Kia Tigers Program

As I write this the Tigers are playing, (and losing), their second game of the new KBO season. They just brought Son Young Min in to replace Lee Beom Seok. This is when I get nervous!

As promised, or threatened, I am going to give you my thoughts on the new season and who will probably be playing for the Kia Tigers. Since I love offense, I'll start with the batting line-up the way I think it oughtta be.

#15 Lee Yong Gyoo: Mr. Excitement. Definitely their MVP last year since pitchers, (who miss more games than they play), can't be MVP's. He makes things happen even when he's NOT hitting. Gets his share of walks and has great speed so he can steal a bag or reach a fly ball in center field that an average guy wouldn't. He is prone to OVER excitement and will err on the side of aggression sometimes but I don't mind that at all. I wish he'd choke down a bit on the bat after the first inning so he can hit more homers. He didn't get any last year but I know he can hit the ball out of the park. Kia needs all the dingers they can muster.

#7 Lee Jong Beom: When he's 90 he'll be playing ball somewhere. He looked great in pre-season and has a real chance to hit for a high average as usual this year. He's lost speed and won't hit many, (if any), homeruns but he's still better than most. He's a great hitter and he's very good in Right Field although he won't throw many baserunners out. I bet he'd be a fantastic playing coach too.

#1 Jang Sung Ho: Taylor made for #3 in the batting order. He can hit for power and average. But I don't think his hitting has been NEARLY what it should. Somtimes it's not the players hitting bad that makes the team lose it's the other way around. Since he's been on the Tigers for such a long drought, maybe he's a little too complacent in his mediocre hitting. If Kia can start the season off strong look for his average to be over .300. Or if his average is over .300, Kia can start the season off strong. He's a pivotal player for the Tigers. Also he's much better on first base than Choi Hee Seop.

#25 Lee Jae Joo: Yes, that's right, #25 Lee Jae Joo. Just because Choi Hee Seop lost some weight in the off season doesn't mean he's earned back the clean up hitter spot in this line-up. Lee Jae Joo should have started last season in this spot, (and I said that last season) and it wasn't till half a season of Choi's rally killing that Lee was put here. Now the coach figures fans will forget and he'll be playing Choi here at the start of the season. Let's hope he doesn't stick with him as long and Lee Jae Joo can play.

#29 Na Ji Weon: I think this will be a break-out year for Na Ji Weon and it will be good to have him protecting the #4 hitter. Who knows, if he does really well maybe he'll BE the clean-up hitter. I don't think he has as much power or size as Choi Hee Seop but he's got a much better eye at the plate. And he's not too bad in left field.

#31 Lee Hyeon Gon: It seems like #6 is late in the order for such a good hitter but if Jang Sung Ho doesn't show enough interest this year they can swap. He's a very good contact hitter. Not a lot of strikeouts. Good average too. Strong #6. And I really like his cat-like reflexes at 3B although he can also play SS.

#3 Kim Sun Bin: I'm not sure if he'll be starting shortstop or not but if he does, this is the slot in the batting order where I'd put him. I see talent in Kim but I see some problems that might be hard to overcome. He is a bit error prone for a shortstop and I think he plays a bit too nervous. Even though he gets some solid hits to right field, he never pulls the ball. I think this is a sign that he's just a fraction unsure of himself. Needs some intensive work in the batting cage. On the other hand, I saw #8??? Ahn Chi Hong at shortstop and third in pre-season and he looked good both in the field and at the plate. I like to see competition. It makes everybody play harder. Don't be surprised to see a platoon situation between these two or maybe Ahn will play himself into a regular spot. We'll see.

#22 Kim Sang Hoon: I like him. He's a good catcher, calls a good game and is great at blocking wild pitches. His average is average and his speed is catcheresque. No frills but no real weaknesses.

#16 Kim Jong Gook: He's a steady second baseman. Doesn't make many errors in the field. At the plate he's streaky. He's great to have hitting before the leadoff hitter when he's getting on base. And that's quite often. Which is why I would like to see Lee Yong Gyoo hit for a bit more power.

Other position players to watch for: #51 Kim Weon Sup, #23 Choi Hee Seop, #33 Kim Ju Hyung, #66 Choi Yong Gyoo, #6 Park Jin Young.


Now for the pitchers.

#20 Yoon Suk Min: I've predicted a 20-win season for the "Smiling Ace" this year and even though he lost his first outing he looked good. A littel smarter baseball and he would have got a no decision. At any rate, he's so good I sometimes don't like watching him pitch. I like offense, remember?

#61 Lee Beom Suk: He's a skinny, little powerhouse. I don't know how he can throw so hard but I've never even seen Han Ki Joo throw a ball as hard as him. And he did it after several innings of pitching. I feel comfortable with Lee on the mound.

#40 Seo Jae Eung: He was injured a lot last season. I don't know how he feels for this season but when he was healthy he was good. I hope he stays healthy this year.

