AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2008 > July > 03
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Time for Braves to demote “The Chosen One”?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’d like to start this by saying we all need to take a deep breath, relax just a bit before tonight’s big pitching matchup, and consider the words of the great Tom Waits, who I am going to see at the Fox Theatre on Saturday night before flying to Los Angeles to continue coverage of this strange season.
From an internet interview not long ago, Waits when asked what’s heaven for him, replied: “Me and my wife on Route 66 with a pot of coffee, a cheap guitar, pawnshop tape recorder in a Motel 6, and a car that runs good parked right by the door.”
OK, now let’s get back to The Francoeur Thing.
No, but seriously, it does say a lot about how this guy’s captivated the local fan base, the media, and blog denizens in far-flung corners of Braves Nation that we’ve spent so many hours examining Frenchy’s Great Decline of ’08, doesn’t it?
Well, that plus it says a lot about how a young hometown player who’s featured so prominently in team marketing can also stay in a lineup a lot longer, not to mention keep his spot on the major league roster longer, than a similarly performing obscure player could be expected to survive in the same circumstances.
Then again, consider the options the Braves had for right field while Mark Kotsay and Matt Diaz were on the DL the past five weeks of so. The Great Decline had not quite reached the epic proportions it has reached in the last week or two, and the Braves certainly weren’t going to run out an outfield on a regular basis that included Brandon Jones, Gregor Blanco and Greg Norton (even Omar Infante was hurt and unavailable most of the past week).
But things could get interesting. With Kotsay back from the DL, and Diaz expected back in a week or so, the Braves will have a difficult decision to make (not difficult in the eyes of most of you and us in the pressbox, but difficult for team officials because of what I said above, about the marketing and all the little kiddies running around in their No. 7 jerseys in the stands, all that).
On the one hand, they risk possible backlash for sending to the minors a kid they’ve built their “brand” around, their advertising, all that (hey, stop howling, I’m just giving you the facts as I understand them).
But on the other hand, they risk what, to me, is far worse backlash — from fans who want to, and need to, think their team puts winning first, and doesn’t show favoritism or make seemingly illogical decisions when it comes to personnel, choosing to sit or send down, say, Gregor Blanco instead of Francoeur, since Francoeur is not out of minor league options, needs a lot of work to get his swing and confidence back, and isn’t doing much at all to help the team win.
On the contrary, Francoeur’s slump has reached epic proportions and become a distraction, the center of too much attention. How can the kid possibly get straightened out in this environment, when he and his teammates are being asked about The Slump every day, every night, on radio, on TV, in the clubhouse.
And when the fans at Turner Field have begun booing him after every failed at-bat, louder than ever last night as he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and grounded into a double play with bases loaded. How is he going to snap out of this funk with this chaos and inquisition that’s building around him?
Here are the numbers. Warning, this is not for those with sensitive stomachs:
Francoeur is hitting .236 with 19 doubles, eight homers, 41 RBI, 20 walks, 62 strikeouts, a .291 OBP and .379 slugging percentage - and those are the relatively good numbers, the overall numbers.
Then we get into the nastier stuff. He’s hit .215 against lefties (keep in mind, he’s a right-handed hitter).
He’s hitting .202 (20-for-99) with runners in scoring position, with 23 strikeouts and seven double plays grounded into (a year ago today, Francoeur was hitting .344 with RISP in almost the exact same number of at-bats).
He’s hitting .200 (10-for-50) in the late innings of close games.
He’s 2-for-20 with the bases loaded, which is almost unimaginable. In half of those at-bats, he’s either struck out or grounded into a double play.
For those who think he’s better off taking the first pitch, well, I know where you’re coming from. But it ain’t so, not with Francoeur, at least not statistically.
After getting behind 0-1 in counts, he’s hit .226 in 177 at-bats. After being ahead 1-0, he’s hit .214 in 98 at-bats.
And with two strikes? Oh, you don’t want to know (.158, 24-for-152 with 62 strikeouts and six walks).
In 55 night games, he’s hit .203 with three homers and a .250 OBP.
Now, the deepening slump: He’s hit .211 (48-for-228) with five homers and 53 strikeouts in 59 games since April 29. At Turner Field during that period, he’s hit .205 with three homers, 12 RBIs and 31 strikeouts in 31 games.
Since June 3, Francoeur has hit .194 (20-for-103) with one homer and seven RBis in 27 games, with 25 strikeouts, a .245 OBP and .262 slugging percentage. That’s a .507 OPS in his past 27 games.
And in his past 14 games, Francoeur is 6-for-48 (.125) with no extra-base hits, one RBI and 16 strikeouts with three walks.
So unless he has a big turnaround in the next week, would the Braves really keep him in the lineup, or even on the roster, if it meant having to send down another outfielder?
Blanco has hit .338 with eight RBI and a .400 OBP in his past 18 games, including 13-for-25 (.520) with three walks and two strikeouts during a current six-game hitting streak.
Might the Braves consider moving Kotsay to right fielder, Blanco to center, and Diaz in left? Josh Anderson or Brandon Jones could be a fourth outfielder if they want Francoeur to go to Richmond and work on the changes that he’s working on now in the batting cage with hitting coach Terry Pendleton.
T.P. told me last night that they’re at the point now of breaking down Francoeur’s swing, getting him to do some entirely different things than he’s done in the past, and that this is stuff he has to get comfortable with outside of the games, not try to do while he’s up there facing major league pitchers.
Chipper had this to say about Francoeur’s situation and what he’d say to him or is saying to him:
“Keep your chin up. Keep coming to work, keep working hard. It’s a tough time for him. He’s never struggled up to this point [of his life], ever. He’s always been The Chosen One, as we like to call him. But this game will humble you.
“I’d like to see a little more of the enthusiasm he showed earlier in his career. He’s really down on himself right now, and I think it will help him come out of it a little quicker if he doesn’t take the game as seriously as he is.”
OK, gotta get to the ballpark. First, a tune. Oh, and ask me about Kotsay’s scouting report on Hanson later. It’s not a long one, but he did talk about him. I don’t have time to find the quotes right now, but will later.
”WE’RE JUST FRIENDS” by Jeff Tweedy (Wilco)
Over and over and over again
You say that we’re just friends
Forget the implications
Infatuations end
If love’s so easy, why’s it hard
I can’t imagine ever being apart
I’ll come back to you
It’d be brand new
But I promise
We’re just friends
Over and over and over again
I try to make amends
For everything that I’ve done wrong
My whole world just spins
Make some coffee, hold me up
Try to talk me out of giving up
I’ll come back to you
It’ll be brand new
But I promise
We’re just friends
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