4/16 MLB/NPB Stats Run Down

Here's a snapshot as to how the kids are doing overseas:

MLB:
HC Kuo (Dodgers)- 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 2.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 K's, 4 BB's
CL Hu (Mets)- .125 BA, 2 R, 1 H, 0 2B/3B/HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB


MILB:
FT Ni (AAA Toledo) - 2-0, 3.38 ERA, 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 K's, 2 BB's
HW Chen (AA Tennessee) - 0-1, 6.75 ERA, 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 K's, 2 BB's
CH Chen (AA Akron) - .276 BA, 3 R, 8 H, 1 2B, 0 3B/HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB
CC Lee (AA Akron) - 0-1, 4.91 ERA, 3.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 K's, 2 BB's
CH Chiang (AA Portland) - .200 BA, 3 R, 4 H, 2 2B, 0 3B/HR/RBI, 1 SB
CH Lin (AA Portland) - .192 BA, 3 R, 5 H, 0 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR/RBI, 2 SB
KH Lo (AA Jackson) - DL
SA Kuo (A+ Modesto) - 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 IP, 0 ER, 3 K's, 0 BB's
TK Chiu (A+ Bakersfield) - 0-0, 5.79 ERA, 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 K's, 3 BB's
WW Lin (A Beloit) - .083 BA, 2 R, 1 H, 0 2B/3B/HR/RBI/SB


NPB:
MC Hsu (Lions)- 1-0, 1.93 ERA, 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 K/BB
DK Yang (Fighters)- .267 BA, 2 R, 4 H, 0 2B/3B/HR/RBI/SB
WC Lin (Tigers)- .500 BA, 1 R, 2 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB


Nigun:
TH Lee (Hawks) - .339 BA, 6 R, 19 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB
YH Yang (Hawks) - 2-2, 3.67 ERA, 27 IP, 11 ER, 24 K's, 12 BB's
SF Tsai (Marines) - .238 BA, 2 R, 5 H, 1 2B, 0 3B/HR/RBI/SB
YF Lin (Marines) - 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.1 IP, 1 ER, 0 K's, 2 BB's
WY Chen (Dragons) - 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 K, 0 BB's
KW Cheng (Tigers) - 0-0, 2.50 ERA, 18 IP, 5 ER, 14 H, 14 K's, 1 BB
I. Shoh (Tigers) - 2-1, 2.11 ERA, 21.1 IP, 5 ER, 13 H, 12 K's, 6 BB's
CL Huang (Giants) - 0-1, 4.26 ERA, 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 K, 3 BB's
YH Lin (Giants) - 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 12 K's, 1 BB, 6 SV
IC Wang (BayStars) - 1-0, 1.86 ERA, 9.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 5 K's, 1 BB

Spring Happenings.....

MLB:
*Che-Hsuan Lin is in big league camp.   He's currently hitless this spring.  Here's a 2011 profile preview.

*Chun-Hsiu Chen is also in big league camp.  He's currently 0-4 with 2 RBI this spring.

*Chin-Lung Hu receiving praise for his defense.  He was 1-2 with a SB at the plate today.

*So far, so good for Fu-Te Ni.

*Hong-Chih Kuo "feels great."    He threw live BP today.

*Chien-Ming Wang topped out at 87 mph recently, but reported soreness after one inning.

*Chia-Jen Lo is in minor league minicamp.





NPB:
*Wei-Yin Chen is currently out with a groin pull.

*MC Hsu threw 2 scoreless innings today.

*DK Yang was 1-3 with a RBI.

*WC Lin:  2-4, 2 RBI





HS-Taiwan:
*Ku-Pao won the inaugural HS (Basebal) Super Bowl, defeating long time nemesis Nan-Ying 7-0 in the championship game on 2/25.    Chih-Yu Lin from Ku-Pao was the tourney MVP with a .444 BA and 8 RBI.  The tourney featured the top 8 teams from the Elite Cup. 

Kuo Comes to Terms with Dodgers...

The Dodgers inked Hong-Chih Kuo to a one year deal for $2.725 million.  He also has the opportunity to earn an additional $675 K in bonuses.   Kuo will make nearly the same amount as he earned cumulatively from 2005-2010. 

