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I'm So Dizzy

AG/DC May 28 2008 10:41 AM

So, the main reason nobody should be talking about losing Carlos Delgado is that the Mets' top three corner outfielders are all hurting. Churchie was sent home from the park on Wednesday, complaining of dizziness. This calls into question the wisdom of the Mets approach toward his concussion, letting him sit a few days, followed by a few ineffectual pinch-hit appearances. Now if he goes on the DL, which he apparently should have initially, his assignment can't be retroacitivated. The brain is after all, a vital organ, not to mention an important baseball organ, so I share in the criticism of the panicky Mets in this regard. But in a tabloid move that should be beneath them, the The Times called in neorological experts to opine on a guy they haven't examined. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/sports/baseball/28church.html?em&ex=1212120000&en=8f3519d7970aaccd&ei=5087%0A

metirish May 28 2008 10:44 AM

One thing that has marked Minaya's tenure for me is how injured players are handled in regards to the DL. It seems quite common to me for a newspaper to talk to experts in cases such as this, in general terms of course.

AG/DC May 28 2008 10:49 AM

The real story there that they're burying is Church supposedly reporting the conitinuing symptoms before every game, and Minaya reporting that Church has told him that he's been symptom free before every game. What are the real facts in all of that?

metirish May 28 2008 10:55 AM

WOW. ] Corey Koskie can testify to that. After sustaining a concussion in July 2006 while playing for the Brewers, Koskie attempted to come back despite symptoms including headaches, dizziness and nausea. He experienced far more severe symptoms for six months, and eventually had to retire. “That’s pretty much the reason I’m here today — thinking I could play through it,” Koskie said in a telephone interview from his home in Minnesota. Regarding Church, he added: “I think he’s nuts. He doesn’t want to get to the point where he’s not going to get better. Tell him to call me. It’s not worth it.”

Benjamin Grimm May 28 2008 11:11 AM

Church should absolutely not get on an airplane again until his symptoms are completely behind him. I'd DL him, right now. His long-term health (and availability) are more important than any games the Mets will play in the next fifteen days.

smg58 May 28 2008 11:16 AM

Absolutely. You DON'T fool around with this.

AG/DC May 28 2008 11:23 AM

metirish wrote: It seems quite common to me for a newspaper to talk to experts in cases such as this, in general terms of course. My problem is that it substitutes conjecture for facts. Notice even that Randolph and and Minaya aren't even on the same page here, with one saying he hasn't been right and the other saying he's reporting no symptoms. That's bad.

AG/DC May 28 2008 11:25 AM

It's sort of a case where two guys who are proud of decision making by the gut are absolutesly at sea and grabbing at driftwood when confronted by science.

Benjamin Grimm May 28 2008 11:34 AM

Anyone who's been paying attention the last seven years knows that science is "faulty."

themetfairy May 28 2008 11:56 AM

smg58 wrote: Absolutely. You DON'T fool around with this. Agreed - this is a serious matter.

Rockin' Doc May 28 2008 04:37 PM

Church may be telling Omar that he's okay, simply because he doesn't want to go on the DL and he believes that a few days rest is all he needs to get back to normal. Church may be telling Willie before the games as he's preparing the line up each day that he's not quite ready for full duty. Athletes are often stubborn and proud. Many hate to miss time and are often in denial regarding the seriousness of their injuries. The Mets should be relying on the advice of doctors that are examining Church to make an assessment of what the best course of action is for his concussion. They definitely should not be going primarily on the word of the player and his assessment of his own physical fitness.

AG/DC May 28 2008 05:29 PM

All that's probably 100% correct. But Omar pleading ignorance when the press and his own manager has different information is disappointing.

