From JOEL SHERMAN
It is one month, so we do not want to get too outlandish here. But I see some comparisons forming between Ryan Church and Paul OâNeill. Here is some stuff to remember: OâNeill did not arrive to the Yankees until his age-30 season. He was a good, but hardly star-level player in Cincinnati.
The New York media and fans hardly endorsed the trade that brought him to the Yankees because it cost a talented, multi-dimensional outfielder in Roberto Kelly, who was sacrificed because management did not feel he would maximize his skills due to the fact that he was not a daily grinder who concentrated fully on every pitch of every game.
At the time of the trade, OâNeill was a career .215 hitter vs. lefties and, thus, pretty much viewed as potentially a platoon right fielder.
To continue reading this item, or for more on the Mets and all of baseball, go to Joel Sherman’s Hardball blog.
