6/27 - 6/29 Weekend Roundup

The Korea Times has an update on Park Chan-ho. He pitched well again. Good for him. Baek Cha-seung hasn't done quite as well.

Former Doosan ace and KBO MVP, Danny Rios, has been suspended by the NPB for PEDs. I really can't say I'm surprised. I like the quote at the bottom from the Doosan Bears' trainer. "We can't follow him 24/7." He could've looked like this and no one would have cared as long as he was winning games.

Not baseball related, but this headline kills me. We can expect a lot more of these in the next few months.

LG vs. Woori
6/27 - Woori 5, LG 0
6/28 - Woori 6, LG 3
6/29 - Woori 4, LG 1



Perhaps this LG team is not quite the juggernaut it appeared to be against the Samsung Lions last week. Getting swept by Woori might be enough to change my perception.

Friday night was all about Woori starting pitcher, Jeong Won-sam. Jeong tossed a complete game 6-hitter(only 105 pitches, 69 strikes) with 1 walk and 7 K's. He kept the MIGHTY LG OFFENSE off balance all night. Woori pieced together enough of an offense with timely hitting and a helpful LG pitching staff(7 walks!). Woori outfielder, Song Ji-man had a very good night at the plate. He finished 2-5 with a homer, 2 RBI and a run scored.

On Saturday, it was Ma Il-yeong's turned to baffle the INCREDIBLE LG OFFENSE. Ma tossed 6 strong innings(101 pitches, 64 strikes) allowing only 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk with 3 K's. Woori jumped all over LG starter, Jeong Chan-heon in the 4th inning. Woori's Song Ji-man clubbed his second homer in as many days while going 2-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored.

Sunday was more of the same for LG. Except Woori decided to add insult to injury by calling in the... SECRET WEAPON!!! Shingo came on in the 8th to record his first KBO save. He worked 1 and 2/3 innings allowing one walk, striking out 4 and flashing his trademark goofy grin. I missed having Shingo in my life and I'm happy I have him back. It's been too long buddy....Moving on.... It was Woori starting pitcher, Lee Hyeon-seung's turn to handcuff LG and he did just that for 5 innings(92 pitches, 54 strikes) of work. He allowed 9 baserunners, but LG must've used up all their RBI's on the Lions. The Twins scored their 1 and only run of the game against Lee. Woori OFer, Song Ji-man, continued his weekend tear. Song finished 2-4 with 2 doubles and 1 RBI. You can't hope to stop Song Ji-man, you can only TRY to contain him.

Hanhwa vs. SK
6/27 - SK 9, Hanhwa 7
6/28 - Hanhwa 2, SK 0
6/29 - SK 2, Hanhwa 1 (15)

Friday nights game was a fairly ugly 9-7 affair. The pitching was mediocre and the fielding was mediocre. Kenny Rayborn's best friend, Kenny Ray, got lit up by the Eagles. I really want a foreign guy to show up and dominate. I'm tired of writing about foreigner pitchers getting clobbered. It would be easier to tell you who didn't have a multi-hit game in this recap, but dammit. I have to hand out a game ball to just one of these guys. I guess it goes to SK 1st baseman, Park Jeong-kwon. He finished 2-3 with a double, 3 RBI and a run scored. He drove in SK's first and two last runs with RBI singles in the 1st and 6th.

I think Ryu Hyeon-jin has made 20 starts against SK this year. Every time I see his name in a boxscore or mentioned on TV he's pitching against SK. This time he made them pay. Ryu tossed a complete game shutout(ONLY 109 pitches, 73 strikes) allowing only 4 hits(NO WALKS) and striking out 8. The heater and the change were deadly. SK starter, Song Eun-beom, did his best to keep the Wyverns in the game. He threw 6 innings(121 pitches, 73 strikes) allowing only 1 run on 6 hits and 1 walk with 6 K's. The run he allowed in the 5th on an RBI single from Eagles SS Kim Min-jae would prove to be all that Hanhwa would need on Saturday.

Songs will be written about Sunday's game. It was a 15 inning, 2-1 epic that deserves to be remembered. Not fondly, just not forgotten. In the bottom of the 15th with the bases loaded and 2 outs, SK's Kim Jae-hyeon stepped to the plate. He ripped a line drive over the head of Eagles 1B, Kim Tae-gyun, and walked off Hanhwa. He was promptly chased and beaten by his teammates.

KIA vs. Lotte
6/27 - KIA 6, Lotte 2
6/28 - PPD
6/29 - Lotte 5, KIA 4


KIA jumped on Marty McCleary often and were able to keep the potent Lotte offense from getting the big hit. Kia's Na Ji-won came in off the bench in the 1st inning after Kim Won-seop went down with an injury. Na took full advantage. He finished the night 3-4 with a double, 2 RBI and a run scored. KIA 2nd baseman, Kim Jong-guk also had a nice game on Friday night. Kim finished 2-3 with a walk, a triple, an RBI and 2 runs scored. KIA starter, Im Joon-hyeok, threw 5 shutout innings to earn the W.

Saturday's game was the only game rained out all weekend. Good thing the Lions were out of town. It was absolutely pissing in Daegu.

On Sunday, Felix Diaz did his best not to get lit up by the Giants O. He did a decent job. Diaz lasted 6 innings(90 pitches, 54 strikes) allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks with 4 K's. Karim Garcia had his number. Garcia finished 2-4 with a solo homer, but both hits came off Diaz. KIA held a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 9th, but reliever, Lee Beom-seok ran out of gas. Lee was starting his 3rd inning and got in trouble. Son Kwang-min drove in the tying run with your old fashioned Baltimore chop. Then, Park Ki-hyeok clubbed a double off the wall in center, but Son was out by fifteen feet at home. Park advanced to third on the throw. With a runner on 3rd and one out, Jeong Su-geun hit a sharp grounder to first. The runner came home. The throw came home. The throw beat the runner, but catcher, Cha Il-mok, couldn't find the handle. Ball game.

Samsung vs. Doosan

6/27 - Doosan 10, Samsung 1
6/28 - Samsung 7, Doosan 0
6/29 - Samsung 2, Doosan 1

There's inconsistent and then there's WILDLY inconsistent. A team that looked dead in the water while giving up a 20-spot to LG actually looked competent against one of the better teams in the league. I thought my soul had been hardened after years as a militant White Sox fan. No longer could I be scarred by even the most depressing defeat(this game took that out of me). I lived through the Terry Bevington years, dammit! But here I am, getting worked up over these guys. I'd rather have a team just suck than be mediocre. Suckage can be entertaining, mediocrity is just sad.

I think Tom Shearn has had enough of Korea and wants to get released. I really can't think of another reason for a pitcher to be pummeled as consistently as he has. Between wildness and , uh, leaving the ball over the plate-ness, Shearn was clobbered for 8 runs in 5+ innings of work. His WHIP for the season is just over 2(2.03 to be precise). Doosan starter, Kim Sun-woo was very good on Friday night. Kim lasted 7 innings(86 pitches, 57 strikes) while allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks with 4 K's. Doosan catcher, Jae Sang-byeong, helped pace the offense by going 2-3 with a double, a homer, 3 RBI and one run scored. The lone bright spot for the Lions was 1st baseman, Chae Tae-in. Chae finished the night with 4 of the 6 Lions hits.

Saturday night was all about Bae Yong-su and Justin Lehr. Bae had his finest start of the season on Saturday. He threw 6 innings(78 pitches, 47 strikes) of 3 hit, 1 walk ball with 4 K's. Justin Lehr is another disaster away from getting himself sent back to the States. Lehr came on in relief and provided little. He surrendered 4 runs in 1 2/3 innings. Samsung's backup catcher, Hyeon Jae-yoon, got the start behind the plate on Saturday and had himself a night. Hyeon went 4-5 with a double, 4 RBI and one run scored. He drove in runs in three different innings, but his biggest knock came in the 4th inning. He put Samsung on the scoreboard with a 2 RBI double.

On Sunday, Samsung and Doosan dueled to a 1-1 tie after 8 innings. Both starting pitchers,Lee Sang-mok for Samsung and Matt Randel for Doosan, were effective. However, Randel was the better of the two. Matt worked 7 strong innings allowing 1 run on 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 5. Samsung's Choi Hyeong-woo took him deep in the 5th inning. In the top of the 9th, Samsung pinch hitter, Woo Dong-gyun, clubbed an RBI triple off of Doosan reliever, Im Tae-hoon. The RBI triple proved to be the difference in the game, as Oh Seung-hwan tossed a 1-2-3 9th inning to record his 20th save.

6/26 Roundup and News

Hit for the cycle, get your picture on my blog. Those are the rules.


Lotte cheerleaders work the locals into a froth at Masan stadium.

The EWC discusses the prospects of two slugging Korean third basemen leaving for greener pastures.

LG 20, Samsung 1
W - Bong Jung-geun (7-5), L - Wes Obermueller (6-6)

I'm assuming that they forgot to broadcast the game last night and just showed a replay of LG's batting practice session.

That's it. I've given up on these guys. I'm not even pretending this team will sneak into the playoffs anymore. 20 runs. How am I supposed to believe a team that allowed 20 runs to freaking LG is going to do anything for the rest of the year. This was a "Wheels-falling-off" Game. Every pitch found the fat part of the strike zone and every hit found a hole.

Where to start with the roundup? I dunno, hmmm, THE LG OFFENSE?!?!?! It would be easier to tell you who DIDN'T have a big night last night. LG outfielder, Park Yeong-taek finished 3-6 with a homer, 5 RBI and 3 runs scored. Ahn Ji-yeong hit for the cycle while also driving in 5 and scoring 3. LG DH Choi Dong-su finished 2-4 with a homer, only 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. Just an ugly effort from Samsung. LG got on Wes Obermueller early and often. Then, the got on reliever, Kim Sang-su, even more often(11 runs! in 2 1/3 innings!).

LG starter, Bong Jung-guen, pitched well, but it can't be that difficult to pitch with an 18 run lead! Bong worked 5 innings(84 pitches, 50 strikes) allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 4 walks and he struck out 2.

Samsung's Son Ji-hwan was the tallest midget last night. He went 2-4 with an RBI double.

