tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11364696579698307912024-03-14T00:21:06.168+09:00True Stories of Korean BaseballUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger900125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-85180985704956547432014-03-31T03:50:00.003+09:002014-03-31T03:50:43.226+09:0003/30/14 (Sunday) Quick-caps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hanhwa Eagles 4, Lotte Giants 2 @ Busan<br />
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Hanhwa wins its first first game of the season in 5 years. Scored with bases loaded in the second, Kim Tae-gyun with a run scoring double in the 4th, and that was enough for the win. Celeb Clay went 5.2 giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs for the win. Song Seung-joon takes the L for the G's giving up 8 hits and 3 earned runs.<br />
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Samsung Lions 8, Kia Tigers 5 @ Daegu<br />
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Samsung leaves for Daejon with a season opening split against their polar opposites. Yamaico Navarro smashes a 2 run home run in the first to get things started.. and a 4 run 4th inning helped by a bases loaded triple by Navarro again held off Kia's game long come back attempts.<br />
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LG Twins 14, Doosan Bears 4 @ Seoul<br />
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Lim Gee-seup starts for LG and gives up 3 hits over 5 innings and a single earned run as LG pounds Doosan to split the mini series. Lim grabbed the win leaving Doosan's No Gyoung-un with the loss. Lee Jin-young with the slam for LG.<br />
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SK Wyverns 6, Nexen Heroes 4 @ Incheon<br />
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Series is split. SK's Ross Wolf gave up a 2 run home run in the first but a run scored in the bottom of the first and a 2 run home run by SK catcher Jo In-seong gave SK the lead. Nexen took the lead again at the top of the 8th but SK responded well again at their half of the inning with 2 runs scored. Park Hui-soo grabs his first save of the season.<br />
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Hanhwa and Lotte make up their rained out Saturday game on Monday, March 31 at Busan. Song Chang-hyun starts for the Eagles and Jang Won-joon starts for the Giants.Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-9674159710059049632014-03-30T00:21:00.002+09:002014-03-30T10:09:54.365+09:00Opening Day Quick-caps (03/29/14)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Saturday, March 29 marked the start of the 2014 KBO season. Quick-caps below...<br />
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Doosan Bears 5, LG Twins 4 at Seoul<br />
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Bears smash 3 home runs to beat locker room rivals. Starter Dustin Nippert gets the win going 5IP and giving up 3ER's. Kim Sun-woo gets the loss in his first start for his new team which happened to be against his old team.<br />
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Kia Tigers 2, Samsung Lions 1 at Daegu<br />
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DJ Houton goes 6 innings giving up an earned run for his first win in his first start for Kia against defending champs. Lions had beaten Tigers at Gwangju in the fist game of 2011. But Samsung has now lost 3 opening day games in a row. Yoon Seong-hwan takes the L for the Lions.<br />
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Nexen Heroes 8, SK Wyverns 3 at Incheon<br />
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Team Burgundy beats the Dubs for a good continuation to their successful 2013 campaign. Nexen lead 4-3 until the 8th and 9th innings when the Heroes scored 2 in each inning to complete the rout. Andy Van Hekken with the win for Nexen and Kim Gwang-hyun with the loss for the Wyverns.<br />
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Rain in Busan postpones Lotte Giants' game against the Hanhwa Eagles<br />
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Sunday, March 30 games:<br />
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Eagles (Celeb Clay) at Giants (Song Seung-joon)<br />
Tigers (Song Eun-bum) at Lions (Rick VandenHurk)<br />
Twins (Lim Gee-seup) at Bears (No Gyeong-eun)<br />
Heroes (Gang Yoon-gu) at Wyverns (Ross Wolf)Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-62335000966780169632014-02-28T23:13:00.000+09:002014-02-28T23:13:25.730+09:00Hanhwa’s Yoo Chang-sik, Can He Really Become Ryu 2 This Year?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People have been expecting Yoo to step up and replace Ryu Hyun-jin as Hanhwa’s ace. Powerful lefty Ryu Hyun-jin left for the LA Dodgers in the Major Leagues last year leaving a void at his position. Earning a W700,000,000 contract fee in 2011 (W64,00,000 yearly salary) (convert at </span><a href="http://www.xe.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.xe.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to your currency!), Yoo was actually drafted because of his closeness to Ryu.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Yoo has had a history of shining in Spring Camps and under performing when the regular season rolled along. Ryu’s loss was a big loss for the Eagles, but Yoo was expected to perform well and lessen the negative impact.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And with that, Yoo became a focus for Hanhwa watchers in off season training last season. Yoo pitched in his first practice game of the year February 25 in Okinawa against the Nexen Heroes and reached speeds of 147kph with his fastball (Google conversions). He pitched 2 innings giving up 2 hits and walking none. He also struck out 2 and gave up an earned run. Yoo’s performance was generally considered good as his sharp change-up also caught people’s eyes.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yoo had been sick with the flu during the Okinawa camps delaying his first appearance. He was reported to have missed 10 days of practice this month and appeared on the mound in his best condition since training started. Hanhwa manager Kim Eung-yong was reported to be very mad about it.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But there has been a lot of expectations placed on Yoo. Hanhwa’s pitching staff are worried that this will be another case of Yoo dazzling in the spring with nothing to show for it when the season begins. It had been the pattern every season so far.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year, however, focus is on Yoo’s condition rather than simply on him. With Hanhwa’s two foreign pitchers (Andrew Albers, Caleb Clay), lefty Song Chang-hyun, and Ahn Young-myung (recently discharged from military service) all competing for spots in the rotation, Yoo is planning to not over do it this spring and prepare for Opening Day at a healthy pace.</span></div>
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Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-4428738099935004112014-01-26T06:09:00.007+09:002014-01-26T06:14:27.835+09:00Nexen’s Rottino: “Park Byung-ho’s My Friend, and Catching’s Okay”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2C-aKtcM7boSSLkDnP83GTrk_IvOJLxXOFWj0CFJ_KtwKddjEsmAuiQm6bNIe1YWn_U5zq3gupmUWMoYERjsrEPgD1B-x0sza9ApFvL4NbPKIfRfsV_qb6ZqeMItAlrcIHwxjQuAOdWq/s1600/Rottino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2C-aKtcM7boSSLkDnP83GTrk_IvOJLxXOFWj0CFJ_KtwKddjEsmAuiQm6bNIe1YWn_U5zq3gupmUWMoYERjsrEPgD1B-x0sza9ApFvL4NbPKIfRfsV_qb6ZqeMItAlrcIHwxjQuAOdWq/s1600/Rottino.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We recently caught up with Nexen Infielder/Outfielder Vinny Rottino, 34, who is with his team in Arizona for their early spring camp. Rottino is training with the team in preparation for the upcoming 2014 KBO season.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 216 pounds, the burly import hits for both contact and power. Some describe him as a ‘medium long range missile.’ Nexen players are said to be trying to learn from Rottino.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rottino’s greatest strength comes from his ability to play defence at every position. Playing last season in Japan with the Kintetsu Buffaloes, he played positions in both the outfield and the infield. And during his 10 seasons in the minor leagues, Rottino wore a catcher’s mask and started at the position more than any other position. With a fielding percentage of .988 as a catcher, Rottino is expected to work well with Nexen’s import pitchers Andy VanHekken and Brandon Knight.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>How are you getting along with the team?</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t feel any kind of distance between the players and the coaches, we’re becoming close. We’re all coming together to try to win. I really think the training here is similar to the training in the Major Leagues. </span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Have you made any friends with the players? Anyone in particular?</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve become close friends with Park Byung-ho. He speaks English. He seems to be welcoming me to the team in a way.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What do you think of the image of Nexen?</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It seems to be organized well. The coaching staff, the assistants, front office, it’s all organized well. The interpreters are good too. They’re not players but it seems like a team. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>We’ve heard you can play all positions. People in Korea can be expecting a lot.</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I expect a lot from myself as well. I take my pride seriously and I try my best at all times. I leave everything on the field.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikt0LPnOI8IBQyW3WAxmxM7Tc8ru31Wji5znzUv_76cccgnk2nWfTHeDqr5V3pOee8ghEiBGvGBUlonp2aqVE4WP88syXyCeCR5aRmmjJuwesLAOms1SNQVbuuIzLKgH1sP2gwXPwzlOye/s1600/Rottino+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikt0LPnOI8IBQyW3WAxmxM7Tc8ru31Wji5znzUv_76cccgnk2nWfTHeDqr5V3pOee8ghEiBGvGBUlonp2aqVE4WP88syXyCeCR5aRmmjJuwesLAOms1SNQVbuuIzLKgH1sP2gwXPwzlOye/s1600/Rottino+2.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>It seems you’re going to be in the outfield for now. But there’s a lot of talent on this team, it seems success will have to be urgent.</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The goal is to win so I’m willing to play in any position. So it doesn't really matter. I have to earn my place on the team. I’m determined to do well and show my value.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>You were at the catcher position the most in the minor leagues. So you’ll have to be prepared. </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">How are you going to be able to adjust to the pitchers in Korea?</b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've caught a lot of games. I play the position very naturally. I’m very comfortable catching in games so it won’t be a big deal at all.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What will you be focusing on the most in this spring camp?</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I want to improve my body conditioning and my swing. I’m wishing the season can start fast.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>They've</b></span><b><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> increased the number of foreign players for each team this year and every team has a foreign batter now. You’re the first foreign position player on the team since Cory Aldridge in 2011. He was like a ‘giant,’ and </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> heard you’re like a ‘lieutenant.’ </span></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I always try to bat well. I’m always swinging at pitches I know I can hit. And of course I leave the pitches I can’t hit alone. I always try to send the ball to either the left or right field. Home runs come easier like that.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Any final words about the 2014 season?</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I want to be able to play full time and train hard in the spring for this goal. I’m going to try my best to help the team win.</span></div>
Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-35946943043255367162014-01-10T10:04:00.003+09:002014-01-10T10:06:19.887+09:00Yoon Suk-min and Kia Tigers Meet: Nothing Happens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqagsk8xJEWMVRI2xTLHD0hRUx0kLjkLCh21Q7UEW5_aWYs3thNDonTsSUkEfYMKiw15ISz3ny2W7COPkwBZDlgQrwiWfdCu5zro51nDSHMkWExjKHIn8YKE8XpUbKbH37uNDpvjNmC0qq/s1600/Yoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqagsk8xJEWMVRI2xTLHD0hRUx0kLjkLCh21Q7UEW5_aWYs3thNDonTsSUkEfYMKiw15ISz3ny2W7COPkwBZDlgQrwiWfdCu5zro51nDSHMkWExjKHIn8YKE8XpUbKbH37uNDpvjNmC0qq/s1600/Yoon.jpg" height="320" width="272" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-outline-level: 4;">
<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Dotum;">From Sports Dong-A, January 10,
link:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Dotum;"><a href="http://sports.news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=382&article_id=0000164385">http://sports.news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=382&article_id=0000164385</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Dotum;">Translator: Simon Kim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Kia Tigers pitcher Yoon Suk-min has been
unable to sign a contract with a Major League Baseball team<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Yoon still wishes to pitch in Major
Leagues<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Yoon’s agent Scott Boras is optimistic<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Yoon will return to the U.S. soon</span></b><span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><br />
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">“We’ve met but there’s been no progress. It’s a
frustrating situation.”<br />
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">The Kia Tigers have met with free agent Yoon Suk-min
regarding a possible return to the team but there has been no progress. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">“We’ve met with Yoon and talked a lot. We’ve told him what
we think. But it seems like he is still determined to go to the Major Leagues
at this stage. We are choosing to respect his decision like we always have. But
it is a frustrating situation,” a Kia team representative announced on the 9th
of January.<br />
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Yoon left for the United States to pursue his dream of
pitching in the major leagues right after the end of the 2013 season. But he
returned to Korea without a contract on the 22<sup>nd</sup> of December for his
winter holiday. Yoon is still in the country and his former team has declared
that they will make sure that Yoon pitches for the Tigers if Yoon decides to
stay in the country. The meeting took place for this reason but Kia was only
re-confirmed of Yoon’s desire to go the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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There has been no progress with Yoon pitching in
the Major Leagues but time is running out and a lot of factors are coming into
play. Kia’s rivals in the Korean Baseball Organization have contacted Yoon and
there has been interest from Japan as well. Pitching in Japan has become a
possibility for Yoon.<br />
<br />
But from Kia believes that nothing has changed
from Yoon’s point of view.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">“Yoon’s determined to ‘run’ in the Major Leagues. Pitchers
are being signed later this off-season than last season. After (highly sought
free agent Japanese Rakuten Eagles pitcher) Tanaka Masahiro is signed, Yoon
should also be able to find a team as well. There should be good news soon,”
reported a representative of the Boras Corporation, Yoon’s agency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; orphans: auto; text-align: start; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Yoon’s
December return to Korea was kept a secret and he will be returning to the U.S.
shortly. The Boras Corporation representative says that Yoon will leave Korea “quietly”
like he returned in December.</span></span></span></div>
Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-67616036355076763812014-01-07T23:34:00.000+09:002014-01-09T06:55:52.317+09:00The Next Ryu Hyun-jin? LG’s New Big Lefty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIaPxRLnT2Z1qYT6jjASjCtfv1dQNhe8elhr-dBP66kGP1ONN87eA7UP4x3px_sURftRm8zL616nVEunvkCsQebagEz8dGvTlzyiZbvFULgDUbwcMx2ChSAvIJ72Spr9xBRYdgrOCheDVZ/s1600/Jee-seop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIaPxRLnT2Z1qYT6jjASjCtfv1dQNhe8elhr-dBP66kGP1ONN87eA7UP4x3px_sURftRm8zL616nVEunvkCsQebagEz8dGvTlzyiZbvFULgDUbwcMx2ChSAvIJ72Spr9xBRYdgrOCheDVZ/s1600/Jee-seop.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">From KBS News,
January 07, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Translator: Simon
Kim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://sports.news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=056&article_id=0000033652">http://sports.news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=056&article_id=0000033652</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Lim Jee-seop is a
big left handed pitcher who we can say has the same pedigree as former Hanhwa
Eagles ace Ryu Hyun-jin.</span><span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><br />
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Standing 6 feet, 2 inches tall,
this 19 year old LG Twins rookie will be turning heads in the new season with
his 93 mph fastball.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">With full use of his very long
fingers, Lim is able to take on the most skilled batters.<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">This recent high
school graduate is being compared to Ryu Hyun-jin, former Hanhwa Eagles standout and current starter of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">On his weak Jeju High School team,
Lim won 9 games had recorded an ERA of just 1.<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">He pitched 97
innings and recorded an astonishing 163 strike outs during that time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">“If I apply what
I learned in high school, I think the results will be good.” Lim says in a TV
interview. “I only have one goal this winter. (In the Under 18 WBC tournament
game against Japan in September, 2013), I pitched 2 innings and gave up 5
earned runs. I want to focus on re-gaining control of my pitches.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Lim declares that
he would like to be an effective pitcher for 10 to 20 years. </span><span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><br />
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">With other lefties Kim Gwyang-hyun
(SK Wyverns) and Yoo Chang-sik (Hanwha Eagles) going through some growing
pains, the addition of Lim Jee-seop vying to become the next dominant southpaw in
the league is sure to make for an entertaining season. <br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">KBS
News<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Lim Jee-seop
(Pitcher) Vitals:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">DOB: September 06,
1995<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Born: Changwon, South
Korea<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Team: LG Twins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Height: 6-3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Weight: 207
Pounds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Pitches/Bats:
Left/Left<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">First Year: 2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Contract:
W250,000,000<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Salary:
W24,000,000<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">High School: Jeju
High School</span></div>
Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-1324891497393727662014-01-05T08:06:00.003+09:002014-01-08T23:44:30.689+09:00Park Jin-man, SK’s New Captain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawZsiWQfz5KdHRrm8-saoseEvx-nLUiwbNygOtD6YIPVeXO_5eXbW-X3_9zvuHwSiD3YXVdeYv23tVUhGmoHURI2ipBvgT8rJmyqtU6A8wa1Oft-SNsLBUUwdPh16spvNhpNAkz5tDfWq/s1600/Park+Jin-man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawZsiWQfz5KdHRrm8-saoseEvx-nLUiwbNygOtD6YIPVeXO_5eXbW-X3_9zvuHwSiD3YXVdeYv23tVUhGmoHURI2ipBvgT8rJmyqtU6A8wa1Oft-SNsLBUUwdPh16spvNhpNAkz5tDfWq/s320/Park+Jin-man.jpg" height="225" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">From E-Daily Star-In – SK Wyvern’s new
captain for 2014 is Park Jin-man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://sports.news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=018&article_id=0002908847">http://sports.news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=018&article_id=0002908847</a></span><span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">The SK Wyverns
held a full meeting on the morning of January 4<sup>th</sup>. The entire team attended
as well as the coaching staff. And Park Jin-man was chosen by the players in a
vote to become the captain of the team in the up-coming season. Park beat Cho
In-seong by two votes to win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Last year’s
captain was Jeong Geun-woo. But after losing Jeong to the Hanhwa Eagles in free agency,
the baton was passed to Park in this day’s meeting. Kim Gang-min was the
interim captain since the November season ending camp held in Kagoshima, Japan.</span><span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Park Jin-man is a
quiet, charismatic player. He differs from past captains “Charismatic Kim
Jae-hyun” and “Older Brother Leader Lee Ho-jyun.” Park does not just lead with
seniority, he leads with his actions on the field. Park earns the respect of
his teammates with his play on the field. And this is the reason why SK’s
players chose Park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">The Wyverns ended last season in 6<sup>th</sup>
place, 2 places out of a playoff spot. This was the first time in 7 seasons
that SK did not play in the fall. Needless to say, a lot will be expected of
Park Jin-man.<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Park Jin-man
declares that it is “us before me, the team before the player” and that he will
help turn the team into one that communicates well with each other. Park says
that he will take on the challenge of moving this team from its low standing from
the previous year and that he will become a good leader in the upcoming season.</span><br />
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Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-244189195748359132014-01-03T07:35:00.001+09:002014-01-08T23:44:58.346+09:003 Factors Lotte Needs to Overcome their 22 Year Drought<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9O-UV__4hLdmn_jWDcoLmj9Np4r4K2mrqLrI-XM6nKZRKA5iQKthMwe6tZHNpi2DXch0vt9fyYnqQY1DVg-T-EdBUZXptzXU9efcFZv6WhoPxMU3yHkfGFM9gDmvh2OgHni_eJ7cFr6Eg/s1600/Lottle+Article+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9O-UV__4hLdmn_jWDcoLmj9Np4r4K2mrqLrI-XM6nKZRKA5iQKthMwe6tZHNpi2DXch0vt9fyYnqQY1DVg-T-EdBUZXptzXU9efcFZv6WhoPxMU3yHkfGFM9gDmvh2OgHni_eJ7cFr6Eg/s320/Lottle+Article+Pic.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">From Osen – January 02, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://sports.news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=109&article_id=0002685947">http://sports.news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=109&article_id=0002685947</a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Translated by: Simon Kim<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">By 2014, the Lotte Giants had not won a
championship in the Korean Baseball Organization in 22 years. After the joy of
the 1992 Korean Series championship, Lotte has felt nothing like it since. What
can be done in this offseason to fix this?</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><br />
<br />
Lotte’s current off season has been a fruitful one. After re-signing their
potentially biggest free agent loss Kang Min-ho to a record contract, they
resigned reliever Kang Yong-sik. The addition of Choi Joon-suk, Lee Yeo-sang,
and Sim Soo-chang also immediately helped the team.<br />
<br />
With Lotte’s imports, pitchers Shane Youman and Chris Oxspring were naturally
re-signed as these two won a combined 26 games in 2013. And big infielder Luis
Jiminez was also announced as signed. What the team hopes for is the healthy
return of Jang Won-jun and Jang Seong-woo, two Lotte players currently serving
in the Korean military. The process of building the team is going well.<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">So
what’s needed for Lotte to win this year? First, they will need to make sure
their starting rotation is settled and their bullpen is strong. Then they will
need to strengthen their batting power. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Starting pitchers:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">Lotte needs less
starting pitchers. Song Soon-jun, Youman, and Oxspring each won over 10 games
last season for a combined 38 wins between the 3. The #4 and #5 starters turned
into the problem, and using closer Kim Sa-yul as a starter complicated things
to the point that the pitchers who will fill these positions are unclear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;">The greatest benefit
Lotte’s rotation will have this year is the return of Jang Won-jun. Going 15-6
with a 3.14 ERA in 2011, Jang left the team to serve in the military with the
Korean police force. In his 7 years before, Jang pitched 100 innings in each
season and came in second for most wins on the team 4 years in a row. Jang
pitched for the Korean police team in the Futures League and held the lowest
ERA in his two seasons with the team.<br />
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If Jang Won-jun pitches 180 innings and wins 10 or more games, it can be said
that Lotte’s rotation will be the best in the KBO. Jang, Song Soon-jun, Youman,
and Oxpring are quality pitchers and better than any other team’s rotations.
