Tag Archives: Ike Davis

December 3, 2015

First Base Bye-Bye

The three biggest names to not receive new contracts and become free agents (non-tender) are Pedro Alvarez, Chris Carter, and Ike Davis, all first basemen. The story about Alvarez, a former All-Star, indicates he never learned to play first base well, but he also became a platoon player. Davis got on base decently but never developed power. Carter is a walks and home runs guy, but saw his extremely low batting average dip below .200 this year.

In each case, the teams decided the player was not worth the arbitration raise. I also suspect since those three teams do a good job at number crunching, they realized that talent gets concentrated at first base, since it’s the least demanding defensive position. They can either sign the players back as free agents for less, or bring up someone making near the league minimum that’s likely to play as well.

I suspect all three will get jobs. Each has useful skills, and for the right price will complement a good roster.

April 23, 2015

Scrap Heap

The Athletics pounded the Angels Wednesday night 9-2. Among the good nights at the plate, Billy Butler went 2 for 5 with a homer and four RBI, while Ike Davis posted a 3 for 5 night. Butler hit poorly in 2014, and Oakland used that poor showing to sign him to a three-year contract averaging $10 million a year with no incentives. The upside for Oakland was Butler regressing to his mean, and at the moment, he’s way overshooting that with a .377/.433/.590 slash line. It’s possible that Butler earns most of that contract this season.

Davis never developed the power one wants from a first baseman, with a career slugging percentage in the low 400s. Despite a low batting average, he did a good job of getting on base, and his slugging percentage was due more to a low batting average than lack of extra base hits. This season, the batting average is there, and so is the power. The A’s are getting a lot from a fairly low arbitration award, and will control Davis next season as well.

Moneyball at work.

November 23, 2014

Guess the A’s Won’t be Going to the Casino

The Athletics trade slot money for Ike Davis:

A source tells me the #Athletics have acquired Ike Davis from the #Pirates for international slot money. It's strictly a move for depth.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) November 23, 2014

Davis owns a good on-base percentage, and we know the Athletics always find that useful. The Pirates get some money to spend.

November 21, 2014

Opportunity Cost

By winning, have the Orioles lost their ability to attract talented players thrown on the scrap heap, like Ike Davis?

Adam Jones came from another organization and received his first full chance to play in Baltimore, as did Chris Davis and Steve Pearce and Tommy Hunter. Delmon Young received an opportunity to contribute to a contender when he didn’t have a job, as did Miguel Gonzalez and Darren O’Day. The list goes on and on.

But now many of those scrap-heap Orioles have established themselves. And the out-opportunity carrot just isn’t there anymore.

Assuming Ike Davis isn’t traded and then clears waivers – the Pirates have seven days to deal him or waive him – he’ll become a free agent and can go anywhere he wants. The Orioles have always been intrigued by him; he’s only 27 and hit 32 homers in 2012. There’s a catch, though.

Although every player wants to go to a contender, every player also wants to play a lot for a contender. Ike Davis and his representatives will look at the Orioles and see Chris Davis at first and Pearce at first-left field-DH and they’ll look to another club with a hole at first base.

I’m not 100% sure I buy this. One thing about players like Ike Davis is they are on the scrap heap for a reason. Has Steven Pearce really established himself? Pearce seems like the perfect person for the Orioles to flip for someone younger stuck in another organization. Maybe Baltimore sells high and signs Davis.

Dan Duquette is very good at understanding the skill set of a player and how that skill set fits on the Orioles. If Ike Davis fits, Dan will try acquire that talent.

April 22, 2014

Slamming Davis

Ike Davis, grand slam hero:

Davis became the first player to hit grand slams for different teams in the same April, and Neil Walker had a run-scoring single with two outs in the ninth inning as the Pirates twice overcame deficits to beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 Monday night.

…

According to STATS, no player previously hit slams for different teams in the same April. Davis became just the third to hit slams for different teams against the same opponent in the same year, following Ray Boone in 1953 and Mike Piazza in 1998.

