Updated by HoJo at 4:30 PM

Gary Apple of SNY announced that GM Sandy Alderson spoke personally with slumping first baseman Ike Davis before today’s game.

The message was that he has until the end of this month to turn his slump around or he’s going back to the Minor Leagues.

Original Post 11:30 AM

Discussions of demoting Ike Davis have intensified within the Mets organization says Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Although the Mets slumping first baseman snapped his 0-for-24 streak yesterday, he may only have until the end of this weekend series in Chicago before the Amazin’s ship Ike off to Vegas.

Rubin cites the use of Andrew Brown at first base Friday for the Las Vegas 51s–the first time this season–as a “telltale sign” a move might be coming soon. Brown was 3-for-15 in his short stint with the Mets before being sent down Monday with the acquisition of Rick Ankiel. Since Brown has to stay in the minors for 10 days before being recalled, he would not be able to be promoted until mid-next week.

Rubin also lists Zach Lutz and Josh Satin as other potential first base candidates, however Satin is not on the 40-man roster and he believes the Mets would favor Brown for the job over Lutz.

Davis is batting an ice cold .160/.245/.267 with 46 strikeouts and only four homers and nine RBIs in 131 at-bats.

The time has come for Ike to be sent down. As Gary Cohen pointed out in yesterday’s broadcast, when Davis struggled last year, he at least had a decent RBI total and was able to be productive in other ways. Now he is entirely lost and is showing no signs of figuring things out at the major league level.

I could see Justin Turner getting some time at first once Ike is sent down. Given that he has seen time all over the diamond this season and that he has one of the only consistent bats on the roster, they need to get him in the lineup somehow.

El Dramático

I felt so good after last night’s game that I decided to write two posts. This begins my official campaign to nickname Jordany Valdespin.

It’s a great feeling to hit your first home run of the season. That’s not enough for Valdespin though. He has to hit a walk-off home run. Yeah, that should be good enough for ‘Spin, right?

Wrong.

His first home run of the season has to be a walk-off grand slam because that’s just who he is. He’s flamboyant. He’s eccentric. You love and hate him in the same breath, but you can’t deny his flair for dramatics. With that being said, I hear by dub him (in my best Spanish accent): El Dramático.

Just look at him. Whenever he walks into the batter’s box, you know there’s a chance of him launching a ball about 500 feet. The way he shuffles his feet like an experienced salsa dancer to escape a pitch, the way he kicks his back leg out behind home plate on his aggressive swing—it’s all so dramatic, wouldn’t you say?

He makes shoestring catches and sliding grabs, almost as if he envisions himself being replayed in slow motion over a televised broadcast. Some call his demeanor “showboating.” Others, like me, call it personality. It’s something the Mets have lacked or had it be detrimental and alienating in the past.

El Dramático has a more human side too. He cares for his teammates. I’m not sure if anyone caught it, but at one point during the game, Matt Harvey walked into the dugout and was greeted by ‘Spin, who was waiting for him with a Gatorade cup and a pat of the back. It was a small moment, but he isn’t sulking in the corner wondering why Terry Collins refuses to give him playing time. He’s more involved and engaged. When his number was called, he was ready.

His night started on the bench, but El Dramático finished it under a sea of blue pinstripes.

It’s time we started embracing ‘Spin as one of our own. He will have his off games, as even the greatest players do. When he is on stage, you can’t help but watch and see what the next act has in store. So let this campaign go forth with the moniker: El Dramático.

What are your thoughts on El Dramático so far?

The attendance for Opening Day at Citi Field was 41,053 and it was a complete sellout. The team later announced that another 1,000 tickets on top of that were given away to those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Newsday reports that it was the 15th straight year the Mets sold out their home opener.

You could see plenty of empty seats once the pre-game ceremonies got underway, but by the end of the second inning the place was packed and the throngs of fans were vocal and could be heard throughout the broadcast. The 42,000+ all got to see a great game.

The Mets have always reigned supreme when it came to Opening Days and yesterday’s 11-2 win was no different. In fact, the Mets improved their Opening Day winning percentage to an MLB-best .654 (34-18). Wow…

It was a lot of fun live-blogging Mets Opening Day, but boy was that exhausting. Next time we do one I’ll leave it for the younger guys to run it.

One good thing that came out of it was that when we we started the live blog we were at 4,967 followers on Twitter. But by the time it was over, we zoomed past 5,000 followers and that was definitely cool. If you’re not already, you can follow us at @Metsmerized.

Later today we will be posting our Metsmerized Online 2013 Predictions! You won’t want to miss that!

BEST PRICES ON METS TICKETS!

Howie Rose

Yesterday, WFAN’s Mike Francesa discussed how Mets broadcasters Howie Rose and Gary Cohen were “out of line” during this past weekend’s Subway Series.

Francesa said that it’s great that the Mets have fans as announcers, but that they sometimes take it too far in rooting for their team, especially against the Yankees.

Frankly, I love that Rose and Cohen are as die-hard of Mets fans as I am. Yes, I agree that there should be unbiased announcing if the opposing team wins or hits a home run. However, I love the excitement when we hear “It’s Outta Here!” from Cohen or “Put It in the Books” from Rose.

Is it so bad for a fan of the team to be an announcer?

I could see how a Yankees fan would be upset after listening to the Mets broadcast from the weekend. Rose talked about Nick Swisher’s antics after the back-to-back-to-back home runs, and Cohen was not shy about saying that Russell Martin’s first home run was a cheap Yankee Stadium homer.

Gary Cohen and Kevin Burkhardt

But here’s the thing: If Yankee fans are upset about it, go listen to John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on 880. That’s their radio broadcast anyway. Rather than complain about the Mets broadcasters, Yankees fans should have enough to complain about with that interesting duo.

The whole point of radio is to attract an audience. Die-hard Mets fans enjoy Rose and

Cohen because they believe that the announcers are in the same boat. When a Met gets a clutch hit, it’s made that much more special when Rose or Cohen presents the call.Along the same lines, when the Mets blow a save or suffer a heartbreaking defeat—not too uncommon in our team’s history—Rose and Cohen are right their with the fanbase suffering.It’s not like they show up to work, call the game and say goodbye. These guys genuinely care about what they do, and it shows in their passion for the team.

While other teams or fanbases may have a problem with what Rose and Cohen are doing in the booth, they should simply be worried about what Mets fans think. Everyone I know loves them, and I’m sure the vast majority of Mets fans would agree.