8
2011
Torn MCL Wipes Out Season For Daniel Murphy
An article by Former Writers
“All he was saying was, ‘Get me off the field,’” manager Terry Collins said. “That’s all he kept saying was, ‘Get me off the field. Get me off the field.’”
According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Daniel Murphy has suffered a grade 2 tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and will miss the remainder of the season.
Rubin speculates that Murphy will not require surgery, but that four months of rehabilitation would be the plan for now.
What a shame, in one game the Mets lost two of the top five batting leaders in the NL.
In addition, Jose Reyes suffered a mild pull of his left hamstring according to Sandy Alderson. Reyes also underwent an MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery last night, and while the injury does not appear to be severe, it is not yet clear as to when he might be ready to play.
To replace Murphy, infielder Ruben Tejada has been called up from Triple-A Buffalo. Alderson said a decision regarding Reyes, who missed three weeks with a similar injury in July, would be made after receiving results of the MRI.
MY TAKE:
Sad news about Murphy. Apparently Terry Collins said Murphy was saying “get me off the field” after getting spiked at second base by the Braves’ Jose Constanza. Murphy has been a pleasant surprise in the Mets lineup, hitting .320 on the season.
As far as Reyes is concerned, as much as the guy is the spark that starts the Mets offense and is arguably the most exciting player in the majors, he cannot be given a long-term contract for upwards of $120 million this offseason. His legs cannot be counted on to stay healthy. If I’m the Mets, I offer four years maximum, because to commit five, six, seven years to someone who relies as much on his legs as Reyes does, could be crippling for the franchise.
Opinion from Joe D.
Two tough breaks anyway you look at them. Regarding Reyes, if the first stint on the DL didn’t scare off any teams ready to offer him “Carl Crawford Money”, this next injury time-out will. As for Murphy, last week I wrote a post entitled: Does A Good Bat Make Up For Bad Defense? In it I said,
“The problem with Murphy is that he lacks the instincts you look for from a position player. He’s not bobbling the ball or failing to get to the ball, he simply doesn’t know what to do with the ball once he has it.”
A second baseman with better instincts, may have found a way to avoid what happened in that second base collision. This is now the second time in two seasons, that Daniel Murphy has gotten injured in the field while playing second base.
About the Author: Former Writers
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There it goes. Game #113, I’m calling it. Wait till next year.
http://midwesternmet.blogspot.com/2011/08/game-113-braves-6-mets-5.html
The joke of the whole thing is that most of the players the Mets bring up don’t have the instincts to play a position because they never played it before coming up to the Majors. The kinds of guys we develop are those “tweener” type, bat might not play but we could get away with his glove there types at 1B and LF. Or maybe a guy like Thole who doesn’t make it at 1B so they move him back to catcher. Evans and Duda are just more of the same.
Davis and Wright are the opposite though. Those guys were good enough to play all around baseball and already knew how to play their positions for the most part before they got here. They were also 1st round talents, not 7th or 13th. That makes a big difference. Guys taken in the 1st round have the tools, have played a position for years and years, maybe even gone to a big time baseball college like Davis did.
We have so often given our first round pick away (not to mention our 2nd and 3rd) for some over the hill, soon to be injured shell of their former selves while other teams are drafting players who have 1st round ability. 1st round talent. No one runs around saying that Jason Heyward doesn’t know how to play RF, Chase Utley doesn’t know how to play 2B. 2nd round is the same thing. Who’s running around saying Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann and Jimmy Rollins don’t have the “instincts” for baseball?
They have the instincts because they’ve played the same positions for years and years before they even got drafted, then were good enough to remain where they had been playing all their life.
Everyone we draft that makes it up here has to be pigeonholed into the two easiest positions on the field. Not one, but two. Then they don’t even get taught those positions before they’re brought up here.
During Minaya’s regime he spent three #1 draft choices on FA’s (two closers and a 40 year old LFer) and two 2nd round choices (Pedro and Bay) and spent two more #1 draft choices on yet another 1B/LF type in Chris Carter. He also spent at least 5 other 1st, 2nd and 3rd round draft choices on college relief pitchers and unbelievably spent only one 1st, 2nd or 3rd round pick in six years on an OFer. ONE!
No wonder we have guys like Duda, running around out there not knowing what their doing. Thole the same thing. Minaya got rid of 3 catchers who made it up to the Majors that he inherited and all three can at least catch the ball. Pitchers can bounce one in the dirt to Vance Wilson, Drew Butera and Jesus Flores when they have men on base. Thole? I don’t think that same confidence level is there.
