Get Your Buttons Now Murphy in 2010

Looking ahead to the off-season, the Mets will have to solve unsettled situations at catcher, first base, left field and in the rotation,cheap Arizona Diamondbacks Hats, all while trying to sort out what to expect from injured players like Oliver Perez, Jose Reyes,cheap Colorado Rockies Hats, Jon Niese and Fernando Martinez. Some, if not most, of those solutions will come from outside the organization, through creative deals or (likely) smaller, less splashy free-agent acquisitions.
One internal option continues to be Daniel Murphy, whose offense is now catching up with his defense. He went 3 for 4 in Sunday’s 4-2 win against the Cubs, finishing a double short of the cycle, to raise his average to .259. The Mets feel he could be at worst an average defensive first baseman, and his adjustment — and improvement — has been one of the few pleasant surprises this season.
Asked if he felt he could be the Mets’ first baseman in 2010,Players Authentic Hats, Murphy barely answered the question.
“I think I’m just going to continue to try to have good at-bats,” Murphy said.
Earlier this season, pitchers were exploiting Murphy’s wide stance by pounding him inside with fastballs. He and the hitting coach Howard Johnson were aware of it, but Murphy continued to struggle, batting .176 in May and .240 in June. Only recently have those adjustments started to feel natural, and since Aug. 15 Murphy is batting .306 with 15 runs batted in.
“He’s evolving, maturing into a pretty decent hitter,” Manager Jerry Manuel said.
With Carlos Delgado unlikely to be re-signed, the Mets have maintained that they can sacrifice power at first base, a position traditionally occupied by sluggers (or at least players with 20-homer potential), as long as they fill that void at another position. They could do that in left field, the only outfield spot where a rangy and fast defender is not as much of a necessity.
Jeff Francoeur’s teammates have remarked, for instance, how good a fit he seems in treacherous right field. With Carlos Beltran manning center, a slugger like Jason Bay or Matt Holliday — both are free agents — would make for an imposing outfield but would also cost a fortune.
Such is the Mets’ issue: at what position — and for whom? — will they allocate their free-agent resources this winter? More days like Sunday for Murphy could help influence that decision.
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Will This Be Jeter’s Greatest Record? 24 Comments 1. September 6, 2009 10:15 pm
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I vote for Murphy at 1st in 2010. Much better a young player with his best years ahead than the Mets’ usual solution, an over-the-hill veteran who might have a little bit more — or nothing at all — left in the tank. Young players also tend to be injured less frequently, a stat which should rivet Mr. Minaya’s attention.
Considering the way the Mets have bounced Murphy between left and first, moved him up and down and in and out of the lineup, pinch hit for him in meaningless games, and shown but little confidence in him, I think he’s done quite well. Let’s give him the 2010 first base job now, then play him there at 150+ games, see how he does. If they’ll just play one of their young players for a change, rather than trading him for another member of the Over the Hill Gang, the Mets might yet prosper.
— David Gustafson 2. September 6, 2009 10:39 pm
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I’m sorry, I like him a lot, but Murphy is not a starting player at the major league level. He’s just not a natural out there. You may get solid production from him for a spell but over time he will be shown for what he is, which is a solid bench player.
Better to sign Nick Johnson, for example, who obviously will get hurt at some point but that’s why you have Murphy. And with Matt Holiday or Jason Bay in left, you have a solid team.
Then you just need to sign a starting catcher (Santos is just like Murphy) – NOT Schneider – and a #2 starter.
Easy, right??
— AL 3. September 7, 2009 12:42 am
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Murph is fine, I wish we had 7 more just like him.
— Walt Bennett 4. September 7, 2009 12:56 am
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Based on what?
His August OPS was .742.
His Sept. OPS is 493.
Even his highest OPS of the season (.799 in April) isn’t sufficient to be a league average 1Bman.
Stick to the facts, please.
— Rich 5. September 7, 2009 1:38 am
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Murphy appears to be maturing after having endured a difficult and prolonged slump. Significantly, his powers numbers are rising. He could be the Mets solution at first base as long as too much is not asked of him.
