D-11

If you've been around the Tigers you know that V-10 was on shirts, patches, jerseys, signs etc. last year and it meant Victory number 10. The Tigers are the most successful franchise in the KBO's history having won 10 league championships. This year the V-11 is almost as prominent. But as of yesterday I think D-11 would be more appropriate. D meaning defeat. The Tigers lost their 11th in a row yesterday and the causes were exactly the same as most of the losses in the current streak and the current season. I don't think I need to tell you what they are but I will one more time: coach and bullpen. And if you could narrow it down to one problem it would be the coach since he's the guy who chooses who to bring out from the bullpen.

It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out the coach needs to go. LARRY Holmes could piece that together. You go from first to worst with virtually the same players on the team anywhere else and the coach is keeping a bag packed. But for some reason Jo Beom Hyeon seems untouchable. There are fans on the Kia Tiger website calling for his release every day. People at the ballpark are starting to show discontent with the coaching staff as well. Moreso people NOT at the ball park. As Yogi Berra might have said, "Lots of people are going to Tigers games now because there's nobody in the stands." If I wasn't such a fan of the conspiracy theory I wouldn't believe the team might be purposely losing games hoping to precipitate the demise of their leader. But I DO so love a good conspiracy theory!

So, until I think the Tigers are actually trying I'm not going to summarize their exploits. It wouldn't be fair because right now I support their losing efforts. I don't know if I'd give 110% either knowing that my coach would invariably try to sabotage my efforts. I WILL tell you that I think Jo himself wants the old heave-ho. He is doing everything he can to get the boot. Why, just today I checked to see who will be pitching at the game and it will be none other than the cause of more losses than any other single player on the Kia Tiger staff: Gwag Jung Cheol. He's normally a reliever but he's doing such a great job running up the losses for the Tigers this year, Coach Jo decided he'd better move him up to starter. I just wonder who Jo will call in from the bullpen after a faltering Gwag has given up 5 runs in each of the first two innings. I wouldn't want to follow THAT act!

I was planning to visit friends today out of town but I'm seriously thinking of going to the ballpark to see this massacre. With any luck it will be the beginning of the end for Jo Beom Hyun's coaching career. I hope the Tigers can find a good coach and recover from the damage Jo has done them this season. I have been on the Lee Jong Beom bandwagon for a while but I get the feeling he doesn't want to coach the team. Most likely because he sees Coach Jo, a former superstar for the Haitai Tigers in the glory years, doing a terrible job but not getting sacked because of the respect people have for his days as a player. He probably doesn't want to be exactly like Jo, although I imagine he'd be a more knowledgeable coach and a helluva lot more of a player's coach. That's what this team needs. We'll see what happens.

If you want to check out the meaningless stats from a team that's coasting along at maybe 75% with a coach that's trying to get himself fired the "honourable" way, just check the KBO website at www.koreabaseball.com

50/50

To start this double post I want to tell you my idea of a good baseball coach. Having played and coached, I can see the game from both sides so I have a pretty good idea of how to, AND how NOT to coach. It would take too long to say exactly what makes a good coach but I'll give you just a couple of points and you will see why when you read about the Tigers' games of the past two weeks.

A coach should never think, "What can I do to win this game?" A coach should try to get his team into a position to win the game and then have the humility to let the players win it. He should NOT be jumping in at crucial points trying to make pitching changes or sending in pinch hitters to make it look like it was coaching that won the game. Not just because that usually doesn't work but because it makes the coach look like an asshole in the eyes of his players and it kills team morale. He should depend on his best players and let them do what they do best.

Which leads us to the second point: the coach should trust his best players. For hitters, he should tell them to be selective but he shouldn't be calling the "take" sign too often because that forces good hitters to watch juicy pitches go into the catcher's mit without even taking a hack at them. This is the hardest thing for a hitter to do. Well, let me amend that: A good coach shouldn't call too many sacrifice bunts because THIS is the hardest thing for a hitter to do. All hitters sac bunt reluctantly thinking, no KNOWING that they could have easily connected for a base hit up the middle instead of wasting an out on that perfectly good pitch.

For runners a coach needs to run the bases according to the players. If you have speed on the basepaths and a good contact hitter at the plate, call the hit and run. Stealing second is a MUCH higher percentage way of avoiding a double play than the sac bunt. Also a good way to fill the bases. And for the love of BUDDHA if you have a speedster rounding third and the fielder still doesn't have the ball, wave him home! There's nothing a runner hates worse than dying on third especially after having a chance to run home squandered by the third base coach's stop sign. Hell, I say wave guys home even if the fielder HAS the ball because it'll force him to make a good throw to home and the catcher to make a good tag. If both can do so, they've earned the out. If not we get another run. I'd rather see an out at the plate because of aggressive base running than watch a guy stranded on third because of careful base running. And so would every single player on the bench.

And for pitchers, (and I'm talking about starters here, the most valuable guys on your team), DON'T worry about rest! It wasn't long ago that pitchers pitched consecutive games! When did they start becoming so fragile that they need a week's rest between starts? 6-man rotations NEVER work. Mostly because it's very hard to find 6 great pitchers. If you have 5, use 5. If you have 4, use 4. Don't throw mediocre pitchers into the rotation to give the good starters time to rest. That's ludicrous. Most starters get better as the game goes along. So if they struggle a bit in the early innings don't resort to the bullpen or you'll tire THEM out. And if you have a bad bullpen, as the Tigers most certainly do, you really don't want them working tired. Also, it rots my socks off when I see a starter give up a hit or walk in the 8th or 9th inning and get instantly pulled for it. Or if they're breezing along and for no other reason but pitch count they're yanked in the late innings. Be patient with them! They're human beings, not computers. Some dayst hey can throw 200 pitches, some days they cool off after 90. However, a warm starter is almost always gonna be better than a cold reliever. ALWAYS when you are the coach of the Kia Tigers.

These are all ways to get your players playing for you. If players want to win for you, they play better and they make you look good. You don't need to look good by acting like a great tactician. Chest bump a player. Get a fist bump or a high five. THAT makes you look like a good coach. Best coach in the KBO is coaching the Lotte Giants. Watch them to see what a difference it makes.

Anyway, you didn't have to watch the Tigers to know what happened in the past two weeks. More of the same with only a few new things.

June 8 - The Doosan Bears came to town and of course I went to see our ace, Yang Hyun Jong face down the second place team. He usually pitches a boring game and this one was no exception. He went 7 innings allowing 6 hits and 7 walks and only striking out 4. Not one of his best performances statistically. But he only allowed one run. When he left it was tied at 1. The relievers did well. This game was a tactical battle between the coaches and absolutely fugly to watch! WAY too much bunting and messing around! In the end it was a tactical mistake by Doosan's coach that lost the game for them. After Kim Sun Bin was bunted to second the coach of the Bears pulled the outfield in expecting Kim to score on a base hit. If he'd been watching the Tigers this season he'd know it would have taken TWO base hits to score Kim because he would have been held up at third. At any rate the EXTREME move of drawing in the outfield allowed Lee Yong Gyu to just swing hard and that's what he did hitting a lazy fly ball over the head of the fielder who would have caught it if the coaches had let the payers play. Unfortunately for Yang he didn't get the win. Virtual unknown An Yung Myung, (whose name sounds like chewing gum), threw 3 pitches and got the win. If you are a good coach you remember this game and how pulling the outfield in cost the opponent. Final Kia 2 Doosan 1

June 9 - I went to THIS one too. Colon looked good going 6 allowing only 3 hits and a walk and fanning 3. The relievers also pitched well. This was a great game to watch. Especially Kim Sun Bin who is Mr. Excitement right now for the Tigers! Hitting and running and stealing and sliding. The players played and the coach allowed them to. Nice to watch. And Colon is now 3-0 and starting to make his undefeated record look legitimate. Final Tigers 7 Bears 0

June 10 - Could we sweep the second place Bears? Extra starter Jeon Tae Hyun got the start on this day. He did well. Not a lot happened in this one. Gwag, who has been awful this year, let in the two extra runs that lost it for the Tigers but Jeon took the hit because they were let on base by him. I'd prefer to see the starter try to work his way out of trouble rather than letting the bullpen blow the game. Anyway, he's now 2-4. The Tigers outhit the Bears but couldn't get the win. Final Doosan 3 Kia 1

June 11 - LG came to town and with my favourite pitcher on the mound I was in the stands. I got wet for my trouble but it was also good to see Kim Sang Hyun, last year's league MVP, back in uniform for the Tigers. The game was what I've come to expect from a Yoon Suk Min outing. First run was unearned. Scored without the aid of a hit. Fourth run was scored by a guy reached base on a defensive error. And the relief pitching allowed a 2-run homer. Without that, Yoon would have won 3-2. But he's cursed. I'm sure of it! He went 7 2/3 giving up 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 5. How does that translate into 4 runs for any OTHER pitcher? Again the Tigers outhit the opposition with Kim Sun Bin remaining hot but they let this one get away. Final LG 6 Kia 3

June 12 - Lopez didn't pitch TERRIBLE in this one but he gave up a 2-run homer and a 3-run homer. It's hard to win like that. And after Kim Sun Bin was told to bunt a guy to second and heroically bunted aggressively sliding into first for a base hit, Lee Jong Beom was told to bunt the runners from 1st and 2nd to 2nd and 3rd and while attempting the bunt he got hit directly in the head by a pitch. As if there weren't enough reasons for coach Jo to stop the sac bunting! Anyway, I won't talk too much about this other than Lopez is now 1-4 and the final was LG 11 Kia 0

June 13 - Maybe Seo Jae Eung could get us a win at home against the lowly Twins who were feeding the Tigers their arses for the past two games. He gave up 5 hits and 2 runs over 5 2/3 innings. Not bad. Gwag Jung Cheol gave up 3 runs in his 1 inning stinking Moodeung Stadium up again but the Tigers bats were alive on the evening. Kim Sang Hyun got his first homer since returning, Kim Sun Bin continued to tear it up and An Chi Hong went 2/4 with a 3-run home run and 4 RBI's. The final was Kia 9 LG 5

What do you know? Another 3-3 week!

