From Tokyo with love.......

Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome and the Chicago Cubs reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday on a $48 million, four-year contract. Fukudome was the 2006 Central League MVP, batting .351 with 31 homers and 104 RBIs. He recently told the Dragons he wouldn't return next season, saying he wanted to move to the major leagues.

Fukudome was considered one of the best outfielders in Japanese baseball. The 30-year-old slugger was a key member of the Japan team that won the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March 2006. He had surgery on his right elbow in August and sat out the Japan Series, but has 192 homers and a .305 batting average over nine seasons with the Chunichi Dragons, who won their first championship in 53 years this past November.

I take Japanese players with a grain of salt. Ichiro is a rare find, he's arguably one of the greatest pure hitters of all time. Hideko Nomo had a stellar career that included the Rookie of the Year award and a no-hitter, but overall was a serviceable average pitcher. Yankee Outfielder Hideki Matsui is also a successful major league player, but signs of ware and tear of the longer and more rigorous MLB season have taken it's toll on him the last few seasons.

The book is out on many current Japanese imports, but the bigger story here is the continuous borderline reckless spending by the Cubs. Over the past two seasons they gave a huge $100 million + contract to Soriano that will pay him through his 40th birthday. Big $10 million a year contracts to hit or miss pitchers Jason Marquis and Ted Lily (in all fairness, Lily was the rock in their rotation during the 2007 season). Of course the Zambano extension was a no-brainer, but they have crippled themselves in some sense. Going forward they might have to sit out of the bidding of attractive free agents just because another $70 - $100 million is just not feasible. Especially if they aren't winning.

Of course, I am a man of different cultural tastes and enjoy seeing baseball's continued international appeal. The talent pool has become diluted with expansion over the past 10-15 years and foreign talent is needed.

Foreign talent is also needed in my current dating pool. Consider me a diplomat, and my hip apartment with velvet wall paper, black lighting, and a Barry White shrine to be the UN of love. FYI - I don't know who this lovely Japanese woman is, but I don't think her name is important for our purposes.