I would like to discuss Fukudome

when Fuku hit a 3 run HR, and we all believed he would hit for power this season. Look how that turned out. Basing this whole fanpost on 1 AB just can’t let you draw any real conclusions, because it’s too insignificant.

"Lou gave me his point-of-view on what he thought I should change," Fukudome said through a translator. "I was able to work on it a little bit in the cage, but during the game, I can’t think of stuff like that while I’m at bat. So I wasn’t able to fully introduce what he told me."

So take Piniella’s “miracle transformation of Dome’s swing” with a grain of salt, because it sounds like he didn’t even use the advice yesterday.

I stated before the season began that I didn’t believe Fukudome would be a great player. I believed he would do well/good in his on base percentage and maybe in the field, but other than that, I didn’t expect much. I believed he would be OK on both those counts because of the more disciplined way they play the game in his home country. Still, I do think he has had a much bigger impact on this team than I, or many others, give him credit for. I believe the more disciplined style of game has significantly influenced this team to be much better at the plate… in terms of taking pitches, etc. That may be Fukudome’s real gift to this magical season.

but I hope that we recognize that he’s still going to have off days, and he may struggle with really making these changes long-term.

His defense alone should mean he is in the lineup. If he can hit at a .270-ish clip with a quality OBP and take a lot of pitches?? Then he is worth his weight in gold given his defense.

Is that a more valid sample?

Domes’ last two games are certainly a step in the right direction. I hope he can keep this going.

that Japanese players suffer from the travel and longer season in the U.S. and in their second year come out of it and hit more for their normal averages? We may be seeing Fuk getting rested after the days off Lou has given him recently with the chance to get mentally back together as well as technically back together. I’m hoping for another hot bat to take into October.

(Did anyone hear Lou talking about Fuk on the pregame show with Santo last night? He said he calls him Fuk but didn’t want to offend anyone uh, uh, uh more stammering, uh. It was pretty funny if you heard it.)

…have been a nice tonic for all the ulcer-inducing doom ‘n gloom permeating the media over the last few weeks. Do I think Dome is done struggling for the season? No, I don’t. But Kosuke’s shown once again that he’s a patient, professional hitter who will listen to his coaches and demonstrate to opposing teams that he will come through with big hits when given the opportunity. And, again, his defense should never be ignored or underestimated.

Every week we talk about Fukudome and his hitting woes, and whether he’s coming out of his slump. It’s really getting old. Fukudome is fine, and has been fine for the entire season. He never slumped, irregardless of what your “statistics” show.

Stats are dumb and meaningless, you stupid statheads. I prefer to believe what my gut tells me, and my gut tells me that Fukudome is an MVP candidate because of the magical effect he’s had on the Cubs hitters. My gut also tells me that Dome is hitting .340 with 23 homers, but I’m trying to ignore my gut here, because numbers are stupid and unnecessary.

Fukudome is a great hitter and fielder, and a great man to boot. He volunteers with senior citizens (usually playing Bingo) on off-days and performs open-heart surgery during the winter. Leave him alone, you Fukudome hater. I can’t believe you’re writing something critical of Dome when the club is 31 games over .500 and the best team in the NL. He’s our starting RF, and you should just accept that Lou disagrees with you on this. Geez. Lamest… fanpost… ever.

It might be too late for this topic, but I just found there is a Q&A article right after he went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs on Monday.

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- 3-for-4?

Good result, but I am not very sure I did pretty well on every adjusting points for my hitting technique. Have to be better shape asap.

- You came early to ballpark today and did special pre-game batting practice

Got a lot of swings and I could do what I wanted to do.

- What did you try to do during the pre-game practice?

Tried on many small things, thinking about what I tend to do when I’m slumping – both on techniques and feelings.

- Are you well convinced with advices by your manager and coaches?

I cannot take all the advises as I have experiences as a pro, and I could take what is good for me and leave what does not fit to me.

- So the pre-game practice worked well in anyway?

The team allowed me to do it with a lot of swings, and it became a good signal to me.

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