Tag: Ryan Church

Maine Wins Again As Mets Drop Nats 6-3

John Maine had another great game tonight going six strong innings and giving up two runs on two hits. One of those hits was a home run by Ryan Zimmerman. The other highlight for the Nats was an outstanding catch by Lastings Milledge on a deep fly to center by Carlos Delgado. Milledge made a running catch on the warning track and hit the wall but managed to hang onto the ball.

I know that this sounds like a broken record but Ryan Church had another big game offensively. He was 2 for 4 with 4 RBI’s and his eighth home run. This guy is making a contribution every night.

Maine hit Felipe Lopez with the first pitch of the game sending a clear message about last nights game. Apparently Maine didn’t like the Nationals dugout antics last night. I’m surprised that there wasn’t any retaliation from Nationals pitcher John Lannan. He may have to answer to his teammates for that.

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Overachiever Ryan Church Carrying Mets

I have to admit that when the New York Mets traded top prospect Lastings Milledge to the Washington Nationals for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider I was unhappy. I thought this was another one of Omar Minaya’s misguided trades like Heath Bell to the Padres for nothing, or Brian Bannister to the Royals for Ambiorix Burgos. Wow… Have I been wrong!

Ryan Church, and to a lesser degree Brian Schneider, has been much more than the nondescript outfielder that I was expecting. Schneider has been hitting pretty well but without any semblance of power, and he does seem to provide some sense of comfort to the pitching staff. However, the catcher’s influence on a pitching staff is vastly overrated in my opinion.

Church has been a revelation, both in the field and at the plate, for the Mets. He’s currently hitting 34 points above his highest season average in 2005. His OBP is 18 points higher than his career high in 2006. His OPS is 13 points higher than his career high in 2006 as well. Without a doubt, he’s been the most consistent offensive performer for the Mets this season. He’s hit well in every spot in the order that Willie Randolph has put him in. He’s seemingly unaffected by changes that Randolph makes to the lineup. Continue reading “Overachiever Ryan Church Carrying Mets”

Beltran Powers Mets To 8-3 Win Over Reds

New York Mets center fielder Carlos Beltrán before a Mets/Devil Rays spring training game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.Image via Wikipedia

Carlos Beltran is back! He continued to hit the Reds hard again on Mother’s Day going 2 for 5 with 2 RBI’s and his third home run of the season. Beltran was ice cold going into Los Angeles this week and started to show signs of life. Against Cincinnati he showed that he’s right on the ball.

Oliver Perez was serviceable going six innings for the win. He looked great until the sixth inning when things started to fall apart and he gave up three runs. This was his best start since April 19th in Philly.

Ryan Church continued his dream season making a fantastic catch against the wall in right field, and hitting a homer which was back to back with Beltran.

Carlos Delgado looks pretty comfortable in the seventh spot in the order. I hope Willie keeps him there until he proves that he deserves to move up.

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Maine, Mets Clobber Dodgers 12-1

Mets pitcher John Maine before a Mets/Devil Rays spring training game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.Image via Wikipedia

The story of the day was John Maine returning to his spring training form. He went 8.1 innings and carried a shutout into the ninth. That was the longest start by a Mets pitcher this season and a nice break for the bullpen with an off-day tomorrow.

Ryan church again was in the middle of the offense with another home run. Even Maine came through with a hit and two RBI’s. There was tons of offense by the Mets as you would guess by the final score. I don’t think it was coincidence that Carlos Delgado was out of the lineup and Marlon Anderson played first base. The lineup has a better flow when Delgado’s not in the middle.

The Mets come back to Shea on Friday night against the Reds after having a 3-3 road trip. If they can play .500 on the road that’s just fine, especially on the West coast.

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Mets Drop Another To Dodgers 5-4

Nelson Figueroa pitched well enough to keep the Mets in the game although his line doesn’t show it. He was victimized by Ryan Church sitting on the ground while the winning run went around the bases for an inside the park home run and adding two more earned runs for Figueroa.

Blake DeWitt hit a ball off the top off the wall in right field. Church made a play on the ball but couldn’t come up with it. Mistakenly, Church sat on the ground while DeWitt rounded the bases. It turned out to be a huge blunder that cost the Mets the game. It’s the first time this season that I’ve seen Church make a big mistake so I won’t go crazy about it.

Moises Alou is a freak of nature. He keeps hitting going 2 for 5 last night. He took an extra base on Gold Glover Andruw Jones, and he stole home plate. The guy is 41 years old, coming off hernia surgery and an ankle injury. It’s incredible. The guy plays harder than anyone. I’m so happy that he’s on the Mets even though he’s frequently injured. When he’s in the game he’s making an impact.

The Mets need to take the third game to avoid a sweep and a losing road trip.

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Alou Could Be Back Friday

David Lennon of Newsday reports that Moises Alou could re-join the team as early as Friday.
New York Mets Sign Moises Alou
Image details: New York Mets Sign Moises Alou served by picapp.comhttp://pis.picapp.com/IamProd/javascript/imageV2.js?p=1326&i=17339&w=201&h=302&adH=90&adS=3&fv=picviewerv2_1.swf&pv=http://pis.picapp.com/IamProd/FlashSite/en/&u=http://pis.picapp.com/IamProd/ImageServing.aspx&sp=false&n=2

What a shot in the arm for the team that would be. They need a right handed hitter in the middle of the lineup badly. Hopefully, Willie will move Delgado down when Alou gets back. Ideally, it would be Alou, Church, Delgado, and Castillo at the 5, 6, 7, 8 spots in the order.

Oh, and by the way Brady Clark will be on waivers for the purpose of reassignment I would have to assume.