Ku-Pao: 2011 Elite Cup Champs

HS Baseball:
Finals (1/31):
*Ku-Pao won the 2011 Elite Cup championship with a 9-2 win over Shi-Yuan.    Ping-Hsueh Chen came on in relief to pick up the W for Ku-Pao.  Chen threw 8.1 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, while K'ing 13.  Ku-Pao won its first Elite Cup since 2006 and in the process, earned 500 K NT.   Runner-Up Shi-Yuan earned 300 K NT.

*Ping-Zhen earned 3rd in the tourney with a 10-0 victory over Mei-Ho.  Ping-Zhen HS picked up 200 K NT in prize money.

*Tourney Awards - a Ku-Pao Sweep

PH Chen

MVP: Ping-Hsueh Chen (Ku-Pao)
Top Pitcher: Ping-Hsueh Chen (Ku-Pao) - 2 W's, 15.1 IP, 0 ER, 25 K's

HS Yang

HR King: Hung-Sheng Yang (Ku-Pao)  - 1

CY Lin

Top BA:  Chih-Yu Lin (Ku-Pao) - .500
RBI King:  Chih-Yu Lin (Ku-Pao) - 7



Semifinals (1/30):
*Ku-Pao held on to defeat Ping-Zhen 9-8 in 10 innings in one semifinal.   Ku-Pao slugger Hung-Sheng Yang led the way by cracking a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning and was 2-4 with 3 RBI.

*Shi-Yuan moved on to the finals by shutting out Mei-Ho 4-0.  Shi-Yuan starter Chih-Wei Hu was the star with a CG 3 hit shutout.  Hu K'd 9 and walked 6 while topping out at 143 kph.




WBC Update:
Taiwan will host the 2013 WBC Qualifying Round in November of next year.

Elite Cup: Final Four Finalized

HS Baseball:
*Mei-Ho defeated San-Hsin 4-1 to move on the semifinals of the Elite Cup.

*In a highly anticipated match up of traditional HS power houses, Ku-Pao routed Nan-Ying 10-0 behind starter Ping-Hsueh Chen.  Chen threw 7 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits, while K'ing 12.     Nan-Ying ace Chia-Hao Sung was roughed up for 7 runs (6 earned) on 12 hits in 6+ innings.      Chen touched 91 mph (146 kph).
Some other top guns in the tourney:
1)Kuo-Hua Lo (San-Hsin)  144 kph
2)Ming-Hung Lin (Cheng-Kung)  144 kph
3)Chih-Wei Hu (Shi-Yuan)  143 kph


*Shi-Yuan beat Cheng-Kung 6-2 to advance in the tourney.

*Ping-Zhen won 8-2 over San-Min HS.

Tomorrow's semifinal matchups include:
Ping-Zhen vs. Ku-Pao
Mei-Ho vs. Shi-Yuan




MLB:
Chin-Lung Hu was officially introduced by the Mets.  There is a large Taiwanese contingency in nearby Flushing, NY.   The NY Media labeled Hu as a "4A" player, a label that befell Chin-Feng Chen.



ASIA:
The Asia Series will resume this year in Taiwan - Nov. 11th to be specific.

Elite Cup Update...

HS Baseball: Elite Cup 
-Action from the 25th:
*San-Min eliminated Kao-Yuan 2-1 in extra innings to move on to the Elite Eight.  Yi-Hsiang Lin started for San-Min (6.2 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 9 K's, 1 BB) and had the GW sacrifice hit in the bottom of the 10th.   Ren-He Tseng closed out the game for San-Min (3.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 6 K's, 2 BB's).    For Kao-Yuan, Tzu-Wei Lin was 2-4 with a BB.

* Nan-Ying also moved on to the Elite Eight with a 7-0 win over Da-Li HS.  Nan-Ying starter Po-Hsien Hsieh was dominant, throwing a CG shutout.  He allowed only 1 hit, while K'ing 4 and walking 2.

*Ku-Pao is also in the final 8 after shutting out Hsin-She HS 7-0.   Ku-Pao coach Tsai noted that P Chun-Lung Chang has an opportunity to play overseas in Japan.   Also, two-way player Shao-Ching Chiang has a strong desire to play in the US.  Chiang closed out the game for Ku-Pao, throwing one perfect inning, and was 3-4 at the plate with a 2B, BB, and 2 RBI.

*Chang-Yi defeated Ren-Yi HS 6-4.

