Tag: Daniel Murphy

Mets 7 – Nationals 4 May 27, 2009

The Mets complete the 3-game sweep of the Nationals tonight that was an interesting game in several aspects. First, Johan Santana was struggling through 6 innings giving up 3 runs. Although he was struggling, he did have 11 strikeouts. But he also had 6 walks and gave up 3 hits. It wasn’t vintage Santana but it was enough to get the win and raise his record to 7-2.

Another interesting aspect of the game was Daniel Murphy at the plate. He was 3-for-4 with a homer a double and 5 RBI’s. The home run in the sixth inning appeared to go off the Subway sign that overhangs right field. Initially, the umpires called the ball in play and Gary Sheffield was thrown out at the plate. But the play was reviewed and the umpires called it a home run off the Subway sign. It was really hard to tell from the replays. I’d be curious to know what they saw in their replays.

Sheffield was 1-for-2 with 2 walks and a key 2-run double in the first inning. Luis Castillo was 2-for-2 with 3 walks as well. It was a good offensive night except for David Wright going 1-for-5 with 4 strikeouts.

The Mets move back into first place with a Phillies loss tonight after completing the sweep of the sad Nationals team.

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Dodgers 2 – Mets 1 May 20, 2009

The Dodgers completed the sweep of the Mets tonight and sent New York to their fourth straight loss. You never would’ve thought the game would be 1-1 in the eighth inning of a game that Livan Hernandez and Jeff Weaver started. I thought it would’ve been 8-6 or something like that.

Hernandez pitched really well going 7 innings and giving up 1 run on 93 pitches. I’m shocked that I’m writing that because he appears to be pitching batting practice out there. It’s hard to understand how he doesn’t get shelled in every start. The problem came in the eighth inning with J.J. Putz… again. He gave up 2 walks and 2 hits including 1 run. That was the game.

Once again, the Mets had basically no offense. Carlos Beltran was 2 for 3 with a double but the Mets only had 7 hits in the game.

For those of you that couldn’t stay up to watch the game Daniel Murphy was fantastic at first base. He made all the plays including an unassisted double play. Clearly, he can pick it at first. If they’re trying to find a way to get his bat into the lineup… Consider that problem solved. He had to feel great about that after looking like such a bafoon in the outfield all season.

Jose Reyes left the game after his second at-bat. He was running out a ground out and his right leg injury was aggrevated. He limped off the field and immediately came out of the game. Ramon Martinez played the rest of the game at short. It looks like this injury is more serious than they originally thought.

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Dodgers 5 – Mets 3 May 19, 2009

John Maine was having a good start but Jerry Manuel left him in the game for one batter too many. Casey Blake hit a three run homer in the sixth to send the Mets to their third straight loss.

It looked like it was going to be another disasterous night when Daniel Murphy singled in the first inning and attempted a steal before Chad Billingsley even moved. Murphy was easily picked off by Billingsley in a bizzare play. In the bottom of the first Murphy muffed a fly ball hit right to him in left field by Juan Pierre. And Pierre would come around to score on a single by Orlando Hudson.

There just wasn’t much offense by the Mets garnering only 6 hits tonight. The Mets and Dodgers finish their series in Los Angeles tomorrow night.

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Mets Delgado Needs Surgery; Out Two Months

Carlos DelgadoBreaking news this afternoon that Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado will have surgery tomorrow to repair a torn labrum and remove a bone spur in his hip. The surgery will keep Delgado away from the team until mid-July. Unfortunately, this is the kind of thing that happens with older players in the last year or two of long term contracts. The Mets were bitten by similar situations with Pedro Martinez.

Delgado will be 37 years old in June and leaves the Mets with somewhat of a hole in the lineup and at first base. I don’t think the Mets will be pursuing a trade before the deadline in July as some of the baseball know-it-all’s have speculated in recent days.

Expect Fernando Tatis, Daniel Murphy, and Jeremy Reed to split time. Murphy can consider this an audition for next season when Delgado certainly will be gone from the Mets. I believe that he’ll have a hard time holding off Tatis for playing time. Tatis has proven that he’s more than capable in the field and has some good power in his bat. The only question is whether his warts will be exposed with increased playing time.

Not to be lost in this story is the foresight of Omar Minaya acquiring Gary Sheffield last month. He’ll have the next two months to prove that he’s still got that old lightning in his bat that the Tigers thought was gone when they released him.

If Delgado doesn’t look like he can make a successful comeback in July the Mets can pull the trigger ona deal before the trading deadline on July 31. Unless the Mets can get something for nothing, there’s no reason to hit the panic button yet.

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Mets Carlos Delgado On Disabled List

Flickr photo courtesy of Rafael Amado Deras
Flickr photo courtesy of Rafael Amado Deras

The Mets put first baseman Carlos Delgado on the disabled list retroactive to May 10, 2009. He hasn’t played because of soreness in his hip that hasn’t been relieved by the treatment he’s received from team trainers. He’s on his way back to New York to be examined by doctors and may require surgery to resolve the problem.

