2009 KBO Season Primer: Seoul Heroes



6. Seoul Heroes

For a team without a sponsor, they're not that bad. Really, they're not. Assuming they can complete the season without folding(they should, the worst thing that happens is they get taken over by the league office again), they could hang around and possibly post a winning record. The middle of their order should be stronger. Cliff Brumbaugh will be back for another season(his 5th!) and Doug Clark was signed away from Hanwha. I like a #3/#4 combo of Clark and Brumbaugh. Leftfielder, Lee Taek-geun was a catalyst for this team last year and he should continue in his role as a leadoff hitter. He posted a .398 OBP in 2008 with 59 runs scored and 18 SB's. Veteran KBO infielder, Song Ji-man is returning for his 14th KBO season. He's spent every year with Hyundai/Woori/The Heroes. He should provide some protection for Clark and Brumbaugh. He can still hit.

On the mound, the Heroes have the best 1-2 combo in the league. Ace Ma Il-yeong and Jeong Won-sam combined for 23 of the team's 50 wins. Ma Il-yeong finished 11-11 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. In 173 KBO innings, he struck out 83 and walked 69. Jeong finished the year with a 12-8 record in 27 starts. He worked 167 1/3 innings last year. In those innings, he struck out 126 and walked 59. These two could pitch the Heroes into contention....if the Heroes bullpen wasn't completely awful. Only The Great Shingo Takatsu could stabalize the backend of the Heroes bullpen. Shingo joined the Heroes in mid-June and started putting zeroes on the scoreboard. He posted a 0.86 ERA and 8 saves over the last 3 months of the season. He also won the heart of this poor, bitter White Sox fan all over again. (swoon) Sadly, he wasn't brought back and this bullpen is a mess again. I guess Hwang Doo-seong is the de facto closer, but he was the reason Shingo was signed in the first place.