PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets’ battle for first base still hasn’t begun in earnest, thanks to lingering injuries to Ike Davis (right calf) and Lucas Duda (hamstring).
Davis limped noticeably in the clubhouse Sunday and the first baseman reported no improvement, so manager Terry Collins’ hopes of getting Davis a lot of at-bats this spring might not happen.
“That was a pipe dream, wasn’t it?” Collins said. “In order for that to happen, he’s going to have to spend quite a bit of time in minor league camp [where players are free to get more plate appearances].”
First, Davis has to show he’s ready for it.
“What I’d like to do right now is to get Ike out there in the batter’s box,” Collins said. “I know he can play first base. We just need him to get at-bats, even if it’s just going over there standing and DH-ing.”
And Collins admitted time is of the essence as the team tries to evaluate the position.
“It’s big,” Collins said of the call. “It’s one of the many we have.”
Collins said he had a discussion about Jose Valverde with Jim Leyland when the Mets faced the Tigers in Lakeland Saturday, and was impressed by what he saw from the right-hander Sunday.
“He said when locating his fastball, he’s getting close,” Collins said of Valverde, who pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout.
Another veteran righty, Kyle Farnsworth, pitched two scoreless innings.
“Kyle’s started to amp up,” Collins said. “His velocity is up and he had a sharper slider.”
Even with an effective Bobby Parnell, Collins knows he needs help in the bullpen.
“There’s got to be a bridge,” Collins said.
Daniel Murphy was out with a right shin injury he suffered Friday when he made an aggressive slide into second.
“It’s day-to-day,” Murphy said. “It’s just sore. We all wanted to play it safe and now’s the time of year to get it right.”
Embattled New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was at Sunday’s game and sat with owner Fred Wilpon.
Vacationing with his family, Christie declined to take questions, but spent time in the clubhouse speaking to players, including David Wright.
The Mets got a look at the new rule banning home-plate collisions Sunday, when catcher Kevin Plawecki left a lane for the Braves’ Matt Lipka, who tried to score in the eighth. Plawecki was still able to grab Andrew Brown’s throw from left and tag Lipka.
“I usually step in front of the plate, anyway,” Plawecki said. “I wasn’t really thinking about it.”
Home plate umpire Mark Ripperger told Plawecki he had good position on the play, but there are still questions about exactly how the rule will be applied.
“That’s going to be the play,” Collins said of the throw home from left.