Do You Aso Like Ike?

BY MATTHEW FALKENBURY
ASSISTANT EDITOR

It was nothing more then a grand slam in the eighth inning of a spring training game in early March. The wind was blowing out and as the legendary Lou Brown once said “It was against a guy who will be bagging groceries in a week.” The fact is that I couldn’t have cared less. I like Ike Davis and if the first few spring training games can be considered an example of whats to come, then you will all like him too.

Ike Davis, the son of former Major League pitcher Ron Davis, was the Mets first round pick in 2008 out of Arizona State. He struggled for power in his first pro season with Brooklyn as he failed to hit a home run in the short season A NY-Penn League. Moving up to Port St. Lucie and then eventually Double-A Binghamton, he found his power and continued to impress both the Mets brass and fans alike. He would hit 20 homers, 71 RBI and hit .298 and would make a name for himself, earning a spot on the US World Cup of Baseball team that won the Gold Medal and as one to Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects.

Ike Davis has a quick powerful swing, good feet around first base and a confidence that is more about his own ability then it is about working harder then the next guy. He is a left handed thrower at first, which is also a big bonus, a bonus that the last two great Mets first basemen, Keith Hernandez and John Olerud had.

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The addition of Mike Jacobs puts a little pressure on Daniel Murphy. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY CARLOS ENRIQUE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Nice move by the Mets in officially signing Rod Barajas. I believe with Barajas and Henry Blanco the Mets have two catchers with great defense behind the plate. Both have reputations of mentoring pitching staffs. Each has worked with a great pitcher in the past. Blanco with Santana back in 2004 , in which Santana won a Cy Young, and Barajas with Roy Halladay in Toronto.

This move was needed as this allows Josh Thole to develop at Triple A under Chris Coste or Omir Santos. This also provides much catching depth just in case anything goes wrong.

The team will be better off with both Barajas and Blanco working with this pitching staff.
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Giving Jacobs a shot at a starting job could be dangerous

BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

I’m disappointed in Omar Minaya. His latest transgression against common sense is making me upset. I know that Minaya wants to put pressure on Daniel Murphy and make it seem like he signed a capable player in Mike Jacobs, but declaring an open competition is not a good idea. Open competitions are for situations in which two players competing for the same roster spot are of similar ability. This is not true for the Mets’ first base candidates.

Daniel Murphy is a much better player than Mike Jacobs. Jacobs may be a better power hitter over the length of his career, but even Murphy out-slugged Jacobs in 2009. Besides that Murphy is unquestionably better at getting on base and playing defense. He’s also got more upside than the free swinging Jacobs, who will perhaps never be able to hit a lefty slider. Murphy’s still got some room to grow, even if his ceiling isn’t as high as we hoped after a great debut in 2008.
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Wishing on a star.

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Man I wish we had the guns to get Adrian Gonzalez but how can you top Ellsbury/Bucholz? Murphy/Davis/Mejia? They would laugh. Plus they have a sweet hitting first baseman in the minors themselves so Davis does nothing for them. Do any of you guys get the feeling that outside of Bay and maybe a few non-tender signings the Mets are really banking on the health of Beltran/Reyes? It’s like they are counting them as new acquisitions. Am I alone?

Daniel Murphy is one Mets' player that always plays hard. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Recently, no matter where I have been looking, I have seen a lot of hate for Daniel Murphy. Murphy, who just completed his first full season in the big leagues, was the victim of the Mets’ philosophy. What do I mean? The Mets are known for over hyping their prospects, and when Murphy first came up, he looked like the real deal. Now that he is undergoing some growing pains, people want to ship him out of town. I don’t get it.

I know his left field experience wasn’t the prettiest thing we’ve ever seen, but he is still learning. Remember, Murphy is just 24-years old. Despite the fact that Jerry Manuel said that Murphy reminded him of Tony Gwynn, he went through some growing pains last year.

