Ike Davis Trade Thoughts

Where did bad guy Ike Davis come from? Admittedly I don't know much about the Mets personal lives but I do follow the team as closely as anyone and I have never heard of the issues with Ike that are accompanying this mornings news that the Mets are open to trading to him. Maybe they are trying to soften the press and fan outrage that may accompany it by telling us in advance that he doesn't take coaching advice and parties too hard. Frankly I am OK with the Mets trading anyone but I would prefer not to hear stuff like this. If it is true, I don't care and don't like to think the Mets are the kind of team that talks negatively about each other in public. Secondly if Ike is out too late after games, I think historical evidence shows that won't really affect his play. The '86 Mets are considered to be one of the rowdiest, hard partying teams of all time and they look how they turned out.

An Ike Davis trade will be a real crossroads for the Mets. Having watched Ike play and develop I get the sense that he is either going to break through his issues, figure out how to hit lefties and stay healthy OR not develop and be out of the league in five years. Ike just hasn't shown me anything that says he can will continue on as a serviceable, average 1st basemen, he has either been great or downright awful.

Earl Weaver would have liked Ike Davis. He famously said that "defense wins game, defense and three run home runs". My biggest reason for wanting to hold onto Ike is his power. Power hitting is one thing the Mets need more than anything right now. We are extreme singles hitting team which just makes scoring runs very, very difficult. The Mets are the 5th worst home run hitting team in baseball with only 122 homers (27 of which come from Ike) and are 20th in the league in slugging percentage (Ike has the second highest SLG. on the team with .44). If we trade Ike it would need to be for someone who can provide this team some much needed power.

At the end of the day I am for trading any Met (except Dickey). The current Mets have put together a string of bad seasons, the same team with the same guys will keep producing the same results, so why not move them all and try for something better.