Wang will face off against Boston's Tim Wakefield in the opener of the series. This game/series should be a dandy. ESPN will carry this game at 4:00 Pacific.


In the NPB, W.C. Lin had a pinch hit appearance in the 8th and whiffed. Box

Rakuten Eagles pitcher Y.C. Lin, who was sent down to the minors earlier this week, was diagnosed with an inflamed elbow and will be out of action for a few weeks. Not a good sign.



Another day in the minors - Hu went 0-4 at the plate, but managed a walk and his 4th stolen base on the season. Box

Chen managed to go 1-4 today with a run scored. Chen kept pace with Hu in the SB department by swiping his 5th base on the season. Box

Modesto won it's game in extra innings, but starter Lo was not involved in the decision. Lo went 6.0 innings, allowing 4 earned runs. He walked one, K'd 3, but also gave up a 2-run jack.
Box

Hu had a great day at the plate. He had the only multi-hit game for his team. Hu was 3-4 at the plate with a walk, a run scored, and his 3rd stolen base on the season. Box

Chen had another good hitting night as well. He went 2-4, with a RBI triple and scored 2 runs. Box




Lin walked in a pinch hit appearance in the 7th inning. He eventually would score a run in the same inning. Box

Hu went 0-4 in his team's 3-2 loss today. Box

Y.C. Chen continued his hot hitting ways with another 2-4 night and stole his 4th base on the season. Box

It is interesting to note that the Hawaiian Winter Baseball League is being revived. A historical stomping ground for US and Japanese minor league prospects, the Hawaiian Winter League will begin in October of this year after an eight year hiatus. There are plans to include Taiwanese baseball prospects as well. Read more here.

In the NPB, Lin got his token pinch hit plate appearance and made the most of it with a RBI single in the 8th inning. Box

In other NPB news, Ying-Chieh Lin was demoted by the Rakuten Eagles to their minor league team. That leaves Wei-Chu Lin as the only Taiwanese player on a NPB roster.

In AA, Hu had his first multiple hit game in a lil while. He was 2-5 in his team's win. Box

In A+ ball, Chen got the night off.

Cheng won his 4th game of the season in A ball. He went 5 innings, giving up 0 earned runs with 3 K's, but 3 walks. Box

Yang is playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters Ni-Gun (minor league) team in the Eastern League. Yang has been hitting out of the leadoff or 3 spot in the lineup and is playing SS defensively.

Statistically, including the result of today's game, Yang is hitting .267 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI's through 17 games.

Wang bounced back from his last start and pitched well in tonight's game against Tampa Bay. After a rough start in the first 2 innings, Wang settled down and shut down the Rays for the next 5 innings. In 7 innings, Wang gave up 2 earned runs on 3 hits, with 3 walks and 3 K's. Wang's starting counterpart - McClung struggled with his command, walking 7 batters in 5 IP, but the Yanks could not make him pay for his mistakes. Wang left the game in a 2-2 deadlock. The game was eventually won in extra innings, with closer Mariano Rivera giving up the game winning runs in the 10th. All in all, a much needed solid performance by Wang. Box Recap


In the minors, Chen had another 2-4 night with a key run scored and his 3rd stolen base on the season. Box

In A ball, Keng was charged with a blown save, when he gave up the game tying run in a relief situation. However, Keng was not charged with any runs as he inherited the runner in scoring position from the starting pitcher. Keng went 2.2 innings, struck out 3, and walked 1 batter. Box

Wu was 0-2 with a walk for Wisconsin as his team won 7-3.

Kuo pitched the 14th inning for the Dodgers, struggled with his command, and gave up the winning run on a sac-fly to run his record to 0-3 on the season. Box Despite an outstanding spring preseason showing, Kuo has been erratic with his control lately. In 13 innings pitched so far, Kuo has walked 15 batters!

In AA ball, Hu went 0-4 in his team's loss today. Box

In A+ action, Chen was 2-4 with 2 walks, as his team won a thrilla in extra innings. Box

Lo pitched well for Modesto but had a no decision in another extra inning game - 5 innings, 2 earned runs, 2 K's/1 BB. Box

In A ball, Wu got PT as the DH and was 1-3 with a RBI. Box

In Japan, Lin had a pinch hit appearance in the 6th inning and grounded out. Box

Chien-Ming Wang is scheduled to start on Wed. vs. the Tampa Bay Devil Ray's Seth McClung. Seth has been horrible this year, with an ERA of 10.90 and 3 losses to his name. However, Wang was 1-3 against the Devil Rays last year. Tampa Bay hit .337 against Wang in those 4 games. This game could get ugly from a pitching stand point of view. However, this is a great opportunity for Wang to pick up victory #2 as long as he gets some offensive support from his team.

