Levine: Fukudome a Cub (was Kosuke coming to U.S.)

[C.C.]

My money is on his agent.

[traderumor]

Dave Kaplan interviewed Fukudome's agent and he said Fukudome has all the information he needs about the level of interest in the states . He also said Fukudome and his family will go over the information during the weekend and a decision could come on monday.

[BigbadB]

Dave Kaplan interviewed Fukudome's agent and he said Fukudome has all the information he needs about the level of interest in the states . He also said Fukudome and his family will go over the information during the weekend and a decision could come on monday.

 

 

Welcome to the board. You're going to hate that screen name in time. :D

 

Great, so we now know Fukudome is a "family" guy. Well that should be enough to get Hendry to throw another 10m a year at him.

 

Jimmy's checklist:

 

Speedy: check

Left handed hitter: check

Catches the ball: check

Can lead off: check

Good character guy: check

 

Folks, we got a winner!

[Roast]

Welcome to the forum.

[traderumor]

Dave Kaplan interviewed Fukudome's agent and he said Fukudome has all the information he needs about the level of interest in the states . He also said Fukudome and his family will go over the information during the weekend and a decision could come on monday.

 

 

Welcome to the board. You're going to hate that screen name in time. :D

 

Great, so we now know Fukudome is a "family" guy. Well that should be enough to get Hendry to throw another 10m a year at him.

 

Jimmy's checklist:

 

Speedy: check

Left handed hitter: check

Catches the ball: check

Can lead off: check

Good character guy: check

 

Folks, we got a winner!

 

 

 

I just hope there isn't another traderumor in here.

 

:)

[traderumor]

Welcome to the forum.

 

Thanks.

[98navigator]

My money is on his agent.

Yes, you're probably right. I was/am skeptical because we all know Fuk has more than one agent. Plus, this seems to be the offseason where an agent (namely Boras) has been left in the dark on a few dealings.

[Yeti]

Dave Kaplan interviewed Fukudome's agent and he said Fukudome has all the information he needs about the level of interest in the states . He also said Fukudome and his family will go over the information during the weekend and a decision could come on monday.

 

 

Welcome to the board. You're going to hate that screen name in time. :D

 

Great, so we now know Fukudome is a "family" guy. Well that should be enough to get Hendry to throw another 10m a year at him.

 

Jimmy's checklist:

 

Speedy: check

Left handed hitter: check

Catches the ball: check

Can lead off: check

Good character guy: check

 

Folks, we got a winner!

5 tool player!

[CUBZ99]

Dave Kaplan interviewed Fukudome's agent and he said Fukudome has all the information he needs about the level of interest in the states . He also said Fukudome and his family will go over the information during the weekend and a decision could come on monday.

 

I'm guessing he is making it look like he is taking his time so that he will not look like he is disrespecting the Giants when he announces he is coming to the US.

[shnsajax]

Dave Kaplan interviewed Fukudome's agent and he said Fukudome has all the information he needs about the level of interest in the states . He also said Fukudome and his family will go over the information during the weekend and a decision could come on monday.

 

 

Welcome to the board. You're going to hate that screen name in time. :D

 

Great, so we now know Fukudome is a "family" guy. Well that should be enough to get Hendry to throw another 10m a year at him.

 

Jimmy's checklist:

 

Speedy: check

Left handed hitter: check

Catches the ball: check

Can lead off: check

Good character guy: check

 

Folks, we got a winner!

 

 

 

I just hope there isn't another traderumor in here.

 

:)

 

Try not to ever begin a thread with "Breaking News" ;-).

[hardcorecubfan]

Who is the 3rd team???

 

Pirates.

 

\:D/

 

Man, I thought cub fans were dreamers. I the went to the pirates I would give up drinking Mtn Dew.

and I am addicted

[Mephistopheles]

yuck fukudome said the dreaded f word. family

[javy knows my name]

Dave Kaplan interviewed Fukudome's agent and he said Fukudome has all the information he needs about the level of interest in the states . He also said Fukudome and his family will go over the information during the weekend and a decision could come on monday.

 

 

Welcome to the board. You're going to hate that screen name in time. :D

 

Great, so we now know Fukudome is a "family" guy. Well that should be enough to get Hendry to throw another 10m a year at him.

 

Jimmy's checklist:

 

Speedy: check

Left handed hitter: check

Catches the ball: check

Can lead off: check

Good character guy: check

 

Folks, we got a winner!

 

 

 

I just hope there isn't another traderumor in here.

 

:)

Oh, there are tons. :lol:

[CubsWin]

Not really any new info, just another source...

ESPN.com[/url]"]

Outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, a hot commodity on baseball's free-agent market, plans to make a formal announcement early next week on whether he will remain in Japan in 2008 or pursue offers to play in the United States, his agent said.

 

Agent Joe Urbon spoke with general managers from interested Major League Baseball clubs by phone during the winter meetings in Nashville. Urbon passed along the initial club offers Thursday via conference call to Fukudome, who will study the information with his family in Nagoya, Japan, before determining his next move.

 

The Chicago Cubs and White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies have expressed varying degrees of interest in Fukudome, a .305 career hitter with 192 home runs and a .397 on base percentage in 1,074 games for the Chunichi Dragons.

 

Although Urbon recently said it's unlikely that Fukudome will remain in Japan, he declined to handicap the odds as the process nears the finish line. He said the decision is strictly in Fukudome's hands.

