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Cubs hope Kosuke Fukudome gets good start—in Japan

Fukudome seeks jump-start in Japan

Phil Rogers | On Baseball

February 19, 2009

MESA, Ariz.

You didn't have to be Bob Woodward to catch this clue.

Right there in full view, before the Cubs' first workout Wednesday morning, a pair of athletic shoes sat in front of Kosuke Fukudome's locker. A pair of blue jeans hung neatly inside the cubicle.

For a few minutes it looked as if a big story might have broken out—perhaps Fukudome had rethought the commitment he had made to his country's baseball team. Perhaps he had decided to report to Arizona rather than to Miyazaki, Japan, where his national team is training for the World Baseball Classic.

Media bloodhounds—one, anyway—sniffed around.

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The clothes belonged to Derrek Lee. He was just borrowing space from Fukudome, who isn't expected to join the Cubs for at least a month, maybe longer.

Lee and 58 teammates went through a workout on the first day position players were allowed to join pitchers and catchers on the field. The newcomers included Milton Bradley, who has replaced Fukudome as the right fielder, and speedster Joey Gathright, who hopes to claim the left-handed half of a center-field platoon, the one job left for Fukudome.

A lot can happen in a spring training camp, especially when you arrive five weeks late.

"You always want your players to be with you, on the field where you are," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. "But we're hoping this can turn into a positive. … He has played well for his national team before and he should again. Hopefully, he'll come here with a lot of confidence."

Fukudome, the Cubs' $48 million mystery, could not have departed Chicago with much confidence last October. He batted .217 in the second half of the 2008 season, opening the door for Hendry to import Bradley.

Amazingly, Fukudome's batting average dropped six months in a row. It shrank from .305 in April to .293 in May, .264 in June, .236 in July, .193 in August, .178 in September and—the final cherry on the spinach sundae—.100 in the October playoffs.

By the end of that decline, Hendry and manager Lou Piniella didn't know what to make of Fukudome. They hope he simply was tired or homesick but weren't going to bet another 500 plate appearances on it.

"It's a situation that's almost impossible to fathom—to play so well early and so poorly late," Hendry said. "We've seen young players do it but not somebody who has played as much, accomplished as much as he had in Japan."

No one knows what to expect from Fukudome, 32 in April, and it can't help that he won't put a Cubs jersey on until Japan has finished in a tournament that doesn't end until March 23.

"Look, he's in good hands," Piniella said. "I'm sure Japan's team is well-coached. He's going to get a lot of work in."

Say this about Japan's WBC team: It certainly can draw a crowd.

A crowd reported at more than 37,000 packed Sun Marine Stadium to watch the first workout for Ichiro Suzuki, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Japan's defending WBC champions.

Because so many of their top stars play in the United States, the opening round of the WBC provides Japanese fans a chance to connect with their baseball idols. The event is an easy sell there, unlike in the United States.

It's easy to see why Fukudome would have had trouble ignoring the chance to play for his national team, even if so many top Americans can't be bothered. The Cubs deserve credit for not pressuring Fukudome to skip the WBC.

But for Fukudome, will it be a good way to try to get ready to hit the best pitching in the world?

"There's no way around it," Hendry said.

Hendry isn't ready to give up on Fukudome. He insists the Cubs would have wanted to add Bradley even if Fukudome had not disintegrated so badly last season—Hendry was hoping for a .300 average and 15 homers from the Japanese import.

"We needed a left-handed bat with some thunder," Hendry said.

Hendry declined to discuss his off-season conversations with other clubs. But a major-league source said teams approached the Cubs about trading for Fukudome, although only in trades where Hendry would have had to take back bad contracts. The Seattle Mariners, shopping pitchers Jarrod Washburn and Erik Bedard and catcher Kenji Johjima, are believed to have been among them.

Hendry was encouraged by the outside interest. The Cubs aren't the only team that believes Fukudome can get back to form.

Game 1 of the WBC is March 5 in Tokyo, airing at 2:30 a.m. in Arizona. Hendry might want to set his alarm to get up and watch.

progers@tribune.com

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Cubs hope Kosuke Fukudome gets good start—in Japan

Fukudome seeks jump-start in Japan

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