Daniel Murphy
It’s that time of the season most Mets fans dread. It’s that time for the extended west coast trip. The games start at 10:00, and you are either dozing off at the end of the game, or you’re exhausted the next morning.
We didn’t feel that way the Mets last road trip. Coincidentally, the first (and only) game of that road trip was also started by Jacob deGrom. Some of you refer to it as Game 5 of the NLDS. Others refer to it as “The Murphy Game.” Each and every Mets fan was treated to an absolutely gut wrenching instant classic game. The Mets won that game and the NLDS. Not one Mets fan fell asleep during that game. The adrenaline of that win carried Mets fans through the next day. Actually, the adrenaline from that game carried the Mets and Mets fans through the NLCS and into the World Series.
So tonight, hang in there if you can. You never know what amazing things you’re going to see night in and night out with the Mets dangerous lineup and rotation. Last time, it was the NLDS. Who knows what’ll be tonight
It’s only been 20 games, but there’s a lot to talk about with the Mets. There’s Neil Walker turning into Postseason Daniel Murphy. There’s Noah Syndergaard becoming the ace of the staff. Michael Conforto is already batting third, and he’s already become the Mets best hitter.
Also, the bullpen has been dominant. Really dominant.
The Mets bullpen has recorded with nine saves with a 2.54 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 69 appearances. They’ve recorded 78 strikeouts in 63.2 innings pitched. That’s good for a 11.03 K/9. All these numbers are all the more impressive when you consider it includes Rafael Montero‘s 11.57 ERA and 2.571 WHIP. When you back out Montero’s stats, the Mets bullpen would have a 2.20 ERA and an 1.17 WHIP.
Of particular note, Jim Henderson, Hansel Robles, and Addison Reed have been outstanding. They have combined to pitch 29.2 innings with a 1.82 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and a 12.74 K/9. The group of them have created the perfect bridge to Familia.
All the more impressive is that the Mets bullpen has performed this well without Jeurys Familia getting going. He has a 2.45 ERA and a 1.545 WHIP. However, even with his relative struggles, the he’s still a perfect 7/7 in save opportunities. Even better, he seems to have settled down, and he’s starting to pitch better. Over his last two appearances, he hasn’t allowed a baserunner. Once Familia returns to form, and there is no doubt he will, the Mets bullpen will become even more dominant.
That’s bad news for teams that are trying to get into the Mets bullpen after 6-7 innings against one of the Mets aces. Overall, the Mets not only have the best starting pitching staff in the majors, they really have the best pitching in the majors period.
Editor’s Note: this article was also published on metsmerizedonline.com
Last year, the Mets saw lengthy absences from David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud. Daniel Murphy and Michael Cuddyer were nicked up most of the year. Other Mets players got bumps and bruises along the way. The Mets depth got tested early and often in 2015, and it was ugly.
Dilson Herrera and Kevin Plawecki showed they weren’t ready to hit major league pitching. For his part, Plawecki had to stay in the lineup because Anthony Recker and Johnny Monell weren’t either. Eric Campbell and John Mayberry, Jr. showed why they weren’t everyday players, let alone middle of the order bats. There were other forgettable debuts from players like Darrell Ceciliani and Danny Muno. In 2015, the Mets bet against their farm system, and it nearly cost them the season.
In the offseason, the Mets made sure to build a deeper roster. They moved Wilmer Flores to a utility role. Alejandro De Aza is here as a fifth outfielder. Juan Lagares is a part time player who will start against lefties and come on as a late defensive replacement. Herrera is back in AAA where he belongs for now. Campbell and Plawecki are on the 25 man roster, but they are asked to do much less. Hypothetically, it’s a much deeper team.
Well, that hypothesis is now being put to the test.
Yoenis Cespedes has been dealing with a thigh issue due to his jumping in the stands and an awkward slide. As for now, he’s not DL bound. Yesterday, d’Arnaud left the game early with pain in his throwing shoulder. While he may not have been the best at throwing out would be base stealers, his throws were uncharacteristically poor. He will be examined today before a DL decision is made. Whether it will be one day, one week, one month, or more, the Mets will miss Cespedes and d’Arnaud.