SK 3, Lotte 1
W - Kenny Rayborn (3-1), L - Jang Won-joon (5-6), S - Jeong Woo-ram (3)

Kenny Rayborn continued his return to last year's form last night in Masan. The foreign starter worked 5 innings(68 pitches, 44 strikes) of 1 run(unearned), 2 hit, 1 walk baseball. SK outfielder, Lee Jin-yeong, hit a key RBI single in the 5th inning to give SK the lead. SK tacked on a 9th inning insurance run with an RBI single from Kim Kang-min. Lee Dae-ho had a two-hit evening, but got little help from anyone else in the Lotte lineup. Lotte starter, Jang Won-joon, deserved better than taking the loss. Jang worked 8 strong innings(126 pitches, 74 strikes) allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks with 5 K's.

Doosan 7, Woori 2
W - Lee Jae-woo (7-0) L - Park Joon-su (0-2)

The story in this game was Doosan starter, Kim Myeong-jae. Kim worked 7 innings(95 pitches, 65 strikes) allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk with 2 K's. He kept his team in the game long enough for the mighty Doosan O to get to the embattled Woori bullpen. Woori tied the game in the top of the 8th on an RBI single from outfielder, Song Ji-man. In the bottom of the 8th, the Woori bullpen collapsed. Woori reliever, Park Joon-su was stuck with the loss, but it was Song Shin-yeong that allowed most of the damage to be done. He came in during the 8th inning with 1 run already plated. He allowed Doosan to load the bases and he allowed Doosan warm body, Jeong Won-seok, to unload them with a grand slam.

KIA 4, Hanhwa 1
W - Lee Dae-jin (3-8), L - Choi Yeong-pil(4-5)

KIA rode solid pitching and D combined with just enough offense to get the W last night. KIA starter, Lee Dae-jin, worked 5 strong innings(78 pitches, 47 strikes) of 4 hit, 1 walk baseball. Lee also recored 2 K's. KIA third baseman, Kim Seon-bin had a three-hit evening, while Lee Yong-gyu and Lee Jong-beom both drove in runs during a 2-run 5th inning that proved to be the difference on the scoreboard. Hanhwa foreign sensation, Doug Clark, Kim Tae-gyun and Lee Beom-ho finished a combined 3-12 with no extra base hits, RBI's or runs scored.

6/25 Roundup and News

According to the Korea Times, Park Chan-ho will NOT participate in the Olympic games, but Shin Soo-choo might. The title, "Major Absence," is a little misleading. I don't really think Park would do much for the national team, other than provide a face everyone knows.

Doosan 12, Woori 4
W - Lee Hye-cheon, L - Kim Su-kyeong

This little girl probably hit the strike zone more often than Kim Su-kyeong did last night. Ooooooooohhhh. Strikes weren't the problem for Kim. During his 4 innings of work, he threw 36 of 59 pitches for strikes, but left a few out over the plate for Doosan's big bats.

The final makes this game sound worse than it was. Doosan scored 4 runs in the 8th inning, just to make sure Woori knew they were beaten. I guess playing video games before the game isn't necessarily bad for Kim Dong-joo. Kim went 2-2 with a walk, a homer, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. Kim Hyeon-su finished 3-4, but he was a single away from hitting for the cycle. He also chipped in 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. Ko Yeong-min went 3-5 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. The heavy hitters really came through for Doosan last night.

Samsung 2, LG 1
W - Jeon Byeong-ho, L - Shim Su-chang, S - Oh Seung-hwan

Park Han-yi made his triumphant return to the Samsung lineup by leading off the game with a double. He was driven in two runs later by a Yang Joon-hyeok homerun. Yang finished the night 4-4(!). That was all the offense Samsung would get and it turned out to be all they would need. Samsung starter, Jeon Byeong-ho scattered 7 hits over 5 2/3 innings(79 pitches, 51 strikes) with 2 K's. LG didn't get on the scoreboard until Oh Seung-hwan decided to make things interesting in the 9th. He allowed a pair of singles and LG was able to scratch out a run before the 3rd out was recorded.

Hanhwa 5, KIA 4 (12)
W - Kim Hyeok-min, L - Yoo Dong-hoon

This one was tied at 4 at the end of 9 innings. Hanhwa threatened in the 10th with the bases loaded and one out, but a double play ended the threat and kept the game tied. In the bottom of the 12th, Doug Clark drew a walk and Kim Tae-gyun clubbed a double off the left field fence to drive Clark in. Kim was then doused with water and slapped by his teammates as he tried to escape. I'm not sure what went on after the run scored, it looked like his teammates were actually trying to maim him. Kim gets the game ball, not just for the game winning RBI, but also for a 2-run homer in the first inning.

Last night was in fact Lima Time! It looks like Jose is starting to get comfortable in the KBO. Lima lasted 7 1/3 innings(100 pitches, 58 strikes) allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks with 3 K's.

SK 3 Lotte 2
W - Jeong Dae-hyeon(6-2), L - Choi Hyang-nam (2-2), S - Jeong Dae-hyeon (16)
Last night in Masan the Giants broke out the camo jerseys and hats. These are pretty gross, but they have the names on the back in English and the flag from the players' home country over the heart. Somehow, they found a Mexican flag for Karim Garcia to wear. I'd like to see both changes made on every uni.

This one was tied at 2 heading into the top of the 9th and looked like it might very well go into extras...if it weren't for SK catcher, Park Kyeong-won. Park clubbed a solo homer in the top of the 9th to put SK ahead. Jeong Dae-hyeon retired the last two Lotte batters to record the save.

The game ball goes to the SK bullpen. Starter, Lee Yeong-wook, only lasted 3 innings before getting the early hook. The 3 SK relievers cobined for 6 shutout innings against one of the most potent offenses in the KBO.

Lotte centerfielder, Lee Seung-hwa, drove in both Lotte runs on a 2 RBI single in the 2nd inning.

6/24 Roundup and News

The real secret to SK's success? The team dog.


Doosan slugger, Kim Dong-joo, finding focus before a game.

Samsung 3, LG 2
W - Oh Seung-hwan (1-1) L - Jeong Jae-bok (3-6)

Chris Oxspring baffled the Lions for 7 1/3 innings last night. He allowed only 1 run on 3 hits and 3 BB's while striking out 6. Then, it was time for the bullpen to hold a 2-1 lead. They failed. In the bottom of the 9th, Park Seok-min lead off with a double. He scored on an RBI single from Yang Joon-hyeok. Samsung loaded the bases with only one out. Jeong Jae-bok got Oh Dong-gyun to hit a shallow pop up to right field. Neither LG 2nd baseman, Chae Jeong-guk, orrightfielder, Park Yong-taek, called for it. The ball fell between the two fielders for a hit. Yang Joon-hyeok raced home to score the winning run while Chae fumbled with the ball. Ballgame. The LG manager may or may not be found hanging in his office right now. Game ball to Oh Seung-hwan for vulturing the W. Nice work.

SK 9, Lotte 5
W - Lee Seung-ho (1-0), L - Song Seung-jun (8-4), S - Jeong Dae-hyeon (15)

This series isn't being played in Busan or Incheon, it's being played in a sleepy little port outside Busan called Masan. A 5-run 5th inning from the SK offense spelled "DOOM" for the Giants. The big hit of the inning was a 3-run bomb from SK DH Kim Jae-hyeon. The 1-2-3 hitters in the SK batting order combined to go 5-13 with 7 of the teams' 8 RBIs. SK starter, Song Eun-beom, lasted only 1 1/3 innings last night thanks to a quick hook from manager, Kim Seong-geun. The SK bullpen pitched in and out of trouble for 7 2/3 innings. Lotte was great at getting men on, but seemed to have trouble finding the big hit to really cut into the SK lead. Lotte leftfielder Son Kwang-min finished 4-4 with an RBI and 1 run scored. Lotte catcher, Kang Min-ho, went 1-4 with 2 RBI and one run scored.

Woori 5, Doosan 4
W - Lee Hyeon-seung (4-4), L - Matt Randel (4-6), S - Song Shin-yeong (3)

This game sounds closer than it really was. Woori lead 5-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th, but Doosan mounted a fake rally to make the score 5-2. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, Doosan mounted a second fake rally to make the score 5-4, but Song Shin-yeong struck out the last batter to record the one-out save. Woori third baseman, Jeong Seong-hoon, went 2-4 with a fifth inning RBI double and a 7th inning RBI triple. Doosan 2nd baseman, Ko Yeong-min finished the night 2-3 with a 4th inning solo homer, two runs scored and an RBI.

Hanhwa 5, KIA 3
W - Yoo Won-sang (4-3), L - Felix Diaz (0-1), S - Brad Thomas (15)

This was another game that had a final score that sounded closer than the game actually was. KIA trailed 5-1 in the bottom of the 9th when they mounted a 2-run fake rally. Hanhwa called on closer, Brad Thomas, to nail down the last two outs and he did, but not before giving up another hit. Felix Diaz was fairly forgettable in his 2nd KBO start. He stuck around for 5 2/3 innings(89 pitches, 50 strikes) allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks with 2 K's. No one was really all that impressive at the plate for either side, so the game ball goes to Hanhwa starter, Yoo Won-sang. Yoo pitched 6 1/3 innings(88 pitches, 53 strikes), allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk with 5 K's. Game ball worthy? Absolutely.

6/20 - 6/22 Weekend Roundup

"Woori? My agent is so fired." Park Eun-kyong tosses out the first pitch at a Heroes game this weekend.

These still crack me up.

Park Chan-ho got another start and he didn't embarrass his country. Good for him.

Doosan vs. KIA

6/20 - Doosan 10, KIA 1
6/21 - Doosan 7, KIA 4
6/22 - Doosan 6, KIA 4

I can't believe the Joongang Daily hasn't given us another "What's wrong with the Tigers," article yet. What's wrong is they're not very good at scoring more runs than the other team.

Friday night was LIMA TIME and he wasn't that bad. Jose finished with 6 innings pitched, allowing 3 runs(2 earned) on 6 hits and 4 walks with 3 K's. Kim Myeong-jae and the Doosan bullpen were just better. Kim tossed only 5 1/3 innings, but he allowed only 2 hits, while striking out 4. The game ball for Doosan goes to pinch hitter/DH Oh Jae-won. Oh delivered a bases loaded double that broke the game open in the 7th inning. Doosan rightfielder, Kim Hyeon-su, chipped in with a 3-4 1 walk, 1 RBI, 1 run scored effort.

