By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Injuries to key players are putting the SK Wyverns' hopes of a three-peat in jeopardy as they prepare for their second round playoff series against the Doosan Bears, which begins Wednesday.
Both teams announced their playoff rosters Sunday and the two-time defending champion will be without their rotation's one-two punch, Kim Kwang-hyun and Song Eun-beom, and reliever Jun Byung-doo, due to injuries.
The three pitchers combined for 32 victories this season.
The lefty Kim was hit on his left hand by a liner from Doosan Bears outfielder Kim Hyun-soo on Aug. 2 and was then ruled out for the rest of the season.
The defending Most Valuable Player (MVP) and a big contributor to the team's second-straight title in the Korean Series in 2008 had been 12-2 with a 2.80 ERA before he went down.
Although Kim Kwang-hyun, 21, had been recovering quickly and had resumed pitching, elbow pain during his first start in a minor league game a month ago lead to the decision to shut him down.
"Kim needs more time to heal,'' Wyverns manager Kim Sung-keun said Saturday.
The absence of Song and Jeon has further hurt the Incheon-based team's prospects of beating the Bears.
The pair led the injury-riddled Wyverns to a second-place finish in the regular season, which they closed out with a 19-game winning streak.
After Kim was ruled out for the regular season, Song, a six-year pro, became a lynchpin in the rotation, posting a 12-3 record with a 3.13 ERA.
However, the right-hander, who has had a long-term shoulder problem, went down again, retiring only one batter in his final outing of the season on Sept. 22 against the Samsung Lions.
In Saturday's team practice, the 25-year-old tested his shoulder but decided to rule himself out of the playoff series.
Jeon, who started the season in the rotation, established himself as a pillar in the bullpen from the midway point of the campaign and posted a record of 8-4, eight saves and one hold with a 3.11 ERA in 49 appearances.
After striking out two in a scoreless 2/3 of an inning against the Bears on Sept. 26, the 24-year-old complained of a left shoulder injury and has yet to begin throwing again.
Meanwhile, Bears manager Kim Kyung-moon excluded left-handed starter C.J. Nitkowski and outfielder Lim Jae-chul from their 26-player roster.
The American hurler, released by the Wyverns in June, left the mound during Game 1 of the first round playoffs against the Lotte Giants due to a sudden shoulder injury, and Lim suffered a finger injury while stealing a base in Game 2.