Chris Needham, who penned the column, gives Church a lot of credit for dealing with everything that he did, like being called out for being too laid-back. He then explains that Church opening his mouth is getting on his nerves.
From CP:
But at the same time, good riddance. The team is better with [Lastings] Milledge than it is with him. And Church's biggest asset to the team always was how cheap his contract was relative to the league-average performance he gave. Now that he's making north of $2 million, that value starts to erode.I can easily see Church getting grilled by the media and fans in NY for being too laid back. Look at how we treat Willie Randolph and Carlos Beltran. Both these guys are very laid back in the public eye, choosing (at least before a few weeks ago, Beltran) to stay quiet and reserved, and dealing with things behind closed doors.
I hope he enjoys NY. I hope he enjoys putting his foot in his mouth at some point this year. And I hope he enjoys the choruses of boos he's going to get when he flails weakly at a breaking ball in the dirt.
If Church fails to preform in NY, or goes through a slump, fans are going to jump all over him and his laid-back California attitude. Hopefully, Church will have a thick enough shell to deflect all the trash talk and be able to shine in the New York spotlight.
Oh, and to Capitol Punishment, good luck with Milledge and Elijah Dukes, they should be a handful.