Saturday's game was tied at 4 heading into the top of the 9th. KIA called on ace reliever, Han Ki-joo, to take the game into extras. He crapped the bed. Doosan's Jeong Won-seok, delivered a go-ahead homer to take the lead. Ahn Kyeong-hyeon and Woo Jae-won both delivered RBI singles to give Doosan a 3-run cushion heading into the bottom of the 9th. Doosan's Jeong Jae-hoon struck out two in the 9th to record his 13th save of the season.

On Sunday, the two teams traded runs until the game was tied at 3 in the top of the 6th. Doosan called on pinch hitter, Yoo Jae-wong to deliver and deliver he did. Yoo slapped a ringing single to drive in two runs and give Doosan the lead. After tacking on an insurance run in the 9th, Jeong Jae-hoon closed the game out and picked up his 2nd save in as many days.

Hanhwa vs. Woori
6/20 - Hanhwa 13, Woori 2
6/21 - Woori 2, Hanhwa 1
6/22 - Woori 7, Hanhwa 0

If it weren't for the 13-spot and a dominating combined effort from Hanhwa pitching on Friday, I would've had 4 brooms to post today. 4 Hanhwa pitchers combined to limit the Heroes to 7 hits total, while the Hanhwa offense capitalized on almost every Woori mistake. Hanhwa's offense combined for 4 homeruns. Doug Clark started things off with a 3-run bomb in the first. Then Kim Tae-won added a 2-run blast in the third. Followed by Lee Beom-ho's 2-run shot in the 6th. Finally, Kim Tae-won struck again with a solo shot in the 6th. Lee and Kim's 6th inning bombs were back-to-back. It was just a tough day to be a Hero.

Saturday was all abou the pitching. The only Woori pitcher that allowed anything was starter, Jeong Won-sam. The Woori bullpen shut the door on the Hanhwa offense for 3 2/3 innings. Hanhwa starter, Jeong Min-cheol, was good, but not good enough. Jeong lasted 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk. The two runs Jeong surrendered came on solo homers from Woori's Jeong Seong-hoon and Song Ji-man in the first and second innings. The two solo homers proved to be all the O Woori would need.

Woori pitching limited a previously potent Hanhwa offense to just one hit on Sunday. Woori ace, Ma Il-yeong threw 6 1/3 innings of one hit ball. Ma walked 1 and struck out 2. While Hanhwa ace, Ryu Hyeon-jin, got slapped around. Ryu allowed 6 of the 7 Woori runs in just 3 1/3 innings. Woori leadoff hitter, Song Ji-man gets the game ball for going 3-4 with a walk, a homer, 1 RBI and 2 runs scored. Foreign slugger, Cliff Brumbaugh, drove in two while going 1-3.

Samsung vs. SK

6/20 - SK 12, Samsung 2
6/21 - SK 3, Samsung 1
6/22 - SK 9, Samsung 3

Between the Lions and my beloved White Sox, I'm almost glad I was sick most of the weekend. It spared me the pain of watching my two teams get swept. At least Samsung was swept by a team that has won a championship this century.

Justin Lehr picked up his first KBO victory on Friday night thanks to 4 homeruns from SK batters and some fairly inept offense from the Daegu Nine. SK banged 18 hits off of Samsung pitching. Game balls go to SK first baseman, Lee Jin-yeong, and leftfielder, Park Jae-hong. Lee finished the night 3-4 with a homer, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. Park went 3-5 with 2 homers, 4 RBI and two runs scored.

Samsung actually held a lead on Saturday. It was 1-0 and it didn't even last an inning. Samsung scored in the top of the 5th and SK tied the game in the bottom of the 5th. SK scored the go ahead run in the 6th on an RBI double from Park Kyeong-wan. The Wyverns tacked on an insurance run in the 8th on another RBI double. This time it was probable all-star shortstop Choi Jeong delivering the big hit. Kenny Rayborn was essentially effectively wild. He allowed 5 hits and 5 walks(!) during his 5 2/3 innings of work, but Samsung could only plate one run against him.

On Sunday, SK ace, Kim Kwang-hyeon turned in a good enough performance. Thanks to the run support, Kim was able to cruise to his 10th W. Kim finished with 6 2/3 innings pitched, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits with 4 K's. He did surrender 2 long balls.

The big story here was SK's 6-run 6th inning that put the game out of reach. A trio of Samsung relievers walked 5 batters(!) in the inning. 3 RBI singles from the SK lineup were enough to plate 5 of the 6 runs.

Lotte vs. LG

6/20 - Lotte 4, LG 1 (10)
6/21 - Lotte 9, LG 3
6/22 - Lotte 10, LG 0

On Friday, the ballgame was tied at 1 at the end of 9. In the top of the 10th, Lotte busted the game open. Lotte catcher, Kang Min-ho, hit his second homerun of the game to give Lotte the lead for good. LG starting pitcher, Bong Jung-geun deserves a chance to punch his offense in the mouth. Dr. Bong tossed 8 strong innings, allowing only 1 run on 6 hits and 2 walks with 8 K's. He deserved better than a ND.

Lotte jumped on LG pitching early and often on Saturday. This game was essentially decided after the 4th inning when Lotte struck for a 4-run rally. Lotte third baseman, Lee Dae-ho, gets the game ball for going 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI. LG third baseman, Kim Sang-hyeon, turned in a nice game in a losing effort. Kim went 3-3 with 2 homers, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. He also appeared to be on of the few LG regulars that new a baseball game was being played. Marty McCleary was a big beneficiary of the 9-run outburst. He pitched just well enough to hang on to record his 5th KBO W.

It was more of the same on Sunday. By "more of the same," I mean a complete and soul-crushing loss. Lotte notched runs in the first two innings. The knockout punch was a grandslam from the bat of foreign sensation Karim Garcia. Lotte 2nd baseman, Jo Seong-hwan, finished the game 4-4 with 2 runs scored. Lee Dae-ho had another big game. Lee recored a stat line of 3-4 with a homer, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. Lotte starting pitcher, Jo Jeong-hoon, was awesome. Jo finished the day with a complete game shutout. He allowed only 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8.

6/19 Roundup and News

The Joongang Daily wants to see more Koreans in the MLB. The whole article has a, "I'm not a racist, buuuuuuut..." feel to it. It would have been a better article if he didn't mention Japan and focused on Korea. Maybe let us know specifically which players he'd like to see in the MLB.(My vote is Park Han-yi) Personally, I'd like to see a better development system in the KBO, instead of letting the best players leave in the prime of their careers.

KIA 8, LG 6
W - Yoo Dong-hoon (3-1), L - Lee Jae-yeong (0-3), S - Han Ki-joo (15)

This game sounds closer than it was. After the 7th inning the score was 8-2 LG mounted fake rallies in the 8th and 9th innings to make it look respectable in the morning and allow KIA closer, Han Ki-joo, to pick up his 15th save. LG did actually hold a 2-1 lead, until KIA put up a 5-run 6th inning and a 2-run 7th.

Walks absolutely killed LG. They allowed 11(!) free passes and hit 3 batters in this one. That's 14 baserunners! KIA only had 7 hits and only 1 for extra bases. The LG bullpen was so awful that it took 7 pitchers to finish 3 innings.

Felix Diaz made his first KBO start. He lasted only 3 innings(62 pitches, 38 strikes), but I'm assuming it was because he was on a strict pitch count. He only allowed 1 hit and 1 walk with 1 strikeout.

The game ball goes to KIA shortstop, Kim Seon-bin. He finished the game 2-5 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored.

Hanhwa 9, Lotte 8
W - Ahn Yeong-myeong (5-0), L - Im Kyeong-hwan (1-4), S - Brad Thomas (14)

Lotte took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the 6th when Son Min-han fell apart and surrendered 5 runs to the Eagles. The Giants offense stormed back in the top of the 7th with a 6-run inning. All 6 runs came from homeruns. Karim Garcia hit a 2-run bomb, Jo Seong-hwan followed with a three-run homer and Lee Dae-ho ended the scoring with a solo shot. Bang! Bang! Bang! 6 runs. In the bottom of the 8th, Hanhwa struck back for three runs and the lead. The key hit in the inning was a 2 RBI triple from Lee Beom-ho to tie the game at 8. Lee would be driven in on an RBI single from 2nd baseman, Han Sang-hoon. Brad Thomas pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to record his 14th save.

Woori 11, Samsung 10
W - Hwang Doo-seong (4-3), L - Yoon Seong-hwan (4-8)

This was a game that fought for my very soul as a baseball fan. Woori put up a snowman(midwest slang for an 8-run inning) in the 2nd inning. Woori slugger, Cliff Brumbaugh, clobbered two homeruns in the same inning off two different pitchers. Not a good start boys. Samsung starter, Bae Yeong-su, wasn't wild or injured. He just sucked. Badly. Samsung did battle back with 5 runs in the 3rd, thanks to a pair of 2-run doubles from Woo Dong-gyun and Yang Jun-hyeok. Woori tacked on an insurance run in the 6th to make the score 9-5. Then, Samsung struck again. 4 runs. After an 8-0, 2nd inning deficit, the game was tied at 9. What got into these guys? Not so fast. Woori took the lead back in the bottom of the 8th on an RBI single from 2nd baseman, Kwan Do-yeong. Not so fast again! Samsung pulled the score even in the top of the 9th inning. Woori reliever, Hwan Do-seong came down with a case of the yips. He lobbed two pitches about 10 feet wide of the plate to allow runners to advance and score. Samsung pitcher, Yoon Seong hwan, came on to get the Lions into extra innings. He failed. It went something like this, walk, walk, popup(yay!), walk off single to Kim Dong-su. Ballgame.

Doosan 8, SK 0
W - Lee Hae-cheon (3-3), L - Seon Eun-beom (6-3)

Try your finishing move on us will you? Take that!

Doosan slapped around SK starter, Seon Eun-beom, for 6 runs in the first inning. The big hit came in the form of a 3-run bomb by Chae Sang-byeong. On the mound, 3 Doosan pitchers combined for a 3-hitter. Starting pitcher, Lee Hye-cheon worked 6 innings(96 pitches, 57 strikes), allowing only 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. SK was uncharacteristically bad at everything last night. They could pitch(8 runs allowed), they couldn't hit(5 baserunners, all night) and they couldn't field(3 errors!). One of the few bad nights for the defending champs.

6/18 Roundup and News

Rain, rain, go away. Everyone was washed out last night. It's monsoon season and this blog just got a lot easier to write.

