'Kim Taeyeon, Park Younghyun, Kim Seohyun, Jeong Haeyoung...' Ryu Joong Il-ho's change of thoughts. Unnerving starter → Challenge to the semifinals with the strongest bullpen
Oct 25, 2024
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However, the main players of the national team are not good because they are excluded from the national team due to injuries and sluggishness due to military training. Korea will play Taiwan on the 13th, Cuba on the 14th, Japan on the 15th, and the Dominican Republic on the 16th for four consecutive days, and Australia on the 18th after a day off. Only two of the six teams will advance to the semifinals and will hold a super round at Tokyo Dome in Japan from the 21st to determine the winning team. There is never an easy team in all five teams to play against South Korea. In this postseason, left-handed starter Son Joo-young and main outfielder Koo Ja-wook will be injured, further weakening the team's power.
The part that coach Ryu Joong-il is most worried about is the starting lineup. Manager Ryu said, `Our starter is Kwak Bin Won-tae, Ko Young-pyo, Um Sang-baek, Choi Seung-yong because Son Joo-young is out,' adding, `We need about four starters due to the schedule of the tournament, but I am wondering which country and which pitcher to put in. Each country uses starters based on the characteristics of batters, but I think we should make a judgment based on the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent."
Moon Dong-joo played the ace role at last year's Asian Games, but he is disappointed that he was injured in this tournament. Won Tae-in and Kwak Bin, who are co-winners, should play the ace role.
The starter seems weak, but fortunately, the bullpen has many reliable pitchers.
Jung Hae-young (KIA), who became the save king with 31 saves, Yoo Young-chan (LG, 26 saves), Park Young-hyun (KT), who changed his position to the end of this year after winning the hold king last year, Kim Taek-yeon of Doosan, who made 19 saves, the most saves for a high school graduate rookie, Cho Byung-hyun (12 saves, 12 holds), SSG who changed his position from the middle of the season to the end, and Kim Seo-hyun (Hanwha), who regained his credit at the end of the season. You can nod your head no matter who comes out as the closing player.
In addition, KIA's middle three guns, including Jeon Sang-hyun, who made 19 holds and 7 saves, left-handed Kwak Do-kyu, who made 2 saves with 16 holds, and Choi Ji-min, who made 3 saves with 12 holds, made the bullpen truly built its strongest power. When combined with saves and holds by bullpen agents who participated in national team training, they have 127 saves and 80 holds. Some of them will be excluded from the final entry, but they have a lot of faith in taking only the pitchers who are in the best condition.
Since there are many good pitchers in the bullpen, it is a strategy to consider how to quickly operate the bullpen in the 4th and 5th innings without dragging the starter for a long time. However, since there are four consecutive days of games, it is necessary to study how bullpen pitchers will rotate.
Coach Ryu also agonized over the four consecutive games. Manager Ryu said, `Unlike the starter, I see a lot on the bullpen side,' adding "We have to discuss how to operate with the pitching coach, but bullpen pitchers may be overloaded because they play four consecutive games. I think we need to plan it well."
indyk@sportschosun.com
