Fukudome: Time for some extended time off?

[CuseCubFan69]

IMO I think it's time Fukudome learned or accepted to play in CF unless the Cubs can get RF production out of another CF. If Edmonds/Johnson can put up solid numbers, I'm ok with Kos being in right. I wonder if Koske is looking at some video and getting an idea of how he has to make a little adjustment and/or pitchers are attacking him a little different and making that adjustment to that. I wonder if something is bothering him physically?

[inari]

Yeah, if center field becomes a problem again, there's no way Fukudome shouldn't be moved there. He'd actually have some value in center. In right? Not so much.

[Derwood]

if Soto suddenly hit .150 for 3 weeks, would badnews freak out too?

[CuseCubFan69]

if Soto suddenly hit .150 for 3 weeks, would badnews freak out too?

 

Well it wouldn't be good news. The nice thing about hitters like Soto and Koske is that even when they slump, they still manage to get on base at a decent clip....IsOP wise.

[sneakypower]

conveniently glossed over is the immense defensive upgrade he's been from Floyd and Murton

[imb]

conveniently glossed over is the immense defensive upgrade he's been from Floyd and Murton

 

exactly

 

if you have paid attention at all to japanese imports, you know that it takes them a while to get it

 

he's going to finish with an obp heavy ops, with good defense in his first season. that's good enough for me

[Amazing_Grace]

At this point I'm concerned. Rookies will always have their struggles, but this one is getting to be an awfully long drought. Hopefully he will rebound and adjust. It's a process all rookie players go through. It's way too early to write him off, but it's probably time to move him back down in the order. When Soriano's back, I'd like to see Johnson/DeRosa get some of the ABs in RF.

 

Really, this is another good reason to take a look at Milton Bradley. He's not under contract past this season, and he has always hit well. With Kosuke's recent struggles and Edmonds being 39, I think the Cubs need more insurance than Reed Johnson and Micah Hoffpauir.

 

Minor nitpick: Edmonds just turned 38 a little less than a month ago. He's not 39.

 

How do you handle the PT if Bradley was acquired?

 

I'd probably play Johnson/Bradley/Soriano against lefties. None of our LH hitters is doing all that well against LHP. Against the rest, I'd probably do Edmonds 3/4 of the games in CF with MB 1/4, and the same for Kosuke in right. Soriano doesn't tend to take many days off, but Bradley could play there too. If the Cubs managed to get to the WS, I'd rather have Bradley DHing than Reed Johnson or Daryle Ward. Bradley's health might not allow him to play CF everyday, but based on the speed he shows running the base, I think he'd be adequate there on a part time basis given that he knows the position. He might be able to handle RF everyday if Kosuke moved to CF, but that's something I wouldn't worry about until the offseason unless Edmonds completely drops off a cliff.

 

I would think, given that we're championship contenders, that nobody would complain too much about PT. That's the sort of thing that happens a lot more on bad teams. Bradley's not under contract past this year, and he's playing for a team that's way out of the race. He can always accept half a season of being a part time player, then go back and DH next year, or we can keep him and move Kosuke to CF (he'll end up there eventually just like Ichiro did) in the offseason. I think the Cubs are forced to move Kosuke to CF in the offseason because he just doesn't have any power at a power position and it's not that hard to find offense at RF. It's very hard to find offense in CF.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'd love for the Cubs to try and get Bradley, but the Rangers might not be sellers...they're 6.5 out of the WC. Ugly, but not hopeless. I'm hoping they start losing a bunch of games quick.

[CyHawk_Cub]

I was one of those in the other thread making the assumption that Kosuke would turn it around... It was merely me being overly hopeful since I had no basis on which to make such an assertion. Dude does look really bad; I hope he figures things out quickly.

[UK1679666180]

Regardless of how well or how poorly he plays from here on out, the Cubs will likely need to address the OF again this off-season with a likely big addition. I wouldn't count on Edmonds being able to reproduce what he has done for the Cubs in '08, nor do I believe they have any faith in Pie both long and espec. short-term.

[biittner77]

At this point I'm concerned. Rookies will always have their struggles, but this one is getting to be an awfully long drought. Hopefully he will rebound and adjust. It's a process all rookie players go through. It's way too early to write him off, but it's probably time to move him back down in the order. When Soriano's back, I'd like to see Johnson/DeRosa get some of the ABs in RF.

 

Johnson should never start a game in RF or LF ever. He's fine as a platoon partner for Edmonds in CF but should be the last option anywhere else.

[E.J.]

Move Fukudome to CF and get Matt Holliday for RF. Problems solved.

[Mizzou]

Batting 1st: .260/.362/.360/.722

Batting 2nd: .122/.204/.204/.408

Batting 5th: .316/.427/.466/.893

 

Maybe he doesn't need time off, but rather just needs to be moved down in the order.

