In a post to Baseball Prospectus, David Laurila spent five minutes with 21–year-old Brooklyn 1B Ike Davis.
Davis, on playing in New York, not Atlanta, whose compensatory pick the Mets used to draft him, as quoted by Laurila:
“It would be a lot different. I don’t know where their minor league system is, but I wouldn’t be up here in New England right now, and I don’t know their rules. But it would have been cool either way. I’m really excited that the Mets drafted me. It’s a big organization and they like to win; they try to do everything they can to win.”
Among other things, Laurila asks Davis about who he best compares to, what is his approach at the plate, hitting lefties compared to righties, and advice from his father, who was a former major-league pitcher.
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I don’t like what I’ve seen from Mr. Davis so far.
I’m glad the “I Like Ike” button hasn’t been around.
I’m glad we drafted someone with a first grade understanding of geograpgy. Brooklyn is in New England? Really? Didn’t we draft this kid out of college?
geography*
I think he was further off about the Mets trying to “do everything they can to win.”
Maybe the interview was conducted on the road and actually in New England. Don’t know for sure, but I’m going to think that’s the case because your scenario is just too scary.
if he can learn how to take a walk, i don’t care if he knows his geography.
He’s up to 12 walks now. Last week he had 5. That’s my biggest concern with him, too.
That’s a big increase, maybe he was pressing before.
really? that’s a good sign.
Yes, but his OBP is still .287 or something lousy like that. Plus, he’s yet to homer, which is what he’s supposed to be his thing.
.287 isn’t bad when you’re hitting like .179.
Maybe next month, does that league last till next month? He’ll hit and walk.
He’s hitting higher than that. And .287 is never good, no matter what! (Unless you’re a pitcher, I s’pose.)
My mistake I was just looking at his august splits. His obp is like .370 something and he’s hitting .179
Well, there are some who will argue that the eastern part of New York is New England territory (but that is nonetheless further north). I was a geography minor :-).
That being said, I doubt Mr. Davis was thinking that when he said it. Hopefully, they were playing the A-ball team from Maine or something.
Brooklyn’s not in New England — however, Lowell certainly is.
Attaboy, Einstein. Know the league before you go crackin’ wise on a guy playing in it.
Signed,
Your 1st Grade Teacher
P.S. — Please come back….and don’t forget your crayons.
Lowell? It’s possible this interview was conducted while they were playing Lowell but their last 3 games were at home.
“Grace? Grace died 30 years ago!”
I was thinking along the lines of Aunt Bethany myself when reading that jibberish up-top, about NY and NJ being part of New England.
The interview was conducted while the Cyclones were playing in Lowell, and obviously posted to the website today.
Think McFly…think.
Him thinking Brooklyn is in New England really isn’t that crazy. I’ve always been surprised by the number of people I’ve met who think New York, Jersey and even PA are part of New England.
Yeah, but his dad played here. That has to count for something.
I went to Delaware for college, and almost all of my high school friends thought that was in New England. Of course, most of them were complete idiots who smoked too much pot, but still…
“It would have been cool either way.”
-Ike Davis, on whether he would’ve been drafted by the Mets of the Braves.
Wow. Sounds like a guy who really wants to be a Met.
probably really wants to be a major leaguer. and are you really gonna get on a kid from arizona about that?
this guy can only hit with metal bats. BUST. way to go, Omar.
Wow, way to judge a player on two and a half months of short season low A ball!
you a friggin ridiculous…he’s been in the minors for like 2 months…must be a philthies fan
Does he strike out more than Adam Dunn?
I wasn’t, and at this point I’m still not, a very big fan of the pick, but it’s kind of early to be labeling him a bust. Plus since for some reason every team in the league decided to ignore the slotting rules and draft regardless of signability this year there really weren’t many better options.
The guy’s also a left-handed hitter playing in a ballpark where 6 homeruns have left the RF fence since it opened in 2001.
More geniuses who know more than the people making decisions within the organization.
His slugging pct is .305. That’s god-awful no matter where you play. Genius.
His slugging pct on the road is .313.
Genius.
I’m not saying that Ike Davis has been “impressive” by any stretch of the imagination — don’t confuse that at all.
I find it hilarious that people are labeling him a “bust” that can’t hit with wood — 2 months after he was picked.
The guy tore up The Cape Cod League using the very same wood bats he’s using now…..take a look at a collegiate schedule, with regionals and College World Series games factored in — then take a Rookie League schedule into account…….tack it on.
It’s a tremendous amount of game to be playing…..and some guys just aren’t used to it right off the bat.
Ike Davis, in this very same interview everyone’s supposedly read — speaks about the importance of diet, conditioning, etc. — and to me, that speaks a bit about him not being in the best possible shape he could be in at this point.
The real test for him will be next season…..overall, this is everyone’s 1st professional experience. Could just be a slow start for him — as the tools as undoubtedly there in every aspect.
Everyone loves to look at raw numbers. Try watching the guy play…..I’ll venture to guess that a majority of the naysayers have never watched a single Ike Davis at-bat. Because if you ever saw him in college, you’d be nothing but impressed.
That being said, he’s had a rough go of it so far in Brooklyn — but who knows just how many balls he’s hit hard went to die in that wind-swept RF?
I’ll reserve judgement until next year. For now, there are too many factors working against him to say one way or another.
Looks like Matt’s “Five Minutes with Ike Davis” were more worhtwhile than Rick Peterson’s “Ten Minutes with Victor Zambrano”? I hope so :-)
C’mon you guys, this was obviously done last week when they were playing up in Lowell, MA. Which, according to my best guess, is in quite deep inside Patriots territory. Cheers to Ike for knowing his geography, and shame on y’all for being so quick to mock him.
I’ve seen him play twice now (including last night). Here’s my novice scout report:
His swing is smooth and quick but he swings a lot. I mean he swings at almost everything. The only pitches he takes are those way-off-the-plate-because-this-is-short-season-A-ball types. Nice line drive hitter.
I hate to judge someone on the basis of interviews, a small sample of plate appearances, pre-draft scouting reports, and one game seen on SNY, but I will… Ike Davis at this stage doesn’t project to have the skill set to hit major league quality breaking balls. He doesn’t have a repeatable swing, lacks focus at the plate, doesn’t appear to be a hard worker or an energetic player. He is athletic with a smooth swing who with his athleticism and throwing arm (can hit 87mph on the gun), Davis should be in the outfield and the fact that he is at 1B (and it’s not like he has a Keith Hernandez glove) tells me that something is wrong with his ability to “get it” in the outfield whether that be tracking balls or laziness (oddly none of that ever stopped Jose Canseco from playing OF and Davis does not have Canseco’s speed or power–uhh steroids). I think the Mets were hoping for a fast tracked college player and I think it is going to take Davis longer to reach the majors than most people think. The potential is there, but right now it is far far far away, like 2012 (age 25 away). I hope he proves me wrong.
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