How do you say ?advertising? in Japanese? Fans of the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers, among others, might want to find out. Their teams seem to be making deals for dollars rather than results, and they?ll suffer because of it. Exhibit A: outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. The hottest Japanese import cost the curse-laden Cubs $48 million over four years. The former Chunichi Dragon, who played in just 81 games last season because of a right elbow injury, was a terrific hitter in Japan?s Central League. The 30-year-old has earned an M.V.P. award, a pair of batting titles, and a .397 on-base percentage in 1,074 games in a league oft considered the equivalent of a AAAA U.S. league. But take a look at player X, who had 23 homeruns, an on-base percentage of .353, and who played in 153 games last season in the MLB. Player X signed a three-year deal for $36 million earlier this month, and the team that signed him was criticized. Player X is 31-year-old outfielder Jose Guillen, now a Kansas City Royal. Does Guillen have an M.V.P. award like Fukudome? No. Does he have batting titles? No. But has he proven himself as a hitter in the MLB, a league that is superior to any Japanese league? Yes. The real question Cubs' fans should ask is, how much dough will Fukudome bring from overseas markets? Just ask the Seattle Mariners (Ichiro Suzuki) and Boston Red Sox (Daisuke Matsuzaka). While the players those teams signed have been successful, the real benefit they?ve seen is in the profit margin. Advertising dollars, merchandising, television contracts, ticket sales, etc. all increase because of major foreign interest. This just in: the Asian market is big. Really big. So although you?d be hard-pressed to find any scout who?d take Fukudome over Guillen, Guillen is stuck in Kansas City while Fukudome is shining at Wrigley Field. Of course, Fukudome isn?t the only Japanese player who recently made the jump to the big leagues. The Rangers signed relief pitcher Kazuo Fukumori to a two-year, $3 million contract last week. $1.5 million annually is nothing to an owner who once upon a time gave Alex Rodriguez the richest contract in sports history. But, why chase a player from across the ocean when there are plenty in your own backyard? Fukumori, 31-years-old, pitched a paltry 31 innings last year for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan?s Pacific League. He had a 4.25 ERA before undergoing season-ending surgery on his elbow. Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks just gave away closer Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros for pitchers Chad Qualls and Juan Gutierrez, infielder/outfielder Chris Burke, and a large bag of peanuts. Valverde, 28-years-old, saved 47 games in 2006, most in the majors. He?s likely to sign a four-year deal somewhere north of $50 million so he isn?t cheap, but the Rangers haven?t had a good pitching staff since Barry Bonds was disliked simply for being a jerk. Why would Rangers' owner Tom Hicks take a flier on an injured import instead of trading and signing a proven commodity? Oh yeah, the overseas' money. You think scores of extra media outlets will come to town for Valverde?s welcome-to-Houston press conference? Nope. But will thousands (likely hundreds of thousands) of Japanese people buy Fukumori Texas Rangers' jerseys? You betcha. And by the way, adobataijingu. That?s the rough enunciation of ?advertising? in Japanese. It?s tougher to say than Fukumori or Fukudome, but it's more applicable to today?s market. If you?d like to comment on this story, e-mail [email protected].