…and Daniel Murphy Taketh Away

Daniel Murphy made a crucial error in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the World Series, leading to a Royals rally and a crushing loss for the Mets. They are now on the brink of elimination, down three games to one. But it is hard to be angry at Murphy.

Do not forget, if it were not for Daniel Murphy’s home run heroics in the NLDS and NLCS, the Mets would not even be in the World Series. So he committed an error that helped cost the Mets a game. Now we’re even.

Murphy has always been and always will be a poor fielder. Something like this was bound to happen at some point.

If you feel the need to point fingers, direct
them at Tyler Clippard. He walked two batters before Jeurys Familia came in and allowed the grounder that Murphy missed, as well as two more hits that completed the three-run inning.

Clippard has been miserable this post-season. In eight appearances, he has a 6.75 ERA. He has not been as reliable as he was in the regular season after coming over from Oakland. But like Murphy, he helped the Mets get here, so that needs to be taken into account.

So now the Mets have their backs to the wall. Matt Harvey gets the start in this do or die game for the Mets. After all the nonsense surrouding him, he now has the chance to win back the fans. All he has to do is pitch the game of his life on the game’s biggest stage. No pressure at all.