Is There a Right Fielder in the House?

There are actually a large number of Braves fans that think Jeff Francoeur is the best thing since sliced bread. It’s almost as if his runners left on base count as RBI. I’ve never seen so much applause for a .236 hitter. It’s time for fans to get over the fact that he’s from Atlanta.

Frenchy has gone hitless in 8 of his past 11 games. Not only that, but it seems as if everytime the Braves load the bases with nobody out, Jeff just happens to come to the plate. We all know the result. It starts with the word double, and I’m talking about two outs, not two bases.

Meanwhile, the fans still love him. Mainly because from time to time he can throw a guy out at the plate. Never-mind the fact that he actually doesn’t cover that much ground in the outfield. It has even been reported by MLB.com that the Braves have talked about sending him down to the minors, but there is a fear that there would be some backlash from the fans that love him so much.

It’s just time that we all realize that Francoeur is not only failing to help the team, but he is actually having a negative affect. It’s one thing to pop out with the bases loaded instead of getting a hit. At-least a run would score. Instead he finds a way to either strike out, or even worse, hit into a double play.

It’s time to send him to Richmond and give Brandon Jones the playing time he has earned over the past few weeks. At-least Jones knows what ball four looks like.

 

Barry in Atlanta?

There is starting to be some talk that the Braves should take interest in the services of Barry Bonds. If you take away his name and just look at the numbers and what he could bring to the team, it seems like a good idea.

Bonds only played in 126 games last season, but still hit 28 home runs with 66 RBI. Sure, that’s nothing compared to the numbers he used to put up, but he’s healthy now and he’s willing to play for the league minimum.

This would mean that there is almost no risk for Frank Wren. Some would say that the risk would be his negative impact in the clubhouse. I say there are too many leaders on this Braves team for that to happen. Guys like Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz are more than capable of keeping everybody in line.

The team would only have to pay a pro-rated amount of the league minimum for the remainder of the season. The best part is that they would be getting more than just 10-15 homers for less than $150k. Just his presence in the line-up would almost guarantee a jump in production from the guys ahead of him in the order.

Just imagine a line-up that looked like this:

1.Yunel Escobar

2. Kelley Johnson or Mark Kotsay

3. Chipper Jones

4. Mark Teixeira

5. Barry Bonds

6. Brian McCann

7. Mark Kotsay or Kelley Johnson

8. Jeff Francoeur

Both McCann and Teixeira would benefit from having Bonds behind them instead of Frenchy. It’s a wonder how McCann has gotten anything to hit this year when there’s almost a sure out hitting behind him.

Bonds is the cheapest solution to one of the Braves biggest needs which is a bat in the outfield. He’s cheaper than Adam Dunn or anybody else that the Braves could acquire, and they wouldn’t have to give up any of their young talent for him. This would leave Wren more to deal with in a trade for a pitcher. And as for any legal concerns, his trial doesn’t start until next year, so there would be no concern about him being able to finish the season.

When healthy, like he is said to be now, Bonds is still one of the best hitters in the world. So the Braves need to decide which is more important, not hurting Hank Aaron’s feelings, or winning a World Series. I love Hank, but man, I’m tired of losing!

Just an Off Day Vent

There is nothing worse than an off day after a loss. To make things worse, I am forced to ponder the possibility of Chipper Jones going on the disabled list. It’s not that I’m trying to be negative, but it just seems like every time things are looking up, the bad news bus rolls in.

Just as the Phillies begin their downward slide, the Braves were supposed to be getting healthy. Mike Gonzalez came back, and has looked great. Mark Kotsay is ready to come off the DL, and Mike Hampton has been really good in rehab starts. Now the Braves have been blessed with a home series against Philly when the Phillies are playing their worst ball of the season.

So, just when I’m starting to get excited, that bus pulls up, and Chipper’s driving. It’s kinda like getting an ace at the blackjack table, but the second card is a deuce. Believe it or not, a Braves team with Chipper at third would actually have a chance of surpassing the Phillies by the All-Star break. Instead, it looks like he will be on the DL until a couple of days before the break.

The next two weeks could be the most important of the season. Besides the home series with the division leaders, the Braves also get the slumping Astros at home for three games, followed by a west coast trip to L.A. and San Diego. What better way to erase the negative vibes of the seasons first half than to win two series’ on the road. The Dodger’s can’t seem to get a hit, and the Padres are one of the worst teams in baseball. With Chipper out of the line-up, it’s likely that the Braves will follow suit and lose both.

Now there are two ways for me to look at the future. Either it’s just not the Braves’ year and I shouldn’t expect anything good to happen, or they are due for some good luck and things are about to turn around. I’m going with the latter.

Braves Waste Good Effort From Reyes

The Braves lost to the Blue Jays 1-0 on Sunday to drop another series on the road. Jo-Jo Reyes pitched seven strong innings, giving up only one run on six hits, but still got the loss. The injury depleted line-up for the Braves was unable to solve A.J. Burnett, who threw seven shutout innings, giving up only four hits and striking out 11 Braves.

Reyes gave up the games only run when Marco Scutaro scored on a double off the bat of Alex Rios. Reyes is just 1-4 in his past seven starts despite posting a 3.22 ERA during that stretch. Meanwhile, the Braves have now dropped 23 straight one run games on the road (MLB record).

The Braves will look to right the ship when the division leading Phillies come to Atlanta after taking a day off on Monday. Bobby Cox is hoping to have some of his big bats back in the line-up Tuesday.

MLB.COM Recap