*Ping-Zhen advanced with a 7-1 victory over Tung-Shih HS. 

*Chung-Dao defeated Chiayi HS 5-4 in extra innings.


-Action from the 26th:
*San-Hsin defeated Chung-Dao 6-3 to advance.  Kuo-Hua Lo picked up the W for San-Hsin.

*Mei-Ho shut out Chang-Yi 4-0 to advance to the Elite Eight.

*Cheng-Kung beat Shan-Hua 5-0 to continue in the tourney.

*Shi-Yuan advanced with a 7-4 victory over Hualien PE.

-The quarterfinals of the tourney will take place on the 29th: 
Mei-Ho vs. San-Hsin
Ku-Pao vs. Nan-Ying
Shi-Yuan vs. Cheng-Kung
San-Min vs. Ping-Zhen


CPBL:
*Sung-Wei Tseng may be the opening day starter for the Elephants.

*RHP En-Yu Lin's recovery has been slow; his shoulder still doesn't feel well after throwing at 35 M.

*C Kun-Sheng Lin has reported to the Bulls' camp.



NPB:
*Dragons lefty Wei-Yin Chen received a hefty raise for 2011.  He'll receive 170 million yen (~2.07 million USD) in 2011, plus the opportunity to bonus an additional 50 million yen based on performance incentives.

The Cultural Divide?

*A journalist from UDN, Lou (Chin-Pin Lo) has voiced his displeasure with some of the "foreign" scouts at the recently completed Wood Bat Tourney.   Lo noted that some of the foreign scouts parked themselves inside the VIP boxes and were inconsiderate, noting that one foreign scout was smoking inside the VIP box while scouting the HS games.   Read more here.


*ELITE CUP:
-Mei-Ho HS advanced to the Sweet 16 after defeating Taitung PE 6-4.  Mei-Ho OF Chan-Chia Liu hit well in the game and got rave reviews from Indians' coaches (Bruce Fields and Gary Thurman).   Liu was on the 2008 NT that represented the country at the 5th Junior Nankyu Baseball World Championships.  Liu won the most outstanding player award in the tourney and hit a HR in helping lead the NT to the title.

-Cheng-Kung HS eliminated Yang-Ming HS with a 5-2 victory.  Yang-Ming HS head coach Tu-Hung  Lee has stated his wishes for better recruits while Cheng-Kung's head coach Kao has complained of a lack of budget for the baseball program.

-HS Wood Bat Champs Kao-Yuan advanced to the field of 16 with a 12-2 win over Yang-Der HS.  Tzu-Wei Lin (double, triple) and Tzu-Hao Chen (3 hits, 3 RBI) led the way for Kao-Yuan.

-Other winners on the day included Shi-Yuan, Tung-Shih, Ping-Zhen, Hualien PE, & Shan-Hua.

News and Notes....

HS Baseball:
WBT:
*Kao-Yuan won the HS Wood Bat Tourney, winning 2 out of 3 against Ping-Zhen HS.  The championship was Kao-Yuan's first Wood Bat championship (KY HS had won 5 previous tourneys when aluminum bats were still being used).

Kao-Yuan beat Ping-Zhen in game 1 5-2.  Kao-Yuan starter RHP Wei-Chieh Huang didn't become an official roster player until this tourney; he was a non-scholarship/practice squad player previously.

Ping-Zhen won game 2 behind starter LHP Ming-Chieh Lu's 8 K's (1 R, 7.1 IP).

In the third and decisive game, Kao-Yuan came out on top with a 1-0 win over Ping-Zhen.  Kuo-Lin Lo had the game-winning hit while Tzu-Wei Lin preserved the win, closing out the game with 3.1 scoreless innings.  After last summer's spectacular showing in the World Junior Championships, Tzu-Wei Lin has found better success on the mound than at the plate since his return to home from Canada. 


*Ku-Pao beat San-Hsin 3-0 for the bronze medal in the WBT.  San-Hsin ace RHP Kuo-Hua Lo (5 IP- 7 hits) didn't pitch well;   Ku-Pao RHP Chun-Lung Chang pitched well (CG - 12 K's, 0 BB's) but did not show good velocity, stating that he was focusing on his control.  Chang had also been losing weight (from 98kg to 85kg over a period of several months), leading some scouts to attribute that to his drop in velocity (topped out at 138-140 kph in 3rd place game, was previously consistently over 145 kph).

