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Ryan Church did not start yesterday, because he asked Willie Randolph for the day off.
Church told reporters that he was feeling a bit fatigued, which was not associated with this recent concussion.
He said he expects to be back in the lineup tonight for the start of a four-game series with the Padres.
Randolph told reporters before the game, “Physically, he’s tired and needed a rest…He needs to build up his strength a little bit.”
…i was sent several e-mails yesterday, and saw a few comments, all ripping willie for ‘benching’ church, writing that willie is ‘stupid’ for wanting to play Endy Chavez instead…
…turns out, church wanted the rest…and sure, willie could have ignored the request, but given what church has been through of late it makes sense to let him rest when he needs it…
…of course, this didn’t stop some fans from assuming they know everything, going so far as to call a man stupid…
…why do people do this…if i have learned anything from the experience of MetsBlog, it’s that we, as fans, are not as smart and aware as we’d like to think we are…me included…in fact, it’s made me less opinionated in some cases, because having had the opportunity to peak behind the MLB curtain, i now know there is so much about the game that i am missing…stats and boxscores are only a small part of the story…and there is only so much we can know factually through a computer…
Amen Matt.
These are the same fans that boo at everything and anything (Santana, Reyes, etc), and make the true Met fans look bad.
Matt:
I would not lump all Mets fans with the fans that reply to this site.
How large is the general fan base of the Mets at least a million, right?
How many different people respond to this site? 10,000 in any day?
As such, how valid are any of these poll’s that appear on Mets blog and that are then discussed on SNY? Are they really a reflection of the Mets fan?
Obviously no, they are reflective of the Mets fans that visit this site (and of those fans that visit, who take the time to log in and reply/vote).
This is actually a much smaller number than the actual fan base.
I query whether they are truly representative of the Fans.
In addition, for exampe, Matt posted a poll a week ago regarding replacement managers. People voted. Then he noted at certain persons request to add additional names to the list. He did not reset the the poll so that we could vote again, as such that poll was flawed. I believe this kind of thing has happened a few times.
My point is SNY discussed these polls on national TV as if they are scientifically done and have merit. I dont think that is possible on this site.
And as such I do not think it fair to represent that it reflects the Mets fans as a whole.
Plus, to those who are the subject to such poll, I am not sure it is fair to them either.
Perhaps was Metblog does is the best that can be done. I just query whether it is good enough (especially since such polls and discussions are given such time on SNY as if in fact they do represent the fans.
Note, I am not a Metsblog hater. I enjoy the site and am a frequent visitor. And I believe its a great resource. I am just not sure how SNY depicts Metsblog is accurate or fair.
The polls are representing METSBLOG READERS not EVERY METS FAN IN EXISTANCE, as they clearly state on SNY.
I can’t believe how people want to make such a big deal about these things and then I clearly remember that people love to argue just for the sake of argument, and love to pick apart things.
Politicians run polls on far small sizes than Matt does.
Elections that determine the future of the country are voted on by a disappointingly small segment of the population.
Why am I even bothering to address this???
Lets go Mets!!!!
SNY is national now? Sweet!
Just to be clear….
I am a big fan of the polls and everything Metsblog represents and what Matt does… .
Though I stand by my initial comment.
even if only a small percentage of mets fans are able to respond to the polls it is still a large enough sample so that it can be used as a reasonable representation of how the fans feel.
its not even as if anyone is trying to propose that the polls are of any type of great significance. it is just a way for us to see how other readers feel about things. its just a fun way for us to interact on this site. its nothing that serious.
I think the bigger issue here is that Church needed a rest to, as the article states, “to get back into better cardiovascular shape.” How many games did he miss? And he’s out of shape cardio-wise???
I’ll buy that he asked out of the lineup, but I highly doubt it was for cardiovascular reasons. If memory serves, I think Matt made a comment about Church looking glassy-eyed after the home run his first game back. If he’s not 100%, don’t keep running him out there. I would rather have the guy healthy for the second half of the season then have him play now and spend the dog days of summer sipping soup through a straw and trying to remember how to ties his shoes.
