Very little left to say, reaction to the trade

The New York Mets are staring at playing not only a meaningless September, but a meaningless August as well.


And I had no cell phone yesterday so between 5 and 8, I had no access to the news. I found out around 8:15 that three hours earlier, Mr. Full Autonomy made a trade. Ryan Church goes to Atlanta for Jeff Francoeur. First, Church. The first half of 2008 was awesome, he was arguably the Mets' best player. Then, Yunel Escobar knees him in the head and he gets his second concussion within three months. The Mets downplay the severity and promptly fly him to Colorado with the rest of the team. After he came back, he was never the same. Suffering from post-concussion syndrome, Church nonetheless was shut down for only three weeks in June. When symptoms resurfaced, Church again was shut down (this time for seven weeks) after a July 5 start in Philadelphia. He hit .219 with two homers and 13 RBI from August 22 to the close of the season, while still feeling concussion effects. The organization screwed his head up and he was never the same.


As for "Frenchy", I appear to be one of the few who does not like this trade at all. I like his outfield arm, that is a benefit. He's 25 years old, not bad. And he does not become a free agent for five years (same as Church). That's the upside. The downsides are these.


1. The reclamation project: The Mets love to get headcases or old guys and try to salvage their careers. Sheffield, Tatis, Ollie P, Kaz Ishii, Hidalgo, Derek Bell, Hershiser, on and on. If this guy could not turn it around in his hometown and in a place where no one gets booed and most of the fans don't pay much attention to the game, how can he ever handle New York City and a fanbase that has no patience?


2. Plate discipline: I cannot think of a player who has a poorer knowledge of the strike zone than this guy. The Braves could live with 132 strikeouts in 2006 and 129 in 2007 because he gave them power and production, but last year the production began to slip. They became so exasperated with his strikeouts that they sent him to the minors for a couple of weeks, a move that shocked Francoeur. He wound up hitting only .238 with 11 home runs and 71 RBI, and this year his power had fallen off more - five home runs and 35 RBI to go with a .250 average and 46 strikeouts. This season, he has walked just 12 times with 46 strikeouts. And most of all, I cannot think of a player who my father has bashed on the phone more than this guy.


3. No other choice: If anything, because of the lack of prospects in the upper levels of the Mets' farm system, it's about the only type of trade Minaya can make, major leaguer for major leaguer, gambling on unfulfilled potential.

And Frenchy would not have made a difference last night against the Cincinnati Reds. Last night, the Mets were shut out for the third time in five games and have now scored 10 runs in their last seven. That's their lowest total in any seven-game stretch since scoring nine from Sept. 16-23 in 2003. They also fell five games below .500 (40-45) for the first time since opening the 2005 season 0-5.

And last night was more of the same old, same old. Once again, the Mets make Bronson Arroyo look like Christy Matthewson, Sandy Koufax, and Bob Gibson rolled into one. A three hit, complete game shutout for a No. 3 caliber starter.

I should be numb by this point. I wish I was. I really do.