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Last year, Ike Davis played in 36 games before he suffered a freak ankle injury from a collision with David Wright.

That cost him the rest of the season.

Coming into this season, Davis was expected to put up high numbers. Thus far in 2012, he has done anything but that. 

Hitting just .161 in 137 at-bats, Davis is looking discouraged. A slow start is understandable, but it’s late May already and Davis has shown very little, if any, signs of improvement.

The Mets have looked impressive through the first eight weeks of the season. Only three and a half games behind the first place Atlanta Braves, the Mets seem to be a threat heading into the summer months.

With the severe struggles of Davis, however, the question seems to be whether or not a trip to the minors would be beneficial. Personally, I believe a trip down would be smart move for both Davis and the team as a whole. 

At this point, Davis needs fresh  offensive input from a new voice. Down on the Buffalo Bisons, he can go back to basics and really focus on tweaking his swing as well as clearing his head of what has been an exhausting first few months to the season. 

Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson and Manager Terry Collins are not opposed to the idea, and as Davis’ woes continue, a trip to the minor leagues seems more and more realistic.

Collins spoke in the recent days about the team considering this possibility. However, Collins also went on to say that “nothing is etched in stone,” and that the team will weigh its options.

If the team does decide to move Davis down, the pieces the Mets have in place to fill his spot should be adequate. Daniel Murphy would most likely shift over to first, and Justin Turner would assume second base duties.

A big part of the Mets is Ike Davis.

With his struggles, the Mets have have had a shortened lineup, and Terry Collins has been forced to juggle the order.

The bottom line is that the Mets need Davis to produce out of the middle of the lineup. They simply cannot afford to keep him as a regular with the way he has played thus far.

It will not be long until a decision is made by the organization on the status of Davis. 

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Spring training is right around the corner. The 2012 baseball season is getting ready to begin, and teams are already beginning to decide how their rosters should look come Opening Day. Spring training will allow each team to evaluate their players who are on the fence for making the teams major league roster.

However, Mets’ coach Terry Collins, already knows who his leadoff man will be for Opening Day 2012. It is common knowledge that Andres Torres will most likely be the first Met to take the plate in 2012. Torres was acquired in the Angel Pagan trade earlier this offseason, and he will be the Mets’ starting center fielder for the beginning of the season.

A lot of people don’t believe that Torres will make a good leadoff hitter for the Mets this season. Torres is a solid defender who possesses above average speed. However, his hitting skills are simply not up to par with the rest of the leagues leadoff hitters.

Torres has a .244 career batting average, and he managed to hit a mere .221 last season. With that said, Torres put up solid numbers in 2009 and 2010, but I expect the Torres of last season. He is 33 years old and not getting any younger.

I like Torres, but not as a leadoff hitter. He is a good fit as a fourth outfielder, but he will most likely be starting in center field for the Mets early in the season. If Torres is indeed starting, then I believe that his bat would be best suited lower down in the lineup.

If Torres shouldn’t be the Mets’ leadoff hitter, then who should be?

The Mets have a number of players who are all capable of hitting leadoff; albeit, not overly effective ones. With the loss of Jose Reyes, one of the best leadoff hitters in the game, the Mets will be hard pressed to replace Reyes’ bat at the top of the lineup.

You can make a case for every Mets starter to bat leadoff with the exceptions of Ike Davis and Lucas Duda. That leaves us with five potential leadoff hitters.

Jason Bay, Daniel Murphy, Ruben Tejada, Josh Thole and David Wright. 

Jason Bay has decent speed, and can be a solid situational base stealer. With that said, it is no secret that Bay has been struggling over these past couple of seasons. He isn’t an ideal leadoff hitter to say the least, and until he returns to his old form, he should not be seriously considered for a crucial part in any lineup.

Daniel Murphy will most likely be the starting second baseman for the Mets this season. If he can stay healthy, he should have a great year. Before Murphy’s season-ending injury, he was in the top 10 in the league in hitting.

Murphy may not have great defensive skills or be the most graceful player, but he can certainly hit the ball. Murphy has average speed, but his OBP of .362 in 2011 makes a strong argument for him to lead off. It’ll be hard for Murphy to replicate that OBP this season, but I believe that he is very capable of producing something close to that number, if not higher.

Ruben Tejada seems like another strong choice to leadoff for the Mets this season. He produced surprisingly well with the bat last season, and it seems as if he keeps getting better. Tejada isn’t fond of stealing bases, but that does not mean that he cannot run well.

He has slightly above average speed, but he runs the bases like a seasoned vet. Tejada has great base running vision, makes fantastic turns,and great reads on the basepaths. He might make a nice leadoff hitter for the Mets in a couple of years, but not now.

