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
Omar O.
July 7th, 2009
2:31 pm
One thing is for certain, Jeff has been pampered his whole
life. All thru middle school and high school he was the man
and everyone let him know he was the man. When you have
always been patted on the back and always given the credit
you don’t how too respond when you have a little adversity.
Case in point, when Jeff was sent down last year he was
crying like a baby and taking shots at management. Jeff is
a great guy but he is spoiled rotten. McCann is a baseball
player, Jeff is a football player trying too play this game
called baseball. Face it Metro Atlanta, the kid from once
mighty Parkview has worn out his welcome.
bvillebaron
July 7th, 2009
2:32 pm
Frenchy seems like a great kid and I sure would like to see him do well. However, I really think he needs to take a long hard look at himself in the mirror. I am not a professional hitting coach, but it sure looks to me like, in addition to being undisciplined at the plate, he also is pulling off when he does swing (even at good pitches).I also think that ultimately Frenchy’s biggest problem is that he appears to be in a state of denial. He has played poorly for a year and a half and yet he makes comments in the offseason like “I won’t fail again” and was quoted recently after being benched as saying “I know I can play this game”. This all reminds me of the comment of Johnny Miller who said that he finally broke through and won his first tournament after he finally looked in the mirror and realized that he had been “choking like a dog” when he came close but did not win prior tournaments. I think Frenchy won’t ever improve (here or somewhere else) unless and until he recognizes that he has been failing and as Jimmy Buffett said “some people claim that there’s a (fill in the blank), but I know, it’s my own damn fault”.
Robert0259
July 7th, 2009
2:32 pm
“Francoeur: I will not fail again”
Please don’t ship this bum to the Yankees.
Mirzabraves3
July 7th, 2009
2:33 pm
hmm i think its either boston or kansas city, dunno who though, possibly brad penny in boston and/or mark kotsay, and maybe david dejesus in kc, we shouldve gotten Zack Grienke in the offseason when we had the chance, too late now hes too good, hes their future
Ray Pugh
July 7th, 2009
2:34 pm
Scrap, wins is possibly the most meaningless statistic in all of sports. Comparing his relevant statistics (K9, WHIP, FIP), it is truly astounding he was selected over Vazquez and Jurrjens.
Pete
July 7th, 2009
2:35 pm
francoeuristheman: “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”
Schafer had a great spring training also…so what? Not sure what you mean by “hot” cause all JF did in spring and early in the season was hit singles. Yeah, thats really hot.
The A Bomb
July 7th, 2009
2:36 pm
There just can’t be a market out there for Francoeur — my assumption is that he will be designated for assignment very, very soon.
A sad situation because we have a guy here who has worked to try and correct what is wrong.
AlabamaBrave
July 7th, 2009
2:39 pm
The A Bomb
July 7th, 2009
2:36 pm
There just can’t be a market out there for Francoeur — my assumption is that he will be designated for assignment very, very soon.
A sad situation because we have a guy here who has worked to try and correct what is wrong.
And if he won’t take the DFA, release him.
Emilio
July 7th, 2009
2:43 pm
I read a good bit of the blog on a regular basis and seldom post. I’ve learned to skip quickly through some folks’ comments and enjoy the rational comments of others. I’ve read much on Yunel lately. I’d like to offer a different perspective. I grew up in Key West, played some base ball and had the privilege of playing against some Cuban youth teams, with players like Boog Powell, and his half brother Charlie, and other fine young players. Opps just gave away my age! Anyway, the Cuban teams were always impressive and generally beat us! The played aggressive ball and used every trick or gimmick in the book to beat us. What I want to offer is a bit of an explanation that I have NOT seen thus far. Yunel is simply, Cuban, a macho, dude. You don’t have to like that, by the way. My heritage is Cuban, I speak the language, spent lots of time in Cuba in my youth, and I can tell you it’s just part of the culture. He is pretty darn good for $425K or so! He will be a star! Why would you want to trade him? The upside is there and the burps will go away as he gets a bit more exposure to our culture (in the bigs). So, coach him, work with him and reap the rewards.
