The left-handed starting pitcher, who had been highly anticipated, was completely eliminated. How will the Asian Games national team selection team operate without Lee Ui-ri and Koo Chang-mo? National team coach Ryu Joong-il expected the right-handed starting lineup to be strong against left-handed batters, along with the use of ‘1+1’ selection.
The Asian Games national team held its first official training after convening at Gocheok Dome on September 23. The national team decided to replace the entry just before convening. The KBO selected outfielders Kim Seong-yoon and Yoon Dong-hee, and pitcher Kim Young-gyu as replacements for outfielder Lee Jeong-hoo and pitchers Koo Chang-mo and Lee Ui-ri.
Coach Ryu emphasized unity as a team by selecting infielder Kim Hye-seong as the national team captain before training on the 23rd. Coach Ryu, who met with reporters at an official press conference on the 23rd, said, “I will repay the people’s support by winning a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games.”
Coach Ryu continued, “At the players’ meeting, I said let’s put our names aside for a moment and take pride in being a player representing our country. He also loves baseball and says, let’s be polite about baseball. Aside from hitting home runs and striking out, he also asked players to strictly follow the things they hate to do, such as base running and defensive backup. Lastly, he asked the players and coaches to work together as one and work hard to win the gold medal,” he said, conveying his determination for the Asian Games.토토사이트
Coach Ryu also mentioned the controversy surrounding Lee Ui-ri, who was replaced in the entry the day before the convocation date. The KBO announced that it had replaced Lee Ui-ri after determining that it would be difficult for him to show his best performance due to a finger blister problem. However, Lee Ui-ri’s side and the KIA team’s position was that there was no problem with the condition of the finger, so their views were conflicting.
Coach Ryu said, “Personally, I feel sorry about Lee Ui-ri’s replacement. Lee Ui-ri was a key left-handed pitcher who had to assume a starting role in important games. A fortnight ago, I saw Ui-ri Lee suffering from blisters on his fingers. The national team trainer continued to check the condition. “I also watched Lee Ui-ri’s starting mound in the Daejeon game on the 21st,” he said.
Coach Ryu continued, “It may be a different perspective, but looking at the condition of the blister while pitching and the condition of the blister after the pitch after being unable to pitch 2 innings that day, I had doubts about whether he would be able to pitch more than 70 to 80 pitches as a starting pitcher in this condition. “In the end, he decided that he couldn’t throw more than 80 pitches as a starting pitcher, so he decided to replace him.”
Manager Ryu selected Kim Young-gyu, a left-handed bullpen resource, to replace Koo Chang-mo, and outfielder Dong-hee Yoon to replace Lee Ui-ri. It appears that other position players have taken the place of the two starting players. There are bound to be setbacks in the operation of the national team’s selection mound.
Coach Ryu hoped for the right-handed starting lineup to work hard, along with the direction of utilizing starting resources ‘1+1’.
Coach Ryu said, “Both Koo Chang-mo and Lee Ui-ri are the best left-handed pitchers in Korea. Although difficulties have come, our team has Kwak Bin and Park Se-woong. There are more left-handed hitters than right-handed hitters in the KBO league. Since they played well against left-handed hitters, I believe they will do well in the tournament as well. I don’t think we will be able to score many points in a short game. As for the pitching staff, we are considering using a ‘1+1’ starter, and the middle one is good. “If we keep it within a 2-3 point gap, we have a good chance of winning,” he emphasized.