20
2012
Daniel Murphy’s Days Are Numbered
An article by 
As the Mets’ roster has evolved throughout the course of this season, it appears that things may fall into place a bit faster that most fans had originally envisioned. The farm system, originally believed to be devoid of any significant major league caliber talent only one year ago, has produced enough replacements to keep the Mets afloat throughout the first third of the 2012 season. While this news is good for the franchise and its fans, it may not necessarily be terrific news for embattled second-baseman, Daniel Murphy.
Murphy is currently entrenched in one of the worst slumps of his career. Hitting .188 in the month of June with only 13 hits in his last 69 at-bats, Murph’s only sure attribute, his offense, seems to have deserted him for the time being. Such a void allows for the spotlight to be shifted to other areas of his game. Playing out of position for the purposes of finding him a place in the lineup, he leads NL second-basemen in errors thus far this year. He has also had several costly blunders on the base paths this season. Its for those reasons that Murphy’s offense is essential to keeping himself in the fold this season and beyond.
A further look into his one redeeming quality shows Murphy’s offense doesn’t have the value one might think. Despite a career .289 batting average, Murphy hits for minimal power and seems to have devolved into a strictly singles hitter this year. Boasting only a .344 slugging percentage, Murphy doesn’t exactly strike fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers. Its for that reason that the arrival of other prospects, such as Jordany Valdespin, may eventually lead to the demise of Murphy as an every day player.
In the short time that Valdespin has spent at the major league level this season he has only hit to a .222 average, but in less than a quarter of the at-bats as Daniel Murphy, he has nearly half as many extra-base hits. That equates to a .444 slugging percentage. Now while this may be the effect of a small sample size, its clear that he possesses the power Murphy lacks. Other things in his possession? Better speed and by all accounts better defensive wherewithal than Murphy. Despite being both cocky and unpolished, Valdespin appears to have the qualities necessary to be a more complete ballplayer than Daniel Murphy.
That is probably a bitter pill to swallow for many Mets fans who’ve taken a liking to the undeniable amount of heart and hustle Murphy puts forth. The question I ask is whether or not that’s enough? This is Major League Baseball, where the nice guy doesn’t always win. While no one can take away the fact that Murphy tries about as hard as anyone else in all of baseball, there are better options coming. The time isn’t now, or even this season (provided Murphy pulls himself out of his aforementioned slump) to make a move at second base, but its on the horizon. Daniel Murphy is a lot of things. He is a good teammate, a quality human being and a decent ball player, but he is not the second-baseman of the future going forward.
Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83
About the Author: Rob Patterson
Ultimately, I owe nearly thirty years of Mets related torture to my mother, who is the reason I became a fan. I was too young to remember the 86 run, but hope to see one I'll be able to recall much sooner than later. I enjoy writing about the team and welcome your feedback on my posts. Oh..and I am not with 28!
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I agree, it’s a shame, i like Murphy and i think he’s a good hitter, but unfortunately 2B is not his reguar position, so his defense is not good and on top of that he became a singles hitter with no speed, no sense in keeping this guy imo, Valdespin is the guy to be, but on the other hand his defense is not much better, but he brings a different SWAG to the team that the team lacks..
You have to wonder what happened to murphy’s power… I mean, the man is not even hitting doubles, while he’s not a HR guy, you’d figure he’d at least be accounted for 10+ a year with roughly 30-40 doubles, he was a really good line drive hitter, it seems to me (and i am sure others as well) his approach was forced to be changed therefore making him this passive and defensive hitter at the plate, he was more aggresive and whichever pitch he wanted, he’d take it, now, he’s force to watch pitches go right down the middle jst because that’s the approach… SMH to that!
You hit it Alex,
I think the new approach forced upon Murphy ruined him. He’s a much stronger hitter than this and last year he was a MACHINE at the plate who would take some of the meanest hacks up there. His thinking too much and being forced to go deep into counts in my opinion is what threw him off this year.
There is probably a bit more to it than just the approach…
playing 2B is a bit more physically draining than playing 1B.
Add to it he has been jumped around in the lineup so is not seeing the consistency of approach he did previously.
