Korea beats up on sloppy fielding Team Venezuela, 10-2, to advance to WBC Finals

Shin-soo Choo's three-run blast was the highlight of a five-run first
from Team Korea (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

The first game of the World Baseball Classic semifinals in Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles feature Team Venezuela, the winner of Pool 2, against Team Korea, runner-up in Pool 1.

From an Asian sports perspective, Japan and Korea have shown the strength of Eastern baseball.

Neither team lost to any other team in the WBC, except each other—and they faced one another four times, splitting the series 2-2.

But Korea showed itself to have an outstanding blend of pitching, timely hitting and tight defense.

Venezuela, on the other hand, is a hard-hitting team with a shallower pitching staff. They've got Felix Hernandez and Francisco Rodriguez, but things fall off a lot after that.

Japan beat Cuba and Korea defeated Mexico—will Asian baseball go three-for-three against Latin baseball? 

STARTING LINEUPS:

Korea

(To thank my friend Dada for his help with Korean spellings and language, I've included the Hangul characters for each starting player's name.)  

1. Yong-kyu Lee CF
2. Keun-woo Jeong 2B
3. Hyun-soo Kim LF
4. Tae-kyun Kim 1B
5. Dae-ho Lee DH
6. Shin-soo Choo RF
7. Jeong Choi 3B
   
8. Kyung-oan Park C
   
9. Ki-hyuk Park SS
10. Suk-min Yoon SP

The one thing that really jumps out at me here is Jeong Choi instead of Bum-ho Lee at 3B. Bum-ho has been excellent at defense and offense, so I'm puzzled as to why Choi—who has mostly appeared at shortstop in the WBC—is in there instead.

Manager In-sik Kim has looked like a genuis thus far, so I've got to believe that he's got a reason for making this move (assuming he has a choice and Bum-ho isn't sick or injured).

Kim's choice of Yoon, he explained, was to baffle the Venezuelans with offspeed stuff, and he felt Yoon was his best breaking-ball pitcher. There are older pitchers he could have used instead, but Kim was happy with the 22-year-old righty.

Choo is in right field, instead of at DH, but he needs to turn up his offense to show why he should be starting here.

Venezuela

1. Endy Chavez CF
2. Melvin Mora 3B
3. Bobby Abreu RF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Carlos Guillen DH
6. Magglio Ordonez LF
7. Jose Lopez 2B
8. Ramon Hernandez C
9. Marco Scutaro SS
10. Carlos Silva SP

The big surprise here is Silva starting instead of Felix Hernandez—Hernandez is a much better pitcher, while Silva is mediocre in the majors, at best (career record: 59-61, 4.61 ERA, 1.40 WHIP; 2008 record: 4-15, 6.46 ERA, 1.60 WHIP).

Silva's done well in the WBC (1 ER in 10 IP over two starts), but has only faced Italy and the Netherlands. What he does against Korea should be interesting; Venezulan manager Luis Sojo may be looking ahead, trying to save his best pitcher for the finals.

The rest of Team Venezuela are all major-leaguers, top to bottom, but more known for their hitting than fielding. Chavez and Scutaro are the only above-average defenders, and Magglio Ordonez has never played a game in LF in his major-league career; defense may come into play since Silva is a ground-ball pitcher.

But they may be able to make up for their errors if they can hit well—their two through six hitters are a fearsome fivesome.

I'm a bit biased here, as I want the Asian teams to advance, so I'll say to all the Korean fans out there: DAE HAN MIN GOOK! (Which is Korean for "Let's Go Korea!")

GAME RECAP:

Top 1st: Yong-kyu Lee worked the count very well against Silva, and drew a walk on a full-count pitch.

With Keun-woo Jeong at the plate, defense immediately came into play. Jeong hit a lazy fly ball to Abreu in right, and Abreu inexplicably dropped the ball. Even after making the error, he still could have thrown Jeong out at second (Jeong had been holding, expecting the catch to be made) but Scutaro couldn't handle the throw.

So two errors led to two men on and no out, bringing Hyun-soo Kim at the plate. Kim poked a single into left field, and Yong-kyu Lee ran hard all the way around third, scoring the first run for Korea. Korea 1, Venezuela 0.

Tae-kyun Kim got an inside pitch, and also dropped a little single into left center. Endy Chavez did a nice job of bluffing like he was going to catch the ball, and nobody scored.

With the bases loaded and no out, Dae-ho Lee hit the ball back up the middle, where it knocked off the glove of Silva. Jeong scored, but Silva was able to throw out Big Boy at first. Korea 2, Venezuela 0.

