Some way too early praise of Daniel Murphy

Riding the wave of euphoria that accompanies an opening day win, I’d like to take a few minutes to talk about Daniel Murphy’s performance today and the reasons that I’m so excited to see him hitting in the two spot for the majority of the season. Is this gushing analysis putting far too much stock into one good game? Of course. Is it premature to assume that he will play at such a high level for the rest of the season? Absolutely. Despite these facts, I’d like to take a look at his at-bats today and the reasons I’m looking forward to watching him play for a full year.

 At Bat 1: Murphy found himself in a great spot for a number two hitter: at the plate with one of the fastest men in baseball on first base. After taking a ball, he had the good sense to take the next pitch and to let Reyes utilize his speed and steal second. This was a welcome sight, as I can think of far too many times last year when Luis Castillo would attempt a “protect” swing of Reyes and foul a pitch off, and spoil a great jump. When you have Reyes’s speed, it seems best to leave it alone. On the next pitch, Murphy hit a ground ball to short that resulted in Reyes going to third. Although it’s fair to point out that very few runners would have advanced to third on that play, the fact remains that Murphy did his job and put Wright in a great RBI situation, which Wright almost always converts.

At Bat 2: After taking a ball and a strike, Murphy made good contact and hit a solid line drive to left. Although it didn’t fall, seeing a young hitter go the other way against a very good pitcher is a very good sign.

At Bat 3: After quickly falling behind 0-2, Murphy showed an excellent eye and great tenacity as he fouled off several “pitcher’s” pitches. These “pitcher’s” pitches, when thrown by an ace like Harang, usually result in outs, but Murphy battled until Harang made a mistake, and he capitalized on the mistake with a homerun to right. This was one of the better at bats I’ve seen from a Met in a long time, and I loved the combination of plate discipline and power.

At Bat 4: With the bases loaded and one out, Murphy found himself facing a 1-2 count against a left specialist who threw a few unusual pitches. This had to be a tough spot, but Murphy hung in well and showed the kind of situational hitting you need from the 2 hitter. On the 1-2 pitch Murphy waited on a screwball and hit it hard down the first base line. Joey Votto had to dive to stop the ball and throw Murphy out at first base. Luis Castillo scored what would prove to be the winning run, but it’s important to note that Murphy managed to make solid contact against a lefty specialist’s best pitch on a 1-2 count.

At Bat 5: This was probably Murphy’s weakest at bat, although part of the blame can be placed on the umpire. After the 2-2 pitch was called a ball, the 3-2 pitch that was a few inches farther outside than the previous pitch was called a strike. There’s not much to say about this at bat.

Overall:  In addition to providing four very good at bats, Murphy played functional defense. After a year of watching Luis Castillo struggle to live up to the responsibilities of the 2 spot, it was nice to see Murphy do the job so well, even if it was only for a day. Let’s hope it keeps up!