6/17 Roundup and News

Shingo Takatsu has become the newest Woori Hero. I have fond memories of Mr. Zero saving games for the '04 White Sox with his goofy frisbee pitch and his goofier grin.

Oh Noes! Park Chan-ho was lit up last weekend.

I was liking this article on ties in the KBO, until I read the John Kruk quote at the bottom. I didn't know about 15 inning ties in the playoffs. How can you end a playoff game in a tie? What if its a game 7? Does everyone get a trophy?

SK 11, Doosan 0
W - Kim Kwang-hyeon(9-3), L - Justin Lehr (0-3)

SK is just a machine. Usually, their games with Doosan are among the more entertaining in the KBO. Last night was entertaining, if you enjoy using AK-47's to hunt snapping turtles. If this were a video game, you would have seen this at the end...



I'd like to see SK's finishing move. My guess is that Choi Jeong uses his telekinesis to implode the opposing pitchers' mind. That's right. Implode.

SK dominated the game from beginning to end. Either by hitting meatballs all over the park or a dominating combined 3-hitter from their pitching staff.

SK ace, Kim Kwang-hyeon, was awesome last night. Kim only stuck around for 7 innings(95 pitches, 59 strikes) thanks to the 11-run outburst from the SK offense. He allowed only 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6.

At the plate for SK, Lee Jin-yeong, Na Joo-hwan and Jo Dong-hwa each had 2 RBI during the route. Only one SK starter didn't record a hit. I'm looking at YOU, Park Jae-sang, but Park did draw a walk and drive in a run. SK only had 2 extra base hits in this game and they didn't get their first until the 5th inning. Walks and line drives spelled DOOM for Doosan.

Woori 9, Samsung 6
W - Ma Il-yeong(5-4), L - Lee Sang-mok(5-5), S - Park Joon-su (1)

Welcome to the newest edition of "Get-To-Know-Your-Lions!" Today, we'll be talking about our new first baseman, Chae Tae-in. Chae, 26, is only in his 2nd year with the big club, but he only saw limited action last year. At 187 cm., he towers over the rest of the infield and his 94 kg make it difficult for him to find pants in his own country. Chae both throws and bats with his left had or, should I say, his SINISTER hand! A true road warrior, Chae is OPSing 200 points more on the road than he does in Daegu. As recently as last night, Chae led the Lions in a losing effort by going 2-4 with a double, 2 RBI and 1 run scored.

I don't mean to sound like Joe Morgan, but the only word to describe last night's effort is....inconsistent. After taking 2 of 3 from Doosan at home, I can honestly say I expected better than this against Woori. Thanks for building up my hopes again, guys. Lee Sang-mok was predictably awful. He's just not a starter...or a very good pitcher. He didn't walk anyone, but Woori clubbed two homers off him. Lee Taek-geun struck in the 3rd inning and foreign slugger, Cliff Brumbaugh, struck in the 5th. Samsung scored 5 runs during fake rallies in the 7th and 8th innings, but there was never really a sense that they would take the lead.

KIA 7, LG 1 (7)
W - Lee Beom-seok(4-3), L - Jang Chan-heon(3-7)

This one was shortened by rain. I think LG was just happy they were able to skip out on the last two inning and hit the bars a little earlier. KIA was leading 6-0 heading into the 7th, but LG mounted a fake rally just to get on the scoreboard before the rains came. Predictably, they gave the run right back in the bottom of the 7th.

The game ball goes to KIA starter, Lee Beom-seok. Lee tossed 5 shutout innings(70 pitches, 40 strikes) allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 3. Cha Il-mok had a big night at the plate for KIA. He finished 3-4 with a double and 3 RBI.

Lotte 9, Hanhwa 4
W- Song Seung-joon(8-3), L - Ryu Hyeon-jin(6-4)

Between Song Seung-joon and Son Min-han, Lotte has the best 1-2 punch of starting pitchers in the league. I know SK's Kim Kwang-hyeon and Chae Byeong-ryong have been very good this year, but Song and Son have been a little more consistent this season. Kim and Chae have been known to blow up from time to time. Song and Son(sounds like a moving company) haven't.

Ryu didn't get lit last night, only 4 runs over 6, but Song was a lot better. He allowed 1 run on 6 hits and 3 walks over 6 innings, while striking out 6.

Shin Kyeong-hyeon had another nice night for the Eagles. He finished 3-4 with a double and 3 RBI.The Giants 7-8-9 hitters came up big last night. Son Kwang-min, Park Hyeon-seung and Park Ki-hyeok combined to go 6-12 with 5 RBI and 5 runs scored.

6/13 - 6/15 Weekend Roundup

The Blue-man group throws out the first pitch at the LG/Hanhwa game on Saturday.



Yang Mi-ra tosses out the first pitch before the SK/KIA game on Sunday, while an umpire looks on approvingly. Nice form, indeed.

The Korea Times posts an article that isn't about foreign devils or Park Chan-ho. It's about Cleveland Indians Outfielder Choo Shin-soo. He's tearing the cover off the ball....so far. Thanks to interleague play, Choo was able to bat against Baek Cha-seung.

Choi Hoon makes me smile.

Samsung vs. Doosan
6/13 - Samsung 6, Doosan 3
6/14 - Doosan 14, Samsung 3
6/15 - Samsung 9, Doosan 1

I was actually in attendence on Friday night. These are not the Lions that I remember from '06 or even '07. Missing from the lineup were Shim Chang-su, Park Han-yi, Jin Kab-yong or Park Jong-ho. These are the "Get-to-know-your" Lions. Yang Joon-hyeok is still around, but he's starting to look like he'd rather be fishing. After a 7th inning brushback pitch, Yang fell to the ground and looked surprised that he was able to stand up again. Not good times for the slugger.

Friday night was the best game Samsung had played in a week. Wes Obermueller pitched in and out of jams, but a few key strikeouts kept Doosan off the board for most of the early innings. The difference in this one was Samsung's Choi Hyung-woo. Choi clubbed 2 homers while going 3-4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.

This game also featured a bit of a dustup in the 6th inning. Wes Obermueller let one get a little too close to Doosan slugger, Lee Dong-joo. Lee took offense to the pitch and, while walking to first, exchanged words with Wes. Some pushing and shoving ensued and order was eventually restored. I had no idea Korean fans liked this stuff so much. Wes got a standing O when he left the game.

Saturday night's pasting was the type of effort I've gotten used to from this pitching staff. I'm starting to think Tom Shearn won't be long for these shores if he continues to get slapped around like he did, well, in every game he's pitched. Doosan's Kim Dong-ju did most of the damage. He went 3-3 with a walk, a homer, 6 RBI and 2 runs scored. Doosan 2nd baseman, Ko Yong-min, went 2-3 with a homer, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Doosan starting pitcher, Kim Seon-woo, cruised to an easy victory. Kim tossed 6 innings(89 pitches, 56 strikes), allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 2. Choi Hyung-woo hit his third homer of the weekend for Samsung.

Sunday was a completely different story. It's one thing to be inconsistent, but its another to be WILDLY inconsistent. Joe Morgan would have a heart attack watching this team. In the 4th inning, Samsung actually trailed 1-0, and then scored 9 unanswered runs in the next 5 innings. Only one Lions starter didn't reach base during the 9-run outburst. I'm looking at you Park Jin-man. Samsung 3rd baseman, Park Seok-min, swung a big stick for Samsung. He finished the day 2-3 with a double and 3 RBI. It was Samsung's turn to have their starter cruise to an easy victory. Yoon Seong-hwan tossed 6 innings(81 pitches, 49 strikes) allowing 1 run on 3 hits and two walks, while striking out 6.

LG vs Hanhwa
6/13 - LG 8, Hanhwa 3
6/14 - Hanhwa 14, LG 4
6/15 - Hanhwa 7, LG 4

LG jumped all over Hanhwa starter Choi Yeong-pil and then jumped all over reliever, Yang Hoon. Yang is in the running for the KBO's Cy Yuck Award this year. He's sporting an ERA of 7.67 in 61 innings. LG starter, Chris Oxspring cruised to his 7th victory while Roberto Petagine had a big day at the plate. Petagine went 2-4 with a double, 2 walks, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored.

It didn't take long for Hanhwa to get its offense back on track. A 6-run 6th inning and a 5-run 7 inning where more than enough to doom LG, despite the 7 walks and 2 hit batsmen from Hanhwa pitching. Choo Seung-woo had a big night at the plate for Hanhwa. Choo finished 4-6 with 5 RBI and 2 runs scored. He was a homer away from the cycle. Doug Clark clobbered his 15th homerun of the season on a 2-run bomb in the 3rd inning.

On Sunday, Hanhwa overcame some shaky starting pitching to stay in this game and pick up the W. Hanhwa starter, Jeong Min-cheol was chased from the game after only 2 2/3 innings. It was up to the Hanhwa bullpen to keep it close until the offense could get the Eagles back in the game. Hanhwa trailed 4-3 until the top of the 8th. The Eagles put up a 4 spot to take the lead for good. A 2-run triple from Shin Kyung-hyeon proved to be the difference. Brad Thomas tossed a 1-2-3 9th for his 13th save of the season.

Lotte vs. Woori
6/13 - Lotte 3, Woori 2 (10)
6/14 - Lotte 8, Woori 2
6/15 - Lotte 6, Woori 3


Woori actually lead Friday night's game 2-1 heading into the 9th, but Son Shin-yong gave up an RBI single to Lotte's Jeong Su-geun to tie the game at 2. In the 10th a costly error from Woori outfielder, Jeong Seong-hoon, led to Karim Garcia scoring the winning run. The game balls go to the starting pitchers. Both pitched well enough to earn the W. Lotte ace, Son Min-han, threw 8 innings(115 pitches, 74 strikes) allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. Woori starter, Kim Soo-kyeong, threw 6 innings(107 pitches, 62 strikes) allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 3.

Errors continued to plague Woori on Saturday as well. Errors in the 3rd and 5th innings helped Lotte to victory on Saturday. Between Kang Min-ho's 3-run homer in the 5th and Cho Seong-hwan constantly being on base, Woori never had a prayer in this one. Lee Dae-ho also added a 2-run double while going 2-4 with a walk and a run scored. The Woori offense banged out 14 hits and drew two walks, but they left 14(!) runners stranded.