Ike is 5 for 13 with a double, home run, and walk since joining the Pirates, scoring four runs and driving in four runs in three games. At age 27, this is pretty much a make or break year for Davis.

April 18, 2014

Davis Walks the Plank

The Mets traded Ike Davis to the Pirates:

The Ike Davis saga is over in New York.

The New York Mets traded the enigmatic first baseman to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, in exchange for right-handed reliever Zack Thornton and a player to be named later.

The deal was announced just a few minutes prior to the Mets’ game against the Atlanta Braves. Davis was made available to reporters outside the Mets clubhouse as the game got underway.

Thornton is a blow you away reliever, who at seasonal age 26 should be ready to contribute to a major league team. Davis might do well with a change of scenery. Davis is doing a great job of getting on base this season, so maybe the Pirates will give him a chance to play every day. If he can combine the high OBP with high isolated power, the Pirates will take that.

November 8, 2013

Mets Game Plan

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It appears Sandy Alderson wants to return to his roots by going for PED player Jhonny Peralta. He’s also shopping Ike Davis. That turns out to be a very interesting scenario:

The key is Davis, who has a surprising amount of value right now on the trade market, thanks to other left-handed, power-potential reclamation projects like O’s 1B Chris Davis.

Ike will play 2014 as a 27-year-old, so if he’s going to have a big season, that’s the year. Chris Davis bottomed out at a younger age, so when he went to Baltimore, he was just entering his prime years, rather than being in the middle of the time period.

June 24, 2013

Peter Principle in Action

Ike Davis was named the PCL player of the week.

June 9, 2013

Ike Hits the Pike

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The Mets demoted Ike Davis:

The drawn out, long awaited demotion finally came for Davis, who is batting a sluggish .161 on the season with five homers and 16 RBI in 55 games.

The 26-year-old Arizona State product got off to a similar start last season before bouncing back to finish with a team-best 32 home runs and 90 RBI, but with the Mets wallowing at 23-35 on the season, management thought a change of scenery was best for their once promising young slugger.

When a hitter is both getting on base and slugging below .300, it’s tough to keep them in the majors.

May 28, 2013

Is Ike Davis Hurt?

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Ike Davis and his terrible year continues to be the talk of the Mets. One good game against the Braves was followed by an 0 for 3 with 3 K Monday night. I wonder if Davis is hurt, or more precisely, did he ever fully recover from his 2011 ankle injury.

Ike Davis never wanted microfracture surgery to repair his busted ankle in 2011, but he was ready for it. The other options appeared scarce after a mid-May accident embedded a bone bruise deep in his joint.

In 2012, Davis played a full season with good power, but his batting average plummeted. The batting average fall came despite an increase in his line drive rate. He also started popping up more, although his fly ball rate fell a little. It’s a very strange combination.

So here’s the assignment for ESPN or Fox or SNY; see if Davis is pushing as much with his left ankle as he did before the injury. As a left-handed hitter, Davis pushes on that ankle every time he swings. If he can’t push as hard, he would need to compensate with his upper body. I’m not sure that would cause the problems we’re seeing, but it strikes me that the legs go a long way toward keeping the swing level. If anyone already saw analysis like this, please let me know.

April 19, 2013

Double Ds

Lucas Duda and Ike Davis each went deep twice against Washington, both homering in the sixth inning off Stephen Strasburg, and again in the eighth off Drew Storen. The Mets lead the Nationals 7-1 in the ninth behind this power hitting and the power pitching of Matt Harvey.

July 29, 2012

Davis Versus the Diamondbacks

Ike Davis provided all the offense for the New York Mets Saturday night as he hit three home runs against the Diamondbacks. Unfortunately for New York, they allowed six runs as Arizona takes the game 6-3. It’s a rare occurrence to hit three home runs in a game and have your team lose. Since 1957, the start of the Day by Day Database, there have been 393 games in which a player hit at least three home runs. The record of teams in those games in 327-66, .832. (394 players hit three home runs, but there was one game in which two players hit three.)

