10
2009
Mets Trade Church For Jeff Francoeur
An article by 
Moments ago in a press conference, Mets general manager Omar Minaya announced that they have traded rightfielder Ryan Church to the Atlanta Braves for rightfielder Jeff Francoeur.
It was no secret that Church was on the outs as I have frequently pointed out this season, so this shouldn’t come as a big surprise to readers of this blog.
It’s interesting to note that Francoeur was in the same kind of situation in Atlanta, and was frequently in Bobby Cox’s dog house.
It looks like an even swap on the surface as both are strong defenders but I would argue that the Mets clearly got themselves a potential star in Jeff Francoeur.
I don’t know if this qualifies as a shakeup as they are tooting on SNY, but it’s quite a nice haul for the Mets and hopefully Francoeur can fit right in and provide some pop out of rightfield.
Francoeur was batting .250 with 5 homeruns and 35 RBIs. He has a very underwhelming .634 OPS. That said, he is just 25 years old so there might be some upside. Francoeur is expected to be in the lineup on Saturday.
The trade seems like a swap of similar type players in desperate need of a change of scenery. But the Mets are getting a ton of potential in Francoeur who is young, plays gold glove defense, and has tremendous offensive potential. Since his major league debut on July 7, 2005, Francoeur has recorded 65 assists, the most in the majors during that time frame.
Francoeur hit .293 with 19 homers and 105 RBIs in 2007, but slumped badly last year and was sent to the minors, a move that he found embarrassing. Francoeur recently was benched for three games by Atlanta manager Bobby Cox.
This may not really change the complexion of the team on the surface, but it’s a subtle change that could have a great ripple effect in the Mets clubhouse as we finally get that fiery type player we haven’t had since we parted ways with Paul Lo Duca. Hopefully, his presence will recharge the team and have a positive effect on David Wright who is being crushed by the pressure of having to carry this team on his own.
Francoeur is also a grinder who will play everyday and is never hurt. Haven’t we been crying for a player like this for over two years now?
I understand that the Mets are still basically in the same situation as they were this morning, but maybe this is the start of something big and a precursor for more moves.
Does this move open up the idea of including F-Mart in another deal?
You heard it here first…
Welcome to New York Jeff Francoeur!
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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Wow!
I liked Church but I bet he’s happy to be out of New York.
Maybe this is only the beginning!
Wow, this one caught me by surprise. I like Francoeur a lot, and he could become a nice player for us. I know it doesn’t improve the team all that much, but we got younger and a tad bit better, plus he is righthanded which is something we needed as Tatis was not cutting it.
Why?
Francoeur sucks. I could be wrong, but he’s worse than Church.
Sure, he made mistakes, but he played hard when he got a chance.
Francoeur is just a mess, we could have had him for less.
I agree completely. Bobby Cox is laughing up his sleeve on this one. Francoeur is a mess and will work his way into Jerry’s Doghouse real quick. Omar is a dodo. I think we just got worse on this one. We have just added an undisciplined player to an undisciplined team. Wonderful!
MASK, YOU’RE AN EXPERT AT GENERAL INANITY! BRAVO. UNDISCIPLINED PLAYER? HOW? IF U MEAN AT THE PLATE THAN EXPLAIN HOW THE TEAM IS UNDISCIPLINED WHEN THEY’RE ONE OF IF NOT THE TOUGHEST TEAM TO STRIKEOUT? PERHAPS WHATEVER WAS APPLIED TO HELP THE TEAM IMPROVE SO MUCH IN THAT REGARD, GETTING WITH THE SAME PROGRAM MAY WORK WONDERS ON FRENCHY. CERTAINLY WORTH A SHOT AS IT KEPT OUR PAYROLL UNEFFECTED STILL MAINTAINING THAT 12.6M BUFFER, WHICH I’VE POINTED OUT IS SO IMPORTANT ON THIS TEAM FOR FUTURE QUALITY MOVEMENT POSSIBILITY/CONSIDERATION. DROPING 5 YRS IN AGE, IMPROVING DEFENSE WITH ONE OF THE LEAGUE’S STRONGER/ACCURATE RF ARMS IS MORE THAN AN ADEQUATE MOVE. CERTAINLY NOT A SEASON EFFECTOR. NO SANE PERSON COULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO WANGLE A DEAL THAT NEGATES THE LOSSES WE’VE SUSTAINED.
