Last season the buzz around Clark and Addison consisted of whispers of a new savior patrolling the outfield grass of Wrigley Field. Unfortunately, those hopes quickly faded into the abyss as The Savior From Over Seas failed to produce. Fukudome pressed at the plate in 2008, batting .257 with 10 Homeruns and 58 RBI's.
With Reed Johnson waiting in the bullpen, or so to speak, Fukudome has increased pressure to produce before he is sent to the bench. I give him 25 games. If after that time he is not where he is expected, the Cubs need to go in another direction and look to Johnson, Hoffbauir or Miles.
Pinella has said that Fukudome will bat second to start of the year. I generally disagree with this move (but hell, who am I?) because both Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot have higher OBP's (although not by much), and both are capable of stealing more bases. I don't know if I am crazy, but I could see Derek Lee batting in the two-slot because his power numbers are decreasing and he is a solid opposite field hitter. Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain, Kosuke is on a thin leash this season with Cubs coaches and Cubs fans. Let's hope he shows us what he came here to do.
It's going to be interesting to see what Fukudome does. As a fan, I'm not going to give up on him just yet. I'm glad you're giving him 25 games, Rob, but I doubt Lou Piniella will. He doesn't show a heck of a lot of patience. If Fukudome struggles in the first couple weeks Reed Johnson will probably get the bulk of the playing time.
ReplyDeleteI hope Fukudome succeeds though. I think he can be a high-OBP guy who plays above average defense in center. That would be good because the Cubs really aren't a great defensive team. Let's hope we hear the FU-KU-DO-ME! chants again.
I'll admit I was amongst the Cubs fans who jumped on Fuk's bandwagon after his great debut for the Cubs. Which made it all the harder to see him struggle through the ladder portion of the season.
ReplyDeleteI'm fine with Fuk moving over to center and splitting time with Johnson, but like you, I don't understand him batting second. I would be much more comfortable with Theriot in this spot. I do like your idea of moving DLEE to the two hole, it's something I hadn't really thought of. I wouldn't mind seeing Sweet Lou give it a shot.
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ReplyDeleteI'm always someone who accepts my teams' coaching decisions and let them play out. The decision by Lou to bat Fuk 2nd is one of the harder ones I have of accepting. Again, I'll let it play out, but I don't think we should be holding our breath that he will be in the 2-slot for very long. I like your idea of D Lee batting 2nd also. I've never thought about it that way, but his power does seem to be decreasing, and he is a double machine.
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