The good news for the Mets is that Ike Davis is hitting home runs again. He hit nine in his last 17 games, good for a .691 slugging percentage.

Despite allowing all three homers, Ian Kennedy pitched a gem. He walked one and struck out nine in 6 1/3 inning, which was a big reason there was no one on base for Davis’s blasts.

June 22, 2012

Pounding Pettitte

Andy Pettitte sees his earned runs allowed go up 33% in the first inning Friday against the Mets. Justin Turner hits a two-run single, and Ike Davis follows with a three-run homer as the Mets take an early 5-0 lead on the Yankees.

May 7, 2012

Leaving the Table Dirty

RBI Percentage is a stat I use get an idea of how much a player’s RBI total is related to the number of men on base versus how well the player hits with men on base. It’s the percent of runners driven in, (RBI-HR)/Runners on. Andre Ethier, for example, came up with lots of runners on base and delivered, a big reason he leads the NL in RBI.

At the other end of the spectrum there is an interesting group of three players. Robinson Cano and Ike Davis sandwich Vernon Wells, all between 6.3 and 6.7%. Cano and Davis each came to the plate with 90+ runners on base compared to Vernon’s 63. I suspect Cano will break out of his slump and rise on the list. I’m not sure about Ike Davis, his MLB history is very short. This does, I’m afraid, give Angels fans another reason to dislike Vernon Wells.

April 18, 2012

Early Homers

Ike Davis homers for the Mets in the top of the second inning. None of the good OBP hitters in front of him were on base, however. The Braves answered with a Juan Francisco home run in the bottom of the inning, that followed a Freddie Freeman double, and Atlanta leads New York 2-1 after two innings.

Update: The top of the order comes through for the Mets in the third. Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Daniel Murphy walk, then David Wright doubles them home. Ike Davis singled to Dan Uggla on the infield, but Wright tried to score and was thrown out. The Mets take a 3-2 lead in the middle of the third.

April 16, 2012

Heart Beating

The Mets received some power from the heart of their order tonight as Jason Bay and Ike Davis both homered against the Braves. The two combined for four RBI as the Mets took the game 6-1. The two are still hitting below .200, but a power outburst is a hopeful sign.

The Mets have won all four games against the Braves this season, outscoring them 18-8.

March 4, 2012

Off on the Wrong Foot

The Mets were hoping to be healthy this season, but David Wright is out indefinitely with a rib cage injury, and Ike Davis may have Valley Fever. Those are two bats they need in top form to compete in 2012.

March 3, 2012

Give Me Fever

The Mets suspect Ike Davis contracted Valley Fever:

“Because I haven’t got the blood work back I can’t be sure it’s true,” Davis told ESPNNewYork.com via text on Saturday.

Mets manager Terry Collins told the team’s website: “We’re treating him as if that’s what it is. We can’t let him run down. That’s what we’ve been told. We’ll give him some days off. He says he can go, and he’s been doing everything he’s supposed to. But we need to be sure he doesn’t push it.”

Valley fever is a fungal infection found in desert regions of the Southwest. The fungus is released from the soil and inhaled. Davis spends his offseasons in Phoenix.

The disease is treated with rest and drugs.

Better safe than sorry.

November 16, 2011

Davis Healed

Ike Davis says he’s healthy and ready to play:

According to Davis, his ankle injury is behind him and he’s happy he didn’t have surgery because, right now, it would mean he’d still be in a boot.

Davis played less than 1/4 of a season in 2011, but posted tantalizing numbers. Mets fans must be looking forward to see what he can do over a full season, especially in a smaller ballpark.

June 22, 2011

No Ike News to Like

The news gets worse on Ike Davis’s injury:

Davis will be shut down for three weeks. If he doesn’t heal by then, season-ending surgery.

June 16, 2011

Charity Event

Ike Davis headlines a charity event to raise money for cancer research:

Help Ike Davis strikeout 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 7PM 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 – 7:00PM
LOCATION: Michael’s of Brooklyn – 2929 Avenue R – Brooklyn, NY

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

I’m told some Mets teammates will show up as well.