Ching-Lung Hu was the only minor leaguer in action tonight. He went 1-4 from the leadoff spot and scored a run as his team won 9-4.

Over in Japan, Y.C. Lin was the hard-luck loser to the Seibu Lions when he gave up a 2 run homerun, proving to be the difference in the game. Lin only gave up 2 hits over 5 innings, however he struggled with his command, walking 6 batters. Final score: Seibu 2-Rakuten Eagles 0

W.C. Lin got another pinch hit appearance in the 9th inning for his team, but K'd. Box

In the Majors, Kuo got the opportunity to show what he could do in back to back games. After a scoreless 7th inning, Kuo ran into problems in the 8th. Kuo gave up a leadoff single to Chad Tracy who then advanced to 2nd on a fielder's indifference rule. Kuo walked the next batter - Gonzo. The following hitter then grounded into a double play - advancing Tracy to 3rd. Kuo finally walked Shawn Green and was then pulled from the game. Kuo's relief, Baez subsequently gave up a single and a double plating both runners that he had inherited from Kuo. Kuo was charged with 2 earned runs in 1.2 innings of work. Box

In the minors, Hu DNP as his team was involved in another 1-run game that they won.

Y.C. Chen jacked his 2nd homerun on the season as he went 1-4 at the plate. Box

Wu played 1B tonight for Wisconsin and managed a 1-4 night. Box

Kuo pitched a scoreless 6th innings for the Dodgers vs. the Diamondbacks. Facing the heart of the D-Backs order, Kuo did have some command issues. But after getting the leadoff hitter to ground out, he gave up a bloop double to Tracy. Kuo then walked Gonzo. Tony Clark grounded into a fielder's choice. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, Kuo K'd Shawn Green to end the inning. Kuo's fastball was clocked between 89-91 mph. Box

In the minors, Hu went 1-2 with a double. He only played 4 innings. Hopefully he's ok. Box

Cheng won his 3rd game of the season, but continued to struggle with his command. Cheng pitched 5 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 7 hits. He K'd 3, but walked 4 batters while also uncorking a wild pitch. Pitching in relief of Cheng, Keng gave up his first earned run of the season when he gave up a solo shot in the 8th inning. Keng went 3 innings, giving up that 1 earned run, and struck out 2. Box

Wu got some PT as a catcher today. Although he was charged with a passed ball, Wu flashed a potent bat with a 2-4 performance at the plate. Box

Wang earned his first loss of the season, with a forgettable outing. Wang pitched 5.1 innings, and gave up 6 earned runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. Kris Benson wasn't much better, but he was credited with the win. Box Wang will need to bring his "A" game next time out, as his #3 spot could be jeopardized with another poor performance.

Jacksonville won today. Hu broke out of a mini-slump, managing to go 1-2 with a RBI, 2 walks, and a stolen base. Box

In NPB action on Wed., Lin got a pinch-hit AB in the 7th inning and K'd. Box

Y.C. Chen is back in action. Not sure if his wrist is still bothering him, but he's currently 0-4 with 2K's in the 11th inning. Box

C.L. Hu went o-5 in his team's win today. Hu K'd twice as well. Box


**Update: Chen breaks up the hitless streak on the night with a game winning RBI double in the top of the 12th inning.

Kuo got into Wed.'s game against the Cubs in the 7th inning. Kuo pitched that one inning, giving up a leadoff walk before settling down and retiring the next 3 batters - one via the strikeout. Kuo's ERA falls below 5.00 for the season. Box

In the minors, Hu stroked a single in 4 AB's and swiped his first base of the season, as his team outslugged the Carolina MudCats 9-1.

Lo struggled in his outing today against the Lancaster JetHawks. Lo was lucky to get a no-decision as he only went 4 innings, giving up 4 earned runs, a home run, and 2 walks. Hmmm, how much longer do we have to witness these lackluster performances before we officially label Lo a bust?

Wu had another token appearance today as a DH for the TimberRattlers. He was 1-4.

Keng continued to shine for the Lansing Lugnuts as he pitched 3 scoreless innings and racked up 3 more K's. I found these pretty cool photos of Keng in action (with Lansing) - check it out.

Lastly, Chien-Ming Wang is scheduled to start the Yanks homestand opener on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles. He faces off against Kris Benson.

