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Monday, March 26, 2007
Francoeur alters “caveman” approach
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chipper Jones hit .265 with 23 homers and 99 strikeouts in his first full season in the majors in 1995, and Jeff Francoeur hit .260 with 29 homers and 132 strikeouts in his first full season in the majors in 2006.
But that’s about where the hitting similarities between the Braves’ Golden Boys past and present (no offense to Brian McCann) probably start and end.
Francoeur will probably have a long and productive major league career, but he might never have anything approaching a .402 on-base percentage in any season, much less for 13 seasons (that’s Chipper’s career OBP).
They’re very different hitters, Jones the disciplined, patient switch-hitter with power, who uses the entire field and “takes what the pitcher gives him.” He doesn’t try to pull a well-placed, low-and-away strike when he’s protecting the plate on a 2-2 count. Jones hits it to the opposite field.
Francoeur has had what Jones called a “captain caveman” approach to hitting, at least until now. Frenchy admits as much, saying he tried to hit everything as hard as he could.
All that being said, Francoeur seems to be grasping the necessity of making adjustments and refining his approach if he wants to become a great hitter instead of a guy with a .260-.270 average, an anemic .300 OBP and a bunch of dramatic home runs. He’d like to keep the dramatic homers and improve the rest.
“We were saying the other day that we needed to stop the presses because he got a couple of hits to right field,” Jones said of Francoeur, who has indeed had several hits to the opposite (right) field this spring.
He’s hitting .321 this spring despite going 1-for-12 in his past four games. Francoeur, who’s getting a rest like most Braves regulars today, leads the team with three homers and has more RBIs (nine) than strikeouts (eight) in 56 at-bats.
“I was determined to have a better year as far as my batting average,” said Francoeur, who hit .300 in 70 games in 2005 before his average sunk last season in large part because pitchers exploited his first-pitch aggressiveness.
“It’s funny, I had a pretty good year last year,” he said. “But I went up there with no approach. I did pretty good having no clue what I’m doing. Watching McCann, Chipper and some other guys, I learned things.
“I’m a better hitter than .260. Finishing at .260 drove me to work and figure out what I could to make me a .290 or .300 hitter. I’m not going to be a .340 hitter, but there’s no reason I can’t be a .290-.300 hitter every year.”
Jones busts Francoeur’s chops all the time, because he likes him and wants to see him do well. Some fans might wonder if there’s ever been any jealousy from Jones toward the young kid with the cover-boy looks, who was already a near-legendary Atlanta high school athlete before he even signed with the Braves.
Well, there’s not. Or I should say, if there is, Jones has never given any indication of it. He’s been close with Francoeur since the day he entered the clubhouse, helping him when Frenchy asks for tips and sometimes when he doesn’t.
Jones took Francoeur and McCann under his wing. Kelly Johnson and Ryan Langerhans, too. He’s always taking them aside, talking to them about this pitcher or that one, and about the proper approach to hitting, to making pitchers throw you strikes and being willing to take a walk if they don’t.
Francoeur has only drawn 34 walks in 232 major league games, a stunningly low total. According to Stats Inc., he swung at 52.2 percent of first pitches, and Vlad Guerrero (49.2) was the other major league over 45 percent.
Even though he hasn’t drawn a walk yet this spring, he has been working a lot more pitchers, taking more first and second pitches to get into hitters’ counts, or at least to see what a pitcher is throwing and wait for a pitch to drive.
“The biggest thing I learned is unless it’s where I want it, don’t swing,” Francoeur said of his new approach to pitches at the beginning of a plate appearance. “Too many times last year I was 1-0 or 2-0 and gave away an at-bat by swinging at the next pitch just because I was ahead in the count.
“I looked at film this offseason and saw how pitchers took advantage of my aggressiveness. On the first pitch you could see [catchers] setting up off the corner of the plate and tapping their glove out here to make sure the pitcher threw off the plate.”
His new strategy is helping him, probably even more than the adjustment he made in his swing. He’s staying a little lower now, and bringing his front foot back slightly before striding forward.
