Tag: Ryan Church

Mets Will Play Evans- Murphy Platoon In Left Field

Mets manager Jerry Manuel announced yesterday that he was going with an all-rookie platoon in left field. Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy will split time in left while Fernando Tatis will become the everyday right fielder.

This is a real stop-gap situation until Ryan Church gets back from his post concussion syndrome problems that have plagued him for much of this season. Church may be back with the Mets within the next two weeks depending on his progress.

Manuel’s done as good a job as he can with the pieces he’s been given in the outfield. Endy Chavez has some skills but he’s not an everyday player. So the Mets have to go with players that are naturally infielders in the outfield corners for now. We’ll see defensive shortfalls like the game winning hit that Tatis couldn’t make a play on in Houston last night. Unfortunately, we’ll have to live with that for now.

Mets Quiet At Trade Deadline Is Just Fine

image The trade deadline came and went without a peep from Omar Minaya. And that’s okay with me for two reasons:

  1. The Mets most likely trade target, Raul Ibanez of the Seattle Mariners, was overpriced. The reports that I read said that the Mariners wanted two of the top four Mets prospects. That’s ridiculous for a two month rental players that’s an average offensive and defensive player.
  2. The Mets divisional rivals didn’t do anything during the last month of trading to worry me. The Phillies got Joe Blanton from the A’s. And the Marlins got Arthur Rhodes from the Mariners. No big deal.

I know there’s some dissatisfaction out there that the Mets didn’t get better yesterday. But I’m fine with where they are right now. There’s still time to evaluate the effectiveness of Pedro Martinez and Ryan Church during August to determine if a waiver trade is necessary.

Flickr photo courtesy of bryce_edwards

Mets OF Church Will Take BP Today

Ryan Church will resume his baseball activities today by taking batting practice with the team in Florida. The plan is for him to play some rehab games in Port St. Lucie this week and get back to the team, and off the disabled list, next week against San Diego. He’s been recovering from post concussion syndrome and hasn’t played a game since July 5th.

Mets Injury News- Wagner, Church

NEW YORK - MAY 13: Ryan Church #19 of the New...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I’m sure that you saw Jerry Manuel go out to the mound yesterday with trainer Ray Ramirez to talk to Billy Wagner. Wagner appeared surprised that Manuel was there to see him. Apparently, Wagner had some tightness in his throwing shoulder while warming up yesterday. There have been contradictory reports about whether Wagner’s having an MRI today or not. The latest news is that he felt better on the plane last night and he’s only going to see a doctor today if he wakes up and feels any pain or stiffness.

Today’s the big pow wow for everyone involved in the Ryan Church head injury saga. There’s been word that there are some differing opinions among the medical people that he’s seen on how to handle the situation. Church wants to come off the disabled list tomorrow for the Phillies series. But the Mets are playing it cautiously (after not doing so originally). That gets up to today. Everyone involved in Church’s medical care regarding his post concussion syndrome/migraine problem is meeting to determine the course of action for him.

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Mets Injury Updates: Pedro, Pagan, El Duque, Church

It’s a good thing that the Mets are playing so well right now because the injury news isn’t very good.

  • El Duque- He left his start in Binghamton after one inning because of some pain in his foot. It’s the same foot that’s been bothering him because of a bunion and toe ligament problem.
  • Angel Pagan- He had pain in his left shoulder during a game in Brooklyn. That’s the shoulder that he injured in May in Los Angeles.
  • Pedro Martinez- He got a cortisone shot in his hip and will have his next start pushed back. Mike Pelfrey will move up to take his start. So Pedro should start on Tuesday.
  • Ryan Church- He wants to come off the disabled list on Tuesday when he’s eligible. But Jerry Manuel told reporters that the team will be cautious and Church probably won’t be back that quickly.

Mets Take 9 Game Win Streak Into Second Half

PHOENIX, AZ - May 6: Mike Pelfrey #34 of the ...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The Mets go into the traditional second half of the season tonight with a nine game winning streak, confidence, and swagger. The last two weeks have seen Mike Pelfrey dominate all competition like the next coming of Roy Halladay. His recent performances have symbolized the Mets turnaround from the most lifeless team that money could buy to a team of united players that are achieving, if not exceeding, their potential.

As the Mets series in Cincinnati begins tonight, there will still be questions about Ryan Church’s foggy head, Carlos Delgado’s resurgent bat, Pedro Martinez’ ability to stabilize his spot in the rotation, and Billy Wagner’s ability to close “the big game”, and the crater in left field that Moises Alou left behind.

But there won’t be questions about the Mets desire to win and intestinal fortitude. There were plenty of those questions during the first two months of this season. That has miraculously changed under the direction of manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen.

It’s difficult to quantify how much the managerial and coaching changes have changed the Mets. I haven’t seen Dan Warthen throwing seven shutout innings but I have seen that from Oliver Perez and Pelfrey. I haven’t seen Jerry Manuel have a 9 RBI game but I did see that from Delgado. But something clearly changed on this team when the manager/coaching purge occurred. The Met took a little time to stabilize… Then caught fire!!!

The biggest change for me, as a fan, is that I like watching this team over the last month. I didn’t for the first two months of the season. It wasn’t fun or enjoyable. I understand that the Mets winning streak won’t carry into September, that’s not what I’m talking about. What I like about this team is their resiliency, their ability to mount a comeback, and the appearance that they want to win as badly as I want them to. That’s the kind of team that I’ll pay to watch.

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Video- Mets Hot Going Into The Break

Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin appears on ESPN’s First Take to talk about the state of the Mets at the All-Star break. The topics include Jerry Manuel’s influence during the team’s turnaround, Mike Pelfrey, and Ryan Church’s impact on the Mets trade needs.