No matter how much time if will be, this Mets team is better built to sustain these losses. Having a De Aza/Lagares platoon is a much better option than Ceciliani. Plawecki has another year of development under his belt. Hopefully, this translates to him having a better year at the plate.
The Mets better hope so. The Nationals look like a different team than they were a year ago. The Mets aren’t going to be able to coast for two – three months with subpar players. This is a new year. Fortunately, this is a new Mets team that’s built for just these types of situations.
On Sunday April 24th, Major League Baseball opened the voting to select the All Star Game starters. It’s another sign that the system is broken.
The concept of voting for your All Star Game starters is becoming antiquated, if it’s not antiquated already. The concept is that the fans get to vote for the players they want to see play in the game, but that’s not what it is, or what’s is become. Rather, the All Star Game voting has become an opportunity for a fanbase to stuff the ballot box to vote for their favorites. For example, in 2012, the San Francisco Giants fans stuffed the ballot box to make Pablo Sandoval the starting third baseman over the much more deserving David Wright.
Giants fans enthusiasm was much higher than Mets fans at the time with the Giants having recently won a World Series and the Mets being nowhere near contention. It also helped that the Giants’ organization led a huge push to get Sandoval elected. If we’re being honest, it’s not supposed to work this way. We’re not supposed to see fan bases making huge pushes to get their players elected. Rather, the fans as a whole are supposed to select the players that are the most deserving and who they want to see.
And yet, the Giants fans voting enmass for Sandoval fits into the spirit of the All Star Game.
The reason it fits into the spirit is even in the “This One Counts” Era of the All Star Game, each team no matter how bad gets a representative. The classic example is Dmitri Young representing a horrendous Tigers team that went 43-119. If 2003 didn’t force a change, nothing will.
The reason why it hasn’t changed is because the theory is your team having an All Star would generate your interest in watching the All Star Game. The belief is that you’ll tune-in to watch your guy play. Baseball wants to generate interest in the All Star Game, and whether it’s true or not, they believe this will generate fan interest in every city. In essence, Major Leagur Baseball loves when there is a concerted effort in a city to get the fans to vote for someone. It shows that fans care about their team and the All Star Game. The hope is that this translates to more viewers.
Now, if you want to generate as much fan interest as possible, you would want to try to ensure the fans actually get to see the players from their team they would actually want to see play.
For example, in two of his first four seasons with the Mets, Bobby Bonilla was the lone Mets All Star. This is the same player who was wearing earplugs so he couldn’t hear the fans booing him. There were no Mets fans in 1993 or 1995 watching just so they could see Bonilla enter the game. It wasn’t happening. As a result, in these circumstances, you defeat the purpose of the every team represented premise.
No, if your goal is to get the fans from a particular team to watch, you should pick out an All Star that they would actually want to watch play in the game. Better yet, why not let each team’s fans pick their All Star?
Instead of voting for the starters, let everyone vote for the one player from each team they would like to see play in the All Star Game. For the Dodgers, is there any question that player should be Clayton Kershaw? It’s possible Red Sox fans would like the opportunity to have David Ortiz go out as an All Star. If you’re a fan of a team like the Phillies, wouldn’t you want to see how your young hurler Vincent Velasquez pitches against the big boys?
This is also an opportunity the players themselves to market the biggest and brightest stars. Players can ask for people to vote for them and create their own hashtags. Jose Bautista could promise to do another epic bat flip if he’s selected as the Blue Jay’s representative. Maybe a slugger or two can make a reciprocal promise that if chosen they will participle in the Homerun Derby. This could be a chance for players to interact with the fans, let their personalities shine, and make themselves more marketable. Isn’t this exactly what baseball wants?
Also, you can eliminate something inane that has taken place in baseball. You could vote for a starter at every position, but you can’t vote for a pitcher. Doesn’t make sense. Kershaw could be the best pitcher in the game. He’s the pitcher most fans would pay to see pitch, but no, you as a fan cannot voice how much you want to see him pitch. Selecting one player from every roster ends that.
Another bonus is fans get to select more players to the game. Instead of electing 17, they get to pick 30. That’s 30 instead of 17 races to keep an eye on. Fans can get more involved. Throughout social media different factions of fanbase a can argue for their player and try to organize voting for that player.