“He just has to stay back,” McCann said of his best friend and former housemate. “He can’t get too anxious and hit the first pitch he sees _ and he realizes that. We’ve talked about it a number of times, about making pitchers come to him and throw strikes.
“[It makes a] huge difference. The more pitches they throw, the more likely they are to make a mistake.”
When someone mentioned that Francoeur should really be able to hit if he takes some pitches and waits for better ones to swing at, McCann smiled.
“He can hit when he doesn’t,” he said. “Twenty-nine bombs and 102 RBIs last year, helluva season _ for a rookie.”
Matt Diaz looks like a hockey player. And that’s not good. Diaz lost part a top front tooth this morning during batting practice when he leaned down to pick up the weighted bat donut and Chris Woodward accidentally hit him in the face with a bat as Woodward was loosening up.
“Woody, that’s the hardest hit you’ve had all spring,” cracked Craig Wilson.
When I mentioned to Diaz that he looked like a hockey player now, he said, “I don’t even like hockey.”
“You really look like you’re from Lakeland now,” another Brave joked to Diaz.
He was knocked to the ground by the impact, but got up and finished his round of batting practice as teammates and others looked for the bottom half of his damaged tooth, though it was doubtful that anything could be done with it.
The piece of tooth was found, and Diaz was scratched from the lineup and taken to his regular dentist an hour or so away in Lakeland, Fla.
You folks on the blogosphere tell me, someone who knows: Wouldn’t he have to get a cap for that? I doubt Bobby Cox’s good-natured suggestion _ “Super Glue” _ would do the trick.
A skeleton crew of a lineup: Even before Diaz was scratched, the Braves’ lineup looked more like a “B” game lineup, with the exception of Andruw Jones batting cleanup and Craig Wilson hitting fifth.
Pete Orr was playing third and leading off, Willie Harris in right batting second, Woodward at shortstop hitting third, Doug Clark replaced Diaz in left hitting sixth, and Martin Prado (2B) and catcher Corky Miller rounded out the lineup.
Bobby said he just wanted to give Chipper, McCann and Kelly Johnson a rest because they’ve played a lot lately, and backup catcher Brayan Pena was handling Mark Redman’s start in a Triple-A game here at Kissimmee against the Astros.
The fact that Redman is pitching in a Triple-A game means nothing. The Braves have been preparing six starters (they’ll choose five, obviously) and just want to keep everyone on regular rest, which means someone has had to pitch in a “B” game or a minor league game lately.
I’d be really surprised if Cormier and Redman aren’t the last two starters behind Smoltz, Hudson and Chuck James, with Kyle Davies headed to Richmond. I haven’t gotten any indication at all that the Braves are trying to trade any starter, even though they have a surplus in an area many teams are desperately short-handed.
When I mentioned to Bobby this morning that they would have seven legit major league starters when Hampton comes back in May, he said, “That’s good. I like to be in that position. Just subtract Redman and Hampton and see where we’d be.”
Have I mentioned Metallica saved my life? The other night driving back from Viera, I was falling asleep at the wheel of the rental car on a toll road, in traffic going about 80 mph. Not good. So I reached into the CD case for the only thing I thought might help: Metallica’s Master of Puppets.
The headbangers got me through the final 30 minutes of my drive in one piece, no driving on the shoulder. I thank them, and will have to include them in my list of top 10 CDs that have gotten me through this spring training later this week.
“IN SPITE OF ME” by Mark Sandman (Morphine)
Last night I told a stranger all about you/they smiled patiently with disbelief
I always knew you would succeed/no matter what you tried
and I know you did it all/in spite of me
Still I’m proud to have known you/for the short time that I did
Proud to have been a step up on your way
Proud to be a part of your illustrious career
and I know you did it all/in spite of me
In spite of me
Late last night/I saw you in my living room
You seemed so close but yet so cool
For a long time I thought that you’d be coming back to me
Those kind of thoughts can be so cruel
So cruel
And I know you did it all/in spite of me
In spite of me
