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Yesterday, Ryan Church was hitless in two at bats against the left-handed Adam Loewen, but had a single to center off the left-handed Jamie Walker.
In 19 at bats this spring, he is batting .166 against lefties.
Following the game, Willie Randolph told reporters that Church will be his right fielder, “obviously.”
Randolph, on Church, talking to reporters:
“He’s getting better and better. He’s had a lot of at bats, he’s taking some pitches, and he’s good that way. I just want to keep seeing him make the progress hitting the ball the other way, and getting the ball through the middle, that’s where he’s gonna make his money…He’s a little bit behind, so he needs at bats, but he’s got plenty of time to get ready…If he just hits the ball the other way against against lefties, he’s gonna be fine…We want him to see him get his hits to build his confidence, but I’m not looking at him as having to get hits to get on our team, obviously. He’s going to be my right fielder.
“What I like about him and Schneider, both, is that they don’t give against lefties. You see some people, they lean a little bit and give…I don’t even mind that I have them back to back because they have decent at bats against lefties if they stay the other way – and that’s what we’ve been working on.”
In a report in the Journal News about Church’s efforts this spring, John Delcos writes:
“On Sunday in Port St. Lucie, Randolph walked up to Church behind the cage during batting practice, put his arm around the right fielder’s shoulder and talked things over. Church listened and every few minutes nodded. ‘He told me to stay within myself,’ Church said. He said, ‘You’re trying to do too much. Listen to the advice you’re getting.’”
In 144 games for the Nationals last year, the 29–year-old Church had 43 doubles and hit .272, but hit .229 against lefties.
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I’m not worried about spring stats and look forward to a productive season out of church. I played college ball and during the fall, we were instructed to go to the plate looking to hit the ball the other way and not worry about our batting avg which sounds like what Church has been instructed to do. I had an awful spring batting avg but once the season started I was able to just play my game and hit the ball where it was pitched. Spring stats mean nothing to me!
church will be adequate vs. lefties. not worried.
Soooooo If the Cubs grab up Reed Johnson who thinks the Mets should grab Matt Murton for the RF/1B Righty Power Bat spot????
Not a bad fit and the Cubs will likely need to make room……………this may be at the cost of Gotay though
thoughts?
Considering he’s never played 1B, I’d say it’s a bad idea.
I was thinking about Murton last night, when I read that the Cubs would look to move him if they got Johnson…I think it would be a fantastic move by Omar to acquire him…I checke out his statline last night, and he does very well against the lefties, and as a two way player would be a very good addition to the team…hopefully the Mets have the pieces to get him…Gotay would likely have to be in the package, however.
I trade Gotay for Murton. Not quite sure why though that the Cubs would rather have Johnson. Is their some probablem with Murton?
ALthough if they could get a nice player for him, it would effectively be trading murton for johnson and Gotay.
Their reasoning is that Murton can’t play CF, and they seem to think that Johnson can. But really, I’d love to have either.
I dont know why but i think church is gonna have a real good year. Not to mention he brings dependable defense at right field.
I’m not expecting much from Church this year.. average production.. probably a bit over matched playing every day… I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team trade for a bat come July due to some combination of Delgado,Church, and Alou’s health…
It’s just a realisitc view.. he’s a career .271 hitter whose never hit more then 15HRs in a season.. and will be 30 at season’s end.. not exactly the breakout year age…
Great point extra white meat. Normally players dont breakout at age 30 so we shouldnt expect more than his career norm which isnt all that great. I do wish we still had Milledge. We could have found a catcher without making this deal. But its done and we must move on. Omar will give it until July and get a big bat if needed.
True, he has never hit more than 15 HR in a season, but he never played a full season until last year, and it was still only 470 at bats.
And that season was in the RFK stadium, or the worst pitchers park in the league. He should be due for an improvement just getting out of there.
Yeah I hear that alot.. but really Shea isn’t a hitter’s park.. and look at what Soriano did his last year there.. if you can hit you can hit…
The 43 doubles is encouraging.. but I just think he’s average at best… and honestly a bit over matched playing every day… it took him a long time to get to the majors…
And Koo he played 144 out of 162 last year… so it’s not Cal Ripken.. but it’s the same number of games Beltran played last year….