IN A GOOD YEAR, I WOULDN’T ANTICIPATE MUCH MORE THAN 10HR FROM CHURCH WHEREAS FRANCOUR MAY HIT 20 IN A SIMILARLY GOOD YEAR. RHH BALANCES LINEUP BETTER.
We shall see. Maybe it will work out, but I think it’s doubtful.
no Sach. Frenchy has potential. hes 25. go look at his numbers from 2006 and 2007. i think he can still put up those numbers.
HOLY CRAP!!!
the mets made a move! i was hoping for a deal for Rios or something but hey at least this is a start.
This must be a joke. What is Omar Minaya thinking? I dont care that church has only two homeruns, RIGHT NOW, he is a better player than Francouer. We need offense, not more strikeout machines in our lineup. Maybe if MANUEL had played CHURCH like consistently, church would have started hitting.
Here is Minaya trying to fix his own mistakes. You let go of milledge (now thats upside) for Church, then you trade church away. The mets clearly are not trying to win now. I would have welcomed this move if it was something like fernando tatis for francouer or a low level prospect, but church??
The braves are smart. No way they let of francouer for church if they didnt think they were getting the better end of the deal. HOJO doesnt seem to be the brightest hitting coach so Its not like its gonna be an easy fix.
Look how minayas last gamble (Perez) went. And no 7 walks while allowing 2 runs is not GOOd. stop dreaming!! the only reason they didnt hit him was because they were too busy walking!!
Not a good move. Francouer and wright have an outside shot at the K tittle now. He has 5 homeruns (3 more than church!!!) its not like he has 10!! church couldve been part of at least a better deal for a better player( alex rios anyone?)
UGH!
You’re right on the mark. This trade is for the birds. Bobby Cox tricked us and he’s suffering from an attack of uncontrollable laughter right now as we write. Open Memo to Omar: You’re a Dope!
MASK, ONCE MORE YOUR MYOPICITY AMAZES ME, PERHAPS BECAUSE I LIVE IN THE SOUTH, FRANCHY HAS A PULSE, A FOOTBALL PLAYER TEMPERMENT THAT MAY DO WONDERS FOR THE ‘HOUSE. I LIKED CHURCH,; BUT MR. EXCITEMENT HE WAS NOT. I ALWAYS WONDERD HOW HE GOT KIDS?(INVITRO?) IF JERRY’S SPECIA;L DRILL IS WHAT’S DRASTICLY REDUCED THE ENTIRE TEAM’S STRIKEOUT TOTALS, I HOPE IT HAS SIMILAR EFFECT ON FRANCOUR. SURE HE’L K 150+ TIMES TO CHURCH’S LIKELY 75-100; BUT MAY GIVE U TWICE AS MANY HR TO BOOT (ALWAYS CONSIDERED A GOOD TRADEOFF). THIS PAST OFFSEASON FRANCOUR CONTRACTED THE ASSISTANCE OF RUDY JARAMILLO ON HIS OWN IN AN ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE HIMSELF. ANY PLAYER WILLING TO MAKE THAT KIND OF PERSONAL INVESTMENT ON HIS OWN VOLITION, I WANT ON MY TEAM. FYI, VHECK OUT CHURCH’S GP FOR YRS PRIOR TO CONCUSSION. WHAT I DO KNOW, PERSONALLY, FROM HIS DAYS AS AN EXPO/NAT IS THAT IT ALWAYS SEEMED LIKE THEIR ANNOUNCERS WERE SAYING EITHER” CHURCH IS ON THE D/L” OR “RYAN’S JUST BACK FRONM THE D/L”… I GUESS HIS REP AS ‘SOFT’ WAS WELL EARNED. I THINK U NEED TO WAIT THIS ONE OUT. IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A RATIONAL REASON WHY ATLANTA WOULD DEAL A 25 YR OLD LOCAL HERO, AS I DID. CONSIDER THAT AFTER THIS SEASON HE QUALIFIES FOR ARBITRATION FOR THE FIRAST TIME. $$$ IS VERY,VERY IMPORTANT WITH THE CORP OFFICES THAT OWN ATL BRAVES (LIBERTY COMMUNICATIONS). JUST ASK TOM GLAVINE & JOHN SMOLTZ. GLAVINE IS STILL SO PEEVED AT RELEASE HE’S REJECTED THEIR INVITATION TO APPEAR AT MADDOX’S UNI RETIREMENT CEREMONY.
