Epic Drop: Top 10 Ways In Which The Braves Betrayed Jeff Francoeur

A quite heavenly little list here for the latest example of how the athlete who has found a very public religious calling might not be, well, someone you want to take a lot of spiritual guidance from. Here's the money quote...

After three years, after playing hurt, playing every day, going in every day whether I got a hit and never complaining, I just played because Bobby [Cox] kept putting me in the lineup. But I just felt like a little three-minute thing -- 'Hey, you're going down' -- I feel like after three years, I was owed a little more of an explanation... You almost felt like they had made [their minds] up before the game. That's where I felt frustrated, where I felt a little betrayed.

No, seriously.

For the record, Francoeur also makes $460,000 a year, so perhaps his playing every day might not just be a sign of his impeccable nobility.

I don't mean to completely throw a guy under a bus for an unfortunate quote, but Pwecious does know that he's been hitting like a back-up infielder this year, right? And that the Braves are six games under .500 and in danger of becoming completely irrelevant in the NL East and wild-card races, despite the fact that the top teams in their division are all incredibly flawed?

A small note to any and all athletes that might stumble upon these words... teams do not betray you, because that involves having any faith or fealty in you in the first place. Look out amongst your fellow ballplayers, and gaze deeply at your Milton Bradleys, your Elijah Dukes, your Jeff Kents. Consider the idea that, if a team had its druthers, it might prefer to employ people who are not, you know, completely amoral pricks... but that the ability to hit the ball is more or less independent of how Gosh Darn Nice you are. It's a business, ya moron, and one man's "betrayal" is another man's "trying to win some freaking games." Sheesh.