Currently sitting in Newark airport during a 6 hour delay awaiting return to Taiwan from the Perfect Game USA tournament in Jupiter, Florida, a 5-day overwhelming extravaganza featuring top high school prospects from the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Strictly for the hard core, the tournament featured games from 8:00 AM until 10:30 PM on over 10 different fields at any given time.
Given the shiny new non-disclosure clause in my contract, I’m not able to discuss what I saw (except a lot of middle aged dudes in golf carts), but for a fee, the website tells you everything you need to know. After paying 3.50 of my meal money for sodas, I’m not biting, but for those of you who absolutely need to know what 15-17 year old pitchers are throwing at, go ahead and spend your hard earned cash.
It’s been over a week since I’ve posted–props to Aaron for his usual amazing effort keeping the site going. A lot has gone down over the last week:
As mentioned in the post below, Lo Chia-Jen finally signed.
As the Phillies knock on the door of their first series since Schmidtty, am I the only one that thinks he looks more like Jerry Stiller every day?
The Tigers have signed former Phillies area scout Kevin Hooker as their Pacific Rim Coordinator. Congrats to Mr. Hooker.
Note to women of the world: The professions of scouting and baseball upper managment needs you. Badly. (Are you reading, Deanna?) After 5 days of Red Man, golf stories, beer guts, khaki slacks and polo shirts, the glaring gender imbalance in the world of baseball operations became all-too-clear.
OK, one tidbit from Jupiter: 11 PM post-Perfect Game dining of choice for exhausted Twinkies scouts in Jupiter: Outback? Hardly. The venerable South Florida fast-food stalwart Pollo Tropical. If you’re in Florida, run don’t walk.
That’s it, I’m putting my @#$%@$# foot down: I’m done with the CPBL. Done. I’m leaving you, girl. You can’t hurt me no more. By now, the latest mafia-driven gambling scandal that brought down the D-Media T Rex is old hat. This leaves 5 teams. Fixed matches, empty seats. For those of you who are either a. scouts looking to mine the league for its potential free agents if it collapses or b. have the misfortune of still caring about that league, here’s your source of info. Chen Chin-Feng’s stats are wicked. Go get him.
8 responses so far ↓
1 bigdaub // Oct 28, 2008 at 12:24 pm
i’m not quite ready to ditch cpbl… yet. from what i’ve observed, i believe the game is getting cleaner, and at least law enforcement agencies and the league is more active in weeding out those that are involved with game fixing. there are still a lot that will need to be fixed, though.
also, speaking of chin-feng chen, the first of his 3+3 year contract is up… wonder if any mlb or npb team is looking at him. i think he’ll be a decent 4th outfielder for most teams in the majors.
btw, welcome back. yes, i’m addicted to baseball happenings in taiwan, and without you to complete my daily trio (this blog, taiwan baseball blog, and taiwanese ballplayers forum), my day just doesn’t feel right.
2 EddieChang // Oct 28, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Being a 31-year-old who have not been playing the outfield for almost two years, how is CFC going to fit in as a MLB 4th outfielder? He couldn’t even fit in as the 5th outfielder during his peak years between 2002-2004.
Absolutely crazy if you are linking him to MLB, Chen is the Taiwanese version of Gary Burnham, some pop, but not enough to stick in the MLB.
3 Shinsano // Oct 28, 2008 at 8:42 pm
It wouldn’t be a real Mexican feast without Cesar salad and Key Lime Pie.
Hope you guys got the party menu at some point.
4 bigdaub // Oct 28, 2008 at 10:52 pm
the fact that cfc didn’t play much outfield doesn’t mean that he can’t play outfield anymore. there are major leaguers that missed an entire season or two due to injuries and came back to play their positions, like moises alou. all it takes is some work during the off season and spring training.
and i belive that the reason that chen didn’t get any real time with the dodgers was because of then manager jim tracy. chen’s class didn’t get a fair shake. edwin jackson, joe thurston, cody ross were the others that tracy didn’t play and thurston ended rotting away in the minors like chen while jackson and ross got a chance with other teams. it’s not just me. check out anyone that follows the dodgers closely and they’ll likely tell you the same thing.
5 bigdaub // Oct 28, 2008 at 10:55 pm
btw shinsano, don’t forget the kimchi.
6 DodgerBlew // Oct 31, 2008 at 9:58 am
Did you just compared Chin-Feng Chen to a player that played 17 seasons in the MLB and was on the All-Star team six times?
Just how is someone who can’t even play the OF in the CPBL going to crack any of the MLB team’s 25-man roster and play OF for them?
I am sure Chin-Lung Hu is the next Ozzie Smith, and Yung-Chi Chen the next Dustin Pedroia…
7 bigdaub // Oct 31, 2008 at 12:31 pm
not comparing cfc to alou, just saying that it is possible for players to come back and play their position after time off. you want a non-all star example, how about jayson werth?
it’s not that cfc can’t play outfield for his cpbl team, it’s that his manager would rather have him dh’ing.
8 DodgerBlew // Oct 31, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Last time I checked, Jayson Werth was the better player of them two and got the PT over Chen when they were both with the Dodgers…If Chin-Feng Chen is that good in the OF, wouldn’t the manager would rather have someone who can do it all out there rather than maybe another player like Cheng-Yu Chung or Hao-Chu Tseng patrol the LF?
The truth is that Chen’s defense has always been overrated, his arm in the outfield wasn’t that good that is why Dodgers tried him out at 1B for 1 1/2 year before they gave up the idea then move him back to the outfield, where he is slightly better at, but not good at overall.
Also, the fact is that if you suck while being given a chance, like Kei Igawa, Nori Nakamura, Kazuo Fukumori etc…you are not going to get another shot at MLB with any other teams. Please stop your obsession on Chin-Feng Chen
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