 

"He has to decide whether to take the leap and accept the 'challenge,' as he calls it, and play for a major league club," Urbon said. "He has all the information to make a comfortable, educated decision. My feeling is that it will happen by the first part of the week."

 

Fukudome has a lucrative multiyear offer on the table from the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, who envision him as a potential cornerstone player for years to come. In the meantime, he is trying to accommodate several MLB clubs who are holding off on pursuing other alternatives as they await his decision.

 

"There are a lot of elements to this," Urbon said. "Whatever Kosuke decides, there's a proper procedure for him to let the clubs in Japan know personally. It's not just something you do by fax.

 

"I don't blame Club A and Club B over here who want an answer in case they have to move on. Once he decides to come over here -- if that happens -- I think this process will speed up dramatically."

 

While no one expects Fukudome to receive a deal close to Torii Hunter's five-year, $90 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the market for other prominent outfielders has begun to take shape recently. This week in Nashville, Andruw Jones signed a two-year, $36.2 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Jose Guillen reached agreement on a three-year, $36 million deal with Kansas City.

 

Fukudome, 30, is known for his strong arm and athleticism. He played shortstop as a youth and was primarily a right fielder with Chunichi, but several clubs think he has the ability to make a smooth transition to center field. A talent evaluator for one National League club called him a "poor man's Carlos Beltran."

 

Fukudome hit .351 with 31 homers and 104 RBIs in 2006 to win the Most Valuable Player award in the Japanese Central League. He appeared in only 81 games in 2007 before undergoing season-ending elbow surgery.

[JeffH]

I like how he refers to coming to MLB as "the challenge", but I hope he doesn't consider proving himself an able centerfielder as a challenge and, in turn, prioritize those teams which would use him as one.

 

Kosuke, please heed the words of the great American philosopher Harry Callahan:

 

"A man's got to know his limitations."

[BCVM22]

It's funny that despite being a free agent instead of a posted player, it'll still take him about as long to sign with a new team (NPB or MLB) as it did for the Matsu-saga to run its course last year.

[FergieJ31]

yuck fukudome said the dreaded f word. family

 

Yeah, I'm having Crime Dog flashbacks.

 

I haven't read all of the Fukudome threads so I might have missed this, but is anyone here speculating on what Jim's next move is if Fukudome turns him down? Eggs in one basket seems to be the metaphor of choice, but surely there's some plan behind "Plan A: sign the Japanese star", right?

[Mephistopheles]

this eerily similar to the time we all thought furcal would sign with the cubs. we were already ready, and then out of nowhere seemingly he signed a ridiculous deal from LA.

 

Prediction this happens again, Fukudome 3 years, 42 mil --> Boston Red Sox

[BCVM22]

this eerily similar to the time we all thought furcal would sign with the cubs. we were already ready, and then out of nowhere seemingly he signed a ridiculous deal from LA.

 

I think everyone's significantly more pessimistic this time.

 

is anyone here speculating on what Jim's next move is if Fukudome turns him down? Eggs in one basket seems to be the metaphor of choice, but surely there's some plan behind "Plan A: sign the Japanese star", right?

 

Geoff Jenkins. :|

[traderumor]

this eerily similar to the time we all thought furcal would sign with the cubs. we were already ready, and then out of nowhere seemingly he signed a ridiculous deal from LA.

 

Prediction this happens again, Fukudome 3 years, 42 mil --> Boston Red Sox

 

 

Dave Kaplan said on his show tonight that the cubs have told Fukudome's agent that if the decision comes down to money, no team will outbid them. Kaplan said a trusted source told him that . At this point it looks like the only thing that can keep him away from being a cub if he leaves japan, is if he really likes the west coast. We will see.

[CyHawk_Cub]

I am excited that we get the next Raul Ibanez.

 

Heh... I'm not all that enamored w/ Fuku either. I have the feeling he'll be a tad underwhelming...but then that means he'd fit right in w/ our Cubs

[Mephistopheles]

I am excited that we get the next Raul Ibanez.

 

Heh... I'm not all that enamored w/ Fuku either. I have the feeling he'll be a tad underwhelming...but then that means he'd fit right in w/ our Cubs

 

Yeah we should be so saddened to have Raul Ibanez in our outfield. I mean, after all he has been a better hitter than $136m man, Alfonso Soriano, three of the last four seasons.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

Please explain to me the Fukudome-mania. I don't get it. There was talk that Prior could be moved for Josh Hamilton. You'll have to convince me that, assuming the Cubs acquire Brian Roberts, that a Hamilton/DeRosa platoon in RF couldn't equal (or better) Fukudome's likely production for a third of the money.

 

Fukudome doesn't run like Ichiro, so he doesn't even bring that to the table. Where's the rationale for $12MM/year-worth of excitement? Add in the risk that he's just as likely to be another Kaz Matsui as he is another Hideki Matsui, and I think it's a bad move on the Cubs' part.

 

Shoot, for $12MM/year, give me a sure thing instead. I'll take Aaron Rowand.

[BCVM22]

Shoot, for $12MM/year, give me a sure thing instead. I'll take Aaron Rowand.

 

Is Aaron Rowand really a sure thing in your opinion?

[SweetZombieJesus]

Shoot, for $12MM/year, give me a sure thing instead. I'll take Aaron Rowand.

 

Is Aaron Rowand really a sure thing in your opinion?

 

I'd guess he's a sure thing to produce slightly better results than Kaz Matsui then yes he's a sure thing.