And the season continues to wind down. It’s odd, I remember looking at the Knicks as their season would wind down and my first thought would be “Don’t win! You can’t make the playoffs, get a better draft pick!” Obviously that’s selfish and random, but it’s a thought that crosses the minds of a few fans. The Mets do have a guaranteed protected pick so we’ll see what comes of that. I would prefer they draft a pitcher. Getting back to the topic, I’ll move on to this week’s award…

My choice for MetsMerized Player Of The Week is…Daniel Murphy!

Daniel Murphy’s season can be summarized pretty bluntly like this : Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Most people thought he was a diamond in the rough prospect after watching him hit .313 down the September stretch last year. Now don’t get me wrong, I still think Daniel Murphy is a good player and his baseball IQ has improved after a full season. Pitchers have adjusted to him but he’s shown adjustment to them, and he has also shown that he’s slowly returning to his selective strike zone that caught the eye of alot of scouts at the MLB level. Lately, to put it in short, he’s been tearing it up.

Daniel posted a .375 AVG on the week (9-24 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR) and I’m pretty sure he managed another HR as I’m writing this. He struck out only once, drove in 5 runs and scored 3, and ripped 17 TB on the week. .375/.400/.708 is a great line for a week, isn’t it? If Daniel can manage to use the massive amount of real estate in Citi Field to his advantage, he can become a solid doubles hitter. He doesn’t belong at 1B, but we’ll see what becomes of that.

Daniel Murphy has been under the microscope alot this year, but I believe every once in a while we need to sit back and remember he’s just 24. Not every player develops into a star so young, and I do believe that patience will pay off with young Murphy, in more than one way. So to that, I say Kudos To Daniel Murphy!

Honorable Mentions:

Jeff Francoeur: .360 (9-25; 4 2B), 1 RBI, 13 TB, 1 SB, 6 R.

Tim Redding: 1 GS, 1 QS. W, 7.0 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K.

Past Award Winners:

One Hit Wonders: Ryan Church, Johan Santana,  David Wright, Fernando Tatis

Been There, Done That Twice: Luis Castillo, Angel Pagan, Jeff Francoeur, Daniel Murphy.

Of Note 9/13-9/20

John Maine threw 5 shutout innings against the Nationals and no hit them through 4. He looked OK and he looked like he wasn’t trying to get strikeouts, but rather outs overall. I think he’s a better pitcher that way.

Tobi Stoner is a guy I’m very intrigued with. On one hand, I don’t see too much to get excited about but on the other, I like his control.

With the playoffs hopes also went Brian Stokes, who has not done so well now that the games don’t matter. Lack of adrenaline?

Someone tell me why we didn’t trade Gary Sheffield?

Josh Thole needs a year in AAA. Add Catcher to our list of needs.