Jeff Francoeur, talking to the Star-Telegram about how things went for him in New York this year.
I’m assuming you get your press credentials revoked if you immediately respond to comments like that by saying “But Jeff, your first half OPS was .695? You hit .211/.262/.274 in May! What part of that was ‘great?’”
Not that Francoeur is the only one confused about the quality of his tenure in Queens. This morning Newsday’s David Lennon tweeted the following:
Bottom line: Francoeur helped change clubhouse climate for his brief period here. Mets needed it, thanked him by trade to contender.
Probably worth noting that a Mets player knocked his girlfriend’s dad the hell out in that clubhouse a couple of weeks ago, so Francoeur’s calming presence only goes so far. Probably also worth noting that Francoeur very publicly demanded more playing time recently, which is usually the kind of thing that gets labeled clubhouse cancers, not standup guys like Lennon portrays Frenchy. Of course, the rules have always been a bit different for him than other guys.
That aside, if Francoeuer truly was great in the clubhouse we now know unequivocally that being great in the clubhouse is utterly useless from a baseball perspective, because the Mets have gone in the toilet over the past couple of months, and no amount of charm and positive attitude from Francoeur was able to change it.