The Optimism Train Arrives at Citi Field

Ike Davis singles twice in hope-filled debut

Given the way the first two weeks played out, the only surprise is that Omar Minaya didn't don a shapeless white dress and strap a couple of danish to his head when calling Buffalo and saying "Help us Ike Davis, you're our only hope."

The rise of Ike Davis from nice prospect to savior of all things Mets has been a bit absurd, but it worked for Luke Skywalker. The two have more in common than you might think. Both are the sons of former standouts in their chosen field, although we feel compelled to point out that while Ron Davis was a fine reliever he couldn't crush a man's neck just by looking at him. The idea that Skywalker could put an end to the universal darkness and suffering wrought by the Empire was laughable when you met him as a whiny farmboy but, as we learned, he had a greater power than was readily apparent.

Davis was also a farmboy until yesterday when he was summoned from Buffalo to the big leagues with a lot more baggage than any 23-year-old should have to carry. A player with two weeks of AAA ball, a weakness against lefty pitching and an inability to help the rotation has been charged with rescuing a season that was being driven into a ditch. The odds are long against him being able to pull that off, but maybe he's Skywalker and peace will reign because the Mets trusted in the force of Ike. 

The first night went as well as anyone could hope. Davis singled in his first at-bat and then added another and his first RBI in the seventh when the Mets broke the game open. The second single was the more impressive one because it came off of a lefty and came after he picked up a pair of strikes by reacting to curveballs like he'd never seen them before. He didn't look much better on the third pitch, but made contact and sent the ball into center. 

That performance will, of course, ratchet up the expectation meter to an even more ludicrous level. There's a lot of battles to be fought between now and the destruction of the Death Star and Davis can't come close to doing it alone. But, as another movie character said, hope is a good thing, especially when it comes in a season that seemed to start without so much as a teaspoon of it. 

Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.

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