The Misunderstanding Of The Machine

So last night we saw how Ike Davis told a reporter (I want to stress … a reporter) that he hid an oblique injury from the team because he didn't want to seem like a baby and make excuses.

Davis was reluctant in admitting to The Post his oblique was an issue for most of last season, beyond the "pop" in Washington, because he doesn't want to be viewed as an Alibi Ike. Last year he batted only .205 with nine homers and 33 RBIs in 103 games for the Mets. "It makes me look like a baby," Davis said. "It looks like I'm whining about how I [stunk]. I was terrible, now it's over."  

Today we find out that Davis "loudly lectured" Mike Puma, who wrote the original article, because it made him seem like he was whining about how he [stunk].

"You made it look like an excuse," Davis added, directly addressing the article's author. "It's an excuse. It shouldn't have been a story anyway. … It's just an overblown thing. Everyone has injuries and then they get hurt. So it was pointless to write an article. I sucked last year because I sucked. It's not because I had an injury. You always have injuries. And now it just looks bad."  

So Puma made it look like an excuse by using direct quotes from Davis saying that he didn't want it to seem like an excuse? I'm confused.

First off, Davis being a baby was not what I got from Puma's article. Davis being irresponsible? Maybe … but as Ike himself said, you don't want to be taken out of the lineup for a nagging injury. And that statement probably holds while you're going good as well as bad. When you take into account Davis' last two seasons, one could see why he would make that decision to withhold his injury. Hell, with all the trade rumors surrounding him and with OBP favorite Lucas Duda as an option for Sandy Alderson, you could say that Davis had no choice in keeping quiet before he got Wally Pipp'd by Duda. (Hell, if anything it's a peek into the competitive soul of the baseball player … doing what he can to stay in the lineup whether it's hiding an injury or seeking a little "outside help".) Whining was not what I got from that.

But here's proof, to this outside observer, that Ike might be ready for a change of scenery: It's the line that Ike used about this "shouldn't have been a story anyway". Davis has been here … in New York … for four years. Does he not know how the machine works? Everything is a story. Everything … especially during the wretched time between when players report to spring training and when games start. I didn't post anything on this blog between February 12th and February 23rd. About 90% was that I was just too damn lazy to write while I was watching curling online at midnight. But the rest was out of a lack of interest in having an opinion about how a particular player stretches his hamstrings. And none of those hamstrings exploded, so I stayed quiet on the subject. Matt Harvey threw a baseball without collapsing onto himself? Excellent. Ruben Tejada reported to spring training early? Terrific. Did him a lot of good last year.

In a time period where David Wright having a receding hairline and Anthony Seratelli's bowling scores are talking points (I seriously don't envy beat reporters during spring training … besides the weather they get to enjoy but that's another story), Ike Davis hiding an oblique injury during a season where he was sent down the the minor leagues is a story … especially in New York where Mets fans need something else to sink their teeth into besides voting David Wright as the "Face of MLB". Does Ike Davis really not know what the deal is? Truthfully, I think he does know. But his loud locker room lecture is probably more indicative of a little overall frustration with being stuck in limbo.

Perhaps, as Adam Rubin speculates, Davis' disclosure will make Sandy Alderson rethink his stance on holding out for a high return for Davis and just getting rid of him to ease the first base glut, along with some tensions. I don't know if that is going to happen. Alderson is cold and calculated, and doesn't seem to make snap decisions born from passing fancies. I could make the argument that this disclosure convinces Alderson to keep his price high. Teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore were probably already banking on Davis being a "change of scenery" guy. Now with this disclosure, the Pirates and Orioles now have more reason to believe that a bounce back season is more likely. If they've figured that out all the way from Pittsburgh and Baltimore, I'm sure Sandy Alderson has figured that out as well from his office upstairs. That's not to say a trade isn't happening before Opening Day. But if trading Davis was so easy, it would have happened by now. So I'd expect him to be on the roster on March 31st. 

Considering events that have transpired, that doesn't add up to good news for Ike Davis … especially if he thinks he can say stuff to a reporter without it being reported.