Opening Day is less than two weeks away, and that’s a good thing because the Florida sun certainly seems to be affecting some folks down in Port St. Lucie.
Adam Rubin reports that Sandy Alderson is trying again to deal Ike Davis. The Mets’ GM overvalued the underachieving Davis this winter and couldn’t move him. Now teams are supposed to be interested when Davis has missed all but two games of spring training and still isn’t running the bases because of a calf injury?
That makes no sense.
At this point, the best thing to do is move on. Put Davis on the DL or option him to Las Vegas and let them put him on the minor league DL until he’s ready to play. If Davis starts putting up monster numbers in Triple-A, then start shopping him again – but this time with realistic expectations.
I’d give Lucas Duda until the weekend to get over his hamstring injury and be ready to participate fully in games, or I’d move him to the DL too. If Duda is on the team, the Mets’ best in-house first base option is a platoon of Duda and Josh Satin. If he’s not, the best idea might be to slide Daniel Murphy over to first and play Eric Young Jr. at second base.
Neither are exactly appealing, but there’s a point where it becomes necessary to accept reality and we’re pretty much there.
Maybe next winter the Mets will have the budget and the willpower to address all of their glaring weaknesses.
Alderson and the Mets’ leadership need a reality check in another area, too. They can ask Matt Harvey to rehab in Florida and avoid talking to the media, but thanks to the collective bargaining agreement they can’t force him to obey.
I do like the idea that Harvey wants to be around his teammates while he works his way back from Tommy John surgery, and I’ve yet to see an explanation for why Port St. Lucie is a better choice.
But for his part, I wish Harvey would do a better job of emulating his “role model” Derek Jeter. Have you heard from the Yankee captain since his retirement announcement media availability?
Ah well, in just a few more days we can start obsessing over games that count in the standings… along with some of the same unresolved spring training issues.
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The Mets should stop worrying about what’s coming out of Matt Harvey’s mouth, and worry more about the “unnamed sources” (perhaps Alderson himself) who constantly seem to be belittling Mets players in the press. You don’t increase the trade value of your players by constantly ripping them publicly. And if Alderson can’t see that Ike Davis is a lost cause, and just move on, I’m not sure there’s much hope here in NYC for this club over the next few years.
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I don’t see anything to be lost by playing Davis at first this year. If he bombs, just cut him and move forward. I still think he can come around, though it may take going to another city where the fans don’t hate him so much. Remember, Chris Davis didn’t come around until he went to another organization and Ike is still just entering his year 27 season. I just don’t think writing a kid off at 26, not when he has done it on the major league level in the past. Moving Murphy to first is a bad idea. As a second baseman, his bat is an asset. As a first baseman, its a liability.
I think one reason Harvey might be better off rehabbing in Florida is the weather. Cold weather is not a plus in recovering from an arm injury. Another good reason for him to stay in Florida is focus. There are too many distractions if he stays with the team. Jeez, even just look at the papers; no Florida paper is going to waste its time printing that gossip and garbage once the season starts. As usual, I guess, I’m in agreement with the Mets on these things but, as you point out, its Harvey’s call to make. But don’t forget, he didn’t want to have the surgery in the first place and not having the surgery would have been truly short-sighted and stupid on his part. Great pitcher but he’s got some growing up to do (IMO, assuming he wants a long and productive career).
William is right about whoever leaks the crap about Mets players. I don’t think its Sandy, though. Usually, when Sandy says something he ought not say, he’s more than willing to attach his name to it. No, it sounds to me more like someone gunning for Sandy’s job (Ricciardi? He seems snake enough). Well, whomever it is–yes, even if its Sandy or Fred Wilpon–needs to be ferreted out and fired immediately. I know you can’t fire the owner–and I’m not part of the “blame the Wilpons for everything” fan club–but that crap has got to stop and I don’t care who it is. Hell, if its David Wright, fire him.
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I completely agree on the need to stop the anonymous leaks. It may be impossible to prevent them entirely, but investigating and removing the sources would make team employees think twice before saying things that harm the team’s image and bargaining position.
As far as the Harvey rehab goes, I’d like to leave him in Port St. Lucie until mid-May (because of the cold weather concerns) and then bring him back to New York. I think it’s better to let him be part of the team then worry about his focus.
With Ike Davis, I’m convinced he won’t amount to anything more than he is with the Mets. The longer he stays around, the longer the front office and the manager will keep holding onto the idea that he’s going to be the answer at first base – and that’s keeping them from trying to find a real solution. Ike may very well follow in Chris Davis’ footsteps when he finds himself in a new organization, but I don’t see it happening here.
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