Free Agent News Grab Bag

The KBO has 17 free agents this year. A full list can be found here.

KIA ace Yoon Seok-min wants to make the move to MLB and he wants to hire Scott Boras as his agent.

Free agent/Giants slugger Lee Dae-ho says he'll stay with Lotte if he stays in Korea. He's still weighing options between Lotte, Japan and searching for a deal in the US.

Lee Seung-yeop sounds like he's ready to make his return to the KBO next year. Lee left for Japan after setting the single-season homerun record in Asia. He struggled with injuries recently and spent last season with the Orix Buffaloes. Actually, he spent most of the year not playing for Orix. He's been linked with a return to Samsung for a few months.

Former Hanhwa Eagles slugger Kim Tae-gyun will also return to Korea next season. In 2010, Kim hit 21 homers in his first season in Japan, but only hit one in 31 games last year for the Chiba Lotte Marines. He's been linked with a return to Hanhwa.

Park Chan-ho will also be returning to Korea next year. He's been linked with the Hanhwa Eagles for a long, long time.

4/10 - 4/12 Weekend Roundup and News

It felt like we've been seeing more homers this year. The Joongang Daily confirms it for us. I also liked the shout out to Kim Sang-soo and Ahn Chi-hong at the end. These two are the early front runners for rookie of the year.

On Saturday, Lee Jong-wook hit for the cycle.

Also Lee Seung-yeop appears to be healthy and Lim Chang-yong has picked up where he left off.
On to the roundup...

LG vs. Doosan

4/10 - LG 8, Doosan 5
4/11 - Doosan 13, LG 5
4/12 - Doosan 4, LG 3

Doosan actually lead 5-4 in the 9th inning, but LG mounted a 4-run rally that took most(well, at me at least) completely by surprise. In the bottom of the 9th, LG slugger Roberto Petagine came to the plate with the bases loaded and 1 out. Big Bobby drilled a 2-1 pitch from Lee Yong-chan over the fence in right/center for a game winning, grand slam homerun. The homer was Roberto's 3rd of the day. He finished the game 3-5 with 3 homers, 6 RBI and 3 runs scored. He received the standard dogpile and water bottle shower that comes with game winning homers in the KBO, but it did feel a little muted compared to some of the beatings I've seen take place in the KBO. If it were Lee Jin-yong, his teammates would have chased him into centerfield, knocked him over and kicked him in the ribs repeatedly. Roberto just got jumped on and doused.
Doosan, led by Lee Jong-wook's cycle, battered LG pitching for 13 runs. Lee, Yim Jae-cheol and Choi Joon-seok drove in 3 runs apiece. The biggest story of this game was Lee's cycle. He doubled in the 1st, singled in the 4th, homered in the 5th and tripled in the 7th. Doosan shortstop Son Si-hyeon hit an 'Eff you" homer in the 8th inning. Son finished the game 3-6 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.

LG held a 3-1 lead on Sunday after Roberto Petagine hit his 5th homer of the season. Doosan's Kim Dong-joo homered in the 6th to make the score 3-2. Then, in the 8th inning Doosan rallied for 2 runs and took the lead. With a runner on 1st and one out in the 8th, Kim Dong-joo hit a towering fly to center. It should've been an easy out, but LG center fielder Lee Dae-yeong lost the ball in the lights. Kim should've been standing on 2nd, but he threw a tantrum when he thought he popped out. The look on his face when he was on first was only beaten by the look on the face of the LG manager. I thought he was going to run out and strangle poor Lee. Doosan 1st baseman Choi Joon-seok singled up the middle to tie the game at 3. The next batter, Matt Watson, singled through the right side to give Doosan a 4-3 avantage. Doosan reliever Lee Yong-chan managed to avoid giving up a grand slam and nailed down the save.

SK vs. Seoul Heroes

4/10 - SK 16, Heroes 4
4/11 - SK 10, Heroes 3
4/12 - SK 5, Heroes 4

The Heroes were mere mortals on Friday. SK batters pounded Heroes pitching for 5 homeruns, while Koh Hyo-joon struck out 11 Heroes during his 6 innings of work. Koh worked 6 solid innings for SK. He allowed only 2 runs on 2 hits, 1 walk and 1 hit batsman. SK DH Kim Jae-hyeon finished the day 2-4 with a walk, a double, a homer, 4 RBI's and 1 run scored. Kim's homer came in the first inning with 2 runners on base. Park Jeong-kwon, Jeong Geun-woo and Park Kyeong-won(Oan?) also went deep for SK on Friday night.

On Saturday, SK started Song Eun-beom was given an eight run lead to work with and he didn't disappoint. Song worked 6 solid innings of 1-run ball. He allowed 4 hits and one walk with 4 K's. The SK offense exploded for 3 more homeruns. Jeong Geun-woo and Park Kyeong-won hit their 2nd homeruns in as many days during the 10-3 romp.

SK's Kim Kwang-hyeon was handed the ball on Sunday and he turned in mixed results. The 2008 MVP lasted 6 innings, but he 4 runs(3 earned) on 7 hits and 2 walks. He did manage to strike out 7 Heroes during his start. By the time Kim left the game, SK was down 4-0. In the 7th inning the Wyverns mounted a 4-run rally to tie the game. SK catcher Park Kyeong-won continued his hot weekend on Sunday. He drove in 2 on a base hit with the bases loaded in the 7th. Then in the 9th he hit a sac fly to score the go ahead run. The veteran backstop finished 2-4 with 3 RBI. Heroes starting pitcher Jeong Won-sam recieved an ND for his fine effort. Jeong worked 6 innings of 1-run baseball. He allowed 7 hits and 1 walk, but he struck out 8 Wyverns.