Pete
July 7th, 2009
2:44 pm
Pete: “He was a total fool a couple years ago for turning down 5 years/$5 Mil or so,….”
Meant to say $25 Mil
Jim
July 7th, 2009
2:44 pm
I too am critical of Francouer (almost) always swinging at the first pitch no matter how unhittable it may be, but in the game the other night when he came up as a pinch hitter with runners on first and second, that first pitch was a crotch high, 91 mph fastball down the middle of the plate. It was probably the best pitch he might see in that AB. The fault there was not swinging at the first pitch — it was his inability to square up on a very hittable offering!
GT
July 7th, 2009
2:44 pm
The struggling at the plate is only part of it. The base running errors like the one last week when Francoeur is on second and the ball is hit on the left side of the bag, he ran right into the tag. The Braves got another hit that inning that would have bought a goofy Francoeur home to score and we lost the game by one run. He has absolutely turned brain dead, and it seems it started with him getting married. Maybe for baseball McCann was a better roommate but who knows. The look on Francoeur’s face when Cox sat him down for Anderson in the 8th and Anderson jacks it was priceless too. The whole dugout is up congratulating Anderson, and Francoeur looked like he had been drugged not knowing whether to act happy or be mad because he had been yanked and it was so obviously the correct move by Bobby.
Peter
July 7th, 2009
2:45 pm
Mark if TP is doing a good job…..
Then why can’t we work the count, walk, and play small ball, thus getting a starter’s pitches up early in a game, OR hit when it counts, which including moving a runner along ?
Preston Hannatized
July 7th, 2009
2:45 pm
Mark … you’re right about Bobby and his coaches. But with the exception of Glenn Hubbard, if he ran them all off tonight, would the team be better or worse? McDowell has been creditable with the pitchers; how was Leo without MG&S? Bobby overworks the pen which leads to meltdowns like Gonzalez on Saturday. I do think Pendleton is weak; it isn’t only Francoeur. No one seems to have a clue how to work counts, the same junk gets the same guys out over and over. I will give TP the fact that he has chops, he has done it on the big league level. Who are Brian Snitker and Chuddy what’s his name anyway? They must be good old bush-hogging buddies at Bobby’s ranch. I’m not saying you have hall of famers on the bench but these guys are – not to put too fine a point on it — nobodies. The team neads a shakeup, the staff needs a shakeup.
Nova Scotia Steve
July 7th, 2009
2:46 pm
Man…It didn’t take us long to fall back huh…3 game losing streak…lose 3 gms in the standings…YIKES…maybe we’re not going to be as close to the division lead as we all thought and wanted by the all-star break…
I believe the Division may be our only shot at the play-offs…too many team involved in the wild card and we have to jump a lot of teams and it takes a lot of time to jump 5 or 6 teams…
We could be back in some trouble…AGAIN…
LSU
July 7th, 2009
2:46 pm
Mark,
Is Jordan Schafer about ready for another shot?
The A Bomb
July 7th, 2009
2:48 pm
I have TiVo’d several games and slowed down Francoeur’s swing — it is apparent he is either guessing at pitches or slow to react. There have been several fastballs that have just been blown by him.
submariner
July 7th, 2009
2:49 pm
GT is a scorned man! At least she didn’t take your computer. Or are you at work? Just kidding. You make a very good point. Frenchy has lost it completely.
Nova Scotia Steve
July 7th, 2009
2:49 pm
From Mark Bowman on Yunel Escobar….
“Look I understand the entertainment value of the rumor market that will swirl over the next few weeks leading up to the trade deadline,” Bowman wrote Monday evening. “But at the same time, I think it’s time to take Yunel Escobar’s name out of the mix.
Teams have certainly called to express interest in Escobar and with his stubborn personality the talented shortstop has given the Braves at least reason to ponder the possibility of moving him.