June 15 - Let's start the week off right with Yang Hyun Jong's 10th win shall we? Again he didn't pitch a gem giving up 7 hits and 4 walks in 5 2/3 innings but he only allowed a single run. The heart of the Kia Tiger batting order Choi Hee Seop, Kim Sang Hyun, Kim Sang Hoon and An Chi Hong all went 2/4 on the night. Final score Kia 7 Hanhwa 1

June 16 - Perfect record on the line, Colon pitched well once again. He gave up 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4 while only giving up a run before being pulled after his usual 6 innings. I'd like to see coach Jo leave him in longer. But on this night the bullpen didn't blow the lead and with three hit nights by Kim Sun Bin and An Chi Hong and with three guys getting home runs, (An, Big Choi and Na Ji Weon), the one run Colon surrendered didn't cost the team. Final score was Kia 8 Hanhwa 1

June 17 - Jeon Tae Hyun pitched so-so and his relief didn't do much better in this back and forth battle. The lead changed several times but the Tigers ended up on top for the sweep of the Hanhwa Eagles. An Yung Myung, who pitched an ugly inning and 2/3 ended up with the win. He's now got more wins than Lopez! Try to figure the game of baseball! Former Tiger Chang Sung Ho looked good going 2/3 with a walk and scoring twice. Jo doesn't think we can use him any more I guess. Big Choi, Kim Sang Hoon and Na Ji Weon picked up homers and for the second straight day Kia had three in a game! This was a strange one! I even saw Jo Beom Hyeon out of his shadowy corner of the dugout FIST BUMPING players! Maybe this is a good thing. Final Kia 7 Hanhwa 6

June 18 - Two of the best pitchers in the league battling it out in this one. Yoon Suk Min with his silly 4-3 record that should be like 7-1 and Kadokura at 8-4 for the dreaded SK Wyverns. Would the Yoon Suk Min curse continue? In the FIRST INNING Choi Hee Seop committed a throwing error that allowed the first run to score. Here we go again! However, later in the game Yoon obviously balked and it wasn't called. It allowed him to get out of a lot of trouble. A bit of good luck for the hard luck Yoon! I thought things might be changing. He went 8 1/3 giving up 6 hits and 2 walks to the solid SK lineup. He made it the whole game with a 3-1 lead. In the 9th he gave up a leadoff single and after getting an out the guy was singled home. It was 3-2 with a guy at first base. Yoon had been baffling the Wyvern batters all day long striking out 6 of them. Why bring in any member of the worst bullpen in the league at this point? A ground ball could be a game-ending double play! Do you think there's anybody in the bullpen more likely to induce that ground ball than Yoon? Or he could just get the next two guys. His pitch count was 132 but his speed was still up there. But Jo saw the opportunity to win the game by coaching instead of letting the players play. On comes Yoon-killer Son Young Min. How bad is it when your most feared opposing pitcher is a teammate? Son promptly allows a stolen base then walks the next batter. And then in this, his coaching magnum opus, Jo calls Seo Jae Eung out. To ensure it was his masterpiece he also draws in the outfield. With not the winning run two bases away standing on second, the TYING run on second base. You pull the outfield in to guard against a hit. A hit that knocks in the game winning run! In this case the hit MAY have only tied the game. Or it might have just loaded the bases if the runner was held at third. But a fly ball over the drawn-in infield, (which is far easier to get than a hit), wins the game. And that's exactly what happened. Harken back to the earlier game on June 8th. This is just one example of many I've noticed that indicate how Jo Beom Hyun just doesn't learn. This game WAS Jo's masterpiece in my mind. It just goes to show that the Tigers are not just playing against the other team, they're battling bad coaching as well. Final: Wyverns 4 Tigers 3

June 19 and 20. I was too depressed to watch these games. Instead, (OH MY GOD!), opting for soccer! But you know exactly what to expect. Kia lost both making sure to get their 3-3 split for the week. Lopez with yet another ugly loss and a 3-hitter hurled by SK pitcher Kim Gwang Hyun. Seo took the loss and Gwag stunk again. Finals SK 10 Kia 4 and SK 4 Kia 0

I don't think I'll be able to document all the games this year. I'll be on vacation in Canada soon and am not sure if I can watch the games on naver over there. Not sure I will want to. And I'm VERY sure I'll have better things to do. But I'll likely be back at the end of the year if Kia makes the playoff. I sure hope so.

Waiting to pounce

I think the Tigers are much better than a .500 ball club but that's the team's record overall, we seem to be winning half our games every week, last week we were 3 and 3 and what do you wanna bet we'll do the same this week? (Since I wrote this on Monday, I already know that I would WIN that bet.) It seems to me like tigers, this team is lurking in the tall grass of the savannah just beyond pouncing range of the rest of the teams in the league. So the Wyverns are like Wild Boar; the Bears are like Buffalo; the Lions are like Lizards, (large monitor lizards - yum); the Giants are like Gazelles, (is it gazelles or gazelle?); the Twins are like Turtles, (the delicious kind that live in the ponds the Tigers swim in); and the Eagles are like Elephant Babies. Tigers eat elephant babies! They do!

I think it'll take some real effort on the part of the coach to improve morale on the team before they pounce, however. If this team were set loose they could win it all again. Right now they ARE playing like stalking tigers. Being very careful not to get noticed and although they're hungry for a good, fat kill, they seem more concerned right now about scaring the herd away.

Anyhoo,

June 1 - Lopez came into this one with a 1-4 record and an ERA of 4.79. He improved his ERA but didn't get the win. This was yet another game Lopez deserved to win but didn't. He pitched 5 1/3 giving up 5 hits and a run but striking out 4. Don't know why he was pulled. He was happily cruising along with a 2-0 lead until he was called for a balk. It was a mysterious call since he had been pitching most of the game with only a fraction of a second of discernable stoppage in his windup. The timing of it allowed a runner to advance to second and then score on the ensuing base hit. Otherwise Lopez would have left with a 2-0 lead. But the Tiger bullpen can blow ANY lead. It was 2-1 in the 7th when Son Young Min came in. He pitched GREAT! Gave up only one hit and struck out 3! Then he got hit by a ball hit up the middle and for the first time EVER I was sad to see him LEAVING the field. Why can't he get hit on the nights when he's blowing somebody's 4-run lead? NO! He's gotta get hit when he's got the other team baffled as to what's coming next. So on came Kwag Jung Cheol.

He didn't pitch badly. Well not badly for HIM. There was a blooper hit into no-man's-land in shallow right center that was NOT caught by three guys. As I was saying, team morale is important. It's sometimes the difference between "I got it" and "You get it" on a team. Here was an example. SOMEbody gets to that ball normally. Then with 2 outs and guys on 2nd and 3rd Kwag threw four pitches a couple feet out of the strike zone OBVIOUSLY having been told to walk the bases full. This is another one of those bonehead coaching plays that is more popular than it should be. It's done so that the third out can be made at any base. But it's done in the major leagues where pitchers can throw strikes. It should NEVER EVER be done when any member of the Kia Tiger bullpen is pitching. So with the bases loaded Kwag starts looking shakey. He throws a wild pitch that almost scores a run. Then the batter gets the count to 3 and 2. Or 2 and 3 here in Korea. Everybody in the building knows there's a batting practice fastball right down the middle coming because you don't want to walk in the winning run. BLAM base hit - 4-2. Lee Jong Beom was 2/4 and had the only RBI for the Tigers. It's always nice to see him hitting well. Nobody else hit though. The Lions bullpen sent out pitcher after pitcher with ERA's below 3! If Kia just had ONE relief pitcher like that we might win some of these bullpen battles! Let me rephrase that: if Kia just USED one.... We have them but they're not being used much. Final score: Lions 4 Tigers 2

June 2 - Brandon Knight against the winningest pitcher in the KBO, our very own Yang Hyun Jong. It's odd that even though he's got 8 wins his ERA is at 3.86. It's be nice to see that drop a little bit. How about a complete game shutout to lower it? For I think only the second time this year Jo left the starting pitcher in for the entire game and Yang fired a gem! 129 pitches in a 4-hitter that included 9 K's. Not much else to report here. Cha Il Mok got the 2 RBI's and went 2/4 on the night. For the second game in a row the Tigers got only 5 hits. But they didn't need any more than that because they didn't need to use their bullpen. I actually fell asleep while watching this game but I like the result! Final score: Kia 2 Samsung 0

June 3 - Colon on the mound with a perfect 1-0 record, (har), and an ERA of 5.74. He gave up 7 hits but only walked one in this one. The Lions got 2 runs on him but he struck out 5 batters. He was in trouble a bit but never looked too bad. A well earned victory for him. Choi Hee Seop who had 3 walks on Tuesday and 3 walks on Wednesday decided to swing his bat and went 3/4 with a homer, 2 RBI's and 3 runs scored. Lee Yong Gyu was 3/5 too and Kim Weon Seop went 1/2 with a homer, an RBI, a run and 2 walks. When Lee Yong Gyu and Kim Weon Seop get on base things happen. If you want to truly play "small ball" you have to utilize these two speedsters!

In the 7th inning Lee led off with a base hit. Then he stole second because Kim wasn't told to sac bunt. The throw to get him at second floated into center field so Lee went to 3rd. Kim worked a walk. Then he stole second and maintained his 100% stealing rate. While doing so Lee almost took off for home. I was hoping he would. I bet he'd have made it. They almost got a run off a hit and a walk! I just WISH coach Jo would stop telling Kim to bunt so much! Like he did in the 9th inning when he bunted Lee to second then he reached 3rd on Na's sac fly and Choi Hee Seop cranked one out of the park making the sac bunt yet another wasted at bat for Kim, one of the team's best players. Who knows what would have happened if Kim was allowed to hit? In the 4th Lee got an out so Kim HAD to hit because there was nobody to sacrifice bunt for. He got a home run! HEY he had 8 of them last year! It's such a waste to see him bunting! But maybe this pattern won't remain unnoticed by the coaching staff all season long. Final score: Kia 8 Samsung 3

June 4 - After taking 2 of 3 from the Lions, Kia swaggered into the thin air of Mok Dong to play the Heroe's, a team below them in the KBO standings. The ball was really flying in this one. The Tigers sent Jeon Tae Hyun out for the start. His 1-3 record and 5.76 ERA are remarkably similar to Lopez's even though Jeon is nowhere near as good a pitcher. Pitchers' numbers depend on a lot of things other than just their talent. Jeon gave up 6 hits and 3 walks in his 5 2/3 innings in this one. That's not bad. He did give up 2 runs both by way of the solo home run but at the end of the day he had the same record as Lopez with a lower ERA. Never would have predicted THAT! Choi Hee Seop went 3/3 in the game and STILL got 2 walks. In the 4th Kim Sun Bin almost got an inside-the-park homerun but he was held at third. I was nervous that he'd die there like so many have but Lee Jong Hwan homered him in. Then in the 5th Na Ji Weon hit a MONSTER 3-run job and he KNEW it! Clark hit two out for the other team but that wasn't enough. I won't mention the bullpen collapse because it didn't lose us the game and I like seeing coach Jo using some of the other guys. The final was: Kia 7 Nexen 4

June 5 - Ugh! Do I have to re-live this? Yoon Suk Min was the pitcher again. He's 4-2 this season with a 3.66 ERA. I went bowling with friends on this night. While waiting for everybody to show up I caught the first inning on the TV at the alley. The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a pitcher named Ko Weon Joon, who is not bad! He's 2-2 but he's got a 2.16 ERA! We smoked his ERA in the FIRST inning! He threw 46 pitches and I thought for sure we'd just keep on shelling him. Either way a 4-0 lead should have been enough for Yoon since he doesn't give up that many runs a game. So in this amazing first inning the Tigers had 4 runs and still had no outs against them. With runners on 2nd and 3rd Kim Sun Bin hit a fly ball to right field. Na Ji Weon tagged up and started home. I thought he would have made it but he stopped. Lee Jong Hwan walked and bases were loaded. Hong Jae Ho, who had a nice bases loaded double for his first base hit in the KBO, came up. He hit a foul ball down the right field line. If the first or second baseman had caught it, Na probably could have run home, but they didn't get there. Actually at the time I was thinking they might just have slowed up and not tried for it. It turned out to be smart. Hong struck out and Lee Yong Gyu came up for the second time in the inning and grounded out. I thought it should have been 5-0 but was hopeful that this wouldn't hurt the Tigers' efforts on this day.

Yoon didn't look his best. He walked a guy in the first then two guys hit the ball solidly but right into Lee Yong Gyu's mitt. But in the 2nd they got to him. In a way that must have made OUR coach fall in love with the bunt again. With runners at 1st and 2nd the Nexen coach sac bunted them to 2nd and 3rd. Then they BOTH got home on a productive out and a Yoon wild pitch. I just hate to see that! So it was 4-3.

This game actually came down to one PITCH in my opinion. In the 5th inning Yoon gave up a leadoff single. Then the second batter was started off with a strike. The second pitch was better than the first but the ump didn't do anything. The announcer made a wind-sucking hissing noise, the crowd went silent, Yoon, the catcher and the batter were all waiting for the strike call but it never came. They showed a replay and it looked even better in slow mo. The announcers questioned it and Yoon shook his head but it was called a ball. Maybe the ump got something caught in his throat. Had the ump called it right it would have been a strike-out since the 4th pitch in the at-bat was a strike. Instead there was a stolen base and an RBI double to tie the game at 4-4. Yoon struck out the next two guys so if not for that non-call he would have been out of the inning with the 4-3 lead intact. Next guy comes up and gets a hit to make it 5-4 Nexen.