[RegulusBlue]

Then you have a guy like Theriot who gets more flack then any other Cubs player and all he has done is hit and get on base all year. If Theriot has a couple of bad games he is blistered on this board. However, Fukudome, who isn't even a homegrown Cubs player, gets extended passes. :roll:

 

no, not really. yeah, in the beginning of the season, people wanted to see cedeno get the majority of the playing time. is anyone still beating that drum though? i think everyone here wants theriot to have the majority of the playing time.

 

i think some of you just make things up.

 

That's sugar coating the amount of hatred and vitriol Ryan Theriot recieved on a daily basis as little as 2 months ago. http://www.northsidebaseball.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=47570&hilit=theriot

 

Theriot still has a short fuse with many on this board (I've been lurking for years), and when he makes a fielding error he's still skewered and blamed for Cub lossdom.

 

LOL that was me. He's played a lot better since then.

[imb]

At this point I'm concerned. Rookies will always have their struggles, but this one is getting to be an awfully long drought. Hopefully he will rebound and adjust. It's a process all rookie players go through. It's way too early to write him off, but it's probably time to move him back down in the order. When Soriano's back, I'd like to see Johnson/DeRosa get some of the ABs in RF.

 

Johnson should never start a game in RF or LF ever. He's fine as a platoon partner for Edmonds in CF but should be the last option anywhere else.

 

three year split - .831 ops vs. lefties

 

.110 better than Kosuke vs. lefties, which is admittedly this year only

 

We could do worse

[Tracer Bullet]

Batting 1st: .260/.362/.360/.722

Batting 2nd: .122/.204/.204/.408

Batting 5th: .316/.427/.466/.893

 

Maybe he doesn't need time off, but rather just needs to be moved down in the order.

 

Ugh. It's bad enough that we have Soriano locked into 1 spot b/c he allegedly can't hit anywhere else in the lineup. Let's not extend this to others as well.

[rynefan]

I never buy into the hype, so from Day One, I wanted to see proof in Fukudome. He came out strong, but still I was not going to buy into it because you knew it was a matter of time before word got around and the league adjusted. Now I am disappointed. No, I don't think it's hopeless, but he has an obligation with that salary to figure it out and turn it around.

 

I also got sick of the early media hype. Go to Chicago and you're likely on a given day to see more Fukudome shirts than any other player. They're relatively easy to find in the city. I know this is not a very popular opinion, but I'm a big Theriot fan, and have been since the end of last season. I like the home-grown players, and I like his ability to get on base. Len was reading off some stats on him last night and it was amazing. And didn't he have the highest average going into the AS break? But try to find a Theriot shirt, short or ordering one special made and it's not that easy. He's totally underrated, and I know someone in an earlier post on this thread mentioned it, too. The fact is for the Cubs to continue their success, Fukudome has got to come around. Drop him in the order, sit him, whatever. I'm not ringing the alarm, but he needs to figure it out.

[Sammy Sofa]

But try to find a Theriot shirt, short or ordering one special made and it's not that easy.

 

That's actually the exact opposite of reality.

[Fred Hornkohl]

Batting 1st: .260/.362/.360/.722

Batting 2nd: .122/.204/.204/.408

Batting 5th: .316/.427/.466/.893

 

Maybe he doesn't need time off, but rather just needs to be moved down in the order.

 

Ugh. It's bad enough that we have Soriano locked into 1 spot b/c he allegedly can't hit anywhere else in the lineup. Let's not extend this to others as well.

 

These sample sizes are not really sufficient to draw any statistical inference from.... but they might bear watching......

 

Fukudome           AB    R    H   2b   3b   HR  RBI   BB   SO     BA    OBP    SLG    OPS  BABIP  P/PA   IsoD   RBI%
batting 1st        50   10   13    2    0    1    5    7   16  0.260  0.362  0.360  0.722  0.364  4.81  0.102  0.250
batting 2nd        49    4    6    1    0    1    3    5   14  0.122  0.204  0.204  0.408  0.147  4.36  0.081  0.071
batting 4th        11    1    3    2    0    0    3    1    2  0.273  0.308  0.455  0.762  0.333  3.69  0.035  0.333
batting 5th       193   39   61   10    2    5   23   38   32  0.316  0.427  0.466  0.893  0.359  4.30  0.111  0.182
batting 6th        22    3    6    1    0    0    2    3    5  0.273  0.360  0.318  0.678  0.353  4.08  0.087  0.125
batting 7th         1    0    1    1    0    0    0    1    0  1.000  1.000  2.000  3.000  1.000  5.50  0.000  0.000
batting 9th         4    1    1    0    0    0    0    0    1  0.250  0.250  0.250  0.500  0.333  5.75  0.000  0.000

All spots         330   58   91   17    2    7   36   55   70  0.276  0.379  0.403  0.782  0.332  4.37  0.103  0.171

[Tracer Bullet]

Batting 1st: .260/.362/.360/.722

Batting 2nd: .122/.204/.204/.408

Batting 5th: .316/.427/.466/.893

 

Maybe he doesn't need time off, but rather just needs to be moved down in the order.