But from what I’ve gathered, the Braves have zero desire to move Escobar.”
All i can say is thank jesus…maybe this will END some of the Escobar trade talk on these blogs…Gettin pretty tired of it!
LSU
July 7th, 2009
2:49 pm
As of late, I don’t see where Francoeur has been much worse than McCann & Chipper. I guess a 3 year slump does stand out like pink elephant though.
submariner
July 7th, 2009
2:50 pm
LSU he’s hurt. His wrist is jacked up. Probably gonna be a few weeks.
Sunil
July 7th, 2009
2:51 pm
“When you’re a Brave and you’ve lost Bobby Cox, you’ve lost everything”
Awesome line there Bradley, that one sentence says everything. I couldn’t have written it better.
Roja
July 7th, 2009
2:52 pm
What the heck does Bobby have to do to “lose Wren”??? I’d rather see Bobby gone!!!!
NC Braves Fan
July 7th, 2009
2:53 pm
Mark – on the point about being released, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit. In fact, I bet Jeff would ask to be released rather than accept an option to the minors.
And for the Braves’ part, it’s not like Jeff would be sent out to “find” himself. As you rightly point out, it appears that he has – finally – played himself off the team for good.
francoeuristheman
July 7th, 2009
2:53 pm
curtis jones, did you go to parkview? and now to west ga?
submariner
July 7th, 2009
2:54 pm
Enter your comments here
Randy J.
July 7th, 2009
2:55 pm
Lets Trade Him..
Roja
July 7th, 2009
2:56 pm
If the management of any other team heard the ESPN announcers blasting Escobar for his attitude and for looking up at the official scorer’s booth and cursing them when they give him an error, and then standing around doing nothing for the next couple batters then NO ONE would even take Yunel! When announcers start noticing attitude and respect problems in players, that’s pretty bad.
Bravo
July 7th, 2009
2:56 pm
Mark,
What’s wrong with moving Lowe to the Angels for say Brandon Wood and William Smith. Smith is a local boy and we all know how good Wood is going to be. Then say we move escobar to the bosox for lugo, buchholz and possibly another prospect? Then offer Bochholz and Kotchman for Berkman plus possibly adding Johnson. Would this not strength the team and add a little depth to the minors? Plus, what’s the possiblity of KC moving Teahan for Francouer?
roan st
July 7th, 2009
2:58 pm
Schafer is hitting .239 since being shipped down so there is no reason to believe he is going to be back this year. Maybe the wrist has something to do with that but who knows. But i do know that Heyward is hitting .417 since being promoted to mississippi. If he tears up AA the second half of the year there is an outside shot he could be in the outfield next year with an impressive spring. I know the Braves don’t want to rush this kid but he has been getting it done at every level so far. He is without question the Braves top prospect now that Hanson is in the bigs.
cosmos
July 7th, 2009
2:58 pm
I would hate to see Francoeur go but I am also miffed that he never made the adjustments necessary for a big league hitter. He just can’t lay off the first pitch or a low and outside curve ball. Cox should have benched him earlier to get his attention. I don’t see another team wanting him in a trade straight up but I could see him going in a package deal with one of our pitchers for a good hitting outfielder.
edward
July 7th, 2009
2:58 pm
I love how ppl here say it’s because Bobby can’t manage. What a joke! The man is a genuis at managing, Jeff is just a hardheaded jerk. I’m sorry, but do you guys want the Braves of the 80’s back?? The problem is is that they gave up way too much future to try to keep the streak alive and now it is hurting us. The farm is dry for a few years and people still want to trade prospects.
I can think of a few non-productive pen guys and some regulars to trade. I don’t personally need a 30-40homer guy out there, but i would like a decent contact hitter with speed. .280 20-30homers and a few swipes and it makes for a fun game. Nate has been here a month and he already is about to pass the others in homers not counting the ones he hit in Pitt.
