When the light at the end of the tunnel is Bartolo Colon

How is it that the Mets' free-agent signings indicate they are spending again? The payroll currently projects to $83 million, which would be lower than last season. And the Mets' next offseason goals appear to be dumping Ike Davis and perhaps Daniel Murphy because they are arbitration-eligible.

The Mets need bullpen depth, especially with Bobby Parnell still recovering from herniated disk surgery, but they let LaTroy Hawkins go because they didn't want to pay a 41-year-old $2.5 million. And yet they are willing to give Bartolo Colon, who turns 41 in May, $20 million.

The signings of Curtis Granderson, Chris Young and Colon would be a lot more exciting if the Mets were actually adding pieces, but they still appear to be treading water. If trading Davis and/or Murphy can improve the club, great, but Davis has much more upside than Lucas Duda and Murphy is a career .290 hitter. The Mets hit .237 as a team in 2013 and new additions Granderson and Young both hit below that last season.  Even if they both manage to hit homers in Citi Field, it will be nice to have someone on base.

On the plus side, the signing of Colon shows that the Mets are not simply writing off 2014, but are willing to make a short-term investment to strengthen the rotation in Matt Harvey's absence. Signing Granderson does offer hope that the team will have hitting for the next two or there years, and if they are lucky, four years.

Young is a gamble. Billy Beane's front office is as smart as any in MLB, and they elected to let both Young and Colon go.

When Granderson joined the Mets, he said that people tell him that true New Yorkers are Met fans. I'm not even sure what a "true New Yorker" is. I'm a native, and I've always been a Met fan, but one could argue that the hordes of people who come to New York because that is where they want to be are equally true New Yorkers as those of us who never left.

What is less debatable is that a true New York team is willing to spend money, since New York is the biggest of the big markets. As New York fans, including Met fans, know all too well, spending money does not always translate into victories or even good teams.  But Met fans also know that the last time the team ramped up its spending, they won 97 games and made it to Game 7 of the NLCS in 2006.

If the remainder of the offseason does not result in an increased payroll, let's hope it at least does not consist mostly of salary dumps.   

Mets vs. Yankees: The cluck stops here

Squawker Lisa, what happened to your jinx when we went to Friday night's Subway Series game? Did you "misremember" it, to use a word associated with last night's losing pitcher?

And after your criticism of Ike Davis for hoping the Mets could just get a victory, Ike had as much to do with anyone as to why the Mets got the win, with his three-run homer.

As much as I enjoyed last night's game, I did not enjoy the ninth inning. Frank Francisco is at best a serviceable closer who has no business shooting off his mouth. When he put two Yankees on in the ninth with the heart of the order coming up, I was dreading the game headline "FRANCISCO LAYS AN EGG."

Instead, everything went the Mets' way for a change. Davis' ball barely made it over the wall, Jon Niese gave up two homers but still got the win and Francisco got out of  the jam he got himself in.

Lisa, you like to say that when the Mets win, I do the Snoopy Dance. But last night, it was the chicken dance!

Subway Squawkers will be clucking at the Subway Series

So Squawker Jon and I will be at Friday and Sunday's Subway Series games. Sunday, in particular, looks to be shaping up as a great matchup, what with R.A. Dickey facing CC Sabathia. And just in time for the Subway Series, a Met has said something dopey and ridiculous.

I am not talking about closer Frank Francisco telling the New York Post that "I can’t wait to face those chickens," and that "I want to strike out the side against them. I’ve done it before." That is terrific, because it led to a front-page New York Post "Cluck You" cover, as well as the above graphic on the Post's web site. Besides, good-natured trash talk adds to the excitement over the series.

No, the Met comment I thought was very strange was Ike Davis telling the Post this:

“We’d like to get a win playing [the Yankees],” Ike Davis said.
Just a win would be fine?
“Anything — beat them one time,” Davis said. “I don’t like not beating a team in a season, so it’s our chance to get a ‘W’ off them.”

C'mon, Ike. One win out of three? That's all you're hoping for? Where's the bravado of Francisco? Come to think of it, Davis sounds like a Met fan -- or Eeyore! Squawker Jon, what say you? Care to make any predictions?

Speaking of predictions, I am fearlessly predicting that my Mets-jinxing powers will lead the Yankees to wins on Friday and Sunday, the games I will be at. Of course, this prediction conflicts with my prediction to Squawker Jon that R.A. Dickey will pitch a no-hitter soon. (I see it as being like the four-minute mile -- once Johan Santana showed it could actually be done, now more Mets will do it. Combine that with Dickey's dream season, and it's inevitable.) Now watch -- Dickey will do his no-hitter against the Yanks or something!

