Fukudome taps his old hitting coach for help this last offseason

Interesting thing I saw in the article alluded to Fukudome having elbow issues last year and it affecting his mechanics.

over 2 years ago TheRiot Police 31 comments 0 recs |

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fukudome

by lexmarklover on May 18, 2009 3:00 PM CDT reply actions

I knew that....it is fixed

"When two Whales Fight, many Shrimp Die" - Korean Proverb

by TheRiot Police on May 18, 2009 3:14 PM CDT up reply actions

Both of them aren't.

You have Fukudome spelled 2 different ways. One in the headline and one in the body.

by Allie on May 18, 2009 3:16 PM CDT up reply actions

Yes they are...

I fixed the title which was the one in error

"When two Whales Fight, many Shrimp Die" - Korean Proverb

by TheRiot Police on May 18, 2009 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions

thanks for the link

:-)

by Allie on May 18, 2009 3:26 PM CDT up reply actions

clap-clap-clapclapclap

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on May 19, 2009 10:40 AM CDT up reply actions

you think?

he “hotdogs-it” when he hits it well, generally in the air, and “flings” his bat?

that sure is pretty when he connects and sometimes ugly when he bails out…i think he has a little “show-boat” to his game, which i don’t hate, but generally reserve for players that have proven it…

let’s hope he can have a better finishing kick this season…

by 12to23to17 on May 18, 2009 3:07 PM CDT reply actions

Huh...

"When two Whales Fight, many Shrimp Die" - Korean Proverb

by TheRiot Police on May 18, 2009 3:18 PM CDT up reply actions

what part is unclear?

am i the only one who believes he “flings” his bat out of the box whenever he makes good contact in the air especially?

to me, it seems the bat leaves his hands differently when he really gets ahold of one good or drives it into the gap…

i know it’s instantaneous, but when you hit it good or lift it you just “know” it and it seems fukudome does this on occasion

maybe it’s just my observation…

by 12to23to17 on May 18, 2009 3:30 PM CDT reply actions

He definitely flings the bat when he knows he got all (or most) of one.

I believe it’s something he’s always done. Your post was just written in a choppy sorta way that made it a little dizzying to read. I got the gist, though, and I agree – there is some showmanship to Kosuke’s game. Not just the bat flip, but the way he catches certain fly balls, too.

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by daver on May 18, 2009 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions

I guess

I don’t know why you think it’s a problem.

"I don’t really play baseball, I feel it." -- Milton Bradley

by drewishdrewid on May 18, 2009 3:59 PM CDT up reply actions

oh...

don’t get me wrong, i like it…have no problem w/ it as a cubs fan…

what if say i don’t know a rick ankiel, et al had come up to the big leagues as a newbie and had that swagger i think we cubs fans would have jeered him, yes?

i love that fukudome is confident…anyone who wears #1 has that confidence, i suppose…

i was just commenting on his follow through and someone needed clarification on my comment, but i have no problem w/ him…just wanted to see who thought it was hot-doggin’?

by 12to23to17 on May 18, 2009 5:08 PM CDT up reply actions

I SERIOUSLY

think you’re making a mistake if you think Dome is showboating. I mean, seriously? Rick Ankiel level?

Not even close. The dood is so humble, he went back to his old batting coach for help!

"I don’t really play baseball, I feel it." -- Milton Bradley

by drewishdrewid on May 18, 2009 8:54 PM CDT up reply actions

gosh I don't see a swagger at all

In fact, quite the opposite. He’s confident when he’s performing up to his abilities, but swagger? It’s normally not part of the Japanese culture and I don’t see it in him.

by Emelie on May 18, 2009 9:53 PM CDT up reply actions

let me just respectfully...

disagree…

i DO believe there is a quite confidence w/ ’dome and i like this, especially in someone who is new to a team and also new to the major leagues…

i think you HAVE to have confidence in your ability to be successful…and i agree that ’dome has that stereotypical japanese respectful mentality; however, i personally see some swagger in him from time to time…

no…he doesn’t do the typical hot-doggin’ things we see not only by others on this cubs squad and throughout the league (i REALLY wasn’t comparing him to ankiel, just using a hated cardinal hotdogger as an example earlier), but i’ve noticed (and again this my just be my perception) that he really exaggerates his bat “flip” when he knows he hits it good…

“stereotypically” i call that hotdogging…….

and in terms of stereotypes…do you think ALL japanese players come w/ that mentality?

i mean, i’m from the south where stereotypes are a-plenty, but all of us “gentlemen” down here don’t open doors for ladies (and that’s sad whenever i see that, BTW) and all our women aren’t barefoot and pregnant, but since jerry springer says it’s so, then people may believe it…if jerry said ALL people from japan had that mentality, would you buy it???

by 12to23to17 on May 19, 2009 8:44 AM CDT up reply actions

that's why I said

not “normally” a part of the culture. An observed cultural trait is not always automatically a stereotype. I do agree that you have to have confidence to be successful and Dome certainly has that. I see him as one of the game’s more elegant and graceful players (when he’s not corkscrewing, when he does that he looks like a Warner Bros. cartoon). You see him as subtly hotdogging. To each his or her own.

