Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy 4th, Frenchy! Here's your ticket to Mississippi. :(

The rumors have been flying, but I didn't expect it to actually happen. Braves.com is reporting:

ATLANTA -- The Braves are hoping that Jeff Francoeur can relocate his swing away from the Major League scene. They have optioned the 24-year-old outfielder to Double-A Mississippi.

Multiple sources have confirmed that Francouer will begin playing with Mississippi on Friday night. All expectations are that he'll remain with that club until after the All-Star break.
And from AJC.com:
"His focus is to work on his swing and get it back in a groove," [his agent Molly] Fletcher said. "It's obviously a pretty challenging time for him, but he's a resilient guy. He'll be fine. His attitude is to turn this into a positive."
Well, good luck to Jeff. I really hope this break works for him, and he comes back clear-headed and better than ever.

(The selfish side of me wonders if MattE Diaz is going to be activated today!)

14 comments:

Jennifer said...

I just read something, maybe off of MLB.com, that said he was saddened and shocked (to that effect, anyway) when it was brought up to him. Well, duh. He's a Gold Glover. I wonder who got to break the news to him? (And, why AA instead of AAA?)

Also, Molly's been a busy girl in the last 36 hours or so. Frenchy's all emo over being demoted, and she has another high-maintenance one calling her going, "Ah broke mah own nose. Hellllllp!" :) Love Molly for taking care of my boys. :*

slappywhite said...

AJC says his former hitting coach is now at coaching at Mississippi. So maybe that is the main reason he was sent down to AA instead of AAA.

Maybe getting married has been too stressful for him :)

I hope he works it out!!!

Jennifer said...

Ahhh, ok. That makes sense about the hitting coach. I know sometimes they send pitchers to wherever the person with whom they're most comfortable working happens to be.

As for the getting married thing, word. My favorite little pitcher for the Cubs was lights out last year, got married in November, and is now in the Arizona Rookie League. Didn't even last an inning this week. He's gone totally mental. I blame it on the wife. :D

slappywhite said...

I just noticed my typo. I really need to preview my posts.

I don't know Frenchy's wife at all since I don't live in the area. BUT, she seems very, I don't know, needy maybe. She certainly seems to like attention.

Although married to a MLB can't be easy. I am so happy Cynthia left ARod. What a pig! If you are gonna cheat, don't let it get in the papers. (My rant is over...for now.)

Jennifer said...

I don't live in the area, either, nor do I know Catie personally, but what I do know about her makes me like her a lot, so I'm kidding about the marriage thing being what's messed him up. She seems like a good girl. Sometimes, though, I do wonder if the psychological burden of, "OK. It's not just me anymore. I have a wife to support now." wears on these young guys. Even though many (All? Don't know.) of these wives have been to college and have, or are capable of having, careers of their own.

My Richie, however, clearly made a mistake. :)

amanda said...

I hate it for him but the Braves desperately needed something like this to happen and I think Jeff will be able to regroup better OUTSIDE the limelight and the boo birds at the ted who are becoming louder and louder with each failed at bat.

Good luck in Jackson, French Fry!

slappywhite said...

I am not saying Catie isn't a great girl. She seems like a good Christian girl. But being in a relationship with her may not be easy.

Who did Rich Hill marry? I heard he might be totally "shut down" if he doesn't get better. I assume that means release.

Jennifer said...

slappy, I know too much about this, but he's kind of my baby. <3

He married his high school sweetheart. She has a nursing degree, and they're 28, so I figure if she's hung in there for that long, she must be a good one.

Earlier in the week they were talking about shutting him down, but now they're saying they're not going to. Our GM said that he wasn't as bad as his line showed. Ummmm, ok. I think if he ever gets "it" back, he has to be traded. He can't come back here. It breaks my heart, because I adore him, but he needs a fresh start. He is unbelievably talented, (DeRo says he "oozes talent.") but he doesn't have confidence seeping out of his pores, which makes me love him even more, but that quality does not lend itself to being a #2 or 3 in the majors. That's kind of what we all thought he would be this year. Really, I think he just misses his favorite catcher. They still talk. :) See, everyone I love breaks. :(

OK. More than you wanted to know. Back to assembling my macaroni salad. :D

Lauren T. said...

I really don't think the wedding has anything to do with it. After all, Baby got married this off-season and he's on his way to his 3rd All-Star game in as many years, and KJ got married and is doing just fine on the field too.

It sounds like Frenchy's never failed at anything...and if he came close, everyone around him picked him up. This time, Bobby didn't pick him up, and I think he needed it. He needs to get out of the circus that is "The Show", get his head straight, and he'll come back better than ever. I have total confidence in him.

amanda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MoonKween's Kastle said...

Ladies, ladies...I love this team more than should be legally allowed (for God's sake, I have their logo tattooed on my body!) but allow me to play devil's advocate here.

This boy has signed multiple endorsement deals and was pitted as the "future of the Braves". There's no doubt he's talented, but he totally needs to get it together. I'm sick of everyone handling him with kid gloves. He's a big boy. And this is a big boy game.

DOB rattled off his stats in yesterday's blog and the numbers say it all.

Bobby is notorious for stickin' with his strugglin' players (sometimes it turns out well, sometimes it doesn't) and in this case, I'm glad BC finally saw the light. I didn't want to believe - a few weeks ago - that Frenchy was a rally-killer, but he's clearly turned out to be one....and yes, I know the boy can't carry this team alone (at times, our entire *team* is one big rally-killer!)

Will this "demotion" humble him? Absolutely! Will this experience make him a better player? Heaven only knows, but I do believe he deserves to be in the big leagues. I don't care if he's married to *Mother Theresa*, he's gotta right the ship!

slappywhite said...

Very well said.

Unknown said...

I found out this morning that they had sent him down, and just like everyone else, i was SHOCKED! I actually cried. Haha, how pathetic is that? I love frenchy to death, so I realize he NEEDS this. Plus they say its only until after the all-star break. I think I can deal with that if it will truly help him. He needs the help, and everyone knew that. Chipper said "this sport will humble you" I think he put that very well. Frenchy needed to be humbled. I love you frenchy! Get the help you need and come back soon!

Jennifer said...

Words of wisdom from The Bearded One,

"He knows where the journey leads, he just can't see it yet," John Smoltz said. "I couldn't see it when I was 2-11 in '91. I'm sure I was a start away from having the same thing happen to me. I told him I can't experience what he's experiencing, I can't feel what he's feeling. The only thing I can tell him is I can't wait to see him in 10 days because he is going to be so much better for it."

So hot, and so wise. Love that one. <3