Fu-Lin Kuo sat in a trainer\u2019s room with ice wrapped around his left ankle, but the folks in Tainan City, Taiwan need not worry. The Staten Island Yankees second baseman said the foot just felt a little stiff and he\u2019s not injured.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel much better now,\u201d said Kuo after delivering two hits in his New York-Penn League debut during the Brooklyn Cyclones\u2019 7-2 victory over the Baby Bombers last night before an announced crowd of 6,165 at St. George.<\/p>\n
Kuo was scouted by the Yankees and signed by Taiwanese scout Ken Su in 2009 for a reported $150,000. He spent the past two seasons in the Gulf Coast League, hitting four homers each summer and showing enough promise for a promotion.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a good little ballplayer,\u201d said Staten Island manager Justin Pope. \u201cHe\u2019s a utility infielder … can play first, second and third. He had some solid at-bats (tonight).\u201d<\/p>\n
Kuo batted ninth in the lineup and poked a broken-bat RBI single into centerfield in the fifth inning and followed with a double to left field in the seventh. Leadoff batter Taylor Dugas also had a solid night in his debut as starting centerfielder, picking up a double in the first, single in the third and walk in the seventh.<\/p>\n
Kuo, 21, said he started playing baseball at the age of 11, about the same time countryman Chien-Ming Wang was cutting his pitching teeth with the Staten Island Yankees on his way to the Bronx. Kuo attended Nan-Ying High School and played on the 2008 IBAF Taiwanese youth national team.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very fundamentally sound,\u201d said Pope, who became familiar with Kuo during extended spring training in Tampa.<\/p>\n
Kuo sounded pleased that his English has improved to the extent that he doesn\u2019t need a translator when speaking to reporters.<\/p>\n
As for the Baby Bombers, it was a rough night. They lost their third straight game against the Cyclones to open the 76-game season, and have been outscored 13-3 while racking up strikeouts at a rapid pace.<\/p>\n
Eudy Pina\u2019s three-run homer off the scoreboard in left centerfield gave Brooklyn a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning to spoil lefty Evan Rutckyj\u2019s NY-P League debut. Rutckyj displayed an effective fastball and slider in striking out seven in 4 two-thirds innings, but the Windsor, Ontario, native encountered control problems and then the one bad pitch.<\/p>\n
Staten Island actually had its first lead of the season when Jose Rosario followed Dugas\u2019 leadoff double with a triple to left field. The quick 1-0 lead brought the players off the bench.<\/p>\n
Rosario, however, was stranded at third and, although Cal-Berkeley product Danny Oh\u2019s leadoff ground-rule double to left was followed by Kuo\u2019s RBI hit in the fifth, the Cyclones tacked on three runs in the sixth for a 6-2 lead.<\/p>\n
A steady procession from both bullpens \u2014 four hurlers from each side entered the contest \u2014 made for a lengthy 3-hour, 22-minute affair on a sweltering night.<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow\u2019s another day,\u201d said Pope. \u201cWe\u2019ll get things going. I think our guys might be trying to do too much right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kuo hopes those plans will include himself, although he understands there are no guarantees when it comes to playing time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m working hard to take advantage of opportunities,\u201d he said. \u201cI have to be ready every day.\u201d \u0090<\/p>\n
NOTES: The season-opening four-game series concludes tonight at MCU Park in Coney Island. The Yankees then travel to Hudson Valley tomorrow night and host the Renegades Saturday night.<\/p>\n