Yoon Suk Min is my favourite player so take this with a grain of salt if you will but he deserved a win on this night too. He had two strikes on 16 batters in the 7 innings he pitched in this game. He managed to get the 3rd strike 5 times but 6 guys got hits and 1 got a walk after Yoon had them down 2 strikes. It always seems to be that third strike that's the hardest! Before Yoon exited the Tigers made the game interesting by tying it at 5 on ANOTHER Kim Weon Seop solo homerun. But with Kia's bullpen a tie in the late innings is rarely interesting. Yoo Dong Hoon walked a couple and gave up a hit and it was 6-5 in no time. That was the final.

June 6 - I actually didn't watch this game. I think it might be the first of the season I have completely missed. And I'm kind of glad I did. This could be used as a template for most of the Tigers' losses this year. In fact scroll back to June 1st and read that. This was almost a carbon copy. Lopez came out and pitched well. He gave up 7 hits, 2 walks and 4 runs all in the 7th inning, which was his last. He had been cruising along with a 4-0 lead to that point. Then the bullpen took over and Kwag Jung Cheol gave up 2 hits and 2 walks in the 10th and, VOILA, another .500 week. The Tigers managed only 4 hits in this one so I suppose the Heroes deserved the win. Final: Heroes 5 Tigers 4

It was a better week for coaching. I noticed more people rounding 3rd without jamming on the brakes this week. I also saw what I believe to have been a hit and run attempt in the second inning of Wednesday's game. Granted it was with Choi and Cha who probably aren't the best candidates for this strategy and Choi DID get nailed at second since Cha didn't make contact with the pitch but maybe this is a work in progress. Also it's good to see the leadoff speed on the basepaths. But our losses came down to bad bullpen in this one so although the coach is the guy who makes the decision to bring in relief pitching, I don't feel that the coach was so much at fault this week. Which is nice. But I STILL made a sign that I'm bringing to the ball game tomorrow that says, Jo Bum Hyun --> Jo BUNT Hyun. Just in case.

Into June - More questionable coaching

The baseball world was shocked by the loss of Jose Lima this past week. One of the real characters in the game! While he was pitching for the Tigers I got the chance to shake his hand a couple of times and chatted a bit with him. He told me that he, like me, loved golfing. He talked about the courses in Texas and I told him a bit about the courses in Thailand. It would have been a real pleasure to golf with him I'm sure.

He was a flamboyant one-time MLB all star who had a 21-win season in '99 with the Astros. Here's some footage of him in a Tiger uniform. He was a fan favourite here as he was everywhere he pitched. It wasn't hard to see that he enjoyed a good time and although that may have contributed to his inconsistancy at times, he was great for the Tigers' team morale. I liked him in the short time he was here. I am not sure why he was released by the Tigers but I remember one time asking him why he was pulled in a game and he shook his head like I have so many times in wonder at Jo Bum Hyun's tendancy to yank starters who are pitching well and are not tired.

A candle that burns brightest always burns fastest. Farewell Jose.

May 25th - The Tigers travelled to Seoul to face the LG Twins. They started the series with workhorse Aquilino Lopez. He pitched 8 full innings giving up 12 hits and 5 runs. Despite the previous comment about Jo Bum Hyun, he seems to be leaving starters in a bit longer this season. That's a good thing! However this was yet another game that was probably lost via the sac bunt. In the 2nd inning Lee Jung Hwan got a leadoff single and Cha Il Mok was promptly squaring around for the sac. Pak Ki Nam lined out and then Lee Hyun Gon got an RBI double. It seemed to all watching like the bunt worked but the double would have scored Lee from first even if the hot-hitting Cha didn't get a productive out. And, of course, if he managed to reach safely the Tigers would have had another run and another out and who knows what would have happened? It came back to bite them later in the game.

In the 6th Choi Hee Seop led off with a walk and immediately got bunted to second. Lee grounded out and Cha struck out. Again, what might have happened if the bunter, who I think was Kim Sang Hoon, had been allowed to swing the bat?

The 7th inning included an even bigger coaching mistake. Pak Ki Nam led off with a walk and Lee Hyun Gon was NOT told to bunt behind him. What do you know - base hit! Next batter was Lee Yong Gyu and because HE wasn't sacrificing he got hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases. Here's where the brain fart occured. Jo decides to pinch hit for the fastest guy on the team, (and therefore the worst double-play candidate), Kim Weon Seop and put in a guy who ALWAYS looks very nervous at the plate, Choi Yong Gyu. Pull the veteran who's warm and already has a hit in the game and put in the nervous youngster, cold off the bench in a crucial bases-loaded situation. It may have appeared that he was pulling a lefty to put in a righty but the previous lefty got hit by a pitch and I don't put a lot of stock in that philosophy anyways. I bat right and hit better against right-handed pitchers and there are a LOT of guys like me. Anyway, we'll see that this probably wasn't what Jo was thinking. What he WAS thinking, nobody knows. If he wanted a righty he could have put in Na Ji Weon or even Hong Sae Weon, two guys who would not have been nervous and are FAR more likely to get hits or maybe even grand slams. Predictably Choi struck out and he looked so nervous he probably would have run to third had he hit the ball. Next batter An Chi Hong hit into a rally-squelching double play.

In the 8th Choi led off again with a single. Kim Sang Hoon flied out. I was happy not to see him bunting. Then Jo pulled the lefty Lee Jong Hwan to put in a righty against a right-handed pitcher. Amazingly Lee Yeong Su hit a home run that tied the game at 4. But it wasn't enough. LG managed to pull out the win. This is definitely another game the Tigers lost because of bad coaching. Final score: LG 5 Kia 4.

May 26th - This was the start of some very strange games for the Tigers. Yoon Suk Min was on the mound for what would prove to be the worst outing I've ever seen for him. He threw 45 pitches, got only 2 outs and gave up 6 hits, 3 walks and 8 runs! In his defence Lee Jong Beom had hit a solo homerun in top of the first inning and if Lee Yong Gyu hadn't been picked off at first Yoon would have started with a 2-0 lead! He's just not used to that! Also errors have plagued the defence during his starts and there was one bases-loaded mistake by Pak Ki Nam at third that caused 2 of the runs to score. But he just didn't have it on this day. Neither did Lee Dae Jin or Kwag Jung Cheol. Maybe it was a new shipment of corked bats for the LG Twins cuz they were hitting EVERYTHING! On the bright side... well, there was no bright side. Final score: LG 20 Kia I don't know, it doesn't matter. Next! (4)

May 27th - Yang Hyun Jong was hoping the Twins got all their hits out of their system the night before. He cruised right along until the 7th inning before giving up a couple of runs. He surrendered 7 hits, 4 walks and 2 runs. He got 5 strikeouts though. He improved his 3.98 ERA and became the league's leading pitcher with his 8th win. Lee Jong Beom, Choi Hee Seop - 3 hits, Cha Il Mok, Kim Weon Seop, Kim Sun Bin - 2 hits apiece. And relative unknown Lee Young Soo almost got his second homer in as many days but had to settle for an RBI double off the wall. He got 2 hits and 2 RBI's. Big Choi got 4 RBI's and 2 runs and Cha Il Mok got 3 RBI's and 3 runs. What a difference a day makes! A virtual reversal of the game the night before.

I hate to find anything wrong in a gorgeous game like this but I have to bring this up: in the 4th inning Kia was LEADING 5-0 and Kim Sun Bin got a leadoff double. The next batter was Lee Hyun Gon and he was told to bunt. I'm sorry folks but there is absolutely no defending incompetent coaching like this! Imagine if you're Lee Hyun Gon. He's a former batting title winner. And he's told to bunt FAR too often. In this case Lee Yong Gyu, the next batter, got a double that the fielder misplayed, which would have allowed Kim Sun Bin to crawl home. From SECOND! Lee Hyun Gon is like any baseball player in the world, he wants to hit. When the coach blatantly wastes a good hitting opportunity like this it sure doesn't make him want to play his heart out for the coach. And when the team sees him just WASTING outs like he does EVERY game, they get demoralized. In the same inning the Tigers went from 5-0 to 11-0 with the only out being the inexplicable sacrifice from 2nd to 3rd. That's 6 runs on one out, folks. When you sacrifice bunt, you sacrifice an out. How many of the outs Jo needlessly gives up would have been 6-run outs like this one? Nobody knows. That's the only reason Jo hasn't been fired, although he should have been by now. And I suppose the fact that despite his tactics the team STILL managed to win the championship last year.

Maybe a lot of the fans don't know it but the players do. Other than the overused relief pitching staff, do ANY of the Tigers actually LIKE playing for Jo Beom Hyun? I don't know how they could. It just hurts the team. Final Kia 15 LG 4

May 28th - Seo Jae Eung takes the mound with a 3-1 record and 3.69 ERA. After the huge scoring of the previous two games I said to my students I was watching the game with, "Now watch this game be 1-0." It just might have been if Seo was left in. We'll never know. He got into trouble a couple times but got out of it and had a great day. 5 hits, 2 walks, NO runs and 4 strikeouts. Then on comes Son Young Min. He allows 5 runs to score and that's pretty much the ball game. The Tigers made a good attempt to come back in the bottom of the inning but came up short. It's gotta be tough on a pitcher like Seo watching a really good effort destroyed in such a short time! Another thing that will drive your team morale into the dirt. Final Hanhwa 5 Kia 3

May 29th - Colon took the mound looking for his first win as a Tiger and hoping to lower his gaudy 5.23 ERA. The Eagles seemed to have something going in every inning but to his credit, Colon pitched out of trouble a lot in this game. He was helped by some officiating too. In the 4th there was an Eagle on 3rd and the batter hit a grounder to the 3rd baseman. The runner tried to run home but the throw beat him so he was in a run-down. It looked to me like the Kia catcher waited too long to throw the ball back to 3rd but the ump ruled that the runner had been tagged out before getting back. Lucky for Colon because his next pitch was a wild one that would have scored a run. He went 5 innings giving up 6 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 2 and hit two guys. It wasn't pretty but his only run came on a homer in the 5th that was thrown back a la Chicago's Wrigly Field at the insistance of the house full of foreigners. And despite some more awful pitching by Kim Hee Geol and Kwag Jeong Cheol, (who gave up 5 runs between them), Colon got his first win. An Chi Hong and Choi Hee Seop each went 2/4 with 3 RBI's in the game. Final: Kia 8 Hanhwa 6

May 30th - Even though it was a Sunday game and I knew it would be chock-a-block full I went to Moodeung Stadium and stood in line for an hour to get good seats for this one. It was Yoon Suk Min's chance to make ammends for his horrible 8-run inning in his previous appearance. And he wanted to lower his ERA that had ballooned to 3.86 because of his disastrous last start. He did all of the above going 8 innings striking out 8 allowing only 3 hits, 5 walks and 2 runs. He looked a bit shaky in the beginnning giving up a run but he's just more comfortable pitching while he's behind I guess. And the Tigers DID give him some runs in this one. The batters turned a modest 7 hits into 6 runs for the Tigers. That was plenty for Yoon. Kim Sun Bin went 2/3 with 2 RBI's but the hero of the day was Na Ji Weon who took a baseball off the noggin in the 2nd inning but kept playing. He was 1/2 with 2 RBI's and a run scored in the same inning he got beaned. What a stud! I was watching with my friends Guns and Amber and we all like Na Ji Weon even more now. Pretty hard for Amber who already wanted to marry him. Final: Kia 6 Hanhwa 2

So like Yoon Suk Min, the Tigers were .500 for the week. 4-2 sounds so much better than 3-3 doesn't it? With a little bit of smart coaching we could have been... But that's the joy of being a fan of the Terrible Tigers. See you next week.

