2012 New York Mets Player Profile: Daniel Murphy

Photo Courtesy of Flickr.com

2011 season was both an outstanding year and a terrible year for Daniel Murphy.

On one hand, he was on his way to having one of the five best batting averages National League. On the other hand, it was yet another season ended early because of injury.

At the end of the day it was another year that left us wondering, just who is Daniel Murphy?

Is he the guy from 2011? A .320 hitter capable of producing anywhere in the Mets lineup. Or is he the .266 hitter from 2009? A player without a home defensively, relegated to a super utility role or a platoon DH for another team.

These are important questions for Murphy to answer heading into 2012. This could be his last chance to establish himself as an everyday second baseman for the Mets because for the first time in a long time, the Mets have minor league depth in Jordany Valdespin and Reese Havens that will be Major League ready come 2013.

2011 was Murphy's best season as a ball player. Being able to play every day was great for his game, as his numbers and comfort level improved every month as the season progressed.

Let’s not forget, Murphy is still a young, developing player.

Gary Carter Loses His Battle With Cancer

Photo by: AxsDeny (Flickr.com)

Gary Carter passed away this afternoon according to his daughter Kimmie Bloemers' recent journal entry.

The 57-year-old Hall of Fame catcher was diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer in May of 2011.

The Mets released the following statement:

"On behalf of everyone at the Mets, we extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences to Gary’s family -- his wife Sandy, daughters Christy and Kimmy and son D.J.  His nickname 'The Kid' captured how Gary approached life.  He did everything with enthusiasm and with gusto on and off the field.  His smile was infectious. He guided our young pitching staff to the World Series title in 1986 and he devoted an equal amount of time and energy raising awareness for a multitude of charities and community causes.  He was a Hall of Famer in everything he did."

Our thoughts go out to the Carter family.

Interview: MLB Fan Cave Hopeful, and Mets Fan, Travis Miller

Mets fan, Travis Miller, was kind enough to talk with us about his bid to join the MLB Fan Cave in 2012. The 26-year-old New York native, who now calls Chicago home, is among 50 finalists vying for a spot in the Fan Cave.

If you have not yet seen Miller's audition, here ya go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl9-rfWP40Q

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’ve been covering the Cubs and White Sox as a freelancer for the Associated Press for two years. Before that, I wrote on a freelance basis in upstate New York where I grew up. I covered a variety of high school sports for the Poughkeepsie Journal, where I started as an intern. That led to covering Marist College football and men’s and women’s basketball for the AP.

There was not a direct bridge from New York to Chicago, I actually moved to the midwest without a job and sold shoes for four months before scoring the gig covering Major League Baseball. It was a surreal day when I received that phone call.

What is your favorite memory as a Mets fan?

Caption This, Mets Fans

Many Mets players have already made the trek down to Florida to begin their workouts. Here is a photo the Mets posted on their Twitter account of Daniel Murphy receiving some infield instruction from Terry Collins and Tim Teufel:



A few thoughts went through my head when I saw this picture. How would you caption this?

Mets Will Not Win The World Series, Or So Everyone Seems To Think

Jon Morosi of FOX Sports listed the Mets as one of five teams that will definitely, without a doubt, not make the World Series in 2012. As his title suggests, the Mets are already waving the white flag.

Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure there will be a total of 29 teams who will also not become World Series champs this season.

Of course, Morosi uses the team's financial troubles and the loss of Jose Reyes as part of his reasoning.

Sandy Alderson appears to be looking on the bright side for the upcoming season, however, saying:

"I don’t think anybody in the division could add any more talent to their roster than we can. We’re talking about adding Johan Santana. We’re talking about adding Ike Davis. Daniel Murphy was the fifth-leading hitter in the league when he went out with his injury. David Wright missed two months. [All are expected to be full participants in spring training.] We’ve substantially improved our bullpen."

The Mets made improvements in the bullpen this offseason with the additions of Frank Francisco, Ramon Ramirez, and Jon Rauch. I'll admit, it remains to be seen whether the offense will show signs of life, and starting pitching is questionable at best.

In Morosi's opinion, unless all of the stars align, and Santana, Wright, and Bay have stellar seasons, expect the Mets to finish dead last.

When did it become fashionable to just give up on a team before a single pitch has been thrown? To suggest that a team just lay down and die before the season even starts?

I don't care that the team is in rebuilding mode. That's not an excuse to accept that this team go through the motions, hope everyone makes it through all 162 games, and then head off to vacation destinations at the end of September.

Now, before I get tweets and comments from readers about how it's dumb to be optimistic and expect anything from this team, save it.

I never said they were going to win, but crazier things have happened.

Three Mets Fans Among The Top 50 Finalists For MLB Fan Cave

MLB recently released the audition tapes for the top 50 finalists for the 2012 MLB Fan Cave. Of those 50 finalists, three have listed the Mets as their favorite team.

After watching all three of the audition tapes, I've decided that only one of them was not completely embarrassing.

First up is Travis Miller of Chicago, IL. Miller's video was the most entertaining of the three.



Next up is Max Nelson from Toms River, NJ.

Bay Sees 30 Homers In His Future - Let's Hope They're All In 2012

Photo by Flickr User: slgckgc

Andy Martino of the New York Daily News was able to get Jason Bay to open up about his struggles since joining the Mets, and  how he believes he can have a resurgence at the plate in 2012.

Bay believes he can hit 30 home runs this season. Do I believe that? I don't think it's likely. He's only hit a combined 18 home runs in the two years he's been in New York. Do I hope that he can? Absolutely.

With Bay, I feel his struggles have been more mental than physical. Perhaps one of the better things to happen to Bay this offseason was hearing that the walls at Citi Field were being moved in. Maybe this will provide him the little confidence boost he needs to get off on the right foot in April.

Despite appearing calm, cool, and collect at all times the past few seasons, David Wright told Martino:

"I have seen him snap. When no one is looking, and when there are no cameras around, and the younger players can’t see him, he will let it out."

It's okay, Bay. Let it out. After watching some of your plate appearances the past few seasons, I've wanted to rage, Paul O'Neal-style, as well.

No matter how bad he has struggled at the plate, I have always rooted for Bay. He's just a likable guy.

I attribute that to his work ethic.

"I would hate to be running down the line, and that one time you dog it, all of a sudden a guy throws it away," Bay told the Daily News. "I don’t want to be that guy who doesn’t run hard. I don’t want to be that guy — desperately...I would just hate to have a mark on me for my effort. It would irk me to no end if someone said, ‘yeah he was decent, but he was lazy.’ Or ‘he didn’t respect the game.’ Because I can control that."

No matter how bad he was at the plate, Bay never carried those struggles over to the outfield. Throughout the season, he made some spectacular plays in left field. He works hard, and I respect that.

It's that hard work that has saved Bay from feeling the wrath of many Mets fans. I don't know how much longer this will last if he doesn't get off to a good start this season.

While my expectations for Bay are not incredibly high, I will continue to root for him and wish him the best in 2012.