Woori held a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 8th on Sunday, but the bullpen completely blew up in the 8th inning. Lotte banged out six hits and drew a walk during the inning. Two of the hits were doubles and one was a triple. Marty McCleary bounced back from his awful start against Doosan earlier in the week. McCleary tossed 7 innings(92 pitches, 56 strikes) allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 1. Choi Hyang-nam tossed a 1-2-3 9th inning to record his 6th save of the season.

SK vs KIA
6/13 - SK 14, KIA 6
6/14 - KIA 8, SK 2
6/15 - SK 10, KIA 1

SK pitcher, Chae Byeong-ryong was awful on Friday night. He didn't make it out of the first inning. He only allowed 3 runs, but they came on a 3-run bomb from Chae Jeong-beom. After the rocky start, SK quickly turned to its bullpen to piece together a W. The good thing for SK was that Jose Lima was even worse. He didn't make it out of the first inning either. He allowed 6 runs on 4 hits, 1 walk and one hit batsman. A 2-run bomb from Na Joo-hwan chased Lima from the game. 4 different SK batters finished with 3 hits. Choi Jeong had the biggest night of the bunch. He finished 3-4 with 1 walk, 2 doubles, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored.

KIA struck back on Saturday night behind a strong effort from starting pitcher, Seo Jae-weong. Seo tossed 5 innings(79 pitches, 51 strikes), allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. KIA centerfielder, Lee Yong-gyu, finished the night 3-5 with 2 RBI and one run scored. KIA reliever, Yoo Dae-hoon, gets the gameball for tossing 3 innings of relief and only allowing 1 hit.

Sunday was the return of SK pitcher, Kenny Rayborn, to his 2007 form. Kenny tossed 7 innings(107 pitches, 60 strikes) allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. The only SK regular that didn't get a hit was Na Joo-hwan and he walked twice. Park Kyeong-won, Park Jeong-kwon and Park Chae-hong all homered during the route of KIA. Felix Diaz made his KBO debut. It was just okay. He tossed 2 innings allowing 1 run on two hits and 1 walk. The 1 run came on a Park Jae-hong solo homer.

6/12 Roundup and News

"First hit!" I believe this is supposed to be Samsung rookie Hyeon Jae-yoon, who did in fact record his first hit two nights ago.


The KIA Tigers make the long walk to the bus after losing in the 14th inning. Let's see, games usually start at 6:30 and this one finished around 12:45. That's over 6 hours. Even with a rain delay, that's an awfully long game.

The Korea Times resident Tigers fan posts another article.

Doosan 9, Lotte 4
W - Kim Sang-hyeon(2-0), L - Jang Won-joon(5-5)


Lotte actually held a 4-2 lead heading into the 5th inning, but Lotte starting pitcher, Jang Won-joon(3.90 ERA, 1.34 WHIP), imploded by giving up 3 runs, while only getting one out in the 5th. At that point Doosan lead only 5-4. Lotte manager, Jerry Royster, called upon reliever, Bae Jang-ho(3.03 ERA, 1.52 WHIP), to get him out of the jam. Bae faced 3 hitters and surrendered hits to all three and gave up another 3 runs.

The game ball goes to Doosan's Ko Yeong-min(.267/.381/.396) and Lotte's Kang Min-ho(.312/.385/.520, 10 HR, 40 RBI). Ko finished the night 2-3 with a double, 1 RBI and one run scored, but his 5th inning double was one of the key hits of the inning. Kang finished the night 1-3 with a double and 3 RBI, but he drove in runs in 3 different innings.

Hanhwa 9, Samsung 2
W - Song Jin-woo(4-2), L - Yoon Seong-hwan (3-7)


That's right. A broom and a dustpan for these sad sacks. Hanhwa lead 9-0 at one point. Thank god Samsung scored those two runs during those two fake rallies. 9-2 isn't nearly as embarassing as 9-0. Whatever.

At the plate for Hanhwa it was just too much Kim Tae-gyun(.343/.430/.713, 18 HR, 58 RBI) and Lee Beom-ho(.276/.376/.471) Kim finished 2-3 with a walk, a homer, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. While Lee went 2-3 with a walk, a double, a homer, 1 RBI and 3 runs scored. Hanhwa jumped all over Samsung starter, Yoon Seong-hwan(4.29 ERA, 1.51 WHIP), in the 1st inning and again all over the Samsung bullpen in the 7th inning.

Hanhwa starting pitcher, Song Jin-woo(3.50 ERA, 1.47 WHIP), cruised to an easy W. He tossed 6 2/3 innings(107 pitches, 6o strikes) allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks. He added 4 K's to his season total.

SK 19, LG 5
W - Kim Kwang-hyeon(8-3), L - Lee Jae-yeong (0-2)

The technical word for this game is "a pantsing." SK essentially walked up to LG, pulled their pants around their ankles and gave them a slap, just to make sure everyone would laugh and point. Heading into the 5th inning, the score was 17-0 and that makes it sound close. In the immortal words of Ken"The Hawk" Harrelson, "Well, we got 'em right where we want 'em, padner." If this were a fantasy league, people would be sending the LG manager messages like, "Maybe next year you should try this with a partner."

The less said about this one, the better, so let's get down to it. SK pulled Kim Kwang-hyeon(2.66 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) after 5 innings and only 61 pitches. I think the LG manager hung himself after Kim didn't come out for the 6th with only 61 pitches.

At the plate, every SK starter got a hit. Jeong Gun-woo(.301/.367/.415, 19 SB's) and Choi Jeong(.335/.417/.458) had the biggest nights. Jeong went 3-6 with a homer, 5 RBI and two runs scored. Choi went 3-6 with 2 homers, 4 RBI and two runs scored.

LG's Choi Dong-su(.287/.364/.524, 10 HR 39 RBI) had a nice night. He finished 2-4 with a homer, 3 RBI and a run scored.

Woori 2, KIA 1 (14)
W - Kim Yeong-min(1-2), L - Son Yeong-min (4-1)

This game was a war of attrition. Tied 1-1 at the end of a wet 9 innings, these two teams headed to extras. It looked like KIA would take the lead in the tenth, but a pair of K's from Hwang Doo-seong(2.64 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) ended the threat. Not much happened until the 14th inning. Woori put runners at 1st and third with a walk and an infield single. KIA intentionally walked Lee Sung-yong(.252/.351/.346) to load the bases with only one out. The next batter, Kang Jeong-ho(.208/.261/.296) ended the game with a base hit through the left side.

The game ball goes to KIA starting pitcher, Yoon Seok-min(2.57 ERA, 8-3, 1.18 WHIP). Yoon is having a career year this season. He threw 8 1/3 strong innings(122 pitches, 73 strikes) allowing 1 run on 7 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 4.

6/11 Roundup and News

I don't know why, but these little cartoons crack me up.

KIA 4, Woori, 0
W - Lee Beom-seok(3-3), L - Ma Il-yeong

Between Lee(3.15 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) and Yoo Dong-hoon(2.36 ERA, 0.95 WHIP), KIA pitching only allowed 6 baserunners last night. Lee worked 7 innings(92 pitches, 58 strikes) allowing only 4 hits and one walk, while striking out 6. Yoon only allowed one hit during his two innings of work. At the plate for KIA, Jae Jong-beom(.137/.182/.196 in 51 AB's) went 1-2 with a 2-run homer.

Ma Il-yeong(3.13 ERA 1.21 WHIP) didn't pitch very well, but he didn't get much help from his offense or his defense. The offense was shutout and the defense committed two errors. This was an ugly effort from Woori.

Hanhwa 13, Samsung 8
W - Ryu Hyeon-jin(6-3), L - Lee Sang-mok (5-4)

Speaking of ugly efforts. Hanhwa has torched Samsung pitching for the last two nights. Hanhwa actually lead 11-3 at one point. Only a 5-run fake rally in the 7th inning made the final look almost respectable. Samsung starter, Lee Sang-mok(4.35 ERA, 1.23 WHIP), was bad, but the Samsung bullpen was worse.

Ryu Hyeon-jin(3.67 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) wasn't great, but he was good enough to win even without the 13-run offensive outburt. Ryu lasted 6 innings(91 pitches, 52 strikes) allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk with 5 K's. The only ball that was hit really hard was a 5th inning solo homerun from Choi Hyeong-woo(.248/.318/.427). It wasn't until the Hanhwa bullpen came in that Samsung started pitching. Ahn Yeong-myeong(5.46 ERA, 4-0, 1.61 WHIP) finally answered the question, "What would happen if a pitcher decided to drink 10 bottles of soju before coming in?" The answer? Give up 5 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in 2/3 of an inning.

Hanhwa's top contributers last night were Kim Tae-gyun(.337/.424/.697, 17 HR, 55 RBI), Choo Sung-woo(.298/.363/.355) and Doug Clark(.311/.398/.588, 14 HR 62 runs scored, 44 RBI) Kim went only 1-6, but his one hit was a 4th inning grand slam. Choo went 3-5 with a double, a stolen base and 4 runs scored. Clark finished the night with a 2-4, 1 run scored and 2 RBI stat line.

Doosan 5, Lotte 4
W - Jeong Jae-hoon(2-1), L - Choi Hyang-nam(0-1)

Lotte was trailing 4-3 heading into the top of the 9th and Doosan called upon closer, Jeong Jae-hoon(4.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP), to hold the lead. He allowed Lotte to tie in short order. It went, walk, sacrifice, single, tie. Lotte turned to Choi Hyang-nam(2.42 ERA, 0.73 WHIP) to send the game into extras. He also failed. A walkoff single spelled D-O-O-M for the Lotte reliever.

Lotte banged out 14 hits and drew 4 walks on the night, but they had trouble plating runners in scoring position all night. Doosan's Justin Lehr(5.28 ERA, 0-2, 1.83 WHIP) surrendered 10 hits in just 5 2/3 innings, but he only allowed 2 runs. Lotte had 4 batters with at least 2 hits, but not a single batter with more than 1 RBI or run scored. I'll give game ball status to Lotte's Jeong Soo-gun(.302/.415/.356). Jeong went 2-4 with a walk, a stolen base, 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Doosan's Kim Hyeon-su(.355/.451/.500) also had a big game. Kim finished 3-4 with a double, a triple, 1 run scored and 1 RBI. He was a homerun away from the cycle.

