I'm a day late with my post although there's no way to tell yet since this is only the second week but I had planned on doing one post on Monday every week to run down the week that was. So here goes:
Tuesday the 9th was a fantastic win for the Tigers that got rained out, (as I have documented), and the next night the Tigers, (wouldn't you know it!!!), lost 4-2. Yoon Suk Min gave up 7 hits and 2 runs but struck out 7. As usual he didn't lose but as usual he didn't get enough run support to win. In fact it's a testament to his awesomeness that he didn't lose a game in which his team only provided him with 3 - count 'em - one - two - three - hits.
But Thursday's game was bizarre in that it was almost a carbon copy of the rained out game on Tuesday. On Tue. it was 8-5 in the 4th and on Thu. it was 9-6 and In between was Yoon Suk Min. Against ALL odds, 9-6 was the way the game stayed to its completion. Hong Sae Weon went 3/5 with 2 RBI's, Jang Sung Ho was a perfect 4/4 and Kim Sang Hoon got a HR and 4 RBI's. A sight for sore eyes, Seo Jae Eung came back from injury to fill out the deadliest starting rotation in the KBO and got the win! So Kia was 1-1 for the week.
I went to Weonju on Friday to meet some friends and do a little visiting. My good buddy Kasia and I went to the Outback Steakhouse downtown because she said they usually show the game. We got there a bit after the game started. If I'm not mistaken it was 10-3 Kia when we started watching. Kia had a 7 run first inning! ANd we missed it! DANG! After some beef fajitas and cheese fries we were booted out of the restaurant before the game even ended but the final was an amazing 16-6 for the Tigers. If only they could score runs like that for Yoon Suk Min! Jang Sung Ho was 4/6 and Kim Sun Bin was 4/5. Na Ji Weon got 2 HR's and 6 RBI's. Kim Sang Hyun had ONLY 4 RBI's. I'm telling you that guy's gonna get MVP.
Saturday's game was back in Gwangju but ironically enough I was in Cheongju, the home of the Hanhwa Eagles. That's the team the Tigers played. I could have watched the game if I was home or if it had been a road game for the Tigers while I was in Cheongju. Neither was the case and I missed it. Unfortunately it was the first time in a long time Ricky Guttormson has looked less than stellar. He gave up 7 hits and 6 runs for the loss. But he DID get 6 K's. Son Young Min was off, facing 4 guys and giving up 2 hits, a walk and 2 runs. You just never know with that guy. It seems to be either feast or famine. Far too much famine for my taste yet. The only bright spot was a 3 run HR for Hong Sae Weon and a 2/3 day for the hot hitting Kim Sun Bin.
So we had a .500 week going into Sunday. The SK Wyverns were having a week in which Kia could have made up some ground on them but the Doosan Bears were CLOBBERING their opponents all week. So we needed a win. And we had just the guy to get it for us jogging out to the mound: Yang Hyun Jong. Not Kia's best but probably their steadiest pitcher. He leads the league in ERA, (by a lot), and he's up there in strike outs. It's always a boring game when he pitches. But that's good. I personally don't think he's been as good as Guttormson but he's been great. He gave up 7 hits and 2 runs but struck out 11 and got the win 5-2. Han Ki Joo got the save and looked better than ever this season. See what happens when these guys get to play baseball?
So we went 3 wins and 2 losses with one rain out that woulda been a win. Not too shabby. The game tonight? Well, okay I'll tell you about it early.
Lopez was pitching. He's been very surprising to me since he's never been a real horse in ANY league until now. He was a 1 or 2 inning guy all his career. He has been surprisingly great for the Tigers. In fact I saw a stat flashed on the screen tonight while watching the game on TV that showed his E.R.A. in relation to his pitches and statistically speaking he gets BETTER as his pitch count gets higher. There's something Jo Bum Hyun might want to investigate! As I've been saying for AGES, Jo pulls his starters far too soon. I think the stat said that AFTER 100 pitches Lopez's ERA dropped to 1.90. Just another argument to leave the starters in longer. Something Jo don't know.
But tonight it was a game against the first place team and feared opponents of the Tigers, the Doosan Bears. They were coming off a DOMINANT week of thrashing the other team scoring 15, then 17 runs in a couple of the games. Their record against the Tigers has been dominant this year too. Something like 9-2-1. I'm not sure. Anyway, out comes Lopez. I'm watching real time updates on naver.com at home and in the 2nd inning Lee Jong Beom and Kim Sun Bin knock in a couple of runs for Kia. I decided to go to the bar and watch. When I got there it was 2-1 for Kia.
I'll start a new paragraph because this was a MONUMENTAL coaching game for Jo! There was only one pitcher tonight. I can't tell you how happy that made me! Jo let Lopez do his thing for the entire 9 innings. And as his record would indicate he just got harder and harder to hit. The final was 2-1. And I HAVE to say KUDOS to Jo for leaving Lopez in!
But I just wouldn't be me if I didn't bust Jo a little for bad coaching. It's the 9th inning for Kia. Choi Hee Seop was the leadoff hitter and he hits one of his game high two hits. A screamer down the right field line. Looked like he might have pulled a ham or something cuz he didn't even try for the double. So automatically when your leadoff hitter gets on in the 9th and you're only leading by one and your name is Jo Beom Hyun you bunt, RIGHT? Hallelujiah, NO! Mr. clutch, Kim Sang Hyun is the man who follows Choi in the lineup and it would be almost a waste to tell him to bunt. The guy who probably has the highest average with runners on in the league. To my SHOCK, Jo let him hit. What happened? He didn't get a hit. He hit a soft ground ball to the shortstop, WHO BOOTED IT! Men safe at first and second and nobody out! SEE? SEE? No, I guess not. With men at first and second and nobody out, with a 2-1 lead, it was too big a temptation for Jo to try to get some runs by BUNTING!
I have a theory that I hope you'll indulge. Since I've been here in Korea forever and since I've known and taught Koreans since 1996, I feel like I have the authority to say something like this: Koreans are in love with the idea of clever acquisition as opposed to simply getting things the old fashioned way: EARNING THEM. This is a very nice way to say they cheat like madmen at almost everything they do. I'm in the education racket and I've never seen people so compulsively inclined toward cheating. Even if we are playing a game in class with no prize for the winners SOMEBODY, (and usually more than one), is GONNA cheat. It's even worse with business as any Korean will tell you. My theory is that the bunt, or more accurately, the sacrifice bunt has the unavoidable attraction to Korean coaches of being kind of a way to CHEAT at baseball. It literally leads to "unearned" runs doesn't it? Here anything "unearned" is twice as sweet.
So anyway back to the game. Jo had the hot hitting Na Ji Weon up. Remember he's the guy who got two homers and 6 RBI's a few days before. And he's the guy I posted about before bunting into a double play when Jo called the bunt then hitting a homerun later in the game when he DIDN'T call the bunt. Well he called the bunt and although Na Ji Weon didn't bunt, the runner at second, An Chi Hong started for 3rd thinking he'd connect with the bunt. He got caught in a rundown. The end result was no runs after getting the first two runners on with good baseball and wasting them with chicken baseball. It's gonna be a LONG process to wheen Jo off the beloved cheat/bunt. But I have faith it could happen if Kia keeps playing the way they are. On the bright side, THIS time it didn't cost them. BECAUSE Jo redeemed himself by NOT calling in Son Young Min or Han Ki Joo to screw the game up. Sorry to those two but that's probly what woulda happened. And it was a classy thing to do to let Lopez get the COMPLETE game victory over the first place team that he'd earned.
Watch out Doosan and SK, Kia's comin!
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