PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) -For two months, Ryan Church and Brian Schneider were the New York Mets’ biggest offseason additions.
Then came the Johan Santana trade.
All the hoopla surrounding Santana’s arrival put Church and Schneider in the background this spring, but that doesn’t mean they’ve become any less important to New York’s pennant plans. If the Mets are to make a run at the World Series as expected, they’ll need steady play from their new right fielder and catcher.
“It’s a great situation to be in,” Church said. “It’s one of the biggest stages in all of the major sports. A lot of pressure and everything comes with it, but it’s part of the territory.”
Church and Schneider were acquired from Washington for prized outfield prospect Lastings Milledge in a Nov. 30 trade that raised eyebrows around the majors.
The Mets fielded tempting inquiries about Milledge for years, so some in baseball wondered why they would finally deal him without getting a glitzy pitcher in return.
mar Minaya, however, liked the idea of plugging two holes with one move. Church could take over in right for free agent Shawn Green, and Schneider would replace Paul Lo Duca behind the plate.
Lo Duca ended up with the Nationals, signing as a free agent. Green is still on the market.
Church and Schneider, meanwhile, went from a fourth-place team to one with championship aspirations.
“Here, it’s a little different,” Church said. “Not winning is going to be basically a failure. That’s how it’s looked at. So, get it done.
“I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve never been in this type of situation,” he added. “Just knowing that they have the confidence in me and they traded for me … it’s definitely a confidence-booster.”
Schneider thinks his transition has been easier because the Nationals and Mets both play in the NL East.
“These guys have been great, real helpful,” he said Sunday. “It’s good that we’re in the same division because it helps that I know a couple guys on the team. Not that I knew them hanging out-wise, but you talk to them and they’re acquaintances during the season, so it’s easy when you half-know the guys.”
The 29-year-old Church has played mostly left field and center during four seasons in the big leagues, but said he’s comfortable in right, too.
“I’m not afraid to run through walls – and get thrown back,” he said.
ted .343 at Triple-A Edmonton in 2004, but it took him a while to get established in the majors. The breakthrough came last year when he hit .272 with 15 homers, 70 RBIs and 43 doubles in 470 at-bats for the Nationals.
Mets manager Willie Randolph said right field is Church’s job to lose, but some question whether he can hit left-handers consistently enough.
Church batted .229 with one home run against lefties last year. He is a .254 career hitter against them, but only three of his 35 home runs have come off southpaws.
“I think last year was just one of those fluke-type things. I never could really get into a comfort zone against lefties. It just didn’t feel right,” Church said. “My goal this spring training is to focus more on hitting off lefties. If there’s opportunities to step in against these guys during BP, anything like that.
“I’ll try to work on balancing out the average,” he added. “I know that I can hit ’em. I always have. Last year, there’s no excuses. I just didn’t get it done. The numbers weren’t there.”
Utility man Damion Easley is a right-handed hitter who could get some playing time in right field, but he has spent nearly his entire career in the infield. Randolph said Church will get a chance to show he can perform.
“I’m not going to go in assuming that he can’t hit lefties,” the manager said. “The more he sees it, probably the better he’ll get.”
ed for his strong defensive skills, though Randolph thinks he can become a better hitter, too. The 31-year-old catcher is a .252 career hitter, but batted only .235 with six homers and 54 RBIs in 129 games last season.
“Staying the other way, left-center field. He’s got a little pop in his bat, but I thought against us at times we’d get ahead of him and get him a little pull happy,” Randolph said, calling Schneider a take-charge catcher on defense. “I haven’t seen him for a long period of time, but the impression I get of him is that he’s the kind of guy that we’re looking for.”
Notes: RHP Pedro Martinez felt so good while throwing on flat ground that he hopped up on a mound and threw about 30 pitches in an unscheduled bullpen session with pitching coach Rick Peterson watching. Martinez said he felt “really, really, really good.” … Billy Wagner threw about 40 pitches during his bullpen session and appeared to be working on a changeup and overhand curve to go with his fastball and slider. … 1B Carlos Delgado was expected in camp Monday and LF Moises Alou on Tuesday. … RHP Tony Armas still hadn’t reported to camp because of visa delays.
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