Mets RF Jeff Francoeur was reportedly miffed at being pulled after just two plate appearances, midway thru yesterday’s 14-1 humiliation at the hands of a team 27 games under .500. Given his ability to speak clear, simple English and his boundless enthusiasm for such cultural exploits as fantasy football, is there any wonder why Francoeur’s (ahem) thought process proves so fascinating to the print media? “I™ve got to find a way, Francoeur tells the Newark Star-Ledger’s Andy McCullough, œto keep myself loose at the plate. I bet a full bottle of these, plus a six pack should do the trick.
œI get so anxious, Francoeur said. œI don™t know. Part of me thinks I need to go on medicine. I do.
The tension grips him at the plate, where he thirsts for the recognition which once came with ease. The desire to prove himself, during a season in which he lost his fulltime role, can overwhelm.
Francoeur understood he would lose at-bats when Beltran returned from knee surgery. But he still expected playing time. For weeks, Manuel indicated there would be a schedule so Francoeur and Pagan would know who was starting.
That schedule never materialized. Pagan became the starter. Francoeur became trade bait.
œIt™s been a tough couple weeks, Francoeur said. œI™m not going to sit here and lie. There™s been a lot of emotions, a lot of ups and downs.™™
When Bay left the lineup, Francoeur entered the void.
œI™ve got to find a way to be able to maximize my talents, Francoeur said. œI feel like sometimes I let my mind, my anxiousness, [I] let that get in the way. I™ve got to find a way to get that out and just let me play.
Hell he played so bad for the braves we thought he was already on drugs.
You can’t live in the past, when you were BIG Man On Campus. You play great defense, and GOD blessed you with a rocket on your shoulder. Your hitting stinks, because you tried too hard. I learned from Tommy Heinrick, Mickey Virdon, Steve Boros and Billy Gardner. They all said the same thing. Don’t try to do to much, LOOK fastball and adjust on the breaking stuff. Only look for your pitch where you can handle it. Don’t try to out guess the pitcher, you’re foolin yourself. Remember HANDS to the ball, short quick swing. GOOD LUCK!
If you think drugs are the answer, you’re dumber than you look….Take it from someone, who starred for two years in youth leagues, before illness, combined with hearing loss and loss of balance, destroyed my sporting ability.
I can tell you, right away, if it’s a God-given gift, it ain’t gonna leave. You might slump, from time to time, but everybody does.
I am a writer, now, but that doesn’t mean I can sit at a typewriter for hours on end and pound out book after book.
Problems come and problems go….You just gotta have the maturity to ride them out.
Look, you are a major leaguer. As long as I can remember, hitter go into slumps. Go back to the basics, pick up the ball as soon as you can, and go with the pitck.