Ike Davis might be out of sight, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of mind. At least for the next few weeks, if not the next few months, there will be this unofficial competition between Davis and Lucas Duda to determine if the Mets traded the right guy.
It began Saturday night with the Mets playing the Braves at Citi Field and the Pirates playing host to the Brewers in Pittsburgh, where Davis was making his first start after being dealt by the Mets on Friday for a minor league pitcher and a player to be named later.
Today’s technology allows those with iPads, computers and even cell phones to peek in on Davis’ Pirates debut, which began in successful fashion with a double and a run-scored in his first at-bat. A few minutes later, Duda made his first plate appearance of the evening against the Braves. He also doubled and went to third on an error. But Duda committed a base-running blunder by trying to score on a ball hit to the shortstop. He was eventually tagged out in a rundown. Edge to Davis.
Duda finished the game 1-for-4 with a walk in the Mets’ 7-5 loss, while Davis went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored as the Brewers beat the Pirates, 8-7.
Expect the daily comparisons to continue for a while. Mets manager Terry Collins certainly does. Collins admitted as much when asked if he was happy to be done the whole Duda-Davis controversy.
“I’m not done,” he said before the game. “[Duda] is going to be 1-for-15 and Ike’s going to have eight homers and you’re going to want to know why. I’m ready for those. Believe me.”
He was only half-joking. Davis won’t be forgotten until Duda proves himself worthy of owning the everyday job at first base. The trade had to be made considering playing two first basemen meant the Mets had no first baseman. But you could almost see Collins crossing his fingers when he expressed hope the trade would help Duda perform stress-free.
“I’m hoping that now Lucas doesn’t have to worry about looking over his shoulder and wonder if he’s 0-for-4 whether Ike’s going to play,” Collins said. “He’s it. So maybe now he can relax and go play.”
Duda had a chance Saturday night to make everyone forget Davis, but he failed in a critical plate appearance. The Mets trailed 4-1 with two runners on and one out when Duda came up in the eighth. After falling behind 0-2 in the count, he eventually got good wood off a pitch from reliever David Carpenter.
Initially, the ball looked like it might leave the park. But it died at the warning track, landing in the glove of right-fielder Jason Heyward. Later, with the tying runs on in the ninth, he drew a walk to load the bases with two outs.
Duda will need to come through in big moments to validate trading Davis.
“He’s got to go produce,” Collins said. “He’s our guy. We know what you can do, now let’s go do that. You don’t have to answer questions about [Ike] if you had a bad day or a bad two days. It’s your job to go out and get the job done. I just think it should help him a little bit.”
Duda understands nothing is guaranteed.
“If you don’t produce, you’re not going to play no matter what the situation is,” he said. “If I don’t get the job done, then they’ll bring in somebody else. That goes for everybody. That’s how I view it.”
Duda wished only the best for Davis.
“We’re good friends,” he said. “I’m sure he’s going to do really well.”
Of course, Davis doing well in Pittsburgh is Mets fans’ biggest fear. That’s why they’ll be checking the boxscore to see if the Mets traded the right player.