He’s Frenchy, as in benchy, and he could soon be gone
When Job got fed up, as Job would periodically, he’d head up to Adairsville and stop by the farm, and he’d say to Bobby Cox, “I’m at wit’s end — what should I do?”
And Bobby Cox would say, “Joby [as we know, Cox loves his nicknames], just be patient.”
OK, I embellish. But I do it to make a point: When you’ve exhausted Bobby Cox’s legendary patience, you’re probably not long for these Braves. Last week Kelly Johnson went from being the everyday second baseman to being benched to being placed on the disabled list, and Jeff Francoeur was held out of the lineup three games running before being reinserted Tuesday night. (He went 1-for-4 with an infield single.) And the sound you heard was of two homegrown players who’ve been Atlanta Braves since 2005 going, “Gulp.”
Kenny Lofton didn’t fit in here, and he was gone after one season. Same with Bret Boone. Dan Kolb was brought here to be the closer, couldn’t do the job and was gone the next year. John Rocker lasted 18 months after his Sports Illustrated rant appeared, and the only reason he stayed so long was the Braves couldn’t find anyone to take him. Cox never rips a guy publicly — and almost never does he resort to managerial privilege and trash a guy to reporters off the record — but you can tell when he’s fed up.
And this is a different sort of getting-fed-up than Cox demonstrated when he pulled Yunel Escobar — or, long ago, Andruw Jones — from a game. Those upbraidings were designed to get a young player’s wandering attention. Benching a guy over a longer haul is something far more serious. It’s not a move Cox ever makes in haste, or in anger. It’s a move he undertakes only when he has reached a conclusion he has labored long not to reach.
Loading ...It takes Cox a lot longer to lose faith than it does, say, Lou Piniella. Cox believes until he’s given reason to stop believing, but when he stops … well, that’s about all she wrote. Johnson was afforded every opportunity and hit .216. Francoeur was extended an even longer grace period — we’re now going on a second calendar year of his laboriously documented flailings — but has simply ceased being a competent big-league hitter. And now both have been benched.
The Francoeur breach has been coming for a while. The Braves loved his enthusiasm — he is, as you’ve heard, a great guy — but couldn’t understand why he never made the necessary adjustments in technique. And they were mightily miffed when he took off for Texas to consult hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. As Terry Pendleton, the Braves’ hitting coach, has said: “It bugged me at first.” And as much as Cox loves his players, he loves his coaches even more.
This spring Francoeur told me, “As long as Six has my back, I don’t care about anything else.” Well, Bobby Cox wears No. 6, and he no longer stands in Francoeur’s corner.
And Francoeur, who’s no fool, already seems to have one eye on the exit. He told Dave O’Brien: “[I] just have to be patient and wait my turn, whether it’s here or somewhere else.”
At this moment, I’d bet on the “somewhere else.” When you’re a Brave and you’ve lost Bobby Cox, you’ve lost everything.
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553 comments Add your comment
BIG MAC
July 7th, 2009
11:42 am
The Braves have 2 guys who can hit the ball hard on a regular basis–Chipper & McCann. They use their dads as their primary hitting gurus…figure it out for yourselves about Pendleton. Ted Turner could have managed the Braves through the ’90s with all the talent they had on the mound. If you remember correctly, most of those games were won with scores like 2-1, 3-2 or 1-0, so nothing has really changed about the teams offensive woes. The current Brave pitchers have an ERA of 3.90 is 6th in MLB, but their scoring is ahead of that at 4.22 run/g, which is 11th…so sounds like despite their pitiful hitting, they are actually scoring enough to win. To me that sounds like poor managing, coaching, fundamentals, execution and effort. Don’t forget ownership or executive decisions are getting screwed at every decision or trade as our Minors have been stripped down from a position of strength to a mirror image of the big club…a former model that aged past her prime and desperately clinging on to the memory of days gone by.
