Majors
Hong-Chih Kuo can thank his lucky stars for a ND tonight against the Giants. In the top of the 9th inning, the Dodgers tied the game 3-3 on Olmedo Saenz's pinch hit RBI. Kuo only lasted 5 innings tonight, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits. He also had no walks and 6 K's. Down 3-0 and with the opposing pitcher dominating the Dodgers lineup, it looked like a sure loss for Kuo. But thankfully, JD Drew cracked a 2 run shot and Saenz's heroics lifted Kuo off the hook. The bright spot tonight for Kuo was K'ing Barry Bonds twice: once on a beautiful curve ball and the second time on an offspeed pitch. Kuo was clocked around 90 to 94 mph on his heater tonight. As I type, the Dodgers are now up 4-3 heading into the bottom of the 9th. This is a huge game for the Dodgers playoff aspirations: if they win, they catch up to the Padres for the NL West lead and maintain their wildcard lead on the Phillies.
CPBL
Chin-Feng Chen jacked his 21st HR of the season against the Elephants in his team's 8-4 loss today. Chen trails Chang by 1 in the HR department.
Pitcher En-Yu Lin of the Cobras experienced right elbow pain in his last outing on Wednesday. Hopefully nothing serious here.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Updates....
Japan
Hanshin won 6-0. Lin, in his usual role, was 1-1 with a pinch hit single, a RBI, and a run scored. Box
Amateur
Korea defeated the USA in a tightly contested game to win the gold medal at the Junior World Baseball Championships. The bronze medal went to Canada as they defeated Mexico. More on the South Korean championship squad. The All-Star team was also announced, but no one from Taiwan made the cut.
Here's a brief recap of the top performers from the Taiwanese squad:
Hitters (16 AB's minimum)
1)Che-Hsuan Lin 34AB's .353BA 1HR 2RBI's 7Runs
2)Yen-Wen Kuo 31AB's .387BA 0HR's 5RBI's 4Runs
Pitchers
1)Chun-Lin Chen 2W - 0L 0.00 ERA 17IP 21K's/2BB
2)Kai-Wen Cheng 2W - 0L 0.50 ERA 18IP 8K's/1BB
3)Chih-Lung Huang 0W - 1L 1.69 ERA 16IP 15K's/7BB
Hanshin won 6-0. Lin, in his usual role, was 1-1 with a pinch hit single, a RBI, and a run scored. Box
Amateur
Korea defeated the USA in a tightly contested game to win the gold medal at the Junior World Baseball Championships. The bronze medal went to Canada as they defeated Mexico. More on the South Korean championship squad. The All-Star team was also announced, but no one from Taiwan made the cut.
Here's a brief recap of the top performers from the Taiwanese squad:
Hitters (16 AB's minimum)
1)Che-Hsuan Lin 34AB's .353BA 1HR 2RBI's 7Runs
2)Yen-Wen Kuo 31AB's .387BA 0HR's 5RBI's 4Runs
Pitchers
1)Chun-Lin Chen 2W - 0L 0.00 ERA 17IP 21K's/2BB
2)Kai-Wen Cheng 2W - 0L 0.50 ERA 18IP 8K's/1BB
3)Chih-Lung Huang 0W - 1L 1.69 ERA 16IP 15K's/7BB
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
A Milestone Set...
Chien-Ming Wang became the second 19 game winner in the Majors this year, joining AL Cy Young frontrunner Johan Santana. Although Wang didn't have his best peformance of the year, he finally got some run support - and plenty of it, as the Yankees scored 16 runs on 18 hits!!!! As for Wang, he pitched 6 innings, giving up 10 hits - 4 runs, while K'ing 4 and walking 1. BoxWith the win, Wang surpasses South Korean pitching great Chan Ho Park for the most victories in a season by an Asian pitcher. Not only did Wang get the record, but he also received good news when Joe Torre named Wang as the Game 1 starter in the ALDS. What a sensational year so far for the young man!!! Hopefully he can set another milestone by winning his first playoff game for the Yanks.
Hong-Chih Kuo will start this Friday against the San Francisco Giants. He will face Noah Lowry at AT&T Park.
Juniors Beat Cuba!!!!!
