Doosan's Lee Seung-yeop ends first year with disappointment

Doosan head coach Lee Seung-yeop's first season as manager ended in disappointment. Doosan lost 9-14 to NC in the first game of the wild-card deciding series at Changwon NC Park on April 19. The loss also ended Doosan's season-long journey.

Lee met with the media after the game and said, "Thanks to the players, we even played fall baseball. When I took over last year, I said that my first goal was to play fall baseball, and I succeeded," Lee said, adding, "I'm very disappointed that it ended in one game."

The loss was even more disappointing as they led 3-0 in the third inning. "I was disappointed that we didn't take advantage of the early innings," Lee said, referring to a first-and-third opportunity in the second inning. Cho made a good push, but was blocked by NC shortstop Kim Joo-won, who was defending in front of him. The runner at third didn't make it home, and Cho was out at first base. Even Jung Soo-bin was retired on a grounder in front of the pitcher to end the inning. Coach Lee said, "Cho hit a hard hit ball, but Kim Joo-won did a good job defending it. It was a shame we couldn't get out of there," Lee said.

Doosan set the tone with five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, but didn't go down without a fight. They tied the game in the top of the fifth, but were overwhelmed by NC's firepower in the bullpen battle. The bats added four more runs in the sixth inning, but the bullpen collapsed with nine runs. "We followed it well, but I think the pitchers behind us were overworked, and we didn't have enough depth," Lee said.

Lee pointed to the young pitchers, including Kim Dong-ju and Choi Seung-yong, as a harvest this year. He 바카라사이트 expects them to be even better next year. On the other hand, he is worried about the lack of a next-generation beast at the center of the batting lineup. In the game, Doosan was overwhelmed by the firepower of the opponent's 20-something hitters, including Seo Ho-cheol, Kim Hyung-joon, and Kim Joo-won.

"The younger batsmen who should have popped up were slower than expected," Lee said, "We need younger players to come up and energize us. We will pay attention to the young players from the fall and make them a full-fledged team next year."