Tuesday, March 03, 2009

PORT ST. LUCIE - Baseball people are talking about him as the next big thing in the Big Apple because of his meteoric rise from the low minor leagues to the New York Mets. As much as Daniel Murphy appreciates the compliment, he's quick to throw up a caution flag.

At 23, the former Englewood High and Jacksonville University standout was an immediate hit after the Mets called him up last August. Despite playing just five pro games in left field, Murphy, whose natural position was third base, filled in admirably and sparked the offense by hitting .313 with 17 RBI in 49 games.

Earlier this week, Mets manager Jerry Manuel dropped a miniature bombshell when he announced, catching Murphy by surprise, that he no longer saw Murphy as a platoon player. So instead of sharing time in left, Manuel believed the left-handed bat of Murphy was enough to make him the starter in 2009.

"I don't want [Murphy] to get into a strictly platoon situation," Manuel told the media on Sunday. "I think he's a little better player than that. The way he swings the bat, I'm confident that he can handle [left-handed pitchers]."

Since Murphy left JU as the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year in 2006, it's been a whirlwind. A 13th-round draft pick whose own father expected him to last only a few years in the minors before finding work in the real world, Murphy now finds himself on a bullet train to potential stardom.

"You try to step back, take it in, and realize that nothing is completed yet," Murphy said. "There's things that need to done on this team, like winning the National League East and getting to the World Series.