Over 10,000 screaming fans are expected to pack into Douliou City Baseball Stadium late this afternoon to witness the start of the Chinese Professional Baseball League's Taiwan Series between the Macoto Cobras and the defending champions, the Sinon Bulls.
Unlike the 15 previous seasons, where either the top two teams from the regular season (in terms of overall record) or the top team from each half of the regular season automatically qualifies for the one-round Championship Series, this year's Fall Classic will feature the battle between the team with the best overall record during the entire regular season (Bulls) and the winners of a first-round playoffs series (Cobras).
The Cobras, which won the playoffs series against the President Lions by a 3-1 margin earlier this week, will send this year's ERA king, rookie sensation Lin En-yu to the mound to take on the Bulls' Panamanian veteran Lenin Picota, who led the league in total victories with 16, in Game 1.
PHOTO: CPBL
While many would favor the Bulls in the series because of their postseason experience compared to the Cobras, who are making their first-ever Taiwan Series appearance, some give the Cobras a slight advantage for having played four first-round games.
Regardless of any speculation, the outcome of the series will likely hinge on how effective the Cobras pitching staff (other than Lin Ying-jeh and Lin En-yu) will fair against the Bulls, which feature two of the top 10 hitters in the league -- Chang "Prince of the Forest" Tai-shan and Tseng Hua-wei, both with a regular-season batting average of .305, and three of the league's top 10 RBI producers in Chang (60), Tseng (52), and Hsu Guo-long (51).
With 11-game winner Hsu Chu-jien dropping three of his most recent starts in a row over the past month with a 10-plus ERA, Cobras skipper Kuo Tai-yuan may have to count on his fourth starter, Yang Chi-jia, for the at least two quality starts if the Cobras stretch the series to a sixth or even seventh game.
PHOTO: CPBL
Compared to the Cobras, the Bulls' pitching depth may be the one advantage that will carry them to their second straight title, with a healthy Yang Jien-fu (last year's Most Valuable Player in the championship series), Kuo Yong-chih (having allowed only two earned runs in his past eight relief appearances), and Yu Wen-pin (having allowed only two earned runs in his past 12 relief appearances) backing up starters Picota and veteran righty Osvaldo Martinez (a 12-game winner).
The Bulls will also realize an unprecedented home-field advantage, playing the first two games as the home team in a Douliou, less than one hour from their home town of Taichung, and the third game actually in Taichung.
The Cobras may not be in as bad a position as it seems because the "Twin Lins" (ERA king Lin En-yu and strikeout leader Lin Ying-jeh) could take Games 1 and 2 without any help from the bullpen, as they have a combined 12 complete games (nine by Lin En-yu and three by Lin Ying-jeh) in the regular season -- nine more than all of the Bulls pitchers combined.
If Yang has a quality start in Game 3, the Cobras could be looking at a possible 3-0 lead heading into Game 4 at Chiayi next Wednesday.
In addition to the "Twin Lins," the serpents will also have top home run and RBI man Hsieh "the Ugly" Jia-shien (23 homers and 74 RBIs) leading a lineup that scored a league-best 460 runs during the regular season.
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