Matt, I don’t read the comments as much as I used to.
There seem to be a lot of “children” that leave too many
negative and dumb post’s. I wish you could start an “21
and over” message board.
Word.
Exactly Matt.
I’m sure most paintings look like crap 1/3 of the way through to those other than the artist. The only way to judge the final product is at the end.
Of course, look how the painting looked at the end of last year. That’s why people are responding the way they are this year. Willie lost any credibility he had.
Exactly, not to mention if you didn’t have people who came on this site to bitch the traffic would be split in half.
Agree 100%.
I agree as well!
I remember either Gary of Keith talking about why Church was out of the lineup right before the game started. I was fortunate enough to catch the game on tv, but if anyone who suggested Willie was stupid was watching the game on tv as well, I wonder who’s actually stupid.
Ya’ll just gotta get off Bill R.’s back- he knows what he is doing. The sooner everyone realizes that the better off we’ll all be.
This was a necessary comment.
My apologies, the purpose was to slip in a “Bill R” reference for those who haven’t seen you do it three hundred times in the past two days. Now that I see you were only self promoting and not trying to say anything interesting, the comment makes perfect sense. Carry on.
I’m just havin some fun with it don’t be so cranky jeez.
It was a serious comment btw- our manager DOES know what he is doing more than we do, so we should stop acting like we know more than him. Just cause I address him by name I gotta defend myself yet again?
I have a serious question and I’m not trying to start an argument. Why do you guys try to speak directly to Matt? Are you guys friends or something? Does he respond personally to you? Just wondering.
Here’s a serious question, why did you just waste this space with that question? Seriously though, that question is nothing more than antagonizing.
I think that it’s appropriate when you’re responding to an opinion presented in the blog entry. He refers to himself as Matt on this popular public site, so I don’t think being his friend is necessary to address him as such. And sometimes he does respond directly to comments in the comments section. Some people abuse it, thinking that the bloggers are going to respond to everything they say, but generally if someone brings up a well thought out counterargument or question, Matt (or whoever originally made the entry) is pretty good about responding. Another reason is that the posters want to make it clear that their post is in response to the blog entry and not to someone else’s comment. Hope this helps.
Matt, just remember if the Mets win every series for the rest of the year there will still be fans that rip apart every move Willie makes…
theyve made up their minds already that he is a bad coach, and they will focus on anything they can to prove it…
This is the tactic I use for all of my Yankee-fan friends when it relates to Jeter.
Lastly, if Alou is not back this weekend, can we bring up a PH to replace Nick Evans, even if its just for a few days, this bench is Razor (not Ramon) thin.
I agree the Mets could win the World Series and a week later when Willies still sipping his champagne, fans will think he doesn’t care about getting ready and winning the next season and his head would be back on the chopping block by fans. Mets fans are like women, no matter what you do to appease them there still hard to please.
The Mets could win a World Series but unfortunetly it won happen with Willie as manager.
I just want the Mets to keep winning so the HATERS can go back into their hovels and shut their pieholes.
Especially all the members of the “I hate Willie” club.
Believe it or not, it’s possible to dislike the manager but still ove the team. Does that make someone a hater?
ove=love
Excellent point….
You can love the Mets, cheer your heart out and still think the manager is inept.
it’s funny. I was thinking yesterday that Willie has been criticized for overusing the bullpen. so yesterday, he stretches Sanchez out for another inning. If Molina’s ball goes out, Willie would be criticized. If he used 3 relievers yesterday, he would be criticized.
the fans just are so unreasonable, but in the end, if the players perform under Willie, I don’t care what the negative fans say.
if they are not performing to their level under Willie, thye need to have an option in place to find a guy that the players will perform for.