ChengFor the second time this summer, a Taiwanese select national team beat a Cuban national team. Following in the footsteps of the University level NT, the Taiwanese junior NT defeated Cuba today in a 12 inning thriller 2-1. Even though there was no medal at stake, Taiwan earned 5th place overall in the tourney. The hero for Taiwan was pitcher Kai-Wen Cheng (see above pic). He pitched a complete game, holding the Cuban offense to 1 run on 8 hits over 12 innings!! He also had 5 K's and 1 walk. I hope the adrenaline hasn't worn off for Cheng, cause his arm is gonna be hella sore! He was clocked at 90 to 92 mph, even in the 12th inning!!!
Box Link
Even with the 5th place finish, the fact that Taiwan defeated both Cuba and the USA in the same tourney (If I'm not mistaken, it's something that has never been done before at any level of international competition) makes this a successful showing in my eyes. The 3 teams that Taiwan lost to: Canada and Mexico (are playing each other for the bronze medal), and South Korea (is playing the US for the gold medal) are all still playing for some hardware. The only bad game Taiwan had in the whole tourney was the 8-1 loss to Canada; other than that they played both Mexico and South Korea to a standstill. I'm very very very proud of this team. Despite the lack of critical acclaim for individual talent on the team, it goes to show that baseball is a TEAM sport. Congrats guys!!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Juniors Shut Out Panama....
Amateur
The Taiwanese junior NT defeated the Panamanian team 9-0 on Tuesday. The starting pitcher for Taiwan, Chun-Lin Chen was dominant as he pitched a complete game shutout - giving up only 5 hits while striking out 14 hitters with no walks. The floodgates opened wide as the offense for Taiwan came alive - getting 13 hits, with SS Yen-Wen Kuo and 1B Chun-Hsiu Chen leading the way with 4 hits apiece and 2 RBI's each. Box/Link
Japan/NPB Draft
Seibu lost 6-2 to the Marines as M.C. Hsu made a relief appearance for the Lions. Hsu pitched 2 scoreless innings, giving up 1 hit to go along with 2 walks and 1 K. Box
The 2006 high school NPB draft took place yesterday. Japanesebaseball.com has the results of the draft in English. A Taiwanese kid was selected in the 4th round by the Softbank Hawks. Ping-Yen Lee, an 18 year old (DOB 4/21/1988) infielder, follows in the footsteps of Wei-Chu Lin and Chung-Shou Yang as Taiwanese kids who played HS baseball in Japan and were later drafted by an NPB team. Lee, who stands around 5'9" and weighs 180 pounds, can play both SS and 3B defensively.
In an interesting side note, the Seibu Lions drafted a Chinese pitcher - Dai-Yi Hsu in the 3rd round. JapanBaseballDaily.com has a nice write up on Hsu.
The Taiwanese junior NT defeated the Panamanian team 9-0 on Tuesday. The starting pitcher for Taiwan, Chun-Lin Chen was dominant as he pitched a complete game shutout - giving up only 5 hits while striking out 14 hitters with no walks. The floodgates opened wide as the offense for Taiwan came alive - getting 13 hits, with SS Yen-Wen Kuo and 1B Chun-Hsiu Chen leading the way with 4 hits apiece and 2 RBI's each. Box/Link
Japan/NPB Draft
Seibu lost 6-2 to the Marines as M.C. Hsu made a relief appearance for the Lions. Hsu pitched 2 scoreless innings, giving up 1 hit to go along with 2 walks and 1 K. Box
The 2006 high school NPB draft took place yesterday. Japanesebaseball.com has the results of the draft in English. A Taiwanese kid was selected in the 4th round by the Softbank Hawks. Ping-Yen Lee, an 18 year old (DOB 4/21/1988) infielder, follows in the footsteps of Wei-Chu Lin and Chung-Shou Yang as Taiwanese kids who played HS baseball in Japan and were later drafted by an NPB team. Lee, who stands around 5'9" and weighs 180 pounds, can play both SS and 3B defensively.
In an interesting side note, the Seibu Lions drafted a Chinese pitcher - Dai-Yi Hsu in the 3rd round. JapanBaseballDaily.com has a nice write up on Hsu.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Odds and Ends...
Japan
It's official - Lin's a Giant! Pics from Yi-Hao Lin's press conference formally announcing his signing. He will wear # 106
Amateur
Good news for our senior NT. Major Leaguer Shin-Soo Choo and feared NPB slugger S.Y. Lee will not be playing for South Korea in the 2006 Asian Games.
Despite missing out on an opportunity to medal, the junior NT is still playing in Cuba. The classification games will determine places 5-8. Taiwan plays Panama tomorrow. Shockingly, the US beat previously unbeaten Cuba in one quarterfinal and then Mexico in the semifinal to advance to the championship game where it will face either South Korea or Canada. What a great turnaround for the US junior NT!
