5/22 Roundup and News

Nexen/SK was canceled again.

Would Hanhwa trade ace Ryu Hyeon-jin? Not likely.

Hanhwa 6, KIA 4
W - Julio DePaula (1-3), L - Son Yeong-min (2-1), S - Park Jeong-jin (1)
Hanhwa HR - Oh Jae-pil KIA HR - Lee Beom-ho (8), Ahn Chi-hong (2)

Hanhwa broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning. Second baseman Han Sang-hoon and DH Jang Seong-ho both drew walks. Han would score on a base hit by left fielder Choi Jin-haeng. Choi finished 2-4 with a run scored and two RBIs.

Hanhwa added an insurance run in the ninth when backup outfielder Oh Jae-pil hit a solo homer.

Hanhwa reliever Park Jeong-jin deserved more than a save. Park threw three shutout innings to ice the game. Park gave up one hit and struck out four.

Doosan 7, Samsung 7 (12)
Doosan HR - Choi Joon-seok (4), Lee Won-seok (2) Samsung HR - Park Seok-min (4)

Games like this are why ties suck. This series has been an absolute war and deserved to have a meaningful conclusion.

Samsung jumped out to a 7-5 lead in the sixth inning when the Lions rallied for four runs. Second baseman Shin Myeong-cheol hit a double with the bases loaded that scored three runs.

Samsung appeared to be cruising to a W, but the Lions bullpen gave up a solo homer in the seventh to Doosan first baseman Choi Joon-seok in the seventh to cut the lead to 7-6. The Lions 'pen gave up another solo homer to third baseman Lee Won-seok in the eighth to tie the game at seven.

Tied is where this one would stay for the next four innings. Doosan reliever Jeong Jae-hoon threw four shutout innings. Jeong gave up two walks and struck out six. Jeong was matched by Samsung reliever Lee Woo-seon. Lee threw three scoreless innings. Lee gave up one hit, one walk and one hit batsman while striking out, you guessed it, one batter.

Doosan center fielder Jeong Su-bin lead the Bears' offense. Jeong went 4-5 with a double, a HBP, two runs scored and two RBIs.

Samsung slugger Park Seok-min went 2-6 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored.



"Walk-off hit? That's a paddlin'."

LG 5, Lotte 4
W - Lim Chan-gyu (3-1), L - Kim Su-wan (0-3)
LG HR - Yoon Sang-gyun (4) Lotte HR - None

Lotte held a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth, but LG's Yoon Sang-gyun came in to pinch hit with a runner on second and two outs. He hit a two-run homer off of Lotte reliever Brian Corey to tie the game and send it to extras.

LG left fielder Jeong Eui-yoon lead off tne eleventh with a walk. Jeong was lifted for pinch runner Yang Yeong-dong. Dong promptly stole second to get into scoring position. Second baseman Seo Dong-wook flied out for the first out of the inning, but center fielder Lee Dae-hyeong put a base hit over the head of the Lotte left fielder to score Yang and walk off the Giants.

Lost in this game was a quality start from Lotte starter Song Seung-joon. Song threw 6 2/3 innings(119 pitches, 72 strikes) of two-run baseball. Song gave up seven hits and a walk while striking out six.

Right fielder Son Ah-seop lead the Giants' offense by going 3-5 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored.

12/20 Transaction Roundup

The Lotte Giants have signed journeyman Bryan Corey. The 37-year old righty has appeared in 23 different uniforms during his 16 year career. That's a little high because I included all of his various minor league stops, but damn, 23 teams. Corey spent 2010 in the NPB with the Chiba Lotte Marines. Corey posted a 4.87 ERA with 30 K's and 17 BB's over 44 1/3 innings last year in Chiba. I'm guessing he'll be used to shore up the back end of the Lotte bullpen.

Nexen has traded 20-year old starter Goh Won-joon to the Lotte Giants for infielder Park Jeong-joon and pitcher Lee Jeong-hoon. Goh went 5-7 with a 4.12 ERA and 1.40 WHIP over 131 innings last year. Park missed almost all of 2010 with an injury, but was useful as a bench player for the Giants in 2009. Lee is a 33-year old reliever coming off a rough season. Lee was one of the punching bags in the Lotte pen last year, but his 2009 was a career year...for him. Lee posted 8 saves and 9 holds with a 3.03 ERA in 57 appearances.

7/28 Roundup and News

LG and SK have agreed to a trade. SK will send four young players to LG for three of the Zombies' vets. The Wyverns dealt pitchers Park Hyeon-joon, Kim Sun-gyu, catcher Yoon Seong-gyun and a player to be named later for first baseman Choi Dong-su, infielder Kwon Yong-kwan and pitcher Lee Jae-yeong.

Lotte and KIA were rained out in Busan last night.

