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The Atlanta Braves are in town and Jerry Manuel and Ryan Church took the opportunity to wage a mild war of words. Basically, Manuel said that David Wright’s concussion is being handled differently than Church’s because they’re “different animals”. Manuel later tried to clarify by saying they’re “different individuals” and apologized if Church took offense.
Church responded that he’s fighting for a playoff spot with the Braves and would take the high road by not responding negatively to Manuel’s apparent slight.
It’s difficult to understand why Manuel would use this situation to take a backhanded shot at Church after he’s already been traded away. As Joel Sherman properly points out today, Manuel should be the adult in any situation involving a player.
Despite the public denials, it’s clear for the world to see that these two just don’t like each other and probably never did. That’s fine. It happens. But Manuel needs to tone it down and keep his negative comments to himself about Church. There’s no point in continuing to take jabs at Church. He’s gone. It’s over. Just let it go.
The Mets Report 