Opening statement
JT: And we’re back from Chuseok Korean thanksgiving! And there were a lot of sports going on this season.
SA: Where did you go for chuseok?
JT: We went to the Philippines, whole family too. On the way back things got clogged up in Clark and Uncle Shin got left behind.
SA: So much for never leave a man behind! *joke sting*
JT: He knew the risks. As long as he stays out of Port Angeles he'll be fine.
SA: (Laughter) you left him behind like the music crew on the titanic! *joke sting*
JT: Sorry unc, but you should have kept up with the group. That's horror and travel movie rule #1.
SA: Fs in the chat for Uncle Shin. In the meantime, we’re talking about two big topics today!
JT: First up is our KBO playoff preview! We’ll talk about who made the cut this month since the season ends next week.
SA: And then we’ll talk about the Asian Games and how Korea did. Fortunately, no one got dysentery but one team got screwed.
JT: RIP to the Qatar E-Sports team. *joke sting*
Baseball Section
SA: First up is our baseball playoffs preview. As it stands at the time I wrote this, the field is pretty much set! It would take a monumental collapse by Doosan for it to fall out of the playoffs at this point.
JT: The 5 playoff bound teams are KT Wiz, Samsung Lions, LG Twins, Kia Tigers, and of course the Bears. The last games are on Oct 12th weather permitting and the field could change around a lot in the next 2 weeks of action.
SA: KT has a tenuous hold on first place with Samsung and LG nipping at their heels like that annoying chilahua that won’t stop biting your ankles in the checkout line. *joke sting*
JT: The Tigers and the Bears still have chances to move up but it would take serious collapses by one or two teams for that to happen. With KIA having the best odds to move up as they are 2 back of LG and play them 3 times, a clean sweep this weekend and they move up, but highly unlikely. So the first game of the wild card is looking like Bears vs Tigers in Gwangju. That’s a 3 game series with Kia automatically winning game 1. As far as when, I believe it will be played tentatively on Wednesday October 14th because there needs to be a buffer in case of inclement weather.
SA: So let’s pick who will likely play KT in the Korean series. I’ll start with LG.
JT: Not going for the hometown favorite, huh? Traitor *joke sting*
SA: Yeah well I’m not delulu. Most of the time anyway *joke sting*. LGs got the better late inning staff, has winning records against the other playoff teams except KT, and has given up the fewest home runs. Also there’s the emotional energy from the fans since this is the last playoff series in Jamsil and they’d want to close it out with a bang.
JT: I am also not delusional about my hometown team. For the series vs KT I’m gonna pick the Samsung Lions because LG has been a bit streaky and I got more confidence in the Samsung starters and way more confidence is Samsung hitters and that extra rest always comes into play. So, to me on the yellow brick road the Wiz KT will only have to worry about the lions and not the tigers and bears.
SA: OH MY!!!!!!!
JT: and the Twins, Oh My!!!!!
SA: I am sure KIA Tigers nation can’t be too happy with you picking the rival team to make it to the series Mr. J,
JT: Unfortunately matters of the heart and matter of the mind are two different things Mr. S, and somewhere over the rainbow KIA will be back in the Korean series, but it definitely won’t be this year, and these cowardly lions are gaining their courage to go against KT.
SA: LG wishing they kept Kim Hyun Soo,
JT: And KIA wishing they still had Choi Hyung Woo.
SA: Also it should be noted that if there are a lot of long series or rainouts, the games could go as late as 1st week November. Looking at the 1 month prediction, it’ll be warmer than average but there’s a higher chance of above average rain that comes with the warmer temperatures.
JT: So any series that goes through Daegu and Gwangju will be easier on the players at night because those areas are warmer. But overall there’s a higher risk of rainouts nationwide. That’s basically what KMA weather is saying.
SA: All that green on the rain map will be taking green away from the league. Probably why there’s so much Dome Madness going on.