Hanwha vs. Lotte

4/10 - Hanwha 8, Lotte 3
4/11 - Hanwha 10, Lotte 6
4/12 - Lotte 7, Hanwha 4

Ryu Hyeon-jin cruised to his 2nd victory on Friday. The Hanwha ace worked 7 1/3 solid innings. He allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. He managed to strike out 8 Lotte Giants. Song Seung-joon wasn't nearly as effective. Song was battered for 8 runs(6 earned) during his 4 innings of work. He surrendered homers to both Lee Beom-ho and Oh Seon-jin.

Saturday's game felt more like a homerun derby than a baseball game. The two teams combinded for 7 bombs on the night. Lee Dae-ho and Karim Garcia went back-to-back in the 7th inning off of Mr. 3000(innings) Song Jin-woo, but it was too little, too late. Hanwha had already battered Lotte starter Heo Joon-hyeok for 9 runs(8 earned). Hanwha hitters Kang Dong-woo, Shin Kyeong-hyeon and Yeon Kyeong-heum all hit 2-run homers off of Heo.

Lotte was able to get some measure of revenge on Sunday with another homerun barrage. The Giants hit 4 more, including 2 from 2nd baseman Cho Seong-hwan. Lotte 3rd baseman Lee Dae-ho went 4-5 with a homer, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. Victor Diaz continued his hot start with another homer. The 4th inning round tripper was his 3rd of the season. Jon Adkins pitched a scoreless 9th inning for Lotte and earned his 3rd save of the season.

Samsung vs. KIA

4/10 - Samsung 5, KIA 2
4/11 - Samsung 2, KIA 1 (10)
4/12 - KIA 1, Samsung 0

This series was all about the pitching. Samsung's Yoon Seong-hwan is emerging as a legit staff ace. On Friday night, Yoon worked 6 2/3 innings of 1-run ball. The only run he allowed came on a solo homer by catcher Kim Sang-hoon in the 3rd inning. Yoon scattered 5 hits and struck out 4 while earning his 2nd W of the season. Samsung first baseman Chae Tae-in hit his first homer after coming back from his 5 game suspension. He was suspended due to his role in the offseason gambling scandal. Oh Seung-hwan struck out the side to record his 2nd save. The reports of his demise were premature.

Runelvys Hernandez was forced out of Saturday's game due to an ankle injury and the Samsung bullpen was forced into action. 6 different pitchers combined to limit KIA to one run. KIA's lone run came on a solo homer from Choi Hee-seop in the 4th inning. Samsung wasn't much better at the plate. Until the 10th inning, Samsung's only run came from a solo homerun by shortstop Park Jin-man. In the 10th, Samsung's Heo Seung-min was able to score from third on a defensive miscue by KIA third baseman Ahn Chi-hong. Ahn couldn't find the handle on a slow grounder. Oh Seung-hwan pitched a scoreless bottom of 10th to record his 3rd save of the season. Yoon Seok-min took a tough ND on Saturday he worked 9 innings of 1-run ball and came up with nothing to show for he. During his 137(!) pitch outing Yoon allowed 1 run on 6 hits and 4 walks with 7 K's.

Samsung's Francisco Cruceta was really lucky on Sunday. He was more than a little wild, but KIA never really made him pay for it. Cruceta worked 6 1/3 innings of 1-run ball, but he walked 5 and allowed 4 hits. The only run of the game came in the 4th inning with runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. KIA rightfielder Lee Hyeong-gon lifted a fly ball to deep right to score the man from third and give KIA a 1-0 avantage. KIA starter, Yang Hyeon-jong tossed 8 shutout innings. He allowed 4 hits with 0 walks and struck out 4. KIA reliever Han Ki-joo struck out 2 Lions during a scoreless 9th inning and earned his first save of the season.

Yomiuri Giants Stand Tall Against Korea, Win 3-0

Last night's 3-0 final makes the game sound close. The Korean team was sleep walking during this one. While the game itself was a bit of a snooze, there was some intruige to this one. Lee Seung-yeop started at first base for the Giants. Before the game, everyone was smiles and handshakes. During the game...everyone was smiles and handshakes.

The only real excitement was during the singing of the Korean national anthem. During the broadcast, they showed the Korean guys trying to look stoic during the anthem. Then, they cut to a shot of a very forlorn Lee Seung-yeop.

Lee started the game with a bang. With runners on 1st and 3rd and 2 out in the 1st inning, Lee clubbed a double off of Korean starter, Yoon Seok-min to score 2 runs. Lee would add an infield single in the 5th. Yomiuri's foreign ringer, Alex Ramirez clubbed a solo homer in the 3rd to give us our 3-0 final.

Lee Dae-ho was the only Korean player(other than LSY) to record an extra base hit. He finished 1-4 with a double. I get the impression that there was more interest in the postgame dinner with Lee than there was in the actual game itself.

The Korean team finished its exhibition schedule with a 5-1-1 record, but 4 of the wins and 1 tie came against the Hanhwa Eagles.

Asia Series Day One Roundup and News

Lee Seung-yeop admits that he was terrible. The world, somehow, keeps spinning.

I can't believe I missed this. The KBO announced their free agents for this off season and vowed to follow the rules that they have set. The rules are ridiculous and virtually guarantee that top players will start bolting for Japan. I'm going to go more in depth on this in the next week or so.


Uni! Tianjin! Seibu! SK! This week in Tokyo. Asian Series Fever! Catch it!

