Muffy

Edgy DC
May 13 2009 08:58 AM

Manuel, according to Rubin says that Daniel Murphy will see some time at first if Carlos Delgado ends up on the DL.

Good news. I just wish the Delgado disabling didn't need to be the pre-text.

HahnSolo
May 13 2009 09:27 AM

On FAN yesterday afternoon, Jerry said the same thing, but also said he expected both Tatis and Reed to get time there. And the Murphy to first thing was more a "Get Sheff in the lineup for his power" idea, and not a "hey, let's move Murph around" idea.

John Cougar Lunchbucket
May 13 2009 09:28 AM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 13 2009 09:38 AM

I'd like to see Muffy hitting the ball more than he is right now at any posoition on the field.

I like to give guys 150 plate appearances to see what we oughta expect of him and thru 115 this year Muffy is at 277/342/426, or about 100 pts of OPS (50 OBA/50 SLG) down from his first 150 PAs last year.

One thing that's been missing from Murph's game lately are those death-defying turns at bat where he fought the pitcher so hard with fouls and took his walks when he didn't get something to rip.

Either way, I'd like a pretty hot next 35 trips.

metirish
May 13 2009 09:37 AM

I'm probably totally wrong here but Murphy at first base sounds like trouble , defensibly that is .Tatis strikes me as a better athlete than Murphy and he is having some trouble playing first. Certainly Murphy's inexperience will hurt at the position. It's just not that easy.

duan
May 13 2009 09:39 AM

needs must though and murphy's younger and more recently been exposed to regular time in the infield.

Edgy DC
May 13 2009 09:42 AM

Murphy played almost exclusively in the infield in the minors. It's the outfield where he's inexperienced.

metirish
May 13 2009 09:49 AM

Thirteen games at Bingo last season playing first , that's it. I always think back to what keith Hernandez likes to say " playing first is not that easy".

Edgy DC
May 13 2009 09:57 AM

Playing baseball isn't that easy, and I'm sure that he won't be polished.

My point is that he's heare to hit, and I'd rather they move him in and out of the lineup and around the field as his bat warrants, rather than ask him to master left and hold down a job there.

soupcan
May 13 2009 11:13 AM

="metirish":27xpjsbn]No Runs and Bad Defence[/quote:27xpjsbn]
="metirish":27xpjsbn]....defensibly that is.[/quote:27xpjsbn]

Pick a freakin' spelling already would ya?

Benjamin Grimm
May 13 2009 11:22 AM

Playing first isn't as easy as people probably think, especially at the level that Keith played.

But it's a lot easier than left field, I'd think.

Fman99
May 13 2009 12:56 PM

You know, if it's muffy, there are products they make that can get rid of that, make it smell real nice and all.

Oh, wait, what?

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Jun 04 2009 01:34 PM

We can't live with a 700 OPS at first base for much longer.

How much more time do you give him?

Edgy DC
Jun 04 2009 01:39 PM

Until you can convince Sheffield to give it another try?

Fman99
Jun 04 2009 01:39 PM

="John Cougar Lunchbucket":38qbegz5]We can't live with a 700 OPS at first base for much longer. How much more time do you give him?[/quote:38qbegz5]

It's not like the Mets have an alternative right now who's lighting it up. Plus Reed looked fairly green at 1B when he was in there.

Name OPS
Reed 762
Tatis 731
Murphy 707

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Jun 04 2009 01:41 PM

Until we trade every arm we have that's less than 25 years old for Nick Johnson?

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Jun 04 2009 02:41 PM

="Fman99":351lldhy]
="John Cougar Lunchbucket":351lldhy]We can't live with a 700 OPS at first base for much longer. How much more time do you give him?[/quote:351lldhy] It's not like the Mets have an alternative right now who's lighting it up. Plus Reed looked fairly green at 1B when he was in there. Name OPS Reed 762 Tatis 731 Murphy 707[/quote:351lldhy]

Yeah, I know the alternatives are few. The question I am asking is when do they reach a point at which they have to create more alternatives.

Do you give Muffy this next series to show he can hit, or two series, or trade for Nick Johnson/DeRosa/LaRoche now?

Nymr83
Jun 04 2009 02:55 PM

If DeRosa can be had at a reasonable price i think you do that whether you like Murphy or not because he can backup every infield position, thuogh its worth noting that he's played 1B the least of any position

Edgy DC
Jun 04 2009 02:59 PM

That don't confront me none.

cooby
Jun 04 2009 07:06 PM

Harry Muff

smg58
Jun 04 2009 08:29 PM

Murphy's strikeout rate is so low (14 in 145 AB's) that I can't see his batting average staying this low indefinitely. I think a bit more patience is in order.

Frayed Knot
Jun 04 2009 08:49 PM

="Nymr83":w3ud1pbq]If DeRosa can be had at a reasonable price i think you do that whether you like Murphy or not because he can backup every infield position, thuogh its worth noting that he's played 1B the least of any position[/quote:w3ud1pbq]

The reason DeRosa has played 1B less than other positions is that he doesn't hit well enough to play there which is where we are with Murphy at this point.
DeRosa career = .278/.347/.423 - and he's 34
Murphy career (such as it is) = .279/.360/.426
He'd be a nice player to have as an all-around fill-in but I wouldn't look to him to bridge the Delgado gap.