Take the good with the bad

The games were rained out May 18th. It was the 30th anniversary of the Gwangju Riots or massacre or uprising or whatever you choose to call the incidents, and I went downtown in the rain to have a beer with friends. Or to have beers with a friend. Either was fine. The taxi couldn't stop where I wanted because the streets were blocked off for an "Oh Il Pal" memorial of sorts. They had a stage set up with some bands playing and people dancing. There were memorial paintings and such. And there were plastic wrapped reporters talking into mini walkie-talkie-looking mikes with red lights on them. As I walked by one I pulled a crazy face and threw up a deuce. I forgot to say hi to Mom though. Don't know if I made it onto TV or not. The higher paid reporters were in a glass box on a stage with a panel of dignitaries waxing historical and the concert was their backdrop. The celebrations really brought the house down lemme tell you!

May 19th - This was a painful game for me to watch! If you missed the game but follow this blog, you can guess what happened. Yoon Suk Min was the starting pitcher. The game was in Koonsan but it was considered a home game for the Tigers. I didn't go because I would have had to stay overnight in Koonsan. Yoon pitched very well giving up only 3 hits over 8 innings. This is a very LONG appearance. Two in a row now for Yoon. Maybe coach Jo is starting to trust him. He only gave up one walk but struck out 5. And he had a LOT batters with 2 strikes on them. One guy hit the ball solid and got a home run but when Yoon was pulled after the 8th he had a 2-1 lead. He had only thrown 100 pitches and as usual there were no real signs that he couldn't continue dominating. But I guess Jo was getting bored on the bench. In his defence, I too was getting bored watching the Tiger batters give their usual support to Yoon: a grand total of 4 hits. I don't know how Choi Hee Seop and Cha Il Mok go yard back to back in the 2nd inning and for the rest of the game the whole team manages just 2 hits. The opposing pitcher, Song Seung Joon is pretty good but he's only 3-3 this year. He's not Nolan Ryan. The Yoon Suk Min curse I guess.

That was it. That was all. Shoulda been a boring 4th win for Yoon. But Jo spiced it up by bringing in Yoo Dong Hoon. He's a pretty dependable closer but he stunk the place out on this night. First batter - double. Next batter - single but the drawn in outfielder, Kim Weon Seop, bobbled the ball and allowed the runner to score. Voila! Tie game! 2-2. Another fine Yoon Suk Min performance wasted. Next batter bunts the guy from second to 3rd. Then Jo shakes things up a bit more by walking Lee Dae Ho intentionally and giving an intentional/unintentional four-pitch walk to Garcia thereby leaving no margin of error for Yoo Dong Hoon because the bases were loaded. Have I asked this question before: Is there any bullpen that hits more batters than the Tiger bullpen? Yoo Dong Hoon hit a batter with the bases loaded and that made the final score: Lotte 3 Kia 2

May 20th - Seo Jae Eung got the start. He's been great this year and has a 3-0 record but could be 5-0. He went 5 1/3 giving up 6 hits, 2 walks and striking out 4. Not too shabby. Somehow 5 runs were scored on him! You don't suppose it had anything to do with being replaced by Kim Hee Geol, who had a bazillion ERA on the night because he didn't get an out, do you? The Tigers had a great rally in the 7th that went 2B, 2B, 1B, 2B, BB, 1B but ended abruptly on a bases loaded double play hit into by Lee Yong Gyu. The worst part was in that same at bat he spanked a ball out of the park but it was a bit foul. However, some more bad pitching, this time by Jo Tae Soo, got Lotte the win. An Chi Hong went 3/3, Choi Yong Gyu was 2/2 pinch hitting, and there was yet another good performance by Park Gyung Tae pitching 1 1/3 and giving up no hits. But the final was Lotte 9 Kia 4

May 21st - The Nexen Heroes came to town. This KBO's second most winning pitcher Yang Hyun Jong took the mound for the Tigers in this one. He pitched great! A full 7 innings of 4-hit ball with 3 walks and 6 K's. He gave up 3 runs in there but the Tigers' gave him 7 hits and 5 runs worth of support.

I hated watching this game because it started like so many with the 1st batter of the 1st inning, Lee Yong Gyu, getting a hit and the next batter sacrifice bunting. Obviously Jo decided to play chicken ball on the night. In the 3rd again Lee Yong Gyu got on and the next batter sac bunted. I was happy to see the Heroes rather unheroic booting of the bunt and the ensuing An Chi Hong 2 RBI single and Choi Hee Seop 2-run Homer, BUT, this is just gonna make Jo think that bunting is working! Even worse, in the 6th Kim Sang Hoon was walked and the next guy sac bunted, then Park Ki Nam got an RBI double. The sac bunt DID work! Now we'll NEVER see the end of it! Yang got his seventh win, Lopez, (for some reason), got a save, but none of it was because of the bunting. Final score Kia 5 Nexen 3

May 22nd - The game was rained out. I was visiting friends so I didn't mind the game being cancelled. I couldn't go anyway.

May 23rd - I was on the train home when this game began. Colon got the start and threw 59 pitches in the first two innings. He gave up 3 hits, 5 walks and 3 runs. I was nearing Gwangju Station while this was happening. Then another pretty good appearance by oldster Lee Dae Jin. That's a treat. But the pitching wasn't the story. I was walking home from the train station with a heavy backpack full of groceries and clothes from the weekend and it was a bit bofore 7 pm. I reckoned it would be about the 6th inning so I decided not to go into Moodeung Stadium to catch the end of the game. What a mistake! As it turns out because of the marathon pitching session by Colon, it was only the 5th. And WHAT A 5th!

With the score 3-3, Choi Hee Seop leads off the festivities with a 1-out walk. Next Kim Sang Hoon worked a walk. Then Cha Il Mok did something he's probably never done: he got a base hit, Choi was wisely waved home and the throw to home wasn't in time. Cha chugged his way to second. Then the catcher tried to throw Kim out at 3rd but the throw sailed into deep left field, which had been vacated by the fielder covering Cha's hit up the middle. Cha continued his odyssey to 3rd behind the scoring Kim Sang Hoon. Two catchers running the bases like jackrabbits! Then Cha made the turn for home. He made an ugly slide and was SAFE! An error-assisted inside the park home run that plated, (aside from pitchers and Na Ji Weon), probably the three biggest and slowest guys on the team! SEE? You don't need to be Ricky Henderson to run the bases aggressively. This would have been worth the price of admission all by itself. But there was more to come! Pak Ki Nam, who by the way is ON FIRE, hit a solo homer. 7-3 Tigers.

In the 7th inning there were two walks to start off. No sac bunt resulted in a walk. By this time I was home and watching the game on my computer. I was talking to myself when I saw the third batter, Cha Il Mok square around to bunt the runners from 1st and 2nd to 2nd and 3rd. But then, the unthinkable! He pulls back and gets a base hit into right field! Bases loaded without a sacrifice! Then Park Ki Nam 2 RBI's with a single; Kim Weon Seop 2 RBI's with a double; then Lee Yong Gyu and Lee Hyun Gon follow up with RBI singles. SEE? This would have bee sacrificed if they had sacrificed. I didn't see this full game but it looked completely different from the chicken ball in the previous game. Why oh why can't we just stick with this kind of baseball? Anyway, the final score was Kia 13 Nexen 3

Again I'm confused by the coaching. Very inconsistant. But we're back to .500 and on a two-game winning streak. Cautious optimism.

Better ball for a while.

May 11 - The Nexen Heroes came to town. I decided to go to the game and cheer on my favourite player, Yoon Suk Min. He did NOT disappoint! Unbelievably coach Jo kept him in for the ENTIRE game! 9 FULL innings! He gave up 7 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks and struck out 7. NINE innings! Complete game! Can't rememer the last one for the Tigers! Let's hope this is a sign of things to come! In the 5th Lee Yong Gyu got a one-out double. Next hitter An Chi Hong was walked and then Choi Hee Seop got an incredible semi-check-swing 3-run homer! He only had one hand on the bat when he hit it. He IS en fuego! In the 7th Yoon gave up a 2-out solo shot that made it 3-1. Then in the 8th another run scored. I thought Jo would pull Yoon but he didn't.

The Kia half of the 8th was a thing of beauty! Big Choi leads off with a single, (two handed this time). Kim Weon Seop was told to sac bunt. I was screaming from the stands for him to swing away but he didn't listen. Fortunately he fouled off two bunt attempts. I was cheering and whistling loudly when he fouled those bunts off! The people around me were asking why and I told them bunting was for pussies. Then he gets a base hit! Now EVERYBODY'S cheering and I'm saying, "SEE? What did I tell you?" So now runners on first and second with no outs and up comes Kim Sang Hoon squaring around for the sac bunt. I nearly lost it. But wait! He pulls back and gets a base hit up the middle! For the second time in the game Choi Hee Seop is stopped as he's rounding third base with PLENTY of time to score but that's okay we got the bases loaded without sacrificing an out. Pak Ki Nam walks in a run so it's 4-2. Then Lee Hyun Gon gets a run scoring out to make it 5-2. Not great but hey, 2 runs is 2 runs.

In the 9th Yoon Suk Min gave up a hit to Clark and Lee Yong Gyu had to make a spectacular run-saving catch but Yoon struck out the last guy to get the complete game victory. Final: Kia 5 Nexen 2

May 12th - Jeon Tae Hyun was hoping to even his win/loss score at 2 and 2 with a win on this day. He only lasted 2 innings. He gave up 4 runs, 3 hits, 3 walks and even hit a pair of Nexen Heroes during his short appearance. That's gonna hurt his already unspectacular 4.70 E.R.A. Kim Hee Geol was no better. But then for the last 5 innings we saw two guys that I'd like to see more of: Jo Tae Soo and Park Kyung Tae. They'd give guys like Gwag Jung Cheol and Yoo Dong Hoon a run for their positions I think. Lee Yong Gyu and Kim Weon Seop got a couple hits each and the always steady Kim Sang Hoon got a 2-out single in the 2nd. Kim Sun Bin followed that with a blast off the top of the wall in left/center field. About a foot from a 2-run homer. Kim Sang Hoon chugged all the way around the bases but being a catcher he was a dead duck at the plate. That was the only real excitement for the Tigers in the game. The good news is the third base coach waved Kim home. I like the aggressiveness of that. Final: Nexen 6 Kia 1

May 13th - Seo Jae Eung had another good appearance in this one. He went 6 innings giving up 9 hits and 2 runs but came out with a 4-2 lead. On came Son Young Min. Would it be the Son of last year or the new improved 2010 version? I'm still always nervous when he comes out. But he went 2 innings giving up only one hit and one walk while striking out 3. Yoo Dong Hoon gave up a hit and hit a guy in his one inning but got the save. Does any bullpen in the league hit more batters? It was a very good game to watch! The coaches are continuing to show signs of smartening up and letting the players play. Lee Jong Hwan was the offensive hero on the day getting an RBI single in the 3rd and solo homer in the 5th going 2/4. Kim Sun Bin went 2/4 and stole two bases. Two VERY dramatic bases!

