I would agree that Theriot/Fontenot is the ideal 1-2. I just don't see that
happening, because for whatever reason, Fonty hasn't gotten a sniff there, nor
any whispers of him being put there. I made the Kosuke comment, because it
sounds like Pinella is putting him there - at least to start the season.

As for his stats, I expect him to have pretty close to the same stats as last
year. I don't expect him to be as hot as he was last April, but I don't expect
him to be as dreadful as he was last July-Sep. I think people are downplaying
too much the large change from last season. We see it in the US also. Many
times guys from AA or AAA who get a full time job in the big leagues burn out by
August/September because of the longer season. Well the Japanese season is
about as long as the minor league season. Plus, the other thing to consider is
the travel. Because Japan is small, the longest flight is I believe only 1.5
hours, and most are shorter than that. Throw in the mental exhaustion being in
a foreign land with a foreign language, and a throng of daily media demands and
it is very easy to see how the later into the season it got, the more tired he
became, and the worse he played.

Look, I'm not trying to make excuses per se, but from a realistic perspecitve,
that is one hell of a life and physically draining change. What happened
Theriot's first year he had a full-time gig? He was worthless in September.
Yet, Theriot had the advantage of being in a familiar country and a somewhat
better knowledge of the travel schedule (the Pacific Coast league is vastly
spread out). Why don't we extend the same benefit of the doubt to Fukudome? Is
it because he is making $10 million? That doesn't change the facts of the
situation.

Look, from all accounts, he worked his ass off this offseason to get prepared
for the long grind of the season. He has been through it once now, and has an
interpreter who he is on the same page with. I think a .280 average with a
.350-.360 OBP is a reasonable expectation. Could be higher, could be lower.
Would I put money on it, HELL NO! But if I had to make a guess, that would be
it. I'm willing to give him another shot. I just hope if he starts off cold,
the fans give him a chance to work out of it, just like any other player.