What is it about the bullpen that makes Minaya spend so many draft choices on it at the expense of every other position? Two first round picks, one supplemental round pick, a 2nd round pick and three third round picks and yet only one 2nd round pick for all three OF positions in six years. One catcher in the first three rounds. But 1B/LF? Those guys he can’t get enough of. Even spent two #1 picks on Chris Carter.
No wonder so many players don’t know how to play their position. They haven’t ever played it before they got to the Majors.
Reyes-This is were you roll the dice and try to hit big and roll snake eyes. If he goes on the DL know one will give him 20 mil a yr. Id be surprised if he could now get 15mil and anything more than 4 yrs. Id say Sandy is probably 50/50 now on trying to sign him or let him walk. I say that sadly because I want him as a Met but something aint right with his hamstrings and he’s missing way too much time. Right before the first hamstring pull before the break Reyes agent probably could have locked in a 5 yr 100mil deal. That deal will be out the window now.
As for Murphy- its sucks. I feel really bad for him.
there are a few considerations before the Mets management make Reyes an offer he can refuse. Firstly, as Reyes goes – so goes the Mets offense. This was never so true as this year. Arguably, since the starting pitching has been average, Reyes is the reason the Mets are around .500.
Yes, he does get injured – so did Hall Of Famer Ricky “my hammies hurt and I ain’t playing” Henderson.
And if Reyes leaves after the season who starts – Tejada? No way!
If the Mets want to offer a contract that is tied into games played – that’s fine. But they still MUST sign him.
This is a perfect example of why guys like Murphy DON’T belong @ 2B. He was so poorly positioned, he was a sitting duck. When a guy is sliding into 2B, there’s NO REASON to drop your knee and position it behind the bag like Murphy did. Like I was taught as a kid, on any throw to the base, you try to stay in front of the bag and swipe back. This way, the runner cannot collide into you. He has to take a circuitous route to the bag. Murphy, not knowing where he was and most likely late arriving, should have been in front of the bag or standing over the bag. You never drop your knee unless you know the guy is sliding head first. Poor technique and terrible execution, coupled with terrible luck, has put Murph back on the DL. This man should never play 2B. You need certain skill sets to play that position and Murphy isn’t blessed with them. Very very unfortunate situation. Wish Murph the best on his rehab. He had a FANTASTIC season. This team is jinxed.
Reyes didn’t go down, Murphy wouldn’t have been there.
He’s been at second base plenty of times this offseason, so now this is all Reyes fault? Oh brother what rock did you crawl under from? Murphy had no business playing second base. Another poster here named Bayonne Mets Fan has been saying it all year to a crowd of jeers from the lunatic fringe. He was right.
“Plenty of times this off season.”
Almost every guy playing 2nd base in the Majors has been playing 2B plenty of times all season. Over many seasons. Not just 20 games in the minors, 5 in the AFL, 20 in winter ball and 5 more in ST.
If at some point Bernazard and the farm Director Luis Ayala had decided Murphy’s best position was LF he should have been played there in the minors for a full year bare minimum. If he had there is no doubt he would have come up here able to play LF capably at least. His mistakes out there were ALL a case of inexpierence and that should have been overcome where every other organization has their players overcome it.
The fact that we had no one else to play LF was why he was here. Plain and simple. Even traded away Endy who could at least play great D and help out in other ways.
The farm being so berefit of truly talented players is bad enough but it also costs you the play of guys who could at least help out if they were just developed properly before bringing them up here and if he had been, we wouldn’t be stuck with Bay for another two years.
Meant to say this season, not offseason. But of course most of you non-morons probably figured that out. lol
Wow – jump off the ledge much, no it’s not Reyes’ fault – where did I say anything about fault? Talking about crawling out from a rock.
Well if Bayonne said it, it must be gospel – do you two share a brain?
Fred Wilpon was right. We’re snakebit, Reyes is wont get Carl Crawford money, Wright is not a superstar. Get well soon Murphy. We’ll figure out where you will play next spring.
As I said when it happened, Murph is done for the year and that is a damn shame. You could just tell once it happened it was bad news
He wasn’t hurt because of anything he did, but because of a poor slide and now he’s got a torn MCL.
I feel bad for Murph, he was a bright spot on this team and it really sucks that he’s not gonna get to see it through to the end
Everybody slides too late these days. They bounce off or over the bag. Diving or sliding. Reyes drives me crazy with those late dives. Not only does he get there later that way, I am convinced he will break fingers or dislocate a shoulder doing it, if he does not overslide and get tagged out. This guy came in late and bounced. Murph should not have been on one knee, but whatever. Even when Murph is doing the right thing, he still looks like he is doing the wrong thing. Poor Murph. When Reyes goes on the DL, are they bringing Satin up?
