Casey Stern talked with the newest Met player, OF Ryan Church yesterday on MLB Radio’s afternoon show, Bottom Line. Here is a recap of the interview.

On the reaction of hearing about the trade…
Church: Jim Bowden called me. He said, “This is a difficult phone call to make, but you do know you’ve been traded to the Mets.” He told me all the details about who’s going with me and who I was being traded for. He just wanted to thank me for my time in Washington and I told him the same thing. “Thank you for having me there, thank you for giving me the opportunity to play. We’re going to cross path’s a lot this year, upcoming years, and I’m looking forward to it.”

On how excited he is going to New York City and from the Nationals to a perennial playoff contender…
Church: I just think it’s a great opportunity for myself and for Schneider. We’ve been through a lot, but I have the utmost respect for the Nationals organization. We have had great times over there. I’m going to miss the fans and miss the opportunity of going into that great new stadium, but the Mets have one coming a year from now. Just having the opportunity to play for a contender, that’s our biggest dream as ballplayers, winning the whole thing and I think that now, I’m in a situation to have the opportunity to day in, day out have our team be able to win and I think that it’s on a consistent basis and that they strive for excellence. If they don’t get a ring, they are disappointed, so I want to be part of that. I’ve never been in that situation and I can’t be any happier to say that I’m a Met and have the opportunity to play with them.

On if he knows any of the players on the Mets personally from playing in the minors or together with other teams…
Church: The only one really is Marlon Anderson (who played for the Nationals for a brief time in 2006). He’s the only one I have played with. We build relationships as ballplayers, but I don’t have anyone on the personal level or the teammate level that I’ve gotten accustomed with all the guys in DC, but I’m looking forward to building relationships with them and going in there with an open mind and don’t step on anybody’s toes and just basically absorb it, suck everything in and hopefully be a part of something special.

On playing on the right side of an outfield that consists of one of the best players of this generation in Carlos Beltran and Moises Alou one of the best run producers from the right side in the history of the game…
Church: It hasn’t really sank in. Just the thought of that, being in a lineup with those guys on a daily basis, the sky’s the limit. I’ve never been in that situation and I really can’t wait to finally be a part of that and I’m just looking forward to stepping on that field with Reyes, Wright, Delgado, Beltran and all those guys. I’ve never had that experience before. I’m looking forward to it.

On if he has spoken to Brian Schneider since the deal was made…
Church: We had a brief thing. I just congratulated him and he congratulated me and we just talked briefly right before the conference call with the media. He’s out on the west coast right now, so when he gets back in Florida, I’m sure I’ll talk to him and start making plans about what we’re gonna do as far as working out and all that stuff.

On the city as a whole in general, the different breed between New York fans and DC fans and the feeling of walking out into the stadium in front of a packed house in a Yankees/Mets or Mets/Braves game…
Church: Gives me goosebumps just talking about that. That’s what you dream of, going out there, sellout crowds. Not taking anything away from the fans in DC because they are great and loyal, but New York is the greatest stage of all sports and I think that just being able to be part of that is something that I’ll always be able to remember and it’s just the opportunity to be put into a great position to help out a team and get to a championship.

During his interview today on WFAN with Mike and the Mad Dog, Omar Minaya touched on a few key points on everyones mind. Minaya stated throughout the interview that he is looking to upgrade defensively, which explains why he wanted to bring Brian Schnieder aboard. Minaya feels that the team is going in a new direction and that Schnieder would make a better fit that Paul LoDuca.

When asked what size role Ryan Church will have with the Mets in 2008, Minaya indicated that Church will be the starting RF, attributing his number last year to the size of RFK stadium. Minaya also touched on the Mota/Estrada trade, saying that his numbers were fine, but he struggled too much in key spots.

When asked about Billy Wagner’s comments about the team, Minaya said that he brought Wagner in and explained what was going on and Wagner seemed pleased at some of the ideas, but Minaya also told him to be more careful about what he says to the media.

I think that Minaya made some great points and once everyone calms down, they will start to understand him better. I agree the team needs to upgrade defensivley. What’s the point of having good pitching if there is no team behind him?

Capital Punishment, one of the foremost Washington Nationals blogs had this to say about the Ryan Church and Brian Schneider deal for Lastings Milledge.

Church is what he is. He’s better than what the Nats think he is, but he’s not a centerpiece — his strength is his cheapness, something that’s going to start going out the window the next year or three as the arbitration process starts.

Schneider has his lovers, for sure. He’s a solid player, but one whose value is rapped up in mythos more than anything. He got lots of credit for developing young pitchers this season, even though there really weren’t any young pitchers who developed this year. And he never got any of the blame for ’06’s disaster of a pitching staff. The next guy might (or might not) come in, do just as well. (Or it could just be Flores… we’ll see!)

Another Nationals blog Nats320, offers their reflections on losing Schneider and Church

It’s the part of The Great Game, you come to dislike. The Trading of Your Favorite Players. Sometimes, following Our Washington Nationals can hit me hard. And, it has nothing to do with a frustrating loss. Whether or not My Main Man!! Ryan Church or Our Favorite Catcher–Brian Schneider–would EVER be All Star Players is not the point–the African Queen and I came to like both of them.

We admired their professionalism on the field, as well as,the way they handled themselves off the baseball diamond. They are fun–enjoyable people. No, we did not know them that well at all. But, both Ryan Church and Brian Schneider were stand up folks. And, their spouses–Tina & Jordan always had something nice to say to us when we came across their path at RFK Stadium. The announcement this afternoon that both Church and Schneider have been traded to The New York Mets for Lastings Milledge–hurts us–right in gut.

Nationals Farm Authority offers a recap of the Nationals press conference to welcome Milledge.

Milledge was on the call and thanked Bowden and the Nationals for the opportunity to play every day; his preferred position is CF though he said he can play LF/RF above average; with regards to the reported controversy in New York, he said all of it made him a better person and a better ballplayer.

As mentioned earlier, the Mets traded Lastings Milledge for OF Ryan Church and C Brian Schneider.

An interesting side note is that this is the 2nd time Omar Minaya has traded for Ryan Church. According to baseball-reference.com Church was traded along with Maicer Izturis to the Montreal Expos for RHP Scott Stewart. This of course, was when Omar was GM of the Expos.

Well, Omar certainly seems to like Church. The guy has good power to the gaps, and should benefit from leaving RFK. He only had 15 HRs in 144 games last year but did manage to hit 43 doubles. In addition to that, Schneider is a relatively cheap defensive stud.