*Nan-Ying defeated Shi-Yuan 3-1 to earn 5th in the tourney.  Nan-Ying RHP Chia-Hao Sung K'd 5 in 3 IP

of relief.   Shi-Yuan starter RHP Chih-Wei Hu 8 IP K'd 5 walked 1 in the loss.

*Hsin-She earned 7th place after a 3-0 win over San-Min.


Elite Cup:
*The tourney kicked off yesterday (23rd) with a record 32 teams participating.  The Elite Cup, based on its single elimination format, will award the champions 500 K NT.

*Nan-Ying eliminated Taichung Gao-Nong 4-2 behind RHP Chia-Hao Sung's CG (5 H, K'd 8).  Sung said that he's tired - he's had 4 CG since late December.


*Ku-Pao won behind RHP Yu-Fan Wen, who became a side-armer not long ago, to move on to the Sweet 16.


*The Atlanta Braves worked out San-Min HS LHP Yi-Hsiang Lin

*The A's are interested in RHP Ren-He Tseng (tops 140 kph) per San-Min HS head coach Che-Sheng Chen.





CPBL:
*The Sinon Bulls are trying not to have any foreign players this year; RHP Chien-Fu Yang turned down

a tryout with Chunichi.

*Bears/Monkeys C Hung-Yu Lin has been working on his ability to throw out baserunners.

*Former NPB'er Sheng-Hsiung Chuang has been working with the Bears/Monkeys pitchers.




MLB/MILB:*Che-Hsuan Lin is scheduled to return to the US on the 31st of this month to attend the Red Sox spring training camp.

*Chia-Jen Lo will report to mini-camp on February 20th.

*The Indians are high on C Chun-Hsiu Chen; he's been in camp since mid-January.







NPB:*Shen-Fu Tsai is on his way to Japan.  Despite not receiving a signing bonus from the Marines, Tsai's contract is incentive laden (his ikusei contract is reported to be worth 2.4 million yen).   He will wear the number 125.

*Giants RHP Kai-Wen Cheng has been practicing at home with the Lions, alongside other overseas ballplayers - Ching-Lung Lo and fellow Nan-Ying alumni: Che-Hsuan Lin, Fu-Lin Kuo, and Yen-Wen Kuo.

*All three Taiwanese Hanshin Tigers players (Wei-Chu Lin, Kai-Wen Cheng, Yi-Chieh Hsiao) are on the team's first team squad for spring training.
 
*The Yokohama Baystar are interested in playing exhibition games in Taiwan.

Hong-Chih Kuo Set to Be Highest Paid Taiwanese Player in 2011...

MLB:
*HC Kuo has been offered a one year contract for $2.55 million by the Dodgers;  he's asking for $3.075 million.   Regardless, he'll receive a well-deserved raise in 2011.
Dragons RHP Wei-Yin Chen is expected to make ~ 150 million yen ($1.8 million USD) in 2011 with his club.

*Astros GM Wade has said that CJ Lo is behind progress in his development.   Lo was out for much of last year after suffering a partial tear of his UCL.




CPBL:
*The Monkeys and slugger Chih-Sheng Lin have agreed to a 5 year deal worth 24.12 million NT (~$830,000) with an additional 5.88 million NT (~$202,000) in bonus incentives.  The contract is the third richest in CPBL history (behind CFC's 2 three year contracts - '06-'08 worth 30 million NT, and '09-'11 worth 30.03 million NT).

*The Lions are expecting the presence of Yung-Chi Chen to boost attendance for the upcoming year.

*The Elephants are currently looking for a foreign pitcher.

*Several Dodgers minor league coaches are assisting the Bulls during their ST.



Other:
*The government's amateur city teams (industrial league) have significant financial issues and may fold.

*Taitung Agricultural HS will build a dorm on the baseball field.

*In a bit of good news, the way the junior NT is selected may be overhauled.   Rather than utilizing the current method of having tourney winners make up the majority of the NT roster, the new selection process will include a trial process in which all potential players will be evaluated during games/training.




