Ike Davis breaking out of slump in big way

Well, that 17-1 trouncing of the Cubs on Wednesday was exactly what the Mets desperately needed in more ways than one.

First, the Mets ended a four-game losing streak and expunged the bad taste left in their mouths by losing their last two games to the Yankees, while also exorcising their demons of comic mishaps in the first two losses to the Cubs.

Secondly, the Mets finally brought the whipping stick and won a game by just clobbering the ball and taking advantage of the wind blowing out in Wrigley Field. Heck, even Daniel Murphy had two home runs!

Capitalizing on this day perhaps more than anybody was Ike Davis.

Davis was practically left for dead a few weeks ago. He is a player many fans wanted to fix his swing in Buffalo (and rightfully so consider this was a guy hitting way under his weight) and not come back until everything was ‘alright’ with him.

But there was Davis on Wednesday connecting for his 10th home run of the year, while also doubling twice and driving in four runs.

I think it is now safe to say that Davis is definitively back.

In his last 16 games, Davis is batting .353 with five home runs, five doubles, while also driving in a hearty 20 runs (almost half of his RBI total for the year). With yesterday’s 3-5 effort at the plate, Davis also now has finally surpassed the dreaded Mendoza line and is now batting .201 on the year.

It has been one grueling battle for Davis to get out from the depths of despair. On June 8, Davis was batting a paltry .158 with only five home runs. Fast forward approximately three weeks and Davis is now second on the team in home runs with 10 (tied with Scott Hairston) and third in RBI’s with 41 (he is only one behind Lucas Duda and only a mere five RBI’s separate him from clubhouse leader David Wright).

Almost every single Mets’ fan was demanding that Davis be sent down just a few short weeks ago. Of course, they had a point because prior to this emergence, Davis had looked lost at the plate and was lacking any confidence to give the Mets any sort of presence in the lineup.

Credit should go out to both Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins, though, for sticking to their guns and going against popular opinion while standing behind their embattled young slugger. Maybe they thought Davis’ confidence would have been shaken if he had to go back to Buffalo. Who knows? What they did worked, though.

Prior to this explosion, Davis always had to be reminded of how bad he was and had to be asked time and time again just when he was going to bust out and become the player we all know he can be.

You have to remember this was a guy who hadn’t played in a real MLB game for almost a year and one who had to overcome both his ankle injury plus his bout with valley fever. There was a lot on Davis’ plate and ultimately the pressure to come back and immediately to pick up where he left off was just too daunting and taxing for him.

Now that he is playing loose and relaxed, Davis has shown more confidence on the field and is finally starting to restore faith in the Mets’ faithful.

The last test for Davis is for him to see regular at-bats against some opposing lefties. With ex-Met Chris Capuano and Clayton Kershaw scheduled to pitch in the Dodger’s series, it will be interesting to see if Collins inserts Davis into the lineup for these matchups (particularly the matchup with Kershaw, who is one of the most dominating lefties in the league).

Regardless, it’s a great sight to see the Davis of old. If he is clicking and the Mets also get solid production from Duda and Hairston, then there just might be enough offense for this team to have more days like they had on Wednesday.

In any event, Ike is back and hopefully it is for good.

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