Is Daniel Murphy The Answer At Second Base?

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• mk610 October 10, 2012 at 10:59 am

  I believe that Murphy has the stroke to win a batting title one day. Leave him at second and watch him hit. He uses the whole field, has a beautiful swing. Trading him would be a mistake.
• Donal October 10, 2012 at 11:08 am

  He’s played adequate 2B. If he’s our biggest problem this time next year, I’ll be very happy.

  Unless they can put him in a package for a power hitting OF or something.
• USMF October 10, 2012 at 11:33 am

  I thought Murph did wonders in improving at 2nd…sure, he’s a little awkward at times and I think that he needs to be able to play on the edge off the grass and not so deep, but that’s not the worst problem they have.

  He’s not going to win a Gold Glove, but the more experience he gets, the better he is…I saw him make plays later in the year that he couldn’t make during preseason. He may not have the the softest hands at 2nd, but his biggest problem was not knowing how to approach the ball and he’s gotten much better at that.

  His approach at the plate was a little strange…he lost a lot of power and it seems like he got into a two strike approach all the time for parts of the season. But when he’s looking to pull and drive the ball, he’s capable of hitting some bombs…

  One thing about Murph is; you’ll not find to many guys who will work harder than him and he’s turning into a solid leader on the bench. I wouldn’t be surprised if Murph has a career year next year.
• TRS86 October 10, 2012 at 11:34 am

  My problem is their forced positioning of him in the outfield. That has more far reaching consequences than what show up in a boxscore or range stat.
  • USMF October 10, 2012 at 11:44 am

    When you have a LH pull hitter, especially one who’s slow and has some pop, then I don’t mind him playing out there…but any guy with good speed or any right hand hitter, he should be playing at “normal” depth.

    Obviously, in dbl play situations he should, and does, play in the correct position.

    Luckily for Murph and the Mets, between Ike and a pretty decent fielding starting staff, those slow rollers in the 2nd/1st/mound triangle got covered pretty well.
• stick October 10, 2012 at 11:48 am

  the best thing I can say is that in the field, by the end of the year it did not seem like you really noticed him (and that is a good thing!). Worlds of improvement with a year there under his belt.

  Over the winter though, he needs to work on moving in to play at a normal depth. If he can manage that and keep making all the routine plays, not really a worry with him.
• Des October 10, 2012 at 12:03 pm

  Murphy made some great defensive plays at 2B in the last two months of the season. And he’s a wonderful doubles hitter while compiling about a .300 AVG. The Mets need improvement more at other positions.
  • Metsr1 October 10, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    Typical. Let’s settle on Murphy, because he “hits doubles”. This is exactly why they suck right now. They are settling for mediocre players and just want to get by. That’s BS! Murphy is a way below average fielder anywhere you put him and and has no power or speed. If you played Valdespin everyday he’d suck defensively too, but will give you more power and speed. He’s no gold glove either, but is still a better fielder than everybody’s favorite overrated Punch and Judy hitter..
    • Mitch Petanick October 10, 2012 at 12:57 pm

      Hitting doubles is a bad thing? The Mets don’t “suck right now” because of Murphy.
      • Metsie October 10, 2012 at 3:01 pm

        Welcome to the new Moneyball Mets….
        If he’s good but not a HOFer then he’s not good enough and should be traded (Wright, Murphy, Dickey, Niese, Davis, Gee)

        If he sucks he’s a keeper because he makes less than 3 Mil per year!

        If your good then your not worth playing but worth trading for a gaggle of kids who might never make it to the MLB.

