Interesting social experiment coming out of Atlanta this week. Jeff Francoeur has boatloads of talent, but he has been truly terrible at the plate this year. He is in a slump that has been underway since late May. The team needs to snap him out of it, and they figured out a bold way to do so – they sent him down to Double-A without discussing it with him first. They said they may keep him down there for a couple of weeks to let him get his mind right and find his stroke again. In the end, though, he was only down for three games. There’s no doubt it worked in one regard – he went 7 for 13 in the three games, and had four hits on Sunday. Where it gets interesting, though, is that Francoeur is pissed. He says that he feels betrayed, and he is openly questioning management. The Braves’ management deserves some credit for making a bold move, but it is one that could backfire dramatically. It will be interesting t watch how it plays out.

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