2009 KBO Opening Round Playoff Primer

Doosan Bears vs. Lotte Giants

You've got a pair of teams that are very different in their approach. Doosan is more of a saber metrics team, using patience and lots of pitching changes to wear down opponents. While Lotte is more of an old school, "eff it we're swinging for the goddam fences" and "we're only changing pitchers after our starter gives up a dozen runs," kind of team.

Starting pitching

I really don't trust either of these rotations, but I guess I have to give the advantage to Lotte. The starting pitching roles are a bit more defined, but they're all the same type of high ERA, high WHIP, innings eaters. Cho Jeong-hoon is probably the best of the group and he's starting game 1 for Lotte. Cho went 14-9 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He struck out 175 batters in 182 1/3 innings. Jang Won-joon will probably follow Cho in game 2. Jang was 13-8 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. In the 3rd game, we'll likely see Song Seung-joon rumble to the bump. The former MLB prospect also went 13-8, but finished with 4.72 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Song has looked dominant at times this year. He went 5-0 with a 1.46 ERA in June, but Song has been pummeled recently.

Doosan's starting rotation is fairly murky. CJ Nitkowski will start game 1 and Kim Sun-woo will probably toss game 2. CJ has looked better with Doosan than he ever did with SK. Nitkowksi posted a 1.61 ERA in 22 1/3 innings during September. His recent hot streak earned him the game 1 start. Kim Sun-woo has struggled all season. The former MLB, erm, punching bag posted an 11-10 record with a 5.11 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He lead Doosan in innings pitched by a wide margin with 148 innings. After Nitkowski and Kim, the Bears rotation gets murky. I have no idea who they will turn to for game 3. It will probably be long reliever Geum Min-cheol or foreign batting practice machine Juan Cedeno getting the call.

Bullpen

This is where Doosan has a huge advantage. Righty Lim Tae-hoon is one of the best relievers in the KBO. Lim finished 11-5 with a 3.08 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He appeared in 58 games and logged 88 1/3 innings. Lim struck out 85 and walked 27. Lim saved 4 games and earned 13 holds. Goh Chang-seong lead the team with 16 holds. Goh earned a 1.64 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 64 appearances. Lee Yong-chan recorded 26 saves, but was fairly unspectacular with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Doosan uses its best relievers in the early innings. They will go to them often.

Lotte is solid at the back of the bullpen with closer Jon Adkins, but it's the bridge between Adkins and the starters that's been a problem all year for Lotte. Adkins lead the team with 26 saves and posted a 3.83 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 50 games. Lee Jong-hoon is the righty setup guy. He lead the team with 9 holds. Kang Yeong-sik is the top lefty, but he's been prone to giving up walks in bad situations. Middle relief has been a headache all year for manager Jerry Royster.
Infield

I think Doosan's infield has a slight advantage over Lotte's. If Lotte had catcher Kang Min-ho(.260/.346/.412) behind the plate, I'd have to give them the edge, but Kang has been on the shelf for the past 3 weeks. Jang Seong-woo(.265/.318/.357) has been a competent backup, but he's not the field general that Kang is. Both teams have superstar 3rd basemen and solid 1st basemen. Doosan gets the advantage in the middle infield. Lotte's Lee Dae-ho(.293/.377/.531) and Doosan's Kim Dong-joo(.353/.455/.593) have been among the best at the hot corner this season. The biggest difference between the 2 players is their attitude. Kim can be fairly petulant. His on field pouting during last year's Korean Series may or may not have cost him a contract in Japan. Lotte 1st baseman Kim Ju-chan(.310/.356/.451) is Lotte's lead off hitter and best table setter. He also racked up 34 SBs. He's one of the better athletes in the Lotte lineup. Doosan 1st baseman Choi Jun-seok(.302/.386/.474) was involved in the homerun race for about 20 minutes in April. He had 1 stolen base and I can't believe he had that many.

Shortstop Son Si-heon(.289/.369/.437) is the heart of the Doosan infield. He has a good head, a strong arm and a solid glove. He's by far the best middle infielder in this series. If Doosan is going to win this series, he needs to play like it. Goh Yeong-min usually plays next to Son, but an affinity for strike outs and an inconsistent bat has cost Goh playing time this season. He'll probably start, but he'll be batting 9th. Lotte uses veteran Cho Seong-hwan(.294/.341/.454) at 2nd base. Cho missed all of May with a broken jaw and has been in and out of the lineup for the last month with nagging injuries. He's hitting .295 against Doosan this year, Lotte needs him healthy. Park Ki-hyeok(.217/.283/.258) is the starter at shortstop. He's....had a rough season. His .541 OPS in 299 AB's makes Neifi Perez jealous.

DH

Doosan has used the DH slot to keep some important players off the field, but still let them stay in the lineup. I guess their Lee Won-seok(.298/.350/.444) has played all over the place, DH included. He'll likely be in the lineup, but where is anyone's guess. I've seen him play 2nd, 3rd and in the outfield in addition to DHing. Former Bears catcher Hong Seong-heun(.371/.435/.533) is the Giants DH. Hong ejoyed a career year and seems to really enjoy playing for Lotte. Edge to the Giants.

Outfield

Karim Garcia(.266/.354/.518) is the starting right fielder for Lotte. That much we know. I can't believe he ended with a .266 batting average. He spent most of the season in the lower 200s. The rest of the outfield has changed almost daily for the Giants. Lee Seung-hwa(.259/.346/.302) has seen a lot of time in center field recently. He'll probably see some time there during this series. Lee In-guh(.269/.340/.395) and Park Jeong-joon(.260/.306/.390) could also find himself out there as well. Lotte has also moved 1st baseman Kim Ju-chan in center and left recently.

MVP cantidate Kim Hyeon-su(.357/.448/.589) is Doosan's left fielder and Lee Jong-wook(.276/.334/.346) should be in center field. Lim Jae-cheol(.281/.389/.373) has spent most of the season in right. On pure talent alone, this is probably the best group of outfielders any KBO team has to offer. Min Byeong-heon(.257/.313/.368) and Jeong Su-bin(.264/.340/.390) provide a lot of speed off the bench and solid gloves as late inning replacements. Edge Doosan.

Series Prediction

Lotte in 4.

I'll be back with a wrap up of the first game tomorrow. My picks for 2009 awards will be finished soon.