According to the Korea Times, the SK Wyverns brought more bats than the Seibu Lions did. I didn't notice any flying mammals on the field, but if the KT says it, well, it could have happened.

Uni-President 7-11 Lions 7, Tianjin Lions 4
W - Tseng Yi-cheong, L - Lu Jiangang

I freely admit, I was at work during this game and I have no idea what happened or who did what. I do know that The Uni Lions had their CheerBabes in attendence and all of Asia is grateful. Especially me.

I don't know what the deal is with the moonboots, but the tanktops and hotpants make me smile.

The Uni Lions were losing 4-3 in the 9th inning, but they managed a 4-run rally off the Tianjin bullpen to rescue victory from the jaws of defeat.

SK 4, Saitama Seibu Lions 3
W - Lee Sung-ho, L - Hoashi Kazuyuki


The Seibu Lions also brought their CheerBabes. The more I live in Asia, the more I get used to the idea of baseball teams having CheerBabes.

Seibu got the party started in the first inning with an RBI single from Seibu's Haroshi Harao. Kim Kwang-hyeon didn't look very sharp in this one. I get the feeling he was more than a little rusty and he didn't have his usual catcher. Jung Sang-ho got the start over Park Kyeong-wan. Park Jae-hong tied the game in the 2nd thanks to a, erm, questionable homerun. It was a ball hit down the left field line that was ruled fair. The replay showed that it was, well, obviously foul. In the 4th inning, Lee Jae-won hit a two-run bomb that managed to juuuust stay inside the fair pole to give the Wyverns a 3-1 advantage. Later in the inning, SK's Park Jae-sang would hit and RBI single to expand SK's lead to 4-1. The Lions mounted a fake 2-run rally in the 5th inning to make the score 4-3 and that would be where the game would finish. The SK bullpen shutdown the Seibu offense. Yoon Gil-hyeon, Jeong Woo-ram and Lee Seung-ho would toss 4 1/3 scoreless to secure the victory for SK. This victory should give SK a clear path to the final.


"It's in da bag!"

The action continues at 12pm local time when the Tianjin Lions face the SK Wyverns. The series continues at 6pm local time when the Uni President 7-11 Lions face the Saitama Seibu Lions.

9/26 - 9/28 Weekend Roundup

*UPDATE* I've been painfully sick for the past three days. As soon as the seasons change in Daegu, I get sick. It's happened every year for 3 years. This year was the worst. I called in sick on Tuesday(I couldn't move), I went to work on Wednesday(I was sent home after proving that I was unable to speak at an audible volume) and I gutted out today. Scores with winners and losers. I've got some catching up to do.

That new intern at the Korea Times was a busy little bee this weekend. He posted not one, but two articles. In the first, the KBO has set an attendence record. Over 5 million fans have attended KBO games this season. In the second, Lee Seung-yeop has continued to hit the baseball well for Yomiuri. It's amazing what happens when ballplayers are given a chance to get healthy.





What we have here is Jerry Royster making good on a promise. When he first took the job, he said he would sing if they made the playoffs. Well. Lotte is in the playoffs and Mr. Royster led the team in a stirring rendition of "부산 갈매기"(Busan sea gull).


On to the roundup...


9/26
Doosan 1, Samsung 0
W - Lee Hye-cheon (7-5), L - John Ennis (1-3), S - Jeong Jae-hoon (18)

LG 3, SK 1
W - Lee Beom-joon (3-1), L - Song Eun-beom (8-6), S - Jeong Jae-bok (13)

The Heroes 5, KIA 4
W - Ma Il-yeong (11-10), L - Kwak Jeong-cheol (1-1), S - Shingo Takatsu (8)

9/27
Doosan 5, Samsung 0
W - Matt Randel (8-9), L - Yoon Seung-hwan (9-11)

SK 8, The Heroes 4
W - Kim Kwang-hyeon (16-4), L - Kim Seong-hyeon (0-4), S - Esteban Yan (6)

KIA 1, LG 0 (11)
W - Han Ki-ju (2-2), L - Ryu Taek-hyeon (0-1)

Lotte 4, Hanhwa 3
W - Kang Yeong-shik (6-2), L - Kim Hyeok-min (4-5)

9/28
Samsung 10, Doosan 9
W - Jeong Hyeon-wook (10-4), L - Lee Seung-hak (6-5), S - Oh Seung-hwan (38)

The Heroes 4, SK 3
W - Min Seong-ki (1-0), L - Esteban Yan (1-1)

Lotte 4, KIA 2
W - Lee Yong-hoon (6-7), L - Im Joon-hyeok (5-5), S - David Cortes (8)

9/17 & 9/18 Roundup and News

I'm doing these together, just to get all caught up. Sorry this has taken so long.

This is a little late, but LG phone model, Jessica Gomez, threw out the first pitch at a Twins(LG) game a few days ago. Cameras were on hand. Hat tip to KoreaBeat.

The champagne was flowing in Busan last night! The Lotte Giants clinched their first playoff birth since 2000. I'm thrilled for Jerry Royster. He has completely changed the apathetic attitude that was present in Lotte's clubhouse for the past few seasons.

Lee Seung-yeop hit 3 homers in a game. He may be very clean, but he is not washed up. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The Joongang Daily offers up an interesting opinion piece on the careers of Choi Hee-seop and Choo Shin-soo. This is one of the best articles Yoo Jae-ho has produced this year.

First the scores from 9/17...

