Mailbag: Francoeur, Glavine, Podcast

Written by Colin on January 21, 2009 – 12:10 am

Chad wrote mailbag yesterday (we respond quickly) with the following question:

Hey guys just wondering what you think about Francoeur’s Statement in the AJC that he is going to be a completely different player, Also Glavine said he had another pain free pitching outing and seems to be leaning toward coming back with the Braves what are your guys thoughts on this. I think you guys need a talk show or something get your voice out on the air.

Thanks for writing, Chad. Francoeur is going to be an interesting guy to watch this year. Last year he bulked up, partially due to getting married and enjoying his wife’s cooking, and partially because he spent a lot of time lifting. This led to Francoeur absolutely smashing balls in batting practice, but messed with his mechanics a little bit (from what I read… I’m not a batting coach).  This year Francoeur has slimmed down.  He took some advice from Mark DeRosa and Mark Teixeira and has changed his stance and swing. He’s been hitting four days a week. He’ll probably be better than he was last year. I’m going to go more in-depth on Francoeur soon in another post, so I’ll save some thoughts on him. I think we’ll see Francoeur as a different player – and I hope he’ll surprise us with how good he is. He’s optimistic about it and so are the other people I’ve seen talk about it.

I addressed Glavine a couple days ago in this article. That said, I’ll add that I wouldn’t mind seeing another arm in the arsenal as long as we don’t pay tons of money for it. The Braves need a lefty, they need a veteran, and though their rotation is more aged than we’re used to, Glavine would add some to it. I just don’t want to see us waste tons of money on him when we wouldn’t sign Smoltzie.

As far as podcasts or talk shows, we’re working on a few options there. While we’re not about to start a podcast ourselves yet (also not saying we won’t do one), we’re partnering with a few people. For one, the good people over at BravesCast have had Rue on twice and Jonathan and I will be making appearances soon. It’s long – an hour – but it’s good.


Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Mailbag | 12 Comments »

This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.


12 Responses to “Mailbag: Francoeur, Glavine, Podcast”

  1. By Jonathan on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    I'd say it's worth mentioning that another reason that we don't have a podcast is our inability to stay on subject on anything for more than 2 minutes.

    I really do hope for the best for Francoeur after his struggles last season. We will need him to turn his bat around and help put numbers on the board once again.

  2. By B-RITT on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    As long as Francoeur doesn't hit .230 again, I'll be satisfied. If he can get to .268ish with maybe 23 HR and .321 OBP, then we'll see his ceiling. What we saw last year was not him, what he can be is a #5 or #6 hitter that can support a LH bat in front of him, not a #8. Yes, he'll frustrate us with frequent whiffs and few walks, but he is still a face of this franchise and still has one of the top OF arms in baseball. OK hitting + above average fielding (he doesn't get good jumps and lacks great range) is OK with me.

  3. By Larry312 on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    I really like Francoeur. Last year was a disappointing year for him and much of the Braves team. I think his struggles really came from the added weight. We've seen it time and time again the effect that weight can have on ball players. Another problem was Francoeur desire to hit the long ball. He fell under the belief he needed to hit 30+ hr to gain his big contract and in doing so produced his worst year in his major league career. I think we'll see a rebound in him. He's taken advice from some of the best players in the league. I think Frenchy is capable of a .280 avg with 25+hr. His defense is off the radar. You saw a lot less teams test him last year.

  4. By Tim on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    Glavine shouldn't get more than what they offered Smoltz. Glavine was solid last year even though his numbers don't show it. Take away about 3 starts and his ERA would have been down around Smoltz's range. The fact that he only won 2 games was component of no run support. He should have won 6 or 7 games last year.

  5. By Pat from Bravescast on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks for the plug guys, cant wait to have the rest of ya'll on!

  6. By Larry312 on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    The only reason I could see them go higher is the difference in surgeries between the two and the chance of Glavines return over Smoltz.

  7. By Larry312 on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    I just saw where the Marlins have no interest in signing Uggla long term. I think a trade with the Marlins for Uggla if we could lock him in would be a good idea. Move KJ to left and Uggla at 2nd. Theres your right handed power bat to add in the middle of the order. Of course it would cost some young talent to make it happen but Uggla not that old and we have some middle infielders to part with. Plus it always helps that the Marlins will trade within the division! Thoughts?

  8. By Tim on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    I was kinda thinking the same thing. It's been reported by David O'Brien that the Braves have been linked to Brian Roberts. The only reason I think Roberts would be a better fit than Uggla is because he's a much better defender. Johnson is a better defender than Uggla. But Uggla would be a huge addition to our lineup.

  9. By Tim on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    I forgot to add that DOB reported what was being reported by Ken Rosenthal. Rosenthal was an O's beat writer back in 1999 when Frank Wren was the GM of the O's. So he might have some inside info that others don't.

  10. By Larry312 on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    I saw the same thing on Roberts. But Roberts is a free agent after this year and is looking for 10+ mil a year. Uggla is under team control through 11. And is scheduled to probably make less than 5.5 mil this year. I like his home run potential and were really lacking that. But to be honest Roberts or Uggla would be great.

  11. By Tim on Jan 22, 2009 | Reply

    Well we really only need a guy for 1 year. Because Jason Heyward is going to be ready for the majors by 2010. I'm thinking it's not out of the question that we could see him in the 2nd half of this year.

    But I don't like the idea of a 1 year rental on the other hand either.

  12. By Keith on Jan 23, 2009 | Reply

    I like Uggla too. However, the baseball gods frown on trading within your own division. Trades have been made within your own division before, but rarely with a guy that can hurt you. The Marlins would do this but they would attempt to rob our farm system and Frank would not do it…Roberts is a possiblity.

Post a Comment


BravesBlast.com is not affiliated with or sponsored by the Atlanta Braves organization. Views expressed on this site do not reflect the views of the Atlanta Braves organization.