Observations from the last 5 days.
This team cannot lose. They'll blow you out like they did the Twins on Saturday or walk off like they did with the same team last night. Kim Seong-gun can have a beard, clean shaven, or a mohawk, SK will still find a way to beat you. Kim Kwang-hyun hasn't let in a run since the late 1990's and Ken Kadokura's sitting high on pitching stats mostly because of SK defense. SK plays the high flying Heroes (11-3 and 11-3 wins in their last two games) next and the Heroes' dreams of post-season success will popped like a pimple when they get sweeped.
2. Samsung Lions, 4-1
The only reason why this team is up here is because they sweeped the Eagles last series. They're still playing good baseball I guess either playing close or bombing bum teams like the Eagles. But wins are wins and Samsung's been delivering. Cruceta's been wild but effective and Bae Yong-su's been safe but effective. Either way, this team is effective. In a very mediocre KBO, that can be enough to get into the post season.
3. Nexxen Heroes, 2-3
Blasted Doosan 11-3 two times in the last two games. Not only did they blowout, they also leapfrog the Bears into 3rd place. Still an insanely boring team, their wins have to be recognized. And Doosan is standings-wise a top level team as well. Yoo Han-joon's been having great at bats and Geum Min-chul's been riding an ace-caliber ERA at 2.23. But Australian pitcher Adrian Burnside's been struggling, not just with his win-loss (1-4) but with his bloated 5.59 ERA. Many other pitchers and batters on this team are also doing the same. Apocalypse is on the horizon as they visit SK next.
4. Doosan Bears, 3-2
See above for why they are below Nexxen even though the Bears have a better record. Still a solid 2nd in the standings, helping Nexxen leapfrog you up these rankings will have to embarrass you as well as have your own rankings drop. My guess is they'll just bounce back this week though. Kim Hyun-su, Choi Joon-suk, Son Si-hyun, and Oh Jae-won are all hitting over 300 and Jiminez is settling in as this team's ace with 5 wins. He does have a 5.22 ERA to go along with the team's bloated 4.59 team ERA. And stuff like this is what Doosan will have to fix if they don't want to get blown out by lesser teams as the games get more important.
5. Lotte Giants, 3-2
This wild team ended up with a winning record and a non-bottom through sheer luck. 3rd in team offence but second last in team pitching, you can flip a coin whether they'll win or get blown out on any given day. They have a lot of talented players playing very well, but these talented players don't always play so talented. Ace Cho Jeong-hoon can shut em out or let in 5 runs with the rhythm of an African drummer, and Lee Dae-ho does similar. And my disinterest in Sadawoski has turned to cheer as I really hope he can grab a W any way any how before he's shipped back to Florida. Sadowski's another talent that won't perform in Lotte.
6. Kia Tigers, 2-3
Make no doubt about it, this is a mediocre team. Team ERA is 4.33 in the last 5 games and they've team hit under 200 twice in games. They won the Korea Series and have "big" names like Choi Hee-sup and Yoon Suk-min, but none of these guys are doing very incredible things. Supposedly known for power hitting, their team hitting is second last in the league. Their ace is a reliever, Yoo Dong-hoon (2.25 ERA), and the rest of their pitching staff has ERA's approaching or way over 4. An easy couple of series' against Hanhwa and LG will have the people believing this team's a powerhouse again, however.
7. Hanhwa Eagles, 0-5
Winless but still stayed close some of the time. The weakest team in the KBO thankfully has more talented teams wasting their efforts for Hanhwa to stay out of last place in these rankings from time to time. Basically let in a lot of runs (8.6 runs scored against average in last 5 games) and don't bat a lot in (4.2 runs scored on average last 5 games). Ryu Hyun-jin is needless to say the team's lone star. Only Ryu can put together a 4-1, 2.15 in a very bad team like Hanhwa. The Jang Won-suk/Choi Jin-heng/Kim Tae-wan trio are good for a few good runs. But the rest of the team are as bad as their win-loss record.
8. LG Twins, 1-4
They kind of looked like impostors really with their win/loss last week. They played solid earlier in the week but was the proud owner of the 21 run pounding by SK Saturday. I can tell you one thing, you let in 12 runs, you had some problems with your defense. You let in 21 runs that means you gave up at a certain point in the game. It doesn't matter if you're watching the Yankees for a thousand dollars or up in the cheap seats watching KBO for 4 bucks. You do not ever ever ever give up on your fans when you're playing professional sports. By the way, no hitter on this team is hitting over 300 and no pitcher has more than 3 wins.
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