The Ike Davis saga has been a bizarre one over the last couple of years.
Two years ago, Davis and the Mets drummed up a odd disease called valley fever as an excuse for his poor performance at the plate during the first half of the 2012 season. After another horrific season in 2013 that saw Davis hit only .205 with nine homers and 33 RBI. The Mets did everything they could to trade him in the off-season, but nobody budged.
The Mets made it very public that they were shopping the embattled first baseman leading to Davis' father, Ron to trash the Mets publicly, saying they "screwed up." Another black eye, and sign that the relationship between the Mets and Ike Davis was on stilts.
Now, more excuses and distractions are flowing out of Davis' corner. The New York Post caught Davis in a lie to the team that employees him when he concealed an oblique injury from the team for most of the past year.
According to the report, Davis injured the oblique in mid-May, but said nothing because he was fearful of being viewed as weak or an excuse maker, since the team was thinking about sending him down to Triple-A. Davis, of course went to Triple-A Las Vegas in June.
The Post said that Davis didn't want to come across as "Alibi Ike," because, as Davis said, "It makes me look like a baby...It looks like I am whining about how I [stunk]. I was terrible, now it's over," (NYPost).
On Monday, Davis decided to go after the Post reporter who wrote the story. Several reports say that Davis "loudly chastised" the man who wrote the article, saying: "It shouldn't have been a story anyway. ... It's just an overblown thing. Everyone has injuries and then they get hurt. So it was pointless to write an article. I sucked last year because I sucked. It's not because I had an injury. You always have injuries. And now it just looks bad."
The Mets came into Spring Training still licking its financial wounds, even though they spent some money this year on the likes of Curtis Granderson and the overweight Bartolo Colon. On the field, the Mets come into this season still with plenty of young players who have not lived up to their potential -- Davis is one of those guys.
For all the power that Davis has shown in his bat, at times, he still has not developed into a consistent hitter. A .240 lifetime batting average is nothing to be proud of. At some point the excuses and sympathy has to go by the wayside, and, the Mets have to fish or cut bait.
Davis is now a distraction; if he doesn't produce this spring becomes locker room collateral damage.
Davis is not the only one who has to prove himself this Spring. The man with whom he is competing with for that first base job, Lucas Duda, and short stop Ruben Tejada are both on the hot seat as well. All three have been major parts of the mediocrity that has stunk up this Mets franchise for the past four years.
You get the sense Sandy Alderson and crew want them out if they don't get it done now. The Mets have already made it be known they aren't happy with the work Tejada put into the off-season either. Stephen Drew a free agent is out there.
For Davis picking fights with the media is not going to get it done. He has to pick his fight with the battle that is taking place on the field instead. If he does that maybe he has a chance to save his career in New York -- that is if this scene didn't already spell his ending as a Met.
Two years ago, Davis and the Mets drummed up a odd disease called valley fever as an excuse for his poor performance at the plate during the first half of the 2012 season. After another horrific season in 2013 that saw Davis hit only .205 with nine homers and 33 RBI. The Mets did everything they could to trade him in the off-season, but nobody budged.
The Mets made it very public that they were shopping the embattled first baseman leading to Davis' father, Ron to trash the Mets publicly, saying they "screwed up." Another black eye, and sign that the relationship between the Mets and Ike Davis was on stilts.
Now, more excuses and distractions are flowing out of Davis' corner. The New York Post caught Davis in a lie to the team that employees him when he concealed an oblique injury from the team for most of the past year.
According to the report, Davis injured the oblique in mid-May, but said nothing because he was fearful of being viewed as weak or an excuse maker, since the team was thinking about sending him down to Triple-A. Davis, of course went to Triple-A Las Vegas in June.
The Post said that Davis didn't want to come across as "Alibi Ike," because, as Davis said, "It makes me look like a baby...It looks like I am whining about how I [stunk]. I was terrible, now it's over," (NYPost).
By all accounts Davis made a scene that was more about himself than it was about his team, his teammates and the job he has before him to win the starting first base job. In short, Davis has been nothing short of selfish. He was selfish for concealing the injury to begin with -- it hurt him, and hurt the Mets even more.
What kind of example does this set for some of the younger players in the Mets clubhouse? What kind of tone does this set for the season, if Davis can win the first base job?
For all the power that Davis has shown in his bat, at times, he still has not developed into a consistent hitter. A .240 lifetime batting average is nothing to be proud of. At some point the excuses and sympathy has to go by the wayside, and, the Mets have to fish or cut bait.
Davis is now a distraction; if he doesn't produce this spring becomes locker room collateral damage.
Davis is not the only one who has to prove himself this Spring. The man with whom he is competing with for that first base job, Lucas Duda, and short stop Ruben Tejada are both on the hot seat as well. All three have been major parts of the mediocrity that has stunk up this Mets franchise for the past four years.
You get the sense Sandy Alderson and crew want them out if they don't get it done now. The Mets have already made it be known they aren't happy with the work Tejada put into the off-season either. Stephen Drew a free agent is out there.
For Davis picking fights with the media is not going to get it done. He has to pick his fight with the battle that is taking place on the field instead. If he does that maybe he has a chance to save his career in New York -- that is if this scene didn't already spell his ending as a Met.
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