Here was the situation: 6th inning Pak Ki Nam gets a leadoff double. Rather than bunt him to third Kim Sun Bin got a base hit advancing him to third. Then Kim stole second while Lee Yong Gyu was trying to bunt. I think Lee Yong Gyu eventually popped out. I forget. Then there was a wild pitch and Pak scored and Kim advanced to third. 3-2 Tigers. Next batter was Na Ji Weon who worked a walk. So with guys at first and third with one out and Kim Weon Seop at the plate I turn to Amber, (who was sitting beside me in the second deck just off first base), and say, "You know, Na should go." She says, "What? He's slow." So I say, "Yeah but if they throw to second then Kim Sun Bin could sneak home. Or they could even do a hit and run but coach Jo just never calls stuff like that!" I THINK, Jo called a bunt and run. Kim Weon Seop missed the bunt and Na was in a run-down between first and second. While that went on Kim Sun Bin stole home and they never did tag Na Ji Weon out so he was at second with STILL only one out! BEST Jo Beom Hyun call EVER! And after it happened I yelled to Amber over the cheers in Moodeung Stadium, "SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!!" Final: Kia 4 Nexen 2

May 14th - Two welcome sights for Tiger Fans: Yang Hyun Jong on the bump, and the Hanhwa Eagles as the opponent. Players like Lee Jong Hwan, Kim Sun Bin and Pak Ki Nam are getting more game time these days. Guys like Lee Hyun Gon, Lee Jong Beom, Cha Il Mok and even Na Ji Weon are being used more sparingly. Kim Sang Hyun, last year's league MVP, has been missing for a long time. I saw him hurt his foot by fouling a ball off it but I had no idea it would be this bad. He continued playing afterwards so I thought it wasn't serious. I guess he's just a tough guy. The team sure misses him but Pak Ki Nam is doing well at third in his place. In the 5th inning Na Ji Weon got hit by a pitch then Pak got a two-run homer. Lee Jong Hwan got 2 RBI's on a bases loaded single in the same inning and Kim Sun Bin was 2/2 with a walk and a run. They provided the offense for Yang who went 6 1/3 giving up 10 hits, 3 runs and striking out a respectable 8 batters. Gwang Jung Cheol looked great striking out 3 and giving up just one walk in his inning and 2/3 of relief. Yoo Dong Hoon got his second save in two nights striking out the side in the 9th. Now THAT'S how I spell relief! Final score: Kia 5 Hanhwa 3

May 15th - Colon made his second appearance for the Tigers. He did all right going 5 1/3 giving up 5 hits a walk and 2 runs. He had a 3-2 lead when he exited. But on came Son Young Min. THIS time he was the old Son giving up 2 hits and a run almost instantly. So it was 3-3. The Tigers did okay in this one, but after the best coaching call I've seen Jo make, he had a real stinker of a game on this night.

In the 4th inning An Chi Hong lead off with a single. Kim Weon Seop was told to sac bunt. This is the same guy who was told to bunt-and-run the night before. I think. And he was the guy who three nights ago fouled off two sac bunts then got a hit to prove how stupid this call is. How quickly Jo forgets! The bunt was perfect - one out and a man on second. Next guy gets out but advances the runner to third. Then Kim Sun Bin gets a base hit and the runner scores making it 3-0. So for the SECOND time this year the sac bunt did its job. Jo was probably happy but I was thinking it was awfully early to be doing this. There were a couple other sac bunts that didn't work and the Eagles slowly made their comeback.

Then in the 8th inning Kim Hee Geol was pitching. For some reason the outfield was drawn way in. Another questionable call made, I assume, by Jo. There was a botched throw to first, a wild pitch, a walk and then a lazy fly ball to deep right field, that would have been caught if the fielders weren't inexplicably drawn in, won the game for the Eagles. Really it was some bad defence and some bad coaching that LOST the game for the Tigers. Final score: Hanhwa 4 Kia 3

May 16th - Lopez got the unenviable chore of going up against Ryu Hyun Jin who had struck out 17 guys in his last appearance. In the first inning Lee Yong Gyu lead off with a single and the next batter was told to sacrifice bunt. For just about any pitcher the early innings is when you should get them. You may not get another chance against a guy like Ryu. Sacrifice bunting in the 1st inning is just NOT the way to attack this guy. And he WAS shaky in the early innings but the Tigers weren't allowed to take advantage of it. Then he settled in and it was a laugher. I'm not saying the sac bunt in the 1st inning lost this game for the Tigers. They probably wouldn't have won it anyway. But it sends a message to the team that the coach isn't confident of the win. Need I remind you that last week the Tigers beat the Eagles with Ryu on the mound? Final score: Eagles 6 Tigers 1

I have mixed feelings about this past week for the Tigers. Some solid coaching and some real mental errors lead me to confusion as to which coaches will show up for the team from game to game. It can't be any different for the players and this sure isn't a good atmosphere to play in. The good games are the ones where playing aggressively WINS the game for the Tigers. There have been many as this blog will show. There have been exactly zero games this year in which playing carefully has won the game for them. In fact it has LOST them the game on several occasions. I hope before the end of the season the coaches realize this.

A GOOD week! Till today...

I just finished watching the Tigers game on my computer. They played LG in Seoul today. A new pitcher was on the mound for them named Roman Colon. If he's anything like Bartolo Colon, we'll take him. Bartolo won 21 games one season in the majors. 20 once, 18 twice. Roman is 8 and 10 in the majors with an ERA of over 5. But this ain't the majors. He looked good tonight. Since Lopez is a fixture and there's a maximum of two foreigners on every KBO staff, I guess I'll never know the correct spelling of Wright/Wryghte/Right??? Right?

I was excited as I left off last week to see if the Tigers would continue playing true Tiger ball that the coach had showed signs of in the early days of May.

May 4 - Kia was back home and my favourite player, Yoon Suk Min took the mound. I went to the game with Amber. Maybe she could change Yoon's luck. The Hanhwa Eagles were in town and they have a firm grasp on last place in the league. I thought the coach just might loosen up and let the team play because of it. Yoon pitched only 5 innings. I have no idea why he was pulled. Only 89 pitches, 7 strikeouts and he gave up ONE hit! He was anything but tired throwing his fastball well over 150 kmh consistantly. I even saw the gun register a 156 on one pitch. That's the highest this season. He was dominant and all but perfect and suddenly, YOINK! Did he sleep with coach Jo's wife or what? I just can't figure it out! But on this night I was too happy, (not to mention a bit too drunk), to care. The Tigers gave Yoon the run support he'd been lacking, lo, these many years I've been a longsuffering fan. And why? Because coach Jo let them play. Lee Yong Gyu was 2/3 with 3 RBI's; Pak Ki Nam went 3/4 and scored thrice; Lee Jong Beom was 2/4 and scored twice; and BIG Choi continued to be en fuego going 2/4 with 2 homeruns, one a gargantuan blast that probably went over the highway and into the river, and 4 RBI's. The Tigers scored at least one run for the first 6 innings of the game. It was probably the most fun of any game I've been to. Certainly the most fun this season. Please, coach Jo, let them keep playing like this... I'm sure they can do the same thing against other teams. I'll give you a link here. Watch the highlights if you can. If you have trouble, click on the small pic third from the top with coach Jo in it. See how many times the leadoff hitter gets to first and how many times the next guy bunts. Zero! Although I don't like this new thing Jo is doing when the leadoff hitter reaches second bunting him over to third. Pay no attention to him clapping for himself after the guy scores. I think that's just as stupid a call as the bunt from first to second. Anyway, Final score: Kia 8 Hanhwa 1

May 5th - Children's Day in Korea. The game was early. I forgot about Children's Day and didn't check the game time until it was over. Jeon Tae Hyun was pitching on the day. His ERA is pretty high but he is young and he has had some steady periods. I'd still prefer to see him in the bullpen, which needs him far more than the starting rotation, but what can you do? He did very well on the day going 5 innings, striking out 4, giving up 4 hits, two walks and lowering his ERA by giving up NO runs. He also got the win to go with his two losses. Good for him! Son, Gwag, and Yoo were all great! I don't know if they've all been good in the same game EVER before this! Maybe they're early birds or something. Lee Yong Gyu and Pak Ki Nam continued to be hot at the plate each going 2/3, Pak with 3 RBI's. An Chi Hong continues to hit well going 3/4. The scoring innings for the Tigers ALL started with leadoff hits that WEREN'T followed by sac bunts. Until the 6th when there WAS a leadoff hit followed by a bunt, and on TV they showed a view of coach Jo clapping for his marvellous call. Then a steal of third! DUDE! Why not forget the bunt and steal 2nd? It's much easier! Then when Pak Ki Nam gets a single the guy can still make it home from second rather than jogging home from third. And there would be one less out! It didn't matter on this day. The Hanhwa team obviously didn't sleep well. They only managed 4 hits that were welcome to a bunch of pitchers that desperately needed a day like this for their ERA's. A huge waste of an appearance by the usually dominant pitcher Ryu Hyun Jin. Final score: Kia 4 Hanhwa 0

May 6th - Say what you want about Seo Jae Eung, the guys still got game! He IS the team's designated cheerleader but he's also a very solid guy to have on the mound. And you just have to like a guy like that! On the day he gave up only 3 hits in 6 innings! That's amazing! Unfortunately, two of those hits were homeruns and he also surrendered 6 walks. And he hit a guy. He's not Yoon Suk Min, but he got a pretty tidy 5 strikeouts on the day as well. That all worked out to 2 runs. The Tigers were being outpitched in this one by Kim Hyuk Min of the Eagles until the 6th inning. Choi Hee Seop lead off with a walk. Then Na Ji Weon spanked a 2-run homer that tied the affair at 2. It's always nice to see him get a home run! Especially when it wins the Korea series! Then Kim Sang Hoon went back to back with Na. I STILL say he's had more key hits than any other player and to this point in the season deserves the Kia Tiger MVP. The Tigers got only 4 hits on the day but two of them were SuuWEET! Final score: Kia 3 Hanhwa 2

May 7th - The LG Twins were hosting Kia in Seoul's Chamshil Stadium. Yang Hyun Jong won big last time he pitched but it was one of his worst efforts of the year. I think he wanted to pitch better on this day. He DID going 7 1/3 giving up only 4 hits and NO runs. He walked 4 but fanned 5. It was plenty good enough to get him his 5th win which ranks him third in the KBO behind the Japanese pitcher, Kadokura for SK and the foreign pitcher Jimenez for Doosan. So as far as Korean pitchers go, he's got the most wins. The Tigers pounded out 7 hits which is not spectacular but they made them work. Again because there was nobody bunting people from first to second on the night. In the 2nd Kim Sang Hoon lead off with a single. An Chi Hong wasn't told to bunt and got a hit. The fielder bobbled it and Kim Sang Hoon came all the way around from first to score. One run and a guy on second with no out. With the sac bunt it would have been NO runs and a guy on second with one out. Which would you rather have? Choi hit a big 2-run blast in the 6th and then again in the 9th the leadoff hitter Choi got a double. Coach Jo's new habit is bunting guys from 2nd to 3rd. He did it here. Then the next hitter got a single to center and Choi jogged home. He could have made it easily from second and saved the out but Jo was seen in the dugout complimenting his baseball wisdom by giving himself a round of applause. I am really glad he seems to be abandoning the knee-jerk bunt from 1st to 2nd but is it going to be replaced by the even stupider bunt from 2nd to 3rd? Third time in four games we've seen this. Gawd I hope not! Final score: Kia 4 LG 0.

May 8th - You see what's happening here! The Tigers are on a roll! I believe it's because they are playing Tigerball instead of Chickenball, for the most part. To this point in the week I had planned to write a glowing report of coach Jo's ability to see the error of his ways and give him credit for humbly stopping his crazy coaching and letting the players play the game and win. BUT, on this day one of my stated fears was realized. Lopez was the starter. He was at 1 win and 2 losses although he totally didn't deserve to be. And on this day Fate was to screw him out of yet another win. He pitched 5 2/3, gave up 3 runs, 7 hits and only struck out 2. I've seen him pitch much better. But he had a 4-1 lead when he left. Unfortunately Kim Hee Geol pulled a Son Young Min and allowed a couple of Lopez's runs to score and one of his own and the game was tied at 4. It wasn't until the 9th inning that Lee Yong Gyu and Lee Jong Beom managed to knock in a couple of runs that won it for the Tigers. And for Kim Hee Geol! I think a relief pitcher should be allowed to give a win to a starter and this would be the perfect situation. Too bad that can't happen. And if I wasn't sad enough about the pitching travesty that this game was, in the 9th inning my worst fear: on came Yoon Suk Min, the Tigers' best pitcher, to get the save. Jo did this last year too and it was a STUPID move! What the hell is he thinking? Yoon gave up no runs, struck out two and got the save. OF COURSE! He's the best pitcher on the team! Wake up for the love of GOD!!!! Now I don't know WHAT'S gonna happen with the pitching. I'm dreading next week more than looking forward to it. Final score: Kia 6 LG 4.