His selection at the plate took a turn for the worse, and his defense wasn’t the prettiest thing either, but he was far from a terrible player.
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How's the hip Carlos? Nick Johnson's knee is already barking.

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

First base. The power spot. Remember in little league they would put the fat kids at first because they had the most power (and I guess because they were not light on their feet). It’s kind of the same thing today, whoever plays first usually leads the team in HR’s or at the very least hits an average of 20-25. Since Daniel Murphy is not capable of reaching those numbers at this early stage of his career the Mets are taking a looksie at this year’s light free agent market. One man to consider is the one that just came off hip surgery at age 38, the man who had an MVP like 2008 and the man who patrolled 1st base for the Mets since 2006.

Carlos Delgado, the goateed smiling Puerto Rican who the Mets acquired in 2006 from the Marlins for Mike Jacobs, Yusmeiro Petit and Grant Psomas has been nothing short of terriffic since being acquired. A trade that is one of Omar’s finest. In fact if it wasn’t for the Johan trade it probably is his greatest trade. Since 2006 Delgado has 107 Home Runs, driven in 339 runs and slugged well over .500. He was a beast in 2008, carrying the Mets in more games than anyone else.

He has received MVP ballot votes in both 2006 when the Mets came one hit away from making the World Series and in 2008 when they fell just short of winning the division. His postseason numbers in 2006 were monstrous and there was a good chance he would have won the NLCS award for MVP had the Mets won (in 7 games he had 13 hits for a .304 average with 3 bombs and 11 RBI’s slugging over .700). So this is a no brainer right?
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Mets' fans would love for these two to buy one way tickets out of town.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

In what was something that Mets’ fans were looking forward to hearing, Mike Francesa spent over an hour talking about the Mets with Jeff Wilpon, Dave Howard and Omar Minaya. I certainly feel like I spent 45 minutes of my life while learning nothing new.

That’s a lie. The Mets are going to have a Hall of Fame put in Citi Field. I just have one question. Is it going to to honor the Mets or the Brooklyn Dodgers?

I give Francesa credit, which is something that I don’t often do. The guy asked the Mets “brain trust” all of the questions that Mets’ fans wanted to hear, and he even was a bit harsh from time to time, but what did the hierarchy do? They simply didn’t answer anything with concrete answers.
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Jeff Francoeur may have earned himself a new contract with his performance. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

In yet another day after a loss, I decided to take a look around the blogosphere to see what’s been going on in the Mets’ Blog world. Here are some things that I have come up with.

Marty Noble reports that the Mets are interested in re-signing Jeff Francoeur to a new deal, saying, ““The Mets believe Jeff Francoeur will look sharp in their 2010 uni, so much so that they are inclined to approach him about signing him to a three-year contract.”

I am definitely for this decision, but the Mets need to be careful that they don’t overvalue him from a few months of solid play. There are considerable flaws in his game, and a three-year deal worth more than $15 million would be a considerable mistake.
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Francisco Rodriguez completely threw Daniel Murphy under the bus last night. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY WENDY ADAIR
STACHE WRITER

The Mets have now lost four games in a row after Saturday night’s roller coaster victory in Philadelphia.

Last night’s loss was particularly vexing because the Mets staked Bobby Parnell to an early lead with clutch two out hits by Josh Thole and David Wright to score three runs in the second inning

Frustration with a losing season combined with the general wear and tear on body and mind alike are showing on the Mets players.
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Daniel Murphy has had his ups and downs in 2009. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

I don’t understand what everyone’s problem is. Daniel Murphy is not the goat of last night’s game. He was the hero. Sure, he booted a ball in which he should have had, but it was all part of the plan. Daniel was thinking before the play, something his teammates should adapt. He had a plan.

The plan was to allow the game-winning run to score at all costs. That way, the Mets could inch closer to having a higher pick in the MLB Draft. Daniel is smart. He reminds me of Keith Hernandez over there.
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