Moving to a new location
AJC blogs are moving to a new technical platform. So check out Terence Moore’s new blog home and bookmark it.
Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > July
July 2008
Francoeur’s future up in the air
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This has been a goofy year for the Braves and their starting right fielder. So you wonder about something. Even though Jeff Francoeur has been a hometown favorite who once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as “The Natural,” you wonder if it was a given that he wasn’t going anywhere before Thursday’s trade deadline.
It wasn’t a given.
It also isn’t a given that Francoeur or others with the Braves still won’t go sooner than later, suggested general manager Frank Wren after Thursday’s trade deadline came and went with no activity by his struggling team. “There still are opportunities to make deals,” Wren said, referring to waiver transactions by the end of the month or straight-out trades in the offseason.
This isn’t to say Francoeur is on the trading block. This is to say, who knows?
Francoeur shouldn’t leave, by the way. We say so for many reasons, starting with his three years of goodness compared to his current one of ugliness. Even so, these are the same Braves officials who stunned Francoeur earlier this season by shipping him and his slumping Louisville Slugger to the minor leagues for three days. These also are the same Braves officials who threatened to trigger a fire sale after they sent slugger Mark Teixeira on Tuesday to the highest bidder.
No wonder Francoeur nodded at his locker in the home clubhouse at Turner Field before saying, “Me and my dad were talking, and I said to him, ‘If a great deal comes along, you know, [the Braves] might pull the trigger. That’s my guess.’ I didn’t want to go anywhere.”
In other words, pigs with tomahawks across their chests are flying over Atlanta these days. That’s because Francoeur, of all people, was forced to wonder if he’d be wearing a Braves uniform on Thursday night for their series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals. We’re talking about a Lilburn native who did those wondrous things at Parkview High School. He won a Gold Glove last year during his second full season in the majors. He also proved he could hit for power two years ago (29 home runs) with the Braves and then for average last season (.293). Not only that, he had more than 100 RBIs both seasons.
Still, courtesy of Francoeur’s struggles at the plate this season (.235 average, nine homers and 47 RBI before Thursday night’s game), he could fall a decade or so shy of fulfilling his goal of becoming a lifetime Braves player.
“Last year, even in my wildest dreams, I never would have thought I’d be talking about being traded,” Francoeur said. “I know a lot of fans are wondering what happened to me, but I still have two months to turn it into a .250 to .255 season and get 75 to 80 RBI. Those aren’t the numbers I wanted, but I can at least show what I’m made of. But, you know, after the way things have gone this year (with the demotion to the minors), who knows what they’re thinking?”
What are the Braves thinking? Said Wren, when asked if there are any untouchables on his roster regarding trades, “I guess there is no one who is completely untouchable. But I’d say there are a number of players that we prefer not to trade.”
Who are they? “That’s proprietary information that helps you when you make deals,” said Wren, leaving Francoeur to twist in the wind with those pigs.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Several factors led to Teixeira trade
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s the injuries, stupid. Actually, it’s the avalanche of those injuries that caused Braves officials to pull one of the biggest reversals you’ll ever see.
They had no choice.
You can’t lose your best everyday player (Chipper Jones) and your best overall pitcher (Tim Hudson) on the same day to the disabled list and keep slugger Mark Teixeira. That’s especially true with all of that other stuff happening.
Stuff like aches and pains elsewhere throughout your roster. Stuff like the National League East race leaving you in a hurry after two consecutive brutal losses in Philadelphia before getting torched at home by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Until then, Braves officials believed they still had a decent chance to contend, and they were correct.
Just 11 days ago, Braves manager Bobby Cox sat in the home dugout at Turner Field and said defiantly that his team would be a buyer instead of a seller regarding the July 31 trade deadline. He even held a team meeting to inform his players that the Teixeira trade rumors were false.
Then there was Braves chairman Terry McGuirk telling me on Saturday night that his team had short-term and long-term plans, but none involved the Braves holding anything close to a fire sale before Thursday’s trade deadline. McGuirk said, “My attitude is that we’re always a buyer, especially in this flawed National League East, where every team has big holes and flaws.”