JT: Either way, we’ll do a special episode on the series, whenever it starts. Kinda hoping for sooner so we don’t have to reschedule the footie playoff episode too. And we’ve got more on our plate! After this word from our sponsor.
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Asian Games Talk
SA: And now we’re talking about the Asian games! First up is the big story, the performance of the Korean baseball team! Once again team Korea takes home the gold but MAN it was close! It was being called the Chuseok Catastrophe on some channels because they lost to Japan in middling fashion in the super round on Chuseok.
JT: Yes, it was quite the embarrassment watching Korea set the chuseok table with a nice goose egg on Chuseok. The lefty Japanese pitcher Higuchi Shin really stymied those Korean hitters and I don’t remember a Korean runner getting past 1st base in the game. It was probably due to their hitters being mostly lefties.
SA: It seemed to me Higuchi had a lot better command than the Korean batters were used to. Japan’s had a pitching advantage over Korea lately, at least in the past 10 years, so it gave the impression Korean hitters are overhyped because local pitching isn’t at the level. Whereas Korea’s pitchers struggled to keep Japanese hitters off the bases. It was a bit surprising to see amateur and minor league players give Korea such a tough time.
JT: I think Coach Ryu especially against Japan didn’t have the best game plan when it came to batting, I think his logic was just put our lefty power hitters and we will out hit them as they’re only amateurs. But he was smart enough to hold Gwak Bin for the gold medal game, but he almost cost Korea the gold medal by leaving Gwak Bin in the 7th with 2 runners on and 1 out as Japan seemed to figure out Gwak. Gwak waved off the coach and the coach should have known better. Gwak gave up a game tying single before Ryu brought in SSG pitcher Jo Byeong Hyun into a high pressure situation with the winning run on 3rd and only one out, but he was able to strikeout consecutive batters to save Ryu and Gwak’s ass.
SA: It was quite the stressful watch for Korean fans. Looking at the chatrooms and my fellow passengers, they were grinding teeth almost the whole game. And who could blame them? The coaching decisions seemed subpar at times and left fans wondering if they were gonna coach themselves into defeat. Also don’t forget that while playing against China in the semis, they needed some help from the umpires completely blowing a call at first base in the bottom of the 1st.
JT: What did you think of Kim Do-Yeong playing with a broken nose?
SA: I felt like it was OK because players don’t get hit in the nose that often, but I wish he wouldn’t bunt anymore. He’s not a credible bunter at this point. I also think his heroic hitting in the medal game was due to his nose getting to heal a bit more and it be less distracting to him.
JT: HAHA far from heroic the only thing Heroic about Do Young’s hitting was Japan’s costly error at 3rd base in the 8th inning that allowed the winning run to come in and would eventually lead to Moon Bo Gyeon’s RBI single that had them up to 3-1. Those runs were both unearned runs that won them the game.
SA: This came after a controversial call in the 8th inning where coach Ryu came on the field to argue runner interference.
JT: Nothing controversial about it. Kim Ji Chan should have been called for defensive interference as he tried to run into the Japanese fielder while throwing his fist into him. It was very clear what Kim Ji Chan was doing, but of course Ryu came out in disbelief. I was laughing at my family as they shared the same feeling as coach Ryu. I am sure playing Japan and thinking with their hearts had nothing to do with that.
SA: Nonetheless Korea was able to eek out the win for the gold medal.
JT: Not sure if I am more worried about Korea’s professionals or impressed with Japan’s amateurs as it would be like MLB all stars going against college players and barely squeaking out a win. Anywhoo The baseball team’s narrow victory wasn’t the only big story from the games. The Korean Olympic Committee chairman Ryu Seung-min said "The operational score for this tournament is an F!" in an interview on the 24th. Yeah he’s not the only one not fond of all the disasters. We talked about the "refugee camp" accommodations last episode, some of which flooded. Shuttle buses were unavailable or got lost, making players late to games and missing training sessions. Later, they held performances featuring the Imjin Invasion war criminal Toyotomi Hideyoshi, while South Korean fans were barred from carrying the national flag during the entry ceremony, and the North Korean national anthem was played instead of South Korea’s. Then they didn’t play the anthems before the women’s handball match. But all that annoyance didn’t stop Korea from winning over 90 medals.