Perhaps the Mets should consider moving Luis Castillo now that he is plausibly tradeable and swing a deal for Cincinnati’s Brandon Phillips. Phillips is a power-hitting second baseman with good speed, a great glove and a love for the game with an efforvescence reminiscient of Mookie Wilson. He’d fit in well in the clubhouse.
The 2010 line-up could look like this:
Pagan
Reyes
Wright
Beltran
Phillips**
Murphy
Francouer
Santos/Thole
Its a good combination of power, soeed and defense.
**To acquire via trade with Reds
— Tommy2cat 6. September 7, 2009 7:55 am
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Don’t look for a great youngish bat,
That’s not where Minaya is at,
Once greats, over the hill,
Are the ones on his bill,
Or like Perez, a head ultra- fat.
— Larry Eisenberg 7. September 7,Cheap Famous Hats, 2009 10:34 am
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Murphy doesn’t have the power or the on-base percentage of even an average first baseman. His recent hot streak notwithstanding, he still isn’t walking enough or hitting the long ball with enough frequency. Factor in an average glove, at best, and you have a hole at first base next year. Francouer, Beltran and Bay an imposing outfield? Bay’s numbers will suffer at Citfield and he’s a below average defender. Francouer, despite the good recent run, is a below average hitter who makes far, far too many outs. Holliday would be a fine addition. Good luck trying to sign him. He will cost a fortune at a time when the Wilpons are strapped, the Yankees,More Brand Hats, Red Sox and Angels probably will tender higher bids for him and the Cardinals have an excellent record of signing their midseason pickups (and Holliday always has excelled in Busch Stadium).
— Phil Hanahan 8. September 7, 2009 11:08 am
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Murphy starts at first, what happens to Ike Davis? Hes gotta start sometime, unless you think he stays whole year in AAA.
— chris 9. September 7, 2009 11:30 am
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Definitely start Murphy at 1st base in 2010. He’s still young and showing potential — start him at the same position every day, show some confidence in him, and see what happens. If he doesn’t improve after a year, consider dumping him or keeping him as a backup.
Definitely sign a power hitter for left field. Either Holliday or Bay sound like great choices.
Assuming everybody else comes back healthy, then the lineup for 2010 ain’t looking so bad. The rotation aside, the only other thing the Mets need to do is bring in a witch doctor to dispel the bad mojo somebody put on Citifield.
— Asterix 10. September 7, 2009 12:22 pm
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Let the kid play.Experience will lead to maturity, and 10 years from now when he’s 5 time all star,our fellow commentors will eat their printed words. From day 1 he’s been aggressive,adding life to dismal season.He’s shown improvement every day since he went to 1st.
— Chuc Conway 11. September 7, 2009 1:08 pm
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didn’t murph play a little second in the minors + arizona league a few years back – trade castillo while he has some value – get murph at second.
the up the middle D will sour a little bit – but hopefully a bat at first can help relieve some of the issues with murphs D at second……
— michael Spoljaric 12. September 7,Cheap DC shoes hats, 2009 1:54 pm
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the mets need a good starting pitcher and then get bay or holliday
— chris 13. September 7, 2009 3:58 pm
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A not truly relevant comment, but…one of the knocks on Albert Pujols when he first hit the majors was that he was a poor fielder and had no “true” position. I recall reading one baseball writer who claimed that, despite a great bat, Pujols would never be Hall of Fame caliber because he’d bounced from position to position and had never shown he could handle any of them.
Ahem…if anyone’s noticed…nobody knocks Pujols’ fielding anymore. He worked at it, as hard as he’s worked on his hitting, and he’s about as fine fielding a first baseman as anybody could want.
While Murphy will never hit at Pujols’ level — who does? — he can definitely take a couple of pages from Pujols’ book and become the best first baseman he can be.
Oh…and, if I also recall correctly, all the experts derided David Wright for being a rotten fielder when he first came up,Minnesota Twins Hats, too. Any of those writers still keep those assessments on their writing resume?
