.

14-0 Win for NT

Taiwan won big against the Philippines in a run mercy-shortened 6 inning game. Just about everyone in the lineup got in on the hit parade. Led by Yung-Chi Chen, Tai-Shan Chang, and Chih-Yao Chan - all of who had 3 hits and multiple RBI's, the Taiwanese NT scored 14 runs on 18 hits including 2 HR's - one each by Tai-Shan Chang and Chien-Ming Chang. Starter Ko-Chien Lin pitched a complete game shutout in which he K'd 4 and allowed only 3 hits.
Box Score
With the win, Taiwan is now firmly entrenched in the #5 spot behind Australia (combined with the fact that Australia lost today, while the Netherlands won). So essentially, Taiwan's hopes of advancing tomorrow depends on one of two things happening:1)beating Cuba tomorrow or 2)Australia losing to the Netherlands tomorrow. If scenario #2 should occur, Taiwan would also need Italy to lose to South Korea, in the event that Taiwan loses to Cuba. I think scenario #2 is more likely, but we'll see what happens tomorrow.

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.

The Agony of Defeat & The Joy of Victory...

ASIA
In Japan, the LA New Bears lost to the Fighters 1-0 in the championship game of the 2nd annual Konami Cup. Facing off against young phenom Yu Darvish, the Bears had no answers for the ace of the Fighter's pitching staff. Yu combined with 2 relievers to 2-hit the Bears offense. Chen and Lin were 0-6 with 4 K's between the 2 of them. Wen-Hsiung Hsu, typically a reliever for the Bears got the start and was very impressive in his starting role. Hsu, a WBC NT member, threw 6 scoreless innings, giving up only 3 hits. Although Bears reliever Anthony Fiore was tagged with the loss, the run he gave up in the 7th inning was unearned. Box Score
Despite the loss, the Bears showed that they are one of the elite professional teams in Asia. I'm sure that several members of the Bears team received positive scouting exposure during this tourney. Combined with the fact that the CPBL is having financial woes, I wouldn't be surprised if and when a few NPB teams come knocking on the doors of the Bear's front office/ management. In fact, Japanbaseballdaily.com reports that LA New Bears pitcher Yu-Wei Hsu, who did not make an appearance in the Konami Cup, has drawn interest from the Hanshin Tigers and Yakult Swallows.

NT

HR # 1

HR # 2

Mr. Grand Salami!

GW HR!

Ok, now for some good news. The Taiwanese NT defeated the South Korean representatives 9-7 in a 12 inning marathon at the Intercontinental Cup. With the victory Taiwan moves into a tie for 3rd place with the Netherlands at 2-2. Despite facing a young Korean team, it took 4 HR's and an impressive performance by reliever Wei-Lun Pan to pull out the victory. Ace En-Yu Lin started the game for Taiwan, pitching 4 innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. Lin uncharacteristically walked 4 batters while K'ing only 1. He left the game in a 2 all deadlock - thanks to a first inning 2-run HR by Chia-Hsien Hsieh. Relievers C.L. Lo and C.C. Lee would then struggle and give up 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning alone, to put Taiwan in a hole at 6-2. Taiwan would then rally to take the lead by putting up 5 runs in the top of the 7th inning on the strength of 2 HR's - one by Chuang-Chin Wang and the second - a biggie - a grand slam by Yung-Chi Chen. Wei-Lun Pan pitched 7.1 innings of relief and despite giving up the tying run in the bottom of the 9th, earned the victory when Chien-Ming Chang cracked a 2-run HR in the top of the 12th for the difference in the ball game. Pan gave up only 3 hits to go along with 6 K's and 3 walks. Box Score
Taiwan gets the day off on Monday before resuming play on Tuesday against the Netherlands, Wed. against the Philippines, and Thursday against currently undefeated Cuba. Only the top 4 finishers will compete in the semifinals.
*Edited*

Reversal of Fortune!

A day after getting our hearts broken by the Japanese representatives, the LA New Bears and the NT both picked up victories today against very good opponents.

The Bears defeated the KBO champs - the Samsung Lions 3-2. Si-Yo Wu pitched well enough to keep things close. Wu pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs - via a 2 run shot in the 4th, to go along with 4 K's and 3 walks. Offensively, the big guns came through for the CPBL champs. Chin-Feng Chen was instrumental in the win as he had a huge 2 run single in the bottom of the 4th to tie things up. Chen was 2-3 on the day. Fellow NT member - Chih-Sheng Lin would then hit the game winning HR in the bottom of the 6th to complete the scoring. Lin was also 2-3. The Korean pitching staff only allowed 5 hits the entire game, so to say that Chen and Lin were clutch would be an understatement. Box Score
The Bears will now get their rematch against the NPB champs tomorrow. Who the Bears have left to start against the Fighters is anyone's guess - since the Bears top 2 starters Rayborn and Wu have both started recently. Hopefully, Chen and Lin can continue their slugging ways and make things interesting.


