Today there will be a few Braves' recaps. The first one will be on third baseman Juan Francisco.
Francisco broke into the major leagues back in 2009 with the Cincinnati Reds. He had been one of the Reds top prospects as he showed a lot of power but he wasn't the slickest at fielding. He had only spent parts of three seasons with the Reds when the Braves acquired him for reliever J.J. Hoover before the season. His purpose was to help backup Chipper Jones at third base, while Chipper recovered from his knee surgery before the season.
Francisco did a good job at times helping out the Braves when Chipper was absent from the lineup. At one point during the season though, he struggled and was having a hard time. He was lazy, didn't run much, made errors in the field, and just didn't seem to care much about the game. Manager Fredi Gonzalez finally sat Francisco down and told him if he didn't improve and start playing better, he would be released from the team.
That talk turned Francisco's season around and he became one of the Braves most dependable players for the next few months. He scored the winning run against the Colorado Rockies on September 6th, as he hustled and stole home on an error. Also, on July 25th against the Miami Marlins, he went three for four at the plate with a home run and three RBI's. He finished the year hitting .234 with nine home runs and 32 RBI's.
Francisco will be back next year for the Braves. He will have a big part of trying to replace Chipper at third base. Don't expect him to be the everyday third baseman, but possibly be in a platoon with another player, such as Martin Prado. He will also be a valuable player to come off the bench in certain situations.
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