Daniel Murphy – PaulHadsall.com

We want playoffs

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Paul

A September Citi Field sunset *(Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)*

The New York Mets wrapped up their regular season home schedule with a 17-0 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. I made it to two of their 81 home contests, my fewest since Citi Field opened.

I’m ok with that, though I wish I’d gone to at least one game on my own so I could wander around the ballpark without annoying anyone else. I have less patience for the travel – going to a game in Queens means I spend almost as much time on trains as I do watching baseball. And I have to admit, the ballpark was easier to get around when there weren’t 30,000+ people there most nights.

Back in April, I think we all had visions of the Mets repeating as National League East champions and going back to the World Series, this time to win it all. The second part of that dream could still happen, but Daniel Murphy is the only one who got to celebrate two consecutive division titles. Continue reading “We want playoffs” →

Daniel Murphy plays in what was likely his final regular season game with the Mets on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015. (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

News & Notes: Daniel Murphy, Ty Kelly & early off-season trades

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Paul

Daniel Murphy (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)

On Friday, New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy declined the club’s $15.8 million qualifying offer, making him eligible to sign with any the other 29 MLB teams. Despite a World Series performance to forget, Murphy should be able to land a multi-year deal this winter, so his decision is not much of a surprise.

And with Dilson Herrera waiting for an opportunity to take over at second base for major league minimum, the Mets never seemed all that interested in negotiating with Murphy. But while Herrera should provide better defense, it’s going to be important for a club that was already offensively challenged in 2015 to find a way to replace Murphy’s hitting contributions. Despite playing in just 130 games, Murphy was second on the 2015 Mets in hits, first in doubles and fifth in home runs.

Here’s hoping that Sandy Alderson has a plan.

Continue reading “News & Notes: Daniel Murphy, Ty Kelly & early off-season trades” →

Baseball

Mets news & notes to end the week

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Paul

The Mets extended a $15.8 million qualifying offer to free agent Daniel Murphy today, though that doesn’t mean he is any more likely to return to the team in 2016. Rather, it was about making sure the Mets get an extra draft pick between the first and second rounds of next year’s amateur free agent draft. But it’s a good move, nonetheless. Before the playoff run, I was concerned that Sandy Alderson might let Murphy leave for no return.

Continue reading “Mets news & notes to end the week” →

Baseball

So you're saying there's a chance….

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Paul

For one night at least, everything went right in Mets-land.

Michael Conforto went 4-for-4 with a walk in his second major league game.
Kelly Johnson made a good first impression in his Mets debut by going 2-for-6 with a home run.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis also went 4-for-4, driving in four of the Mets’ 15 runs.
Lucas Duda hit a pair of home runs, offering hope that he’s returning to his April & May All-Star candidate form.
Daniel Murphy went 2-for-4, including a home run
Matt Harvey went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs… oh, and he pitched a pretty good game too.

It’s fun to watch your team score 15 runs on 21 hits in a single night instead of taking a whole week to reach those totals. Imagine if Terry Collins issued that “hit or sit” ultimatum a little bit sooner.

The Mets have a tougher challenge awaiting them today. Zack Greinke hasn’t given up a run since June 13th… but maybe, just maybe, the Mets can be the team to put an end to his scoreless innings streak.

And maybe, just maybe, they can find enough offense on a consistent basis to get their amazing starting rotation to the postseason where anything can happen.

It might take something on the order of a minor miracle, but after games like last night’s it’s easier to believe.

Uncategorized

First baseball cards of 2015

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Paul

It took a little longer for this year’s baseball cards to reach retailers near me, but I finally found them today and splurged to by a “value box” of 2015 Topps Series 1 from Target.

I really like this year’s design. The colorful borders help the 2015 cards to stand out from Topps’ recent efforts, and really, they don’t look much like anything else in the company’s 60+ years of flagship sets. The card fronts are mercifully foil free except for the Topps logo in most cases, and the backs have large, easy-to-read card numbers.

Or maybe I’m just happy that I found some Mets in my 10 packs of cards. Daniel Murphy was the top card on the first regular pack of 2015 baseball cards I opened. (He could have been my first card of the year, except I wanted to see what was in the bonus pack before I got started.)

And the Mets kept coming.

Continue reading “First baseball cards of 2015” →