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WBC Game Chat: Japan vs Korea, 7 pm PT
2006-03-18 18:00
by Bob Timmermann

Live from PETCO Park! This game is also on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

The last semifinal will be round three of Japan versus Korea.

These teams first met on March 5 at the Tokyo Dome. Japan took a 2-1 lead into the eighth when Seung-Yeop Lee belted a 2-run homer off of Hirotoshi Ishii to give Korea a 3-2 win.

The teams met again Wednesday and the stakes were higher as the winner would get a spot in the semifinals and the loser would need help to advance. And this time it has Jong-Beom Lee who delivered the big hit in the eighth, with a 2-run double to give Korea a 2-1 win. But Japan got the help they needed when México beat the USA 2-1 Thursday.

So, the top two teams in Asia battle it out to see who will face Cuba in Monday night's finale.

Korea will start Jae Weong Seo, who raised some eyebrows when he planted a Korean flag on the pitching mound at Angel Stadium after Korea's win Wednesday. Seo has given up just one run in nine innings of work and is 2-0 in the WBC. Korea's pitchers have an ERA of 1.33 and the team has committed no errors.

Japan will start Koji Uehara, who has given up three runs in 10 innings with no walks. Japanese pitchers have walked just 10 batters in their first six games. Korean pitchers have walked 17 batters. However Japan has surrendered seven home runs and Korea has given up only five.

The rational part of me tells me that the winner of this game will be decided by whoever has the most talent. But the extremely talented teams of the USA, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are all gone. Right now, rationality has little to do with predicting who will win. Just pick a team to root for and sit back and hope for the best.

FINAL SCORE Japan 6, Korea 0

WP -- Koji Uehara
LP -- Byung Doo Jun
HRs -- Kosuke Fukudome (his 2nd), Hitoshi Tamura (his 3rd)

Uehara throws seven innings of shutout ball as Japan finally beats Korea in the touranment. And at the most opportune time. Japan will face Cuba in the championship game Monday night at 6 pm PT.

A 2-run pinch homer by Kosuke Fukudome in the seventh off of Byung-Hyun Kim highlighted a five-run inning.

Korea finishes the tournament with a 6-1 record and made no errors. Japan is 4-3 and will take on 5-2 Cuba.

Comments (130)
Show/Hide Comments 1-50
2006-03-18 18:23:00
1.   Bob Timmermann
Lineups
JAPAN
Aoki CF
Nishioka 2B
Ichiro RF
Matsunaka DH
Tamura LF
Imae 3B
Ogasawara 1B
Satozaki C
Kawasaki SS

KOREA
BK Lee LF
JB Lee CF
SY Lee 1B
Choi DH
JY Lee RF
BH Lee 3B
J Park SS
Cho C
M Kim 2B

2006-03-18 18:46:19
2.   De Ruijter
Ichiro's batting third? Interesting.
2006-03-18 18:50:11
3.   cham
I'm more concerned about umpiring lineup. Is Bob Davidson in?
2006-03-18 18:50:28
4.   das411
Aha, Korea going with all five Lees tonight, a bold strategy!
2006-03-18 18:53:02
5.   Bob Timmermann
Bob Davidson is the second base umpire tonight. He was the home plate umpire for the afternoon game.

Ed Hickcox is calling the balls and strikes.

2006-03-18 18:54:05
6.   Bob Timmermann
Ichiro is likely batting third because Kosuke Fukudome has been awful. Aoki hasn't played much.
2006-03-18 19:03:03
7.   das411
Ugh, is anybody else getting delayed for OSU wrestling?

Soooo many comments I could make now but Bob's I suspect is also a family blog :-X

2006-03-18 19:10:22
8.   Bob Timmermann
Even if you were using MLB.tv, you were seeing wrestling.

I'm using that because I want to see the end of the UCLA-Alabama basketball game.

2006-03-18 19:15:46
9.   Garnered
Anybody else looking forward to the inevitable transformation of Ichiro from babyface to heel? I get the impression that he's much closer to a baseball version of Kobe than Shaq...
2006-03-18 19:18:58
10.   Bob Timmermann
He's an MWC chauvinist.
2006-03-18 19:19:34
11.   Bob Timmermann
10 was posted in the wrong place. Which is why it makes no sense.

Please ignore.