SK 5, Doosan 2
W - Lee Seung-ho (3-1), L - Kim Sang-hyeon (5-1), S - Esteban Yan (4)

If these two make up games tell us anything, it's that the postseason should be a lot of fun this year. For the last two nights, Doosan and SK gave each other everything they had. SK held a slim one run lead heading into the bottom of the 8th inning. Doosan slugger, Kim Hyeon-su connected for a 2-run homer to give the Doosan Bears a 2-1 advantage. Doosan called on Kim Sang-hyeon to shut the door, but SK kicked it wide open in the top of the 9th. The Wyverns struck for a 4-run rally. With one out and the sacks packed with Wyverns, SK's Na Ju-hwan delivered a base hit to tie the game at 2. Then, Jeong Geun-woo delivered an old fashioned Baltimore chop base hit to the left side to plate the go-ahead run and keep the bases loaded. Then, Choi Jeong hit a sloooooooow dribbler down the 3rd base line that managed to stay fair and Doosan third baseman, Kim Dong-ju, fumbled to make the score 4-2 and keep the bases loaded. The final run was scored on a DEEP SAC fly from Lee Jae-won. Esteban Yan tossed a 1-2-3 9th to record the save.

KIA 4, The Heroes 2
W- Kwak Jeong-cheol (1-0), L - Kim Su-kyeong (3-6), S - Han Ki-ju (25)

I can honestly say I didn't watch this game, but I'm assuming golf clubs were involved at some point. KIA won this game thanks to a sterling effort from starting pitcher, Kwak Jeong-cheol. Kwak tossed 7 shutout innings(114 pitches, 64 strikes) allowing 6 hits and 3 walks with 3 K's. In the top of the 7th The Heroes fell to pieces. A base hit, followed by a walk followed by a pick off throw bouncing around foul territory allowed the first KIA run to score. Then The Heroes shortstop screwed up on the exchange from glove to hand and allowed the 2nd run to scamper home. A legit base hit from KIA's Kim Sang-hoon scored the 3rd run and a wild pitch scored the 4th. I think KIA hit one ball hard in the entire inning. Just baseball at its laziest. The Heroes need a break and it's coming soon.

Hanhwa 7, Lotte 4
W - Kim Hyeok-min (4-4), L - Jang Won-joon (12-9), S - Brad Thomas (29)

Lotte starter Jang Won-joon was pitching well enough, until the wheels fell off during a 5-run 6th inning rally. The inning was capped by a grand slam from Hanhwa centerfielder and foreign sensation, Doug Clark. Both Lee Dae-ho and Son Kwong-min hit solo homers for the Giants, but they never really had much going in terms of offense and Hanhwa was able to piece together just enough pitching to earn the W.

And the score from 9/18...

SK 8, LG 4
W - Kim Won-hyeong (11-5), L - Woo Gyu-min (2-6)

After 2 nights of emotional September baseball, I honestly suspected the Wyverns would get tripped up by the Twins. It's been a common theme in the recent years for teams to struggle after emotional wins. I couldn't have been more wrong about SK. They did fall behind, but they got into that lousy, lousy LG bullpen and battered them around for a few innings. As soon as Chris Oxspring left the game, LG was sunk. SK leadoff man, Park Jae-sang finished the night 4-6 with a double and 3 RBI. The SK catcher, Jeong Sang-ho finished the night 4-5 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Samsung 14, KIA 2
W - Ahn Ji-man (5-1), L - Yang Hyeon-jong(0-5)

Wow. I didn't see this coming from the local ball club. After giving up 2 first inning runs, I was convinced this would be a long night. I was right. It was a long night...for KIA!!!! Muahahahahahahaha! The Lions scored 5 in the 1st, 5 in the 3rd, 3 in the 4th and an FU run in the 6th. Lions Outfielder, Kang Bong-gyu went 2-4 with 2 doubles, a homer, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Park Jin-man, the shortstop with the slick glove and dreadful bat, turned a 2-4, 4 RBI performance last night. The only negative for Samsung was that it took 7 pitchers, including Oh Seung-hwan, to make it through a 9 inning game with a 12-run lead.

9/11 Roundup and News

I'm terribly sorry. I took the weekend off for Chuseok and didn't say anything. I went to Fukuoka. Doing anything is difficult in Korea during Chuseok and I always try to escape.

The plan is as follows. A quick update for Thursday. An abbreviated weekend roundup and then back to regular scheduled programming plus a few extras I've been working on. Stadium reviews(I've written two, but they need to be cleaned up before posting) and year end awards will be among the extras.

As far as Cliff Brumbaugh....I've been able to dig up this. It sounds like he's nursing an injury of some type, but my translation skills aren't good enough to tell you what kind. Best I could do.

The Joongang Daily offered up another excellent look inside the KBO. The article focuses on Choi Hee-seop and his, erm, struggles.

The Korea Times tells us that Lee Seung-yeop is back. They also tell us that SK is the best team in the KBO. Also, air is good and smoking may or may not cause health problems in some individuals.

I can't believe Samsung might be able to sneak into the playoffs as the 4th seed. They're 1 1/2 games up on Hanhwa. The exact same amount that my beloved White Sox are up on the hated Twinkies.

On to the very, very abbreviated roundup....

Hanhwa 5, LG 1
W - Ryu Hyeon-jin (13-6), L - Chris Oxspring (10-9)

Samsung 3, Doosan 1
W - Bae Yong-su (8-8), L - Matt Randel (7-9), S - Oh Seung-hwan (36)

SK 3, KIA 1
W - Chae Byeong-yong (9-2), L - Yang Hyeon-jong (0-4)

Lotte 5, Woori 4
W - Son Min-han (11-3), L - Kim Su-hyeong (3-5), S - Choi Hyeong-nam (9)

8/29 - 8/31 Weekend Roundup

Olympic Gold medalist, Jin Jong-woo, takes aim before tossing out the first pitch before Sunday's game. I don't know why Spongebob and random anime character needed to show up.