CPBL
The LA New Bears won both half season titles to guarantee themselves a spot in the CPBL Championship game. NT member Si-Yo Wu won his league leading 16th game of the season for the LA New Bears on Saturday as the Bears beat the Cobras to clinch the second half season title. In other Saturday news, Chang cracked his league best 22nd HR (C.F. Chen is still stuck on 20) of the season but his team lost 6-1 to the Elephants. Read more here.
En-Yu Lin of the Cobras will attempt to win #17 today against the Lions.
It's official - Lin's a Giant! Pics from Yi-Hao Lin's press conference formally announcing his signing. He will wear # 106
Amateur
Good news for our senior NT. Major Leaguer Shin-Soo Choo and feared NPB slugger S.Y. Lee will not be playing for South Korea in the 2006 Asian Games.
Despite missing out on an opportunity to medal, the junior NT is still playing in Cuba. The classification games will determine places 5-8. Taiwan plays Panama tomorrow. Shockingly, the US beat previously unbeaten Cuba in one quarterfinal and then Mexico in the semifinal to advance to the championship game where it will face either South Korea or Canada. What a great turnaround for the US junior NT!
CPBL
The LA New Bears won both half season titles to guarantee themselves a spot in the CPBL Championship game. NT member Si-Yo Wu won his league leading 16th game of the season for the LA New Bears on Saturday as the Bears beat the Cobras to clinch the second half season title. In other Saturday news, Chang cracked his league best 22nd HR (C.F. Chen is still stuck on 20) of the season but his team lost 6-1 to the Elephants. Read more here.
En-Yu Lin of the Cobras will attempt to win #17 today against the Lions.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
A Down Day on Sunday.....
Japan
C.M. Chiang took his first loss of the season as Yomiuri lost to the Hanshin Tigers 4-1. Chiang lasted 5 innings, giving up 10 hits, 4 runs to go along with 1 walk and 2 K's. Chiang also uncorked a wild pitch and hit a batter as well. Box
Lin DNP for the Tigers.
Amateur
The Taiwanese junior NT was eliminated by South Korea in a heartbreaker at the World Junior Championships. Despite outhitting SK 5-2, Taiwan was on the wrong end of a 1-0 game. Taiwan went with 2 pitchers and they dominated the South Korean lineup, giving up only 2 hits all game. Unfortunately for Taiwan, the South Korean pitcher was just as good, blanking Taiwan on a complete game 5 hit shutout. Box Link
Despite a promising start to the tourney, Taiwan's journey is now over. Overall, I'm still proud of their efforts, considering the lack of top talent on the team.
Majors
About the only good thing happening today was Hong-Chih Kuo's dominant pitching performance against the D-Backs. Despite his outstanding performance, Kuo earned a ND. Kuo left the game after the 7th inning in a 1-1 tie thanks to a defensive miscue, a lack of run support, and a questionable call to not send Kuo home from 3rd. Kuo went 7.0 strong innings, giving up 4 hits, 1 run - that was unearned with 3B Betemit's error. He also walked 2 batters, K'd 8 hitters, and doubled and scored a run in the 5th inning. Kuo was consistently in the low 90's with a high of 94 mph. Box/Recap
With the victory, Kuo showed that he belongs in the rotation during the Dodger's stretch run.
Wang's attempt for win #19 will happen on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles. Getting the win won't be easy. His mound opponent, Kris Benson, has already won once this year against Wang and the Yankees.
C.M. Chiang took his first loss of the season as Yomiuri lost to the Hanshin Tigers 4-1. Chiang lasted 5 innings, giving up 10 hits, 4 runs to go along with 1 walk and 2 K's. Chiang also uncorked a wild pitch and hit a batter as well. Box
Lin DNP for the Tigers.
Amateur
The Taiwanese junior NT was eliminated by South Korea in a heartbreaker at the World Junior Championships. Despite outhitting SK 5-2, Taiwan was on the wrong end of a 1-0 game. Taiwan went with 2 pitchers and they dominated the South Korean lineup, giving up only 2 hits all game. Unfortunately for Taiwan, the South Korean pitcher was just as good, blanking Taiwan on a complete game 5 hit shutout. Box Link
Despite a promising start to the tourney, Taiwan's journey is now over. Overall, I'm still proud of their efforts, considering the lack of top talent on the team.