SK 6, LG 1
W - Song Eun-beom(6-2), L - Jeong Chan-han(3-6)

SK jumped all over LG starter, Jeong Chan-han(5.01 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) and got enough quality pitching to earn the W. Jeong gave up 5 of SK's 6 runs in just five innings. SK's Park Jae-sang(.319/.413/.415) did the most damage against Jeong. He went 2-2 against Jeong, but 0-3 against the LG bullpen. Park smacked a double and a triple. He scored and drive in runs on both hits. His final line was 2-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. Kim Jae-hyeon(.321/.416/.486) also drove in 2 runs for SK.

SK starter, Song Eun-bom(3.79 ERA, 1.43 WHIP), kept LG batters off balance for most of his 6 innings pitched. Song allowed only 5 hits and 1 walk with 1 K while earning the W.

6/10 Roundup and News

The Korea Times provides us with an update on All-star voting.

I agree with the Joongang Daily. Pick up the pace, please.

Interesting commentary from the Donga Ilbo on Park Chan-ho's "revival."

Mike McStay gives a very nice write up of Song Jin-woo's 2000th strikeout. I'm fairly embarrassed to admit that I was ignorant of his milestone, but in my defense I was out of town and there's not exactly a lot of easily accessible information.

The Woori Hero preparing for battle.

Hanhwa 10, Samsung 1
W- Jeong Min-cheol(5-6), L - Cho Jin-ho(1-2)

It was a thoroughly depressing effort from the Samsung nine last night. Hanhwa actually led 10-0 in the 8th inning. Thankfully, Samsung scratched a run across because 10-1 isn't nearly as embarassing as 10-0. This one was so out of hand that Hanhwa was able to find at bats for 6 reserves.

Hanhwa starting pitcher, Jeong Min-cheol(4.97 ERA, 1.47 WHIP), made an impressive start last night. He tossed 6 innings of 3 hit ball and allowed only 3 walks while striking out 4. At the plate for Hanhwa, everyone got in on the fun. MVP candidate Kim Tae-gyun(.343/.431/.698, 14 HR, 51 RBI) finished the night 2-3 with a double, a homer, a walk, 2 RBI and 1 run scored. Shin Kyeong-hyeon(.241/.293/.352) went 3-3 with a double and 2 RBI. The only Hanhwa regular that didn't reach base was leadoff man, Lee Yeong-woo(.296/.350/.429).

Doosan 5, Lotte 2
W - Kim Myeong-je(5-1), L - Marty McCleary(4-3), S - Jeong Jae-hoon(12)

Doosan jumped all over Marty McCleary(4.86 ERA, 1.55 WHIP) in the first inning and chased him from the game after only 2/3 of an inning pitched. McCleary allowed only one hit, but he had difficulty with his control. He walked 4 batters. Even with his wildness, McCleary didn't get much help in the field. He was only charged with one earned run thanks to some shoddy defense.

Doosan starting pitched, Kim Myeong-je(2.87 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) was excellent. He threw 7 innings of one-hit ball and only walked two batters. He only struck out 2, so he wasn't missing any bats. Kim was able to keep the Giants off balance for most of the night. It felt like everything was a lazy flyball.

Doosan's offense wasn't exactly electric last night. They scored 5 runs on 3 hits. Two of the hits came from Hong Seong-hoon(.339/.363/.450) and he only drove in one run. Doosan was helped by a few errors and a couple walks. Basically, Lotte made an awful lot of mental errors last night and it cost them the game.

SK 4, LG 3
W - Cho Yong-min(3-0), L - Jeong Jae-bok(3-4)

LG held a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 9th inning, but their bullpen imploded. After pitching the 8th inning, Jeong Jae-bok(2.79 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 10 holds) was left in to finish the 9th. A double from SK's Lee Jin-yong(.327/.394/.500) scored the first run and another double from Park Jeong-kwan walked him off(.193/.260/.284).

LG ace, Bong Jung-gun(3.11 ERA, 1.26 WHIP), pitched well enough to earn the W. Dr. Bong lasted 6 2/3 innings(113 pitches, 72 strikes) allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 7. SK's Kenny Rayborn(3.93 ERA, 1.57 WHIP) struggled through five innings(105 pitches, 59 strikes) of work. He allowed 5 hits and 5 walks, but LG only plated two runs against him.

SK's Jeong Gun-wo(.292/.360/.394) and LG's Park Yong-taek(.293/.352/.361) both finished the day 3-5 with a homer, 1 RBI and 1 run scored.

Woori 10, KIA 2
W - Jeong Won-sam(3-5), L - Lee Dae-jin(2-7), S - Hwang Doo-seong (6)

The Heroes lead the game 3-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th. In the 8th, they battered the KIA bullpen for 7 runs. The Heroes banged out 8 hits and drew one walk in the inning. 5 different Heroes drove in runs. The biggest hero for Woori was Song Ji-man(.293/.333/.479). Song finished the night 2-3 with a double, a homer, 3 RBI and two runs scored. Also, Woori slugger Cliff Brumbaugh(.276/.385/.454) stole a base. It was his first and, more than likely, last of the season. To be fair, he did steal 7 bases in 2004.

6/6 - 6/8 Weekend Roundup

Happy 100 posts! I can't believe it got here so fast. I'd just like to send a big thank you to me. Seriously, I rock. Without me nothing would get done here. Matt is the greatest.


There was a lot of this going around on Saturday in Busan.

Aaron posted a write up of the first EWC 곗날. Yeah, that's basically what happened. Seeing a game in Busan was a terrific experience and I'm looking forward to going again.

Lotte vs. SK

6/6 - SK 5, Lotte 2
6/7 - SK 2, Lotte 0
6/8 - SK 3, Lotte 1

This was a fantastically played series in front of the best fans in Korea. It's too bad the home team didn't fare a little better, but when a team scores 3 runs in 3 games, they deserve to get swept.

Friday night's ballgame featured a quality start from SK's Lee Yeong-wook(3rd appearance) and some quality hitting from Park Jae-hong(.368/.453/.644, 10 HR, 39 RBI) and Choi Jeong(.327/.416/.424). Lee tossed 6 strong innings(98 pitches, 55 strikes) and allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. Park clubbed a solo homer in the first, while Choi hit a 2-run blast in the 6th to give SK the lead for good.

Saturday's matchup was one of the sexiest that the KBO has to offer. Lotte Ace, Son Min-han(2.03 ERA, 7-1, 1.06 WHIP) vs. SK Ace, Kim Kwang-hyeon(2.71 ERA, 7-3, 1.35 WHIP). They didn't disappoint. Both threw complete games. Son tossed 122 pitches(71 strikes) during his day of work, but he allowed 2 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk. He added 3 strikeouts. Kim was even better. While going the distance(123 pitches, 76 strikes), Kim held Lotte to 4 hits and two walks while striking out 6. The game was tied at 0 until the 7th inning. Park Jae-hong hit a flyball to center that was deep enough to score Park Jae-sang(.315/.414/.401, 14 doubles, 15 SB's). SK added an insurance run in the 9th thanks to an RBI single from Cho Dong-hwa(.243/.328/.290).

Sunday featured more of the same for Lotte and SK. An offense that was struggling vs. a solid effort from the starting pitcher. SK's Chae Byeong-yong(2.07 ERA, 7-1, 1.22 WHIP) worked 7 1/3 innings. He allowed 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 3. Both teams traded runs in the first, but SK was able to tack on runs in the 3rd and 7th innings, while Lotte couldn't mount much of an attack. Sunday's game was the only game of the series that didn't sell out.

Doosan vs. LG

6/6 - Doosan 10, LG 2
6/7 - Doosan 4, LG 3
6/8 - PPD

The Doosan offense battered LG starter, Lee Jae-yeong(8.34 ERA, 0-1, 1.90 WHIP), for 8 runs over 5 2/3 innings. Lee allowed 8 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 3. Matt Randel(4.39 ERA, 4-4, 1.55 WHIP) gave Doosan a much needed quality start. Randel lasted 7 1/3 innings(95 pitches, 63 strikes) allowing only 2 runs on 6 hits, while striking out 2. Hong Seong-hoon(.335/.360/.449, 33 RBI) was the top hitter for Doosan on Friday. He finished the game 2-4 with a double, a homer, 3 RBI and 1 run scored. His homer came during a 4-run rally in the 4th inning that gave Doosan the lead for good. Kim Hyeon-su(.351/.445/.486, 35 runs scored, 38 RBI) finished 2-3 with a double, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored and 2 walks. Kim Dong-joo(.304/.435/.544, 11 HR, 41 RBI) went 3-4 with a double, a walk, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.

On Saturday night, it was the LG bullpen's turn to suck. LG held a 3-2 advantage heading into the bottom of the 9th. Chris Oxspring(4.35 ERA, 6-3, 1.65 WHIP) was left in to pitch a 4 inning of relief and he coughed up the lead. A couple of walks and an RBI single did Oxspring in, but it was Jeong Jae-bok(2.53 ERA, 10 holds, 1.04 WHIP) that surrendered the winning run. Jeong came in, faced one batter and gave up a walk off single. Nice work! Lost in this mess was a nice day at the plate for LG's Park Kyeong-su(.290/.370/.449). Park went 3-4 with a solo homer.

KIA vs. Samsung

6/6 - KIA 5, Samsung 3
6/7 - Samsung 4, KIA 1
6/8 - KIA 4, Samsung 0

It took a quality effort from starting pitcher Yoon Seok-min(2.71 ERA, 8-3, 1.18 WHIP) and some timely hitting from Lee Jae-joo(.325/.430/.585, 8 HR, 32 RBI) and Cha Il-mok(.244/.312/.341) to doom Samsung on Friday night. Yoon lasted 7 innings(123 pitches, 77 strikes) allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 6. Both Lee and Cha struck during a 3 run rally in the 5th inning. Lee delivered a homerun and Cha slapped an RBI single.

Saturday night featured Jose Lima(5.14 ERA, 3-4, 1.43 WHIP) vs. Wes Obermueller(4.96 ERA, 5-4, 1.25 WHIP) in a battle of foreign devils. No matter who wins, we lose. Whatever. Jose got tagged for 3 runs in the first thanks to a few RBI singles from the Samsung offense. Obermueller stuck around for 5 innings(92 pitches, 61 strikes) before getting lifted with a lead. The Samsung bullpen kept KIA off the scoreboard for 4 innings and delivered Wes his 5th win in the KBO. Samsung's Park Seok-min(.309/.415/.493) finished 2-4 with a homer, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.