In Intercontinental Cup action, the Taiwanese NT defeated a young but talented Australian squad 4-2. Down 1-0 heading into the bottom of the 8th, Yung-Chi Chen and Yi-Chuan Lin came up with clutch hits in the 8th to drive in 4 runs between the two of them. The Australian squad would tack on another run in the 9th, but it was too little too late. Starting pitcher Sung-Wei Tseng threw a gutsy game, allowing 1 run on 4 hits through 7 innings - good enough to keep things close for the 8th inning rally. Box Score
Traditional rival South Korea will face off against our boys tomorrow.

Japan 2 - Taiwan 0

The Bears and the NT both lost tightly contested matches respectively to the Fighters and the Japanese NT today.

The LA New Bears demonstrated that they can compete with the NPB's best - despite losing 2-1. The Bears were actually winning the ball game 1-o through the 7th inning thanks to a HR by LF Hao-Ju Zeng. However, the starting pitcher for the Bears - Kenny Rayborn who threw a tremendous game (lasting 7.1 IP, giving up 4 hits, allowing 1 run to go along with 6 K's), tired in the 8th when he allowed the tying run. Reliever Ramon Morel would relieve Kenny in the 8th and allow the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run in the same inning. In a classic pitcher's duel, the 2 teams totaled 9 hits between them. Bears slugger Chin-Feng Chen struggled as he was 0-4 with 2 K's. Box
The Bears can claim a rematch against the Fighters if they beat the Samsung Lions tomorrow. The Lions defeated China 12-1 today. We can probably expect to see Si-Yo Wu and Ying-Feng Tsai pitch against the Korean champs.

In the Intercontinental Cup, the NT lost 4-3 to a Japanese NT made up of primarily minor leaguers and industrial league players. Taiwan actually managed to even the score at 3 a piece in the top of the 8th inning. However, En-Yu Lin would allow the game-winning run on a solo HR given up to the Japanese clean-up hitter in the bottom of the 8th inning. That was the difference in the ball game. The starting pitcher for Taiwan, Chien-Fu Yang was exceptional, hurling 5 innings, giving up 5 hits - 2 runs, to go along with 7 K's. Reliever Po-Hsuan Keng pitched 2 shutout innings before giving way to ace En-Yu Lin in the 8th inning. IF Yung-Chi Chen continued his hot hitting as he was 2-3 at the plate. Box
Taiwan plays Australia tomorrow.

*Short blurb on C.L. Lo's success as of late.

Pipeline to Alaska....

P Sung-Wei Tseng and IF Sheng-Wei Wang got a good jump start here. Both players participated last year in the Alaska Baseball League with the Anchorage Bucs. In fact, you could say that Tseng used his time spent in Alaska (he was All-ABL in 2005) to help springboard himself to the top of the amateur list in Taiwan. Following in their footsteps are two young Taiwanese pitchers:
Po-Yu Lin: RHP 6'1" 215 pounds 19 years old - DOB:9/16/86
& Cheng-Luong Luo: LHP 5'11" 170 pounds 19 years old - DOB:3/7/87

Lin was the ace of the 2004 junior NT. At the time he was clocked at a high of 92 mph. He went 1-1 in the tourney with his loss coming to the US 2-1. Check the rest of his stats from 2004 here.

Luo was one of the better pitchers on the 2005 junior NT. He had an outstanding performance in Taiwan's 2006 spring amateur tourney.

The 2006 Bucs played on Saturday, and Po-Yu Lin was dominant, going 5 innings, giving up 1 earned run, and K'ing 9. He earned his first win of the season.

Luo pitched 1 inning on Friday in a relief role and gave up 2 hits, 1 run, and 2 walks, with 0 K's.


Four other collegiate Taiwanese players will be joining the Alaska GoldPanners, also in the Alaska Baseball League.
The 4 players are:
1)RHP Chia-Yi Mia
2)RHP Chen-Hsien Wu
3)SS Shao-Bai Lan
4)OF Yuan-Chin Chu

CAL LEAGUE NEWS:
Yung-Chi Chen was selected to the Cal-league All Star team and will represent IE at 2B. *UPDATED and EDITED