NEW YORK -- Henry Davis was the last player to leave the Pirates' clubhouse late Monday night at Citi Field, still soaked with his skin lobster-red from an ice bath he'd just taken, asking around to see if the team bus might've embarked for the hotel without him.
As if the kid hadn't already been feeling left out in the cold.
I approached his stall and, upon preparing the iPhone for an interview, he began it himself.
“Obviously the team’s playing well, and I’m not," he spoke before I'd gotten out a single question. Smart young man. He knew why I was waiting. "I’m thankful to have people picking me up, but I’ve gotta figure it out. I’m doing everything I can every day to make adjustments and play like the player I know I am.”
And that is?
"Better than this."
All concerned can only hope.
This isn't about the 6-3 loss to the Mets here, I swear. A few additional factors went into that, not least of which was the bullpen again blowing a multiple-run lead after what'd been another strong start from Martin Pérez. I'm not even sure Davis' 0-for-4 and a couple of defensive miscues qualify among those factors.
But they didn't help. And as he blurted out himself, he's not exactly helping the overall cause, having dug himself a .170 hole in this early going -- 8 for 47 with three doubles, four RBIs, seven walks and 17 strikeouts -- not to mention the No. 9 spot in Derek Shelton's lineup, where he was again here. And now, on top of that, maybe dragging some of that struggle with him behind the plate, as well.
This was the eighth inning, which began as a 3-3 tie:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) April 16, 2024
Aroldis Chapman rung up Francisco Alvarez, then struck out over a slider well outside and in the dirt ... only to see it skip away from Davis because he tried a backhand pick rather than a basic block, only to see Davis fling an errant and needless throw toward first base that'd wind up in right field.
Where might the inning have gone if that'd been a simple K?
We'll never know, obviously, but we can say with certainty that Chapman then walked D.J. Stewart, followed by a throw-free double-steal, followed by Harrison Bader booming them both home with a crack into the left-field corner to move the Mets ahead, 5-3:
HARRISON BADER'S DOUBLE GIVES THE METS A 5-3 LEAD! pic.twitter.com/waeIz6w626
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 16, 2024
If that wasn't enough, Chapman used that moment to say something unkind to home plate umpire Edwin Mososco, who'd immediately eject him:
Aroldis Chapman has been ejected by Edwin Moscoso pic.twitter.com/nchf1FwnoL
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 16, 2024
I asked Chapman afterward what set him off, and he politely declined to elaborate beyond shaking his head several times upon my mentioning the ump.
And if all that wasn't enough, after Roansy Contreras replaced Chapman, Bader stole third, then somehow scored on this Brandon Nimmo bouncer to Jared Triolo that appeared -- from my press-box perspective, anyway -- as if it'd be a 100% out. Triolo fielded it cleanly, fired home on target and on time ...
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) April 16, 2024
... and Mososco -- correctly -- signaled safe. It was 6-3.
I asked Derek Shelton about that one.
“Good exchange," he replied. "Bader just got a really good read on it, and he’s a really good baserunner and had a good slide. With the way the rules are right now, you have to be in front of the plate. Henry was right there. Good play by Tri, good tag ... Bader just beat it.”
OK. I'm not Johnny Bench to argue. I just know that it was a 100% out off the bat, and then it wasn't. And the only reason it wasn't was that Bader's 'good slide' was better than the tag.
Whichever the case, it wasn't enough. And that's true of almost everything Davis has brought to date, with the notable exception of his role in the starting rotation's 3.56 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, both sixth-best in Major League Baseball.
“We lead in a lot of the categories that we would like and we’re throwing a lot of strikes," he'd say to that subject. "Game management and calling and sequencing have been pretty swift ... "
It was easy to detect a 'but' on the way.
"But offensively and, recently, defensively, with giving up bases ... ”
Look, I'm not out to bury Davis. Far from it. He's 24 years old, and he's a No. 1 overall pick with both pedigree and personality to spare.
Nor am I about to advocate for demoting him to Class AAA Indianapolis, if only because that's not possible at the moment. Not with both Yasmani Grandal and Jason Delay on Injured Lists. Someone's got to catch and, at the moment, all that's present are Davis and recent arrival Joey Bart.
That said, the latter's tantalized through 13 whole plate appearances -- 4 for 10, two home runs, five RBIs, three walks -- and, even though he's 27, he's packing pedigree, too, as the No. 2 overall pick of the Giants back in 2018. That might be a mirage, but it's not one Ben Cherington and staff can afford to ignore. Bart's going to stick for now and maybe for a while, as he should.
And Davis?
I've long sensed that he goes as his bat goes. Whether in college or in rising up through the minors, when he's hit, all else has graded out evenly. He's a hitter. One can see that from a casual glance, with those Popeye arms and that mega-uppercut swing. His appearance gives off the same vibe that his spring training production -- .310, four home runs in 42 at-bats -- did just a few weeks ago.
I had to ask, though, about that uppercut component that was added over the offseason. Because that stance/follow-through, highly reminiscent of Mark McGwire's or Jeff Bagwell's, only matters if it's bringing results.
His answer surprised me.
“I made some knee-jerk adjustments after a limited performance rather than sticking to my process," he'd say, to which I'd ask for -- and receive -- clarification that he meant just within this young regular season. "I think, right now, I just need to focus more on being a competitor rather than my swing or whatever that may be. Just get out of my head, know what I do and get up there and swing the bat like I know how.”
Just be his best self?
"Just that. I know what I can do."
It'd behoove all concerned, one would think, to ensure that's precisely what comes from this. It's hard to envision any scenario in which the professionals at 115 Federal Street who selected Davis atop his draft class could co-exist with those other professionals who'd be incapable of guiding him toward everyone's expected goals.
• I'll catch up with the Penguins, fresh off their latest W over a contender, when they get up here tomorrow to face the Islanders in their regular-season finale, about 20 miles down the road in Elmont, N.Y. I'm not about to bury them, either ... but wow, it sure looks like the Red Wings and Capitals took care of that, huh?
• Thanks for reading.
• And for listening:
