Posts from the Atlanta Category at FanHouse

When Jeff Francoeur was demoted to Double-A on Thursday night, he had some choice words about the decision, admitting to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "This has really put a damper on my relationship with the Atlanta Braves."

Of course, you'll have to take our word for it -- as J.C. Bradbury points out on Sabernomics, the AJC has since wiped their archives clean of the quote, replacing the orginal article with a different piece that contains soundbites from a much more calm Francoeur:

"I was upset [Thursday] night when I got home," Francoeur said. "[Friday] morning, when I woke up, it was anger that I was feeling. Then by the time I got here, I told myself, 'You know what? There's not a damn thing I can do about it now. So there's no reason to sit back and think about it.'

What's the story? Is the AJC trying to do Francoeur and/or the Braves a favor by burying his most controversial comments? I'm guessing that's not the exact intention -- if anything, the AJC, like any media outlet, has the most to gain by perpetuating controversy -- but as the paper of record in the Atlanta region, editing the story after the fact by removing the most juicy quotes denies readers late to the game from obtaining proper context.

As I see it, if "updating" an article requires wholesale edits, I'd prefer the original to stand as is and the update to be posted as a new article. That's obviously not possible in the print version where space is at a premium, but it's in everybody's best interest if the online policy is to provide the most comprehensive coverage as possible.

Michael Vick, the former Falcons quarterback who is serving a 23-month prison sentence, filed Chapter 11 papers yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Bloomberg News Service is reporting.

In the papers, Vick said he has debts of $10 million to $50 million and assets of $10 million to $50 million. Vick's debts include $3.75 million to the Falcons for a pro rated portion of his signing bonus, $4.5 million to Joel Enterprises for breach of contract, and $2.5 million to Royal Bank of Canada for a real-estate loan.

Vick's lawyers said in the filing that they hope Vick "can, after the conclusion of the bankruptcy case, rebuild his life on a personal and spiritual level, resurrect his image as a public figure, and resolve matters with the NFL such that he can resume his career."

Previously on FanHouse:
Michael Vick Buys Place in Florida: Bankruptcy Coming Next?
Bank Sues Michael Vick for $2.3 Million

Here's hoping that Jeff Francoeur didn't have his mail forwarded to Mississippi. Three days after the Braves made the decision to send the rightfielder to AA in an attempt to rediscover his swing, they've brought him back up to Atlanta.

Ostensibly, the rash of injuries that struck the Braves over the weekend are the reason why Frenchy is back in the big leagues. Manny Acosta, Omar Infante and Jeff Bennett were all placed on the disabled list after last night's marathon with the Astros. GM Frank Wren says that isn't the reason for the move, interesting since the move would be illegal without players going on the DL.

"It had everything to do with the four hits he had yesterday and seven hits he had in three days and starting to relax. It was not until we had our call with the coaches this morning we had made the decision. It was not predicated on injuries at all. When we felt like he was comfortable swinging the bat and looking like his old self, we wanted to bring him back."

That doesn't say much for Wren's decision-making. Francoeur pounded AA pitching for three days and that was enough to change your mind after 362 major league plate appearances? It's hard to understand why you'd bother sending him down at all, pissing him off in the process, if the only reassurance you needed was that he's better than guys two levels away from the Show.

When I checked the Braves record and realized that they were an insane 4-21 in games decided by one run, I was pretty shocked. But after the super-smart people at Baseball-Reference pointed me in the direction of just how historically bad it was, I was even more surprised.

If you sort by one run games for every team since 1901, the Braves rank dead last (#2212) in terms of one run game winning percentage. Yes, over the past 108 years, there has not been a team with a worse relative record in one run games in baseball. Which is pretty astounding.

It's also oddly uplifting, if you're a Braves fan though. See, one run games are primarily luck. Certainly not all luck, but certain "breaks" in the game often dictate how a one run game will shape out, and a 4-21 record is not indicative of the overall talent on Atlanta this year.

Also, the poor record in one run games would seem to indicate a shift in luck for the Braves -- despite the "losing mentality" that you hear about, Atlanta should see a reversal of fortune in some of these close games during the second half of the season.

Given the state of the National League East where Philly is kind-of-sort-of surging, but no one is dominant, that could actually bear out pretty well for the ATL. The downside, of course, is that Braves players are dropping like flies to injury. Of course, not every baseball season is chock full of good luck. This might still be one of them that stays without.

The Fightins' put together a pretty nice little mini-montage of action from the Phillies - Mets game on Thursday night. First you will see awkward descriptions of bat shaving and sexual innuendo. Then you will see Yunel Escobar foul a ball that hits the ground and then hits him in the man-regions. The announcers (admittedly not "doctors") give the wrong diagnosis at first.

Contrary to what the Braves impressed upon everyone yesterday, they have decided to ship Jeff Francoeur to the minor leagues in AA Mississippi (do not pass AAA, do not collect $200). He, unsurprisingly, is not thrilled with the decision.