Angel Pagan will replace Delgado on the roster. He’s played in three games at Triple-A Buffalo hitting 4 for 14 (.286) with 2 triples and 2 RBI’s. Pagan had elbow surgery in March.

I expect to see Daniel Murphy, Fernando Tatis, and Jeremy Reed to split time at first base in Delgado’s absence. Murphy’s stint at first could be a preview for next season as Delgado’s contract end this year with the Mets.

This also means that Gary Sheffield will be playing almost every day in left field. Jerry Manuel feels that Sheffield adds the power to the lineup that’s missing without Delgado. Of course, this reduces Murphy’s playing time so he’ll need to get some at-bat’s at first base.

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Bonds And Sheffield Speak Again

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Gary Sheffield took the opportunity of being in San Francisco to catch up with his old friend Barry Bonds according to the San Francisco Chronicle. I had always wondered if those two ran into each other after their public friendship split.

Sheffield blamed Bonds for getting caught in the BALCO scandal and for him unknowingly taking steriods. You should definitely go back and read this article by Tom Verducci on the whole saga.

Apparently, the two patched up their BFF breakup a long time ago according to Sheffield. Can I take this opportunity to say that I’d rather see Bonds playing left field every day for the Mets than Daniel Murphy stumbling around out there?

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Mets 7- Phillies 4 May 1, 2009

I didn’t particularly like what I saw from Mike Pelfrey tonight but he did enough to win. He went 5.1 innings giving up 3 runs, but I didn’t like that he had 4 walks and 0 strikeouts. I also didn’t like that he had 104 pitches in 5.1 innings. He was actually better at the plate than on the mound. He was 1 for 2 with 2 RBI’s.

On offense Daniel Murphy got things going in the first inning with a 2-run homer off Chan Ho Park. The Mets were beneficiaries of 8 walks from Phillies pitchers on the night. A good sign was that David Wright was 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI, and a walk. He needed a night like that badly. Of course, Fernando Tatis was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. He just keeps on hitting in a tough role of not getting regular playing time. He looks pretty comfortable at first base too.

Once again, the Mets didn’t score runs late in the game. They didn’t score a run after the fifth. That’s been a recurring theme this season but it didn’t come back to bite them tonight.

The Mets get the important first game of the series in Philly. Tomorrow’s game is the Fox game of the week.

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Recap/Box score
Scoreboard
N.Y. Mets (10-12) « 2 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 7 9 2
Philadelphia (11-10) 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 8 1
Players of the Game
Philadelphia
R. Ibanez AB 4
R 0
H 1
HR 0
RBI 2
New York
M. Pelfrey IP 5.1
H 7
ER 3
BB 4
K 0
New York Mets
Jose B. Reyes, SS 4 0 0 1 0 0 4 .272
Alex Cora, 2B 4 1 1 0 1 1 0 .240
Daniel Murphy, LF 5 1 1 2 0 0 1 .315
Carlos Beltran, CF 2 2 1 0 3 0 0 .390
David Wright, 3B 4 0 2 1 1 0 1 .291
Ryan Church, RF 5 0 0 0 0 1 5 .292
Fernando Tatis, 1B 4 2 2 0 1 0 1 .370
Omir Santos, C 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 .286
Mike Pelfrey, SP 2 0 1 2 0 0 2 .143
Pedro Feliciano, RP 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000
Totals 32 7 9 7 8 2 15
BATTING
2B – C Beltran (5); D Wright (5); F Tatis (2); O Santos (2)
HR – D Murphy (2)
RBI – J Reyes (8); D Murphy 2 (9); D Wright (9); O Santos (5); M Pelfrey 2 (2)
SF – J Reyes (1); O Santos (1); M Pelfrey (1)
BASERUNNING
SB – C Beltran (2)
CS – D Wright (3)
New York Mets
Mike Pelfrey (W,3-0) 5.1 7 3 3 4 0 0 6.00
Pedro Feliciano 1.2 1 1 1 0 2 1 4.00
J.J. Putz 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.75
Francisco J. Rodriguez (S,5) 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1.86
Philadelphia Phillies
Jimmy Rollins, SS 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 .198
Shane Victorino, CF 5 1 1 0 0 1 2 .281
Chase Utley, 2B 2 2 1 1 2 0 0 .347
Ryan Howard, 1B 4 0 1 0 1 1 3 .286
Jayson Werth, RF 3 1 0 0 1 1 3 .250
Raul Ibanez, LF 4 0 1 2 0 1 1 .354
Pedro Feliz, 3B 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .333
Chris Coste, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .182
Chan Ho Park, SP 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .143
Greg Dobbs, PH-3B 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .158
Miguel Cairo, PH-2B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 34 4 8 4 5 4 13
BATTING
HR – C Utley (8)
RBI – C Utley (21); R Ibanez 2 (19); P Feliz (15)
BASERUNNING
CS – J Rollins (2)
Philadelphia Phillies
Chan Ho Park (L,0-1) 4.2 8 7 7 6 1 1 8.57
Chad Durbin 1.1 1 0 0 1 0 0 4.50
J.A. Happ 2.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.52
Clay Condrey 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.38
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