Come To Think Of It: Fukudome or Lee, Who Will Be Cubs Fans' No. 1 Enemy?

We Cubs fans often think of ourselves as the best baseball fans in the world, and with good reason.

We stay loyal to our team, despite going 100 years without obtaining the holy grail.

But in recent years, Cubs fans have become much more impatient. The tease of 2003, and the 97 victories last season, have left us salivating like Pavlov's dog for more.

The fact that we're 0 for our last nine in postseason play isn't helping to calm our nerves one bit.

We've seen this impatience demonstrated in many different ways. Through talk radio, certainly, but more demonstratively at Wrigley Field, where we've booed the likes of Carlos Zambrano for his meltdowns and Derrek Lee for grounding all those double plays.

And it's with this thought in mind that I ask you, the Cubs fans: Which player will be public enemy No. 1 in 2009?

My money is on Kosuke Fukudome.

We need to see an immediate and noticeable turnaround, or the masses will be vocal in clamoring for the hard working Reed Johnson in center field.

But a close second on the enemy list could be Lee. While still a good hitter for average, and a fine defensive first baseman, we've not seen evidence of the power that earned him his $13 million per year.

In 2005, Lee hit 46 home runs in 594 at-bats. Since then, he's hit 50 homers in 1,365 at-bats.

And his frustrating inability to produce hits when they mean something is part of the problem.

I don't know about you, but if I see one more double play from Lee in the first couple games of the season, I will scream.

And please don't bore me with how well he hit in the playoffs. I know he hit three doubles and batted .545, but it was the quietest .545 I've ever seen.

He made no impact when it counted. Zero runs batted in.

But back to Fukudome for a minute.

After a hot start last year, which resulted in a starting spot in the All-Star game, to say he cooled off after that would be an understatement.

The pricey Japanese import hit only .217 following the break. And he looked foolish in doing so.

His swings made us cringe. He lunged at the outside fastball, which resulted in such an awkward and off-balanced follow-through, it became a joke.

But the joke is on general manager Jim Hendry. He still owes Kukudome $38 million over the next three years. That is why the Cubs are giving him a second chance to show that he is lineup-worthy, platooning him with Reed Johnson to start the season.

But since Fukudome bats left-handed, he will see the majority of the action while Johnson, a fan favorite and solid hitter, will be spending more time on the bench than a sitting judge.

And that won't sit well with impatient Cubs fans.

Of course, another Cubs player with a target on his back could be Alfonso Soriano. Many fans would already rather see Ryan Theroit or Mike Fontenot bat leadoff, so there's one strike against Soriano.

His silly little bunny hop is another strike, especially when he drops a fly ball.

The third strike is that, because of injuries and his lack of discipline at the plate, he just doesn't produce like you expect from a guy making $18 million a year.

We all remember his pathetic performance against the Dodgers last October.

So, while we love our Cubbies—unlike the White Sox "faithful," who only come out to the ballpark if their team is winning—our tolerance has been tested in recent years.

The confines of Wrigley Field may not be so friendly this year if we don't get off to a hot start and certain guys don't perform well.

Here's hoping for the best for Fukudome and Lee. But if they falter again, hide the children.

They just shouldn't hear that kind of language, come to think of it.