Do you really think that Frenchy is going to clean up on his arbitration to take the Wilpon’s to the cleaners? No way, he has to outperform to acccomplish that. With his level of no performance with the Braves, his arbitration ability was equal to a hill of beans. You need to get real.
MASK, HAVE U EVER LISTENED TO A BRAVES V METS GAME ON A BRAVES CHANNEL? IF FRANCOUR WERE TO GET 5M+ IN ARBITRATION, THE BRAVES’ HOMERS WILL CRITICIZE NYM FOR TRYING TO BUY SUCCESS, YES, $5M PER WILL SELL TO THEIR FANS AS EXCESSIVE & BEYOND ATLANTA’S MEANS DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY HAD A NEW STADIUM FIRST & WERE ONE OF THE FIRST TEAMS WITH THEIR OWN DEDICATED NETWORK. SM MRKET TEAM,MY AUNT PATOOTIE! NO MARKET MORE LIKELY, ATLANTA IS A HUB FOR TRANSFERRED IN EMPLOYESS FROM RELOCATED BUSINESSES & THESE EMPLOYEES COME IN WITH THIR OWN HISTORY OF BASEBALL TEAM ROOTS. THAT’S BASICLY WHY ONCE THE PLAYOFF NOBVELTY WORE OFF THEY HAD A LOT OF EMPTY SEATS IN THE SUBSEQUENT POST SEASONS. PERSONALLY, IN NY, I DON’T THINK FRANCOUR GETTING 5-7M PER IS OUTRAGEOS IF HE PERFORMS BETTER THAN CHURCH, YOU MAY FEEL OTHERWISE; BUT AS IS HE WAS MAKING MORE TO BEGIN WITH & NYM REC’D CASH IN DEAL TO EQUATE THE VALUE DFFERENTIAL. THE ATLANTA BRAVES FLOAT A LOT OF BS AT THEIR FANS POOR MOUTHING THEIR REDICULOUS PLIGHT RATHER THAN EXPLAIN THEY WERE SOLD DOWN THE RIVER BY TED TURNER IN HIS TIME-WARNER MERGER SCHEME. TED SOLD THEM INTO CORP OWNERSHIP BONDAGE, WHERE WIN OR LOSE, TITLES OR NOT, PROFIT IS EXPECTED & MANAGED TO.
This is one of the most underwhelming trades in history. Who cares? Francoeur stinks. Now that Church is gone and JMan’s Doghouse has an open bunk, how long until this guy takes up residence? Looks like Omar finally pulled the trigger. Too bad he’s shooting blanks. Now we have a Bobby Cox castoff – Great! Bet Bobby comes out on top on this one. Why couldn’t we make a package of Church and someone else and get a real player?
BTW, WREN IS GM. WREN REPORTS TO SCHURHOLTZ COX REPORTS TO WREN, JUST FYI, FIELD MGRS USUALLY RECOMMEND CHANGES NOT PULLING TRIGGERS ON THEM. U CAN GO BACK TO YOUR VIDEO GAME NOW!
