“We’re focused on (win-loss margin) plus. There’s a point where you start competing for position, and there’s a point where you want to be No. 1 in the regular season.”
Winning the Korean Series. That’s what the LG Twins said when they hired manager Yoon Kyung-yeop, and that’s what they’re aiming for this season.메이저사이트
The Twins have been in contention for second place since the start of the season. 15 wins and 11 losses in April, 16 wins, 6 losses and 1 tie in May, 11 wins, 9 losses and 1 tie in June. While LG’s monthly win rate pace is by no means bad, the solidity of defending champions SSG Landers is also surprising.
However, ‘saltgalang’ has a different opinion. Throughout the first half of the season, he’s been saying that he’s grateful to his players for holding on.
When we met up with him on the 25th, he was still in awe. “In the first half, we only need to be in the lead group. We’re still one or two games away from the top,” he said, adding, “We don’t have a full team right now.”
So when does he think the time is right to make a move, to “cheat”? Later in the season, especially in August.
“Right now, we’re not focused on the standings, we’re focused on each game and improving our win-loss margin. August is the time to start fighting for positions. It happens there and it’s difficult if you fall. First place in the regular season is the first goal of the year.”
LG initially envisioned a rotation centered around a one-two punch outside of Kelly Plutko, with Lee Min-ho and Kim Yoon-sik as the third and fourth starters, and rookies like Kang Hyo-jong and Lee Ji-gang as the fifth starter. However, both Lee Min-ho and Kim Yoon-sik left the team due to poor performance. Instead, veteran Im Chan-kyu has awakened and is now the third starter. Lee Ji-gang is now the fourth starter and Lee Jung-yong is the fifth starter.
Coach Yeom said, “Our overall power is not stable right now. The 4-5 starters who are responsible for 5 innings even if they get hit are the key to fighting for the regular season ranking.” He emphasized, “It is fortunate that the bullpen has grown solidly through April and May.”
He describes the process of winning first place in the regular season as “a stable rotation until the fourth starter” and “a solid winning group. As for SSG, he said, “First of all, we have a foreigner, Kim Kwang-hyun, and we can afford to start. They have Oh Won-seok, Moon Seung-won, and Park Jong-hoon, and they have much more favorable conditions than us,” he said, adding, “So the condition for a real strong team is to have a lot of holds and saves.”
Yeom was the manager of the Nexen Heroes from 2013 to 2016 and the SK Wyverns from 2019 to 2020. “Hitting alone doesn’t win championships. You can have fun playing baseball, but at the end of the day, you have to play defense to win the regular season,” he says.