Ben Jukich to Korea

[corkedbat]

Ya, Well, he is with LG Tweens right now, practicing at Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Camp in Bradenton Florida.
Just had dinner with him and Ken Griffey Sr who is couching LG players...
I am not allowed to tell you much, Beacuse LG wants to keep him in shadow for a while. Other than that, you can ask me anything you want., even in Korean.

수있는 한국어 선수들이 잘 curveball 충돌?

[Patrick]

Yea, I'm pretty sure he had an offer from them and he (Jukich) wanted it. In reality, he didn't have a spot for the Reds so it's not a huge loss.

Well, he is giving some relief to Reds, since Reds couldn't offer him his needed chances. Ben going to Korea for a year or two, Ben will gain tremendous experience with those tactical team players who shook U.S twice at WBC. And may learn a thing or two.

[Patrick]

수있는 한국어 선수들이 잘 curveball 충돌?

Well, that is Korean all right. But doesn't make any sense.:

[Patrick]

He can make hundreds of thousands of dollars in Korea, while only being able to make around $60K if he stayed in the states, unless, of course, he made it to the majors. Most veteran minor leaguers would love to play in Korea at the end of their career.

Well, according to Ben, it wasn't all about the money. He was getting stressed out with bunch of BS that was going on with Reds managements.
He got an offer, and he just took it to give some room to Reds and himself.

[corkedbat]

Well, that is Korean all right. But doesn't make any sense.:

I just write Korean, I don't read it.

[Patrick]

I just write Korean, I don't read it.

Now, that is funny~!!!!!

[Patrick]

I've always liked Jukich and thought he could carve out a useful existence as a lefty swingman who could spot start or come in out of the pen early in a game to turn line-ups around. Realistically, it was going to be hard for him in Cincy, but maybe after a couple years of success in Korea, he'll get a chance somewhere.

I hope he makes some dough and earns some security for his family while he's over there.

Yap.
He will be all right. I am seeying some improvements from him, trying to get adjusted and comprehend as much as he can, with koreans here at Pirate City. He is even trying to eat with chop sticks.
He is not get along with everyone type, but he will be fine. And he will get what he wants after Korea. Because he will get tremendous experience with tough Korean baseball tactics and styles.

[roborobj]

well, according to ben, it wasn't all about the money. He was getting stressed out with bunch of bs that was going on with reds managements.
He got an offer, and he just took it to give some room to reds and himself.

haha!! Good for him!

[roborobj]

He can make hundreds of thousands of dollars in Korea, while only being able to make around $60K if he stayed in the states, unless, of course, he made it to the majors. Most veteran minor leaguers would love to play in Korea at the end of their career.

Try about $30K if you're not on the 40 man roster. They need to start paying their minor leaguers a living wage.

[camisadelgolf]

Try about $30K if you're not on the 40 man roster. They need to start paying their minor leaguers a living wage.

It's $30k with a lot of expenses covered, and they're free to pursue jobs in the off-season. Oh, and they're playing a game. If I had that set-up, I'd be in heaven.

[Doittwinsway]

Best of luck to him, but all MLB clubs passed on him, not just Reds.

[camisadelgolf]

Best of luck to him, but all MLB clubs passed on him, not just Reds.

The Cardinals took a flier on him at one time.

[roborobj]

Best of luck to him, but all MLB clubs passed on him, not just Reds.

And he is doing well over there. The fans love him and Rhamades Liz that the Padres released. Jukich just pitched a one hitter complete game yesterday with nine strikeouts. He is 4-1 over there. Am glad someone is finally letting him pitch like the innings eater horse he is!

Yoou tube highlights of his game

Ben Jukich with the LG Twins threw 9 innings of 0 run baseball against the Nexen Heroes, tallied 9 strike outs, 3 walks, and only gave up 1 hit. Threw 96 pitches--60 for strikes

YouTube - Ben Jukich's 1 hit, complete-game shut-out highlights 5/16/2011

[GOYA]

Balentien is doing well too.

From Saturday:

YOKOHAMA — Wladimir Balentien homered three times and drove in five runs, leading the Tokyo Yakult Swallows to a 6-4 win over the Yokohama BayStars on Friday.

The former Cincinnati Reds outfielder increased his Japanese baseball-leading home run total to 12 and finished the night 3-for-4 at Yokohama Stadium.

They call him Coco.

The Continuing Exploits of Coco Balentien: It seems that the windy bandbox of Yokohama Stadium combined with the BayStars’ subpar pitching was enough to jolt Balentien’s stats even higher. Over the 3 game series Balentien went 8-for-11 with 4 HRs, 7 RBIs, 5 Rs, 1 BB, and 0 Ks. Looking at the Triple Crown stats. Balentien leads the league in BA (.386) and HRs (13), and he is 1 RBI behind league leaders Sledge and Ramirez who both have 21 RBIs. Balentien is in the top 5 in almost every meaningful offensive category including an absolutely unreal SLG of .916. His 13 HRs in 25 games still keeps him on pace to shatter the NPB homerun of 55 currently held by Alex Cabrerra and Tuffy Rhodes. But of course, past performance is not always a indicator of future returns and Balentien doesn’t get to hit against the BayStars in Yokohama every game, so we’ll hold off on handing the young slugger the Triple Crown just yet. One interesting stat I’ll throw out there is that Balentien’s BA w/ RISP is a pedestrian .267. Not that I put too much stock in this stat, but it may be an indication that Balentien is forcing himself and swinging at bad pitches with runners on base.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0110514j1.html