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Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Chan Ho Park pitched an absolute complete-game gem over the Milwaukee Brewers last Wednesday, providing further evidence of his importance in the injury-filled Dodger rotation. Park, who will become a free agent at the end of the season, only allowed two hits and registered nine strikeouts. The National League All-Star is 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA, and inserted the underachieving Dodgers back into the N.L. West race. The Dodgers are currently strapped with a $110 million payroll this season, including the $150 million-plus Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort contracts, making it very tough for Park to re-sign with the Dodgers. Park could be worth nearly $20 million annually in the free agent market … On July 17, Ichiro Suzuki ended an 0-for-18 slump with his major league-leading 44th multi-hit game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The American League’s fourth-leading hitter went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the 6-1 win … Kazuhiro Sasaki and Suzuki are talking to reporters from Japan again after the two A.L. All-Stars lifted their vows of silence, which lasted for six days. Sasaki and Suzuki were frustrated over the media’s intrusion of their privacy, namely going to their residences in the Seattle area. Despite the ban, the Japanese paparazzi kept coming to their homes … Former major league All-Star Carlos Baerga is heading to the Korean Baseball League after the Long Island Ducks sold his contract Wednesday. Baerga, a three-time All-Star for the Cleveland Indians and part of the team’s rejuvenation in the early ‘90s, will play for the Samsung Ducks. Baerga hit .315 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs for Long Island in the independent Atlantic League. In his 10-year major league career, Baerga hit .291 with 124 homers and 686 RBIs … Tiger Woods, after tying for 12th in the U.S. Open, his first time out of the top 10 in a major championship since the ’99 Masters, spluttered again in another major. Last weekend, Woods wound up nine strokes behind at the British Open and in a tie for 25th, his lowest position in a major since he tied for 29th in the ’97 PGA Championship at Winged Foot.
Reach Ethen Lieser at elieser@asianweek.com.
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