Yardbarker: Kosuke Fukudome

Outfield Bat on the Cubs Shopping List

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:05:00 -0500

It has not been a secret that the Cubs would like to add an outfielder this winter. First line of business is when, where and how much it will cost the Cubs to trade Milton Bradley. The Cubs would like to move Kosuke Fukudome back to right field, where he is an above average defender then add a centerfielder to the mix ... that can drive in runs. A report from FoxSports.com on Friday mentioned a few of the names that have been bantered around for the last six weeks and drove home the fact ...

Chips Ahoy

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:15:20 -0500

According to Sun-Times beat reporter, Gordon Wittenmeyer, with the signing of John Grabow to a 2/7.5 contract (backended as only Jim Hendry can do) and the trading of Aaron Heilman to the Snakes, the Cubs have supposedly made their final bullpen move of the offseason.

The deal appears to secure the final key piece to the Cubs' projected 2010 bullpen, coming one day after the team traded veteran Aaron Heilman to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

I'm pretty happy to see Heilman move out of town but replacing his with Grabow seems kind of blah. It's a Hendry thing to get a grizzled veteran for that 8th inning setup role and since Grabow is able to get lefty and righty hitters out (i.e. not a LOOGY), he's the heir apparent for the crusty veteran out of the bullpen for 2010.

List em. Since Jim Hendry was given the reins to the GM job in 2002, he's added through trade or free agency the following veteran bullpen lugnuts: Antonia Alfonseca, Mike Remlinger, Dave Veres, Mark Guthrie, Alan Benes, Phil Norton, Joe Borowoski, LaTroy Hawkins, Glendon Rusch,Cliff Bartosh, Scott Williamson, Chad Fox (twice), Wade Miller, Bob Howry, Scott Eyre, Neal Cotts, Chad Gaudin, Jon Lieber, Luis Vizcaino, Heilman and lastly Grabow. I'd say for the most part, that's the ugly underbelly of MLB pitching although I know the Cubs are far from being alone in accumulating pitchers like these. Hence, I'm hoping the 2010 Cubs get more out of their young pitching so we don't see Chad Fox (round three?) ever again. Esmalin Caridad, Jeff Stevens and Justin Berg, I'm talking to you. It would be really nice to see productive seasons out of the recent 40 man roster additions including John Gaub, Blake Parker and even longshot/hotshot Raphael Dolis.

Grabow's career has been fairly lackluster but we all know how magically important lefty's are in the bullpen. Guys like Will Ohman, Scott Eyre, Joe Beimel, Brian Shouse, Scott Schowenweis, Ron Mahay, Ron Villone, Eddie Guardado and Alan Embree keep hanging around when righty's of their ilk would be long retired.

Looking at fangraphs, including charts on lefty/righty splits on Grabow, we see his strength is a fairly low HR/9 (0.95/9) rate, a decent LOB% (around 75%) and his weakness is walks (4.15/9).He's gonna drive Lou crazy if that walk rate continues.

The kicker on Grabow though is that he's got a time bomb in his elbow. He has a history of left (pitching) elbow bone chips. Again from the sun-times piece:

As recently as 2007, Grabow pitched with pain and spent time on the disabled list for the problem, but he did not have surgery to remove the chips. He opted for a treatment and maintenance program that allowed him to make 149 appearances the last two seasons.

''If you look at a lot of pitchers, they're going to have something going on in their shoulder or in their elbow,'' Grabow said. ''Just throwing a baseball all these years, your arm's going to develop a lot of things that are just part of the wear and tear. It's something you learn to manage. I've got a routine every day to be able to pitch every day.

''Thank God it hasn't been an issue the last two years. Maybe it's something I've put in the past and can just pitch through.''

Grabow was on the DL from the beginning of the 2007 season, after being shut down in spring training on March 11th with "elbow inflammation" (essentially elbow loose bodies or chips). He returned on April 25th but only pitched 51 innings that year. The last two seasons he went 72 and 76 innings so the problem hasn't acted up lately.

Where do these loose bodies aka bone/cartilage chips in the elbow come from?

The elbow joint is a complex hinge joint made up from the distal humerus (arm bone) and the two forearm bones that rotate (supination/palm up and pronation/palm down) around each other, the radius (radial head at the elbow) and the ulna (olecranon at the elbow which is the main hinge).

Elbow mechanics in throwing a baseball with spin, create significant compressive and shear forces across the elbow which can lead to damaging the articular cartilage and subsequently break off little pieces of cartilage or even bigger pieces that have bone and cartilage. This is the equivalent of getting sand in your shoe. Smaller grit isn't as irritating as larger pebbles. The larger pieces float around and if they wind up in tighter parts of the joint can cause it to lock up or get stuck. Usually they will move around to make the locking temporary but if the symptoms get more recurrent it makes more sense to treat this problem more agressively.

Grabow mentioned that he has a rehab routine to manage his elbow condition but there is luck involved in how well this works. Hopefully the loose debris is small enough he can work through it. Other non-surgical options include the usual non-steroidal anti-inflammatory meds or possibly a cortisone injection. If the symptoms are enough of a problem there is elbow arthroscopy to look inside the joint and remove the loose pieces of cartilage. MRI imaging usually does a good job of seeing these small loose cartilage pieces. X-Rays don't image cartilage well but they are useful to see bony loose pieces and spurs.

