Mets having fun as they try to improve 'D'

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- First comes the familiar slap of the fungo bat, followed closely by the voice of Ike Davis.

"Nice one, Rabbit." "C'mon, Captain Ron." And finally, "Let's go, Forrest."

So what, or more precisely whom, is Davis talking about? It's the Mets taking infield practice -- a big area of concern as they prepare for the upcoming season -- and the chatty first baseman has made up a bunch of nicknames to break up the spring training routine. Partly for his amusement, but mostly to keep everyone loose and have a little fun as they work to improve a perceived weakness.

"Rabbit" is shortstop Ruben Tejada, also referred to as "Niño." Ronny Cedeño is "Captain Ron," derived from Kurt Russell's title character in the movie. "Forrest," his nickname for Daniel Murphy, well, that's one in which Davis seems particularly proud.

"Remember when Forrest Gump had those two things on his knees?" Davis said. "Murph was almost going to have to wear two braces this year."

When Davis first yelled out the nickname on Field 4, his teammates began cracking up. Even Murphy -- in the middle of scooping a ground ball -- couldn't help but smile. He made the play, too.

"It helps," Davis said. "With people in the stands, yelling at you, making jokes. If you can catch it when someone calls you Forrest, you can get anything."

SEE PHOTOSMets Opening Day starters

The Mets, by most analytical measures, will need whatever defensive edge they can find for the upcoming season. On Friday, the Fielding Bible, which uses advanced metrics, ranked them 28th out of the 30 major-league teams with a projected minus-26 in defensive runs saved (DRS). The statistic is computed by poring over video and comparing players in their ability to defend categorized batted balls: speed, location on the field, etc.

A score of 0 is considered average. The Marlins are projected to be the worst fielding team at minus-30; the Rays are the best at 42. Last season, with Jose Reyes at shortstop and the Mets scrambling at first and second base, they finished 27th in DRS with a minus-58.

This year, the Mets have serious questions again. Andres Torres is expected to be an upgrade in centerfield, but Murphy still is learning second base and Lucas Duda is trying to get more comfortable in rightfield. With so much attention on the offensive benefit of closer -- and more standard -- walls at Citi Field, it's been somewhat overlooked that the shrunken dimensions should help limit the Mets' liabilities on the defensive end.

"I definitely see how that is going to make things easier for everybody," said Jason Bay, who has to contend with only an 8-foot wall in left now that it has been chopped in half. "I always hedge the bet and say I know we're probably not picked to be the No. 1 defense in the league, but I think we'll definitely be better than [last year]."

The Mets took infield for the first time Friday after a week of more play-specific drills and looked pretty cohesive for a group with three new starters in Torres, Tejada and Murphy. Josh Thole capped it by making a nice catch of a high pop-up with one arm wrapped around the batting cage.

"That's one of the best infield [drills] I've seen," Terry Collins said before the Mets split up for batting practice. A few hours later, the manager talked about the need to take infield daily once the Grapefruit Leagues games start Monday and continue that into the regular season.

"Years ago, guys looked forward to taking infield," Collins said, "and they don't anymore. But there's a reason why you do it. You learn how to throw the ball to bases, get used to the ground, the backdrop. All those things."

No amount of practice should be considered too much for these Mets, and with the low expectations for this defense, it can only help. Plus Davis needs some more reps to come up with a nickname for David Wright.

"He's got D-Wright, Righty," Davis said. "I'll figure one out."