May 9th - Today. I don't recall ever being so down about a 5-game winning streak before. There were good signs like the bunting from first to second on the decline but this new coach Jo brainstorm of bunting guys from 2nd to 3rd and the OLD brainstorm of putting his best pitcher in as a closer were getting me down. Now I know if you look at Yoon's career he's been a closer and a successful one but if you look more closely at his career there is no better pitcher for the Korean national team alive. There is no better starting pitcher for Kia. Even in this week where Jo's shown so much promise, it's pretty clear that he is still intent on doing something, ANYTHING, to make people think he knows more about baseball than they do. To make him seem like he's indispensable. When in reality a dummy could coach Kia and win, so long as that dummy had some humility and allowed the players to just do their thing and take the credit. This new move is something that will make Jo look good because there's no doubt that Yoon could be the best closer in the game. But he's wasted in this role. Yoo Dong Hoon is fine. Let Yoon start. Just don't take him out so damn early! MORON!!! He's been ahead in every game he's started this year when he's left. The only reasons he's only won 2 games are because of bad run support, relief pitching, bad defence and, HELLO, bad coaching. A good coach would surely have noticed this.

Anyway... whew, I wasn't as happy as I should have been that the Tigers had finally risen above .500. They had a new pitcher and I thought maybe they'd continue to play like the new Tigers. But Jo went back to the old ways that had gotten the club so far below .500 that a 5-game winning streak was needed to pull back to even. Colon gave up a run mostly because of a rare balk call. He's probably still used to the majors. In the 2nd inning Kim Weon Seop reached on an error and Pak Ki Nam hit a 2-run homer. I'll tell you what, Pak Ki Nam and Kim Sang Hyun are both good hitters but neither is the greatest fielding third baseman! So then came the third inning. Lee Yong Gyu legs out a single with the totally unnecessary slide into first base. Lee Jong Beom is told by the erstwhile coach Jo Beom Hyun to bunt. It's the 3rd inning. The score is 2-1. FOR YOU! "Baseball Coaching For Dummies" tells you you're an imbecile to bunt in this situation for SOOOO many reasons. But to make sure you look like you are doing SOMETHING, you call the bunt. Of course Lee Jong Beom lays it down perfectly. He's a legend. Then An Chi Hong hits a triple. It's 3-1 for the Tigers with a guy at 3rd base and 1 out. Next batter Choi Hee Seop lines out so An can't score. And then Kim Sang Hoon flies out to deep right field and the inning is over.
Now, to the untrained eye this is a mild disappointment for the Tigers. I was eating nails and spitting bullets. I texted my friend Amber that the score could have been 5-1 and SHOULD have been 4-1. Now here's where it gets a bit technical. Lee Jong Beom has and average of about .250. Combine that with his keen eye at the plate and his ability to work a walk, plus his chances of inducing many pitches from a pitcher and possibly leading to a wild pitch, passed ball or even getting hit by a pitch. His chances of reaching base go up. Then consider the fact that the pitcher has just given up a single to Lee Yong Gyu. He was pitching from a full wind-up but now with a guy on base he has to pitch from what is called "the stretch." It's a faster move to the plate to guard against the guy on first stealing. NO pitcher pitches better from the stretch. Also there's Lee Yong Gyu on first base. One of the fastest guys in the KBO. He's GONNA be thinking about stealing so he'll draw a LOT of check throws to first. The pitcher is STRESSED to the max about Lee Yong Gyu on first. His normal rhythm is WAY out of whack. Lee Jong Beom is a Korean baseball legend. He can hit anything you throw up there. He's pitching from the stretch, after throwing a few balls over to first, worrying about the balk, and being very careful to not throw anything hittable to maybe the best baseball player ever in Korea. The coach of the Tigers lets this pitcher off the hook by telling Lee Jong Beom to BUNT! This is a collossally stupid move! Even if LJB had hit a slow grounder or a deep fly ball the runner would have made it to second. Also with all the added stress and pitching from the stretch LJB's average has increased to something like .500 or better. The odds are, he would have gotten a hit or at least a productive out. But Jo Beom Hyun chose to give a very early Christmas gift to the LG Twins and WASTE the at bat of probably the best Korean baseball player in history and force him to bunt.
Have I made my case clearly enough? This was absolute stupidity. Only made more obvious by the next batter, An Chi Hong getting a TRIPLE.

So, Now it's 3-1 for the Tigers. An Chi Hong is on 3rd base with only one, (the wasted sac bunt), out. It looks like Jo Beom Hyun might hoodwink the viewers into thinking that this wasn't an incredibly vacuous thing to have done. Next batter, Choi Hee Seop lines out. The runner on third can't go home. Now there are two out and the sadsack Jo Beom Hyun is wishing there was only one out. To make things even worse the next batter, Kim Sang Hoon does what he SHOULD, (as he always does), and flies out to deep right field. Only because of bad coaching there are two out instead of one so that fly can't count as a sac fly, it counts as a third out. And what's worse, there's nobody else coming up behind him because his coach has given the other team a free out.

This inning would have been a 5-1 score if Lee Jong Beom had reached base, which he had I figure more than a .500 chance of doing. It would have been a 4-1 score if he had hit a slow grounder or a deep fly ball or any kind of a productive out. The coach took all that probability away to avoid the much lower chance of a double play being turned on Lee Yong Gyu, one of the fastest guys in baseball, and Lee Jong Beom whose nickname is the "Son of the Wind" for his ability to steal bases.

Now, this didn't all work out for the bad. At the end of it Kia was STILL up 3-1. But I texted my buddy and said that there were still 6 innings left, and LG would probably score 2 or even 3 more runs. Especially since the starter was pulled after 3 innings and we have a bullpen that is notorious for being bad but only recently getting good results. I had faith that Son Young Min, Gwag Jeong Cheol, Kim Hee Geol or Yoo Dong Hoon, could be good, but not that all of them could be good on the same day. And they HAD to be today since the starter was pulled after 3 innings, 2 hits, 2 strikeouts, one run. Why he was pulled? Jo Bum Hyun's aparent dislike for starters. But I concede, the relievers did a remarkably good job on this day! Pak Gyung Tae, Kim Hee Geol and I have to say, Son Young Min. They were all good. Son is making a believer out of me. He's messed up a few this year but he's been VERY good in several other games. I am not so nervous any more when Son gets the call.
However, Kwag Jung Cheol. He's been good a few times but he's been absolutely nasty on a lot of occasions. It's time to introduce some new blood into the relief pitcher's rotation. Gwag needs a rest. He got an ERA of like 81 on this game. And it's not the first time. As I said before put Jeon Tae Hyun in his place as long relief. Yoo Dong Hoon is still a good reliever and Yoon Suk Min is the best starter you have on your squad! Don't waste his talents as a closer. I think if coach Jo did the exact opposite of what he wanted to do Kia would be better. Maybe first place.

Anyways, it was 3-1 for most of the game but Kwag Jung Cheol gave up some runs, (only 3 of them in 1/3 of an inning), and Kia lost.
I know we would have won if we didn't play chicken ball. Or if we could give Jo a copy of "Baseball Coaching For Dummies" in Korean. The streak of Tigerball and winning both come simultaneously to an end. LG 4 Kia 3.

Into May - Tiger or Chicken

Well it's Monday. The one off day in the KBO. Nobody's playing today and to tell you the truth I'm not sure if that's good news or bad news for the Kia Tigers this year. They are a riddle packed in a mystery wrapped in an enigma. It's not a mystery why or how they're losing, at least not in my opinion, but it's always fun to watch them to see what style Coach Jo is gonna play: Tigerball or Chickenball. On days when the order of the universe seems to be against his addiction to careful baseball, or when there is just one of those offensive explosions that even chickenball can't stop, he allows the batters to swing away and doesn't mess around with the bunt and one base at a time, station to station, holding guys up baseball. And the Tigers just add on to the lead. But at other times fate allows him to put his tired baseball strategy into action and the team looks like a bunch of sled dogs chained to posts. They won't quit. They'll run around in circles forever but they just won't get anywhere.

Ever watch one of those games when your team just DESTROYS the other team by like 10 runs and you wish you could take some of those runs and use them for a few earlier games that they lost by one or two runs? That almost always happens to teams that are more concerned with not losing than they are with winning. Teams that fear the other team getting double plays; fear the other team stealing; fear getting caught stealing; fear getting thrown out at 3rd or home; fear the batter missing the ball and the runner not making it to second on the hit-and-run; fear the OTHER team hitting-and-running successfully and the list goes on and on. That fear goes away only when the team is up by a lot of runs. THEN the coach allows them to play ball. And in almost every case, they play better. The players, not the coach, win the game. But coaches want to look like they are more than just fly shaggers and talent scouts. They like to make games look like they were won by strategy. Especially, (I've found), in Asia. Well Japan and Korea anyway.

I would hate to be a player on a team like this because it's frustrating being held back but it's even more frustrating when you realize it's sometimes because the coach simply thinks the other team is better than you. Basically. I could go into all the many things that I see Jo is afraid of the other team doing but doesn't allow his own team to do but that would get awfully technical. The bottom line is when the Tigers are allowed to play ball they are the best in the league. Jo is complicating his job by overthinking it. Just swing away every time. But then it will look too much like his job was easy and he won't be thought of as a baseball mastermind. Ugh, please.

Anyway here's what happened in the week that was for the Tigers.

April 28th - the game started well for Lopez but the SK pitcher was going well too. It is probably a blessing it didn't come down to our bullpen versus their's. Game was rained out.

April 29th - Amazingly, (although I don't know why I'm amazed at anything Jo does any more), struggling, young pitcher Jeon Tae Hyun was thrown out onto the mound against the best team in the league. I went to this game and asked the guys beside me who the opposing pitcher Kim Gwang Hyun was and they told me he was a Korean national team member. Also, Lee Yong Gyu, Kim Weon Seop and Kim Sang Hyun, batters 1,2 and 4 were not playing. The coach had aparently thrown in the towel before the first pitch so I was glad to be there supporting the Tigers. But the result was predictable. Jeon was pulled early. But the bullpen did remarkably well to only lose by 3 runs. The Tigers only got 4 hits all night but they probably knew this was a night off too. It was a dead boring game and I was glad to be drinking. I know there was one cancelled game but it's pretty demoralizing for fans when your team doesn't even score a run in a three-game series against the hated Wyverns. Especially when the coach just calls in the last game. Final score Wyverns 3 Tigers 0.

April 30th - Seo Jae Eung, who was supposed to be pitching against the Wyverns the day before but who the coach didn't seem to think would have won that game, was pitching. He's been better and better every start and he kept up his steady play. He wasn't spectacular giving up 3 runs, 5 hits and 3 walks in his 5 innings, (and even hitting a guy), but it was good enough for the win. Or should have been. He left after the 5th and the Tigers made it 4-3 in the top of the 6th. He was still looking good for the win. But Kwag Jung Cheol pitched crappily enough to cost Seo the win he deserves so much, but good enough to get it for himself when the Tigers got 4 runs in the 9th. VERY encouraging coaching game for the Tigers and it started immediately. In the first, Lee Yong Gyu got aboard to start the game and there was no knee-jerk bunt called. Hitter number 2, Kim Weon Seop got a two run homer! Then in the 6th Kim Weon Seop got a leadoff single. The next batter wasn't told to sac bunt and worked a walk. Next batter, An Chi Hong, wasn't told to bunt either and got a 2-run double! I guarantee you if the usual B.S. bunts had been called in these situations the Tigers would have lost this game. But happily they won. Is Jo learning? Is he reading this blog? Final score Kia 8 Lotte 4.

