Hello,
Kosuke Fukudome is a baseball player for Chicago Cubs and he's from Japan. Some people seem to be offended by his last name. Political correctness has gone way too far. His name is Fukudome, this is not a nickname, slang or anything else. For those of you who are offended by someone wearing a jersey with his name on it, you need to get out of your bubble. It seems this means that people shouldn't wear their Reggie Bush jerseys either. This is for the ignorant:
"When asked whether he had any interest in the Major Leagues on a television show in the 2006 off-season, Fukudome answered, "It would be a lie to say I didn't. Playing in the World Baseball Classic increased my desire to play in the majors."
Fukudome became a free agent in November 2007. On December 11, 2007, the Chicago Cubs signed Fukudome to a four-year, $48 million contract. Fukudome said in an interview that one of the main reasons he chose the Chicago Cubs over the other three teams trying to sign him to their roster was because he wanted to be the first Japanese player to play for the team. He also thought Chicago had a great Japanese community, and that it was a great place to raise his children.
2008
Fukudome made his Major League debut on March 31, 2008, against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. He went 3-for-3 with a walk, including a double on his first Major League pitch, and a three-run game-tying home run off Brewers' closer Éric Gagné in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Brewers went on to win 4-3 in extra innings.
After a fast start, Fukudome's 2008 MLB performance faded. After a .327 batting average in April, each successive month reflected less success as Fukudome batted .293 in May, .264 in June, .236 in July, .193 in August, and .178 in September, followed by .100 in the postseason. He ended the year with a .257 average, and a .370 slugging percentage. He hit .251 against righthanders, and .137 when there were 2 outs and runners in scoring position. Fukudome's slide was detailed in a New York Times article.
Nonetheless, on July 7, 2008, Fukudome was voted a starter in the 2008 MLB All-Star Game. Cubs manager Lou Piniella defended him from criticism, and said, "[Fukudome] does such a good job in right field we hate to take him out of the lineup," and further stated the team would continue to give him more opportunities.
After the Game 2 loss to the Dodgers in the NLDS, a reporter asked Piniella, enraged about the loss, about starting Fukudome. Piniella responded, "I'm going to play [Mike] Fontenot or Reed Johnson or somebody else, and that's the end of that story. The kid is struggling, and there's no sense sending him out there anymore." Fukudome managed only one single in 10 at bats in the postseason.
2009
In 2009, the Cubs switched Fukudome to center field, after acquiring right fielder Milton Bradley. Fukudome is hitting .274 with 7 home runs as of July 31. In addition, he has proven to be a patient hitter, leading the team in BB's. In July, Fukudome became the Cubs' leadoff hitter. He replaced Alfonso Soriano, who has been performing poorly in May and June. (Thanks to the Kosuke Fukudome Wikipedia site where I copied and edited this from.)
Are you ready for some football? This past Thursday Utah and Boise State emerged victorious. (Oregan I do think you were too excessive in punishing a player for punching a Boise State player after the game. It's hard to turn off emotion after the heat of battle. That emotion is what makes the college football so great.) The college football season kicks off for most teams today. There are three main games on my radar today, the first being USC-SJSU at 1:30. #4 USC will be starting a freshman quarterback, Matt Barkley. I'm interested in seeing how he will do, that is a lot of pressure on a teenager. If this game hasn't been decided by halftime I will be very surprised.
Then my beloved # 20 BYU Cougars are going to be destroyed today by the powerful #3 Oklahoma Sooners team. That game kicks off at 5:00 pm MST. The game is being played at the new home of the Dallas Cowboys. Oklahoma's starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, won the Heisman last year. BYU's quarterback is no slouch, but Max Hall has a tendency to have turnovers at the absolute worst time. (See Utah-BYU last season.) BYU is a 22 point underdog, I just hope they play with pride and keep the embarassment to a minimum.
Then finally a game I don't really have a rooting interest in, it should be a good game between two teams ranked in the Top 7. #5 Alabama goes into Virginia to play #7 Virginia Tech. Let's hope Alabama plays better than they last season against the Utah Utes in that bowl game. Utah completely dominated Alabama.
Today is a great sports day, we are in a heated pennant race in both leagues. The wildcard races in both leagues could go down to the final day. There are four or five teams that still have at least a slim chance of winning the NL Wildcard. That includes the Cubbies and Kosuke Fukudome. In the AL Wildcard Boston currently has a 2 game lead over the Texas Rangers.
Also the USA's men's soccer team plays today as well. They are playing El Salvador at Rio Tinto stadium in their attempt to qualify for next year's World Cup. They played a bit lethargic against a very determined Mexico National team last month.
Go USA! What a great sports day.
This blog was powered by some hot tunes, including Lipps Inc. "Funkytown" (Long Version).
Enjoy your day, themusicandsportsaddict
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