Surprised he didn’t go to Heilman in the 8th after Sanchez let a few guys get on….
with lineup concerns, I always assume that I don’t know what’s going on .. only the team knows how the guys are feeling. The internet just allows everyone to feel smart and big and it’s real easy just to say “____ is so stupid”
While that’s somewhat true, it’s also a convenient way to justify bad decisions. There has to be somewhat of a balance. You can’t be completely immune to judgement now by saying that history will later judge whether you made the right call or the wrong call (unless you’re the President, apparently).
I agree that calling Randolph stupid for sitting Church yesterday is ignorant (although I’ve gotten used to knee-jerk reactions in the Metsblog comments section). But since not everyone gets to “peak behind the MLB curtain”, I think it’s entirely fair for people to criticize the Mets and their personnel based on what we are given.
no it’s not fair at all. it’s called prejudging and jumping to conclusions when you don’t have all info. it’s not like its our god-given right to know everything that goes on with the team. internet or no internet.
does the sense of entitlement around here know no bounds?
So I suppose it’s never fair to judge anything right? The Kazmir trade could still work out. What if Scott goes on a rampage and shoots up the Tampa locker room. Glad we dodged that bullet. All hail Jim Duquette.
I don’t see where you’re drawing the “sense of entitlement” from. I shudder to think what this site, or this country, would be like if no one were allowed to criticize anything. What a horrible world.
Every judgement you make and every conclusion you reach is by “prejudging” and “jumping to conclusions”. You have to draw the line somewhere. You will NEVER know every detail about anything.
that’s a wide brush you’re equating the kazmir trade with the reason why church sat down. the knee-jerk reaction on this board in regards to willie is beyond comprehension.
it’s like no one sits there and thinks that gee, church was just recently out for 11 games because of a SECOND concussion and played two straight games not to mention the flight west. maybe his conditioning isn’t up to par and with a day game after a night game, it shouldn’t be out of the realm of reason to think, it would be great for ryan to take the day off.
by the way, spare me with the free speech issue. it has nothing to do with anything i stated. i didn’t say not to criticize but at the same time, i also have the right to disagree with your statements so it works both ways.
First off, I was not supporting the reaction to Church sitting. If it came across that way, it was unintentional. All I was saying is that you have to be able to draw the line somewhere. You have to be able to have an opinion on a decision without knowing everything because you are ALWAYS going to have imperfect and incomplete information. I did NOT have a problem with Willie sitting Church before I heard the reason, and I definitely didn’t after. It’s a long season and I tend to defer to the manager and the team regarding most day-to-day operations. My objection to the original post was on a broader scale, specifically with regard to the “MLB curtain”. I don’t think it’s acceptable to say that we as fans without VIP access will be making uninformed judgements whenever we praise or critique the establishment. I’m pretty sure we’ve been misinterpretting each other in this thread. And while I did NOT bring up the free speech issue (again, a misinterpretation), I wholeheartedly support your right to disagree with me and am eternally grateful that “it works both ways”.
ok.
In this case, sure, Willie was right. But let’s be honest, the guy is a terrible in-game manager.
Ryan Chruch is a guy not a machine.If he was tired give him the day off.He just came back after a concussion,Have a little heart
JM
matt, why don’t you start a ‘behind the curtain’ series, where you detail the things you’ve learned that one wouldn’t normally get by following the games through the media?
Wizard of Oz-style….
Zardoz style.
Matt,
I think a few fans are smart enough to realize this. They are the ones who make the comments sections enjoyable, funny, insightful and full of candor.
They are the ones who comment on games – win or lose.
It amazes me how during a solid played game by the mets, there are barely over 200 comments but when they are losing, it easily exceeds 1,000.
Are the majority of mets fans simply complainers? I understand the whole, “they have a right to considering how last year ended” thing, but seriously, dont just comment when things are going bad.
Feel free to throw Willies under the bus on the comment section, but also throw in some jabs on how the team has been responding to him.
You guys are becoming a bunch of Francessas and Mad Dogs.
yup.