May 1st - Okay I've said this before but THIS is a landmark game in the Tigers' season! To this point in the season the coaching staff seemed reluctant to let the team play ball but for the second night in succession the Tigers were let loose. And what a difference that makes! Yang Hyun Jong got the win but on this night they could have picked a starting pitcher from the crowd and won. Kim Weon Seop had 4 hits, An Chi Hong had four hits, Choi Hee Seop had a perfect night at the plate with 3 hits, 3 walks, (2 intentional), a homer and 5 RBI's. Every starter got at least one hit and the team had a total of 20. Do I need to say that I don't remember seeing a single sacrifice bunt the whole night? This is TIGERball! Let's keep it up! Final score: Kia 15 Lotte 7.

May 2nd - Lopez vs. Sadorski. The battle of the waygooks. It was a close one. Lopez went 8 innings. He wasn't great giving up 4 runs and 11 hits but he left with a 4-4 tie. How many times have I typed this? On comes Son Young Min and he gives up the 5th run for the Giants. Although I was watching this game I am not sure how it happened. The TV's all went to news coverage. So nobody knows for SURE that the Tigers lost this game except the people at the Lotte Giant stadium and if the Giants lost do you think any of them would tell? Na Ji Weon got a homer and Choi Hee Seop continued his hot streak going 2/5. Final score Giants 5 Tigers 4.

Looking forward to next week when just MAYBE the Tigers will be allowed to play some ball. We can only hope.

Kia FIGHTING!

As depressing as this may be, I'll run down what has happened with the Tigers since I left off on April 14th, Black Day, my birthday.

April 14th - SNOWED out! Can you believe that?

April 15th - Yoon Suk Min got the start. I was sure he'd get his second win on my birthday! That woulda been a good birthday gift for sure! He did very well the day after, however, going 7 1/3 giving up just 6 hits, 3 walks and 2 runs. As usual I thought he was pulled too early but he had the lead when he exited. His relief Kwag Jung Cheol did what Son Young Min usually does: blew any chance at him getting the win. Yoon had allowed 2 guys to reach base and with a walk and a base-clearing double Kwag notched both of those runs to Yoon's record and one to his own tying the game up at 3. Yoo Dong Hoon kept the game tied long enough for the Tigers to score in their half of the 8th inning and get the win for him. Shoulda been Yoon's. Only 5 hits for the Tigers but one was a Kim Sang Hyun 3-run shot and one was a dramatic Lee Jong Beom homer that won it. It was a fun game to watch except for Kwag's pitching. Final - Kia 4 Doosan 3.

April 16th - The first game for the new foreigner, pitcher Matt Wright. Not sure if I'm spelling that right/wright/. He only gave up one hit in 5 innings of work while striking out 7 LG Twins. However, he walked 5 and 2 miraculously made it around to score. But I can only guess it was his 109 pitches that caused the coaches to pull him. His slider was deadly and although he threw lots of pitches in the dirt he didn't look tired. I suppose they were being their usual cautious selves. Lotsa good that did them! Son Young Min came in and did okay giving up 2 hits in an inning and 1/3 but then Kwag came continued where he left off the night before giving up 5 hits and 4 runs in his inning and 1/3. Two more pitchers came in and looked awful. One was the former starter Jeon Tae Hyun who gave up two runs in his one inning. The Tigers outhit the Twins 10-9 including a 3/4 night for Choi Hee Seop, but were outscored 8-4. This will become familiar so long as the coaching staff continues to play so cautiously in every way. Final LG 8 Kia 4.

April 17th - Lopez went 7 innings and gave up 8 hits and a couple of walks. That's not bad at all. Unlike the Tigers, who need about 3 hits for every run they get, LG managed to get 5 runs off of Lopez before he left. It was a tight game at 5-4 before the bullpen untightened it. Kim Hee Geol faced one guy and gave up a hit, a run and probably cashed in someone for Lopez. Then Son Young Min looked like last year's version of himself giving up a walk, hitting a guy, and surrendering a 3 run homerun to the four batters he faced. Jung Yong Oon finished off the last inning and 1/3 and only gave up 4 more runs. Brutal effort by the bullpen! LG got 13 runs on 14 hits. That's efficiency! The Tigers managed 4 runs from 8 hits and 4 walks. That's NOT good efficiency! But I was at the game cheering for a 9 run comeback in the bottom of the 9th. It didn't happen. Final LG 13 Kia 4.

April 18th - This rain-out means we got swept by LG!

April 20th - The Tigers needed good news. They pulled into Pusan after winning only one of the games in a six game homestand. Two were cancelled but that might have been elemental mercy for all we know. Lotte was hot shutting out Nexsen twice and losing a couple close ones to the Bears to go 3 and 3 in their last 6. Kia sent their steadiest pitcher of the early season to the mound: Yang Hyun Jong. He was just that. Steady. He gave up a few runs in 6 1/3 innings but struck out 6. Kia was up 6-3 when he left. Jeon Tae Hyun and Lee Dong Hyun were, (I can't believe I'm gonna write this), solid in relief giving up zero hits and zero runs! I have to say I like the looks of Jeon Tae Hyun as a reliever better than a starter. The Tigers bashed out 10 hits and got 10 runs. Now you're thinking, HEY, good production! But the Lotte pitching staff walked 10, hit one and added a couple wild pitches for good measure. The Tigers have been a very careful hitting team since I've been a fan. They take a lot of walks. That's an admirable skill! But once they get on base they usually don't go anywhere because of more careful baseball. Baserunners all night long and the Tigers got a grand total of 1 stolen base. And, of course, no hit and runs. Kim Sang Hoon had another good night going 3/4, Kim Sang Hyun went 2/4 with a homer and 5 RBI's, and An Chi Hong went 2/5 batting in 3. The final should have been 20 - 3 but it was only Kia 10 Lotte 3.

April 21st - I was hoping the Tigers didn't waste all their offense in the blowout the night before. Save some for Yoon! He NEVER gets run support from his team for some reason. It's partially because he's usually up against the best pitcher on the other squad but even still the Tigers usually look like pussycats at the plate when Yoon is pitching. Well tonight was different. Yoon didn't have his greatest performance giving up 4 runs and 9 hits over his 6 innings of pitching. But he struck out 5 and mangaged to leave the game with a 5-4 lead. Then, (deja vu), on comes Son Young Min. He faced 4 guys and gave up 3 hits and a run and in no time another win for Yoon was obliterated by the opposing pitcher on his own team, Son Young Min. Kwag Jung Cheol looked a lot better than his previous two starts holding off the Giants until the top of the 11th inning when Choi Hee Seop busted out of his homerun slump and blasted a grand slam. An Chi Hong went 3/5, Kim Weon Seop was 3/5 and Big Choi got 6 RBI's. Yoo Dong Hoon gave up one in the bottom of the 11th and didn't look very good but the final was Kia 9 Lotte 6.

April 22nd - Kia was trying to sweep the Giants in their own massive stadium. Newcomer Matt Wright got his second start. He threw 104 pitches in 4 innings giving up 4 hits and 3 runs. He struck out 5 but he walked 4, hit two and threw a lot of balls into the dirt. He's not yet sharp but he's got a devastating slider that froze some batters on the day. The Tigers got only 6 hits, the highlight being the second homerun in as many games for Choi Hee Seop. Lee Myung Woo was amazing for Lotte walking NObody, striking out 6 and basically pitching the whole game. That'll happen now and then. Final Lotte 4 Kia 1.

April 23rd - Kia travelled to Mok Dong to play the Nexsen Heroes. Lopez took the mound and was in command for 7 2/3 innings. He gave up an early run but scattered 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 6. When a guy pitches like that you just HAVE to win it for him! But this is a great game to watch if you want to know why the Tigers just can't do that. It was an ugly game. Lopez had the 2-1 lead in the 8th. Then he walked the leadoff hitter. Next guy sac bunted. I'm not sure but I think they put the next guy on so they could get the double play. And Lopez induced a double play ball. Unfortunately An Chi Hong got the guy out at second but threw the relay over Choi's head on first so the guy at second came all the way around to score on the error. 2-2. But in extra innings Lee Jong Beom lead off with a hit. They DIDN'T sac bunt because Choi was up next. What do you know, wild pitch! Lee Jong Beom moves over to second. Just ANOTHER better way to get him there than sac bunting. Then Choi hits a soft grounder which is an out but advances Lee to 3rd. Next guy up Park Ki Nam gets a hit and it's 3-2. Why? Because they DIDN'T sacrifice bunt. But then in the Nexsen half of the same inning the leadoff guy got aboard and THEY sac bunted him to second. Then the next guy got a hit, the runner was NOT held up at third and he scored. 3-3. THIS is how the sacrifice bunt is designed to work. It has worked this way for the Kia Tigers exactly ONE TIME this season. Every other time they've tried they've messed it up. But they just keep on doing it. Jo Beom Hyun probably thinks the sac bunt worked twice for the Heroes but it was really just bad defence by the Tigers that got those two guys in. Anyway, a walk, steal and two wild pitches sealed the Tigers' fate. Terrible game! Lopez did some garbage can kicking when he left the game. I don't blame him. Heroes 4 Kia 3.

April 24th - Seo Jae Eung just keeps getting better! He had a great outing in this one but like the other starters for the Tigers he must be wondering what he has to do to get a win. 7 innings, 5 hits, 1 run. It was 1-1 when he left. Kwag Jung Cheol was terrible in the 9th. Nexsen got a hit, sac bunt pop-out, stolen base, walk, hit and bloop single to win the game in the bottom of the 9th. Where, one might ask, was Yoo Dong Hoon? Tigers got 6 hits, two by Na Ji Weon and two by Lee Hyun Gon. Final Heroes 2 Kia 1.

April 25th - This is a landmark game in the Tigers' season. If the coaches don't learn from this they'll never learn. Yang Hyun Jong had a decent outing going 6 1/3 and giving up 3 runs on only 5 hits. Son Young Min was GOOD in relief for the rest of regulation giving up only one hit and no runs. Then in the 10th inning Kia broke the 3-3 tie with a leadoff walk, sac bunt, and the runner at second came around to score on a ground ball that bounced off the shortstop's glove and way up into the air. You can say the sac bunt worked here but errors don't count. Nexsen tied it up and I think they were poised to win it when Clark got called out on strikes on a ball that was just over his shoelaces. Anyway, in the 11th the leadoff hitter got walked again! Then stole second because the next batter WASN'T sac bunting. He did end up striking out but the next guy walked and then came the hit. For once the base coach didn't hold the runner at third and waved him in. It was close at the plate but An Chi Hong was called safe and that won it for the Tigers. THAT is smallball! And that's how the Tigers have to win. Will it continue? We'll see. Final Tigers 6 Heroes 4.

April 27th - Yesterday. A depressing loss that caused my last post here. Yoon Suk Min's curse continues. The score was 0-0 for a long time in the game although I think SK really scored in the 3rd inning. I think there were 2 out when a guy got a hit. Then he tried to steal second base. The throw from Kim Sang Hoon was wild and went into center field so the runner advanced to third. Then a ball was hit to Park Ki Nam who was playing 3B instead of Kim Sang Hyun. He didn't charge the ball and his throw to first was late but luckily for the Tigers the ump wasn't wearing his glasses and called him out or the guy from third would have scored and it would have been 1-0 SK. Listen to this: 6 1/3 innings pitched, 2 hits, 2 walks and 10 strikeouts. That's how well Yoon Suk Min was doing until the 7th inning. Then SK got a slow grounder and because the infield was playing too deep it ended up as a hit. Next guy got a solid hit, (not a sac bunt), and they had runners on 1st and third with one out. The next batter hit a ball to Park Ki Nam at third and he booted it. What should have been a double play to keep the game tied ended up as a run scored and runners at 2nd and 3rd. Then the next guy, who probably shouldn't have come up, got a hit and it was 3-0. That's how things happen for Yoon. The other pitcher, Kadokura, who already has 5 wins this year, was pitching well but he got outpitched by Yoon Suk Min and still managed to win the game. Both teams got 7 hits but one of the teams got 4 runs off their 7 hits. How do you suppose that happened? Final score SK 4 Kia 0.

