Is it only a matter of time before this nickname will find Odubel Herrera’s replacement in center field on the Philadelphia Phillies? Well, Philly has never frowned on also-known-as handles for their athletic heroes. In fact, the locals embrace these epithets. And when it comes to the nickname Frenchy, the team has a candidate who can fit that moniker for many years if he can rediscover his stroke.

GENUINE INSIGHT

The Name’s the Same:

Labeling everything is an obvious way to communicate positive or negative feelings toward something or someone.

In the early days of baseball, nicknames were more descriptive. Chief was for Native Americans and Dummy was for deaf players: Chief Bender and Dummy Hoy.

These handles weren’t politically incorrect to those involved. In fact, it meant a man with additional challenges had achieved success in the major leagues. For instance, Hoy once objected to an interviewer introducing him without his nickname. Why? As the top deaf player in baseball history, this distinction was important to Hoy because it highlighted his against-all-odds accomplishment.

According to Brian Cronin in his article for the Los Angeles Times, the umpire’s hand signals did not come from Hoy. But many credit him because of his long career and his participation in the National League, the American Association and the Player’s League. In other words, Hoy didn’t create the signs but he was responsible for their prevalence.

The Frenchies:

From 2001 to the trading deadline of 2006, Rheal Cormier was a familiar sight after the starting pitcher had departed for the clubhouse. Yet, after Frenchie produced a 5.25 ERA in 2002, then-manager Larry Bowa received a suggestion to keep Cormier for 2003. Did you see him pitch last year? At the time, Bowa’s question made perfect sense, but Cormier answered in ’03 with a 1.70 ERA for 84 2/3 innings.

After competing against the Phils with the Atlanta Braves and the The New York Mets, Jeff Francoeur spent 2015 as a Phillie. Frenchy–the other spelling–produced a solid comeback campaign but really wasn’t a strong candidate for the Phillies’ 2016 roster. That considered, Francoeur has made good first impressions (over 200 at-bats) with new clubs despite his adventures in the batter’s box. For instance, when the pitch is a foot off the ground and on the outside corner, he still hacks and misses. His reputation? Yes!

Francoeur’s first season numbers (over 200 AB):

Atlanta for 2005: .300, 14 HR and 45 RBI.

New York (NL) for 2009: .311, 10 HR and 41 RBI.

Kansas City for 2011: .285, 20 HR and 87 RBI.

Philadelphia for 2015: .258, 13 HR and 45 RBI.

Regarding Klentak’s acquisitions, the most interesting newcomer is the one with the French lineage to patrol center field. Yes, he’s a premier defender and his signing moves Herrera to left field. And when Aaron Altherr, Cody Asche and Tyler Goeddel report to camp, they will either handle right field or fill in for Herrera or Peter Bourjos. Whose rhyming nickname with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim included his surname. “Gorgeous Bourjos!”

With the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014, Bourjos lost his starting job after the first 10 games: 31 plate appearances. Apparently, their organization approaches baseball in an extremely disciplined manner, which makes them a very dangerous opponent. In other words, if a veteran wants playing time with the Cardinals, he makes every swing or every pitch count and Bourjos struggled under those conditions, which aren’t for everybody.

Even though he had two injury-plagued summers with Los Angeles (AL), Bourjos was healthy for his two seasons in St. Louis. But the center fielder, who will be 29 on March 31, could be an important acquisition for the GM because he could fit perfectly in the two hole between switch hitter Cesar Hernandez (first) and left-handed Herrera (third), which precedes right-handed Maikel Franco (fourth) and left-handed Ryan Howard (fifth) for a lengthened and evenly balanced batting order. Of course, Cameron Rupp (seventh) and Freddy Galvis (eighth) are at the bottom, while Carlos Ruiz as the backup catcher and Darin Ruf in a platoon at first base will also play frequently. In other words, Bourjos has the possibility of bouncing back because of his right-handed stick, the fastball diet of a number two hitter, his blazing speed and the time to make a comeback.

According to the blueprint, right-handed Altherr would start in right field and bat sixth; however, he must hit .270 to consistently hold down the regular spot. He averaged .241 in 137 at-bats after his 2015 call-up.

In left field, Asche is Plan B: If either Bourjos or Altherr fails to claim an everyday job, Asche will have his third shot. He averaged .252 in ’14 and .245 in ’15, but he will be more comfortable at the plate without the worry of a new position. And if he hits .265 by July 1, he will often see his name listed in the starting nine. Keep in mind, he was a rookie third baseman in 2014 and moved to left field in 2015 when Franco joined the team in May. And Asche did not see any outfield innings last March.

