A lesson in defeat

With the Mets trailing 6-1 in the 5th inning and Manny Acosta on the mound, I did something I will almost never do; I turned off the game. The team was hitting but they could not put any runs on the board. No offense to Mr. Acosta, but if he is pitching that early in the game it is time to catch up on some DVR. I flipped back to the game and it is the top of the 8th inning, the Mets have Jason Bay on third, David Wright on second, and Ike Davis at the plate with no outs. The Mets have been in the situation time and again this season, and the story is always the same. Except last night. Davis reached on an error that allowed Bay to score (6-3), and the Mets followed with a strikeout (1 out), a LONG two-run double (6-5), a bunt single, a run-scoring single (6-6), a run-scoring, pinch-hit double (7-6), an intentional walk, an unintentional walk with the bases loaded (8-6), a strike out (2 outs), and an inning ending flyout. All in all the Mets sent 12 men to the plate against three Nationals pitchers for their largest come-from-behind victory since last July. Oh yeah, and Ike Davis did what Ike Davis does to end the game:

BOOM goes the dyno-Ike!

Holy crap that's a bad headline! The Braves Kenshin Kawakami tried to sneak a fastball by Ike Davis and Davis responded with a "FUCK YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" deep breath "OOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!" 450 feet later Davis had his first major league home run en route to a 5-2 Mets win. John Maine was so impressed he pulled himself from the game in the 4th inning before he could blow the game. Hisanori Takahashi was so impressed he threw 3 strong innings in relief of Maine and struck out 7. Braves third-baseman and noted Mets slayer was so awed he not only dropped a later Ike Davis popup, he failed to catch Jose Reyes' popup with 2 on and one out in the 7th inning when Reyes was already retired on the infield fly rule. Braves catcher Brian McCann was so stunned he then threw to first base trying to double off Luis Castillo because obviously you have to tag up when the ball isn't caught? The throw left home plate uncovered and allowed Angel Pagan to score. Listen, it was an impressive fucking home run. Watch the highlights here on ESPN.com.

Ike Davis makes losses exciting

The Mets got thumped by the Cubs 9-3 last night. Ollie Perez was effectively erratic, allowing only 3 runs while pitching only 5 innings. The bullpen did its best imitation of Mets bullpens past by giving up 6 runs and slamming the door shut on any potential Mets comeback. The highlight of the night by far was Ike Davis' spectacular catch in foul territory where he flipped over the railing to the Mets dugout. I'll post a YouTube video of the catch, but once they remove it you can just go to this post from MetsBlog.com to see the catch as well as David Wright talking about...well, something. I'll be honest, I didn't pay much attention since was standing there looking all buff and rugged in his sleeveless shirt.

The Ike Davis Era has begun

Heralded first base prospect Ike Davis made his major league debut last night. The move reeks of desperation, but let's be honest here, it's not like he can be any worse than Mike Jacobs. "Strike out fewer than 12 times out of every 14 at bats and play at least below average defense? Got it skip!"

Davis did more than that, going 2 for 4 with a broken bat single in his first at bat and an RBI single later in the game. He also flew out deep to right-center field where the wall stands an impressive 415 feet away showing flashes of the power the Mets hope he can provide from first base.

Oh yeah, the Mets won too. 6-1. So that's kind of nice. That's two wins in three games, or likely their most successful stretch of the season. Jon Niese pitched well, Jason Bay got an actual RBI, and the awesomely named Angel Pagan hit his first home run of the year. All in all a successful debut for Davis, who hopes to play at least 5 or 6 more games this year before suffering a season ending injury.