Elbow arthroscopy / (image), like other joint arthroscopy is done under fluid to distend the joint. The elbow anatomy has many more important nerves passing nearby so the portals (or entry incisions) to the joint are very precise to minimize nerve damage risk. Because the elbow is a smaller joint some of the equipment like shavers and grasping tools are smaller as well. Loose bodies and debris are fairly straightforward to remove but for the same reason they developed in the first place they can recur.

Elbow bone chips aren't limited to pitchers. NL MVP, Albert Pujols just underwent removal of bone chips from his right elbow (his 2nd surgery as in 2008 he had ulnar nerve surgery). Kosuke Fukudome missed the end of his 2007 season in Japan to undergo an elbow scope to remove bone chips. I wrote on this last season at TCR when he was quoted about the impact of his elbow problem on his subsequent play.

Fukudome had elbow surgery late in the 2007 season, and the elbow started bothering him last season right about the time his decline began in May. By the end of the season, his hitting mechanics were a mess.

''I didn't feel the pain physically, but I must have been subconsciously feeling the pain of the elbow,'' said Fukudome, still reluctant to openly admit pain. But when asked if it was a factor last season, he said, ''Probably it was.''

Of course, the issues are different for a pitcher than a hitter. The repetition, particularly a reliever who has to warm up and might not get into a game makes them more likely to get into this kind of problem. Lets just hope that Grabow's subconscious remains as calm as his elbow for 2010.

Much-Maligned Bullpen & Fukudome Lead Cubs To 6-5 Win Over Rockies

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:32:36 -0500

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP Now hitting .274/.390/.459, Kosuke Fukudome is beginning to produce the way we thought he would when he signed last year. Browse more photos » So if I had told you yesterday afternoon that: Aramis Ramirez would make a costly error and leave the game with shoulder soreness; The Cubs would cough up a lead by allowing three unearned runs; Lou would take K...

Lou Pinella And The Cubs Are Not Happy With The 'Leader'

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:02:13 -0500

The list of people and teams mad at ESPN is always growing and shrinking throughout the year. Today you can add the Cubbies, and more specifically Lou Pinella, to said list. Steve Phillips decided to call Lou out, by saying that he wasn't patient enough when coaching rookie Kosuke Fukudome last season, and Pinella respectfully disagrees. Or rather vehemently disagrees.... "I don't have much respect for Steve Phillips," Piniella said after hearing the comment Monday. "L...

Fukudome is a dirty word

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:48:20 -0500

by DCScrap, on 205th magazine Cubs fans would probably agree right about now, but bad baseball is not why Fukudome is considered a bad word. Elgin High School sophomore had to remove her Kosuke Fukudome jersey and wear a gym T-shirt to class Wednesday because of a misunderstanding about how to pronounce the All-Star right-fielder's last name. "Someone stopped me in the hall and asked me what the back of my jersey said," Jill said. She replied that it was the name of Cubs player,...

Finally a Fukudone T shirt without a swear word reference :-) Fukudome is my Homie, Video

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:40:56 -0500

I am sure you have seen at least one headline with the Fukudome swear word reference. That got old in day one :-). This T-shirt will catch on

Kosuke Fukudome: "A Star is Born"

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:47:19 -0500

A great piece on the memory of Kosuke Fukudome's first major league home run.

Spring Training pictures of Kosuke Fukudome

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:56:57 -0500

Spring training pictures of Kosuke Fukudome from CubbiesBaseball.com.

The Cubs rip off Home Run Derby

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:52:44 -0500

The Chicago Cubs' marketing campaign of Kosuke Fukudome looks a lot like something Home Run Derby posted over a month ago ...

Kosuke Fukudome can play defense

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:35:36 -0500

Watch as the Chicago Cubs' Kosuke Fukudome guns the batter down from right field. Ever see a 9-3 putout in baseball? Not since little league.

Fuk-U-Do-Me? No, Fukudome. Or just Kosuke.

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:30:03 -0500

Regardless of how often the Wrigley Bleacherites mispronounce "Fukudome" ... Kosuke Fukudome's jersey probably won't be what we all want it to be.

Fukudome to the Cubs at 4/$50m: Here's what to expect in terms of performance.

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 05:16:18 -0500

Kosuke Fukudome is set to become the first Japanese star in the central states. What can we expect, and what is the key to his transition?

Kosuke Fukudome can throw a Major League tantrum

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:27:03 -0500

Japanese star outfielder Kosuke Fukudome is ready for MLB. But not because of his hitting or fielding - but his ability to throw a tantrum after getting called out on strikes. Video begins as Fukudome has a 3-0 count ... and the ump starts calling strikes on the outside. Hilarity ensues.

Meet Kosuke Fukudome

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:31:31 -0500

On Friday, Rotoworld's Matthew Pouliot took an early crack at projecting the 2008 rosters in the National League. Intriguingly, when breaking down the Mets, Pouliot brings up a name that the average baseball fan has never heard of - that of 30-year-old Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. His friends call him "Dome". No lie.