I say give it some time at least until after the ASG…
I realize any chance we get we try to knock the hitting approach of the Mets because we like to think Sandy Alderson is the hitting coach…. and we ignore the fact they are 3rd in the NL in Runs scored.
But Daniel Murphy was always a patient hitter.
In his rookie season, Murphy saw 4.24 pitches per plate appearance. Then in his 1st year as a full time starter he saw 3.82 pitches per plate appearance. Last year he saw 3.69.
Right now he’s at 3.79.
Murphy would go deep into counts before Alderson or Hudgens got here. In fact, since Alderson got here, Murphy has seen LESS pitches per plate appearance than before he got here.
So I’m really not sure the point about a “new approach” is valid in a) that it is new for Murph and b) that it is why he’s struggling
Murph’s problem compared to last year is his production not his approach.
2011 Murphy put the bat on the ball 52 times on the First Pitch. He got 20 hits. .392 average
2012 Murphy put the bat on the ball 28 times so far on First Pitch. He’s hitting .214
2011 Murphy put the bat on the ball 38 times down 0-1. He hit .526
2012 Murphy put the bat on the ball 29 times down 0-1. He has hit .345
More “aggressive counts”
1-1 Count 2011 40AB .325 2012: 23AB .348
2-1 Count 2011 28AB .357 2012: 17AB .294
1-0 Count 2011 32AB .281 2012: 29AB .345
2-0 Count 2011 20AB .250 2012: 8AB .250
He’s been equal or even MORE aggressive in those counts than in 2011 (his best season)
His 1st pitch swinging (which is what you advocate) has been atrocious compared to 2011.
He’s been terrible with 2 strikes. Yet he’s on pace to swing (or go looking) at as many 2 strike counts as 2011.
So “new approach” is not the problem.
The problem is Daniel Murphy’s in a bad slump.
Quit using “logic” to back up your arguments Jessep. I much prefer Alex68′s and Bayonne’s vague and unsubstantiated observations. Murph was a machine!!
Forced to change his approach?
I Don’t think any of us said otherwise…. Forced to is the key.. Amazing how the 2 most agressive hitters we had last year are the ones struggling the most THIS YEAR… Somehow that Wait for your pitch approach messed them up… No??
IDK if I agree with that all the way around.
First year Ike came up here he got off to a good start, struggled big time coming out of the ASB, then last 6 weeks finally made some adjustments. Since that was in 2010, doesn’t have much to do with this forced approach some of you are discussing.
As I said below, I think they started pitching Murph more inside this year and he hasn’t quite figured out how to adjust to it yet. Much like Ike, I’m expecting he will though. At least hoping…..
Except it was statistically proven that Ike was swinging at more first pitches than average. It was also shown that he has seen way more change ups and breaking balls than before.
In fact, I think it was Keith who noted recently that Davis’ hot streak seems to coincide with him laying off the first pitch breaking balls and forcing more fastballs.
Murphy came out last year as a legit major league hitter. Pitchers have adjusted and developed an approach to him. Maybe he, like Ike, is just choking on a steady diet of junk.
I keep hearing he has a better glove but I guess everyone forgets those two errors Spin made at SS that cost us a game vs the Nationals.
The guy is hitting well there is no doubting it and I’m sure he has more range in his worst days than Murphy has on his best…
But we should not forget it was Murphy who has helped Wright carry this team when Duda and Ike were not hitting, he probably has as many clutch hits as anyone on this team right now and I have no problems platooning him for awhile against LHPs.
Right now I would play Murphy at 2B vs RHPs, Valdespin in RF and vs Lefties put valdespin at 2B and Hairston in RF just to get the extra RHB in the lineup.
Yes Murphy has had a bad month with the bat. But we all know he hits a lot better than this.
In your scenario here, do you have Duda moving to LF? Now with Bay out, I know many have been suggesting this.
No Srt it was just a weak batch of coffee I mean my other right! LOL
I seem to be typing under dislexia today! LOL
I meant LF….
While I think LF is probably a better place for Duda in the long run, I don’t think you make that pove until your are sure it is a permanent move.
And I don’t think we are ready for that yet. Better to leave Duda where he is learning the position (without messing with him) until you have a more permanent position for him to have to learn.