Shin-soo Choo, with only one hit in the WBC thus far, took an inside pitch over the centerfield wall for a three-run homer. Korea 5, Venezuela 0.

With the bases now empty, Jeong Choi rapped sharply to Mora at third, who threw him out for the second out of the inning. Kyung-oan Park worked the count full and shot a single up the middle, only his second hit of the WBC, to keep the inning going.

Ki-hyuk Park hit the ball back to the mound, but Silva couldn't handle it and both Parks reached safely.

Two were on for the leadoff hitter, Yong-kyu Lee, who got behind in the count, then grounded to Mora, who forced out Park at second, ending the nightmarish inning for Venezuela. Korea 5, Venezuela 0.

Bottom 1st: Endy Chavez is probably the weakest hitter in the lineup, and Yoon made him look foolish with a 2-2 changeup that dropped away as Chavez swung right over it.

Melvin Mora did better by actually getting a bat on the ball, shooting it straight at Ki-hyuk Park. Park scooped it up deep in the hole, but bounced the throw to first. Fortunately, Tae-kyun Kim scooped it up deftly, getting Mora by two steps for the second out.

Abreu got ahead of Yoon 3-1, then shot the ball back up the middle for Venezuela's first hit of the night. Miguel Cabrera, one of the best hitters in MLB, fought back from 1-2 to run the count full, while Abreu stole second.

But Yoon threw a slider that faded out of the zone, and Cabrera offered at it for his third strike, and the final out. Korea 5, Venezuela 0.

Top 2nd: Surprisingly, Silva was still on the mound for the second inning. Jeong didn't wait long to swing, hitting the first pitch to  shortstop for the first out.

Hyun-soo Kim took a pitch, then hammered the next one to deep right center for a one-out double.

Tae-kyun Kim jumped on the first pitch from Silva and rocked a two-run dinger down the left-field line. Those two RBI would give him the all-time lead in WBC RBI for a single tournament with 11, breaking the record of 10, held jointly by Ken Griffey, Jr., and Seung-yeop Lee, "The Lion King," the cleanup hitter from Team Korea in 2006. Korea 7, Venezuela 0.

That got Silva out of the game, and Sojo brought in Enrique Gonzalez, a righty currently in the Boston Red Sox farm system, though he's pitched (rather poorly) for the Padres and Diamondbacks. Gonzalez got Dae-ho Lee to fly out to center, bringing Shin-soo Choo to the plate.

Choo walked on five pitches, and Jeong Choi also showed some patience, working the count to 3-1, before dribbling one to the left side of the mound. Gonzalez picked it up and threw it to first, but Cabrera couldn't handle the throw. Choi reached safely, and Choo moved to third.

On a 1-1 pitch to Kyung-oan Park, Korea tried a double steal. Hernandez threw down to second, but Jose Lopez cut the throw off short and threw out Choo, who'd wandered too far off third, ending the inning. Korea 7, Venezuela 0.

Bottom 2nd: Carlos Guillen grounded to Tae-kyun Kim at first. Kim bobbled it briefly, but still threw out Guillen in plenty of time. Magglio Ordonez, who hasn't hit well at the WBC, worked the count full before grounding out to Park at short. Jose Lopez grounded up the middle, but Park was right there, too, and threw him out easily. Korea 7, Venezuela 0.

Top 3rd: Kyung-oan Park, back at the plate, grounded out to short, and Ki-hyuk Park grounded out to third. Yong-kyu Lee completed the trifecta by grounding out to short. Korea 7, Venezuela 0.

Bottom 3rd: Ramon Hernandez led off by grounding out to Choi at third, and Scutaro fouled off several pitches before shooting a ball up the middle. Jeong dove for it, and the ball glanced off his glove into center field—it was amazing that he could even have gotten a glove on the ball, and it's doubtful he could have gotten up in time to make the out even if he'd come up with it.

With one on and one out, Chavez pulled a ball to right for a single, bringing Mora to the dish with two runners on. Mora delivered by bouncing a ball past short for a single, driving in Scutaro. Korea 7, Venezuela 1.

Taking no chances, In-sik Kim substituted Young-min Ko for Jeong at second and got two pitchers warming up in the bullpen.

Abreu grounded up the middle and Ki-hyuk Park fielded it, double-clutched, but threw out Abreu anyway for the second out.

Cabrera, a power hitter, put a charge into one, but it fell short of the wall and into Hyun-soo Kim's mitt to end the inning. Korea 7, Venezuela 1.

Top 4th: Fresh off the bench for defensive purposes, Young-min Ko showed his offensive chops by ripping a double over Ordonez's head. Hyun-soo Kim, with two hits on the night, waited Gonzalez out for a walk.