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know Cox is not the GM and Wren is. Are you telling me that Cox had no input int his? Let’s get real. Cox had no use for Frenchy and where do you think Wren got the idea to dump him?
MASK, FESS UP YOU WERE PROBABLY ONE OF THE BITCHERS THAT OMAR DIDN’T DO WELL IN THE CAMERON-NADY DEAL, YET YOU LIKELY ATTENDED GAMES WITH CROSSED FOREARMS WHENEVER HE BATTED? ALSO PROBABLY CASTIGATED OMAR FOR GETTING CHURCH & SCHNEIDER FOR MILLEDGE(COULDN’T STICK ON NATS 25 MAN). TRUE? NOW WHO’S THE ONE PUTTING TOO HIGH A VALUE ON THEIR OWN MEDIOCRE STOCK? FRANCOUR ISN’T A SEASON CHANGER. NEITHER IS CHURCH! PLEASE LOOK AT THE REALLY BIG PICTUIRE LIKE ANY MARGINALLY SUCCESSFUL GM MUST & NOT EACH INDIVIDUAL DEAL,GAME,AB AND MAKE SUCH DIRE EARTH-SHATTERING PREDICTIONS AFTER EACH MINISCULE ITEM. OMAR TOOK A TEAM MIRED IN THE DIVISION’S SECOND TIER WITHOUT ANY DECENT PROSPECTS IN THE PIPELINE AND AFTER 1 YR HAS NEVER FINISHED WORSE THAN 2nd & U CALL HIM INCOMPETANT? ALL THAT WITHOUT A SINGLE CENTAVO IN LUXURY TAX PAYMENTS? MILLEDGE WAS THE LAST PROSPECT ON THE DEPTH CHART WHEN HE TOOK OVER. HE’S TOTALLY TURNED OVER THE ROSTER WHILE ACHIEVING THAT SUCCESS WITH REYES NOW SR. IN TIME ON NYM ROSTER. SOMETIME READ ABOU OMLETTES & EGGS & THEIR RELATIONSHIP.
I got the message a long time ago that you are an Omar fan. Each to his own. You got him and I’d like to get rid of him. For me, I think the Mets could do a lot better. But then the Wilpons are in charge and they breed bush league incompetence down through the organization. I am a long term Mets fan since ’62 as well and attended the first game in the Polo Gounds against the Pirates and saw Bob Skinner (Pirates 1B) foul the first ball into the stands off 3B and it was caught by my college buddy sitting in the next seat. I just think the organization can do better in its mgmt and improvement starts with new owners and not bringing players in like Frenchy. Just my opinion and I’m entitled to it.
