Choi Won-joon (29), the native ace of the Doosan Bears, played his role with 4 innings and 1 run and went down the mound. He seemed to have a premonition of victory, but the bullpen shook sharply. The uneasy back door is a part that must be resolved for Doosan’s rebound this season.
Doosan tied KT Wiz 5-5 in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO league demonstration game held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do on the 21st.
It was a game that was leading 5-1 until the 6th inning, and it is a result that is all the more regretful because they used 8 bullpen pitchers.먹튀검증
Doosan, which achieved record-breaking results of entering the Korean Series for 7 consecutive years and winning 3 times, fell sharply last year. 60 wins, 82 losses, 2 draws, 0.423 win rate, 9th place. It was an unbelievable number for Doosan.
One of the reasons for Doosan’s downfall is the unstable bullpen. Since 2016, Doosan has always finished in the top 5 in the bullpen ERA rankings. But last season was different. The team ERA was 4.80, and the only team below Doosan was the Lotte Giants (4.86).
Although coach Lee Seung-yeop was appointed and the new season started, Doosan does not appear to have changed much. 2 wins, 4 losses and 2 draws in the demonstration game, 9th place.
The demonstration game is literally the process of testing ahead of the regular league. Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop said before the game, “We have to test now. It’s too late during the season. The process is more important than the result.” “he said.
However, this does not mean that you do not have to be obsessed with the results. In other words, you should definitely find a positive part in the process.
Both of them were unsatisfied that day. After Choi Won-joon went down, Lee Byung-hun and Lee Hyung-beom finished their duties without any major problems. Episode 7 was a problem. The changed pitcher Lee Seung-jin climbed the mound, but was beaten with three hits and no outcounts.
Kim Ho-joon, who took over the baton, allowed a walk without putting the ball in the strike zone. Pitcher Kim Myung-shin, who came out for the third time only in the 7th inning, struck out Alford after a 9-pitch match, but Moon Sang-cheol hit 2 RBIs in a timely manner. Even after striking out Shin Bong-ki, he gave an infield hit to Jung Joon-young and passed the ball to Jang Won-jun.
Jang Won-joon, a seasoned veteran, stood on the mound with a one-point lead of 5-4. He could look forward to victory if he blocked the innings without allowing extra runs. But he didn’t seem confident either. No ball went right into the strike zone. In the end, the score was tied with a push walk. Belatedly, Pil Seung-jo, Jeong Cheol-won, and Hong Geon-hee stepped forward and blocked one inning each, but could not reverse the game.
Doosan has a solid 4 starters, including Raul Alcantara, Dylan Pyle, Choi Won-jun, and Kwak Bin. Dylan is expected to miss the beginning of the season due to a sudden injury, but if he returns and does his part, there will be no big problem in starting.
However, the back door is still a concern. Expectations are high for Jung Cheol-won and Hong Kun-hee, but it is not possible to lead 144 games only with a key setup man and finisher. If the rest of the bullpen pitchers can’t keep up, a chain rift could happen. This is also why director Lee Seung-yeop constantly induces competition and wants mutual growth.