What are your predictions? Tell us about it!

Imagine if Mets had Yankee-style injuries

A pitcher pitches an inning with a broken elbow. Another pitcher suffers a gruesome injury jumping on a trampoline. A third pitcher, traded for the team's top prospect, goes on the DL. Sounds like the Mets. But it's the Yankees.

The Mets have a well-deserved reputation for screwing up medical matters, but the Yankees have had their own woes lately.  The difference is that nobody is saying "Same old Yankees." Not yet, anyway.

On  Saturday, Cesar Cabral, who was on track to win a job in the Yankees bullpen, pitched an inning with a broken elbow. Now he's on the 60-day DL.

In 2009, Jon Niese appeared to injure his hamstring making a play at first. The crack Met medical team decided to let him try a practice pitch. I still cringe at the sight of Niese crumpling to the ground, now with a completely torn hamstring. 

If Cabral had been a Met, we probably would have had photoshopped pictures of the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail on the mound in a Met uniform while Met trainers agree with him that the loss of his arms and legs is "just a flesh wound."

After missing most of last season, former Met phenom Ike Davis has seen his comeback complicated by something called Valley Fever. The general reaction? Only the Mets could have a player come down with a disease most people have never heard of.

After missing most of last season, former Yankee phenom Joba Chamberlain has seen his comeback complicated by an injury caused by jumping on a trampoline. The general reaction? What a good dad!

When the Mets traded top prospect Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano, they were accused of negligence in failing to realize that Zambrano had a damaged arm.

When the Yankees traded top prospect Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda, manager Joe Girardi described it as "great news" when an MRI showed only shoulder tendinitis.

When reporters noted that Phil Hughes was also diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis last year, and he missed three months and finished the season with a 5.79 ERA, here was Girardi's response:

"They both got tendinitis, but I wouldn't necessarily say they're similar [injuries]," Girardi said. "There's a lot of parts to that shoulder."

Girardi's rationalizing about Pineda's injury reminds me of how some people said that Johan Santana would make it back faster than Chien-Ming Wang and others who had the same injury because all injuries are different.

Of course, all injuries are different. Pineda might miss much less time than Hughes.

Or he might miss more time.

It's way too early to judge the Pineda-Montero trade. And unlike the Kazmir debacle, this trade looked like a good deal for the New York team, or at least a fair deal, depending on how upset one was to see Montero go.
 
But it's fair to say that the trade could look better as of now. And it's fair to say that Mets are no longer alone when it comes to medical misadventures.

Ike Davis Charity Event

Help Ike Davis strike out childhood cancer.

He may be on the DL but he is putting his best foot forward to help two NYC charities by hosting an intimate up-close-and-personal charity dinner benefit on Sunday, July 17 at 7 PM after the Phillies game.

Hosted by Linda Cohn of ESPN Sportscenter, this family-friendly charity event will feature a live interview with Q&A from the guests, a full dinner, drinks, a signed baseball item from Ike, special event T-Shirt, auctions of sports experiences/unique items, photographs, gift bag and special guest appearances.

To purchase tickets and more info, visit "Striking out Childhood Cancer": A Night with Ike Davis.

DATE: Sunday, July 17 – 7:00 PM
LOCATION: Michael’s of Brooklyn – 2929 Avenue R – Brooklyn, NY

All proceeds will benefit Solving Kids’ Cancer and The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative.

How my Baseball Bloggers Alliance NL awards picks stacked up

So far, two of my three choices for NL awards have come through, and the third one lost by only one vote.

For best NL starting pitcher, I had Roy Oswalt higher and Tim Hudson lower. Oswalt's 13-13 record, despite his other strong stats, apparently didn't go over as well as Felix Hernandez' 13-12.

Jon's vote
1. Roy Halladay, Phillies
2. Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
3. Roy Oswalt, Astros/Phillies
4. Josh Johnson, Marlins
5. Ubaldo Jiminez, Rockies

Baseball Bloggers Alliance Walter Johnson Award
Roy Halladay, Philadelphia (19) 133
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis 66
Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado 52
Josh Johnson, Florida 43
Tim Hudson, Atlanta 16
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco 7

Cy Young (Baseball Writers Association of America)
Roy Halladay 224.0
Adam Wainwright 122.0
Ubaldo Jimenez 90.0
Tim Hudson 39.0
Josh Johnson 24.0
Roy Oswalt 14.0

For Manager of the Year, I went for Dusty Baker, while the BBA and BBWAA both choice Bud Black. But it was a very close vote, with Black winning the BBA vote by two and the BBWAA vote by just one. I picked Baker over Black because Baker won his division while Black's Padres fell short.