There will be an odd number of teams until next season and a 4 man rotation
will be enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The second factor is “backdoor strength.”
Lotte’s bullpen ERA was 3.95 last season, good for 4</span><sup style="color: #2d2c2d; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2c2d; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> in the
league, but Lotte blew the most saves with 21. Kim Seong-bae became the closer
in the middle of the season but the initial bullpen plan fell apart resulting
in a worrying situation.</span><br />
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d;">Manager
Kim Shi-jin plans to see how the situation unfolds before appointing a closer.
With the return of Choi Dae-sung and Jeong Sang-juk, Lotte begins to have more
options at the closer role. Kim Seong-bae is weak against left handed batters,
so he will be tasked against right handed batters and Choi Dae-sung will be
left for left handed batters. Jeong Dae-hyun leads the bullpen and Kang
Yong-sik, Kim Seung-hui, Lee Myong-woo, Kim Sa-yul, and Hong Seong-min round up
the bullpen in skill level. Jeong Dae-hyun would become the natural closer.</span></span><br />
<br /><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d;">Lotte’s batting strength:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Gulim;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d;">The Giants had been known as a home run hitting team.
But their 61 home runs as a team last season was good for only 7<sup>th</sup>
in the league. Just 3 years ago, Lee Dae-ho hit 44 home runs himself. The
return of a more powerful offense in Busan is truly needed.</span></span><br />
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #2d2c2d;">Lotte
has addressed this with the signings of Choi Joon-suk and Jiminez. Choi hit 7
home runs last season with Doosan but exploded for 6 home runs in the post
season. Choi is expected to hit 20 home runs after being provided with a steady
opportunity in Busan. And Jiminez is also expected to be a good addition if he
adjusts well to life in Korean baseball. And with a return to form of Son
Ah-seop, Lotte is expected to improve in their hitting power.</span></span></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Samsung
has won 3 Korean Series in a row, and there are other contenders in the
league. But with Oh Seung-hwan leaving for Japan, Samsung becomes considerably
weaker. With a strong off season, the championship that has long eluded Lotte
is becoming closer to reality. What is left is turning the ‘if’ to
‘conviction.’ This will be Lotte’s task
as the spring training schedule turns into the start of the new season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-38691084101102433462012-05-21T15:57:00.001+09:002014-01-08T23:45:30.022+09:00Week 6 Power Rankings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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4 plus 2 (not shown) fingers for how many times Nexen won this week.</div>
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Week 6 win/loss are in brackets. There were no cancelled games this week.</div>
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1. Nexen Heroes (6-0)</div>
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The story of the KBO. I don't readily recall a this long winning streak this side of the SK Wyverns in a while. It's the first 6 game winning streak this season for any team, and the Heroes top their 5 game winning streak they recorded last month. Their 19-14-1 after 34 is good for 2nd in the league after SK. This week, the Heroes beat very good teams too: Lotte and Samsung. And not only that, they absolutely pounded Lotte 26-3 total runs in that series and they outsmarted last year's KBO champions Samsung, especially in game 3 of that series when they scored first and last to win 5-3. </div>
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2. LG Twins (5-1)</div>
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LG's fight for legitimacy was helped with a strong series win over first place SK and by sweeping their cross locker room rivals Doosan. Second year import Ben Jukich is 5-0 with a 2.13 and reliever Yoo Won-sang has a .94 ERA. LG's playoff hopes are far from secure however. As a team, their offence is pretty mediocre (.252 team BA - second last in the league, 289 hits - third last) and their pitching staff is a 2 or 3 man operation. Bong Jeung-geun has 6 saves however in his new life as a closer. LG will be managing their resources intelligently to get into the post season this season.</div>
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3. SK Wyverns (4-2)</div>
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SK started the week weak not being able to get past LG, but SK took advantage of a Hanhwa series to end the week with an expected sweep. SK has been strong all season so this dip in play still has them at the top of the standings with a 19-12-1 record. The pennant is not theirs as Nexen has an identical record plus 2 more losses and is breathing down SK's necks. You know, it would be great if this turns into an entertaining west of Seoul rivalry. Park Hui-su is 3-0, 1.08 as the best reliever on staff. </div>
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4. Samsung Lions (2-4)</div>
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Started the week with a well played series win over rivals Kia. But Samsung was steamrolled by the Nexen train to damage their egos and quest for the post season. Lee Seung-yup is fitting in very well and he is an elite hitter on this team. Vet catcher Jin Gap-yong is hitting .361 with 30 hits. Overall, offense is lacking in Daegu and the Lions need to either start playing better small ball or start hitting more home runs. Samsung's next opponents are Lotte and SK.</div>
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5. Lotte Giants (3-3)</div>
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Steamrolled by Nexen and then took out their frustrations on a limp Kia team. Lotte is on the verge of an early season bounce back as they hang onto a playoff position after week six. Part time second baseman Park Joon-saw had a great week and he is on a 4 game hitting streak. His current average is .727 but don't expect the career .212 hitter to be Lotte's saviour. This week, Lotte was absolutely humiliated by Nexen (see above). That series served as an exclamation point for Lotte's recent woes but the Kia sweep will hopefully symbolize the league's showcase team's path back on the right course.</div>
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6. Hanhwa Eagles (2-4)</div>
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This is relatively a decent week for the Eagles but they can't seem to replicate their former losing cousins Nexen's success in getting out of the standings basement. Ryu Hyun-jin is again carrying this team but he is throwing well over 100 pitches every start. Park Chan-ho has been a very welcome, if inconsistent, addition but not someone to build a team towards the future with. Its been reported that he is a very good veteran locker room presence and I hope this leads to some good seeds being planted within the Eagles organization. </div>
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7. Kia Tigers (1-5)</div>
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Last week we were discussing how manager Sun Dong-yul will guage this week's performance and determine the road Kia will take. It looks like a full scale re-build is in Kia's tarot cards. In their Sunday loss to the also struggling Lotte Giants, each pitcher with Kia gave up at least a run. And Ahn Chi-hong is Kia's best hitter with a .302 BA and 3 home runs. Keep in mind that Nexen SS Kang Jeong-ho leads the league with 13 home runs and Eagle Kim Tae-gyun leads averages with .451. Kia's best is that far back from the league's pace setters and this is the reason why the Tigers are losing.</div>
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8. Doosan Bears (1-5)</div>
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A nightmarish week has the Bears falling out of a playoff position. Lim Tae-hoon's fall from grace illustrates what's happening with the team as a whole. After being seemingly unhittable, Lim's game ERA's from his last 3 appearances read 10.38, 14.54, and 6.75. Lim's on a 3 game losing streak and Doosan's ace in name Kim Sun-woo has been very weak with a 6.18 ERA right now. A Jamsil sweep by their stadium rivals LG had to have put a big dent in Doosan's collective ego. Second year import Dustin Nippert is the man on the staff with a 5-2, 2.67. Nippert is the arm to build this season around as Doosan tries to get into the post season after failing last season.</div>
Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-7598759825342922022012-05-17T11:57:00.000+09:002014-01-08T23:45:57.693+09:00Headlines: May 17, 2012 ~ ThursdaySorry for the less than frequent updates. I'd like to post every morning and every afternoon, but I seem to be caught up in professional and personal duties, which include watching the NBA and NHL playoffs every night. Either way, I hope to get into a position where I can be updating at least every other day.<br />
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<b>Lotte Woes</b></div>
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Lotte Giants' 8-0 thrashing by their less celebrated opponents Nexen Heroes meant much more than just one bad game. It was Lotte's 9th loss this month and drops them to 4th place. They were, of course, the best team in the league at the beginning of the season.<br />
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Last night, Lotte's Shane Youman pitched by far his worst outing so far. He went 6 innings giving up 7 but he did strike out 4 and only walked 3. His 3-2, 3.35 ranks him as one of the leaders on Lotte's rotation after 7 starts.<br />
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Back to Lotte's woes, Lotte started May with a 2-1 series win against Nexen, but managed to win just once in their last 9 games. The team has scored an average of 2.7 runs a game during this span. And they have let in an average of 6.1 runs. The team has been shut out 2 times this month and have only scored more than 6 runs in a game 3 times.<br />
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<b>Kia: A Fork in the Road</b><br />
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Kia Tigers find themselves at a fork in the road. Are they a team with playoff aspirations, or will they go full steam towards a re-build.<br />
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Sitting at second last place 2 years removed from their 2009 Korean Series win, manager Sun Dong-yul is said to be deciding whether to push his players to the brink or move towards shedding and re-building. Sun is said to be a quick decider and fast mover, and Kia's results from the next few series' will determine his moves.<br />
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The Tigers are currently 12-14-2 on the season and have been sputtering along in the month of May with a 4-4 record in their last 8 games. Their .244 team batting average represents the worst of the league and their 4.55 team ERA is the second from the bottom in that category.<br />
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Kia's Yoon Suk-min goes against Samsung's best non-import pitcher Jang Won-sam at 6:20pm tonight.<br />
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<b>Suprise! It's a Party!</b><br />
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Hanhwa Eagles pitching top brass Park Chan-ho, Ryu Hyun-jin, Son Shin-young, and other team members surprised youngster Yoo Chang-shik with a surprise birthday party May 15.<br />
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Mr. Yoo had other reasons to celebrate his 20th as he was the starter on this day against league leaders Doosan Bears. For a last place team, his 5 innings and 5 hits and 4 earned runs in a no decision may actually have been a good accomplishment. Hanhwa didn't fall in the standings after this loss after all (they're already last).<br />
