Kuzul

Imagine you're at work, and your boss walks up to you and says, "You look like you could use a day off. In fact, take two days off. Relax. Watch a couple of ballgames."Sounds great to most of us. Sounds like the voice of doom to a Major League baseball player, especially one who's the starter at his position.New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy has heard that voice, and it likely spells doom for his starting role.Perhaps the most telling indication that Murphy's job is on the line came in the Mets' sweep of the Baltimore Orioles a couple of weeks back. The O's are having their best season in dog years, and the Mets wanted their front line players in the lineup.It speaks volumes that manager Terry Collins sat Murphy for two of those three games.It wasn't a matter of pitching matchups. Murphy and Jordany Valdespin, who spelled ...

Last year, Ike Davis played in 36 games before he suffered a freak ankle injury from a collision with David Wright.That cost him the rest of the season.Coming into this season, Davis was expected to put up high numbers. Thus far in 2012, he has done anything but that. Hitting just .161 in 137 at-bats, Davis is looking discouraged. A slow start is understandable, but it's late May already and Davis has shown very little, if any, signs of improvement.The Mets have looked impressive through the first eight weeks of the season. Only three and a half games behind the first place Atlanta Braves, the Mets seem to be a threat heading into the summer months.With the severe struggles of Davis, however, the question seems to be whether or not a trip to the minors would be beneficial. Personally, I believe a trip down would be smart move for both Davis ...

Spring training is right around the corner. The 2012 baseball season is getting ready to begin, and teams are already beginning to decide how their rosters should look come Opening Day. Spring training will allow each team to evaluate their players who are on the fence for making the teams major league roster.However, Mets' coach Terry Collins, already knows who his leadoff man will be for Opening Day 2012. It is common knowledge that Andres Torres will most likely be the first Met to take the plate in 2012. Torres was acquired in the Angel Pagan trade earlier this offseason, and he will be the Mets' starting center fielder for the beginning of the season.A lot of people don't believe that Torres will make a good leadoff hitter for the Mets this season. Torres is a solid defender who possesses above average speed. However, his hitting skills are simply not ...

Even just 17 games into the season, it is fairly clear that the Mets are in big trouble. The team is sitting at 5-12, already 5.5 games behind the Phillies. It is not as if the Phillies are even playing their best baseball of the season yet. They are still without Chase Utley. The Mets have already jettisoned their Opening Day second baseman, and the team has placed Chris Young on the disabled list. It appears that Bobby Parnell may also need to be placed on the DL. There is a lot that must be done for the Mets to be competitive this season,but it seems like that is not a possibility. It is very early, but the team may need to look towards the 2012 season. At just over a tenth into the season, it is not too early to begin to look to the future. The first thing that the Mets ...

As a Mets fan I've been wondering five things throughout the offseason and spring training: When will they release Oliver Perez? Done. When will they release Luis Castillo? Done. Who is going to play second base? To be determined. What's going to happen with the most dynamic leadoff hitter in the game, Jose Reyes? To be determined. When are the Wilpons finally going to sell the f***ing team? Unfortunately, it's not looking like it's going to happen. So let's talk about No. 3 to start. It should be Daniel Murphy manning second base for the Amazin's this year. His fielding, although not superb, and his defense at second have looked satisfactory so far.  That's obviously not why he should start. He should start because of his bat. He is a FANTASTIC hitter, and his bat needs to be in the lineup. Especially if they could slot him after Ike Davis. Imagine ...

New York Mets manager Terry Collins has said that he would like to get each of his potential second base candidates some more at-bats over the next few days, as he starts to whittle down the playing field. Today we learned that Daniel Murphy is likely out of the competition, and will be used more as a super-utility player. If that's the case, at least Murphy will have a spot on the team. That being said, Murphy is starting today at second base, so it begs the question of whether or not he's really out of the competition. Collins and Sandy Alderson have been saying all along that they want second base to be an offensive position, then why on earth would they settle for Hernandez? Hernandez is a .245 career hitter who's played for three different teams. Maybe the Mets are hoping this Hernandez ...

It may be just a spring training exhibition match, but the opening game of the season could set the tone for the entire year.    That’s why Bleacher Report assembled its crack team of analysts, correspondents, featured columnists, and tea leaf readers to predict precisely what will happen before, during and after the game between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves on Saturday.   Here are the highlights of their analysis:Begin Slideshow

Normally, a team will have two or three players competing for a position in Spring Training. The Mets, who have had a hole at second base for the past few years, will have as many as six different players competing for the second base job. Each player has his strengths and weaknesses and will have a chance to win the job.Begin Slideshow

“Every year players come out of nowhere to become success stories. Look no further than R.A. Dickey. He signed a minor-league deal last January, became a fixture in the starting rotation in May, and finished the season with 11 victories and a 2.84 ERA. I believe some of our offseason acquisitions can be this year’s version of R.A.” New York Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson stated this in an e-mail to fans earlier today, and he could very well be projecting the future. With not much for Mets fans to look forward to this upcoming season, there is always a chance that a proven or unproven player can surprise fans enough to keep their butts in Citi Field. R.A. Dickey was our success story in 2010, and now we take a look at eight players who could surprise us this season.Begin Slideshow

Daniel Murphy is in a state of flux within the Mets organization.  Murphy was once a man poised to be the starting first baseman with the departure of Carlos Delgado and solid 2008 and 2009 season, which averaged out as 11 home runs, 64 runs batted in, a .275 batting average and a .331 on-base percentage over 162 games.When a leg injury ended his 2010 season, he lost the starting first baseman job to Ike Davis.  Murphy will not be able get his job back at first base over Davis, and thus must switch positions to be able to play for the Mets.  The only question is what position will Murphy be able to play, and what will happen to him if he can't?Begin Slideshow