Braves' Dream Season Comes to Life

Many Atlanta Braves fans have become frustrated by the lack of power the team has shown so far this season, and rightly so.

They were expecting a comeback season from hometown hero Jeff Francoeur, a solid season from offseason veteran pickup Garret Anderson, and a resurgence from their lead-off position through Jordan Schafer. So far it's 0-for-3, which is surprisingly almost the same batting average posted by the trio of outfielders.

Schafer was supposed to come into the season as a bottom of the order guy until he got comfortable with major league pitching, at which point he was to move up the order.

As many fans know, this never happened. With a batting average of .203 and an on-base percentage of .313, he has been for from lead-off material.

Garret Anderson was supposed to come to the Braves organization and provide veteran leadership and a consistent bat, but all he's done so far is look as if he doesn't really want to be here. This has left fans wondering if his place on the team is a hindrance rather than a blessing, especially after his stint on DL and his lack of power presence in the lineup.

So far this season, Anderson has made the same amount of errors as he did the previous three years. His speed and urgency have been in question as well. He has been slow to retrieve the ball hit to the gaps and consistently waits for Schafer to come get the ball rather than attacking to the ball.

He is just not the Garret Anderson the Braves envisioned platooning with Matt Diaz.

Then there's Frenchy—the golden boy of the Braves franchise. He broke into the majors and all was supposed to be saved. He had two solid full seasons and the past two have been far below what many expected.

Some people want to blame the hitting coach Terry Pendleton (this offseason Frenchy went to Texas to work with the Ranger's hitting coach), some want to blame the curse of the Sports Illustrated cover, and some want to blame the fans for being too rough on a young and still developing player.

None of these seem to fit the mold.

I mean, this kid was on a roll the first two years and then his bat dropped off the face of the planet and he became an offensive liability. He has lost his constant smile and seems to have lost his aggressive approach to the game.

Maybe now is not the time for patience. I'm not talking about trading Francoeur because he is only 25 and still has pop in his bat, but rather allow him to go back to his impatient ways of hitting and allow him to be the free swinger he was when he came into the league. He seems to try to be too careful at the plate, which goes against his instincts.

If you were to ask Chipper Jones about hitting he would talk to you about the technical approach and then he would probably look at you and say, "Oh yeah and don't forget about your instincts because after all that is why we all made it to this level."

The recent trade rumors of Frenchy have gotten fans riled up to either defend the young outfielder or throw him under the bus. Many rumors have him going to the Red Sox for pitching, which would then leave an outfield gap unless another trade was waiting in the wings.

Some rumors have the Rockies proceeding with a fire sale and trading Brad Hawpe for Frenchy and a prospect. Others have Frenchy going for just a prospect. The Yankees could come around and offer Melky Cabrera for Frenchy and a pitching prospect which would benefit both clubs.

Out of all of these trades, none of them (besides the Rockies, which would benefit Francoeur's power numbers—also this trade is unlikely to be made) have tickled the fancy of fans. I challenge fans to come up with who they would want to see realistically brought into Atlanta for Francoeur.

Maybe a change of scenery will help Frenchy become relaxed at the plate. Maybe a new hitting coach will fit his approach better, or maybe he could rely upon his instincts, such as swinging away, like the Jeff of old.

I just don't believe giving Francoeur away for basically nothing is the way to go because he still could have a bright future.

Here is another idea: Is it the management's fault for building an offense on dreams? The dreams that Anderson would play like the younger version of himself, the dreams that Schafer was ready for major league pitching, or the dreams that Frenchy would have an OPS higher than second to last for starting outfielders.

Maybe the fans of Atlanta are tired of dreams and want firm consistent reality.