Some Cub News From Venezuela

I received an e-mail from Jose Pulido, a reader from Venezuela (gosh, it's cool to know my blog's being read all over the world!), who passed along this useful information about Hee Seop Choi's play with Magallanes:

For this season, Magallanes hired Hee Seop Choi to play first. He has played in a dozen games and I think he could win the batting title if he stays with the team all winter long. He has a sweet swing and patience but has shown problems with curveball pitchers, particularly over-hand. He also seems to get distracted at first, erratic at times. However, he is a great prospect. This is a pitchers league, with big parks and bad lighting. He is hitting 333, with an amazing 554 OBP and 4 homers. Contact, power and patience make a great combination. I think he is going to be a huge upgrade next season for the Cubs.

Thanks, Jose. I do worry about his weakness hitting the curveball, which has been part of the "holes in his swing" that some people I know have criticized Choi for. Otherwise, it sounds good so far, and I sure hope you're right about Hee Seop's potential for 2004.