Wow, it didn't take the league long to catch up with this guy. After that great start, he has totally fallen off the edge of the world at the plate, he is flailing away at everything. He isn't even swinging at strikes anymore. it was very hard to watch his at-bats tonight, he was guessing on every pitch. Im not writing him off as a bust, but what really bothers me is his body language. i know he is a rookie in MLB and all that, but he is a seasoned professional baseball player, and he is really hanging his head bad right now, he looks defeated up there, he doesnt look like he is close to shaking out of it.

i think when push comes to shove, we are going to see a lot more of derosa in right and fontenot at second, with fuk coming in off the bench. fontenot keeps producing, and while derosa is not nearly the outfielder fukudome is, in the playoffs you cant afford to have a guy struggling as bad as he is in the lineup, you need to score runs.

i hope he starts getting hot again. if they wrap this thing up real soon, which seems apparent, fukudome should get lots of AB's to try and get it going again, i sure hope he does.

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I know you are right about the hitting. DeRosa is by far the better hitter. But as much as DeRosa will knock in more runs, Fukadome makes plays on defense that prevent runs. Look at the catch he made in StLouis in the 8th inning that prevented 2 runs from scoring. That saved the game. No way DeRosa makes that catch. I guess the way Lou is using him, putting him in around the 7th or 8th inning and moving DeRosa back to 2nd, makes the most sense. But man, thats a lot of money to be paying a late inning defensive replacement. I hope as you suggest, that Fukadome gets a lot of playing time, once they clinch. Gotta try to get him straightened out, if at all possible.

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Go Cubs!!!!

he'll be allright. Lou will figure him out in time for the playoffs...he just needs to start taking walks...

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Fuku-who?? $48 million for defensive specialist. I was actually disappointed he didn't sign with the Sox this off season. Needless to say I'm not disappointed now. Turns out this guy was just hype. Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make.

Isn't he batting .287~? You guys speak of him as if he's Corey Patterson or something. I know that's not a great average for a multi-million $ player, but I think the contract will be worth it as he gets more used to the challenge of theMajors.

There was "talk" in the tribune today about Fukodome possibly not making the playoff roster and that Pie would take his place. The Cubs will clinch soon, and Pinella will use the last 10 games to evaluate evertything.

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Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

Yeah that Swisher signing has just really done wonders for the Sox

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

The thread is about Fukudome sweetie, not Swisher.

Not to be all factual dick on this one, but the Sox traded for Swisher, not signed him.

Old Fuk certainly seems worn down. The MLB season is a meat grinder
and we obviously need to get him back to his April and May performances.
Best thing Lou can do is put him in for AB's as much as possible after they
clinch. The guy has talent but he doesn't have the confidence anymore,
if he gets on a little streak going into the playoff run, there is no reason
to think he can't be that .300 hitter taking free passes again.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Fukudome looks like a fish out of water after his free fall. I could easly see him (his agent) asking out of the contract and returning to Japan. I know it's a great deal of money but pride and peace of mind go farther in Japan than here. I would hate to see him go to another Major League team, say Seattle and get himself going there and have the Cubs look like they gave up on him. It's difficult to watch his AB's anymore as he seems to have lost confidence in himself. Talk about the biggest start to finish change! Feel bad for him too.

It will be interesting to see what they do in the offseason, where the outfield is concerned. I assume they bring back Reed Johnson and of course Soriano is in left. But do they bring Edmonds back? Do they intend to start Fukadome next season? The situation in Center has worked out better than anyone might have imagined. I think both players prosper by not playing daily, as Edmonds is older and Johnson has tended to wear down, when played regularly. To think, that neither was on the roster a week before spring training ended....

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Go Cubs!!!!