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Hanhwa's Ahn Seung-min reportedly notified Yoo that the "seniors are calling for him" and Mr. Yoo hopped to it like a good junior. When he entered the room, the above and other team members surprised him with a cake and a lot of congratulations. Chan-ho reportedly told Yoo "happy birthday, pitch well today and let's do well in the future."<br />
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This story was making waves because it was Chan-ho that bought the cake. And this team is coming together despite it being last place.Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-27999091131196218412012-05-10T11:18:00.000+09:002014-01-08T23:43:49.896+09:00Headlines: Thursday, May 10, 2012It's mid week that means we're in the middle of a lot of KBO fun.<br />
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Kia and Hanhwa have split their two games so far. The very even Tuesday game where the Eagles beat the Tigers 3-2 was followed up by an 8-1 Kia blowout the next day.<br />
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Kim Tae-gyun had 3 hits in each of his previous games but was held off the boxscore by the Original Monster Kim Jin-woo.<br />
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Kia and Nexen have also split their series. Press has been all over Nexen's improved pitching. But home runs by Nexen's Oh Yoon and Kim Min-woo back to back have Nexen leading the league in team home runs with 23.<br />
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The Lotte and Samsung Battle of Kyeongsang have the Lions up 2-0 in the series with 2 tightly played games. Lotte's explosive Lee Dae-ho less batting line up has gone on a power outage during this 3 game slide which saw Lotte fall from first place. Either Samsung is coming alive or Lotte is in a slump, Lotte had 10 hits but none were brought home to score.<br />
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And SK is on a roll beating Doosan twice to take first from Lotte as if they are the rightful heirs. SK beat 2 of Doosan's best pitchers: Dustin Nippert and Lim Tae-hoon. They face Doosan's third: Kim Sun-woo on Thursday for the series finale.<br />
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<b>NCSoft Dinos to the KBO</b><br />
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The big news early this week was to allow the Dinos to join the league in 2013. Only Lotte opposed as the team is in the Giants' operating space.<br />
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People were opposed to this in the league as it may dilute the talent pool and downgrade the play level of the league.<br />
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Dinos manager Kim Kyeong-moon (above) responded by asking rhetorically why the other teams won't give them some good players if they're worried about NCSoft being losers.<br />
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The team is currently leading the southern Future's League with a 14-7 record. They are talking a lot about how they are indeed a big league team and that they will display their baseball prowess next season.<br />
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Personally, I think they'll lose the vast majority of their games and be ignored by their city of Masan because they are all Giants fans there.<br />
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<b>Ladies Day (For 3 Days!) at Jamsil</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOfOgxhEfhgWOt3pockn3tZcduk-SCntHjxBAuDBx66jagusluXNpUaztdAGEj20M28xOpcx3wYcKRPXWR6dLqikCJjt1V_iMcN5MyxcXtJHgUjtAS5rA6F0oMJk9zh9U_QjmphFOH4PzN/s1600/SSSD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOfOgxhEfhgWOt3pockn3tZcduk-SCntHjxBAuDBx66jagusluXNpUaztdAGEj20M28xOpcx3wYcKRPXWR6dLqikCJjt1V_iMcN5MyxcXtJHgUjtAS5rA6F0oMJk9zh9U_QjmphFOH4PzN/s320/SSSD.jpg" height="320" width="152" /></a></div>
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It's Ladies Day at Jamsil for the Samsung Lions and LG Twins 3 game set. The singing star above will throw the first pitch of Friday's game to kick off this great event. There will be contests for women on Friday and Saturday and the weekend will be topped off with a signing session with LG's two heart throbs Park Yong-taek and Yoo Won-sang.Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-57052340925849794092012-05-04T12:48:00.001+09:002014-01-08T23:43:20.384+09:00Headlines: May 4, 2012 (Friday)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Kim Sang-hoon Takes Medicine for Foot, Gets in Big Trouble</b></div>
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34 year old Kia catcher Kim Sang-hoon has been "severely warned" over the discovery he was taking medication over a disease called plantar fasciitis. This disease inflames the bottom of the victim's feet and Mr. Kim had been discovered to be taking a drug called Predinsolone for it. </div>
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KBO was not pleased when its anti-doping body discovered this naughty substance in Sang-hoon's bod and proceeded to issue this severe warning to the man.</div>
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Kim Sang-hoon had taken this medicine along with a needle on March 30. Nothing is going to happen with this info because he didn't do anything wrong.</div>
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This is Kim's 12 season in the KBO spent entirely with the Tigers organization. He peaked in 2003 with 118 hits and has been on a steady decline ever since. He currently has no hits in 7 at bats for second last place Kia this season.</div>
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<b>Dr. Bong to the Bullpen</b></div>
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LG fans saw a pretty unusual sight in Tuesday's 4-2 win over Hanhwa. Out from the bullpen to close out the lead was none other than our good bro Dr. Bong Joong-geun. Doc need 13 pitches to sit down 3 orange guys in a perfect 9th to grab his first save in his 6 year pro career.</div>
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Word is, Bong asked to try the closer role and that he was pretty nervous about the appearance. His "heart pounded" and his "face turned red." </div>
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After serving as his team's ace for a number of years, Bong fell victim to injury last year and he has not been the same since.</div>
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<b>Weekend Series Previews</b></div>
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Hanhwa at Samsung </div>
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Samsung is coming off of a 10-0 shut out over Doosan's seemingly unstoppable Lim Tae-hoon. Expect them to continue.</div>
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Lotte at SK</div>
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Lotte is back at first after Doosan took the beating above. Lotte's high powered offense up against SK's All Korea defense.</div>
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Doosan at LG</div>
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Battle of Jamsil. Doosan is in second place and LG is in fourth place, but they only have a 1 win difference between them.</div>
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Nexen at Kia</div>
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Nexen is not the Nexen of last season and Kia is... also not the Kia of last season or 2009 (their championship season).</div>
Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-37578557004560051562012-04-30T13:45:00.000+09:002014-01-08T23:42:59.870+09:00Monday Morning Quick-CapI had a pretty hectic weekend and it is Sunday night in Canada, Monday morning in the country of the KBO. I thought I'd post up a few notes on the weekend games and other news before I hit the sack.<br />
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I'm also skipping the rankings for the week, it gets a bit monotonous ranking 8 teams every week.<br />
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<b>Sunday's Games</b><br />
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Hanhwa 6, Nexen 3<br />
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KBO press had been pushing this game between last year's bottom feeders as the marquee match-up of the weekend. A resurgent Chan-ho against an improved Nexen staff lead by fourth year import Brandon Knight.<br />
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Chan-ho was definitely effective. But it was actually the end of the bullpen that got it done for Hanhwa. Kim Hyuk-min grabbed his first dub of the season with a 1.1 inning no hitter. And Denny Bautista struck out 4 in 2 for the save.<br />
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Nexen couldn't sweep this series because of the bullpen in the Sunday finale. They scored first in the second inning but Knight took his first L of the season after giving up 2 home runs and letting in 5 runs.<br />
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Nexen won Friday and Saturday's games.<br />
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Doosan 4, Kia 3<br />
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Yoon Suk-min was effective again but Kia's bullpen couldn't keep it together. Kia's offence was no better as they couldn't capitalize on many chances. Doosan on the other hand finishes the month of April tied for #1 with Lotte. Kia sinks to 7.<br />
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Lotte 5, LG 0<br />
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Shane Youman looks like Jerry Royster's son and his complete game 1 hitter to beat LG is going have LG fans mad again and Youman off of the plane ride of shame for the time being.<br />
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Despite Lotte winning this series 2-1, LG still out scored the Busan Bombers 23 to 18 because of Friday's 20-8 aberration, I mean win.<br />
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Samsung 9, SK 4<br />
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Samsung won but they still can't make any headway up the charts as they close out April in 6th place and still out of a playoff spot. This after all three enemies above them lost (LG, Nexen, SK).<br />
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Samsung will start May against first place Doosan then hope they avoid at least one of Chan-ho Park or Ryu Hyun-jin when the face Hanhwa in the weekend series after that.<br />
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<b>Performers</b><br />
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Doosan's Lim Tae-hoon: 3 wins, 0.53 ERA. On fire man.<br />
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Lotte's Shane Youman: 3 wins, 1.53. Lefty is a nice find for Lotte indeed.<br />
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Samsung's Lee Seung-yup: Washed up he is not. 5 home runs and a .406 batting average for April.<br />
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Nexen's Kang Jeong-ho: Leading the KBO with 7 home runs. His 20 RBI is second.<br />
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Notes: LG third baseman Jeong Seong-hoon also has 7 home runs.. Returnee Kim Tae-gyun only has 2 home runs but he leads the league with 29 hits.. Lotte is the best hitting team in the league, Kia is the worst..Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-10358350406288181682012-04-27T06:40:00.002+09:002014-01-09T06:59:26.103+09:00Headlines: April 27, 2012 (FRIDAY)<b>Yesterday's Quick Scores and Game Notes</b><br />
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Hanhwa Eagles 8, Kia Tigers 0<br />
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Kia gets thrashed by the second last place Eagles, dropping them to second last overall. Ryu Hyun-jin pitched a 11K 7 inning shut out.<br />
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Samsung Lions 6, Lotte Giants 3<br />