        If your bad your not worth trading so might as well hold onto again because they are cheap.
    • Des October 10, 2012 at 2:45 pm

      Murphy beat Wright in wind sprints during the 2008 spring training. That means he’s the fastest guy in the entire Mets starting infield. He’s faster than Tejada. Faster than Ike.
      • Metsie October 10, 2012 at 2:57 pm

        Dude that was two Knee Operatons ago….
        • Des October 10, 2012 at 3:12 pm

          I’d like to see a footrace between Murphy, Tejada, and Ike. I’d bet the farm on Murphy winning.
• jerseymet October 10, 2012 at 12:49 pm

  Murph has earned the grudging respect of the fan base. About time!
• Metsie October 10, 2012 at 12:58 pm

  YES…he is!
• kunym16 October 10, 2012 at 1:46 pm

  I think Murphy is one of the better players on this team. His offense was good as always (though he can think about walking a bit more) and his defense was way better than anyone couldve thought. I think with a year under his belt at second, he can focus on his offense this offseason and be even better! The guy is a gamer and a team leader. Though he doesnt do anything fancy or flashy, he just seems to bring that excitement to the team whenever he gets in the box. Trading him or changing his role/position on the team would do nothing but hurt this team. I mean what team doesnt want a guy who can hit 300, hit 40 doubles, and can batter anywhere in the lineup?
• Joey D. October 10, 2012 at 2:00 pm

  Instead of being judged on his own merits, I think Murphy is instead caught in the cross-fire of the pro-Sandy and anti-Sandy groups because I sense a pattern of double-standards regarding both Murphy and Tejada from the two opposing camps.

  Neither is a steller fielder – adequate, yes, but steller, no. Tejada has limited range at shortstop yet because Ruben was Sandy’s choice for shortstop his limited range and lack of speed is acceptable while the same blast Murphy for his limited range and lack of power. Yet, those who are Murphy supporters seem to point out how much better we would have been with Reyes instead of Tejada.

  Murph will be 28 next season and will be entering his prime. What he brings onto the field with his hustle and desire will only aid him. Judge him for what he is, not what he isn’t – the same manner in which we should judge Tejada for not being Jose.
  • Metsie October 10, 2012 at 2:09 pm

    Big diff betwen the two Joey….

    Murphy is a gap doubles hitter…Tejada is a high BA slap singles guy.
    If he had some speed on the basepaths that might be worth something.
    And who is to say he doesn’t? They should do for Tejada what they did for Reyes and bring in Henderson to coach him on the art of stealing bases.

    You don’t need to be the fastest runner to steal bases provided you learn how to read pitchers and get the jump required to get the base.

    As for range Tejada’s range is good to his left (our right) but not to his right, thats the only knock you can give on him and truth is more likely that he is shading towards second to help Murphy which is why he isn’t getting to those plays to the right.

    Muprhy has increased his range by playing deeper and it will cost him some DPs on slow grounders.
    Considering his bad knee situation (amazing he had any range at all!) as the knees get stronger and he learns the position better he will be able to play a little more shallow and charge those slow rollers to make those plays.

    But his BAT and all those doubles is why people don’t complain about the defense as much as they might.
    • Des October 10, 2012 at 2:53 pm

      Metsie — “If (Tejada) had some speed on the basepaths that might be worth something.” You can teach a guy how to get a lead off a base. You can teach a guy getting a jump. You can’t teach pure speed. In fact, speed declines as a person ages.
      • Metsie October 10, 2012 at 2:56 pm

        He has speed he simply doesn’t know how to use it Des…
        • Des October 10, 2012 at 3:02 pm

          So he is a Usain Bolt. LOL.
    • Joey D. October 10, 2012 at 4:11 pm

      Hi Metsie,

      Wasn’t at all trying to compare the two – just to point out what I sense is a trend – those who tend not to like Murphy overlook Tejada’s weak points and those who tend to not like Tejada (or compare him to Reyes) seem to overlook Murphy. Though both were signed by Omar, Sandy gave Tejada his break while Murphy is viewed more as a holdover from the prior GM

      Tried thinking of some weak points about Ruben only for reference purposes. Not to knock him or Daniel. Both are the least of our problems.
      • Just_Da_Damaja October 10, 2012 at 11:33 pm

        Actually…Omar gave Tejada his break in 2010. When he came up, he replaced Castillo/Reyes in the lineup when they were both injured. I believe Tejada was the youngest player in the majors at the time.

        When Castillo came back, Castillo rode the bench while Tejada was getting playing time. Castillo actually mentored Tejada at his own expense.

