Daniel Murphy has goals for the upcoming season, but it’s not hitting .300, driving in 100 runs, or hitting 15 homers. “95 wins, 100 wins. I want to win a pennant…there’s no better place on earth to win than New York City; it’s about time to get to it,” Murphy told reporters and members of the blogosphere back at the Mets holiday party in December. After spending a few minutes talking to him, you walk away rooting for Murphy to put together a healthy season. Despite the long odds, Murphy continues to do the one thing he can control: work. He also isn’t buying the pessimism about the upcoming season.

Murphy is reporting to spring training as the favorite to win the second base job by default. Despite coming off a season where he hit .320, there still was a feeling that he didn’t fit into the Mets plans. There were rumors of American League teams looking at him as a DH/1B. Back-to-back season ending knee injuries make second base a risky proposition. Murphy admits the recent injuries are “mostly bad luck,” but admits he “needs to protect himself better.”

Former 86er and new third base coach, Tim Teufel, is working with Murphy on the position this spring. Teufel is probably the perfect mentor, as can relate to Murphy since he wasn’t a natural second baseman, and was described as a “late bloomer” by his high school coach. “Dan is a good offensive player who’s got some things to work on defensively,” Teufel told the NY Times, “and that’s kind of where I was, too.”

Don’t tell Murphy he’s only a hitter. “I am not going to just get to hit for 162 games. I am going to have to catch the ball, especially playing up-the- middle. I consider myself to be a very above-average first baseman. I just have to get as comfortable at second that I am at first.” What will it take to get that comfort level? “It’s always going to be the double play,” he said. “It’s the only play in baseball that you have to make with your back to the runner. I have to get more comfortable with that.”

Forget his personal goals; Murphy isn’t buying into the pessimism about the 2012 Mets.

“You start to look at the pieces; we scored top five, top six in runs last year. Our starters led the league in starts made. R.A. Dickey had a great year. I am still a huge believer in Mike Pelfrey. Dillon Gee had a breakout year. You start looking at the bullpen; we made some adjustments down there. It’s completely forgotten that Ike Davis, who is a killer in my eyes, missed four months last year. David (Wright) missed three….There’s some pieces here that, if we can stay healthy, I think we can make a run.”

If Murphy can produce similar offensive numbers at second in 2012 that he did at first base last year, he will be among the elite offensive players at the position. His 120 OPS+ would have been behind only Milwaukee’s Rickie Weeks. That would be a huge boost to a lineup that is sans Jose Reyes. As a matter of fact, Murphy, along with Ike Davis and Lucas Duda, make up a trio of intriguing left handed bats.  That trio, along with David Wright, might be able to keep them among the better offensive teams in the National League.

Sometimes Murphy reminds me of Gregg Jefferies; a player who could hit but didn’t have a real position. However, when you combine attitude, work ethic and the “team first” attitude, you have the type of ballplayer that you would love to see replicated across the 25-man roster. The best part about Murphy is he sincerely burns to win, and puts the team ahead of himself; the anti-Jefferies, so to speak.

I don’t know if this Mets team could win 95 games, but I would bet that Murphy puts himself in a position to excel at second base on both sides of the ball. If he does, it will go a long way to helping this group exceed the low expectations of the fans, so-called experts and media.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Daniel Murphy, New York Mets, Tim Teufel