Tejada already has huge shoes to fill with Jose Reyes leaving, and while the Mets organization is stressing to him that they don’t expect him to be Reyes, Tejada’s young mind might be a bit overwhelmed. Putting Tejada in Reyes’ old lineup spot seems like it would put expectations at unrealistic heights for him.

Josh Thole walks a lot and he is a solid contact hitter, therefore he is capable of a great OBP. A high OBP is a crucial part to a successful leadoff hitter. Thole can hit for a great OBP, but he is just too slow to leadoff for the Mets. Simple as that.

David Wright is a very interesting option to bat leadoff for the Mets. Wright has shown the ability to steal bases, and he also has the potential to be one of the best hitters in the game. With the changes to Citi Field’s dimensions, they lead us to believe that Wright will revert to his 2005-2008 form.

If the Mets had a deeper lineup than I would be open to the idea of batting Wright leadoff, but he is better suited to bat in the heart of the Mets’ lineup for this season. He will be much more valuable there.

At the end of the day, some people might make too big a deal of who bats leadoff for a team. The truth is that the leadoff hitter usually leads off only a few innings in a game, with the only guaranteed inning being the first inning. Batting leadoff might get to some hitters minds, and it isn’t worth risking their season just so they could lead off a few innings.

In my eyes, Daniel Murphy should be the New York Mets‘ leadoff hitter. He has a bulldog mentality and nothing seems to phase him. Murphy can flat out rake at the plate, as well as draw his share of walks. Pair that with his decent speed and the Mets have themselves a more than capable leadoff hitter for the 2012 season. 

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Even just 17 games into the season, it is fairly clear that the Mets are in big trouble. The team is sitting at 5-12, already 5.5 games behind the Phillies. It is not as if the Phillies are even playing their best baseball of the season yet. They are still without Chase Utley.

The Mets have already jettisoned their Opening Day second baseman, and the team has placed Chris Young on the disabled list. It appears that Bobby Parnell may also need to be placed on the DL.

There is a lot that must be done for the Mets to be competitive this season,but it seems like that is not a possibility. It is very early, but the team may need to look towards the 2012 season. At just over a tenth into the season, it is not too early to begin to look to the future.

The first thing that the Mets need to do is allow for Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner to have a competition for the second-base spot for the rest of the year.  It may turn out that one of these two players is the Mets’ long-term solution at second base. Turner is once again having success in the minors as he is currently hitting about .300. Murphy has struggled a bit in the majors this year, but his defense looks improved.

It is important that Terry Collins actually gives both players time to try to prove themselves. The Mets made a mistake giving up on Brad Emaus so early. Emaus was only allowed to have 37 at-bats with the Mets. If Emaus had just three more hits in those at-bats, he would have been hitting .243 as opposed to .162, and he would still be on the Mets roster.

Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson need to make sure not to make this same mistake again and get rid of a player too early. They should allow for Murphy and Turner to get at least 120 at-bats a piece before they make any decisions.

The concept of trading Jose Reyes and even David Wright will be floated around a lot during this year. This cannot be done.

There is talk that Reyes is not valuable enough to the team right now because he struggles to post a high on-base percentage. Take a look at the Mets lineup right now. There are many holes offensively. If Reyes were moved, then who would replace him? It would likely be Ruben Tejada. He is outstanding defensively, but he is a black hole offensively. That is not something that the Mets can afford to have. The team should look to re-sign Jose Reyes this year because he is a valuable asset.

David Wright obviously has a massive amount of trade value and could bring the Mets back some outstanding prospects. The problem is that Wright is still young and is a top-five third baseman. It is incredibly difficult to justify trading him unless the Mets get an incredible return. He is part of the core with Jose Reyes and Ike Davis that Sandy Alderson should keep together for the next few years.

The Mets need to evaluate the assets that they have that could actually bring back value in a trade. These assets include Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez. The Mets should look to move these players and bring back young major league-ready pitching prospects. The Mets rotation is currently one of their biggest weaknesses.

In addition to making these moves, the Mets should call up some of their younger players starting around early June and give them significant playing time in the majors this year if they have proven that they can hold their own in at least Double-A. If this year is lost, then the team should look forward to next year. Players tend to struggle a bit in their first season. By giving players that can help the team in 2012 some MLB experience, this will help prepare them for the 2012 season.

Players such as Jenrry Mejia, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Zach Lutz, Fernando Martinez (if healthy) and Josh Satin among others have the potential to play a role on the Mets roster in 2012. They should be given a chance to compete against major league competition if they have proven that they can handle the minors. If the Mets are still playing this poorly in June, the team has nothing to lose.