HS WBT:
Quarterfinals - 
*RHP Kuo-Hua Lo helped lead San-Hsin into the final four.
*IF Tzu-Wei Lin had a double and a triple in leading Kao-Yuan into the final 4.
*Ku-Pao RHP Shao-Ching Chiang was impressive in relief as he touched 91 mph and also had 2 triples in leading his team to final 4.  A lot of scouts were on hand to check out the quarterfinal matchup between San-Min LHP Yi-Hsiang Lin vs Ku-Pao RHP Ping-Hsueh Chen.   Lin touched 87 mph while RHP Chen topped out at 91 mph.

Semifinals-
*Kao-Yuan defeated San-Hsin 8-5 to move on to the finals.
*Ping-Zhen upset the defending champs - Ku-Pao 3-1 behind RHP Keng-Sheng Lee, on the '09 youth NT, in the other semi.   Ku-pao also had several defensive lapses, committing four errors in the field.

*In the consolation matches:
Shi-Yuan beat San-Min 4-2 while Nan-Ying defeated Hsin-She 5-4.  Shi-Yuan and Nan-Ying will play each other for 5th place while San-Min and Hsin-She will duke it out for 7th place.

WBT: Power Surge and the Elite Eight...

HS Wood Bat Tourney:
*The final field of 8 HS squads has been determined.
In the Quarterfinals:
Ping-Zhen plays Shi-Yuan
San-Hsin plays Nan-Ying
Ku-Pao plays San-Min
Kao-Yuan plays Hsin-She


*Chia-Ming Cheng of Shi-Yuan HS will focus exclusively on pitching.  The lefty was on the 2009 youth NT as an IF.


*IF Hung-Sheng Yang of Ku-Pao leads the tourney with 2 home runs.  This comes as no surprise as Yang was a member of the 2010 world junior championship squad.   He led the world junior tourney with 12 RBI while also leading the team with 2 HR while hitting at a .346 clip.  He was the tourney All-Star selection at 2B.     Yang's well-scouted teammate Po-Rong (Jung) Wang, has also cracked a HR in the tourney.

There's been 9 home runs hit in the tourney so far, 8 of which came in the same park (Chung Cheng University ballpark in Chiayi), leading some to argue that the wind has had something to do with the power surge.





CPBL:*Former Lions 2B Sen Yang is considering legal action to try and get back his salary. 




Other:Where have you gone Chia-An Huang?    

Shen-Fu Tsai to the Lotte Marines...

*IF Shen-Fu Tsai has signed with the Chiba Lotte Marine(s).   Tsai had worked out with the team back in November.  Tsai will join fellow Taiwanese player Yen-Feng Lin in Chiba.



*HS WBT:
-In a media interview with NYY scout Ken Su, Su noted that progress is being made in the amateur ranks, especially at the HS level.   The progress was attributed to the special camps/training with MLB personnel over these past few years.   Currently in the HS Wood Bat Tourney (the field has been narrowed down to 16 teams), 4 home runs have been hit in the preliminary matches.   In the past two wood bat tourneys, no home runs had left the yard. 

-
Remember Chia-An Huang?   Well, his younger brother (#25) is currently making  a name for himself after a nice outing against Kao-Yuan HS.  Sheng-Chieh Huang, despite taking the loss against Kao-Yuan, K'd 7 in 5.2 innings and was clocked around ~ 87 mph.  The 17 year old, who stands in at 6'1" attends Ta-Cheng HS in Miaoli.*Edited

-Gao-Nong slugger Chin-De Chang is likely to sign after HS.  Aside from Chang, RHP Kuo-Hua Lo of San-Hsin HS is the other top name in the tourney.   Both are expected to garner MLB signing bonus offers in the 150-200 K range per media speculation.  Other names mentioned as ones to keep an eye on included:  San-Min HS LHP Yi-Hsiang Lin, Ku-Pao HS INF Po-Rong (Jung) Wang, Gao-Nong HS RHP 6'5" Che-Wei Kao, and Kao-Yuan HS RHP/OF Kuo-Lin Lo, the younger brother of Mariners farmhand Kuo-Hui Lo.

CW Kao

KL Lo

*CPBL News:
-Chih-Sheng Lin is not in good standings with his CPBL club.

-CPBL ST is underway.

-Former Red Sox farmhand Chia-Chu Chen is now training with the Lamigo Monkeys; he will serve  in the military this summer and then make himself eligible for the CPBL draft after finishing his military service.

Amateur Updates..

HBT:

*C Tse-Yang Peng from Ping-Zhen HS and IF Sung-Yuan Niu of Shi-Yuan HS both hit HR's in the current HS Wood Bat Tourney.   Peng was the 2006 Bronco League World Series HR derby champ; while Niu (pictured below from '08) was on the 2008 Pony League World Series NT squad.

*Also from the tourney, Ku-Pao HS RHP Ping-Hsueh Chen topped out at 91 mph and RHP Shao-Ching Chiang was consistently at 90-91 mph.

*The NYY are pursuing Ku-Pao HS INF Po-Rong (Jung) Wang, who is an above average runner

*Shi-Yuan HS RHP Lee-Wei Chiang is still nursing an arm injury; he has been heavily pursued by the NYY since he was in JR HS.

CPBL:*Lions RHP Wei-Lun Pan's new salary will be 530 K NT/month ($18,150 USD/month); the contract is just pending his signature.

*Elephants Manager Chen is encouraging LHP Fu-Te Ni to return to the CPBL.   Chen feels that Ni's fastball and breaking pitches won't be effective vs. MLB hitters.   Ni is a non-roster invitee to the Tigers' ST camp.
*There's been some drastic measures passed to help curb the rigging of games in Taiwan.  A player could get up to 10 years in jail.

*Taiwan is willing to host the Asian Series this year in an effort to revive the tournament.
*Lamigo Monkeys slugger Chih-Sheng Lin still hasn't reported to ST camp;  he's waiting to hear back from the Cleveland Indians.

*Sinon Bulls RHP Chien-Fu Yang may get a tryout with the Chunichi Dragons.

*The Bulls signed their 4th round pick: C Kun-Sheng Lin to a ~ 2.5 million NT signing bonus (~$86 K USD).





MLB:Mets GM Sandy Alderson on Chin-Lung Hu:
With the remainder of the bench, I presumed -- I believe correctly -- that Chin-lung Hu’s role would be as a backup middle infielder, not directly in the second base competition. Is that correct?



“I think that’s the likely result. I think we view him as a very capable defensive shortstop, and provides us some insurance there, as well as at second base -- maybe late-inning defense at second, given what we have there at the moment, and foreseeably what we will have there at beginning of spring training. I think that’s the likely role for him. We’ll let spring training play out.”

KY Chen Links Self with Yokohama.....

Here's a pic of Kuan-Yu Chen acknowledging his signing with Yokohama, courtesy of Chen's FB page.




*The La New Bears are now the Lamigo Monkeys.



*The Bears/Monkeys signed their first round pick - IF Yen-Wen Kuo.  Kuo will make 130 K NT/month (~$4,400 USD/month) with the potential to earn nearly 1 million NT in bonus incentives. 



*The SK Wyverns have supposedly cooled on RHP Wei-Lun Pan.

Kuan-Yu Chen To Sign With BayStars...

*Here's some more details about Chen's contract with the BayStars.   He will receive a ~ $210K signing bonus and earn $60K USD annually.
Per his agent, Ku-Pao HS head coach Ming-Tang Tsai, Chen's contract states 2 things:  1)his team can't modify his delivery unless Chen agrees and 2)anytime the national team needs him, the BayStars must let him participate.



*Hong-Chih Kuo is expected to earn ~ $2.1 to 2.5 million for this upcoming season.




*A baseball player from Taoyuan Agricultural HS was booted off the team after testing positive (via urine analysis) for the drug ketamine.


 

 
*Softbank Hawks LHP Yao-Hsun Yang is also seeking a similar path to the US ala Wei-Yin Chen of the Dragons.  Yang wants to be a free agent so that he can have the opportunity to play on the world's biggest stage, in the majors.

Lefty Kuan-Yu Chen to the BayStars?

*Amateur lefty Kuan-Yu Chen is likely to sign with the Yokohama BayStars.   His signing bonus would approach ~ $300 K.     Chen had worked out for Yokohama not too long ago and was being pursued by the Yomiuri Giants & Chunichi Dragons.
The BayStars were also interested in Chen's amateur teammate Yu-Ching Lin.


*In other NPB news, the Orix BlueWave are interested in CPBL veteran star Bulls RHP Chien-Fu Yang.  Yang was the most impressive NT pitcher at the Asian Games.


*In the final poll for 2010, the IBAF has Taiwan in the 5th spot, behind world leaders: Cuba, US, South Korea, and Japan. 