Good points, but I think the lack of comments is more due to the late starting times.
As soon as the lineup cam out I found myself defending Willlie, see the first 10 comments and you will find me trying to talk some sense into some confused fans. But what got me the most is the fact that people had to be told why church was out of the lineup. It was pretty obvious, the man is coming off two concusions in 4 months.
I have been watching this team since 84 and I am a die hard. If I miss a game (rarely) I am reading all about it that night. I suppose not all fans do this and therefore we have a lot of “stupid this and supid that.” here are some things to remember:
alou has always been hurt and will be again, and most likely will not come off the DL when he is supposed too, but when he gets back he will tear the cover off the ball as usual.
schneider – is a defensive catcher, expect nothing more (despite early struggles)
reyes – leave him be, watch and appreciate the most exciting player in baseball
beltran – he is streaky…..ummm most guys are, when that streak hits (he may be in one now) look out, the can last a while and he can carry them
wright – tough to be a leader at his age but he is trying his best
pedro – could easily go down again (i pray he doesn’t)
pelfrey – needs more seasoning on offspeed stough, but he is YOUNG YOUNG YOUNG, do not give up, he has a plus sinking fastball
show – deserves respect
aaron heilman – will help before the year is out
thats all for now, have fun out in SD boys. no peavy no young, lets get some w’s
Come on Matt. Willie often plays ‘B’ guys in the 3rd game of a series instead of going for the kill. We are basing our thoughts on Willie’s past habits.
You are bashing the fans now Matt! You sound like Willie! Oh wait, you are now part of SNY!
Weren’t you supposed to be the voice of the fans? It now seems you are more like the voice of SNY/the Mets organization.
It really is a shame.
Don’t get me wrong, this site is great and I will keep reading it, as it is the best place to go for Mets info.
But you are kidding yourself if you think your new relationship with SNY has not impacted you.
I am a fan and have no relationship with sny or the organization at all, and I have the same outlook as Matt on this.
I wouldn’t worry about it Matt, it’s simple human nature. With these forums we have the first truly representative “governing” (in this case, “commenting”) body. History dictates that when this happens, after a period of disorganization the members will inevitably split into two, sometimes three parties. A principle platform is chosen that divides the party lines (in this case, Willy.) This has been going on since people could talk and probably since they could launch a rock at someone with an opposing viewpoint. It’s like this on every blog with comments and a membership in the thousands. It will be like this when all of us are dead and buried in our authentic Keith Hernandez uniforms. It’s no big deal. It’s just one of those things that make Earth humans interesting.
Furthermore, humans are a naturally “progressive” species. This is based on the theory of evolution and natural selection. The rule is progress or become obsolete and the way we do it is by questioning what’s there, the status quo. It doesn’t even really matter if who’s right or wrong (unless someone is seriously wrong, like a ruthless dictator, but we’ve seen that there are built-in measures that will eventually bring this type of regime down.) Overall it’s a great system, and the more debating, the better.
If humans are naturally “progressive”, then why does willie manage the bullpen like its 1891?
(rimshot)
Oh, and I didn’t mean to pimp evolution. The progressive species theory also fits in to creationism and even intelligent design.
Matt, I got an idea, why don’t you have a seperate comment section for the people who feel the need to blindly defend the Mets at every turn. You can make it a club, with merit badges and a newsletter and everything. That way, the people left over who get the fact that you can be a fan of a team while still being critical of its actions can have actual discussions. You do a great job, but the reason this site has been successful and you have your SNY gig is because Mets fans are passionate about the team and want to express their viewpoints despite the fact that they may not coincide with the Mets brass.
The anger that is often spewed here toward the team and each other does tend to get out of hand, I believe.
It doesn’t take more than a few bad apples to make this site and Mets fans in general, seem distasteful.
Life is short people – try to enjoy it and enjoy others.
Gracias.
of course we don’t know everything. Isn’t it always the case that there is more there than appears to the eye – think first, then think a little more before you open your yaps.