Koreans call Chusok the “Korean Thanksgiving,” and if you happened to watch the Hanwha/Samsung matchup that took place on the holiday, you saw how giving the Lions are capable of being.

With Hanwha batting with the bases loaded,  down 3-1, Samsung committed three errors on one play–overthrowing two cutoff men, and allowing all three men to score. The Lions  would give up two more runs that inning and lose the game 7-4.

The Chusok fiasco was part of a streak that saw the reining champs  lose six consecutive games and nearly drop out of the No. 4 position.

Of course the playoffs are a different animal. Suddenly a 126 game rain-soaked schedule is thrown out the window and replaced with a short 3-game docket.

Perhaps not surprisingly Hanwha and Samsung are ranked 3 and 4 in both overall pitching and hitting. Both teams are capable of scoring runs, but in such a short series look for pitching to dictate what happens.

Tuesday’s starter for the Lions will be Kevin Brown  (12-8, 3.33), who exited his last start with an elbow problem. He’s received clearance to play, but one must wonder. Likewise, Hanwha’s starter,  Ryu Hyeon-jin  (17-7, 2.94), arguably the KBO’s best starter not named Rios and a legit MLB talent), has complained of a dead arm (a topic explored in this article via Korea Beat).

Ryu was last year’s KBO rookie of the year, but in  2005 it was Oh Sung-hwan, Samsung’s dominant closer who finished the season with a league leading 40 saves and a microscopic ERA of 1.40. While Samsung’s starting pitching is average, it’s relief corps is arguably the best in the league.

Both teams sport better than average power.  Hanhwa is led by Jacob Cruz, who in his first year in Korea ended with a 22HR .321/.422/.550 line, which in turn helped veteran Kim Tae-gun  rejuvenate his career with a 21HR .290/.420/.483 line.

Samsung is led first and foremost by Shim Jung-su, who may just steal (and it would be a kind of robbery) the season MVP  trophy from Daniel Rios. He won the  home run  crown a year after missing most of 2006 and is a  fan favorite all over Korea.

If experience counts for anything, and in Korea you can bet  it  does, Samsung has it in spades  between Shim (321 career HRs), Yang Joon-hyuk (331 career HRs), and Park Jin-man (six KBO championship rings in 12 years).  

Outlook: The last paragraph says it all, doesn’t it? Hanwha is hot, and is probably the better team, but Samsung has won two straight titles and won’t be the same lackluster squad that mailed in the final three weeks of the season.

Prediction: Samsung in three.