*Taiwan defended its Asian "A" little league level championship (5-peat) with a 4-1 win over Japan in the championship game.  Chun-An Wu cracked a HR for the NT.


*A team from Kyoto, Japan won the Chu-Lo Cup (12 and under) tourney in Taiwan.


*Former Taiwanese little league star, Tung-Jung Wu (now at National Physical Ed U. in Taiwan) has a partial ligament tear in his elbow.




*CPBL NEWS:
-The President Lions released IF Sen Yang and P Yi-Cheng Tsai.
-The Elephants will pay CPBL rookies Sung-Wei Tseng 160 K NT/month and Chi-Hung Cheng 135 K NT/month.
-The Sinon Bulls may be sold to the Ta-Rong Cargo Delivery/Moving Corp?
-Lions C Chih-Kang Kao and Elephants C Chun-Chang Yeh are spending their own money to train at the Indians' ST camp beginning 1/17 for a month.








*Here's a great series on Taiwanese HS players in Japan with the aim of playing in the sacred Koshien Tournament:








*Life After Baseball?
-Former pitcher Shih-Kui Huang, who is now the pitching coach at Chinese Cultural University, is the only coach with a PhD degree from the US currently in Taiwanese baseball.
-At 25, former Yomiuri Giant and NT RHP Chien-Ming Chiang is out of baseball and currently working in a jewelry store. 

Fresh Start for Hu and Chang...

*The LA Dodgers traded Chin-Lung Hu to the NY Mets.


*The President Lions acquired Tarzan from the Bulls for ~ $83 K USD.   The team also reassigned
their GM within the corporation.


*One time star RHP Chung-Nan Tsai is now the Sinon Bulls' pitching coach.


*At the Asian LL Championships, the NT defeated South Korea 2-1 to move on to the championship game against Japan.  Japan beat China 7-6 in the other semifinal.



*Shi-Yuan Junior HS won the Taipei International Junior HS tourney, winning 11-4 in the championship game.   Chun-Jen Cheng, despite arm pain, logged another 5 innings to pick up the W and threw 398 pitches over 4 days!  Cheng was easily the MVP of the tourney with 3 W's.

CJ Cheng

SW Liu

Shao-Wei Liu from Taipei County has created the most buzz in the tourney with his 84-85 mph fastball.  He won the tourney batting title with a .541 BA. The 14 year old already stands in at 6"1".   Liu was on the 2008 LL NT team that won the Asian Championships.   See below vid:

*Taiwan's legislators are pushing forward an attempt to put a halt to fixing pro games.

Amateur Tourney Updates...

*The LL NT is currently 3-0 in Japan at the Asian LL Championships.   The team squeaked by China in its first game, 4-3, before defeating Thailand 16-0 in game 2.  The NT moved on to the semifinals after defeating Indonesia 20-0 in its last group game.   
The boys will face South Korea in one semifinal, while Japan plays China in the other semi.


*Some news on the current Taipei International Junior HS Tournament :
1)Hsin-Ming RHP Chuan-Yu Hsu from Taoyuan County has pitched well, topping out at 78 mph.
2)Shi-Yuan RHP Chun-Jen Cheng has thrown 2 CG's in 3 days (300 pitches!) to help his team enter the semifinals.


*In the College Cup, Chinese Culture University won the title with an 11-1 victory on Friday.   SP Chen-Hua Lin started the game, pitched a CG (7 innings) to pick up the W (1 unearned run on 5 hits, 8 K's, 1 BB).  Lin was elected the top pitcher in the tourney (0.00 ERA, 7.1 IP, 1 W).
On the losing end was SP Kuan-Yu Chen (0.1 IP, 3 R, 4 H).   KY Chen is still suffering from some confidence issues since getting hammered against South Korea in the Asian Games.
Fu-Jen University won third with a 7-1 victory over Taipei Sports College.




*CPBL News:   The President Lions signed their second round draft pick: RHP Wen-Yang Liao to a  2.5 million NT signing bonus, 100K NT/month salary.

Speaking of the Lions, veteran star slugger Tarzan (Tai-Shan Chang) has been linked to the club.




*Other:  Interesting read on Genji Kaku's son in Japan  - looks like the apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

News Briefs...

