Jeff Francoeur's Positive Attitude Showing On the Field

I couldn't care less about Tony Bernazard.

I couldn't care less about Adam Rubin.

I couldn't care less about Omar Minaya’s comments regarding what happened.

The only possible impact this might have on my life, is Omar being too distracted to make a move that might be good for the team...both for this season, and in the future.

The off-the-field missteps of this franchise are to be scoffed at for sure, but not by me. All I care about is what’s going on between the white lines, and for the last three games at least, things have been going well.

As far as I can see, Jeff Francoeur is the catalyst to the team's success.

Since joining the team, he is batting .326 with 15 RBI and three HR. He is handling the New York press as well as I’ve ever seen anyone do, answering every question, saying all the right things, and doing it all with a smile on his face.

His ties to the organization are new and fresh, and he seems to push the “losing attitude” out of the team aside. He is using words like “us” and “we” that show his team-first attitude, and is quick to criticize himself when he does something wrong. 

His positive attitude is rubbing off on the rest of the players, and it seems to be showing on the field.

That being said, I’m sure I’m not the only Mets fan that was screaming at the TV last night as Jerry Manuel sent Fernando Tatis up to pinch-hit...the double play machine himself, at the turning point of the game, with an inning-ending double play written all over him. 

I was flabbergasted at Jerry’s decision-making process. Tatis has done nothing but kill rallies, and he was set up to do it again.

Fast forward to the 0-2 pitch that Tatis lifts into left field, and I’m thinking to myself, "well, at least we’ll get a run...he got the ball to the outfield."

Before you know it, the outfielders are at the wall looking up, and Tatis is pounding his chest rounding second base.

The moral of the story is that Tatis has been so monumentally bad and un-clutch in situations this season that I forgot about him being the Grand Slam King of the World.

I hope his streak of badness is over, and now he can be called on reliably as a pinch hitter and reserve outfielder; a role that he filled very well in the past.

I wonder when Alex Cora will turn his season around. He had been one of the most consistent players in an inconsistent line...up until he stopped producing at the plate. He’s still doing a stellar job at shortstop, but has fallen in the line up, and seems to never get a hit anymore. 

It could be a case of a 10-carry back getting 30 carries a game, and we’re just learning why he’s a 10-carry back.

There seems to be some good news regarding Jose Reyes making a return soon, so perhaps Cora will be able to return to his intended role as a reserve middle infielder...taking some of the pressure off him, and allowing him to return to form.

I take all news about the Mets injuries with a grain of salt though, so I won’t take the good news seriously until the injured players are back on the field at a major league level.

Things are looking up for this team, but as I said yesterday, I won’t be a believer until the homestand is over. 

We’ll all know a lot more by then.