Three of the five starting pitchers who started operation since the opening game on March 23 have disappeared. The number is a whopping 60 percent. Not only the bullpen is in a difficult situation, but also the starting lineup is faltering.
Even if the leading Kia Tigers widened the gap with the second-ranked team, it would not be easy to feel relieved. Rather, the team is in a crisis. Yoon was withdrawn from the first team on Friday due to lumbar inflammation after allowing one hit and one strikeout in two innings at the match against the Gwangju SSG Landers. Yoon was excluded from the first team on Friday to undergo a cross-check.
Yoon’s injury does not appear to be light. Manager Lee Bum-ho explained that he had already changed the order of starting players in the first half due to back pain. It turned out that he was not able to run, but he had been continuously briefed by the training part that he had symptoms of clumping. As Yoon Young-chul was in pain for the first time in the actual match, Kia would be surprised.
KIA is constantly seeing injured people on the mound as soon as the season opens. Lim Ki-young left the mound in just one week after the season opened due to abdominal pain. Since then, Lee felt something wrong with his elbow while pitching in early April, and he ended the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Lee will not be able to return until the first half of next year.
Wil Crow, who was hired as a foreign ace, was put on the operating table due to an elbow injury in May. Crow had shoulder issues in the past, and Kia has thoroughly checked his shoulder issues and recruited him, judging that there would be no problem, but when he said that his elbow hurt, he ended his trip in vain.
As a result, three of the five starting pitchers that KIA has started since the opening game on March 23 were out due to injuries. They were Crow, Yang Hyun-jong, James Nail, Yi Eui-ri, and Yoon Young-cheol. Although Lee changed the order of starting pitchers several times since then, Lee Bum-ho’s basic framework was to complete the season with them.
However, the crisis began at the end of May as Lee’s absence lengthened and the crook fell out. Hwang Dong-ha definitely filled one of the two spots. However, while Kim Geon-guk and Kim Sa-yoon were unable to seize the opportunity given, the bullpen was overloaded and the team’s pace dropped noticeably in June.
However, left-hander Cam Aldred, who was hired as an injury replacement, is likely to be converted to a full-time job. So he has five starters again. Lim Ki-young returned, but closer Jung Hae-young also left due to shoulder inflammation. The bullpen temporarily found stability in the process of sweeping the last three away games against the Samsung Lions in the first half and the first three away games against the LG Twins in the second half.
However, the bullpen was shaken again in the first two games of three consecutive weekend home games against SSG. As Choi Ji-min and Yoon Young-chul were also sidelined due to accumulated fatigue, both the starting pitcher and the bullpen will suffer significant leaks and changes. As we will know only when the results of Yoon’s cross-check come out on Monday, the starting pitcher’s loss is severe due to abnormality in the bullpen. For now, Kim Geon-gook will fill the position of Yoon. The bullpen may have more load on it.
This reporter covered the Canberra spring camp in Australia for 10 days in February. At that time, pitchers seemed to have considerably better pace and seemed to have more depth than any other season. I was able to read his confidence internally. As he runs toward the middle of this season, however, he is struggling with starting pitchers and bullpen sessions. Managing energy on the mound is his biggest task for Kia, which is aiming for the championship. 메이저사이트
Meanwhile, the value of Yang Hyeon-jong (36), a major pitcher who has been running without any major injuries throughout his career, is reaffirmed. Since his debut in 2007, Yang has never had a sword on his elbow or shoulder until this year. He played 170 innings for nine consecutive years from the 2014 season to last year, and just seeing him try to take care of his physical condition makes one feel the importance of taking care of himself.
Yang was also a power pitcher in the past. He had rest due to various small and large injuries during this season. However, he has rarely been absent for a long period of time, enough to be officially judged as “out of the season.” Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon also stressed that younger pitchers in the KBO league should learn Yang’s unique consistency. These suggestions have been made to Lee Eui-ri and Yoon Young-cheol without having to go far.