MASK, WHILE I BELIEVE U R FINALLY REALIZING IT’S ‘OWNERSHIP’ NOT GM THAT THE REAL PRIOBLEM FOR THIS TEAM. I CAN’T HELP BUT FEEL OMAR HAS MUCH BIGGER GAME IN HIS SIGHTS. HIS LEAVING A WARCHEST OF 14M IS TOO COINCIDENTAL FOR ME, MOST OF OMAR’S TRADES HEVE BEEN UNPREDICTED, NOT TALEGRAPHED, SUCH AS THIS ONE FOR FRENCHY OR EVEN THE CAMERON-NADY DEAL OR NADY-HERNANDEZ (SANCHEZ ACCIDENT REACTION) THE MILLEDGE -SCHNEIDER WAS EQUALLY A SUPRISE TO EVERYONE AS I BE;LIEVE HIS INTENDED SUPRISE DEAL WILL BE(HOPFULLY HALLADAY+RUIZ) AS I’VE SPECULATED IN AN EARLIER POST ON A DIFFERENT TOPIC, THIS COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT WEAKENING THE MAJOR ROSTER BY INCL PELFREY,MURPHY+ (CHOICE OF WAGNER/PUTZ IN A TBD FASHION). SINCE YOU’VE BEEN AROUND AS LONG AS I, U MAY AGREE THE LAUNDRY LIST OF PAST NYM GMs IS FAR FROM IMPRESSIVE & CONSIDERING OWNERSHIP RESTRICTIONS ON BOTH MONEY & OBVIOUSLY PERSONALITY, IT’S UNLIKELY MUCH BETTER COULD GET DONE. DON’T KNOW IF U REMEMBER; OR EVEN KNEW, FRED WILPON & HIS SYCHOPANT PHILLIPS WERE AGAINST THE FL DEAL FOR PIAZZA; BUT WERE OVER RIDDEN BY SR. PARTNER, DOUBLEDAY. BTW, I’VE STUDIED THE NYM DYNAMIC & BELIEVE OUR BIFFEST PROBLEM ID JEFF W. NOT FRED. FRED’S PREDICTABLE & SOMEWHAT TRUSTS OMAR. HISTORICALLY SPEAKING JEFF IS OUR CARDINAL RICHELEU, OR BIBLICLY SPEAKING, OUR ISAAC.
I can’t believe we got a young player (Francoeur is 25) without an injury history. That’s not Omar’s style.
I like this deal. The Mets got a righty power bat to balance their lefty-laden lineup. They got a young player that could be a big part of their future. They also didn’t have to trade any of their minor leaguers to get Francoeur. They can now use those minor leaguers as trade chips for a bigger name in the future.
Hey, Joe! What do you think about a Rios, Beltran, Francoeur outfield?
That would be the best defensive outfield in Mets history. You already know how I feel about Rios, I’d take him in a heartbeat.
Regarding Church though, I’ve seen lots of comments against what we got, but not one that suggests what we should have got.
Church joins the likes of Lastings Milledge and Ramon Castro as Mets players who the management grew to hate and shipped out. Church will play better in Atlanta, but don’t look back and say we should of never traded him. He was never going to be productive on the Mets again.
But maybe Francoeur will play better than Church as a Met. He was a heck of a player in his first two years in the bigs.
I think Francoeur will play better as a Met. This was a shake up move, two teams trading unhappy players. But I guess my point is that if this trade works out in the Braves favor, don’t get crazy cause Church’s days with us were over.
I know this trade isn’t the blockbuster we are still hoping for, but it’s not as terrible as some of you say.
Francoeur has tons of potential and was locking horns with Atlanta GM Frank Wren and manager Bobby Cox. Only two seasons ago he one of the most exciting new players in the game. At 25 he just might be able to get there again.
*might* you are right. If you look at the braves forum and blogs, there is like zero people and braves fan in there saying this trade made them a worse team. In fact they are beyond thrilled they got church, who they all think, like me, is a better player than Francouer.
We need offense. Prove to me how the hell Frenchy is right now a better offensive player than Church. You cant, HE IS NOT!! I THOUGHT THE GOAL WAS TO MAKE THE TEAM BETTTER.
Guess not!
AYE, U MAKE IT TOO EASY:
RYAN CHURCH: 5.18 YRS 423H, 588TB, 49HR, 224RBI, 6TRIPLES, 156DOUBLES, 372K
JEFF FRANCOUR: 4.41 YRS 653H, 1040TB, 78HR, 359RBI, 12TRIPLES, 129DOUBLES, 476K
U REALLY OUGHT TO LOOK SOME THINGS UP BEFORE TYPING STUIPIDITY. FEWER YEARS, 230 MORE HITS, 452 MORE BASES, ETC.
AND THAT’S JUST THE OFFENSE, ADD IN GG & ONE OF THE BETTER RF ARMS W/ACCURACY.
DON’T KNOW ‘BOUT U ADD IN 5 YRS YOUNGER & TO ME THAT’S NOT JUST A BETTER PLAYER; BUT A MUCH BETTER PLAYER. DO THE MATH!
