Re: So they've finally figured out Kosuke.

[RynoRules]

The guy is OPS'ing .800 after over 1/2 of his first ML season. He does a very nice job in the OF. His OBP is hovering around .400. I think some people's expectations for Kosuke are a bit over the top. Let's give him some time to adjust to ML pitching.

 

Fukudome's salary dictates what expectations should be.

 

Huh? So Kosuke's game should go from high OBP and 20 HR's to Dunn-like power simply because someone chose to pay him big money? Sounds like the one(s) you should be criticizing are the guy(s) who set the mkt price for OF'ers of his skill level and then decided to compound the issue by continuing to pay it.

 

Its not Koskue's fault that he got the contract he did. Money won't magically change what he is capable of.

Edited July 6, 2008 by RynoRules

[ChiCubsfan0502]

I am going to give Fukudome the benefit of the doubt, but he looks very much like Jacque Jones lately when it comes to pitiful swings and striking out.

 

His defense has been solid but all in all, I expect more from him. Like I said, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and see how he adjusts.

Edited July 6, 2008 by ChiCubsfan0502

[RynoRules]

ONLY BLASPHEMERS QUESTION KOSUKE

 

And only idiots think the above-post is clever.

[David]

I am going to give Fukudome the benefit of the doubt, but he has looked very much like Jacque Jones lately when it comes to pitiful swings and striking out.

 

His defense has been solid but all in all, I expect more from him. Like I said, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and see how he adjusts.

 

Fortunately, what it "looks" like matters very little.

[ChiCubsfan0502]

And he doesn't drive the ball in the gaps at all, which is really what I expected him to do. If he isn't slapping at the ball and hitting it to LF, he's striking out or grounding weakly to 2B or 1B.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

And he doesn't drive the ball in the gaps at all, which is really what I expected him to do. If he isn't slapping at the ball and hitting it to LF, he's striking out or grounding weakly to 2B or 1B.

 

Or hitting a home run that's the difference in the game, like on Friday. Or taking a walk, which he takes a ton of.

[hardcorecubfan]

His first hit today he seemed to stay in the box a tad longer in order to put a little more wood on it

[17 Seconds]

The guy is OPS'ing .800 after over 1/2 of his first ML season. He does a very nice job in the OF. His OBP is hovering around .400. I think some people's expectations for Kosuke are a bit over the top. Let's give him some time to adjust to ML pitching.

 

Fukudome's salary dictates what expectations should be.

 

Huh? So Kosuke's game should go from high OBP and 20 HR's to Dunn-like power simply because someone chose to pay him big money? Sounds like the one(s) you should be criticizing are the guy(s) who set the mkt price for OF'ers of his skill level and then decided to compound the issue by continuing to pay it.

 

Its not Koskue's fault that he got the contract he did. Money won't magically change what he is capable of.

 

Who is blaming Kosuke? Nobody. He is who he is. It's not like badnews was all "Damn it Kosuke, what the hell is your problem? Start hitting home runs, moron."

 

We're discussing this organization and it's quest to win a title with the resources available. We're discussing if Kosuke was worth the money invested. If a guy is getting paid 48 mil, then we have to consider whether or not he's worth that.

Edited July 7, 2008 by 17 Seconds

[17 Seconds]

ONLY BLASPHEMERS QUESTION KOSUKE

 

And only idiots think the above-post is clever.

 

Good one.

 

I just think it's funny how bent out of shape people get when somebody voices any reasonable criticism about Fukudome.

[17 Seconds]

And he doesn't drive the ball in the gaps at all, which is really what I expected him to do. If he isn't slapping at the ball and hitting it to LF, he's striking out or grounding weakly to 2B or 1B.

 

That's been the biggest dissapointment to me also. All winter we heard about how he would drive a ton of balls into the gap. He's a productive player, but I wasn't expecting a slap hitter.

[17 Seconds]

And he doesn't drive the ball in the gaps at all, which is really what I expected him to do. If he isn't slapping at the ball and hitting it to LF, he's striking out or grounding weakly to 2B or 1B.

 

Or hitting a home run that's the difference in the game, like on Friday.

 

Remember that one time Neifi hit a game winning grand slam in extras at St. Louis? I do.

[Butterscup1679666578]

And he doesn't drive the ball in the gaps at all, which is really what I expected him to do. If he isn't slapping at the ball and hitting it to LF, he's striking out or grounding weakly to 2B or 1B.

 

Or hitting a home run that's the difference in the game, like on Friday.

 

Remember that one time Neifi hit a game winning grand slam in extras at St. Louis? I do.

 

So Neifi and Kosuke are comparable now? Good to know.

[17 Seconds]

And he doesn't drive the ball in the gaps at all, which is really what I expected him to do. If he isn't slapping at the ball and hitting it to LF, he's striking out or grounding weakly to 2B or 1B.

 

Or hitting a home run that's the difference in the game, like on Friday.

 

Remember that one time Neifi hit a game winning grand slam in extras at St. Louis? I do.