While San Diego did exceed expectations this year after a 75-win 2009, so did Cincinnati. The Reds won 78 games in 2009. Take note, 79-win Mets!

Jon's vote:
1. Dusty Baker, Reds
2. Bud Black, Padres
3. Bobby Cox, Braves

BBA Connie Mack Award
Bud Black, San Diego (9) 53
Dusty Baker, Cincinnati (7) 51
Bobby Cox, Atlanta (2) 33
Bruce Bochy, San Francisco (3) 29
Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia (1) 27

BBWAA NL Manager of the Year
Bud Black, 104.0
Dusty Baker, 103.0
Bruce Bochy, 30.0
Bobby Cox, 28.0
Charlie Manuel, 20.0

The rookie vote was supposed to be a battle between Buster Posey and Jason Heyward, but everyone ended up picking the same top three.

That is, except for the NL New York BBA chapter, which picked Ike Davis third. Sorry Ike, I couldn't put you ahead of Garcia, who was one of the better pitchers in the league much of the year, but I'm glad to see you finished in the top five in the BBA and top seven in the BBWAA vote.

Jon's vote
1. Buster Posey
2. Jason Heyward
3. Jaime Garcia

BBA Willie Mays Award
Buster Posey, San Francisco (15) 103
Jason Heyward, Atlanta (10) 86
Jaime Garcia, St. Louis 20
Starlin Castro, Chicago 7
Ike Davis, New York 7
Gaby Sanchez, Florida (1) 6

BBWAA Rookie of the Year
Buster Posey 129.0
Jason Heyward, 107.0
Jaime Garcia 24.0
Gaby Sanchez 18.0
Starlin Castro 3.0
Neil Walker, 3.0
Ike Davis, 2.0

Joel Sherman has Mets' marketing critique backwards

The Post's Joel Sherman lays out the Mets' likely offseason strategy to sell 2011 tickets as follows:

1) Hire a new general manager and manager...

2) Systematically leak how great Johan Santana, Jason Bay, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes are doing physically over the winter...

3) Oversell the one positive from the 2010 season: the rookie class/breakout components...

Sherman's piece mostly focuses on a critique of the third item, arguing that popular new players such as Ike Davis should not be untouchable for marketing purposes if trading them will help the team. But if the Mets really want to avoid alienating their fans for a change, they should change their thinking regarding item #2 - and stop encouraging unrealistic expectations when it comes to injuries.

In January, Met fans were surprised and disappointed to learn that Carlos Beltran was undergoing knee surgery. Even worse, he might not be ready for the start of the season. Throughout the preseason and the first part of the regular season, reports kept changing as to when Beltran would return - late April, mid-May, maybe even the All-Star break.

As time went on, the story evolved to when Beltran would be able to resume "baseball activities." Media and fans became frustrated with Beltran's lack of progress. Those fans who believe that Beltran is less likely to play through injuries had new ammunition.

When Beltran finally returned after the All-Star break, manager Jerry Manuel raised expectations by putting Beltran back in centerfield and batting him cleanup despite the fact that Beltran was clearly not ready for either.

The Mets were 48-40 when Beltran returned to the lineup. Since then, they have gone 22-33. The Mets' collapse is far from all Beltran's fault. But it would have been better for both the team and Beltran if the Mets had said from the start that he probably wouldn't be back before the All-Star break, and once he returned, he was not going to be 100%.

Met fans have been burned so many times waiting for players to return from injury that the biggest marketing mistake the Mets can make is to try to burn them again by touting a quick return of Johan Santana.

Already we are hearing conflicting reports about when Santana will start "throwing" and when he will start "pitching" and when he will finally return. The truth is that nobody knows, and the main thing that nobody knows is how effective Santana will be when he returns.

The Mets' position should be that they hope to have Santana back by the All-Star break. From what has been reported, that is probably optimistic, especially having Santana back at full strength. But such a position tells fans and media right up front that the Mets are planning to play a significant portion of 2011 without Santana.

