Payback's a Bitch

Manny Ramirez went 3 for 4 as the Dodgers spanked the CPBL all-stars 11-1 Sunday night in Kaohsiung. Despite the outcome, the fans were in good spirits throughout and got to enjoy a great performance from Hu Chin-Lung, who also put three hits on the board for the team from L.A. The only real downer was that scheduled starter Kuo Hong-Chih had to withdraw because of a sore elbow. Due to Saturday's rainout in Taipei the series finished up honors even as each team won a game apiece.

Game 1 Went Pretty Damn Well

Backed by excellent pitching and their opponents jet lag, the CPBL all-stars beat the Dodgers 5-2 in game 1 of their exhibition series last night. Starter Lin Ying-Chieh threw four shutout innings while Lin Yueh-Ping picked up the save as the Dodgers were held to just three hits. The offence was led by Pan Wu-Hsiung and Wang Sheng-Wei, with each batting in two runs. Tainan product Hu Chin-Lung finally got the Dodgers on the scoreboard in the eighth inning with a two run single.

With the CPBL winning the game and the local boy coming through for the MLB club, it turned out to be an ideal series start for fans of Taiwan baseball. I just have one question: why the hell were the Dodgers wearing their home whites?

This Ain't the First Time

This isn't the first time that the Dodgers have come to Taiwan. Their last visit was in 1993, when they played three games (all in Taipei) against the then six teams of the CPBL. The Dodgers won the first game 4-2 over a combined team featuring players from the Weichuan Dragons and Jungo Bears. Game two went to the CPBL, who were represented by the President Lions and China Times Eagles. The locals won 1-0, scoring the lone run of the game in the bottom of the 10th inning. The CPBL then went on to take the series, winning game three by a score of 6-5. The Mercury Tigers and Brother Elephants were Taiwan's reps for this one.

The players that the Dodgers brought over here in '93 included many recognizable names. That squad, managed by Tommy Lasorda, featured players such as Orel Hershiser, Tom Candiotti, Mike Piazza, Darryl Strawberry, and a young Pedro Martinez. The team also included two players, Steve Wilson and Jonathan Hurst, who would later come to Taiwan as import players (in the TML and CPBL) and have a significant impact on Taiwanese baseball.

Some of the local players who impressed during this series were Lin Chong-Chiu of the Tigers, Huang Ping-Yang of the Dragons, and the Lions Hsieh Chang-Heng.

Here's a recent news report that shows some clips from these games (fast forward to the 1:30 mark).


Source: CPBL magazine, Issue 335
pic: Tommy Lasorda

CPBL-Dodgers Series Rosters

Here are the rosters for the upcoming series between the CPBL and Los Angeles Dodgers, to be played on March 12th, 13th (in Tienmu), and 14th (in Kaohsiung).

CPBL

Pitchers- Pan Wei-Lun (Lions), Lin Yue-Ping (Lions), Chen Yi-Chen (Lions), Hsu Ming-Jie (Bears), Keng Po-Hsuan (Bears), Lin En-Yu (Elephants), Ye Yong-Jie (Elephants), Yang Chien-Fu (Bulls), Shen Yu-Jie (Bulls), Lin Ying-Jie (Bulls)

Catchers- Kao Chih-Kang (Lions), Lin Hung-Yu (Bears) (Chen Feng-Min (Bears) was named to the team, but is now suspected of match-fixing)

Infielders- Kao Kuo-Ching (Lions), Lin Chih-Ping (Bears), Lin Chih-Sheng (Bears), Cheng Chao-Hsing (Bulls), Lin Yi-Chuan (Bulls),Wang Sheng-Wei (Elephants) Chen Jiang-He (Elephants) (Peng Cheng-Min (Elephants) has pulled out of the squad due to injury)

Outfielders- Liu Fu-Hao (Lions), Pan Wu-Hsiung (Lions), Chen Chin-Feng (Bears), Chang Chien-Ming (Bulls), Zhou Si-Qi (Elephants), Chen Kuan-Jen (Elephants)

Dodgers
Pitchers- Kuo Hong-Chih, Mario Alvarez, Alberto Bastardo, Robert Boothe, Jesus Castillo, Hyang-Nam Choi, John Ely, Francisco Felix, Charlie Haeger, Kenley Jansen, Josh Lindblom, Jon Link, Juan Perez, Eric Stults, Josh Towers 