I know MB and DOB like Terry but he doesn’t seem to be doing good. Just wait….in about 4 yrs Chipper is going to be the best hitting coach ever!
Arkansas Braves fan
July 7th, 2009
2:58 pm
Im not saying that we should keep Francouer if a decent trade is available, however in the last few games when the ball is hit to RF everyone had to say to themselves dang I forgot Francouer is not out there. Last night Diaz made a sliding catch because he plays so freakin deep, Francouer makes that play easy because he wouldn’t have to run as far to get it. Also Jeff goes back on the ball about as good as they come and how many people does he keep from going from 1st to 3rd, etc. When Anderson and Diaz are both in the game we have on sucky outfield. Diaz is okay, but Anderson is awful. Anderson is very streaky at the plate but his defense sucks all the time. I say bat Francouer 8th but keeps the best defensive RF in baseball on the field.
The_Superhoo
July 7th, 2009
2:59 pm
Mark,
Have heard announcers of late mention a Cuban “mentality” as a possible link to what some see as Esco’s poor attitude.
Any validity to this? I’ve never followed any other Cuban players, so I don’t know if this is really a culture thing, or just announcers spouting off nonsense.
Bravo
July 7th, 2009
2:59 pm
Escobar has the second worst fielding percentage of any regular SS in the majors besides Guzman with the Nats.
REGULAR FAN
July 7th, 2009
2:59 pm
I dont know what will happen with JEFF. I do know that my family and I have enjoyed his play while he has been here. Its nice to have hometown boys on the team. He has been a ROLE MODEL for my kids and I have never heard about him having a “ho house” or fathering a child out of wedlock,or DUI’s or hanging out at the bar til 4:00am.
We will luv u Frenchy no matter what. I wear your jersey proudly and we will root for YOU every time.
AND ONE MORE THING all of these bloggers that say awful,cowardly,hurtful crap WOULD BE THE FIRST INLINE TO GET JEFFs PICTURE,AUTOGRAPH,or PAT HIM ON THE BACK.
None of you who blog crap about this kid on here could hold a candle to Francoeur.
I want to be one of JEFFs many fans to let his mom,dad,wife,and other family know that we luv,send best wishes,and hope he cotinues to play great and even better.
Personally, I hope u stay Frenchy. If not, I hope u come back w/ another team and knock the ball right down the BRAVES throat.
JEFF IS NOT THE ONLY REASON WE ARE LOSING!
Panther Pride
July 7th, 2009
3:02 pm
Hey Omar, Parkview is still mighty.
coach smith
July 7th, 2009
3:03 pm
Enter your cWhofan
July 7th, 2009
10:48 am
Frenchy’s just Andrew revisited. Adjust or leave.
Are you kidding me??? ANDRUW won what 10 gold gloves here? Hit nearly 400 homers?
Andruw is a potential hall of famer on those first 10 years alone…
DO NOT put Frenchy in the conversation with AJ…he can’t carry AJ’s jock strap!!!!
Dan Johnson
July 7th, 2009
3:03 pm
Why do we keep discussing Vazquez in trades? He has only been our best pitcher this year. Dump Lowe – he sucks! Overrated bum! Or dump Kawakami – but no one will eat that contract. Don’t trade Vazquez.
fifthbusiness
July 7th, 2009
3:07 pm
I think that Jeff may not have the mental ability to be a good major league hitter, and he does not have the pure ability to hit anything they throw. Kelly on the other hand may be a Mark DeRosa. Bobby gave up on Mark and he just kept getting better. Money will dictate if the Braves keep Kelly. But it boils down to the fact that you play you best players and Jeff and Kelly are far from that on an offence starved team.