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Lions pole vault to 6th place after beating Lotte 6 to 3 off of Chae Tae-in's 2nd inning 2 run shot. Teammate Lee Seung-yup smashed his fourth of the season.<br />
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Doosan Bears 4, SK Wyverns 2<br />
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Dustin Nippert wins his third, one of 3 with 3 wins in the KBO (teammate Lim Tae-hoon and Nexen's Brandon Knight). Doosan is now tied with Lotte at the top of the standings with identical 8-4-1 records.<br />
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Nexen Heroes 9, LG Twins 7<br />
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Nexen scores 8 in the last two innings to beat LG after trailing all game. Nexen is now in a playoff position, tied 3 ways with SK and LG for 3rd place.<br />
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<b>Oh Seung-hwan</b><br />
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Samsung closer Oh Seung-hwan, 30, has been getting a lot of press in the Korean dailies because of his blown save Tuesday against the Lotte Giants. Mr. Oh was a 47 save pitcher in 2011 and came onto the mound with the Lions up 2-0. He gave up 6 runs off of 4 hits and 2 balls. It was his first loss in "1013" days and the most runs he had ever given up in his career.<br />
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Well, Mr. Oh dazzled last night with 153km fastballs and grabbed his 4th save of the season. His 4 saves is second to Rad. Liz of the Twins who has 5. Lotte's Kim Sa-yul and Doosan's Scott Proctor also have 4 saves.<br />
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<b>Mr. Sun Gets Mad</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNTfem-l1h0s1Xy3_5X8lQkWwlbVTEnZIT-zi2e7OIUowQ47f0TTlQjYbTfgANBCqApgt6OLa5rKI6ix2RzHaM1wV27WolXqoRElZcLReukhYR3mrDWuh2NhhHbGY12OLBA5VzWa0E4xu/s1600/SUN+Mad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNTfem-l1h0s1Xy3_5X8lQkWwlbVTEnZIT-zi2e7OIUowQ47f0TTlQjYbTfgANBCqApgt6OLa5rKI6ix2RzHaM1wV27WolXqoRElZcLReukhYR3mrDWuh2NhhHbGY12OLBA5VzWa0E4xu/s320/SUN+Mad.jpg" height="199" width="320" /></a></div>
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Kia Tigers manager Sun Dong-yul blew a fuse last night as his team was getting frustrated by Hanhwa's Ryu Hyun-jin's pitching and the Eagles' offence.<br />
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Kia center fielder Lee Yong-gyu was a victim of one of Ryu's 11 strike outs and Mr. Sun was not happy about it at all. Sun was convinced the check swing didn't go all way around and Ryu should have only had 10 strike outs.<br />
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If Lee had gotten on base, the Tigers could have loaded the bases, hit a grand slam, loaded the bases again, hit another grand slam, and then hit a solo shot into left field to win the game.<br />
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<b>Weekend Series Previews</b><br />
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Kia at Doosan<br />
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Doosan is in first and Kia is second last. Kia might win the one game Yoon Suk-min pitches if they are lucky.<br />
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LG at Lotte<br />
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LG had been frustrated by Nexen and they may get frustrated again by Lotte.<br />
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Samsung at SK<br />
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Samsung's climb back up the standings gets a little more difficult with mighty SK in the way. SK lost two tight games to Doosan but they are still pitching elite.<br />
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Nexen at Hanhwa<br />
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Nexen is looking to solidify their position inside the playoff picture.Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-9180254605403924532012-04-23T07:00:00.001+09:002014-01-10T10:09:23.835+09:00Headlines: April 23, 2012, Monday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It is Monday, April 23, 2012 in Korea. It is the 17th day of the 2012 KBO season. There have been 45 games played this season, unless I counted wrong (yes, I counted). And the Lotte Giants lead the KBO with a impressive 7-3-1 record (a clean .700 winning percentage).</div>
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Before we get into the topics of the day, I'd like to announce on behalf of our blog a new partnership we have agreed upon with our friend Dan K and his MyKBO group of KBO related online resources. His main website www.mykbo.net contains a lot of foreigner friendly KBO info (in English!) and he also has a Facebook group, Twitter account, and a YouTube channel (all links on his main website). </div>
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Please take a look at his material if you've found our blog first. I think it is great we are creating an English speaking Korean pro baseball following community.</div>
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<b>Lee Seung-yup</b></div>
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Lee Seung-yup is getting right back into his groove in Korean baseball. His 9th inning 2 run home run in the Sunday game against Hanhwa padded his team's lead enough to secure Samsung's second win a row against last place Hanhwa. </div>
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Lee's numbers place him as the current second best hitter on the Samsung batting line up. His current slash line reads 356/463/689 with 3 home runs and 16 hits. The only batter better than Lee is third baseman Park Suk-min, who has the same number home runs and hits but sports a loftier 390/509/659 slash.</div>
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Samsung's mini sweep of the rained out 2 game set against Hanhwa has them on a 2 game winning streak after emerging from a 4 game losing streak.</div>
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<b>Winless Aces</b></div>
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A number of aces are still winless (or recently winless) 17 days and 45 games into the 2012 season.</div>
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Hanhwa's Ryu Hyun-jin is as dominant as ever. In 3 starts, he has pitched 23 innings and has only let in 3 earned runs (4 total). But his team has not come through to get him that elusive first win.</div>
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Kim Sun-woo has been Doosan's ace for a number of years and he is still winless in the season. It's still early but we wonder when Sun-woo is going to settle down and stay Doosan's ace. In 3 starts Kim has a bloated 7.04 ERA helped by the ugly April 8 outing against Nexen when he was responsible for 9 eared runs in 4 and a third.</div>
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Jang Won-sam and Yoon Suk-min had been winless until recently despite strong performances. Jang grabbed his first dub coming in in relief in Samsung's Sunday win against the birds. You'll remember him in his infamous April 17 outing against Doosan when he let in 8 in the first inning.</div>
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Yoon Suk-min finally grabbed a win despite owning a .53 ERA on the season. </div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ne2PNX_zVY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ne2PNX_zVY</a>
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He did it in fine form as you can see from MyKBO's YouTube upload above striking out 14 on the 17th. Doosan's super season starter Lim Tae-hoon is the only pitcher with a lower ERA so far: 0. Lim has only pitched 11 innings however (Yoon has pitched 17 and Ryu has pitched 23).</div>
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<b>Week 2 Power Rankings</b></div>
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1. Lotte Giants (3-1 on the week)</div>
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<li>Lotte and Doosan are offensive powers early.</li>
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2. LG Twins (3-1)</div>
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<li>Cruising.</li>
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3. Doosan Bears (3-1)</div>
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<li>Swept defending champions Samsung and lost a game to Nexen.</li>
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4. SK Wyverns (1-3)</div>
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<li>Average offense, stellar defense.</li>
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5. Nexen Heroes (2-2)</div>
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<li>Improving: especially the rotation.</li>
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6. Kia Tigers (2-2)</div>
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<li>Scoring at nearly the bottom offensively and defensively as a team.</li>
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7. Samsung Lions (2-3)</div>
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<li>Got swept then swept. Too bad the swept series was only 2 games.</li>
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8. Hanhwa Eagles (1-4)</div>
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<li>Started the week strong with a win but lost the rest of their games.</li>
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Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-59568896006151777352012-04-19T09:54:00.001+09:002014-01-10T10:10:59.993+09:00Headlines: April 19, 2012KBO Standings as of April 19, 2012 is as follows:<br />
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SK Wyverns, 7-2<br />
Lotte Giants, 5-3-1<br />
Doosan Bears, 5-3-1<br />
LG Twins, 5-4<br />
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Kia Tigers, 4-5<br />
Nexen Heroes, 4-5<br />
Samsung Lions, 3-6<br />
Hanhwa Eagles, 2-7<br />
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<b>Park</b><br />
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Chan-ho Park made his second appearance on Korean soil yesterday in a 6-1 loss to the LG Twins at "home" in Cheongju. The 39 year old pitched 6.1 innings while giving up 5 hits and 3 runs.<br />
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Chan-ho reached up to 92 mph with his "sharp" cutters and sliders. He was pitching a shutout until he gave up a 2 run home run in the seventh against LG DH Jeong Seong-hoon.<br />
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The "Korean Express" is said to be strong only at 80 pitches. He made 93 pitches in his start and that was when it started to unravel.<br />
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<b>Samsung Woes</b><br />
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Defending champions Samsung Lions are, as you can see above, 3-6, and still only above Hanhwa at the bottom of the standings. Samsung fans are, as you may expect, unhappy. Samsung is now in a 3 game slide, losing their final game in the Nexen series and losing their first two games of their current Doosan series.<br />
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Particularly troubling is the 8 run Doosan half of the first inning of game 1 of that series. Loser Jang Won-sam gave up 8 earned runs while throwing 53 pitches to 13 batters.<br />
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Samsung's slogan this year is "Yes, One More Time." They're either going to win a championship one more time, or they're not one more time, or they will be doing any number of things "one more time."<br />
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<b>Nexen on the Rise</b><br />
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Nexen is 4-5 and peaking into the playoff picture early. That's an improvement from the last place finish from last year.<br />
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The reason for this improvement is said to be their pitching. Import Brandon Knight was super effective last night going 7 innings and allowing 3 hits and a run. Knight's ERA is at 1.37 and all 3 of his starts were Quality Starts.<br />