2006-03-18 19:22:12
12.   alexx
Man. Nice little splitter thing to strike out Nishioka. I wonder if the Dodgers are watching.
2006-03-18 19:23:54
13.   alexx
The umpire's strike zone was terrible in the noon game. I hope it will be better tonight.
2006-03-18 19:33:19
14.   Bob Timmermann
Joe Morgan is not particularly adept at Japanese names. Then again neither am I, but I think I am less bad.
2006-03-18 19:39:02
15.   alexx
He can't even make it that far. He talked about tonight's game as China versus Korea.
2006-03-18 19:40:24
16.   Bob Timmermann
Someone needs to tell Miller how to say "Ogasawara". I was expecting his head to explode trying to say that.

Just call him "Guts".

2006-03-18 19:41:45
17.   Bob Timmermann
Jin Man Park, the Korean vacuum cleaner.

And Morgan called him "Pawk". Don't make it harder on yourself than you have to, Joe.

2006-03-18 19:46:39
18.   xaphor
Cuba might try to score each runner, but the Japanese try to make contact with the bat even after getting two strikes. No wonder these teams have gotten so far.
2006-03-18 19:49:07
19.   alexx
Madness. I am going to root for Korea because my high school was in Koreatown in LA.
2006-03-18 19:52:25
20.   Bob Timmermann
Bishop Conaty High?
2006-03-18 19:53:27
21.   ziggy
i don't know why they have such trouble pronouncing their names, particularly japanese names: they are pretty much spelty in a phonetically straightforward manner.
2006-03-18 19:53:49
22.   Bob Timmermann
Did Jae Seo wear glasses with the Mets last year?
2006-03-18 19:54:09
23.   alexx
Pilgrim School. Would the WBC be better if they eliminated the teams that obviously won't win and made the game into two or three game series?
2006-03-18 19:56:20
24.   Bob Timmermann
For Japanese names, I can always get a pretty close approximation that most Japanese are happy with. I just can't say the names a native speaker would.

JY Lee played the corner pretty well there. We've already had two doubles among three hits tonight after the day game with the presumably bigger guys just coming up with 20 singles. And a lot of those were pretty cheap.

2006-03-18 19:57:28
25.   Bob Timmermann
23
The WBC was set up this year so that the USA would be playing a Caribbean team in the final.

Just didn't work out that way.

2006-03-18 19:59:18
26.   alexx
25
Despite Davidson's best efforts.
2006-03-18 20:00:45
27.   King of the Hobos
Nice play for Bum Ho
2006-03-18 20:01:45
28.   alexx
Has anyone else noticed that cocktails at a lot of cafes are now made with Soju? Maybe because they can avoid paying for a hard liquor license?
2006-03-18 20:04:51
29.   Bob Timmermann
Well, I don't drink, but when you get a liquor license in California, I thought your options were either: 1) beer and wine or 2) everything else.
2006-03-18 20:07:09
30.   alexx
Is it possible that soju is in the wine category? I think most soju has about 20% alcohol content. Maybe there is a cutoff at 20% or something. I guess the other reason could be that soju is a lot cheaper than vodka.
2006-03-18 20:07:57
31.   alexx
Oh I found a website that says soju is the one liquor that can be served with just a beer and wine license. Hm.
2006-03-18 20:09:08
32.   Bob Timmermann
Sounds like somebody did some lobbying with the State Legislature to get that done.
2006-03-18 20:11:05
33.   das411
So why is Team Japan wearing Vlad Guerrero/Craig Biggio style helmets again?
2006-03-18 20:11:52
34.   alexx
Probably. Korean bars like to skirt legal lines. At one bar in Koreatown, smoking inside is okay after 10 pm and at a lot of others they permit it all the time. Did Seo take his glasses off?
2006-03-18 20:13:56
35.   alexx
I lied. There they are
2006-03-18 20:15:56
36.   Bob Timmermann
Seo still has his glasses on, but they're really hard to see.

The Japanese helmets are like the ones the Yomiuri Giants wear:
http://www.giants.jp/pts/pictures/img4839.jpg

That's just the finish they have on them. They don't have pine tar on the top. That wouldn't be a particularly Japanese thing to do.

2006-03-18 20:17:24
37.   Bob Timmermann
From the California Business and Professions Code:
23398.5. Any on-sale license, issued pursuant to this division that authorizes the sale of wine, also authorizes the sale of soju, an imported Korean alcoholic beverage that contains not more than 24 percent of alcohol by volume and is derived from agricultural products.
2006-03-18 20:20:02
38.   alexx
Interesting. Thanks Bob.
2006-03-18 20:21:15
39.   Bob Timmermann
I never even knew soju existed until tonight.