SA: Also people browsing the socials might have seen a meme picture from attack on titan with a Chinese woman’s face on the giant monster. That’s Zhang Ziyu from China at 226 centimeters or 7 foot 4 in imperial units. That’s around Wembamyama’s height. Korea’s women’s team played against China in the knockout round of the basketball games. There’s also a meme picture of two Korean forwards pressed up against her and she’s like a whole chest and neck taller than them.
JT: But Korea’s team beat them 85 to 80. Looking at the highlights, Korea’s team was able to counter her size with an innovative strategy.
SA: Yup! Hit a lot of 3s.
JT: Chinese Sohu dot com published an article titled “Who should be held responsible for the women’s basketball team’s loss to South Korea?” on the 27th, stating, “China failed all 13 three-point attempts, committed 19 turnovers, but led 52-31 in rebounds.”
SA: Zhang doesn’t have Wemby’s range or movement speed so it was best to keep out of the paint! The Steph Curry method! *joke sting* Are we a basketball country now since both men’s and women’s teams won gold? Is that our best team sport in the Big 6 now?
JT: (your thoughts on basketball) What about some other notables?
SA: Unfortunately, that pair I talked about in Stars of the Game last week, the badminton duo, they…did not get gold. They lost in the semis to an Indonesian duo ranked 46 in the world, but they went on to win bronze.
JT: (your thoughts on badminton) Also, An Se-yeong the Serena Williams of badminton continued her winning ways and got singles gold even though she lost 1 game early against Yamaguchi, her first in 15 matches. She also had to play 2 matches in one day and they didn’t broadcast her early match.
SA: And on a final note, Korea’s Lee Jun-suk won gold in Teqball and that has got the national committee KSOC interested in adding teqball training to the national facility in Jincheon according to reports in the Joongang Daily.
JT: Talk about your nation-changing victories. What even is Teqball anyway? Do you play with a portable keyboard and AR glasses? *joke sting*
SA: Teq t e q not t e c h.
JT: Oh, but I still don’t know what it is.
SA: I don’t know either. The paper didn’t publish any pictures from the actual game.
WORST PERSONS
SA: Good grief I was hoping to skip it this week.
JT: No one behaves well, even over Korean harvest festival, it seems.
SA: So we’re gonna skip the Asian Games debacles which we already talked about and focused on the things that happened outside the games. Or things we didn’t cover. And yeah, there was…a lot.
JT: First up is the Nap or Lead award which goes to…. the umpires in the Lotte Giants game! During a game on September 24 against LG, the pitch thrown by LG’s Tollhurst bounced and hit catcher Lee Joo-heon’s protector and rolled far toward the LG dugout on the first-base side. Hwang, the runner on second, quickly rounded third and scored.
SA: So the problem with the play is that the ball apparently entered the dead ball zone and then exited the dugout’s dead ball zone. LG appealed, then the umps held a discussion and ruled that the ball did not enter and remained in play along the line, thus allowing the run to count.
JT: But LGs manager Yeom came out and forcibly pulled the umpire by the shirt to show him the line, which resulted in the team coaches pulling their manager away. Then it looked like Yeom tried to slap the umpire on the belly.
SA: So yeah that happened. I thought making physical contact with the umpire was an automatic ejection?
JT: More discussion with all the umpires and they finally ruled the ball bounced into and out of the dead ball zone. Naturally Lotte manager Kim was not pleased but he couldn’t get them to change their mind.
SA: Maybe they should’ve played rock paper scissors like our Bombers team did?