AND HE’S GOT A PULSE! FRENCHTY HAS WJAT EVERYONE’S SCREAMED FOR, A CUT-YOUR-HEAERT-OUT & DEFICATE IN THE HOLE LEFT IN YOUR CHEST TO BEAT YOU FOORBALLERS ATTITUDE! WAIT & SEE, JUST AS U GREW TO LOVE CHURCH & NADY OTHER OMAR ACQUISITIONS THAT WERE SCREAMED ABOUT ORIGINALLY.
Omar has lost his mind! This deal wreaks of a desperate GM trying to save his skin. This won’t help the Mets one bit!!! Joe, I am losing my respect for you with this post. You are drinking too much of the Mets Koolaid!!!
U R A HATER OR JUST IGNORANT U CHOOSE. IN 5 SEASONS+ 30G CHURCH AVERAGED SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 95G/YR FOR A PERRENIALLY LAST PLACE FRANCHISE DESPERATE FOR GOOD PLAYERS.
OVER 4 SEASONS+70G FRANCOUR AVG 140+G PER FOR A TALENTED TEAM WITH OPTIONS OF EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE PLAYERS. FO THE MATH, CHECK ALL CAREER STATS. CHURCH WASN’T GOOD BY COMPARISON. IF U THINK FRANCOUR STINKS? U’LL COMPARE & KNOW CHURCH SUCKED!
CHURCH=SOFT BEFORE CONCUSSIONS LIKELY SHOULD’VE PLAYED WITH A FOOTBALL HELMET & BODY ARMOUR FOR PROTECTION. THOSE OF US WHO ARE FORCED TO GET GAMES THROUGH FOES’ BROADCASTS GET TO SEE BOTH SIDES MORE FREQUENTLY. NC IS CLAIMED AS LOCAL BROADCAST TERRITORY BY REDS,NATS & ATL. AREN’T WE LUCKY? NO! TOO MANY NO NOTHING HOMERS IN THEIR BOOTHS. RICK SUTCLIFFE IS ONE OF THE WORST, LEFT ATL BOOTH FOR GNATS BOOTH NOW SCHILLING CURLY Ws
I love Jeff Francoeur!!! I am so ecstatic right now!!! Living in Atlanta, I’ve seen Frenchy at his best and at his worst. He wears his heart on his sleeve and the Braves will come to regret this day. Welcome to the NY Mets Jeff!
Holy crap! Don’t know what to think, but on the surface I think I like it.
Francoeur will help Beltran patrol the vast outfield in Citi Field. Maybe HoJo can help him find his stroke. From all accounts, Franc was a black sheep in Atlanta. This could be huge for us down the road.
This is a great move only if the Mets now make a move for a power left hand bat like Dunn. They are falling out of it so they need help now.
I can’t say this is a great trade – but it also cannot hurt us very much. I liked Ryan Church, but he never seemed to really fit in on this team (although management could have a lot to do with that). I like the fact that Francoeur is younger, has more power potential, and is right handed. Hopefully it will shake things up a little. In the end I would say a fairly even trade with some upside potential.
Do you like the strikeouts as well and the lack of baseball smarts at bat? There is a reason Bobby Cox wanted this guy gone – he stinks!
I think this trade could wind up working out in the Mets favor in the long run, but as of right now we just handed a team that is in head of us in our division a better player then we gave them in return. So I really cant say that I agree with this deal and its a very questionable move by Omar Minaya. Ryan Churh given confidence from his manager as an everyday starter proved he could play at a high level in the major leagues last year before he got hurt. Also I realize that Francoeur won a Gold Glove in 2007, but he won that based on his arm and nothing more. I can recall numerous plays where Francoeur terribly botched balls and that was just against the Mets. At this point I believe we gave away a better player and got a work in progress in return. This deal could really turn out to burn Omar in the end, but I hope it doesn’t.
