Francoeur’s future up in the air
By Terence Moore | Thursday, July 31, 2008, 10:59 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This has been a goofy year for the Braves and their starting right fielder. So you wonder about something. Even though Jeff Francoeur has been a hometown favorite who once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as “The Natural,” you wonder if it was a given that he wasn’t going anywhere before Thursday’s trade deadline.
It wasn’t a given.
It also isn’t a given that Francoeur or others with the Braves still won’t go sooner than later, suggested general manager Frank Wren after Thursday’s trade deadline came and went with no activity by his struggling team. “There still are opportunities to make deals,” Wren said, referring to waiver transactions by the end of the month or straight-out trades in the offseason.
This isn’t to say Francoeur is on the trading block. This is to say, who knows?
Francoeur shouldn’t leave, by the way. We say so for many reasons, starting with his three years of goodness compared to his current one of ugliness. Even so, these are the same Braves officials who stunned Francoeur earlier this season by shipping him and his slumping Louisville Slugger to the minor leagues for three days. These also are the same Braves officials who threatened to trigger a fire sale after they sent slugger Mark Teixeira on Tuesday to the highest bidder.
No wonder Francoeur nodded at his locker in the home clubhouse at Turner Field before saying, “Me and my dad were talking, and I said to him, ‘If a great deal comes along, you know, [the Braves] might pull the trigger. That’s my guess.’ I didn’t want to go anywhere.”
In other words, pigs with tomahawks across their chests are flying over Atlanta these days. That’s because Francoeur, of all people, was forced to wonder if he’d be wearing a Braves uniform on Thursday night for their series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals. We’re talking about a Lilburn native who did those wondrous things at Parkview High School. He won a Gold Glove last year during his second full season in the majors. He also proved he could hit for power two years ago (29 home runs) with the Braves and then for average last season (.293). Not only that, he had more than 100 RBIs both seasons.
Still, courtesy of Francoeur’s struggles at the plate this season (.235 average, nine homers and 47 RBI before Thursday night’s game), he could fall a decade or so shy of fulfilling his goal of becoming a lifetime Braves player.
“Last year, even in my wildest dreams, I never would have thought I’d be talking about being traded,” Francoeur said. “I know a lot of fans are wondering what happened to me, but I still have two months to turn it into a .250 to .255 season and get 75 to 80 RBI. Those aren’t the numbers I wanted, but I can at least show what I’m made of. But, you know, after the way things have gone this year (with the demotion to the minors), who knows what they’re thinking?”
What are the Braves thinking? Said Wren, when asked if there are any untouchables on his roster regarding trades, “I guess there is no one who is completely untouchable. But I’d say there are a number of players that we prefer not to trade.”
Who are they? “That’s proprietary information that helps you when you make deals,” said Wren, leaving Francoeur to twist in the wind with those pigs.
By Terence Moore | Thursday, July 31, 2008, 10:59 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This has been a goofy year for the Braves and their starting right fielder. So you wonder about something. Even though Jeff Francoeur has been a hometown favorite who once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as “The Natural,” you wonder if it was a given that he wasn’t going anywhere before Thursday’s trade deadline.
It wasn’t a given.
It also isn’t a given that Francoeur or others with the Braves still won’t go sooner than later, suggested general manager Frank Wren after Thursday’s trade deadline came and went with no activity by his struggling team. “There still are opportunities to make deals,” Wren said, referring to waiver transactions by the end of the month or straight-out trades in the offseason.
This isn’t to say Francoeur is on the trading block. This is to say, who knows?
Francoeur shouldn’t leave, by the way. We say so for many reasons, starting with his three years of goodness compared to his current one of ugliness. Even so, these are the same Braves officials who stunned Francoeur earlier this season by shipping him and his slumping Louisville Slugger to the minor leagues for three days. These also are the same Braves officials who threatened to trigger a fire sale after they sent slugger Mark Teixeira on Tuesday to the highest bidder.
No wonder Francoeur nodded at his locker in the home clubhouse at Turner Field before saying, “Me and my dad were talking, and I said to him, ‘If a great deal comes along, you know, [the Braves] might pull the trigger. That’s my guess.’ I didn’t want to go anywhere.”
In other words, pigs with tomahawks across their chests are flying over Atlanta these days. That’s because Francoeur, of all people, was forced to wonder if he’d be wearing a Braves uniform on Thursday night for their series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals. We’re talking about a Lilburn native who did those wondrous things at Parkview High School. He won a Gold Glove last year during his second full season in the majors. He also proved he could hit for power two years ago (29 home runs) with the Braves and then for average last season (.293). Not only that, he had more than 100 RBIs both seasons.
Still, courtesy of Francoeur’s struggles at the plate this season (.235 average, nine homers and 47 RBI before Thursday night’s game), he could fall a decade or so shy of fulfilling his goal of becoming a lifetime Braves player.
“Last year, even in my wildest dreams, I never would have thought I’d be talking about being traded,” Francoeur said. “I know a lot of fans are wondering what happened to me, but I still have two months to turn it into a .250 to .255 season and get 75 to 80 RBI. Those aren’t the numbers I wanted, but I can at least show what I’m made of. But, you know, after the way things have gone this year (with the demotion to the minors), who knows what they’re thinking?”
What are the Braves thinking? Said Wren, when asked if there are any untouchables on his roster regarding trades, “I guess there is no one who is completely untouchable. But I’d say there are a number of players that we prefer not to trade.”
Who are they? “That’s proprietary information that helps you when you make deals,” said Wren, leaving Francoeur to twist in the wind with those pigs.
Guys this thread was started two years ago when Francouer was hitting many many homers in a short time
A fucking bump makes this look terrible today, but all it is, is a fucking bump of a guy raving about his home town player, whats the big shit.
Someone should go through 5Teams past to bump his dumb shit posts
A fucking bump makes this look terrible today, but all it is, is a fucking bump of a guy raving about his home town player, whats the big shit.
Someone should go through 5Teams past to bump his dumb shit posts
