Comments on: Ike Davis is the NL’s second-best first baseman?

By: natstowngreg

natstowngreg — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:19:12 +0000

Morse will play 1B if LaRoche gets hurt again. Also, he might be the 1B in 2013, after LaRoche’s contract expires. Agreed that he’s better off at 1B.

By: sasquash20

sasquash20 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:58:31 +0000

Ike Davis had a solid year for a young prospect in 2010. He was off to a very good start last season before the injury. He was on pace to hit around 300, hit 3o plus homers, and have over 100 rbi. I hate to say this as a Phillies fan, but I think I.Davis (if healthy) will be a stud for Mets. I also think the Mets have better young talent then most people realize. God I hate saying that.

By: foreverchipper10

foreverchipper10 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:21:13 +0000

Morse will not be playing first which in my opinion is a mistake.

By: professor59

professor59 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:43:36 +0000

Hey – nice typing, Prof. I assume you meant “cornering”.

By: professor59

professor59 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:41:34 +0000

Hell – Detroit is corninering the 1B/DH market all on its own!

By: Alban

Alban — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:28:28 +0000

Ike Davis actually avoided getting microfracture surgery. He’s been rehabbing it and been doing baseball activities since Thanksgiving. All reports show that he’s on track for his off season regiment and will be ready for opening day.

By: salvomania

salvomania — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:04:09 +0000

Why no love for Lance Berkman, he of the .959 OPS in 2011?

Sure he’s “old,” but 35 isn’t necessarily over the hill, and he’s put up an OPS under .896 ONCE in his 12 full seasons—and that was during a season when he was recovering from a knee injury.

By my calculations, the NL could have 5 of the 10 top-hitting first basemen, with Votto, Berkman, Davis, Michael Morse, and Ryan Howard.

Say what you will about Howard, but he should be ready by May and in 2011 he had a better OPS+ than Teixera, who’s seen his OPS get progressively lower in each of his three seasons as a Yankee…and he still has 5 years left on his contract.

By: dennisund

dennisund — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:34:29 +0000

With that kind of analysis, you could be making money commenting on sports!

By: cmutimmah

cmutimmah — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:59:35 +0000

Who voted down a serious question? If you’re a Met fan and not asking that question, then you are probably a woman.

By: rambodiaz

rambodiaz — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:53:08 +0000

I should've written my comment better, Matthew. Dejan Kovacevic mentioned a Jerry Crasnick report about Lee that seems to indicate that the Bucs have tried and failed. Also, I think you are correct in that Alvarez will eventually be at 1B for the Pirates. And, he should be there. Unfortunately that leaves a giant hole at 3B. Josh Harrison and Chase d'Arnaud aren't long-term solutions there, either.

By: drewsylvania

drewsylvania — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:09:52 +0000

Ike had microfracture surgery. Will he even be ready to start the season?

By: nategearhart

nategearhart — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:19:08 +0000

A downside to no DH that I hadn’t considered: the AL is more attractive to first-basemen because they can shift to DH at the end of their contracts if they need to. Now NL fans not only have to watch pitchers who can’t hit, they have to watch first basemen who can’t hit, either.

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:15:07 +0000

Agreed. The Gonzalez extension looks like an amazing bargain in retrospect.

By: pbannard

pbannard — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:07:29 +0000

Of course, if you decided to make a list in 5 years of most burdensome contracts, chances are you’ll see many of those AL first basemen towards the top. The AL may have cornered the 1B market, but they are paying a dangerous amount of money to do so.

By: schlom

schlom — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:05:13 +0000

864 projected OPS for Davis? That seems pretty high.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:03:18 +0000

While true, that just reflects the inadequacy of using non-park adjusted metrics to determine who is “best”.

By: Matthew Pouliot

Matthew Pouliot — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:42:24 +0000

Maybe. I haven’t followed it closely of late.

I think Alvarez is the first baseman of the future — he’s never going to be an asset at third — but my opinion is that he needs to start at Triple-A this year.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:40:03 +0000

I would be shocked if Davis winds up being anything like the 2nd best 1B in the NL….offensively or overall.

By: Matthew Pouliot

Matthew Pouliot — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:36:26 +0000

Petco just kills left-handed power. I’d have put him at 780 or so in a neutral park.

By: b7p19

b7p19 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:09:18 +0000

Only 725 OPS for Alonso? Do you really expect him to be that bad? I mean, that’s not good for a middle infielder.

By: rambodiaz

rambodiaz — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:03:26 +0000

Man, I’ve been so disgusted about the PIT 1B situation this winter. I didn’t think my mood could get worse on it. Then you go and show the league comps, which I’ve been too afraid to look up. Ugh isn’t a strong enough word. And now I’m pining for the days of Adam LaRoche.

I don’t think the Bucs were necessarily gunshy on Lee. The reports seem to indicate the reverse however. Lee’s the gunshy one, and you can’t blame him.

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:02:41 +0000

Votto and Davis are probably the only top ten 1B left in the NL.

The NL similarly dominates RF, though.

By: sdelmonte

sdelmonte — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:54:51 +0000

I’ll take my bright spots where I can get them.

And I like Ike anyway.

By: lyon810

lyon810 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:51:06 +0000

$25 million for the 4th best first basemen in the NL

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:40:33 +0000

I am sure that Mets fans like Ike, however, I would not want to be in a NL only fantasy league.

By: hammyofdoom

hammyofdoom — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:39:36 +0000

Wow, I really hadn’t noticed that. I mean my roommate and i were just talking about how the poor Astros are walking into a hornets nest when it comes to the AL, but this is really just crazy