Church Has the Right Attitude
By Mike Silva ~ December 27th, 2008. Filed under: Mike Silva.
“I was mad the way everything went down, how we lost and especially having the Phillies win, that lit a fire under me. I’m ready to get after it. I took a couple of weeks after the season to make sure everything was cool and then started working again.” – Ryan Church, Dec 25th, 2008.
The controversial trade of the 2007 offseason has been quietly “swept under the carpet”. If you remember, Mets fans outcry over the Lastings Milledge for Ryan Church/Brian Schneider deal lasted well into spring training. Only until Church got off to an MVP start, and Milledge struggled, did the talk die down. To date, the jury is still out on the deal due to Church’s side effects from a May concussion. I supported the trade when it was made, and now believe Church will play an important role for the 2009 Mets.
On Christmas Day, Anthony McCarron of the Daily News caught up with Church. He talked about the concussion, the “I hate New York” incident, and his thoughts on next year. You saw a glimpse of a player who is a solid citizen and burns with the desire to win. This was no surprise to me, I personally had the privilege of interviewing Church at Keyspan Park in June, but maybe it showed others why the Mets could use his personality.
Think about it, how many players would grind through not one, but two, concussions? For a while he actually was still playing well, until the side effects caught up with him. He saved numerous games with his defense, carried the offense for two months, and nearly staved off the collapse with a game tying homer on the final day. As good as the offense was without Church, think about how much better the Mets could have been with him.
There would be no better time for Church to break out then 2009. He is 30 years old, has the full time right field job, and a solid lineup around him. Coming to the Mets might be the break that he needs to realize his potential. It very well could be equally important to the success of the 2009 Mets.
December 27th, 2008 at 7:51 am
The Legend of Ryan Church’s 150 ABs continue. Somehow they erased everything. He’s no longer a 30-year-old lifetime .270 hitter who’ll hit you 15 or so HRs.
Here’s the Mets current problem, other than getting another starting pitcher: Tatis (or Murphy), Castillo, Schneider (or Castro), Church and the pitcher. Wow! After the # 4 hitter (and lets hope Delgado’s hitting) the rest of the lineup is very weak. They’d better do something.
December 27th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Let’s remember that Major League Baseball is not a fantasy league. Except for the Yankees, who are the only team that can afford to have five all-star starting pitchers, nine all-star batters in the lineup, and an all-star closer; other teams are made up a mixture of good players and “other” players. This applies to the Mets as well.
To categorize all Met hitter other than Reyes, Wright, and Beltran as “other” (meaning less than good) is a bit premature. Tatis and Murphy had good seasons in 2008; Church had a good first half of 2008; Delgado had a good second half of 2008; and Castillo, what can I say … He did have an “other” year in 2008. Not many pitchers in the National League are noted for their hitting. Overall, despite all the injuries at catcher, at second base, and at the corner outfield positions, the Mets scored 799 runs, tied for second in the league.
January is still a week away. They do not start counting wins and losses until April. Omar is still assembling the team. Smile, be happy.
December 27th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Sayeth Mike Francesca somewhere: “I don’t carrrre what the Daily News or Ryan Church says – I know deep down he hates it here. End of story.”