The more I think about the possibility of Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy as the likely Mets’ shortstop and second base combo in 2012, the more I want to cringe. This sounds like a disaster in the making… Does defense matter anymore?
My concern about this led me to do some quick digging at Baseball Reference:
- Since 2007, Ruben Tejada has started a total of 103 games at shortstop, 62 last season for the Mets and another 41 games in five minor league seasons. In those 103 games, he has committed a whopping 23 errors in the field.
- Daniel Murphy started a total of 19 games at second base for the Mets last season, and prior to that he has played second base 19 times in six minor leagues seasons. He has committed 7 errors in those combined 38 games.
That’s 30 errors in 122 games between the two.
Can you imagine how bad our infield defense will be next season?
I won’t even mention that David Wright has one of the worst fielding percentages for third basemen in MLB over the last three seasons. Oops, I just did.
I feel bad for all the Mets ground-ball pitchers next season. Hey Pelf, how’s that 6.25 ERA working out for you?
Anyway, pardon my sarcasm, it’s really borne out of my frustration with this team… But I do have a serious question for all of you to ponder…
If Citi Field is built for pitching, defense and speed, why are we about to part ways the fastest player in franchise history, go into another season with a rotation that boasts a combined 4.25 ERA, and field a defensive squad that features a catcher who can’t catch, a middle infield of Tejada and Murphy, and an outfield with Luca Duda in RF and Angel Pagan in CF?
Is this progress?