You know the rest.
Teixeira is working for the Los Angeles Angels right now. The Braves shipped away their slick-fielding first baseman who can become a free agent at the end of the season, and then they began to prepare for 2009 with the younger (but definitely not better) Casey Kotchman in return.
Added McGuirk during our conversation on Saturday night, “Until proven that we don’t have a chance in that division, we’re a buyer.”
It was proven emphatically.
And quickly.
Thus the Teixeira trade.
Permalink | Comments (60) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Players know Falcons head coach means business
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flowery Branch — Nobody knew the outwardly compassionate Bill Walsh would evolve into a secretly ruthless NFL head coach. Chuck Noll was more about actions than words from the start. Then you had the sideline calisthenics of John Madden, Jerry Glanville and the rest.
Anyway, who is Mike Smith, and what will he become?
You just can’t tell, especially since this particular “Mike Smith” is entering his seventh month with the Falcons as a first-year NFL head coach.
What we do know is that Smith has coached for 26 years overall, including nine in the NFL. He also has the facial profile of a kinder, gentler Vince Lombardi, and he smiles like Steve “wild and crazy guy” Martin. Plus, despite having a team that began training camp this week dominated by question marks instead of exclamation points, he gives you the impression that he is eternally joyful.
So why did Falcons defensive end John Abraham raise his eyebrows after easing into a smile between two-a-days on Tuesday after our last comment?
“I’ve seen him angry,” said Abraham, before adding in a hurry, “It wasn’t fiery angry, but I’ve seen him get an attitude a couple of times. He puts his foot down when he needs to, and a lot of times, you can have a tendency to overlook that, because if you look at his exterior, he’s such a nice guy. But when you have somebody who is always happy, you don’t want to see him when he gets mad.”
That’s true, which means the Falcons may have what they need — a head coach who makes players comfortable, but only to a point. In other words, Smith isn’t wearing the blinders of Jim Mora, who was so chummy with his players that he once climbed into the Lamborghini of DeAngelo Hall to follow the bus containing the rest of the Falcons to a team event.
Then again, Smith is sort of like Mora, suggested Abraham, who has seen more than a few coaching styles during his nine seasons in the league that began with the New York Jets. “To me, [Smith] is a mix of a several people, including Jim Mora, and he’s a little bit of Herm Edwards,” Abraham said. “Both of those coaches know how to treat guys on and off the field. That’s the biggest thing to me. You can always go to Mike’s office and talk to him.”
Bobby Petrino, not so much. He was Smith’s predecessor, and he also was a rookie NFL head coach. His style was to treat professional athletes as if they were the same as the college players he was used to coaching. The word “dictatorship” comes to mind. Not surprisingly, with much of the Falcons locker room threatening to shove a goalpost down his mouth, he bolted in the middle of the night to call Hogs in Arkansas near the end of last season.
You had Mora before Petrino, and you had Dan Reeves and his traditional ways as a veteran NFL head coach before that. As for other Falcons skippers, their styles aren’t worth mentioning, except for moments of goodness by a Leeman Bennett here and a Glanville there.
Now you have Smith and his occasionally deceptive calmness. “I’m not a hothead by any stretch, but the guys know when it’s time to get on point,” Smith said, straight-faced, forgetting to add … or else.
Permalink | Comments (20) | Categories: Falcons/NFL
Cox key to Braves’ success
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Take it from Braves chairman Terry McGuirk, the hidden reason behind the franchise’s record sprint to 14 consecutive division titles through 2005. No, his wobbly team isn’t surrendering this week with a fire sale before Thursday’s trade deadline, and, no, his manager, Bobby Cox, isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Good.
To both things.
