Match between Ryu Hyun-jin and Choo Shin-soo falls through

Two weeks have passed since the Major League Baseball`s exhibition game began. LA Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin will take his second mound on Tuesday at the Cactus League, while Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Kang Jung-ho and Texas Rangers outfielder Choo Shin-soo are still upping pace for the regular season.

Pittsburgh Pirates players rested Monday as there was no exhibition game. In Major League, daily training hours are short but players can take a break for just one or two days a month. The Pirates` days off in March are on the 17th and 26th. In April, they have to play in away exhibition games for four consecutive days, and start 2015 season on April 6 with a visiting game against the Cincinnati Reds.

In the exhibition games, Kang showed off batting power early on with two homeruns and a two-base hit, but is now faltering. While his team played 11 games, Kang was present in seven games recording 16 hits in three at-bats for a 0.188 batting average. Pirates shortstop rival Jordy Mercer showed a similar pace as he played seven games posting 20 hits in three at-bats for a 0.150 batting average. Both scored one homerun and a two-base hit. Mercer has two RBIs and Kang one. At the exhibition game, the Pirates posted six homeruns. No player in the Pirates has posted two homeruns yet. Kang made a softlanding in the Major League but needs more time to adapt.

After 20 games, all teams get to decide which players to send to Minor League and whether to release split contract players. Unless Kang shows an extraordinary batting performance to the Major League people, his role will be little changed this season. Speaking of Kang playing at an exhibition game, Pirates broadcaster and former pitcher Bob Walk said his records in Korea were outstanding, and he will start the season as backup, adding the Pirates` bench has become much better than last year as Kang joined.

Meanwhile, Ryu and Choo were expected to meet at the exhibition game on Tuesday but wasn`t realized. According to the Dallas Morning News, Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister decided to allow Choo and Mitch Moreland rest for three days as they complained of ankle pains as both had an ankle surgery last year. Choo will be absent at the visiting game with the LA Angels on Monday (his team lost to Angels 3:5 in previous game) and with Dodgers on Tuesday, while there is no game on Wednesday.