9/3 Roundup and News

Yoon Chul of the Korea Times takes a look at LG Twins speedster Lee Dae-hyeong. This is the first time in the history of the KBO that a player has 3 consecutive 50 steal seasons. In case you were wondering the league record for steals was set in 1994 by KIA Tigers Lee Jong-beom.

The Joongang Daily's Jason Kim offers his take on the Jung Soo-keun saga. I'm still surprised that no one else smells conspiracy here. Look for the white envelope. It has to be there somewhere. The money quote...

"As most of our readers may know by now, Jung was falsely accused by a server at a pub in Haeundae district, Busan of causing a scene and shouting profanity."

As most of our readers may know by now? Falsely accused? I've seen plenty of pics of Jung, but none of the bar or the supposed server. I smell a rat.

On to the roundup...

SK 11, Doosan 5
W - Yoon Gil-hyeon (5-0), L - Hong Sang-sam (9-5), S - Jeong Byeong-doo (9)

This game felt like a Red Sox/Yankees game. It took over 4 hours to finish and I felt every minute of it. For some reason, these two solid ball clubs reduced the pace of the game to a snail's crawl. The two teams combined to use 11 pitchers. Yeah, it was one of THOSE games. This game was closer than the score would indicate. SK rallied for 5 runs in the 9th inning to make the final look lopsided. Doosan controlled the early innings. Starting pitcher Keum Min-cheol threw 5 innings(89 pitches, 50 strikes) of 1-run ball and the Doosan offense gave Keum enough support to win. Then the Doosan bullpen did a Charlie Brown impression and flew apart at the seams. 5 Doosan relievers combined to surrender 10 runs during the final 4 innings. Trouble started when SK 1st baseman Ahn Kyeong-hyeon hit a 2-run homer in the 6th inning to tie the game and start the rally. SK took the lead on an RBI single from left fielder Park Jae-sang with the bases loaded. SK would score a pair of runs when a Jeong Geun-woo grounded took a funny bounce, hit Doosan shortstop Son Si-hyeon in the face and rolled into left field. Doosan battled back and drew within a run of SK, but the Doosan bullpen crapped the bed again in the 9th.

A personal hightlight of this game was when the camera found what could only be a group of kids from an English hagwon with a few very annoyed foreign teachers. I think I'd hang myself before I took a group of 30+ kids to a ballgame and gave them thunderstix. Bonus points for making the NSETs wear pink t-shirts.

Hanhwa 7, Seoul Heroes 6
W - Brad Thomas (1-5), L - Song Shin-yeong (2-2)

No night is complete in the KBO without a "Where-are-my-golf-clubs" Game. I'm surprised both of these teams showed up. Hanhwa starter Eric Junge looked competent last night. Junge tossed 5 1/3 innings(94 pitches, 53 strikes) of 2-run baseball, but didn't get much help from the bullpen and he was stuck with an ND. Junge allowed 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. Hanhwa held a 5-2 lead, but the bullpen let the Heroes get back into the game and eventually take a 6-5 lead in the top of the 8th inning. In the bottom of the 8th, Hanhwa mounted a rally. With the bases loaded and 2 outs, Hanhwa DH Lee Yeong-woo ripped a double off the center field wall to score a pair of runs and give Hanhwa a 7-6 advantage. Hanhwa closer Brad Thomas recorded the final out of the 8th inning, stayed in for a scoreless 9th and recorded the W.

Samsung 3, KIA 2 (10)
W - Jeong Hyeon-wook (7-4), L - Kwak Jeong-cheol (5-3)

KIA held an early lead thanks to a 1st inning sac fly from 1st baseman Choi Hee-seop and a 4th inning solo homer from 3rd baseman Kim Sang-hyeon. Samsung clawed their way back into the game with a 2-run rally in the 6th inning. Samsung 2nd baseman Shin Myeong-cheol was able to score from third on an error by KIA 2nd baseman Kim Seon-bin. With 1 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Samsung tied the game on a sac fly from 3rd baseman Park Seok-min. The game would stay tied at 2 until the 10th inning. Samsung center fielder Lee Yong-wook reached on an infield single and stole 2nd base to get into scoring position. With two outs, DH Choi Hyeong-woo poked a base hit through the right side. Lee simply put his head down and ran as hard as he could. He came in just barely under the tag for the winning run. Choi earned an ice water and pocari shower from his teammates. Lost in this game were the performances from the starting pitchers. KIA starter Yang Hyeon-jong tossed 8 innings(110 pitches, 73 strikes) of 2-run ball. He allowed only 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. Samsung starting pitcher Yoon Seong-hwan worked 6 innings(99 pitches, 57 strikes) and gave up both KIA runs. Yoon allowed 4 hits, 1 walk and 1 hit batsman while striking out 3.