#? Aquilino Lopez: His nickname is Senior Smoke. I remember him from the Blue Jays. He got 14 saves for them one year and had a lot of strikeouts. It'll be really cool to see a major league player I recognize. Not sure how his game is but I can't see him NOT helping a struggling bull pen. If they use him as a save guy maybe Han Ki Joo can work as a set-up guy or longer relief.

#? Rick Guttormson: All I know about this guy is he's from the States, he was the first player to pitch a no-hitter in Japanese interleague history and he was the first guy to fail a drug test too. It was not a steroid, it was a hair growing agent that can be used to mask steroids. If he can pitch no-hitters he'll be welcome on the Kia staff hair or no hair. Also, if Choi is as bad as last season and they just can't find anyone to hit for power...

#37 Yang Hyun Jong started in pre-season and looked very good. He won a 2-1 pitchers duel. I don't know where they got him but if he can keep the other team to 1 run, welcome.

#19 Son Young Min: My pick for goat of the year on the pitching staff. He blew a lot of good starting pitching performances last year. However, he did clean up his act a little late in the season and he has looked better in pre-season. I'm hoping he can pitch better because there's NO WAY Jo Beom Hyun is gonna stop calling his number! He's the baseball version of the teacher's pet. I'm hoping he'll go from goat of the year to most improved player this year.

#10 Han Ki Joo: The guy throws the ball hard. No doubt. But it's actually easier to get a hit off a hard pitch if you can time it. When the guy never throws anything else it just makes it easier to time. I'm really hoping that Seo Jae Eung or one of the other pitchers took some time in the off season to teach Han another pitch. If he could throw a breaking ball or off-speed pitch with any effectiveness he'd be dangerous.

Other pitchers I like: #45 Lee Dae Jin, #35 Im Joon Hyuk. I hope there will be others or it'll be a long season. AGAIN.

And I thought I'd include the coach.

#70 Jo Beom Hyun: "Jo don't know." I don't need to tell you I am not a big fan of this guy. I think his biggest problem is he's Korean. It sounds bad but let me splain. He's older than any of the other guys so who's gonna tell him when he's making mistakes. Doesn't happen in Korea. In fact I see that in other coaches in the league too. I won't bring up the monumental coaching errors I saw in the WBC highlighted by Kim In Shik's failure to walk Ichiro. Okay I DID bring it up. And I see the opposite for the one team that HAS a foreign coach. Look what happened when the Lotte Giants got Jerry Royster. The same thing could happen if Kia got a foreign coach. Like me for instance. Well I'm not sure about that but I AM sure I could get Kia half a run a game more with three words: HIT AND RUN! Aparently Jo don't know that strategy. Aside from two out, full count I NEVER see a hit and run and Kia has a team BUILT for it! What I DO see is more double plays against than any team I have ever witnessed; 3, even 4 hits in an inning with no runs; an INCREDIBLE number of players stranded on base; Kia outplaying, outpitching and outhitting oponents and losing. ALL of these demoralizing problems could be lowered with the hit and run. Other teams destroy the Tigers with it. He's got guys with good speed but only a couple who can actually steal. He's got a ton of good contact hitters. This is a hit-and-run team. Why Jo won't do it is beyond me.

Instead of the hit and run Jo will have a very good hitter like Jang Sung Ho SAC BUNT with a guy on first and nobody out when Kia is down by 3 or 4 runs. I've also seen him do that in the first fucking inning! This is a really good way to show your hitters you don't trust them at all. Hence, I don't think they're playing as hard as they can for this guy. You don't see it in the KBO as much as in the majors but I am starting to see Kia Tigers FAKE sacrificing. You know professional ball players can lay down a bunt. Especially if they have two chances. But some would rather try for a hit with only one chance. I.e. "miss" two bunts then swing for a hit with two strikes against. I'm positive I've seen that happen with the Tigers a few times. That's when you know the coach is pissing the hitters off.

Also, he pays very little attention to whether starting pitchers are cruising along. In the 6th or 7th it's time for his favourite: Son Young Min to come on and blow the game wide open. I'm SURE I've seen him pull pitchers working on one hitters or two hitters. The guy seems to have no faith in his starting pitching either. Only the bull pen WHICH SUCKS! I'm sorry.

There are other little coaching mistakes like player positioning, playing the infield or outfield shallow when they shouldn't be. I'm not even sure these things are Jo's calls.

Good news though! I've seen some signs that Jo HAS faith in Yoon Suk Min. And I saw him pull Son when his first hitter got a hit too. Maybe somebody disrespected him and caused him severe loss of face by telling him. Or maybe a foreigner did it. Now if we can just get him to call hit and runs...

But no team is perfect. I think the Tigers will improve this year. I'm hoping to see them in the playoffs. I think they can do it if they just read this blog!

See you at the ball park Tigers Fans!