JT: Ah yes the “we’ll take the triple” game. Unfortunately for Lotte, they didn’t score any runs that inning, but they won 6 to 4. I know you wanna give it to the umpires, but are they really the villains here?
SA: Kind of. The cameraman lost the ball too, so we don’t have a clear view of where the ball wound up as it crossed the line. The first base umpire’s view was also blocked by the curve in the wall so I don’t think he should’ve made the call either. But I feel like they should’ve stuck to their guns and tossed Yeom after he grabbed the first base umpire’s shirt and certainly for trying to swipe at him too. You gotta stand up for yourselves. Or at least stop asking the teams for free tickets *joke sting*.
JT: The bulhwa or fluoride award for flaming stupidity goes to… Nagasaki Velca basketball team for being trash without Lee Hyun Jung. Last year with Lee leading them they won the title. This summer Lee went to the States to try to get on an NBA roster.
SA: In their season opener, Nagasaki Velca got crushed 64 to 89 on the 23rd. Nagasaki is essentially starting over because their coach went to Dallas and half their roster including key players left. Based on what I read in the Chosun Daily, it seemed like Velca were holding out hope that Lee would return. I think that was a bit hopeful given that Lee had a good Summer League performance with San Antonio.
JT: So now Lee’s with the Trail Blazers and Velca’s 0 and 2 to start the season. This is what happens when you don’t make more than one plan.
SA: It’s not like Velca’s a poor team. They could’ve got a decent replacement in time but didn’t.
JT: The Radon award for hot mess stupidity goes to…. the hacker of Kim Gun-woo’s Instagram account. According to reports in the Joongang Daily, the hacker posted a family written obituary of the former national team speed skater on the 23rd, fooling the media.
SA: Including the Joongang as well.
JT: It took some time but he was able to get access to the account again and let everyone know he was still alive. He found out when friends and relatives called his phone.
SA: He told the media quote “Once again, I sincerely apologize to everyone who was startled and concerned by this incident,” Kim said. “I also ask for your understanding so that unverified information or speculation does not spread or get repeated until the facts have been established.” unquote. So this reminds me of when CNNs prewritten obits accidentally got released and people thought Bob Hope was dead. I think Kim lost out on a chance to quote Mark Twain.
JT: Or Spider Man *joke sting*
SA: (fake 19th century voice) Rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated! *joke sting*.
SA: And the grand finale, the Plutonium award, goes to… the Asian Games organizers in charge of the eFootball event! On the 22nd the Qatar team was brought to the stadium to play their match and they were taken by staff to the waiting room. But when it came time to play, they didn’t show up. Wait a minute, they were in the stadium the whole time.
JT: Unfortunately for the Qatari players, they were taken to the wrong waiting room and the refs couldn’t find them in time. The Qataris filed a complaint, especially considering everyone else’s matches were late too.
SA: UDN Game Corner reported that Korea’s team objected to the complaint and both sides wanted to see the CCTV footage showing the team arriving on time, but the officials didn’t have access. They called the police to get access but apparently that didn’t change their minds and Qatar got stuck with a forfeit. A pity the cameras were down because this also would have been must-see TV. *joke sting*
JT: Naturally this was Korea’s only win in the sport and both teams failed to advance. Both teams could’ve stayed home and played FIFA online or something.
SA: For wasting everyone’s time, the eFootball organizers are todays worst person in the Korean sports world, of Japan!
GOTW
SA: It’s time for our Games of the Week, What do you got Mr. J?
JT: I know we usually pick two games of the week but I am going with 3 games of the week and we are heading over to the KBO where the LG Twins and Kia Tigers are locked in a brutal cage match for 3rd place.
SA: That's right. This isn't just a regular series; this is a full-blown postseason preview. The tension in Gwangju is higher than the price of cabbage in Korea right now .”Joke Sling”
JT: These games will be Saturday, 2 pm Jamsil KIA vs LG, Sunday 2 pm, and a special Monday baseball, yes that is correct we have Monday baseball at 2pm Jamsil as it is a holiday.