Majors
About the only good thing happening today was Hong-Chih Kuo's dominant pitching performance against the D-Backs. Despite his outstanding performance, Kuo earned a ND. Kuo left the game after the 7th inning in a 1-1 tie thanks to a defensive miscue, a lack of run support, and a questionable call to not send Kuo home from 3rd. Kuo went 7.0 strong innings, giving up 4 hits, 1 run - that was unearned with 3B Betemit's error. He also walked 2 batters, K'd 8 hitters, and doubled and scored a run in the 5th inning. Kuo was consistently in the low 90's with a high of 94 mph. Box/Recap
With the victory, Kuo showed that he belongs in the rotation during the Dodger's stretch run.
Wang's attempt for win #19 will happen on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles. Getting the win won't be easy. His mound opponent, Kris Benson, has already won once this year against Wang and the Yankees.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Saturday Updates....
Japan
On Saturday, Hanshin beat the Yomiuri Giants 11-2. W.C. Lin made a pinch hit appearance, walking in his only PA. He would eventually score a run in the same inning. Box
Lin's Tigers will face the Giant's Chiang tomorrow.
Majors
Kuo's spot in the rotation may hinge on his performance tomorrow. Read more here.
Amateur
Taiwan plays long time rival South Korea in the "AAA" World Championship quarterfinals on Sunday. Let's hope the 2 game losing streak comes abruptly to an end tomorrow.
CT NT Update
The final 22 man roster has been finalized for the 2006 Asian Games. 7 cuts were made - with several players dropped due to injury. The final list:
PITCHERS
1)Hong-Chih Kuo
2)En-Yu Lin
3)Chien-Ming Chiang
4)Yueh-Ping Lin
5)Wei-Lun Pan
6)Si-Yo Wu
7)Po-Hsuan Keng
8)Sung-Wei Tseng
9)Ko-Chien Lin
CATCHERS
1)Chun-Chang Yeh
2)Feng-Min Chen
INFIELDERS
1)Chih-Sheng Lin
2)Tai-Shan Chang
3)Chuan-Chia Wang
4)Yung-Chi Chen
5)Chin-Lung Hu
6)Chung-Shou Yang
OUTFIELDERS
1)Chien-Ming Chang
2)Chin-Feng Chen
3)Wei-Chu Lin
4)Chia-Hsien Hsieh
5)Yu-Hsien Ming
On Saturday, Hanshin beat the Yomiuri Giants 11-2. W.C. Lin made a pinch hit appearance, walking in his only PA. He would eventually score a run in the same inning. Box
Lin's Tigers will face the Giant's Chiang tomorrow.
Majors
Kuo's spot in the rotation may hinge on his performance tomorrow. Read more here.
Amateur
Taiwan plays long time rival South Korea in the "AAA" World Championship quarterfinals on Sunday. Let's hope the 2 game losing streak comes abruptly to an end tomorrow.
CT NT Update
The final 22 man roster has been finalized for the 2006 Asian Games. 7 cuts were made - with several players dropped due to injury. The final list:
PITCHERS
1)Hong-Chih Kuo
2)En-Yu Lin
3)Chien-Ming Chiang
4)Yueh-Ping Lin
5)Wei-Lun Pan
6)Si-Yo Wu
7)Po-Hsuan Keng
8)Sung-Wei Tseng
9)Ko-Chien Lin
CATCHERS
1)Chun-Chang Yeh
2)Feng-Min Chen
INFIELDERS
1)Chih-Sheng Lin
2)Tai-Shan Chang
3)Chuan-Chia Wang
4)Yung-Chi Chen
5)Chin-Lung Hu
6)Chung-Shou Yang
OUTFIELDERS
1)Chien-Ming Chang
2)Chin-Feng Chen
3)Wei-Chu Lin
4)Chia-Hsien Hsieh
5)Yu-Hsien Ming
Friday, September 22, 2006
Win #18 At Last!
Chien-Ming Wang picked up his 18th win of the season with another solid showing against Tampa Bay. Wang earned his 3rd victory of the season against the Rays by throwing 7 innings, giving up 6 hits and 1 run - a leadoff HR to Baldelli - to go along with 0 walks and 4 K's. With the victory, Wang joins Johan Santana as the league's only 18 game winner and ties Chan Ho Park for the most victories in a season by an Asian pitcher. That is quite an accomplishment for a guy in only his second year in the league!Box/Recap
Prior to the playoffs, Wang should get at least one more start, probably against the Baltimore Orioles next week.