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
July 7th, 2009
11:43 am
MB he hasn’t spent every day with Rudy and plus Rudy’s technique is a total change but this guy has made a millionaire out of a bunch of guys like Derosa, Blalock et al. Can’t change a swing overnight especially in 10 sessions. The Braves are one of the worst hitting teams. You take out McCann and Jones (taught by Daddy) and it goes down dramatically) Could be the talent level but some has to rest on the coaches.
quint
July 7th, 2009
11:44 am
Dumb question alert: Any possibility that a college BASEBALL team might like to give him a shot? I know, I know, I know…I told you it was a dumb question. What would be all the legal ramifications other than having to give up any endorsement deals? Do you think there is a college coach he would listen to and learn from? Seriously, Chris Weinke went back to play football at FSU after pro baseball didn’t work out. I know that he never went to the majors, but still…it is intriguing. What chance is there of this happening? Less than 10% or less than 1%?
Hey, I said the same thing about Kobe a few years ago. He still has all of his college eligibility left. Now that he has his rings with and without Shaq, why not go try to win a college championship? I’d bet the college coach that could land him would have no problem recruiting and keeping top-notch players for four years (or until they won it all)! Hahaha! Wouldn’t that be a hoot!
Peter
July 7th, 2009
11:44 am
My thoughts are get rid of Frenchy and Kelly Johnson…that will free up about 6 million……..get a regular player, keep Prado at 2nd base.
Matt Diaz is cheaper and more productive than either of the two I mentioned, and can platoon in either left or right field.
dap01
July 7th, 2009
11:44 am
What’s wrong with playing the best players possible. If Jeff don’t understand that then he will have a chance once he is released after this year.
I am as sick of Jeff Francouer articles as I am of articles on John Smoltz.
Why can’t we platoon JF or even send him to Gwinnett to try to get better?
Ray Pugh
July 7th, 2009
11:44 am
Andre,
PF is a free agent in 2010, and he is a Boras client so he will command $20+ million/season–he is owed only $7 mil this season. However, I say we do the deal and let him walk and have Freddy Freeman take over in 2011, his scheduled ETA.
Vazquez + Kotchman + cash for PF. DO IT FW!!!
ppaddy123
July 7th, 2009
11:44 am
B July 7th, 2009 11:29 am
Maybe, The Braves need a new hitting coach
WOW! That is so observant! But tell me this…….if TP is responsible for Frenchy and KJ’s failures, how do YOU explain the success of Prado and Diaz? Could it be that talking out one’s A$$ has just become really fashionable? The Braves could fire TP, but Frenchy will still suck!
TMoney
July 7th, 2009
11:45 am
Everyone has clamored for Frenchy to get benched or traded. I find it ironic that, now that he has been benched and the Braves have lost all three games since.
Tim
July 7th, 2009
11:45 am
I say we go back to the good old days of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Lets work with the kids on the farm and hold on to them. I was watching the Rangers game on ESPN the other night, and they were talking about the trade for Tex and how it will go down as one of the greatest deadline deals (steal) ever. The 4 guys we let go of are doing very well, and the one we got is gone.
As for Frenchy, I hate to see him go, but this is a business. If we can let go of Dale Murphy, we can let go of Frenchy. Is their another David Justice down there somewhere?
francoeuristheman
July 7th, 2009
11:45 am
well mark if you remember correctly jeff spent time with rudy during the offseason and then had a great spring training and started out hot at the beginning of the season so maybe its a little more tp fault than you think
joe
July 7th, 2009
11:46 am
Escobar and Vazquez for Braun…git ‘er done
Ed
July 7th, 2009
11:48 am
To, Too, Two. They sound the same but…
Curtis Jones
July 7th, 2009
11:49 am
Mark, you summed it up well. The Braves are a perfectly adequate team. We are adequate at most every position. That is why we have an adequate record, and will finish adequately enough, 3rd or 4th in the division. And the Braves will draw adequate crowds. If the ATL citizenry is satisfied with adequate, all is well.
QUESTION: Perhaps I missed something. Why did Bret Boone not fit in it the Braves clubhouse? Many years have gone by, Mark. Tell it all.
Curtis Jones
July 7th, 2009
11:50 am
By the way, Frenchy will be in the lineup tonight. Take it to the bank.
