Samsung 5, Softbank 3

Samsung wins the Asia Series

W - Jang Won-sam, L - Sho Iwasaki, S - Oh Seung-hwan
Samsung HR - None
Softbank HR - None

I'm thrilled to see the KBO finally knock the NPB off their pedestal, but this Asia Series was completely underwhelming. Samsung didn't have their full pitching staff and we saw a lot of backups getting heavy playing time. The SoftBank Hawks were in a similar state with their non-Japanese players sent home and their top two pitchers are currently free agents. This year's tournement was probably the weakest from a talent perspective since it's inception. That being said, someone still had to win it and I'm very happy it was Samsung. It's been a five year wait for KBO fans and it feels really good to have it end.

SoftBank drew first blood in the first inning with a RBI double from third baseman Nobihiro Matsuda. On the previous play Samsung right fielder Park Han-yi needed to be carted off after sustaining a leg injury on a diving catch.

Samsung answered back in the top of the fifth inning with a five-run(!) rally. Samsung right fielder Jeong Hyeong-sik came into the game in the first inning when Park was taken off. Jeong came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. He poked a single back through the middle to drive in a pair and give the Lions a 2-1 lead. Samsung pushed it to 3-1 with a ground-rule double from third baseman Park Seok-min. With two outs and runners on second and third, Samsung left fielder Kang Bong-gyu hit a sharp grounder to short. The ball ricocheted off of shortstop Munenori Kawasaki and into left field. Both runners scored on the play to give Samsung a commanding 5-1 lead.

Softbank answered back in the eighth inning. With runners on first and second with no outs, Samsung brought in closer Oh Seung-hwan to get them out of the jam. Oh promptly gave up an RBI single to SoftBank center fielder Seiichi Uchikawa to load the bases. Nobuhiro Matsuda grounded into a double play, but the runner on third managed to score to cut the lead to 5-2. Outfielder Yuya Hasegawa singled back up the middle to cut the lead to 5-3. Oh managed to get Kenji Akashi to end the inning.

The Samsung offense was quiet in the top of the ninth, so it was up to Oh to hold on to the 5-3 lead. Oh struck out the first two batters in the top of the ninth and got Munenori Kawasaki to ground out to end the game.

Samsung starter Jang Won-sam was really, really good last night. Jang threw 6 1/3 innings(100 pitches, 69 strikes) of one-run baseball. Jang gave up only five hits and one walk while striking out three. He was really effecient and did his best work on the inner part of the plate. It looked like the SoftBank Hawks didn't like getting busted inside.

Next year's series will take place in Korea at Jamsil Stadium. I, for one, think this is the silliest idea I've ever heard. The KBO needs to build a modern baseball facility before it can be allowed to host a tournement like this. Jamsil is fine, but it's not a stadium anyone would pay money to go to in November.

Samsung 6, Uni-President Lions 3

W - Kwon Oh-joon, L - Ryan Glynn, S - Oh Seung-hwan
Samsung HR - Choi Hyeong-woo
Uni President HR - Kuo Chun-yu

Samsung really appeared to be trying really hard to not lose this game.

The Lions trotted out mascot Bae Yeong-su to start the game. Bae was once one of the truly dominant pitchers in the KBO, but injury has robbed Bae of most of his ability. He's able to get batters out, but he doesn't have nearly the stuff he had when he was leading Samsung to a championship in 2005. Bae tossed 5 innings(64 pitches, 45 strikes) of one-run baseball. Bae gave up five hits and struck out one.

Samsung broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with a RBI single from right fielder Park Han-yi. First baseman Chae Tae-in pushed the lead to 2-0 with a sac fly.

The Lions added an insurance run in the fourth on a RBI ground out from catcher Jin Kab-yong to push the lead to 3-0. It turns out, they would need the extra runs.

Uni-President answered back in the bottom of the fourth with a RBI single from DH Yang Song-hsien.

Uni-President tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run bomb from left fielder Kuo Chun-yu. Samsung reliever Kwon Hyeok absolutely served one up on a platter to Kuo.

For the Samsung's sake, reliever Kwon Oh-joon shut down the Uni-President Lions for the next 2 1/3 innings. Kwon struck out four and gave up absolutely nothing.

In the top of the eighth, Samsung DH Choi Hyeong-woo finally made his prescence felt in this tournament by taking a 0-1 offering from Ryan Glynn over the center field wall for a two-run homer. Samsung picked up another run in the top of the ninth when reliever Wang Ching-ming threw a wild pitch with a runner on third.

Samsung closer Oh Seung-hwan struck out two during a scoreless ninth to put Samsung into the final against the NPB's Softbank Hawks.

The final will be played at 8 PM Korean time on 10/29. Starters have yet to be announced.

Asia Series Championship Roundup and News

What I'll remember most is the CheerBabes.

I heard some team in Japan won a game or something...

