2009 Season Primer: Doosan Bears

3. Doosan Bears

Last season the Doosan Bears clawed their way to a 2nd place finish despite not having a single starting pitcher reach double digit wins. 16 different pitchers started for Doosan last year. Foreign ringer, Matt Randel finished the year with a 9-9 record in 29 starts. Randel wasn't spectacular or pretty, but he got th job done. Randel ground his way through 150 2/3 innings last year. His ERA ended at 4.48 and his WHIP was a robust 1.46. He struck out 101 while walking 49 batters. Randel is the de facto ace for this Doosan Bears team. Lee Hye-chan started 22 games and relieved in 15 others. He finished the year with a 7-3 record. His ERA was 4.69 and his WHIP was at 1.40 in 109 1/3 innings. Kim Myeong-jae figures to have a larger role in the '09 Bears pitching staff. In 2008, Kim made 17 starts and 5 relief appearances. He posted a 3.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 111 innings. Former Boston Red Sox, Kim Sun-woo spent most of 2008 moving between the rotation and the disabled list. Kim finished with a 6-7 record in 21 starts. He had a 4.25 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 101 2/3 innings. He'll probably be the #3 or #4 starter this season.

The Doosan bullpen is possibly the deepest in the league. Lee Jae-woo and Lim Tae-hoon both finished with double digit holds. Lee managed a 1.55 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 85 innings. He also lead the team with 11 wins. Lee struck out 68 and walked 27. Lim worked 86 2/3 innings with a 3.22 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. He posted 83 K's and 28 walks. Jeong Jae-hoon spent most of the year as the Doosan closer. Jeong nailed down 18 saves in 41 appearances( 3 of which were starts, WTF?!?!). He posted a 3.25 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 52 2/3 innings. Jeong has been used as a starter during the exhibition games so far. He'll probably be used as the #2 starter behind Randel.

In 2008, Kim Dong-ju had a solid season at third base for the Bears. Kim lead the team with 19 homers and 104 RBI. Kim posted a .916 OPS in 363 at bats. For the second consecutive season Kim tried and failed to make the jump to the NPB. As good as Kim is at the plate, he's not quick enough in the field to play third base everyday in the NPB. Doosan lost catcher/DH Hong Seong-heun to Lotte in free agency. They received a pair of warm bodies in exchange. I'm not expected much from pitcher Lee Seok-man, but infielder Lee Won-seok could have a role in the 2009 Doosan infield.

The only other new addition that should have any impact on the 2009 season is foreign ringer, Matt Watson. Matt figures to play right field and provide some protection for the big bats in the Doosan lineup.

Left fielder, Lee Hyeon-su lead the KBO in hitting last year with a .357 batting average. Lee drove in 89 runs and scored 83 runs. He also completely choked in the Korean Series. In Doosan's last two losses to SK, Kim grounded into game ending double plays in both. To be fair, Kim is still only 21 years old and this was his first full season in a run producing role. It's too early to tell and I don't want to base this on one post season(and one WBC), but he could become the KBO's answer to ARod. However, I don't think we'll be seeing him in any creepy photo shoots or giving bizarre interviews. I'm not labeling Kim a choker yet, but the evidence is starting to mount.

2nd baseman, Koh Yeong-min also had a quality 2008 campaign. Koh posted a .767 OPS in 427 at bats. He drove in 70 runs and scored 84. He stole 38 bases in 47 attempts. He also lead the league in strikeouts with 109.

I think the Bears have a strong enough lineup and bullpen to get them into the top 4 again in 2009, but they'll have to find some more consistency from the starting rotation. Chae Sang-byeong also needs to prove that he can handle the everyday catching duties. The Bears don't have a Hong Seung-heun to fall back on again this year.