Amateur
In the final game of pool play, Taiwan lost to Mexico in extra innings. With the loss, Taiwan falls to 3rd place in it's pool, meaning that it will play South Korea in a quarterfinal match. No stats at this time, as the official site is down.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Taiwan Loses First Game in Cuba....
The Taiwanese junior NT lost to Canada 8-1 today. With the loss, Taiwan falls into 2nd place in their bracket. Taiwan's offense got shut down by Canadian pitcher Shelton McDonald, as they were only able to muster 1 run on 7 hits. On the other hand, the pitchers for Taiwan got roughed up a bit as four pitchers collectively gave up 15 hits and 8 runs, while struggling to find the strike zone - with 6 walks allowed. Going into the tourney, Wang-Wei Lin was perceived as one of Taiwan's best offensive threats. He produced Taiwan's lone run on offense by cracking a solo HR in the 6th inning.
Tomorrow's final game in pool play against Mexico is an important one. Should Taiwan lose, it would fall into a probable tie with the US for the 3rd and 4th positions. A win would lock up a #2 seed heading into the quarterfinals. Here's a look at the 1-5 seeds for Pool A:
1)Cuba 4-0
2)The Netherlands 3-1
3)Australia 2-2
4)South Korea 2-2
5)Panama 1-3
Majors:
Wang is officially a member of the 2006 AL East Divisional Champs! Although Giambi won't be available in the lineup for the Yanks, Gary Sheffield will make his return in the TB series - Wang could definitely use some early run support in his search for win # 18.
Meanwhile Kuo, who was the Dodger's minor league pitcher of the month in August, will get his next start on Sunday versus Livan Hernandez of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The game is in LA and will be aired on Fox Sports Prime at 1:10 PM Pacific.
Tomorrow's final game in pool play against Mexico is an important one. Should Taiwan lose, it would fall into a probable tie with the US for the 3rd and 4th positions. A win would lock up a #2 seed heading into the quarterfinals. Here's a look at the 1-5 seeds for Pool A:
1)Cuba 4-0
2)The Netherlands 3-1
3)Australia 2-2
4)South Korea 2-2
5)Panama 1-3
Majors:
Wang is officially a member of the 2006 AL East Divisional Champs! Although Giambi won't be available in the lineup for the Yanks, Gary Sheffield will make his return in the TB series - Wang could definitely use some early run support in his search for win # 18.
Meanwhile Kuo, who was the Dodger's minor league pitcher of the month in August, will get his next start on Sunday versus Livan Hernandez of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The game is in LA and will be aired on Fox Sports Prime at 1:10 PM Pacific.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Three Consecutive Wins....
Amateur
The Taiwanese junior NT finds itself atop Group B with 3 wins and 0 losses. Taiwan blanked Spain 9-0 on Wednesday. Three Taiwanese pitchers combined on a 6 hit shutout, with the starter Chun-Lin Chen picking up the win. Chen lasted 5 innings, gave up 2 hits, to go along with 6 K's and 2 walks. Four hitters led the way for Taiwan's offense with 2 hits each. SS Yen-Wen Kuo was 2-4 with a double and a run scored. RF Wang-Wei Lin was 2-4 with 2 runs scored, a double, and a RBI. 1B Hung-Cheng Lai was 2-2 with 2 runs scored, a double and 2 RBI's. Finally Chung-Chieh Wang was 2-3 with a double and led the way with 3 RBI's.
In other Group B action, Italy shocked Mexico by winning 8-6. The US also beat previously unbeaten Canada 2-1. With today's action complete, here are the current Group B rankings:
1)Taiwan 3-0
2)Canada 2-1
3)Italy 2-1
4)Mexico 1-2
5)USA 1-2
6)Spain 0-3
Taiwan will face Canada tomorrow in an important showdown for Group B supremacy.
Minors
Chi-Hung Cheng was recognized by the Blue Jays organization as the 2006 MVP of the Lansing Lugnuts. Read more here.
Majors
The Sporting News take on Chien-Ming Wang. Wang goes for win #18 on Friday.
The Taiwanese junior NT finds itself atop Group B with 3 wins and 0 losses. Taiwan blanked Spain 9-0 on Wednesday. Three Taiwanese pitchers combined on a 6 hit shutout, with the starter Chun-Lin Chen picking up the win. Chen lasted 5 innings, gave up 2 hits, to go along with 6 K's and 2 walks. Four hitters led the way for Taiwan's offense with 2 hits each. SS Yen-Wen Kuo was 2-4 with a double and a run scored. RF Wang-Wei Lin was 2-4 with 2 runs scored, a double, and a RBI. 1B Hung-Cheng Lai was 2-2 with 2 runs scored, a double and 2 RBI's. Finally Chung-Chieh Wang was 2-3 with a double and led the way with 3 RBI's.
