DENVER -- Ryan Church missed his fifth consecutive start on Sunday, still recovering from the concussion he suffered at the end of Tuesday's game in Atlanta.

Though the Mets' top hitter felt better on Sunday and remains available to pinch-hit, the lingering wooziness he is experiencing kept him from feeling comfortable taking the field.

"I felt great this morning until I started moving around too much," Church said on Sunday. "I could feel like this and hit, that's fine. I just don't want to be like this in the outfield. I could hurt myself or somebody else.

"When I make a quick movement, I just stop and go 'Woo.' I don't want to be out there trying to track a fly ball. Next time I go out there, I'm going out with a football helmet, with a New York emblem on the side."

With the team returning to New York after Sunday's game to start a seven-game homestand, Church is scheduled to see a specialist on Tuesday.

The headaches he experienced on Friday morning have mostly gone away, but Church explained that even though he's improving, the wooziness has him feeling in the 50-percent range.

"It's just that whole rocking thing," Church said. "The other day it was like being on a ship [on the ocean]. Today, it's like I'm on a little lake."

Having experienced a more serious concussion during Spring Training, Church has learned enough about the condition that he is not surprised at any of the symptoms he is experiencing.

"This is post-concussion, it's going to happen," Church said. "I just wish it went away quicker. It's not gone the way I would like it."