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Pro baseball to start today with La New, Lions in rematch

The La New Bears celebrate after winning the CPBL Championship on Oct. 25 last year. The Bears will take on the President Lions today. FILE PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES

Opening day finally arrives for the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) today with the defending champs, the La New Bears, hosting the President Lions in the season-opening game to be played at the Kaohsiung County Baseball Stadium this afternoon.

Nearly 20,000 fans are expected to flock to the ballpark this afternoon to witness the Bears take on last season's runner-up at home in the traditional rematch of last season's championship series.

Both clubs are coming off an unusual spring training this year, with the Bears enjoying a fine 4-2 record on the strength of a potent lineup while the Lions struggled to eke out two wins.

"It's not a matter of simply winning the title again for us this year; we actually have our eyes on being Asia's No. 1," Bears right-hander Tsai Ying-fong said at yesterday's press conference at the Howard Plaza Hotel in Taipei.

The Bears season will rely on a starting rotation that welcomes foreign lefties including Gary Rath of the US and Venezuelan pitcher Horacio Estrada, to complement righties Tsai, Liang Rue-hao and Hsu Wen-hsiung.

The Bears have the best-hitting infield in the business, consisting of third baseman Shih Chih-wei, shortstop Lin Chih-sheng, second baseman Jiang Chih-tsong and veteran first baseman Pan Chung-wei.

The Lions will send local right-hander Pan "Du Du" Wei-luen to the mound this afternoon to take on the defending champs as the staff ace looks to duplicate his success against the Bears hitters in last year's season-opening win.

Getting some early runs in the game will be crucial for the Lions today since the Bears will undoubtedly look to the strength of their big bats to make Rath's Taiwanese debut an easy win.

Should their plan to score early in the game fail, it may be a long night for the Lions since their mid-inning relief is an area that poses serious concerns for Japanese skipper T. Ohashi.
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