When Cubs phenom Kosuke Fukudome made a diving catch in the ninth inning last night and the entire stadium erupted with its "FUK-A-DO-ME!" chant, not only was I upset at the continued mispronunciation of Fukudome's last name, but I was particularly unnerved that despite going 0-for-4 with a double play, the Cubs' right fielder received louder praise than Jim Edmonds got for his outstanding catches--that's plural--or anyone else on the team for that matter who contributed offensively.
Now maybe Jim Edmonds' name doesn't fit the "Let's Go
Cubbies!" 4-syllable chant structure that Cub fans can't seem to
break out of, but there is clearly a lot of ignorance among this
fan base. The Man from
Japan is hitting .107 in
August, people! That lack of knowledge is upsetting,
especially when your seats are in front of two loser Cardinal fans
who have been purchasing Budweiser products all night and ripping
on the Cubs and their fans because their team isn't worth cheering
for. They don't need more fuel for the fact that Cardinals' RF Ryan
Ludwick is hitting .306 with three and half times the home runs as
Fukudome with twice the RBI and he backed up Kosuke in the all-star
game.
At least, finally, Lou
Piniella has told Fukudome that he's got to start hitting or he's
not playing every day. After hitting .305 in April and .293
in May, Fukudome has hit .264 in June, .236 in May and so far .107
in August and his season average is just .269. He was a career .300
hitter in Japan and he's making 12 mil a year. It's time to untie your headbands, Cub fans,
and admit you bought those #1 jersey shirts because they were the
only ones left in stock. Fukudomania must come to an
end.
Cub fans are notorious for being quick to love and quick to
hate, so let's maintain the reputation. Without a late July surge
in the form of a 6-game hitting streak, Fukudome would be hitting
bupkiss right now. Only Edmonds
and Daryle Ward have worse batting averages. I know, I want
to believe he's better than that too because he's such a quiet and
wonderful gentleman, but the decision to keep him out of more games
is overdue at this point.
The first thing to change is that he shouldn't hit higher than
7th in the lineup. A left-hander looks prettier up in the top 5
spots, but he's a liability right now with runners on base. It
needs to go Soriano and Theriot 1 and 2 the rest of the season with
no buts. If you want to move Fuku up to 5 or 6 if he comes around,
that's okay, but done should be
the days at No. 2, he's hitting .154 there in 60+
at-bats.
The options in right field are fine for the Cubs, provided the
recent hitting success of the bench players. The more likely
scenario is Mark DeRosa
will be there to keep the center field platoon intact, with
Mike Fontenot and Ronnie Cedeno sharing the
load at second base. I wouldn't be totally shocked if the Cubs find
a utility outfielder to bring in off waivers as that would
alleviate some constraints. Preferably, Fukudome should just start
hitting. Maybe he will and the sushi party can continue at Wrigley,
but he's got a lot to prove before the season is up.
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