I’m not sure what’s more pathetic: the fact that the Atlanta news paper keeps running stories about Jeff Francoeur, or the fact that Braves fans like me keep reading them. Anyway, there was another one over the weekend, and Jeffy unleashed a couple of Jeffy-gems:
Q: Things must be going well on the field, eh?
A: I feel great at the plate.
It’s true! He’s actually average since the trade as opposed to unspeakably awful!
Q: Were you coachable?
A: Shoot, I was willing to try about anything. Ask anybody. Still, someone up here asked me about patience. I’m like, “Listen, I’m not going to go up there and walk 70 times a year. So you can either accept me for the player I am or go get somebody else.”
So the answer is no, you’re not coachable. Please, Mr. Francoeur, try to keep your answers precise.
Q: Do you think the Mets want you to be any different?
A: No, they’re not there for my on-base percentage. It was great to hear [manager] Jerry Manuel in a team meeting say, “I don’t care about average. I care about scoring runs, driving in runs and preventing runs.” That’s the type of guy I am.
Because studies have shown that on-base percentage has nothing to do with scoring runs.
Q: What do you make of criticism that you couldn’t adjust?
A: I’m 25 years old. I came up so early. Most guys don’t get to the big leagues until they’re 24, 25. I have made a little bit of adjustment on my swing lately. I’ve spread out a little bit. I’ve gotten a lot of good advice from Mac [Brian McCann]. Catching me, he was able to see some things.
Q: What did he say?
A: He talked about how I need to get back to what I used to do and that’s attacking the fastball. If I swing at the slider low and away, so be it, don’t let that fastball beat you.
God, I love Brian McCann. He tells a division rival that he needs to do more of that which is his greatest weakness (i.e. go after everything aggressively, even if it means chasing garbage) and the moron does it. That’s why he’s my favorite Brave.
Oh well, we could shoot Francoeur fish in this particular barrel all day, but I do have a life to get to.