Ching-Lung Hu went o-3 tonight as his team lost to the Carolina MudCats. Box

Wei-Chu Lin smacked a pinch-hit single in the 8th inning in his team's loss to the Chunichi Dragons. He's hitting .571 in limited action this year. Box

Cheng won his second game on the season with a 7 K performance, 0 earned runs allowed in 5 innings pitched. More importantly, Cheng only gave up one walk, although he did throw a wild pitch. If Cheng can continue to show better control of his stuff, we'll probably see Cheng jump up to High A with the Dunedin based team some time this season. Box

Hu went 0-4 in his game today, although he did draw 2 walks. Hu is still hitting over .300 for the season. Box

Yung-Chi Chen did not play today. Chen reaggravated a wrist injury that was bothering him in spring training in the 2nd game of a double-header played on Saturday. His status for return is listed as day-to-day.

Chien-Ming Wang easily had his best performance on the young season by winning his first game of the season against a hot Twins team. Wang went 7 innings, K'ing a career high 8 batters and gave up only 1 earned run. Box and NY Times Recap

Kuo pitched the last 2 innings against the Giants. Kuo pitched a shutout, giving up 1 hit, one walk, and had 1 K. Box

In the NPB, Ying-Chieh Lin was fortunate to get a no-decision as he got shelled by the Orix Buffaloes. Lin went 4.1 innings, gave up 5 earned runs on 2 HR's, and managed 3 K's/1 walk.
Box

Only one game of note in the minors; Hu continued to swing the bat well as he went 2-3 at the plate, with a double, a sacrifice, and a RBI. Box

Hu had a great game tonight going 4-5 with 2 runs scored to bring his season average to over .300.
Box

Y.C. Chen went 0-4 combined in a double-header. Box Scores: 1 2

Keng pitched 3 scoreless innings with 2 K's to keep his season ERA at 0.00. Box

There was finally a Wu sighting in Wisconsin. However, he went 0-4. Box


Wang is scheduled to start tomorrow against the Twins Brad Radke. Work that sinker man!

Kuo pitched in last night's game and got his chance to face Bonds again. Unfortunately things didn't go Kuo's way, as he took the loss last night to drop to 0-2 for the season. After a scoreless 8th inning, Kuo ran into some problems when after he gave up a leadoff bloop single to Vizquel, he threw a wild pitch that allowed Vizquel to advance to 2nd. Steve Finley advanced Vizquel to 3rd on a ground out. Up next came the great Barry Bonds. Unfortunately, with only 1 out and first base open, Kuo was given the signal to intentionally walk Barry. That was all she wrote for Kuo. Closer Danys Baez came in for Kuo and gave up a sac-fly to Ray Durham, scoring Vizquel. Kuo was charged with the run and the loss. Tough loss for Kuo. Box

Well, it looked for a while like the Dodgers/Giants game was going to be postponed. The rain will not stop here in L.A.. The game has finally gotten underway. I look forward to a Bonds-Kuo rematch, with better results for Kuo this time around.


In the minors, Hu got in the game late today but still got in 3 plate appearances since the game went into extra innings. Hu was 1-2 with a walk. Jacksonville won the game in 12 innings. Box

The IE 66ers are locked into another tie late in the game. Chen is 1-4 with a RBI, 2 runs scored, and a SB. Follow the game here. Box

Lo is in line to pick up his second win of the season as he leaves the game with his team up going into the 8th inning. Lo started the game, went 5 innings, gave up 2 earned runs, K'd 2, and walked one. Check out game log here. Box

Ying-Chieh Lin is scheduled to start for the Eagles against the Orix Buffaloes tomorrow. Hopefully he pitches well enough to get his first NPB win on Saturday.

Edited: 4/14/06

Joe Torre commented on Wang's struggles of late, stating that he still has confidence in Wang's abilities. Based on these comments, I feel more comfortable with Wang's status as the #3 starter with the Yanks.

In Taiwan, I was surprised to hear that a home-grown CPBL pitcher was clocked at 95 mph in a game on Tuesday. Wei-Lun Pan, the 24 year old pitcher for the President Lions, was one of 4 Taiwanese players featured recently in Upper Deck's World Baseball Classic product(SEE ABOVE). The 3 three other players featured in their NT uniforms are Ching-Lung Hu, Yung-Chi Chen, and Chia-Hsien Hsieh.

In Japan, Wei-Chu Lin continues to see time off the bench. Lin pinch-hit in the 7th inning against the Dragons and K'd in his only AB. Box

In the US, Hu's Jacksonville Suns finally won a game as Hu chipped in with 2 RBI's on a 1-5 performance. Box
In the day's only other action featuring one of our boys, Yung-Chi Chen came through with a clutch 2 out RBI in the bottom of the 8th inning to help IE tie their opponents. Chen is currently 2-4 with a RBI. Box Follow the game here.

The Dodgers fell to the Pirates today. With the score tied 5-5 going into the bottom of the 7th inning, Kuo gave up a 2 run shot to Craig Wilson. Kuo went 2 innings, giving up the 2 earned runs, and also walked 2 batters. Box

In AA, Ching-Lung Hu went 1-4 again, as his team lost.

In A+ ball, through 6 innings, the IE 66ers are up big on their opponents. Chen is currently 1-2 at the plate. Follow the game here. Box

Chien-Ming Wang was fortunate to get a no-decision today, as his team came from behind to pull out a win against the Royals. Wang struggled with keeping his sinker down today, and was tagged with 5 earned runs in 6 innings pitched. He also gave up a HR to Reggie Sanders. Box Score The most frustrating part about Wang's performance is that in both games, Wang has gone into the 4th inning with a comfortable 4-0 or 4-1 lead, before having that one lousy inning.

Elsewhere in the minors, Hu finally got a hit as he went 1-4 today. Box

Cheng and Keng took the mound together again today for Lansing. Despite a fairly decent performance from both players, Cheng took the loss as he started the game and went 4.1 innings, giving up 2 earned runs, while K'ing 7 and walking 2. Keng relieved Cheng and pitched 2.2 scoreless innings while K'ing 2. Box

Wisconsin found a way to get Wu in the game today as a DH. Wu went hitless in 5 AB's, but managed to get a RBI on a sac-fly and also stole his first base of the season. Box

Entering the bottom of the 9th inning, Chen was 0-3 in a scoreless game vs. the Lancaster JetHawks. Follow Game Log here. Box

Not too much going on Monday..........

A day after getting one hit by the Chattanooga Lookouts pitching staff, the Jacksonville Suns only got 2 HITs against the Lookouts tonight! Nonetheless, the Suns actually won this game 2-1. Ching-Lung Hu went 0-4.

Over in the California League, Chen's IE 66ers were taking on the Lancaster JetHawks. Chen got off to a rough start in the game (through the first 5 innings), K'ing twice and was charged with a fielding error, which lead to an unearned run for the JetHawks. Chen came back with a vengeance, as he popped his first HR of the year (a solo shot in the 6th) and then singled and scored in the 7th to break a 5-5 tie. Box Score

Quite an honor, and I guess with a lil luck the way the rotation worked out - Wang will pitch Tuesday in front of the Yankee faithful against the KC Royals Joe Mays. This is a good opportunity for Wang to pick up his first "W" of the season against a team they should beat.
Game Preview

Kuo got into Sunday's first game of a doubleheader vs. the Phillies. Kuo pitched 0.2 innings, K'd one-time Phillies top prospect Ryan Howard, gave up an intentional walk to Burrell, and also threw a wild pitch. Box Score

In the NPB, Lin got a pinch hit appearance in the 6th inning vs. the Yokohama BayStars and K'd in his at-bat. Box

Busy day in the minors today for our boys.
1)Hitting lead-off and again playing 2B, Y.C. Chen helped power the IE offense with a 1-3 effort and driving in 2 RBI's with a double and sac fly. Box
2)Hu went for 0-3 as his team got ONE HIT by the Chattanooga pitching staff. Pretty impressive if you consider the offensive lineup the Suns have. Box
3)C.L. Lo was credited with a win today in one half of a doubleheader played between Modesto and Stockton. In 3 IP, Lo gave up 2 earned runs and had 2K's and a walk. Box
4)P.H. Keng pitched 2 innings of shut-out relief for Lansing. He had a K and gave up a hit. Box

Ying-Chieh Lin figured in another no-decision in the Eagles loss to the Lotte Marines - the NPB defending champs. Lin pitched 5.1 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 4 hits. Lin has held his own against 2 of the better offensive ball clubs in Japan - the Hawks and Marines. Hopefully, his team can start supporting him with more offense.

In the US, Yung-Chi Chen had a magnificent 2006 debut for the IE 66ers. Chen went 4-5 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI's, had a stolen base, and assisted in 2 double plays. What a night for Chen, who surprisingly played at 2B tonight.

***Update: Thanks J for getting me up to speed on Wu's performance.

Wu also had his debut tonight. Box Score

Ching-Lung Hu continued his hot start with the Jacksonville Suns. Hu went 3-4 with a double, 2 walks, and scored 2 runs. Box

Good performances all around by a couple of Taiwanese pros.

Kuo pitched 2 perfect innings against the Phillies today, K'ing the 1-4 hitters for the Phils, including Jimmy Rollins and Bobby Abreu. I didn't get a chance to catch the game earlier on FSN, but will watch the replay tonight. Read more here. Kuo got his first official AB as a ML - and got a lil taste of his own medicine with a K. :)

***Updated*** I saw the game and Kuo had some nasty stuff. Kuo's fastball was clocked between 91 and 95 mph. He was throwing his breaking balls (clocked around 83 mph) for strikes. For the most part, Kuo had good command and control of all his pitches. Kuo set up a few of his K's with a nice breaking ball before K'ing his victims with the heater high and away. Great stuff from Kuo tonight!!!

W.C. Lin had another role as a pinch hitter in the 8th against Yokohama. Lin came through in a big way with a pinch hit single RBI. Lin would later come around to score in the inning. Box

Frank who runs the Frank'sFieldofDreams website, was hired by the Red Sox to be the interpreter for the Taiwanese players in their organization. Frank is currently with TJ Yeh in Florida as he prepares for his upcoming season in the Gulf Coast Rookie League.

I couldn't be happier for Frank! Congrats man!

*edited 4/9/06

It was opening night for a lot of minor league ball clubs tonight.

Debuting at Jacksonville, Ching-Lung Hu had a good start, considering the fact that his team only had 4 hits total! Hu went 1 for 3 with a walk while hitting out of the 2 hole. Boxscore

Cheng and Keng got off to a great start for the Lansing Lugnuts. Cheng started the game and pitched 5 innings, giving up 1 earned run, while K'ing 5. Keng relieved Cheng and pitched 3 scoreless innings, giving up only 1 hit, with 3 K's. Cheng was credited with the win. Boxscore

Yung-Chi Chen DNP in the IE66er's debut.

Chao-Kuan Wu DNP for the Wisconson Timber Rattlers.

Wang earned a no decision in Wed.'s game vs. the A's. Wang started smoothly, pitching effectively in the first 3 innings. However, after a fielding error by Jeter, Wang seemed a bit shaken and eventually gave up 4 runs (2 earned) over the last 1.2 innings he pitched. Recap Boxscore

In Japan, W.C. Lin got 2 meaningful AB's against the Hiroshima Carp and made the most of them as he doubled and singled in those plate appearances while plating his first RBI of the season. Box

Ok, someone posted a question regarding where all the minor league Taiwanese kids will be playing this year on the Taiwaneseballplayers.com discussion forum. So I did a little research, and this is what I found:

1)Ching-Lung Hu - will start the year in AA as the starting SS with the Jacksonville Suns
2)Yung-Chi Chen - will start the year in A+ ball with the Inland Empire 66ers
3)Ching-Lung Lo - will start the year in A+ ball with the Modesto Nuts
4)Chi-Hung Cheng - will start the year in A ball with the Lansing Lugnuts
5)Po-Hsuan Keng - will start the year in A ball with the Lansing Lugnuts
6)Chao-Kuan Wu - will start the year in A ball with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
7)TJ Yeh - will start the year in rookie ball with the Gulf Coast Red Sox
8)Chia-An Huang - MIA - will we ever see this kid play ball again??!!
9)Kuo-Hui Lo and Yen-Feng Lin will probably all be assigned to short season A ball or rookie ball

I'll keep this updated once the minor league season gets underway this week!!!!
Updated: 4/8/06

Wed. night. Should be a good one! Link

Kuo struggled with his command on opening day for the Dodgers vs. the Braves. Kuo only pitched 0.2 innings, but after getting the first 2 batters out, Kuo walked the next 2 hitters. Brazoban then relieved Kuo and promptly gave up a double, plating the 2 runners Kuo had walked. Hence, Kuo got tagged with 2 earned runs. Box

"He's a full-tool package player. He carries himself very well. The ball comes off his wooden bat much better than I anticipated it would at the professional level." - Nippon Fighters Manager Trey Hillman on Yang

Saturday, Lin pitched a gem of a game against Sadaharu Oh's SoftBank Hawks. Lin pitched 8 scoreless innings, giving up only 3 hits, and was in line for the win, when reliever Koyama blew Lin's 1 run lead. Boxscore