As if massive excitement from the baseball community as it awaits EWC’s 3rd installment of CPBL power rankings weren’t enough, to add to this week’s fun my quixotic quest to ascertain an English name list of CPBL players continues into it’s 3rd straight week. I actually sat down and translated the names myself over the weekend, but the litany of half-baked excuses I’ve been getting from certain administrative officials at the CPBL has become such a hilarious comic farce that I’ve decided to keep the process of inquiry going strictly for entertainment purposes. I will be detailing the fun interactions in coming weeks over the site.

Such a list–which would be quite useful for foreign journalists and statisticians covering the CPBL–might (God forbid) lead a increased attention to the league from non-Chinese reading audiences. However, we at EWC congratulate certain CPBL officials for their diligent work in ensuring that their attendance base never extends past 50 per game (including the relatives and families of the players), and applaud the league’s vigorous and thorough efforts in insulating itself from any potential growth that might ensue from publicity from foreign press. Huzzah! So far the NBP and KBO have been quite gracious in providing English-language info, but no such luck from our friends at the CPBL.

1. Tong-Yi Lions: 26-9-0: 1B Kao Kuo-Ching (.378, 38 RBI, 32 runs scored) and Dominican masher 3B Tilson Brito (.322, 30 RBI, 37 runs scored, 7 HR) provide the bats for the 7-11 Uni-President Tong-Yi Lions. Foreign import Sweet Lou Pote improves to 7-0 with a 3.61 E.R.A., while staff ace Pan Hui-Lun is 3-0 with a 1.50 E.R.A and a sub 1.00 WHIP.

2. La New Bears: 18-14-2: The Bears continue to play second fiddle to the Lions, with starting pitcher Andrew Lorraine emerging as the staff ace. He is now 4-0 with a 3.23 E.R.A.. Lee Feng-Hua has pitched his way onto the EWC big board, with his E.R.A. shrinking to 3.03 and a 2-2 record.

3. Brother Elephants: 14-18-2: Starting pitchers Kobayashi Ryokan (3-2, 2.89) and Liao Yu-Cheung (5-1, 2.63) are doing their part to keep the Elephants hanging on to third in the six team horse race. Official Su Su Bao Gan Sponsor and LF Chen Ji-Yuan leads the offense with 27 RBI and 33 runs scored.

4. Media T-Rex: 14-19-1: Former MLB journeyman Cory Bailey has emerged into a force in the CPBL, going 3-0 with a 1.40 E.R.A. and a 1.00 WHIP. First baseman Wang Chuang-Jia leads an otherwise anemic offense with a .356 average, 24 RBI, and 16 runs scored.

5. Sinon Bulls: 14-20-1: Former NPB starter Yu Wen-Bing is 4-1 with a 3.49 E.R.A. Domincan hurler Jose Espinal is 2-1 with a 2.38 E.R.A over his last 3 starts. Catcher Zheng Da-Hong leads an othewise sputtering offense, hitting .305 with 20 RBI.

6. Chinatrust Whales: 14-20-0: National Team star Ni Fu-Te has unfortunately evolved into a human pinata this season, giving up 61 hits over 37 + frames with an E.R.A. of 5.73. Wai-guo ren starter Steve Watkins is performing decently, going 3-4 with a 3.88 E.R.A. Otherwise, it’s been slow going for the Whales. Carlos Villalobos leads the offense with .313, 20 RBI, 19 Run stat line.