“[Braves owner] Liberty Media will do whatever is best for this team, and they’ve already entrusted all of that authority in existing management,” said McGuirk, suggesting that Liberty Media will allow McGuirk to join president John Schuerholz and general manager Frank Wren in becoming buyers more than sellers during the next few days. That is, if that trio wishes to deal at all. Added McGuirk, “My attitude is that we’re always a buyer, especially in this flawed National League East, where every team has big holes and flaws. Until proven that we don’t have a chance in that division, we’re a buyer.
“Being a seller is sort of your last resort, and we’re looking at buying situations every day toward improving this team. We’ve got a long-term plan with all of these young guys, and we’ll just see how all of these other plans work into it.”
Each of those plans includes the Braves’ 67-year-old manager. So here’s some advice for all of those Cox bashers coming faster than Braves losses during many weeks this season: Get over it. Not only that, just get real. You can run through the whole list in your spare time. Earl Weaver. Sparky Anderson. Leo Durocher. Joe McCarthy. Connie Mack. That’s for starters. And how about Dick Williams and Billy Southworth, the latest managers to become bronzed forever with their Hall of Fame inductions on Sunday in Cooperstown?
If those guys were in their prime, none would do better than Cox at handling a Braves team full of aches, pains and inconsistency. He didn’t take a Louisville Slugger to John Smoltz’s shoulder or Tom Glavine’s elbow. He had nothing to do with the eternal throbbing of Mike Hampton and Chipper Jones. Just so you know, Mark Kotsay already had a creaky back when he came to Atlanta. We won’t even mention the injury that took reliever Peter Moylan away for the season with Smoltz and Jeff Francoeur’s ailing bat. “Bobby gets done more with less than almost anybody else in baseball,” said McGuirk of a manager who has spoiled the choppers and the chanters with his little miracles.
Two seasons come to mind. There was 1999, when the Braves lost slugger Andres Galarraga (cancer) and closer Kerry Ligtenberg (elbow) before the season and catcher Javy Lopez along with two other pitchers during it. The Braves still won 103 games, their division and the National League pennant. There also was three years ago, when the Braves took the N.L. East despite missing three-fifths of their starting pitching rotation and using 18 different rookies on their roster.
Even so, with the Braves threatening to miss the playoffs for a third straight year courtesy of aging veterans and struggling youth, a bull’s-eye has replaced the tomahawk on Cox’s uniform.
“Well, I hear it occasionally that people disagree with Bobby’s theory of managing,” McGuirk said. “He does things on intuition and hunches that prove right most of the time. It’s wondrous even to baseball people as to how he comes up with the theories that he does — to make the changes or to make the calls. But I have total confidence in Bobby. We’re so lucky to have him in this franchise. It just isn’t his fault.”
It really isn’t.
Permalink | Comments (47) | Categories: Braves/MLB
Should Braves go after Bonds?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A guy asked me something the other day that I decided to run by the masses. I shrugged it off, by the way. That’s because this particular thing would rank somewhere between ludicrous and outrageous if it happened.
Barry Bonds.
That’s the name the guy mentioned to me while nodding. To paraphrase what the guy proceeded to say: “With the Braves struggling in the clutch at the plate along the way to a slew of one-run losses [or losses, period], why not grab the biggest free agent out there that nobody wants?”
Well, here’s why: It would be absolutely insane. The primary reason Bonds hasn’t signed with anybody to date is because nobody wishes to have the circus that would come with such a move.
In case you haven’t heard, Bonds is slated to have a federal trial next year on perjury charges involving his (ahem) alleged dabbling in performance-enhancing drugs. Not only that, he hasn’t been the most accommodating athlete regarding teammates, reporters and fans.
None of that mattered to this guy, though, because he said the positives involving Bonds on the Braves would override the negatives. He is baseball’s all-time leader in home runs, and he even slammed 28 last season. He turns 44 on Thursday, but he still is younger than former Braves first baseman Julio Franco.
He could show the Braves’ young hitters how to remain disciplined in the batter’s box no matter what. He could give the Braves much needed pop off the bench. Despite his fading defensive skills, he could play occasionally in left field. He could help the Braves’ attendance that has slide below the major-league average.
