Although I think it might be in CF.

As hard as people said he worked before spring training started, he knows that his year was horrible. He will work hard in the offseason and come back a better hitter. Did anyone else notice that his production dipped when his wife and baby arrived in the states after the first Dodger series? Call me crazy, but…

Of what I expected. I thought he’d start out bad, and then get progressively better as the season went on.

…or he won’t then get traded and play well for the next team like Kaz Matsui from the Mets to the Rockies

but it’s hard to believe that somebody with his credentials, and work ethic, could not have figured out whatever he needed to in the last 4 months of the season. I want him to succeed, and I want him to be the best RF the Cubs have seen since Sammy, but I’m just a little skeptical

Their swings are very similar except Iwamura and Ichiro stay in the box long enough to have a shot at hitting any ball in the strike zone (AND MAYBE EVEN A LOW AND AWAY PITCH).

but, it really doesn’t matter how I feel, its all about how Lou feels. The way Lou has expressed his feelings recently about Kosuke leads me to believe his time in Chicago is about to end. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Because at this point (with a lot of variables), my guess is he starts the season at Iowa, then eventually finds his way back to Chicago.

Can Dome put together six good months next season as opposed to three this season. Can Pie become a decent major league hitter? I would like to see Dome hit .280 with 12 HR’s next season. Dome is capable of that. Pie is the wild card. Objectively, if he is the starting CF, I think he will .260 with 8 HR’s. How can I expect Pie to do better than that based on his previous major league experience?

If Dome and Pie can turn things around next season, it would provide a big boost to the Cubs by not having to go out and trade for or sign free agent outfielders.

In his position, he has access to the best coaches, training facilities, etc., in the world. He’s clearly got patience, intelligence, and talent. With this combination, there’s no reason in the world why he shouldn’t be able to break down his stance and swing and be at the very least a decent hitter next year. The test will be mostly internal – will he have the drive to really take his game to the full MLB level? I sure hope so, and will be pulling for him.

I was one of the people shouting the most loudly, “Get him”, last year. But he doesn’t seem to have adapted to the culture here, or MLB, and his words and body language shout loudly, “Get me out of here”.

Buy him out and let him go back to Japan and start over.

I think Lou was really snakebit by Dome this year, and he’s going to show a lot of hesitancy to play Kosuke regularly until Dome really, really impresses him. We’ve all seen the way Lou “settles” on a player (see: Scott Eyre, Felix Pie) and then refuses to budge.

In Dome’s case, he still makes enough money to at least buy himself some time to regain his starting role. I’m guessing he starts off ’09 playing off the bench and then maybe – just maybe – earns a starting job in either center or right, depending on whether the Cubs acquire another lefty outfield slugger.

Fukudome apologizes to fans