The money quote...``Professional baseball players are not workers but individual businessmen, as precedents show. Individual businessmen cannot make a union,'' a KBO official said.

By this definition, isn't everyone an individual businessman and no one should be allowed to form a union? I'm usually not a pro-union guy, but it's time for the KBO to take the leap into 21st century labor relations.

On to the roundup...


Doosan 6, SK 6(12)

SK is in first place with a 13-6-3 record. They lead the league with 3 ties. This game was tied at 4 in the top of the 9th inning. SK took a 6-4 lead when Park Jae-sang delivered a basehit down the left field line to score a pair. Jeong Geun-woo had another solid effort at the plate for SK. Jeong went 3-5 with 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored, 2 walks and 2 stolen bases. His 9th inning single and stolen base was a key part of the inning. SK called on Jeong Dae-hyeon to finish off Doosan in the bottom of the 9th. With one out, Doosan 3rd baseman Kim Dong-joo singled to right. Left fielder Kim Hyeon-soo reached on an infield single. He was able to advance to 2nd and the runner scored on a throwing error. The catcher left home to back-up first base and left the plate completely unguarded. Doosan caught SK napping and made the score 6-5. With runners on 1st and 2nd with still only 1 out, Yoo Jae-wong bounced a single through the left side to score Kim and tie the game at 6. Jeong would record a strike out and get a ground ball to end the inning. Then, nothing remotely interesting happened until the top of the 12th. SK loaded the bases with two outs, but Choi Jeong flied out to deep right to end the threat. Doosan went out quietly in the bottom of the inning.


LG 4, Hanwha 3
W - Shim Su-chang (2-2), L - Ahn Yeong-myeong (2-1), S - Woo Gyu-min (4)

LG rallied in the early innings to a 4-1 lead. In the first inning, center fielder Park Yong-taek hit a 2-run bomb. The next batter, slugger Roberto Petagine, clubbed a solo blast for his 7th homer of the season. Hanwha offered up a two fake rallies in the 7th and 9th, but they couldn't deliver a big hit when they needed it. LG starting pitcher Shim Su-chang was very effective during his 7 innings(103 pitches, 65 strikes) of work. He allowed only 2 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk and 1 hit batsman. He also struck out 6. LG closer Woo Gyu-min was fairly shaky in the 9th inning, but he managed to record 3 outs before giving up the lead.


Seoul Heroes 3, Samsung 2
W - Shin Cheol-in (1-0), L - Ahn Ji-man(0-2), S - Hwang Doo-seong (6)

Hwang Jae-gyun gave the Heroes a 2-0 lead in the 5th inning when he connected for a 2-run homer. Samsung tied the game in the 7th. With runners on 1st and 3rd and no outs, Samsung tried a squeeze bunt with Hyeon Jae-yoon at the plate. The runner on 3rd was out by 10 feet. With runners on 1st and 2nd with one out, Cho Dong-chan singled to center to score Samsung's first run. With runners on 1st and 3rd with one out, Kim Sang-su struck out swinging. The runners were moving on the pitch. Heroes catcher Heo Joon threw down to 2nd, Cho was safe. Hyeon Jae-yoon sprinted home from third. He came in just under the tag to score Samsung's 2nd run. In the top of the 8th inning, the Heroes broke the 2-2 tie. With Doug Clark on 1st and Jeong Su-seong on 2nd with 1 out, 1st baseman Lee Sung-yong hit a ground ball to 2nd. Doug Clark was forced out at 2nd, but Samsung 1st baseman Chae Tae-in couldn't find the handle on the throw. Lee was safe at first and Jeong scored on the error. Heroes closer Hwang Doo-seong allowed a walk and single in the 9th, but he struck out the other 3 batters he faced to record the save.


Lotte 7, KIA 2
W - Cho Jeong-hoon(3-2), L - Seo Jae-wong (1-1)

The Giants jumped all over Seo in the early innings and cruised to an easy W. KIA starter Seo Jae-wong was battered for 6 runs on 8 hits, 2 walks and 1 hit batsman during his 2 1/3 innings(65 pitches, 38 strikes) of work. Seo struggled with location. Everything that was hit was up in the zone and the Lotte offense made him pay for it. On the other side of the field Lotte's Cho Jeong-hoon enjoyed the early cushion and cruised to victory. Cho tossed 8 innings(87 pitches, 60 strikes) of 2-run baseball. He allowed only 5 hits and struck out 8. Lotte's Karim Garcia hit a solo homer in the 4th inning. Garcia finished the game 2-4 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Lotte catched Kang Min-ho also drove in a pair.