Two years ago, and three years ago, Lotte was "BOMDAE." And it was like a "snake head, fish tail." They surged at the start of the season with a seemingly unstoppable momentum but eventually faltered from the middle of the season, repeating a trend of plummeting in the latter half. What has changed is the managerial position. Can manager Kim Tae-hyung's Lotte truly break the history of being a "snake head, fish tail?"

Lotte achieved a comeback victory of 4-3 against the NC Dinos in the regular season of professional baseball held at Busan Sajik Stadium on the 2nd, securing their fourth consecutive win. After scoring two runs in the first inning, they couldn't add more runs but gave up three runs in the top of the eighth inning due to a shaky bullpen. However, they succeeded in a turnaround in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-RBI double by Na Seung-yeop, completing a thrilling victory.

With that, Lotte marked a record of 20 wins, 13 losses, and 1 draw (win rate .606) after playing 34 games, narrowing the gap to the leading LG (20 wins, 12 losses) by 0.5 games, which is in the midst of a five-game losing streak. They are tied for second place with Hanwha.

Including this year, Lotte has recorded a winning percentage of over .500 four times in the last six seasons based on 34 games. They recorded 18 wins and 16 losses (win rate .529) in 2020, 18 wins and 15 losses with 1 draw (win rate .545) in 2022, and 22 wins and 12 losses (win rate .647) in 2023. In 2023, they were in a remarkable first place. And this year, they are again recording a .500 winning percentage based on 34 games.

However, as a result, the previous three seasons all failed to make it to the postseason. In 2020, they finished seventh with a record of 71 wins, 72 losses, and 1 draw (win rate .497), eighth in 2022 with 64 wins, 76 losses, and 4 draws (win rate .457), and seventh in 2023 with 68 wins and 76 losses (win rate .472).

They amassed victories fiercely in the early season but crumbled later for various reasons, failing to maintain their momentum. Around the time summer approached, Lotte's winning percentage began to decline. After the peak summer heat passed and the weather turned cooler, they started to rebound again, but ultimately it culminated in mere false hopes before they fell again. This pattern repeated.

As manager Kim Tae-hyung enters his second year this season, Lotte is enjoying another hot spring. The lineup, centered around the promising players that manager Kim cultivated last year, is still the best in the league. They currently have a team batting average of .288, leading the league, and a team OPS of .764. Although they are tied for last place with Doosan in home runs with 18, they rank first in doubles (69) and triples (6). They are showcasing their offensive power by replacing home runs with extra-base hits.

Though maintaining a position in the upper ranks, Lotte's worries stem from the pitching staff. The team's earned run average is 4.46, which is only seventh in the league. The starting rotation has an earned run average of 3.81, ranking sixth, while the bullpen's is 5.60, placing seventh.

In the game on the 2nd, both Jeong Cheol-won, first in holds, and Kim Won-jung, first in saves, collapsed, but the team still has a dependable setup and closer. Additionally, left-handed setup men Jeong Hyun-soo and Song Jae-young are making their mark. However, they are over-reliant on them. Signs of overload are already showing, and new resources need to emerge to ease that load. Koo Seung-min has returned, and Choi Jun-yong is managing bullpen pitching in the second team while waiting to support. If they return and alleviate the burden on the existing pitchers, the bullpen could stabilize significantly.

However, the starting rotation that causes the bullpen's overload is a bigger concern. Charlie Barnes, the foreign pitcher in his fourth year, is not performing as he used to. Manager Kim Tae-hyung acknowledges this. If Barnes does not rebound, the entire pitching staff may experience a chain collapse. They may need to hope for Barnes to find his form again, or consider a decision to find a new face.

While Park Se-woong and Tucker Davidson are performing well, other local starters also need to step up. Na Kyun-an is performing reasonably well, but more inning durability is needed, and the starting position that began with Kim Jin-wook has yet to be assigned to anyone. Currently, Park Jin is stepping up as a substitute starter, but he does not inspire much confidence. Even if he cannot lead to victories, he needs to pitch at least five innings to give the team a fighting chance in games.

They are finding stability in defense recently, but with 28 errors, they rank second in the league, and their Defensive Efficiency Rating (DER) is .682, ranking sixth. Perhaps Lotte is currently the team with more potential weak spots. Their past history has also instilled a sense of unease.

Still, under manager Kim Tae-hyung's leadership, they manage to secure the games they need to win and have a noticeable strategy in losing the games they should concede. They have recorded 4 wins and 1 loss in one-run games and 7 wins and 4 losses in two-run games, showcasing their strength in close contests. Despite having played many tight games, the players' focus does not seem to waver.

Players have now adapted to manager Kim Tae-hyung's approach. Na Kyun-an stated, "Even if the coach doesn't talk about it separately, we are already preparing when he starts to move. It seems this has created a winning atmosphere in our team." He added, "Ultimately, the coach places the utmost importance on winning. Also, because he trusts us so much and gives us a lot of advice, the players have grown significantly. It's thanks to the fact that the coach has trusted us a lot."

There should be no more "snake head, fish tail". The players are well aware of the external perception of "BOMDAE" and "snake head, fish tail." Na Kyun-an said, "Seniors and older brothers always tell us not to be conscious of the good things right now and to focus only on today's game, not tomorrow’s. Fans and outsiders say our team is always good around this time. But we talk in meetings that if we can disregard such thoughts and focus on each game, we can grow more and show good results to our fans."

Can manager Kim Tae-hyung's Lotte make the slogan "This year is different" a reality?

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