CHICAGO | Lou Piniella officially took the bloom off the Kosuke Fukudome rose a few hours before the Cubs' 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday night that featured Ryan Dempster's team-leading 13th win.
The Japanese import Fukudome had little to do with the Cubs taking the big weekend series two games to one to knock the St. Louis Cardinals seven games back in the National League Central while keeping the Milwaukee Brewers four games behind.
Lack of anything in the box score may be Fukudome's biggest trouble these days. After impressing with his patience and plate discipline in the first two months of the season, he has done little offensively, and has looked terrible striking out, spinning around almost 180 degrees with his bat stiffly extended.
Against the Cardinals, Fukudome -- batting second -- was 0-for-4, including a double-play grounder in the first. He apparently has hit a wall in his first American pro season, going 30-for-138 in his past 39 games. Fukudome went 3-for-28 on the recently concluded nine-game home stand as his average dropped to .269 to go along with just eight homers and 42 RBIs.
"We need him to start hitting," Piniella said. "Otherwise, we'll look for other options."
Those options, Piniella said, might include second baseman Mike Fontenot (.291, eight homers, 30 RBIs), who "needs to play," Piniella said. If Fontenot starts, Mike DeRosa simply would switch to right field -- Fukudome's position.
Piniella said another player deserving of more time is outfielder Reed Johnson (.300, six homers, 41 RBIs), who loses a lot of at-bats when Jim Edmonds starts in center field against right-handed pitchers.
Piniella has praised Fukudome -- voted in as an All-Star starting outfielder -- as the NL's best defensive right fielder. He made a nice diving catch in the ninth inning Sunday, prompting loud chants of "Fukudome."
"He does such a good job in right field that we hate to take him out of the lineup because of that," Piniella said.
But the Cubs will need more hitting as they embark on a six-game road trip.
Their offensive production is noticeably lower on the road, where they are still just 26-30 despite their recent four-game sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee.
The Cubs are virtually unbeatable at home (45-17) after they took a 5-4 season edge over the arch-rival Cardinals. Dempster, 13-5 overall but 11-2 at Wrigley Field in 15 starts, allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. Valparaiso 's Jeff Samardzija (1/3 of an inning, a hit and a strikeout in the seventh), Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol nailed down the win in relief.
Dempster, Edmonds and first baseman Derrek Lee contributed fine defensive plays, and Ronny Cedeno's two-run double was the key hit in a five-run sixth inning.