Now, there are some inherent dangers in allowing fans to pick more players. The selection of say Freddie Freeman for the Braves could block a more deserving first baseman from getting selected. However, that is also a risk inherent in having each team have a representative.
The next hazard is there being too many players at each position. In some strange years, you may get three DH for the American League, which would create some potential roster issues. However, would that be any worse than Joe Torre going with five shortstops and one second baseman to the 2002 All Star Game? Furthermore, having a surplus at one position may force the best players to stay in the game longer, which would also be beneficial for the fans.
Overall, if you want to avoid the issue of having too many players at one position hampering the ability to field a team, expand the All Star Game rosters. It also wouldn’t hurt having an extra player or two to avoid another Milwaukee situation.
Now, there may be some people that would want to select the game’s starting lineups. There is no reason why that has to go away. You can replace voting for the last player to make the team with voting for which All Star gets to be in the starting lineup.
This would give an opportunity for fans to make a push to have their player start the game. Teams can launch their social media campaigns to have their players start the All Star Game. Then in an effort to increase ratings, baseball shouldn’t release the results of the fan vote until the players are introduced at the All Star Game. While we can debate the merits of whether or not more people would watch to see if Daniel Murphy or Neil Walker is the starting second baseman, we should be able to agree more would tune in to watch that than seeing the last All Star on each roster take the field.
One logistical note. This is a time when voting for a pitcher to start the game doesn’t make sense. Pitchers who pitched recently are unavailable to pitch in the game. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense to permit fans to vote for Kershaw only to have him miss the game. Hopefully, this issue is alleviated by the fact that baseball and Dodger fans had the opportunity to vote for him to play in the game during the initial vote.
Overall, implementing these two ideas would create more fan involvement and interest. It would actually let the fans of each team get to see the player they would want to see play in the game. Hopefully, at the end of the day, this will lead to bigger ratings.
When I woke up this morning and went to my car to head to work, I noticed some droplets of rain on my car. Last night, there was rain that fall from the very heavens where Bob Murphy now resides.
It reminded me of those days growing up listening to Murphy call a game on the radio as my family was in the car, or when we had a barbeque and listened to the game during those hot summer days and nights. Undoubtedly, when there were clouds in the sky, Murphy would describe the high cumulonimbuses in the sky. On a day like today, he would say, “The sun is shining. The sky is blue. It’s a beautiful day for baseball.” It always was a beautiful day for baseball when you got to hear Murphy call a game.
The Mets and their fans were blessed to have Murphy call games beginning in their first season all the way until 2003.
His retirement would begin a three year stretch with no Murphys in the Mets organization. It lasted until 2006 when Daniel Murphy was drafted by the team. Like his predecessor, he left his own indelible mark on the franchise, but his stay was not as long nor was it as impactful. As the Mets play their home opener today, it’s just strange to think the Mets won’t have a Murphy there at Citi Field.
However, Bob Murphy’s spirit lives on. He lives in the unparalleled Mets radio and television play-by-play of Gary Cohen and Howie Rose. He lives on with his name on the radio booth at Citi Field. He lives on with every cumulonimbus that hovers over Citi Field during a Mets game. He lives on after every single Mets win when a fan looks forward to “The Happy Recap.”
Between 1984 – 1990, the Mets finished in second place or better. Over the course of these seven seasons, the Mets averaged 95 wins. Without question, this was the best stretch in Mets history. It’s strange to think that any point in time your team averages 95 wins over the course of five seasons, you are disappointed. However, as Ron Darling expained to Mike Francesa, he feels “very disappointed” that the Mets didn’t accomplish more.
While Dariling’s feelings are understandable, and many Mets fans would agree with him, there are a number of reasons that we can point to as the reason why the Mets didn’t win more. Rick Sutcliffe went an amazing 16-1 after the Cubs acquired him helping them win the division in 1984. The Mets had to contend with a really good Cardinals team year in and year out. The Mets were snakebit with injuries during the 1987 season. The Mets ran into Orel Hershiser, who had one of the greatest seasons for a pitcher ever in 1988, in the NLCS. However, truth be told Davey Johnson managed a horrific series. In 1989, the team was in transition, and in 1990, the Pittsburgh Pirates were just better and were embarking on their own run. All of these reasons are valid, but the main reason everyone points to would be the drug problems, namely with Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.
