Those Mets

IKE DAVIS DEBUTS & FLUSHING LOVES HIM

A FEEL GOOD WIN FOR NEW YORK

If it had been a normal night, the highlight of the Mets’ game Monday would have been the two-run home run by Angel Pagan that broke a seventh-inning tie and sparked a 6-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. If not that, the attention grabber would have been an encouraging performance by starter Jon Niese, who did not get a decision but mixed his pitches well as he gave up one unearned run and struck out seven batters over five and two-thirds innings. But this was not a normal night at Citi Field because this was the major league debut of Ike Davis, a left-handed-hitting first baseman with power, promise and unusual presence. In getting two hits in four at-bats, one of those hits driving in a run, the 23-year-old Davis gave the fans and the Mets something to cheer about in the present and something to dream about in the future. Even his teammates cheered him when he stepped into the sunshine of batting practice at 4:44 p.m. after arriving on a flight from Buffalo, where he played for the Class AAA Bisons. This is not a typical reception for a rookie. As the Mets hugged Davis and called out welcoming words, the ballpark’s speaker system played a song called “I Think I’m Falling for You.” “It hasn’t hit me yet,” Davis said before the game. “I’m running on adrenaline now.” Six hours later, after the victory and about 12 hours after Davis had taken batting practice with the Bisons before a day game in Buffalo, the Mets veteran Jeff Francoeur slapped a shaving-cream pie in his face, a sure sign of welcome and acceptance. “The way they joke around with me makes it a lot easier,” Davis said. “It’s a dream come true. The crowd actually knew who I was. It was pretty special. It was really sweet.” Even one of his outs impressed Manager Jerry Manuel. It was a deep drive to right-center when Davis tried to hit a home run with the score tied, 1-1, in the sixth. “He didn’t appear fazed,” Manuel said. “You don’t see anxiety. He seems to be very confident.” Davis looked smooth in fielding his position. And there was this unusual air about him that seemed to captivate even his bosses. Omar Minaya, the general manager, said before the game: “This kid is the kind of kid who’s going to be able to handle an environment like New York. He’s going to play every day.” Minaya said many Mets players were rooting for Davis to break training camp with the team. “We’re a better team today by giving Ike Davis an opportunity,” Minaya said. Davis’s father, Ron, pitched for the Yankees, the Twins, the Cubs, the Dodgers and the Giants from 1978 through 1988. Davis said his father took him to Yankee Stadium for an old-timers’ game many years ago and he got to meet Derek Jeter. Davis played three seasons at Arizona State before the Mets drafted him in the first round in 2008. In two minor league seasons over 172 games, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Davis batted .284 with 20 home runs and 88 runs batted in with three teams in the Mets’ system. In 10 games with Buffalo this season, he was batting .364. He joined a Mets team that entered Monday’s game 15th in hitting in the 16-team National League with a team average of .224, and was 13th in home runs with nine. Manuel joked that he did not expect Davis to carry the team on his back but that he would not mind if he did. In a caveat, Manuel alluded to the pressure on a young man in Davis’s situation. “I don’t think you could ever really prepare for this, for coming to New York and being touted,” Manuel said. But, so far, one day into an indefinite major league career, he seemed like the right man in the right place at the right time. (NY Times)