We need some offense That is why I mention Satin.
Satin is a pretty good thought Jdon. He’s basically a duplication of Turner, one of them will have to be taken off the 40 this offseason because of the logjam at 2B. I wouldn’t mind one bit getting a look at Satin.
see what through to the end? what is the difference to you? you already quit mid july when u tore the heart out of the team.
they essentially lost two offensive players and added one defensive player. Simple math. Unfortunately Satin plays the same position as Turner, too bad he cannot play first.
Are you speaking for the team? Have you actually watched a game, because until yesterday I didn’t see a team playing without a heart.
will: I tore the heart out of the team? I didn’t realize I make transactions for the Mets. Nor did I think Carlos Beltran was the heart of the team? The Mets were what 3 games over .500 when they traded him?
Get real, if you think keeping a free agent past his prime on a team struggling to remain over .500 is a good idea specifically when you get no compensation for him then you’re just lost.
The Mets got a legitimate prospect, which is more than they would have got in October when Beltran left them and they missed the playoffs.
Yeah – I guess you didn’t watch the game again last night, how they had their heart ripped out and just quit……….right…..
Seeing this happen to such a great kid like Murphy makes me sick. Just terrible. Two years in a row. Damn shame. But it is true that these injuries happen because he’s unfamiliar with how to play the position. Will these black cloud that hangs over the organization ever leave?
This organization first and foremost needs to start developing guys with the ability to play great all around baseball. Then they need to start GROOMIMG these players to come up here allrady knowing how to play a position.
All these 1B/LF/DH guys can’t even play one position let alone two. They come up here not knowing how to run the bases, where to throw the ball, how to make simple rundowns, forget about the little tricks at every position. It’s a joke. Our whole player development program has been severely disappointing. Severely.
Wilmer Flores is the next guy who will head off to learn a strange position the day he arrives up hers.
Who’s saying he doesn’t need surgery? The Mets team doctors? Don’t believe them. These are the same people who said Beltran didn’t need surgery. Jose Reyes only had a calf injury (’09 in LA). Ike Davis sprained his ankle. Oh, wait, it’s a deep bone bruise that “might” require the same surgery that they said Beltran didn’t need. When will Mets ownership wisen up and clean out their medical staff? Or is their cheapness the driving force behind the apparent incompetence of their doctors? Either way the ineptitude needs to stop.
I had a grade 2 MCL tear (happened at 2B too) and that was the protocol. Surprised me at the time. I thought the Dr was kidding me but it healed perfect in my 40′s.
I’m more concerned about Johan’s shoulder. No does anyone really believe it’s just fatigued?
Reyes had a hamstring issue in 09 in LA and the calf injury happened during rehabilitation.
The whole “blame Mets Medical” is just so over played because we all think we play doctors in real life. They go to the Hospital for Special Surgery, where many athletes from all over the country go for help.
Now if you want to discuss miscommunication from the Press Release people – maybel….
Wow!
Our two best hitters gone in instants.
What a shame that 2011 goes down as one more lost year pending Reyes results.
Afraid these hamstring issues will dog Reyes forever.
What a terrible shame about Daniel Murphy! It looked bad as soon as it happened – I was just hoping that for once, the Mets would have a little mazel.
Murphy is a good kid, a very hard worker and a terrific hitter. I know he gets a lot of criticism about his fielding – but he never stops trying and I still prefer hin IN the lineup than on the bench. I feel so sorry for him … and for us Mets fans: one of the few bright parts of this difficult season.
I have only seen the play once, it looked like Murphy was flat-footed on the base as opposed to “gliding-over” or “moving-through” as another ML 2nd baseman might have done. The layers leg did come up when he slide but you see that happening alomost every double-play. I’d be very interested to hear professional baseball players take on the play.
In any event it really does suck for Murphy. Not for what it means for the Mets this year but what this means for Morphy’s career. Murphy was well on his way to earning any every day AL Designated Hitting spot on an AL roster follow an of-season trade.
The Reyes injury is good news! Now hopefully Reye’s “Quote” will lower allowing the Mets to sign him.
I looked at the play again. it looked like a freak bad luck play. only thing I can come up with is that Murphy took the throw at 2nd base as opposed to in front of the base as other 2nd baseman might have done. But nevertheless you always see players getting “tangled-up” on plays at 2nd base. But for what ever reason Murphy’s plays at 2nd base have resulted in two season ending knee injuries. It’s hard to believe these injuries are simply a case of “bad luck” as opposed to poor positioning.