It's raining today so it doesn't look like there will be baseball tonight. But I'm still happy because I think my Thursday classes might be cancelled tomorrow and maybe even next week too! It's sports week around here. Maybe I'll go to the game tomorrow. I sure hope the Tigers coaching staff stops playing this chicken ball or it's going to be a long season.

The Curse of Yoon Suk Min

I'm watching my favourite pitcher pitch tonight: Yoon Suk Min. He always has close games and usually when he gets yanked, (too early), by Jo Beom Hyeon, the coach of the Tigers, he's either ahead or tied. Then the bullpen blows it for him. He's got one win this year but a combination of bad bullpen and defensive errors cost him another two. At this time he's just finished the 5th inning and he's cruising along. Has 7 or 8 strikeouts and has given up only two hits. But as usual he's up against a strong pitcher on the other club and the Tigers aren't giving him much offensive support. They've got 3 hits for him and the opposing pitcher, Kadokura is also doing well.

There's a reason why Kia never wins these close games for Yoon Suk Min and it has nothing to do with the players. It's the strategy. Last inning Kim Weon Seop got on to lead off the inning. Automatically the next batter was told to sacrifice bunt. There's absolutely no thought put into it. Happens almost all the time. I have watched every game the Tigers have played this year and this strategy has worked exactly ONE time. That is, the person bunted to second scored and would not have scored if he hadn't been bunted over. ONCE! That's all. Yet the strategy has been employed every time they get a guy on first with nobody out unless the next batter is Choi Hee Seop or Kim Sang Hyun. Why do the coaches of the Kia Tigers continue to do it? It's a mystery to me. They did it last season too. They're bunting the Tigers into mediocrity.

Just now it's the bottom of the 5th. Kia's leadoff hitter, Kim Sang Hoon got a single. So immediately the next batter squares for the sac bunt. He pops it up and gets out. I have seen games this year where sac bunts have resulted in pop outs and even double plays MORE than once in a game for the Tigers. This is exactly what they are trying to avoid when they call the sacrifice bunt. If they are so scared of the double play why don't they steal? I mean with Kim Weon Seop on first it's essentially a free base! He's been caught stealing ZERO times this season. But the coaching staff NEVER calls a steal of second when there's nobody out. They take away every chance for the runner to get to second WITHOUT an out. They hospitably hand the other team the free out or two with the sac bunt. This is not just costing the Tigers runs but games.

Here's the killer: the batter after Kim Weon Seop missed two bunt attempts then flied out so K.W.S. remained on first. The guy after Kim Sang Hoon popped out on the bunt. But both Kim Weon Seop and even Kim Sang Hyun ended up stealing second AFTER the Tigers had surrendered the requisite out. Later two slow grounders were hit and KWS never made it past second base. Any well coached team like SK or Doosan gets a leadoff single, stolen base and two grounders and they're gonna have a run on the board. Kia has to work a lot harder for their runs because of poor coaching.

The SK Wyverns got THEIR leadoff hitter aboard in between these two innings I'm writing about and they did NOT sacrifice bunt. They didn't score but at least the coach gave his team the opportunity. You'd think sooner or later Jo Beom Hyeon would learn from better coaches in the league. But he doesn't seem to.

His strategy has been erroneously called "small ball" by most people in and around the KBO. Small ball uses the bunt but it is a very small part of small ball and there are far more bunts used offensively than as a sacrifice. A bigger part of smallball is aggressive base running. The Tigers have the legs for it but not the coaching staff. They are CONSTANTLY holding guys up who are rounding third base when they should be waved. They don't steal enough. With the speedsters and good contact hitters the Tigers have it's a crime Jo Beom Hyeon only uses the hit-and-run when there are two outs and the batter has 3 balls and 2 strikes against him. Then it really isn't the hit-and-run.

Last game the Tigers tied things up in an inning where the leadoff hitter got aboard and Choi Hee Seop came up next. So Jo didn't call the automatic sac bunt. They scored a run because of it. Do you hear what I'm saying? The guy on first got home! That has happened only ONCE this whole season because of a bunt and just last game, (and many other times), it happened because they DIDN'T bunt. And then in extra innings the Tigers got the go-ahead run by waving the runner home instead of holding him at third. The play at the plate was close but An Chi Hong was called safe and Kia won. But amazingly, Jo Beom Hyeon doesn't even seem to learn from HIS OWN coaching. This game and the many others the Tigers have played this year that clearly illustrate the shortcomings of Jo's strategy go unnoticed by him.

A smart coaching staff would see these things happening regularly and make adjustments so that the team could manufacture more runs and win a few more of these close, low scoring games. But the Tigers coaches have been playing this chicken ball as long as I've been watching them. They get the lowest run production for their hits in the league. That's all on the coaches. There needs to be a change.

I feel sorry for Yoon Suk Min. If he played for, say, the Lotte Giants he'd get more wins. Lotte is a worse team than the Tigers but they have better coaching. As I type this the SK Wyverns have scored a run and it's now 1-0. My feed was cut off so I didn't see how it happened. But Yoon still has only given up 5 hits. What do you want to bet it was good coaching by SK that got them the run? Or bad defence by the Tigers. A missed double play or something. Yoon just has terrible luck! Now it's 3-0. The Tigers will continue playing scared and won't manage to come back. Another loss Yoon probably didn't deserve!

Black Day

It's April 14th. My birthday and Black Day here in Korea. So while I eat birthday cake and Jajang Myun I'll run down the week that was for the Kia Tigers.

April 6th- Yang Hyun Jong spakled against the dreaded SK Wyverns going 6 2/3 striking out 6 while giving up only 1 run and 5 hits. Kim Sang Hoon is looking awfully good this year and he was the offensive star of this game with 2 walks and 2 hits. Lee Jong Beom got 2 hits and batted one in. Final score: Kia 3 SK 1.

April 7th- Seo Jae Eung followed Yang's performance with a good one of his own. He went 6 innings giving up 7 hits and 3 runs but he struck out 5. Pretty good. The Tigers gave him some good run support with Kim Sang Hoon as the hero for the second game running. I say that but in reality they had pretty crappy production for the amount of hitting they were doing. However KSH went 2/4 with 3 RBI's. Choi Hee Seop was 2/3 with 2 walks. Final score: Kia 5 SK 3.

April 8th- The impossible dream of every Tiger fan: to sweep the Wyverns. It could have happened on this day. The starter was Lee Dong Hyun? Wait a minute while I check my Tiger fanbook. I dunno who he is but I guess this'll happen. You gotta get the young guys some innings. He pitched 3 2/3 giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. Meh. Then on came Kim Hee Geol who I DID remember being unispired by in spring training. He pitched 3 1/3 giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. Jung Yong Oon was good in relief. I think this guy is a solid pitcher and I'd like to see more of HIM. Anyway it didn't matter much who pitched. The Tigers only banged out, (or should I say "tapped" out), 5 hits. It's hard to win like that. Final score: SK 5 Kia 2.

April 9th- Yoon Suk Min, who I thought would finish the sweep of SK, started this day against the Lions. He had a bad 5th inning but otherwise he was dominant. 6 1/3 8 hits, 4 runs and 9 K's. When he left he had a 5-4 lead. I was praying for ANYone but Son Young Min to relieve him. He has a habit of blowing Yoon's leads. But on he came and sure enough, one batter, one homer, game tied 5-5. Gwag Jung Cheol and Yoo Dong Hoon held the tie for a while but for 7 straight innings Samsung kept Kia off the board. Even in the 12th inning when the Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out. They HAVE to score a run. In fact they loaded the bases with 3 straight hits! How can you NOT score a run with 3 straight hits? In this game I saw 3 runners held at third that should have been waved home and all three died on third without scoring. Kim Sang Hyun and An Chi Hong both struck out with the bags juiced and then the umpire got into the spirit of the drama and called Lee Jong Beom out on a third strike that was a foot outside. Since it was the 12th inning the Tigers could only get a tie at best, which counts as a loss really. But the Lions weren't finished. They scored the winning run on a botched double play that would have ended the game. Yoon didn't take the loss but the Tigers should have won this one. Final score: Samsung Lions 6 Kia Tigers 5 in 12 innings.

April 10th- Jeon Tae Hyun had a rocky start to this one giving up 3 runs on 2 homers in the 1st inning but I was impressed with the youngster's moxie holding a good hitting Lions club off the board for the next 5 innings. He gave up 8 hits and 2 walks but did okay. And Kim Hee Geol was decent in relief but the three runs were all the Lions needed as the Tigers managed only 5 hits and 1 run. Final score: Samsung 3 Kia 1.

April 11th- Lions going for the sweep. Yang Hyun Jong was okay going 5 1/3 giving up 5 hits, 5 walks 7 K's and 2 runs and Gwag Jung Cheol was great finishing the game with 3 2/3 innings, 2 hits, no runs and 6 strikeouts. Lee Jong Hwan got a couple of hits but the hero yet again was Kim Sang HOON, (not Hyun), getting 2 more RBI's for the club. If he wasn't forced to sac bunt so often he'd probably be up there with the league leaders in RBI's. He's been Mr. Clutch this year so far. Final score: Kia 3, Samsung 2.

April 13th- I'll bring us right up to date. I went to the game yesterday. It was FREEZING cold but the Tigers were up against the first place Bears. Seo Jae Eung took the mound and was at his best. He went 6 innings and only gave up 3 hits. Unfortunately two of them were homers so Doosan got 3 runs off Seo. But he struck out 5 and only walked 2. Inexplicably after only 91 pitches and again 3 hits, (vs the best hitting team in the league!), he was yanked in favour of Son Young Min. Son faced 4 batters, gave up a walk and three hits, one of which was a homerun and just like that Seo's 5-3 lead evaporated. Kim Hee Geol was no better. He gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and a walk. So between them they pitched one inning and gave up 7 hits 2 walks and 6 runs. There's the Kia bullpen I know and love! Half the fans went home but I hung around to cheer on the club now down 9-5 in the 8th inning. And they started hitting! They made it all the way back to 9-8 in the 8th inning and Na Ji Weon hit a liner to right field that looked like it could tie the game but it was caught. That turned out to be the final score. Kim Weon Seop got 2 hits and Kim Sang Hyun did too but I thought the hero was YET again Kim Sang Hyun who had a hit and 2 more RBI's. I wasn't disappointed in this loss at all! Doosan 9 Kia 8.

It wasn't a good week for the Tigers but yesterday I saw some VERY encouraging things! I think it was in the 2nd inning Kia got guys on 1st and 2nd with nobody out. This is usually an automatic bunt for Jo Beom Hyun, the Kia coach. But he didn't call the bunt even though his favourtie bunter, Kim Sang Hoon, was up. And the result? Kim Sang Hoon got a base hit up the middle and ANOTHER RBI and there were STILL runners at 1st and 2nd with nobody out. But the score was 3-1 now instead of 3-0. So what does Jo do? He tells Lee Hyun Gon to bunt!!! WTF? I was yelling and screaming from the seats to let him hit but they just wouldn't listen to me. He ended up missing his 2 bunt attempts and hitting into a double play and the next guy got out stranding a runner at 3rd.

BUT, later in the game there were guys on 1st and 2nd I think. And HALLELUIAH!!! the HIT-AND-RUN! I think it was Kim Sang Hoon again. He hit what would have been a double play ball but with the runners going Kia got the man to 3rd and the man to 2nd. The only out was Kim Sang Hoon at 1st. THAT'S small ball! That's what they have to start doing ALL the time! I sure hope I see more of that! They almost beat the first place team because of it.

So tonight it's Lee Dong Hyun in the Black Day game vs. the Bears. I hope he does better than his last outing. Win one for me on my birthday boys!