There’s another reason why those Mets teams only got one shot at a World Series – the postseason format. Back in that time frame, the only teams that went to the postseason were the division winners. In today’s game, it would be unheard of a team winning 98 games not only missing the postseason, but also missing the postseason by three games. If you apply, the current postseason rules and divisional formats to the 1980’s, the Mets would have had won the NL East for all seven of those seasons. Its possible that instead of talking about the 1986 World Series, we’re talking about the Mets’ dynasty. It’s possible the Mets would’ve won multiple World Series during that stretch. It’s also possible that like the Braves in the 90’s, the Mets would only win one World Series, and we would be left questioning what happened.
Whatever may be the case, it’s apparent that those Mets teams did not get as many chances to reach the postseason as this current Mets team will. Last year, the Mets won the NL East with 90 wins. From 1984 – 1990, the Mets only won the NL East in the two seasons they won 100 games.
There is no reason for this Mets team to only go to the postseason twice with their current core group of players. Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard are under team control until 2019. Young players like Michael Conforto already contributing, There are big prospects like Dilson Herrera and Amed Rosario who we should see within the next few seasons at Citi Field contributing to what is already a World Series contending team. Without being too unreasonable, I believe this Mets team is set to contend for a longer period of time than Ron Darling’s Mets’ teams. To expect that seems unreasonable, but when you consider the young talent already on the team and in the pipeline, it’s certainly possible.
So before the Mets play their home opener today, they’re going to raise 2015 National League Champions flag. As we saw again that postseason, there is a lot that can happen along the way that can help you advance in each series. If not for Daniel Murphy having a game for the ages, and the Dodgers being unable to hit deGrom despite him having nothing, the Mets lose in the NLDS. The Mets are instead raising at 2015 National League East flag. So no, the 2016 season is not World Series or bust, nor in retrospect is the Mets only winning one World Series from 1984 – 1990 really disappointing.
With that said, I don’t blame Ron Darling for feeling the way he does. I won’t blame the current Mets players from feeling the same way about 2015. There is a World Series championship in the Mets clubhouse. Whether that is in 2016 or later, we do not know yet. Right now, I will say that as long as this Mets group wins one World Series, I won’t be disappointed because I will have been able to see something that has only happened twice in the Mets 54 year history. No matter what happens in 2016, it promises to be a special season, and I can’t wait to watch each and every minute of it.
Lets Go Mets.
Slowly but surely, Daniel Murphy became my favorite player on the Mets. He was a clutch player at the start. He played the game hard. Yes, he had some gaffes here and there, but they were the result of someone who was going all out all the time. He was never going to admit he couldn’t make a play. As a result, we sometimes got to see him do something spectacular. Other times, you just shook your head.
His being my favorite player was cemented when I met him. When I met him, he came and talked to me about my wife expecting. He signed a few things for my son, and he gave my son a baseball to learn how to play baseball with. Him becoming my son’s favorite player further cemented it.
After the postseason, there should not be one Mets fan who doesn’t love and respect this guy. Without him, the Mets lose in the NLDS.
Despite all that, the Mets didn’t want Murphy back. Instead, they made a bad trade to replace him with Neil Walker. Murphy then went to the Nationals to help them win the NL East. Admittedly, it was difficult watching Walker go 0-4 with a strikeout and an RBI ground out that helped kill a Mets eighth inning rally in an Opening Day loss. It was more difficult seeing that Murphy went 2-3 with two walks, a homerun, and a 10th inning go-ahead RBI double to help the Nationals secure an Opening Day win.
