Time to Move on Ryan Church

[mg420]

Per Rotoworld, Marmol or Guzman could be possibilities for Church. :wink:

 

 

i dont think marmol is going anywhere if this statement is at all accurate:

 

"the Cubs value Marmol almost as much as Rich Hill, making him essentially untouchable."

 

perhaps marshall for church would be a better fit.

[Backtobanks]

Per Rotoworld, Marmol or Guzman could be possibilities for Church. :wink:

 

 

i dont think marmol is going anywhere if this statement is at all accurate:

 

"the Cubs value Marmol almost as much as Rich Hill, making him essentially untouchable."

perhaps marshall for church would be a better fit.

 

I'm not singling out Marmol, but the Cubs strong point on the trade front is young pitching and we can't hold onto all of them especially if they sign these FAs to 4-year deals. It looks like Marmol, Hill, and Pie are "untouchable" and it sounds like Veal, Pawalek, Gallagher, and a few others are considered "can't miss". I love the thought of developing our own players, but the window of opportunity to win the WS might only be the next year or two and the Cubs need to take advantage of the weak NL Central now.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

My issue with saying the Cubs need to hold on to all of these young pitchers is at the same time Hendry is offering 4-5 year deals to pitchers like Lilly and Meche.

 

That is going to block most of these kids unless he plans on letting Zambrano walk after this season. If the kid really is untouchable, he shouldn't be blocked by a player with a 5 year deal that will be earning money that will make the contract virtually immovable.

[ThePenguin11]

For the Church fans:

 

Ryan Church-OF-Nationals Dec. 6 - 4:06 pm et

 

The Cubs are talking to the Nationals about Ryan Church, who could be an option to platoon with Matt Murton.

 

The Nationals will want pitching back, which could mean Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall or Carlos Marmol. The Cubs surely won't consider parting with Sean Hill for the 28-year-old.

Source: FOXSports.com

 

I'm guessing they meant Rich Hill...

[E.J.]

For the Church fans:

 

Ryan Church-OF-Nationals Dec. 6 - 4:06 pm et

 

The Cubs are talking to the Nationals about Ryan Church, who could be an option to platoon with Matt Murton.

 

The Nationals will want pitching back, which could mean Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall or Carlos Marmol. The Cubs surely won't consider parting with Sean Hill for the 28-year-old.

Source: FOXSports.com

 

I'm guessing they meant Rich Hill...

 

Give them Sean Marshall, a lower-level prospect, and call it a day.

[nilodnayr]

For the Church fans:

 

Ryan Church-OF-Nationals Dec. 6 - 4:06 pm et

 

The Cubs are talking to the Nationals about Ryan Church, who could be an option to platoon with Matt Murton.

 

The Nationals will want pitching back, which could mean Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall or Carlos Marmol. The Cubs surely won't consider parting with Sean Hill for the 28-year-old.

Source: FOXSports.com

 

I'm guessing they meant Rich Hill...

 

Rosenthal also says nothing about platooning...pure rotoworld speculation.

[BigbadB]

Yeah, Washington already has a pitcher named Shawn Hill.

[b_wiggy_66]

Maybe Hendry does look at this board :-k

[Brian]

matthew murton does not need a platoon partner !!! :x

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I'd rather give up Marmol than Marshall.

[Deeg]

I'd rather give up Marmol than Marshall.

 

That's kinda shocking to me, but to each his own...

[CubColtPacer]

I'd rather give up Marmol than Marshall.

 

I completely disagree. If we're not willing to put Marshall in the rotation next year (which I don't think we can do with wanting to contend next year), then Marmol's long-term value to me is much, much higher.

[nilodnayr]

Maybe Hendry does look at this board :-k

 

Or maybe someone on this board who has connections to Hendry dropped a suggestion? :-k

[Post Count Padder]

Rotoworld:

 

Ryan Church-OF- Nationals Dec. 6 - 11:06 pm et

 

 

The Nationals and Phillies have discussed a trade that would send Ryan Church to Philadelphia for Ryan Madson.

 

Madson might receive another opportunity to start if he becomes a National. The Phillies would use him strictly as a reliever if they keep him.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Rotoworld:

 

Ryan Church-OF- Nationals Dec. 6 - 11:06 pm et

 

 

The Nationals and Phillies have discussed a trade that would send Ryan Church to Philadelphia for Ryan Madson.

 

Madson might receive another opportunity to start if he becomes a National. The Phillies would use him strictly as a reliever if they keep him.

 

No. :evil:

[Guest]

I'm going to go ahead and start the Hindus for Church (But Not at the Expense of Angel Guzman) Group. Feel free to join me, but you can only be a Hindu if you were born one.

Can we be honorary members if we've read the Gita?

[Post Count Padder]

More from Rotoworld:

 

Ryan Church-OF-Nationals Dec. 7 - 12:34 am et

 

 

A source told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates are no longer showing much interest in Ryan Church.

 

The team reportedly thinks Nate McLouth and Jody Gerut are nearly equivalent options in left field. Of course, this is the same organization that felt Jeromy Burnitz was a major upgrade a year ago. In the Pirates' defense, they finished with a .500 record as recently as 1992.

[nilodnayr]

Now there are rumors for nearly every team having interest in Church...

[nilodnayr]

I'm going to go ahead and start the Hindus for Church (But Not at the Expense of Angel Guzman) Group. Feel free to join me, but you can only be a Hindu if you were born one.

