Kosuke Fukudome had a less than impressive year for the Chicago Cubs this season. Things went downhill after his opening day performance where he hit a home run to tie the game against Milwaukee at Wrigley Field.
FINAL STATS:
.257 Average, 10 HR, 58 RBI
No one really knew quite what to expect coming into the season, but with his lucrative four year contract Cubs fans wanted much more.
I am not ready to give up on Fukudome quite yet. I will give him another season to adapt to American baseball. He had to get used to the travel, the language barrier, the pitching, and the expectations of Chicago. I'll give him a mulligan for those reasons alone.
I think that Kosuke can become a productive player for the Cubs next season so that is why I hang onto him.
He showed very good plate discipline at times, even though he struck out 104 times to 81 walks.
He showed that he can play great defense, in arguibly the toughest right field to play in baseball. He only had 5 errors in 137 games.
Lou showed his displeasure with Fukudome towards the end of the year. If he starts out sluggish next season, look for Lou to pull him out of the starting lineup sooner. I expect Kosuke to be starting in right field when the Cubs start 2009.
So to answer the question: What should the Cubs do with Fukudome?
Keep him, and be patient. Let him go into year number two with the opportunity to show that he has adjusted to the States. He was productive in Japan. There is no reason he can't be productive over here. He won't hit a lot of home runs for us, but I think his average will improve as he has had a full season to see the pitching. His defense never faltered, and it will not next year either.
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1 comment:
I agree, I think his amazing early season success shows that he has the ability to play well. With that said, I'm not sure how long of a rope they'll give him to begin next year. 1 month? 2 months top?
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