Rather than raise the fans expectations only to disappoint them yet again, the Mets will be obliged to come up with a plan B - competing without their ace.

No one is more of a competitor on the Mets than Santana, but if the Mets start fudging his return date, they run the risk of making Santana look like yet another Met who can't quite make it back on the field.

Of course, the new GM will have to do a better job than Omar Minaya of coming up with a plan B. Minaya's initial replacement for Beltran in the outfield rotation was Gary Matthews Jr. When Daniel Murphy, then the starting first baseman, got hurt in spring training, Minaya and Jerry Manuel's initial plan B was Mike Jacobs.

As for trading the young players, I agree with Sherman that nobody should be untouchable. But it's one thing for the Mets to realize that Davis is no Jason Heyward - there's still no point in trading him unless the other team still buys into the hype. Otherwise, you end up with a deal along the lines of once-hyped Lastings Milledge for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider.

Says Sherman about Davis:

What do you think will be his best year, something like .275 with 30 homers? That is good. But it probably never makes him one of the 10 best first basemen in the game.

Yes, but .275 and 30 homers would make him the cleanup hitter on the Mets. And most of the players that Sherman suggests as stopgap alternatives for Davis have no shot at 30 homers. Lyle Overbay has hit more than 20 homers just once - and his career high is 22. Adam LaRoche hit more than 30 homers once, back in 2006. And both Overbay and LaRoche have generally played in ballparks far more homer-friendly than Citi Field.

Hubie Brooks was once a popular young player, but it made sense to trade him when the Mets had a chance to get Gary Carter before the 1985 season. But unless the Mets get an offer they really can't refuse, I would hold on to the young players. Better to oversell the young players than the seriously injured veterans.

Add Ike Davis to NL East's night of the rookies

On a night when two highly-touted rookies made great MLB debuts for NL East rivals, the Mets won on a walkoff homer by their own rookie star.

Ike Davis may not have the impact of the Nationals' Stephen Strasburg, who had a first game for the ages, striking out 14 Pirates in seven innings. 20-year-old Marlins phenom Mike Stanton, with 21 homers already this year in the minors, went 3 for 5 in his debut. But if the Mets are going to keep pace with their division rivals (the other highly-hyped rookie this year, Jason Heyward, is on the Braves) they need their own young stars. Tonight, Davis delivered.

Mike Pelfrey, another Met first-round amateur draft choice, also came through, going nine innings, but leaving in a 1-1 tie.

Mike and Ike's performances tonight make you wonder about the wisdom of signing free agents when it makes you lose your first-round picks. The Mets had no first-rounder in 2006, 2007 and 2009 as a result of signing Billy Wagner, Moises Alou and Francisco Rodriguez. This picks would have been in the lower half of the first round, but Davis was picked 18th.

At the time, I thought the signings of Wagner and K-Rod were good ones, since the Mets appeared to be a closer away from contending for the World Series. But after two volatile free-agent closers in four seasons, I really hope the Mets can figure out the closing situation in-house next time.

There was never a justification for signing the aging, injury-prone Alou.

This year, the Mets kept their first-rounder despite signing Jason Bay because the pick was protected due to their poor record in 2009. The Mets lost their second-rounder instead.

The Boston Red Sox had the 20th and 39th picks for losing Type A free agent Wagner, who was with the Red Sox for only a few games. The Mets traded Wagner to save money, so instead of those picks, they ended up with Chris Carter.

At least the Mets were willing to go over slot in drafting Matt Harvey, a Scott Boras client, with their first 2010 pick. Let's hope that they did not cut corners on their other picks, unlike in recent years.

I watched some of the Strasburg game, and I'm afraid the NL East just got a lot tougher, and for the long term. The Mets' priority needs to be developing their own young talent, not sacrificing it for short-term fixes.

Classic win won't be only Mets highlight this year

The best game of 2010 so far has some similarity to the best game of 2009, which also featured a catcher hitting a game-winning ninth-inning homer (Omir Santos off of Jonathan Papelbon). But tonight's Rod Barajas walk-off was better. Last year's exciting win over the Red Sox was an anomaly - one of the few bright spots in a dismal year. Tonight's win offers hope for more great things this season.

Last year, Omir Santos was a great story - an unknown older rookie off to a good start getting the best of an All-Star closer. But Santos was ultimately not that good a hitter, or, for that matter, a good catcher.

Barajas now has nine homers, including two ninth-inning game winners in a span of three games. Last year, Daniel Murphy led the Mets with 12 homers for the entire year.

