Usually at this time, the team is at least still somewhat relevant and playing somewhat exciting baseball.

But not this year.

Sure, there are some good things to look forward to with the big-league club, especially the much-anticipated debut of Zack Wheeler on Tuesday.

However, later on in the day Tuesday, the Mets’ short-season Single-A affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, will open their 13th season in Coney Island.

I have been tabbed the Cyclones’ beat reporter for Mets Merized Online, and I’m excited for this opportunity to get to know the prospects who are way down on the farm.

Many of these guys are right out of high school and college and have a long road ahead of them. But they surely will be showing up each night with enthusiasm as they begin their baseball careers.

Just look at the Mets’ roster right now. Daniel Murphy, Bobby Parnell, Lucas Duda, Dillon Gee, Josh Satin, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Jordany Valdespin and Juan Lagares all were Brooklyn Cyclones. Not to mention some first baseman in the Mets’ farm system named Ike Davis.

I will be covering the majority of the home games this summer and will try to provide brief updates on road games. I will have player insights, and maybe I will try to develop a weekly spot with manager Rich Donnelly – a coach who has seen it all in his experience with baseball.

I’m always open to suggestions about my coverage. Got a question for a prospect? Got a story idea? I’d love to hear about it. I will be checking the comments section of my stories frequently, so drop me a note and I’ll take care of the rest.

I hope you enjoy the coverage of the future Mets. It’s certainly a luxury to have a minor-league affiliate so close to the parent club.

And MCU Park is truly a great venue to watch a ballgame. After Hurricane Sandy, the Cyclones ripped up the damaged grass field and installed a beautiful FieldTurf surface. It will be interesting to see how this affects the game.

I’ll be bringing you all that and more this summer. Thank you in advance for following the Cyclones!

Well, this is sort of becoming the norm now, isn’t it? You can almost predict exactly what’s going to happen. Matt Harvey goes out, pitches his heart out, and somehow gets cheated out of a win. As much as we all hoped for that streak to break today, the Mets offense was not up to the task of handling Adam Wainwright. The Mets were shut down through the first seven innings by Wainwright, only posing a threat in the fourth with two outs. Lucas Duda, however, flew out to end the threat.

Matt Harvey, predictably so, was incredible again. He tossed seven innings of one-run ball while striking out seven batters. His only real show of weakness was in the third, when he allowed a two-out triple to Matt Carpenter, who lined one just out of the reach of a diving Marlon Byrd. LaTroy Hawkins did Harvey no favors either, as he allowed an RBI single to Allen Craig in the eighth to widen the margin to 2-0. The run was charged to Scott Rice, who left a runner on base when he was removed in favor of Hawkins.

That became a huge issue for the Mets, as Byrd tried to make up for earlier by slamming a solo home run in the ninth, but it was a case of too little, too late. John Buck was left stranded on second by Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Josh Satin.

Thus. Matt Harvey was saddled with the loss and his record fell to 5 – 1 with eight no-decisions. …Eight.

Dillon Gee was dominant for the Mets as they beat the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 5-1 tonight at Citi Field to even the series at one game apiece.

It was the third consecutive solid outing for Gee who is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA in that span. The righthander held one of the most potent offenses in the game to just one earned run tonight in 6.2 innings pitched, scattering just six hits and two walks while striking out seven. Just a tremendous effort from Gee who improves to 5-6 for the season.

The Mets roughed up highly touted pitching phenom Shelby Miller for three home runs tonight. Lucas Duda went deep in the fourth inning to put the Mets up 3-0, David Wright launched a towering drive in the sixth, and Marlon Byrd blasted his ninth homer of the season in the seventh to complete the trifecta. All three homers were solo shots.

Jordany Valdespin and Omar Quintanilla went 0-for-8 at the top of the order, but Mets 3-4-5 hitters saved the day going 5-for-11 with four RBIs and four runs scored.

The bullpen did the job with 2.1 perfect innings of relief from Scott Rice, Brandon Lyon and Bobby Parnell.

Breaking News: We cannot confirm or deny reports that Josh Satin was abducted by aliens en route from Las Vegas on Sunday. However we do believe that Satin may have become the victim of foul play at the hands of a menacing manager who goes by the name of Terry Collins and is known to prey on rookies.

With the win the Mets improve their record to 24-36. Weather permitting (there’s a wicked storm brewing) dueling aces square off with Matt Harvey (5-0, 2.10 ERA) opposing Adam Wainwright (9-3, 2.34) at 1:10 PM.

Lets Go Mets!

Two years ago, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be typing the first six words of this post, but it’s true. Daniel Murphy has proven himself as a formidable second baseman in 2013, and jerking him around the diamond is not going to do him or the Mets any favors.

The 28-year old Jacksonville-native has had a remarkable year on both sides of the diamond this season, most impressively in the progression of his fielding. Coming off a season in which he was an eye sore at second in 2012 and looked very inexperienced, Murphy has busted out this season to emerge as one of the better defensive second baseman in the National League. Murphy has had improved range, better footwork and has just looked more like a middle infielder, not to mention he leads all NL second baseman with 42 double plays turned.

There is no doubt that Murphy’s advancements at second are a direct result of his getting consistent time there to learn the ins and outs of the position. When I spoke with Murphy last month, he confirmed this.

“Having more time there has made me become more consistent, more comfortable, and has given me a better understanding of how to position myself and how much time I have,” said Murphy.

Now that he is finally settled into his new home on the diamond, Terry Collins has opted to throw a monkey wrench into that plan and send Murphy over to first with the demotion of Ike Davis and stick Jordany Valdespin at second when facing right-handed pitching.

I understand wanting to get the best righty/lefty matchups and I especially would like to see Valdespin get some consistent at-bats, but not only is it not fair to Murphy to unroot him from the position he has taken the better part of three season to learn, but it also isn’t right to have Josh Satin ride the pine until a southpaw comes along after he has worked so hard all year in Triple-A Las Vegas.

They cannot do to Satin what they did to Lagares and have him rot in the dugout. They called him up, he should be getting regular at-bats.

I get that Collins wants to get a good look at what their young guys can do now that the white flag has been all but waved, however Murphy is presumably the Mets second baseman of the future, not Valdespin. Valdespin’s future in orange and blue is in the outfield.

Murphy along with David Wright have been the primary offensive producers this year in 2013, and disrupting Murph’s defensive groove could potentially also affect his bat, which the Mets cannot afford to happen if they have any hope of finishing above the Marlins.

The Mets have spent three years making Daniel Murphy a second baseman, now keep him there. 

Sandy Alderson was a guest of Mike Francesa on WFAN on Monday afternoon and had a lot to say on a variety of topics which I summarized for you below. Before that, check out what John Harper of the Daily News had to say about Sandy’s latest version of “Cry Me A River”.

