By Steven Inman
Even though they have the same injury, the Mets are more concerned with Daniel Murphy’s status for Opening Day than they are for David Wright. Murphy has been injured for about a month but his oblique injury hasn’t allowed him to get into a spring training game yet. Wright sounds confident he will get over his oblique injury that he suffered during the World Baseball Classic and be ready to play the Padres on Opening Day. Terry Collins doesn’t sounds as confident about Murphy. Collins said if Murphy can’t get into a game by the weekend he will start the season on the disabled list.
For the Mets to simply not be woeful offensively they need solid if not great years out of David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Ike Davis. Every other hitter on the team hasn’t proved that they can produce at an even average rate at their respective points in their careers. If the Mets were to lose Wright and Murphy even if it was just for the first week, they could be in a world of trouble.
If Wright couldn’t go on Opening Day, Justin Turner would probably play third base. If Murphy can’t go on Opening Day, Jordany Valdespin would play second base presumably. Both Turner and Valdespin are going to be on the roster anyway. Collins has even suggested that Valdespin could hit leadoff early on this year. The Mets have a wide collection of injuries but the oblique issues of Murphy and Wright should definitely be the most concerning to Mets fans as we are now just 11 days away from Opening Day.
Steve – Thanks for responding to all of my comments and thank you for contiuing to maintain your positive spin on all of the Mets woes. I agree with everything that you say in this article. I am still holding out and hoping that Valedespin can become the real deal kind of player that his performance has shown, although inconsisently, to really help give the Mets the boost they need be it at second base or in the OF. Of course, we all want to see Dan Murphy to become a consistently productive hitter and defender in the years to come. So far, his tenure has been riddled with injuries and the hope that he will arrive as a consistent MLB level second baseman. I have just about given up that he will be a 15 to 20 HR hitter by now. He still can be a good second place hitter in the Mets line up provided he gets and stays healthy. Keep those articles coming Steve, I am going to be looking forward to them over the Mets 162 game marathon that is their 2013 season.
Mike thanks so much that means a lot more to me than you think. Hopefully BrokeMets will keep growing with more great fans like you. As for Valdepsin, I’ve always been highly skeptical that he is more than a 4A player. He has power, speed but the maturity and more importantly the plate discipline make me question his major league future. He will contiune to get oppurtunities with the Mets however, due to his competition within the organization. As for Murphy, I dont think he wil ever hit 20 homers in a season but could he hit 12-14? Absolutely, that and a 310 average make him very vauable, especially at second base which has quietly become a hard to find position.