SA: I imagine we’re going to see the aces of both teams.
JT: I would hope so as we had to sit through Kim Tae Hyung vs Daniel on Wednesday vs KT, but he pitched pretty well and aging legend Yang Hyeon Jong on Thursday, So I assume we will see Naille, Oller and not sure who they will throw in for 3rd start probably siwokowa, and we will likely see Carrasco, Tolhurst and Im Chan Gyu.
SA: October baseball Mr. J.
JT: Best time of year for sports for me is playoff baseball, American Football and Ice Hockey. What’s your first game, Mr. S?
SA: The Korean national team is in action tonight at 8PM vs Venezuela at 울산문수월드컵경기장. Kinda important for team Korea since the team didn’t play well against Uruguay, losing 4 to 1. The new coach Moreno is still on interim status and a win tonight would certainly help his chances. Because of that and the Asian games, there’s no K-League this weekend.
JT: Let’s see if they can improve their defense by tonight. Are tickets still available?
SA: Alright so this is gonna sound strange.
JT: (sarcastic voice) Since when does it not? *joke sting*
SA: *laughter* how true! If you live in Korea you can buy tickets off the Play KFA website. But if you’re a tourist you can purchase from N-O-L which took over Interpark. Why not have tickets on one site, instead of spread out over 2? (sarcastic tired voice) I can’t tell you.
JT: Play KFA probably didn’t want to make an English section, even though their menus are in English for an English language device. Make that make sense!
SA: What’s your next pick?
JT: We are blessed with even more national footie action! The finale of the Asian Games football events is this Saturday at 7:30PM with Korea facing off against Japan in the gold medal round. For some of their older players like midfielder Eom Jisung and defenders Choi Woojin and Kang Minjun this could be their last easier chance to get a military exemption. But Japan’s U23 team is very strong. They last played our boys in March and lost 2 to 1 and also our USA boys 2 to 0 in the friendlies, so they’re not a juggernaut like Spain.
SA: Korea will have to play to their strengths to bring home this medal, and you know, not miss the goal like the main team tends to do.
JT: What’s next for you?
SA: Basketball is back! It’s the 30th anniversary of the KBL! If you are in Seoul you are out of luck this weekend because none of the 2 teams are at home! Which seems weird for a 30th anniversary kickoff but OK. However if you wanna make a weekend of sports and not travel too much, you can start with Goyang Sonos Skygunners hosting Daegu Kogas Saturday at 2pm. Then you’ll have time to watch Kia vs LG on Sunday or Monday! If you’re in the Sejong area and you don’t wanna travel far for basketball then you’re in luck! Wheelchair basketball returns this weekend at Gongju 충청 백제체육관 arena.
JT: Let’s hope they remembered to oil their wheels before the game! *joke sting*
SA: And what’s our final match of weekend, Mr. J?
JT: I’ve been waiting for this! Ice Hockey returns with 3 games in Anyang. Coming to town are the Hokkaido Red Eagles! Games will be Saturday 4pm, Sunday 2pm, and Tuesday night. Tickets are on Ticketlink. This season their goalie coach is Matt Dalton who played there and with the national team in the 18 olympics. If you missed hockey or just wanna be inside a cool place, now’s your chance.
Stars of the game
SA: Today’s Star of the Game is a first for the show. Because it’s not a person.
JT: It’s not even an athlete, but it is a very good swimmer.
SA: That’s correct Mr. J! It’s a shark! Somehow a Spinner or Copper shark got into a canal in Busan and has caused chaos in the city. Over 650,000 visitors flocked to the canal park last month to get a glimpse, and to throw fish at it. Traffic around the canal became congested and the city put safety teams and advised visitors to take public transit to the park instead of parking in the middle of the road. The city estimates the shark brought in 30 billion won in profit and marketing opportunities according to reports in the Chosun Daily. And the shark almost bit someone that dropped their phone in the water.
