The term “tragic hero,” often used to describe a literary character who suffers misfortune, is the most fitting term to describe Lin Ying-jeh (林英傑) of the Sinon Bulls for the kind of season he has had this year.
The southpaw out of Kaohsiung’s Kao Yuan Vocational School, which has a list of distinguished alumni including Major Leaguer Tsao Chin-hui, Nippon Professional Baseball’s (NPB) All-Star hurler Chen Wei-yin and Chen Yung-chi of the Uni--President Lions, needed 10 starts and eight losses to break into the win column this season, despite registering four quality starts in which he allowed three runs or less in at least six innings of play.
“All I can do is take the mound when I am supposed to and do my best without thinking about anything else too much; [I remain] hopeful things will fall into place,” Lin told a Chinese-language daily earlier this season.
He had three straight bad starts in late April and early last month in which he allowed 21 runs (18 earned) that shot his earned-run average (ERA) to a career-high of 5.62 at that point. However, that still did not do justice to the former Macoto Cobras ace, who could have easily had five wins instead of his current 1-8 mark.
Lin had what many consider a fast start early in his professional career, with back-to-back mediocre seasons for the Falas of the former Taiwan Major League.
However, Lin shook off the poor start with a stellar 2001 campaign that secured a 13-3 record with a 2.74 ERA with the Falas, before a 14-win season with the Cobras that included league-best finishes of 203 strikeouts and a 1.73 ERA.
He followed the 2004 success with another outstanding season in 2005, with a dozen wins and a 2.34 ERA that drew the attention of foreign clubs and eventually the signing with the Rakuten Eagles of the NPB.
Even though his three seasons with the Eagles were a disappointment, with injuries plaguing him throughout his Japanese tenure, he was able to bounce back on his return to the CPBL with a decent outing in 2009 (6-6 with a 4.44 ERA), before going 9-7 in a solid effort last year that featured a 2.69 ERA.
“He [Lin] is definitely no stranger to overcoming adversity and I would still want someone like him on my rotation if possible,” Brother Elephants manager Chen Rei-chen said of Lin, showing tremendous respect for the diehard lefty.
Chen could be right as Lin’s impressive victory against the Elephants last Sunday, in which he allowed two runs on six hits over eight frames, might just be the spark that triggers yet another comeback.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
‘HELLA ENERGY’: Minnesota’s 42-point victory set a club record for points in a playoff game, but the team have to keep up their momentum to stay in the series, Edwards said Anthony Edwards on Saturday night scored 30 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed Oklahoma City 143-101 to tighten their NBA playoff series. Edwards added nine rebounds and six assists. while shooting 12-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range as the hosts Timberwolves pulled a game back to be 2-1 behind in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals. However, moments after the 42-point win, Minnesota were determined to forget all about it. Such is life in the NBA playoffs. “You’ve got to erase this one,” Edwards said. “This one is over. I know everyone is happy about this one, but we know OKC is
RSS