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Youngster Kang Yoon-gu has also been effective. His 2 losses and 4.26 ERA may not be great, but he did strike out 13 in his start against SK on the 11th and he gave up 2 runs in 6 innings in his start against Kia on the 17th.<br />
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Moon Seung-hyun pitched 6.2 innings and gave up 4 in his start against Samsung on the 14th. And on Sunday, Shim Soo-chang went 5 innings and gave up 3 runs.<br />
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<b>Weekend Series Previews</b><br />
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Lotte at Kia: Lotte is tied with Doosan for second place and Kia is trying to move into playoff positioning.<br />
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Doosan at Nexen: A similar series as above.<br />
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SK at LG: SK's pitching is as tight as it can be, and LG has been back and forth.<br />
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Samsung at Hanhwa: Never would have thought the battle of the cellar dwellers would be Samsung vs. Hanhwa.Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-24297373349325611882012-04-16T04:19:00.000+09:002014-01-10T10:12:12.920+09:00Week 1 Power Rankings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the first Power Ranking of the season. The KBO "week" starts on Tuesdays and ends on Sundays, with each team playing 2 series each within these weeks. The first Ranking of the season includes the opening weekend 2 game series as well. Tuesday's games were rained out, however.<br />
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1. SK Wyverns (6-1)</div>
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SK got it done this week with its pitching. Although it wasn't absolutely dominant, they only let in more than 2 runs once (Sunday's 11-6 win over Hanhwa). New import Mario Santiago pitched twice and now sports a nice 1-0, 0.75. This ERA is the lowest in the league for anyone with an ERA. (There are a number of pitchers that have not yet let in any runs after starting games.)</div>
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2. Lotte Giants (4-2-1)</div>
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Showing power even with the loss of Lee Dae-ho, their team BA .312 is the best in the league. So is their 81 hits and .385 slugging percentage. They seem to be in need of some plate discipline as their 12 drawn walks is by far the worst in the league, especially when compared to pace setters Kia which has 32.</div>
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3. LG Twins (4-3)</div>
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Answering their critics of last year by sweeping the two game opening series against defending champions Samsung, LG split the rained out two game set against Hanhwa and managed to win the rubber match of their weekend series against fellow pressure team Kia. 40 year old reliever Ryu Taek-hyun is the star of the staff with a 2-0, 2.08. Ben Jukich will be looking to settle down after 2 inconsistent starts this week.</div>
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4. Doosan Bears (3-3-1)</div>
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Doosan is thankful to finish the week within the early playoff picture. They are inconsistent in what they are good at and seem to be looking for an identity early in the season. Sophomore import Dustin Nippert is looking to settle down and Korea noob Scott Proctor is looking to get some innings in. A team with a quiet off season and the pressure of yearly playoff appearances behind them, it is up to them to determine their fate this season.</div>
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5. Samsung Lions (3-4)</div>
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Korean Series hangover? They started the regular week off showing what they are capable of on Wednesday after an uninspiring opening weekend: Yoon Sung-hwan going 7 and striking out 8. Unfortunately, the cats ran into an equally determined Kia team lead by Yoon Suk-min who pitched even better with 8 innings and 11 K's. Samsung lost that game and then pounced on a lesser man the next day as Park Gyung-tae and 6 relievers were throttled for 10 runs in a 10-2 win. Mitch Talbot debuted in that game and the Lions are within playoff positioning after winning their weekend series against Nexen.</div>
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6. Kia Tigers (3-4)</div>
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Their record is the same as Samsung but this is no Samsung Lions. Kia lost their opening weekend series to a determined SK team and sputtered the rest of the week besides the dominant Yoon Suk-min appearance on Wednesday. Especially worrying is their offense. Their 0.224 batting average is last in the league and their 52 hits are only better than Nexen's 51. Their overall pitching is also poor with their 4.79 team ERA only held up by Hanhwa from the cold bottom of that stat column.</div>
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7. Nexen Heroes (3-4)</div>
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Nexen will be Nexen seemingly, win here and there but lose most of the time. Their 3 and 4 is equal to the above two but with low stats and no prospects, there isn't any reason for them to be looked at higher than Samsung and Kia. Even when Nexen does win, its usually a sloppy affair where both teams are off their games. Case in point would be their 10-7 Sunday win over Samsung. This game, they lost a lead and managed to win in 10 against a distracted Samsung bullpen that loaded the bases. Kim Byung-hyun is throwing but there is no word on when he will pitch.</div>
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8. Hanhwa Eagles (1-6)</div>
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Trouble is starting early despite two seemingly awesome pitchers in their system. Ryu Hyun-jin's 13K's in 8 and Park Chan-ho's 5 in 6.1 show that this team has a good 1 and 2. But Hanhwa couldn't even get Ryu a win despite his Friday performance and Chan-ho's start was the only win they could record this week. LG is a team ready to buckle down and Samsung is beginning to display why they were 2011's best team. These are the two teams the birds play next week and prepare for another appearance at last place in the standings and in the Rankings this time next week.</div>
Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-68884491812010377182012-04-11T10:39:00.001+09:002012-04-11T10:41:58.978+09:00Headlines: April 11, 2012All April 10 (Tuesday games) were canceled because of rain.<br />
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There's a big argument going on right now about granting the expansion NC Soft Dinos entry into what is called "1 Goon" (1군), which is the top level teams in Korean pro baseball (the 8 current teams of the KBO). Heads from teams are giving their opinions and Lotte's owners are most opposed to the expansion.<br />
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The Dinos were expected to join the KBO in 2013. It was planned for them to play in the second tier "Future's League," a minor league for the KBO, also called "2 Goon" (2군) this season.<br />
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Opening Day of the Future's League was yesterday, but only 2 of the 5 games managed to be played because of the rain. NC's opening series is against Nexen's Future's League team and they will begin play today (April 11) after their first game was rained out. NC makes their home debut in their Masan stadium against Lotte's minor league team this Saturday.<br />
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Future's League schedule can be found here (use an online translator if you can't read Korean):<br />
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<a href="http://www.koreabaseball.com/Schedule/MinorScheduleResult.aspx">http://www.koreabaseball.com/Schedule/MinorScheduleResult.aspx</a>
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Injured Kia Tigers import Horacio Ramirez is expected to be on Kia's roster for this month. KBO teams are vicious with their imports. Many hit the skies in the infamous "plane ride of shame" for under performing or for any other reason. Ramirez is nursing a shoulder injury and Manager Sun Dong-yul is quoted as saying that they want to see what kind of pitcher he will be and that there will be no guarantees they can get another better pitcher.<br />
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<a href="http://news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=109&article_id=0002331235">http://news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=109&article_id=0002331235</a>
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Chan-ho's debut will be determined by what happens in today's (April 11th) game. That's what the title of this article says. The article also describes how it's not decided when he will pitch. Manager Han Dae-hwa says that he has to announce his pitcher the day before the games, so he'll announce when Chan-ho pitches the day before the game. But he did say it will probably be this week.<br />
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<a href="http://news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=109&article_id=0002331218">http://news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=109&article_id=0002331218</a>Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-92052876757638556142012-04-10T09:15:00.002+09:002012-04-10T09:15:32.705+09:00Headlines, April 10, 2012The regular season swing gets underway today after the opening weekend series'. So far, Lotte, SK, and LG are the 3 undefeated teams at the top of the standings and Samsung, Kia, and Hanhwa were swept in the opening weekend.<br />
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Lotte heads to Seoul to face LG, Doosan plays Hanhwa at their Cheongju stadium due to renovations in Daejon, SK plays at Nexen in the Freeway Series, and Gyeongsang takes on Jeolla as Samsung visits Kia to see who will get the season's first win between these two.<br />
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Headlines:<br />
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Samsung Lions manager Ryu Joong-il declares that drinks are on him if Samsung hits over 100 home runs. He said this while attending functions at a Daegu youth center. He's focusing on offense in his quest to another pennant and championship.<br />
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Yang Hoon gets the start tonight for Hanhwa against Doosan instead of Chan-ho Park. The reason is because the 26 year old Yang pitches well against the Bears. He is 2-1, 3.05 lifetime against Doosan and pitched a complete game in his first game against Doosan.<br />
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253 pound Choi Joon-suk of the Doosan Bears is able to reach third base from home in 13.2 seconds. In comparison, Oh Ji-hwan takes 10.98 seconds. These are the kinds of things the Korean sports press reports.<br />
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LG didn't make the playoffs last year but they swept the defending champions Samsung opening weekend. Naturally, they're declaring that the season will be great because of this and they will continue to win. LG's bullpen was a major factor in the weekend wins. Converted closer Rad. Liz is 2 for 2 in saves.Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-25957742911245558772012-04-08T03:15:00.000+09:002014-01-10T10:11:37.168+09:00Opening Day NotesOpening Day in the Korean Baseball Organization was this Saturday (April 7, 2012). Unlike the very odd way Major League Baseball starts its seasons, all games in the KBO start on the same day at the same time. Major League Baseball, of course, started its season in Japan with two games between the A's and the Mariners, which nobody in North America watched. Then they had a single Cardinals at Marlins game the day before the real opening day a week later. It made think about how cool it would be if the KBO started a series in China or Vietnam in the future??<br />