We’ll see how it goes. I’m not expecting him to put up huge numbers or anything. I just think he is capable of a modest improvement where he can put up Nady-type production (20 home runs, 40 doubles) and good defense.
I know we all have rose-tinted memories of Nady, but Church is already significantly better than him. Nady has never hit anywhere close to 40 doubles, and he certainly can’t match Church’s defensive skill or plate discipline.
FWIW, Church has raked at Shea, which favors pull-hitting lefties. He wouldn’t need to “breakout” to justify his place in the lineup — if he can adjust vs lefties as he’s being coached, he can get his 500 ABs, and if he can get his 500 ABs, he’ll be good for 20 HRs / 85 RBIs.
i think church will be solid, he’ll probably repeat alot of career norms in BA, and RBI, maybe 1 or 2 more HRs bc shea is a LITTLE smaller than rfk. But honestly a 272/17-18 hr line is fine with me esp if hes playing good D in RF.
20/85 would both be career highs… and for a corner OF on what I hope is a playoff team.. I would consider average production.. maybe a slight tick above…
I think he finishs more like 17/75… again.. I’m not throwing the guy in front of a bus… just not getting my hopes up.. and I think teams are going to challenge him early esp with Alou out.
Just looking at his hitting chart I see at least 5 balls caught against the fence at RFK that probably would have been HRs at Shea. Last year he hit 5 HRs in his home park all year, and he hit 3 HRs in 9 games at Shea.
the 43 doubles is promising.. I wouldn’t be too excited that the Nats beat up our pitching staff last year
Funny thing, I read about Joe Smith, how he was disappointed that the EA Sports computer-simulated Joe Smith threw a straight, four-seam fastball, and not his sinking two-seamer. Ryan Church, who homered off the pitch at Shea last year, hears this and says “It may come in two-seam, but it goes out four-seam.”
I’ll take a wait and see approach to Church. The reality is that u never know how good a player really is until u see him everyday for ur team. I’m worried he won’t hit against lefties, no doubt but hopefully he can be Paul O’neil or something close to that.
Like JayPerez mentioned earlier though, his defense is going to be very solid. I like what i’ve seen from that stand point. Unfortunately that’s the best that can be said from what we’ve seen this spring.
Church is one of the many “ifs” at the bottom of the lineup, but not tthe biggest. With Alou out, they are extremely top-heavy offensively. If Beltran is not getting RBIs, who’s gonna pick them up after him?
I love the way the pitching is panning out going into April, but I feel that depending on Pagan/Endy, Church and Schnieder at the bottom of this order is dicey. I do lean on the hope that one of these guys can get hot early and we can ride them.
My hope is that the rotation carries this team through the first 6 weeks and Alou can come back strong in mid-May.
Funny thing is that Church is not my biggest concern with less than a week to go. Church will be a fine RF, nothing outstanding but fine. I could see him at the end of the year giving us a average of .275 to .280 with about 15 to 20 homers and 75 to 80 rbis. And that would be fine because he wasnt brought in for offense alone..his D will be huge.
However with that said I’m really more concerned with Degado. If Delgado does not come through and start hitting close what he was before last year, then the offense has a problem. And I’m not asking for 40homers and 120 rbis, but rather 25-30 with 100rbis and as a batter that is respected/feared in a lineup.
If last year’s Del shows then that puts the weight on guys Church who are the supporting cast members not the lead.
Ryan Church’s career away stats, outside of the hitter’s death trap that is RFK stadium:
498 AB
41 2B
19 HR
84 RBI
52 BB
.279 / .355 / .484
It actually looks very similar to Jose Reyes’s 2006 line, except in 150 fewer AB, and of course without all the stolen bases. Reyes hit .300 / .354 / .487 with 19 HR, 81 RBI and 53 BB.
Of course Jose’s 81 RBIs came in the leadoff spot.
Of course, Church’s 84 RBIs came in the “watching your Washington Nationals teammates fail to get on base over and over” spot…and in 150 fewer ABs. He’s not chopped liver, is all I’m sayin’.
Actually, I do like Church overall and the trade was a good one. However, I also agree that Delgado is the biggest question mark, which is why I said Church is not the biggest “if”. A return-to-form Delgado will cancel a out most of the other “ifs”. You need an RBI guy behind the top 4 guys.