Ron Davis not happy with the way Mets have treated his son Ike

Ike Davis' father thinks the Mets have mishandled his son by putting their wishes to trade him so out in the open.

Ron Davis, who pitched for 11 years in the majors, said Tuesday the Mets "screwed up" this offseason and should have gone about their business "quietly" if they wanted to trade Ike.

"They've publicly done so much it's saying to my son, 'Hey, we don't want you anymore,' " Ron Davis said before a Baseball Alliance Team (B.A.T.) charity function Tuesday in Manhattan. "So, I think they backed themselves into a corner."

The latest suitor for Ike Davis reportedly was Milwaukee, but the Brewers have signed Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay and no longer have an obvious need for a first baseman. Davis signed a one-year, $3.5-million contract with the Mets to avoid arbitration, but that won't prevent the team from shopping him.

"They're in a situation like, 'Well, heck, we may have to keep him now,' " Ron Davis said. "If you would have done it quietly and said, 'Hey, well people called us, we didn't call them,' then you could have something to say."

Ron Davis said no matter where he is in the spring Ike will try to make his team a winner. He blamed his son's 2013 struggles partially on Citi Field being tough on lefthanded power hitters, saying Ike might need a new home field, not necessarily a new team.

"The ballpark can make you an All-Star or a Hall of Famer," Ron Davis said.

Ike Davis, 26, is coming off a rough year, batting .205 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs in 103 games. He was even sent to Triple-A Las Vegas for a month to work on his swing.

Former Mets hitting coach Howard Johnson, also speaking before the B.A.T. dinner, thinks Davis can still be a star in Queens.

"I'm an Ike believer," Johnson said. "I think that he can have success here again. I don't see why he shouldn't be able to do that."