Jun 24th 2008 10:40AM by Josh Alper
There’s no bigger flaw in Jeff Francoeur’s game than his ability to judge the strike zone. His lack of walks has made him totally reliant on batting average to be a productive player. He’s hitting just .243 this season, which makes him a drag on the Atlanta offense, and just .207 at night. The Braves hope that the problem is one that can be fixed with the help of an optometrist.

Francoeur is being fitted with a contact lens for his right eye in an effort to help him with a better approach at the plate. His vision in the eye has steadily deteriorated since he got plunked in the head in 2004.
“We’ll see what happens. I’m near-sighted in my right eye a little since I had surgery [for multiple fractures of his right cheek and orbital bone around the eye]. I’m not making excuses, but I feel like I haven’t been able to recognize pitches. I’ve only got to wear it at night.”

It’s worth noting that last season Francoeur had no trouble hitting at night. He produced a .301/.351/.466 line compared to .273/.303/.390 during the day.
The success of the lens may be the one thing that stops Francoeur from being a one-hit wonder. His 2004 rookie season increasingly looks like a fluke. He was terrible in 2005, okay in 2006 and is back to the dregs this season and, even at 24, you have to wonder how many more chances he’ll get to turn things around