It's considered "wine" in New York and California only.

2006-03-18 20:23:30
40.   Bob Timmermann
52 pitches for Uehara through four. 47 pitches for Seo.
2006-03-18 20:31:02
41.   coachjpark
Let's go J. Park!!! says J. Park
2006-03-18 20:31:49
42.   coachjpark
That's right!!! Go Park! Right up the middle!
2006-03-18 20:35:22
43.   Jon Weisman
Has Seo given up any hard outs? Box score says he's allowed eight fly outs in five innings.
2006-03-18 20:35:24
44.   Bob Timmermann
It's going to be very hard for anyone to hit a home run tonight.

Choi has never homered in PETCO. Neither has Ichiro.

2006-03-18 20:35:52
45.   Bob Timmermann
Seo got bailed out of one inning with a line drive 5-3 DP.
2006-03-18 20:37:25
46.   coachjpark
If Korea wins, I'll give Griddle/DodgerThoughts readers free tickets in the RF Pavilion for the Wednesday, April 5th Dodger game vs. the Braves....
2006-03-18 20:38:07
47.   Bob Timmermann
What would we get if Korea wins tonight AND beat Cuba Monday?
2006-03-18 20:38:55
48.   D4P
46
Do those come with airfare for out-of-staters?
2006-03-18 20:39:34
49.   Bob Timmermann
Seung-Yeop Lee, picking machine.
2006-03-18 20:41:32
50.   das411
Sweet play by Park too, that looks like the kind of play only winning teams can make, right Joe Morgan?
Show/Hide Comments 51-100
2006-03-18 20:41:59
51.   cham
it's almost like watching a replay of game 2. Good defence on both sides. No scores in the middle of 5th, but still exciting.
2006-03-18 20:43:09
52.   coachjpark
47 4 TICKETS!!!!
2006-03-18 20:44:30
53.   coachjpark
52 Limit first 100 readers...
2006-03-18 20:45:19
54.   justin park
wow it's still scoreless... 5 hits total.. that's just.... bad
2006-03-18 20:46:07
55.   coachjpark
54 I consider that good. 1-0 games are much more exciting than 12-11 type games, IMO
2006-03-18 20:46:52
56.   ziggy
i have a sinking feeling that korea won't win...it's too hard to beat a team three times.
2006-03-18 20:47:24
57.   alexx
Are the days of U.S. domination in any sort of international competition over forever?
2006-03-18 20:49:17
58.   Bob Timmermann
57

That ended once the Soviets got the A-bomb.

2006-03-18 20:49:26
59.   coachjpark
Let's go B H Kim... it's NOT B K Kim!!!!
2006-03-18 20:50:26
60.   xaphor
Time to start playing up American Football as a world sport.
2006-03-18 20:51:15
61.   Jon Weisman
Yeah, I think they can pull the Roger Clemens "I don't want anybody beating us" ad now.
2006-03-18 20:51:37
62.   alexx
Yeah. The World Bowling Classic.
2006-03-18 20:54:24
63.   coachjpark
NICE!
2006-03-18 20:54:32
64.   justin park
lol they called him BK Kim right now... he aint burger king
2006-03-18 20:54:50
65.   justin park
darn.. i want some bk though
2006-03-18 20:55:14
66.   Bob Timmermann
Americans do dominate the sport of bowling.
2006-03-18 20:55:21
67.   alexx
I have a Korean friend whose initials are BK and he goes by BK. haha
2006-03-18 20:56:00
68.   Bob Timmermann
I think Bob Brenly started calling him BK Kim and the name has persisted.
2006-03-18 20:56:30
69.   xaphor
As an Englishmen, I feel for you. It's not fun being constantly beaten at your sport creations: football, rugby, and cricket.
2006-03-18 20:56:32
70.   Bob Timmermann
Fukudome must have read that I said he was hitting poorly in the WBC.
2006-03-18 20:56:35
71.   das411
Korea's catcher deserves a LOT of credit for calling some of the biggest pitches of this tournament; between that strikeout and the nasty slider that Chan Ho closed out Mexico with, he has definitely helped his pitche....er, two-run HR. Ignore this comment.
2006-03-18 20:56:41
72.   justin park
wow.. byung hyun once again gives another homerun at a crucial moment.. darn..
2006-03-18 20:57:04
73.   coachjpark
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
2006-03-18 20:58:28
74.   justin park
if i were in sik (team korea coach), i would take byung hyun kim out RIGHT NOW..
2006-03-18 20:58:38
75.   Bob Timmermann
Bob Davidson thinks that Fukudome's hit may have been foul.
2006-03-18 20:59:46
76.   Bob Timmermann
Dear Jon Miller:

