"Any day now, Kosuke Fukudome starts over with the Cubs, looking for a rising sun in the land of his fallen star.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella has said he is confident Fukudome will rebound from his four-month nosedive after a strong start last season. General manager Jim Hendry has said several times he believes Fukudome's 2009 season will resemble the first part of his rookie year more than the last part.

The Cubs are betting what's left of a $48 million contract on it.

But in the small sampling of World Baseball Classic games with Team Japan, Fukudome has shown little to inspire confidence that his offseason core-conditioning program and extra hitting have given him the power to turn around a funk that reached helpless proportions last September.

Entering Monday night's WBC championship game, Fukudome -- having moved from right field to center, where he'll play for the Cubs -- had four singles in 20 at-bats with seven walks.

''We haven't worried about it,'' said Hendry, who made a point to watch Fukudome on TV during the tournament, getting up in the wee hours to watch early-round games in Asia. ''Even some of his outs, he seemed to stay on the ball well. I think he's going to be much better than he was in the second half [of 2008]. And he's got plenty of time to get ready for the season.''

Fukudome, who turns 32 next month, is expected to be in camp and ready to play by Thursday, giving him 10 days to load up on at-bats and get readjusted to the big-league routine by Opening Day -- when Piniella said he plans to have him starting in center and maybe batting second.

From a management standpoint, optimism is the only card to play with three years left on Fukudome's deal. And a nine-year record of success in Japan is a starting place for that optimism.

But others in the organization, as well as talent evaluators from outside of it, aren't as quick to express high expectations. Few expect Fukudome to be the .188 hitter he was in August and September, when he became a late-inning defensive replacement. But nobody assumes he'll be the .348 hitter he was through May 3, either.

Nao Masamoto, the Cubs' video coordinator and a former athletic trainer, formed a bond with Fukudome last season and visited him twice in Japan during the winter.

''He's ready,'' said Masamoto, who expects a more consistent hitter. ''He knows the big-league lifestyle.''"