May 31, 1995

I have just recieved my first Taiwan paycheck... 3,200 US$ in cash... all for 20 days of work... that works out to 160.00 a day after they take out 20% for whatever!? I can't complain I have not even pitched well at all.. just a short relief appearance and a miffed start... my arm has developed a case of tendonitis and I think I might have it beat... but I really want to pitch now that it feels better... I tried to talk them into giving me a cortisone shot but they nixed that idea... I even offered to pay for it...

It feels better and I think I will be ready by Saturday to relieve...

I have been here exactly 3 weeks and I am starting to really miss the states... this team has taken away all our 'extras' like a refrigerator and TV as well as a phone... and they then ration them back to you if you perform to their expectations... the league rules state that each player is to be given a TV, phone, and refrigerator, but they tend to do things their way... there are 4 lines coming in to this complex and that is for over 30 people... the line that George an Dave have was shut off because the bill is sent to Tai Pei where the team office is located... this is about 6-8 hours drive to Nei Pu where we live.. and bills and letters can take weeks to actually get here... they are very lax about other peoples things... but if they want money they want it NOW!!!

I located the phone box and it is right near my room... I would love to tap into the line that is never used in the weight room and use it to call Netcom... but they would figure by the numbers that it was a foreigner sooner or later... I really need to get these notes out to David and to just log onto Netcom and breath... you know? to see whats up on the net... I had a chance about a week ago to use a guys internet account in Tai Pei and the service sucked... there were 16 lines and it took 45 minutes of dailing to get on.. then I could not access any of the newsgroups and could not log onto Netcom using telnet to get my mail... kinda sucked...

Royal Clayton, the big brother of Royce Clayton (SF shortstop) is here pitching and had a great first start against us... he threw 7 shut-out innings and dealt... he was given 25,000 NT$ or 1,000 US$ right after the game... so you can see why I want to start pitching... they love to give away the green stuff..

the game over here is lacking alot of the life the game has on the states... they runners are very lazy, they will hit a fly ball to center and jog about half way to first and start peel away and head back to the dug-out as the ball is coming down... very lazy.. also the game lacking in power... the Chinese players are not up to snuff with the foriegners... A good Junior college or High school team would give a all chinese team a run for their money... the americans that are here have diminished tools...

I myself have lost 5-6 mph on my fastball and I now rely on my breaking stuff.. these guys love to play pepper with pitchers... just taking short swings and not ever really hitting any one ball all that hard... Another thing is our manager... he has never played this wonderful game himself... just read about it and studied it... and he gained his recognition by coaching the taiwain little league team in williamsport... he has absolutly zero feel for the game... and treats each player as if he were 12 years old... This would last about 1 day in the states... and these players. some are very talented... there are two players that I would not hesitiate to bring over to the states for a shot at making our major leagues... our second baseman and our center-fielder/DH... both can hit and 2B is one of the best and quickest ar turning DP's I have seen in 13 years...

But these guys love to play here... it is their 'big leagues' and they would take a big pay cut to play in A ball and AA for 3-4 years... also they are worshipped over here... I was not in town for 24 hours before I would hear my name Lo Pein or Robbin yelled or whispered when I was eating or asked for autographs...

There is so much more to write about... but I plan on just jotting down thing and then sending them over when I finally get a hook-up...

Compuserve has a tai-net hook-up and I might look into that... but I hate CServe and would just pay the overseas rates to call Netcom in LA or SF on the west coast... or even Hawaii...

mallyman

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