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In the eighth inning of last night’s come-for-behind win versus the Phillies, Daniel Murphy, who was mired in an 0-for-16 slump, came to the plate with the scored tied at three with two on and two out to face Phillies closer Brad Lidge.
Murphy lined a clutch double to left to score the go-ahead run and put the Mets in the lead for good.
Jerry Manuel, on his confidence in Murphy, speaking to reporters after the game:
“I feel very comfortable. He is very good hitter. We’ve seen him in one of his better streaks and now we see him somewhat struggle, coming back to normal. But at the same time he is putting together good at-bats. I feel very confident when he is at the plate. I never thought about pinch hitting for him. He is a part of what we are doing and feel like he can come through for us and he did.”
Unlike Manuel, I thought either Fernando Tatis or Damion Easley should have pinch hit for Murphy when Phillies LHP Scott Eyre came on to pitch in the sixth. I’m glad Manuel had faith in his young player, because it certainly paid off later.
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I was also surprised when Tatis did not pinch hit for Murphy in the 6Th but it sure ended up working out and giving the kid lots of confidence
His double was lined to right not left
yeah i was gonna say – i thought it was hit to right but i thought maybe i got confused… (because keith was talking about how daniel naturally drives the ball to left field, and only occasionally hits it to right – just before he hit the ball to right)
I saw a Daniel Murphy kid’s size jersey at the team store at Shea the other day. Perhaps the Mets are getting one step closer to — gasp! — actually having apparel for players on the roster. (Along the same lines, it is really freaking lame that we don’t have “Topps” “cards” for half the lineup about the ticket booths.)
It ticks me off that Lidge gets to be a “perfect” 31/31 saves after this and a previous similar Wagner-like non-save outing.
Aww..be nice. Lidge will only have that perfect save record to stare at at home in October.
It’s always annoyed me about the Topps cards. I could understand when they didn’t have really late season guys like Conine, but guys that were called up early like Tatis? pfft. I mean, obviously some buisness they do before the season and forget about, and some they can do mid-season, like the lineups “Daniel Murphy, Number 28…whereeverhe’s from”
I’m shocked there was a jersey..they are a litttle…better recently and at Shea. I’m hoping they’ll be much better at the Citi.
No worries – as long as we touched him up yesterday. He’s very human, despite his perfect 31 of 31. On a related note, the splits between save-outings and non-save outings is downright frightening for some of these guys.
Also, I’d like to thank good old Cholly for making such an awful decision by leaving Seanez in about three batters too long.
What, you didn’t think 3-6 with 2HRs was a good matchup???? :)
We def got the better Manuel. Can you imagine if this clown was ours? Oy.
Lidge also had another similar-type of non-save situation earlier in the year where he let up 7 or 8 runs in the 9th.
The hit was to right field, but otherwise a good post.
see, i saw no reason to pinch hit tatis for murph…you have to think JUST in case this game went to extras again that you would need a pinch hitter late, so to me, that is a no brainer
exactly.
Daniel Murphy is not only clutch …
He is serious!
and business-like!
And don’t call him Danny!
Or Dan!
Or Danno!
Or . . . MagaDan™!
Meanwhile, what the heck happened to the ONLY Met that could hit the Phils in September last year, Wright. Although if you believe in “BABIP”, he’s been “unlucky” in the ninth inning of games this year, he’s hitting .229 in innings 7-9, with 33 K’s in 171 plate appearances. In innings 1-3, he’s hitting .310 with 27 K’s in 229 plate appearances. OPS dives from a terrific .954 to a ho-hum .776, with only 5 of his 25 HR coming after the sixth inning. Why is the run differential so poor late in games? Not just the bullpen’s fault.
Interestingly, while he craps the bed with RISP and 2 out, his “close and late” and “high leverage” averages aren’t bad.
He’s having bad at bats. Always seems to be down 0-2. Swinging at bad pitches out of the zone.
Daniel Murphy has to remind him how to approach an at bat. heh
And then the Mets put a sign in his locker that says “Know your place, rookie”. Murphy will then respond by putting out a rap album on the internet
Not before he plays a game with a HUGE Celtic cross hanging from his neck.
haha. L-Millz, meet D-Murf.
When they meet, D-Murf will offer L-Millz a high five …
only to leave him hangin’.
