With only 6 teams and a league whose most intriguing moment thus far has been La New SS’s Lin Chi-Shen’s forearm clocking of an umpire, it seems a bit inane to do power rankings for the CPBL.  However, in the name of one day moving towards the glorious Pan-Asian majors we begin our weekly updates. 

 1. Tong Yi (Uni-President) Lions: (11-5)

Led offensively by Chen Lian-Hong (.333, 5 HR, 11 Runs 15 RBI in 54 AB’s), Kao Guo-Chin (.302 , 15 RBI, 14 Runs in 72 AB’s), and Kuo Dai-Chi (.324, 11 RBI, 10 Runs in 40 AB’s), the defending champs have picked up where they left off last season.  Despite sporting putrid E.R.A.’s of 6.75 and 11.36 respectively, pitchers Ya Dan (Brian Adams) and Yen Chun-Hao each have 2-1 records.  Pitcher Sen Buo-Chang is 1-0 with a 0.75 E.R.A in 12 1/3 innings. 

2. La New Bears: (10-5)

Last year’s also rans the La New Bears find themselves again in second place.  Starting pitcher Mike Johnson is 4-0 despite a 4.88 E.R.A over 31 1/3 innings, while fellow wai-guo ren Andrew Lorraine is 2-1 with a 2.52 E.R.A.  Hitting-wise, the indefinitely suspended Lin Che-Shen was batting .458 with 2 HR and 15 RBI in 12 games.  Huang Luong-Yi is hitting .400 with 3 HR, 14 RBI and 13 Runs in 78 AB’s.  EWC’s CPBL offical player Chen Feng-Min surprisingly finds himself above the Mendoza line, with a .275 average. 

3. Brother Elephants:  (7-8)

The Elephants are led offensively by a pair of Chens:  Bearded wonder Chen Zi-Yuan, who has put up a .368 average with 14 R.B.I. and 15 Runs over the first 16 games, while fellow Chen Chen Guan-Ren is hitting .367.  Arm-wise, Japanese started Kobayashi Ryokan is 2-0 with a 3.62 E.R.A., and Zheng Jia-Min is 1-2 with a 3.08 E.R.A. in 11 2/3 innings pitched. 

4. Sinon Bulls: (7-9)

Chen Zi-Wei, Zheng Da-Hong, and Zheng Hua-Wei have .345, .355,  and .404 Averages respectively.  National Team members Zhang Zian-Ming and Zhang Tai-San have only 6 RBI to date each, as the Elephants struggle to drive in runs.  SP Yang Chien-Fu has struggled thus far, exhibiting his usual control but going 1-2 with a 5.91 record. 

5. Chinatrust Whales: (6-10)

Pitcher Kao Min-Jin is 2-0 with a 3.22 E.R.A., with only 4 walks over 22 1/3 innings.  National team member Ni Fu-Te has been a human batting practice machine thus far this year, giving up 41 hits over 22 1/3 innings.  Carlos Villalobos has provided the only semblance of offense for the Whales thus far, hitting .277 with 13 RBI in 69 AB’s.

6. D Media T-Rex  (6 - 10)

The Rex offense is in Efx (sorry, couldn’t help myself on that one) so far, with Chen Yuan-Jia (.327, 14 runs), Wang Chuan-Jia (.407, 13 Runs and 10 RBI) , and Lin Hong-Yuan (.310, 12 RBI) leading a balanced offensive attack.  Pitching wise, the Rex are a mess, with starter Lai Jin-Nan posting a 3-2 record but a 5.91 E.R.A as the only notable performer.  For those keeping score at home, Jin-Nan means handsome guy.