You are around 50 years old and you live in a nice new home in Queens, but you’re having some trouble paying the bills.
That doesn’t mean you need to keep Ike Davis on your fantasy roster. Because no matter the similarities, you’re not running your team like the Mets — you have no player-development imperative, no reason to indulge big-bucks bummers, no debt to crumbling franchise pillars.
Davis, the Mets’ promising power-hitting first baseman, has been devoid of value through the first quarter of 2012, barely hitting Angelina Jolie’s weight (must be indigestion from the steady diet of curveballs). The occasional homer can’t rescue that awful average and killer strikeout rate in a season that may detour to Triple-A Buffalo. It is past time to Dislike Ike.
Davis is not the only high-hopes bat on a ’12-Misstep Program. Here we break down which are headed toward dead ends and which deserve some patience:
Albert Pujols owners, back away from the bridge railing and float a steep trade proposal: The celestial Angels first baseman had hit in 12 of 13 games going into the weekend, with four homers, 11 RBIs and two steals.
Adrian Gonzalez’s stats were suppressed by his one homer and four RBIs in the first 20 home games in the friendly confines of Fenway Park — that’s sure to spike. Royals stud Eric Hosmer was batting a horribly unlucky .191 on balls in play, promising an AVG reversal to pair with steady power.
Sell order on Mariners mainstay Ichiro Suzuki: It’s too hard to pop homers out of Safeco, batting third is curtailing his steals without the terrible table-setters offering RBI chances in return and a modest decline in infield hits sinks his average below .300. Buy the Indians’ Shin-Soo Choo. His so-so start can be attributed to a .091 average/.136 slugging split vs. lefties; his respectable career marks of .255/.366 say that’s a short-term issue.
The Padres’ Cameron Maybin has been scared by Petco Park into hitting too many ground balls, but he stays useful with a 50-steal pace. Not so much Logan Morrison: Marlins Park has stolen LoMo’s mojo — a power guy with one homer through 20 home games.
Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman’s power is playing peekaboo — eight extra-base hits against 26 strikeouts through 30 games — and his injury history provides extra worry. Bide time with Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who had three homers and 25 RBIs after Thursday. On May 24, 2010, he had one and 17, and last May 24, it was four and 20; he finished at 25/83 and 26/93, respectively.
The Reds’ Brandon Phillips remains a top option at the thin second-base position — .313 with two homers and nine RBIs on a recent 17-game correction, most of it on the road. But Jimmy Rollins has fallen decisively from the ranks of top-10 shortstops — he’s no longer a candidate for 15 HR/30 SB and the Phillies’ patchwork lineup can’t be counted on to drive him in 100 times.