Can we be honorary members if we've read the Gita?

 

How about if we quote Apu...a lot?

[maandig]

I know that this board focuses heavily on stats and emphasizes the -- shamelessly stealing a phrase here -- tantalizing nature of a player's performance, but I'm not sure that any transaction this offseason would disappoint me more than the Cubs acquiring Ryan Church. Blaming Ryan's limited major league resume over the last three seasons on Frank Robinson is, as an empirical matter, wrong. A great deal has been expected from Church since his 2004 performance with Edmonton and he hasn't fulfilled that promise. He may yet achieve that, but the negatives he brings, which are perhaps not reflected in his career statistics, outweigh any benefits the team would glean from having him on the bench. After Church lost the starting center field job for the Nationals and the team went with considerably less talented players (i.e. Brendon Watson) at that position, Church had the opportunity to show up Robinson by playing well in the minors. He didn't. Frank Robinson didn't coach him in New Orleans. Instead, Church has routinely rankled his coaches and his fellow teammates by allowing what was considered minor injuries to keep him out of the lineup and not playing hard when he was penciled in.

 

Church blew a lot of good will in Washington. He was a fan favorite in the team's inaugral season in DC, but few seem to care if he is in the lineup come next season.

 

I concede that my dislike for Church is personal as I was a season ticket holder for this last year's debacle of a Nats season. It was bad enough to have to pay to watch the team play, but Church's inability to be a consistent contributor to the team forced me to endure Marlon Anderson and Damian Jackson in centerfield. I am not a Nats fan, but Damian Jackson starting in centerfield is a crime against baseball (perhaps not as much of a crime as starting Jose Macias, but a crime nonetheless).

 

The conventional wisdom outside of this area is that Church didn't play regularly because of his manager. I believe, but perhaps am in error in doing so, that few who watched him play make the same excuse. It was remarkable how the love that Ryan felt from DC fans in 2005 turned into a palpable antipathy by the end of the 2006 campaign. Robinson is not the manager for the Nationals now and the team still doesn't want him. Bowden and the Nationals are fortunate and likely will be able to get something for Church in a trade, but I think this is largely due to the fact that few people paid attention to the team and instead will focus on the limited stats Ryan put up when he decided to play. I hope that Hendry and the Cubs organization look beyond his stats and seek bench help elsewhere (although I recognize that almost everyone else here appears to disagree).

[tkenm356]

Unsure if this had been posted as well...

 

link

 

The Orioles were in talks about a possible three-way deal with the Washington Nationals and Tigers on Tuesday night that would have sent pitcher Rodrigo Lopez to Washington, a Nationals player (possibly outfielder Ryan Church) to Detroit and Thames to Baltimore, according to two industry sources.

 

However, the player the Nationals would send to Detroit was never agreed on, leaving the Orioles to consider other avenues to try to acquire Thames, a 29-year-old, right-handed-hitting outfielder who batted .256 with 26 homers and 60 RBIs last season as a reserve outfielder for Detroit.

 

FWIW. I'm on the Church bandwagon, and would like to see him in a Cubs uni

[nilodnayr]

Unsure if this had been posted as well...

 

link

 

The Orioles were in talks about a possible three-way deal with the Washington Nationals and Tigers on Tuesday night that would have sent pitcher Rodrigo Lopez to Washington, a Nationals player (possibly outfielder Ryan Church) to Detroit and Thames to Baltimore, according to two industry sources.

 

However, the player the Nationals would send to Detroit was never agreed on, leaving the Orioles to consider other avenues to try to acquire Thames, a 29-year-old, right-handed-hitting outfielder who batted .256 with 26 homers and 60 RBIs last season as a reserve outfielder for Detroit.

 

FWIW. I'm on the Church bandwagon, and would like to see him in a Cubs uni

 

We could send Jones to the O's, O's send Lopez and a mid-prospect to the Nats, we send Pie/Marshall/Gallagher/Eric Patterson for Church/John Patterson!!!

[killthegoat06]

More Stuff on Church (Pro Sports Daily)

 

Washington Times: "That said, the Nationals still hadn't consummated any trades last night despite Bowden's best efforts. He has been particularly aggressive in trying to deal Church with the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and others all interested, according to baseball sources. "

 

Hendry, where are you? Forget Meche.

 

Washington Post: "With the Mets, for example, the top prospect could be outfielder Lastings Milledge, the official said. But a Mets official said it's almost certain his club wouldn't trade Milledge straight up for Cordero, let alone include more players... Still, the Nationals could move Church soon. One executive said that the 'vast majority' of Washington's trade discussions centered on the 28-year-old outfielder, and that there were five teams legitimately involved, among them Detroit, Philadelphia and the Chicago Cubs."

 

Chicago Sun-Times (scroll down): "Sources say the Cubs have held discussions with the Washington Nationals concerning center fielder Ryan Church. The Nats are seeking young starting pitching and might be interested in left-hander Sean Marshall, a Virginia native."

[soapy]

 

Chicago Sun-Times (scroll down): "Sources say the Cubs have held discussions with the Washington Nationals concerning center fielder Ryan Church. The Nats are seeking young starting pitching and might be interested in left-hander Sean Marshall, a Virginia native."

 

Well if they're going to sign mediocre guys like Meche and Lilly to fill in the back end of the rotation, they might as well trade guys like Marshall.

[killthegoat06]

What does it say under "Cub Life" in ESPN Rumor Central?