Just demote the whole damn team to Las Vegas.
Ike Davis or no Ike Davis, the Mets are a sorry sight and fading fast. But at least they are finished losing to the Marlins.
On Tuesday it was the NL Central leading Cardinals putting the hurting on this miserable bunch, scoring seven unearned runs in a 9-2 demolition of the Mets at Citi Field.
In their first game since Davis was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas – along with Mike Baxter and Robert Carson – the Mets continued their offensive ineptitude, but added shoddy defense to the mix.
Daniel Murphy, replacing Davis at first base, committed a throwing error that helped the Cardinals score five unearned runs in the fifth. Two innings later, Kirk Nieuwenhuis misplayed a ball in right field for an error that led to two additional unearned runs.
The Mets (23-36) lost their third straight and for the seventh time in eight games. The last time the Mets were 13 games under .500 this early was 1993 – a season that ended with 103 losses.
The recent brutality has included five straight losses to the last place Marlins, who won two games in extra innings at Citi Field over the weekend after sweeping the Mets three games in Miami the previous week.
Jeremy Hefner, in a battle with Dillon Gee for the final spot in the rotation as the Mets await Zack Wheeler’s arrival next week, allowed six runs over six innings, but five of them were unearned.
Allen Craig’s three-run homer against Hefner was the big hit in the fifth, when the Cardinals scored five times to take a 6-2 lead, but all the runs were unearned after Murphy made an errant toss to Hefner covering the bag on Jon Jay’s grounder leading off the inning.
Jay reached and went to third on Pete Kozma’s grounder before Michael Wacha delivered a RBI ground out. After Matt Carpenter walked, Yadier Molina’s ground out scored a run. Matt Holliday then singled before Craig unloaded into the left-field seats.
The Cardinals had pulled within 2-1 the previous inning, following consecutive singles by Holliday and Craig, when Matt Adams hit into a double play.
Omar Quintanilla’s homer in the first provided a run before the Mets extended that lead to 2-0 on Marlon Byrd’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded later in the inning. But the Mets missed a chance to build the lead when Niuewenhuis was retired with the bases loaded for the final out.
mpuma@nypost.com