If anyone has heard any professionals take on this play please realy it to me. I’m very curious just what would be said.
You got the right take. If he gets to the bag quicker he goes inside, catches the ball right in front of the bag, doesn’t get hit. Murph is too stiff and not fast enough to get away without perfect technique and knowledge of the position and that’s not something the Mets are able to do for their players. Either you got it or you don’t. The Mets teach most of their players to be jacks of all trades masters at none.
Still a reckless slide, spikes bounce over the bag and hit Murphy with enough force to tear his MCL halfway through. That alone should have earned him an ass kicking.
When you slide the rule is spikes down.
It does lead to the other question that everyone is thinking about but no one is talking about, where was the Met response? Granted the Brave player didn’t “take out” Murphy as much as he slide a tad late and hard.. but doesn’t losing our best hitter for the year as a result warrant a good “plunking?”
No it doesn’t because a poor baseball play is not a dirty slide. There was no intention of hurting a player. This wasn’t a brush back pitch or a dirty slide to take out Murphy on a double play. The fact of the matter is Murphy made a poor decision to have his knee on the bag. You NEVER do that. You’re leaving yourself completely vulnerable to a shot at your knee in that position. Not what you want to do when a fielder is coming in feet first. Bad luck indeed, but if he properly positions himself, it’s not a problem.
It wasn’t dirty. A “warning” should have been issued from the mound but wasn’t a neccesity. The kid didn’t do it on purpose but tell me when was the last time you saw someone spiked with that much force in the leg?
Murph was “spiked” because Costanza slid late. He hit the bag like he was supposed to, but he was moving way too fast to stop at the bag, because the slide late. It does not warrant any sort of retaliation whatsoever.
Right, He slid late. Hey I know he wanted to get in there. 27 first time up, does not want to make that walk back. Not a dirty slide but a reckless one, probably caused by being too amped up. Can happen to anyone but on a stolen base you want to pop up if your going feet first. He couldn’t because his foot landed on the bag because he jumped up in the air before he slid.
A warning should have been issued from the mound.
Turner doesn’t even attempt to get out of the way and gets bowled over constantly, Utley went after Tejada, no one ever does anything. Hey, you like it when I turn a double play for you, help me out by slowing these runners down a bit and if one of them is a little reckless in his slide, regardless of the reason, you can be a little reckless out there too.
It was not a “reckless slide”. It’s a late slide intended to attain a stolen base. This was not a late slide to take out an infielder on a DP. How can you make that assessment? And his spikes hit the bag first, since he went in feet first. The problem was he started his slide entirely too late. There’s a certain timing and distance reading base stealers have when they’re going into a slide. Too soon, you come up short or get to the base a little slower. Too late and you almost kill yourself like you saw the runner nearly do to himself. The problem is Murphy doesn’t have the skill @ 2B. The man is 3B. He doesn’t have the skills required for 2B.
For the record, a player who played SS growing up at any level is the guy with the best hands and range on his team. The rule is if you played SS, you can play 2B, because you have the finesse to make the same plays at the bag. You also have the range required to shift to 2B. 3B is a reaction position, but one a SS should be able to handle as well, thus a move to 3B isn’t a big deal for a bonafide SS. It’s not the same for any other position on the infield in regards to asking them to play SS.
Your right about corners not being able to make the move to the middle, no question but your wrong about the slide. When you spike someone in the knee with enough force to tear their MCL, regardless of which side of the bag the player is positioned or the skill, talent level or technique of that player, it it a reckless slide. The fact that his spikes bounced off the bag first is immaterial. His slide was just as lacking in technique as Murphy’s positioning and you do not slide late to attain a stolen base, that’s how you over slide a bag and get tagged out. You slide for the bag, you don’t go up in the air and slide to land on the bag like the kid did.
Costanza was a little juiced being just called up and is looking to do his best, no complaints about it being a dirty slide, just reckless. If you spike a guy in the knee with that much force it’s reckless. Plain and simple.
There was no retaliation, because the slid was not dirty. It was not considered to be a take out slide. It was a poorly run fundamental play. That’s why there was no retaliation and none is warranted.
