(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Jeff Francoeur has been playing hurt, but you’d never know it looking at him.
He’s got a torn ligament in his hand, that will require off season surgery. Most players would probably end the season early in Francoeur’s situation, getting a head start on recovery time for next season. But not the gutsy right fielder. Instead, he’s on a tear.
Francoeur is hitting .324 since August and .314 since coming over to the Mets. He’s got seven home runs and 34 RBI already, and he’s even drawn ten walks.
It seems the change of scenery was exactly what Francoeur needed.
All signs pointed toward an even swap when the Mets and Atlanta traded right fielders. The much maligned Ryan Church had a rocky relationship with Jerry Manuel, and suffered a never ending string of injuries that seemed to keep him in the dog house. His production wasn’t terrible, but he needed to go.
Looking at the move now, I don’t think anyone would argue that the Mets have benefited tremendously from the intra-division trade.
Francoeur’s production at the plate, paired with his solid defense have made him a welcome addition to the team and the line up.
His attitude is the thing that I’ve grown to appreciate the most.
His presence in the clubhouse seems to have loosened up what was a very tight and uncomfortable situation. He’s also provided what I hope is an answer for one of the corner outfielders of the future.
Any holes that the Mets can fill with their current contract players, will allow for more spending to be put towards other areas, like starting pitching and a big bat left fielder.
In other news, the Mets also solidified their place as the fourth best team in the NL East this weekend, taking two out of three from the Nationals at Citi Field.
Solid pitching performances from everyone but the Mets “No. 2″ starter Mike Pelfrey, was the story of the weekend.
Tim Redding threw a solid seven innings only giving up four hits and two runs on Saturday, and John Maine followed up on Sunday with five innings of two hit scoreless ball. Maine’s short outing was completed by Elmer Dessens, Sean Green, Brian Stokes, and K-Rod, who was able to pick up two saves this weekend alone.
Too bad the Mets couldn’t play the Nationals all season. They might still be in the hunt for the Wild Card.
In other news, today is the anniversary of Mike Piazza’s game winning home run in the first NY sporting event after 9/11. Andrew Vazanno at The Ropolitans writes about the home run here. It was a great moment in Mets history, and a great moment for a city in need.
The Mets play the Braves tonight. It would be nice to play the role of spoiler for once in this division.
Hey, even in the Mets aren't making the playoffs, at least their football cousin's, the Jets, looked good.
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