Manager predicts he'll build on 1st-half success
MESA, Ariz. — When Carlos Zambrano saw Kosuke Fukudome on Tuesday at HoHoKam Park, he told his teammate how he would pitch to him Thursday in the Cubs' exhibition against Team Japan.
Straight fastballs. No movement.
That was Zambrano's way of saying hello to his friend, who will be playing in front of his teammates, coaches and manager Lou Piniella for the first time since the Cubs bowed out of the playoffs last October.
Fukudome will never be the biggest star on Japan's World Baseball Classic team as long as Ichiro Suzuki is on the roster. But he will be in the spotlight Thursday as Japan warms up for the WBC's second round.
After working out all off-season to get in better shape for the long major-league season, Fukudome wants to prove his four-year, $48 million deal is deserved.
"I think he is more acclimated this year," Piniella said. "I know he has worked hard. The Japanese national team works hard and has good coaches, so he has some good foundation. I think you will see this young man play for us the way he did the first half last year."
Fukudome hit .327 in April and .293 in May, showing patience at the plate while flashing some leather in right field. His approach seemed to rub off on his teammates, who showed uncharacteristic patience as the offense clicked from Opening Day.
"If definitely helped us out," shortstop Ryan Theriot said. "We had guys capable of doing those things.
"I've always had more walks than strikeouts and always prided myself on seeing more pitches and working the count. To have another guy in the lineup doing it, I think everyone fed off that early. It made us better offensively."
But the rest of the story is familiar. After drawing 55 walks in the first half, he had only 26 in the second and hit .217 after playing in the All-Star Game. He began to flounder in mid-June, hit .236 in July and slid from there.
Piniella benched Fukudome in early September before starting him in the first two playoff games, despite his .178 average the final month. Fukudome went 1-for-10 in the series against the Dodgers' right-handers.
Some in the organization believe Fukudome would have been served better had he skipped the WBC and reported to camp in Arizona to show the Cubs he's ready to go. But Major League Baseball did not want teams putting pressure on its players not to play, so the Cubs let Fukudome do as he wished.
Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden, Zambrano and Aramis Ramirez opted to skip the WBC, but Soriano said Fukudome can't be blamed for deciding to play for his country.
"You have to decide what's best for yourself," Soriano said. "It was better for me to stay here because I was very disappointed with what happened to me the last two years. If I didn't have any injuries the last two years and I was 100 percent, I'd go represent my country too."
Fukudome also was disappointed in himself, and he was booed at Wrigley Field.
He was asked after the season how he would feel if he was not promised a starting job in right field in 2009.
"I could not care less," Fukudome replied through a translator.
The answer sounded flippant, so Fukudome was asked to clarify what he meant.
"If it means there will be competition in right field, all I have to do is win that competition," he said.
Fukudome's translator was fired after the season, and Milton Bradley was signed to take Fukudome's spot in right field. After Japan is done with the WBC, Fukudome will return to camp and get ready to platoon in center with Reed Johnson.
MESA, Ariz. — When Carlos Zambrano saw Kosuke Fukudome on Tuesday at HoHoKam Park, he told his teammate how he would pitch to him Thursday in the Cubs' exhibition against Team Japan.
Straight fastballs. No movement.
That was Zambrano's way of saying hello to his friend, who will be playing in front of his teammates, coaches and manager Lou Piniella for the first time since the Cubs bowed out of the playoffs last October.
Fukudome will never be the biggest star on Japan's World Baseball Classic team as long as Ichiro Suzuki is on the roster. But he will be in the spotlight Thursday as Japan warms up for the WBC's second round.
After working out all off-season to get in better shape for the long major-league season, Fukudome wants to prove his four-year, $48 million deal is deserved.
"I think he is more acclimated this year," Piniella said. "I know he has worked hard. The Japanese national team works hard and has good coaches, so he has some good foundation. I think you will see this young man play for us the way he did the first half last year."
Fukudome hit .327 in April and .293 in May, showing patience at the plate while flashing some leather in right field. His approach seemed to rub off on his teammates, who showed uncharacteristic patience as the offense clicked from Opening Day.
"If definitely helped us out," shortstop Ryan Theriot said. "We had guys capable of doing those things.
"I've always had more walks than strikeouts and always prided myself on seeing more pitches and working the count. To have another guy in the lineup doing it, I think everyone fed off that early. It made us better offensively."
But the rest of the story is familiar. After drawing 55 walks in the first half, he had only 26 in the second and hit .217 after playing in the All-Star Game. He began to flounder in mid-June, hit .236 in July and slid from there.
Piniella benched Fukudome in early September before starting him in the first two playoff games, despite his .178 average the final month. Fukudome went 1-for-10 in the series against the Dodgers' right-handers.
Some in the organization believe Fukudome would have been served better had he skipped the WBC and reported to camp in Arizona to show the Cubs he's ready to go. But Major League Baseball did not want teams putting pressure on its players not to play, so the Cubs let Fukudome do as he wished.
Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden, Zambrano and Aramis Ramirez opted to skip the WBC, but Soriano said Fukudome can't be blamed for deciding to play for his country.
"You have to decide what's best for yourself," Soriano said. "It was better for me to stay here because I was very disappointed with what happened to me the last two years. If I didn't have any injuries the last two years and I was 100 percent, I'd go represent my country too."
Fukudome also was disappointed in himself, and he was booed at Wrigley Field.
He was asked after the season how he would feel if he was not promised a starting job in right field in 2009.
"I could not care less," Fukudome replied through a translator.
The answer sounded flippant, so Fukudome was asked to clarify what he meant.
"If it means there will be competition in right field, all I have to do is win that competition," he said.
Fukudome's translator was fired after the season, and Milton Bradley was signed to take Fukudome's spot in right field. After Japan is done with the WBC, Fukudome will return to camp and get ready to platoon in center with Reed Johnson.
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