Should Church Play Everyday?

An article by Joe D    1 Comment

I came across this blurb by Bart Hubbuch in the NY Post.

Manuel said he will consider pinch-hitting more often for right fielder Ryan Church, who is scuffling a bit at the plate since coming back from a seven-week absence due to post-concussion syndrome. Church is hitting .158 (3-for-19) in his past six games after a 0-for-3 outing last night.

“Ryan hasn’t quite gotten into the flow yet,” Manuel said. “We gave him a couple of shots in Philadelphia against lefties and didn’t quite get the at-bats I was looking for. That could have to do with not playing for a while. He might be pressing a little, trying to catch up quick. He’s had a long time off.”

I actually thought it was a bad idea to just hand Ryan Church the everyday job and basically kick Fernando Tatis to the curb when he played so well.

The team has lacked a certain excitement since Tatis has been spending most of his time riding the pine. It has also meant less playing time for the dynamic duo, Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy, as all three have been sharing left field. Endy Chavez has had only had six at-bats since August 18th.

I think we should have a straight platoon of Tatis and Church in right, and Evans and Murphy in left. If Church ever returns to the form he showed in the first month of the season, we can always revert back and give him the everyday job.

We are running out of games to play. We need to capitalize on every single one of them by playing our best lineup and loading it with our best hitters.