And don’t forget: Braves executive John Schuerholz mentioned in his book two years ago that he once tried to trade for Bonds and almost had him.
I’m sorry, but I’m back to visions of a Bonds-induced circus at Turner Field, and remember: The Braves traditionally haven’t been into sideshows.
Then again, what do you think? And if you agree with this guy who wants Bonds in Atlanta, would you prefer elephants or giraffes to go with the clowns?
Permalink | Comments (209) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Braves still have a chance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since the Braves were scheduled to play their 100th game Tuesday night in Miami, this is the optimum time to explain why those choppers and chanters should stop exchanging their foam-rubber tomahawks for ones shaped like white flags.
It’s not over.
For one, the fourth-place Braves have 62 games left to discover ways to become the first-place Braves. Then again, they could slump so badly this summer that they could eliminate themselves by Labor Day from snatching the National League East or a wild-card berth. “I don’t know if I’d say we have a good shot [at the playoffs],” said Braves general manager Frank Wren. “I think we’ve got a shot. We’ve put ourselves in a position where I don’t know if you can describe it as good. We have to play better to have a good shot.”
That’s true. Still, despite their various issues, the Braves have an easier shot at the playoffs than you think.
For instance:
• The Division: These are the same New York Mets who blew that seven-game lead last year with 17 games left to play. These also are the same Mets who exposed their lack of character earlier this season by playing just sorry enough to get the clubhouse-unpopular Willie Randolph fired as their manager.
The Philadelphia Phillies?
Not impressed. Courtesy of an offense that is home run or bust, the Phillies haven’t scored much in a month. They also could use another starting pitcher.
The Mets and the Phillies are ahead of the Braves, along with the Florida Marlins, among just two teams in the majors with 80 or more errors. The Florida offense also is flimsy since it depends on the power game, and it gets worse: The Marlins rank among baseball’s bottom four in team ERA.
• The wounded: Many of the Braves’ injured will become the Braves’ healthy down the stretch. That means they could become the Braves’ catalysts.
Just look at the impressive ways of reliever Mike Gonzalez since his return from the disabled list. So, in the coming days and weeks, the Braves should receive jolts of goodness from a combination that involves Rafael Soriano, Yunel Escobar, Matt Diaz, Tom Glavine, (dare we say it?) Mike Hampton and others.
• The odds: No way the Braves will continue to play this badly on the road and during one-run games. They began Tuesday night’s game against the Marlins tied for the third-worst record in the majors on the road at 16-32. They were a wretched 5-22 in one-run games, including 24 consecutive losses in a row on the road to top baseball’s old record by three and counting.
“It’s been our lack of run production, and everybody needs to step up just a bit,” said Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira. “It’s like one hit here, moving a runner over there, and those one-run losses turn into one-run wins.”
• The schedule: Let’s say the Braves get that road thing and that one-run thing together sooner than later. Let’s say they stay within striking distance of the division leaders. Let’s say the Marlins fade as expected and the Mets and the Phillies are NL East contenders by default.
The Braves would control their own destiny with six games each against the Mets and the Phillies in September.
• The manager: Bobby Cox, a future Hall of Famer, with 15 division titles, five pennants and a world championship.
Permalink | Comments (19) | Categories: Braves/MLB
Braves must keep Teixeira
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s not going to happen. Well, they sort of suggested as much on Saturday night at Turner Field. That said, if Braves officials do trade Mark Teixeira before the July 31 deadline, they should apologize to everybody on their roster, and then they should give rebates to those entering Turner Field the rest of the season.
Surrender never should be rewarded in sports. That’s especially true when you’re part of an underwhelming division, and you’re a medium-sized winning streak from first place, and you have this Teixeira guy who is pretty good as both a cleanup hitter and a first baseman.
