Chinese national baseball team keeps beating Taiwan, losing to everyone else

Is China's national baseball team getting better or worse?

Its performance in the World Baseball Classic didn't seem to provide a satisfying answer to that question. After playing a competitive game against powerhouse Japan, then pulling off a big-time upset of rival Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), China got housed by Korea, 14-0.

American-born Ray Chang, who plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates' farm team, was the hero of the Chinese Taipei game, with his eighth-inning homer. WBC rules allow him to play for China because both of his parents were born there.

China beat Chinese Taipei in the Olympics as well. The 8-7 victory was China's only in the Beijing Olympics. China also gave Korea a good game in the Olympics, taking it to 11 innings before losing, 1-0. So why does China keep beating Taiwan, a country where people actually play and follow baseball, and losing to everyone else? Even with China playing pretty competitively against Japan and Korea, it is starting to look a little fishy.

Baseball America: China shocks Taiwan again

Asian-American Sports Examiner: Team China keeps it interesting, but loses first game to Japan, 4-0

Asian-American Sports Examiner: Hot-hitting Korean team defeats error-plagued Team China, 14-0

China's WBC homepage

For more China sports news, check out China Sports Today.