Brave Opinions of Jeff Francoeur
Likely you’ve read all you can find from the New York press and blogosphere in regard to the Ryan Church – Jeff Francoeur trade.
Here are a few of the opinion of Francoeur from the Braves’ perspective:
The Francoeur trade: A Sad But Necessary Ending
Excerpt:
“This is how much the Braves wanted rid of Jeff Francoeur: They traded him to a team they’ll play 19 times a year, which means they’d rather put themselves in the repeated position of losing to him than have kept him around here. That’s how far the Golden Child had fallen, and how fast.”
He’s Frenchy, as in Benchy, and he could soon be gone
Excerpt:
“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. … 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.”
Excerpt from the Braves blog Talking Chop:
“Church doesn’t represent a real upgrade in the power department, though he certainly uses more of his ability than Francoeur does, but he is an equal defender and is better at getting on base. … On first blush I like this trade. We get a better hitter, even if we did have to give up the once-face of the franchise (but that ship sailed a while ago). The risk here is that Francoeur figures something out and comes back to bite us time and again, but the odds of that happening are pretty slim if you’ve watched Francoeur over the last couple of years.”
From Rowland’s Office:
“He ain’t Roberto Clemente, but Ryan Church is a better player than Pan, period. It would appear the home team got the better end of this one. … I’m surprised we got this much for Pan. … The deal is getting a surprisingly, to me, good reception at Metsblog.com, a high-profile, yeah, Mets blog. Those fellows are choosing to view Pan as a young player with upside. Good luck, gents.”
From David Lee at Braves Buzz:
“Thank the Lord. Hallelujah. I’m standing and cheering. Jeff Francoeur has been traded to the Mets for Ryan Church.
My first reaction: the Mets? Wow. The Mets. Probably the last place Francoeur wanted to go and try to work things out. I already know Mets fans don’t want the guy, just imagine how it’ll be when Jeff grounds into double play after double play. A negative atmosphere is not something he’s used to. I wonder how he’ll handle it.
My second reaction: the Braves absolutely robbed the Mets of Church. For the Braves to get anything at all for Francoeur is shocking in itself, but to get a capable lefty hitter who can be plugged into right field immediately is amazing to me. I mean, it’s not even my place to evaluate Church and his flaws because of the fact that the Braves got him for Francoeur.”
From Chop-N-Change:
“MLBTR says that we may have traded Jeff Francoeur. To the Mets. For Ryan Church. Straight up.
I don’t believe it either, but I couldn’t resist putting a smile on your face for the few minutes till it gets denied…”
No need to panic, Mets fans. Maybe all those people who have watched Jeff Francoeur on a daily basis (as noted by Omar Minaya, he does play every day) are a little off on their assessment of Atlanta’s former golden boy. You know, like Mets fans who unreasonably evaluated the performance of Scott Schoeneweis. Yeah.
About the Author
A Mets fan since birth, Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Oh, and he's often a bit cranky.
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Yeah, this sounds about right.
I wonder how the Met fans who were screaming for Omar to make “a trade, any trade” feel when they read this. Seems like they might have gotten their way for the moment, but I’m counting the seconds until they bash Omar for doing exactly what they had been demanding of him.
By the way, if you want the worst example of what a blog should be, check out Mets Fever. Ed Ryan is the head honcho over there, and he has no problem “banning” you from his website if you disagree with his opinion that Omar is the root cause of what is wrong with the Mets. Ryan has one of the loudest voices pleading with Omar to make any kind of trade to show the fanbase that he’s at least trying to resurrect 2009, and yet I’m positive he’s already penning the article slamming Omar for trading a “gem” like Church to a division rival for a “bum” like Franceour. I encourage all bloggers with a conscience to go over there and give him what for for spreading around his malicious gossip and biased point of view while silencing his own critics. I would if I could, but I’ve been banned.
‘Dude, when fans beg for a trade, I don’t think they are begging to trade a decent RF for a younger, cheaper, less talented RF. I think we were all looking more for a 2-for-1, or a position player for a pitcher, some prospects for a proven veteran, etc… You get the idea
Omar shouldn’t get a pass for trading down and blaming it on the fans.
You are getting one of the most talented players I have ever seen.
His only problem is a low and outside pitch when he learn how to deal with that pitch he;s a new player.
The braves just werent willing to pay the money.
He is a Gold glove outfielder.
He just needs to wake up on that pitch and you will have an all-star for many years not to mention he is one helluva nice guy
Nice job putting together those quotes from Braves blogs.
Ken, you haven’t seen many ballplayers, huh?
BTW, Luis Castillo and David Wright have both also won Gold Gloves. And Rafael Palmeiro won one in a year he was a DH. So what does a Rawlings popularity contest have to do with anything?
Ken,
Where are you sitting when you say Francoeur is one of the most talented players you’ve seen? I’m trying to come up with a Citi Field/obstructed view joke, but I’m too confused. Ugh.
Francoeur is a decent RF, but he’s so hot and cold… I just don’t see this working out. If he starts off hot, it’ll take a year for the fans to turn on him. If he starts off cold, he’ll be the new George Foster. Bank on it.
John, many fans want to have it both ways, by demanding Omar make a trade to “shake things up,” “to make a statement,” “to show that he’s trying.” And I’ve heard everything from these fans – from the extreme lowball offer of Dan Murphy and Bobby Parnell for Roy Halladay, to the absolutely insane FMart, Niese, and Holt for Adam Dunn. But the point is that they don’t care who goes in either direction, they just want a change. Sort of reminiscent to the past presidential election. They don’t care what the change is, they just want change. But then, when the change happens and it’s not to their liking, then they bash Omar for doing the exact same thing they had been begging for him to do all along. It’s entirely hypocritical. You can’t one day say “I don’t care who it’s for or what we give up, just make a trade for a bat at any cost,” and then the next day, after the trade goes down, say, “Well, Omar’s an idiot because that’s not the trade I would have made.”
And I’ll tell you what – after I slammed Omar for the Milledge deal a year and a half ago and had it come back and bite me, in a deal that looks very even on paper, I wouldn’t be so quick to slam Omar quite yet for the Francoeur deal.
My gut tells me that we already had Jeff Francoeur…..i.e. Richardo Hidalgo, circa 2004.
Don’t get me wrong. I like Francoeur’s tools — but don’t exactly see where he’s a fit for this current lineup. In fact, he does alot of the same things wrong, that I loathe in our current crop.
This team isn’t big on making adjustments, and hasn’t been for years now….so hopefully, Francoeur works a bit better with HoJo. (A stretch, since I actually hate Howard Johnson as our hitting instructor.)
I’m not holding my breath for a miracle, though. There’s a reason why Atlanta would give him up to a heated division rival.
…..And again, I’m not so sure that it was to better the Mets over the length of a 25-year old’s Major League career.
I’m hoping to hell that Francoeur succeeds here, though. Otherwise, they’ll just be rewarding mediocrity for an even longer period of time than they already have.
Paying prime for potential that may never come: I can see this panning out in the same mold.
The Met Way.