Lee Seung-yeop is trying to stick with the Yomuiri Giants, instead of getting sent back down to the minor leagues. According to the Donga Ilbo, he had a good weekend.

The Joongang Ilbo offered a roundup of sorts that focuses on the Giants and "Heroes." Woori really did sever ties with the KBO. Don't they know that they're in business with Shingo? Any business that Takatsu is involved in, is good business. This only paves the way for Charm Soju to sponsor a team next year. It's a well written piece and I wouldn't be surprised if Lotte shows up in the Korean Series. If David Cortes can bring some stability to the backend of the bullpen and the starting pitching continues to eat innings, they could be a force come October.

On to the round up!

LG vs Doosan
8/29 - Doosan 6, LG 3
8/30 - Doosan 6, LG 5
8/31 - LG 7, Doosan 4

6-3 makes Friday night's game sound close. Doosan was leading 6-0 in the 6th inning before LG even sniffed a run. LG Ace, Bong Jung-geun was anything but an ace on Friday. Dr. Bong lasted only 4 innings(106 pitches, 57 strikes) on Friday. He allowed 4 runs on 7 hits with 4 walks and struck out 4. Doosan's Kim Dong-ju earned not one, but two gameballs. He went 2-5 with 2 2-run homers(in the 4th and 6th respectively).

On Saturday night, LG held a 5-4 advantage in the top of the 9th. They called on newly appointed closer, Jeong Jae-bok to close the door. He allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk in the 9th inning, but he did manage to record 2 K's. Doosan's Lee Dae-su lead off with a basehit to left. Pinchrunner, Woo Jae-won, came in for Lee and he promptly stole 2nd. Lee Jong-wook and Choi Joo-hwan both struck out. Then, Kim Hyeon-su drew a 2-out walk to keep the inning alive. Kim Dong-ju ripped a single into center to score Woo and put the go ahead run on 3rd with two outs. The next batter, Hong Seong-heun, ripped a single into right to drive in the go ahead run. Doosan closer, Im Tae-hoon, tossed a 1-2-3 9th to save the W for Doosan.

It was a foreigner pitching duel on Sunday. It wasn't so much a duel as one was less bad than the other and kept his team in a position to win. Doosan's Matt Randel took one step closer to selling insurance next year as he lasted only 2 1/3 innings(63 pitches, 37 strikes) allowing 6 runs on 8 hits(only 5 stayed in the park) and 1 walk. Chris Oxspring flutterballed his way throught 6 innings(105 pitches, 57 strikes) of work. Oxspring allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks with 2 K's.

Hanhwa vs SK
8/29 - SK 4, Hanhwa 2
8/30 - Hanhwa 7, SK 2
8/31 - SK 16, Hanhwa 2

On Friday, SK drew first blood with a two-run bomb from Park Jae-hong in the 1st inning. Hanhwa answered right back with a two-run rally off of SK starter, Song Eun-beom. Song was able to settle down and limit the damage to only 2 runs. He stuck around for 7 innings(101 pitches, 61 strikes) allowing 4 hits and 4 walks with 7 K's. Hanhwa starter, Kim Hyeok-min, wasn't able to find his groove and allowed another 2-run rally in the 4th inning. The final line on Kim was 5 2/3 innings pitched(106 pitches, 54 strikes) allowing all 4 SK runs on 6 hits and 5(!) walks. He added 2 K's.

Hanhwa struck back on Saturday night. With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 3rd, Hanhwa battered SK starter, Kim Won-hyeong for 4 runs. The 4-run rally was all Hahwha ace, Ryu Hyeon-jin would need. Ryu worked 7 strong innings(109 pitches, 67 strikes) allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks with 7 K's. Both runs came on solo homers from SK's Lee Jae-won and Jeong Sang-ho. Hanhwa MVP candidate, Kim Tae-gyun went 2-3 with a walk, a homer, 1 RBI and 3 runs scored. His homer put Hanhwa on the board 1-0 in the 2nd inning.

Whatever frustrations were brought on by Ryu on Saturday were taken out on Hanhwa pitching on Sunday night. Hanhwa used 7 pitchers during the 9-inning, 16-run pasting and only 1 didn't give up any runs. Hats off to Hanhwa reliever, Kim Kyeong-seon, for making it through 1 1/3 innings without getting pummeled like everyone else. SK's Jo Dong-hwa and Kim Kang-min both had a 4 RBI night. While Kim Jae-hyeon and Choi Jeong banged out 4 hits each. Only Lee Jin-yeong finished the night hitless(0-6 :-( ), but he scored and drove in a run.

KIA vs The Heroes
8/29 - KIA 3, Heroes 1
8/30 - KIA 2, Heroes 1
8/31 - Heroes 5, KIA 0

On Friday it took KIA's Lee Dae-jin 48 pitches to get through 2 innings. He was pulled before "The Heroes" could do any real damage. Reliever Im Joon-hyeok tossed 4 scoreless to help the Tigers limp to a victory over the woeful Heroes. Seriously, I feel bad for these guys. Salaries cut, poor training conditions and now they lose their sponsor because ownership loves their shady business practices too much. At least they can hang out with Shingo, who I'm sure, is a regular barrel full of monkeys.

