After Just a Week, Can Ike Davis Salvage the Season?

It has been a week of vindication so far for the New York Mets. They began this week with an abysmal record of 4-8, after having only two wins in a six game road trip. When the present home stand opened, it did so with much fan fare for the eminent arrival of minor league standout, Ike Davis.

A questionable roster move given the particular circumstances he was thrown into. It came with many questioning the timing, myself included. With the team off to such a poor start, it seemed as if management were just grasping at straws to fill seats and save their jobs. Thus far, after a week that currently has them at 9-9, it just may have done that.

They have not only won their first series, against the Chicago Cubs by taking three out of four, but have already taken the first two games of a three game series against the division rival Atlanta Braves with one game still to play tomorrow. So, as they go for a possible sweep, let's put it in proper perspective. If they win or lose, they are still within a game of a .500 winning percentage, either one game over or one game under.

That is not too bad for a team who is missing their original cleanup hitter, Carlos Beltran, until at least June and their original starting first baseman, Daniel Murphy, for maybe the next few more weeks. The divisional opponents aren't looking too good right now either. Sure the Phillies are mowing teams down as predicted, or are they?

They are only a few games up on the Mets and they have injury troubles of their own. The Nationals and Marlins both are struggling to be consistent and the Braves have had a bad week with the Phillies and now the Mets. The division is still up in the air and yes, it is still very early, but a peek at the division opponents is a good practice to get into.

As the season develops, it could get interesting. So far the Ike Davis experiment has worked out well for the team. The combination of energetic youth, timely hitting, and consistent pitching have sparked a winning streak and seemingly a new outlook for a team that was beginning to look stale and uninspired.

Davis has been just what the team and the fans needed, a prospect that has lived up to the potential so far. He has so lived up to the hype that has been placed on him, that his predecessor, Daniel Murphy, has become his understudy and had admitted that the rookie is better than him. This is a surprising and slightly too honest assessment of the situation by Murphy.

It goes against everything that is the nature of competition. For him to concede the starting role after being told he was the man for the Mets all offseason, is confounding to me. Is Davis that good, or is Murphy that questionable? The answer may be a little of both.

One thing is for certain, Davis is a very talented rookie, who seems to be up for the challenge of the Major Leagues. He has been the breath of fresh air for the team to help spark them out of the sewers and up to respectability. The question that remains is, can that spark last through the summer and the fall? Can that be enough to push them past the Phillies and into the playoffs? Time will tell, but for now, we can all enjoy the ride.