The Mets have endured numerous bullpen collapses over the last few years. Rarely did they come back from them as they did tonight. After Francisco Rodriguez gave up the game-tying homer to John Bowker, the Mets made not one, but two spectacular fielding plays in the same inning to keep the game tied. Ike Davis' sensational flip into the dugout and Luis Castillo's diving stop that saved a run were the top two Web Gems on ESPN tonight. The Mets saving a game with defense? Castillo saving a game with defense?

So when the game went into the bottom of the ninth, it wasn't "same old Mets, blowing it again," but a team that was going to keep fighting. Jeff Francoeur nearly beat out an infield hit. Ike Davis worked out a walk. Then Barajas hit his game-winning homer.

Last year, if the Mets made three errors and blew a save, they would have lost. If the starting pitcher took the mound a few days after undergoing an MRI, he would soon be headed to the DL.

In May 2008, Angel Pagan dove into the stands going after a foul ball. He made a great play, but landed on his shoulder. Pagan came back to pinch hit a couple of times, then missed the rest of the season.

Whether it's luck or skill or perhaps Alex Cora helping to catch him, Davis has now flipped over into the dugout twice in his short career and come up unscathed both times.

So many good things happened tonight - Pelfrey pitching well enough to win after his MRI and poor start against the Phillies; Jose Reyes stealing a base after a long drought; Jason Bay snapping his hitless streak. And while the stars were Barajas and Davis, you know it's a special game when a guy hits two homers, including a walk-off, and he has competition for star of the game.

The only thing missing tonight was a pie in the face for Barajas. But this was the first walk-off homer at Citi Field, so maybe the Mets weren't expecting to need a pie. With this team, however, it's time to start keeping some pies on hand.

Ike Davis goes yard, Chipper drops a pop and Squawker Lisa wears a Met hat

My first trip to Citi Field this season was a huge success. I went with Squawker Lisa, who was excited to see the new Braves - Melky Cabrera, Eric Hinske and Jason Heyward, in that order.

It was a night of historic firsts:

* Ike Davis hit his first major league home run. And it was not a cheap shot, but a 450-foot bomb that went over the bullpen and almost reached the Shea Bridge.

* Jose Reyes batted third for the first time. So far, so good for the new lineup, which produced five runs (with the help of four Braves errors).

But the most important lineup change made this week was replacing Mike Jacobs with Davis.

* Hisanori Takahashi got his first major-league hit. All right, nobody besides Takahashi cares about that, but he did save the game after Maine left with an injury, going three good innings and striking out seven.

I'm glad Maine's not seriously hurt, but if he does have to miss a start, I look forward to a more important historic first from Takahashi - his first major-league start. Maybe Maine will end up in the bullpen, where he and the Mets might be better off.

As great as it was to see Davis's first homer, it was almost as great to see Chipper Jones make two errors - misjudging a foul pop in the sixth and dropping a pop in the seventh.

What was particularly satisfying about Chipper's drop was that Lisa did cheer for one Met tonight - Luis Castillo. Every time he came up, Lisa reminded me about his dropped pop in last year's Subway Series. She suggested that Castillo donate his glove to the new Met Hall of Fame.

So when Met arch-nemesis Chipper dropped his own pop, helping along a Met rally, suddenly all seemed right in the world.

Tonight was Ski Cap Night, which led to the final historic first - Lisa wearing a Met hat! Rest assured that she fussed with the cap to make sure the Met logo didn't show, eventually just turning it inside out.

But it was brisk in row 11 of the upper promenade, so another questionable decision by the Mets - scheduling Ski Cap Night in late April - actually turned out to be a good one.

The best decision the Mets have made in some time, however, was bringing up Ike Davis. It's not all him, but it's not a coincidence that a team that won only four of their first 12 games before he arrived has won four of five since Davis joined the team.

Mike and Ike: A new Mets' promotional opportunity?

How big is Ike Davis these days? He's the talk of the town. Even a notorious Met-hater took in a game to see the phenom in person!

Squawker reader Uncle Mike, showed up at Citi Field Tuesday to check out the Mets' new first baseman. Can you believe that? There's something I would have loved to have witnessed in person!

Uncle Mike even claims he's Big Pelf's good luck charm:

I actually went. I actually got on the 7, rode out to Willets Point, and paid money to sit among Met fans to watch the Mets. An entertaining game, and for some reason I'm like steroids (or greenies) for Pelfrey. He's got a 0.64 ERA with me in the ballpark. Without me, he must be over 5.