*The Asian Little League Championships (12 and under) will kick off tomorrow in Kurashiki, Japan.   Taiwan earned the easier draw as it was grouped with China, Indonesia, and Thailand.   Group B consists of Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Pakistan.
The LL NT will play:
12/24 vs. China
12/25 vs. Thailand
12/26 vs. Indonesia
The top 2 teams from each group will play on the 27th (1 vs. 2 format), with the semifinal winners meeting in the championship game on the 28th.



*Speaking of little league baseball, the Chu-Lo Mountain Cup LL Tourney in Chiayi has a record number of teams participating (120 total with 12 teams coming from other countries - 7 from Japan) this year.   Last year, 117 teams were involved in the tourney.  To help protect young arms, a pitch count restriction will be implemented.



*CPBL News: 
The Elephants have released a total of 9 players from this past season's roster to help make room for some of their new draft picks.

The Bears inked last year's top pick, RHP Chu-Kuan Lee to a 2.5 million NT signing bonus (~$84 K USD).

The President Lions hired new hitting (Terushi Nakajima) & pitching (Makoto Kito) coaches from Japan.






*Amateur lefty Kuan-Yu Chen had a tryout on Tuesday with the Yokohama BayStars.  He topped out at 84 mph.



*RHP Chun-Lin Kuo was clocked at ~92 mph recently in the collegiate tourney (12/22 loss vs. CCU).  Kuo, who currently plays for Taiwan Sports University, was a member of the 2010 world champion junior NT.

2010 CPBL Draft Results

Read more here.

Team:          Lions                      Bears                    Bulls                     Elephants
Round1:  Yung-Chi Chen      Yen-Wen Kuo        Chih-Pei Huang      Sung-Wei Tseng
Round2:  Wen-Yang Liao      Cheng-Hao Tseng   Hung-Cheng Lai     Chi-Hung Cheng
Round3:  Ying-Shan Wang     Te-Lung Yu            Wen-Cheng Hsu    Chun-Wei Chiu
Round4:  Wan-Lin Tsai          Wei-Jen Wang        Kun-Sheng Lin       Ta-Yuan Kuan
Round5:  En-Tse Huang         Yueh-Teng Hsu       Kai-Lun Chen        Hsiao-Jung Shih
Round6: Yu-Kang Fu             Ko-Yao Weng       Chia-Chu Lee         Chia-Wei Yen
Round7:  Na-Yao Fang         Chun-Yi Wu           Liu-Ching Huang    Chun-Sheng Huang

For the rest of the draft, go to the official CPBL site.

Yung-Chi Chen to the Lions....

*The President Lions will select IF Yung-Chi Chen with the 1st overall pick in the CPBL draft tomorrow (December 21st).  Chen will receive a multi-year deal (3 years) worth 300 K NT/month (~10 K USD/month)+ additional bonus incentives.  This is the second highest rookie salary in Lions team history (Genji Kaku, better known as Yuen-Chih Kuo earned 500 K NT/month in '97 with the Lions).

The Bears have the # 2 pick and will most likely select IF Yen-Wen Kuo.   The Bulls have the third overall pick and are expected to go with a positional player - perhaps C Kun-Sheng Lin.   The Elephants will choose last in the first round and are expected to select RHP Sung-Wei Tseng. 
RHP Wen-Yang Liao is a wild card to be selected in the first round and is the top amateur pitcher available in the draft.

*Taiwan Coop Bank 19 year old RHP Wei-Hua Wu was clocked at a high of 92 mph in the recently completed winter amateur tourney.  He threw a CG shutout on the 19th, giving up only 3 hits in his team's 5-0 win over Tai-Power.  Wu also started on 12/11 against Tai-Power, picking up the W after throwing 7 shutout innings, K'ing 5, walking none, while allowing only 3 hits.
Taiwan Coop bank won the tourney.
Po-Yu Lin (formerly with the White Sox organization) ended up winning the top pitcher award in the tourney (2 W's, 0.15 ERA)
 
 
 
*Negotiations haven't gone too well with Octagon and Chunichi regarding Wei-Yin Chen's desire to play in the US.  Chen was seeking to have his status changed to that of a foreign player.   The club currently views him as a domestic/Japanese player.   In order for Chen to play overseas, he'll either have to be 1) posted by his NPB club  or 2) wait till he's 31 years old, when he becomes an international free agent (with 9 years of service - this is defined as being active for 145 days on the team's top roster for nine seasons. Time missed for injuries during these years does not count).