Julio Franco Era Over at Shea

by Eric Simon on Jul 12, 2007 2:21 PM EDT

According to Newsday the Mets are expected to sent Julio Franco down to Triple-A to make room for Lastings Milledge's return tonight. Franco could ask for his release, accept the demotion, or just flat-out retire. It's a long overdue move from the Mets standpoint, and opens the door for the youngsters to get some more playing time.

Julio Franco's stats with the Mets (courtesy Baseball-Reference.com):

Year	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS+
2006	47	95	165	14	45	10	0	2	26	6	1	13	49	.273	.330	.370	84
2007	48	40	50	7	10	0	0	1	8	2	1	10	13	.200	.328	.260	62

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good

As much fun as it has been to cheer for Gramps when he actually hit a homer/stole a base/didn't GIDP, this is good news.

Maybe there is a room for him on the coaching staff right now. Gramps and Rickey can be the dynamic duo.

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Jul 12, 2007 2:38 PM EDT reply actions

Coach

I agree wholeheartedly about Franco being a coach. I'm sure we all remember Beltran's homerun at the beginning of last season and Franco pushing him to acknowledge the fans. While I'm much more of a stats than story evaluator, that play seemed cathartic in the moment for both Beltran and the fans and seemed to help set the tone for the Mets last season. Franco appears to be a positive influence, maybe he could be some type of strength and conditioning coach considering the shape he is in at almost 50 years old.

Glad to see Milo getting a shot, hopefully Beltran can rest his legs a bit to heal and regain his form.

by OronosFemur on Jul 12, 2007 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Finally!!!!

He had to go. No hard feelings Julio, as most guys your age who played ball were old and broken down a decade ago.

Driving the Oliver Perez bandwagon!

by Greenpoint Ian on Jul 12, 2007 3:53 PM EDT reply actions

Busy news day

We all love(d) Julio, but this move was definitely several months in the making. I'm anxious to see the "new" Lastings, with a different haircut (not that there's anything wrong with cornrows) and supposedly a new attitude.

"[Jose Reyes] sizzles in a lot of areas, doesn't he?" - Tim McCarver

by TheFlushingKings on Jul 12, 2007 4:57 PM EDT reply actions