In other Group B action, Italy shocked Mexico by winning 8-6. The US also beat previously unbeaten Canada 2-1. With today's action complete, here are the current Group B rankings:
1)Taiwan 3-0
2)Canada 2-1
3)Italy 2-1
4)Mexico 1-2
5)USA 1-2
6)Spain 0-3
Taiwan will face Canada tomorrow in an important showdown for Group B supremacy.
Minors
Chi-Hung Cheng was recognized by the Blue Jays organization as the 2006 MVP of the Lansing Lugnuts. Read more here.
Majors
The Sporting News take on Chien-Ming Wang. Wang goes for win #18 on Friday.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Kuo Loses 5th on the Season....
Hong-Chih Kuo, despite taking the loss, had a solid showing tonight against the Pirates. Kuo lasted 5.1 innings, and left the game down 2-1 with the bases loaded. Kuo's reliever then allowed a grand slam HR to Jose Bautista, sandwiched around 2 K's. Kuo was charged with 3 earned runs on the HR. Bottom line: Kuo allowed 5 earned run on 6 hits (one was a solo HR to Xavier Nady). He also K'd 8 hitters, while walking 2 (one was intentional). The Dodgers lost 10-6.
Box/Recap
With his performance tonight, Kuo deserves another start in the pitching rotation.
CT Junior NT Evokes Mercy Rule....
Amateur
Taiwan beat an overmatched Italian team 17-1 in 7 innings. The game was pretty much over in the 3rd inning, when Taiwan would score 7 runs in the inning to take a commanding 10-1 lead. Three Taiwanese pitchers combined to give up 4 hits and an unearned run. Chih-Lung Huang started the game, went 3 innings giving up 2 hits and an unearned run to go along with 4 K's and a walk. Reliever Hung-Cheng Lai pitched the next 2 scoreless innings. He K'd 2 and and allowed 2 hits. Yu-Hsun Chen succeeded Lai and was credited with the win, when he threw 2 scoreless/hitless innings, K'ing 5 and walking one. Just about everyone in the lineup got in on the hitting parade (14 hits). The kid who carried the ball club offensively was 3B Wei-Chih Chen who was 2-4, with a double, 3 runs scored, and 5 runs batted in. With the win, Taiwan is now in a 3 way tie with Canada and Mexico for first place in the group with a 2-0 record. Taiwan plays 0-2 Spain tomorrow. Surprisingly enough, the other 0-2 team in Taiwan's group play is the USA. The US struggled in it's second game versus Mexico.
Minors
J from MarinerMinors has brought to my attention that the Mariners have traded catcher Chao-Kuan Wu to the Cleveland Indians for future considerations. Wu has been a huge disappointment since his arrival 4 years ago. However, I can think of one good reason why the Indians wanted Wu: Sung-Wei Tseng
These 2 will probably end up being teammates next season on one of the Indians' "A" level affiliates.
Majors
It's early, but Kuo is up 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning against the Pirates.
An interesting article on how Wang matches up with the other AL playoff contenders.
Taiwan beat an overmatched Italian team 17-1 in 7 innings. The game was pretty much over in the 3rd inning, when Taiwan would score 7 runs in the inning to take a commanding 10-1 lead. Three Taiwanese pitchers combined to give up 4 hits and an unearned run. Chih-Lung Huang started the game, went 3 innings giving up 2 hits and an unearned run to go along with 4 K's and a walk. Reliever Hung-Cheng Lai pitched the next 2 scoreless innings. He K'd 2 and and allowed 2 hits. Yu-Hsun Chen succeeded Lai and was credited with the win, when he threw 2 scoreless/hitless innings, K'ing 5 and walking one. Just about everyone in the lineup got in on the hitting parade (14 hits). The kid who carried the ball club offensively was 3B Wei-Chih Chen who was 2-4, with a double, 3 runs scored, and 5 runs batted in. With the win, Taiwan is now in a 3 way tie with Canada and Mexico for first place in the group with a 2-0 record. Taiwan plays 0-2 Spain tomorrow. Surprisingly enough, the other 0-2 team in Taiwan's group play is the USA. The US struggled in it's second game versus Mexico.
