BLUE THINK TANK

"It may be preferrable if all the outside candidates turn down the job, and Kim Ng gets promoted by default."

Agreed. Especially if the outside choice is Bowden. But as much crap as the stats-inclined Dodger fans have given him, he did take Towers to the cleaner on the Castilla / Lawrence trade.
 

translation for the article you asked...

Choi will train during winter with all his heart, to play as if next season is his last in majors.
he understands if he performs below the expectations, he can forever lose the oppotunity to become a true major leaguer.

Q: What's it like to be coached by Reggie Smith and Leon Lee?

C: I did not get my lower body involved in my swing before. I would lose my balance easily because of that habit. I will do my best to incorporate my lower body to my swing during winter with their coaching.

Q: the team seems to be in chaos.

C: I'm truly sorry to see Paul Depodesta go. He believed in me.
i will find my best form baseball ise. I matured alot since being traded twice in three years.

Q: PLans to train in Korea?

C: maybe, but I need the coaching from Reggie and Leon.

Q: You are Arbitration eligible?

C: I don't care about money right now. baseball is first.

Q: how do you see your season overall?

C: lots of good memories, wallk off homerun, grandslam, homerun derby at the allstars... but regrets too.
 

thanks to the anonymous commenter for the translation. is that for all 4 articles that i linked or just the first?
 

the last one. didn't have time for translating all four. I'll get round that for you over the next couple of days.
 

the first article-

hee seop choi of the los angeles dodgers has started his training to become 30 HR hitter since the 5th of this month at the Reggie Smith Baseball center at Encino, California. His tutors are Reggie Smith, former dodger switch hitter, and Leon Lee, former Chicago Cubs' asian area scout who signed Choi out of Korea University.
the training will focus on choi's balance, which he lost last season, to maximize his power as well as contact. Leon and Reggie has been analyzing videos from last season's choi's batting stance.
The first problem they identified is that he was too close to the catcher at the plate, and second problem is that his right foot was moving toward the homeplate and body leaned forward right before making contact with baseball. those two bad habits amplfy each other.
Both Leon and Reggie pointed out that outside breaking balls appeared to him farther than they were, making his back arch forward without even knowing, causing him to not only miss the contact, but unable to put much weight on it. "Choi wooried too much on inside pitches last season, which is his weakness, that he lost his strength which is outside pitches" said Reggie Smith. "it was very hard to be in a groove since not playing on a consistant basis, to hit without thinking I gotta show something big when I did get my chance, trying too hard to impress coaches, and started developing bad habits" said Choi.
Choi's workout is intensely focused around keeping his stance still regardless of the location of the pitch, and letting his lower body come through with the swing. For this, Reggie has corrected Choi's stance by turning his right toes more toward 3B, and let his lowerbody turn all the way around. also, not to be too close to the catcher and rather stay parellel to the homeplate.
After practicing for a few days of his new corrected swing, choi feels that he has improved his balance and power. "I will go back to Korea in the winter time only after I feel I mastered this swing" Choi said.
According to Leon Lee, "Since He has a great fundamentals to begin with, once he can master and stick to his swing for a whole season, I believe he can hit out 40+ long balls"
 

Interesting stuff. Sounds like he will do really well for Oakland or whatever other team swipes him from the next Dodger GM.
 

Second article is non-baseball related.

Choi feels LA is his home. Since joining big league, he has resided in chicago, miami, and now LA.
Many Koreans he never met before recognises him and give encouragement and support. Many Korean restorants welcome him, and he feels the love from community trnslate over to the field when fans of Korean ethnicity fills in big portion of the dodger stadium to see him play. There are many korean born players in national league west, from ex dodger ChanHo park in San Diego, to Sunny Kim and BK Kim at Colorado.
Choi feels loved in the club house as well. Even infamously fickle Jeff Kent gives Choi many tips on hitting, and Ricky Ledee is his best buddy in the dugout.

Choi admits he wants to go clubing.
since becoming a pro baseball player in US, he has never really had any fun time outside of baseball. He likes fishing and singing at karaokes, but hasn't done much of that in years. "every now and then I think about going to a club"

Choi is still single. not even a girl friend yet. " they say I don't have the look to be popular among women" He feels baseball is the most important part of his life, and marriage can wait.

If he is not watching video tapes of his games, there isnt much he does at home. since his sister went back to korea not so long ago, now hw has to cook for himself. when asked what he cooks, he replied "top noodles, that's about it."

Choi lives a humble life. He still drives the first car he bought in 99, a red honda passport. He doesn't drive anywhere other than from home to the ballpark, so the total mileage is around 40000 miles Even though he is due to get paid more this upcoming season, he has no plan to buy a house. he says LA real estate is much much for him to even think about purchasing.
 

the third article is pretty much the same as the first and the last articles. only new stuff in there is Reggie Smith saying "Choi must deviate from general instruction of cookie cutter swing to find his old form. Not new, we are not reinventing here, but rather getting back to his best form of swing which was his swing from AAA days"

bytheway, how can i get a username without making my own blog? I write a lot of stuff, I think its time for me to have a name, but dont want to have to maintain a blog site.
 

i don't think you don't have to keep a blog. just sign up for an account and you get a username.

and thanks for the translations.