AG/DC May 30 2008 02:10 PM

Church is now saying --- again --- that he's symptom-free: Church Says He Does Not Regret Helping Out Mets Barton Silverman/The New York Times By BEN SHPIGEL Published: May 30, 2008 Before reporters were permitted into the Mets’ clubhouse Thursday afternoon, Brian Schneider asked his teammates to lower the volume of the music blasting from the computer. Ryan Church was coming in soon and, because of his concussion, he may not have appreciated the loud noise. It was a thoughtful gesture but, as it turned out, an unnecessary one. After spending the previous two days at home resting, Church rejoined his teammates — finally, he said — and for the first time did not feel any effects of the concussion he sustained May 20 in Atlanta. His ears did not feel as if they would explode. His eyes did not feel as if they would pop out. He could walk without feeling as if he was tracking a knuckleball. At various points over the past week, Church has acknowledged having all of those symptoms, but he said Thursday that he had no misgivings about how he or the Mets handled his second concussion in less than three months. “They didn’t do anything wrong on their part,” Church said before the Mets’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “When it came down to it, they asked me. I was the final say. I told them basically I couldn’t go out in the field and play, but I could pinch-hit. I told them, all it takes is one swing to help this team out.” Several experts in concussion management had told The New York Times earlier this week that they believed the Mets were putting Church at risk by letting him pinch-hit four times when he was still symptomatic. The Mets depended mainly on what Church had told them, and Church said that he never tried playing down his symptoms to the training staff or to Manager Willie Randolph in an effort to convince them he felt fine. Church said he did not think the altitude in Denver, where he spent three days, aided his progress, but he implied that he was driven by what he referred to as an athlete’s instinct not to show weakness. And with the Mets reeling, losing 6 of 7 games during their trip through Atlanta and Colorado, Church said he felt obligated to help. “That’s what’s tough,” Church said. “We haven’t been playing well. And I want to play. That’s the toughest thing for me, not to chip in and help. That’s when I got caught up. It was one of those things where, here, let me pinch-hit, I can do something just to feel part of the team.” Later, he added: “People say you don’t play hard. Well, I do play hard. I do everything I can to help the team.” It is possible that Church could have hurt himself worse if, during one of those pinch-hit appearances, he had been hit in the head by a pitched ball or somehow been in a collision again. But he said, “That was the least of my worries.” Asked what he was most worried about, Church said he hoped to hit a home run each time up so he could jog at his own pace. When he sprinted and then stopped, as he did after singling May 22 in Atlanta, less than 48 hours after his head banged into the knee of Yunel Escobar while trying to break up a double play, Church said he started feeling woozy again. When the symptoms persisted, the Mets sent him to a neurologist on Tuesday, and he was given medication to control his dizziness. Church, though, said he felt well enough Tuesday and Wednesday to come to the game. Every morning, he pleaded with the head trainer, Ray Ramirez, to let him. Every time, he said, Ramirez would double-check with the medical staff and would then call back with the bad news. “I would call him in the morning and go: ‘Dude, can I come to the game, please? Can I come to the yard?’ ” Church said. But when Ramirez would tell him no, Church would go back to sleep or play with his 2-month-old son, Mason, or watch television. He watched a lot of television, including the program on The Discovery Channel, “Deadliest Catch.” “I felt for them because they were rocking all over the place,” Church said. Schneider exchanged several text messages with Church during his two-day absence and said his spirits seemed high. “We just ripped on each other,” Schneider said. “I told him to stay away because we’ve won without him. He came right back and said that we won when I wasn’t in the starting lineup. I couldn’t match that.” Church must be symptom-free for 48 hours before the Mets’ medical staff will consider clearing him to play. That window began Thursday, when Church played catch in front of the bullpen for about 10 minutes. He said he hopes to run, shag flies and hit Friday, and if he feels well afterward, it is possible he could play Saturday or Sunday. After exerting himself Thursday, Church ambled into the clubhouse and fell onto a couch to watch a baseball game on television. In walked the team’s chief operating officer, Jeff Wilpon, who was carrying a few hard hats. Church asked for one. “This way,” Church said with a laugh, “I can’t get hurt.”

Benjamin Grimm May 30 2008 02:16 PM

That's fine, but the smart move would be to get him to San Francisco by ground, in the quickest and most comfortable way possible.

Frayed Knot May 30 2008 02:33 PM

Joke reportedly making its way through the Met clubhouse yesterday: Q: Where's Ryan? A: In the parking lot asking for directions to the stadium

Benjamin Grimm May 30 2008 02:35 PM

I'd also make him wear a helmet in the field, a la John Olerud.

Fman99 May 30 2008 04:24 PM

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'd also make him wear a helmet in the field, a la John Olerud. I'm sure he'd handle that better than uber-crybaby Larry Bowa did under the new base-coach rule this year.