Teixeira can become a free agent after this season, but so what? If he leaves, the Braves get a couple of draft picks. If he stays, it saves Braves officials the difficult task of trying to find another slugger as good or even better. So you keep him through September no matter. In fact, to hear all parties involved tell it before the Braves’ 8-2 loss to the Washington Nationals, he isn’t going anywhere. Braves manager Bobby Cox informed Teixeira and others as much on Friday in a team meeting.
“Bobby pointed out that there had been rumors about me and [reliever Will Ohman], and he told us not to listen to media reports and to those rumors, because this team is still trying to win the [National League East],” said Teixeira, 28, giving one of the two primary reasons those rumors never made sense. Here’s the other primary reason: He is pretty good.
Since joining the Braves on last year’s trade deadline from the Texas Rangers, Teixeira has shown often why he has two Gold Gloves and counting. There was the sixth inning Saturday, for instance, when he converted a nasty hop into an easy out to increase his major-league lead in putouts by a bunch. He also is a switch-hitting terror at the plate. He has hit safely in nine of his past 11 games, and after a slow start earlier this season, he has accumulated 12 homers and 38 RBIs since late May.
No wonder Cox said emphatically before the game, “We’re buyers, not sellers. We’re trying anything to improve. We’re not seeking to move anybody. I don’t know where [people] got all of that stuff from. There’s a time to [start trading players], I suppose, but we’re in this thing.”
Which brings us to the question that causes Braves officials to waffle regarding Teixeira’s future: What if the Braves tumble out of “this thing” in a hurry? Their next seven games are against division foes. After the Nationals leave town today, the fourth-place Braves travel to Florida to face the third-place Marlins. Then the Braves head to Philadelphia for a series against a first-place team that has whipped them eight out of nine times this year.
Said Braves general manager Frank Wren, whose team had more than a few uneven moments in this one at the plate, on the mound, around the bases and in the field, “I think we all have to be realistic. We have to play better baseball in the second half to continue to stay in this thing. As long as we’re in it, we’ll keep this approach. But once, I think, we realize that it’s a situation where we need to start looking toward ‘09, then we’ll try to do what’s best for the organization.”
Keeping Teixeira is best for the organization, period.
Permalink | Comments (94) | Categories: Braves/MLB
Ex-GT hoopster Forrest ‘gets it’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ll take a break from the slew of Bulldogs arrested in Athens, the pending bankruptcy of what was a $130 million quarterback and the inability of the Braves to hit or score on most days to bring you James Forrest, a 6-foot-7 example that some former pro athletes actually get it.
No question, Forrest has done much since leaving the Georgia Tech basketball team in the early 1990s as the guy who nailed that miracle shot against USC. He also spent three days carrying the Yellow Jackets on his massive back to a title during the ACC tournament. Then he dribbled professionally for more than a decade in Greece, Italy, Israel and Spain.
After Forrest retired from professional basketball two years ago, he returned to his hometown of Atlanta, where he runs a construction company, is part owner of several local restaurants and sells vehicles in Newnan. Mostly, at 35, he has evolved into an instant Pied Piper for underprivileged youth, and it began last summer with his first basketball camp that became more than that at Southside High School, his alma mater.
“The first two days, it was more of a matter of talking to them and trying to discipline them,” said Forrest, of the 80 or so boys and girls at his five-day camp that he paid for himself. The sessions featured tutoring and mentoring between picks and rolls. Added Forrest, “By that Friday, a couple of kids said, ‘See you tomorrow, coach.’ I was like, ‘Nah, tomorrow is Saturday.’ And they were like, ‘Well, we’ll see you on Monday.’ And I had to tell them that the camp was over.
“Some of them were crying, because they didn’t want to leave, and that’s when it really hit me like, ‘Wow. We have to have more of this. We have to do whatever it takes to make more of these things happen for these kids.’”
Forrest’s “we” involves athletes from the Atlanta area with the cash and the fame. Whether they have the will is another matter. For every Forrest and former Braves star Marquis Grissom, who was Forrest before Forrest regarding local philanthropy, there are scores of others who need to do something to help the cause.
That’s opposed to whatever they’re not doing now.
