Jeff Francoeur's brief stay with Class AA Mississippi convinced him to change his batting stance yet again.

Francoeur is an instinct hitter: see it, hit it. But this season -- and last season and the season before, for that matter -- he has been listening to so many people telling him so many things, and that never works.

So with Mississippi, Francoeur eliminated the toe tap he had adopted -- it works for Chipper Jones but not for him -- and eliminated any kind of stride.

Losing the stride, he thinks, helps him recognize pitches that are out of the strike zone earlier and more easily. At least that's the idea; it didn't help so much when he struck out with the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth inning of Tuesday's 4-0 loss to the Marlins.

What Francoeur is doing now is lifting his front foot and putting it straight down.

The results? Well, he is batting .211 since his stay in Class AA Siberia, and he's still far too vulnerable to the high fastball.

Francoeur was 1-for-5 in Wednesday's 9-0 blowout of the Marlins, which is a start.

BRAVES 9, MARLINS 4: The Braves finally got some two-out hits, giving RHP Tim Hudson his 11th win of the season. Hudson was sharp, retiring 11 in a row at one point. But he left after only six innings with tightness in his right elbow and will be re-evaluated Thursday in Philadelphia, as will 3B Chipper Jones, who was forced to leave the game with a strained left hamstring suffered as he ran out a groundball in the fourth inning.

Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.