For those who hAT&Te the AT&T ads featuring faux Harry …

Add comment April 1st, 2008

Harry Caray’s widow, Dutchie, was on Tuesday’s “Mike North Morning Show” on WSCR-670 AM in Chicago. She didn’t like the tone of the ads or the number of times they ran, either.

No offensive Fukudome headline here

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It didn’t take long for Fukudome to cement himself as a Cubs cult figure (much like Kerry Wood did in 1998 with his 20-strikeout game). The now suspected hybrid love child of Ichiro and Hideki Matsui showed his patience and power by going 3-for-3 with a walk and game-tying homerun in the bottom of the 9^th inning. 

Fukudome did just about everything from the plate in his debut, but as fellow newsroom Cubs fan Matt Torman said after the game: “It’s too bad he can’t pitch.” Clearly. Productive outings from Carlos Zambrano (6.2 innings, 3 hits, 5 Ks, 0 runs) and Carlos Marmol (1.1 innings, 3 Ks, 0 hits, 0 runs) were countered by a bullpen all Cubs fans have become familiar with over the past few seasons. In two innings, Wood and Bob Howry combined to give up 4 hits and 4 earned runs.

Regardless, I know it’s just one game and the most important thing is that Fukudome silenced his critics, including myself, who wrote him off as just as imported gimmick to further sell the MLB game in Japan. One thing for sure, yesterday’s performance granted him a get-out-of-jail-free card for the unforeseen future.

Fukudome shows versatility

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Cubs fans were excited about signing Kosuke Fukudome because of his versatility; he’s the proverbial five-tool player who can hit, hit for average, run, throw and field. And, in the rarest of all Cub abilities, he works the count and takes walks. The Cubs need all the high on-base percentage guys they can get. Sure enough, Fukudome had one of the Cubs’ four walks in his 3-for-3 opening day (rookie catcher Geovany Soto had two, so maybe the Cubs’ finally have a couple of newcomers who can change their free-swinging culture). But, conversely, I also liked that Fukudome doubled on the very first pitch thrown to him in the Major Leagues. Yes, it’s great to have patience, as anyone who saw Shawon Dunston chase fastballs at his eyeballs knows. But it’s even better when your patient hitters are unpredictable. Fukudome showed he’s not just looking for walks; he’s looking for a good pitch to hit, and he’ll hit it whenever he gets it. Even if it’s the very first pitch. That will keep him from falling behind in the count. And, as Ted Williams always said, the entire key to hitting is getting a good pitch to hit.

The next Gary Scott?

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Kerry Wood just showed why you can’t get too excited about spring training. He looked like the perfect closer with nine straight scoreless appearances. Even more important, he had zero walks during that stretch. Well, he beaned a batter with his very first pitch of the 2008 season and also walked a batter in giving up three runs in one inning of a tie game. It reminded me of rookie third baseman Gary Scott hitting almost .400 in spring training the one year I covered the Cubs from Arizona all the way through September. He then couldn’t get the ball out of the infield in April and became the cursed name of all cursed names for failed Cub phenoms.

Anyway, Wood will rise or fall as a closer on his control. No one wants another Mitch Williams, who walks the bases loaded, then strikes out the side. Those kind of wild tight-rope walkers have a very short shelf life as closers. If Kerry Wood throws strikes, he should be one of the National League’s top four closers. If he doesn’t, the Cubs should move him to the seventh inning, in front of setup man Bobby Howry, with Carlos Marmol as closer. I’d give him no more than two or three weeks to find his control. Chicago has too many other good options — even Howry could close, although I like him better as the setup man — to stick with a shaky closer for long.

The day after a Cubs loss

1 comment April 1st, 2008

On the way home last night I turned on the radio and listened to the postgame talk.

I thought it was funny that some of the things I posted on this blog yesterday came up on the radio. For example, Carlos Zambrano, lamenting the loss, said 161 to go. I said the same in the “That hurt” entry.

I’m not sure who the radio host was but he said something about “a legend being born” when he talked about Fukudome. Same kind of thing I said after Fukudome hit the three-run homer to tie the game.

What’s it mean: Nothing. Just an observation.

I’m posting to two blogs: This one and “A Seat at the Table,” which is my main responsibility. I’m posting here because it’s fun and I love the Cubs.

I posted my Cubs credentials on the other blog. Here’s the link.