LG 9, SK 8 (10)
W - Shinya Okamoto (5-3), L - Lee Seung-ho (5-1)
LG - Cho In-seong (18) SK HR - Choi Dong-su (2)

SK battled back from a 6-1 deficit to tie the game in the eighth inning. Wyverns outfielder Cho Dong-hwa singled with runners on second and third to cut the deficit to 7-6. One of the newest Wyverns, first baseman Choi Dong-su, hit a sharp grounder to short that bounced away from LG shortstop Oh Ji-hwan. The tying run scored easily. Choi went 1-4 with a homer, four RBIs and a run scored. Choi hit a three-run bomb in the sixth inning. The game remained tied until the 10th inning. In the top of the tenth, the Wyverns loaded the bases with one out. Infielder Kwon Yong-kwan drew a walk to score the go ahead run. In the bottom of the tenth, LG started a rally. LG put runners on first and third with one out. Outfielder Lee Jin-yeong hit a sharp grounder to second. The ball took a funny hop and bounced over SK second baseman Jeong Geun-woo's glove and into right field. The error tied the game and put the tying run on second. SK intentionally walked LG catcher Cho In-seong to load the bases. LG third baseman hit a hard grounder to short that infielder Kwon Yong-kwan couldn't handle. The winning run scored and the LG Zombies earned themselves a team meeting. LG outfielder Lee Taek-geun enjoyed a solid evening at the plate. Lee went 2-3 with three walks and two runs scored. Center fielder Lee Dae-hyeong went 0-1 with three walks, three runs scored and three stolen bases.

Doosan 5, Nexen 1
W - Les Walrond (6-3), L - Goh Won-joon (5-6), S - Lee Yong-chan (22)
Doosan HR - None Nexen - None

Les Walrond turned in a quality start and the Bears' offense provided enough for a win. Walrond tossed 6 1/3 innings(109 pitches, 66 strikes) of one-run baseball. Les gave up four hits, two walks and two hit batsmen while striking out five. Doosan center fielder Lee Jong-wook was a the catalyst for the Doosan offense. Lee went 3-4 with a walk, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Left fielder Kim Hyeon-su went 0-1 with three walks, one RBI and a run scored. Doosan closer Lee Yong-chan came into the game with one out and a runner on first. He needed exactly two pitches to get the ground ball and the double play to end the game. Nexen starter Goh Won-joon was effectively wild. Goh threw six innings(112 pitches, 56 strikes) of two-run baseball. He gave up five hits, six(!) walks and a hit batsman while striking out two.

Samsung 3, Hanhwa 2
W - Ahn Ji-man (8-3), L - Yang Hoon (3-2)
Samsung HR - None Hanhwa HR - Choi Jin-haeng (25)

I really can't believe that the local Daegu nine managed to beat the K-Monster. Hanhwa ace Ryu Hyeon-jin threw seven innings(108 pitches, 65 strikes) of tw0-run baseball. Ryu allowed six hits and three walks while striking out five. The Hanhwa offense didn't give him much help and Ryu was stuck with a ND on his record. Samsung starter Jang Won-sam enjoyed one of his finest outings of the season. Jang pitched 6 1/3 innings(94 pitches, 62 strikes) of shutout baseball. Jang allowed only four hits and one hit batsman while striking out six. This game was tied at two heading into the top of the ninth inning. Samsung put a runner on second with one out. Shortstop Kim Sang-su poked a single through the left side for a base hit. The runner was able to score from second on the play and give Samsung a 3-2 lead. Samsung reliever Ahn Ji-man recorded the final four outs to earn the W.

A Trade? During the Season? Believe it or not..

Nexen and Lotte have agreed to a deal. Nexen will send Hwang Jae-gyun to Lotte in exchange for Kim Min-seong and Kim Su-hwa.

Hwang is a 23-year old third baseman/shortstop. He was in his fourth season with the Heroes/Nexen/Hyundai. Hwang is carrying a .225/.315/.290 slash line in 169 at bats. He's poked out two homers and stolen twelve bases. Hwang enjoyed a breakout season last year when he blasted 18 homers and stole 30 bases while hitting .284.

Kim Min-seong is a 22-year old middle infielder that has yet to really distinguish himself in a Lotte uniform. In 2009 he appeared in 114 games and posted a .248/.349/.336 slash line. He didn't really do much in the speed or power department. He's only had 86 at bats this year.

Kim Su-hwa is a 24-year old righty who has spent time in both the Lotte bullpen and rotation, but he hasn't appeared in a KBO game since 2006. I'm guessing he's been doing his service time. When he was last seen in the KBO he had a 1.82 WHIP, a 7.55 ERA and 1-9 record. Sounds like he fits in with Nexen's team concept.

And Now Our First Trade of the Offseason!

And boy, is it yawn inspiring. Hanhwa has traded pitcher Cho Gyu-su and a PTBNL to the Doosan Bears for infielder Lee Dae-su. Lee posted a .262/.308/.361 in 61 AB's for the Bears. Cho hasn't pitched in a KBO game since 2005. He was with Hanhwa's 2nd league team for a while. He posted a 6.87 ERA and 33 baserunners in 18 1/3 innings of work. Cho won 10 games as a rookie in 2000, but hasn't shown much since.

I'm guessing the PTBNL will have talents such as "is able to put a shirt on in only one try" and "has a pulse," but he must improve "baseball skills."

KBO Fever! Catch it!