Baseball is a funny game. Last night, in the bottom of the 10th inning of a tie ball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Daniel Murphy was a part of what some could argue was the Mets’ best defensive play of the year. With Carlos Torres pitching and two outs in the inning, Jeff Francoeur hit a sharp groundball back off the foot of Torres and right to the first baseman Murphy. Murphy dove and stopped the ball, then turned and made a blind backhanded flip to the covering Torres who just beat Francoeur.
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Mets fans are well aware of the fact that defense and Murphy usually do not go together, but it may have been the turning point in the Mets 9-5 win over the Phillies, a win which assured the Mets of a series sweep and their 7th straight win.
Murphy didn’t just get it done with the glove last night, he also continued to rake at the plate by going 3-for-6 and driving in two huge go-ahead runs in the top half of the 13th that fueled a four run inning.
“Daniel Murphy can stinkin hit.” That is what Terry Collins had to say of Murphy after the game, something he has said quite often this year.
Murphy, in his last 21 games has hit .340 with 4 HR and 20 RBI. With a double last night, he is now 5th in the National League in that category with 30. With his 56 RBI he is first in the league amongst second baseman. Up until the trade deadline when the Mets acquired Yoenis Cespdes, Murphy had been batting just .270.
Throughout the whole series it seemed as though Murphy had been in the middle of just about everything. On Monday night, he took part in the Mets homerun derby that was, by hitting one of eight home runs in a 16-7 Met win to open the series. He finished 3-for-6 with 2 RBI that night as well, and finished the series going 7-for-20 with 4 RBI and 3 extra base hits. He has collected multiple hits in 11 of those last 21 games.
Murphy is making a strong push for an increased salary next season. The question is, will the Mets make an offer and try to bring him back for the 2016 season. The Mets have a bit of a crowded infield, and have some younger options in Dilson Herrera and Wilmer Flores that they can use at second.
I have said all along that Murphy is the type of guy I would love to have on my team. While he may make some plays that will leave you scratching your head, he plays the game hard and with a ton of passion. I would love to see the Mets bring him back next year, I just don’t see too many scenerios that would keep Murphy with the Mets.
So for now I hope that the Mets can get as much out of Murphy down the stretch as they possibly can, and maybe hope that he surprises us once in a while out in the field like he did last night.
