The Games of the XXX Olympiad came to a close today in London. Nearly 11,000 athletes from 204 nations took part in over 300 events in 26 sports. But, none of the Olympic pagentry involved baseball. So, let's celebrate America's National Pastime with the latest news, notes and quotes:
- Not everyone in the Mets front office is sold that they can be a sustained contender moving forward with Ike Davis at first base, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. One internal option would be moving Lucas Duda in from the outfield and some believe that he would be more comfortable at first.
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon wouldn't speak with reporters following a rare on-field appearance before last night's game against the Braves, but he'll have to start answering questions soon, writes David Lennon of Newsday. There are a lot of unknowns surrounding the Mets, including what their projected payroll will be for 2013 and if the franchise is on the rebound financially.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says Gerrit Cole, last year's top draft pick, will not be a September callup, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Sulia). "We've not talked about it internally. My gut (feeling) is no." Huntington said. "To drop him into bullpen up here in September is not something we have lot of interest in doing. We have a lot of other options, instead of rushing a young prospect." Cole is currently starting at Double-A Altoona.
- The A's had interest in Mike Aviles prior to the trade deadline, but a deal is unlikely now the Red Sox have placed the shortstop on waivers, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser says the chances are slim the A's will acquire a shortstop before the August 31st deadline for playoff-roster eligibility.
Edward Creech contributed to this post.
Ike’s having a down season. It happens. Adam Dunn experienced the same last year, and he rebounded. Ike is just younger and has no resume to show he belongs, but he will bounce back next season.
Isn’t Davis better than Duda defensively?
Much, much, much better. I like Duda but it is a joke to claim he is a better option than Ike. Something stinks about this. During the preseason someone in the front off (anonymous) said they thought Duda and Murphy were a better long term option than Ike and Wright. This is what we are dealing with as Mets fans. I suspect there is some financial reason behind this.
Arbitration hearing for Davis?
Bingo. It’s coming this off season.
are the Mets really that cheap now?
at 1st base last year in 43 games Duda had a .995 fieldling pct.
the Mets think their biggest issue is Ike and 1B? what about Jason Bay, RF, CF, C, the bullpen, Santana over the hill, Niese and Gee’s struggles and who is going to fill the other SP in 2013+ (hopefully not Chris Young) and they have no bench. I think Ike is no where near their biggest issue
Davis is not their biggest issue, but he is just about their biggest trading piece to address the other problems that they have (the ones you’ve mentioned). Personally, I would leave Ike in place, try to re-establish Duda’s hitting credentials and trade him to a team looking for first base help. Try to get an outfield prospect in return. Also…please consider the source of this story.
I’d rather have Davis at first, Duda in the outfield and Bay out to sea.
Niese and Gee struggling? Since when is a sub 4 ERA pitcher with almost 3 WAR this season a struggle (Niese); Gee has shown vast improvement over last year before he went down with a freak injury (look at his BB/9 and K/9). Seriously where do you get this from?
Mets 2013 rotation (assuming no Santana): 1) Harvey 2) Dickey 3) Niese 4) Pelfrey 5) Gee. That is not bad IMO, and that’s not even counting Wheeler or offseason trades etc.
The bullpen is a huge issue to be sure. The Mets have one of the better benches in the game with Baxter and Hairston. Hairston’s a 2 WAR player coming off the bench.
They are not a perfect club obviously and their record reflects that but they are clearly headed in the right direction.
Before worrying about Ike at 1B, how about the Mets adress the abysmal OF (they need to acquire at least one, possibly two), catcher situation, and bullpen (need to dump the whole thing). Once all of that gets fixed, then MAYBE you can reassess Ike.
Couldn’t have said it any better the team has way more pressing needs then to worry about Ike Davis at 1B. Ike even with the struggles still has 20 homers on the year which is still impressive with the lack of offense the Mets lineup brings every night.
Ike’s been playing fairly well lately. I think there was something to the Valley fever, scare at the beginning of the season
Look guys (meaning my fellow Mets fans), I know their outfield is the prime reason for their struggles. However, I think a strong point could be made that their production from Ike these past two seasons has been, FOR A FIRST BASEMEN, terrible. This is a position where tons of the game’s best hitters play. I agree, I’d like to see them seriously address their OF first, but I also agree that Ike is nothing more than a mediocre first basemen at this point. He’s been terrible in all aspects except for power this season.
It’s pretty impressive how you can tell that he’s had two bad seasons even when he missed most of last year.
Not to mention that before he got injured he was doing great.
I liken ike to what james loney or gaby sanchez was a few years back he wont get much better or cheaper
I would take Ike over Duda any day, Ike leads the team in homers, and sure his average isnt so great but look at last year before he got hurt, he was batting .302 with 7 HRs, in what 36 games, that could have translated into at least a 30HR year, and not to mention he is coming off that surgery, its only a matter of time before he pulls it back together
NL scouts have already said NOONE on the Mets has more power then Duda.
Also wanted to point out the fact that Ike is younger than Duda
Bashing Ike and Duda, shouldn’t the Mets Problem. They need Outfielders who produce runs. While the bull still is the #1 problem. The Mets had Duda sitting on two many pitches. that is why he had a high on base per centage. Duda, Wright and Torres sit on too many marginal pitch which is the reason they strike out so much.
Only problem is Duda is worse than Ike!
Here’s my first opportunity to question the wisdom of the following: Who
decided to delete baseball and women’s softball from the Olympic
lineup, only to be replaced with BMX bicycle racing, open-course
swimming, and cross-country bicycling? Are you kidding me? I was
shocked when I heard that baseball and women’s softball would not be
played during these Olympics, but I was blown away when I heard that
“X-Games-level” events were replacing them. Can anybody coax me in from
the ledge?
I think the mets will look at this offseason and decide how to get better. With prospects like Wheeler, Harvey and Famiglia, with Dickey and Niese. Santanta should as a 25 million dollar man be the ace ( maybe unrealistic given the injuries he is overcoming) So if you require a trade partner to take on the contracts of Santana and Bay in a.David Wright trade you might get like a catcher and closer from the Reds in return and have a much lower cap.
I can see a problem with Ike with his faulty hitting mechanics – that hitch is mega issue and his first base D on throws and quick decision-making is problematic, whereas his footwork and fielding poor throws are excellent.
I can also see where Duda would be best fit to remain with Mets at first base, his natural position and far less problematic plate mechanics than Ike. Both have holes on both sides of the ball and unfortunately, are best suited to play the same position. I think Mets should consider trading one or the other particularly if Duda handles left field as poorly as he did right.
I rather have Duda on trading block, instead of Ike, I agree with previous comment, that the Mets have more important issues then first base..