Anyone who thinks that this slide was an intended to take Murphy out is nuts. It was a horribly late slide and it caused him to basically to go up and over the bag. For whatever reason, Murphy was on one knee. Middle infielders are supposed to staddle the bag. I know that I’ve been rough on Murphy all year for his lack of baseabll insticnts, but would certainly never wish him harm. I feel bad for him. The Mets should learn something from this game. As someone said above, this team is filled will too many DH types. As I’ve been saying all season, Murphy is as akward a ball player I’ve ever seen and it keeps biting him in the rear end. He is no second baseman, left fielder, first baseman…
I Went to the game yest, and after the slide you kinda heard an “ahhhh” from murphy, the stadium got quiet, real quiet, he was in pain, when i saw the replay i kept thinking “that guy should be drill the next time the mets and braves play, he shoulnd’t have slided like that, also, is a shame about reyes, what is going on with this team and injuries!!!
i gotta tell you, looking at this team, it doesn’t matter whether they sign reyes or not, this team is just not that good, all around you got players who in other team wuld be at best complimentary players, but here, they’re so called superstars, this team as much as i like collins is done, the F/o i guess had a point in doing what they did, is a shame, about murphy and reyes, next year if we get pitching then yes, they way is looking, this team has no starting pitching, no bullpen, no catchers, a bunch of triple A players playing different positions, good complimentary players (not superstars) and jose reyes.. you need a good team all around.. 2014 might be looking good right about now..
btw, there were like 5 or 6 fights saturday.. weird!! lol.. mets fans hate agee & jesseP’s team the braves..
I know the Brave player had no ill intent. But the fact is.. our best hitter was taken out for the season. If one of our young players slide hard into a base and as a result say.. Ryan Howard was lost for the year.. wouldn’t the Phillie’s respond?
When I wrote “where was the response?” I was thinking back to Ryan Church being injured by a Brave player or Matt Cain pitching high and inside to Met hitters repeatedly.. with no reprisals… As a fan I would have liked to see a little hostility toward a Brave player say, Chipper taking a “plunk” on the hip. Yes, “George Contanza” didn’t mean to take out Murphy but even Seinfeld as wimpy as he is would be asking as a Met fan, “Where was the response?”
no guts no glory lifelong, this team doesn’t have the bal-ls.. back in the days i guaranteed you there would’ve been a retaliation somehow, i mean, jeter used to kill the red sox, he started getting plunk left and right, when have we ever HBP chipper jones so he gets out of his zone against this team?? i don’t think he’s ever being hit by a met pitcher, that is embarrassing!!!!!
MAN UP!
Church got hit in the head by Escobar’s knee. Freak accident that hurt them both but both guys were just doing what they should and doing it the right way. Happens. This was different in that both guys didn’t do things right.
But again, a simple warning will slow guys down. Turners been bowled over because of his lack of technique all season and no one slows anybody down on the other team.
It’s more of an abstract, unsaid “thing” I think…
I don’t know.. just doesn’t feel right. I guess David Wright will literally get NO pitches to hit now… Haha.. Why throw Wright a strike at all? So you walk him so waht? Angel Pagen hits behind Wright… Haha. OH MY God!
Earth to Jason Bay?! Earth to Jason Bay??!… Do you read me Jason Bay?!
earth to Jason Bay??!
um.. lifelong, you’re wrong, on this team, david wright is a star, on other team he’d be what he is, a complimentary player.. this guy as a #5 hitter be perfect, here he has to be either #3 or #4 now because there is nobody else, whether you pitch to him or not, he’s not a hitter opposite pitcher actually fear, at least not as before.. he’s been exposed imo.. trust me, i saw this man LIVE saturday and sunday, not impressed watching him.. not since 2006..
Consistnetly David Wright has been a solid 25 home run 100 rbi 100 runs scored year in year out player.. Even you can’t argue that. And there is no reason to think Wright will not continue that trend. Wright is nothing but consistent.
David Wright is the best hitter on the Mets right now and for the remainder of this year without question.
Why would an opposing pitcher throw him strikes? I’m curious what the lineup will be but I think it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing a lot of Angel Pagen, Jason Bay or Scott Harriston hitting in front or behind Wright. Go used to hearing it…
“Down and way ball four and David Wright works out another walk…”
“Here’s the pitch on the way, not even close! Ball four. and for the 2nd time tonight Wright walks, that brings up Angel Pagen who is 0 for 2 tonight and just 3 for his last 30 at-bats.”
It’s going to get real ugly the last 2 months of the season.
fair enough, if david wright is the best hitter right now though, the mets will be in trouble no matter what…
Hahahahaha……………. You think so Alex? Hahahahaha….! Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhahahahahahahahahhhh.o..
lmao… take it easy lifelong.. lol
Someone fire the Witchdoctor who keeps thinking REST and REHAB is the way to go no matter what the injury!
I get the feeling that if a player had an ARM come off they would list him as Day to Day and tell him to rest until the Atm grows back!