This fantasy hasn’t played out like expected
So maybe we should forget about that whole Roy Hobbs thing.
It was nearly four years ago when Jeff Francoeur appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, holding a bat, flashing a Pepsodent smile, and suddenly looming so large (and borderline Utopian) one month into his major-league career that a two-word headline screamed: “The Natural.”
On Tuesday, the same Jeff Francoeur was coming off a .239 season. After going hitless against Colorado — though reaching base twice on an error and hit batter — he’s mired in a 5-for-41 slump to drop his season average to .242.
When reminded about the magazine cover just before batting practice, Francoeur laughed and said, “Yeah, I know. Screw ‘em.”
Know what? This may be progress.
Nobody ever has questioned his talent. The issues generally have been from the neck up. When he struggled early last season, he didn’t handle it well. When the Braves demoted him to the minors, he viewed it as slap instead of a needed escape. Eventually, with the help of a little off-season perspective and extensive work with Texas hitting guru Rudy Jaramillo, he acknowledged he was new to this whole failure thing and, well, must have not been blessed with the adjustment gene.
But this is different. He feels it. He says it. We’ll find out soon enough if he can prove it. He doesn’t have to be Roy Hobbs. He just can’t be the guy who lets his average drop 45 points in two weeks.
Jeff Francouer is still smiling, despite going hitless again Tuesday to drop his batting average to .242. (Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com)
“I felt so good in spring training, and I got off to a great start,” said Francoeur, who was hitting .317 16 games into the season and .287 as recently as May 6. “What disappoints me is when I started not feeling good in the last two weeks, I abandoned what I worked on. I can’t do that. But the difference between last year and this year is I realize, ‘Hey, it’s two weeks. It’s only two weeks.’ ”
Yes, it’s only two weeks. But the Braves are not strong enough on offense to endure this. They’re surviving on their pitching. Their 157 runs through 37 games ranked 13th among 16 teams in the National League. Five starting outfielders have combined for only seven home runs (two by Francoeur). That’s not going to get it done.
The other part of this is expectations. When a pro athlete busts out of the box like Francoeur did in 2005 — 14 homers, 20 doubles, 45 RBI, .300 average in 70 games — and then follows it up with two pretty solid seasons, this kind of drop-off isn’t received well by the populace.
Francoeur said he can deal with that. But he’s angry at himself, and Jaramillo isn’t real happy, either.
How’s this for strange? Not only did Francoeur work with the hitting coach from another team in the winter, he took a phone call from Jaramillo on Monday night (after he went 0-for-3).
“Rudy called me last night and got on my [rear],” Francoeur said. “We spoke for a while. He had watched some tape and basically said, ‘All the work we’ve done, you’ve abandoned it.’ I knew it, but when he said it, it sunk in. You expect a drop off, but at the first sign [of trouble] I just went away from everything.”
Francoeur’s father, David, also was at Monday’s game and later gave his son an earful. Off-balance stance. Out front on the swing. Trying to pull pitches.
Braves hitting coach Terry Pendleton thinks Francoeur will be fine. But he added: “Sometimes he gets to the point where his competitiveness takes over, instead of just standing back and going, ‘Wait a minute. I can’t get frustrated.’ ”
Turns out he’s not Hobbs. But he can deal with not being fantasy as long as this isn’t reality.
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148 comments Add your comment
Brendan
May 19th, 2009
9:51 pm
It’ll get better for Frenchy. But I can’t see this team going better than 72-90.
Hot Phone Sex Princess
May 19th, 2009
10:13 pm
I agree with you Jeff.
Hot Phone Sex Princess
May 19th, 2009
10:13 pm
BTW: call me.
Mark Patterson
May 19th, 2009
10:15 pm
Maybe Jeff and the rest of the team would play better if the public of Atlanta would come out and support them. I live in California, but would give my right arm to attend their games. I see them every time they come to my area. When we lived near Atlanta we would go to all the weekend games, having to travel 90 miles whether they were winning or losing, dry or wet. The Braves have a prestigious historical past dating back to the late 1800s. The Atlanta area should be ashamed that they aren’t filling those seats and shaking the earth with the “chant”. The franchise should incorporate the haunting sound of drums. You want a winning team… make them a winning team.
BugKiller
May 19th, 2009
10:21 pm
After reporting the standard Bobby Cox / Terry Pendleton response to a player’s struggles (and the fact that the player went to someone on a DIFFERENT TEAM), Schultz, are you STILL claiming that Bobby Cox and his coaches haven’t been the problem with this team throughout the years?
That when push comes to shove, when crunch-time decisions must be made, when players can’t take care of an issue on their own (cough-AndruwJones-cough), that Bobby Cox, his coaches, and their approach simply doesn’t work?
When will admit this.
The proof is right there.
Bobby Cox and his coaches road the coattails of the most talented teams of the 1990s during the regular season when a manager’s terrible tactical skills are covered up by the fact the season is 162 games long. But come October, when talent is finally equal, Cox and his coaches bumbled their way through 13 out of the 14 chances. That isn’t a crapshoot. That is being out-managed and out-coached, pure and simple.
You know what a crapshoot is? Joe Torre winning 4 times out of 12 Octobers. THAT’S a crapshoot. 1 out of 3. Cox and his cadre of bumbling coaches is 1 for 14.
That’s HORRIBLE.
Now we see Andruw Jones reborn on the best team in baseball right now. Suddenly, he can hit again. Seems to me a good coach or manager got in his ear and set him straight. The same guy who set Frenchy straight, cause God knows, no one on the Braves was doing it.
Cox is pathetic. And Pendleton is worse. This team needed a fresh start after the debacle that was the 1996 World Series.
Instead, you at the AJC, the Cox-worshippers, and the Braves organization felt division titles were fine, who needs to win more than one World Series? Which, by the way, Cox was lucky as hell to win anyway.
No, your read here is completely wrong. Just like Cox’s and Pendleton’s approach to their player’s struggles. The talent in this organization has always been top-notch.
It’s the Nose Picker in the Dugout who’s let them down time after time, October after October,
Again, the proof is in the pudding.
Cox has never taken an average team and made them better. In fact, he’s taken average teams and made them worse. He’s a front-running, button-pushing manager of the worst kind, and again, should have been fired after his horrendous performance in the 1996 World Series.
Ted Striker
May 19th, 2009
10:37 pm
The fact he’s as open as he is in this interview says something to me about his maturity. Besides, he has a hot wife.
MLH
May 19th, 2009
10:51 pm
The 2004 team was pretty average. He took them to the playoffs
Bryan G.
May 19th, 2009
10:57 pm
Touche, bugkiller.
Coach (2010 or Bust)
May 19th, 2009
10:58 pm
Frenchy should listen to Jaramillo, the dude is only the best hitting coach alive.
I just have one thing to add if Jeff Francoeur should read this. Remember Brad Komminsk?
No ? Neither does anybody else. He’s what you will be if you don’t pull your head out of your kiester.
Dumbfound
May 19th, 2009
10:58 pm
Don’t give me that attendance crap ! Ain’t nobody going to spend money in this economy, on a crappy team like the braves ! If they get better or go get someone worth while, Maybe !!!
Nelson
May 19th, 2009
10:59 pm
Bug Killer: Your post made me so happy that I saved in my computer, finally somebody agree 100% with me, thanks.!!!
Nelson.
rlinaug
May 19th, 2009
11:02 pm
I agree with BugKiller. Cox deserves to be fire for not firing Terry Pendleton. Any time the hitters on this team look for advice, they go to Chipper or some other coach on some other team. Proof that Cox is a bit of a bungler–Kelly Johnson continues to be in the lineup night after night when Prado and Infante have clearly outplayed him at the plate and in the field.
Jay
May 19th, 2009
11:02 pm
Time to pull the plug on this experiment. Frenchy doesn’t have what it takes. The pitches adjusted to him, and its clear he never adjusted back. Dump him for whatever we can get, or continue to have the worst-hitting outfield in baseball for the second year in a row.
Coach (2010 or Bust)
May 19th, 2009
11:03 pm
Bugkiller, Cox should have been fired after losing back to back WS in 91-92. If he would have done the same thing in N.Y. Boston or L.A. , he would have been fired.
But well said at at 10:21
Johan
May 19th, 2009
11:06 pm
NON-TENDER JEFF FAILCOEUR
Matt
May 19th, 2009
11:08 pm
So let me get this straight. Francoeur sought hitting advice from the RANGERS’ hitting coach? Sounds to me like someone (*cough* Pendlenton *cough*) isn’t doing their job very well. And it’s not just Francoeur. Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar, Schafer, etc. would probably perform a WHOLE lot better (and more consistently) under the guidance of a competent hitting coach. I don’t care how great a hitter Pendleton used to be (and he never really was that great of one), his failures with Francoeur, Kelly Johnson, and Andruw Jones are enough to convince ME that he is a lousy hitting coach. Any other team would have fired his @ss a LONG time ago.
IlliniBrave
May 19th, 2009
11:10 pm
“Sometimes you just have to cut a guy loose” – Gary Bertier to Coach Herman Boone (from Remember the Titans).
Tommy D
May 19th, 2009
11:15 pm
Terrible at the plate no matter what philosophy he is listening to, slow on the bases, and lackadaisical in the field letting important runners take extra bases on him. He needs a complete adjustment or a period on the bench or a chance to comeback with another team.
Mike
May 19th, 2009
11:20 pm
Cox is considered one the best managers in baseball, not just by the players, but by other professionals in the sport. Has he lost a bit of fire in his old age…yes, should he retire soon…probably, but to pound on him like he some worthless manager is just plain ignorant. Now TP on the other hand…he is obviously not a great hitting instructor. And one of Cox’s downfalls is that he has a tendency to stick with someone (manager or player) that is failing for too long. But at the same time, that quality is one of the things that makes him such a great manager. It works good throughout the season, but can be a hindrance in the post season if your players are struggling. I do feel we need to go in a different direction with out hitting instructor. this team is better than this offensively. We need someone that can get in the players head and help calm them down and focus on what needs to be fixed, and fixing it.
The Truth Hurts
May 19th, 2009
11:20 pm
A dead-pull singles hitter with average speed.
If the Jo Jo Reyes Experiment has taught us anything…nevermind, it hasn’t.
If his worth gets any lower, we’ll have to get Hubble’s new telescope to find it for us.
I wish his maturity could grab a bat and hit for him. But he probably only uses his left-brain anyway.
Maybe it could find Kelly Johnson’s glove, too.
IlliniBrave
May 19th, 2009
11:20 pm
I never quite understand the cacaphony of calls for Cox’s head. As someone who has coached multiple sports for the past 30 years, leading some teams to regional/league/district championships, I can tell you that no coach is any better than their players. Coaches get way too much credit when the team does well and an inordinate amount of blame when things go south. Good players = good results. Bad players = bad results. Cox is no more responsible for the shortcomings of the last two years than Schultz and Bradley and DOB and their often misguided columns on the Braves.
Jeff Schultz
May 19th, 2009
11:22 pm
Hot Phone Sex Princess: Send me your digits. Or do you have a Twitter account?
BugKiller: the change of scenery obviously has helped A.J. If Francoeur ends up improving somewhere else also, it’s a worthy criticism. But, and this will sound like an old tired record, I agree: It doesn’t void a manager’s entire career. (And I realize here we will have a difference of opinion.)
Ted: Have you met Hot Phone Sex Princess?
IlliniBrave: Seen the movie a million times. Was that Pendleton who missed that block on purpose?
Tommy D
May 19th, 2009
11:27 pm
Agree with most about TP. He was a great hitter and brought a lot of needed fire as a player. However, I cannot remember one instance where he has made a difference with a hitter as their coach. We need a proven hitting coach; sometimes a person for whom it came easily cannot pass it on to others.
JD
May 19th, 2009
11:28 pm
Yeah Coach…once your manager takes you to the World Series in consecutive years, THEN you should fire him. Good call.
Reid Adair
May 19th, 2009
11:28 pm
Hey, Jeff, if you get her Twitter account, please share.
I would agree about Jeff Francoeur. He’s somewhere between “The Natural” and the borderline disaster he enduring last year and the last two weeks.
JP
May 19th, 2009
11:30 pm
Bugkiller – Are you forgetting what happened to Andruw with your beloved Joe Torre in LA? If he’s as good a manger as you claim, then why didn’t HE turn Andruw around? Could it be that some players are just uncoachable until they hit rock bottom?
rlinaug – KJ had 3 hits tonight bub, and he’s been hitting the ball hard for a while now.
You guys just love being negative Nancy’s. A lot of people who know a lot more about baseball than you 2 fools think Cox is one of the best in the game – and they’re right.
IlliniBrave
May 19th, 2009
11:32 pm
Jeff:
Actually, I was thinking of Francoeur (and JoJo… and BurgerBoy Bennet… and Garbage Anderson).
But maybe it was Pendleton that missed the block on purpose. And maybe the other three are just guilty of being like Petey – they just can’t get it done and have lost confidence in themselves.
jrcua66
May 19th, 2009
11:41 pm
Ha ha you’re a funny dude, Schultz.
Jeff Schultz
May 19th, 2009
11:53 pm
Yes, I’m still up, watching Rescue Me. Awesome episode. Tommy’s ex-wife — wow… Where was I? … Illini: Petey had talent but was soft. Probably went on to play for the Raiders.
uga-brave
May 20th, 2009
12:06 am
jeff,
here is a stat for you. the braves have hit 16 homeruns this season outside of ctizen one ballpark.
JD
May 20th, 2009
12:09 am
JS – I don’t know if it was intended or not, but I like how you noted that Francoeur turned to his father and the hitting coach of another team, but said that TP thinks Jeff will be fine.
Maybe if he would’ve been let go years ago like he should’ve, we wouldn’t have seen the streaks (KJ), the slumps (Schafer), and the slumps of Biblical proportions (Francoeur and Andruw). But alas….our lineup looks to be inconsistent for another season.
Supes
May 20th, 2009
12:19 am
TP needs to be fired as a hitting coach. All the guys are going to other people for advice and swing adjustments. It’s unheard of in other sports. Braves should be ashamed to have a hitting coach like TP that apparently can’t get through his own players.
Unless Jeff has a big year, he is well on his way of playing out of ATL. I’m sure KC will have a spot for him, if he can beat out David DeJesus that is!
Just A Fan
May 20th, 2009
12:31 am
Infante at second and leading off. Kelly in right and batting 6th. Frency platoon in outfield. Just not that good. My patience is thin. I want a good team.
Go Braves…
freshd
May 20th, 2009
12:35 am
It doesn”t matter who the hitting coach is if THE NATURAL is gonna go up to the play and swing at the first pitch everytime, he has fallen back into the same bad habits. Francouer is overrated and overpaid.
freshd
May 20th, 2009
12:35 am
plate
yogi2
May 20th, 2009
12:36 am
Francuer and Shaffer could hit spring training pitching. A-ball and old pitchers trying to hang on. but now pitchers are getting better each time and these hittersd just cannot adjust. Pendleton is a JOKE. Bobby Cox never fires a coach,no matter how bad they are . WE have the worst hitting and pitching coaches in the majors. Saffer should be in Rome or Tee Ball
Coach (2010 or Bust)
May 20th, 2009
12:57 am
JD, shut your damn mouth.
Idiots like you will make excuses for mediocre results no matter the cost. Anybody else but Bobby Cox would have multiple WS teams given the same talent.
Another Cox apologist has revealed his stupidity for all the world to see. Good job.
Da Mick
May 20th, 2009
1:42 am
Just a reminder, Francour’s problems actually extend back to about mid-way in the 07 season, not just 08. It’s always confounded me how he’s managed to have the RBI and RISP numbers that he’s had, because I watch the Braves consistently over the years, and would swear by his performances that I’ve witnessed, that he doesn’t come through when it counts, and hence, that his numbers have always been soft (except for his first year or so). To me, Jeff’s always seemed to be a dumb ass at the plate, with not a lick of sense to what’s actually going on around him, he’s just so caught up with his own head. And I think that’s really the big picture problem — Jeff is really a dim bulb whose physical talent carried him against lesser opponents who also were mostly non-thinking jocks in his earlier years. This is not the case in the bigs once they figure you out. Just look at the smarts of the good hitters — check out Jeff’s pal McCann to see how much intelligence plays in the maturation process of a good hitter. Taking strikes and swinging at balls, Jeff is just plain out-witted most of the time, and no batting stance changes are going to change that.
yogi2
May 20th, 2009
1:51 am
Brandon Jones and Matt Diaz are much better players than Francouer and Shafer. Heward can play too. Josh Anderson was better then Shafer ever will be. DA MICK got it right
The Grinch
May 20th, 2009
1:57 am
Terry Pendleton was a great player and from what I know a great guy. But the fact that all the players on the team have to go to different people when they’re in a slump (Chipper’s dad, McCann’s dad, the Texas coach) tells me that the problem is fairly square on TP. He was a great player, but one can be great at math and be a crappy math teacher. It’s starting to look pretty obvious. Even Andruw benefited from going somewhere else. Terry’s a drinking buddy, not a coach.
Sage of Bluesland
May 20th, 2009
4:21 am
“Screw ‘em”
I believe that was The Natural’s reference to Sports Illustrated’s cover title?
No, Natural–”Screw YOU”.
Stop the coddling and start the accountability. From the coach to the “hitting” coach to the player(s)…
What a sad joke Bravesland has become! Oh well, I won’t subsidize the incompetence–I hope you don’t either…
Santa3247
May 20th, 2009
6:13 am
Hi, I’m Seong-Ho,Yoon left foot on the sea and right foot on the land until now.
Jeff Francoeur need a rest from time to time I think. So Braves have to use Brandon Jones, he can play at CF,RF,LF and trade DH/PH he is week at OF and 1B. Why national league need a special PH? are you insane?
Do you think gyt who breaking into queue can do play good at CF? The imposter passed AAA & AA, he failed at AA too. ^*^
May the force of Messiah be with you
Nation of the coward~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris Murphy, Atlanta, GA
May 20th, 2009
6:20 am
Went to a game vs. the Mets. Braves lost- Schafer was clueless, like someone hasn’t ever told him just make contact with men on base- and the stadium was fairly empty, especially for the Mets (NY’ers used to show, at the least). Teams and their players better get this into their heads: my $12 ticket put me up in the highest level, $11 bought me only peanuts and a Coke, so with my share of the parking money I spent over $25 for 3 hours of entertainment. That might get it for some folks, but for me and millions like me, not for those prices.
richtfan
May 20th, 2009
6:29 am
mark patterson—-this argument is as old as the hills, but it’s still true. put out a winning product FIRST, and people will support it. not the other way around.
QueenKing
May 20th, 2009
6:55 am
It’s obvious. Bobby Cox is a LOSER. In Cox’s mind it’s acceptable to lose and as long as he maintains that kind of attitude, the Braves will always fall short of glory. Jeff Franceour is an overpaid, spoiled brat and clearly not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Cox needs to go if the Braves ever expect to return to some sort of winning form.
jerry
May 20th, 2009
7:07 am
The players love Bobby because they cannot play themselves out of the lineup. (aside to Bobby-when Chipper is out of the lineup, you don’t HAVE to let his replacement bat third,fatboy).
hop
May 20th, 2009
7:10 am
it is high time the braves get rid of the high salaries and call up the kids and find out which one of them can play.
this team is going nowhere and if we are going to lose,lets do it with the kids.
frenchy is a good guy,but he is not a very good baseball player. the braves have been very patient with him,but the braves need to try someone else.
i think this will be bobby’s last year and i hope the braves have enough sense to look elswwhere and not hire tp as the new manager.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
May 20th, 2009
7:12 am
Do players from opposing teams seek out TP for hitting advice?