Saturday was more of the same, except The Heroes actually held a lead, 1-0, until the bullpen(NOT Shingo) surrendered the tying and go ahead runs in short order. The Heroes' Kim Soo-kyeong worked 7 scoreless innings(83 pitches, 49 strikes) allowing 4 hits and striking out 5. KIA starter, Lee Beom-seok also tossed 7 innings, but he allowed a 3rd inning solo homer to The Heroes Kim Il-kyeong. KIA took the lead in the 8th after Lee Jong-beom delivered an RBI double and Choi Hee-seop(remember him?) drove in the go ahead run on a SAC fly to left.

On Sunday, Heroes Ace, Ma Il-yeong had decided he had seen enough. Ma put The Heroes on his back and threw 8 innings of 2-hit, shutout baseball. The Heroes offense also chose to show up today, rallying for 2 runs in the 4th and 5th inning to stake Ma to a 4-0 lead. Heroes outfielder, Lee Taek-gun drove in 3 of The Heroes 5 runs.

Lotte vs Samsung
8/29 - Lotte 7, Samsung 4
8/30 - Lotte 5, Samsung 2
8/31 - Lotte 7, Samsung 5


Lotte was the better team this weekend. Plain and simple. They made the big hits, the big plays and got the big outs.

On Friday, the Samsung bullpen fell apart in the late innings. Walking 3 guys and giving up 3 hits over 1 1/3 innings is never a good idea for a reliever, but Samsung's Jo Hyeon-geun thought so. Lotte's Son Kwan-min gets the game ball for going 2-3 with a walk, 3 RBI and 1 run scored. Lotte also had a new foreign pitcher make his KBO debut on Friday. David Cortes waddled in and recorded the save. I guess Marty McCleary forgot to bring the pretzels to Jerry Royster's poker game last week.

On Saturday, it was Samsung starter, Bae Yeong-su's, turn to be awful. Bae didn't finish the 4th inning. A 5th inning, 2-blast from the Mighty Mexican, Karim Garcia, was the early knockout blow in this one. Lotte was already up 4-2, but that insurance run seemed to take the wind out of the Samsung sails. Lotte starter, Jo Jeong-hyeon, was roughed up a little early, but settled down and tossed 7 strong innings. Jo allowed only 3 runs on 8 hits with 5 K's.

Samsung held a 5-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the 8th on Sunday night. Lotte posted a 4-run rally in the 8th inning that was keyed by some truly miserable pitching from Samsung's Jeong Hyeon-wook and a seeing-eye single from Lee Dae-ho to plate the first run. Karim Garcia followed with a 2-RBI double to give Lotte the lead. In the 9th, Lotte's newest foreign sensation, David Cortes, recorded a 1-2-3 9th inning to nail down the W.

7/25 - 7/27 Weekend Roundup

Yang Joon-hyeok is closing in on the Korean homerun record. He currently sits at 337. He needs 3 more to tie and 4 more to break the record.

This is the silliest rule change I've ever heard. I just hope none of the games go into extras.

The Joongang Daily has an Olympic Preview of sorts. I love the quote from Samsung Lions' manager Sun Dong-yeol. “We might as well decide the outcome with a card game.” Sun is awesome.

Lee Seung-yeop is back in the NPB. Just this weekend he clubbed his first homer of the year.

On to the roundup....

Lotte vs. Hanhwa

7/25 - Lotte 5, Hanhwa 1
7/26 - Hanhwa 5, Lotte 3
7/27 - Lotte 9, Hanhwa 2

This was the only series to get all three games in during the weekend. The weather wasn't nearly as wet in the south as it was around Seoul.

Lotte won Friday's contest in 5 innings. The game was called after five on account of rain. A 4-run rally in the 3rd was the difference in this one. During the rally, Lee Dae-ho clubbed a 2-run double. Jang Won-joon tossed all 5 innings(97 pitches, 58 strikes) for the Giants. He allowed only 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks with 2 K's.

Losing 3-1 on Saturday night, Hanhwa struck for a 4-run rally in the top of the 9th to steal the lead away from the Giants. Kim Tae-gyun lead off the inning with a basehit to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Hanhwa's Lee Beom-ho grounded to second to advance Kim to 3rd with one out. Kim Tae-won clubbed a basehit to center to score Kim Tae-gyun. Lee Yeo-sang came in to pinch-run for Kim. Han Sang-hoon singled to right to put runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Shin Kyeong-hyeon singled to center. Lee was able to score on the hit, but the play at the plate was fairly close. In fact, based on the replay, Lee was probably out. Lee's dash tied the game at 3. Runners were at the corners, still with only 1 out. The next batter, Kim Min-jae, dropped a bunt down the first base line. The ball essentially stopped dead just before rolling foul. Lotte catcher, Kang Min-ho, had no play. Kim's "single" loaded the bases with 1 out. Song Kwang-min singled to score the go ahead run. Yeon Kyeong-heum hit a fly ball to center, the fifth run was able to slide under Kang's tag. Hanhwa's Brad Thomas pitched the bottom of the 9th to record the save.

On Sunday, Lee Dae-ho had his first big game in a long time. Lee homered in the 1st(two runs) and 3rd inning(3 runs). He also doubled in the 5th. Lee finished the game 3-3 with a walk, a double, 2 homers, 5 RBI and 3 runs scored. Jo Jeong-hoon worked 8 strong innings(104 pitches, 59 strikes) for the Giants. He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk with 5 K's. Both runs came on solo homeruns from Hanhwa's Kim Tae-won.