— David Gustafson 14. September 7, 2009 4:29 pm
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David Wright’s first full season, using just slash stats:
.306/.388/.523
Albert Pujols’ first full season, using just slash stats:
.329/.403/.610
Daniel Murphy’s first full season, using just slash stats:
.259/.311/.404
Pujols and Wright were incredibly awesome young players. Daniel Murphy is not good at anything. He had a great 50 games in ‘08 where his BABIP (batting average on balls in play, i.e., how lucky he is when he makes contact) was highly unsustainable. Now that his BABIP has come down to major league average, he’s been exposed as a low BA, low-power guy.
He seems like a nice kid and it’s good that the NYT writes articles about how “gritty” and “studious” he is, but I’ll take an unstudious, ungritty player who can get on base 38 percent of the time and hit 25 homers over someone who writes down all his ABs in a little notebook and produces at roughly the level of Rey Ordonez.
— Fire Tyler Kepner 15. September 7, 2009 5:08 pm
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the fact is only reyes, beltran, and wright, are productive, world series caliber players. That’s if they all can stay healthy.?
So, for the rest of the lineup next year as it stands now,
you have:
c-thole/santos… not a strong bat or glove btw them
2b-castillo… Maybe tejada. Enough stick past 09 ?
rf- francour… ops machine.(that’s broke)
lf- fmart…The always hurt and always powerfull(under 20 hrs in all of minors carrer.
And finally our little murph.. our big muscled first baseman.
The reason 1b is a power position is because teams put a terminator/brutas types there, who can’t field, yet have pop, and have to be somewhere. Traditionally….not pu or tex.but, yes traditionally.
The only hope is we sign lebron in 2010.
Otherwise start the rebuilding and trade wilpon!
— gabriel 16. September 7, 2009 6:02 pm
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I understand that many of you tuned out two months ago. Since then Murph has hit consistently, hit for power and hit in the clutch.
And all this talk about “average” first baseman, he dances the watusi over there compared to Delgado.
We have a little bitty Murph-haters club going on out there. I bet it’s more a proxy for these putrid Mets. When they bounce back in 2010 with healthy bodies, one of them certainly ought to be Murph and just as certainly one of them must not be Perez. I know it would be mostly a giveaway to get rid of him now, but sometimes you just have to turn the page.
— Walt Bennett 17. September 8, 2009 9:20 am
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I’d rather start Murphy at 1B next year and leave room for the signing of guys like Bay/Holliday for LF. I’m not saying Murphy is the long term solution at 1B but we can put up with him for a year if it means getting Holliday. The 1B FA market for 2011 is going to be loaded, so why not hold out. Plus, we have Ike Davis in the minors, so it will allow him to develop more.
We don’t have the pieces to trade for a guy like Phillips btw. Besides, at this point, we shouldn’t be trading away talent. We should be hording it and trying to get as much as we can. I’d be for trading Castillo but get what you can for him and move on. Sign O-Dog to a two year contract and have him start at 2B. He’s a gold golve. Solid bat and he’s a proven leader in the club house. The kind of guy that can get behind D.Wright, from a leadership standpoint
— Nick 18. September 8, 2009 10:41 am
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I can’t see the relevance of the Pujols comparision,San Francisco Giants Hats, with all due respect. First,Chicago Cubs Hats sale, it’s not true that Wright was deemed a defensive flub. Instead, writers correctly surmised that his defense needed polish. Most writers liked his range and arm. No one is saying that Murphy can’t be adequate defensively. He can, but the way he hits is much better suited to the position at which he started his professional career, second base. An average fielding, or even above average fielding first baseman with below average power and OBP is a drag on a team, not a plus. The Mets should sign Russell Branyon. Yes, his batting average is low, but he’s proven he can slug in a pitcher’s park, he gets on base and his defense is average. Plus he won’t cost as much as other free agents. Nick Johnson would be ideal, OBP and a plus glove, but he will cost a lot and he’s always injured. Murphy either should switch back to second or act as the fourth outfielder.
— Phil Hanahan 19. September 8, 2009 11:18 am
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Walt Bennett,
You have an interesting conception of hitting “consistently.” Here are Murphy’s OPS numbers by month. OPS is admittedly a pretty weak metric, but it’s the best I can do at the moment:
April: .799/68 ABs
May: .631/68 ABs
June: .618/75 ABs
July: .716/84 ABs
August: .742/113 ABs
September: .938/20 ABs
So he went from very, very, very bad to merely very bad. He is 23rd of 24 eligible first basemen.
