After four long months of anticipation, the 2006 Chinese Professional Baseball League season will officially begin this afternoon with the Sinon Bulls taking on the Macoto Cobras at Taichung City Stadium.
Over 10,000 fans are expected to attend this afternoon's opener to witness the two-time defending champion Bulls play host to the Cobas, last season's runner-up, as the season gets underway.
Both clubs are coming off questionable pre-season outings with a combined record of 1-7-2, as most of their starters missed most of spring training as a result of their participation in the World Baseball Classic.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CPBL
Fans will be eager to see if the Bulls win another title this year, which would make it three consecutive championships.
"It'll be tough, but I think we will be fine," manager Liu Rong-hua.
The success of the Bulls' season will hinge on a drastically altered starting-pitcher rotation. Osvaldo Martinez, the winningest pitcher in league history with 108 victories to his credit, and 16-game winner Lenin Picota, were both waived by the Bulls during the off-season.
Filling in will be American righty Clint Weibl and Dominican fast-baller Alfredo Gonzalez, who will join Panamanian righty Jorge Cortez and Yang Jien-fu to complete the four-man starting roster.
Meanwhile, the best infield in the business, anchored by shortstop Cheng Jau-han, will join a speedy outfield that includes Yu Hsien-ming, Chang Jien-ming and Tseng Hua-wei, as well as utility man Chang Jia-hao, who can play all three outfield positions as well as fill in for Cheng at shortstop.
On offense, home run threat Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan should see a lot more pitches to hit as he will be well protected by second-year slugger Hsu Guo-long, who knocked in 51 runs for the defending champs in the 85 games he played to lead all rookies last season.
COBRAS
The Cobras will start their 2006 campaign without their lefty ace Lin Ying-jeh, who traded in his Macoto uniform for a spot on the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japanese Professional Baseball. The Cobras will need to find the 12 wins and 150-plus strikeouts that Lin regularly racked up from newcomer Jose Paniagua of the Dominican Republic and up-and-coming local arms Tien Jia-an and Chang Chih-hong.
Second-year pitcher Lin En-yu, last season's Most Valuable Player, will have to replicate his amazing season with the help of No. 2 starter Hsu Chu-jien if the serpents wish to keep pace with the top-tier teams.
Things do not look too bright in the batter's box, as the Cobras start off the year without their top hitter, Wilton Veras (who left the team during the latter part of last season), and deceased longballer Mario Encarnacion.
The Cobras will be looking to cleanup man Hsieh Jia-shien, who led the league in home runs (23) and RBIs (74) last season, to pick up the slack.
Cobras manager Wu Fu-lien, replaces the legendary Kuo Tai-yuan, who left the team after taking it from the last-place spot in 2004 to the championship series last year.
Wu won two titles during his tenure with the former Taichung Agan of the Taiwan Major League.
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
RSS