Seibu Lions 1, Uni-President 7-11 Lions 0
W - Shinya Okamoto, L - Pan Wei-lun

The game was a 0-0 tie heading into the bottom of the 9th. With two outs a runner on first, Seibu outfielder Tomoaki Sato lined a double into left field and Yoshihito Ishii beat the throw home by a good 10 feet. Ishii never stopped sprinting until he went into his slide. With the walk-off double, Sato was awarded the MVP award.



Uni Lions starter Giancarlo Alvarado tossed 6 shutout innings. Alvarado allowed only 4 hits and 0 walks with 1 K. Seibu ace Hideaki Wakui threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings. Wakui allowed 4 hits and 3 walks with an impressive 10 K's.

Asia Series Day 3 Round Up and News

Seibu Lions 16, Tianjin Lions 2
W - Kohji Onuma, L - Chen Wei

Seibu banged out 13 hits and took advantage of 2 errors, numerous fielding mistakes and 11(!) walks to slaughter an overmatched Tianjin squad. 4 Seibu batters finished with at least 2 RBIs and both Takeya Nakamura and Ginjiro Sumitani hit homeruns.

Uni-President 7-11 Lions 10, SK Wyverns 4
W - Lin Yueh Ping, L - Chae Byeong-yong

For some reason, this game resulted in SK being eliminated from the tournement despite having the same record as Uni and Seibu. From what I understand, the tiebreaker is defensive runs per inning and not run differential. I guess "defensive runs per inning" comes down to runs allowed. SK allowed a few more than Uni did. Whatever. It's a silly tiebreaker. Good luck today, Uni. You're going to need it.

From Lin Yueh Ping's wikipedia page, "At the end of 2006 season, he was diagnosed with a heart condition, and underwent surgery in May 2007. Afterward, he recovered quickly and was able to do limited pitching in late season." That's right. The Wyverns got beat by a pitcher with a bad heart. This would be like the Minnesota Twins losing to this guy.

Chae Byeong-yong was awful. He pitched like he had spent all week camped out at an All-You-Can-Eat buffet and showed up at the stadium ten minutes before game time. Uni banged out 4 homers against Wyverns pitching. Lui Fin Hao hit two of them. He hit a 3-run bomb in the 4th inning to start a 5-run rally and another 3-run bomb in the 8th to finish a 4-run rally.

You know what? I'm not upset by the Wyverns loss anymore. With the way they played last night they didn't deserve to be in the final. There. I'm done being bitter over this game.

The action continues today at 2pm local time. The Seibu Lions will face the Uni-President Lions for the Asia Series championship. Wakui should be throwing for Seibu. I have no idea who the

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.

Asia Series Preview

I freely admit, I'm a sucker for this. Any time you can get the champions of 4 leagues together for a round robin championship, I'm interested. This is also the first year China isn't sending an "All-Star" team. I can't wait to see what these guys look like.

The EWC has a shorter preview, but Aaron is going to Tokyo to watch the tourney. I'm painfully jealous.

On to the preview...


Tianjin Lions

Honestly, little is known about these guys. The Lions finished 19-2 on the season. They posted a perfect 12-0 home record on the season. I get the impression that these guys are capable of hitting the baseball, but I don't think they have enough pitching. Actually, I think they can avoid embarrassing themselves at the plate, but I don't think they can avoid embarrassing themselves on the mound.

They swept the Beijing Tigers in 3 games to win their 3rd consecutive CBL championship. They led the league in runs scored(178), team batting average (.340) and stolen bases(57). They were also the only team in the league to post an ERA under 4.00. They finished at 3.52 for the season.

I don't really know much about these guys. I know their cleanup hitter is an individual named Yang Guo Gang. I also know that their leadoff hitter, Wang Chuo, won a batting title in 2007. They also have the rights to the players that have spent time in the Yankees farm system. One of them, catcher Zhang Zhen Wang, is back with the team and playing as their DH. I honestly don't know if he'll be available for the series. Seriously, I couldn't pick these guys out of a lineup if I tried. If you're at all interested in reading up on the CBL, I reccomend their English website. The weekly updates are at least as well written as this blog is and MUCH better written than anything these guys have done.

What the CBL lacks in available info on its players, it makes up for in theme songs. Here's a flash video of the league theme song, Show Time. Of course I'm including a picture of the singer, Lei Qian.



Uni-President 7-11 Lions


Tainan City's Uni-President 7-11 Lions finished the '08 season 67-33. They faced the Brother Elephants in the CPBL championship series. It took them 7 games, but they managed to defeat the Elephants and repeat as CPBL champions.

The Lions are lead by manager, Lu-Wen Sheng. Lu took over the club in 2007. He has won championships in his first two seasons. 3rd baseman Tilson Brito, 2nd baseman Shin Yang and outfielder Wu-hsiang Pan were on the 2008 CPBL Best 9(or 10, there was also a DH). Wu finished 3rd in the CPBL in batting with a .346 BA. Wu also clubbed 13 homers this season. Tilson Brito led the league in RBI(102) and homers(24). 1st baseman, Kuo-Ching Kao also had a fine season at the plate. Kuo hit .332 with 28 doubles, 7 HR and 74 RBI. DH Len-Hung Chen also drove in 65 RBI while hitting .314 with 13 homers.