The season is still young, but if the first few weeks have been any indication, it will be another long year for the Mets. There was hope coming into the season, but it has quickly faded. Changes will need to be made this year, but it is just a matter of when. The team should look to prepare itself for 2012 and the future if its early struggles continue.

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As a Mets fan I’ve been wondering five things throughout the offseason and spring training:

When will they release Oliver Perez? Done.

When will they release Luis Castillo? Done.

Who is going to play second base? To be determined.

What’s going to happen with the most dynamic leadoff hitter in the game, Jose Reyes? To be determined.

When are the Wilpons finally going to sell the f***ing team? Unfortunately, it’s not looking like it’s going to happen.

So let’s talk about No. 3 to start. It should be Daniel Murphy manning second base for the Amazin’s this year. His fielding, although not superb, and his defense at second have looked satisfactory so far. 

That’s obviously not why he should start. He should start because of his bat. He is a FANTASTIC hitter, and his bat needs to be in the lineup. Especially if they could slot him after Ike Davis.

Imagine a batting order that looked something like this:

1. Jose Reyes

2. Angel Pagan

3. Carlos Beltran (assuming he plays)

4. David Wright

5. Ike Davis

6. Jason Bay

7. Daniel Murphy

8. Josh Thole

How many pitchers would want to face that lineup? With the first three hitters able to switch hit, then alternating righty lefty with good hitters all the way to the seven-hole, that’s a good (and potentially great) lineup if everyone can produce.

Now, moving on to the most important decision the new front office has to make: How are they going to handle the Jose Reyes situation?  What they should do is clear.  

They need to re-sign him.  

How many franchises have a player who, at 27 years old, is their all-time steals leader, can get 200 hits, 15 home runs, 70 RBIs, steal 60 bases, hit .290 and have nobody be surprised?

It’s a no-brainer—they need to keep him.  

Although the farm system is not strong and the Mets are in need of prospects, it’s not worth trading one of the—if not THE—most dynamic players in the game at age 27.

Why trade a super star in his 20s for people who might be solid pros also in their 20s? It just doesn’t make sense.  

With all this in mind, he’s a homegrown player!

The fan base LOVES him. Any Met fans reading this article know exactly what I’m talking about.

Maybe if the Mets were in Kansas City or another small market they could get away with trading him. Not in New York. You’re in the biggest city in the world. The fans expect and deserve better than losing their favorite, and best, player. You need to spend whatever it takes to keep him.

Last, but definitely not least: Wilpons. Sell the team already. Your whole Madoff mess is destroying a once proud franchise.

You’re telling a GM of a New York team to only spend $10 million in an offseason.  The Mets had a LOT of holes to fill and you limited a GM to $10 million. That’s an absurdly low number, ESPECIALLY for the New York market. Fans are fed up.  

Either let Sandy Alderson spend money like he wants (and should be able to) or sell the team. It’s that simple. You don’t even need to look for a buyer; Trump has already said he’d buy the team if you asked! It’s that easy. Stop screwing up the franchise.

So to recap:

Make Daniel Murphy the starting second baseman.

Re-sign Jose Reyes.

Sell the f***ing team, Wilpons!!!!

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New York Mets manager Terry Collins has said that he would like to get each of his potential second base candidates some more at-bats over the next few days, as he starts to whittle down the playing field.

Today we learned that Daniel Murphy is likely out of the competition, and will be used more as a super-utility player. If that’s the case, at least Murphy will have a spot on the team.

That being said, Murphy is starting today at second base, so it begs the question of whether or not he’s really out of the competition.

Collins and Sandy Alderson have been saying all along that they want second base to be an offensive position, then why on earth would they settle for Hernandez?

Hernandez is a .245 career hitter who’s played for three different teams. Maybe the Mets are hoping this Hernandez hits like Keith? That’s unlikely.

Hernandez has looked decent at the plate so far this spring, but in limited action. He’ll be starting at shortstop today.

He’s also out of options, so he would have to clear waivers before being sent to Buffalo. Most likely, another team in need of middle infield depth would pick him up. However, he wouldn’t be the a terrible loss.

The Mets have other players out of options as well, most notably Nick Evans. I would rather see the team keep Evans as a bench player than have Hernandez as the starting second baseman.

If Collins and Alderson are true to their word, Murphy is the answer at second base. Unfortunately, Murphy hasn’t had enough chances in the field at the major league level to show if he is ready.

Murphy has six doubles this spring and has driven in seven runs. He would be a nice compliment to the back end of the Mets lineup.

