Yeah. The .239 batting average that Valentin has kicks ass.
You tell 'em, Jose.

However, what irked some players was Franco wouldn’t hesitate to get in the face of some of the younger players about doing their jobs when he was hitting .200 with one homer with the Mets.

The funny thing is -- this could mean anyone from Jose Reyes to Sandy Alomar.

It could even mean the young new coach - Rickey Henderson, or hitting coach Howard Johnson.

Ty Cobb said Franco would never share his chewing tobacco with him in the dugout.

What better way to be a good teammate than to criticize a guy on his way out the door?

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but it seems Franco was kind of screwed for PT with this team. They have 2 players at the corners who don't take days off very often, so there was just no way to get him AB so his bat could get going. Even with Delgado slumping, Franco wasn't getting in the lineup. With the Braves, he got up to bat a lot more regularly.

“If you play, you have to produce. That clubhouse stuff is overrated,” said Randolph

Except if you're Jose Valentin, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Shawn Green, etc., etc.

I don't understand why Hosey would pop off about Franco in the press.

If he stayed with the Mets, Franco would be at least 10 years away from 3000 hits. With the Braves, he might do it in 5.

What better way to be a good teammate than to criticize a guy on his way out the door?

That works both ways.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but it seems Franco was kind of screwed for PT with this team.

when youre 47 and a team gives you a multiyear contract like the Mets did, youre not screwed for anything.

You just know he'll clinch the Braves' pennant with a big hit off Wagner or something.

When I read that Franco was being slammed by ex-teammates, I thought maybe Pete Rose and Steve Carlton still had a beef with Julio.

You just know he'll clinch the Braves' pennant with a big hit off Wagner or something.

One can only hope

Julio Franco once borrow Chico's soap, no give it back.

Sounds like a fun environment over there, and we didn't even hear from the biggest mouth of them all Billy Wagner. Good luck with that.

However, what irked some players was Franco wouldn’t hesitate to get in the face of some of the younger players about doing their jobs when he was hitting .200 with one homer with the Mets.

I don't know what to say, I'm fascinated by being privy to some of the clubhouse gossip about players, but for players to respond negatively to criticism by a once terrific player mainly because said player wasn't producing. That's a little disappointing. That said, there is no saying the way/style Franco was getting into the younger players face.

I don't want to overstate the worthiness of clubhouse chemistry, but Mets clubhouse chemistry might be overall good (as in celebrating success), but it hardly seems strong (as in supporting each other during down times).

I don't know, last year's Mets seem like such a good story, this year's version seems less loveable. Though I hope Milledge's growth/development will turn that around.

Just because he can't hit anymore doesn't mean he doesn't know how to hit. In fact, there's plenty of evidence supporting that Franco knows how to hit.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/francju01.shtml
I like how Franco has 0 similarity with his 10th most similar thru 47 player.

That's pretty funny. And his number one comparison (Orator Jim) retired at age 42, only to come back for a one-game cameo eleven years later. There really aren't any comparisons for Julio Franco at this point in his career.

for players to respond negatively to criticism by a once terrific player mainly because said player wasn't producing. That's a little disappointing.

The article says he was getting in the face of players, that sounds a little different than him offering constructive criticism.

Well, calling him out on his way out the door isn't very constructive either. I don't think exposés like this reflect well on anyone involved.

Screw 'em all, Franco will still be playing long after they're dead.

“To be a leader for me, it’s not enough to talk all the time,” Valentin said. “You have to go out and do it yourself.”

Wasn't that Bill James' point about Jeff Leonard years ago?

Franco's played for a long time, and a lot of different teams, and I never remember negative comments about his off the field behaviour.

And the Braves took him back, which they certainly wouldn't do if he were some kind of problem.

Seems the problem may be in the Mets clubhouse.

Seems the problem may be in the Mets clubhouse.

They should get rid of those troublemakers Reyes and Wright.

He didn't go to the Giants!?

They should get rid of those troublemakers Reyes and Wright.

Kyle Farnsworth for the both of 'em. And I'm cutting my throat to make that deal.

And I'm cutting my throat

So, the sausages are good today? Nice and fresh?

Good thing that clubhouse stuff is overrated, 'cause the Mets appear to be lacking in that department.

