Richmond wouldn't build a new stadium for the team so they are moving elsewhere. Richmond will still be a minor league team, just a smaller classification.
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Richmond wouldn't build a new stadium for the team so they are moving elsewhere. Richmond will still be a minor league team, just a smaller classification.
McCann, and Franceour were both called up without playing in Richmond if I am not mistaken. Luckily for the Braves, their skill posititon players havent been much different at either location. Generally they pull pitchers from AAA and skill players from AA it seems like. Different than most teams, but it has worked for years.
a demotion would have been a trip down without being told he'd be back before the end of the month.
I didn't think it would last long!
LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Francoeur's stay in the Minor Leagues was a short one. The Braves recalled him from Double-A Mississippi and he is expected to be with them in Los Angeles for Monday night's series opener against the Dodgers.
Francoeur was shocked when the Braves told him late Thursday night that they were sending him to Mississippi. At the time, he was hitting .234 and had batted just .121 (8-for-66) in his previous 18 games.
But the 24-year-old outfielder's dismay turned into excitement on Monday, when he learned that his Minor League stay was going to consist of just three days.
"All the reports we got from [Mississippi's staff] said that he was smiling, having fun and being relaxed at the plate," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "That really all we wanted him to do."
As Francoeur continued to stress about the first severe hitting slump of his young career, his mechanics suffered to the point where he was changing his stance and approach with nearly every plate appearance.
This prompted the Braves to move him to a less stressful environment, where he could relax again and enjoy the game of baseball. At Mississippi, he was reunited with manager Phillip Wellman, who had served as that club's hitting coach when Francoeur played there in 2005.
Three years ago, Wellman helped Francoeur get to the Majors -- and now Wellman can enjoy the fact that he played a role in getting Francoeur back.
In three games with Mississippi, Francoeur had seven hits, including a triple, in 13 at-bats. His best performance came on Sunday, when he had four hits in five at-bats against Charlotte.
"The last couple of days, he's been relaxed and swinging the bat like he's capable of doing," Wren said of Francoeur, who hit .293 while playing every game and winning his first career Gold Glove last year.
When the Braves sent Francoeur to Mississippi, their expectation was that he'd return after the All-Star break. Their primary reason for this plan stemmed from rules that stipulate a player optioned to the Minors can't be recalled less than 10 days later, unless he is recalled to replace somebody going on the disabled list.
After Sunday's game, the Braves were forced to place three players -- utilityman Omar Infante and right-handed relievers Jeff Bennett and Manny Acosta -- on the disabled list. This opened the door for the Braves to bring Francoeur back, but it wasn't the sole reason for the quick return.
If nothing else, the timing was good in multiple ways. These multiple injuries opened this opportunity for Francoeur immediately after he'd had a four-hit performance -- and not after one of those inevitable rough days any professional baseball player at any level can endure.
"This move was predicated on the reports we were getting from Mississippi," Wren said. "We were hearing what we wanted to hear."
The Braves will also be welcoming right-handed reliever Vladimir Nunez and infielder Brent Lillibridge to their re-shuffled roster on Monday night. Nunez, the former Marlins closer who hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2004, had posted a 1.62 ERA in his previous 10 appearances with Triple-A Richmond.
Lillibridge has had two previous stints this year in Atlanta, with the most recent one ending on Thursday, when Martin Prado was activated from the 15-day disabled list. He has recorded four hits in 26 Major League at-bats this year.
seen on the news last night that Jeff is upset with the Braves organization for sending him down...Stating that he has always been there for the ball club when he was sick or injured, and the bailed on him the second he was no producing...
ATLANTA -- Jeff Francoeur's stay in the minor leagues barely lasted a weekend.
Jeff Francoeur
Right Field
Atlanta Braves
Profile
2008 Season Stats GM HR RBI R OBP AVG
85 8 41 40 .287 .234
Francoeur, who had four hits in his third game with Double-A Mississippi on Sunday, was recalled to the Atlanta Braves on Monday.
Under normal circumstances, Francoeur would have had to spend 10 days in the minors. The four-year veteran, who was 7-for-13 during his three-game stint in the minors, would have been in the starting lineup against the Dodgers but was unable to get on an earlier flight.
The recall came after Francoeur, who played in three games at Mississippi, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he felt "betrayed" by the Double-A assignment.
"After three years, after playing hurt, playing every day, going in every day whether I got a hit and never complaining, I just played because Bobby [Cox] kept putting me in the lineup," Francoeur told the newspaper. "But I just felt like a little three-minute thing -- 'Hey, you're going down' -- I feel like after three years, I was owed a little more of an explanation. But that's Frank's deal and that's what I guess they decided to do.
"My question is, what if I had hit a home run or had two hits [Thursday night]? Does it delay it one day, until I was 0-for-4? I was left standing outside in the dark on that. You almost felt like they had made [their minds] up before the game. That's where I felt frustrated, where I felt a little betrayed," he told the newspaper.
The timing of Francoeur's four-hit game on Sunday was perfect for the Braves, who could recall the outfielder so quickly because they placed three other players on the disabled list -- relief pitchers Jeff Bennett and Manny Acosta and infielder Omar Infante.
Infante, primarily an infielder, started in left field on Sunday but left with a strained hamstring following his first-inning double.
Neyer: Head-Scratching Move
Now that Jeff Francouer is back in the big leagues after a three-day demotion to the minors, the whole scenario makes no sense, Rob Neyer writes. Blog
A player can be recalled after spending less than 10 days in the minors if replacing an injured player.
"Yes, the three guys going on the DL made it possible, but it really was Jeff's performance down there that made this happen," said Braves general manager Frank Wren. "Jeff's performance made it something we could consider."
I agree with Jeff, dumb move by the Braves front office. You just pissed off one of your future stars. When Jeff's contract is up, which I am not sure when that is, will he think twice now about signing back. Being a hometown boy, I doubt it, but the thought is now in the back of his head, when before, it never would have been.
i agree...
very dumb