Braves Designate Julio Franco for Assignment

Bad news: For the second time in a month, Julio Franco has been designated for assignment. Having to make room for their most recent acquisitions, the Braves let go of their elder one. Unfortunately, we will not see him at Shea next week to honor him. For an 'ode to Franco see Dave's farewell post from last month.

Braves Say Hello Again to Franco

To the chagrin (wink) of Mets fans everywhere, the Atlanta Braves resigned Julio Franco today. Franco was quoted as saying, “Finally, I’ll be able help out the Mets and earn that money Omar threw at me.”

(read: Dave’s already-classic post)

It's Not So Hard To Say Goodbye To Julio Franco

How do I say goodbye to what we had?
The inability to pull the ball,
And the arthritis that was so bad.

I thought we'd get to see forever,
But Father Time is now gone away,
It's not so hard,
to say goodbye,
to Julio Franco.

And I'll take,
With me the memories,
Of grounding into double plays,
To be my sunshine in the rain.

It's not so hard,
to say goodbye,
to Julio Franco.

Farewell my AARP friend. You've been an asset on the bench in helping the younger players, but it's time for you to move on. Thanks Omar for pulling this off.

Julio Franco is the Mets' Version of Sanjaya Malakar

Atrocious. Awful. Painful.

These words from American Idol judge Simon Cowell about Sanjaya Malakar could just as easily be used to describe Julio Franco this season. Franco is batting a stellar .188 with a slugging percentage of .250 and only one extra base hit.

But much like Sanjaya, Julio Franco won't go away. He continues to show up in key pinch hitting situations (like the other week against the Cardinals and Phillies), and he continues to deliver one sour note after another. His bat speed is slower than most high school baseball players. He swings at the first pitch every other time up. He doesn't play the field well.

So why is he still around?

I know Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph fawn over his leadership in the clubhouse and how the players respect him. Ok, I'll give you the intangibles, but doesn't that just make him a bench coach? Why is he taking a spot on the roster?

Unlike Sanjaya, no one is voting to keep Franco around except Omar Minaya & Willie Randolph. So what happens when it's time to set the playoff roster, if the Mets actually win a few games in the next 3 months? You're going to have to drop a guy like Rueben Gotay or Carlos Gomez in order to keep Franco on the roster when Endy Chavez & Moises Alou return. Now neither of those two young guys are saviors of the ball club but they can at least pinch run if not drop down a bunt to say the least.

Thankfully, Sanjaya made his exit before the final rounds of American Idol, but it doesn't look like Franco will be exiting any time soon. I would love to see Julio as a bench coach some day, but he's just taking up an extra spot on this roster which needs an extra bat. Especially of late.