By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
South Korea isn't gunning for anything less than a gold in what looks to be baseball's last Olympic tournament in Beijing. However, the route to the top is expected to be difficult from the start.
According to the schedule released Wednesday, the Koreans will open against the Untied States on Aug. 13, followed by host China on Aug. 14 and Canada on Aug. 15.
The Koreans face regional rival Japan on Aug. 16, followed by Taiwan on Aug. 18, Cuba on Aug. 19 and the Netherlands on Aug. 20.
The top four in the eight-team tournament advance to the semifinals, scheduled for Aug. 22 and the gold medal game scheduled on the next day.
South Korea manager Kim Kyung-moon, the Doosan Bears skipper, last month announced 66 candidates who could represent the country in the Beijing Olympics. Kim and his coaching staff will meet with Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) officials next Monday to narrow the list.
The final 24-man roster should be submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by July 23.
``Considering the pace of the players and injuries, we will wait until late June to make our final decision on the team," said Yoon Dong-kyun, an official from KBO's technical committee.
Kim apparently isn't too happy about starting against the U.S., expected to send a team built around top minor league prospects that may represent the strongest in the tournament.
The defeat inflicted by Roy Oswalt and Doug Mientkiewicz in Sydney is still a stinging memory for the Koreans, who had to settle for the bronze and were spectators when Ben Sheets dominated the Cubans in the gold medal game.
Pitching depth has been a traditional strength for the Koreans, and that looks to be the case this time around with the lefty duo of SK Wyverns starter Kim Kwang-hyun and Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin giving the team a decent one-two punch.
Manager Kim is also expected to pick submariners Chung Dae-hyun of the Wyverns and Woo Kyu-min of the LG Twins, hoping they could confound hitters with their unorthodox pitching motions.
Former Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Kim Byung-hyun, currently out of a job, is also likely to get the call.
A variable factor will be whether manager Kim could retain the services of the Korean players playing in Japan. Despite many of its top players reporting for country duty in Beijing, the Japanese league isn't planning for a break during the Olympics, unlike the Korean league.
This means that Japanese teams will be more reliant on their foreign employees during the tournament period.
Thus, the Yakult Swallows may be reluctant in allowing closer Lim Chang-yong to represent South Korea and the Chunichi Dragons could feel the same for outfielder Lee Byung-kyu.