Cubs hope home run gets Fukudome going

One swing of the bat in April started his legend.

Can another swing in August get it kick-started again?

That's what sputtering Kosuke Fukudome, his supportive teammates, his Midas-touch manager and a skeptical fan base will soon find out after the Japanese import turned Wrigley Field on its side with a pinch-hit, 2-run home run in the seventh inning Sunday to seal a victory and a series victory over Washington.

"That was a beautiful swing he put on the ball," said manager Lou Piniella, who held an extensive video session with Fukudome before the game, working on ways to shorten his right fielder's occasionally looping swing.

"Lou just gave me his point of view on what he thought I should change, and I was able to work on that a little in the cage," Fukudome said. "In the game I wasn't able to fully introduce what he told me, but the result was good."

If Fukudome gets hot the rest of the way because of his early-morning meeting with Piniella, it could go down as one of the most famous video sessions in baseball since Fred McGriff and Tom Emanski hooked up.

"He's a good pupil," Piniella said with a smile. "We shortened his stride - a simple little thing to get his hands set a little quicker. The swing is shorter, more compact and into the ball.

"He's a good hitter, but he got himself into some bad habits. We should have addressed it sooner. We'll just let it go and see if he could work himself out of it."

Like he was in the home opener in April when he launched a game-tying, 3-run shot to center off Eric Gagne in the ninth inning, Fukudome was mobbed by his teammates in the dugout after his line shot landed in the bleachers just inside the right-field foul pole.

"It was rewarding in the sense that the other players on the team were more excited than I was," Fukudome said. "I really appreciate all the support and because of that it makes me want to succeed even more."

"Everybody's gone through it," said Mark DeRosa, who has been on a power tear lately with 4 home runs in his last four games. "I hit a buck-90 in July.

"You feel terrible. You know when you're going bad you come up in key situations. To not be able to get the job done or at least put the ball in play to help the team out is frustrating.

"There's not a guy in here who wavers on anyone on this team. Everybody's contributed to our success this year. I hope he gets as hot as a pistol."

That would be quite a turnaround, because since July, Fukudome has been as cold as an ice pick. He came into Sunday's game batting just .199 since July 1 after hitting .296 through June. Not much to smile about - that is until the seventh inning Sunday.

"They should be happy - he's been struggling," Piniella said of his players' reaction to Fukudome's first career pinch-hit homer. "He was happy, too. And I was happy for the young man."