Can Ike Davis Still Be Successful In New York?

With a single outburst yesterday, in just the first week of official spring training, Ike Davis took what was an unfortunate story and turned it into one with legs.  Yes, Ike's comments about a nagging oblique injury in 2013 sounded like an excuse when they were printed in the New York Post.  Yes, his unwillingness to admit to the injury when it mattered may have hurt the team.  However, its the outburst, which isn't his first, that may be telling.

Ike Davis' time in Queens hasn't gone smoothly.  Seemingly on a path to superstardom following his freshman campaign, his career has derailed.  Since that time, Ike has experienced season ending injuries and slumps that have lasted months.  Its all one can do to wonder whether or not Davis' rookie season was a fluke.

His struggles have been marred by what appears, at least to the TV viewer, to be an ever present issue with the home plate umpire.  There were reports of an outburst when he wasn't immediately recalled from the minors last season, apparently feeling entitled to the major league first base role.  And now, the mess he created yesterday.

Davis' struggles on the field have drawn him the ire of fans and the warranted criticism of reporters.  He has not lived up to his potential, and would have already been sent packing if the team's front office could have found someone willing to pay the price.  His place with the team is fragile.  Going after members of the media certainly isn't going to help his cause.  His plight is rapidly reaching the point of no return, with a hint of self-sabotage nowadays.

Although he wouldn't be the first, it's come time to question whether or not Ike Davis is cut out to play in the big city.  The Mets may not have a big market payroll, but they remain mired in big market media coverage.  Its one thing for Davis to struggle on the field, and another all together to struggle off of it.  Yesterday's outburst only increases the attention on a player who hasn't had an unpressured at-bat in nearly two years.

The Mets have enough issues in enough places that they simply don't need a media circus before the first spring training game even takes place.  Perhaps all parties involved would benefit from a change in scenery.  If that doesn't happen, its quite clear Ike may be on his last life in Queens.  The former first baseman of the future now figures to be a thing of the past and we're left to wonder if his time here was ever salvageable.