Going To Church On Christmas

Anthony McCarron - NY Daily News went to Church this Christmas...Ryan Church.

Among things Church discussed were he closeness with his family, especially his three brothers: Andy - 33, Ryan - 30, and Matt - 26. Said Matt Church, "We always got along." Matt also recalled Ryan's athleticism: "Really good at sports. There were people saying, even in T-ball, that he had a lot of talent."

Matt is in the military, fighting over in the Middle East. Ryan says his concussions are easy to live with, in spite of the room spins he suffered last year, in comparison to what his broher Matt goes through on a daily basis. Matt presently on leave, which gives the Church's a better perspective than most this Christmas day.

Ryan admitted he wasn't right after his second concussion, suffered in May of 2008. He explained that his living room, the outfield and hotel rooms tended to spin on him.

The good news: he feels real well and healthy now, and is determined to have a season like he is capable of - where he was the Mets MVP for the first two months.

In regards to Mike Francesa's comments that on good authority, he knows Church hates NY, Church denies the reports/

Church, taking the high road said, "I never said it. I have no clue where that came from. I put a call in to make sure front office knew that was a bunch of bull. I love New York - it's where I want to finish my career.

"I'm looking forward to putting my Mets uniform on."

We're looking forward to that too Ryan. When healthy, Church is among the better rightfielders in the NL. He plays a solid RF, and has the potential to hit .280 with 20 HR's. He is the type of hard-nosed players this team needs, and might be the diamond-in-the-rough that Omar is famous for finding.