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The winners on Opening Day were Lotte, SK, LG, and Nexen.<br />
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Cho Sung-hwan (LG) was the star of Opening Day hitting an effective grand slam off a shaky Cha Woo-chan (Samsung) who loaded the bases in the LG at Samsung game.<br />
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Opening Day was the day of the designated hitter. In the Hanhwa at Lotte game, Hanhwa DH Jang Seong-ho went 4 for 5 and a run scored. The lone score was the only score Hanhwa scored in their 4-1 loss against a dominant Lotte bullpen.<br />
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In the Kia at SK game, Kia DH Na Ji-wan went 3 for 5 and SK DH Ahn Chi-yong went 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored, again leading their teams in hitting. And Nexen DH Oh Jae-il led his team going 3 for 4 with 3 RBI's and 2 runs scored.<br />
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New Nexen youngster Seo Gun-chang made a case for this place in the Korean bigs starting at the 9 hole and at second base for the Heroes. He drove in the two winning runs off last year's best import Doosan's Dustin Nippert with 2 outs and the bases loaded.<br />
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Among the (old) star returnees to the KBO this season, Kim Tae-gyun was effective at first base for Hanhwa going 2 for 5 and a double. Lee Seung-yup DH'd for Samsung but did not enjoy the success of his DH colleagues in the league going 1 for 4 in a losing cause.</div>
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Random Notes:<br />
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Total attendance for Opening Day was 92,600. All venues were sold out and this was the fourth year in a row that it was all sold out.<br />
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Lee Byung-gyu's Opening Day slam was the 7th Opening Day slam in KBO history.<br />
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Lotte's Cho Seong-hwan hit the first home run of the KBO season off of Ryu Hyun-jin.<br />
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Ryu Hyun-jin, once dominant, started the season with a mediocre 6 IP, 8 hits, 5 K's, and 3 earned runs.<br />
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Ryu Hyun-jin gave up a home run to Lee Dae-ho in last year's Opening Day start. People are talking jinx.<br />
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Nexen's win is off their impressive pre-season run, which they came in second.Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-45847660762938086302012-04-07T10:42:00.003+09:002012-04-07T10:59:09.457+09:00Opening Day StartersNexen's Brandon Knight(4.70 ERA, 7-15, 1.55 WHIP) will oppose Doosan's Dustin Nippert(2.55 ERA, 15-6, 1.14 WHIP).<br /><br />KIA's Seo Jae-wong(4.28 ERA, 8-9, 1.38) will face off against SK's Mario Santiago(5.70 ERA, 3-3, 1.63 WHIP at AAA with Omaha)<br /><br />LG's Ben Jukich(3.60 ERA, 10-8, 1.21 ERA) will battle the Samsung Lions and Cha Woo-chan(3.69 ERA, 10-6, 1.47 WHIP)<br /><br />Hanhwa's Ryu Hyeon-jin(3.36 ERA, 11-7, 1.10 WHIP) will start against Lotte's Song Seung-joon (4.18 ERA, 13-10, 1.39 WHIP).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-45171607032890878462012-04-07T10:27:00.003+09:002014-01-10T10:14:56.026+09:00Off Season Roundup<span style="font-size: 100%;">Our off-season hibernation is over. Simon is back and ready to rock. I'm slightly less busy than I was during the off-season. It's amazing to me that the off-season is busier for fantasy baseball websites than the regular season is. There's more of an emphasis on draft preparation than in-season moves. Shouldn't it be the other way around?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">This KBO off-season was bizarre. First, we had two LG Twins pitchers(Kim Seong-hyeon and Park Hyun-joon) indicted in a match fixing scandal, suspended and released. These two will likely never pitch in the KBO again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">We also had four Korean baseball Legends make their return to Korea. Park Chan-ho will finally make his debut for the Hanhwa Eagles and Kim Tae-gyun and Lee Seung-yeop will return to the Eagles and Samsung Lions. Kim Byung-hyun will make his return to competitive baseball with the Nexen Heroes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Lee Dae-ho got tired of being woefully underpaid and took a big money offer to play for the Orix Buffaloes of the NPB. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The Baltimore Orioles have been banned from scouting in Korea over the </span>controversy surrounding the signing of 17-year old pitcher Lee Seong-min. Baltimore forgot to/didn't ask for permission to sign Lee and the KBO was very, very upset with them.<br /><br />Finally, in the saddest story of the off-season, a rookie referred to in press releases only as "Lee" died when he became intoxicated and fell down a flight of stairs in early January.<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />It's been a long, cold off-season and it's nice to have the KBO back in my life. It's been too long.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-15689851142362298142012-04-04T09:58:00.000+09:002014-01-10T10:13:45.286+09:00Seeing Again 31st Baseball's Spring: D-3First of all, a thousand and one honorable apologies from Mr. Matt and I for neglecting this blog these past few months. We can say we were busy with our professional pursuits but judging by all the basketball and hockey we watched and talked about, I'm afraid to admit it was just neglect.<br />
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I'm just going to write a few general notes that's news at the beginning of the 2012 KBO season.<br />
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Korean pro baseball's 31st season starts this Saturday (April 7, 2012) with the following games (TV info in brackets): Hanhwa Eagles at Lotte Giants in Busan (KBS 2TV), Kia Tigers at SK Wyverns in Incheon (SBS TV), LG Twins at Samsung Lions in Daegu (XTM TV), and Nexen Heroes at Doosan Bears (SBS ESPN, Kygong-in Broadcasting TV). All games start at 2pm local time.<br />
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All teams will play a two game weekend series before settling into the familiar Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday series and Friday, Saturday, Sunday series routine from Tuesday, April 10. Weekday start times will be at 6:30pm, Saturday games at 5pm, and Sunday games at 2pm.<br />
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Spring training games wrapped up last Sunday and the following was the standings in order: SK, Nexen, Hanhwa, LG, Kia, Doosan, Samsung, and then Lotte.<br />
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KBO held a "media day" at the New Thousand Years Hall at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. The media day was named "Let's Play Ball with Fans!!" They talked to the press and things like that.</div>
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The following are quotes from the involved:</div>
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Samsung Manager Ryu Joong-il ~ "Our goal for this season is unchanged: to win."</div>
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SK Manager Lee Man-su ~ "Samsung win? Yeah right, we're going to win."</div>
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LG Manager Kim Ki-tae ~ "LG's going to show a good form again."</div>
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Hanhwa Manager Han Dae-hwa ~ "Our goal is playoffs and we'll try to win."</div>
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Lotte Manager Yang Seung-ho ~ "We're surely going to give Lotte fans a present this year."</div>
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Kia Manager Sun Dong-yul ~ "We're going to show our fans good form and good games."</div>
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Doosan Manager Kim Jin-wook ~ "The fans are number one and our goal this season is number one."</div>
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Nexen Manager Kim Shi-jin ~ "Our dream this season is to really make the playoffs."</div>
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Samsung's Lee Seung-yup ~ "Blah blah but our strongest strength is our teamwork."</div>
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Hanhwa's Park Chan-ho ~ "My first time pitching in Korea, my goal is to win 10 games."</div>
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LG Twins' Lee Byung-kyu ~ "We're playing with the other 7 teams this season."</div>
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Nexen's Kim Byung-hyun ~ "I'm going to show Nexen rather than talk about it."</div>
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Lotte's Hong Seung-heun ~ "Dae-ho is gone but the rest of the team plays together."</div>
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SK's Jeong Geun-woo ~ "I'm going to try hard so I get lots of money this winter."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xVFwKgPsxEnzLeQ_AhPYr7VhdOgMNeXK3lN2k0pXwDQkHyUVZLv7ohM2iK7r24P72m_ynpyS-ouALgYlrzKH9hlKWecMH93pcxPByf5xQcvghs08qDxb6E4pUmEeR-sLEo4ew63LhPpA/s1600/Media+Day.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xVFwKgPsxEnzLeQ_AhPYr7VhdOgMNeXK3lN2k0pXwDQkHyUVZLv7ohM2iK7r24P72m_ynpyS-ouALgYlrzKH9hlKWecMH93pcxPByf5xQcvghs08qDxb6E4pUmEeR-sLEo4ew63LhPpA/s320/Media+Day.JPG" height="320" width="309" /></a></div>
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Headlines from Naver Sports Baseball:</div>
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Kia's Lee Jong-bum's retiring and he's honored and happy and blah blah.</div>
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Lee Jong-bum's wife Jeong Jeong-min talks about the retirement. She's not a Gwangju person and they sent a thousand letters to each other.</div>
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Gwangju #1 School (광주일고) has the most graduates in the KBO this season (37 diplomas).</div>
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Lim Chan-gyu will pitch LG's home opener on the 10th (after the opening weekend series). He's going to reduce his walk count.</div>
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Kim Byung-hyun's goal is not 10 wins, it's pitching "normally."</div>
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Opening day starters are not decided yet.</div>
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Hanhwa's stadium has been being "remodeled" since last December and it's still not finished yet.</div>
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Kim Hyun-soo's batting average goal is in the .330's.</div>
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More soon.</div>
Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-40459219646504005482012-01-15T01:27:00.003+09:002014-01-10T10:14:22.700+09:00Lose and Get More $ / Car Accident = No Problem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKge8DSj5X1up68L89EKcQmImEyJMX2XoSkygzyqGxt2XHDh18KqyuuF6aRzb3Cn9tLCnUxC_b2X4I6PNDhDcBWDRtmojQk7gTd5y2-P-sQMRRttpVlObnto6UfgQiCxP_rpTg2fA0jMam/s1600/201201141628774206_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKge8DSj5X1up68L89EKcQmImEyJMX2XoSkygzyqGxt2XHDh18KqyuuF6aRzb3Cn9tLCnUxC_b2X4I6PNDhDcBWDRtmojQk7gTd5y2-P-sQMRRttpVlObnto6UfgQiCxP_rpTg2fA0jMam/s320/201201141628774206_1.jpg" height="220" width="320" /></a></div>
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Osen reports Nexen Heroes "Beautiful Flower Man" (꽃미남) starter with a very bad record Shim Soo-chang (28G, 2-13, 5.01) received a 116% wage bump yesterday. His salary went from ₩30,000,000 in 2011 to a reported ₩65,000,000 in 2012.<br />
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Shim showed stellar upswing in 2011 in comparison to his 2010 season, improving his wins total by 200% (0 wins in 2010 to 2 wins in 2011). He also shaved an impressive 34% from his 2010 ERA (7.57 to 5.01).<br />
