Oh No, Two More Lefties Against the Mets

On Sunday, two of the Mets hottest hitters were made to sit out the last game of the series due to a strong left-handed starter on the mound for the opposing team.


Daniel Murphy and Ike Davis have been hitting with confidence this past week for the Metsies. In the last seven days, Murphy has gone 9-for-22 (.409 BA) with 3 home runs and 10 RBI. Davis has been able to push his batting average above the .200 mark during that span by batting 7-for-21 (.333 BA) with 2 homers of his own and eight runs batted in.


The Mets will host the Phillies tonight with right-hander Vance Worley getting the start for Philadelphia. However, left-handers Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels will be on the mound for the Phils on Wednesday and Thursday. 


What is Met manager Terry Collins going to do? Sit Davis and Murphy for two games. I hope not.

Murphy And Mets Explode For 17 Runs

Daniel Murphy ended his home run drought by smacking two dingers at Wrigley Field yesterday. Along with Ike Davis' three-run shot and Scott Hairston's grand slam, the Mets went on to salvage the three-game series against the Cubs, 17-1. Prior to his first home run of the game, Murphy had not hit one since July 16th of last year.

"I don't know the at-bats, but apparently it was a long time because you guys asked me a lot of questions about that."

Mike Baxter Was Safe

I just watched the Mike Baxter play in the top of the ninth inning of today's 2-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays and without a doubt, Baxter was safe. I would love to hear what Yunel Escobar had to say about that play. It was clear as day. It's a shame because the Mets would have had runners on second and third with just one out and Daniel Murphy at the plate instead of two outs and Scott Hairston on third.

Total B.S.

Latest Loss May Be a Specter for Things to Come

Murphy, you’re making me look bad, that DP in the top of the 8th last night was a dagger to the heart, Beltran had just alluded the tag of Giants first baseman, Aubrey Huff, and you blew it…teams will continue to pitch around Beltran unless you can keep it up at the plate.

Mets infield defense has to improve or we’re going to be seeing a lot of unnecessary mistakes by Tejada, Turner, and Duda on the infield…I’ll give you a pass Murphy on this one because you’ve been swinging a good stick lately.

Looking forward to Sunday night’s rubber match on ESPN, where it will be Mike Pelfrey vs. Matt Cain, should be a good game.

I Think It's Time for Murphy to Get His Due

Daniel Murphy (Team Stats) - .302 AVG (2nd for everyday player) behind Reyes – 5 HR – 35 RBI (2nd) behind Beltran – 35 runs (3rd) behind Reyes and Beltran – 4 SB – tied w/Beltran for 2nd in hits with 85 - 2 triples

Has David Wright Worn Out His Welcome?

With trade talks surrounding the Mets ball club shifting from - will Jose Reyes be traded at the deadline to - how can the Mets swap out some other player to afford Reyes' new contract, with that someone else being David Wright, the question arose in my mind that perhaps Wright's style of play doesn't fit well with what Sandy Alderson has planned for this Mets franchise.

Having Ruben Tejada at second, Justin Turner at third, and Daniel Murphy at first, made me question if a strikeout hitter like Wright with little offensive production would be able to gel with a bunch of scrappy, disciplined hitters who make at the very least, contact.

Something to consider.

Is Daniel Murphy A Shoe-In at First Base?

Shortstop Jose Reyes and centerfielder Carlos Beltran are without a doubt the most popular players on the Mets ballclub. Unfortunately for both of them, they have also had to endure the harshest criticism. Reyes has had to defend himself of late because of his inability to avoid the disabled list and Beltran has undergone two major knee surgeries within the last year that have kept him off the field more so than on.

With the current status of Reyes and Beltran in limbo, the ballclub has found itself relying on other types of players such as, Daniel Murphy, their projected first baseman for this upcoming season. Murphy has not only been heralded by the Mets organization as the de facto leader of this current wave of promising young talent coming out of their farm system but has also experienced his fair share of scrutiny equal to that of some of the Mets established veteran players. Ever since the soon-to-be-24-year-old broke out onto the scene in late 2008, he has been able to participate on the major league level in some capacity.

On Friday against the Minnesota Twins, he put up another goose egg in the hit column leaving six men on base and lowering his spring average in ten games to a disheartening .133. With those types of preseason numbers, Murphy’s critics could feel justified in their arguments that he shouldn’t simply be handed the first baseman’s job come April 5th.

In a recent article on Mets.com, Murphy stressed that he never reads any stories about himself and later added, “I can’t control that stuff.”

As depressing a .176 on-base percentage and a .233 slugging percentage may sound, Mets manager Jerry Manuel still seems pleased with Murphy’s progress thus far.

“He’s looked extremely well at first base,” Manuel said. “He’s very aggressive. We feel very, very, very comfortable and confident that he can get the job done at the Major League level and play well.”

Prospect Ike Davis will likely be starting the season at Triple-A and Mike Jacobs who was brought over to the Mets with the hopes of taking the first base man’s job away from Murphy is hitting just .200. Jacobs however has produced two home runs in twenty preseason at-bats.

That being said, Murphy may have already earned the right to begin the 2010 season as the Mets starting first baseman merely by default.