Doosan vs. Samsung

7/25 - PPD
7/26 - PPD
7/27 - Samsung 5, Doosan 4 (12)

Sunday's W makes it 3 in a row for the Baby Lions. That's called a winning streak friends. I wish I still cared. The game was tied 4-4 at the end of 9 innings. Doosan came back from a 4-2 deficit to tie the game in the 7th. Woo Jae-won ripped a sing just inside of the 3rd baseline to score the tying run. Doosan would threaten in the 11th, but was unable to plate anyone. The inning ended thanks to a called third strike on Min Byeong-han with the bases loaded to kill the threat. In the top of the 12th, Samsung's Hyeon Jae-yoon started the inning right with a leadoff double off of Doosan pitcher, Kim Sun-woo. Yang Joo-hyeok clobbered a fly ball to deep right/center. Hyeon would score, but Yang was called out trying to stretch it into a triple. Oh Seung-hwan pitched a 1-2-3 12th inning to record the save.

Woori vs. KIA

7/25 - PPD
7/26 - PPD
7/27 - KIA 8, Woori 2

8-2 makes Sunday's game sound closer than it was. If it weren't for a two-run fake rally, Woori would have been shut out. Thanks to the damage inflicted early, KIA's Yoon Seok-min was able to cruise to an easy W on Sunday. Yoon tossed 6 innings(93 pitches, 58 strikes) allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk with 3 K's. KIA's Jang Seong-ho had a big day at the plate. Jang went 3-5 with a double, a homer, 3 RBI and 1 run scored. The homer was of the solo variety and came in the first inning.

SK vs LG

7/25 - PPD
7/26 - PPD
7/27 - SK 11, LG 0

LG ace, Bong Jung-geun, looked awful with 2 extra days rest. He only lasted 4 innings and was clobbered when he was on the mound. SK starting pitcher, Song Eun-beom looked much better. Song tossed 7 shutout innings (107 pitches, 70 strikes) allowing only 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 7. SK leadoff man, Jeong Geun-woo had himself a day on Sunday. Jeong went 3-4 with 2 homers, 4 RBI and 3 runs scored. SK's Park Jae-hong went 2-4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and 1 run scored.

7/11 - 7/13 Weekend Roundup

Well, I didn't want to start with this....buuuuuut, apparently the Donga Ilbo has hired a Swedish third grader to write English language articles about baseball. I really can't make heads or tails of this. The grammar is dreadful and vocabulary is unusual. I'm hoping the editor took the weekend off. I get the impression that this article was written in Korean, shoved into a translation program and then published. There is no other reasonable explanation, other than the writer has never seen a baseball game before. It's made all the more bizarre by including a picture of, I believe, Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span??? I thought the article was about Choo Shin-soo? The Indians aren't even playing the Twins.

Lee Seung-yeop is going to play in the Olympics. Well, it has to be better than knocking around in the Japanese minors.

Samsung vs. LG
7/11 - LG 6, Samsung 4
7/12 - LG 3, Samsung 0
7/13 - LG 2, Samsung 0


A fake rally loss and two shutouts to the worst team in the KBO. It was an awful weekend to be a Lions fan.

Friday night's game was a fairly dull affair, but at least the Lions held a lead...for about two minutes. After a 3-run 4th inning(the inning featured a triple from Yang Joon-hyeok. I thought he would need an oxygen mask) gave Samsung a 3-2 lead, they promptly gave in right back in the bottom of the 4th. LG catcher, Kim Jeong-min delivered a 2-run single to give LG a 4-3 lead. LG tacked on insurance runs in the 6th and 8th to have a 6-3 lead heading into the top of the 9th. Samsung offered a 9th inning fake rally just so the visiting fans wouldn't be bummed out.

I can't believe Samsung couldn't score on Saturday. LG starting pitcher, Lee Beom-joon wasn't effectively wild. He was just wild. During his 4 innings of work(73 pitches, 37 strikes) he walked 6 batters, but Samsung couldn't score because they couldn't get any hits. 5 Twins pitchers combined to hold the Lions to 1 hit. It was one of the most pathetic offensive efforts I have ever seen. Moving on...

On Sunday, the Lions got more than one hit. They got 8 of them, in fact, but still couldn't find a way to get on the scoreboard. Samsung's Park Seok-min accounted for 4 of the hits(he finished 4-4), so 8 hits isn't that impressive when half of them came from one guy. LG ace, Bong Jung-geun, worked 7 2/3 innings(91 pitches, 62 strikes) allowing only 7 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. He got the Lions to ground into 12 outs. All the Lions could do is tip their caps.

KIA vs SK
7/11 - KIA 2, SK 1
7/12 - PPD
7/13 - SK 3, KIA 1

SK held a 1-0 lead heading into the top of the 9th on Friday night. In the top of the 9th, KIA's Kim Won-seop drew a walk to start the inning. SK brought in reliever, Jeong Dae-hyeon to face Na Ji-won. Na was able to work a full count and draw a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Then, Jang Seong-ho hit a deep fly ball to right field. Kim Won-seop was able to advance to third. Chae Jeong-beom struck out for the 2nd out. Lee Hyeon-gon ripped a single down the right field line to score Kim and put the go ahead run on third with two out. KIA's Kim Hyeong-cheol punched the first pitch he saw into center to drive in the go ahead run. The next batter, Lee Seong-woo struck out to end the inning. KIA's Han Ki-joo tossed a 1-2-3 9th inning to record his 17th save.

