Preview: Korean Baseball Organization
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will open the 2008 campaign with the most parity the league has ever enjoyed. The defending champions SK Wyverns remain virtually intact while the always tough Samsung Lions will once again field a strong ballclub.
The Doosan Bears, last year’s Korean Series runner-up, also brings back a strong squad and will battle for supremacy in Seoul opposite LG Twins. Both the Kia Tigers and Lotte Giants also feel like contenders after busy offseasons signing talented free agents.
The Woori Heroes, replacing the now-defunct Hyundai Unicorns, may not be the cellar-dwellar as expected as it boasts a deep pitching staff and a veteran lineup.
Here’s a look at the opening day matchups:
SK Wyverns vs LG Twins (Incheon)
Wyverns ace Kenny Rayborn will be the Opening Day starter while Twins manager Kim Jae-bak will be calling on American import Jamie Brown. The Twins have been erratic in recent years and will need a strong season from Brown if the Seoul-based club is to succeed this new season.
The Wyverns, who are widely regarded to possessing the league’s strongest relief corps, re-signed Rayborn and first baseman Lee Ho-joon, and added hard-throwing reliever Darwin Cubillan.
Designated hitter Kim Jae-hyun is healthy again and should provide protection to Lee this season. Big things are expected from flame-throwing southpaw starter Kim Kwang-hyun and Wyverns manager Kim Sung-keun is eyeing another championship season.
The Twins, a team short on power hitters, will live and die on the performance of their starting pitching. Park Myung-hwan and Australian Chris Oxspring team with Brown for a solid frontline while former Cincinnati Reds prospect Bong Jung-guen and Choi Won-ho will shore up the fourth and fifth slots.
Doosan Bears vs Woori Heroes (Seoul)
The pitching-thin Bears hope their opening day starter Gary Rath can emulate his 2004 season in which he won 17 games for the club. However, the 36-year-old has been drifting in Japan and Taiwan the past few seasons.
The Bears lost 2007 regular-season Most Valuable Player Daniel Rios, who went 22-5 last year, to Japan’s Yakult Swallows in the offseason. Matt Randel, usually good for 13 to 15 wins, is the only reliable pitcher in a rotation that includes former San Francisco Giants Kim Sun-woo, inconsistent Lee Seung-hak and hard-throwing rookie Jin Jacob.
Bears manager Kim Kyung-moon has a high-powered lineup that includes Min Byung-hyun and Ko Young-min, and power-hitting third baseman Kim Dong-joo.
While the Heroes might be playoff contenders the club should challenge most squads with a lineup featuring veteran hitters Cliff Brumbaugh, Lee Sung-yong and Song Ji-man and speedy contact hitters Lee Taek-guen and Jun Joon-ho.
Jang Won-sam, Ma Il-young and Jason Scobie will anchor the starting rotation, and hard-throwing youngster Kim Sung-hyun, armed with a 150kmph fastball and adequate slider, penciled in as the closer.
Samsung Lions vs Kia Tigers (Daegu)
Lions manager Sun Dong-yol championship hopes will hinge on the surgically-repaired elbow of ace hurler Bae Young-soo who will start the season opener. Bae, who was the Lions’ No. 1 starter when they won consecutive titles in 2005 and 2006, missed all of 2007 recovering from elbow surgery.
Bae was impressive in spring training, finishing with a 1.80 ERA and his fastball sitting around 145kmph. If Bae can repeat his old form, he will give the Lions a formidable starting rotation that also includes Wes Obermuller and Jun Byung-ho. Kwon Hyuk, Kwon Oh-joon and closer Oh Seung-hwan form the nucleus of the bullpen.
The Lions should have plenty of offensive spark with a lineup that boasts proven bashers Jacob Cruz, Shim Jung-soo and the veteran Yang Joon-hyuk.
Arguably one of the most improved squads, the Tigers are hoping that former major leaguer Jose Lima can matchup with other frontline ace pitchers like Bae who he will face in the season opener. Lima was impressive in the spring and he is one of the keys to the Tigers championship dreams.
Former Tampa Bay Rays starter Seo Jae-weong and strikeout artist Yoon Suk-min complements Lima in the starting rotation, while former Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Wilson Valdez adds extra-base power and speed to a lineup anchored by slugger Choi Hee-seop.
Hanwha Eagles vs Lotte Giants (Daejeon)
Southpaw Ryu Hyun-jin has joined the league’s top starters in the past two seasons but a heavy workload has the Eagles are concerned about the 21-year-old. Ryu won 17 games last year but struggled at the later part of the season, and looked vulnerable in his appearances for South Korea in the Olympic qualifiers in Taiwan earlier this month.
With aging veterans Song Jin-woo and Jung Min-chul and an unproven Yoo Won-sang being featured in the starting rotation, it will be key for Ryu to regain his All-Star form.
Former Milwaukee Brewers manager Jerry Royster takes over the coaching reigns for the Giants who are looking to rebound in 2008.
The Giants should finish among the league leaders in scoring with designated hitter Lee Dae-ho - the league’s top right-handed hitter - and former New York Yankees star Karim Garcia headlining the middle of the order.
Veteran Son Min-han, American Marty McLeary and former Boston Red Sox prospect Song Seung-joon form a promising starting rotation while the bullpen anchored by closer Lim Kyung-wan and supported by Kang Young-shik and Kim Young-soo remain a huge concern.
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