By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Doosan Bears manager Kim Kyung-moon looked great in leading a dominant South Korean baseball squad to an Olympic berth earlier this month. He could only wish that his regular job could be just as effortless.
It was merely months ago when the Seoul-based Bears, coming off an impressive 2007 when they finished as the Korean Series runner-up, were lauded as a young and talented team with the makings of greatness.
However, after going through a dreadful offseason that saw the team lose its 20-game winner and the tension between Kim and some veteran players becoming more evident, the Bears now seem closer to rebuilding than contending for a title.
Kim sounded disgusted after the Bears lost 8-4 against the Samsung Lions in a spring training game in Seoul Tuesday with former Philadelphia Phillies prospect Lee Seung-hak struggling in his start and relieved by four pitchers, who combined to surrender seven runs, all in a disastrous fifth inning.
Needless to say, there's no point investing too much thought into spring training games. It's hard to imagine the Bears' bullpen pitchers posting a collective ERA in high double digits throughout the season, which is as unlikely as catcher Chae Sang-byeong finishing anywhere close to his current .450 batting average.
However, the Bears are scrambling to replace regular-season Most Valuable Player (MVP) Daniel Rios, who went 22-5 with a 2.08 ERA in 2007 before moving to Japan's Yakult Swallows during the winter. So it's hard to convince Kim to take a lighthearted approach to the March mound troubles.
``Lee Seung-hak had no command of his pitches, and his stuff was less than respectable," said the usually reserved Kim, who didn't comment much about his relievers other than saying ``they gained valuable experience today."
With Rios out of the picture, the Bears acquired San Francisco Giants flameout Kim Sun-woo and American lefty Gary Rath, who won 17 games for the Bears in 2007 before playing in Japan, to join Matt Randel and Seung-hak in the starting rotation.
It remains to be seen whether Rath, a soft-tossing 35-year-old who now survives more on guile than overpowering batters, could be the same pitcher he was in 2004, although he is successfully fooling hitters so far this spring.
The early verdict on Sun-woo is less than promising. Pitching for his country in the Olympic qualifiers in Taiwan, the 31-year-old right-hander gave up four runs in five innings against a lowly Spanish lineup and revealed some bad habits picked up during his anonymous career in the U.S.
Sun-woo, never known for his ability to make adjustments, is often criticized for competing with the radar gun rather than hitters, compromising his command while attempting to throw hard and becoming predictable and vulnerable to long counts. He had those problems in Taiwan, allowing hitters to grow comfortable on a steady diet of 145kmph fastballs right down the middle.
Coach Kim could only pray that Sun-woo evolves from a thrower to a pitcher, although its questionable whether the 11-year veteran could suddenly get the idea.
Despite its disastrous performance against the Lions, the bullpen is projected as a strength for the Bears, which would be vital since they are losing Rios and his 200-plus innings per season.
Closer Jung Jae-hun and middle reliever Lim Tae-hoon will now be complemented by veteran lefty Lee Hye-cheon, who missed most of 2007 due to a shoulder injury. Rookie Jin Jacob and fellow flamethrower Lee Jae-won, a 20-year-old who just might be the hardest throwing right-hander in the league, add depth as options for the seventh and eighth innings.
It would be hard for Kim to rely on a team full of youngsters and questionable 30-somethings for the six-month season, but that seems exactly what he has to do. One would think the coach would value the presence of proven veterans in a squad full of enigmas, but Kim seems to have a shorter leash for old-timers.
Adding to the tension in the Bears' camp is Kim's ongoing feud with veterans, including last season's starting first baseman Ahn Kyung-hyun, who spent the last 16 seasons with the Bears.
In an unexpected call out, Kim announced that he won't be playing Ahn at all in spring training and even suggested that trading the 38-year-old would be in the best interest of the club.
This comes after catcher and team captain Hong Sung-heon demanded a trade in the offseason after losing his starting job to Chae in midseason last year.
``There is no place for Ahn and Hong in the Bears," Kim told reporters last month.
Kim's disdain for Ahn is rather curious, as he is coming off a reasonably productive season, when he batted .274 and added stability as one of the best defensive first basemen in the game.
Ahn has always been acclaimed for his quiet leadership and regarded as the emotional leader of the team, evidenced by his actions during last year's Korean Series, when he delayed surgery after breaking his right thumb in Game 2 and stuck with his teammates throughout the series.
Considering that Jung Won-seok, who is groomed to replace Ahn at first, is not considered much of an offensive prospect, it's questionable why Kim is risking the team's chemistry with his eagerness to shove out Ahn.