With the signing of Mark Texiera the Yankees have a glut of corner outfielders. They will be looking to trade one of Swisher, Matsui, Damon or Nady. Damon and Nady shouldn't interest the cubs because Damon can't play right field and Nady bats right handed. Matsui will make a lot of money ($13 mil), will be a free agent after the season, is coming back from injury and can't play right field. He also has a no trade clause which combined with the other negatives makes him a very undesirable option. That leaves Swisher. Swisher will come cheap, is a decent corner outfielder, has pop from both sides of the plate and gets on base. Swisher could be a better option over trading for Mark Teahen or Randy Winn and could be a better fit over Milton Bradley or Adam Dunn. Hendry has some interesting options to choose from but I think he needs to give Cashman a call regarding Swisher.

Yeah 150 or so K's is exactly what the Cubs need. Or is it that stellar 244 career average?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

No thanks.

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

They're paying Fukudome to do more or less the same thing.

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I think Fuk has a ton more upside than Swish though. Fuk took his first ever hacks against MLB pitching last year. Friggin Swish been at this for 5 years now. I doubt that Fukudome will be as bad next year as he was this year.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

.219 BA, .332 OBP, .451 SLG, 24 HRs, 5 Errors in 106 OF games
vs
.236 BA, .386 OBP, .513 SLG, 40 HRs, 8 Errors in 142 OF games

Which is the better fit?

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

I dont think Fukudome will have a good career or improve much on last seasons numbers. That being said it doesnt make sense for the Cubs to give up much of anything for Swisher. Hes just not very good.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

What's your reasoning for that statement?
again, that was year 1 against MLB pitching and he had comparable rookie numbers. MUCH improved defense on anything the Cubs have had the last 5 years or so (including the tail end of Sammy "I no need no cutoff man" Sosa).
He's going to hit much better next year. He will climb into the .270's with a great OBP and decent slugging, as he likes to turn easy singles into doubles...

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

unless you can substantially improve the position, why sign someone? swisher certainly is not a substantial improvement over fukudome. the cubs have plenty of ok outfielders. they need a substantial improvement out there, or let fukudome have another crack at it.

i wonder where dunn will end up. there is ZERO market for that guy right now, although i read the orioles could be interested.

I dont know as much about baseball as some other sports, but to me its never good when a rookie drastically regresses during the course of the season. Down the stretch he seemed like he was the worst guy in the lineup. Just seemed like he struck out or got out every single time in big situations. Just doesnt seem very talented to me. Maybe a decent 4th outfielder.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

.257BA 10HR 58RBI .359OBP .379SLG.
Not terrible numbers for a rookie. What was everyone expecting that he was going to continue to hit 400 all season long?
The power numbers are a little concerning for a corner outfielder but damn he got on base, he still hit 257 which was not bad for a rook. I don't think they play as many games in Japan. Remember Theriots falloff in Sept the previous year? That rookie wall is real, it happens all the time. Nah, I think he's gonna creep into the 270s and have a decent O year, and again his defense is as solid as I hope to see in RF.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

the thing i still like about fukudome is that he does have an eye at the plate, he still can draw a walk. that is hard to teach. if he can get his crazy spin-swing ironed out, i think he can still be a good hitter. boy, did he look silly down the stretch though. he seemed to be guessing an awful lot. in a perfect world, if they had the lefty the needed in the middle of the lineup, i would not mind seeing him play every day batting 7th or 8th, and if he started showing signs of improvement, moving him up higher. i dont think he was so horrible that he should never start in right again. i dont think the cubs need to make a desperation move in right, although they do need the extra bona-fide lefty-hitting threat.

Am I the only one that doesn't want a North side branch of the "Dirty Cat Salon". That would increase the meatball factor in Wrigley to untolerable levels.

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FUkudome is not a rookie. Sure he never saw MLB pitching before 2008 and there is something to be said about that, but he has been playing professional baseball for years. Compared to his career .305 avg in Japan, .257 is awful.

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I dunno - that seems like it's an accurate drop-off given the international conversion Seriously, though, as long as Lou bats Fuk in a more advantageous spot in the lineup, I'm willing to give 'im another crack at an MLB season - We're stuck with him for the time being, so hopefully he'll come around...

i agree with this. if he has a bad season this year, if he really carries over his struggles from last season into this one, that is a different story, but i don't think it is the worst thing in the world to have him playing right.

If Fukudome plays right then who is in center? Johnson/Pie? Yikes! What happens if Pie and Fukudome flop again? Hendry needs to acquire a right fielder. Swisher is an interesting option because he can play all 3 OF positions and he can backup D. Lee at first in case the AAA Babe Ruth can't cut it in the bigs.

Swisher sucks and the Cubs have enough players who suck. Pass. Super Pass. Uber Pass.

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if fukudome is your first choice in center, i think what you are saying is that CENTER field is what they need. as of right now, they already have derosa who can also play 2 of the 3 outfield positions and even played some first last year. why do you need swisher to do what derosa already does? swisher isnt playing any center if he is a cub. the only way lee is out of the lineup is in case of injury, he rarely needs a day off, and if he does, enter the great and powerful micah hoffpauier. the only thing going for swisher is he is a lefty, but another crappy lefty bat is not what they need.

Keyser Soze-you know Swisher sucks, we know he sucks. We do not want him, even if he were paid the league minimum. You only bring up his name to aggitate Cub fans. There are no rumors about him going to the Cubs or anywhere else-yet. But the Cubs will sign another outfielder before the season starts and whether it turns out to be Abreau or someone else, I am confident it will be someone better than Nick "The Worm "Swisher.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Yeah, I'm perfectly comfortable with Reed Johnson out in center - I was bitchin' all last summer that Lou didn't play him enough - I expect that he'll at least be a valuable guy off the bench again, but I think, realistically, we can try him out as the everyday guy - feel free to bash me later this year if he doesn't prove me right...

Between Reed Gathright and Fuku the Cubs have plenty of options to play center. I am still more concerned with them getting a left handed stick in right that can hit quaility major league pitching. Swisher is not that stick. Abreu is still avaliable. I'm just sayin.

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Like I said, a rookie.
He never played a 162 game season.
He never faced pitching anything like MLB.
He was a rookie.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

How has somebody who has played professional baseball-- professional caliber that greater than anything the Minors in the USA can offer-- for several seasons a true rookie? He's not plain and simple. Just as Iguchi, Hideo Nomo, El Duque, and Matsusaka were not rookies thier first year in MLB.

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Are you serious?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Wasnt until July 2, that Fukudome dropped below .290

Obviousely the league was pitching him very different. Inside, Inside, then far outside.

Whatever it is, or was, hopefully they work on it, because there was some success there.

Swish batted .233 as a HIGH?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Swisher had a down year but batting avg is a poor indicator of a players effectiveness. He can get on base and hit home runs while providing avg/above avg defense. Those factors plus the fact that he's a switch hitter and signed to a reasonable contract make him a viable option.

As far as Fukudome is concerned, there was a blurb in Baseball Weekly (I can't find it on-line) late in the season where two (2) different scouts said he was afraid of the ball. Afraid of the ball! A 'professional' baseball player afraid of the ball. That may be difficult to come back from.