May 31, 2011

Ike Davis Not Healing

Ike Davis won’t return to the Mets lineup any time soon:

“The only baseball activities he can do, basically, is play catch, and he’ll be able to swing,” Collins said. “But he’s not to do any running whatsoever for the next three weeks. There’s still a hot spot where the bone bruise is. So we’re going to pretty much shut him down from that type of activity.”

Head trainer Ray Ramirez told Collins he had “never seen” this long a recovery time for an injury of this type, according to the manager.

I hope he doesn’t turn out to be another Nick Johnson.

May 12, 2011

Ike Can’t Hike

The Mets placed Ike Davis on the disabled list due to an ankle injury:

Or we could just ask Terry Collins, who did not try to hide the cold reality. “It’s huge,” he said of Davis’ sprained left ankle and bone bruise, which will keep him from contributing for at least two weeks. A team trying to climb back toward respectability has lost its most productive player, as Davis leads the team in home runs (seven), runs batted in (25), on-base percentage (.383) and OPS (.925).

“His production is going to be sorely missed,” said Collins said. “He’s leading the club in RBIs by a long way. We’re going to miss the power. He’s been an outstanding defender.”

Davis is certainly up there with the best first basemen in the game this year. He’s a first baseman, however, and the Mets should be able to come up with someone who can contribute decent offense at the position for a couple of weeks. A problem at first base should be one of the easier ones to solve.

September 11, 2010

Liking Ike Again

After a hot start in April, Ike Davis hit poorly for four months. From May through August he posted a .241/.323/.412 slash line, hardly what a team expects from a slugging first baseman. When September came around, he heated up again. He came into today with a .400 average for the month, 12 for 30 with three doubles and three home runs. He kept that up today with a 4 for 4 performance, three singles and a double as he drove in three. His offense on Saturday helped the Mets to a 4-3 win over the Phillies.

I suppose it’s good for a player to finish strong. The Mets will have a more positive image of him going into next season, deserved or not.

June 8, 2010

Third Deck Ike

Ike Davis hits a tremendous home run in the 11th inning, deep into the third deck in right to give the Mets a 2-1 win over the Padres. Both Mets runs came on homers as Jose Reyes joined him with a solo shot in the seventh to tie the game. New York as now won nine in a row at home.

Davis is slugging well over .500 at home, but just .386 on the road.

May 7, 2010

Finding the Weakness

Jonathan Sanchez had not allowed a home run this year coming into Friday night’s game against the Mets. He gave up three through the first four innings of the game as the Mets lead the Giants 4-1. Those take him back to his career average.

Ike Davis hit two of them, raising his slugging percentage to .580. Seven of his 16 hits have gone for extra bases, just what the Mets need from a first baseman.

April 28, 2010

Ike Turner Round

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The Mets swept a double header from the Dodgers on Tuesday, launching them into first place in the NL East. They’ve won six in a row, and eight of nine games since calling up Ike Davis. They’re averaging half a run more per game since Ike arrives, with the team batting average and OBP both about 30 points higher. Along with Bay and Wright, the Mets now have a powerful heart of the order. They just need Reyes to start getting on base in front of them, like Luis Castillo is doing.

April 19, 2010

Likin’ Ike

Ike Davis singles in his first at bat, lining a pitch on the outside corner into center. He took two pitches that were obviously balls, and swung at two close strikes. He looked very comfortable at the plate. The Mets have men on first and second with one out in a scoreless game in the bottom of the second after the single. The Cubs induce a double play off the bat of Rod Barajas to end the inning, however.

April 19, 2010

I Like Ike

The Mets call up Ike Davis from Buffalo.

After recording two more hits Sunday, the former first-round pick is riding a seven-game hitting streak for the Bisons. He is batting .364 with two homers, three doubles, nine walks and four RBI in 10 games. His .500 OBP is tied for the International League lead.

What I like about Davis is that he’s hit better each time he moves up a level. It seems he has little left to prove in the minor leagues. This is a very good time for him to be called up, as he’s sure to be a super two.