3 KIA pitchers combined for a 3 hitter on Sunday. Starter, Seo Jae-weong(3.32 ERA, 3-3, 1.35 WHIP) did most of the work. Seo threw 6 innings of 2-hit ball, while striking out 5. The KIA offense finally got to Samsung starter, Tom Shearn(2nd appearance), in the 6th inning. Shearn surrendered 2 runs in the 6th before getting the hook. KIA's Lee Hyeon-gun(.277/.325/.368) swatted a two-run double. KIA tacked on 2 more in the 7th with help from an RBI double from Lee Yong-gyu(.309/.382/.400). Yoo Dong-hoon(2.48 ERA, 4 holds, 0.98 WHIP) tossed 2 1/3 innings of one-hit ball in relief to earn the save.

Hanhwa vs. Woori

6/6 - Hanhwa 1, Woori 0 (12)
6/7 - Hanhwa 6, Woori 2
6/8 - PPD

Friday night's game featured as many hits(12 total) as it did innings. Both of these offenses were miserable. In the 12th inning, Hanhwa's Lee Beom-ho(.265/.360/.441) clubbed a double off of Woori reliever, Hwang Doo-seong(2.63 ERA, 5 saves, 1.02 WHIP), he advanced to third and then scored on a sacrifice from Lee Hee-gun(.175/.256/.200). Brad Thomas(3.48 ERA, 12 saves, 1.19) struck out 3 during 2 innings of relief work to pick up the W for Hanhwa. Lost in this marathon were a pair of fine efforts from the starting pitches. Woori ace, Ma Il-yeong(3.04 ERA, 4-3, 1.19 WHIP) , threw 9 innings(116 pitches, 72 strikes) allowing only 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. Hanhwa's Song Jin-woo(3.73 ERA, 3-2, 1.55 WHIP) threw 8 innings(109 pitches, 65 strikes) allowing 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3.

On Saturday, Hanhwa leapt out to a 6-0 lead thanks to a 4-run 4th inning. The 4th inning featured doubles from Doug Clark(.309/.399/.595, 61 runs scored, 14 homers, 42 RBI)) and Han Sang-hoon(.171/.240/.193 in 140 AB's!) and a homer from Shin Kyoung-hyeon(.219/.274/.324 in only 105 AB's). Hanhwa starter, Choi Yeong-pil(4.40 ERA, 3-3, 1.44 WHIP), kept an anemic Woori offense off the scoreboard for all 7 innings(102 pitches, 64 strikes) he was in the game. Choi allowed only 7 hits while striking out 6.

6/5 Roundup and News

KoreaBeat has done the impossible. He found an article that's actually postive about foreigner baseball players.

The Korea Times offers some speculation about Park Chan-ho. If only they knew that Korea had its own baseball league and covered it as such.

Aaron at the EWC has some interesting photos of Karim Garcia having some fun during a rain delay. Similar behavior gets you fined in Chicago.

SK 5, Woori 2
W - Seong Eun-beom(5-2), L - Jang Won-seop(2-5) , S - Jeong Dae-hyeon(13)

SK jumped out to an early lead thanks to Na Ju-hwan's(.303/.345/.401) 3-run homer in the 2nd inning. Woori didn't respond until they had a two-run rally in the 6th inning. The Woori 6th inning featured RBI singles from Lee Taek-gun(.299/.396/.451) and Cliff Brumbaugh(.284/.395/.474). Samsung responded with a 6th inning, two-run rally of their own with an RBI single from Jeong Gun-woo(.293/.366/.385) and a sacrifice from Jo Dong-hwa(.235/.319/.284).

The game ball goes to SK starter, Seong Eun-beom(4.25 ERA, 1.48 WHIP). Seong tossed 6 innings(87 pitches, 56 strikes) and allowed two runs on 5 hits with no walks and 1 K. He didn't miss many bats, but it seemed like everything was hit directly to an SK fielder.

KIA 7, Hanhwa 3
W - Lee Beom-seok(2-3), L - Yang Hoon(3-6), S - Han Ki-joo(13)

The KIA Tigers found themselves losing 1-0 in the 2nd inning, but they battered Hanhwa starter Yang Hoon(7.56 ERA, 1.71 WHIP) for 6 runs. Most of the damage came from a grand slam homerun by KIA's Lee Jae-joo(.330/.435/.583, 7 HR, 28 RBI in 36 games). Lee finished the day 2-2 with 2 walks, a double, a homer, 4 RBI and one run scored.

Somehow, Yang lasted 5 innings(109 pitches, 59 strikes). He allowed 6 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks. He managed to strikeout 3. KIA's Lee Beom-seok(3.61 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) was equally wild, but Hanhwa couldn't take advantage the way KIA did. Lee lasted 5 2/3 innings(100 pitches, 55 strikes) allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 5 walks. He also struck out 4.

Hanhwa's Kim Tae-gyun(.350/.440/.707, 15 HR, 49 RBI) finished the day 2-2 with a walk and drove in all 3 Hanhwa runs.

Lotte 2, Doosan 1
W - Song Seung-joon(7-3), L - Justin Lehr(0-2), S - Choi Hyang-nam(5)

Doosan took a 1-0 lead in the 4th. Slugger Kim Dong-joo(.290/.426/.531, 11 HR, 38 RBI) scored Lee Jong-wook(.305/.393/.376) on an RBI single. Lotte struck back in the 5th with a 2-run rally off starter Justin Lehr(2nd appearance). Jeong Su-gun(.304/.418/.364) drove in two with an RBI single. The two runs proved to be all Lotte would need. Lotte starter, Song Seung-joon(3.95 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) hurled a gem last night. He tossed 8 1/3 innings(113 pitches, 74 strikes) allowing only 1 run on 7 hits. He also struck out 7.

Samsung 4, LG 3
W - Lee Sang-mok(5-3), L - Jeong Chan-heon, S - Oh Seung-hwan(16)

The score was tied 0-0 heading into the 6th inning. In the top of the 6th, Samsung took a 4-0 lead thanks to a 3-run bomb from Choi Hyeong-woo(.255/.318/.426) and a solo shot from Jin Kab-yong(.295/.367/.479). LG rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 7th. Ahn Chi-yong(.383/.457/.652) hit an RBI single and Roberto Petagine(.339/.448/.482) followed with an RBI double. LG added their 3rd run in the 8th thanks to an RBI single from Son In-ho(.289/.333/.340). Samsung called on closer, Oh Seung-hwan(2.05 ERA, 1.00 WHIP), to slam the door in the 9th. Oh didn't dissapoint. He tossed a 1-2-3 inning to record the save and preserve the W for Samsung.

The game ball goes to Samsung starting pitcher, Lee Sang-mok(4.26 ERA, 1.14 WHIP). Lee threw 7 innings(87 pitches, 57 strikes) of 3 hit ball. He allowed only two runs, while striking out 3.

6/4 Roundup and News

There was one game played in Korea last night. Everyone else was washed out and it looks like more of the same for tonight.

KIA 6, Hanhwa 1 (7)
W - Lee Dae-jin(2-6), L - Jeong Min-cheol (4-6)

The difference in this one was starting pitching. KIA's Lee(3.64 ERA, 1.47 WHIP) pitched well in the sloppy conditions, while Jeong(5.43 ERA, 1.52 WHIP) was battered for two innings before he was pulled. The majority of the damage came on a grand slam from KIA's Jang Seong-ho(.380/.504/.620, 26 RBI in 30 games) in the second inning. Jang finished the day 2-3 with a homer, 5 RBI and one run scored.

Lee Dae-jin delivered a strong effort. He worked 6 innings(95 pitches, 62 strikes) allowing 1 run on 6 hits and one walk. He struck out 5. Hanhwa did get some nice relief work from Ma Jeong-gil(2.60 ERA, 1 save, 0.98 WHIP). Ma threw 3 2/3 innings allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6. Between the early damage and the weather, Hanhwa never had a chance to get back into the game.

6/3 Roundup and News

According to the Korea Times, the only way to win gold medals isn't by scoring runs. It's by striking chumps out! I don't think the Korean team would be in that much trouble if they went with Son Min-han, Chae Byeong-yong and Bong Jung-gun as their top three starters and used Kim and Ryu in special situations.
Speaking of Ryu Hyeon-jin, he's felt something in his elbow. Uh-oh.

Baek Cha-seung didn't fare that well against the cubs.

SK vs. Woori

This game was a washout. Rain, rain, go away.

Lotte 2, Doosan 1
W - Marty McCleary(4-2), L - Lee Hye-cheon(2-3), S - Choi Hyang-nam(4)

These teams combined for 7 hits and 6 walks. Combined. Lotte mounted a two-run, error assisted rally in the 3rd inning. Kim Ju-chan(.277/.358/.315) delivered an RBI single, while Lee Dae-ho(.330/.425/.524, 45 RBI) drove in the second run with a sacrifice. Doosan scored its only run on an RBI double from Kim Hyeon-su(.350/.442/.487).

Marty McCleary(4.78 ERA, 1.49 WHIP) showed he was good for something other than bringing the pretzels to Jerry Royster's poker game last night. McCleary worked 8 1/3 strong innings(116 pitches, 69 strikes) allowing only one run on 4 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 4.

LG 7, Samsung 1
W - Bong Jung-gun(6-5), L - Tom Shearn(0-1)

Tom Shearn's(In Korean, 션) Samsung debut was fairly forgettable. He pitched well until he started giving up runs. In the 5th inning, the floodgates opened and he was chased from the game. His final statline was 4 innings of work(92 pitches, 57 strikes) while allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. He added two strikeouts. LG ace, Bong Jung-gun(3.14 ERA, 1.27 WHIP), pitched like the seasoned vet that he is. Dr. Bong worked 7 strong innings(114 pitches, 72 strikes) allowing only 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 7.

At the plate for LG, Roberto Petagine(.346/.460/.481 in 52 AB's) clubbed his first KBO homerun. It was a solo shot in the 4th inning off of Shearn. The game ball goes to LG's Ahn Chi-yong(.384/.463/.661). Ahn went 2-4 with a homer, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored and a stolen base. The Yang Joon-hyeok comeback continued last night. Yang(.225/.330/.338) was one of the few bright spots for Samsung last night. He went 2-3 with a walk and an RBI triple(!). There's still tread on them tires! The triple was the 24th of his career.