On the mound, Wei-Lun Pan posted a solid 2008. He finished 3rd in the league with a 2.76 ERA. His final record was 12-2 and in 111 innings he struck out 87 and only walked 10. The Lions have two foreign ringers that will probably follow Wei in the rotation. Luther Hackman and Giancarlo Alvarado both sound like your normal foreign pitchers in Asia. Closer Yueh-Ping Lin finished 2nd in the league with 17 saves.

Seibu Lions

The 2008 Saitama Seibu Lions defeated the mighty Yomiuri Giants in 7 games to win their 13th Japan Series in club history. 1st baseman, Takeyo Nakamura led the Pacific League in homeruns(46), was 3rd in RBI(102) and 1st in strikeouts(162) while posting a line of .244/.320/.569. Shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima lead the Lions in hitting with a .332/.410/.527 line. Nakajima was Mr. Everything for Seibu this year. He stole 25 bases and clubbed 21 homers. Nakajima combined with 2nd baseman Yasuyuki Kataoka to make Seibu very strong up the middle. Kataoka finished the year with a .286/.322/.371 line and 82 runs scored. Takumi Kuriyama managed to stay healthy and with the big club for a full season. The Seibu outfielder made the most of it. He posted a .316/.376/.450 line while scoring 76 runs, driving in 72 and hitting 11 homers. GG Sato had a solid season in the outfield. Sato finished the year with a .301/.368/.546 line, 62 runs scored, 62 RBI and 21 homers. Seibu has a lineup with more than a few free swingers. Seibu finished with 4 of its hitters in the league top 10 for strikeouts.

On the mound for Seibu, they have three solid starters to use in the tournement plus former LA Dodger, Kazuhisa Ishii. Lefty Kazuyuki Hoashi has been the ace for Seibu this season. In 174 2/3 innings, Hoashi posted an 11-6 record with a 2.62 ERA. He struck out 115 while walking 38. 2nd year man Takayuki Kishi improved on a very successful rookie campaign. Kishi tossed 168 1/3 innings for Seibu while recording a 12-4 record with a 3.42 ERA. He struck out 138 while walking 48. 22-year old Hideaki Wakui couldn't match the production of his previous seasons in the NPB, but he was still solid. The 3-year vet posted a 3.92 ERA with a 10-11 record for Seibu. Wakui tossed 173 innings with 122 K's and 51 walks. He also surrendered 16 longballs.

Things aren't looking that rosy for Seibu right now. Their foreign players left the country after the Japan Series and that could leave them thin in the back end of the bullpen. The offense is most intact but key injuries to their catcher and shortstop could leave them short handed. Both are likely to skip the tourney.

SK Wyverns

The SK Wyverns steamrolled the KBO en route to their 2nd consecutive league championship. This team was, by far, the class of the KBO this season and this is their chance to show that they're the class of Asia.

The key for SK is its pitching. We all know about the Wyverns 20-year old ace, Kim Kwang-hyeon. Kim is probably going to have to beat the Seibu Lions twice if the Wyverns are to win the first Asia Series for the KBO. Chae Byeong-yeong will either start the 2nd game or be a key kog in the Wyverns bullpen, its unknown how he's going to be used. Chae finished the year with 10-2 record and 2.70 ERA. He struck out 81 and walked 43 in 136 2/3 innings. I honestly don't know if Kenny Rayborn is going to travel with the team to Tokyo. I remember him pitching there last year, if that's any indication. He may or may not start game 3. Song Eun-beom is probably next in line for a start if Kenny is unavailable or Chae pitches out of the bullpen. The KBO bullpen was lead by Jeong Woo-ram. Jeong racked up a league best 25 holds in 2008. He also posted a 2.09 ERA in 85 appearances. Jeong Dae-hyeon was the SK closer during the regular season. He racked up 20 saves in that role.

Korean Series MVP, Choi Jeong, should have done better in the MVP voting last week. He was arguably the best hitter on the best team in the KBO. That should count for something. The SK 3rd baseman posted .328/.410/.480 line last season. He scored 71 runs and drove in 62. SK's boasted 6 hitters with BA's of .300 or higher last season. These guys were constantly getting hits and getting on base for each other. Park Jae-hong lead the team with 19 homers. That's really SK's one weakness. They don't really have that much power, but they are patient. 8 SK regulars had OBP's of over .370 last season. Kim Jae-hyeon led the team with a .426 OBP.

My prediction? SK all the way. They have the deepest pitching staff and play the best team baseball that I've seen from any team in any league this season.

The action starts tomorrow at 12pm local time at the Tokyo Dome. The Tianjin Lions face the Uni-President 7-11 Lions. Then, at 6pm local time at the Tokyo Dome, the SK Wyverns face off against the Seibu Lions. I'll be here with a full roundup of the days' action.