On Sunday, Kane Davis pitched well enough to win, but left with an ND and watched KIA's middle relief self destruct. Davis worked 7 innings(113 pitches, 60 strikes) allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 4 walks with 4 K's. The score was tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the 8th when the Wyverns struck for a 2-run rally off of KIA reliever, Yoo Dong-hoon. Both Park Jae-hong had an RBI sac fly and Choi Jeong hit an RBI single to give SK a 2 run advantage. SK reliever, Jo Wong-cheon tossed a scoreless 9th to pick up his 4th save.

Woori vs. Hanhwa
7/11 - Hanhwa 7, Woori 4
7/12 - Woori 11, Hanhwa 5
7/13 - Hanhwa 7, Woori 6

Hanhwa held a 4-2 lead heading into the 8th inning on Friday night, but Woori was able to tie the game at 4 thanks to a 2-run bomb from outfielder Song Ji-man. Hanhwa mounted it's own rally in the bottom of the inning to take the lead back. Doug Clark swatted an RBI single and Kim Tae-gyun crushed a 2-run homer of his own to give Hanhwa a 7-4 advantage. Brad Thomas allowed a single and a walk, but he was able to retire the side in the 9th inning to record his 21st save.

Saturday night's game was actually closer than the 11-5 score indicates. Woori was only leading 6-5 in the 8th when they tacked on an insurance run and then struck for a 4-run rally off of a trio of Hanhwa relievers in the 9th. Woori centerfielder, Lee Taek-gun finished the night 2-4 with a 3-run homer in the 5th inning and a stolen base in the 8th. Shingo Takatsu worked two scoreless innings to record his 5th save in only 2 weeks. Shingo-mania has yet to grip the country, but I'm legitimately excited. Hanhwa scored 5 runs, but 4 of them came on solo homeruns. This team went into "Rex Grossman-screw-it-we're-going-deep-or-nothing mode" and stayed there for the whole game.

Hanhwa jumped out to an early 5 run lead thanks to a 3-run bomb in the 1st inning from Lee Beom-ho and a 2-run jack from shortstop, Kim Min-jae, in the 2nd. Woori clawed its way back into the game, but a 9th inning rally fell short. They got to within one run thanks to a 2-run homer from pinch hitter/backup catcher, Kim Gui-tae, so I can't give the 9th inning official fake rally status, but it was close. Despite giving up the homer, Brad Thomas still earned his 22nd save. I'm not giving out game balls, but a tip of the cap goes to the Woori bullpen. They kept this team in the game after starter, Hwang Doo-seong, hit the showers early.

Doosan vs. Lotte
7/11 - Doosan 8, Lotte 3
7/12 - Doosan 1, Lotte 0
7/13 - Doosan 3, Lotte 2
Wow. How the mighty have fallen. 5 runs in 3 days is not what these guys are used to. If any team could use a series of days off because of monsoon season, it's the Lotte Giants. These guys need a break.

On Friday night, Doosan starter, Matt Randel, picked up his 6th win of the season. Randel gutted his way through 6 1/3 innings(91 pitches, 59 strikes) allowing 3 runs(2 earned) on 7 hits and 3 walks with 3 K's. Lotte starter, Jo Jeong-hoon, ran out of gas in the 6th inning and Doosan clobbered him for 5 runs. Doosan's Lee Dae-su swatted a 2-run double that accounted for a good portion of the damage. Lotte's 3-4-5 hitters were a combined 0-the night. Again, these guys need a day off.

Saturday was a 0-0 tie until the top of the 9th. Lotte ace, Son Min-han, was the tough luck loser. Son worked 8 innings(120 pitches, 75 strikes) allowing 1 run on 8 hits and 2 walks with 3 K's. In the 9th inning, Doosan mounted a rally that ended in Ahn Kyeong-hyeon driving in pinch runner Min Byeong-hoon with a base hit. Lotte was able to get two baserunners in the bottom of the 9th, but Doosan reliever, Im Tae-hoon, shut the door on the rally and recorded his 3rd save. The game ball goes to Doosan starter, Lee Hye-cheon. Lee worked 7 shutout innings(92 pitches, 61 strikes) allowing 3 hits and 2 walks while recording 9 punchouts.

Sunday was more of the same for these struggling offenses, but Doosan was able to hang on to a slim lead thanks to some excellent relief work from Im Tae-hoon, Geun Min-cheol and closer, Jeong Jae-hoon. Doosan knocked around Lotte starter, Marty McCleary, in the 3rd inning for a 3-run rally. Ko Yeong-min recorded an RBI single and Kim Hyeong-su drove in two runs with a single. Jo Seong-hwan was the Lotte offense. He hit two solo homeruns to account for Lotte's only runs on the day.

First Time For Everything: Japan's Playoffs to Feature Two Korean Players

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Lee Seung-yeop of the Yomuiri Giants and Lee Byung-gyu of the Chunichi Dragons will be facing each other in Japan's version of a League Championship Series. This is the first time two Koreans have played against each other in Japan's playoffs.

The numbers on these guys are as follows.

Lee Seung Yeop: .273 BA, 541 AB's, 84 runs, 29 doubles, 30 HR, 74 RBI, .322 OBA, .501 SLG.
Lee Byung Gyu: .261 BA, 478 AB's, 43 runs, 23 doubles, 9 HR, 46 RBI, .295 OBA, .370 SLG

Lee Seung-yeop has been battling injuries all season. First, he hurt his thumb in June and his back has been bothering him to the point that he had to cancel a press conference for treatment this week. This is actually a down year for him.

On the other hand, Lee Byung-gyu has been battling the fact that he is not very good all season. I think this will continue to plague him in the playoffs.