FUTURE CUBS???

Since Arod is pretty much off the market, people are wondering which Free Agents the Cubs are going to go after instead. The word on the street is that the Cubs have packed their bags and have headed to Japan to find some gems. So move over Dice K, because we might be getting two tight ballers from Japan pretty soon.

Here is some info I found on the three guys the Cubs are looking at:

Kosuke Fukudome
Outfielder (right field), Chunichi Dragons
Age: 30 (DOB: Apr. 26, 1977)
Hits: Left, Throws: Right
2007:.294, 13 HR, 48 RBI

Fukudome missed half of the 2007 season with a right elbow injury, but is considered one of the best all-around hitters in Japanese Pro Baseball. He has career average of .305 with 192 homers in 9 seasons. He plays solid defense, and was named the Central League MVP in 2006, when he led the league with a .351 batting average to go along with 31 HRs, 104 RBIs, and 11 SBs. He played for Japan in the World Baseball Classic, batting fifth in most of the games, but struggled (he hit .105 in the tournament) and was benched for the semifinal game against Korea. He came off the bench as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning in that game, and delivered a two-run home run off of ex-Red Sox pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim, breaking a scoreless tie. Fukudome did not file for free agency until the last day of the filing period. On his blog, fukudome1.com, he wrote "it was the toughest decision in my life [to decide whether or not to file for FA] but wanted to find out how other clubs valued me as a baseball player."

Now if we get Fukudome, I heard we would move him over to right, and have Pie start in CF. That would definitely be an improvement over our outfield from last year.

Everyone knows pitching is the key to success in baseball, especially in post season play. That is why to solidify our rotation, the Cubs are looking at these two aces of their respective ballclubs out there.

Hiroki Kuroda
Starting pitcher, Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Age: 32 (DOB: Feb. 10, 1975)
Hits: Right, Throws: Right
2007: 12-8 with a 3.56 ERA

His fastball reaches 97 miles per hour, and he also throws a forkball, slider, and shuuto (a two-seam fastball that cuts into righthanded hitters). Kuroda has good command, pitching 74 complete games in the last 11 years. He is the same age as Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui, and the two had some great match ups in Japan. Kuroda lead the Central League with a 1.85 ERA in 2006, despite playing in the smallest park in Japan. In 2005, he led the league with 15 wins, and was awarded one of the Central League's "Best nine" awards, which are given to the best player of the league at each position. His father was also a pitcher who played with Nankai Hawks in the '50s, so Kurado comes from a strong baseball background.

Masahide Kobayashi
Relief pitcher, Chiba Lotte Marines
Age: 33 (DOB: May. 24, 1974)
Hits: Right, Throws: Right
2007: 2-7, 27 saves, 3.61 ERA

Kobayashi's fastball reaches the low 90s, and he also throws a shuuto and a sinking slider. He has been Yokohama's closer since 2000, and has at least 20 saves in each of the last seven seasons, which is a Japanese league record. He led the league in most saves in 2005 with 29. Kobayashi helped Bobby Valentine's Lotte win the Japan Series that year, closing out the final game of the series. He struggled a little in 2007, recording a career-high 7 losses, and was sent down to the farm league to make adjustments. He has 227 total saves in the Japanese League. Only two other Japanese pitchers have had 200 or more saves: Kazuhiro Sasaki and Shingo Takatsu, who have both played in the major leagues.

Everyone who has seen these three guys play, have come back with rave reviews, so hopefully we can lock 2 of them up soon. Let me know what you guys think about this, and I will keep you posted on any further news regarding these ball players.

Also, click here to see where I got this information from, and to check out the best Japanese free agents on the market.