I think this is a good trade…Church wasn’t doing squat here and after the infamous debacle of forgetting to step on 3rd, he hasn’t been the same. Right now, we need offense AND defense…we have no one to trade for that so we take defense. Frenchy is much better in RF than Church and we can always hope his bat will wake up. At the very least, we’re no worse off than where we started, which is in the toilet…
Just looked at Francoeur’s numbers and once you get by the batting average and low HR total, one stat jumped out at me. In the past, Francoeur was known as a man who swung at everything, which led to a high strikeout total. Ever since his first full season, his strikeout total has dropped each year. Beginning in 2006, his K total has gone down from 132 to 129 to 111 last year. This year, Francoeur has only struck out 46 times in 304 at-bats, putting him on pace for fewer than 100 strikeouts. His average may not show it, but he’s making much better contact this season. For a player not yet in his prime, this is something worth watching as it could lead to higher batting averages in the near future.
Thats an interesting observation. One thing Frenchy was known for was his aggressive approaches at the plate. He was one of the most notorious first-pitch swingers in the majors. It was because of that, that he would find himself behind early in the count and it led to all the strikeouts you mentioned. It is also well known that he and hitting coach Terry Pendleton had no relationship whatsoever and didn’t even talk to each other according to an article I just read. At 25 years old, a new relationship with a different hitting coach might be the perfect medicine for making him more patient, taking more pitches, and having fewer strikeouts.
And the power was there for the guy in abundance. The Braves really messed with his mindset by sending him down during his slump…I guess he does have this “upside”.
Some of the other things I like about him are his intangibles. I read that he won’t let anything keep him out of the lineup, even a busted finger and several assorted bruises. He is also one of those fiery type personalities ala Paul LoDuca, which I think we could use right now.
The fact of the matter is that Church wasn’t going to get any better as a Met and the organization was down on him. I don’t think there were any teams that would have given us more for him than what we got in Frenchy.
Funny, the other day I was just thinking about Lo Duca and wondering what ever happened to the guy. If Frenchy can give us that, and the offensive/defensive production…Slight edge to the mets. But i’m curious to see if there’s a follow-up move to this.
Buster Olney was shocked by this trade, says a lot of GMs thought Francoeur could be a “non-tender candidate” this off season, and he’s got to work on his swing, and the Mets may not be the best place to do that. I’m hoping for the best, but I think Omar screwed up again. I have no faith in the man, he has no busines being a GM, much less of the biggest payroll in the league. Apart from cases where he threw money at people, where he had an obvious advantage over other teams, how many smart signings has this guy made? He probably should’ve been fired after 2007, and definitely after 2008.
[...] Jeff Francoeur Is A Met – Are More Moves Coming? | Mets Merized Online (metsmerizedonline.com) – July 10, 2009Moments ago in a press conference, Mets general manager Omar Minaya announced that they have traded rightfielder Ryan Church to the Atlanta Braves for rightfielder Jeff Francoeur. It was no secret tha… [...]
Rob Neyer….Church must really have worn out his welcome with the Mets. Since coming off the DL in early June, Church’s line is .290/.336/.402 … far from good for a corner outfielder, but decent enough compared to most of the Mets’ other outfielders … and of course a far sight prettier than Francoeur’s .250/.282/.352 line for the season.
Defense? According to UZR, there’s little difference between them and Church might actually be better.
Handedness? With Fernando Tatis and Gary Sheffield, the Mets already had two righty-hitting corner outfielders; now they’ve got three.
So, let’s review: The Braves got a decent hitter and fielder who bats left-handed, and thus can platoon (or semi-platoon) with Matt Diaz in right field. The Mets got … what, exactly? If you figure it out, drop a line to Jerry Manuel. He’s going to need all the help he can get with this one.”
