Headliner Ryan Church

Now that the trade of Milledge for Church and Schneider has become a minor deal behind the acquisition of Johan Santana, I think we need to think back and remember how good the deal was for New York headline writers. Lastings Milledge has a unique name, but nothing can parallel the headlines the papers can write with Church.

If Church has a good day at the plate or a key hit, we could be 'blessed' with headlines like,

“Church is in session!”

“The Savior!”

“Hallelujah!”

“Church Crusading for All-Star Team”

If Church is quoted saying something notable, we could get something more like,

“Church Sermon”

“The Sermon on the Mound”

Or if Ryan makes a play at the wall on a fly ball,

“Thou Shall Not Homer”

Maybe whether the Yankees or Mets get more back cover stories is not dependent on the teams at all, but who can think up the most headlines.