I don’t think they’ll move Duda this year unless more injuries somehow necessitate it.
But man, he is slow out there in RF. He catches everything he gets to. But his lack of speed doesn’t have him getting to what an average RF should be.
Truth is though he won’t be any faster in LF than he is in RF…And there are a lot more RHHs to pull the ball down the line than LHHs that is the type of hit where his speed really will hurt us.
Good riddance. No glove and no power.
Except of course when you consider all of the sparkling defensive plays he’s made…
He has nine errors at 2B, and while this may lead NL, plenty of other two-bag man have seven or eight errors, so let’s not act as if he’s an umitigated disaster at 2nd; he’s not.
I am excited about Spin, too, but don’t you all think the sample size is a little ridiculous before crowing he’s the two-bag man of the future?
I’ve watched about sixty Abs of Murph’s pretty carefully, and I still se plenty of aggression when he’s up there, including going after the first pitch maybe 25%-30% of the time. Mex pointed out last night that his swing has developed a kind of loop and that’s what’s been hurting him over the past few weeks.
Robert Patterson, may I suggest a question mark follow this headline?
This.
I’ve noticed they’re pitching Murph more inside this year than in the past. Maybe he’s having a problem adjusting to that yet.
Valdespin should never play SS and I’m not sold on him at second base yet.
Darling called him a ‘bit of a lazy player with some pop to his bat, nice speed and good skills’.
They said during the game last night that last time Spin was sent down, Wally had a good talking to him. More or less along the lines of ‘that’s not how we do things here and that’s not how you’re going to play’.
Plus side to Spin is he can play LF as well. If he gets his act together he might be a valuable piece to this team. Like to see him get more reps at AAA because even though he’s got a nice bat, he has no patience at the plate. Bit of a hacker right now.
The only thing that worries me in the Spin Murphy comparison is Spin seems to be an even bigger hacker at the plate than Murphy….
Spin shows a lot of promise though and he has played his way into the lineup so far…
And as small a sample as you think Murphy has, Spin has an even smaller sample to draw from.
It warrants watching and it’s a good problem to have but I don’t see any need to make any drastic moves.
As I said Start Spin at 2B vs LHPs and play Hairston in RF,
Vs RHPs put Spin in RF and Murphy at 2B.
Thats the best plan I see going forward until we see what Murphy does and how Spin reacts once the Pitchers get a book on him and find the hole in his swing.
It’s going to happen eventually so no need to rush until we see how he responds to that first big rookie test!
Sorry I said RF and I meant LF…
The guy is a butcher. There’s no way around it. I’m not suggesting Valdespin is the answer and that we have to move on from Murphy now, but he’s not cutting it on either side of the ball right now.
And the truth is so is Valdespin!
You know the only real difference between the two as far as hitting approach?
Alex and Bayonne hinted at it…
Murphy is a bit more passive than Spin most probably because he has had a bit more indoctination into the WAIT for something philosophy than the SWING at strike mentality Spin has been hitting HRs with.
May 7th – 2nd Pitch – 0-1 Count HR
June 5th – 2nd Pitch – 1-0 Count HR
His Splits also tell a tale…
1-0 Count .667BA 2.0 SLG 2H
0-1 Count .444 BA 1.0 SLG 4H
1-1 Count .400BA .400 SLG 2H
2-1 Count .400 BA .400 SLG 2H
3-1 Count .500 BA .500 SLG 1 BB 1H
0-2 Count .000 BA 4K
1-2 Count .000 BA 3K
2-2 Count .143 BA .429 SLG 1H 3K
3-2 Count .000 BA 1 K
He takes the first pitch and then does all of his best work on the next two and if he hasn’t hit by then he will usually strike out!
except murphy is hacking just as much at the first pitch as he ever has. He just isn’t hitting them.
so, maybe pitchers finally adjusted to the fact that he is hacktastic?
And if so, like with Ike (who improved when he stopped swinging at so many 1st pitch BBs), maybe Murphy needs to become more selective?
The difference is they have an idea of how to pitch Murphy and they haven’t figured out where Spin’s hole is to throw on that first pitch.
Murphy is just not getting good wood on the ball…He is swinging at strikes!
