Entries from Mike's Mets tagged with 'Daniel Murphy'
And So It Begins...
It happens but once a year... Opening Day for the Mets and their die-hard fannies. Today, things get real and exciting. Hot Stove and Spring Training are behind us and the 162-game grind begins. For Terry Collins' band of bargain...
Touching Second
We'll get back to our "Things I Hope to See in 2012" series next time out, but I wanted to take a moment and share a few more thoughts on the second base job that I touched on in part...
Things I Hope to See in 2012, Part 1
I spent some time this weekend trying do something I've done just about every spring since I started this blog -- write some sort of preview of the upcoming season. I finally gave up on it after wasting more time...
Season Preview: Can Anyone Here Play This Game?
In our third installment of our season preview series we'll take a look at the position players. Catcher Josh Thole is going to be the guy this year. As a hitter, he's somewhat of a throwback to guys I watched...
Perchance to Dream
Low Expectations May Be the Elixer For the first time in several campaigns, no one picks the Mets the win the NL East and few pick them for the NL Wild Card. Perhaps we have been blessed by the lowering...
Looking Back, Looking Ahead (Part 1)
Going into this winter I thought that the Mets had too many question marks to consider themselves a player or two away from being legit contenders, particularly with the Phillies and Braves looking solid. There were some pundits and...
Sell High, Buy Low and Other Unlikely Strategies
Hot Stove has arrived and speculation runs rampant as usual. As Mets fans, we have little else to think about or cheer. So, how do Jeff and Omar set forth to right the ship? Let me throw my two cents...
The Future of Daniel Murphy
Whether you like Daniel Murphy, as I do, or not, his 2009 season has inarguably been a disappointment. The Post's Joel Sherman went as far as identifying Murphy as "one of the key faces of the Mets' failure in 2009",...
25 Games In
Now that we're caught up on all the games, I thought I'd take a few moments to share some random thoughts on the first 25 games of the season. The Backup Catcher Remember how popular Ramon Castro was here a...
Perez Bounces Back
Game 8: Mets 7 - Padres 2 It wasn't the most electric stuff I've ever seen from Oliver Perez, but he pitched intelligently and under control. During the game both Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez were very complimentary of the...
No Support for Johan
Game 6: Marlins 2 - Mets 1 Not really much to say about this one. I had a bunch of people over for Easter and could only sneak away every so often to peek in on this game. I didn't...
The Big Hits Prove Elusive
Game 4: Marlins 5 - Mets 4 Tough one tonight. I guess some will harp on the fact that Maine allowed those two solo home runs, but I came away from his 5-inning stint fairly satisfied. Hopefully it's something he...
Thoughts on Opening Day
Sorry I'm later than promised with more in-depth thoughts from yesterday's game. I find that I'm writing more often and with better quality this year when I try to do a little more than I think I can do. Sometimes...
Just As Designed
Game 1: Mets 2 - Reds 1 The Mets used a decent start from Johan Santana, three relievers -- none of whom were here last season -- and a couple of terrific at bats from Daniel Murphy to win their...
Some Thoughts with a Week to Go
I watched last night's game against the Orioles and came away impressed by several things I saw. Although Oliver Perez still wasn't throwing his best fastball, he certainly looked much better than he did his first couple of outings back...
Belated Sunday Reading
I know, it's not really Sunday any more, but after missing a couple of days I thought I'd ease back into posting with the usual Sunday feature. Both my Mets-related reading and writing suffered this week due to a backlog...
Things Going Right
Tim Redding won't be ready to open the season with the Mets. John Maine isn't throwing his curveball yet. Freddie Garcia looks like what he is -- a thirty-something pitcher trying to come back from shoulder surgery. Livan Hernandez can't...
Murphy and Sanchez
It's after midnight and I still have a couple of hours work to do before I hit the sheets, but here's some quick Mets-related thoughts for your pleasure (or displeasure.) When I get really swamped with works, it's often e-mails...
Preliminary Thought on the Mets -- Conclusions
I understand that the team has a lot of question marks going into this season, but I can't help but feel more optimistic this year. I'm sure the revamped bullpen plays a part in this, but that's not the only...
Out of Left Field?
I promise to get to the conclusions for the 2009 Mets previews series, but I wanted to weigh in on some of the weekend's news. The biggest news was Jerry Manuel's pronouncement that Daniel Murphy was the Mets everyday LF...
Preliminary Thought on the Mets -- Position Players
Yesterday I shared a few initial things that I'm paying attention to this spring from the 2009 Mets starting rotation and bullpen. Today we'll take a look at the position players, tomorrow the bench. Catcher Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro...
Thoughts of Spring
It's been a rough winter where I live in west central Connecticut. Seems like I've been shoveling snow every other day since December, and as I write this my outside thermometer is registering a balmy 6.7 degrees Fahrenheit. However, now...
Winter Meetings Day One
I remember previous seasons reading complaints that Omar Minaya was impatient and too quick to overpay for the player or players he wanted. Now there is criticism about how none of the holes on this team have been filled yet....
Demolition Man, Part IV - The Outfield
In many ways, the Mets' outfield is the part of their team with the most question marks. Despite the string of injuries suffered by Mets outfielders, though, it's the place where they're most likely to stand pat this winter. Fernando...
The Nearer Your Destination, The More You're Slip Sliding Away
Game 158: Cubs 9 - Mets 6 (10) Yesterday was probably my last game at Shea Stadium. If somehow the Mets could have overcome their almost bizarre problem with scoring runners from third with no outs, it could have been...
Four Omar - Five to Go
Upon the revelation that Omar Minaya is about to be extended four more years, it is time to reflect on the still to be determined 2008 Mets campaign. Nothing is more obvious than the high quality pitching delivered start in...
The Days Dwindle Down to a Precious Few
Game 153: Mets 9 - Braves 5 With nine games left to go in their regular season, the New York Mets reclaimed first place with a win that featured anything but their crispest baseball. Over the past couple of months...
We Sincerely Hope Jimmy Rollins Wasn't Offended By Last Night's Mets Win
Game 134: Mets 6 - Phillies 3 The Mets record in the first game against of all series against the Phillies this season: 1-4 The Mets record in all other games against the Phillies this season: 9-1. God bless you,...
Pelfrey
Game 132: Mets 9 - Astros 1 In many different ways we've talked about the strides Mike Pelfrey has made this season. As I began my long trek out to Shea yesterday afternoon I realized that I was excited about...
The Rollercoaster Heads Back Up
Game 115: Mets 3 - Marlins 0 (Friday) Game 116: Mets 8 - Marlins 6 (Saturday) Sometimes the Mets play so badly against second division clubs that it's almost impossible to see them as a true playoff contender. Then they...
Riding the Rollercoaster
Game 113: Padres 4 - Mets 2 (Wednesday) Game 114: Mets 5 - Padres 3 (Thursday) In a season where nothing comes easy, the last two games of the Padres series were representative of what we've seen the last four...
An Uncomfortable Win
Game 112: Mets 6 - Padres 5 Billy Wagner's season has featured huge ups and downs, and the ninth inning has been a nervous time for Mets fans. Now that Billy is on the shelf for two weeks it has...
Omar Shows Restraint
Staying away from moving quality young talent for two month rental players is not a discipline familiar to some general managers. Omar Minaya showed restraint and respect for what may actually be a very underrated talent pool. In fact, most...
Feed Subscription
If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to a feed of all future entries tagged 'Daniel Murphy'. [What is this?]