Minors
J from MarinerMinors has brought to my attention that the Mariners have traded catcher Chao-Kuan Wu to the Cleveland Indians for future considerations. Wu has been a huge disappointment since his arrival 4 years ago. However, I can think of one good reason why the Indians wanted Wu: Sung-Wei Tseng
These 2 will probably end up being teammates next season on one of the Indians' "A" level affiliates.
Majors
It's early, but Kuo is up 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning against the Pirates.
An interesting article on how Wang matches up with the other AL playoff contenders.
Miscellaneous News...
Majors:
Chien-Ming Wang's next attempt at win #18 will come this Friday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is scheduled to face rookie Jamie Shields. Hopefully Wang can forget about his last game out and bounce back with a win.
Amateur:
More on the current junior NT in Cuba. Interesting read on Team USA - it seems they went heavy on pitching and light on the hitting - I'm sure the wood bats have something to do with their diminished offensive production as well.
Chien-Ming Wang's next attempt at win #18 will come this Friday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is scheduled to face rookie Jamie Shields. Hopefully Wang can forget about his last game out and bounce back with a win.
Amateur:
More on the current junior NT in Cuba. Interesting read on Team USA - it seems they went heavy on pitching and light on the hitting - I'm sure the wood bats have something to do with their diminished offensive production as well.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Breaking News....Taiwan Beats the USA!!!
In Cuba, Taiwan's junior NT pulled the early upset of the tourney by beating team USA 4-1 today in the World Junior Baseball Championships! Both teams managed 8 hits, but 4 errors cost team USA as all 4 runs scored against starter Blake Beavan and reliever Tim Alderson were unearned. For Taiwan, Kai-Wen Cheng earned the victory as he came on in the 5th inning, relieving starter Chun-Hsiu Chen. Chen pitched well, lasting 4.1 innings, giving up 2 hits and 1 run, to go along with 2 walks and 1 K. Cheng then blanked team USA the rest of the way, giving up 6 hits. As for Taiwan's hitters: SS Yen-Wen Kuo was 2-4 with a double and a RBI, 3B Wei-Chih Chen was 2-4 with 2 runs scored, and pinch hitter Chen-Yu Hung was clutch as he was 2-2 with a RBI. This is Taiwan's first win against the USA junior NT since the 2002 World Junior Baseball Championships! Taiwan plays Italy tomorrow. What a great way to start off the tourney!!!!!
Sunday, September 17, 2006
ND for Chiang....
Japan:
C.M. Chiang earned a no-decision today against the Yokohama BayStars. Chiang lasted 6.2 innings, giving up 2 runs (in his last inning of work) on 5 hits. He also had 1 walk and 4 K's. Chiang also scored a run in the 6th inning. Chiang left in the 7th inning in a 2-2 tie. Yomiuri ended up losing 4-2. Box
M.C. Hsu faced 4 batters in the 5th inning for the Seibu Lions. He gave up 2 hits and 0 runs. Seibu won 7-4. Box
Amateur:
The Taiwanese junior NT will face off against the USA tomorrow. The likely starter for the USA is Blake Beaven, an imposing figure standing in at 6'7". Beaven, with his low 90's fastball, projects as a top draft prospect in the 2007 class. Beaven has had success against Taiwan's youth programs in the past.
Roster #'s and DOB's are now available for all teams at this link (click on Participantes).
From what a buddy of mine said, scouts are not too impressed with the overall talent level of the Taiwanese junior NT. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
C.M. Chiang earned a no-decision today against the Yokohama BayStars. Chiang lasted 6.2 innings, giving up 2 runs (in his last inning of work) on 5 hits. He also had 1 walk and 4 K's. Chiang also scored a run in the 6th inning. Chiang left in the 7th inning in a 2-2 tie. Yomiuri ended up losing 4-2. Box
M.C. Hsu faced 4 batters in the 5th inning for the Seibu Lions. He gave up 2 hits and 0 runs. Seibu won 7-4. Box
Amateur:
The Taiwanese junior NT will face off against the USA tomorrow. The likely starter for the USA is Blake Beaven, an imposing figure standing in at 6'7". Beaven, with his low 90's fastball, projects as a top draft prospect in the 2007 class. Beaven has had success against Taiwan's youth programs in the past.
Roster #'s and DOB's are now available for all teams at this link (click on Participantes).
From what a buddy of mine said, scouts are not too impressed with the overall talent level of the Taiwanese junior NT. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Wang Loses to BoSox....
