It was somewhat serendipitous that the 2nd game on my plan happened to be tonight, the night the Mets finally came to their senses and recalled Ike Davis to take over at 1st Base. Never mind that the fans were screaming for him and the media was screaming for him, the Mets just needed a new presence in the lineup.Davis's Major League Debut didn't disappoint in the least, and his presence served to not only warm a somewhat sparse crowd on a rather cold night, but also to breathe some life into his teammates. The results pretty much speak for themselves: 2-for-4 with an RBI, solid defense and a 6-1 Mets victory. What's not to like?
That's not to say that he did it alone, certainly not. And that's also not to say that every day will be like this, because it won't. But Ike Davis seems to be somewhat out of the Jason Bay mold, that is, someone who just looks like a ballplayer. Someone who exudes professionalism and calm. Someone who will work a count and can make something happen. Something that this team needs a little more of. It was clear that they weren't going to get this sort of presence from Mike Jacobs, or Tatis, or even Daniel Murphy. I don't know what will happen from here on out, but, for one night, Ike Davis sure looked like he was equal to the hype placed upon him.
Lost in the shuffle of the game was the performance turned in by another young Met, Jonathon Niese. Niese had an outing that appeared to be part John Maine, part Mike Pelfrey. He was effective, if not pretty. Working with men on base in every inning, Niese buckled down and made his pitches whenever he needed them, and got every key out in his 5.2 innings, only allowing a run on a pair of dinky hits that probably should have been outs.
It's clear that if the Mets are going to make any sort of noise this season, it has to be with their youth. Guys like Tatis and Castillo aren't going to excite anyone. Guys like Davis and Niese are going to break their ass and make things interesting. The results tonight should be pretty self-explanatory.
1 comment:
Yep, exactly. The Mets need to cut bait on Tatis, Castillo, and Matthews. Replace them with Chris Carter sorts. The Castillo spot is tough, because Ruben Tejada is hitting .040 at AAA and we have NO other options...though as Dave said yesterday, it pains him to see Felipe Lopez in STL playing for ONE MILLION DOLLARS (or half of what we're paying your hero, Alex Cora).
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