Olympic champions South Korea insist a potential row over Cleveland Indians outfielder Choo Shin-soo will not derail their World Baseball Classic bid.
Choo is recovering from elbow surgery and Cleveland do not want him to play more than one game as an outfielder in the Asian preliminaries which begin in Tokyo today.
The 26-year-old faced around 30 balls in batting practice on Wednesday before South Korea coach Kim In-sik was grilled for not standing up to the Indians.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
“He’s obviously a special case,” Kim told reporters two days before his side face Taiwan in their Asian preliminary opener. “I would like to have full control and make the final decision.”
“But regarding his participation — and to what degree he participates — in the WBC, we also have to consider the wishes of the club who pay his wages,” he said.
As Korean journalists continued to grumble that Kim should assert his authority, the head coach said: “Choo will still need to pass a fitness test to see if he can play anyway.”
PHOTO: AP
Choo could be limited to designated hitting duties against Taiwan at the Tokyo Dome.
“Choo could still play a role even if he’s not fit enough to play defense,” Kim said. “Anyway we’ve prepared well so the team is in excellent shape.”
South Korea compiled a 6-1 record in the inaugural WBC tournament in 2006, beating Japan twice before losing to their fierce rivals in their third meeting in the semi-finals.
Japan won the competition with a 5-2 record, triggering protests from South Korea and beyond about the rules, which have since been amended.
“Rules are rules,” Kim shrugged. “We’ll play by whatever rules are there. The strike zone is a little different and the ball is slightly different but we just have to deal with it.”
South Korea took bronze in 2006 before gaining revenge by beating Japan in the semi-finals at last year’s Beijing Olympics on the way to winning the gold medal.
“We were third in 2006 and we had a dream result at the Olympics,” Kim said.
“Our goal is to go all the way but first we have to take care of business and get to the second round,” he said.
■TIGERS SNAP UP CHENG
AFP, TOKYO
Taiwanese pitcher Cheng Kai-wen has signed a contract to play for the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Central League, team officials said yesterday.
The 20-year-old student at Chinese Culture University is a member of Taiwan’s 28-player squad for the World Baseball Classic. He was one of three amateurs on Taiwan’s team at last year’s Olympic Games.
“I’m really happy to play for one of the strong teams in Japan,” said Cheng, who passed an ability test last month.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS