All-Trade Friday: Should the Braves deal Jeff Francoeur?
I thought it would work. I thought Jeff Francoeur would remember how to hit and the masses would forget he’d forgotten and all would be bliss for the hometown kid and the team of his dreams. But it’s not working, and I’ve come to believe it won’t.
Too much has happened. He got too big too fast. It wasn’t his fault. He was great from the moment of his big-league arrival in July 2005 and we — meaning the fans and the media and the Braves themselves — loved him and reveled in every detail of his charmed young life. But then, after two mostly solid full seasons, he stopped hitting. And everything changed.
Francoeur was upset when the Braves sent him to Class AA on the Fourth of July. “I don’t think there’s any way I can [feel as warmly toward the organization] 100 percent,” he said in February. “I want to play here forever; I’ve said that all along. But the business part of it is different.”
The Braves weren’t thrilled when Francoeur went to Texas to work with Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. Said Terry Pendleton, the Braves’ hitting coach: “I asked Jeff, ‘Why didn’t you come to me?’ Obviously he felt the need to go elsewhere. It’s his winter. [But] it bugged me at first. Not hearing it from him, that got me more than anything. I told him, ‘I thought our relationship was better than that.’ ”
Loading ...Where once there was sunshine, there’s distrust and frustration. The Braves wonder if Francoeur can be coached. Francoeur wonders if the Braves have his best interests at heart. He tries too hard and falls back on bad habits. The Braves drop him in the order and struggle to be patient. And here he is, batting. 245 with a microscopic on-base percentage of .280. He’s on pace to finish with 11 homers and 71 RBIs — same as he did last year.
I thought it would work, but it isn’t working and I don’t believe it will again. Francoeur and the Braves need fresh starts. He needs to go somewhere where every swing and miss doesn’t stir civic angst. The Braves need a right fielder whose persona doesn’t outstrip production. Both parties need to breathe deeply again.
I would hate it if Francoeur played elsewhere. I’ve known him since he was a junior at Parkview — he remains the greatest high school football player I’ve seen in 25 years at the AJC — and he’s a fine fellow who tries to accommodate everyone. But I’d hate it more to see this psychodrama drag into August and beyond. It’s time for both sides to cut their losses. It’s time to trade Frenchy.
What could the Braves get for him? Probably not all that much, but that’s not really the point . They’d be better off without him, and he without them. He could slip into another uniform and be someone other than the homegrown Golden Child. He could relax. He could just go play ball again, as opposed to feeling compelled to sign every autograph and pose for every picture.
I am, as we know, wrong about everything, and I wouldn’t mind being wrong about this. I’d love to see Francoeur become the Francoeur we all thought he’d be, but the time for that seems past. I don’t see a happy ending for this player in this city with this team. Wish I did, but I don’t.
Other installments: Should the Thrashers trade Ilya Kovalchuk? And also: Should the Hawks trade Josh Smith?
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476 comments Add your comment
BRave fan in alabama
June 12th, 2009
3:22 pm
I went back and look at stats over the last 10 years or so and I notice that the strikeout total keeps going up. As a hitting intructor aren’t you suppose to teach patients at the plate. I say Kepp Frenchy and fire Terry Pendleton. We all know that will not happen because he has his nose so far up Bobby’s rear. I think the Braves need to find all Francoeur Franks and get them back to the games. I haven’t seen the much over the last year and a half. Get that blood flowing seeing the fans pulling for him, maybe that will help. Again I am for FIRING PENDLETON. Stupid comment why not come to me. I wonder why
dude
June 12th, 2009
3:29 pm
Please dont give up on Jeff Francouer!
We have not.
Go Frenchy!
We Believe.
DMac
June 12th, 2009
3:30 pm
dude, you are NUTS!!!
senoia dawgs
June 12th, 2009
3:33 pm
I think Frenchy would benefit from a trade. However, the Braves would certainly not. They can’t get anything for him right now that’s for sure. How could trading him possibly be a good move for the Braves? I can’t see any upside to it. This is a team.
Since TP became the hitting coach there has been one consistent thread with all Braves team. Sorry, Sorry hitting. Look at the names we have had and nearly every single one of them have declined under TP. Just look at the current roster, Garrett Anderson, Frenchy, Greg Norton, Blanco, Kelly Johnson, etc… All of these guys got to the braves through the farm or came from another team and was hitting lights out when they got here. After a couple of months you started seeing the decline. My goodness, Andruw is the best example ever. The kid came in hitting like mad and then slowly but surely TP had him so screwed up.
Doug
June 12th, 2009
3:36 pm
It has become far too painful to watch this team. I’ve just got to quit for a while. When Bobby stings together Francoeur, Johnson, Anderson and the pitcher’s spot, we have an offensive black hole that no team can survive. Spacing them out is almost as bad. With the pitching we have had this year, our record is criminal.
Guthro
June 12th, 2009
3:37 pm
Five slots in the lineup are hitting OK, only one of them great (Chipper). The other three spots–Johnson, Anderson, Francoeur–are marginal at best. You can’t contend in te East with that, even if the pitching is terrific. Anderson is a placeholder till Heyward’s ready. Prado or Infante when healthy should be the regular at 2B. Francoeur needs half a season at Gwinnett to remake his swing from the ground up, under a good coach (as Roy Halladay did with his pitching motion many years ago). Is he coachable and sane enough to do that? Nobody knows till he tries.
leonard dowdle
June 12th, 2009
3:41 pm
Get rid of Norton berfore even thinking about Frenchy.
DMac
June 12th, 2009
3:42 pm
Right now Jeff Franceour can’t hit and he has a hitting coach that can’t help him. He’s also has a manager who refused to hold him accountable and send him to the minors to work it out (not just for 3-4 games, but for an extended stay). And the inept hitting coach has superiors that won’t admit that that hitting coach can’t help anyone. And to top it all off, Franceour doesn’t appear have the sense to listen to anyone who might be able to help him. Now please tell me, how is this situation NOT hopeless?
siskel_god
June 12th, 2009
3:42 pm
Norton was released by the M’s because he was doing horribly last year and the Angel’s never made any attempt to resign GA. These 2 guys are old and busted that is not TP’s fault. If if you blame TP for Jeff and KJ’s failures then you have to credit him for Jeff improving from a .260 hitter to a .293 hitter between his 2nd and 3rd year. In 07 KJ hit .276 and last year he hit .287 that is an improvement. Now I think these guys stopped listening and thought they had “made it”. They both need to be humbled by a stint in the minors and learn how to play ball again, and work hard.
siskel_god
June 12th, 2009
3:46 pm
Who would you guys rather see traded Jeff, or KJ? I have to say KJ because I believe Omar is the long term guy at 2nd. I don’t know why he has not been given the same opportunities that KJ has gotten they are the exact same age and Omar has just done more in his chances.
Wake up morons
June 12th, 2009
3:51 pm
Yes, G. Anderson is the problem not prince Jeff. He is the one making Jeff look bad. Not Jeff’s low AVG, OBP, inability to make contact or inability to play small ball. It’s definitely GA’s fault. And some how he was doing it all the way from Los Angeles all of last year! That Jerk!!!
Cause i mean, duh, if everyone else just produced better Jeff wouldn’t look so bad. I can’t believe they wouldn’t do better on his behalf. This team shoudl jsut be renamed the Atlanta Jerks.
O'brien
June 12th, 2009
3:53 pm
NC Braves Fan, looking at those numbers, revitalized might be a strong word lol. but he does have a .371 OBP (although he gets to hit in a hitter friendly park).
Michael, race has nothing to do with it. TP does not have any success stories when it comes to hitters. And I’m not saying its his fault. What I’m saying, is that we cant trade all our hitters who are struggling (KJ, Jeff etc.), but how hard is it to replace a hitting coach? Even if its just to change things up, I think its worth a try.
DMac
June 12th, 2009
3:54 pm
If the Braves had a real owner, and not just some far off corporation, John Schuerholz, Frank Wren and Bobby Cox (along with his coaching staff) would all have been sent packing long ago. The real issue with the Braves is at the top.
T-Lex
June 12th, 2009
4:01 pm
Hitting is not just a problem for Franc, but for the entire team. Maybe it is time to consider a new hitting coach. Might there be a valid reason that he chose to go to Texas for instruction instead of turning to Pendleton
Bob
June 12th, 2009
4:01 pm
Kelly may be good in a very strong line-up but he can’t hit enough to play on this team. He is so streaky that it just kills us. It would be OK if he was a glod glove 2B but he misses some realy easy ones. For now, since we have the no-hustling, no-producing GA in left, I would release GA, put Kelly in left and Prado or Infante at 2B. And for gosh sakes send JF to Gwinnett until, or if, if he can start acting like a big league hitter at the plate. take a strike and then swing at one in the dirt. HS guys do better. TP and Jaramillo can talk to him till he’s purple but if he won’t listen then it’s on him. Remember when marquis thought he knew it all and wouldn’t listen to Leo? We got rid of Marquis. Well, it’s time to send Jeff “It’s all about me” Francoeur to another city, even if it’s only in Gwinnett.C’mon Frank, make it happen
Supes
June 12th, 2009
4:12 pm
Players that DO NOT need to be on the 2010 roster include
1. Jeff
2. Anderson
3. Kelly
4. Norton
5. Hernandez
Exactly in that order of importance. As soon as those 5 are gone, we would have dropped some dead weight and it’s UP TO FRANK WREN to get some quality players on the 2010 roster.
Oh, and anyone who doesn’t know the “new guys’ name hint…how lazy are you? You are on the web, google it, it takes 10 seconds! It’s Nate McLouth, and you LOSE all credibility to comment on this topic.
Also anyone advocating that Jeff is “still a prospect” and is “only 25″, you also LOSE all credibility b/c those are BS excuses.
David
June 12th, 2009
4:17 pm
You are an idiot and the only one who keeps bring it up – comapre his stats to K. Johnson or the new star left fielder
slow roller
June 12th, 2009
4:22 pm
No one is going to want Frenchy right now. Ironically, he was the only player that did anything yesterday. 2 for 3 plus a walk with first base open.
I still think TP should be demoted or fired. The Brewers dumped Ned Yost last year and it turned the team around. Even a “good coach” firing can change the mood in a positive way.
Mark’s previous headline: “That individual has to step up” spoke more about Terry Pendleton not being capable of stepping up than anything else. The irony of that statement escaped most people. TP should be fired.
Braves Fan Since the 70's
June 12th, 2009
4:28 pm
I would like the Braves to trade TP for the legally blind hitting instructor I recently saw on TV. Terry was a good player but the results say he is a terrible hitting coach. Sorry TP as you were a favorite as a player…
Troy
June 12th, 2009
4:46 pm
The Braves should fire Terry Pendleton. Name a player who has gone out of their way to say TP has helped then. Look also at batting stats since TP has been hitting coach. TP is a great guy and player but not a hitting coach.
Mark Bradley
June 12th, 2009
4:51 pm
I’ve had a full day, shall we say. I woke up this morning — sounds like a blues song, huh? — thinking I had my All-Trade Friday plotted out, and then the Falcons cut Vick and I wound up writing something about that, too. And somewhere in the middle of all that I managed to type this Tweet: “Should the Falcons release Jeff Francoeur?” And didn’t realize it until my doctor told me he’d seen in and wondering if I was making a joke. (Luckily, I was at the doctor having my head examined.)
But now I’m home and I’m indebted for all the responses — and yes, I did like the Leonard Nimoy recitation way back on Page 1 of these comments — and I’d like to point out one thing: For all the angst over Terry Pendleton, let me note again that Francoeur is on pace to hit 11 homers and drive in 71 runs, this after his winter tune-up with Rudy Jaramillo. So it might not be the coach, folks.
Braves Mom
June 12th, 2009
4:54 pm
He lost me last year when he bad mouthed the Braves for sending him down, very unprofessional.
If he were in NY, Chicago, or Philly, the fans would be all over him. He’s lucky he’s here in Atlanta where we are a bit more kind.
He seems to be a great young man (with the exception of his fit for being sent down), but he’s got to go. I hate seeing him come to the plate with runners on.
Braves Mom
June 12th, 2009
4:56 pm
Oh yeah, pack up Kelly Johnson too.
Troy
June 12th, 2009
4:58 pm
OK Mark – Jeff started hot and then went south. Who is coaching since then. Look at some who have left and their stats. Yes that includes the the lovable tub that is Andrew Jones. The guy couldn’t hit the floor with his hat. More importantly who has turned a career around under TP?
MW
June 12th, 2009
4:58 pm
You haven’t seen much football in 25 years if he is the best high school player you have watched?!?
Steve
June 12th, 2009
5:05 pm
Can we blame Jeff has Terry Pendelton ever done a good job coaching hitters. Chipper and Brian go to there dad for advice. Kelly has not improved please bring back Julio Franco as there hitting coach that guy can hit plus he keep himself in better shape then most players and would be a asset in more way then one.
Dawgtime
June 12th, 2009
5:07 pm
Okay as a Brave fan I must be honest, the Braves are boring to watch. They lack a passion for the game. We need to bring back characters and speed. I sick of waiting for the 3 run homer that rarely comes. My suggestion would be to go young. Tommy Hason, Jair Jurrigens, and the newly drafted lefty will make a fine young pitching staff. Brian McCann, Yunel Escobar, Kelly Johnson, the newly acquired centerfielder, Jordan Shaffer, and Jason Heyward. Trade Chipper and the older pitchers and stock up on young talent. It worked in Florida. Yes, we will struggle for a couple of seasons, but the team will excite the fan base.
Bunster
June 12th, 2009
5:09 pm
I say deal him. But then the Braves might have to pay someone to take him.
Shadetree
June 12th, 2009
5:11 pm
I have posted for a while the PED issue and Francouer. Look at the pictures. Without the juice he’s just flailing away at air. Its like the little kid that shuts his eyes as he swings as hard as he can.
Jason Giambi is the only player I know that went off the juice and while he was bad for a while he came back and is player decent.
Jeff can do this also.
You dont’ trade him unless he requests it.
Send him to AA for a while, let him get comfortable, if he improves move him up to AAA and come September 1st, if he’s doing good then bring him up when we expand the roster. That would give him half of June and all of July and August. If he doesn’t improve with that then let him go.
All-trade Friday: Should the Hawks deal Josh Smith? | Mark Bradley
June 12th, 2009
5:28 pm
[...] installments: Should the Braves trade Jeff Francoeur? And also: Should the Thrashers trade Ilya [...]
Joe Public
June 12th, 2009
5:32 pm
Trade Frenchy, dump Wren, sign Vick. Everyone is happy.
John H
June 12th, 2009
5:34 pm
Maybe the Braves need to make amends with Tom Glavine and convince him to come back as pitching coach, convince Chipper to retire and become hitting coach, and make Brian Snitker the manager. OK, maybe a little drastic and facetious, but I’m convinced that the problem with the Braves has less to do with the players than with the coaches and manager. Jeff’s not the only one: Jo-Jo Reyes is lights out when he’s at Gwinnett and can’t throw the ball over the plate for more than three innings when he comes up, Jordan Schafer tore the cover off the ball last year and couldn’t find the ball after some success with the big club, Kris Medlen has been sent to the pen after tremendous success at Gwinnett. The Braves need a change in field management.
JEFF
June 12th, 2009
5:35 pm
heres what I think and I have said this time and time again. It starts with Liberty Media and there carelessness for this baseball team.. Its Time for the Ownership to GET RID of the junk and Garbage that has plagued this team for the last 4 years. The Junk I’m referring too is Not Jeff Francouer its Frank Wren, Bobby Cox and Terry Pendleton. Those 3 guys have lost it. Frank Wren is a big joke of a GM who doesnt know how to handle situations and signs players that are worthless to this team. Bobby Cox is long overdue to canned. 4 years of pathetic baseball. Is he ever held accountable NO.. From his managing decisions to his awful lineups and callups to his style of baseball is so 80’s. and 3rd Terry Pendleton is NOT a hitting coach.. Get someone who knows the ins and outs of a true swing to correct and give suggestions and a new look on the way you approach hitting.. Those 3 guys are a joke and embarrassment to this team,along with the no seen owners… thats who is responsible.. Its not Jeffs entirely. Everyone needs to be held accountable and there is No such leadership from anyone of those 4 people I mentioned. This Team NEEDS a New GM, Manager and Hitting Coach. People with the will to win and the heart and passion on the field and to have respect toward his players and correct them and let them know whos in charge and hold them accountable. instead of babyiing them like Wren Cox and TP do.. its a shame this once great franchise has been dragged through the mud the last 4 years with awful performances and mediocre baseball.. US Braves Fans deserve more than That. Until there told to hit the road . Thats what we have to live with…
Atl Resident
June 12th, 2009
5:39 pm
Should we get rid of Francoeur? This is definitely a no-brainer. Why did Braves even give this guy a new contract anyway and cut ties with Glavine to save money? Come on.
Tell It Like It Is
June 12th, 2009
5:45 pm
In all seriousness folks, the Braves need some Black and/or Latino players with speed and power. This is not meant to be racist. The Braves will continue to lose without this addition to the lineup. If you don’t believe it, just check out the number of Black and Latino players that were on the team when they won 14 titles in a row. Name a winning team that that does not have a Black or Latino with these credentials.
gayle
June 12th, 2009
5:50 pm
Another quality player who dies in Atlanta. Can anyone mention a player who came here from another team who blossomed when he played for the Braves? Really, think about it.
How many former Braves are we seeing playing so well elsewhere. Can anyone running this team get a clue?
To say this team is stale and lifeless is like calling Ted Turner “quirky”.
Please call the exterminators and haul off the dead wood – all of it.
Hillbilly Deluxe
June 12th, 2009
5:52 pm
I’m in agreement. It would be better for both parties at this point.
Dtruth
June 12th, 2009
6:07 pm
Get rid of him, release him. This is a business and no one has sympathy for a non producing player that does not take instruction from his hitting coach. Don’t say it’s Pendleton when Jeff has not taken his advice. Blame it on his stubbornness, his lack of talent or failure to hit major league pitching, anything but on the coach whose advise is ignored by the great home town hero. He need to wake up and smell the roses and realize how much leeway he has been given, and he’s been his own worst enemy. He is lucky to still be on their roster. If Braves management had forced him to go to AAA he would have been better off, but he has been spoiled by Braves kid gloves treatment and getting what he deserves. The Braves will be better off when he is replaced by an “average” major league player.
bigcooterb
June 12th, 2009
6:08 pm
Frenchy got his poor little feelings hurt when the Braves sent him to the minors. Boo hoo, why did he think he was above being sent down. The only mistake the Braves made in doing so was waiting too long to do it and then not leaving him until he had corrected his bad habits.
No More Bobby
June 12th, 2009
6:08 pm
I still think he can be a good player but not here. Too much has happened (or not happened). Its like breaking up with a girl that you think will never be what you want then find out she does with the next guy. I think he is a team away from becoming what people expected of him.
But lets not trade him for another Kotchmon type player. someone who is really going to bring a spark to this team. Can we trade him for another manager?
JASon
June 12th, 2009
6:16 pm
many of you beat around the bush too much. With regards to players who perform poorly, the attitude of “let’s stick with him” has killed this organization for years, and has greatly hindered our chances of competing. So here’s a big “Thank You” to you people and the organization.
Mike W
June 12th, 2009
6:16 pm
I wish that you guys in the media would lighten up. yes, JF has and continues to have hitting issues but so do the rest of the Braves, except Chipper. I believe that Greg Norton is hitting .098 as of last night. Really, the braves hitting woes are systemic at the major level. How many times have we seen the bats go stone cold in the playoffs, and World Series going back to the Justice, Gant, etc days. The excuse has always been that we ran into the opposition’s top pitchers. Funny, they ran into ours too, ie Maddux, Glavine Smoltz, Avery, but they seemed to hit us. I do believe that we have to look at the teaching/instruction with Pendelton. The players do not have a grasp of hitting fundamentals and they are not drilled on them. Funny how many hitters come up from the minors with good fundamentals, hitting in the 300’s with some power, ie, most recently Schaffer, who came up, and almost immediately went into a 0 forever slide. why? It’s coaching dummy! How about a first baseman who can hit? We haven’t had one of those since Fred McGriff and Andres Galaragga were here. Our former boy Adam LaRoache can’t hit his weight!
Think about it…
Many of the other teams we’ve played this year also have light hitting outfields at or near the Mendoza line.
I say give Frenchy a break, quit all the trade talk in the media, which can’t help his physche any and let the guy play. You know, check our line up… who is any other team afraid of? Chipper, period.
JASon
June 12th, 2009
6:33 pm
Braves Team Batting Average
2001 .260 9th in NL
2002 .260 9th in NL
2003 .284 1st in NL
2004 .270 4th in NL
2005 .265 6th in NL
2006 .270 2nd in NL
2007 .275 4th in NL
2008 .270 3rd in NL
Now what were you people saying about Terry Pendleton?
Alaska Braves Fan
June 12th, 2009
6:34 pm
One of the most frustrating problems of reading a board like this one is that, with a few exceptions, everyone is right. Of course, again with a few exceptions, everyone also is wrong. We just cannot know with precision what the problem is with Jeff Francoeur. If coaching is the problem, why didn’t a dose of the Rangers’ hitting coach produce results? Jeff himself seems pretty egotistical in some ways, and that sometimes leads to a resistance to coaching.
Who knows? But, one thing I do know for sure is that there comes a time when a relationship is so strained that everyone is better off if it is terminated. I think Jeff’s relationship with the Braves and with Atlanta just cannot continue. Time for a change, and in the end it all will work itself out.
Where are the Braves going this year? Frank Wren is boxed in. He has on the field too little talent, and he also has too few resources. There simply is no quick fix. He, and we fans, must be patient and bring along the talent that is in the pipeline. A few strategic trades will help, but the overall, long-term solution is in developing talent within the organization.
LFP6
June 12th, 2009
6:35 pm
While a trade would be nice, I [like some others here] feel that JF doesnt have any real value for a trade; if we DID trade him, we’d be lucky to land some lesser prospects at best. Jeff just needs to focus on the basics, and maybe talk more with Chip and Brian to get back into the swing of things.
robert nash
June 12th, 2009
6:49 pm
the braves have not hit as a team since terry pendleton was hired.
when someone comes in and starts hitting good ,it won’t be long till tp talks
them in to swinging up on the ball and popping up especially if the bases are loaded.
Ryan
June 12th, 2009
7:09 pm
To say that I, as most Braves fans, am furious with this entire situation would be the understatement of the century. I have been saying for the past 2 1/2 years that Terry P is our problem. Our hitting has been terrible for years, and if you look at our collective BA’s over the past 3 years it has steadily fallen. Bring back Don Baylor or any other warm body, but Terry MUST GO!!! I know Bobby is loyal to the very end, and I actually love that about him, but enough is enough. I would be saddened to see Frenchy turn it around in another uniform, especially when I think he can be fixed.
Let me throw this crazy (admitedly a homer “fantasy baseball” solutioin) idea…..
Call up Texas and get Josh Hamilton. Give up 3 TOP TIER prospects and bring in Hammy! He is still under abritation for 2 more years, and I am sure you could lock him up to a long term deal to stay in one place. Can you imagine Hamilton in RF, Schaefer in CF, and McClouth in LF. OMG the deffense alone would be NUTS!! Not to mention they would all be young and around for a long time!
* Last thought – Release, fire, kick to the curb G. Anderson!
aswingruber
June 12th, 2009
8:19 pm
And Frenchy just struck out with a runners on second and third and one out… I’m sick of this bum. So he hit a game tieing home run against the Cubs in the 9th on a fat pitch left up and over the plate. That’s one of two clutch hits in the past two seasons. The other being the extra inning homer against the Diamondbacks this time last year. It’s time to cut our losses and ship him out. He’s been a colossal bust.
Paul Lentz
June 12th, 2009
8:25 pm
If Terry Pendleton was the “problem”, then why have Chipper, McCann, and Escobar not been “affected”? Are you saying that Chipper, McCann, and Escobar are doing well “despite” having TP as a hitting coach? If so, then the assumption would have to be that if the Braves had a “good” hitting coach, then Chipper, McCann, and Escobar would be hitting “even better” then they are now?
B.S., here’s a news flash for you TP haters out there: if it looks like sh__, if it smells like sh__, then it must be SH__! No hitting coach can turn sh__ into gold. When it comes to hitting, Jeff Francoeur is SH__!
Sure, Franceour can gun a runner down like he did in the bottom of the 3rd. However, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, one out in the top of the 4th……Franceour has a terrible at-bat and ends up striking out. So when you look at the “net”, Franceour ends up costing the Braves one run in that scenario. That scenario is all too common when it comes to Franceour.
Simply put, Jeff Franceour will NEVER be a good Major League hitter. Bench him and use him as a defensive replacement like Bobby did on Tuesday…..or send him to Triple A.
B. Christy
June 12th, 2009
8:36 pm
The fans and the news are burning Jeff because they wanted a Supper Star and he had the bad luck of being hit in the face last year during Spring Training. He had a problem seeing==who else has had that problem!!! Did Terry try to help Jeff last year? I don’t think so and if he went elsewhere for help, wasn’t that being he was trying to help his team by being a better hitter? What is the difference in Diaz, Johnson, Norton, and slow poke Andeson? Get real Atlanta, I hope Jeff comes to the Florida Marlins or Tampa Bay. I wouldn’t have to pay $50 extra a month to see him play. Which I gladly do now. Come on down Jeff, Florida would love to have you