Wednesday Applesauce

Jason Grey, a scouting expert for ESPN.com, checks in with his report from the AFL, which includes some first impressions of Daniel Murphy at second base:

Daniel Murphy's bat is going to play at the big league level, but the question is finding a position for him. As many know, the Mets have him playing second base exclusively here to see if he can handle the position on a full-time basis, and things are encouraging thus far. He hasn't been tested too much, but he also hasn't seemed out of place turning the double play. Murphy has good reactions and adequate footwork, and though his actions are somewhat stiff, he has been making the plays. So far, so good.

Awesome. I have an email out to Jonathan Mayo (name drop!), who said he'll give me an update on Murphy et al once he gets out to Arizona next week.

Rob Neyer (subscription required) discusses a Marty Noble mailbag question about Carlos Delgado and whether he was the Mets' MVP this season. Neyer:

This is probably the last time we'll speak of this matter. But if the Mets had won two more games this season, they'd have qualified for the playoffs, the real MVP voters would have been looking for a Met to vote for, and Delgado might have been the guy because he did come up big after the All-Star break. In a sense, this is the general MVP discussion in a microcosm. Is the Most Valuable Player the player who makes the greatest all-around contribution for six months? Or is he the one-dimensional player who gives his team two or three great months?

At MetsGeek, Chris McCown looks at some of the big name relievers that could be available this offseason via trade or free agency.

At Baseball America, Jim Callis released this past season's draft expenditures of big league teams. The Mets finished 14th, shelling out $6,460,000 for 42 draft picks. The Royals outspent everyone else by plunking down $11,148,000 on 32 picks. The Mets increased their draft payout from $3,821,300 in 2007, so they seem to be moving in the right direction. Bear in mind that the crummier teams with the highest draft picks tend to pay the biggest signing bonuses, though other teams can make up some of that ground by paying above slot money for players with signability concerns.

Could Willie Randolph find his way back to the Bronx? I, for one, couldn't care less.

Arizona Fall League

Surprise Rafters 8, Peoria Saguaros 6

• Daniel Murphy went 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI.

Dan Uggla may be on the trading block, and the Mets need a second baseman. They've had mostly good success trading with the Marlins in the past (Piazza, Leiter, Delgado, Jason Vargas not so much), but the Fish aren't likely to trade Uggle intra-division unless they're in complete fire sale mode.

J.C. Bradbury evaluates A.J. Burnett, and concludes that he might be best off staying in Toronto. Hank Steinbrenner's wallet begs to differ.

Jake Peavy's agent has listed some places he would accept trades to. The full list wasn't provided, so it isn't clear if New York was on it. Peavy's family lives in San Diego and he seems inclined to stay in the area if at all possible. Whomever trades for Peavy -- if anyone does -- will have to surrender a considerable haul, and they may be accepting a big injury risk.

Yahoo! Sports surpassed ESPN.com in unique September visitors, making it the most popular sports website in the land. Amazin' Avenue was a distant sixth.

Baseball Prospectus has purchased Baseball Digest Daily, which seems to be a sensible partnership: BPro has the analysis game covered, while BDD tackles the news side of things. BDD's Joe Hamrahi explains the deal.