Losing for the first time since the month of August, Wang took his 6th loss of the season against the Boston Red Sox. Wang gave up 3 runs, all in the 4th inning, on 9 hits, in 5 innings. He left the game down 3-2. The Yanks offense couldn't muster much against Beckett and the Sox relievers, beyond Cano's 2 run shot. Final score: Boston 5 - NYY 2. Box/Recap
With the loss, Wang's shot to reach 20 wins has pretty much evaporated. Wang still has a chance to win 19 games as the remaining opponents left on the Yanks schedule include: Toronto, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore - all teams that Wang has beaten this season.
With the loss, Wang's shot to reach 20 wins has pretty much evaporated. Wang still has a chance to win 19 games as the remaining opponents left on the Yanks schedule include: Toronto, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore - all teams that Wang has beaten this season.
Conflicts of Interest.....
The recent signing of Yi-Hao Lin by the Yomiuri Giants leaves me scratching my head. Lin, a once in a decade type talent, recently officialized his agreement to sign with the Japanese NPB team. At 15 years old, Lin is the youngest Taiwanese kid to ever sign with a pro baseball team. He breaks Ching-Lung Lo's record - who was 16 when he signed with the Colorado Rockies.
The NPB recently passed a new rule which allows them to actively pursue and sign foreign players, at any time and regardless of age. The foreign players would receive a small preliminary signing bonus and get free room and board. For younger players like Lin, they would be enrolled in Japanese high schools to receive their education, but train with the minor league ni-gun teams. Upon graduation from HS, the kids would then circumvent the amateur NPB draft by being offered a "formal signing bonus" from their respective team. This would eliminate competition from other NPB teams and MLB clubs.
What this new rule does is effectively give the NPB an unfair advantage over MLB clubs for not only Taiwanese prospects, but for kids all over the world. The MLB has an age limit, where kids must be 16 in order to sign with a team. I have no problems with the NPB or MLB policies and rules regarding signing young foreign talent. What I do have a problem with is the fact that the upper governing bodies in Taiwan baseball have exhibited a schizophrenic personality when it comes to young talent leaving Taiwan for the US or Japan. Well respected NT coach Hua-Wei Lin encouraged and facilitated Lin's signing with the Yomiuri Giants. However, he along with other top baseball officials pushed for Taiwanese HS kids to graduate from HS before they could be eligible to sign with US ML teams. In fact Chih-Hsien Chiang's signing with the Red Sox caused controversy when his HS baseball team faced sanctions for the 2006-2007 season when they (not Chiang) were punished because of the fact that Chiang signed with the Red Sox before he finished HS.
If things continue on their current path, then we will continue to see a talent drain as top young Taiwanese talent flow towards Japan, ala Lin and C.S. Yang. Unless a player really wants to go the US, MLB will be stuck with sloppy seconds or late bloomers like C.M. Wang.
My thanks to my buddy for contributing info to this rant.
The NPB recently passed a new rule which allows them to actively pursue and sign foreign players, at any time and regardless of age. The foreign players would receive a small preliminary signing bonus and get free room and board. For younger players like Lin, they would be enrolled in Japanese high schools to receive their education, but train with the minor league ni-gun teams. Upon graduation from HS, the kids would then circumvent the amateur NPB draft by being offered a "formal signing bonus" from their respective team. This would eliminate competition from other NPB teams and MLB clubs.
What this new rule does is effectively give the NPB an unfair advantage over MLB clubs for not only Taiwanese prospects, but for kids all over the world. The MLB has an age limit, where kids must be 16 in order to sign with a team. I have no problems with the NPB or MLB policies and rules regarding signing young foreign talent. What I do have a problem with is the fact that the upper governing bodies in Taiwan baseball have exhibited a schizophrenic personality when it comes to young talent leaving Taiwan for the US or Japan. Well respected NT coach Hua-Wei Lin encouraged and facilitated Lin's signing with the Yomiuri Giants. However, he along with other top baseball officials pushed for Taiwanese HS kids to graduate from HS before they could be eligible to sign with US ML teams. In fact Chih-Hsien Chiang's signing with the Red Sox caused controversy when his HS baseball team faced sanctions for the 2006-2007 season when they (not Chiang) were punished because of the fact that Chiang signed with the Red Sox before he finished HS.
If things continue on their current path, then we will continue to see a talent drain as top young Taiwanese talent flow towards Japan, ala Lin and C.S. Yang. Unless a player really wants to go the US, MLB will be stuck with sloppy seconds or late bloomers like C.M. Wang.
My thanks to my buddy for contributing info to this rant.
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