Hanhwa Eagles, this week: 5-1
Every team has their week. They'll lose 4 of their next 5 and drop back down to second last. Choi Jin-heng is the latest accidental KBO star out of Hanhwa. Ryu Hyun-jin was responsible for 2 of those W's. That doesn't mean the other pitchers are necessarily stepping up. They won by one or two runs the games Ryu didn't start. That means this Hanhwa team knows the meaning of "FIGHTING." And Daejeon fans are kept entertained. They still won't make the playoffs.
Taking 2 of 3 from an SK team people were calling invincible and moving UP the charts got to feel pretty good. Good close games, with no real blowups is a good sign this squad can play. They're first in team BA at 2.95 but 5th in lowest team ERA at 4.88. That means they're a baseball player's team. Choi Joon-suk is the thinking man's Lee Dae-ho and has a pretty good 3.34 batting average. They'll win 5 of their next 6 because they play Hanhwa and LG next. And they'll be ranked 1st, 2nd, or 3rd next week.
SK Wyverns 4-2
Can't lose 2 of 3 by teams breathing down your neck (see above). They did sweep their other series this week with Lotte, but it is only Lotte. First of those wins was a royal 21-10 pounding. To be on the giving end of a 21 game pounding can only make your miseries alleviate, at least for a while. And it might have been the impetus to sweep the Seagulls. I don't think that, because they only scored 2 runs in their second game of that series and only won because Song Eun-bum decided to have a good game that day. Don't we wish it was April again.
Kia Tigers 3-3
Average team doing average things. With all their "power hitters" they're not doing a whole lot of power hitting. They hit .179 and .182 in their last two games. And just 3 home runs this week too. Yoon Suk-min is however turning into the mini stud he was last season compiling a 3-1 3.23. And he even has a save. Does Ryu Hyun-jin have a save? No.
Nexen Heroes 2-4
A team with heart. They won 18-5 over Samsung and this team would do that every night they step onto their home field in Mok-dong in front of their 23 fans if they had the talent to. They team hit ranging .129 to .417 this week and let in 1 to 8 runs this week. They're inconsistent like a lot of teams in this league. But the only difference, they're playing with a squad of rookies, nobodies, and journeymen. Keum Min-chul is an ace with a losing record (4-5) and the N on the hat looks "NICE."
Lotte Giants 2-4
Back Back Forth and Forth. Lotte fans must be getting dizzy watching this team play. Pounding teams then getting pounded. There is a semblance of order as they seem to play consistently bad against top tier teams (swept by SK). Their star hitters will not let up and others seem ready to join their elite batters like Son Ah-sup batting .354 and Jeon Joon-woo hitting 3 HR's and 21 hits with 74 at bats. Pitchers are capable of being capable as well. Either way it's not translating to useful winning streaks.
Samsung Lions 2-4
Every team is going to have bad weeks I guess, and every team will have good weeks (see above). They lost a lot of games and let in a lot of runs, underscored by the 18 run pounding from Nexen. But Nexen's hungry and seemingly playing for their lives and Samsung seems to have the attitude of having established itself this season. They will bounce back, and they play weak LG and Lotte next so they should be moving on UP soon. Brandon Knight is looking effective again and Bae Yong-su's putting together a solid if unspectacular season (3-0, .359).
LG Twins 1-5
Woe the Twins, I knew this was coming and it will continue for a while. Lucky to catch Lotte after Lotte won (that must mean the opposing team will beat Lotte big) (15-2 win over Lotte) yesterday. Hard hole to climb out of as they play stronger Samsung and Doosan next. Lee Dae-yong's BA is at .297 and he's the best hitter on the team. This was discussed before and it will be the reason why LG will be last on this power rankings and in the KBO standings for many weeks this season.
Fighting!
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