However, that does not mean I’m not rooting for Neil Walker. If you remember, I actually suggested the Mets trade for Walker if they were going to just jettison Murphy. I like Walker as a player. I just think the Mets made a bad decision letting Murphy go, and they made matters worse by making a bad trade. I hope Walker has s huge year. Trust me when I tell you I enjoyed this moment just as much as every other Mets fan, perhaps more:
? ICYMI | Newcomer @NeilWalker18 launched the first #Mets home run of 2016. #LGMhttps://t.co/d8lvAbpVrd
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 5, 2016
I’m undoubtedly rooting for Neil Walker. He’s a good baseball player. He looks to be a great guy too. Just because I love Murphy and hated a trade, it doesn’t mean I’m not rooting for the guy. I am rooting for him. I want to write glowing things about him. I want to implore the Mets to keep him for more than just this year (they won’t). I want to see more big homeruns. I want to see more of the guy that Pirates fans were depressed to see go.
I’ll always be a Mets fan first. I’m going to root for Neil Walker to succeed. I’ll root for whoever’s next, whether that is Dilson Herrera or whoever else or might be. Keep in mind, I rooted for Luis Castillo for FOUR YEARS. I think I can handle rooting for a good player and a good guy like Neil Walker.
It’s a process that began with Game 5 of the World Series.
In that game, I saw Terry Collins turn to noted steroid cheat, Bartolo Colon, when the Mets were down in extra innings. The Mets went to him even after he blew Game 1 of the World Series. Why turn to a younger, fresher, and overall better arm like Hansel Robles? No we go to Colon, who blew it again.
I processed the emotions of that loss, and I moved on. Then the Mets bring back Collins, the very same man who managed a horrendous World Series. They brought back Colon because, well, there was no good reason for that. Also, because Sandy Alderson is trying to replicate his late 80’s Oakland Athletics teams (i.e. steroid users), he added Antonio Bastardo to the bullpen mix. That was also after the Mets offered Jenrry Mejia a contract – if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.
While the Mets made sure to keep their steroid cheats, they got rid of Daniel Murphy, who single-handedly carried the Mets this offseason. I guess if Murphy started a steroids cycle and hit 30 home runs last year, the Mets would’ve given him a legitimate contract.
Think about it. The Mets threw away Murphy, who led them to the World Series, and they kept Lucas Duda, who literally threw away the Mets chances of winning a World Series. If the Mets were really serious about winning, they would keep the players that helped them win, and they would’ve gotten rid of the streaky players that did nothing to help them win anything.
Furthermore, during the offseason, we had to see Matt Harvey flaunt his bedroom prowess on Bravo. We saw Noah Syndergaard take a victory lap at every New York stadium and arena after the Mets lost. He probably should’ve spent that time learning how not to lose a World Series or needlessly throw at batter’s heads.
Even better, the Mets released Ruben Tejada for no reason at all. Tejada was an integral part of this Mets team. It was his injury that galvanized the Mets. Even with a cane, he was able to help the Mets win the pennant. When the Mets released him, they not only got rid of their leader, they had no legitimate backup plan. Eric Campbell has no business being a baseball player, and Matt Reynolds is a complete bust. Seriously, just remember it was Omar Minaya’s players, not Sandy Alderson’s that won the pennant.
I got past all of that and more. However, this Spring Training was the final straw. This Mets team has gone 13 straight games without a win. It’s clear from all of this Spring Training, they’re not taking getting ready for the season seriously.
Well, if this team can’t take winning seriously, I can’t root for this team anymore. I still can’t root for another NL team, and I’ll never root for the Yankees. I’ll be honest. It’s hard to pick another team to root for. I’ve been a Mets fan all my life, and the vast majority of my family (including my Dad and brother) are Mets fans.
Right now, I’m leaning towards the White Sox. Their coaching staff is full of great former Mets like Robin Ventura, Joe McEwing, and Daryl Boston. They’re taking getting ready for this season seriously. They actually addressed their needs in the offseason, and they let Adam LaRoche know they will not let his son be a distraction.
I wish Mets fans the best of luck. It’s been 30 years since the last World Series. I’d like to tell you to hang in there; that’ll happen soon. However, I’ve seen two collapses, Carlos Beltran not swinging, and Mike Piazza fly out to deep center. I know it’ll never happen in my lifetime, especially not with this offseason.
Best of luck to you Mets fans. Go ChiSox!
Mostly, you should ignore Spring Training. The only results that matter is how a player is progressing toward getting ready for the season. That’s much more important than their stats or a team’s Win-Loss record. However, I do admit there is one aspect of Spring Training that has me troubled.
