what do you think?? was it a good deal? how good will he be? how good will the cubs be?
2007-12-12 12:46:55 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Baseball
This guy is going to be great...I really wish my Rangers would have signed him, but the Cubs came to the table with more money. I think it may take him a few months to get adjusted to the pitching and strike zone, but after that he'll start to go off. With him in the lineup and some better starting pitching, the Cubs should do some damage in the playoffs.
2007-12-12 12:56:12 · answer #1 · answered by danbettin 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well seeing that he's just another hyped Japanese player that played in a completely different league, you have no idea how he will play. We need to see how he plays in spring training first, then we can determine how good he and the cubs team as a whole will be. Ever since they got Soriano of course has boosted their offense, and I'm sure that Fukudome will definitlely improve their outfield considering he is replacing Jones. I've also heard some good things about him: High average and possible stolen bases, but like I said, you never know with them. There are Japanese players that come over and end up like Ichiro and H. Matsui but then there also are those such as Igawa and others.
2007-12-12 21:43:45 · answer #2 · answered by Matt 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is what we are going to have to wait and see how Fukadome does for the Chicago Cubs. But he will have to get used to. Well first he has to get used to being in the United States, and plus he has to find Wrigley Field, and next the Chicago Cubs have to find a way to talk with him, and usually they will get a person that knows English and Japanese, in less he does speak English. And I beat that when he is here, he will even get homesick for his home. And I bet that is always hard for a person to be in a new country.
2007-12-12 21:31:25 · answer #3 · answered by staggmovie 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't know if I would have spent the four-year, $48 million...he just had surgery on his right elbow in August. The Cubs are coming up on their 100 years slump...they spent 300 million spending spree last year and got swept by the Dbacks
2007-12-12 21:10:01 · answer #4 · answered by Danny B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tomorrow's Headline:
Cubs enter the Fukudome.
it'll help the cubs out... although it's a nightmare for the announcers...
2007-12-12 20:57:10 · answer #5 · answered by Reduviidae 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I didn't even know who he was before i heard he signed with the Cubs. He will probaly be a bust.
2007-12-12 21:05:46 · answer #6 · answered by zc 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
This was Yesterday.
The Cubs, landing their biggest off-season target, have signed Japanese free-agent outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to a four-year contract, major-league sources confirmed to FOXSports.com.
The deal, first reported by WGN Radio in Chicago, is expected to be for approximately $12 million per season, sources said.
Fukudome, 30, gives the Cubs a left-handed hitter who will balance their heavily right-handed lineup. He is expected to be the team's everyday right fielder.
The Padres, Giants and White Sox were among the teams that bid for Fukudome. The Padres are now expected to turn their attention to re-signing free-agent center fielder Mike Cameron, who also is entertaining offers from other clubs. The Giants and White Sox are among the teams competing for free agent Aaron Rowand.
Fukudome had a .305 career batting average in Japan, averaging 29 homers between 2003 and '06. He appeared in only 81 games for the Chunichi Dragons last season due to a right-elbow injury that required surgery.
This is Today
11 minutes ago
TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese star outfielder Kosuke Fukudome has agreed to a four-year contract with the Chicago Cubs, the Major League Baseball club announced on Wednesday.
"On behalf of the entire Cubs organization, we're honored Kosuke Fukudome has chosen to become a member of the Chicago Cubs and very excited to introduce him to our great fans," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said.
"We are looking forward to welcoming him to Chicago next week and helping make Wrigley Field his home."
The announcement followed media reports that the Cubs had won the battle for the 2006 Central League Most Valuable Player.
The deal is for four years and worth about 50 million dollars, according to ESPN 1000 in Chicago and the San Diego Union-Tribune.
"I am thinking about joining the Cubs. I still have to go through a medical checkup, among other things. So the final conclusion will come a little bit later," Fukudome said in a statement released through his lawyer.
Nikkan Sports in Tokyo put the deal at 60 million dollars for four years with extra offers, including special translators for Fukudome's family.
Fukudome told reporters on Tuesday he had turned down offers from domestic clubs, including the Yomiuri Giants, so he could head to the Major League.
"I made the decision because I have wanted to play over there," Fukudome said.
Fukudome, who has played with the Chunichi Dragons for nine years of his career, is expected to announce the Cubs deal by week's end, according to Japanese media.
"Thank you for cheering me for the past nine years," he said in a message to his fans. "I hope you can give me cheers when I play in the United States."
Fukudome hit .351 with 31 homers and 104 RBIs during his MVP season, but he was limited to just 81 games last season after undergoing season-ending elbow surgery. He is a career .294 hitter with a .400 on-base percentage.
New Kansas City Royals manager Trey Hillman, who managed Fukudome for the past five years in Japan, compared the player favourably to Seattle Mariners center fielder Ichiro Suzuki.
"He's short to the ball. He's got great balance," Hillman said last week at Baseball's winter meetings. "He stays inside the ball. He's got more balance than most lefthanded hitters that are Japanese-style hitters with a leg lift. ... You could slot him in the No. 3 hole."
Cubs manager Lou Piniella hasn't spoken with Fukudome, but has managed several Japanese players in the past.
"The Japanese players are very disciplined," Piniella said.
"They have got talent, and they enjoy playing baseball. Got a really good work ethic and they compete very well.
"You know, I've been fortunate. I had Ichiro in Seattle, what a great player he is, and (Kaz) Sasaki, the closer, he pitched exceedingly well."
As a free agent in Japan, Fukudome did not require a posting fee such as the 51.1 million dollars the Boston Red Sox paid out just to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka last year.
Last month Japan's richest baseball team, the Yomiuri Giants, held talks with Fukudome in a bid to try to keep him in Japan.
A member of Japan's teams at the Atlanta and Athens Olympics, he helped lead Japan to victory in last year's inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Reading all this the Cubs will be a lot better team in 08 then in 07 They will be good enough now that they can win the Pennant in 08 so watch out for the CUBBIES in 2008.
2007-12-12 22:22:15 · answer #7 · answered by tfoley5000 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
want matter they are cursed and the astros got Miguel Tejada...but no pitching
2007-12-12 21:21:06 · answer #8 · answered by Tiger Pride 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeah well THEY ASTROS GOT MIGUEL TEJADA! what now!?!?
2007-12-12 21:08:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