The Mets are making this endeavor incredibly difficult. I’m trying to finish these previews, plus I’ve got some more writing I want to do before Monday, and they keep making strange moves to knock me off course. Also, I’ve got ribs in the smoker and I need to attend to them soon. I wish the team would consult me about when it was going to leak out information about weird roster decisions.

OK, excuse me for repeating myself and lots of other people in the following post. But what can I write about Jeff Francoeur that hasn’t already been written?

The Major League right fielders in April: Jeff Francoeur. There can be only one.

Overview: After a year and a half of abject suckitude in Atlanta, Francoeur joined the Mets and proceeded to mash the ball. No one is quite sure why. Many point to a change of scenery, or a difference in organizational philosophy. Some cite dumb luck. I’m as baffled today as I was a month ago, so you’ll find no answers here.

All that matters in 2010 is if that’ll continue.

The Mets seem to think it will. They avoided arbitration with Francoeur and will pay him $5 million for his services this season.

I’m skeptical he’ll provide an adequate return. As happy as I am for the Mets and the beat reporters that cover them to have a fresh-faced, charismatic leader like Francoeur, I imagine things will go South quick if he doesn’t hit. And players who do not take pitches rarely continue hitting.

Frenchy pledged to work on his plate discipline this spring, but he literally says that every year.

Will this be the year it happens for him? Maybe. He’s only 26. And hell, perhaps he can become one of baseball’s weird outliers, like the anti-Luis Castillo — a player who can get by and be an adequate Major League hitter without ever developing the ability to distinguish balls from strikes. I don’t see exactly how that would work, but who knows?

I wouldn’t bet on it happening, though. Outliers are called outliers because they lie outside the normal realm.

He earned his chance, though, with his 2009 performance in Flushing. So we will play the waiting game. And smart money says it will take the Mets and their fans quite some time to sour on the Frenchman, so he’ll be given every opportunity to succeed and prove that the late-season stretch in 2009 was no fluke.

The Major League right fielders in September: Fernando Martinez, Francoeur.

If the Fernanchise stays healthy and Francoeur cannot recapture his 2009 magic, the prospect should be in Queens by late summer. Since Martinez has been injury prone and is known to struggle against left-handers, Francoeur’s right-handedness and durability makes him the ideal caddy for the former Teenage Hitting Machine.

How they stack up: Tough to say, as it depends on which Francoeur you’re stacking up. If you’re bullish and using only the Mets’ version of Francoeur, he’s probably second best in the division to Jayson Werth, though there’s a non-zero possibility Jason Heyward could quickly be better than even the good Jeff Francoeur. If you’re bearish and using the full-year 2009 Jeff Francoeur or the 2008 and first half of 2009 Jeff Francoeur, he’s probably worst in the N.L. East.

Up next: I’m going to do a bullpen season preview, but it’ll come tomorrow at some point, as I’m still waiting to see exactly how the pieces settle before I write anything mean. Plus I have to take care of these ribs.