I agree with your assessment. The bottom line is we got another player who is a project on a team full of projects. The Mets have a poor record of fixing projects and why should this be any different? Jerry will find a way to crush his confidence quickly. Just watch Frenchy tank quickly after he whiffs on 3 pitches out of the strike zone with the bases loaded. The fans will be killing him before July is over. And he is overrated as an OF’er because of his arm. Church’s arm is equal to his anyway. Bobby Cox is giddy over this.
when i first saw this trade i was surprised and shocked because i loved church since we first traded him but after thinking for a second, i have a feeling taht a secondary move could come with this. I have a feeling we could be going after another lefty power bat. francouer has to do something to get more contact. his swing is way too long but if he shortens up, he will be in good condition. i think he might be a bit better in the field, but not by much and he has a great arm. not to take away anything from church, but francoeur’s arm might be more accurate.
seems like a pretty good deal on both sides and the big question will be if Franc. can shorten the swing, get more walks and hit for a better avg. .250 does not get it done in any league.
church will do great in atlanta and i know for a fact he will hurt us when he sees us….
How this deal works out will be judged months from now. I liked Church, too, but, come on, he’s not a central piece of a winning Mets team in any way, shape, or form.
He’s got 2 friggin’ homers and no ribbies production. Heck, Castillo has a decent BA, too, and what an offensive contributor he is!
Milledgd? someone thinks milledge was worth mentioning? Milledge and his immaturity is what did him in and don’t know when he will wake up and smarten up. Only thing about this deal is that it brings a right handed bat in plus church was on the outs and hey it accomplished what omar and his press conferences couldn’t , we are talking about this trade and not the embarrasing loss to arroyo and his dippey do pitches. How embarrassing.
Think about it
You traded Milledge for Schneider and Cant hit francouer..
Milledge 2008
G 138 AB 587 .AVG 268 HR 14 RBI 61 obp: 330
Frenchy 2008
G 155 AB 652 HR 11 RBI 71 AVG.239 OBP.294 .
Vs francouer
You mention his maturity, but I guess going on the press and blasting your team because you are sucking and they asked you to go work on your swing in the minors, is Super Mature
milledge is clearly the better player! Greater on base percentage, greater avg, more home runs in less games and less at bats.
dont use attitude to measure a player because blasting your team aint pretty.
I totally disagree with your analysis.
Milledge is mature only when considered with an ‘at risk’ 14 year old. He was also a problem in the clubhouse.
When he was traded, he badmouthed the Mets. Milledge is a spoiled, immature kid with with a pair of doting parents who’ve contributed to his problems. He had no sense of communal responsibility, as evidenced by his participation in the hip hop recordings.
Milledge was as bad an outfielder as I’ve ever seen. He couldn’t go back on a well hit fly ball, so he played with his back to the outfield wall. Check out videos of him with Washington. Any further back and he would be sitting with the fans.
Because he played so far back, any short fly to his outfield position fell in for a hit. His speed in the outfield and his first step were below average.
He often missed the cutoff man or threw to the wrong base. He couldn’t stick with the Nationals despite being given a full-time opportunity in a weak outfield.
At the plate, Milledge could hit a fastball but frequently looked woeful on sliders and curves. I particularly remember side-armed Joe Smith eating him up a few times when Joe was opposing Washington.
I thought Milledge was worth mentioning. Not because I wish he was back, but because the Mets’ Management develops grudges for decent players and ships them out. Castro was clearly a better hitter then Santos, but you got rid of Castro cause he was in Manuel’s dog house. They never like Milledge’s maturity level, even though he could be a decent player, so they shipped him out. They bungled the handling of Church’s injury last year, which lead to an unhappy Church, which they didn’t try to rectify they just decided to hate him back.
Omar’s handling of Ryan Church’s season of concussions was a mess.l
Jerry’s handling of Ryan Church, Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans has been terrible. NO CONTINUITY and NO REAL PLAN. These guys would produce more if they played every day. Instead they languished on the bench.
Sheffield is stopgap at best.
Send in the clowns.