Cox needs to retire, not get fired. The game seams to be evolving once again in the post steroids era. No more can managers sit back and wait on the three run homer.
Managers now have to mix in a little of small ball, but pressure on the defense to make plays. This is something that Cox has not been willing to due over the past two decades.
Frenchie, I have been a supporter and will continue to be ,but he is a liability most of the time.
Dolemite
May 20th, 2009
7:18 am
In some sense the headline was correct. We have now seen the typical “Natural” digression of a player under the Bobby Cox regime. Please trade Jordan and Tommy before Bobby and his good ‘ol boy network ruin a couple more careers.
bull-gator
May 20th, 2009
7:20 am
The Braves need a new hitting coach AND a new pitching coach AND a new 3rd base coach. Cox is a great manager, he’s not a coach. Pendleton, McDowell, and Snitker are not getting the job done. I’m not so sure they even know how to coach. The three of then look like they are lost in space and clueless as to what to do next.
chris
May 20th, 2009
7:27 am
BugKiller is 100% correct.
Sir Pop A-Lot
May 20th, 2009
7:33 am
To the idiots with the Bobby bashing, how would you know anything about winning? All of you probably never made it past little league. Atleat the fans of Atlanta know what it is like to win or you would not be gripping about the last few years. How funny it is that we forget about the 70,s & 80,s when we could not buy a pennant. OH YEAH!!! New York & Philly will never sink because T.P. SUCKS!
ND
May 20th, 2009
7:37 am
I agree that TP needs to go. My question to all is: Who would you want to go out and get to be the hitting coach?
And Jeff…Couldn’t agree more about Janet last night on RESCUE ME, loved the all white on her. And her line to the big lady in yellow was great.
Atl Resident
May 20th, 2009
8:11 am
Why get rid of TP? He’s only the batting coach. Come on, he can’t hit for guys that’s they’re job to still play. All there is to say about Francouer is that he’s lucky the braves still considered signing him some kind of deal to the roster this year or else he could have be unemployed.
P
May 20th, 2009
8:18 am
45,000=average crowd during mid nineties when the economy and the braves were on a roll.
40,000=average crowd after 5,000 or so admit “been there done that”
35,000=average crowd in early 2000’s after Braves haven’t won a WS in 5-8 years
30,000=average crowd in mid 2000’s…Maddox, Glavine gone, Smoltz going. prices getting higher, traffic getting worse
25,000=average crowd in 2007-2008. No playoffs in 3 years and nothing but pretty faces like Francouer and Johnson to look at. Economy going down.
20,000=average crowd in 2009. 25,000 or so saying “been there done that”
Liberty Braves
May 20th, 2009
8:25 am
Mike
you saidAnd one of Cox’s downfalls is that he has a tendency to stick with someone (manager or player) that is failing for too long.But at the same time, that quality is one of the things that makes him such a great manager.
The first part of that, I agree on.
Thatquality of Cox’s has been hurting this team for a long time now. It is really time for Cox to go. Like other people have been saying on here and on other blogs, any other team would have let him go.
I can’t get passed this “Cox is God” BS.
Sure, he’s HOF. So is Phil Niekro. At least he knew when to call it quits, Cox does not.
Time for the donkey to leave.
Jeff
May 20th, 2009
8:28 am
Still swinging at everything thrown up there. What you see is what you’ll get…..now and in the future. He won’t get any better. Can’t handle the pressure. I don’t even think the Braves could deal him right now. Maybe for a draft pick. Who would want another project? You could bring up any triple A right fielder and get the same or better results right now.
P
May 20th, 2009
8:29 am
By the way, it is time for Bobby to retire…I love the Braves but he is only an “above average manager” who could not win his share of the big ones. At the highest level of competition an excellent manager will win about 50%. That means they should have won at least 3 WS’s and been in 2 more they missed. They were way below 50% getting past the first round and less than 50% in NLCS’s.
Tommy
May 20th, 2009
8:31 am
Only in Atlanta do fans think ‘improvement’ would be firing the 4th-winningnest manager in baseball history. . .
Andruw is ‘reborn’ on the ‘best team in baseball’ [anyone who would call the Texas Rangers that after only 35 games--most of them against the bottom half of the AL--is obviously clueless] because he only faces left-handed starters. He starts about two times a week and is their 5th outfielder. Matt Diaz’ numbers are similarly inflated because he only faces lefties as well.
The problems occured before the Francouer and the other baby Braves from 2005 ever got to Atlanta. They were rushed to the majors. It’s now obvious, as McCann is the only one that has truly panned out. Johnson and Francouer are average players, davies flamed out, mcbride flamed out, boyer lost it, marte never bothered to show up, and so on. They weren’t ready. That falls on the front office and player development department more than the manager.