Kirk
July 7th, 2009
11:51 am
Mark, perhaps you have covered this, but why haven’t the Braves just sent Francouer down to the minors to try to rehabilitate him? Granted the options for replacement within the system might not be any better, but they could hardly be much worse, and there is really not much point to trying to trade him now.
Ray Pugh
July 7th, 2009
11:51 am
joe,
esco + javy is too much for braun, especially considering we’d have to make another move for a SS unless we want to try to make a run w/ diarrhea hernandez at short. also, braun fits into milwaukee’s long term plans more than prince (unsignable) fielder, as they have an excellant first baseman in Matt Gamels who will be ready in 2011.
dap01
July 7th, 2009
11:52 am
I think that JF is a 5 tool player except for little power, no speed, and low average.
He is untradable, he is going to be released at the end of the year, what does he have to lose by going to Gwinnett for the last 2 months of the year?
joe
July 7th, 2009
11:54 am
ray pugh…diarrhea hernandez…lol. well, i just read about braun calling out his management and teammates, and how the GM is very upset about it…probably not enough discontent there to trade him, but i was only wishing. vazquez, francouer, kotchmann for fielder then.
paul
July 7th, 2009
11:55 am
the obvious statement is that this franchise is in a major transition period. Bobby will be leaving soon so he is trying everything he can do to get back to the playoff’s for one last hurrah… wren and schuerholtz (before wren) are trying to make that happen to reward bobby’s loyalty to the company. Well, it didn’t work. the texiera thing blew up in our face. Like i have been saying for a month, if the organization just admitted where they actually stand, then a 95 million dollar payroll isn’t a bad thing. while it helped for a month, a $15 mil dollar salary to derrick lowe was stupid, he isn’t tradeable at that number. The vasquez signing was obviously smart unless tyler flowers could have played first…. we need to flip vasquez and his tradeable contract for some strong young parts. we need a young 3b and a young pitcher….
soriano is very tradeable, he has been dominant and can get us a stong young arm and a couple of b level prospects
gonzo is tradeable, but he better work his kinks from this past week.
last week i proposed that we trade chipper (hey chipper fanatics) he wouldn’t bring us prime prospects because he is a punch and judy hitter right now but he could bring us some b level arms.
last week jared said chipper was a #3 hitter on an all time team, sorry jared the chipper of 2009 is a 6th or 7th hitter on a good team.
case in point.
if he played for the phillies where would he hit…
rollins
victorino
utley
howard
ibanez
werth
—— insert chipper (but probably wouldnt’ get the nod over feliz)
ADMIT THAT YOU ARE NOT GOOD RIGHT NOW, THE PRESSURE WILL BE OFF AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY BUILD AROUND THE PIECES YOU HAVE.
build around
mccann
jurjens
hanson
medlen
(i vote to keep gonzo)
prado
blanco
yunel
you got some solids coming in the next 3 years – schaefer, freeman, heyward
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST DEPARTMENT
kelly to dl = “hey kelly, we love you for your loyalty, you got 1 month to get in the cages and workout your swing, if you still stink at the end of july this will be your last year in baseball”
TRobb
July 7th, 2009
11:55 am
I kind of like Diaz in RF. Not saying we shouldn’t pursue another bat, but Matt is a different player since JS picked him off the scrapheap (thank you, KC). He’s got to be 20 pounds lighter and he had the depth perception problem corrected.
I think Matt’s fielding is like his hitting – occasionally really ugly, but gets the job done. Don’t forget, he’s a career .310 hitter, like Chipper, and there are only a few of those around.
And he hits righthanders. Check his splits from the first two years he was here – well over .300.
You just have to put up with him swinging at a fastball in his eyes or a slider eight feet off the plate once in a while. OK, once or twice a game.
ronald
July 7th, 2009
11:55 am
It seems as if Frenchy has become the right handed version of Brad Kominsk, once considered to be “the natural,” a can’t miss prospect.
J Dub
July 7th, 2009
11:57 am
How did TP get the hitting coach position in the first place? He is a career .270 hitter, and that is with the MVP year included.
Bravo
July 7th, 2009
11:58 am
These players need to go: Lowe, Kotchman, Escobar, Johnson and Francouer. This would free up 25+ million on payroll. Make a move to acquire Berkman, Wood, Smith, Buchholz, Teahan, and Lugo. This team makes the playoffs and is loaded come spring next season with the likes of Freeman, Hayward and Buchholz contributing. Plus payroll is still low and affords the Braves to make a few moves during the offseason.
niremetal
July 7th, 2009
11:58 am
Baseball needs a salary cap. Until then, it’s hard to foresee a situation where the Braves can just make a couple tweaks and launch themselves into contention.
TRobb
July 7th, 2009
11:58 am
I’m glad Bobby went as far as he did with Francoeur. Except for a few folks, we can honestly say they tried everything possible and waited as long as they could for him to get going.
There can be no doubt when they nontender him this offseason or trade him for marginal prospects that he wasn’t likely to ever help the ballclub again.
It’s a shame, but the stories don’t all have fairytale endings.
francoeuristheman
July 7th, 2009
12:00 pm
curtis answer my question you homo…were you number 34 at mtn park
No name comic
July 7th, 2009
12:00 pm
“Oh yeah, I used to be in right field…it’s a tough racket. Great guy, I don’t care. Great family man, screw you go play with your kids!!”
ppaddy123
July 7th, 2009
12:00 pm
With the team pitching we have, The Braves should be winning more games. I dunno if there is a lack of chemistry within the club house (personally think it’s the lack of a consistent lineup)
But this team should score more runs. I’d like to see Blanco back at lead off for a couple of games (put him in RF). Move McLouth down to the 6 hole, in front of Escobar and Kotchman….try to manufacture some runs from the bottom of the order.
Helluva Engineer
July 7th, 2009
12:01 pm
Just sucks I wasted all that $ on his signed SI which I framed and his jersey.
I knew I should of gone with the Jones jersey.
Mark
July 7th, 2009
12:03 pm
Ray Pugh: esco + javy is too much for ryan braun? are you nuts? braun is one of the best hitters in the game and he’s making 455k this year because he isn’t arbitration eligible. for the salary, he and tim lincecum are the best players in baseball.
Bravo
July 7th, 2009
12:03 pm
Everyone is so blind to the fact – THIS TEAM IS GOING NOWHERE AS IS. Lets not one move but mutiple moves. One just aint going to cut it!
Blackberry Cobbler
July 7th, 2009
12:05 pm
I have very mixed feelings.
I hate to see Jeff go UNLESS we get some SUBSTANTIAL in return. And I just doubt that’s going to happen.
With exception of McCann and Chipper with occasional flashes from a few (very few) others, this team really doesn’t have the bats to compete. Further, everyone keeps applauding the pitching– to me it’s been erratic and less than stellar.
I thought the ESPN crew said it best last night… the Braves have a lot of guys that can hit singles but it takes a lot of singles strung together over the course of a ball game to win. The Braves just do not have the consistency and power offensively to win ball games.
We need BOTH– more pitching and more bats.
ppaddy123
July 7th, 2009
12:06 pm
Hey Mark…..if Ryan Braun only makes $455k this year………what idiot of a GM trades him?
Ray Pugh
July 7th, 2009
12:07 pm
joe,
braun called out mgmt. b/c of their lack of effort to locate a top-tier starter. you know any top-tier starters that may interest them?
also, getting them to take on jeffrey franchise is a pipe dream unless it’s something like this: vaz, kotch, francine, and about $6mil and cash for Fielder and Hart. Milwaukee would be stupid to do this b/c the pitching they would gain in vaz would be negated by the amount of offensive suckage they would gain by azquiring kotch and francine.
Bravo
July 7th, 2009
12:07 pm
We have dead space in 3 positions and 1 trouble position. Time to move on. We’ve done this for the past 3 years, now going on 4. Lets try to get some winners or at least some players that care. Show Lowe, Escobar, Francouer, Johnson and Kotchman the door.
joe
July 7th, 2009
12:07 pm
Bravo…it’s gonna take a lot more than Jojo/Frenchy/KJ/Kotchmann to get Berkman. If the Astros wanted to build for the future, why would they take our excuses for putting dung on the baseball field?
wawel78
July 7th, 2009
12:07 pm
The Braves are in the top 11 in payroll as it stands now. It’s not like they’re the Marlins.