 

So Neifi and Kosuke are comparable now? Good to know.

 

Of course they're not. My point is that you can't talk up how good of a player Kosuke is with a "he did this one great thing once" argument because you could make the same argument for crappy players like Neifi.

[Careless]

And he doesn't drive the ball in the gaps at all, which is really what I expected him to do. If he isn't slapping at the ball and hitting it to LF, he's striking out or grounding weakly to 2B or 1B.

 

Or hitting a home run that's the difference in the game, like on Friday.

 

Remember that one time Neifi hit a game winning grand slam in extras at St. Louis? I do.

 

So Neifi and Kosuke are comparable now? Good to know.

 

Of course they're not. My point is that you can't talk up how good of a player Kosuke is with a "he did this one great thing once" argument because you could make the same argument for crappy players like Neifi.

How about "he's on pace for the most HR of any Japanese player in their first year here" (ok, Matsui probably had 1-2 more than Fuk is on pace for)

 

or "He's doing better than the good Matsui his first year here"

 

or "if we had 8 Kosukes in the field, we'd go through a starter and 3-6 relievers on the other team every day and completely destroy their pitching staffs"

[RynoRules]

ONLY BLASPHEMERS QUESTION KOSUKE

 

And only idiots think the above-post is clever.

 

Good one.

 

I just think it's funny how bent out of shape people get when somebody voices any reasonable criticism about Fukudome.

 

I don't see anyone getting bent out of shape. Many of us simply disagree with you, Mr. Geller.

[RynoRules]

And he doesn't drive the ball in the gaps at all, which is really what I expected him to do. If he isn't slapping at the ball and hitting it to LF, he's striking out or grounding weakly to 2B or 1B.

 

Or hitting a home run that's the difference in the game, like on Friday.

 

Remember that one time Neifi hit a game winning grand slam in extras at St. Louis? I do.

 

So Neifi and Kosuke are comparable now? Good to know.

 

Of course they're not. My point is that you can't talk up how good of a player Kosuke is with a "he did this one great thing once" argument because you could make the same argument for crappy players like Neifi.

 

But that's not what he was doing. He was responding to a post about Kosuke's recent struggles, not his overall production or skill set.

[17 Seconds]

And he doesn't drive the ball in the gaps at all, which is really what I expected him to do. If he isn't slapping at the ball and hitting it to LF, he's striking out or grounding weakly to 2B or 1B.

 

Or hitting a home run that's the difference in the game, like on Friday.

 

Remember that one time Neifi hit a game winning grand slam in extras at St. Louis? I do.

 

So Neifi and Kosuke are comparable now? Good to know.

 

Of course they're not. My point is that you can't talk up how good of a player Kosuke is with a "he did this one great thing once" argument because you could make the same argument for crappy players like Neifi.

 

But that's not what he was doing. He was responding to a post about Kosuke's recent struggles, not his overall production or skill set.

 

Look at the original post in this set of quotes. He said nothing about "recent" struggles. He was referring to his overall performance.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

And he doesn't drive the ball in the gaps at all, which is really what I expected him to do. If he isn't slapping at the ball and hitting it to LF, he's striking out or grounding weakly to 2B or 1B.

 

Look at the original post in this set of quotes. He said nothing about "recent" struggles. He was referring to his overall performance.

 

It's a vague anecdote, and got the inverse vague anecdote in reply to illustrate how flimsy a commentary it was.

[badger1679666666]

His first hit today he seemed to stay in the box a tad longer in order to put a little more wood on it

 

That's what she said.

[Soul]

He's been bad his last 14 days: .227/.306/.364

 

Let's see if it's just a slump before declaring that he needs to start changing things.

[twothousandfive]

From a quick look at the stats, it looks like it's been a month since Fukudome wenthitless in back-to-back starts, and he drew a walk in each of those games.

 

That's far from a scientific method of determining value, but as slumps go, he is far from dead weight in the line-up, despite the anemic OBP recently.

[Uber]

LLF's threads for some reason really irritate me...

 

Because they're usually wrong and he starts a ton of them?

 

Explain how he is wrong?

 

Has his strike out gone up the last two weeks?

Are not most of those pitches on the outside corner?

 

It should be interesting to see how KF monitors and adjusts

 

Annnnd pot leaps to the defense of kettle.

[Flames24Rulz]

I didn't see his first three plate appearances, but I saw his fourth tonight. And it was ugly.

 

Like Len and Bob said, give the guy a day or two off. He may be fine physically, but perhaps mentally he's not there.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Ummm, not trying to be a jerk - but the whole "fouling off 2-strike pitches" is a technique called "spoiling." Good hitters can do that.

 

My original point was that pitchers are figuring out his technique. It used to be hed get 2 strikes, and then foul off a ton of them, and often draw a walk or a hit, or at least wear the pitcher down a bit.

 

Now it seems in those same situations, once hes in foul off mode, they just throw something out of his reach and he'll chase.

[badnews]

Average plummeting, his K/BB ratio is starting to drift... I'm cancelling the parade.