The Braves showed on their recent road trip, when they went 6-2 vs. their most important rivals, that they can go head-to-head with anyone in the NL. Of course to a lot of idiots on this board, the fact they didn’t win every game 19-1 means they suck. They’re not the best team, but they are in the mix and have a puncher’s chance if they get hot at the right time.
Ron Roberts
May 20th, 2009
8:34 am
So the moral of this story is that RUDY JARAMILLO should be our hitting coach. He had Francoeur fixed, apparently has Andruw Jones flirting with a .300 average, too, and watches tape of Frenchy and calls him out when he falls off the wagon. Sounds like a working hitting coach, to me.
Marc
May 20th, 2009
8:36 am
Brandon Jones was great this spring and has been great in AAA. Can he play right, and why hasn’t he been called up? I’m pretty sure he will have a better average and OBP than Frenchy. It’s time to send him down and end the saga. Make him EARN his position.
The Natural
May 20th, 2009
8:38 am
Does anyone else think the the hitting coach may need to be redistibuting his resume? seems strange that players go to other coaches to help with their swing and not TP. TP was a great player and all, but a hitting coach he is not.
Jeff Schultz
May 20th, 2009
8:41 am
ND: haven’t watched the show as religiously as I used to but best I’ve seen in a long time. And I swear she gets better looking every time. Yeah – great dinner table scene. “And all three husbands were looking at my …”
Liberty: Yes, I probably said/wrote that. And I understand taking either side of the debate. For what it’s worth, the fact somebody supports Cox doesn’t mean they’re of “Cox is God” mentality. He has faults like anybody. But supporters generally believe he’s not the problem right now.
P: Clearly, Bobby doesn’t think it’s time for Bobby to retire. He’s already changed his mind at least once.
Hollywould
May 20th, 2009
8:41 am
Jeff, I am with you on Rescue Me. That was HOT last nite. Great show, writing, and some crazy characters.
Jeff Schultz
May 20th, 2009
8:42 am
P: Nice marketing recap. I’m guessing Derek Schiller has similar notes on a legal pad.
Edo River
May 20th, 2009
8:42 am
As long as Francoeur attracts ticket sales, I say, “Keep sending him out there.” When he crosses over some line into being a detriment to the box office, THEN, some other action needs to be taken.
Knuckle Sandwich
May 20th, 2009
8:45 am
This might be the last year for Frenchy in ATL. Hope he gets it turned around in K.C. next year. I wonder how the Braves and Terry Pendleton feel about their players going to another hitting coach for help? If Rudy is so great, the Braves should hire him away from the small market Rangers.
sad brotha
May 20th, 2009
8:49 am
Francouer is a home boy that gets the “ATL Pass”. If he was in any other REAL sports town he would be booed mercilessly for his POOR performance. And by the way… this team will NEVE win with the architect of the disaster Mr. hider Terry McGuirk. he has been a coattail man for years and now here he is on his own and guess what… he’s failing. I’m and those that are “in the know” are not shocked. He was worthless at TBS and is so with the Braves. He is the real problem of the demise of the Francouer franchise
oldmike
May 20th, 2009
8:50 am
My son and I agree that Cox needs to go and take all the coaches with him. He’s had a Hall of Fame career but, it’s time for a change. The message is tired and the results indifferent. French is a bust pure and simple.
Ricky
May 20th, 2009
8:50 am
You wonder why the Braves fanbase is getting smaller? All satellite customers in the Southeast can’t follow all of the Braves games due to the idiot deal with PTV. I’ve called PTV, they blame it on Dish. I called Dish, they blame it on PTV. TBS handles games from all over the country, but not enough Braves games. You can watch all of the Cubs games on WGN (who cares). If the Braves want fans, they must be available!
Mine This Bird
May 20th, 2009
8:55 am
Can we just trade him please? What’s so hard about that? He’s a liability and just about as stubborn and immature as Andruw Jones. Who cares if that Tubbo is hitting .300 anyway, he’ll crash again soon enough.
Marc
May 20th, 2009
8:57 am
People calling for Pendleton to be fired either don’t understand baseball or listen to too much talk radio. The Braves have a .262 team average which is 16 out of 30. That isn’t terrible considering the injuries and the growing pains of Shafer.
The problem is the lack of speed and the lack of power. They can’t plate runs because they go station to station. You have to have 3 hits in an inning to score one run. That’s incredibly difficult in major league baseball. Unless he starts bringing steroids into the dugout, there is nothing TP can do to help this lineup.
