Phillies newcomer Francoeur becoming Howard's biggest fan
Former rivals Jeff Francoeur, Ryan Howard becoming fast friends together in Phillies camp this spring.
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The latest 3-hour workout was nearing an end when the two veteran hitters dropped their gear and prepared for the last drill of the day, a short agility exercise.
Jeff Francoeur stopped in between reps and broke out into some kind of crawling crab character. The dozen players around him busted out in laughter.
Ryan Howard's was the loudest, the kind of belly laugh that sends your balance off.
"It seems like every time I look at him, he's got a few guys around him," manager Ryne Sandberg said of Francoeur. "I think there's a good reason behind that. Players tend to go to him."
Francoeur and Howard have been nearly inseparable during the first week of camp.
Their lockers are next to each other. They were in the same, three-man group, with infielder Andres Blanco, when hitters faced live pitching Friday. They are in the same, six-man team under Charlie Manuel's guidance in the team's carefully crafted hitting groups this spring.
The Phillies signed Francoeur to a minor league contract this winter because they think he has the chance to make their major league club as a much-needed righthanded bench bat. But like Manuel, he's also someone with a history with Howard - they played against each other as NL East foes for years - and someone with an unwavering positive outlook, too.
Francoeur spent most of the 2014 season as a full-time minor leaguer for the first time in nearly 9 years. He even got to try his hand in pitching, something he begged his major league managers for years, making eight appearances for the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Triple A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
"It was fun, but it also made me realize there's no place like the big leagues," Francoeur said shortly after arriving to camp last week. "I feel really good, I'm excited . . . I know there's opportunity here."
With Darin Ruf and Aaron Altherr as the only righthanded-hitting outfielders on the 40-man roster, Francoeur, who hit .289 with a .770 OPS and 15 home runs in 115 games with El Paso last season, does have a chance to win a job this spring. But he's also eager to help Howard, someone he watched crush his Atlanta Braves and New York Mets teams in the last decade.
"We've played against each other a long time; when you get to first, we've talked about hitting a lot," Francoeur said. "I've seen his game a lot. For the first time, he's getting a lot of questions. 'What's happening? What's going on?' I think I can be a little bit of a lending ear for him on that stuff.
"It's like I tell him, 'Screw what happened last year. You've still got some good years ahead of you, you know. You can still do some good things. You have to look ahead.' That's the one thing I've talked him a bunch about, and he's done a good job with - put last year behind you. There's nothing you can do. Whatever happened last year, whatever was said last year, between the front office, him, it doesn't matter now. Let's look forward to now and a month from now, when we're opening the season."
Francoeur, 31, is 4 years younger than Howard, but both became everyday, big-league regulars at the same time, in the summer of 2005. Howard won the National League Rookie of the Year; Francoeur, a 21-year-old phenom with his hometown Braves, finished third in the voting.
But while Howard's star continued to rise - he won the NL MVP in 2006, became a World Series champ in 2008, won the NLCS MVP in 2009 - Francoeur was traded from the Braves to the Mets after less than four full seasons in Atlanta. Francoeur played in six organizations in the last five seasons; he was cut from the Cleveland Indians camp despite hitting .286 with a .359 OBP, two doubles and a home run in 13 games last spring.
The veteran outfielder doesn't seem to have a bitter bone in his body. He knows he didn't succeed in his last full major league season, when he hit .235 with a .665 OPS in 2012 with Kansas City.
He also realizes, however, that he had a pretty productive season the year before.
"In 2010, I went to the World Series [with Texas], did good - but the [criticism] on me was, 'He wraps his bat,' Francoeur said. "And then the next year, I go up there [to K.C.] and hit 20 home runs with 47 doubles and hit [.285]. So I've wrapped my bat [a lot], it's just a matter of finding out where you wrap it and getting quick to the ball. You can't just reinvent, you can't totally change everything."
But you can make minor adjustments, as he's trying to do this spring. Manager Ryne Sandberg said the message has been to simplify swings, stay down on the ball, and ease up on the aggressiveness.
Many of the same things are being drummed into Howard's head.
"With Ryno, he's got a little bit of a different stance [than last year], but he's still got some of that sitting down, he's just going to get it more instead of coming back," Francoeur said of Howard, who has lowered his hands and is attacking the ball quicker in his swing. "He's getting older. His bat speed probably isn't the way as it was 10 years ago. So he's making a little bit of an adjustment. Does that mean it's not going to pay off as much? No. Now it's just a matter of seeing it and getting out to the game."
The games begin in Clearwater this weekend. The Phillies host the University of Tampa Sunday before playing the first Grapefruit League game on Tuesday at Bright House Field against the New York Yankees.
But the batting-practice spot sessions won't end there.
"We talk to each other about little things, what we're trying to do," Francoeur said of Howard, who has eschewed interview requests this spring. "I told him I've been trying to keep my body up, and first thing I know, I hear him yelling at me from the outfield, [motioning for me to stand up]. And I'm keeping him from flying open on the front side, keeping it closed. It's good when you can have that dialogue . . . You don't just forget how to hit. You lose confidence, man. I'm living proof of that. When your confidence is there, you can hit, you can feel great. When it's not, the game sucks. So for him, it's the same thing. Get back to being confident. Screw what happened last year. Just put some good at-bats together and have fun."
Howard has been putting in the work. Perhaps adding confidence to that recipe, with two doses of positivity (from Francoeur and Manuel), will lead to regular production at the plate in 2015.
"A guy like him doesn't just lose talent overnight," Francoeur said. "Watching him out here, it's been impressive. I've always said, if you back someone into a wall, a lot of times they come out swinging."
Pitching is set up
Cliff Lee is tentatively on tap to pitch his first game of the spring on Thursday against the Astros in Kissimmee, according to pitching coach Bob McClure. Lee, who was limited to 13 starts while battling elbow issues last year, is on pace with the rest of the starting pitchers in camp.
Cole Hamels is on tap to pitch Friday in Clearwater, while Jerome Williams and Aaron Harang will start the first two Grapefruit League games, on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, both against the New York Yankees.
Jonathan Pettibone and Chad Billingsley are the only pitchers in camp who haven't pitched to hitters yet. Pettibone had shoulder surgery last year, while Billingsley has been limited to two games in the last two seasons because of two elbow surgeries.
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