 

Ugh. It's bad enough that we have Soriano locked into 1 spot b/c he allegedly can't hit anywhere else in the lineup. Let's not extend this to others as well.

 

These sample sizes are not really sufficient to draw any statistical inference from.... but they might bear watching......

 

Fukudome           AB    R    H   2b   3b   HR  RBI   BB   SO     BA    OBP    SLG    OPS  BABIP  P/PA   IsoD   RBI%
batting 1st        50   10   13    2    0    1    5    7   16  0.260  0.362  0.360  0.722  0.364  4.81  0.102  0.250
batting 2nd        49    4    6    1    0    1    3    5   14  0.122  0.204  0.204  0.408  0.147  4.36  0.081  0.071
batting 4th        11    1    3    2    0    0    3    1    2  0.273  0.308  0.455  0.762  0.333  3.69  0.035  0.333
batting 5th       193   39   61   10    2    5   23   38   32  0.316  0.427  0.466  0.893  0.359  4.30  0.111  0.182
batting 6th        22    3    6    1    0    0    2    3    5  0.273  0.360  0.318  0.678  0.353  4.08  0.087  0.125
batting 7th         1    0    1    1    0    0    0    1    0  1.000  1.000  2.000  3.000  1.000  5.50  0.000  0.000
batting 9th         4    1    1    0    0    0    0    0    1  0.250  0.250  0.250  0.500  0.333  5.75  0.000  0.000

All spots         330   58   91   17    2    7   36   55   70  0.276  0.379  0.403  0.782  0.332  4.37  0.103  0.171

 

No, I don't think they're worth watching. I'm sure someone will watch them, but I think it's pointless. To each their own.

[biittner77]

Batting 1st: .260/.362/.360/.722

Batting 2nd: .122/.204/.204/.408

Batting 5th: .316/.427/.466/.893

 

Maybe he doesn't need time off, but rather just needs to be moved down in the order.

 

Ugh. It's bad enough that we have Soriano locked into 1 spot b/c he allegedly can't hit anywhere else in the lineup. Let's not extend this to others as well.

 

From what I've heard about the Japanese league, they are pretty rigid about the responsibilities of the different spots in the lineup. I've heard that as the explanation for why Fukodome didn't steal as many bases as you'd think he could when he was in Japan. As a #3 hitter he was expected to drive in runs, stealing bases was for 1-2 hitters. I also seem to remember during ST that he didn't want to bat 2nd because he thought that would mean he would have to bunt a lot.

 

Seeing as how his struggles tend to coincide with being moved up in the order, its possible that it may be part of the problem.

[BCVM22]

He's hitting 7th tonight.

[Amazing_Grace]

At this point I'm concerned. Rookies will always have their struggles, but this one is getting to be an awfully long drought. Hopefully he will rebound and adjust. It's a process all rookie players go through. It's way too early to write him off, but it's probably time to move him back down in the order. When Soriano's back, I'd like to see Johnson/DeRosa get some of the ABs in RF.

 

Johnson should never start a game in RF or LF ever. He's fine as a platoon partner for Edmonds in CF but should be the last option anywhere else.

 

I should have specified that I meant against LHP. Johnson should never start against RHP ever at any position. Against LHP, he's been an .800 OPS guy his whole career, and I don't see how that's not better than Kosuke's numbers against LHP, especially recently.

[17 Seconds]

if Soto suddenly hit .150 for 3 weeks, would badnews freak out too?

 

Fukudome has been struggling for far longer than 3 weeks. More like 10 weeks.

[dew1679666265]

if Soto suddenly hit .150 for 3 weeks, would badnews freak out too?

 

Fukudome has been struggling for far longer than 3 weeks. More like 10 weeks.

 

Fukudome numbers by month:

 

April: .327 .436 .480 .915

May: .293 .388 .404 .792

June: .264 .387 .402 .789

July: .152 .204 .239 .443

 

He's definitely gotten worse each month, signaling to me one of two things - either that pitchers are beginning to figure him out or that he's getting tired.

 

After his torrid April, they made adjustments against him and he hasn't figured it out yet. While I'm not positive he'll adjust to them, I'm more comfortable with his ability to do it than a rookie in his first year out of AAA.

 

I also think there's merit to what Amie said a page ago about more travel in the majors. There's a good chance that he's trying to adjust not only to what pitchers are doing to him, but also to a very spread out schedule that's completely different than anything he's experienced in his life. That makes things more difficult for him in his first year in the big leagues vs a rookie coming out of AAA.

 

Also, I think it's important to note that his BABIP has gotten worse each month. .392 in April, .325 in May, .317 in June and .200 so far in July. Judging from that, May and June are closer to what he's likely to do from here on out than April or July. As his BABIP evens out, the rest of his numbers will climb closer to his May/June numbers.