As for Andruw and Frenchy, I place most of the blame on their attitude. Andruw refused to change here and in Los Angeles. It took getting essentially blackballed from baseball to change. Frenchy is similar. He went to Texas and within a month he was back to doing the same old thing. If a player doesn’t want to take instruction, he is not going to.
chbeyer
May 20th, 2009
9:02 am
Prediction: Francouer gets traded before or at the end of the season after hitting .240 for the year. Braves fans pleased to see him go. He reappears on another team and makes the all stars after getting some better batting coaching. Jeff has huge upside but Pendleton is not the batting coach to make that happen. The Braves will need to lose Frenchie to learn that…. Book it, its going to happen!!!!!!!!!!!!
richbrave
May 20th, 2009
9:13 am
I hope to live long enough to see the outfield we’re cultivating in 2013. GORKYS HERNANDEZ, SCHAFER, JASON HEYWARD, maybe CODY JOHNSON, and a revitalized FRANCOUER. There will have to be some trades if all of them pan-out, but the three left standing should be fantastic.
leggomyego
May 20th, 2009
9:18 am
For those that bash the Braves coaching staff because Frenchy went to another hitting coach:
Rudy Jaramillo is known as one of the very best hitting instructors in the business. That’s why Andruw Jones signed with Texas when they already had 5 outfielders in front of him, just for the chance to work with the guy, and that’s why Frenchy went to him in the off-season. There’s arguably nobody better than Jaramillo as a hitting instructor, and there’s also only one of him. You guys that think you should fire our coaches because a guy went to train w/ Jaramillo need to get a clue about this kind of stuff. It’s like this: when a player gets injured, should we fire our team doctor because the player goes to Alabama to see the specialist? Again, get a clue folks, we really shouldn’t even have to go thru the motions of explaining this kind of thing…
Matt
May 20th, 2009
9:19 am
Just me, but why aren’t the Braves making overtures to this Jaramillo guy for next year? I love TP, but apparently this guy in Texas is the best in the biz. Heck, I’d take Don Baylor again!
Poco Springfield
May 20th, 2009
9:22 am
Terry Pendleton isn’t Francoeur’s problem. Francoeur is Francoeur’s problem. If you can’t hit a fastball, you can’t be a hitter in the majors. It’s that simple.
Marc Schneider
May 20th, 2009
9:23 am
Francouer is not very good and has never been very good. His “good” seasons were only good in comparison to last year and were largely based on his RBI totals, a totally misleading statistic. He has never learned plate discipline and his power has virtually disappeared. It’s not clear that he has so much “talent.” He is a good athlete but not necessarily a good baseball player.
Jeff R
May 20th, 2009
9:24 am
Francouer didn’t slump last season because of Pendleton. He’s not slumping now, either, because of him.
Sure, Francouer straightened out his mechanics in the off season with Jaramillo’s help, but I think the bigger part of his problem is mental. He even admits that he’s gotten frustrated lately and walked away from what he learned.
Jaramillo or Pendleton can remind Francouer all day long on what, and what not, to do at the plate, but Francouer has to implement consistently.
The other thing is that pitchers have the book on Francouer. They know how to work him for an out. Francouer has just begun to try to adjust to that reality. And adjustments are a big part of the major league game.
We’ll see if he’s up to the job. I hope so.
Hot Phone Sex Princess
May 20th, 2009
9:27 am
Busy night last night, eh Jeff?
Kathy Loewen
May 20th, 2009
9:28 am
Jeff, you need to just go out there and have some fun. Forget that you are the “hometown boy” and just play ball. You know how, but I think you are too afraid of disappointing family and friends – don’t worry about them. I know that if you weren’t playing for the Braves, you would put a lot less pressure on yourself. Hang in there, it will all work out -
Hey, come play for the Tigers – your cousins in Michigan would love to have you here.
Kathy
billy stover
May 20th, 2009
9:31 am
cox and all of his cronies should be picking up beer cans.I still say whoever owns the braves needs to move them down in the southern part of New Mexico.The Braves stink….
Dave
May 20th, 2009
9:34 am
I think I have the perfect name for him
Jeff Francouer, “The one pitch wonder”.
The guy just can’t let the first pitch thrown to him go.
B. Cox and Co should “make him” take that first pitch. Maybe that will slow his itching feeling to hit the first pitch he see.
All About Baseball
May 20th, 2009
9:38 am
[...] This fantasy hasn't played out like Francoeur expected | Jeff Schultz [...]
leggomyego
May 20th, 2009
9:43 am
This was bound to happen. WAIT before you tie me to a stake and set me on fire lol… All i’m saying is, this (the slump) was bound to happen. It happens to every big league player every season (not named Pujols) and now French is gonna have to find a way to hit his way out of it by making the adjustments. If he can, then i’ll be one happy dude and we’ll have ourselves a right fielder. If he struggles again, that means he’s not following his regiment, not being patient at the plate and he might need to start seeing himself platooned with Diaz or a call up from the minors. That’s the way it goes in the bigs.
PMC
May 20th, 2009
9:48 am
Maybe… just maybe it would help if they had… even some semblence of a major league caliber hitting coach.
Everyone on the team goes elsewhere to learn how to hit including Francouer.
PMC
May 20th, 2009
9:49 am
That being said…. if he had learned better plate dicipline in the minors… it would help him now. He’s been a free swinger all his life, he’s getting better. He’s still young, I just think he had such a good hot streak when he came up SI jumped the gun quite a bit.
PMC
May 20th, 2009
9:52 am
Jeff is hitting the ball to all fields this year. His mechanics are a lot better. He’s just in a slump. He will come out of it.