Someone mentioned (I think it was Des) that he has changed his stance and is more upright…
Why would he change his stance and why hasn’t the hitting coach looked at what he did last year and corrected it to get him back to hitting the way he did in 2011?
But all in all it’s just a slump! Something all players go through in some month during the season unless they are GREAT hitters…Murphy is a very good hitter but not the kind of guy who is immune to slumps!
The other issue is one I brought up regarding batting Ike after Duda…
With all the LH bats we have in the lineup this year the Pitchers are getting more opportunities to fine tune thier lefty approach against us!
And thats evident when you look at all the LHH’s that have had some sort of slump so far this year!
What we need to get all these guys back on track is Tejada to come back to the everyday lineup.
I didn’t include a question mark because I believe it to be a statement not a question. Spin hasn’t earned Murphy’s position yet, and he may never, but in my opinion someone will much sooner than later.
And yet, RB, you use a sort of “thesis” statement in your last graph that simply makes your headline sensational (of course, it’s fine on a blog site). So you have an opinion, that’s great. They tend to count for something when you have facts, evidence, or even reliable hearsay to bolster them. In your present case, not so much.
You don’t have to add a question mark Robert – you stated an opinion and you stick to it. That’s that.
Another thing about Valdespin that could be good (or bad if out of control) is the attitude he brings. Right now the Mets need a little of what ‘tude Valdespin brings and if guys like Valdy and Ike can start clicking together and you add Tejada there would be a new type of attitude developing for this franchise and that can be a very, very, VERY good thing. It would show a compete 180 change for the current “alleged” face-of-the-franchise Wright brings and he brings passivness, he’s folds in big spots, too nice, NEVER EVER had taken anybody out at 2B, and is a very passive competitor who would rather apologize and be friends with the opponent than slide hard and give them a mouth full of infield dirt.
Valedspin in my opinion would have no problem doing that and that’s what we need. Not nice guys who trim their eyebrows nicely like Wright.
And if Eleanor Roosevelt could have flown, we might have put an end to the Germans sooner.
Well, nothing like a bit of wild-eyed speculation based on a whole lot of nothin’.
But good for you, getting in yet another obsessive anti-Wright rant.
Yet another valuable and insightful gem based on un-informed opinion.
Ya, they really need that Lastings Milledge attitude.
Wow Bayonne,
I see it doesnt matter where or when you post those 2 trolls Donal & Zanca seem to follow you like a flies to dog sh*t.
Instead of disproving what you stated with their opinion, they make snide remarks and comments because you didnt use statistics to back up your argument. Shame on you Bayonne for having an opinion based on what YOU SEE with your own EYES. Dont you know Bayonne that you cant have an opinion without coming up with a crazy stat from fangraph to back it up. Prove statistically that Wright is a softee and turns into a mouse when his team needs him to step up and come up big in a bind.
I also want to voice my opinion on a topic concerning the best burger at Citi Field, Shake Shack or Keith’s Grill. I say Shack’s but i’m trying to come up with a STAT to prove my point wouldnt want the Sabr-goons like Donal and Jessep criticizing my opinion based on how I SEE things.
Ooops!!! hope I didnt say anything that wasnt pro D.Wright dont want Russel Zanca after me since in his own words “He loves Wright” in a Justin Beiber way
Whereas you like to follow your Bayonne around with your nose stuck in his backside. Carry on.
You’re kind of like Bay’s athletic supporter, right?
YES! I can’t wait for Valdespin to take over for this “Punch and Judy”, brick-handed hack. Time for Des to take off his “I’m with 28″ thongs. Okay, truthfully I admire his hustle but, that isn’t going to win you a lot of games. Murphy can’t field, can’t run the bases well, has no speed, and hits nothing but singles. I agree “good riddance”.
Wow. All of these expert GM and baseball coaches.
Question, How many of you actually even played Little League??
In the land of small sample sizes, how do you jump to “it is clear” that Valdespin has the power that Murphy lacks?
2008 Murphy had a .473 SLG in 151 PAs
Then we could traverse the history if 150ish at-bat phenoms the Mets have produced in the last three decades.
Murphy very well may have his days numbered, but the reaction to his current slump is as over the top to the reaction of Murphy fans who put him on a pedestal with ridiculous comparisons to historically very good players.
