Time to demote Ike

[Frayed Knot]

It's not just that he's going bad, it's that it's seven weeks of it now and he looks no closer to coming out of it now than he has all along.

The only change I notice is that he went from being in an overly passive mode which resulted in working his way into a lot of 0-2 and 1-2 counts before getting burned on the in-the-dirt breaking ball, to more recently when he's tending towards going after the first pitch but with a swing that suggests he made the decision to go beforehand regardless of the type or location of the pitch thrown and winding up with a weak swing as a result of trying to adjust mid-way through.

Maybe they think it'll be a safer move to wait for the return of Bay and/or Tejada, but with Baxter as hot as he is the OF can be covered while Duda/Turner covers 1B. While here he's killing the line-up and the few hits he's getting are more flukey than encouraging. Just today his double was a broken bat bloop and his RBI was merely the result of a poorly turned DP attempt.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Adam Rubin wrote: Terry Collins no longer is dismissing Ike Davis to the minors as a possibility. A day after the Miami Marlins sent 2011 All-Star first baseman Gaby Sanchez to Triple-A, and only days after the Blue Jays demoted their first baseman, Adam Lind, Collins acknowledged Davis needs to pick up his performance during this road trip or that fate could befall him too.

[metirish]

With men on base and him on deck and Terry pulling him back for Hairston my thought was send him down. At the time Cohen mentioned that the only downside to that move was Ike's superior defense ......and as Darling noted Collins is going for it here, I took from that exchange that his glove is not going to keep him on this team.

Edited May 20, 2012 by Guest

[Frayed Knot]

Keith even noted the other day that he's looking unusually sloppy on defense.
It's only a couple of errors (3 I think) but two of them were at particularly bad times and, while it's hard to condemn him for not picking better times to have his miscues, Keith pointed out him not getting in front of balls the other day and almost begging for more errors and/or bad hops that, while not errors in the scoring, would still get by him anyway.


The PH today made perfect sense, particularly with a LHP out there. Hairston had a good AB, just didn't come through.
Ike almost certainly would have done the same, only on far fewer pitches and with absolutely no suspense as to the end result.

[Fman99]

If he has options, send him down for some polish. If he's a team player, and a realist, he'll take it the right way.

It may be an apples/oranges thing to compare him to a pitcher, but once upon a time Steve Traschel took his Mets demotion in stride, came down to the sticks, worked out his kinks and came back a better player. No reason Ike can't do the same.

[ashie62]

Let him mash away for a couple of weeks at AA or AAA out of the spotlight.

This team has endured the loss of Bay, Tejada, Thole & Pelfrey quite well. This too shall pass..

[seawolf17]

He struck out the other night (against Chapman, I think) and just looked helpless. Send him down and let him clear his head a little bit.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

My only concern is how far they send him down, since AAA may not be far enough. Wondering how Kingsport are set for first basemen.

[Benjamin Grimm]

If they send him down (and I think they should) I think it's entirely possible (although not probable) that that will be the last we see of him.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: If they send him down (and I think they should) I think it's entirely possible (although not probable) that that will be the last we see of him.

How come?

Do you think the injury took something out of him? It seems so strange for him to be doing so well then lose it all.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Happened to Conor Jackson.

[metirish]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Happened to Conor Jackson.

Went down with the Valley Fever too!, has done nothing since then(2009) except get traded .

[Ceetar]

if they do send him down I bet it only lasts 10 days.

I'm pretty sure it won't even be considered until Tejada is back though. It's not just about Ike but who would play first in his absense.

[Benjamin Grimm]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: If they send him down (and I think they should) I think it's entirely possible (although not probable) that that will be the last we see of him. How come? Do you think the injury took something out of him? It seems so strange for him to be doing so well then lose it all.

I don't really know the "why", but would we be that surprised if Ike hit, say, .210 in Buffalo? Whatever is causing him to be so awful may not resolve itself. We were concerned that Lucas Duda would be Mike Vail, but maybe we should have been worried about Ike Davis.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

He's already demonstrated a capacity to bounce back from a car-crash-of-a-season. (See: Brooklyn, 2008)

[metsmarathon]

if a demotion is the best way to get ike to bounce back, then it doesn't so much matter what kind of production we get in his spot in the meantime.

although, with his current production at a -1.1 fWAR anda -1.3 rWAR, it shouldn't be all that hard to find someone to provide at least that much production.

[MFS62]

Saturday night Rottino went 3-5 with 3 HR and 5 RBI for Buffalo.
Just sayin'.

Later

[seawolf17]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: If they send him down (and I think they should) I think it's entirely possible (although not probable) that that will be the last we see of him.

In that case, then SEND HIM DOWN. If he's going to fall off the table -- for whatever reason -- then let him work that out in the minors rather than up with the big club.

[Lefty Specialist]

It'd be pretty hard to get less out of this roster spot than what they've already gotten. I really wonder if it's the Valley Fever that's screwed him up, and he just needs to rest and start back up from scratch when it's out of his system.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I kind of wonder that too. Is he better off playing every day in Buffalo, or taking it easy for two or three weeks?

[Gwreck]

Ceetar wrote: It's not just about Ike but who would play first in his absense.

Duda is the obvious choice.

Mets have plenty of outfielders to get playing time for, plus Bay. Moving Duda to first eases that problem.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, you should never let "Who else could play there?' stop you from replacing your firstbasman. The answer is usually "Anybody."

Nonetheless, with Rottino up and Schwinnie down, we may be done arming up and farming out for this series, save for any unexpected health issues.

[nymr83]

They need to have an honest conversation with Ike and act accordingly.

If the Valley Fever is having some toll on his body and/or there is an undisclosed injury now is the time to come clean and take as long as you need on the DL, much like Brett Favre playing like shit down the stretch for the Jets you aren't helping anyone by playing through it.

If the injury/fever aren't the cause then its time for a good old fashion demotion! He's hitting like garbage and I think a month and a half is enough time in the bigs to try and snap out of it. Go down and come back when you've shown you can at least hit in AAA.

In the mean time, you can try Duda at 1B when Bay gets back or Murphy at 1B with Turner getting more time as the starter at 2B.

[Edgy MD]

Well, again, it's not seeming to happen tonight, but he is out of the lineup.

Terry reported that he, Wright and Parnell came up sick in Toronto. I don't know if sick means sicker when compounded with hidden valley ranch disease.

[Lefty Specialist]

On the plus side, his salads and dips have been absolutely delicious.

[Theoldmole]

Michael del Zotto had a very good rookie season, stank up the Garden last year and spent much of the season in the minors, is back this year as one of the stars of the soon-to-be Stanley Cup champions. It can help a player, if he uses the time profitably.

[Edgy MD]

Kevin Burkhard via the Twitter wrote: Terry Collins had LONG discussion with Ike Davis, which just ended before team stretch.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: My only concern is how far they send him down, since AAA may not be far enough. Wondering how Kingsport are set for first basemen.

Single A could work out well if Pedro Feliciano makes a rehab start for the SI Yanqs, he could strike out Ike Davis in the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Series, point to the sky and jump up and down on the mound.

[HahnSolo]

TheOldMole wrote: Michael del Zotto had a very good rookie season, stank up the Garden last year and spent much of the season in the minors, is back this year as one of the stars of the soon-to-be Stanley Cup champions. It can help a player, if he uses the time profitably.

I don't know about Ike, but you sure jinxed Del Zotto, who had the crappiest of crappy first periods last night.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

HahnSolo wrote: TheOldMole wrote: Michael del Zotto had a very good rookie season, stank up the Garden last year and spent much of the season in the minors, is back this year as one of the stars of the soon-to-be Stanley Cup champions. It can help a player, if he uses the time profitably. I don't know about Ike, but you sure jinxed Del Zotto, who had the crappiest of crappy first periods last night.

Del Zotto's been better than last year, but REALLY inconsistent during the latter portion of the season, and most of the playoffs. (Unlike Ike, he's been iffy at defending, and generally good at O/facilitation.)