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Actually, Shim was with LG at the beginning of 2011 and he was paid 30 mil because of his poor record the year before. He was supposed to make 70 but he only got 30. This was how it was spelled out in his LG contract.<br />
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Of course our main man was traded to the Heroes in August of last year and Nexen is a lot cooler with its players. Unnamed Nexen official is quoted as saying that they believe in this "Beautiful Flower Man" (꽃미남) starter with a very bad record and they're sure he'll rebound in 2012.<br />
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Says Mr. Shim: "I'm glad my talents are recognized and I thank the organization. I'll try harder next year." And he's feeling "light hearted" (홀가분하다).<br />
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Says the writer of the Korean article: "you repay getting a raise in a bad team by improving your record."<br />
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<a href="http://news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=109&article_id=0002295903">http://news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=109&article_id=0002295903</a>
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<b>Car Accident = No Problem</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7QO_U9wjB-VDCP6SXd2K_Ph1mOqyfS3VbMGPfYb7b6_TFw8xsmQtVwZLz5mvPXuvdCpMFkoxRdPbq_aea9noaMCbBtEVDqQgxtVW18l5w9ABPE-hWJsPvlv-cK64Aq4Q6RC_vwQtP5wU/s1600/lee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7QO_U9wjB-VDCP6SXd2K_Ph1mOqyfS3VbMGPfYb7b6_TFw8xsmQtVwZLz5mvPXuvdCpMFkoxRdPbq_aea9noaMCbBtEVDqQgxtVW18l5w9ABPE-hWJsPvlv-cK64Aq4Q6RC_vwQtP5wU/s320/lee.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></div>
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Samsung Lions returnee and washed up baseball legend Lee Seung-yup got so excited about the prospects of hitting for the blue and white again that he crashed his "Benz" near Suseonggyo in Daegu facing "Banwordang." Anyway, our main man was waiting to turn a left when an Avante rear ended Lee.<br />
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This area "Banwordang" is a pretty cool part of Daegu. This area was the site of the first Korean set up department store in Daegu in the 30's. This was during the Japanese colonial era and the Japanese had set up a couple department stores in the city before. But this was the first by the Koreans.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fjFQ4yHe2Dsw93jv6eo9_4KGZvGCJ6TEJvnK423qIpJWvOFwhkTQYwge_xwEsv-nYeIL442uIGjeYO5XGHsK53JsgOcDSK4vXt0RXnxL87XfFKjVfOpbylKU34_5SBy9G4EUy6CioUsT/s1600/%25EB%25B0%2598%25EC%259B%2594%25EB%258B%25B9%25EB%25B0%25B1%25ED%2599%2594%25EC%25A0%2590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fjFQ4yHe2Dsw93jv6eo9_4KGZvGCJ6TEJvnK423qIpJWvOFwhkTQYwge_xwEsv-nYeIL442uIGjeYO5XGHsK53JsgOcDSK4vXt0RXnxL87XfFKjVfOpbylKU34_5SBy9G4EUy6CioUsT/s320/%25EB%25B0%2598%25EC%259B%2594%25EB%258B%25B9%25EB%25B0%25B1%25ED%2599%2594%25EC%25A0%2590.jpg" height="203" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anyway, Lee got an MRI and he was A-OK.<br />
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<a href="http://news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=001&article_id=0005467207">http://news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=001&article_id=0005467207</a>Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1136469657969830791.post-75061841079169651572012-01-09T02:35:00.000+09:002013-02-07T04:48:45.596+09:00Masaichi Kaneda Speaks, Part IV: Greatness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEaCiSScJfPKV_YRaAlV9U5ZVkfbNdSYUZcYzFF5VZT_rwIH9RKBCxngbIBtwDQD6lrUa-Pq3J3AH2n8IijzAonDu_jpV_igTNXSvXOEit0GCgee91AfK_RV8_zsNvXbKEIZ0NEE5vHPc/s1600/%2525BD%2525BA%2525C6%2525F7%2525C3%2525F7%2525C3%2525E1%2525C3%2525DF.%2525B0%2525A1%2525B3%2525D7%2525B4%2525D9%2525B8%2525B6%2525BB%2525E7%2525C0%2525CC%2525C4%2525A16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEaCiSScJfPKV_YRaAlV9U5ZVkfbNdSYUZcYzFF5VZT_rwIH9RKBCxngbIBtwDQD6lrUa-Pq3J3AH2n8IijzAonDu_jpV_igTNXSvXOEit0GCgee91AfK_RV8_zsNvXbKEIZ0NEE5vHPc/s320/%2525BD%2525BA%2525C6%2525F7%2525C3%2525F7%2525C3%2525E1%2525C3%2525DF.%2525B0%2525A1%2525B3%2525D7%2525B4%2525D9%2525B8%2525B6%2525BB%2525E7%2525C0%2525CC%2525C4%2525A16.jpg" width="269" /></a></div>
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Part I:
http://koreabaseball.blogspot.com/2011/09/masaichi-kaneda-speaks.html
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Part II:
http://koreabaseball.blogspot.com/2011/09/masaichi-kaneda-speaks-continued.html
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Part III:
http://koreabaseball.blogspot.com/2011/12/masaichi-kaneda-speaks-part-iii.html<br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Continued</i><br />
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Park Dong-hui (Interviewer, South Korean baseball writer):
You won 20 games 14 years in a row, from 1951 to 1964. You pitched in 45 games and 3000 innings or more in these seasons and 14 complete games.<br />
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Masaichi Kaneda (Interviewee, Korean-Japanese baseball legend):
I have a lot of world records LOL.<br />
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P: With all due respect, are these records something a normal person can achieve?<br />
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K: It's business.<br />
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P: Business?<br />
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K: Yeah, Listen, I never said, "hey I won 20 games, how much money are you going to give me." You couldn't ask this. They ask these things now (in Japanese baseball). If I signed a contract on the premise that I win 30 games, would I really have won 30 games? I never fought with an organization, (In Korean) "Trust," it's all about trust. No team ever cut my salary and I never fought with any. If you gain their trust, you will earn their trust. If not then, you don't get any.<br />
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P: If you won 20 games 14 years in a row, your yearly salary must have been pretty high.<br />
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K: Because the yen was getting strong back then. I would have no idea how much it would be now. I spent everything I made back then anyway LOL.<br />
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P: You have had a lot of dramatic episodes in your baseball career. April 5, 1958, Central League season opener, you faced hot Yomiuri Giants rookie hitter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigeo_Nagashima">Shigeo Nagashima</a> and a lot of people said he was going to hit well against you. But you said that you were going to strike him out 4 times. And you ended up striking him out 4 times.<br />
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K: That's what you'd expect, by the time Nagashima debuted, I had already won 180 games. (Points to a photo on the wall) Looks like that's the picture there.
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P: Baseball writers were saying you only threw strong fastballs at Nagashima.<br />
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K: The ball was fast then, do you know why?
(Translator's note: I realize here that Park has been speaking in honorifics and Kaneda informally.)<br />
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P: It was always fast, wasn't it?<br />
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K: It was faster when I faced Nagashima, because I was throwing it with my heart.<br />
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P: With your heart?<br />
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K: I couldn't lose. Isn't that the theory? (In a strong voice) You must win everything. Strong pitching, it's not 'where should I throw it,' it's 'I'm going to get you!' I mobilized (충동원) all my competency and threw with this in mind. If I pitched to Nagashima all nervously back then, I wouldn't have won 20 games 14 years in a row and I wouldn't be where I am now.<br />
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Talking about this and writing about this now is not so fun. Get all the players together and telling them this story would be more fun. (In a quieter voice) Nagashima wasn't the only batter I faced that day, I had to be serious about other hitters in the line up. I controlled my emotions and hopped on the mound again.<br />
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P: Rumor has it your fastball was higher than <a href="http://calculator-converter.com/converter_mph_per_miles-hour_to_km-hour_calculator.php">160km</a> .<br />
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K: They talk about speed a lot. But if you throw 160 or 170 kmh, your body will break down. You can't throw well if you're fat. You have to stay thin and throw with force. Look at the pictures on the wall, you'll see. I was never fat.<br />
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P: You were famous for your fastball and change up.<br />
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K: I mostly pitched fastballs and curve balls. Each curve ball was a little different.<br />
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P: (Looks at a picture on a wall and suddenly remembers) I remember you took some pictures with some top major league players back then. Mantle, Mays, Musial, the big guys.<br />
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K: They all know me in the major leagues. I have a friend that I struck out 3 times in a row LOL. (In 1955, the New York Yankees came to Japan and Kaneda struck out Mickey Mantle 3 times in a row. Mantle had asked "why is a pitcher like this pitching in Japan?" and said "I'd like to have him in the States." Kaneda had Korean citizenship at this time. Kaneda and Mantle became good friends after.)<br />
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P: And with that, did you get any advice about going over to the Majors?<br />
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K: They tried (Major League teams). But it wasn't like it is now. The war didn't end all that long before, and relations between Japan and the U.S. weren't still all that good. And I couldn't speak English.<br />
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P: So you gave up thinking about going over there?<br />
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K: Frankly, I didn't see the point. I would have gone if I really wanted to. Pitching in Japan was good and I could have achieved a lot. But if I want to America, they would have just said "look, he's from Japan" and that could have been the end of that. Look at my trophies and pictures, that's going to last long after I die.<br />
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P: If you were pitching now, in today's situation, would you go?<br />
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K: Now? Well.. Great players play everywhere. It seems like pitching here or there is the same even now. I think I could have succeeded there. Asians, Americans, we're all the same.<br />
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Korean link:
http://news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=baseball&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=295&article_id=0000000659
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnxRiYx5SMQCzs_l-kdIITTX02Kq1BNoDW0BHBOhga_9uzRQ3qPsjeVrEEqtRTD1NSnIcSPURuRSrUdo9NHajzN1K-y-P93TmqEpY5h1SDNHQiGM9SOoF7ZdizLx6LzPSZ4Fe7we58AKv/s1600/kaneda637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnxRiYx5SMQCzs_l-kdIITTX02Kq1BNoDW0BHBOhga_9uzRQ3qPsjeVrEEqtRTD1NSnIcSPURuRSrUdo9NHajzN1K-y-P93TmqEpY5h1SDNHQiGM9SOoF7ZdizLx6LzPSZ4Fe7we58AKv/s320/kaneda637.jpg" width="190" /></a></div>Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06193061402698466425noreply@blogger.com1