Friday, February 24, 2006
Jones, Francoeur make USA roster
02/14/2006
Chipper Jones and Jeff Francoeur are two of the most recognizable members of a group many have long called America's Team. Now, the two Braves will be teammates on the United States team that will compete in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Jones and Francoeur are members of Team USA's 30-man roster, which was announced on Tuesday afternoon. Barring any injuries or unforeseen circumstances, these will be the 30 players who are used throughout the tournament.
"I've always wanted to play in an Olympic-style tournament," Jones said. "We all want to go out there to represent our country and represent it well."
Jones, who will celebrate his 34th birthday in April, realizes that this might be his only opportunity to represent the United States. As for the 22-year-old Francoeur, he may have many more of these kinds of opportunities before his promising career concludes.
"This is going to be a neat opportunity," Francoeur said. "It's going to be great to be able to go out there and have 'USA' across my chest. It's certainly an honor."
Team USA will hold its first workout in Phoenix on March 3. The members of the 30-man roster will remain together until the team is eliminated. With the U.S. team standing as one of the favorites, there's a good chance that Jones and Francoeur wouldn't rejoin the Braves until March 21, one day after the WBC championship game is held in San Diego.
While Braves manager Bobby Cox would like to have all of his players together throughout camp, he doesn't seem too bothered by the fact that two of his top hitters will be training elsewhere.
"They'll have time to get their necessary at-bats," said Cox, pointing out that the Braves will have 11 exhibition games remaining after March 21.
While Jones will likely be a regular member of the lineup as either the designated hitter or third baseman, Francoeur will likely be used as a backup outfielder and right-handed pinch-hitter. It appears the starting outfielders will be Johnny Damon, Vernon Wells and Ken Griffey Jr.
Considering that Francoeur didn't make his Major League debut until July 7 last year, it's certainly a great honor for him to be selected to this team. He caught plenty of eyes while hitting .300 with 14 homers during his rookie season. The strong-armed right fielder caught even more eyes by recording 13 outfield assists while playing just 67 games in the field.
"Jeff Francoeur is a guy who has played himself into prominence in a very short time," Team USA manager Buck Martinez said.
Martinez hasn't officially announced who will be his starting third baseman. Instead, he's indicated that Jones and Alex Rodriguez will both see time there. Whoever is not playing third will likely serve as the DH that day.
"I think both of them are very capable of playing third base, and we certainly want both of their bats in the lineup," Martinez said.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
Chipper Jones and Jeff Francoeur are two of the most recognizable members of a group many have long called America's Team. Now, the two Braves will be teammates on the United States team that will compete in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Jones and Francoeur are members of Team USA's 30-man roster, which was announced on Tuesday afternoon. Barring any injuries or unforeseen circumstances, these will be the 30 players who are used throughout the tournament.
"I've always wanted to play in an Olympic-style tournament," Jones said. "We all want to go out there to represent our country and represent it well."
Jones, who will celebrate his 34th birthday in April, realizes that this might be his only opportunity to represent the United States. As for the 22-year-old Francoeur, he may have many more of these kinds of opportunities before his promising career concludes.
"This is going to be a neat opportunity," Francoeur said. "It's going to be great to be able to go out there and have 'USA' across my chest. It's certainly an honor."
Team USA will hold its first workout in Phoenix on March 3. The members of the 30-man roster will remain together until the team is eliminated. With the U.S. team standing as one of the favorites, there's a good chance that Jones and Francoeur wouldn't rejoin the Braves until March 21, one day after the WBC championship game is held in San Diego.
While Braves manager Bobby Cox would like to have all of his players together throughout camp, he doesn't seem too bothered by the fact that two of his top hitters will be training elsewhere.
"They'll have time to get their necessary at-bats," said Cox, pointing out that the Braves will have 11 exhibition games remaining after March 21.
While Jones will likely be a regular member of the lineup as either the designated hitter or third baseman, Francoeur will likely be used as a backup outfielder and right-handed pinch-hitter. It appears the starting outfielders will be Johnny Damon, Vernon Wells and Ken Griffey Jr.
Considering that Francoeur didn't make his Major League debut until July 7 last year, it's certainly a great honor for him to be selected to this team. He caught plenty of eyes while hitting .300 with 14 homers during his rookie season. The strong-armed right fielder caught even more eyes by recording 13 outfield assists while playing just 67 games in the field.
"Jeff Francoeur is a guy who has played himself into prominence in a very short time," Team USA manager Buck Martinez said.
Martinez hasn't officially announced who will be his starting third baseman. Instead, he's indicated that Jones and Alex Rodriguez will both see time there. Whoever is not playing third will likely serve as the DH that day.
"I think both of them are very capable of playing third base, and we certainly want both of their bats in the lineup," Martinez said.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
