Fans of the KBO will remember the incredible number of rainouts that kept the 2007 season going through the end of October and into early November. This week saw the cancellation of just two games (three on the year), but one of those games was between Samsung and Lotte, arguably the two hottest teams in the league. Is it important? Well, not in the middle of April, but the KBO rarely makes up games during the season, so its likely the teams will face one another in late August. I don’t think these starts are flashes in the pan — these teams will be there at the end, possibly even battling for a No. 1 or 2 seed.

Last week’s rankings in parenthesis. Standings can be found in the bottom left hand corner of this page and please feel free to add your own rankings or gripes with mine in the comments section.

1. SK Wyverns(1) — But alas the champs are the champs and I’m not about to let the best team in the league sneak up on me like the Wyvrens did last year. This week saw Inchon’s finest go 4-1, the only loss coming in a wild scorefest with Woori that saw SK fall behind 10-2, only to come back and lose 12-10. The team leads the league in none of the major offensive or pitching categories, but has only made three errors in 13 games. This week begins with a very interesting matchup with Samsung.

2. Lotte Giants(3) — Sure, the Giants split its rain-shortened series with Samsung, but Jerry’s Kids really took it to a Kia team I still maintain is better than it’s league-worst record. Offensively, no one comes close to Lotte and the starting pitching, led by Song Sung-jun (3 wins, 2.29 ERA, 9.15 K/9), has been solid. The surprising team MVP thus far is catcher Kang Min-ho, who leads the league early with a 1.107 OPS and .378/.440/.667 line.

3. Samsung Lions(2) — Tied for second with SK with a 9-4 record and are in fact starting to resemble the champs a little, playing good defense and getting very solid pitching. Oh Sung-hwan has six saves and is holding batters to a .154 ave. Setup man Gwan Hyuk has yet to allow a hit in 8 1/3 innings of work and has four holds.

4. None(0) - There’s such a chasm between the top three and the rest of the league I’m adamant about not just throwing someone into what would be the final KBO playoff spot. Last week’s No. 4, Kia, didn’t win a game over the past seven days, and even though I still feel the Tigers are probably the fourth best team in the league, I can’t very well keep them at No. 4. Doosan did little to deserve a raise either, and you probably know how I feel about Worri.

5. Doosan Bears(5) — Went 3-3 against the likes of LG and Hanwha this week. Hardly inspiring stuff. Kim Sun-woo lost for the third time yesterday, has given up 18 hits in 12 innings, and is sporting a K/9 of 0.86. I watched him a little yesterday and didn’t see anything that makes me think he’ll be terrible all year. It would probably be a mistake to think that returning and adjusting to Korean baseball would be a snap for any ex-MLBer. Choi Hee-seop proved that last year. I suspect Kim will turn it around somewhat over his next few starts.

6. (Tie) Kia Tigers (4) and Woori Heroes(7) — I’m giving Kia one more week to get it in gear before I start making Choi Hee-seop fat jokes and decrying the bringing back of manager Jo Bum-hyun. Went 0-5 on the week, but played SK and Lotte, and lost tough one run games to each. Choi Hee-seop is 8 for 47 with one HR. There’s little else to say. Wilson Valdez got it going this week, went 10 for 21 and has six swipes on the year. Gets LG and Hanwha this week, so the team has a chance to start moving in the right direction. The Tigers had better take advantage.

Woori was 3-3 for the week, taking two of three from LG and then playing SK pretty well. Cliff Braumbaugh came back to Earth, but is still propelling the offense to a league leading .810 OPS. Is getting a nice start from longtime Unicorn Lee Sung-yong, who is hitting at a .349/.442/.535 clip.

7. LG Twins(6) — Had a couple nice wins over Doosan over the weekend, including 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball from Chris Oxspring on Sunday. Got the offense going a little, but is still last in the league with a .349 OBP. Plays Kia in the early series and then gets Samsung next weekend. Jamie Brown is sporting an ERA over 10 in his three starts.

8. Hanwha Eagles(8) — Got the team ERA down to 5.47 this week, but the bullpen has continued to be abysmal. The relief leaders by number of appearances are Brad Thomas (6), Yun Ki-ho (6), Ahn Myung-yung (6), Choi Yeong-pil (5), and Yang Hoon (4). Those five are yielding batting averages of .318, .364, .125, .417, and .359 respectively. Surprised this team is No. 8?