Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop, who is in the midst of a fierce standings battle, has made a game-changing move.
He decided to change the roles of struggling starting pitcher Choi Won-jun (28) and closer Hong Gun-hee (30) to middle relievers and utilize left-hander Choi Seung-yong (22) as a starter and right-hander Jung Chul-won (24) as a closer.
“We don’t have many games left,” Lee said, “and we have to take the games we can win, even if we have to do a lot of work,” he added as he announced the news ahead of a home game against the KT Wiz of the 20203 KBO at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Friday.
Doosan, which surged to third place last month with a franchise-best 11-game winning streak, has dropped to fifth place with one win and three losses in its last four games.
They are 1.5 games behind the sixth-place Kia Tigers and cannot guarantee a postseason berth.
Amidst this, the mound has started to falter.
Side arm starter Choi Won-jun has been up and down.
His most recent outing against the Hanwha Eagles on April 13 saw him leave the game early, giving up four runs on five hits with one walk and one strikeout in 1 1/3 innings.
Closer Hong Gun-hee has also struggled to maintain his early-season form.
He has faltered since August with a 4.76 ERA in six games.
In response, coach Lee Seung-yeop made changes to the starting and closing staffs.
“Choi Won-jun’s spot will be filled by left-handed pitcher Choi Seung-yong,” Lee said.
“He doesn’t have a variety of pitches, so he’s bound to give up a lot of hits if his pitches are shaky,” Lee said, adding, “I’m thinking of using him in the bullpen if he recovers his physical condition after a few days of rest.”
Doosan’s bullpen struggles began when left-hander Choi Seung-yong joined the starting lineup.
“We don’t have a reliable left-hander in the bullpen except for Lee Byung-heon,” said Lee Seung-yeop. “We decided that the problem with the starting staff was more urgent than the problem with the left-hander in the bullpen, so we made Choi Seung-yong the starter. We need our starting pitchers to do a good job.”
“We made the decision after the Samsung Lions game on the 9th (where he gave up three runs in ⅓ inning),” he said, “He’s tended to falter in close games lately. We decided that it would be better to have him throw the ball in a position where there is no pressure.”
“The closer will be Chung Chul-won,” he added.
When asked if he plans to push the current plan to the end of the season, 카지노사이트킴 he said, “There are a lot of variables and we don’t know what will happen,” adding, “For now, this is how we will go.”
“I’ll have a reexamination on the 18th,” he said, “and I’ll call him up when I’m sure he’s healthy. We will hold on until he comes.”
