PHILADELPHIA — Second baseman Daniel Murphy has earned a reputation as a meticulous worker, an obsessive calibrator and recalibrator of his swing.
This has made his early success at the plate surprising. Murphy, who is hitting .308 with two home runs and six runs batted in, was slowed before the start of the season with a strained rib-cage muscle. The injury limited him to 10 spring training at-bats. Most players do not feel comfortable until they have had about 50.
"Due to the time he missed, I'm really surprised that he's looked very sharp," Manager Terry Collins said before the Mets' 7-2 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.
Collins said Murphy was still holding back from his normal workload, adding that his natural abilities, his hand-eye coordination and hitting talent, were shining through.
"He doesn't want it to reoccur," Collins said of the injury. "Therefore, the fact that he's just a good hitter is taking over."
Murphy said he felt lucky to feel as comfortable as he did in the batter's box. He is trying to avoid overthinking at the plate, something both he and Collins said he had a tendency to do.
"What it's made me do is focus on work that I was able to put in during the off-season, and even the work that I've done in past years," Murphy said, "and just trust the ability and know, as I get a little bit older in this game, that it doesn't have to be perfect."
The most surprising aspect of Murphy's early form may be the home runs. He did not hit his first one last season until June 27.
"What you've seen so far, the two homers he's hit, one to left center and one to center field, the power's there," Collins said. "I continue to think this guy's going to be a very, very good offensive force, to the point where it's going to be a question whether he has to continue hitting second or you've got to put him in the middle of the lineup someplace."
Collins said he was not worried about Murphy trying too hard to hit the ball out of the park. He said Murphy was too disciplined and too cognizant of his batting average. Asked what he thought Murphy's ceiling was, Collins said Murphy was capable of hitting .300 with 15 homers a year.
Murphy batted second Monday. While being careful not to aggravate his injury, he has benefited from focusing on staying within his abilities.
"I just try to get ready for a game and try to add something positive to the team," he said, "and if your swing doesn't feel perfect or if your defense doesn't feel exactly right, that's O.K. It's an imperfect world."
Pitchers on the Mend The Mets' early success has come without the help of a couple of key players.
Reliever Frank Francisco, who has been battling inflammation in his elbow since spring training, has been playing catch. Manager Terry Collins said he hoped Francisco could get into a game this week to take the next step in his rehabilitation.
Collins also expects that for a considerable amount of time he will be without Shaun Marcum, who has inflamed nerves in his neck. Marcum has been playing catch at the team's center in Port. St. Lucie, Fla., but Collins said he was not close to pitching in a rehabilitation game.
The Mets will continue to rely on the left-hander Aaron Laffey, who allowed 10 hits, but only 3 runs, during his start Sunday, an eventual Mets victory. Collins said it was obvious Laffey was not as sharp as he could have been, because of the impromptu nature of the start.
He said it was tough to predict how many more times Laffey would be asked to pitch.
"He's going to be the guy until we figure when Shaun's going to be back, or if he's going to be back, or where we stand," Collins said. of Laffey. "There's no number in mind of how many starts. It could be three; it could seven."
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