“It’s about renewing the atmosphere.”바카라사이트
The Lotte Giants had a hot spring. Through May, they had 23 wins, one tie, and 22 losses. With a winning percentage of 0.614, they were in third place. But as the weather got hotter, their momentum slowed. They suffered back-to-back losses, and by the 26th, they had a dismal record of 6 wins and 16 losses in 22 games.
The gaps created by a series of injuries proved fatal for Lotte. Noh Jin-hyuk, who was acquired last winter to bolster the offense and defense, was sidelined with a side injury, and Jeong Hoon left for the same reason. Choi Joon-yong, a key resource in the bullpen, is out with micro-inflammation in his back. Na Gyun-an was also removed from the roster due to elbow inflammation.
With their depth stretched thin, Lotte posted a team ERA of 5.18 in the month of June. That ranked ninth in the league. Their team batting average of .250 was also ninth. They were also ninth in home runs (9). Last in runs scored (86). With the mound unable to dominate opposing batters and the bats unable to produce, it was inevitable that they would win fewer games.
Eventually, Lotte made a decision. They sent Bae Young-soo, who had been the main pitching coach for the first team, to become the general manager of the Futures League, and instead assigned the pitching coach position to Jeong Hyun-wook, their conditioning coach. Coach Park Heung-sik, who served as both head coach and hitting coach, will only serve as hitting coach. Futures League Head Coach Lee Jong-woon will serve as head coach.
Head coach Larry Sutton said, “We made some changes to the coaching staff to shake things up. We played less well in June than we did in April and May. We had some injuries, but we didn’t play to the best of our ability. It’s clear that we need to grow. We’re not getting the results we had at the beginning of the season,” he said, explaining why he made the coaching changes.
This is the second time Lotte has changed its coaching staff in recent years. Previously, they demoted Kim Pyeong-ho to the second team, and this time, they also demoted Park Heung-sik and Bae Young-soo. Both coaches joined Lotte last winter. Some speculated that there was a coaching staff discord, but the head coach denied it.
Sutton said, “There is no problem. There is good energy. We made some changes to the coaching staff in June because there was a bad vibe,” Sutton said. “I had a meeting with the new coaches and I gave them a list of things I wanted them to do. We talked about what the team lacks and what we need to grow. We talked about what the team needs and what we need to grow, and now the players are training accordingly.”
Lotte has turned the tide. On the 27th, they came from behind to win 5-3 at Samsung Electronics, led by Yoo Kang-nam’s walk-off home run. The win snapped a two-game losing streak and improved Lotte’s record to 34-33 on the season, closing the gap to 1.5 games on the third-place NC Dinos (35-1).
There’s also a silver lining. A number of injured players are set to return. Jin-hyuk Noh, who is feeling better, is expected to return after one or two games in the Futures League. “If it doesn’t rain this week, he’ll play with the second team,” Sutton said. He could join us on the weekend,” Sutton said. Jung Hoon is also close to returning. “He could be ready to play in seven to 10 days,” Sutton concluded. Choi Jun-yong is also back in the mix after getting some game time with the second team. “Jun-yong Choi will also pitch in the second team and then come to the first team,” Sutton said. The coaching staff will monitor his physical condition.”
In addition to the coaching staff changes, the team is also expecting a number of injured players to return. Will Lotte be able to get rid of the stigma of being a bomber this year?