MLB

No one would argue that Kosuke Fukudome has been solid thus far this season, and certainly a fan-favorite after his first-pitch-of-the-season double and first-game ninth inning three-run homer (I know I bought his T-shirt).  His stats (.279/.383/.408) are respectable, and his VORP is fifth-best among rookie position players.

However, dude has a problem on the road.  In fact, his splits are almost unbelievable:

   Split   G  PA  R  H  2B HR RBI  BB  SO  BA   OBP  SLG  OPS  BAbip
   Home    46 192 39 56 11  5  23  29  36 .348 .450 .522 .972  .425
   Away    44 194 20 35  6  2  13  26  34 .212 .316 .297 .613  .252

Yikes.  Oddly, the difference seems to come almost completely down to Kosuke’s difference in home and road BAbip.  I would be tempted to chalk this up to luck, but we’re dealing with quite a few PAs here.  At first, I thought maybe it had something to do with his performance during day games at Wrigley, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.  Kosuke OPS’s .799 under the sun and .783 under the lights.  A difference, for sure, but not the whole story.

Any thoughts as to the discrepancy?  If Kosuke starts to get comfy in those hotels, and a few hits drop our way, we may begin to improve on that less-than-stellar 20-26 road record.