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Quote: Ike Davis on Daniel Murphy’s hitting, being a 2B

posted on February 8th, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Last week on SNY’s Mets Hot Stove, which airs every Thursday night at 6 pm, Ike Davis had the following to say about Daniel Murphy:

“I think he’s settled into a good spot that he could actually excel and be an All-Star in this league at second base. I think second base is where he can be a long-time baseball player. The guy is amazing at hitting. We have opposite approaches when it comes to hitting. He is technical, he’s got everything, like every pitch – it’s like science watching him hitting. Me, I’m like pure chaos and I swing as hard as I can. So, we get along really well. We try and pick each other up and fire each other up. I think it’s good because we communicate a lot and he listens to what I say and I listen to him.”

Murphy, 26, hit .320 with 36 extra base hits and 49 RBI in just 109 games last season, which ended early following a knee injury.

Davis, 24, hit .302 with 7 HR and 25 RBI in just 36 games before ending his season early with an ankle injury.

Brian Erni: I think where Murphy bats will be largely contingent on how either of Andres Torres and Ruben Tejada perform in the lead off spot. If one of those options is getting on base, I think it makes sense to slot Murphy behind them (where he’ll get a lot of fastballs and the team can take advantage of his hit-and-run ability). However, if the on base and speed threat is lacking at the top of the order, it might be worth trying Murphy down as low as seventh to try and utilize his run producing-ability behind the middle of the order. Also, having Murphy hit behind Duda, it could help Lucas be more patient and less willing to extend the zone – and it could ultimately prevent a prolonged soft spot in the order. In that scenario, I’d expect Josh Thole would bat second.