Small sample sizes? Please tell me youre kidding. You had to go back four years ago to cite a stat intended to disprove Murphy doesn’t have the power to offset his lousy defense at 2B? Geez, that’s rich.
Reread, you are entirely missing my point, this is not a defense of Murphy.
Valdy’s time has come, Murphy’s time has passed.Let’s see whay happens with a larger sample of Valdy
Great article, and I totally agree. I wanted this Murphy to second base plan to work, but in exchange for his terrible glove I was hoping for some pop in the lineup. If this is all Murphy is I’d rather see Spin get a turn and see what happens. I was shocked Murphy wasnt shopped in the winter when his value was double what it is now.
Murphy is professional hitter. His bat will come around. Perhaps he caught that Valley Fever from Ike on the right side of the infield.
–
me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCApuPQStoM
Murphy has shown himself earlier this year and in the past to be one of the Top 20 hitters in the National League. His current funk is likely caused by his changed batting stance or the crazy depth he’s playing at 2B. He’s may be exhausted. I don’t like the changed stance Murphy has. I think he did it to cut down on cope with high, inside pitches, but the erect stance sucks in my opinion. He’s also been trying to get too cute by dropping one arm off the bat at outside pitches.
I love the blanket condemnations of Murph considering how little MLB experience he ACTUALLY has. Any of you “judges” recall how much he’s been injured? You all know he’s brick hands and sucks at 2nd b/c/, again, he can’t handle it based on, REALISTICALLY, a few months of playing the position every day.
I better have one more glass of Kool Aid b/c I see a much improved IFer in Murph in 2012.
Thank God the kooks’ opinion don’t rule our clubhouse.
At his worst, Murphy is a singles hitter and at his best a doubles hitter. He will never be a home run hitter.
Either way, he’s GREAT with runners on base. That’s worth more than a lot of those other stats. I have never been a big Murphy fan, but I’m also not in any rush to get rid of a guy who gets hits that produce runs. If you look at the last 25 years of Mets history, and added a singles hitter who can hit with runners on and two outs….. We might have had a few better seasons.
PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!Could not disagree more.The minute they said Murph would be the second baseman i knew it would not work.He has been sorely lacking in fundamentals since he showed up and there has been no increase in baseball iq in 4 years.The only plus he could deliver playing second was some power numbers.Instead he has morphed into Luis Castillo without the speed.I blame the front office for the move, not Murphy.He is a good guy to have on a team as a supersub/pinch hitter.He is not and ever will be a very good 2nd baseman.They got rid of Pagan because of his shortcomings in baseball iq and so-so defense.Please tell me why they anointed Murphy to play second with the same deficiencies.Makes no sense to me
That’s a very good point Gary. They get rid of Pagan because of his non existent baseball IQ and because he absolutely butcherd CF last year after having a good defensive year in 2010 and then they annoint another butcher at a key defensive position and he has un equally low baseball IQ. Then the guy they bring in to replace Pagan has only been if even a slight improvementt defensively and much worse bat in Torres, meanwhile they have a kid playing a very good CF for the most part and he gets a lot of time on the pine.
OK read your post Robert and here is my take.
It is no secret that the only reason Murphy is at 2B is because that is the only place they can put him to try and get his back in the lineup. It is also no secret that the only thing Murphy excels at is hitting the ball. That and as you said “heart and hustle” as well. His time at 2B in my opinion at least was never as 2B of the future but rather the interim.
Key words in your post are “small sample size”, “cocky and unpolished” regarding Jordany Valdespin. All things to be mindful of as Valdespin is very much unproven still.
To close though I do agree with you that in both our opinions Murphy is note the 2B of the future. I would think most fans believed this already. Now if it is Valdespin that replaces him is an entirely different question.
OK read your post Robert and here is my take.
It is no secret that the only reason Murphy is at 2B is because that is the only place they can put him to try and get his bat in the lineup. It is also no secret that the only thing Murphy excels at is hitting the ball. That and as you said “heart and hustle” as well. His time at 2B in my opinion at least was never as 2B of the future but rather the interim.