Tae-kyun Kim, also 2-2, watched strike three go past on a pitch that looked a little inside.

With Dae-ho Lee at bat, South Korea kept looking like they were going to execute a double steal, so Gonzalez threw and bluffed towards second before delivering to the plate. Ramon Hernandez tried to pick Hyun-soo Kim off first, but the ball got by Miguel Cabrera, allowing Kim to get to second. Ko, who ran as soon as the pickoff happened, scored Korea's eighth run of the night. Korea 8, Venezuela 1.

Dae-ho grounded out to second, which allowed Hyun-soo Kim to reach third. Shin-soo Choo started out patient, but proved too patient when he watched strike three go past. Korea 8, Venezuela 1.

Bottom 4th: Carlos Guillen led off with a sharp single to right center, but Ordonez grounded to Choi at third, who started the 5-4-3 double play, beating Mags by two steps. Jose Lopez registered the third out by grounding out to Park at short. Korea 8, Venezuela 1.

Top 5th: Choi quickly grounded out to third, and Kyung-oan Park took a little more time before grounding out to first. Ki-hyuk Park got into an early 0-2 hole, but waited Gonzalez out for a walk.Yong-kyu Lee grounded to Lopez, who flipped it to Scutaro at second base for the final out of the fifth. Korea 8, Venezuela 1.

Bottom 5th: Ramon Hernandez grounded up the middle, and Ki-hyuk Park made a great diving stop, then got up and fired the ball to first. It was a very close play, and replays showed Hernandez was safe, but he was called out. Manager Sojo came out to argue, looking like he might get thrown out of the game, but the ump neither ran him or changed his call (like they ever do).

They may have gotten some payback on the next play, when Marco Scutaro bounced one to third base. Choi raced in and fired to first, Scutaro dove for he bag, and the throw looked like it beat him by a hair on the replay, but the first-base ump called him safe.

Endy Chavez, up next, struck out and Kyung-oan Park easily threw out Scutaro trying to steal second, for a double play. Korea 8, Venezuela 1.

Top 6th: Venezuela would make a pitching change, bringing in Victor Zambrano in to face Young-min Ko. Zambrano, a once-promising MLB righty, induced a groundout from Ko. The ball hopped up a bit on Mora, but he adjusted nicely and threw down to first for the out.

Hyun-soo Kim broke his bat on a low pitch, lifting it into short left field for his third hit of the night. In-sik Kim brought in a pinch-runner, Jong-wook Lee for Hyun-soo, yet another example of unconventional Korean managing—I don't think any American manager would take out his hottest hitter for a pinch-runner, even with a seven-run lead in the sixth inning.

Lee promptly stole second, one of nine steals that the Korean has made in the WBC (they've only been caught once). Tae-kyun Kim drew a walk, setting up the double play for Dae-ho Lee.

Dae-ho Lee, after lifting a long shot just foul down the left-field line, shot a single the other way, scoring Jong-wook Lee from second. A very nice piece of hitting by Big Boy, who showed he's more than just a power hitter. Korea 9, Venezuela 1.

In-sik Kim brought in Jin-young Lee to run for Dae-ho, while Venezuela brought in a new pitcher, Jan Granado, a righty who'd spent some time with the Reds and Twins organizations.

He would face Shin-soo Choo with one out and two on, and Choo drew a walk, so Sojo brought in a new pitcher, Victor Moreno, another pitcher who'd spent time with several MLB organizations (five, to be exact).

Jeong Choi lifted a fly to center field, and Chavez made the catch, then fired home. Tae-Kyun Kim slid home safely when the ball squirted away from Hernandez, though he would have been safe regardless.

The runners advanced one base, and nearly got to advance another when Moreno, backing up the play, overthrew Mora. But Scutaro was backing him up, and the runners held at second and third. Korea 10, Venezuela 1.

Kyung-oan Park waited Moreno out and drew a walk, loading the bases for Ki-hyuk Park. Moreno's first pitch to Park bounced in the dirt and past Hernandez. Jin-young Lee tried to score, but the ball bounced right back to Hernandez and Moreno blocked the plate well, and Lee was out. Korea 10, Venezuela 1.

Bottom 6th: Jong-wook Lee remained as the left fielder, and Jin-young Lee as the designated hitter. Mora popped out to the catcher for the first out, and Bobby Abreu struck out. Miguel Cabrera grounded out to third, and Venezuela rolled over meekly. Korea 10, Venezuela 1.

Top 7th: Ki-hyuk Park lined out to Lopez for the first out, but Yong-kyu Lee got a base knock for a single.

Young-min Ko worked a walk, but Jong-wook Lee hit it to Lopez, who threw it to Scutaro to start the 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. Korea 10, Venezuela 1.

