After listening to Sandy Alderson warn military veterans that spending and flexibility would be limited this offseason, during a visit to the Manhattan VA Hospital, and after hearing him say spending doesn’t equate to winning and not to expect any significant free agent signing, I’ve become convinced of one thing… Daniel Murphy is playing his final games as a Met.
Even if the Mets were to do nothing and bring back the same team, they will have to dole out $22 million in raises next season. That’s a conservative calculation. Subtract the $7.25 million they won’t have to pay Chris Young and you’re looking at payroll rising from $85 million to roughly $99 million for the 2015 season. That ain’t happening.
Anyone making north of $5 million dollars will be targeted for elimination. Everyone that is except David Wright and Curtis Granderson who will earn a combined $36 million annually for the next three seasons.
I’ve come to grips with the fact that Daniel Murphy will be one of many roster casualties this offseason, and whether you think it’s the right move or not, let’s dispense with the notion that this is a good baseball decision and not a forced function of an ownership that is ill-equipped to operate in a large market. An ownership who has the franchise locked in a choke-hold.
Murphy returned from the disabled list and did what he’s been doing for nearly three years – get on base. And while he’s become so reliable at the top of the order, it’s his brand of baseball that I’ll miss most. He plays the game hard with a refreshing enthusiasm and energy it becomes almost infectious on the field and in the dugout.
I was waiting to hear him talk about overcoming his calf strain after last night’s game, but Murphy was too busy talking about Jacob deGrom‘s stellar outing and telling reporters how he wished he had a vote so he could cast it for his teammate for Rookie of the Year. That’s how true leaders operate.
Murphy, after hearing the news that Wright was being shutdown for the season, stepped up and said he would be more than willing to move to third so that the team can continue to play rookie Dilson Herrera and get a good look at him at second base. Yes, he said that. That’s how true leaders operate.
My biggest fear now is not that we’ll trade Murphy to clear his $7-8 million dollar salary off the books, but that he’ll become part of the Mets patented whisper campaign. You know, the one where they leak things like: “He was lazy and didn’t hustle.” “He was a bad influence on younger players.” “He was a depressed loner and always pouting by his locker.” “He was too into himself, always promoting one thing or another like climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro against the team’s wishes.”
You get the picture.
Always hustling, always playing hard, I hope they don’t tear this good man down and drag his name through the mud like many other Mets before him in recent years. Murphy has been the ultimate teammate and has given the Mets everything he’s got with nary a thought to what was best for him, and only interested in doing whatever the team needed from him. He has always been a consummate professional who wore his uniform with pride and a class act. I hope the Mets don’t smear his legacy and his good name on the way out.
I’m gonna miss you, Murph…
