Why We Love: Jeff Francouer

Hello, friends. My name is Ted, and predominantly I write over at A Price Above Bip Roberts, but occasionally I do some guest work for Neate here.

To say my life is a joke wouldn't even do the situation justice, so in an effort to improve my stock, I like to write on other people's blogs (I figure if nothing else, it passes the time, no?). I was doing this weekly Sunday feature for Baseball Nation for a couple of weeks in April called "Why We Love," but then it seemed to slow down (the entire site, although it's still good).

So, I asked Neate if I could bring it over yonder, and he said sure, at least on a trial basis.

Here's the basic principle: every Sunday (or Monday, depending on how my weekend dissolves in front of my very face), we'll take a look at a player in Major League Baseball. Hopefully, it will always be a player of some relevance who has done well across the past week. We'll try to avoid the big names - ARod and Jeter, Vlad and Nomar, even Derrek Lee - in favor of guys you probably know less about. In the process, we hope to convince you that you should love them, just like we do.

Alright, here goes nothing. Subject No. 1: Jeff Francouer.

You could say this is a fairly important stretch for the Atlanta Braves. They sit 2.5 games behind the New York Mets, the team that finally vanquished them from atop the NL East last season, but host those same urban dwellers for a set beginning Tuesday. After that, they get a seemingly on the rise Philly team, the darling Brewers, and the "have to be considered somewhat dangerous" Cubs. Eventually, they start another Interleague tilt, including battles with two AL Central powerhouses, Minnesota and Cleveland.

It's not a particularly relaxing time to be a Braves fan, thus, because the next four to five weeks could determine whether it's another Tomahawk Chopping October or one in which the foam faux artifacts are put into the garage. At the center of all this for the Dirty Dirty lies one man: Jeff Francouer.

Sure, sure. Andruw Jones is the true "leader" and "face" of the Braves, and he might break the bank on a centerfielder contract come this off-season. If he's not really the face of the team, it's probably John Smoltz, who has been there longer than the dirt on Turner Field (or longer than Ted Turner has seemingly been alive). There's also Chipper Jones, currently pacing the team with 12 home runs. Then, of course, there's Bobby Cox and all.

Francouer, though, is as representative of the "new face" of the Braves - the guys that will carry them to another dozen straight NL East titles someday, or so the hope is - as anyone else. Half these guys were born and raised in Georgia, which makes their togetherness and success all the more sweet.

Francouer, born in Atlanta itself, is currently hitting .310 with 7 HR, 34 RBI (best on the team), 13 doubles, a .505 slugging percentage, and even - get this! - 1 stolen base.

Great, you say. A bunch of numbers, full of sound and fury but ultimately signifying nothing. Why should we love this guy?

Love him because he's down home goodness: he comes from a family of teachers (the noblest profession), and is engaged to a girl he's known since the third grade.

Love him because he's cut down on the hacking: he might become a new-age version of Vladimir Guerrero over time, able to take a pitch at his shoelaces or his neck and drive it out of the Ted.

Love him for leg room: Francouer's first endorsement deal came with Delta Air Lines.

Love him for durability: only four Braves have ever played 162 games in a season, and he's one of 'em.

Love him because he's with God: he has Joshua 1:9 written on his left batting glove. That verse states in part, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

And love him because others do: there's a group at Braves home games called "Francouer's Franks," right up there with The Cole Patrol at Phillies games, who root for the Baby Brave to succeed.

Regardless of why you love him, the above constitutes why we love him. And there's going to be a lot of loving of Jeff Francouer going on this summer if the next four weeks go the Braves way. Last year at this time, he was hitting walk-off grand slams against the Washington Nationals; we're pretty sure the ATL faithful would take that against the Mets.