Maybe it's the name Mike!

Speaking of which, Ed Leyro, Studious Metsimus blogger, and friend of the Squawkers, has an idea for a promotional giveway the next time Pelfrey pitches, and Ike Davis plays. Ed writes:

Everyone likes giveaways. Many people like candy. No one remembers Mike and Ike candy. Whenever Mike Pelfrey pitches and Ike Davis plays first, the Mets should give away Mike and Ike candy to the first 25,000 fans.

It wouldn't be a very expensive giveaway, so the team could still afford to buy excuses instead of free agents this coming offseason.....

Mike Pelfrey and Ike Davis. Mike and Ike candy. The Mets should jump all over this one like fans are jumping all over Gary Matthews Jr.

Even this Yankee fan thinks it's a great idea. Get to it, Mets management!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Yes, I like Ike, sez this Yankee fan

For once, a Mets game wasn't a total snoozefest. Yes, I watched Ike Davis make his major league debut with the Mets last night. Just so you know, if Davis is a success, I will credit his father, ex-Yankee Ron Davis, with making it all happen. If he isn't a hit, I'll blame the Metropolitans!

I even watched the end of the game, when Jeff Francouer doused Ike Davis with a pie in the face. Now that such things are so well known in Yankeeland, thanks to last year's walkoff win whipped cream tradition, I think I can be a critic about the Mets' version of the pie:

* They should have used whipped cream, and not shaving cream. Tastes a heck of a lot better!

* Where was the element of surprise? Frenchy was about as subtle as a banjo.

* And finally, Jeff should have run when delivering the pie. It makes it much more fearsome.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Ike Davis - he can even field!

In Ike Davis' first game, his hitting outshone his fielding, and that's fine for an offense-starved team. But it's great to know in the long run that Davis, unlike all too many of Omar Minaya's acquisition, is a good fielder.

The Mets should be well aware of the value of having a first baseman that knows how to field his position, what with Keith Hernandez in the booth and Mark Teixeira across town. Instead, Omar Minaya signed Mike Jacobs, who could not hit or field. Jacobs platooned with Fernando Tatis, who is no Gold Glove. When Frank Catalanotto filled in at first Sunday night, the announcers hastened to remind us that first base was not his primary condition. Alex Cora, who had hardly every played first, ended up there briefly during Saturday night's marathon, even making a great play.

All of these players were filling in for starting first baseman Daniel Murphy, who isn't really a first baseman and is still learning the position. Murphy looked good at times last year, but it didn't hurt that expectations were so low after his outfield butchery.

Even if Davis slumps at the plate, if he can bring some defense to the Mets, that should be enough to keep him in the lineup when Daniel Murphy is ready to return.

Don't tell Jerry Manuel, but Davis can even pitch. He was a two-way player at Arizona State and hit 94 on the radar gun.

Why Ike Davis will help the Mets immediately

If Ike Davis turns out to be a star, it probably won't happen from day one. But even if Davis struggles after joining the Mets, he has three big things in his favor:

He's not Mike Jacobs.

He's not Fernando Tatis.

He's not Frank Catalanotto.

According to Baseball Reference, Met first basemen so far this year are hitting .167 in 48 at bats with one homer, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. That means that they have been involved in creating four runs (the homer created both a run scored and an RBI).

That's barely better than the Mets' pitcher spot, which has 2 RBI and 1 run scored.

Jason Bay is having a miserable year, but even he has been involved in creating 10 runs (2 RBI, 8 runs scored) .

If the Mets 1B spot was involved in 10 runs instead of 4, the Mets might have six more runs on the year, or an average of an extra half a run over their 12 games.

Currently, the Mets are 15th or next to last in the NL in runs scored with 48. (The awful Astros have only 28 runs.) The Padres and Cardinals are tied for 10th with 55 runs scored. So an extra six runs would have moved the Mets toward the middle of the pack.

But what if Davis really struggles, the way Fernando Martinez did last year? Last year's phenom hit only .176 in 91 at bats with 1 homer, 8 RBI and 11 runs scored.

However, as bad as Martinez' numbers were, he still was involved in creating 18 runs. Martinez had almost twice as many AB as this year's first basemen, so cut that total in half and you still have nine runs, as compared to the 1B slot's four.

In other words, no matter how Davis does, the first basemen so far have set the bar so low that it is bound to be a big improvement.