        Reyes, Castillo are both directly responsible for Tejada’s rapid rise….he is still one of the youngest SS in the majors and he hit almost .300….

        IMO though, a faster SS with more range would allow Tejada to move to 2B, where I feel he would be one of the better 2B in the league.

        Murphy has a lack of range that translates poorly to 2B and a weak arm that translates poorly to 3B…really 1B is his best position…but we can hide him at 3B if we get a faster SS than Tejada who can allow the 3B to play closer to the line….which also affects where the LF has to play to cover line-drives and ground balls down the line…

        this is the domino effect that a SS has on the infield and outfield defense…this is why i advocated keeping Reyes….having Reyes allows Tejada to move to 2B and Wright to cheat towards the line…

        not surprisingly, Wright had a career low in Total Chances ( compared to his other full seasons )

        People say that Wright suffered from a lack of support in the lineup…but its really a lack of support from SS that affects his ability to get to doubles and cheat towards the line and towards bunts…Tejada is able to make up for his lack of speed via prep. He cheats by shading towards the area he feels the ball will be hit. Castillo taught him to shade according to pitcher, pitch type, pitch selection, batter…Castillo learned this to accommodate HIS lack of range that came as he got older…Cal Ripken also did this in Baltimore. He was 6’5 225 and was not the quickest of SS…but made up for it via supreme prep. This is how Tejada gets over…if he applies this principle at 2B, his range and arm are good enough to place him in the upper tier of 2B from a defensive perspective and his .290 + bat are enough to put him in the upper tier from an offensive perspective.
• DaMetsman in Washington State October 10, 2012 at 3:10 pm

  It is nice that someone is writing positive things about Daniel Murphy. The guy has worked his tail off anywhere the Mets have asked him to play and it is not easy to work at four positions (LF, 3B, 1B and 2B) over a four-year stretch. Clearly, he was NOT suited for the OF, but he does have good basic defensive skills in the infield and an accurate, above average arm. His plate discipline and hitting skills put him in a category just below Cano, Phillips and perhaps Pedroia. And with Turner and Valdespin in reserve, the least of the Mets problems is 2B. The one thing that can make Murph more effective is to bat him in the three-hole just like Keith Hernandez, a very similar hitter, did for his entire Mets career. This would mean moving David Wright to clean-up and Ike Davis to the five-hole, where he is better suited. Wright can certainly make that transition. Tejada could be a nice two-hitter with the right man leading off (Victorino comes to mind for a reasonable two-year deal). Lets face it, Jason Bay is going nowhere, so a platoon of Duda/Bay in LF and Baxter/Hairston in RF should yield respectable production with Captain Kirk in the wings. No doubt, a prudent strategy will be to build a market for Duda, who does have some appeal to other clubs. And if they move or release Bay, Hairston can move to LF, where his arm is less of a liability. My low-cost solution is sign Hairston and Victorino and trade for JP Arencebia to platoon with Thole. If things look good in July, they can make a move for a high-quality RF. In the meantime, the starting pitching looks robust with Dickey, Harvey, Niese and the return of Santana and Gee. NO need to sign Young or Pelfrey, especially since Hefner provides some stability and Wheeler, Familia and Meija provide some promise. The bullpen, where a powerful force in the 8th or 9th is mandatory, will make or break the Mets in 2013. If Alderson and Co. have a plan to nurture and develop from the system, it may be worth giving them some more leeway.
• Jerry M October 10, 2012 at 6:25 pm

  Great article and I have always pulled for Murph. He gets a bum deal from some fans and always will but you hit it on the head that there are two factions. Havent heard from Bayonne who said Murphy would never be a 2nd baseman for the Mets or any team. But at leas he has been quiet.
• tlagee October 10, 2012 at 8:04 pm

  In a team full of problems – Murphy is not one of them.

  He is a line drive hitter with some power (about 40 doubles, right?). What the Mets need is more hitters like Murph. His play at second is passable.

  Let’s move on to the real problems.
• Christopher Masiello October 10, 2012 at 9:08 pm

  NO!