"he won't ever be a defensive gem"

He actually makes some outstanding plays...but the cost of that will be that of course he'll flub some easy ones.

I just don't understand how people here seem to think no other second basemen make errors. In fact, the majority of them often do.

The hack doing the drive home on WFAN called him a zero tool autrociuos player about 1000 times

actually they never really gave him a chance at second base as he played only 17 games there....as soon as Ike got hurt he moved to first....and then when David went down he played third too..

he played a total of 104 games last year but only 17 at second.....maybe if things were different and he could have continued to play second he would have handled that tag at second differently and wouldn't have gotten hurt

only time will tell but it's about time they tried him there,i mean Castillo in '10 and Emaus in '11??.....geez

Murph's a target for some reason.....some of it was the hype with which he came up with some posters comparing his style to Rose and Brett...one poster actually couldn't stand him because he felt Murphy got preferential treatment from fans because he's Irish and NY is an Irish town!!

not a lot of rational thinking...but his time is here finally and let's hope he continues to develop over there.....whether he's dealt or whether he stays if he can hit like he can AND play a decent second base his value to this franchise increases immensely

rooting against the guy is only left to those self-serving "fans" who need to be right even if it hurts the organization's depth

he's got to say something his ratings are down and he's got to be retiring soon

Murph can play at second okay and he'll hit 300. every year... I think he's replaceable though if this team had more bats but they don't so we'll just ride him til then.

I haven't been a big Murphy fan, simply because I'm a strong believer in good defense, especially up the middle. No doubt the guy can hit, but I always doubted that he'd ever become very good with the glove -- at any position.

It's still early, double-plays are still a bit of an adventure, and no one will ever say that he has tremendous range at second. That said, I agree that he seems like he's settling in, and could eventually evolve into a steady, if unspectacular, second baseman.

More than happy to be proven wrong. I also agree that -- for now, at least -- second base is not the Mets' biggest worry.

he got hurt at second in his 104th game last year....it's true he got hurt in the minors at second when a player rolled up his knee on a DP

but believe it or not before this season a total of 43 games minors + majors

i agree,leave him at second

i think that's a fair way to put it,"steady,if unspectacular".....if he can hit .300 and knock in 60-70 runs i'd take it as right now there are no better options

not to mention that the play that ended his season in 2010 in the minors was about as dirty of a slide as ive ever seen...leonard davis should have gotten into some kind of trouble w/ that and i dont even think he got fined...

if the nats ever call that guy up a pitcher needs to put one between his eyes....

I was furious when there was talk of Murphy moving to 3rd if Wright went on the DL. He needs the reps. At what point do we stop mocking his lack of a true position and credit him with trying to learn 3 new positions in as many years? I really don't think people understand how much hard work that takes.

i do remember that being referred to as a dirty play at second...i forget which player was down with Murphy at the time but he was a long time MLer and he said it was one of the dirtiest plays he'd ever seen on a baseball field

it really was... it was like inexcusable, he rolled into him far off line the bag when the play wasnt even close....he basically threw his body at him...it was inexcusable...like i said, i hope that the next time the bisons saw him, they gave him a shot to the neck

"one poster actually couldn't stand him because he felt Murphy got preferential treatment from fans because he's Irish and NY is an Irish town!!"

Yeah, in the 1920s.

"he got hurt at second in his 104th game last year....it's true he got hurt in the minors at second when a player rolled up his knee on a DP"

That can happen to any 2B.

haha maybe he live in Woodlawn and thinks all of NY is like that

"haha maybe he live in Woodlawn and thinks all of NY is like that"

...or Woodside. What's with those folks and WOOD?

they do have to stop bouncing him around and i had the same feeling when they were going to move him to third if David couldn't come back....i was thinking leave him at second and put Turner at third....so easy just to bounce the guy all over the place

Let's get something straight. They bounced him around because they wanted him in the lineup for his bat and he couldn't prove to be a natural at ANY position he was put into. He was a defensive liability. He became a utility player by default because the Mets were unclear if he would ever be good enough to be an everyday player, so they tried him all over the diamond, plus 1st and 3rd were blocked full time. He was a disaster in the OF and 2nd was really the only position up for grabs.

I'm glad he's holding his own and I hope he continues to get stronger at the position, but let's not say the guy didn't get a fair shot to grab a position or was asked to take on too much. IMO, the Mets have shown an unusual amount of patience with him. (Budget constraints have helped in his favor). On any other team, he might be warming the bench right now.