Is It Any Surprise to Be in Anaheim?: Korea was quite clearly one of the top teams in Group A, as it went unbeaten against the perceived cream of the pitching crop against both Japan and Taiwan. Taiwan burned its two best pitchers against Korea to stay in the game, and the Koreans managed a pair of runs against the hurlers. Korea then helped to disrupt Mr. Steady, Shunsuke Watanabe, before shattering dominant reliever Hirotoshi Ishii's chance to slam the door as a setup man.
Korea's Lee Seung Yeop
had three home runs in three
WBC games, including a two-
run shot that led the Koreans
to a 3-2 upset win over the
Japanese.
What Must Change to Go to San Diego?: Korea did just enough to get the job done in the first round, and getting by is not going to be enough to advance past Anaheim. Even against China the Koreans did not really dominate (still winning 10-1, granted), and that result in particular left questions about whether Kim In Sik is getting all he truly can out of his potentially lethal offense.