Oh - gah - sah - wah - rah

2006-03-18 21:00:14
77.   Ken Arneson
Then again, the Diamondbacks won the series after Kim gave up those big homers. The Red Sox won the ALDS vs. the A's after he coughed up the lead in Game 1. So maybe this is good news for Korea.
2006-03-18 21:00:39
78.   D4P
75
Or that he left the batter's box too soon.
2006-03-18 21:00:45
79.   Bob Timmermann
Bob Davidson thinks that that double may have been foul.
2006-03-18 21:01:50
80.   justin park
hmmm...... i told him to change the pitcher man.. he just gave up another run..

you see.. once you give up a homerun, you lose a lot of confidence...

2006-03-18 21:03:10
81.   alexx
Byung Hyun has had a tough career. At least he doesn't have to join the military for two years. Or maybe he already did he service?
2006-03-18 21:03:46
82.   Bob Timmermann
None of the Korean players have to do any military service now.
2006-03-18 21:03:50
83.   alexx
his*
2006-03-18 21:04:13
84.   Jon Weisman
I'm now conditioned to try to figure out how the third run by Japan affects the tiebreaker scenarios.
2006-03-18 21:05:26
85.   Jon Weisman
According to the ESPN graphic, Bong spent last season on "Cincinnati Red's disabled list."

Was it Steve McQueen who played Cincinnati Red?

2006-03-18 21:06:07
86.   justin park
man.. as a korean.. i'd have to say korea has to work some "miracle" out to beat japan now... only 3 innings left... they are known for their defense.. not offense..
2006-03-18 21:07:12
87.   alexx
I've been told the compulsory military service in North Korea is something like 12 years for men and 10 years for women.
2006-03-18 21:07:14
88.   justin park
btw, they get "extension"... they still have to go to the military service..
2006-03-18 21:07:46
89.   Bob Timmermann
85
Just the "Cincinnati Kid".

In those days, when you played high stakes poker, you played five card stud!

"You owe me $50,000, Kid."

2006-03-18 21:08:07
90.   justin park
2 years for men... for women, it's not required..
2006-03-18 21:08:41
91.   Garnered
88 no, the Korean government announced yesterday that all members of the WBC team are now exempted from military service, except for two as yet unnamed players who were already under investigation before the tourney for draft dodging.
2006-03-18 21:10:13
92.   Bob Timmermann
With Son in that means that if Korea rallies and goes to the final, Chan Ho Park will start.

The crowd is still chanting "Dai Han Min-Gook".

But 4-0 is a big hill to climb.

2006-03-18 21:11:45
93.   das411
So in 2009 will they fix the mechanism that allows a team to lose a head-to-head matchup twice and then advance by playing that team a third time?

Seems like this is something that needs work, and not just because we've all grown so attached to Korea...

2006-03-18 21:13:33
94.   Bob Timmermann
Bob DuPuy has hinted that the semifinals in 2009 would be crossover types like in most other international competitions.
2006-03-18 21:15:02
95.   xaphor
Someone better alert Lyons, a big inning that started off with a homerun.
2006-03-18 21:16:03
96.   justin park
91

for real.. wow.. that's surprising

2006-03-18 21:16:12
97.   Bob Timmermann
I really wish I knew how to say "The inning is over, but the damage is done" in Korean.
2006-03-18 21:21:23
98.   das411
WOW, gonna be awfully hard for Korea to come back if Japan has that kind of strike zone to work with!
2006-03-18 21:25:12
99.   das411
Alright, it's time for Dusty Baker to come out and give Uehara the game ball...
2006-03-18 21:25:38
100.   Bob Timmermann
The 2005 Korean WBC team is like the 2003 Dodgers.

If the pitchers are just a tad off and give up a few runs, then you might as well just write the game off.

Show/Hide Comments 101-150
2006-03-18 21:30:13
101.   Bob Timmermann
So the big Cuban and Dominican guys can barely hit the ball out of the infield and the little Japanese guys are finding PETCO to be like Coors Field?

