The Taiwanese baseball team arrived in Kobe, Japan, yesterday afternoon after the team indicated who their starting pitchers might be for their first two games at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), with their pool games to be played at the Gocheok Sky Dome in South Korea next month.
Manager Kuo Tai-yuan conferred with coaches and outlined a plan to start pitchers at the tournament who play for Japanese clubs: lefty Chen Kuan-yu, who plays for the Chiba Lotte Marines, and righty Kuo Chun-lin, who is with the Saitama Seibu Lions in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
Taiwan face stern tests against Israel on March 7 and the Netherlands the following day in Pool A. They need least one win to have any realistic chance of advancing to the next round.
Photo courtesy of Chinese Taipei Baseball Association
Kuo said he knows it will be tough going, as both opponents are packed with Major League Baseball players.
The decisive contest could be their March 9 game at the Seoul stadium against South Korea, with the hosts tough to beat at major tournaments anywhere, let alone in front of their home crowd.
Taiwan could use two other right-handed pitchers as starters, Chiang Shao-ching who is a prospect with the MLB’s Cleveland Indians, and Sung Chia-hao, who plays for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan.
The national squad are to stay in Kobe for six days of training and two warm-up games against Japanese amateur teams, with the coaches to assess the players.
The squad are to fly to Seoul on March 1, where they also have two warm-up games.
Kuo said he would be testing his starting pitchers, as the youngsters lack big-game experience.
The bullpen have more pro seasons under their belt, but they lack consistency and foreign scouts have got reports on them, including video footage that exposes their pitching patterns, Kuo said.
Kuo said the Kobe stop is for the squad to adjust to the cold weather in Japan and South Korea.
“Our players are used to Taiwan’s hot and humid conditions, so we have to go train in Kobe and play a few games to adjust to the cold,” he said. “We must get the players to maintain their feel for the ball in colder climates.”
Forecasts indicate that daytime temperatures in Kobe will be between 5oC and 10oC for the time they are there.
The World Baseball Classic is to open with South Korea playing Israel at the Gocheok facility on March 6.
Japan host Pool B, which has Cuba, Australia, and China battling for the top two spots and a place in the next round.
In Taichung last night, Cuba’s bullpen showed some weakness as the Chinatrust Brothers scored three late runs on three hits and two walks to prevail 3-1.
In the top half of the ninth inning, Tseng Tzu-hsien delivered the key hit to knock in two runs, while Wu Tung-jung got an RBI-single to add an insurance run.
Cuba had a chance to win it, getting two men on with only one out in the bottom of the ninth frame, but Brothers closer Lin Yu-ching got two pinch-hitters to fly out, ending the game.
Cuba on Wednesday were to play a team of potential representatives for Taiwan at the Universiade this year, but that match was canceled due to rain.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two