Ike Davis never had a chance with this management group. The Mets’ inept offense never had a chance Friday night.
Davis is better off being a Pirate.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson could have avoided all this and traded Davis in the offseason, but couldn’t pull the trigger. He traded Davis Friday night, shortly before the Mets played the Braves at Citi Field.
How did the Mets respond?
They were no-hit for seven innings by journeyman and former Met Aaron Harang before David Wright saved the team from complete humiliation with a two-out single in the eighth against reliever Luis Avilan in the 6-0 loss.
The Mets lead the majors in strikeouts with 158. They are 29th in batting at .219. Only the Astros are worse. They did get six walks, perhaps setting off high-fives up in the front office. Since 2011, they are 105-145 at Citi Field.
Saturday is the four-year anniversary of Davis’ Mets debut, when he picked up two hits. His future was so bright, the kid from Arizona had to wear shades.
“It’s weird, I’ve been with the Mets a long time and made some good friendships,’’ Davis, 27, said as he leaned against a wall outside the Mets clubhouse. He was in street clothes. His former teammates were taking the field behind him, dressed in their blue jerseys.
“That’s the toughest part. I made my childhood dreams come true, playing in the big leagues here, but it’s just a stepping stone,’’ Davis said, eyes ringed red with emotion.
“I’m excited. I know a couple of guys [in Pittsburgh] and they have a great young team. Some good veterans too. I’m looking forward to playing and hopefully helping them win.’’
“Ike will be missed,’’ Wright said. “The guy has become a good friend, but at the same time, I’m happy for Ike, he gets a fresh start.’’
It wasn’t too long ago Davis blasted 32 home runs.
In January, Ike’s dad, Ron, a former Yankees pitcher, said the Mets handled the situation all wrong.
“I think how the Mets really screwed up in that situation is because they’ve publicly done it so much,” the elder Davis said back then. “Saying to my son, ‘We don’t want you anymore. … We want to trade you but we want ‘X’ amount.’ ’’
Now Ike is a Pirate for a 26-year-old Triple-A relief pitcher named Zack Thornton and a player to be named later. It would be nice if that player is a young shortstop.
The last time the Mets traded for a pitcher named Zack they did OK. They like Thornton’s strikeout rate (10.2 per nine innings), fastball and slider.
“We’re very happy with the trade,’’ Alderson said. “It’s a situation we needed to resolve here and we are happy with the return.’’
The Mets could have selected Thornton in the Rule 5 draft, but didn’t.
Lucas Duda was the player this Mets front office wanted to succeed. The charade of two first basemen had to end. The Mets should have made a trade this past winter and started spring training with a clean slate.
The Mets have their Hunting Strikes philosophy and Davis was hunting home runs, when he could manage to hit them. He was batting .208 with only one home run, that game-winning pinch-hit grand slam against the Reds.
Davis said all this has been hanging over his head for eight months.
It’s hard to hit in that situation.
Alderson was asked: Why Duda over Davis?
“There were a lot of positives for Lucas,’’ Alderson said. “Ike has done some great things here in New York, 32 home runs one year. But we think Lucas has the same potential, might be a little more effective against left-handed [pitchers]. I think he can play first base well. This was a close call.’’
“New York is a tough place to play,’’ Davis admitted. “I feel a lot better in the box this year so I’m excited to see what I can do with a lot of playing time.’’
Ike has his fresh start.