Key words in your post are “small sample size”, “***** and unpolished” regarding Jordany Valdespin. All things to be mindful of as Valdespin is very much unproven still.
To close though I do agree with you that in both our opinions Murphy is not the 2B of the future. I would think most fans believed this already. Now if it is Valdespin that replaces him is an entirely different question.
good points. I really thought it was going to be Havens as the future, but that plan is not looking good any more.
so with Valdy, the question really is, do you want to let him develop at the ML level, and live with the growing pains? This of course is if you think he can viably be a starting 2B in the future.
and if you think now he can be the future, it might make more sense to send him down for a couple months to play 2B every day to try and work out some of the kinks.
and Murphy can certainly lend his cheerleading, grit and hustle from the bench as a PH/utility guy.
For all the talk of attitude, grit, etc., it’s hard to think of many current Mets who bring as good an attitude to the game as Murph.
Spin had two errors at SS, not his position, he is not Tejada or Cedeno, not yet anyway, how much SS has he played in minors?
If he is to be a back up solution at SS also then he needs more time at SS probably in minors cause SS and 2B are played completely different and while he has the tools he does not have experience at SS.
Murph seems lost at plate,not aggressive, I hope he works his way out cause he could be part of team going forward if Spin or Haven is the future 2B and Murph can be LH utility guy like Turner.
Spin has SS in the minors to the tune of 146 games, 1195 innings and 49 errors.
Big enough sample size to know he probably should not be playing SS. I believe last game he played SS up here he made 2 errors in one inning.
Problem is 2nd base in the minors only looked marginally better.
Not surprised they’re trying him in LF.
No need to freak out about this slump. No, he isn’t producing. However, we can’t just freak out over this 17-game stretch this month. His BABIP is only .210 in June.
I am a big fan of Murphy at the plate. Of course, he needs to work on getting on base more and drawing more walks, but anytime a guy makes contact with over 95% of strikes, you know there’s potential there.
I hope Collins doesn’t jump too early and plug in Valdespin. He just has to be patient w/ Murph.
Murph is not the future, Valdespin is. Murph would make an excellent bench utility guy. And we don’t need Murphy walking we need him being his old self and hitting the ball with authority and driving in runs in big spots. Not walking. To hell with his walks because he ALWAYS had a good eye so that’s not the problem.
Go back and read the book you read because that’s where you got your baseball “knowledge” from
I actually agree about Murphy not being the future (not as a starting 2B), but it is to oearly to annoint Valdy as the guy. Interesting raw talent, and damned hard to predict what he will become (huge spread between floor and ceiling for him IMO). But, will be interesting to see how he develops.
Murphy though, stop blaming the “philosophy”. He has not become any more passive or selective. And he never walked a lot. he was always a hacker that hit his way on. So hard to say he really has a good eye (since he swung at damned near anything, and still does). he just was able to get the bat on the ball.
How can you possibly say Valdespin’s the future? There’s no way you can safely project Valdespin as the future. He’s heated up a bit recently, but he’s only hitting .222! And he’s not even that much of a better fielder than Murphy.
Murphy’s in a slump. Just give him more time. Eventually, he will get back to his 10-15 HR and 35+ doubles form. Just be patient.
I’m not projecting and i don’t use phrases like “high or low ceiling”. I give you what i think the guy is gonna be and the only way to find it is put him there and put him there NOW.
There is no need to waste time but i’ll give you this – if Terry wants to ease him in than that’s fine too and if he feels he sometimes wants to get both bats in there that’s fine too. Personally I would not do it. I have seen enough that we should just put him at 2B now and see what we have. Tejada and Valdespin CAN be the future. Murphy is defintiely not the future.
Mets could also use the ‘tude that Valdy brings to the table right now. I think Valdy will have Reyes-like power maybe a little stronger 12-20 HRs a year, be more of an RBI guy and maybe be a .270 to 300+ hitter.
That’s what i see right now. Put him in there everyday and let’s see what we have.
BMF — “Tejada and Valdespin CAN be the future.” Maybe Spin will be if he learns to grow up.
The kid has a bad attitude, as you Bayonne have noted in the past. He’s just the current version of Lastings Milledge, but with more talent. I don’t see Tejada lasting if any of the farm hands lives up to Sandy’s projections.