Emilio
July 7th, 2009
3:09 pm
Superhoo – Read my post (2:43PM). I’m kinda saying the same thing.
coach smith
July 7th, 2009
3:10 pm
Frenchy, Schafer, Medlen, Brandon Jones, Kotchman, JoJo
for
DUNN, N.JOhnson, Willingham
OR
Frenchy, Kotchman, Medlen, Brandon Jones
to the Rangers for
ANdruw Jones and David Murphy
then call up Canazaries to play first base
I know how some of you feel about AJ but he has 11 hrs in 150 at bats! That is better than anything we are currentyl running out there
Kentavo
July 7th, 2009
3:10 pm
So, what kind of mystery ailment will Frenchy be put on the DL for?
Suckitis?
Bravo
July 7th, 2009
3:10 pm
The truth of the matter is, we’ve got to get some pop in our lineup and in return where do you put it, rf,lf,1st,etc…? Personally I believe Francouers defense can mask a lot of his offense, I’d love to see the Braves make a move that would bring Berkman to first. He can also play LF which could be valuable, but in order to get him here we’d must free up payroll. I’d like to see them move Lowe to the Angels for Wood and Smith. Then move Escobar to the BoSox for lugo and Buchholz. While moving Kotchman, Johnson, JoJo and Marek to the Astros for Berkman. I know lugo isn’t the primere SS that everyone is looking for but at the same time he’s servicable. And how many teams have made it to the Series with a light hitting SS? Answer is a lot. So what we gain in Berkman would mask what we have in lugo. At the same time, the Braves could look at using Wood in LF. Use either Medlen and Buchholz as the 5th starter until Hudson arrives. That would allow the Braves to also move KK next year if both Medlen and Buchholz is ready to hold down a spot.
Shaun
July 7th, 2009
3:11 pm
Everyone says Francoeur’s struggles have been going on for only two years. How about 2006 when he hit .260 AVG/.293 OBP/.449 SLG. Everyone in baseball is obsessed with RBI (which depend on teammates) so no one noticed that he’s been a poor hitter since the beginning of 2006.
I feel bad for Francoeur because he could be a useful player. But because of the RBI obsession, he wasn’t sent down to the minors when he should have been and he was overexposed in the majors (instead of platooning).
Sanjaya and Rosie O'Donell Love Georgia Tech
July 7th, 2009
3:12 pm
Frenchy’s a good kid with natural talent. I hope he can get his swing back and continue to play the game he loves.
N17317
July 7th, 2009
3:14 pm
Arkansas Braves fan 2:58, Frenchy isn’t the best defensive RF in baseball. He’s got a good arm, otherwise he’s just average. But even if he were the best … it’s still RF. A defensive whiz at RF isn’t as important as a defensive whiz at SS or 2B or CF. You simply must have offense out of your corner outfielders. If he were a good field, no hit shortstop (e.g. Adam Everett) then hitting him 8th would be great.
And everyone needs to stop thinking he’s worth anything in a trade, even as a throw-in. NOBODY WANTS HIM, under any circumstances. The Braves have been shopping him around everywhere and nobody’s biting. He has 0 value. Maybe less than 0, since he makes so much money. Every team in the bigs would rather have me than him, just because I make peanuts.
I think most of the people commenting are a little delusional about Frenchy. He’s not good. He’s never been good, save a half season in 2005. We’ve had four crummy seasons since. He wasn’t good in the minors. He stinks. The last two years, he’s been the single worst everyday player in MLB. Period. He’s not going to get better, not in Atlanta and not in any other city.
Maybe he is a nice guy. Everyone says he is. I don’t know him. But he is a terrible, terrible, terrible baseball player.
IRISH25
July 7th, 2009
3:15 pm
if we can get Frenchie an aluminum bat, he might turn the season around!!
Bravo
July 7th, 2009
3:16 pm
What do you people expect for Francouer to do? Do you think he might just be pressing a little bit after reading all the junk in here. You might want to remember. He’s by no means the only problem the Braves have. I’d bet you this… Escobar has cost us more games this year then Francouer!!
Bravo
July 7th, 2009
3:17 pm
I’d say sign frenchy long term while the cost is low.