“It’s a lot of work, and guy’s schedules may not allow them to do this, but look at Reggie Bush,” said Forrest, referring to the New Orleans player who hosted a summer camp in his hometown of San Diego and had 2,000 youth and participation from 33 current and former NFL players. “I can’t speak for everybody who has made it from Atlanta, but Atlanta should be one of the best cities for athletes doing those types of things.”
Atlanta isn’t, by the way, but Forrest is doing his part. He staged another camp last month, and his next one is July 21 at Southside High School. He can be reached through his e-mail address at jfbbcamp@yahoo.com.
Among those slated to assist Forrest at his upcoming camp is former Hawk Anthony Johnson, as well as former Tech players Dennis Scott, Travis Best and Brian Oliver.
“There is so much unnecessary violence and things going on that there aren’t enough men giving hope to these kids,” said Forrest, who has three children ages 12, 8 and 4. “All of these kids need role models. It doesn’t necessarily come from us being athletes but from us being men.”
Active men.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech/ACC
Favre to Falcons? Stop dreaming
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Let’s dream a little. That’s because none of the following ever will happen for so many reasons, but what the heck?
Brett Favre wants to play again, and if you read between the lines of what his former bosses in Green Bay aren’t saying, they don’t want him back. They want to start fresh at quarterback with the Aaron Rodgers regime. They want Favre to keep his word after last season about retiring - at least from the Packers.
So, since Favre still wants to play (and he should after a splendid 2007 despite his 38-year-old arm), he will have to do so somewhere else in the league.
See where I’m going?
In this wacky dream of mine, Favre would go back to the future and return to the same Falcons franchise that drafted him before mindlessly trading him to the Packers 17 years and a bunch of Hall of Fame moments ago. Favre would bridge the gap for a year or three until Matt Ryan, the Falcons’ first-round pick this season, is ready.
We all can wake up now.
There is a $72 million reason why Ryan won’t be anybody’s backup any time soon with the Falcons. Plus, at this stage of his career, Favre isn’t interested in playing for a team in the midst of a massive rebuilding program.
Then again, Favre is from Kiln, Miss., which is closer to Georgia than Wisconsin.
So maybe …
Zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Permalink | Comments (24) | Post your comment | Categories: Falcons/NFL
Richt must eliminate Georgia’s ‘knuckleheads’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’re a decision-maker with Georgia’s football program, and if you wish to give your talented Bulldogs their best shot at winning a national championship this season, you just can’t spend the offseason having two, three, or four of your players arrested.
You just can’t.
The Bulldogs have had seven and counting, by the way.
It makes you wonder if coach Mark Richt jumps whenever his Blackberry beeps. “Well,” he said, after a long pause over the phone, “the main thing is, I’m sad when anything like (the arrest of a Georgia player) happens. Just like you would if it was your own son. You’re sad when somebody in your own family makes a mistake or gets hurt or whatever it might be. When things like this come up, you hate to hear it. But these guys are human. They do make poor decisions at times.”
That’s true, especially since we’re talking about those between the often wild ages of 18 to 22. Richt also likes to suggest that the bulk of the 130 or so players in his program are closer to Wally Cleaver than Eddie Haskell. Several Bulldogs took a mission trip to Honduras and worked on summer projects spanning from Habitat for Humanity to Camp Sunshine.
Plus, the publicly laid-back image of Richt is somewhat of a fraud. Just ask the Florida Gators. They were stunned along with everybody else last season in Jacksonville after Richt ordered his Bulldogs to charge into the end zone after their first touchdown to celebrate enough to get a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The point is, Richt swings a big stick behind the scenes before and after one of his players becomes a knucklehead.
“I just wish everybody could see how often we do have those conversations. How often we do sit down with these guys as a group, as individuals, as positions coaches in meetings, and it’s a constant message,” said Richt, who frequently ignores the university’s guidelines for punishment by doubling the penalties for his players.