At first, I was worried that if Murphy were the starter at second, the bottom of the order would be chock full of lefties. Murphy, first baseman Ike Davis and catcher Josh Thole all bat left-handed.

However, if the Mets were to face a tough left-hander, Ronny Paulino could get a start behind the dish, and Chin-lung Hu, not Brad Emaus, could slide in at second.

That’s right: Chin-lung Hu. He can also be a late defensive replacement for Murphy.

Though Hu has swung the bat well this spring, Hu and Murphy would at most be a defensive platoon. If even that much.

Murphy would start and hopefully get a few hits and drive in some runs. If the game is close late, Collins could insert Hu defensively to sure up the middle infield, especially if a double play is necessary.

If this were the case, the following would all have to occur before the season starts: Emaus would be sent back to Toronto, Luis Castillo is released, and Luis Hernandez is either picked up by another team or sent to Buffalo.

Justin Turner appears destined for Buffalo anyway, since he has options left. The Mets would also likely have to carry Nick Evans to provide some right-handed punch off the bench because they wouldn’t get that from Hu.

The speculation will continue to evolve in the coming days about which player or combination of players, will man second base

It’s a tough call either way, so I’m glad I’m not the one making the decision. I don’t think Hernandez is the answer, but other than that it’s really just a guessing game until we find out who is.

Follow me on Twitter@JMMancari.

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It may be just a spring training exhibition match, but the opening game of the season could set the tone for the entire year. 

That’s why Bleacher Report assembled its crack team of analysts, correspondents, featured columnists, and tea leaf readers to predict precisely what will happen before, during and after the game between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves on Saturday.

Here are the highlights of their analysis:

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Normally, a team will have two or three players competing for a position in Spring Training. The Mets, who have had a hole at second base for the past few years, will have as many as six different players competing for the second base job. Each player has his strengths and weaknesses and will have a chance to win the job.

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“Every year players come out of nowhere to become success stories. Look no further than R.A. Dickey. He signed a minor-league deal last January, became a fixture in the starting rotation in May, and finished the season with 11 victories and a 2.84 ERA. I believe some of our offseason acquisitions can be this year’s version of R.A.”

New York Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson stated this in an e-mail to fans earlier today, and he could very well be projecting the future.

With not much for Mets fans to look forward to this upcoming season, there is always a chance that a proven or unproven player can surprise fans enough to keep their butts in Citi Field.

R.A. Dickey was our success story in 2010, and now we take a look at eight players who could surprise us this season.

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Daniel Murphy is in a state of flux within the Mets organization.  Murphy was once a man poised to be the starting first baseman with the departure of Carlos Delgado and solid 2008 and 2009 season, which averaged out as 11 home runs, 64 runs batted in, a .275 batting average and a .331 on-base percentage over 162 games.

When a leg injury ended his 2010 season, he lost the starting first baseman job to Ike Davis.  Murphy will not be able get his job back at first base over Davis, and thus must switch positions to be able to play for the Mets.  The only question is what position will Murphy be able to play, and what will happen to him if he can’t?

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Consistent with the moves that the Mets have made this season, they have acquired shortstop Chin-Lung Hu from the Dodgers for lefty Michael Antonini.

This is a move that will likely have little impact on the Mets next year. Hu will most likely serve as a back up to Jose Reyes. Hu also has limited experience at second base (38 games), but he may be in the competition for the starting job.

Hu was once a highly-regarded prospect. Baseball America ranked him as the 55th best prospect in baseball before the 2008 season. He saw regular playing time in the majors in 2008 after getting called up, but has not been able to play consistently since then.

In 173 plate appearances in the majors since 2007, Hu has posted a .191/.241/.283 line along with two home runs, 17 RBI and three stolen bases. Hu is a career .299 hitter in the minors over 754 games, so there is a chance that he can be a serviceable backup in the majors.

Michael Antonini spent time at both AA and AAA last season. He went a combined 8-12 with a 4.49 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 168.3 innings. He was left unprotected during the Rule 5 draft this year and he went unclaimed.

Antonini was thought to have a chance to become a member of the Mets bullpen prior to the 2010 season. It is likely that Antonini will pitch in the minors for the Dodgers with a chance to win a spot in the bullpen during Spring Training.

This deal likely does nothing more than give the Mets another potential option for their second base vacancy. It makes me wonder if management has forgotten about Daniel Murphy.

Murphy had a good year with the Mets in 2009. He hit .266 with 12 home runs and drove in 38 runs in 2009. Murphy missed most of the 2010 season due to injury and was only able to play 11 games in the minors.

He is likely the best option that the Mets have at second base, but it appears that he may not be the favorite for the job. 

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