And remember: all generalizations are false, including this one.

;-)

by Emelie on May 19, 2009 4:27 PM CDT up reply actions

Maybe it's just semantics...

…but I do see a bit of swagger in Dome’s play. It’s definitely not inapproriate swagger, but the bat flip and the way he catches some fly balls would qualify, IMHO. I highly doubt opposing teams interpret it as hot-dogging, though. He certainly seems to be one of the more polite players when he’s at the plate and on the basepaths.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on May 19, 2009 10:44 AM CDT up reply actions

I think the key detail of this story...

…is something that really wasn’t talked about much last season: Fukudome’s elbow problem. It was sort of passed off as “no big deal” when he was signed and then, IIRC, rarely brought up during and after his epic ‘08 struggles. Maybe that really was the primary underlying source of his difficulties, which isn’t to say cultural, mental and mechancial factors weren’t in play, too.

At the risk of stating the obvious, I just hope he can keep his numbers up at consistent levels throughout the season. If you want something to brighten this Cubs off day, go look at them right now.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on May 18, 2009 3:39 PM CDT reply actions

Agree...

I also like that the his hitting coach is coming back in July for another reboot in case things start to go astray again.

"When two Whales Fight, many Shrimp Die" - Korean Proverb

by TheRiot Police on May 18, 2009 3:40 PM CDT up reply actions

.989 OPS!

"I don’t really play baseball, I feel it." -- Milton Bradley

by drewishdrewid on May 18, 2009 4:01 PM CDT up reply actions

Mr. Myagi

Kosuke-san…wax on, wax off…paint the fence….

by BLou on May 18, 2009 9:34 PM CDT reply actions

yeesh

"There are no curses here...Games are won and lost on the baseball field" - Lou Piniella

by El Borto on May 19, 2009 7:13 AM CDT up reply actions

o.0

"I don’t really play baseball, I feel it." -- Milton Bradley

by drewishdrewid on May 19, 2009 9:55 AM CDT up reply actions

A bunch of dudes in skintight skeleton costumes...

…are going to chase you home from work tonight.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on May 19, 2009 10:45 AM CDT up reply actions

Grasshopper, snatch the pebble from my hand !

Dated reference likely lost on young audience. Think David Carradine television series circa the early 70’s.

by BLou on May 19, 2009 10:47 AM CDT up reply actions

I'm old enough to remember that!

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on May 19, 2009 10:51 AM CDT up reply actions

um...

myagi was from okinawa, NOT japan…i believe japan has jurisdiction over okinawa …i clearly remember in the movie he telling daniel-san, “china—here, japan—here………okinawa….here” while jestering to his palm…

as for snatching the pebble from master po’s hand…i too am old enough to remember the classic kung fu short-lived run in the 70’s…but kane was at a sho-lin (sp?—sorry) budist temple, not in japan either…

the tv network ION plays kung-fu re-runs and they’re better each and every time i see them…i think it ran for maybe 3-4 seasons and the DVDs are also available…i think carradine did a remake some years back but it wasn’t very well received…

by 12to23to17 on May 19, 2009 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions

Soooooooooo....

…you’re saying associating either Mr. Miyagi or David Carradine with Kosuke Fukudome is geographically inaccurate?

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by daver on May 19, 2009 11:36 AM CDT up reply actions

Apparently Magellan has a problem with the geographic accuracy of my silliness

Okinawa IS part of Japan by the way.

by BLou on May 19, 2009 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions

just asking...

miyagi and carradine have what exactly to do w/ a post about ’dome?

are you guys ones to slant your eyes and bow whenever you greet someone of asian descent?

you think all Asians know karate b/c you see the happy days fry-cook teaching a kid from receda, jersey the crane technique?

did you know the majority of the wild west cowboys were run-away or newly freed slaves during reconstruction…?

(prolly not ‘cause all you see from hollywood is the media’s portrayal of john wayne, et al)

i bet you’ve got a cardboard box full of the “hory cow” t-shirts, right?

i haven’t been here long, but it seems on every post about ‘dome there’s a bruce lee, jackie chan, pat morita reference…

i mean, you may be bored at work, but bring something of substance to the table…

as i stated above, i love the movie/tv references and grew up on kung fu episodes and love a good discussion on such, but why on a ’dome post are we reading “wax on — wax off”?

“silliness”, as stated above…? — i can accept that, but is there racism rooted in that humor?

by 12to23to17 on May 19, 2009 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions