Frenchy Tracker update

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Thanks to all those who hipped me to this New York Times piece, which contains the stunning realization that Jeff Francoeur has yet again found a magical adjustment in his approach that will catapult him into the ranks of the game’s elite hitters and doesn’t mention once that his inflated stats with the Rangers might have something to do with small sample size or enjoying a higher proportion of his at-bats against left-handers.

And thanks to Joe for the heads up on this New York Post feature, which keeps us abreast on the Rangers’ platoon right fielder’s relationship with the Mets’ most recent manager and general manager.

That puts the total at four so far and the ALCS games haven’t even started, so it’s looking good for all those who took the over on 20.

Also, no Francoeur updates yet that I know of from the Bergen Record or the Newark Star-Ledger, which is baffling. How will the people of New Jersey get their latest Jeff Francoeur news?

And don’t quote me on this, but I don’t think any enterprising reporter has yet thought to catch up with Darren Oliver on how he essentially turned his career around with the Mets, or with Darren O’Day on his brief, weird stint in Flushing.

10 thoughts on “Frenchy Tracker update”

    • I did see that. I’m planning on keeping a separate tally for Atlanta- and Dallas-area Frenchy features, but that’s technically a web-only piece, and once we include that then we have to start considering the inclusion of these very posts, and then the world might turn in on itself.

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      • True, this is definitely a separate category. But at least there’s a reason for NY and Atlanta papers to write about Francoeur. He’s terrible, but he is the main local connection to that series.

        For the Texas media, though, there’s no excuse. He’s a platoon scrub who will play only twice in the ALCS. It would be like the Mets advancing to the NLCS and Adam Rubin writing a story on Nick Evans.

  2. “…his inflated stats with the Rangers might have something to do with small sample size or enjoying a higher proportion of his at-bats against left-handers.”

    Or just with playing his home games in a better stadium for hitters.

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  3. Articles like this are just ridiculous. Hes having a resurgence based on 50 ABs? The difference between .340 and .250 over 50 ABs is like 3 hits. Plus hes platooning and hitting against lefties alot.

    Then there is this absolute Gem:

    “The difference? Francoeur looks fastball early in the count. “I’ve worked hard with Clint,” he said. “I’ve gone back to hunting the fastball. It’s something I did last year, something I did earlier this year. It’s something I’ve gotten away from. It’s been nice.””

    So if he got away from looking for fastball early in the count with the Mets, what the hell exactly was he looking for when he was swinging at all pitches early in the count? Not fastballs?

    This is what always happens with this guy, he’ll have a bit of success being agressive again, and pitchers will catch on, AGAIN, and he;ll go back to sucking, AGAIN!! I hope the rangers dont fall into the same trap and think they’ve got something and resign him.

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    • There’s already a “Re-sign Frenchy” brigade amongst the Rangers fans – most of whom seem to have far more common sense than Mets fans do otherwise.

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  4. It is no coincidence that the Mets’ slide in the standings started at the exact moment when Beltran returned and Francoeur went to the bench. It just goes to show how being a good interview and having a gritty reputation can have an enormous impact on a team’s standings.

    Sure, you might think that taking a guy with an OPS+ of 80 out of the starting lineup would be a good thing, but that’s saber-nerd talk. Teams with heart somehow find ways to win games even when they’re outscored. Because even when they are outscored, teams with heart are never outplayed.

    Of course, you might ask how a team can possibly win a game when it is outscored. To this I respond: if you want to win badly enough, you make it happen.

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