[Taipei Times]
By Paul Huang
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Tuesday, Jun 06, 2006,Page 20
CPBL
Wet weather in northern Taiwan resulted in the postponement of two Chinese Professional Baseball League games scheduled for Sunday (La New Bears versus Chinatrust Whales in Sinjhuang and President Lions versus Brother Elephants in Tianmu) as the end of the first half of Taiwan's professional baseball season approaches.
While the Bears appeared to be a sure bet as the first-half champions last month, the competition has now turned into a three-team race, with the second-place Lions (1-1/2 games behind) and the third-place Sinon Bulls (2 games behind) in the hunt for the title. The stakes are high since the champions of the first half of the season gain a berth in the league-championship series against the second-half winners at the end of the regular season.
A 9-1 record by the Lions in their last 10 contests, coupled with the Bears' 5-5 mark over the same span is the main the reason that the Lions have regained their "rulers of the south" distinction, thanks to a tremendous effort from the Lions pitchers Eric Cyr of Canada (3-0 in his last three starts and a 1.08 ERA), Bill Pulsipher of the US (1-0 in his last three games with an ERA of 0.5), and Lin Yueh-ping of Taiwan (2-0 in his last five relief appearances with no earned runs).
Offensively for the big cats, leadoff man Yang Seng and first baseman Kao Guo-ching have carried the bulk of the run production with 11 combined RBIs in the last 10 games, while also batting .458 and .474 over the past 10 games, respectively.
The Lions did not score many runs over the last 10-game stretch, averaging only 5.1 runs per outing, but they gave up an average of only 2.4 runs per game with a defense that committed just six errors in that same stretch.
Unlike the Lions, who mowed through their last 10 games with outstanding pitching and solid defense, the Bulls have quietly put together a 7-3 run over the same span with three one-run wins over the last-place Whales to remain in title contention.
A staff that looked deep and promising with local greats Yang Jien-fu (a 15-game winner and the Taiwan Series MVP in 2004 before an injury-plagued 2005), Tsai Chung-nan (Rookie of the Year winner in 2002 with a major league-caliber split-finger fastball), and Yu Wen-pin (drafted by the Orix Blue Waves of Nippon Professional Baseball in 2003), and Alfredo Gonzalez of the Dominican Republic, Jorge Cortez of Panama and American righty Clint Weibl, was limited to just the three reliable foreign arms that have accounted for all but two of their last 10 wins.
Doing most of the damage offensively for the defending champs are Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan, who leads the league in batting (.415), homers (12), and total bases (102), rookie outfielder Su Jien-rong (sixth in the league with a .327 batting average) and veteran slugger Huang Chung-yi (seventh in the league with a .322 batting average).
For the Bulls to have a legitimate shot at the first-half title, at least two other local pitchers need to rise to the occasion to take over the fourth starter and the all-important closer roles.
Veteran right-hander Kuo Yong-chih could be one of the two missing pieces of the puzzle for the Bulls after he demonstrated his skill with two recent late-inning wins in his newfound reliever's role.
By Paul Huang
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Tuesday, Jun 06, 2006,Page 20
CPBL
Wet weather in northern Taiwan resulted in the postponement of two Chinese Professional Baseball League games scheduled for Sunday (La New Bears versus Chinatrust Whales in Sinjhuang and President Lions versus Brother Elephants in Tianmu) as the end of the first half of Taiwan's professional baseball season approaches.
While the Bears appeared to be a sure bet as the first-half champions last month, the competition has now turned into a three-team race, with the second-place Lions (1-1/2 games behind) and the third-place Sinon Bulls (2 games behind) in the hunt for the title. The stakes are high since the champions of the first half of the season gain a berth in the league-championship series against the second-half winners at the end of the regular season.
A 9-1 record by the Lions in their last 10 contests, coupled with the Bears' 5-5 mark over the same span is the main the reason that the Lions have regained their "rulers of the south" distinction, thanks to a tremendous effort from the Lions pitchers Eric Cyr of Canada (3-0 in his last three starts and a 1.08 ERA), Bill Pulsipher of the US (1-0 in his last three games with an ERA of 0.5), and Lin Yueh-ping of Taiwan (2-0 in his last five relief appearances with no earned runs).
Offensively for the big cats, leadoff man Yang Seng and first baseman Kao Guo-ching have carried the bulk of the run production with 11 combined RBIs in the last 10 games, while also batting .458 and .474 over the past 10 games, respectively.
The Lions did not score many runs over the last 10-game stretch, averaging only 5.1 runs per outing, but they gave up an average of only 2.4 runs per game with a defense that committed just six errors in that same stretch.
Unlike the Lions, who mowed through their last 10 games with outstanding pitching and solid defense, the Bulls have quietly put together a 7-3 run over the same span with three one-run wins over the last-place Whales to remain in title contention.
A staff that looked deep and promising with local greats Yang Jien-fu (a 15-game winner and the Taiwan Series MVP in 2004 before an injury-plagued 2005), Tsai Chung-nan (Rookie of the Year winner in 2002 with a major league-caliber split-finger fastball), and Yu Wen-pin (drafted by the Orix Blue Waves of Nippon Professional Baseball in 2003), and Alfredo Gonzalez of the Dominican Republic, Jorge Cortez of Panama and American righty Clint Weibl, was limited to just the three reliable foreign arms that have accounted for all but two of their last 10 wins.
Doing most of the damage offensively for the defending champs are Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan, who leads the league in batting (.415), homers (12), and total bases (102), rookie outfielder Su Jien-rong (sixth in the league with a .327 batting average) and veteran slugger Huang Chung-yi (seventh in the league with a .322 batting average).
For the Bulls to have a legitimate shot at the first-half title, at least two other local pitchers need to rise to the occasion to take over the fourth starter and the all-important closer roles.
Veteran right-hander Kuo Yong-chih could be one of the two missing pieces of the puzzle for the Bulls after he demonstrated his skill with two recent late-inning wins in his newfound reliever's role.
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