Added Richt, “The bottom line is, they’re going to pay a price for what they did, and then we move forward. In the meantime, shoot, I can’t tell you how many good things are going on this summer. The great majority of them are working their tails off. They’re running. They’re lifting. From what I hear from our seniors and our leaders, they’re showing up, and they’re doing well in school.”
Little of that matters when some of your Bulldogs are spending more time taking mug shots than publicity shots. One guy was arrested and charged with allegedly fracturing the eye socket of another student in a fight. Two other guys were arrested after they were accused of rubbing the belly of a pregnant woman against her wishes. Three guys had alcohol-related arrests, including a DUI. Another guy was charged with speeding and carrying a concealed weapon, but the latter charge was dropped.
If you didn’t know better, you’d think a bunch of Bulldogs are getting full of themselves since they will likely be ranked first or second in most preseason polls. “Uh, I don’t think it’s that at all,” Richt said. “I wish I could tell you what I know about every situation, because I don’t think you would relate those two things at all.”
Well, whatever is causing these Georgia knuckleheads, Richt and his folks need to find more ways to stop it, like now.
(Commenting has been closed on this entry.)
Permalink | Comments (307) | Categories: UGA/SEC
Some tough love for a favorite son
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
They had to do it. Still, the Braves’ decision on Thursday to ship the popular but slumping Jeff Francoeur back to the minors was as wrenching as it gets. That’s why Bobby Cox squinted at Turner Field while sifting through his 26 years of managing in the majors. “I’m trying to recall having a situation like this,” said Cox, still squinting and thinking.
Added Cox, “I don’t recall one.” Then he said after a long sigh, “Well, not too many coaches — and me — slept last night. I’m telling you, it was a rough night. That’s for sure. He could be any one of our sons. We love him that much.”
Everybody does. Those hugging Francoeur include his slew of relatives and friends from Gwinnett County, teammates, opposing players, reporters and even Braves officials who shipped the guy away to Class AA Mississippi.
They had to do it, though, because an absolutely befuddled Francoeur at the plate needed somebody to save him from himself, at least for a while. He’ll stay in the minors no more than three weeks, said Braves general manager Frank Wren, who called this his toughest move after 23 years of calling shots in the majors.
The question is, will Francoeur return as Joe Charboneau or Ron Gant after his drastic transformation from potent to whatever he is now?
Remember Charboneau? Probably not, because he vanished after becoming the American League’s 1980 Rookie of the Year. They wrote songs about the guy in Cleveland back then after his impressive start as a slugger and his eccentric ways (opening beer bottles with his eye socket, for instance). Then he was sent to the minors the following season after hitting slightly less than Francoeur’s sinking .234 batting average, and Charboneau never was heard from again.
You remember Gant, though, the former Braves standout during their early run to goodness in the 1990s. He was so promising as an infielder (19 home runs in 1988) that he finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year balloting. Then came the next season, when Gant slumped badly in mid-June. He was shipped to the minors to become less of an all-or-nothing hitter and an outfielder. “He had a tremendous career after that as one of the most feared hitters in baseball,” said Cox, then the Braves’ general manager, who saw Gant return that September along the way to remaining productive in the majors through the 2003 season.
Maybe Dontrelle Willis will join Francoeur as a future Gant, too. Willis was the National League Rookie of the Year five years ago with the Florida Marlins. He also was a two-time All-Star and the runner-up for the NL’s Cy Young Award three seasons ago. Anyway, the Detroit Tigers demoted Willis and his suddenly wild left arm last month to their Class A team.
These things happen. Now let’s see what happens to Francoeur’s psyche (and batting average) when he returns from the minors after a lifetime as a golden boy. He went from baseball and football stardom at Parkview High School to the cover of Sports Illustrated just months into his rookie year with the Braves in 2005 after a glorious start. That SI cover dubbed Francoeur “The Natural,” and the subhead asked, “Can anyone be this good?”