Daniel Murphy enters his at bats to the sounds of Drop-Kick Murphy. Outstanding.
anyone want to ruin the philly takeover at shea thing?
apparently at mets com they have a group ticket option and you can get in with PHILLY/METS and buy their group tickets at $25 each..i’m tempted
alex trebek says, “answer: the drunkest most obnoxious section in shea stadium during the mets phillies game”
Question: What a person calls an area with 1 or more Phillies fans?
Phagville
the Phillies dugout
Nah that’s just Rollins.
How nice is it to have the option of Tatis off the bench now? Add Murphy, Easley, and Endy to that mix and I would say that this is the best bench for the last few years. Even though the injuries were a pain in the butt earlier in the year, they may pay off in the long run.
Think about this…Church is still getting back into baseball shape. He should be rounding into form midway thru September and that may be the best call-up we could have hoped for…
Agreed on the bench comment. Except I think Endy is only a help in the field, not really at the plate. Nontheless I think this team has a lot of options late in a game. Time to call up a plethora of arms to help the bullpen September 1st. If anything, it might scare the veterans into pitching well, or else they will lose their jobs to a rook.
I should have clarified the Endy thing. I shouldn’t have lumped him in with the hitters. Although, he does have his moments. His value comes from his speed as a pinch runner or his excellent range. With Endy’s entrance in the 8th inning the Mets’ outfield becomes the best in baseball. They can run anything down.
Exactly. I think he is the perfect player to bring in during a double switch.
Do you really think this bench is better than Franco and Newhan?
Nope. That is the greatest all-time.
You got me on that one.
Just imagine how amazing our bench would be with Ruben Gotay on it? I think that if he is on the roster, we have probably already clinched. Or at least gotten the magic number to single digits….
Isn’t it funny how decisions that many on here just hated at the beginning of the season are now the ones that are carrying the team?
Like the one where we signed Luis Castillo to a 4-year deal? (*takes a swig from the bottle of JD)
I would say that putting guys like Tatis on the roster and making the deal that brought in Church and Schneider not to mention not giving away Big Pelf or Delgado (even though a majority of the NegaMets on here wanted it) outweigh that contract. Besides, in a couple years we will just cut him and eat the contract. It isn’t that big of a contract that it will really affect the bottom line.
Clearly the Post didn’t get the “DANIEL” memo:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08282008/frontback.htm
Man, how great must that feel.
yeah but for some reason “Daniel Boy” just doesn’t sound right. Maybe, “Daniel-Son”? lol
In the next Phillies series, Daniel is going to crane kick Victorino in his face.
Has to be the face, though. Can’t go for the ears because he wears a little-league helmet.
Or … he could sweep the leg … but then again, he’s Daniel, not Johnny.
Doesnt matter… No Mercy – Sweep the leg.
Off point: Joel Sherman apparently thinks the Mets should pick up Carl Pavano from the Skanks to replace Maine in the stretch run.
Is this anything other than a truly appalling idea? Is there any upside to it for us?
None whatsoever.
Well, actually, who knows what a change of scenery can do for a pitcher (see: Luis Ayala). But yeah, the idea, if not completely appalling, is at least pretty “out there.”
Well, if Niese fails to impress, and the Mets can get Pavano for peanuts, why not even try?
AND in the event that he puts together a few decent starts, how great would that be, to rub in the yankees’ face
I always thought Ayala had decent stuff. Not overwhelming, but decent. It’s not just a change of scenery, however, it’s a change of situation. had he gone to colorado or pittsburgh, he’d still suck because he wouldn’t be in a winning situation. But now that he’s in New York, he’s in a playoff race for the first time of his career, and what he does out on the mound actually means something.
Ayala was also brought to the majors by Omar with Montreal, and he stated after the trade that he feels he owes Omar and is out to prove himself.
Looks good so far…
Oh, agreed — I wasn’t saying that Ayala’s current success is a fluke… but I don’t think any of us thought he would be as dominant as he’s turned out to be. And I suspect that has much to do with changes — of scenery, of situation, of any of a number of things.
I guess I was saying that it’s possible that the same kind of things could happen with Carl Pavano if we signed him up, but I kind of doubt it. I think Ayala may have more raw talent.
I hate to say it, and I know it’s not fair to wagner since Ayala has only showed us a small sample of success compared to Wagner’s many more saves, But……………………………
For some strange reason I feel much more relaxed and confident when Ayala comes in to pitch the 9th than I do (did) when Wagner comes (came) in.