Church leaves game with migraine

PHILADELPHIA -- Ever since Ryan Church was put on the 15-day disabled list with post-concussion syndrome, the slightest sensation within the right fielder's head sets off alarms within the Mets' clubhouse.

But for possibly the first time this season, Church's head began to ache midway through the Mets' 9-4 win against the Phillies, and when he was pulled from the lineup in the eighth inning, manager Jerry Manuel could stop holding his breath.

It was a migraine. Nothing more, Church said. For that, he could breathe a prolonged sigh of relief.

"My eyes were hurting, and then the dizziness came on and they assured me it was because of a migraine," Church said after the game, admitting that he still had a slight headache as he stood in front of his locker.

Church has dealt with migraines since his freshman year of high school, and the doctor back in New York that he has consulted for his post-concussion syndrome assured him it was nothing related to the May 20 collision in Atlanta that eventually landed him on the DL.

"Caffeine, anything, light can do it, there are just a lot of things that can trigger it," Church said, "so there is nothing that I can really do about it."

If there was ever a time Manuel wishes he was a doctor, it would be to understand every intricacy pertaining to Church's head. The second he saw the water in his eyes, and heard his outfielder complain of dizziness, Manuel was instantly warped back to the weeks that the Mets spent worrying whether his head would ever be right again.

Instead, Manuel was kept at ease by Church himself, who said he has been pulled from games because of migraines before. It's something he has dealt with extensively during his career, and even though Church said his post-concussion symptoms could trigger more migraines, he was more than sure that the medication he will have sent to Philadelphia on Sunday will clear up any future dizziness.

So despite missing Friday's game to ward against facing another lefty, and a short part of Saturday's game for a migraine headache, Church said he won't be missing any more playing time in this series as long he can give Manuel the OK before Sunday's game.

"This is something he has had before," Manuel said. "He probably has a feel when they are coming on, so if he can tell me, 'Hey, I have one of those migraines,' and he won't play."