Before the season the Mets had some substantial concerns:
- David Wright – Could he be the star he used to be?
- Ruben Tejada – Could he replace Jose Reyes and could the Mets survive the loss?
- Lucas Duda – Could he handle right field?
- Jason Bay – Would he ever hit as a Met?
- Daniel Murphy – Can he be an everyday 2B?
- Met Outfield – Could the Mets make it with Andres Torres, Jason Bay and Lucas Duda? Would Kirk Nieuwenhuis or Matt Den Dekker need to step up?
- Johan Santana – Could he still be an Ace pitcher?
- Jon Niese – Would he make the next step?
- Bullpen – How would these new pieces perform?
- Dillon Gee – Was he a flash in the pan?
- Oh yeah… Ike Davis – He was hurt… but he’ll be fine.
Raise your hand if you thought that Ike Davis was a substantial concern for the Mets going into the season. Or… are you like me and penciled him blithely into the #3 or #4 spot in your lineup and projected 30 HRs? This season: David Wright has been a star (maybe not the most powerful one but I don’t need him to club tons of HRs… well… my fantasy team might), Ruben Tejada had been very solid before getting hurt, Lucas Duda has been adequate, Jason Bay has been out (I didn’t mind), Murphy had been fine (Until recently), Kirk Nieuwenhuis HAD stepped up in a big way, Johan Santana is still an Ace, Niese has gotten better, The bullpen… we’ll ignore them for now, Dillon Gee has managed to look okay, and Davis… Oy…
Davis has been lost all season. He doesn’t seem to be seeing the ball and that leads to him not hitting the ball either. The struggles with the bat have led to struggles in the field. Through this all the Mets have stood by their man and denied that they would consider demoting Ike Davis.
Here’s the truth, Ike Davis has 1 week to straighten out his bat before the Mets will NEED to demote him. Jason Bay is returning and I cannot see Collins benching Nieuwenhuis or Torres to keep Davis hitting 7th in the order. The Mets should send Davis down, shift Duda to 1st, have Bay, Torres, Nieuwenhuis, Hairston and Baxter (When healthy) in the outfield and hop Ike can find himself in AAA.
This… is the best thing for IKE. The Mets are one slump away from Davis being hit with the full force of the Flushing “Boo Birds” and that doesn’t exactly help a young player’s career. Here’s the ideal scenario:
- Mets Demote Davis and Shift Players
- Mets Continue to Scrap Victories
- Davis Finds his Stroke
- Davis and Harvey or Mejia Are Promoted After All-Star Break
*****
Editor’s Note – This piece was supposed to run Saturday
When there is someone on the 40 man roster that can take his place, then I would demote Davis. In the mean time he becomes part of a convoluted platoon. The bottom line, when your checklist is analyzed Duda can’t handle right, Bay is a platoon player with no partner, Murphy is adequate but not the future solution, and the bullpen is in shambles. The team is improved and there are many bright spots but there is still much work to be done this winter. The tragedy with Davis is not only should he lose his job, he has lost any trade value. Duda needs to be the first baseman so that the Mets can evaluate if he can field the position adequately and be the future there. Is it the Mets front office philosophy to play offensive players and the hell with defense. Davis should eventually end up in AAA trying to earn another chance.
I agree with pretty much all you said here.
Good to see Ike go yard last night. And the bunt single could have cleared his mind. Hopefully he’s adapting.
Good, yes… I’m not jumping for joy yet.