Bottom 7th: Carlos Guillen led things off with a longball to deep right center. Korea 10, Venezuela 2.

Magglio Ordonez walked to bring Jose Lopez to the plate. Lopez hit the ball deep into the hole, and Ki-hyuk Park snatched it and threw to second to get Ordonez for the first out.

With Suk-min Yoon at 96 pitches, In-sik Kim brought in a reliever, Tae-hyon Chong, Korea's closer from Beijing. Clearly, Kim was taking no chances.

Ramon Hernandez greeted Chong by driving a pitch into left field for a single. Scutaro, with two on and one out, worked Chong to a full count; the Korean righty wasn't getting many low strike calls, and he works the bottom part of the zone. But he struck Scutaro out on a rising pitch for the second out.

With Endy Chavez coming to the plate, In-sik Kim replaced Chong with the 21-year-old lefty Hyun-jin Ryu, probably to keep Chong under the thirty-pitch limit (which would prevent him from pitching on Monday). On the first pitch, Ryu got Chavez to lift a fly ball to right field, ending the inning. Korea 10, Venezuela 2.

Top 8th: Tae-kyun Kim, now facing Carlos Vasquez, flied out to center for the first out. Jin-young Lee struck out and Vasquez plunked Shin-soo Choo on the leg with a breaking ball, but Jeong Choi struck out to end the inning. Korea 10, Venezuela 2.

Bottom 8th: In-sik Kim brought in Hyun-wook Jong, perhaps rotating pitchers to ensure that all are eligible for Monday's game. Melvin Mora, leading off, struck out.

Abreu grounded down to the first baseman, but Jong took his eyes off the toss from Tae-kyun Kim, and the ball got past him for Korea's first error of the night. Abreu got to second on the error.

Miguel Cabrera splintered his bat and dribbled the ball to third, and Choi scooped it up and threw him out at first for out number two. Guillen struck out looking, stranding Abreu in scoring position. Korea 10, Venezuela 2.

Top 9th: Kyung-oan Park grounded out on a dribbler to short, and Ki-hyuk Park grounded out to first baseman Cabrera, who made a nice stop before flipping it to Vasquez for the second out. Yong-kyu Lee saw seven pitches before grounding back to Vazquez to end the top of the ninth. Korea 10, Venezuela 2.

Bottom 9th: Last licks for Venezuela, and they sent Magglio Ordonez to lead off. Jong fanned Ordonez on a very nice 12-6 curve, but Kim took him out with 17 pitches under his belt. Clearly he's managing in order to keep his bullpen available for the finals on Monday.

Chang-yong Lim, "Mister Zero," came in to face Jose Lopez, who popped up to left field to go hitless for the night. Ramon Hernandez grounded out to first base to end the game. Korea 10, Venezuela 2.

POSTGAME ANALYSIS:

Although it would be easy for me to go back and write the pregame predictions after the game is over, and look like a brilliant psychic, I can promise you I didn't. I watched Carlos Silva pitch all last year, and he stunk, and any MLB fan can tell you about the defensive shortcomings of virtually every player for Venezuela.

I had a feeling poor pitching and fielding might hurt Venezuela, and they did.

Korea is a well-balanced team that plays hard, but tight, while Venezuela played with the lackadaisical attitude that has been typical of the Latin American teams in the WBC. Korea took batting and fielding practice before the game, but Venezuela didn't.

Manager Luis Sojo seemed to take the game lightly when he didn't put his best arm on the mound, then waited far too long to take him out. Even if he left Silva in for the five-run first, he should have had someone new in the second inning—fielding didn't give up the three-run homer to Choo, nor could most of the singles have been prevented by better fielding. Silva was pitching poorly, and Sojo hung him out to dry.

On the other side of the ball, In-sik could do no wrong. Choo got hung up on a double steal attempt, but few other decisions of Kim's went the wrong way. After leaving his dominant starter in for as long as he could, Kim rotated pitchers aggressively, giving several guys their work, while ensuring that all his bullpen would be available for Sunday. He made defensive and pinch-running changes when other managers might have coasted.

There are many good players on Team Korea, but their MVP might be In-sik Kim.

Team Japan faces the USA tomorrow night, with Dice-K on the hill against Jake Peavy. I don't think the Americans will take their game as lightly as Venezuela appeared to, but I still like Team Japan's chances. They've been playing together the entire tournament, with almost all their players in the same positions, except for Murata.

The US has had to scramble to fill various injuries and, while they're talented, they haven't played together as much as Japan has.

Will that make the difference tomorrow? Keep reading the Asian-American Sports Examiner to find out!