This probably should have initially been posted in this thread and not the ST thread. "...Fukudome can bat anywhere in the lineup but said he feels best in the No. 3 slot. "I've been batting third in Japan for a long time," he said. "And that's where I have my rhythm and feel comfortable. But the manager makes the lineup and wherever Lou [Piniella] puts me I'll try to do the job I'm supposed to do." It's unlikely Piniella will move Derrek Lee out of his No. 3 hole for Fukudome, though Lee said at the Cubs Convention he wouldn't be upset if he's asked to change. But Piniella has said he's tentatively pegged Fukudome for the fifth spot, where he will protect Aramis Ramirez. As the first Japanese player in Cubs history, Fukudome will be the subject of intense media scrutiny at the outset of the season. He's not only ready for it, but apparently believes in the old adage "the more the merrier." "There are a lot more media surrounding me here than compared to Japan," he said. "I don't think it should be hard to get used to, and I'd like to keep all of you around me. By the end of the season, there may be only two or three people here, but I hope it doesn't go that way." --- Paul Sullivan is an idiot. http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_hardball/2008/02/fukudome-in-the.html