Trying to strike gold again in the Rule 5 draft, the front office selected Goeddel with the first overall pick. He has a right fielder’s arm and came from the loaded Tampa Bay Rays’ pipeline, where he batted .279 with 12 homers and 72 RBIs at Double-A. That stated, he increased his average each year from Single-A (.246 and .249) to Single-A Advanced (.269) before his .279 at Double-A.

To sum up, Herrera is the only guaranteed starter in the outfield with Opening Day just six weeks away. However, hot streaks will determine the action for Altherr, Asche and Goeddel, and they must take advantage of any break. On the other hand, Bourjos with his $2 million contract has a tailor-made opportunity and nickname on the horizon. Frenchie!

PLEASE, IF YOU LIKED IT, TWEET IT, FLIP IT, POST IT ON FACEBOOK, OR PASS IT ON. THANK YOU.

The Numerical Bible:

Storyline and Red Alert are not sabermetrics articles, which means no heavy statistical analysis. But because some readers rely on stats, this is only a reference: no reason to articulate the importance of these numbers.

* Numbers are for 2011 with the Angels. Francoeur’s statistics are for his first campaign with each organization.

Hitting stats:

*Bourjos: 147 Gms., 552 PA, a .271 Avg., a .327 OBP, a .438 SLG, a .167 ISO, a .338 BABIP, 12 HR, 43 RBI, a .765 OPS, a 4.2 WAR, 22 SB, 9 CS and a 7.4 Spd.

Francoeur’s hitting stats:

The 2005 Braves: 70 Gms., 274 PA, a .300 Avg., a .336 OBP, a .549 SLG, a .249 ISO, a .337 BABIP, 14 HR, 45 RBI, an .884 OPS and a 3.0 WAR.

The 2009 Mets: 75 Gms., 289 AB, a .311 Avg., a .338 OBP, a .498 SLG, a .336 BABIP, 10 HR, 41 RBI and an .836 OPS.

The 2010 Rangers: 15 Gms., 53 AB, a .340 Avg., a .357 OBP, a .491 SLG, a .340 BABIP, 2 HR, 11 RBI and an .848 OPS.

The 2011 Royals: 153 Gms., 656 PA, a .285 Avg., a .329 OBP, a .476 SLG, a .191 ISO, a .323 BABIP, 20 HR, 87 RBI, an .884 OPS and a 3.0 WAR.

The 2013 Giants: 22 Gms., 62 AB, a .194 Avg., a .206 OBP, a .226 SLG, a .240 BABIP, 0 HR, 4 RBI and a .432 OPS.

The 2014 Padres: 10 Gms., 28 PA, a .083 Avg., a .179 OBP, a .083 SLG, a .000 ISO, a .111 BABIP, 0 HR, 1 RBI, a .262 OPS and a -0.3 WAR.

The 2015 Phillies: 119 Gms., 343 PA, a .258 Avg., a .286 OBP, a .433 SLG, a .175 ISO, a .297 BABIP, 13 HR, 45 RBI, a .718 OPS and a -0.7 WAR.

Coming soon: Philadelphia Phillies 2016 Preview: 3 Up and 3 Down

Usually, annual previews differ only in opinion but otherwise are very similar, which means a new approach is more of a challenge. So, even though the title has to be uniform for Fox Sports, the writing within the fixed format can be outside-the-box for something unique.

Newcomers:

In my opinion, the articles here represent the thinking of a front-office baseball man and occasionally non-playing field personnel. Reading people is the answer to their decisions: past, present and future. Also, the humanizing element highlights their successes, challenges and pitfalls regarding mental, emotional, and physical factors.

There will be a published Storyline and/or Red Alert every 7-14 days. Storyline features multiple stars and Red Alert highlights a specific player.

.

.

The Most Visited Articles:

Recently, these six are the most popular. Click the archives for Tal Venada for all other reviews.

Storyline II: New GM’s Plan for the Phillies

Storyline: The Next Utley on the Phillies

Storyline II: Acquiring Future Phillies

Storyline: Flight from Last Place, Phillies?

Storyline: Rebuilding Costs for the Phillies

Red Alert: A 2nd Nola, Phillies?

Due to recent inadvertent deletions–except for the above linked reviews–some logo-like symbols (like the Track Record symbol) are missing in the other past articles.

A site format change has changed the display of articles before November 16.

The publication date of this review was February 16, 2015. If this is not a recent date, check my author archives for my latest piece at Tal Venada.

Notification for Storyline and Red Alert:

If you want to receive a personal message per article,

tweet me or you can Follow @Tals_Storylines