15 Years Ago this week

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Church for Francoeur.

I think we're a safe distance to assess this challenge trade and relive the memories of a near unanimous critical pan, plus a side of Tatis v Murphy

archives/12000/f1_t12034.shtml

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Sneaky good trade by the Braves.

Francoeur clearly outperformed Church for the remainder of '09 but while the Braves cut Church loose they saddled stupid Omar with 2 years of a diminishing, offense-killing Frenchy

[Edgy MD]

The trade the Mets won was somehow Milledge for Church and Brian Schneider.

Church was a decent starter and Schneider a capable backup overexposed as a starter, but Milledge provided very little return at all.

Then they mishandled Church's concussion and he was mostly a replacement player after that. That they flipped him into Francoeur may have seemed tempting, because he's the kind of two-tools-but-the-two-tools-are-really-impressive guy you can convince yourself you're getting marginal value out of, but he was a French mistake.

A lot of decent reserves who were make-believe starters in that chain.

[smg58]

I still feel terrible for Ryan Church. Concussions are always rough, but I can't think of anybody whose career was more completely derailed by one. And the team did him more harm than good.

Francouer was one of those guys who looked good enough in spurts that he could come across as being a lot better than he actually was on the whole. But that should have been clear enough when the Mets dealt for him. (on edit: so basically, what Edgy just said.)

[Edgy MD]

What's easy to forget is that Church had sustained a concussion in spring training on a collision with Marlon Anderson. So his smashing into Yunel Escobar's knee in May was his second concussion in little more than two months. He probably should have sat out for a while.

I think it was 16 years ago.

[metirish]

15 years ,wow ,the whole Church concussion episode was good fodder here for a while , awfully really,IIRC Jerry questioned his grit ?

[batmagadanleadoff]

I miss the days when Ceetar would post and sheer chaos would follow. "I think Swanny killed a guy with a trident" and "Walks less than a paraplegic". Oh my!

[batmagadanleadoff]

Epilogue: Francoeur's first season with the Mets, rate-wise, was the best season of his career.

[kcmets]

I remember laughing at this in 2009...

Jul 10 2009 05:07 PM
why?

This is a mind boggling trade. Ryan Church is simply a better baseball player than Francoeur, who has too many consecutive vowels in his name.

...and laughed at it again in 2024.

[smg58]

15 years ,wow ,the whole Church concussion episode was good fodder here for a while , awfully really,IIRC Jerry questioned his grit ?

It's one thing if you make people doubt your ability to manage, it's another thing entirely if you make people doubt if you're a decent person.

[Benjamin Grimm]

He was the Schaefer Mets Player of the Month in September 2009.

That same month, Tim Redding was the top Schaefer pitcher.

[kcmets]

I have like no memory of Tim Redding.

Someone please keep an eye on me...

[DocTee]

Lots of forgettable names on that list (at least to me): Toby Stoner, Elmer Dessens, Wilson Valdez, Brian Stokes.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I mostly remember Wilson Valdez for spilling oil all over Alaska.

[metirish]

I mostly remember Wilson Valdez for spilling oil all over Alaska.

Excellent

I remember Elmer Dessens , must be the name, looked him up, that was his last MLB season ,this from Wikipedia


New York Mets

In February 2009, Dessens signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets.[6] Dessens made his Mets debut on June 23, 2009, against the St. Louis Cardinals. He was designated for assignment on July 30. He had his contract purchased on August 6, 2009, when Jon Niese was placed on the 60-day disabled list.

In December 2009, Dessens signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets for the 2010 season.

What happened to Niese ? I totally forget

[batmagadanleadoff]

I remember Elmer Dessens , must be the name, looked him up, [2009] was his last MLB season ,this from Wikipedia


New York Mets

In February 2009, Dessens signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets.[6] Dessens made his Mets debut on June 23, 2009, against the St. Louis Cardinals. He was designated for assignment on July 30. He had his contract purchased on August 6, 2009, when Jon Niese was placed on the 60-day disabled list.

In December 2009, Dessens signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets for the 2010 season.

2010 was Dessens' last Mets season. (2010 Typewriter Chewing Gum Total Mets Set: Code Name- Rock and Roll)



Follow this thread for a deep dive into the making of that Dessens card (Bonus: A Jeff Francoeur sighting):

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31404&hilit=fringes&start=25

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Lots of forgettable names on that list (at least to me): Toby Stoner, Elmer Dessens, Wilson Valdez, Brian Stokes.

Toby Stoner wore No. 29. That's all I got

Dessens I remember well. Good pitcher!

Brian Stokes had a good run going there for a while. I want to say he was unexpectedly good before reverting to not good. He was around for a few years.

Wilson Valdez I don't really recall. His name sounds like he was a catcher but maybe an infielder too. I have no idea

[Edgy MD]

All youse sweating for the Mets to trade for a reliever or three, best to keep an eye on this Kyle Finnegan character.