Here’s a section of a MetsBlog post from Feb. 23, 2012:

9:19 am:Ike Davis is back in Mets camp, according to SNY’s Matt Dunn.

The team told Dunn that Ike’s physical showed an infection in his lung, but after being checked out in New York, he’s been cleared to resume workouts.

He feels no effects of it and he’s been told it will go away, though he will continue to be monitored.

Here’s a section of a Mets.com report from March 3, 2012:

Davis is not the picture of health. He has, in fact, contracted Valley or Desert Fever, a malady that can interfere with a season and even end a career….

Davis, who lives in Arizona in the offseason, says he has experienced no symptoms. “I feel normal. I don’t feel anything,” he said.

Here’s the Mets’ statement on Davis’ condition, also from March 3, 2012:

Ike Davis underwent a routine physical exam after his arrival in PSL.  The exam included an abnormal chest X-ray.  Following additional tests here and in NYC, pulmonary and infectious disease specialists have concluded that Ike likely has Valley Fever, which is expected to resolve itself over time.  Ike is not contagious, is not taking any medication for his condition and does not currently exhibit any of the outward symptoms associated with Valley Fever.  However, Ike has been instructed to avoid extreme fatigue.  No additional tests or examinations are pending, but Ike will have a follow up exam when the team returns to NYC in early April.

Here’s some sections of the National Institute of Health’s page for Valley Fever:

Most people with Valley fever never have symptoms….

The disease almost always goes away without treatment.

So we’ve got: In February, a test in Port St. Lucie shows something on Davis’ lung that requires him to fly back to New York for more tests. The tests reveal an infection, but Davis has no symptoms and is cleared to resume playing, though he will be monitored.

In March, it comes out that the name of the infection is Valley Fever, Davis still has no symptoms and is still playing and still being monitored. Both the NIH and Mayo Clinic‘s websites confirm that most people with Valley Fever never show symptoms. The Internet freaks the f@#$ out.

I’m leaving out the facts that seem to be terrifying most Mets fans — that in some cases Valley Fever can be serious, and that Conor Jackson’s career was derailed by the same disease in 2009, though Jackson’s case wasn’t diagnosed until after he already had symptoms and it led to pneumonia. That is presumably why the Mets are monitoring Davis’ condition.

It’s not good business to defend the Mets’ medical staff these days, but it’s hard to see what the major issue is here. We knew Davis had a lung infection, that he had no symptoms, that he was being monitored and that he was cleared to play. Today we learned that the asymptomatic lung infection for which he is being monitored is called Valley Fever. Hard to see how it merits the type of woe-is-me LOLMets stuff spilling out in all corners.

Davis went through his scheduled Spring Training routine today: stretching, then infield, then batting practice, then four innings of the Mets’ intrasquad game. About five hours of baseball activity in the Florida heat, plus whatever cage work and weightlifting he might have done before and after. Then he talked to me about Daniel Murphy’s defense and sandwiches for a few minutes. He seemed tired, but no more than I was and not at all sick.

Here’s hoping he stays healthy. It sure seems like the panic is premature.

I finally got a chance to speak to Ike Davis about this report today. It turns out Kevin was mistaken, though understandably: What Davis added to the grilled chicken breast was not pulled pork but pulled chicken in barbecue sauce. Ike Davis reports that it was “really good, actually.”

Asked if he considers himself a sandwich innovator, Davis hesitated then confirmed, adding that he likes to mix up his condiments to keep his sandwiches interesting.

“I’ll add chips to a sandwich, hot sauces, different kinds of mustard,” he said. “Sometimes, even if I don’t like the mustard, I’ll put it on my turkey sandwich just for something different.

“You can’t just eat the same turkey sandwich every day.”

Amen.

During his two shutout innings in the Mets’ intrasquad game today, R.A. Dickey threw a couple of his extra-slow knuckleballs, drawing “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd.

After the game, Dickey cited the velocity readings on the Digital Domain Park on his fastballs and said he needed to be conscious of building up his arm strength before Opening Day. He said he’d like his fastball to sit between 80 and 85 mph, and it seemed like it was generally topping out around 80 today, though — and as Dickey noted — it’s hard to put too much stock in one stadium’s radar (it’s Spring Training for the scoreboards, too).

As for the slow ones, Dickey said he threw two of them intentionally, and that he wants the slow knuckler in the low 60s. He noted that he threw a 57 mph pitch in 2011 — the slowest pitch in baseball last year.

“But that’s too slow,” he said. “When it’s that slow, the hitter has time to see it and adjust.”

Dickey added that while he’s not a flamethrower, he generally stays conscious of the velocities on his pitches.

I’ve got some longer things that I’m working on, but they require quotes from a bunch of people that I haven’t been quite able to track down. So for now, more quick hits. I swear I’ll have more cohesive things soon:

– I had previously reported that Chuck James has a sweet beard, but it turns out that I mistook Garrett Olson for James, and Olson is the one with the sweet beard. Chuck James also has a beard, but it is less sweet. Adjust your depth charts accordingly.

– Wilmer Flores played DH for the intrasquad game, but I’ve seen him working at both second and third in camp. He spent some time working one-on-one with a coach this morning on a series of drills that seemed aimed to improve his hands.

– I’m obviously no scout, but Mike Baxter has a nice arm in right. Also, he has better Minor League numbers than fellow lefty-hitting bench candidate Adam Loewen. I’d guess the best case to be made for Loewen is the one I’ve made here: That Loewen is still improving since becoming a full-time position player. But obviously that battle has a lot of time to play out, and it seems like the type of spot that the Mets might easily try to fill with a guy who gets cut elsewhere.

– Baxter made a diving catch in right while I was writing that last note.

– Cesar Puello walked twice in his first three plate appearances in the intrasquad game. He walked 18 times in 488 plate appearances in St. Lucie in 2011.

– I’m pretty sure I heard Ike Davis refer to Ruben Tejada as “El Niño” during a drill. I will never hear that without thinking of this: