Looks like what I was afraid would happen is gonna happen…
Terry Collins told reporters last night that he is going to reward Ike Davis for raising his average above the Mendoza Line by putting him against lefty starter beginning tonight against Hyun-jin Ryu or on Wednesday against Chris Capuano.
Since his promotion, Davis’s batting average had climbed from .161 to .205. Of course what that doesn’t telly you is that Davis hasn’t homered in his last 110 plate appearances since returning from Las Vegas.
Also, as one reader pointed out to me yesterday, what Ike Davis is doing right now is completely unsustainable based on his .667 BABIP in August and .414 BABIP since his promotion. In other words, luck has played a huge part in his .310 batting average and if you were to normalize it, Davis isn’t really hitting any better than he was before he got sent down. But he looks good doing it…
Additionally, he has lost all semblance of the aggressive power hitter he once was and has transformed himself into David Magadan Lite.
I guess that Terry Collins let the SNY booth into his ears and he will ignore the fact that the first baseman has a .153/.206/.224 batting line against left-handers…
Terry seems to love rewarding veterans while punishing rookies with a joy ride on the bench after a great game or hot streak… This is what he does…. This is how he manages…
Hey Satin… Take your .386 average against left-handers and get your ass on the bench… I’m gonna go with Ike…
Original Post
After going 1-for-2 with three walks in yesterday’s game against the Diamondbacks, Ike Davis is batting .300 with a .467 on-base since being recalled from a three week exile in Las Vegas.
Since the calendar turned to August, he’s been even better batting .500 with 14 walks, 10 hits and an eye-popping .706 on-base percentage in ten games. There’s a problem though… Where’s the beef? Where’s the power? Where’s the home runs? His .317 slugging percentage this season is right up there with such notable sluggers as Omar Quintanilla, Collin Cowgill and Mike Baxter.
Has this recent hot streak put himself back into the conversation of who should be our first baseman in 2014?
You see, I’ve got to be honest… It’s going to take a lot more for me to forget that atrocious .510 OPS Ike posted before he packed his sunscreen and left for the Nevada desert. I just can’t get that Ike Davis out of my head just yet.
Has he made some huge strides? Of course he has, there’s no denying it. But I’m still not convinced he’s suddenly back to being the Mets first baseman of the future.
Listening to Gary Cohen babble on about reinstating Ike Davis as the everyday first baseman made my ears hurt on Sunday. Are we just supposed to ignore the fact he has a .153/.206/.224 batting line against left-handers?
Does Cohen not realize that part of the reason that Davis looks so good now is because he’s only starting against right-handed pitching? You do know that, right?
Even Terry Collins flinched when one of the beat writers asked him if Davis has done enough to earn his everyday job back.
“When we start to see he’s taking good swings, aggressive swings, pretty much the same approach he does with righties in certain counts to do some damage, then we’ll do it,” Collins said.
“A lot of it’s tied up in that I am sitting here and looking at these numbers. When Josh Satin has a batting average against lefties that starts with a four, it’s pretty impressive.”
That might be the smartest thing Terry Collins has ever said as Mets manager.
So no, I’m not ready to proclaim Ike Davis the first baseman of the future based on what I’m seeing now. I want my first baseman to be an everyday player and I am not convinced that Davis will ever be that again. He never really was to begin with.
Cholula Hot Sauce be damned, but if I’m Sandy Alderson I tell everyone that Davis is available and I’ll take the first damn offer that comes along.
Six homers and 12 doubles in 82 games is simply not going to cut it with me. With 47 games left to the season he’ll likely finish the year with ten home runs if he’s lucky. His fall from grace was a very hard one. But a change of scenery is now in order.
