13
2011
Ike Davis Should Be Untouchable For The Mets!
An article by Former Writers
Yes, I know the arguments, “Mets are in a rebuilding mode” and nobody should be untouchable. For the most part you would be right, not many players on this team should be untouchable. Ike Davis however does not fall into that category. If there is one player on this team that we all should be in agreement on who is untouchable it’s Issac Benjamin Davis. When the 2012 season starts Ike will be only 25 years old. He will be under team control through 2017. Last week when it was reported at first that the Mets were looking to trade Ike I was shocked. While they did not trade Ike they did make it known that they would listen to trades for the young first baseman.There is no solid reason to trade Ike. He’s not making a lot of money so there goes that excuse for Sandy Alderson and his supporters. In fact Ike is scheduled to make a mere $1.168 million dollars in 2012 before being arbitration eligible in 2013. That is a very small sum of money, moneyball team or not to pay a player the caliber of Ike Davis.
As we saw in 2010 Ike can flat out hit. I know he struggled in the middle of his rookie campaign but he finished strongly. We all knew that Ike could hit but what surprised me was his defense. I remember hearing some concerns about that while he was coming up but he put all that to rest. I’m not just talking about the flashy catches over the dugout, I’m talking about the overall plays he makes on the field. The way he plays the bunt is very reminiscent of Keith Hernandez. Ike ended 2010 with a disappointing batting average of .264 but what was impressive was his home-run total of 19 with 71 RBI’s. Ike also finished 7th in that year’s NL Rookie Of The Year voting.
In 2011 Ike got off to hot start. In 36 games he burst out of the gate batting .302 with 7 home-runs and 25 RBI’s before getting hurt in a freak injury that would ultimately lead to the end of his season. Once Ike was on the disabled list you could see the negative impact it had on the team. Now I know the team had no chance of succeeding last season regardless, but without Ike’s presence this team was worse both offensively and defensively. The replacements of Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda and Nick Evans were poor substitutes for Ike’s combination of offensive and defensive production. With Jose Reyes gone now it’s more important to have a defensive first baseman than it was before. Also Ike’s bat is even more important with how the lineup is going to be now.
I’ll admit I wasn’t sold on Ike at first. I gave him a hard time, I thought he was a good but nothing special kind of a player. I don’t know if it was his skid during the 2010 season or his inability to make some adjustments that year but coming into last year I wasn’t too high on Ike. That changed in the first month of the season. I saw he made adjustments, I saw how he evolved from his rookie season, I saw how smart of a baseball player he is and I saw what make this young player special. I’m more than happy to admit I was wrong about Ike Davis and what he will be for the Mets.
It makes zero sense to trade him. Ike with the new dimensions at Citi Field will hit 40-45 home-runs and don’t be surprised to see a gold glove or two in his bright future. Not only is he gifted physically but mentally as well. He’s a smart baseball player. He has for the most part taken very well to New York. It’s not easy for anyone to succeed in this city whether it’s an all-star free agent or a highly regarded young prospect that has been coming up through the system but he hasn’t shown signs of that getting to him. Ike has what it takes to be a general out there one day. In fact I can see him as a Keith Hernandez type out there, taking charge and leading his team. Ike is the kind of first baseman every teams wants, great with the bat and great with the leather. You do not trade away these players, you build a franchise around them. I would love to see this regime of geniuses do something where they lock Ike up avoiding future arbitration and take away a couple of free agent years.
Let’s hope that we see Ike Davis in Citi wearing a Mets uniform for years to come otherwise we’re moving backwards instead of going forwards.
About the Author: Former Writers
25 Comments + Add Comment
NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
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I don’t think they should trade Ike unless they get a ridiculous haul for him. It doesn’t hurt to find out what his trade value is though
Ike with the new dimensions at Citi Field will hit 40-45 home-runs and don’t be surprised to see a gold glove or two in his bright future”
while i agree with the article, this part above is stretching it a little bit don’t you think? either that or you’re very optimistic on ike.. but of course, i want you to be right, i also hope him and duda can form an fearsome twosome the way manny and ortiz were for the red sox
I don’t think they should trade Ike, but jeez.
People really need to learn about the process. All teams try and figure out what the trade value is for all their players. It is due diligence and a front office isn’t doing their job if they don’t at least have some idea what a player would be worth on the open market.
A lot of times, it is about bargaining with other teams. Maybe, they find out they can get a premium package for Ike and instead offer Murphy for slightly less.
Not to mention that reporters jump on and tweet every little rumor or whisper they hear.
And certain parties will run with it because, hey, it will fill out their narrative nicely.
think about this: Of the handful of deals this FO has completed, how many were broken in the media before they were actually completed?
For a guy who really has no idea about anything concerning baseball, and exists merely to tell the world how his lord, sandy never errs, you mr donal are the last person in the world to lecture others and tell them “they really need to learn about the process”. how about if you first leanr how to be something other than a blind follower of your lord….. and then maybe when you show a tad of intelligence you can make this suggestion.
First off, Omar Fanboy, let me ask you, now that Rockers has copped to steroids, will you looking to sign him to a 2 year deal at $8 million per? He can be the second coming of Mota.
Second, jimmy, be careful, I have a growing list of stalkers and the bandwagon may be getting crowded.
Third, whatever your next name will be, I eagerly anticipate you saying something stupid again to get yourself banned and then brag about how you don’t care since you troll so many sites.
I can agree that Ike should be untouchable. He’ll be the new face once Ike is gone.
And as for Niese, Murphy, Duda, Tejada, they are good and young and Cheap. They should be made available, but at such a high markup, the returning haul would far outweigh the loss of those players. Which, now that I think on it, I guess the same could be said for Ike. If SF offered Belt and Bumgarden, there is no way you say no (or at least say no right away and slam down the phone). I think Ike will not be traded, as Sandy is going to be asking for the moon, stars and a portion of the milky way for him, essentially making him untouchable.
Great artcle!! I agree completely!!! Ike should DEFINITELY be untouchable!!
Off Topic: The Mets are having their Christmas party today with Murphy playing Santa Clause.
David Lennon’s twitter:
Murphy, in Santa suit, to Alderson: “Santa’s got a box of chocolates for Sandy this year.” Ho, Ho, Ho indeed. #mets
I know the front office says he’s fine for this season, but I’m holding my breath until I see it. I really enjoyed Ike playing. At times he was the lone bright spot. Unfortunately I’ve heard enough predictions from the Mets medical staff, which I’m convinced is made up of Dr. Zoidberg, Dr. Nick, Dr. Kevorkian, and Dr. Mengele that I need to witness health before I believe it. All in all I feel that if healthy he has the power to dwarf the new dimensions of this park.
Too bad Pelfrey didn’t catch the popup on the play that injured Davis. Trade Pelfrey, not Davis! Anyway, they’re not going to deal Ike.
really looking forward to seeing the most productive LH power combo the mets have had in the next couple of year with Ike and Duda (based on what I project them to be able to do).
if the RH guys could just hold up their end of the bargain…
anyway, like others said (and evenmedia reports onthe Neise “trade” mentioned), they might be trolling them, but they aren’t going anywhere unless they get a hell of a haul back.
I would not look to trade him but how can you not trade him for a better player who is at a reasonable age and price?
Classic flip flop fraud Mr. Pomes. This is the same guy you derided since his arrival as “rhymes with Like”.
The internet proves once again, that simply because one can type, does not mean an editor should allow them to be published.
Hate to break this to you Patrick… A smart man can change his mind as he gathers new information. A dope calls changing one’s mind a flip flop. Congrats Mr Pomes, on showing your intelligence.
Like I said in the article I wasn’t sold on Ike and I gave him a hard time. I admitted that in this article I was wrong about him. People can change their views you know
no player ever should be untouchable. all players should always be traded if the value coming back is worth it.
I agree and that’s why we should be dangling Zack Wheeler reportedly our number one prospect and organization’s best pitcher. You cant win with one pitcher anyway, so lets see what we could get for Wheeler.
Good one!!! ROFL!
No player in baseball should be untouchable.
Ike is still relatively young, cheap and seems to be pretty good, so the Mets certainly shouldnt push to trade him. But you never know what kind of offers you are going to get. There may be a team who is willing to overpay for Ike or give up a player or players that play positions that are a lot harder to fill than 1b.
I don’t think you should be sold on Ike or have your opinion on him altered drastically by one month of great play. That seems silly. Sure he was great in April, but many players have had great months and then amounted to nothing. So if you were unsure about Ike going into 2011, I don’t think one great month should vault him from “meh” to “untouchable”
And I am pretty sure you were ripping into Ike even throughoutt he 2011 season. What probably changed your opinion of him was the fact that there were some trade rumors popping up….gives you another reason to hate on Sandy.
Geez, you have to keep some current Mets that most Met fans seem to like and have some interest in leading into 2014- Davis, Duda and Tejada. The Mets right now don’t have any other legit 1B prospect in their farm system.
Listen – I like Ike – but he’s as ‘touchable’ as everyone else on the team.
He has good stats in 652 at bats – a little over a year’s worth – .271 average, 817 OPS – all good. But he does have a huge hole in his swing. Lots of daylight at times between his bat and the ball. And it shows with 168 strikeouts. He’s good – can possibly be an all-star and can possibly improve but he’s got to do it first.
While he has a good ceiling this injury is a bit problematic. Has he recovered? Again, he has to prove that.
\
As far as Tejada goes – hell, I reckon the Mets should be looking for a short stop.
Interesting side note- In an interview with Mike Francesca on the FAN on Dec. 5th, Sandy said he feels the trio of Wheeler, Harvey and Familia is more of the second paragraph ( his term) rather than the headline for the Mets in 2013-2014 when asked by Francesca- Are the electric SP arms going to be the headline for the Mets in the future? I wonder who Sandy feels will be the Mets headline player in 2014? My initial reaction and guess to Sandy’s statement was Ike Davis.
I think the headline will be “Jeff Wilpon makes Mets squad”.
He has to be better at hitting than talking to the media.
I like Ike a lot, and I think he has great potential. With that being said, when an organization is in the state it is as the Mets are now, no one, should be deed untouchable at this point. I also think a whole lot of drama is being put into this title on someone based on rumors.