So the optimism must remain "cautious" at this point. Francoeur did make better contact with the Mets than he had in previous Brave campaigns. His batting average and slugging jumped by leaps and bounds, and he certainly looked aggressive and confident at the plate. If Howard Johnson's work, and Francoer's maturity, can harness the talent into a 25 HR, 90 RBI, .330 OBP type of player, than it is a win all around. Francoeur is never going to get on base a ton--this we know--what we want is for him to get on base "enough" while providing a solid presence in the lower half of the lineup. I am optimistic about that.- link
Ball State JR RHP Kolbrin Vitek – 4 IP 5 H 4 ER 0 BB 2 K
Arkansas JR RHP Brett Eibner 3 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 5 K
Florida State JR LHP John Gast – 6 IP 4 H 2 ER 0 BB 5 K
Georgia Tech JR RHRP Kevin Jacob – 1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
North Carolina JR RHP Colin Bates – 7 IP 6 H 3 ER 0 BB 5 K
NC State JR RHRP Russell Wilson – 2 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K
Kentucky JR LHP Logan Darnell – 6 IP 7 H 2 ER 2 BB 6 K
Oregon State JR RHP Greg Peavey – 5 IP 4 H 2 ER 3 BB 4 K
Mississippi JR RHP Trent Rothlin – 6 IP 2 H 1 ER 4 BB 2 K
Duquesne JR RHP Andrew Heck – 6 IP 5 H 1 ER 0 BB 3 K
Virginia Tech JR RHP Jesse Hahn – 7 IP 5 H 0 ER 0 BB 4 K
Oklahoma JR RHP Bobby Shore – 7 IP 5 H 1 ER 1 BB 5 K
UCLA SO Erik Goeddel – 2.2 IP 4 H 0 ER 0 BB 4 K
UNC Wilmington JR RHP Daniel Cropper – 7 IP 5 H 1 ER 0 BB 7 K - link
Q: Do you think this is it for Manuel and Omar Minaya if the Mets have a repeat of 2009?
A: I find it extremely in poor taste to talk about someone's future job opportunities. I will say that Jeff Wilpon owns this Mets organization and expects it to be a winner year in and year out. You can argue they competed in 2007 and 2008 after a great 2006. But what happened last season, I know leaves a bitter taste. And a team in New York with that kind of payroll can't afford two bad years. It's a tough town and that's how it goes. link
Oliver Perez threw live batting practice for the first time and elicited raves from Jerry Manuel, who said the reports he received from the coaches were exceptional. “Some people say that was the best that they’ve seen Ollie since we’ve had him,” the manager said. In general, those kinds of statements on the first day of spring training are almost completely worthless. Remember, Butch Huskey once led the Grapefruit League in home runs, and this was just live batting practice. Even Manuel later qualified it by pointing out that Perez has yet to pitch in spring training games, followed by the real thing. - link
I could be completely off base on this, but Francoeur is going to become important at the bottom of the Mets order. He will help David Wright in the locker room, and that arm is no doubt going to save some runs, and probably a game, this season. It’s nice to have some positivity coming out of the Mets these days after three years of dour Willie Randolph, frustrated Billy Wagner, and canned quotes from a majority of the team. This in of itself won’t win a championship, but it most certainly can’t hurt a team that will be under a tremendous amount of pressure to succeed. New York is a tough enough town. All winter the Mets, justifiably so, have been destroyed in the media. Having a great teammate like Jeff Francoeur, who by the way can hit homers and drive in runs, is something all teams want. If he walked 50 more times no one would say a word, but because he doesn’t, there is almost guilt by the statistically inclined to embrace. The only other reason I can think of for this apprehension is his Atlanta roots, which historically has been an issue for Mets fans. I talked about this a couple of weeks ago with respect to Tom Glavine during his tenure.- link
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