Catchers-  J.D. Closser, Gabriel Gutierrez, Lucas May, Jesse Mier

Infielders- Hu Chin-Lung, Ronnie Belliard, Angel Berroa, Jamey Carroll, John Lindsey, James Loney, Russ Mitchell, Ramon Nivar

Outfielders- Manny Ramirez, Brian Barton, Xavier Paul, Prentice Redman, Michael Restovich, Trayvon Robinson

It Looks Like a Lot of People Got Their Hopes Up

It appears that I was wrong about Manny Ramirez. It looks like he's coming over here after all. But when you look at the rest of the Dodgers lineup for their upcoming games against the CPBL you'll be hard-pressed to recognize too many other names. Many local fans have been none too pleased about the minor leaguers that the Dodgers are sending and are starting to voice their displeasure. There have been calls for ticket refunds and Facebook protest groups. People are calling the team watered-down, and a massive disappointment. It will be interesting to see what kind of reception the boys in blue get when they finally take to the field.

On a side note, I've been thinking about purchasing a Lions season ticket. NT$5400 gets me a seat for the 36 home games they will be playing in Tainan this year. That's only NT$400 more expensive than one top-end ticket to see the handful of starters, the two local heroes, and the gaggle of career minor leaguers that is this edition of the Los Angeles Dodgers (to be fair, the cheap seats to these games are only NT$500, but still.... ).

CPBL Players Get No Respect

The upcoming series between the Dodgers and a team of CPBL stars was originally scheduled for two games, to be held in Taipei and Kaohsiung. But due to popular demand a third game was proposed, and negotiations were put in motion to make that happen. There were several hurdles that the independent company promoting the event needed to overcome,  the biggest of which was getting consent of the organizations involved. Appearance fees needed to be agreed on, player unions needed to be consulted, and other extraneous matters needed to be sorted out.


On the MLB side, the Dodgers agreed when their appearance fee of $1 million U.S. per game was met. The MLBPA signed off on the deal when the team agreed to pay the players for their performances, and Manny Ramirez seems to have managed to finagle a personal appearance fee.


On the CPBL side, the four teams agreed to send their players once their appearance fee was raised to NT$ 7 million for the series. The teams then decided to keep this money for themselves, declining to offer their players appearance fees for their performances.


Once the local players got wind of this plan, they justifiably weren't too pleased. Yesterday, players from all four teams issued a joint statement denouncing the blatantly unfair practice of the league using them as free labor. It appears that now the league has gotten rid of the players in its ranks that can be bought off, it is intent on pissing off the remaining players by refusing to pay them for their work.


Personally I fail to see how players are supposed to say no when asked to accept money for losing, when their own team won't even pay them for playing.

Despite My Warning, People Are Getting Their Hopes Up

According to a couple of articles I've read today (here and here) Manny Ramirez will be on the roster when the Dodgers come to Taiwan for their three game series later this month. Looking for confirmation I came across this article in the LA Times. It reads:

So take this news for what it's worth: Manny Ramirez is on the list of 33 players who will travel to Taiwan for three exhibition games March 12 to 14 against a Taiwanese all-star team.

He volunteered for the trip, which most of the players on the 25-man roster are skipping, but several club officials said they're not sure Ramirez will go.

He has wavered, according to these officials, saying on one day that he'll go, on another that he won't. That has kept the Dodgers from making a formal announcement. One of the officials shrugged and laughed.

Ramirez, asked Friday if he'll make the trip, said, "I don't know, papi. I don't know."


Attaboy, Manny.


I was thinking that staking a bet on Ramirez's appearance might be a fun thing to do. What harm can come from baseball-related gambling?

Don't Get Your Hopes Up

According to this article from MLB.com:
 "a Dodgers split squad will visit Taiwan for two exhibition games against a team from the Chinese Professional Baseball League." 


So the people who waited in line for hours and shelled out a fair bit of money for tickets get to see half of the Dodgers squad. 


"Few regulars are expected to make the trip, with James Loney and Jamey Carroll probable exceptions."


I guess that makes it less than half the team.


Feel the excitement.




(Note: a third game has since been added to this series)


*BONUS If you've ever wondered what a painting of Jamey Carroll would look like, check this out. Strange.