Cubs not giving up on Fukudome
MESA, Ariz. — Cubs manager Mike Quade wasn’t going anywhere near the “D” word Friday when it came to discussing right fielder Kosuke Fukudome.
That’s “D” as in disappointment.
“All I know is that on the eve of our first full-squad workout, all I’m looking for is for everybody here to get better and be healthy,” Quade said. “No matter how good they were, can they get better, and can we get better as a club? Disappointment or not, I don’t know.
“Again, I was thrilled with the way he finished. His first year, with the start he had, I think everybody had delusions of grandeur. It’s not that easy. It ain’t that easy over here. I just want to see him build on what he did for us last year, and I’m going to say that a lot because there’s a lot of guys in that boat.”
The way Fukudome finished is a matter of how you look at it. In August, he had a hitting line of .365/.467/.651 with 4 of his career-high 13 home runs. However, in September-October, Fukudome slumped to a .210.
So what’s there to like about Fukudome as he enters the final season of his four-year, $48 million contract after coming over from Japan?
“What not?” answered Quade. “If we’re going to talk about some of the new guys that have come in and some of the chemistry on this club, his work ethic is unbelievable. I think that every player that I’ve seen from Asia has got that. Whatever goes on over there, and you hear about the workouts and stuff, but he’s come here, and he’s an established guy. He played a lot of years and was very successful over there.
“He doesn’t take a day off. He works hard every day and tries to get better every day.”
Fukudome, who turns 34 on April 26, has seen his playing time diminish from 150 games in 2008 to 146 in 2009 to 130 last year. This year, he figures to share playing time in right field with Tyler Colvin.
One of the better on-base percentage players in the game, Fukudome has a career batting line of .263/.371/.439. He hit a career-best 13 home runs last season and has 34 for his Cubs career.
Most Cubs fans probably consider Fukudome, if not a bust, then a disappointment. How does he see his career to this point?
“I’m definitely not satisfied with where I was, but the bottom line is I’m getting better little by little,” he said. “I just have to put those things together and get better.”
Fukudome said he worked again this winter with his hitting coach in Japan. He admitted it was difficult to share playing time last season.
“There were some times I was good and (times) I was bad,” he said. “I just need to be consistent and keep myself in a good position so I can have a good result. I don’t think about the other guys. I just need to do what I can do. I just need to take care of myself first so I can be a better player.”
This would appear to be Fukudome’s last year with the Cubs. He came here as a highly touted player out of Japan after nine years with Chunichi. If he has his way, he said he’d like to stay, if not in Chicago, then with another team in Major League Baseball.
“The Chicago Cubs is the first team that I came to in the United States; if I could stay, that would be great,” he said. “But that’s not my decision to make. We’ll see what’s going to happen.
“As long as I can play in the major leagues, I would like to stay in the United States.”