Today's second part of the CPBL first-half summary will cover the Macoto Cobras, the Chinatrust Whales and the La New Bears, all of which finished the first half very strong and could be title contenders in the second half.
The Cobras actually held or shared the lead in the standings for over a month in April before their performances dipped down.? Brazilian-born Japanese righty Keleber Ojima and lefty ace Lin Ying-jeh have been rock steady on a staff that was not at all consistent.? Ojima's 5-2 record with a 1.94 ERA and Lin's 6-7 record with a 1.99 ERA did not do them justice, as the lack of run support cost them at least three victories each during the first half.? Lin finished the first half with a record-high 105 strikeouts for a local pitcher, shattering the previous mark of 97 that had been previously set by Taiwanese great Huang Ping-yang of the Weichuan Dragons in 1993.
Departure
The departure of cleanup man Willis Otanez, who accounted for seven game-winning RBIs in the 32 games that he played, to the Mexican independent league eventually led to some problems for skipper Kuo Tai-yuan's lineup to come up with the critical hits. The gap needs to be filled in a hurry if the Cobras wish to remain a title contender in the second half.
Projected closer Huang Chin-chih's shaky return from an earlier injury completely compromised the serpents' ability to hold a lead and put additional pressure on the starting rotation that was already missing a legitimate third starter.
Brilliance
Flashing signs of brilliance from time to time, the Whales finished off the first half strong with a pair of impressive winning streaks lasting four and seven games respectively.? Aside from a miserable start (5-14-1) that had set the Whales as far back as 12 games in the standings, the team that lost nearly half of its 2003 starting roster to some offseason personnel decisions hardly played the first half in a "rebuilding" mode.
Starter-converted closer Dario Veras more than earned his teammates' respect with his 5-0 mark and an unhumanly 0.65 ERA.? Latecomer Rusty Meacham's timely delivery of two key wins late in the first half and the highly anticipated arrival of another foreign starter could propel the Whales into the front-running pack come the second half, as long as they do not self-destruct like they did in the first half with the infamous 75 errors in 50 games.
Mixed feelings
To the Bear faithfuls, the first half presented them with some mixed feelings; their beloved ball club nearly matched the total number of victories (20) from all of last season in just half the time (18) to finally give them something positive to talk about, yet there were some obvious holes on defense, evident in the 74 errors committed that require immediate attention.
American veteran Phillip Bailey (6-7 with a 2.74 ERA) anchored a starting rotation with some help from the number-two man Iriki Satoshi (4-5 with a 3.44 ERA) of Japan. ?Set-up man Lee Fong-hua did a decent job switching from his relieving role to a starter to make up for the lack of depth on a starting rotation that consisted of rookies Hsu Yu-wei (
Offensively for the Bears, the big bats on the lineup finally came alive late in the season, led by the free-swinger Pan Chung-wei's four late homers and first-round draft pick Shih Chih-wei's (
How well can first-year manager Hung Yi-chung (洪), who was promoted to replace the departing Ohda Takushi this week adjust to his new role will determine if the Bears will spend more time in the cellar or move up the ladder in the standings.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but