Valdespin’s average is deceiving.
He’s a rookie that hasn’t been playing everyday. A lot of his AB’s have came off the bench. It’s hard enough for a veteran to come off the bench cold and get a hit, let a lone an inexperienced rookie who’s used to playing everday.
Give the kid a break!
Also-
“Go back and read the book you read because that’s where you got your baseball “knowledge” from”
Don’t go there. If you’re going to debate, just use statistics, logic, and whatever other reasoning. Just stop with that, please. We don’t need that.
dude, there are people who know the game and have an understanding of it without referring to statistics all the time.
And I WILL go there. I don’t even know if you’re some college kid who never stepped on a field that want’s to major in journalism or what so yes, I will go there.
“… there are people who know the game and have an understanding of it without referring to statistics all the time.”
LOL.
What was I thinking? Statistics? I must be crazy…
Don’t be a wise guy. But that’s what you saber geeks do. You’re wise guys when you have nothing else. I said you dont’ have to use statistics all the time and that sometimes just good old fashioned baseball knowledge -which you DO NOT HAVE – will do
For example you made the extremely unintelligent, moronic statement of citing Valdespin’s .222 AVG as a reason for not starting him. That is exactly what you said.
I’ll just let that incredibly DUMB remark sit there on it’s own merit.
How is that a moronic statement? A .222 batting average isn’t good….
(I do have to give you/him credit though because he has been hitting well recently)
He actually referred to stats as one of several things to use in a discussion.
LOL. Misread what he said. He used “all the time.” You’re right, they can’t be used for everything.
Although I do think we should be patient with Murphy, what we can all agree on is that he needs to be the hitter he was last year. More doubles, more RBI, and maybe a few homers here and there.
This BMF just knows talent and knows who’s going to be good. It’s not based on anything just his gut instinct. Reminds me of Georgie Bush looking into Putin’s eyes and “knowing his soul.” That worked out well.
My goodness, I love how idiotic opining stands in for reasoned, fact-based analysis. Cannot believe that BMF doesn’t have a job in some MLB FO. Funny.
you can only laugh dude
I said a lot in my post, but also be mindful of what I didn’t say. I’m not advocating that the Mets trade, demote or banish Murphy. I’m simply questioning his role on the team. His situational hitting and attitude, which many of you have pointed out, would make him extremely valuable as a bench player. As would his ability to play all over the diamond. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing for Murph…
[...] The Valdespin talk has to stop. Although Daniel does need to adjust his approach at the plate and get back to the gap-to-gap hitter with 10-15 home run power that he used to be, he is certainly a better option at this point than Jordanny Valdespin. Valdespin has put up decent power numbers thus far, but it’s such a small sample size that nothing can really be determined quite yet. If he keeps this going, then by all means, let the two battle it out for the second base job, but for right now- let it be. Email [...]
Wow, I’m glad I’m not any of your kid right now…Sorry son, I know you try your best and I know your usually a B+ student, but your grades slipped this month, so we’re gonna have to let you go and we’re move on and focus on your younger brother instead.
I know Murph is slumping, but to just quickly give up on him is nuts….especially because we want to replace him with a rookie who’s had a couple of good games? Really?
Why do I still get surprised my this reaction for you guys…
I like Murph…true, I’ve been very surprised with his defense…yes, it’s not great…but it’s not this complete disaster some make it out to be either. He’s making improvements and I think his footwork has been pretty good…I’ve been very disappointed with his bat, even before the slump. I don’t see him driving the ball the way that he can. He’s gotten to defensive in his swing and too slap happy.
And to dump a proven hitter with a guy who’s had a couple of good AB’s/games? Really…I could come up with a full team of players going back to 2000 who had some great/promising starts but turned in to nothing…Timo, Valent, Millage, Carlos Gomez, Phillips, Rusch, Escobar, Seo, Yates, A Hernandez, Soler, Jacobs, Gotay, Evans, A Reyes, Nieve and Chris Carter…I could find more, but you get the point…all these guys had hot starts or had promising talent…all these guys had brief stints of excitement and now they are nowhere…so let’s let Valdespin be around for while before we make any real judgments on him. Many guys can have success when nobody knows them, it’s what happens once the league knows your weaknesses is when true talent comes out.
and for the “He has also had several costly blunders on the base paths this season”? have I missed something? I know I miss one or two games a week and I know last year Murph had a couple of bad base running mistakes, but has Murph really had “several costly blunders” on the base paths?
