For those of you who, like me, didn't even know there were games going on until the pre-season of the KBO was well underway, I'll give you a bit of a rundown on how the Tigers did. But remember not to put too much stock in the numbers because like the title of this entry says, it's really not the same.
Mar 6- YES they were playing back then. In Gwangju! Who knew? And to show the things that happen in spring training Samsung got a one-hitter. I say "Samsung" because the starting pitcher was pulled after 5 innings of no-hit ball. (no walks either that means perfect!) Three others and him combined for the win. Kia managed to manufacture one run on one hit. Final 4-1 for the Lions.
Mar 7- This was a Kia win. Yang Hyun Jong pitched 5 innings and got 7K's. Lee Jong Beom got a home run! Final 5-2 over the Lions.
Mar 9- The first appearance of Jeon Tae Hyun. He did well. 4I.P., 2H, 2BB, 5K's. Choi Hee Seop was 2/2. Cha Il Mok had 2 RBI's and 2BB's. Final 9-3 Kia over the Hanhwa Eagles.
Mar 11- Kia played the Nex Sen Heroes. Glad they got a sponsor! Seo Jae Eung pitched 3 innings and gave up 3 hits and a run. Then Lee Dae Jin pitched 3 innings and gave up 5 hits, 3 walks and 3 runs. Lee Jong Beom was 2/3 with 2 RBI's and Lee Hyun Gon went 2/3. Final score: 4-2 for the Heroes.
Mar 12- Kia beat the Heroes by the same score. Rodriguez gave up 3 hits, no runs and struck out 5. No walks either in his 5 innings. Lee Jong Beom got his second homer of pre-season going 2/3 with 2 RBI's. Kim Sang Hyun was 1/3 with a homer and 2 RBI. Final: 4-2 Tigers.
Mar 13- High scoring affair with the Giants. Lopez went 6 innings giving up a respectable 6 hits but a not-so-respectable 5 runs. He did strike out 5 though. Yoon Suk Min was perfect IN RELIEF! I sure hope Jo Bum Hyun doesn't make this a habit again. Lee Yong Gyoo was 3/3, An Chi Hong was 3/3 with 2 RBI and Kim Sang Hyun was 2/4 with 2 RBI. Lee Hyun Gon had a good day too with 2 hits and 2 runs. Final score: 8-6 for the Lotte Giants.
Mar 14- Good news for Tigers fans! Yang Hyun Jong pitched 7 innings and struck out 6. He gave up only 4 hits and one run. Chae Jong Beom was 1/1 with an RBI and Kim Sang Hyun went 1/4 and got the other RBI. Final score was 2-1.
Mar 16- I went to this game. It was pure luck that I got to see my favourite pitcher Yoon Suk Min. He hurled 5 innings of magic giving up only 4 hits and a walk but fanning 6. And he must have had two strikes on another 6. He looked fine and dandy! But it came to me as no surprise that the Tigers only managed 4 hits on the day. Most of them were NOT for Yoon. I don't know why but he just can't buy run support. Releif pitching was no relief and the Tigers lost. Final score 4-2 for the SK Wyverns.
Mar 17- I went to this game too. What a roller coaster! Kia was up 8-0 but still managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. But for two reasons I didn't feel too badly. First of all it was the young Jeon Tae Hyun pitching. He went 5 innings and gave up 5 hits. Not bad. But add 2 walks and a hit batter and a lot of bad luck and it turned into 4 runs. Then Lee Dong Hyun gave up 3 hits and 3 runs. MAN this SK team gets good return on their hitting dollar! Or "weon" I guess. BUT we were still winning 8-7! Then in comes Son Young Min. He was really bad last year but near the end of the year he pulled up his socks and in spring training he was looking good. Until this game. 4 hits and 3 runs in one inning of work. The second reason I didn't feel bad about this game was that Kim Sang Hyun and Choi Hee Seop looked like Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco. The Kia bash brothers combined for 3 HR's, 6 RBI, 5 runs and even 2 walks. Hope to see more of that this year! Final score: an unbelievable 10-9 loss to the SK Wyverns.
Mar 18- Seo Jae Eung was okay again. Not sterling but good enough for a win. He pitched 5 innings gave up 5 hits, 4 walks and 3 runs. Struck out 4 though. Really bad relief pitching in the last two innings almost lost it for the Tigers but they squeaked out a win. Lee Jong Hwan, #67, a kid to watch, banged out 4 hits including a homer and got 2 RBI. Another youngster, Baek Yong Hwan, got a 3-run homer. Final score: 7-6 Kia over the Bears.
Mar 19- I wasn't impressed with Kim Hee Geol in the preseason. He's young so I'm not ready to give up on him but in this outing he lasted only 3 innings. He gave up 6 hits, 6 runs, 2 walks and he hit 3, count 'em, 3 Bears. Kia hit well. Baek Yong Hwan got his second homer in as many days, a two-run shot this time. Both Kim Sang Hyun and Kim Sun Bin went 3/3. If not for, (again), some bad relief pitching they woulda won. Final: 8-7 loss to Da Bears.
Mar 21- The last day of spring training. Kia sent two big guns to the mound. Lopez and Yang Hyun Jong. Lopez pitched 4 innings gave up 3 hits, no runs and struck out 3. Yang pitched 3 innings, gave up 3 hits, 3 walks and 2 runs. But they got good relief pitching and good run support. Lee Yong Gyu went 3/5, Kim Sang Hyun, Lee Hyun Gon and the ageless Lee Jong Beom all got homers. Lee Jong Beom's was a 3-run shot for his 3rd in spring training! He only hit 6 all year last year! Maybe he's been pumping iron in the off season. Final: 7-2 Kia over the LG Twins.
Some of these stats, maybe MOST of them, should be taken with a grain of salt but I think I saw some good things in pre-season.
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