ChillyMutt
July 7th, 2009
12:08 pm
Frenchy is a free swinging, see it – hit it batter. Don’t know if you can change that – it’s ingrained in his nature … don’t know if you want to try to change that – you can see what happened to him last year when he tried to become a patient hitter. Can get away with it in high school and maybe even the minors but MLB pitchers are too good. Vlad might be the only one I can think of who can get away with that mentality.
thebeauty
July 7th, 2009
12:08 pm
i think the braves need to be patient……. with heyward,freeman,and cody johnson in myrtle beach(well mississippi now….) we’ll be a good team…. freeman at first, prado at second, yunel at ss, chipper at third, heyward in rf.. mclout in cf and cody johnson in lf…. pretty good lineup….
Kevlar
July 7th, 2009
12:09 pm
Jeff was a bit of a cry-baby when he was sent down last year (”I don’t think my attitude toward the club can ever be the same”) and now, when benched for a few games, (more or less “I’ll be good elsewhere”). Give me a break. Prima-donna. He should be thanking the Braves and Cox in particular for $3.835 Million dollars for the last 2 years when his stats say he should have been in the minor leagues. All the while batting .239 and now, .247. That’s not even talking about his OBP. Incredibly, his walks per at bat rate this year is worse than its been since 2006. Where’s the gratitude for Cox’s sticking with him? Perhaps Francoeur’s nickname should be “hot dog” instead of “Frenchy.” Man up, Hot Dog…how about making this quote, “Staight up, I have not done the job. Bobby has been loyal beyond belief. I am committing today to redouble my efforts and do whatever the heck TP tells me to do. The bottom line is that I want to win and I want the Braves to win and I will do everything in my power to make that happen.”
Lifetime Braves Fan
July 7th, 2009
12:11 pm
I wonder why Mark Bradley has to stick up for T.P. Bradley why can’t you report that T.P is not getting the job done. If he coached under Sweet Lou or Ozzie or …. then he would have been fired weeks ago. Sometimes a little shake up on coaching staff gets teams going look at Rockies. Just sayin…
wawel78
July 7th, 2009
12:12 pm
ok my turn – trade Franceour for Pujols, Johnson for Chase Utley and that should solve our problems. It’s a win/win for everybody!
Bravo
July 7th, 2009
12:12 pm
I love to see how everyone loves escobar in here. how many games have this guy cost us this year. I’d guess around 5 all by himself. He’s the opponents best player they have. Are we not watching the same games?
wawel78
July 7th, 2009
12:13 pm
oh yeah, and get rid of that bag Kawakami to SF for Lincecum.
GT, where nerds get shot and robbed everyday
July 7th, 2009
12:14 pm
francoueristheman, I made no claims about striking either one of them out. All I said was that they are the same TYPE of hitters now as they were then. Read and THINK before you type, actually your name is fitting, you type before you think just the way jeff SWINGS before he THINKS.
Lifetime Braves Fan
July 7th, 2009
12:14 pm
wawel 78 get the hell off the blog dumb a..
wawel78
July 7th, 2009
12:15 pm
Escobar is the one of the best players on the team and he only makes $425k/year. The braves aren’t taking on considerable salary. There are not many players of his caliber who make that little that another GM is willing to trade.
wawel78
July 7th, 2009
12:15 pm
Just trying to fit in Lifetime.
ppaddy123
July 7th, 2009
12:15 pm
Hey Lifetime Braves Fan……………I said it before ………….guess I’ll say it again….If TP is responsible for Frenchy and KJ’s poor performance then he MUST be responsible for Prado and Diaz’s stellar performances………..you can’t have it both ways
Ralph
July 7th, 2009
12:16 pm
Some bloggers seem to think that Wren has a majic wan that he can wave and say “ok, i’ll give you this guy who can’t hit a lick and this worthless pitcher for your all star first baseman, etc”. Braves have all the talent they need, they just need someone who is smart enough to manage it.