RHR
May 20th, 2009
9:58 am
I don’t see how TP is to be blamed for Jeff’s failures. TP is everybody else’s hitting coach too, ya know? Schafer has made huge improvements in the last month. Me thinks JF is too hard headed or thinks he’s “too good” to get help or listen to TP or Chipper. He has clearly bought into his own hype and I don’t see it ever getting better for him while he’s in Atlanta. Too much pressure and too many unrealistic expectations from a kid who was never as good as his press.
RHR
May 20th, 2009
10:04 am
Just me, but why aren’t the Braves making overtures to this Jaramillo guy for next year? I love TP, but apparently this guy in Texas is the best in the biz.
Ummm if “that guy in Texas” is so much better than TP why did JF forget everything he taught him not even a month into the season? Again, the problem is JF, not TP, not Bobby, not where he’s hitting in the lineup, etc.
PTC DAWG
May 20th, 2009
10:09 am
I read this on other blogs on the acj. At some point, “it’s not a slump, it is what you are”.
Chris
May 20th, 2009
10:10 am
Has anyone connected the dots that this may be pressure he is putting on himself to perform playing on the same team and at the same level as his best friend McCann? McCann has been lighting it up again, and Frenchy’s struggles began last year after McCann signed the big contract and then went out and had a Silver Slugger year. Frenchy started this year off o.k. until going into this slump as soon as McCann came off of the DL after having his eye issues.
It may be time for Frenchy to go to a new team where he can get a fresh start and not have the pressure to perform trying to live up to McCann’s level.
samuel allen
May 20th, 2009
10:26 am
i keep thinking jeff should do some kind of meditation or yogic practice to relax and slow his mind down and open himself up. just a thought but it worked for larry bowa, willie stargell etc…
Jack G.
May 20th, 2009
10:41 am
BugKiller
The measure of a mans smasrts is judged by how much he agrees with you.—–You are one smart fellow
Jack G.
May 20th, 2009
10:42 am
smarts
Supes
May 20th, 2009
10:42 am
RHR, Newsflash…Schafer was approached by Chipper Jones, and he welcomed the help. Apparently he’s worked with him on watching video and work in the cage. Nowhere was TP mentioned in that article, just follow DOB’s Blog and you’d be informed!
jwilli120
May 20th, 2009
10:57 am
Send JF to the minors, if the tigers can send Dontrell Willis(Won 2003
World Series with the Marlins) to get straight with the amount of money he is making then JF’s penny-enny A$$ can go to the MINORS UNTIL HE
FIGURES IT OUT and not on the Big Club, he is right back to where he was
last season IMO, INFANTE and PRADO should be playing the team is better
with them in the lineup subtract whom you may( KJ,JF).
Dozer
May 20th, 2009
10:59 am
Right on BugKiller – maybe you should be an AJC writer or at least on sports radio here…..
McCarroll21
May 20th, 2009
11:00 am
“Rudy called me last night and got on my [rear],” Francoeur said. “We spoke for a while. He had watched some tape and basically said, ‘All the work we’ve done, you’ve abandoned it.’ I knew it, but when he said it, it sunk in. You expect a drop off, but at the first sign [of trouble] I just went away from everything.”
——-
Do we not have a hitting coach? Forget the fact that Jeff sucks and it’s time to cut bait with him, but why is it that he has to take a call from another team’s hitting coach to realize he’s lost his approach. Could TP not see that? Get both those bums out of Atlanta!
proeye
May 20th, 2009
11:00 am
I don’t think it is a question of Francoeur getting better. Even if he hits his peak, is that good enough for a right fielder?
I think there is this illusion from the Frenchy fans that he is even better than his best season which was his first. He has never hit .800 on the OPS or .500 in slugging outside of that first season. And we all know about the slide. Right now, he is no better statistically than last year which was downright horrible. If he supposedly made all these alterations to his swing and brain and it’s half way through May have we haven’t seen consistent results, well… Come on. Enough is enough.
So even if Francoeur makes this miraculous comeback, he will be no better than half way between his first year and last year. That’s not good enough for a rightfielder! Not even close. So do we wait until Heyward is ready? Could be 1-2 years. Can we wait and endure the kind of pain we are going to have from our current guy for that long?
My suggestion is to trade him now. We should have done it last year but I guess it’s not too late. We should trade Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur and any number of minor league pitchers to get us a decent right fielder and/or left fielder. We have two potential replacements for Johnson at second: Prado who deserves to start and we have Infante. Both are doing far better than Johnson and frankly better than “power hitting” Jeff Francoeur.
This team needs at least SOME power. Even McLouth from Pittsburgh would be fine. I know he is a CF but we could put him in right or or put him in center to take over for struggling Schafer and bring up Brandon Jones to play right.We have possibilities. Frankly, I would rather bench Francoeur and play Jones. But I’d rather make a trade first instead of hearing Frenchy whining.
Of course certain guys will be off limits like Hanson. But bringing up Medlen could be a sign that they are going to increase his value by showcasing him, getting him ready for a trade. Medlen really does not have a place on the roster so it’s clear to me that we will have a trade.