At this point we've got enough other problems where I think we have to leave Muffy alone and hope he perks up.

Elster88
Jun 04 2009 08:51 PM

Can DeRosa catch?

smg58
Jun 05 2009 11:17 AM

Ryan Garko can catch, which is why he intrigues me more than DeRosa.

But I'd be talking to the Indians about Cliff Lee first, and a righthanded bat second.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Jun 05 2009 11:34 AM

="Frayed Knot"]
="Nymr83"]If DeRosa can be had at a reasonable price i think you do that whether you like Murphy or not because he can backup every infield position, thuogh its worth noting that he's played 1B the least of any position
The reason DeRosa has played 1B less than other positions is that he doesn't hit well enough to play there which is where we are with Murphy at this point. DeRosa career = .278/.347/.423 - and he's 34 Murphy career (such as it is) = .279/.360/.426

To be fair, though, his career numbers may not be exactly reflective of the hitter he is now. This may seem like a sample cherry-pick, but his power has really grown by leaps and bounds as he entered his thirties-- the last four years he's really been a different hitter (wOBA at about .360, slugging at a .450-.460 rate, compared to the .310/.400 he put up in his early career) than he was while scuffling about for the first half of the decade simply as a many-gloved utility freak. Mind you, it's still not more than league-average (or slightly below) 1B numbers he's putting up, but still... it's more respectable.

(To counter my own point, Murphy-- presumably-- may not yet be exactly what he is going to be, either.)

mario25
Jun 05 2009 08:27 PM

Murphy 0-4 tonight, he is battting .240. He is not hitting up to support a mediocre glove.... He needs some time in Buffalo.

Frayed Knot
Jun 05 2009 08:29 PM

="mario25":3rg4hxky]Murphy 0-4 tonight, he is battting .240. He is not hitting up to support a mediocre glove.... He needs some time in Buffalo.[/quote:3rg4hxky]

Fine, but that brings up the old Abbott and Costello question: Who's On First?

Kong76
Jun 05 2009 08:32 PM

FK: Who's On First? <<<

That don't matter in roto.

Edgy DC
Jun 07 2009 12:26 PM

Stop giving up on Murphy.

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Jun 30 2009 09:16 AM

="John Cougar Lunchbucket":2ymvmoks]We can't live with a 700 OPS at first base for much longer. How much more time do you give him?[/quote:2ymvmoks]

bump.

OPS = 680

Benjamin Grimm
Jun 30 2009 09:19 AM

Well, at least it's not 700.

Geez, the Mets have so much going wrong it's hard to know how to prioritize what to do.

It would be nice if they had an exceptionally smart GM.

smg58
Jun 30 2009 09:31 AM

I don't understand how somebody with his K/AB ratio could have such a low average, unless he's either getting really unlucky or getting nothing on his swings. But if the latter were true, how come he has more home runs than Wright?

DocTee
Jun 30 2009 09:53 AM

DeRosa could've played first...and his 12 homers would lead the team.

just sayin'

Frayed Knot
Jun 30 2009 10:45 AM

="smg58":3bysbapl]I don't understand how somebody with his K/AB ratio could have such a low average, unless he's either getting really unlucky or getting nothing on his swings. But if the latter were true, how come he has more home runs than Wright?[/quote:3bysbapl]

Lotsa pop-ups/short-flys

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Jun 30 2009 11:51 AM

="smg58":2qn8pr2p]I don't understand how somebody with his K/AB ratio could have such a low average, unless he's either getting really unlucky or getting nothing on his swings. But if the latter were true, how come he has more home runs than Wright?[/quote:2qn8pr2p]

How about "unlucky/more lift on his swings"?

YEAR BABIP LD% FB% GB/FB
2008-- .386 33.3 25.5 1.62
2009-- .258 17.5 40.7 1.03

Getting the ball in the air more usually has a depressive effect on BA and other rate stats, unless you unless you've got more power than Muff does (see: Justin Upton's numbers this year). DM's actually hitting HRs at about the same rate as last year, in terms of HR/FB (7.7 to 6.5)... it's just that he's hitting more flyballs, hence the lower average and slightly-higher homer numbers. Barring something funky happening, the BABIP should come up a bit in the second half.

[Wright, on the other hand, is getting a ridiculous amount of the stuff he makes contact with to drop (.455 BABIP... and that's come DOWN in recent weeks). Also, his HR/FB has dropped a LOT (5.1, as compared with a career rate of 14.3).]

Edgy DC
Jun 30 2009 11:57 AM

I think this week (at least) has been a grand tour of the number of ways Daniel Murphy can hit the ball hard and make an out.

Triple Dee
Jun 30 2009 12:09 PM

="Benjamin Grimm":cdlg41sl] It would be nice if they had an exceptionally smart GM.[/quote:cdlg41sl]

Well, it's a good thing they have a GM who has a reputation for making aggressive trades.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Jun 30 2009 12:30 PM

="Edgy DC"]I think this week (at least) has been a grand tour of the number of ways Daniel Murphy can hit the ball hard and make an out involving superhuman defensive play from Melky Cabrera and/or a Yankee substitute.

/Fixed