It might be a hard sell, but manager Lou Piniella is going to try it with right fielder Kosuke Fukudome.
Piniella did not start Fukudome on Monday with the Cubs facing Diamondbacks lefty Randy Johnson, who is tough on left-handed batters. But there's more. Piniella wants Fukudome to back off just a bit from his rigorous workout routine, figuring perhaps it had something to do with Fukudome's recent slump at the plate.
"I was wondering if he was doing too much work early in the afternoon prior to the game," Piniella said before Monday's game. "I told him I didn't know for sure, but it was something to explore."
Piniella added he stressed to Fukudome that playing every day and taking regular batting practice is usually enough work. Fukudome is a tireless worker, but he had gone 12-for-67 over his previous 18 games.
Fukudome starred in Japan, but the more grueling schedule and more extensive travel in North America may have caught up with him.
DIAMONDBACKS 2, CUBS 0: RHP Rich Harden allowed only one hit over seven innings. That hit was a leadoff homer by Alex Romero in the sixth, and it was enough to beat the light-hitting Cubs. The Cubs managed two hits against LHP Randy Johnson and nothing against the Arizona bullpen. RHP Bob Howry gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth. It was the fourth time the Cubs have been shut out this year.