Nice guy, awful hitter, not major league ready. One day he’ll be a decent utility guy.
— Frankie Fujiyama 20. September 8, 2009 12:19 pm
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I see Murphy more of the mold of John Olerud. Since the time John left us for Seattle, the Mets haven’t had a solid contact hitter. Murphy can be a gap hitter in the friendly confines of Citi Field.
As for 2nd base, I think Castillo has done a commendable job and this bounce back year will certainly make him tradeable. 2 years remaining on a contract is easier to handle than 3. Whether the Mets turn that into a Brandon Phillips or some prospects, it would be a win win for both sides. I feel for Castillo and like him but for as much as he has done this year, he just won’t be a fan favorite as a result of his first year here and his dropped popup.
I do think they need to get a LF. Preferably Bay because Boras will try to squeeze whatever money Madoff didn’t from the Mets for Holliday. We also need to maintain a strong bench to step in when players get injured.
As for SP, lots of question marks. Depending on Maine’s situation and Perez’s mental grasp of the game (and ball), we could have a solid staff which our oldest starter being Santana. Whether the number five starter turns out to be Pat Misch,Cheap Snapback Hats, Fernando Nieve, Jon Niese or someone outside of the organization will probably be based on the LF situation.
— Oscar Madison 21. September 8, 2009 1:09 pm
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How about the pitching?. Can we somehow unload Oliver Perez to the Giants for Zito ? I know he is expensive, but the Giants can pay some of that. Zito may be a better pitcher at Citi Field.
Without Delgado and Wagner’s salary, we can afford Zito and probably a good LF. Matt Holliday would be nice, but maybe Juan Pierre from the Dodgers.
He is a lifetime 300 hitter and has great range in OF, although his arm is weak.
— Mike – Franklin Ma 22. September 8, 2009 2:13 pm
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I DEF VOTE FOR MURPHY FOR 2010….LETS STICK WITH THIS YOUNG KID WHO IS SHOWING GREAT POTENTIAL. LETS HOPE HE COULD KEEP IT UP.
— chris 23. September 10, 2009 3:16 pm
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Murphy at 1st is fine, but this team is in a lot of trouble next year. I do not see the Wilpons emptying their depleted bank account to fill left field or catcher with a marquee bopper. No way! Never happen. And if they can pull off an impossible scenario and get a good outfielder for cheap, what about the rotation? I said it now and last year and I’m saying it again: WHAT ABOUT THE ROTATION?!?! Santana is great but how long can this slight framed power pitcher keep a significant mph differential from his fastball and changeup? He broke down this year, who says he won’t next? Pelfrey can be ok next year but he’s an if. Maine? Injured all year and not a big game consistent guy anyway. Perez is a head case with #4 stuff when he’s on… which is hardly ever. There isn’t much else and Parnell can’t step up. The Mets are going to need some real inning eaters that can give a little quality and who aren’t going to fall apart. They don’t 3 aces, especially in the NL, just some servicables who won’t embarrass us again. and again. and again.
— Jason Schmedrick 24. September 16, 2009 1:01 pm
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Are you people kidding? Stick with Murphy who after 453 At Bats this season is hitting .260 (all year he’s been hitting .245-.260) with a .310 On Base Percentage, a .406 Slugging Percentage, and a .716 On Base Plus Slugging Percentage — all of which are really poor offensive numbers. This guy is not much as a hitter — for power or average and his a mediocre to perhaps above average fielder if he puts in a lot more work.
Walt Bennett and the rest of his fans who are plainly deluded regarding Murphy’s skills need to stop drinking the Kool Aid and realize that the guy will be properly traded away and fade into oblivion quite quickly. Let’s fire Omar, hit the refresh button on the attitude on this team, get a solid power hitting first baseman and a right handed power hitting left fielder, acquire some decent young pitching prospects, get the walking wounded back on the field, and slowly start turning this team around. Murphy is not going to be any important part of that.
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