Church not catching up to hard heatMets right fielder Ryan Church hit 43 doubles and 15 home runs in 2007, his final season with the Nationals, but he has only eight extra-base hits and an anemic .358 slugging percentage so far this season. New York manager Jerry Manuel recently bemoaned Church's power loss. "We also need the good player we had early last year," he said, adding, "We have to do what we can to get him straight, because he's a critical player for us."
Church's problems at the plate can be traced to May 20, 2008, when he sustained a concussion in a baserunning collision. It was his second concussion of the year. Church complained afterward of dizziness and headaches, and spent most of July and August on the shelf. The injury otherwise had little effect on his play except for his ability to make hard contact on fastballs, especially those with a little something on them:
Church against fastballs faster than 91 mph since 2007 BA SLG WELL-HIT AVG Before concussion (82 AB) .427 .744 .341 After concussion (50 AB) .260 .260 .160
With only a .325 slugging percentage against fastballs this season, Church is showing no signs of improvement.
Original Story:
http://www.ddmetsfanblog.com/2009/05/...
Church's problems at the plate can be traced to May 20, 2008, when he sustained a concussion in a baserunning collision. It was his second concussion of the year. Church complained afterward of dizziness and headaches, and spent most of July and August on the shelf. The injury otherwise had little effect on his play except for his ability to make hard contact on fastballs, especially those with a little something on them:
Church against fastballs faster than 91 mph since 2007 BA SLG WELL-HIT AVG Before concussion (82 AB) .427 .744 .341 After concussion (50 AB) .260 .260 .160
With only a .325 slugging percentage against fastballs this season, Church is showing no signs of improvement.
Original Story:
http://www.ddmetsfanblog.com/2009/05/...