"This has really put a damper on my relationship with the Atlanta Braves," Francoeur told the AJC.

"I love playing for the city, I love playing for the fans and always have," said Francoeur, a graduate of Parkview High School in Lilburn. "But I'm disappointed with the decision and how the whole process went down."

[...]"I do not agree with this, but I have to do what I have to do," Francoeur said.

Francoeur said he was given the option of going to AAA Richmond and AA Mississippi and chose Mississippi because of his relationship with manager Phillip Wellman, who was his hitting coach when he was last in the minors in Mississippi in 2005.

Well, honestly, you can't blame him. Getting shipped to the minors by a team that's under .500 is pretty daggum embarrassing. It's not as if Frenchy has never struggled either; he's pretty notorious for having an OBP that registers F-A-I-L on most standard measuring devices.

Ziller has already covered the fact that Josh Smith's visit to Philadelphia was very impressive. They rolled out the red carpet, they wooed him with limos and they introduced him to the Mayor. Fortunately for us, the media is quite nosy when it comes to things like this, so Comcast got a camera all up in J-Smoove's face to find out what he thought about the Iladelph.



If I were in charge of the Hawks, or were the lone remaining fan that held onto the 07-08 playoffs bandwagon, I would be freaking out right now. Smith did, after all, seem pretty impressed with Philly's spread. And it's not like Atlanta is known for making really great front office decisions.

H/T: The700Level

With the Pacific Coast continues to deal with its arms race, Philadelphia has loudly addressed its desire for a top-drawer power forward of the future. As expected, the 76ers charged vigorously into a wooing of Atlanta's Josh Smith, a restricted free agent. The early indications look pretty good, according to Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"We had a great meeting and a great time visiting with everyone here [Wednesday], and we'll continue to talk tomorrow," Brian Dyke, one of Smith's agents, said late Wednesday night. "What I can tell you is that we're very impressed with 76ers organization and the city of the Philadelphia."

The AJ-C's Smith also reveals the offer Atlanta made last summer: $45 million over five years. That's a painfully small offer when you consider it will likely take at least $67 million to keep him this year. The Hawks could probably have locked him up for $50 or $55 million. Billy Knight, still haunting the Hawks in exile!

Meanwhile, on the Sixer side, Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Phil Anastastia gets a few NBA scouts to agree Smith would be a good match for the team. Yep. He sure would be.

Everyone knows that this year's Falcons team isn't a threat to go undefeated, or to go .500 for that matter.

But as Mark Bradley points out, the Sporting News has picked the Falcons to go 1-15 this year, which would rank them among the worst teams of all time--right up there with last year's Dolphins.

It's easy to say this year's Falcons team will be bad, but it's hard to see how they will be that bad. It's hard to imagine a season worse than last year (star quarterback ends up in jail, coach angers most of the team, cuts one of the team's best defensive lineman, then quits on them in the middle of the season, and the team ends season with almost no defensive tackles). Even with all that, what arguably was the worst season in Falcons history, Atlanta still won four games.

Even if Matt Ryan struggles as a rookie, Michael Turner should ensure that the offense is a tick better than last years. The defense may not be much better, but they also will have to work hard to be much worse. And last year's team had no luck at all. They may not be luckier in 2008, but it would take a run of monumental bad luck to go 1-15.

In the long run, it really doesn't matter how bad the 2008 Falcons are. As bad as it is to say, the reality is that this team is already focuses on 2009 and beyond--the offseason additions and releases have been geared that way. But even with that, 1-15 seems pretty ludicrous.

We've hashed out the Braves problems before. 11-27 on the road, worst in the majors. 39-41 and 4.5 back of the National League East (mercifully the Phils are 2-8 in their last 10). Pitchers dropping like flies. Guys hitting .400 careening foul balls off their eyes.

But despite all of that, there is hope Braves fans. It comes in the form of Tommy Hanson (not actually pictured), who pitched the first no-hitter in Mississippi Braves history last night, striking out a whooping 14 in the process.

"It was awesome, by far the best time I've ever had pitching in a game my whole life," Hanson said following a clubhouse celebration. "It was great. The fans were up clapping, it was an awesome time."

[...]"I was kind of sitting in the corner of the dugout and guys would walk by and say, 'Good job,' but you could kind of tell they were all staying away," Hanson said. "I knew they hadn't gotten a hit, but I was trying not to think about it. It was kind of funny."

Nothing like the old awkward jinx factor. Now, Hanson might not be headed to the majors this year (although if he keeps throwing no-hitters and the Braves need pitchers, who knows?) but it could certainly happen, especially with no real knowledge about how Frank Wren likes to roll with prospects.

More than likely, he's going to get promoted to Richmond and if he pitches well there, he'll get some time in the bigs. But Braves fans, as much as this season isn't over, should remember that this kid = future. So be patient.