Why the Mets' Carousel of Progress Should Spin Without Ike Davis
(I still feel this way about Ike. Too bad Buck was a flash in the pan. That puts a damper on my idea to move D'Arnaud)
(Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
As the New York Mets dive deeper into their 2013 season, there is reason to believe not only in the future, but also the present. Matt Harvey is the next Dwight Gooden. David Wright is still Flushing’s answer to Derek Jeter. Zack Wheeler is the next ungodly pitching prospect.
Unfortunately, not all is rosy on Roosevelt Avenue. The Mets are missing their cleanup hitter once again. This time, they need to find a new one. Every team that’s destined for greatness has to make hard cuts on the way to the top. For a team that is primed to move onwards and upwards, they need to move forward without Ike Davis.
For two years now, Davis has not produced at the start of the season. Last year, he had a ready-made excuse for his awful first half when he contracted Valley Fever.
This year, there are no excuses. Ike had to know going into 2013 that he was going to hit fourth on a team that is desperate for offense. The pressure was on from the beginning, and he has folded like countless others in the big city.
Davis is both physically overmatched and mentally defeated at the plate. He can't catch a fastball and he doesn't stay back on a breaking ball. It’s been the same old story, as retold by SNY’s Keith Hernandez every time he doesn’t get it done. He’s become Dave Kingman, with fewer home runs and a lower batting average.
To make matters worse, Davis constantly argues with the umpires over borderline calls. This shows a lack of maturity and respect and only leads to him getting more borderline pitches called against him. He has no one else to blame for his failures, and so he blames the home plate umpire. These are all signs of a hitter who cannot produce at the highest level.
For all intents and purposes, Ike deserved to be sent to AAA last May. The Mets chose to keep him in the majors, thinking a demotion would not help him offensively. At the risk of sounding cold-hearted, this is not about helping Ike Davis find his stroke anymore. This is about sending down a player who deserves to be sent down.
That is why Lucas Duda reportedly snapped at Mets' management when they made him an undeserving scapegoat last July. Davis struggled for two months and he got to stay, while Duda slumped for two weeks and got sent down. Trading or demoting Ike is not a happy message to send, but it’s the correct one.
Logic dictates that the Mets have little recourse but to leave Ike here and hope for the best until their top hitting prospect, Travis D’Arnaud, arrives. The 24-year-old catcher was on the fast track to Citi Field before the most untimely of injuries sidelined him for a projected eight weeks.
Despite this setback, Davis must know that the clock is ticking. The Mets could have conceivably moved a resurgent John Buck to first had D’Arnaud not broken a bone in his foot. Then again, they already HAVE a first baseman in their everyday lineup: 2012 scapegoat Lucas Duda.
Duda has stepped up his game in the first month of the 2013 season. In stark contrast to Davis, he has shown patience and maturity at the plate. He’s taking what the pitchers are giving him, and he’s still a tremendous power threat. Almost everyone would agree that he is to left field what Mike Piazza was to first base. Try as he might in left, the lumbering Duda is best suited for first.
Manager Terry Collins admitted that he had to keep Duda away from first base during spring training because he was too excited to play there. Imagine that: a player who WANTS to play his natural position AND is coming into his own at the plate; a player who hated getting demoted and is determined to prove he belongs in the majors. Only the Mets would know how to mishandle a guy like that.
Everyone thinks that D’Arnaud is the next great hitting catcher. I’ve always believed that great hitters cannot be long-term catchers, or else they’ll be short-term great hitters. Catchers generally decline by age 34. Johnny Bench retired at 35. Yogi Berra moved to left at 36. The late Gary Carter fell off dramatically at 34 and was a shell of himself for a few more years. Even Piazza, arguably the greatest hitting catcher of all time, was a shrinking violet by 35.
To me, moving D’Arnaud to left makes all the sense in the world. Yes, he has below-average speed for a left fielder, but so does Duda. What are the Mets really losing? If you’re a Mets fan, would you rather have a great hitting catcher for 10 years and have him 30 times a year, or would you rather have a great hitter for 15 years and have him rest 10-15 times a year, barring injury?
Plus, when D’Arnaud does arrive, he needs to develop chemistry with the pitching staff, who are now accustomed to throwing to Buck. This could create issues in the second half of 2013 for a team that has a history of falling apart in the second half.
If the Mets did move their top hitting prospect from behind the plate, they would conceivably have a young, stable and capable outfield in D’Arnaud, Juan Lagares and Jordany Valdespin. Lagares is the leadoff hitter the Mets need. He gives you speed and defense, and he has hit at every level.
Valdespin’s ceiling is incredibly high and he’s already becoming a legend. That’s quite a difference from March when you or I could have started in right.
Call it the Mets' Carousel of Progress. Duda to first, D’Arnaud to left and Ike is left behind, just as he should be. Davis is 26 and I’ll bet there are a few teams willing to take a chance on him in exchange for some pitching or bench depth.
I understand Davis is not exactly a clubhouse cancer. Neither was Jason Bay and he’s long gone. It’s still a results-oriented business in the end, and Ike makes far less money than Bay did. For those who project Davis to be part of the Mets’ future, I would suggest the picture is bigger and brighter without him.
Unfortunately, not all is rosy on Roosevelt Avenue. The Mets are missing their cleanup hitter once again. This time, they need to find a new one. Every team that’s destined for greatness has to make hard cuts on the way to the top. For a team that is primed to move onwards and upwards, they need to move forward without Ike Davis.
For two years now, Davis has not produced at the start of the season. Last year, he had a ready-made excuse for his awful first half when he contracted Valley Fever.
This year, there are no excuses. Ike had to know going into 2013 that he was going to hit fourth on a team that is desperate for offense. The pressure was on from the beginning, and he has folded like countless others in the big city.
Davis is both physically overmatched and mentally defeated at the plate. He can't catch a fastball and he doesn't stay back on a breaking ball. It’s been the same old story, as retold by SNY’s Keith Hernandez every time he doesn’t get it done. He’s become Dave Kingman, with fewer home runs and a lower batting average.
To make matters worse, Davis constantly argues with the umpires over borderline calls. This shows a lack of maturity and respect and only leads to him getting more borderline pitches called against him. He has no one else to blame for his failures, and so he blames the home plate umpire. These are all signs of a hitter who cannot produce at the highest level.
For all intents and purposes, Ike deserved to be sent to AAA last May. The Mets chose to keep him in the majors, thinking a demotion would not help him offensively. At the risk of sounding cold-hearted, this is not about helping Ike Davis find his stroke anymore. This is about sending down a player who deserves to be sent down.
(Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Logic dictates that the Mets have little recourse but to leave Ike here and hope for the best until their top hitting prospect, Travis D’Arnaud, arrives. The 24-year-old catcher was on the fast track to Citi Field before the most untimely of injuries sidelined him for a projected eight weeks.
Despite this setback, Davis must know that the clock is ticking. The Mets could have conceivably moved a resurgent John Buck to first had D’Arnaud not broken a bone in his foot. Then again, they already HAVE a first baseman in their everyday lineup: 2012 scapegoat Lucas Duda.
Duda has stepped up his game in the first month of the 2013 season. In stark contrast to Davis, he has shown patience and maturity at the plate. He’s taking what the pitchers are giving him, and he’s still a tremendous power threat. Almost everyone would agree that he is to left field what Mike Piazza was to first base. Try as he might in left, the lumbering Duda is best suited for first.
Manager Terry Collins admitted that he had to keep Duda away from first base during spring training because he was too excited to play there. Imagine that: a player who WANTS to play his natural position AND is coming into his own at the plate; a player who hated getting demoted and is determined to prove he belongs in the majors. Only the Mets would know how to mishandle a guy like that.
(Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
To me, moving D’Arnaud to left makes all the sense in the world. Yes, he has below-average speed for a left fielder, but so does Duda. What are the Mets really losing? If you’re a Mets fan, would you rather have a great hitting catcher for 10 years and have him 30 times a year, or would you rather have a great hitter for 15 years and have him rest 10-15 times a year, barring injury?
Plus, when D’Arnaud does arrive, he needs to develop chemistry with the pitching staff, who are now accustomed to throwing to Buck. This could create issues in the second half of 2013 for a team that has a history of falling apart in the second half.
If the Mets did move their top hitting prospect from behind the plate, they would conceivably have a young, stable and capable outfield in D’Arnaud, Juan Lagares and Jordany Valdespin. Lagares is the leadoff hitter the Mets need. He gives you speed and defense, and he has hit at every level.
Valdespin’s ceiling is incredibly high and he’s already becoming a legend. That’s quite a difference from March when you or I could have started in right.
Call it the Mets' Carousel of Progress. Duda to first, D’Arnaud to left and Ike is left behind, just as he should be. Davis is 26 and I’ll bet there are a few teams willing to take a chance on him in exchange for some pitching or bench depth.
I understand Davis is not exactly a clubhouse cancer. Neither was Jason Bay and he’s long gone. It’s still a results-oriented business in the end, and Ike makes far less money than Bay did. For those who project Davis to be part of the Mets’ future, I would suggest the picture is bigger and brighter without him.
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