Mets' Murphy has manager's confidence at 1B

Although Daniel Murphy has struggled at the plate this spring, he still has New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel's confidence.

Murphy is hitting just .133 in 30 at-bats with just under two weeks left before the start of the season. Still, Manuel remains optimistic the 24-year-old can be an effective first baseman for the team.

``(Murphy) has looked extremely well at first base - very active, very aggressive,'' Manuel said. ``For him now, it's just a matter of him getting back to using the whole field as a hitter and becoming the offensive player we think he should be or can become.''

Manuel believes Murphy is still the frontrunner at first base in a competition that also includes Mike Jacobs, who is in camp on a minor-league contract.

``We feel very comfortable and confident (Murphy) can get the job done for us,'' he said.

Murphy is a natural third baseman who started last year in left field before taking over at first in May when Carlos Delgado was sidelined with a hip injury. He committed 10 errors in 101 games at first base, but spent much of the offseason working to improve his defense and is pleased with his progress so far.

``We've got a little less than two weeks left, and I feel comfortable on defense,'' Murphy said. ``Now I am just trying to get more comfortable and consistent at the plate.''

Murphy arrived in Port St. Lucie more than 2 1/2 weeks before position players were scheduled to report and spent the extra time working out at first base with 11-time Gold Glove Award winner Keith Hernandez.

Though Murphy isn't seeing the results he would like at the plate, he said the benefits of reporting early have paid off in that it has accelerated his learning curve in the field. His focus has been improving on defense with the belief the hitting will come as he gets more at-bats.

``I'm just trying to figure out how far off I can play and still be comfortable, getting to know my other infielders, getting to know my pitchers,'' Murphy said. ``I just think the more time I have over there the more comfortable I am going to be. ... Even at the end of the year I felt pretty comfortable, and I was able to carry that into spring training.''

Offensively, Murphy left plenty of room for improvement last season. After batting .313 in 49 games as a rookie in 2008, he hit just .266 with 12 homers, 38 doubles and 63 RBIs last year, his first full season in the majors.

Though the lefty got off to a strong start, hitting .324 by the end of April, his average dropped as low as .234 in June before he was able to pick it up at the end to hit .282 the rest of the way.

``I was able to start out pretty well,'' Murphy said. ``I was swinging the bat pretty good playing pretty good defense, but then the league made an adjustment to me and it took longer than I wanted to make the adjustment back.''

Manuel liked the improvement he saw at the end of last season and came into camp saying he didn't even see first base as a competition. However, with the clock ticking down to opening day and Jacobs showing improvement at first base, the skipper's tone has changed slightly.

``Yeah, I like Murphy, but it's still a competitive situation,'' Manuel said. ``... It should be interesting.''

Jacobs, who served as a designated hitter for the Kansas City Royals last year, has not been known for his defensive skills, but Manuel said Jacobs looks like a better first baseman than he remembered from when he played with the Florida Marlins from 2006-08.

Offensively, Jacobs is off to a slow start, like Murphy, hitting just .174 in 23 at-bats.

``He's moving his feet well as a defensive player, and he's very active,'' Manuel said. ``To come in and play that well is impressive. He's worked at it.''

Despite the praise for both candidates, Manuel said he isn't any closer to making a decision one way or the other.

``We're still a ways away,'' Manuel said. ``Once we get down to maybe the last four or five ballgames, everybody, we feel, is very close to being major league ready, and then we'll probably put a little bit more into the evaluation process at that time.

``Right now, we're going to keep giving everybody as much of an opportunity to play and get ready and see where they are.''