"Rival LG is a feast..." Doosan in crisis that plunged to the bottom at the beginning of the season
"Rival LG is a feast..." Doosan in crisis that plunged to the bottom at the beginning of the season
Blog Article
The lineup is depressed due to the core bullpen's line injury... Fans lament, "Where is 'Hustle Doo'?"
Despite the early stages of the season, the rivals of Jamsil Baseball are clearly divided. LG, which had seven consecutive wins since its foundation, has been leading the league alone, while Doosan, which once ruled as a traditional powerhouse of the KBO league, has fallen to the bottom of the league due to the turmoil on the mound and sluggish batting lineup.
Doosan, which entered baseball in the fall as fourth place in the league last season and left behind by KT for the first time in its history in the wild card match, invested heavily in foreign players before this season and declared a "beast rebuilding" and pushed for most of the team's side with an infinite competition between players.
In the spring camp, fielders Kim Min-seok and Choo Jae-hyun, who gave up Jung Chul-won and Jeon Min-jae to Lotte, were active, raising expectations. Some experts predicted, "As Doosan ranked fourth in the regular season last year amid constant injuries and sluggish foreign starters and batters, this year, if foreign players play their part, it will be possible to compete in the top ranks."
However, he has been anxious since the opening. The team put forward Cole Irvin and Jack Rogue, the current starting pitchers of the Major League Baseball who were ambitiously brought to the opening two consecutive games, but suffered consecutive losses by SSG. It then recorded one win and two losses in three away games against KT and one win and two losses in three away games against Samsung held at home last weekend, winning just two games in eight games since the opening. Notably, Doosan fans expressed disappointment, saying, "They don't even show what they used to call 'hustle-doo' in the past," after losing 2-13 and 2-3 against Samsung last weekend.
It is not that he has nothing to say. Kwak Bin and bullpen pitcher Hong Kun-hee left the club due to injuries right before the season opened. What's worse is that Lee Byung-hun, a must-win group, and Choi Ji-gang are also injured. "How can we win when we don't have a core bullpen?" fans are complaining that "the impact of the bullpen's excessive number of consecutive throws last year will appear from the season's opening."
Ambitiously brought foreign pitchers are also having a hard time adjusting to the opening period. Cole Irvin, who was expected to say, "Why did you come to Korea?" with six wins and six losses in 29 games for the Minnesota Twins in the Major League last season, had seven hits and four runs in five innings in the opening game against SSG on the 22nd. Another foreign starter, Jack Rogue, has been suffering from severe growth pain in two games since the opening, losing two games with four runs, 12 hits and five walks in 12 innings with a 6.00 ERA.
If the mound is shaken, the batting average of the team should be broken, but the team is ranked eighth in the league with a batting average of 0.223. Yang Eui-ji, a key batter, has a batting average of 0.174 (4 hits in 23 times at bat), Kim Jae-hwan has a batting average of 0.242 (8 hits in 33 times at bat, 1 home run), and Yang Seok-hwan has a batting average of 0.231 (6 hits in 26 times at bat). Kim Min-seok, who was given a chance to play as a leadoff due to his strong performance in the spring camp, has remained silent with a batting average of 0.192 and a new second baseman, with no hits in 13 times at bat in four games.
Jake Cave, who replaced Jarrod Young as a substitute for foreign hitter who was active last season, is also struggling with six hits in 28 at-bats for a 0.214 batting average in eight games. Although his batting average is below expectations, he has yet to produce a home run that he expects from foreign hitters.
As the ranking competition is expected to be fiercer than ever this season, chances are high that Doosan will struggle in the fall baseball competition if it falls behind in the early ranking competition. Doosan should immediately turn the tables in its three consecutive home games against Kiwoom in Jamsil from the 1st to the 3rd of next month. Choi Seung-yong, who started the game against KT on the 26th and became the winning pitcher with seven hits and two runs, will start on the 1st. It is also expected that foreign pitcher Cole Irvin, who is expected to play in the last game of three consecutive games, won his debut victory against Samsung on the 28th by pitching seven innings of three hits and no runs. 먹튀검증
It is also comforting to boast the still-powerful pitching by making saves in both games won by closer Kim Taek-yeon, who won last year's Rookie of the Year award. As it is difficult to manage the bullpen for the time being, Doosan has no choice but to let the starting pitcher pitch as long as possible until the main bullpens return and the batters cheer up.