My last week has been occupied by the Da Tong high school tourney in central Taiwan, an open invitational featuring the usual suspects in Taiwan high school baseball as well as some smaller schools who rarely get much air time.
This tourney hasn’t been as jam packed with scouts as the last one in December, with many teams probably waiting for the big dance in late March, and others just giving it a miss altogether. Some teams are giving their B teams some airtime, giving resourceful scouts a chance to hit Friday’s and the hotel bar earlier than usual get some legwork done on scouting first and second year kids.
Like every tourney in Taiwan, there was no shortage of excitement, if your idea of excitement is media tantrums over MLB scouts sitting in comfy lounge chairs (translation tool required) and/or guys throwing a ball at ninety miles an hour or more. The bats have been pretty quiet, with certain hyped prospects shitting the bed not flashing the game that they’ve shown in the past.
In other news:
- Several MLB teams are rumored have been poking around college righty Wang Ying-shan of the Fu-Bon Bulls.
- The Taiwanese national team is young, speedy, inexperienced, and getting rocked by Australian club teams in practice games.
- That’ll be unmarked, non-consecutive bills please: Taichung Gao Nong prospect 1B Su Wei-ta has apparently declined an offer of 200,000 from the New York Yankees because Su and/or his father wanted cash only in the deal.
- Chicago Cubs righty Meatloaf Chen Hong-Wen is rapidly emerging as as the ace of an otherwise shaky pitching staff for the WBC. Cleveland Indians sidearmer Lee Chen-chiang is also looking sharp.
- Right handed olympian Cheng Kai-wen is looking like a Hanshin Tiger. Cheng was in Okinawa over the last week, auditioning for a gig with the Tigers. He was brought over by Bros. sports, apparently to packed houses of reporters and some fans. He will be a good fit in Japan if all goes according to plan.
Apologies to our loyal EWC readers for the lag in posts, it’s been a hectic week. Now get signed up for that EWC roto league.
8 responses so far ↓
1 hansioux // Feb 15, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Da Tong Cup high school Elites games is over today. Kaohsiung Kao-Yuan high school finally took a title since their decline in 2002.
Kao-Yuan is the school that produced 1 Major Leaguer with many more to come.
The Elites Games are actually a lot of fun. There is a lack of hitting power and lack of 150kph pitchers, but they are after all playing with wood bats. And defensive nice plays provided a lot of excitements (and robbed a lot of hits).
2 Jackson // Feb 16, 2009 at 12:51 am
I agree, it’s nice to see Kaoyuan back winning a title. Congrats to them, it’s a major step in turning their program around. They were well managed during the tourney as well.
3 hansioux // Feb 16, 2009 at 1:31 am
Jackson, I don’t understand what did you or Taiwanbaseball meant by Su’s father wanting cash only.
Does that mean the 200K wasn’t all signing bonus, but spread out in bonuses if Su reached certain goal?
4 Jackson // Feb 16, 2009 at 10:29 am
No, I believe it literally means that cash would be the only acceptable form of payment (as opposed to say, a check, money order, beaver pelts, oxen, etc.).
All of this is highly speculative and based on hearsay so take it with several grains of salt.
5 Su It To Me // Feb 16, 2009 at 3:54 pm
What kind of cool-aid is Su’s family drinking, demanding cash only?
And what’s up with Taiwanese agents keep hyping up their players, where they want 300 K signing bonus when the players is only worth about 50-100K? They make Boras look less pathetic on his Manny saga.
6 hansioux // Feb 16, 2009 at 11:59 pm
maybe Su’s father just wanted to see how large a suitcase is needed to carry 200K of cash… you mean, my be he’s one of those spy movie fans…
7 Crazy Boy // Feb 17, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Previous news had reported his agent is Wasserman Media Group, which is headed by Arn Tellem, rather than represented by a local Taiwanese agent!
8 Jackson // Feb 17, 2009 at 1:20 pm
A note to posters: We try to avoid editing comments whenever possible but we also advise readers to avoid personal attacks on others and/or posting malicious things about others’ personal lives. Unless its dirt about Aaron’s Soapland addiction, in which case bring it on.
A good rule of thumb is if you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, don’t say it here.
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