Davidoff: Despite crossed wires, Davis' Mets debut works out well

What impressed him most, Jerry Manuel said, was Ike Davis' third major-league at-bat last night at Citi Field: A long out to Cubs rightfielder Xavier Nady in right-centerfield in the sixth.

"That's a young man, with the game on the line, saying, 'Let me try to do something here,' " the Mets' manager said.

"Yeah, I was trying to take a shot there," Davis acknowledged.

The Mets are taking a shot with Davis, and it's the right call. The Davis era began in promising fashion, as the young first baseman making his major-league debut contributed two hits and an RBI to the Mets' 6-1 pounding of the Cubs.

"We've been looking forward to seeing him play," said Angel Pagan, whose two-run homer in the seventh broke a 1-1 tie. "We're looking forward to having him play for us every day."

If you're a Mets fan, you're ecstatic today, and yet you also should be frustrated. About why it took Davis two weeks to join the team, and even as to how the Mets operated Monday to get Davis from Triple-A Buffalo to the big leagues.

The Mets often can seem like a disheveled luxury liner - spilled cocktails and life preservers scattered all about, the passengers shivering and hungry. Since the end of last season, however, they seem to be crawling toward their destination: a return trip to respectability.

This night provided a true treat to the fans. In addition to Davis' positive contributions, fellow 23-year-old Jon Niese started for the home team and pitched very well, allowing one run in 52/3 innings and constantly working his way out of trouble. Jenrry Mejia, 20, closed it out with two shutout innings.

And still . . . watching Davis on both sides of the ball, you wondered why the Mets even bothered trying Mike Jacobs at first base once Daniel Murphy went down with a right knee injury.

"It was very tempting to start the year with [Davis]," Omar Minaya said in a pregame news conference. "I felt we wanted him to at least go to Triple-A and then get some at-bats in Triple-A."

Well, that's not altogether awful.

Here's Manuel: "I thought Mike Jacobs had a history . . . I thought we made the right decision in that particular situation. It didn't work out."

Yeesh. Yet I suppose Manuel deserves credit, perversely, for bailing so quickly on that belief. The Mets' beleaguered skipper owned up to lobbying recently for Davis' promotion.

And then there were yesterday's logistics. What in the name of fictional former Yankees assistant to the traveling secretary George Costanza was Davis doing in a Bisons uniform Monday?

According to Minaya, the Mets allowed Manuel - who flew in from St. Louis early Monday morning - to sleep before consulting him about the move. Minaya wanted to make sure that Manuel was comfortable enough with his bullpen to demote extra reliever Tobi Stoner.

OK. But couldn't they have rested Davis at Buffalo until they decided for certain?

Alas, these are the Mets. You grade them on a curve. You congratulate them for taking only two weeks longer than the rest of us to appreciate Jacobs' incompetence. You salute them for not misreading the schedule and flying Davis to Wrigley Field.

Mets fans, after all, are accustomed to turbulence. And occasionally, for your troubles, you get rewarded with a game like last night's, when hope trumps despair and you can envision good times down the road. It's well earned.