Evan Roberst said on WFAN the other day that“Mets fans would rather lose with Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada and Fernando Martinez, than lose with fernando Tatis, Luis Castillo and Gary Matthews Jr." Matt Cerrone, whose work I love over at metsblog.com, said "…i can’t argue with that… i think most Mets fans would totally agree"
I have been giving that quote a lot of thought and don't think I necessarily agree with Evan and Matt. We don't know how well these kids are going to do. They could certainly be the next David Wright and Jose Reyes or they could also be the next Lastings Milledge and Carlos Gomez. The problem is that we don't know who they will be. Bringing someone up to early because fans and management are unhappy with the current option is going to turn out badly if the kid is not ready. What happens if Ike gets 300+ at bats and hits .240 with 10 homers and 30 rbis? What happens if Jennry Mejia gets his confidence shaken so much when he gives up a late July home run to Ryan Howard? What happens if F-Mart turns out to be no better than the aforementioned Milledge and Gomez? Then where are we at? We'll have no future and the current future won't even be worth anything in trades.
Obviously one never knows how good a prospect is going to be (we all have been burned by them in the past). But I think we all had a special feeling about Wright and Reyes back in the day. Is Ike really the new guy to attach our hopes to? I can't believe that he was the highest rated prospect in the organization so one has to wonder why he is all the rage. Taking only what he has done to date, we know that he had a hot spring, plays a position we are in dire need of and went 2-4 in his major league debut. I like Ike. I do. But from what we have seen, he is no Jason Heyward. If he does prove to be the real deal, then great. But if .240 is staring him in the face and he doesn't have the mental toughness to handle NY at his current age, then I will be the first to ask why we brought him up in April.
Bottom line - I would rather lose with young guys, but make sure they are the right young guys and that we are not wasting a year on Milledge, Gomez and Phil Humber.
I like Ike. I think the Mets are taking a calculated risk with him. His dad played 12 years in the majors, including making the allstar game with the yankees. I think his upbringing around baseball makes him a more mature rookie. And I saw it in his composure last night. Plus he's got thick pork chop sideburns that make him look more like 30, not 23.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too worried if he's not ready. If he's not ready, then what's the worse that happens? He gets sent back down and his trade value goes down?
I think, privately, the Mets are not looking at 2010 as being a year that they can contend for a playoff spot. They see all the flaws in the team and they see an improved NL east. To me, this is their way of pleasing the fans with but also seeing what they have.
Or we have a GM and manager who are desperate to keep their jobs and splitting 6's on a dealer's 10...
Don't know much about Ike (or baseball for that matter), but the rumor is that he is projected to seriously struggle against left handed pitching. Anybody else hear this/disagree?
ReplyDeletewell i think thick pork chop sideburns can certainly make up for any deficiency hitting lefties.
ReplyDeleteI think bringing up Ike Davis is the right decision and not because the team needs a boost, nor is it to appease or placate the fans and especially not because the team has been struggling (not even 10% into the season). I think it was the right decision because he is probably the best guy for the job of first base considering the alternatives (Jacobs couldn't hit, Murphy injured, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI agree with providing young talent with invaluable experience if the team is clearly out of playoff contention, but not until that point in the season. To argue that the mets should be doing that now (or are doing that with Ike) is ridiculous. If they are 15-20 games under .500 by July then maybe that is the time.