It was hard to tell if Sandy Alderson was baring his soul or throwing himself at the mercy of Mets fans during his WFAN interview with Mike Francesa on Monday…Alderson went so far as to describe his reaction to the 20-inning debacle on Saturday as “near-suicidal,” which made him sound more like a fan than a GM, but I doubt if it bought him much sympathy from the suffering masses. It’s tempting to say that a man who measures his every word so carefully would only admit to such an extreme emotion for PR purposes, but then again…

By the time the GM was finished assessing the current lack of talent on the roster, the task of turning the Mets into contenders by next year, in keeping with the Alderson blueprint, suddenly seemed like some fantasy.

It all sounded rather odd. I just hope it’s not a ploy to buy more time for this regime because whatever honeymoon Alderson has enjoyed, as the man hired to clean up the mess the Mets were in by the fall of 2010, is over this winter.

Yeah… Harper read my mind again… I didn’t buy Sandy’s last violin solo before the Winter Meetings when he told Francesa he was going to transform the roster, particularly the outfield, and put a contender on the field in 2013. He showed up with Duda, Cowgill and Byrd… Ahem…

I’m certainly not buying this latest concerto… His words are never met with action. They never have any real bite to them. Say what you want about Omar Minaya, but when he said he was committed to winning, he meant it. When he needed a center fielder he got Carlos Beltran, when he needed an ace he went after Johan, when he needed a righty bat he got Bay, etc. His choices didn’t always work out, but when he said he’d do something he went out and did it. I can respect that.

Sandy is different.

Everything always sounds staged and delivered with an impassioned plea for acceptance. He never makes me feel like things are getting better. Instead I’m always reminded of how bad things are and how he wishes they could be better… How awful the team is playing and how the players have all disappointed him… I mean give us some good news for once for crying out loud… Stop telling me how much my team sucks every six months…  Most of all, stop running to Francesa and using his soapbox twice a year, only to give us the same old sombering state of the team address.

Sandy’s a great guy… I think he’s personable, intelligent and I even enjoy his deadpan sense of humor… He’s a good guy… I’m just not buying what he’s selling and now it’s really getting old…

Sandy Alderson on WFAN with Mike Francesa

Winning vs Developing: Wins never become secondary and the reason is that none of us can stomach losses. We want to win games while we are developing players. The Players we need to evaluate will get some playing time and that’s evident with move we made on cutting Rick Ankiel. We felt that Kirk Nieuwenhuis needed to play here in the majors. And we also have to consider Wilmer Flores who we also want to see here at some point this season.

Josh Satin: Satin is a performer who has done everything we have asked of him. He’s a little older but definitely a solid player and he has earned this promotion. Whether he’s part of the future or not we will we’ll all find out because he is going to get that chance… And I hope he gets a good chance at first base.

When On Wheeler: Zack Wheeler will start on June 18. You could speculate and be fairly comfortable that you will see him pitch that day.

Montero and Leathersich: Yes we have considered having them skip Triple-A. Rafael Montero pitched very well in his spot start with Vegas and is in the middle of an impressive run. Very soon we’ll decide to either leave him at Double-A or promote him to Triple-A. If we opt to leave him at AA you can infer that we will skip Vegas and bring him straight to the majors when the time comes. Jack Leathersich doesn’t throw any harder than Edgin does, but he has more movement and deception. That said, he does walk people and that’s a big concern at this point. But there’s no reason either one can’t come straight to the majors from Double-A. Those are two guys we are very high on, but there’s a little bit of caution because we remember Edgin came straight from Double-A.

Puello and Suspension: Cesar Puello has a little bit of a history and while very young ranked as high of 4-5 among our top prospects. He has always been a five tool guy and this year he has put it all together. We put him on our 40 man roster to protect him and those 5 tools of his. He is definitely someone we have our eye on, but we’re not gonna bring him up based on a month of great performance. If we thought there was something imminent we’d be concerned (about a possible suspension), but at this point it’s not a consideration.

Is Terry Safe: Anytime you hit a rough patch people speculate about players and staff, but this is about player performance and I don’t believe our staff performance has been bad. If its a player issue, then thats on me. I’ve been in situations where we change hitting coaches every year but I honestly dont think thats our problem. Terry is working his butt off and we are not considering changing anything.

Offensive Approach: We have too many players who don’t approach our hitting philosophy the way they should be. What I mean by that is putting yourself into hitting counts. When you have a preponderance of players who don’t follow that approach it becomes infectious. Right now we have too many players like that.

Having Hands Tied: It simply is not accurate. Not at all. I have said it time and time again. There has always been a willingness by ownership to spend money to help improve the team… If I chose to.

On Ike Davis: With respect to Ike Davis, we went about it as long as we could. In retrospect we should have done it sooner. He needs to get away from the voices in his ear. Hopefully the hitting environment in Las Vegas will be the right environment to turn it around, and that goes for Mike Baxter too.

First Base: Terry will have three options. Daniel Murphy can move to first base and we can play Jordany Valdespin everyday at second base. A second option will be to play Josh Satin at first base and leave Murphy where he is. Third but not likely would be playing Lucas Duda at first. We’ve told Murphy about first base and he understands that if we do move him, we’re not looking to shift him to first base permanently. But basically if we move Murph it gives us a chance to evaluate Valdespin who we need to look at closely. We also thought about Wilmer Flores and maybe that’s a move that will come later. But we need to get a longer look at Valdy.

Wilmer Flores: Flores is absolutely a prospect but what is his position? He’s got limited range, but we can live with that at second base because he does everything else at second base well. He has a good arm, is a good fielder and can turn the double play. He’s only 22. I wouldn’t preclude him from getting promoted sometime this season.

Outfield Plan: Short term we have to admit that Marlon Byrd is one of the few players we have producing. Cutting his playing time doesn’t make a whole lot of sense right now. In center field expect to see a somewhat even distribution of playing time between Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Juan Lagares. We need to find out about both of them We will see a more balanced allocation of playing time. We’ll also see what role Collin Cowgill will serve with his versatility to pinch run, bat off bench, etc.

Losing To Marlins: Losing to the Marlins was deeply frustrating… Watching your team go 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position can make you feel suicidal. We have to move forward, make whatever changes we feel are important, and keep our eye on what we’re trying to achieve. Losing to the Marlins was tough for us to take though, it was tough for the fans to take…

Patience is running thin with everyone from fans to players to Terry Collins. As I said when this whole dog and pony show first started in the fall of 2010, “I hope Alderson realizes this is New York and he better have something to show the fan base by the end of 2013. He’s got three years.” Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick,….

Well, after last night’s debacle and the recent stretch in general, I would say that hope is on life support and if nothing improves before the end of June, the chord will be pulled.

With that being said, the timing was right for the Mets to shake things up and shake them up they did. In almost one fell swoop Ike Davis, Rick Ankiel, Mike Baxter and Robert Carson were sent packing.

My biggest issue right now with the Mets is how the playing time was being distributed. While I agreed with cutting Ankiel to make room for Kirk Nieuwenhuis, I don’t agree with having Jordany Valdespin and Juan Lagares spending so much time on the bench. We need to see what they can do.

Lagares has hit decently over the past couple of games and defensively he has flashed the leather and a strong arm. Valdespin has had a few clutch moments and is toolsy, but still very raw. How do you polish up a player like that? You play him. So either send him down to Triple-A where he can play everyday or commit to starting him 4-5 times a week and continue to develop him. Maybe the best move for now is a demotion at least until we have more clarity after possibly trading Marlon Byrd at the deadline.

Apparently, Collins is starting to see the light as he claimed that Valdespin will start to get more playing time on Sunday, but we’ve heard him makes such claims before.

I hope that this time Collins means it, and not just with Spin, but with all the youngsters that now also include Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Josh Satin in addition to Spin and Lagares.

Heading into next season, the front office needs to identify what pieces need to be acquired and which current players can supplement our team’s core that for now includes Matt Harvey, David Wright and possibly one or two others.

Thoughts from Joe D.

Albin raises a big issue…

My biggest fear is that Terry Collins is only concerned with saving his job, and in his mind that means winning as many games as he can to keep the season relevant. Wrong approach… Realistically, he should be using the rest of this season to determine which players, if any, can serve a useful role in 2014 either as a core player or as a bridge until other prospects are ready to take over.

That he doesn’t get that is a big problem. That him and the front office still think it’s about winning games this season, is a huge problem. Listening to Collins and Sandy Alderson talk about results yesterday tells me they don’t have their priorities in order.

2013 is not about results. If it were, then shame on Sandy Alderson for the way he handled the offseason – he gets a big Fail. This season is about development and evaluating players. At some point they have to stop half-assing this rebuild process. The sooner they can do that, the faster this team can become relevant again.

Updated by Satish Ram at 7:45 PM:

Adam Rubin is reporting that first baseman Josh Satin, center fielder Collin Cowgill and lefthanded reliever Josh Edgin will be promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas to replace Ike Davis, Mike Baxter and Robert Carson who were all optioned to Triple-A after today’s 8-4 loss to the Marlins.

Satin will be added to the 40-man roster to fill the empty spot left when Rick Ankiel was released yesterday.

That means within the last 24 hours, Satin, Cowgill, Edgin and Nieuwenhuis were all added to the MLB roster.

Let’s go youth movement!

Thoughts from Joe D.

No surprise here. As I speculated earlier there was no chance that anyone was coming from Double-A Binghamton and that these three were your likely suspects.

Of the three, the only one I look forward to watching is Josh Satin who I’ve been calling for since mid-April. I can assure you he will outproduce Ike Davis simply because he’s a more disciplined hitter than Ike was and he knows how to get on base.

I don’t foresee much success for Cowgill or Edgin unfortunately, and I’m not sure any of this will change anything or have a significant impact on the standings.

Original Post

Sandy Alderson has announced that the Mets have optioned Ike Davis, Mike Baxter and Robert Carson to Triple-A Las Vegas following today’s brutal 8-4 loss to the Marlins.

“At some point you just have to say to yourself this is not in his best interest,” Sandy Alderson said about Davis’ demotion. “I was one of his biggest supporters. I just felt at some point we’ve got to get him out of here. Hopefully he’ll be back in a short period of time. But he needs to go there. He needs to be able to play every day. He needs to be able to work on his swing without worrying necessarily about the outcome. We think it’s in his best interest.”

“It’s tough to sit through 30 innings and score not even a handful of runs,” Alderson said. “It’s been frustrating for everybody. I’m sure it’s frustrating for the fans, too. But we’ve got an off-day tomorrow and we’ve got to pick it up on Tuesday.”

Corresponding moves are expected to all come from Triple-A Las Vegas, but will not be announced until Monday. If true that means no Jack leathersich or Robert Carson.

David Wright (courtesy of ESPN New York) added this:

“When you’re struggling the way we’re struggling, changes come — whether you like it or not,” Wright said. “That’s the name of the game. I think what every player, what every front office, what every coach strives for is consistency. But you can’t have consistency when you are a dozen or so games under .500.”

“You keep getting asked about the Marlins and teams you should beat,” Wright said. “I think I said it the other day: Teams are probably looking at us that way, where you’ve got to come in here and beat us. So we can’t look at any other team that way.”

This team is an absolute joke right now. This should have been done a month ago when the season was still relevant, not now when they are floundering and playing worse baseball than the Miami Marlins – if that is at all possible.

These moves come a day after Rick Ankiel was released and let’s call this what it is – an act of desperation by the front office..

Davis has been in a season-long funk that has suffocated the offense and sucked the life out of it. He will not be replaced at first base by Lucas Duda or Justin Turner – so look for Josh Satin to get the call.

This could also open the door for Wilmer Flores, but unless he’s given an everyday job, I doubt it. Look for either Andrew Brown or Collin Cowgill to replace Baxter. Both players have already disappointed this season with the Mets forcing their own demotions to Triple-A, but lets face it folks – the cupboard is bare.

Will Josh Edgin replace Carson? Probably, but he’s had a rough go of it in Binghamton and Vegas since being demoted himself. Edgin was one of the first relievers to get axed from Sandy’s 2013 bullpen.

This team sucks right now… We’ve gone from bad to worse… They can’t do anything right…

I will keep updating this post with more of my thoughts throughout the night…

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas shut down Fresno, 8-0.
• Binghamton had the day off.
• St. Lucie dropped to Lakeland, 2-1. 
• Savannah had the day off.

Prospect Pipeline

• Travis d’Arnaud was seen yesterday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York for follow up on his fractured toe. Travis was cleared to begin weight bearing rehabilitation, but will remain in a boot for the next week.
  
• After only two rehab appearances, Mets prospect Luis Mateo has found himself back on the DL this evening. Mateo, since returning from the DL on May 30th, has made two appearances. He allowed two hits in a scoreless inning on the 30th, but he ran into some trouble in his last outing on June 2nd. He allowed four runs off four hits, including a home run, and a walk.
• The unmistakable traits of Noah Syndergaard‘s blistering fastball were on display once again Monday — only the fourth time at Tradition Field — and his latest showcase for the St. Lucie Mets offered more promise for the future. Reaching a top speed of 96 mph, the prized prospect mixed his fastball with a devastating changeup for five strikeouts over five innings but his winless streak extended to four games during a 2-1 loss to visiting Lakeland. Syndergaard, hailed as the No. 3 prospect in the rapidly improving farm system by MMN, allowed six hits — five of them singles — and two runs as his record dropped to 2-3 on the year. For more on Syndergaard’s performance, check out Bill Passonno’s great recap on MMN.
• Travis Taijeron is smoking hot. Last week’s Florida State League Player of The Week was 3-for-4 with another homerun last night. We did a Prospect Spotlight on Taijeron on MMN yesterday — you can check it out here.
• Carlos Torres twirled a gem last night, going the distance and racking up 11 strikeouts as he thoroughly dominated the Fresno hitters. Torres needed just 107 pitches for the complete game, 72 of which were strikes. The righty gave up just three hits on the night, and allowed zero walks on his way to his fifth win of the season. His 11 strikeouts are a season high, and marks the third time this season he has had double digit strikeouts in a game.
• Francisco Pena had another multi-hit game yesterday. He’s been raking since his call-up to Vegas.
• Congratulations to Luis Cessa for being named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week. Gabriel Ynoa picked up MMN’s Pitcher of the Week honors while Josh Satin got the nod as MMN’s Player of the Week.

Stat Lines of the Day

Carlos Torres: 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 11 K

Eric Campbell: 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB

Travis Taijeron: 3-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Transactions

RHP Luis Mateo is headed back to the DL.

3B Dimas Ponce assigned to St. Lucie Mets from Brooklyn Cyclones.

LHP Carlos Vazquez assigned to St. Lucie Mets from Brooklyn Cyclones.

Quote of the Day

“I’ve got to wear the boot still,” Travis d’Arnaud told The Post, adding that he’s unsure of a time frame for its removal.

“A couple of weeks ago when I found out it was still broken it was real tough to take,” d’Arnaud said. “But there was nothing I could do except go home and relax and make sure my foot healed, and that’s what I did.”

MMN Comment of the Day

Today’s comment comes from MMN reader “Dave In Spain,” who points out what the Mets should focus on in this year’s draft.

As we look forward to the eventual arrival of promising talent from the Mets’ farm system, there are those that contend the major league club would benefit from an immediate infusion. However, they may not have considered the ramifications of these proposed moves due to the requirements of getting players onto the 40 before they can be called up. Josh Satin, for instance, who many have lobbied to install as at least a platoon partner if not outright replacement for Ike Davis, does not presently have a place on the 40. If management were to make a move to bring him up from Las Vegas, he would have to be added and someone would have to be removed as the Mets presently have a full slate of players already occupying those slots (plus 3 more on the 60-day DL).

Removing a player from the 40 requires that they be designated for assignment (DFA’d) and the team then has 10 days to trade, release, or send them to the minors provided they clear waivers. Without going into undue detail over the waiver process, suffice it to say that if a team doesn’t want to risk losing a player altogether, they will strive to avoid exposing them. This was the concern recently with the promotion of Quintanilla as, out of options, he will have to clear waivers if the Mets want to return him to Vegas when Ruben Tejada is ready to return to active duty.

Judicious management of the 40 is a crucial element to a GM seeking to provide his field manager with the tools needed to compete.  Often hard choices must be made- when deciding to protect a player in the farm system who may still be years away from contributing at the major league level, a degree of flexibility with the active roster is surrendered.  To some extent, this can be pointed to as an issue with the current Mets team.

A look at the current state of the Mets’ 40 reveals how certain players are regarded within the organization and, to a degree, by baseball insiders. The 15 players beyond the active roster include those who have previously appeared on it this year (Atchison, Familia, Tejada, Brown, Cowgill, Edgin and Nieuwenhuis), and a mixed bag of prospects consisting of infielders Zach Lutz, Wilmer Flores,  and Wilfredo Tovar, catcher Travis d’Arnaud, outfielder Cesar Puello, and pitchers Zack Wheeler, Hansel Robles, and Gonzalez Germen.  Aside from Atchison, Tejada and Familia who are currently on the 15-day DL, the bulk of these players consist of fringe major league talent (or “AAAA” players) who can provide coverage in the event of injuries, and legitimate prospects who the front office clearly needs to protect.

This list says as much about those who are not on it as it does about those it includes. As mentioned before, Josh Satin did not rate a slot, and the front office is apparently content to keep him as AAA roster filler or allow him to leave next year as a six-year free agent. They have not worried about another organization drafting him, so that should tell you something about how he is regarded by the other 29 MLB clubs as well. Still, you never know, someone may yet give him a shot as a role player somewhere.

I do have some questions with respect to some of the other players who have been allotted space here. Lutz turns 27 this month, a bit old for a “legitimate” prospect, and is kept around apparently to provide insurance in the event of an injury to David Wright. He has been fairly consistent in his level of play as he has made his way up the ladder and projects as someone who would hit about .250-.260 with maybe 15-20 HR’s over a full season while providing less than stellar defense. Assuming, of course, he could stay healthy himself, something that has been a bit of an issue in the past.  In other words, he could be a decent fill-in but not a player you would tag for stardom. His place on the roster is to provide depth and were Ike Davis to be demoted, he would be the likely call-up despite a relative lack of experience at first base. His ability to play third probably gets him the edge on the roster over Satin despite the latter’s somewhat better numbers over the past few years.

The other players holding down slots that might raise an eyebrow are Tovar and Germen. Tovar, despite his youth and ability to play a key position (shortstop), apparently projects at best as a utility guy according to scouting reports. If the team is simply trying to provide depth at the position, they might have considered going with Tovar’s Binghamton teammate Josh Rodriguez, a more veteran player at age 28 who has shown flashes of power throughout his minor league career. As of this writing, Rodriguez leads the B-Mets in hits and has an OBP of .439, numbers that greatly overshadow those of Tovar to this point. Germen is a 25-year old middle reliever with decent if somewhat unspectacular numbers at Las Vegas. He has put up some nice K/9 and hits per innings numbers in the past though, and pitchers can develop later than position players so I’m willing to assume they know what they are doing with him. Still, if Jack Leathersich is bumped up to AAA at the season’s mid-point and continues to blow away the opposition like he’s been doing so far, I’m sure we would all like to see a September call-up and somebody will have to make space on the 40. In addition, Chase Huchingson’s performance out of the same bullpen has put him in the picture as a lefty relief option as well.

Clearly roster management is an inexact science that involves some guesswork. Like many, I’ll be watching the shuffling that is due to occur ahead of the Rule 5 in December.  Let’s hope for some wise decisions and for some player performances that help make those decisions easier to make.

In baseball, its see the ball, hit the ball. Is it always that easy with the potential of the speed of the ball reaching 100 MPH or as slow as 65 MPH, or the ball moving up or down in the strike zone.  It doesn’t always go straight down the middle, so as a hitter you adjust but if you are in a huge slump, do you even see the movement of the ball?

What is up with Ike, what is going on in his mind?  Could it be that Ike was just a bit too comfortable and didn’t think this would last so long?  At times his swing looked weak, chasing balls way out of the strike zone or not even making contact which is evident by his 60 k’s in 163 at bats so far this season.

Can Ike’s struggles be mental, can it be his mechanics, or maybe a little of everything at this point.  We never really know what is going on in a batters mind in the batters box, what distractions are causing him to not produce. But it’s up to the hitter to battle out of it and get back to what he is used to, its not like Ike hasn’t produced in the big leagues.  But this year’s slump has everyone thinking will he ever regain his stroke.

In the last seven days, Ike is actually batting .250 but does have 11 k’s in 20 at bats, so the average may be up but the k’s are keeping him from breaking out. So at this point, Ike has bought himself another game in the big leagues.  The clock is still ticking and that is a lot of pressure for a guy batting 8^th in the lineup. Maybe he hears the footsteps of Josh Satin behind him, maybe he figures there are other Mets players on the roster than can play first base and are just waiting their turn.  A team can only go so long with a guy that is not producing.

Can Ike build on his two hits from last night and limit his k’s to maybe once a game sandwiched with a few hits, maybe an RBI or even a HR. That possibly may buy him a few more days and even a few more weeks.

I guess you can say the Mets have been pretty patient with Ike and now the pressure is on. There were a few good signs from last night and those were the two solid hits Ike had, so it has to be something good to build on and if he can go out tonight and produce again, those calls for demotion, may just start to fade away.

Josh Satin is clearly the most worthy of getting a shot at first base if the team ultimately decides to demote Ike Davis. He must smell blood in the water, because he was 4-for-5 last night, with four RBI. He’s batting .316 this year with 8 home runs and 31 RBI. Satin also gets on base over 40% of the time.

He has earned a promotion at this point, especially with the way Davis has been playing. It’s time to bring Satin up, and start platooning him with Davis right now. This would be a wise decision for two reasons:

1. You ease Satin into the big league picture, rather than throwing added pressure on the kid as being the savior at first base if the team does decide to demote Davis. Platooning Satin and Davis gives Satin some major league at bats before taking over the job permanently.
2. You can light a fire under Davis’ backside. Putting an immediate threat behind a player, like a hungry prospect, can work wonders on a veteran’s performance. It can also give Davis some time off to work on his mechanical deficiencies if he is platooning. The Mets can rest him against left-handed pitchers until he gets his act together.

Sleeper Alert

After promoting Josh Satin, the team has to take a good look at moving Allan Dykstra to Triple-A. The left-handed hitting former first rounder has played himself back into the mix this season. Dykstra stroked another home run and added three RBI in last night’s loss to Altoona. He’s batting .307 with six homers and 31 RBI on the year. He leads Binghamton in batting average (.307), RBI (31), OBP (.449), OPS (.996), and is second on the team in home runs (6).

For more Mets minor league coverage, check out MetsMinors.net.

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas rocked Reno, 7-1.
• Binghamton dropped a game to Altoona, 8-4.
• St. Lucie split a double header with Jupiter, 4-1 & 7-4. 
• Savannah dropped to Greenville, 5-1.

Prospect Pipeline

• In his second game back from his stint on the DL, Brandon Nimmo was 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in last night’s loss. His average has now dipped below the .300 mark for the first time this year (.299).
• The Mets are sending Omar Quintanilla to New York says Andy Martino via Twitter. The 31-year old was pulled from the Las Vegas 51s game tonight following the injury to Ruben Tejada.
• Josh Satin is clearly the most worthy of getting a shot at first base if the team ultimately decides to demote Ike Davis. He must smell blood in the water, because he was 4-for-5 last night, with four RBI. He’s batting .316 this year with 8 home runs and 31 RBI. Satin also gets on base over 40% of the time.
• Allan Dykstra is trying to keep his name relevant in the search for the Mets’ future first baseman. Dykstra stroked another home run and added three RBI in last night’s loss to Altoona. He’s batting .307 with six homers and 31 RBI on the year. He leads Binghamton in batting average (.307), RBI (31), OBP (.449), OPS (.996), and is second on the team in home runs (6).
• Dustin Lawley cranked out his 11th home run of the year last night. He now leads the organization with home runs and RBI (40).
• Alex Panteliodis has been solid since coming off the disabled list in early May. In 26.2 innings pitched, he has a 2.03 ERA and 18 strikeouts to only six walks.
• Batting Leaders: Average: Andrew Brown, Vegas, .371; Jayce Boyd, Savannah, .354; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, .346; Omar Quintanilla, Vegas, .328; ; Allan Dykstra, Binghamton, .306; Josh Satin, Vegas, .303; Josh Rodriguez, Binghamton, .300; Jamie Hoffmann, Vegas, .297; Cesar Puello, Binghamton, .296.
• Pitching Leaders: Rainy Lara, St. Lucie, 1.42; Matthew Bowman, St. Lucie, 2.50; Collin McHugh, Vegas, 2.74; Noah Syndergaard, St. Lucie, 2.86; Rafael Montero, Vegas, 3.03; Logan Verrett, Binghamton, 3.07; Gabriel Ynoa, Savannah, 3.19; Angel Cuan, St. Lucie, 3.69; Zack Wheeler, Vegas, 4.13.
• Happy Birthday to Zack Wheeler who turns 23 on today.

Stat Line of the Day

Josh Satin: 4-for-5, 4 RBI

Transactions

Savannah Sand Gnats placed LHP Steven Matz on the 7-day disabled list.

Quote of the Day

Terry Collins to Ruben Tejada:

“It’s time. It’s time to get going. We’re 50 games into it. All of the kinks should be out by now. Let’s go be the player we know you can be.”

Las Vegas 7, Reno 1

Josh Satin caught wind of Ike Davis showing signs of life at the plate and decided that he needed to step it up a notch – so he ripped four hits and drove in four runs in this 7-1 Las Vegas victory.

On the pitching end of the victory was Carlos Torres, who has honestly turned it up a notch ever since I called him out in the beginning of May. I honestly don’t know if he read my little rant, but since then, he has had just one bad start (6.0 IP, 4 ER) and the other three starts have all been at least 6.0 innings with only 1 ER allowed. That’s actually pretty impressive.

Torres was on his game again last night and allowed only three hits and a walk over six-and-two-thirds innings. Gonzalez Germen and Greg Peavey combined to finish the game for him with 2.1 scoreless innings.

As I mentioned before, Satin was the big man on offense with his four RBIs, but Wilmer Flores, Brian Bixler, and Omar Quintanilla all had RBIs in this one as well. Quintanilla was noticably removed from the ball game in favor of Brandon Hicks as he is rumored to be on his way to the MLB team.

Chris Schwinden takes the mound for the 51s tomorrow against Garrett Mock.

Key Stats

Collin Cowgill: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R

Josh Satin: 4-for-5, 4 RBI

Wilmer Flores: 1-for-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Brian Bixler: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R

Carlos Torres: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 ER, 7 K

Gonzalez Germen: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Greg Peavey: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

For more Mets minor league coverage, check out MetsMinors.net.

1. Fire Dave Hudgens

2. Demote Ike Davis – Enough is enough. Iv’e been calling for the promotion of Josh Satin (.303/.408/.492) since April 14 and I still don’t understand what it is we’re waiting for. It’s great that Ike Davis is loved by his teammates who don’t want to see him go, but this is no damned country club and the goal here is to win. Davis is killing this team and it’s time Sandy Alderson does the right thing and stops accepting failure as the norm. You’re the decision-maker, make a freaking decision already.

