Watching Daniel Murphy play the outfield yesterday reminded me of Ron Swoboda. I've never before seen an outfielder field a bouncing ball and then throw the ball to the shortstop while his body was turned sideways and he was in mid-air. Of course, the ball bounced to Reyes, who wasn't able to throw the ball well enough to home plate to prevent the runner from scoring.
Even Sheffield, who played right, looked better than Murphy. Hopefully, the Murphy-in-left experiment won't last much longer. Give him a shot at second, and let Castillo warm the bench more. If the Mets were a last-place team, they could afford to let Murphy fumble in left, but they're not: They're a contender. So put someone in left who can catch fly balls and throw out runners trying to score from second on balls that bounce in front of him.
Pitching-wise, Oliver Perez pitched his best game of the season, but I'm still unimpressed. In his next game, I expect him to return to the form he exhibited in his previous two games. But he's Minaya's problem, not mine.
Holt's winning streak begins: Wednesday, against Charlotte, Brad Holt pitched six innings of four-hit, no-run ball in which he walked only one while striking out seven to notch his first win. And while Baseball America rates him the second-best Mets pitching prospect after John Niese, I think he's a better prospect than Niese.
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