Yesterday must have been the most surreal and tiring day in Ike Davis’ short life thus far. From originally being penciled in to play a game in Scranton Pa, to being called up to make his major league debut in a stretch of a few hours, not to mention being thrusted into the blinding hot spotlight of both the New York sports media not to mention the lions den that is a restless Mets fanbase, well the kids should have been ready to explode like in the movie scanners. But Ike Davis from what I saw – and I know that it has been only one game , but this kid has anti freeze in his veins ! He showed poise, impeccable concentration at the plate as well as on the field, and honestly he reminded me alot of John Olerud – the last man who inspired confidence at first base. Can you really say that about the throng of first basemen that have come and gone in the eleven years since Olerud has left? Zeille was passable, Vaughn was immobile, Delgado was there solely for his bat,Murphy showed promise, but the unholy trinity of Jacobs, Tatis and Catalanotto was painful to watch. Will Ike be the saviour for this years team ? Probably not, he might be the spark plug that can get this team going until Carlos Beltran gets back. I see Ike as more like Darryl when he first came up to a struggling Mets team in 1983 in the sense that this kid is something special and that there is alot of pressure heaped on this kids shoulders. But I feel once this gets itself straightened out Ike will be a cornerstone player for this team like Reyes and Wright. But for now lets watch this kid and hope that he can be what the scouts around the league say is a ” sure thing!”
By the way is was great to see strong performances last night from Jonathan Neise, Angel Pagan, ” Forever” Fernando Neive, along with the hot bats of Jason Bay and Angel Pagan, defeating the Chicago Cubs by the score of 6-1.
                                                                                        
                                                                                        ‘We are all high on IKE !!!!”
And with that said…. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!
Happy Birthday to the first Japanese pitcher to ever play for the Mets, Masato Yoshii .(1965) Yoshii spent two seasons with the Mets, going a combined 18-16 with a e.r.a of 4.17.
Starting pitcher from the ’03 season, Jason Roach is 34.(1976)
Currently D.L’ed , but much maligned middle reliever, Sean Green is 31 (1979). Most Mets fans wish that he would just pull a Matt Wise and just stay on the disabled list , never to pitch for the Mets again.
And Mo Vaughn is celebrating 4.20 by doing gravity bongs, eating his weight in Taco Bell ( no small feat!) and watching a stoner movie marathon that includes “Dazed and Confuzed”, “Half Baked”, a slew of Cheech and Chong movies and ” Pretty Woman” ( face it you have to be stoned in order to like that movie ! )
19 comments
metsfan4decades
4/20/2010-7:57am at 7:57 am (UTC -4)
Uh, Oh…..’PED Suspension coming’…..
rustyjr
4/20/2010-8:03am at 8:03 am (UTC -4)
Lol btw what’s the over/under of how long itcwill take before Yankee fans whine that the mets stole the shaving cream victory celebration from them ?
metsfan4decades
4/20/2010-8:07am at 8:07 am (UTC -4)
hahahaha – I’m not even sure the Yankees were the first ones to do that….
rustyjr
4/20/2010-8:09am at 8:09 am (UTC -4)
Probably not but u know how Yankee fans try to have their team rake credit for everything
GravediggerHebner
4/20/2010-10:50am at 10:50 am (UTC -4)
Yeah, like their closer playing Metallica when entering the game. No one ever did that before Mariano
udontmesswthejohan
4/20/2010-9:45am at 9:45 am (UTC -4)
No, but I did here some calls ont he drive home yesterday about them complaining about mets fans being excited about Ike. I’ve never seen a fanbase get so bent out of shape when they don’t get 100% attention.
njstuckintx
4/20/2010-8:50am at 8:50 am (UTC -4)
No mention of the “Friday” movies or Pineapple Express?
My personal favorite, with a slew of big time actors that never got the kudos it deserved, is Home Grown. Billy Bob Thorton, Hank Azaria, Ryan Philippe, John Lithgow, Ted Danson, Jon Bon Jovi, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kelly Lynch… Check it out!
And yeah, other From Olerud to Delgado to now Ike, there have been quite a few 1B’ers to come through the ranks….
GravediggerHebner
4/20/2010-10:51am at 10:51 am (UTC -4)
Grandma’s Boy
stickguy
4/20/2010-9:27am at 9:27 am (UTC -4)
I mentioned last night that just having a “real” 1B to anchor and stabalize the infield is going to be a huge lift to the team. Especially in making Wright and Reyes comfrotable in the field. Maybe if they don’t have to worry about the 1B catching the ball they won’t botch as many throws (this falls under the logic that if you try too hard to be perfect, you mess up!).
Anything they get from the bat will be gravy, and considering none of the other options were going to be doing much, I think the gravy will be plenty.
I do see him settling into the 5 hole at some point (before beltran comes back) and likely the 6 hole after that, to break up bay and frenchy.
I am also curious to see if Pagan stays up top when Reyes comes back tonight, which means Luis banished to the 8 hole. Although nothing surprises me with Jerry, so Angel in the 8 hole again is quite possible. Hell, GM jr. starting (“to get him going”) is possible too.
Carter and Pridie for GM and Cat can’t possibly make this team worse, can it?
and it won’t be too many weak ABs before Evans for Tatis needs to happen too.
although Murphy probably has to take one of those spots (sorry, Carter)
trs86
4/20/2010-9:34am at 9:34 am (UTC -4)
Ike is much better defensively than those he replaced but he is still raw. He should have been able to get that scoop but all and all nice job.
stickguy
4/20/2010-9:39am at 9:39 am (UTC -4)
I wouldn’t use the term raw. He has the skills and the moves. Murphy, now he was raw. Tatis is just bad (and there is a difference).
another huge part of playing 1B is knowing where to play, and where/when to throw the ball (especially running cutoffs).
Not as easy a position to play as some people think. At least not to play well.
stickguy
4/20/2010-9:37am at 9:37 am (UTC -4)
anyone else starting to think that Wright is going to end up as the #2 hitter on the team?
The way he is evolving, he is starting to be awfully comparable to Jeter
If the HRs are down but he still is stealing bags, and mostly hitting doubles and singles with a ton of walks, it sounds like the perfect 2 hole hitter.
of course, it would help to have another 3 hole hitte, and it won’t behappening with SLappy around of course.
But, if a lot of people want to put Beltran in the 2 hole, why not wright?
Hell, anything to keep Slappy out of the 2 hole sounds good to me at this point.
I am curious as to what the line up will be assuming that Beltran ever does come back (I’m 50/50 on that at the moment, and will believe it when I see him actually play in a MiL game), and that Ike is still up and being productive with the bat.
reyes/castillo/wright/beltran/bay/Davis/frency/barajas ??
trs86
4/20/2010-9:49am at 9:49 am (UTC -4)
Awfully down on a guy who is in the top 10 in HR and OBP while having an OPS of .968 and OPS+ of 159? Wright’s the best hitter on our team and will still be the best hitter on the team when Beltran returns. No reason to move him from 3rd. Think about it, we all think he is pressing a little (or a lot for some of us) and or struggling a little yet he has an OPS of .968. Lets just settle down a little and see what happens when he has support behind him and is not walked in over half of his PA with RISP.
CaseStreet
4/20/2010-10:34am at 10:34 am (UTC -4)
So true. Wright’s production would be wasted in the 2 hole.
Should be Castillo-Reyes-Wright-Beltran-Bay-Davis-Frenchy-Barajas.
Reyes hitting 2nd would feast on all the fastballs he would get.
trs86
4/20/2010-10:56am at 10:56 am (UTC -4)
I think I would go
Castillo, Reyes, Wright, Bay, Beltran, Frenchy, Davis, Barajas when/if Beltran returns.
CaseStreet
4/20/2010-11:05am at 11:05 am (UTC -4)
Hmm, why Bay over Beltran in the 4 hole?
Not so sure about Frenchy 6th, but if he keeps hitting like he has, I’m down.
trs86
4/20/2010-11:07am at 11:07 am (UTC -4)
I think Bay is more of a cleanup hitter and based on stats the #5 slot is like the 2nd lead off guy. Also I like Frenchy in the 6 spot with less pressure on Davis.
CaseStreet
4/20/2010-11:29am at 11:29 am (UTC -4)
Since when are you such a stat head? lol.
GravediggerHebner
4/20/2010-10:54am at 10:54 am (UTC -4)
I like Ike a lot, and I was very impressed with his ability to get a hit off a lefthander who earlier in the at bat had made him bail out twice on curves. But it should be noted the MLB Tonight guys broke down what they suggested COULD BE (not are) huge holes in Davis’s swing which smart, talented major league pitchers will exploit as soon as they see some film.
Then it will be up to Davis to adjust. I believe he has the smarts and talent to do so.