Hanhwa 4, KIA 1
W - Yoo Won-seong(3-3), L - Oh Jun-hyeong(0-1), S - Brad Thomas(12)

10 pitchers were used in this contest and not a single pitcher lasted more than 3 innings. This game was managed like an elimination game of the Korean playoffs if both teams had burned through their pitching staffs in the previous game.

Doug Clark(.313/.396/.602, 14 HR, 59 runs scored, 42 RBI) took a tough tumble on a ball in the first inning. It looked like he would have to come out, but like the warrior that he is(we're talking Conan with a bat here), he stayed in the game. I get the impression that he's popular in the Hanhwa clubhouse. There seemed to be a lot of guys out there to check on him.

KIA's Kim Won-seop(.346/.445/.418) had an interesting stat line. 0-4 with 4 walks. Honestly, I have no idea who to give a game ball to here. Nothing that remarkable happened offensively, on the mound or on D. Since I'm pressed, I'll give it to Hanhwa's Kim Tae-gyun(.342/.435/.711, 15 HR, 46 RBI) for going 2-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored.

5/30 - 6/1 Weekend Roundup

Hanhwa vs LG
5/30 - Hanhwa 8, LG 6
5/31 - LG 11, Hanhwa 7
6/1 - LG , Hanhwa 2

On Friday night Hanhwa ace, Ryu Hyeon-jin(3.86 ERA, 5-3, 1.39 WHIP), pitched poorly, but LG's Jeong chan-heon(4.40 ERA, 3-4, 1.40 WHIP) was worse. Ryu allowed 6 runs over 5 1/3 innings(98 pitches, 55 strikes), while Jeong allowed 7 over 5 innings(84 pitches, 54 strikes). This game was all about the long ball. Hanhwa clubbed three of them, while LG's Choi Dong-su, hit a 6th inning grand slam that accounted for most of the damage LG inflicted on Ryu. The game ball goes to Hanhwa's Doug Clark(.314/.398/.604, 14 HR, 58 runs). Clark went 2-4 with a double, a homer, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Saturday's game was tied 7-7 heading into the top of 9th. Hanhwa called on closer, Brad Thomas(3.86 ERA, 11 saves, 1.25 WHIP) to get them to the bottom of the 9th unscathed. Thomas came unravled in short order. He faced 4 base runners and all reached. The knock out punch was a three run homer from LG's Choi Dong-su. Choi homered twice in the game while going 3-4 with a walk, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. Hanhwa's top hitter was Kim Tae-gyun(.336/.428/.705, 15 HR, 46 RBI). Kim went 3-5 with a double, 2 homers, 5 RBI and 3 runs scored. Woo Gyu-min recorded the save for LG.

LG battered the Hanhwa bullpen again on Sunday. LG scored all 8 runs between the 6th and 9th innings. Ahn Ji-yong(.380/.462/.639, 28 RBI in 31 games) connected for homeruns in the 8th and 9th inning. Choi Dong-su(.288/.369/.532, 9 HR, 35 RBI) added his 4th homerun of the weekend in the 9th inning. Chris Oxspring(4.33 ERA, 6-2, 1.67) was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst. Oxspring picked up the W while tossing 7 1/3 innings(114 pitches, 69 strikes). He allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4.

Woori vs Lotte

5/30 - Woori 8, Lotte 4
5/31 - Lotte 11, Woori 2
6/1- Lotte 8, Woori 3

Friday's game was tied 4-4 in the 7th inning. The tie was broken when Woori's Chang Seong-hoon(.262/.357/.362) struck for a 2-RBI double. Woori added two more runs in the 8th inning and got some strong relief work form Hwang Doo-seong(2.55 ERA, 5 saves, 1.00 WHIP). Hwang tossed 1 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and striking out 3. The only notable for Lotte was Karim Garcia(.267/.338/.561, 15 HR, 45 RBI) who hit a 2-run bomb in the 4th inning.

Lotte dominated on Saturday. 11-2 make the game sound close. It might as well have been 111-2. Woori was facing a 3-0 deficit heading into the 7th. Lotte busted the game open by scoring 8 runs in the last three innings. The 9th inning accounted for 5 of their 11 runs. Woori mounted a pair of fake rallies to get on the scoreboard, but they were never in this game. Lotte leadoff man Kim Joo-chan went 3-6 with 4 RBI and 1 run scored, while Kang Min-ho(.337/.418/.570, 10 HR, 36 RBI) hit a 3-run bomb in the 9th. Lotte ace, Son Min-han(2.03 ERA, 7-0, 1.08 WHIP), worked 7 scoreless innings(89 pitches, 53 strikes). He allowed only 4 hits and one walk, while striking out 1.

The offensive outburst continued on Sunday. Lotte struck for 5 runs in the first two innings of Sunday's contest. Kim Joo-chan(.278/.361/.317) continued to swing a hot bat. He finished the day 2-4 with a double, a walk 4 more RBI and 2 runs scored. Lotte also recieved a nice effort from Jo Seong-hwan(.347/.389/.461). Jo finished the day 3-5 with a double, 2 RBI and 1 run scored. 7 of Woori's 9 hits came from 2 players. Leadoff man Jeon Ju-ho(.369/.420/.475) went 4-4 with 2 doubles and #9 hitter Hwang Jae-gyun(.267/.307/.325) went 3-3. Lotte starter, Lee Yong-hoon(4.09 ERA, 1-4, 1.45 WHIP), worked 8 innings(86 pitches, 53 strikes). He allowed 3 runs on 9 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2.

Doosan vs KIA


5/30 - KIA 10, Doosan 3

5/31 - KIA 8, Doosan 3
6/1 - KIA 6, Doosan 2

When you only score 8 runs over 3 games, you deserve to get swept.

KIA was actually behind on Friday night. They trailed 3-0 after 5 innings of play. KIA tied in the 6th. An RBI double from Jang Seong-ho helped the Tigers to break through. Then, KIA pounded Doosan relief pitching for 7 runs during the 8th and 9th innings. Cha Il-mok(.260/.325/.375) struck for a bases clearing double in the 8th inning that proved to be the difference in the game. Doosan starter Kim Myeong-Je(3.19 ERA, 4-1, 1.29 WHIP) earned the right to strangle his teammates. Kim tossed 7 good innings(119 pitches, 79 strikes). He allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 8. Then he had to watch 5 different relievers crap the bed.

On Saturday, Justin Lehr(In Korean, 레이어, awesome) made his debut for the Doosan Bears and it was one he'd probably like to forget. He lasted only 3 2/3 innings. He allowed 6 runs, all in the first inning, on 9 hits and two walks. He did manage to sneak one strikeout in there. The first three hitters in KIA's batting order were a combined 6-13 with 2 walks, 3 RBI, and 4 runs scored. KIA's Yoon Seok-min(2.84 ERA, 7-3, 1.20 WHIP) was able to cruise to an easy W. He threw 6 innings(104 pitches, 64 strikes) while allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and 1 walk. He added 3 strikeouts.

Sunday was LIMA TIME! Jose Lima(5.22 ERA, 3-3, 1.40 WHIP) had his finest outing to date. He worked into the 7th inning before being lifted. He allowed only 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. KIA's Jang Seong-ho(.372/.496/.596) and Lee Jae-joo(.330/.429/.556) both homered during a 4-run first inning. KIA's Lee Hyeong-gon(.284/.336/.376) added a 4-5 day with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Samsung vs SK

5/30 - Samsung 7, SK 6
5/31 - Samsung 4, SK 0
6/1 - SK 18, Samsung 0

I was worried about this series. Samsung had looked competent against Woori during the week and I know how wildly inconsistent this bunch can be. I feared the worst and hoped for the best. The first good news Samsung got was the return of aged slugger, Yang Joon-hyeok, from the minors. I guess he feels he's worked out his issues and is ready to contribute again.

Things looked bleak in the first inning on Friday. SK struck for two quick runs, but Samsung answered right back in the bottom of the first with a 4-run outburst that chased SK starter, Lee Sung-ho(first appearance), from the game. Samsung held a 6-2 advantage heading into the 7th inning until the Samsung bullpen allowed SK to tie the game. Samsung answered again by scoring the go ahead run in the bottom of the 7th. Then, it was up to the Samsung bullpen. Could these guys keep the Wyverns off the scoreboard for two innings? How many cigarettes would I smoke while watching this? The answers are "yes," and "0," I had a case of bronchitis and didn't want to aggravate it, but I wished I could smoke the whole time. Kwon Woo-won(1.47 ERA, 3 holds, 1.08 ERA) tossed a 1-2-3 8th inning and Oh Seung-hwan(2.14 ERA, 15 saves, 1.05 WHIP) tossed a roller coaster 9th to hang on for the W and the save. Yang Joon-hyeok had a triumphant return to the lineup. He went 3-4 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored.

Saturday night's game was a pleasure to watch after the 19 hour grind fest I had to endure on Friday. SK ace, Kim Kwang-hyeon(3.07 ERA, 6-2, 1.36 WHIP), and Samsung starter, Yoon Seong-hwan(3.49 ERA, 3-5, 1.36 WHIP), both worked quickly and this game took just under 3 hours to complete. Yoon got the better of Kim on Saturday. Yoon tossed 7 innings of 5-hit ball. He allowed two walks and struck out 3. Kim lasted 6 2/3 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks. He added 3 strike outs. Yang Joon-hyeok(.216/.320/.318) was hitless, but he did sacrifice in Samsung's first run for an RBI.

After Friday and Saturday's W's, I almost attended Sunday's game, but I thought the better of it. No way this Lions team sweeps the Wyverns. No way. I couldn't have been more right. Already losing 7-0, things got officially out of hand in the 8th inning. Samsung's Kim Ki-tae, Kwon Woo-jun and Baek Jeong-hyeon were battered for 11 runs! SK's Choi Jeong(.333/.425/.420) was 2-3 with a homer, 2 walks, 4 RBI and 4 runs scored. Na Joo-hwan(.295/.335/.376) was 2-5 with a double, 5 RBI and 1 run scored. Park Jae-hong(.391/.474/.669) was 4-4 with a double, a walk and 2 runs scored. I couldn't imagine watching this game live. It went from annoying to comical to sad. Lost in the 18-run barrage was a fine effort from SK starter, Chae Byeong-yong(2.30 ERA, 6-1, 1.27 WHIP). Chae worked 7 innings(104 pitches, 67 strikes) of 7 hit ball. He allowed one walk and struck out 6.