New York Mets

The All Star break is officially upon us signaling the end of baseball's first half. It's a time to reflect on past success or build upon past failures.

This is a time to step back, take a deep breath, and clearly analyze where our teams have been, and where they are going.

So, on the day of the Home Run Derby, the Washington Nationals reflected on their first half of the 2009 baseball season, and decided it was time to make a change.

That change was the firing of manager Manny Acta.

There are going to be a lot of Mets fans that are not going to be too happy with me after they finish this article.

In fact, I'd venture to say that there will be a few who will refuse to finish it because they will say I'm not a true fan, I am being too negative, and that I am giving up the remainder of the 2009 season.

All of the above may be so, but since this is definitely an opinion piece, if you don't mind, allow me to fire away.

Citi Field is a state-of-the-art facility. A throwback to old-time baseball with an eye towards the future. Filled with a vast array of unobstructed views, intimate feel and quirky dimensions. It is truly a ballpark in every sense of the word.

So why does it feel more like a morgue?

It wasn't so long ago that the core of these Mets' players—Wright, Reyes, Beltran, and Delgado—were part of a reorganization, headed by Omar Minaya, to bring back the good old times from Shea and deliver them into Citi Field.

Jeff Francoeur is a Met. I’m not sure I like the sound of that, but I guess I’ll have to get used to it.

A trade that was just announced: The New York Mets have traded right fielder Ryan Church to the Atlanta Braves for struggling right fielder Jeff Francoeur.

I'd have to say the Braves win this trade, as they get a good young hitter in Church.

This is the second outfielder the Braves have acquired, the first being Nate McLouth.

So far this season, Church is hitting .280 with two home runs and 22 RBI. Church has 65 hits in 67 games.

In a move that truly surprised me, the Atlanta Braves traded Jeff "Golden Boy" Francoeur to the New York Mets for Ryan Church.

From all I can gather, the two are a wash on defense.

Francoeur has the better arm, but Church has the better range.

The issue lies with the bat.

Is Church an upgrade at all? Or is he going stick his left-handed bat in the lineup and stink up the place like Jeff did from the right side?

Let's look at the stats, shall we?

(age) Games/AVG/HR/RBI/OBP/SLG

Church (30): 67/.280/2 (in Citi)/22/.332/.375

Prior to tonight’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, Mets GM Omar Minaya made an unexpected move when he announced that he traded away RF Ryan Church to the Atlanta Braves for RF Jeff Francoeur.

The Mets traded Ryan Church to the Braves for Jeff Francoeur. Hopefully this isn’t what the Braves needed to take the division, but I’m more concerned about Jeff. He’s hitting .250, which is more than he hit last year, and has five home runs.

In a trade early Friday evening, the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves swapped Ryan Church for Jeff Francoeur.

In 67 games this season, Church is batting .280 with two home runs and 22 RBI's. Church got off to a great start with the Mets in 2008, batting .320 with 10 Home Runs and 34 RBI's, but his season went downhill from that point, mainly due to a concussion.

The Mets acquired Church from the Nationals along with catcher Brian Schneider in exchange for Lastings Milledge on November 30th, 2007.

BY DOUG RUSH

Just saw on ESPN.com and SNY's Loud Mouth's:

The Atlanta Braves send Jeff Francoeur to the New York Mets for Ryan Church.

Mets fans....what do you think of the deal? Lets hear it?

Personally, I think it's a good deal for both teams.

It seemed like Jerry Manuel never liked Ryan Church, especially after the missed third base blunder and Francoeur just seemed like he ran his course in Atlanta.