Things have been very quiet in Washington.
Last year, Bryce Harper went from asking where his World Series ring was to getting choked by Jonathan Papelbon in the dugout. Ian Desmond rejected a contract extension worth over $100 million, and he was entering a contract year. The pressure of which was too much, and he faltered last year. The Nationals opened the year with big players like Anthony Rendon, Denard Span, and Jayson Werth on the Disabled List. Each would play less than 90 games. Stephen Strasburg struggled out of the gate, and he would miss some time with a shoulder injury.
This all proved to be too much for the 2015 World Series favorites. It’s a lot for a good manager to handle. It’s a disaster when your manager is terrible. That’s what the Nationals’ 2015 season was – a disaster.
Well, the Nationals cleaned house. They brought in three time NL Manager of the Year Dusty Baker. They added character guys like Daniel Murphy. They sured up a weak bullpen with guys like Oliver Perez and Yusmeiro Petit. They spent an offseason getting healthy and getting ready for the 2016 season. They came to Spring Training ready to work. While Spring Training records do not matter, they currently have the best Spring Training record in all of baseball. Note, the Mets had the best record last year, and they went to the World Series (still, Spring Training records really mean nothing).
This all amounts to the Nationals doing a better job of getting ready for the season. This is a team that will be ready to jump out of the gates and start winning ball games.
The Nationals are going to have some early season help too. In April, they play 12 games against the Braves and Phillies. They have another seven against the Marlins. In fact, 19 of their first 24 games are against teams that were under .500 last year. With a better manager, a weak schedule, and a much healthier roster, the Nationals could have a huge April. A huge April could give a really good team a huge confidence boost for the rest of the season.
Right now, I will still be calm about Jacob deGrom and his diminished velocity. I will look the other way when the subject of the Mets’ relievers’ dead arms is discussed. I’ll roll my eyes at the Mets’ current winless streak.
deGrom still has time to regain velocity. Dead arms are a part of Spring Training. These games don’t count. The only thing that really matters is the Mets are ready for Opening Day. They have to be ready to jump out of the gate and start winning some games. The Mets are going to have a fight on their hands for the NL East crown.
Unlike 2015, the Washington Nationals are not taking anything for granted. They’re going to be ready to reclaim the NL East. Their going to challenge the Mets every step of the way in 2016.
After his first game against the Mets, Daniel Murphy acknowledged the reason he’s a former Met is the presence of Dilson Herrera as the second baseman of the future. The real question is why did the Nationals want Murphy?
They were losing their shortstop Ian Desmond to free agency. They were set at second with Danny Espinosa. They had other second base options with Anthony Rendon and Yunel Escobar in the event the team wanted to shift Espinosa to shortstop this year to allow Trea Turner additional time to develop into the role. Looking over their roster and organization, Murphy didn’t specifically address what they needed. Dusty Baker disagrees with that assertion:
As long as [the Mets] don’t change too much of their personnel, he could be a tremendous asset to us. I mean, we took one of their spiritual leaders, one of their team leaders. And we didn’t take him; they gave him to us.
The Nationals see Murphy as a big part of the reason why they can beat the Mets. The Nationals organization had to face Murphy 19 times a year for a little more than six years. Even without an obvious fit, the Nationals signed Murphy.
With Murphy in the fold, the Nationals like their chances. As Nationals GM Mike Rizzo stated:
We’re trying to knock them off. They knocked us off the mountain. We were the champs two of the last four years, they’re the champs right now. We feel we match up with them very well. Since 2012, I think we are [49-26] against them, so we know we’ve done well against them. I like where we are at. When healthy we can compete against anybody. We feel good about ourselves.
The Mets are still the prohibitive favorites to win the NL East. They have perhaps the best pitching staff the Mets have ever had . . . and that’s saying something. They look to have a better offensive team. They now have the experience after last year’s pennant.
However, the division is far from a lock. The Nationals still have the reigning NL MVP and a very good rotation. They also have Murphy, and we have all seen what he can do in big games. There’s going to be 19 of them during the regular season.
The Nationals got him for not only these games but all the others in between to help them win the NL East.