Apparently not.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: Braves/MLB
Phillies’ favorite patsies live at Turner Field
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Whether the Braves wish to admit it or not (and they don’t, by the way), they are absolutely spooked by their division rivals in the National League East from Philadelphia. If not spooked, they are intimidated, frightened, petrified, mortified, terrified or just plain scared when the Phillies are around.
Something is wrong here. Whatever it is, the Braves have slightly more than two months to figure it out. They’ll play six of their final 12 games of the season against these good but not necessarily overwhelming Phillies, who nevertheless have spent nearly two seasons chopping the Braves to death with bats, gloves, legs and arms instead of tomahawks.
This time, the Phillies managed a 4-1 victory at Turner Field with little resistance from their favorite patsies. In fact, there were more home runs for the Phillies (three) than hits for the Braves (two) through seven innings. It all led to the Phillies’ third sweep over the Braves during the past four series in Atlanta. Plus, the Phillies have won 16 of their past 21 games overall against the Braves and seven straight.
And get this: Prior to arriving in town, the Phillies had lost nine of 11. Their batting average was so tiny during those games that you needed a microscope to see it. Even so, they ignored the fact that they rank below the Braves in the NL in pitching and hitting and outscored their foes 19-7 in their latest Turner Field romp.
Did I say spooked?
“I don’t think it has to do with a psychological thing,” said Braves catcher Brian McCann, referring to how the Phillies have dominated his team at home and on the road since May — of 2007. After the Braves took five of the first six games to begin that season, they did much to help the Phillies catch the Mets down the stretch for the division title and lead the NL East right now. Added McCann, “I just think it has to do with the consistency of playing baseball, and we’re not doing that on a consistent basis right now.”
No question there, because this is ridiculous. Actually, this is inexcusable, but only if the Braves wish to make the playoffs this year by overcoming injuries, the Phillies, Marlins and Mets ahead of them in the division and themselves.
So, for the 40-46 Braves, suddenly seven games behind Philadelphia, they can spend the weekend rebounding at home by pounding mediocre Houston. They can continue with a little streak on the road at Dodger Stadium and in San Diego before getting a boost with the return of some of their considerable wounded healed after the All-Star Break. They can surge through August and into September to make what was supposed to be a cozy division race actually cozy.
It won’t matter. Well, not unless the Braves discover ways by then to conquer Philadelphia (and those Phillie demons) waiting for them at the end.
“Actually, it’s just one of those ironic things, you know, that happens from time to time in sports,” said Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino, trying to be kind. “I knew we’ve been doing well against them, but I haven’t even been paying attention enough to know it has been that well.”
Said McCann, from a mostly quiet and vacant home clubhouse afterward, “Now our goal is to get to .500 before the All-Star break. We can’t keep losing games [in the standings] to these guys.”
Too late.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Why the emotional fallout over Uga?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Can we talk?
Why does the Bulldog Nation (and apparently large parts of the whole nation) hug these Uga mascots so much?
I’m serious.
What IS it?
Other colleges have lovable mascots, and that includes Georgia’s dreaded rival in the Flats, where Buzz has ranked among the top of his profession for years. I grew up in South Bend, Ind., where that leprechaun is sort of the rage, but not like this.
The same goes for Bucky Badger, the Sooner Schooner, Stanford’s Tree, Sparty, Mountaineer.
I mean, is it a four-legged thing?
That can’t be it, either. Florida State and Southern Cal have famous horses, and Colorado has that 1,300-pound buffalo named Ralphie. Then you have LSU with Mike The Tiger, and you have that longhorn steer in Texas and that mule for Army.
So maybe it’s a dog thing, but that can’t be it, either. Washington has its (ahem) “Husky,” Texas A&M has its collie and Tennessee has its bloodhound. Even so, none of those dogs would come close to inspiring folks to do the following: Fly their remains on a private plane to campus, bury them in a fancy vault and have a funeral service that includes a Baptist minister presiding and the president of the university speaking.
So why are the Ugas such a huge cut above the rest when it comes to generating these kinds of emotions?
Help me out.
Please.
Permalink | Comments (217) | Categories: UGA/SEC
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