Hi Bob,
I really don’t understand how anyone could think Daniel Murphy’s days are numbered.
He has already proven he is a major league hitter, a smart one and one who hits in the clutch. He is in a slump – nothing more. And to talk about replacing him with a five year minor leaguer who has all of 56 plate appearances in the big leagues? And after four years on the farm, instead of giving him a shot a second the front office went out and got Brad Emus in the rule five draft to cover the keystone base.
I can see Valdy being a utility player but Murphy hasn’t really been killing us at second. Yes, he still has one or two games where he really is muffing it in the field but he has learned how to make the pivot, go back on those short pop ups, position himself where he can snare line drives and has not caused Ike Davis to save him like David Wright with his throws.
The Mets have enough potential home run hitters in Wright, Duda, Davis and for the moment Hairston to compensate for Murph’s lack of power.
But second is Murph’s position until he loses it. Trade bait? That’s another possibility but then, that applies to most every player if the right circumstances come about.
If you play 2nd base and have no power you need to be able to steal bases and be a plus player with the glove and or hit for a high average,He is oh for three.Time to end the experiment and platoon turner and Valdy for now and move on.
I like Murphy alot. I respect his heart he has been a ok fielding second baseman if he was older then i would never suggest tradining but because he is too young to sit on the bench but not good enough to be a full time player if we were just basing it on talent he would have to be a backup player if we were looking for the best for the team. I would hope he built up some worth on the market.
“…future going forward.” Kind of redundant, n’est-ce pas?
I hope Murp can continue to remain on this roster. He’s an excellent hitter and can be one of the best bats the Mets have ever had coming off the bench. Murph has always been clutch and would be awesome off the bnench. He’s such a machine in the batters box ,I don’t think he will be effected as much as other players might being a part time player and strictly a pinch hit bat
I have said it before but it seems to be ignored….
Murphy’s contribution goes far beyong his bat and his glove!
It goes into the lockeroom and is a big part of the fighting attitude we are seeing from this team.
Last year we lost Davis on May 10th…Our Record at the time was 16-20
Murphy became an everyday player and thats when this team started fighting and playing above .500 baseball!
May 10th we were a .444 team, The remainder of May we were a .500 team. After that we were a .593 team (cause Turner came in and showed the best clutch hitting all year!)
All that without reyes, Wright and Davis to carry us.
Murphy is a big part of the HEART of this team!
Anyone who dismisses it risks doing what Cashen did when he thought Ray Knight wasn’t worth having anymore!
They never won another World series after that part of nthe lockeroom was ripped from them!
he can cheerlead just fine from the bench as a PH/utility player.
You can’t show fight from the bench!
You do it at the plate!
The thing with Murph is that if he was hitting the way he used to, or for what his career projection is, it would be fine. But the current version of Murph who plays 2b like a 1b and hits like a 2B doesn’t work. If he could hit something around 270 and 15hrs 70-80 RBI i think everyone would be fine, but this singles hitting version is just not cutting it.
Well I guess it needs reminding that this time last year he had only been playing a month!
The entire team is hitting lower this year than they did last with the exception of Wright.
And now that Duda and Davis are starting to hit watch Murphy start hitting too.
I didn’t read through all the comments but did anyone mention the three horrific knee injuries he’s suffered the past three years? I like the guy and I appreciate how hard he works at being better, but it is possible that he no longer has the support in his lower body to generate the power he showed earlier in his career. It would be a shame, but he would hardly be the first guy to have his career ruined by injuries, and certainly won’t be the last.
give the guy a break he has played practicaly every game for the mets this year up untill this week. the guys exhausted tahts whyt his hitting has taken a hit
bingo!
Hi Harley and Metsie,
Of course. What more does one have to do to stop being referred to as trade bait or as a fill for a prospect?
So what if he doesn’t hit for power? Is that it? We have Wright, Davis and Duda for that.
I also don’t think being 27 means being over the hill.