3. Demote Ruben Tejada – Somehow, Tejada has escaped much of the glare of his truly awful season. Last night was the last straw. Sometimes you can tolerate a .200 hitting shortstop because of his sterling defense ala Rey Ordonez, but that’s not the case with Tejada. His defense has been erratic and has cost the Mets more than a couple of wins. He also has no speed to speak of and it begs the question what exactly does he contribute to this team? The answer is nothing. Maybe he can return as a utility infielder, but right now the Mets need to make room for Omar Quintanilla (.328/.415/.480) and to do so with all due haste.

4. Play Juan Lagares – I can’t believe that ever since Lagares went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer on May 19, he’s made just one start in ten games. The toolsy outfielder, who also happens to be the best defensive outfielder the Mets have, was called up after tearing up the PCL with a .348/.378/.551 slash and has been wasting away on the bench at the ripe old age of 24 with just 43 scattered at-bats to his name. What other teams do that to their prospects?

5. Cut Jordany Valdespin – I’m so tired of hearing how good Valdespin is. He is batting .214 with 19 strikeouts in 44 at-bats. I’m glad he and David Wright are now besties according to Terry Collins, but he’s wasting a roster spot. Let him go play everyday in Vegas and maybe we’ll see him again. At least Lagares can pick it in center field.

6. Cut Robert Carson - I can’t believe that Carson and his 9.49 ERA are still on this team. Again, why does it take a front office with four GMs so long to make the no-brainers? You want a lefthander that can pitch? Look no further than Jack Leathersich. I’ll spare you my weekly raves and simply say that no pitcher in the Mets system is more MLB-Ready than Leathersich – not even Zack Wheeler. He currently yields a 1.48 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 45 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched. You put this kid in the bullpen and it’s like adding a Billy Wagner in his prime. That’s right… I just said that…

Now, am I saying that with a wave of the wand these moves will vault the Mets into the Wild Card race? No, of course not. But it will show us that the front office has a pulse and are unwilling to accept the intolerable play we have been getting from this team so far this season.

Do something right for crying out loud. Make a move. Don’t just sit on your hands like helpless fools hoping things will get better all by themselves. Make things happen. Stop being so reactive and start being more proactive. Geez… Is that too much to ask from one of the most highly compensated front offices in baseball?

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas dropped to Reno, 6-5.
• Binghamton topped Altoona, 8-5.
• St. Lucie game was postponed due to rain. 
• Savannah defeated Greenville, 8-3.

Prospect Pipeline

• Welcome back Brandon Nimmo! Nimmo finally returned from his stint on the disabled list, and was in the lineup for Savannah last night batting second, and playing center field. It was his first game back since April 29, and it showed. Nimmo was 0-for-5 at the plate, extending his hitless streak from before going on the DL to 0-for-25.
• Noah Syndergaard was perfect last night before the St. Lucie game was suspended by rain. The game will continue today but we’re not sure who will be pitching when the game resumes.
• First Base Watch: I noticed Ike Davis re-positioned his hands during last night’s game — he isn’t holding them over his head anymore, and they’re closer to his shoulders now (he must have read my piece on Fixing Ike Davis the other day). However, he is still dropping his hands way too low as he loads up his swing. This will take time to fix, as it’s all muscle memory, and he has to leave his comfort zone to re-train the muscles. In the meantime, two potential replacements for Davis, Josh Satin and Wilmer Flores, have been raking. Both had three hits in last night’s game. (By the way, MMO’s analysis is just as good as the stuff you see on TV from the “real analysts.” We had the Ike Davis fix a day before everyone else, and they basically repeated everything we said on ESPN and in the SNY booth.)
• In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday, Zack Wheeler alluded to the fact that he is ready. Wheeler said ”I’m just waiting on time. I think I’m ready, but it is really not my decision.” There is no doubt that Wheeler’s stuff is dynamite, and good enough right now to get major league hitters out. However, I’m still concerned about the command issues, which have reared their ugly heads again since his short trip to the DL.
• Jayce Boyd is still lighting up the SAL, has surpassed Kevin Plawecki in batting average, and he now leads the league in hitting (.354). Boyd has played the past ten games as a designated hitter due to a shoulder injury.
• Omar Quintanilla is not on the 40-man roster, but how much longer will the Mets allow Ruben Tejada to struggle while Quintanilla tears it up in Las Vegas? Quintanilla is hitting .328 for the year, and over his last ten games is hitting .483. I wonder if Tejada can hear the footsteps?
• Jack Leathersich has ice water in his veins. He inherited two runners in the eighth inning of last night’s game, allowing neither of them to score. He struck out five of the six batters he faced for his third save of the season. Awesome. Check out MMN for a Prospect Spotlight on Leathersich.
• Congratulations to MMN’s Pitcher of the Week, Matthew Bowman, and MMN’s Player of the Week, Josh Rodriguez.
• Bill Passanno gives you all the happenings down in St. Lucie, with his Lucie Logistics over at MMN.
• Angel Cuan was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week.
• Michael Fulmer threw an inning during an extended spring training game yesterday.
• Steven Matz was pulled from his start yesterday in the fourth inning, from what we were told was a blister and fingernail issue. Before being pulled, Matz allowed two runs on four hits.
• Be sure to check out this week’s Top Ten Prospect Tracker over at MMN today.

Stat Lines of the Day

Collin Cowgill: 3-for-5, 2 R

Josh Satin: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 1 R

Wilmer Flores: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R 

Transactions

Brandon Nimmo was activated from the seven-day DL.

Zach Lutz was placed on the DL with an oblique injury.

Quote of the Day

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas topped Salt Lake, 13-9.
• Binghamton shut out Portland, 5-0.
• Savannah dropped to Augusta, 3-1.
• St. Lucie shut out Bradenton, 8-2.

Prospect Pipeline

• Rafael Montero killed it last night…again. The righty was absolutely dominant through six innings today – allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out eight batters. He allowed no earned runs and dropped his ERA in AA down to 3.08. He was touching 95 mph on the guns last night. #promotemontero
• In case you missed the Prospect Spolight over at MetsMinors.net yesterday, Aderlin Rodriguez is having a month for the ages. Over the past thirty days, his stat line heading into last night’s game is a ridiculous: .321/.353/.571 with 6 HR & 30 RBI.
• Sandy Alderson told reporters yesterday that the organization will limit top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler to 180 to 185 innings this season, likely meaning he will have to go through an end-of-season shutdown, similar to Matt Harvey last year.
• When Zach Lutz was removed from the game in the fourth inning yesterday, speculation ran across Twitter that he was on his way to Flushing to spell the struggling Ike Davis. Unfortunately he was removed due to an oblique injury. With Andrew Brown recently injuring his oblique, Lutz looked to be the favorite. He has more corner infield experience, and currently resides on the Mets’ 40-man roster. Looks like it’s down to Josh Satin and Wilmer Flores as the primary call up possibilities right now — I give Satin the edge.
• Every batter in the starting lineup reached base safely for the 51s last night, and six players had multi-hit games including Omar Quintanilla, who went 4-for-4 with a homer and a walk. If Tejada continues to struggle at the major league level, don’t be surprised if you see Quintanilla get called up to take some time away from him.
• Matthew Bowman (3-0), a 13th-round selection in last year’s MLB Draft out of Princeton University, has worked at least six innings in all four of his starts since being promoted from Savannah earlier this month. Boasting an arsenal that already contains four quality pitches — the changeup being viewed as his primary out pitch — he painted the corners masterfully and sent down the first six Marauders batters he faced last night on during his solid seven inning outing. He struck out five batters and walked only one.

Stat Line of the Day

Omar Quintanilla: 4-for-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 RBI, 2 R

Transactions

None.

Happy Memorial Day from all of us at MMO and MMN.

With Ike Davis all, but assured of a trip to Triple-A Las Vegas, the easy part is done. The difficult part will deciding on how to replace him, in body only, at first base.

On the current roster, we already discussed some of the options available and they range from moving Lucas Duda from left field to first base, moving Daniel Murphy over to first, or giving Justin Turner significant playing time at first as well.

None of those options sound very appealing and each one opens up a new set of problems. Instead, the solution should come from the minors.

The simpleton’s choice would be to turn to Zach Lutz. However, he has struggled of late after getting off to a torrid start and is now batting just .271/.354/.421 in 140 at-bats. Only 12 of his 38 hits were for extra-bases. Scarier still, is the 42 strikeouts. How well do you think those metrics will translate at Citi Field? Not very well I can assure you.

The smart money would be on Josh Satin. Already the starting first baseman for Las Vegas, he is having a very solid 2013 season, batting .299 with six home runs and 24 RBI. His on-base is at .410 and he boasts a .470 slugging percentage. What I love about Satin and why I feel he would be the ideal choice is this… In 164 at-bats he’s struck out just 37 times, but he has also drawn 30 walks. This is someone who is obviously ready for the next challenge.

Additionally, Satin has regularly played first base (198 games) while the position is still relatively new to Lutz who has logged just 42 games at first base in his entire pro career.

Back on May 1, I wrote the following about Josh Satin:

Satin has always been a great and disciplined hitter and one look at his career .397 on-base in six minor league seasons should have the suits in the front office with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, as would his .466 slugging percentage.

I don’t know about you, but I’m growing tired of watching Ike Davis suffocate this offense and have been calling for a reduced role for him since the season began. He’s not suddenly going to magically begin teeing off against lefty pitching as a few lingering fans still believe. That’s a wooden bat he has in his hands, not a magic wand.

Ike Davis is nothing more than the long end of a platoon player at best. I’ve said that before and continue to stand on that position.

Josh Satin deserves a chance to prove he belongs. He’s paid his dues and has nothing left to prove in the minors. Let’s get this done and right a wrong that has gone on for far too long. Let’s give this kid his well-deserved shot.

The worst thing that a team as bad as the Mets could do, is to keep trotting out the same undeserving and underperforming ballplayers while some hidden gems waste away at Triple-A when they should be here instead helping the team score runs.

Before that on April 17, in a post entitled, “Time To Promote Josh Satin and Platoon Ike Davis“, I said:

Satin has been hitting the ground running from the moment he signed his first professional contract and has posted an.865 OPS during his minor league career with the Mets, and has made the Minor League All Star Team as the starting third baseman, first baseman or second baseman every season since 2009. Wow…

I think it’s time to call this and tell it like it is… Ike Davis is nothing more than the long end of a platoon player at best.

Enter Josh Satin, who despite the gaudy stats I already posted, is even better against left-handed pitching. He torches southpaws unmercifully like a demon from Hell. Let’s get this done and right a wrong that has gone on for far too long and give Josh Satin his well-deserved shot. The fact that it’s taking this long is a cardinal sin.

I was called nuts when I wrote that, but who’s nuts now? Some guy from Bayonne who knows baseball and can see things with his eyes, told me I lost my baseball mind and that Ike was fine and I should shut up about this.

Anyway… The choice is pretty clear as to what the Mets should do, but I’m certain it won’t go down that way. After all  we wouldn’t want to risk losing Robert Carson or Collin Cowgill off the 40 Man Roster to make room for someone who could actually help the team, now would we?

With Ike Davis struggling in the majors, Mets fans are looking for another option, someone who can take over the first base job for Davis while he puts in some work at Triple-A. There really seem to be three candidates, two more realistic than the other: Zach Lutz, Josh Satin, and Wilmer Flores. Lutz and Satin are examples of two guys who never got a real shot. They certainly have their flaws, but were largely left out of the major league picture because of their league to age comparisons. They were college guys that didn’t move up the ladder fast enough. In a way, that makes them the less exciting of the options. However, the Mets have Wilmer Flores currently on the Triple-A roster which has many Mets fans wondering:

When will we see Wilmer Flores?

Flores, 21, had a breakout season last year, splitting the season with High-A St. Lucie and Double-A  Binghamton. In the first half, he put up an impressive slash line of .289/.336/.463 with ten home runs in 272 plate appearances. Although he was repeating the league, he was still on the younger side. He earned a mid-season promotion to Binghamton, where he was even better at the plate, posting a .311/.361/.494 batting line with eight home runs in 275 plate appearances. Now he is playing for Las Vegas, his third team in a calendar year. Here’s where things go wrong.

In any other team and in any other situation, Flores’s numbers this season would not be much of a concern. He has a .267 batting average and .757 OPS (through Tuesday’s game). He also has four home runs and a .322 on-base percentage. Considering how young he is, it normally wouldn’t be any cause for concern. However, when you go deeper and look at his home and road splits, you realize that even those so-so numbers are inflated by the hitter-friendly Cashman Field. Here is what his splits look like:

Home: .282/.321/.526, 3 HR in 85 PA

Away: .253/.323/.349, 1 HR in 97 PA

Considering that the league averages are generally around .285/.360/.450, he hasn’t been great. And in a league filled with hitter-friendly parks, Las Vegas may be the most hitter-friendly environment.

This was supposed to be another big year for Flores. Coming off a strong year and being put into one of the best hitter parks in all of the minors, I expected big, big numbers, which we certainly have not seen. As Brian Joura of Mets360 points out, maybe the Mets were too quick to put Flores in Triple-A:

Perhaps the Mets were too aggressive placing Flores in Triple-A. Maybe the best thing would have been to start him back in Double-A and look to promote him to Triple-A at mid-season. After all, he would still be young for his league at 21 in the Eastern League. Recently Rob Rogan did research that showed the average age of the Eastern League was over 25.

And that’s it with Flores – it all comes down to age. How do we balance production with age? What are the appropriate bonus points to award and what’s the scale you use to combine that with actual production? If we knew the answer to those questions, we would have a more accurate guide in how to properly rate Flores.

All things considered, there is no chance Flores comes up for anything other than a cup of coffee in September. He had us all excited before this year, but likely prematurely. He isn’t ready and the Mets should not even consider messing with him even more by promoting him to the majors.

Do you have a Mets minor league question that you want answered? Get your question answered in the next mailbag by sending them to metsminorsmailbag@gmail.com or through the contact page.

Updated Post 7:40 PM

Straight from the files of Believe It Or Not, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported via Twitter that Ike Davis is unlikely to be demoted before the end of the weekend.

“Was told Ike is on double, secret probation, but likely still be a Met on Friday. Mets will use weekend to get a “better understanding.”

If the Mets still need more time to get a better understanding of Davis, they’re not as smart as I thought they were. Obviously I’ve been giving them far too much credit…

Original Post 5:30 PM

Ike Davis has lost his way. Not just at the plate, but in the field too. Terry Collins said after the game today, that the first baseman’s slump at the plate has not affected his play on the field. I beg to differ.

Maybe Terry feels a desperate need to defend his players, but to say that his last few miscues on the field are unrelated to what Davis is going through at the plate doesn’t ring true.

We’ve all seen Ike Davis at his best and have all marveled as fans over his gold glove caliber defense. But that was then and this is now. His instincts at first base are deteriorating and I believe it’s because he has something else eating at his mind. Davis is so unfocused and frequently looks like he’s in a daze.

During the 2010 through 2012 seasons, Ike Davis makes that play today down the first base line rather than just staring at it. The same can be said about his faux pas two days earlier when he stood in front of the runner on the basepath like a zombie and got called for obstruction.

Why can’t Terry Collins see what is so apparent to the few thousand fans who still go to the game? There’s a good reason why Davis is absorbing all the boos at the plate and now in the field. This isn’t the same player we grew to love almost from the first moment he made his debut three years ago. Remember how excited we were? Who didn’t think Ike Davis was a core player right from the start?

We want that Ike Davis back again. The only way that happens is by doing the right thing and sending him to Triple-A where he can sort out his problems and rediscover his stroke, his glove, and more importantly his confidence that is evidently shattered.

I’m not mad at Davis, I’m really not. But I am angry at Terry Collins who constantly makes excuses for bad baseball. There seems to be no more accountability on this team, only a boatload of excuses after each game. I guess that’s what I’m most concerned about. I want a manager who gets pissed off when he sees a breakdown in baseball fundamentals and not cover for his players.

Maybe Ike Davis’ biggest problem is Terry Collins who seems to have become his enabler… I don’t know, I’m not a psychologist, but it sure looks that way…

Davis is a very likable guy and I still believe he has a world of talent. But it’s time for the Mets to save him… It’s time for the Mets to try and get Davis back on track and that’s not going to happen in the major leagues. Don’t let this situation reach the point of no return because if that happens, we all lose. Just do the right thing.

Updated Post 5/22

During Tuesday night’s Mets broadcast, general manager Sandy Alderson said he intends to stick with slumping first baseman Ike Davis for a little while longer, but added that there’s a chance that he might be better off going to Triple-A Las Vegas for some period of time.

Alderson said it’s hard to ignore what Davis did in the second half of last season, but the big difference is that the team is not playing well at this time and he needs production.

Davis went 0-for-3 during the Mets’ 4-0 loss to the Reds on Tuesday night and is 1-for-his-last-36.

The fans let him have it as they loudly booed him during each plate appearance. ”What are you going to do?” Davis said afterward.

He is now batting .149 with 48 strikeouts and a .478 OPS in 42 games this season.

Original Post 5/21

Perhaps Sandy Alderson knew of Andrew Brown’s strained oblique when he said there was nothing imminent about sending Ike Davis to the minor leagues. Assuming he did not, it is puzzling as to why he’s in no hurry to ship out his struggling first baseman.

Eventually, Alderson said, “everything comes to a head at some point,’’ but evidently it is not hitting .156 two months into the season. Either are Davis’ other miserable numbers.

Alderson said he’s interested not in results, but good at-bats. Sounds good in theory, but that won’t happen if Davis’ thinking doesn’t change, and there’s no indication of it happening soon.

About the minor leagues, Davis said that would not help because he needs to learn to hit at this level. Davis insists he’s a home run hitter, that he likes to hit home runs and strikeouts are part of the equation.

I can’t scream “that’s crap,’’ loud enough. Davis is so married to his pull-everything approach that improvement is almost impossible to attain.

Davis’ extraordinary wide stance offers no alternatives but to lunge, and he doesn’t have the discipline to lay off breaking balls down and away and fastballs up in the zone. Davis’ mechanics and approach must be torn down and built back up. It could take a month for that to happen, and it shouldn’t be a month up here.

Incredibly, Davis said he’s having positive at-bats, that in Chicago he just missed driving a few balls. But, the fact is he missed those pitches so they can’t be considered good at-bats. It isn’t as if he’s hit a lot of balls on the screws or driven them to the warning track.

Davis was 1-for-24 on the trip to St. Louis and Chicago; is hitting .103 (4-for-39) with runners in scoring position; and is on pace for 177 strikeouts.

When he first came up, Davis showed a willingness to go to the opposite field. There’s none of that now.

Davis said he’s still playing good defense, but he’s delusional there, too. He should have been given an error when he short-armed Ruben Tejada’s wild throw in the dirt in Chicago. The ball did not take a short hop and was something he should have snared.

He was also flat out lazy Monday night on a obstruction call that opened the door to a big inning for Cincinnati in the first inning.

Davis’ head isn’t screwed on straight and he’s fallen into a myriad of bad habits that preclude good at-bats. Davis anticipates getting a month to work out of his funk, but how much lower will the Mets sink in that time?

For the past three years, the Mets had to settle for lousy at-bats and performance from Jason Bay because of his salary. Currently, Alderson plans to have the Mets settling from horrid performance from Davis despite a manageable contract.

OK, Brown is out, but what about Zach Lutz? What about making a move and adding Josh Satin to the 40-man roster?

It doesn’t matter what they do, except for standing pat, and Alderson hasn’t given a good reason for choosing that route. That decision is doing a disservice to the Mets and not helping Davis any, either.

Thoughts from Joe D.

What a waste of a month it’s been for Ike Davis. Had Davis been sent down to the minors at the end of April when I first called for such a move, he could of been back by now and contributing to the team again. But instead he continues to deteriorate statistically and it’s dragging the team down offensively AND defensively.

Check out this screenshot of his last ten games:

This is further evidence that Davis is still in a downslide and not making any progress at all. He has struck out in more than a third of his at-bats in his last ten games. His average has sunk from an already woeful .190 to .152 after batting just .080 in his last ten games.

What’s worse is how negatively this has affected him defensively. He’s stabbing at balls, lost much of his range, and mishandling throws to him.

He looked completely out of it yesterday when he was called for obstruction. His instincts are shot. His head is not in the game.

Send him down already before the situation becomes completely unsalvageable.