Good thing that clubhouse stuff is overrated, 'cause the Mets appear to be lacking in that department.

Yes, that stuff killed them last year, and in 1986.

Except if you're Jose Valentin, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Shawn Green, etc., etc.

How'd those guys get in first place?

Sounds like a fun environment over there, and we didn't even hear from the biggest mouth of them all Billy Wagner. Good luck with that.

It worked out okay last year. Jason Marquis and Tim Spooneybarger say "Hi".

Smack talk about clubhouse chemistry. Nice.

Not that Franco deserves a roster spot, but it was only 60 PAs, spread out over 40 games. Hard to blame him for not hitting.

And I can't fault him for trying to leadership the other players; he must have figured there was some reason he was on the team.

I wasn't being sarcastic in #30. I do think clubhouse chemistry is overrated. But it may indeed have had something to do with the Braves' extended success.

I wasn't being sarcastic in #30.

Chris don't like no foolin' about when you are talking Mets.

I've always referred to them as The Mess.

Julio is 1 for 2 with 2 RBI and a walk tonight. Welcome back!

Franco joins the Braves, and all of a sudden they're winning 10-0 in his first game. Coincidence? Hah! :P

Dial is hilarious. Fanboy to the extreme.

Fanboy to the extreme.

I like your new sig.

Chris, what do you expect? You're defending players trashing Julio Franco as he walks out the door. Why exactly are you doing that? Keep in mind, this isn't a conversation about whether Franco should have been cut by the Mets or not. This isn't some goofball assertion that Franco should have been starting in front of David Wright or whatnot. This is a discussion about why Jose Valentin, who has sucked as much ass as Julio Franco in a Mets uniform -- probably more -- and the Mets clubhouse decided it was time to rip off on one of the most beloved players in the game (both by fans and teammates.)

So why are you defending this, exactly? I mean, assuming you're not just being a fanboy.

Minaya and the Mets even touted Franco's wonderful experience and popularity and people skills upon signing him in 2005. But maybe Franco's clubhouse leadership is like chocolate thick shakes... yummy and delicious at first, but if you just keep slurping and slurping and slurping, after a while it stops tasting as good and just turns your rectum into a slurry.

Sam, were you at the Cards game last night? I thought I heard them announce your name for something-or-other

This is a discussion about why Jose Valentin, who has sucked as much ass as Julio Franco in a Mets uniform -- probably more -- and the Mets clubhouse decided it was time to rip off on one of the most beloved players in the game (both by fans and teammates.)

Well, to begin with, Jose Valentin has been much, much better than Julio Franco in a Mets' uniform. He was absolutely spectacular last year, especially defensively -- and while he's been only OK this year (mostly injured), that's still better than Franco has been.

But putting that aside, what Valentin actually said was a pretty generic. This might well have been one of those tabloid bait-and-switch deals, where a reporter asks a general question about clubhouse leadership and its relationship to on-field performance, and Valentin makes a comment expressing his feelings that it takes on-field performance to really be a team leader (hardly a revolutionary sentiment, after all). This ends up seeming a lot more negative towards Franco in the context of the headline that is put on the article, and coming after Randolph's quotes, and the characterization in the sentence immediately prior to Valentin's quote (which, after all, is the reporter's characterization that the players were irked by Franco -- Valentin didn't really say that).

One last thing. It's certainly possible that -- horrors! -- Valentin actually thought Franco wasn't much of a leader in the Mets' clubhouse this season. He's entitled to his opinion, and if that was it, I think he expressed it (again, looking at what he actually said, not the surrounding article) in a pretty mild way.

Look at it this way. It looks like a pennant race is shaping up this year, and now that Franco's with the Braves again, a little heat like this is good for it. Let's hope Smoltz comes in high and tight on 'Stache, and let the fun begin.

and while he's been only OK this year (mostly injured), that's still better than Franco has been.

It's really not arguable either.

Look at it this way. It looks like a pennant race is shaping up this year, and now that Franco's with the Braves again, a little heat like this is good for it. Let's hope Smoltz comes in high and tight on 'Stache, and let the fun begin.

Hey, a Mets fan who recongizes the Braves exist. Huzzah and hurrah.