No plan to leave Francis behind
With two days off in the first eight days of the season, an idea was floated to leave left-hander Jeff Francis in Tucson for additional work and back up his first start of the season. That’s not what manager Jim Tracy is thinking, however.
“I want him to be a part of it,” Tracy told reporters on Sunday in Surprise, Ariz., where the Rockies faced the Royals. “Unless he can’t pitch or we see a big deterioration between now and the time we leave for Alburquerque [for exhibition games], Jeff Francis is being looked upon as one of the five sarters in this rotation.”
Francis, who missed last season because of surgery on his throwing shoulder, has been on and off with his effectiveness this spring.
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If Francis is healthy this is one of the most underated starting staffs in baseball. I am sure everyone in CO knows this but out here in the Bay Area, Jimenez, De La Rosa, Cook, and Francis are not given much love. As I Gigantes fan, I have a healthy respect for this staff and their potential to completely shut down Los Gigantes.
Shaun
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