FanPost

Where are the props for the acquisition of Ike Davis?

Things were beginning to look an awful lot like 2011 and 2012, Tuesday night, after Pirates All-Star lefty relief pitcher Tony Watson surrendered the game-tying run to St. Louis in the top of the seventh inning to make it a 2-2 ball-game.

Nine losses in 12 games was dangerously close to becoming 10 out of 13, and a loss to the Cardinals would have all but used up the momentum of taking two of three in Milwaukee over the weekend.

Then, an inning and a half later, Ike Davis stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter and hit perhaps the most important home run of the entire season, when he took relief pitcher Seth Maness deep to right-center for a three-run shot to put the Pirates ahead for good, 5-2.

A mere half a day or so later, Davis stepped in against Cardinals ace pitcher Adam Wainwright in the second inning and drilled a two-run shot (again to right-center field) to give the Pirates the only runs they'd need in what would ultimately become a 3-1 victory and a second straight series win over a team ahead of them in the Central Division standings.

About a month ago, the Pirates and their front-office came under heavy-criticism (criticism that is still palpable today) for their failure to do something huge at the non-waiver trade-deadline.

This was seen as the exact opposite of a vote of confidence for the players that the team was all in to win, and if some local media members are to be believed, this was a hit to the collective morale of the club house. (I never understood this attitude by a team because isn't this like basically saying you don't believe in your own abilities and those of your teammates?)

I won't deny that the Pirates aren't the most eager organization to part with its money and obviously its prospects, and with both being generally off the table, this makes it extremely difficult to significantly enhance the roster either via deadline trade or offseason free agent pick-up.

But not every deal has to be made at the trade deadline, and not every deal has to be of the mega-variety in order to improve the team or make a difference.

The Pirates acquired Davis in April from the Mets in exchange for minor league prospects, and it didn't really move the needle much, as they say. Upon his arrival, after a few key hits early on, Davis quickly made everyone realize why his acquisition wasn't a major headline. But he did fill a void that was left by the departure of Garrett Cole and the failure of Andrew Lambo to seize at least the left handed portion of the first base job out of spring training.

No, the Pirates didn't make a significant upgrade at the deadline, but they did bring in a guy who eventually hit two of the biggest home runs of the season in late August with the team in a razor-thin fight for one of the two National League Wild Card spots.

Sometimes I think people would be happier and actually give the Pirates more credit if they failed with a player who they paid a significant price for (either via cash or prospects) and failed than by experiencing even a little bit of success after taking a low-risk chance on someone like Davis.

Fans and the media are already starting to criticize the front-office for the almost inevitable departure of catcher Russell Martin when he surely will receive a huge free agent deal in the offseason. However, when Martin signed two years ago, while it was seen as an upgrade, there weren't too many people throwing praise at Huntington and Co.

Why? Because the sentiment was, "Well, if the Pirates got Martin, how good can he be?"

Now that Martin has turned himself into a hot commodity who will command a lot of money as a free agent, people are criticizing the team for not locking up him already.

The Pirates might not make a ton of major moves, but the ones they have made over the past few years have complemented the overall roster quite nicely.

If the Pirates earn a playoff spot by a game or two, the acquisition of Ike Davis will be priceless.

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