Wow, a rain delay. They don't do that in Asia most of the time. They just play through it.

2006-03-18 21:32:00
102.   Bob Timmermann
For those who are curious, the game would not end now. They would suspend the game and finish it tomorrow if they have to.
2006-03-18 21:34:01
103.   Bob Timmermann
Do I need to post a separate "Rain Delay Chat"?
2006-03-18 21:34:10
104.   xaphor
ESPN commentators seem unaware of that.
2006-03-18 21:35:08
105.   Bob Timmermann
ESPN commentators are unaware of the difference between China and Japan too.
2006-03-18 21:40:58
106.   das411
So........just how long will these guys keep talking?
2006-03-18 21:41:54
107.   Bob Timmermann
Why don't they just switch over to ESPNews or something like that?

I'll watch a "What's My Line?" rerun.

2006-03-18 21:46:05
108.   das411
I think it's time to crank up MVP 2k5 and trade Hee Seop to the Devil Rays, see what happens when he gets 600 ABs...
2006-03-18 21:46:44
109.   D4P
Bob - How about a Casey update?
2006-03-18 21:48:37
110.   Bob Timmermann
He's standing on an end table now debating what to do next.

He's forcing me to make sure my bed is made because he will bit my feet if they stick out from under the sheets.

2006-03-18 21:59:47
111.   D4P
110
Little stinker...One of our cats likes to bite our feet to wake us up. Luckily, this fiendish ploy only works in the summer, when our bedding is sufficiently thin.
2006-03-18 22:15:27
112.   coachjpark
What the heck is "Korean equivalent of chanting 'USA'?"
2006-03-18 22:15:55
113.   Voxter
I love the Korean fans with flags on their heads. It makes me hungry for babies.
2006-03-18 22:17:00
114.   Voxter
107: You missed fifteen minutes of "Rio Grande" on TCM. Or fifteen minutes of lions, and then walruses, on the Animal Planet.
2006-03-18 22:20:48
115.   Bob Timmermann
They guessed both mystery guests. One was Miss Universe 1962 and the other was Benny Goodman. They guess that one woman was a yacht broker, but they couldn't guess the Swedish soccer player.
2006-03-18 22:27:45
116.   Voxter
Three of the last four pitches this guy has thrown have not been good.
2006-03-18 22:32:37
117.   Bob Timmermann
That crawl on ESPN has said that Terrell Owens signing with the Cowboys has been "BREAKING NEWSW" all day.

I think that news has broken.

2006-03-18 22:34:26
119.   Voxter
Will he actually play with the Cowboys? Because I'm pretty sure that when he signed with the Eagles, that was breaking news, too.
2006-03-18 22:40:13
120.   das411
Quick Bob, six-run comebacks with three outs or fewer in international play! How many have there been??
2006-03-18 22:40:31
121.   Voxter
I can't see post 118.
2006-03-18 22:41:11
122.   das411
And the Chopper starts it up...
2006-03-18 22:41:41
123.   Bob Timmermann
I can't see post 118 either. I doubt we're missing anything.
2006-03-18 22:43:48
124.   das411
Um...what about Otsuka??
2006-03-18 22:44:45
125.   Bob Timmermann
Miller has corrected himself.

"Ostuka ... still in the big leagues."

No respect for the Rangers!

2006-03-18 22:44:58
126.   das411
Time to see if Seung Jeong has any...um, Ray Knight, in him!
2006-03-18 22:45:45
127.   Voxter
Game.
2006-03-18 22:48:01
128.   das411
:'(

Sorry Coachjpark and everybody else who was rooting for Korea, it was a fun ride while it lasted and Korea has definitely opened a few eyes these past several weeks.

2006-03-18 23:06:47
129.   coachjpark
Offer for FREE Dodger tickets still on the table....

I bought 1000 tickets in the RF Pavilion. I need some people willing to go...

http://www.parksplace.org/dodgers.html

2006-03-18 23:12:36
130.   Bob Timmermann
1000 tickets?

Are you Charlie Sheen and trying to guarantee a home run ball?

2006-03-18 23:32:04
131.   coachjpark
1000 tickets = Throw out first pitch to Monday, June 5th game

+

My company reimburses me for getting people to go to the event

=

Win/Win Situation + Free Dodger Tickets for people....

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