JT: The sports angle to this is that Lotte Giants fans made posts on social media threatening to feed lousy players to the shark. Ever since, Lotte went on a 6 game win streak, even beating Samsung twice and LG once since the 18th. Their Friday game in Seoul was rained out and they lost against Hanwha on Sunday. Lotte fans probably wish the shark came sooner in the season. *joke sting* It’s the Neukgu wolf incident all over again.
SA: At the time I wrote this, the city had plans to use nets and boats to chase the shark back into open waters on Tuesday but they failed. So the shark is a rally animal like the Angels rally monkey during their world series win. Even KTs manager Lee Kang-chul fears the shark’s power. In an interview on the 27th he said "We still have three games left against Lotte, the Giants. Tell them to send the 'shark' out quickly.” He is also the same manager that blamed his team’s sweep in Gwangju last month on the pigeons sitting on the mound.
JT: Now I wanna see if the San Jose Sharks will start an Asian league team in Busan. Mr. S you should email their marketing department.
SA: Never thought I’d see the day a sea creature would become a rally animal in Korean sports. Hat tip to Jung Sangheul on MyKBO Facebook Group for posting.
JT: Do you think they’ll add a shark tank to the new dome stadium?
SA: Oh noooo don’t give the mayor ideas! *joke sting* Though it would be cool if they built a sea tunnel around the outfield wall so the sharks and fish can swim up and watch the outfielders. Probably scare the crap out of away players though. Running to catch a fly ball, see a shark and freeze in terror! *Joke sting* Eh, they’ll get used to it.
Ending
Copy Ending from previous multi-host episode
SA: A shoutout to our listeners in Baizhifang China! It’s part of Beijing and that’s literally everything on Wikipedia about it!
JT: Therefore a shoutout to our listeners in Bethany Missouri! It’s famous for…Charles Babe Adams, 3 time world series pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also pitched a 21-inning game without a walk, which he only lost 3 to 1. Somehow he pitched to the age of 44 and still had a rotator cuff and elbow.
SA: This was back in 1914 when men were REAL men and called each other babe. Because no homo. Somehow. *joke sting* But that can’t be it for Bethany.
JT: It’s between iowa and Kansas City. There’s literally nothing else. *joke sting* We’ll be back in 2 weeks with our first grabbag episode where we’re focusing on sports oddities and terrible coaches!
SA: Stay off that lemon soju, Korean Sports fans!
(AI voice) Guests of the Hwai-ting sports podcast get healthy food deliveries from Chuseok Ban Chan Leftovers. Did you eat too much samgyepsal? Need more greens in your diet but miss that Chuseok charm? Ban Chan Leftovers sends you the best uneaten thanksgiving leftovers cousin Lee barely touched! (speed up) food served as is. Risk of hepatitis contraction high. Company takes no responsibility for illness from bad cooking.
Notes
Japan Upsets South Korea in Asian Games Badminton Quarterfinals
Korea fields 16 players chasing military exemption at Asian Games
Korea wins by forfeit after Qatar misdirected by Japanese staff at Asian Games
Shin Ji-eun wins first Asian Games match despite slander - CHOSUNBIZ
South Korea Wins Asian Basketball Gold
Comedy idea: Nagoya Deploys Falcons to Repel Crows at Asian Games
An Se-young Concedes Rare Game, Vows Improvement
Hwang Seo-hyun wins Asian Games gold in women’s balance beam
busan-shark-bukang-i-generates-30-billion-won-economic-effect/
https://m.sports.naver.com/basketball/article/076/0004450712
Umpires Reverse Decision, Cancel Lotte Run
Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Grades Asian Games Operations an F
Whomever hacked Kim Gun-woo’s Instagram and listed him as dead
Nagasaki Velca Crushed 64-89 Without Lee Hyun-jung in Season Opener