With Ike Davis, the New York Mets Are on Fire

What a difference a week makes.

When I left for Las Vegas last week, the New York Mets were a fledgling ball club. They were 6-9, their pitching staff was a clown show, and their fans were calling for Jerry Manuel’s head.

Then the Mets called up Ike Davis on April 19, and it seems to have to turned around the Mets’ season. Davis has brought an excitement to the stadium, and he has invigorated the normally negative Mets fanbase.

Essentially he has done exactly what the Mets were hoping for him to do from a PR and marketing perspective.

On the field, he has been no slouch either.

Davis has hit .355 since his call-up with a home run and an impressive .432 OBP. I know it is a small sample size, but Davis looks like the real deal. A son of a former major leaguer (Ron Davis) plus an Arizona State pedigree equals a successful major league player in my book.

Not only has Davis been successful, but the Mets have been extremely successful since Davis’ call-up as well.

In their last 10 games, the Mets are 9-1 and have moved to the top of the very tough National League East. During this stretch, they have won seven in a row and swept the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers in back-to-back series.

The Mets are getting contributions from everyone, especially their starting pitching, in particular Mike Pelfrey. With his rain-shortened win over the Braves on Sunday night, Pelfrey improved to 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA this season.

Considering Pelfrey was a combination of a runaway train and the smoke monster from Lost last season, the improvements he has made this season have been remarkable.

It’s no surprise that Pelfrey’s season has dictated how the Mets have done so far. I wrote back in March that Pelfrey was the “Key” to the Mets’ season. So far he has been.

The Mets will face a tough test this weekend in Philadelphia. The Phillies are the measuring stick in the National League, and if the Mets can walk into Citizens Bank Ballpark and take two out of three, they will make a statement that they are for real in 2010.

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