Context: Ike Davis has 26 home runs in 750 Major League plate appearances. He got off to a hot start in 2011 and was on pace to hit over 30 home runs for the season when he hurt his ankle in May and finished the year on the DL. Davis seems to be healthy now. He will be 25 by Opening Day, and, of course, the dimensions at Citi Field will be altered in 2012.

[poll id=”69″]

Context: Dillon Gee struck out only 1.61 batters for every one he walked in 2011. But across 437 2/3 Minor League innings, Gee posted a strong 4.05 K:BB ratio. The National League average in 2011 was 2.33. Gee will turn 26 in late April.

[poll id=”68″]

Context: Matt Harvey is considered by some to be the Mets’ top prospect. He finished the 2011 season in Double-A, where his 4.53 ERA belied strong peripherals. Harvey’s got 59 2/3 innings above A-ball on his resume and the Mets would likely want him to get a bunch more before they advance him. The back of the Mets’ Major League rotation should feature Mike Pelfrey and Dillon Gee, and behind them Chris Schwinden and Miguel Batista.

[poll id=”67″]

In case you’ve somehow missed the news, Ruben Tejada is not yet in Mets camp. He is being delayed by visa issues reportedly stemming from a failed attempt to pick up his documents on a holiday. Tejada is still expected to arrive by Saturday, the mandatory report day for position players, but his inability to be at camp early has miffed Terry Collins and fired up some in the Mets’ fanbase.

Here’s the main thing: If Tejada plays anything like as well as he did in 2011, no one’s going to remember this happened by March 15. It’s likely being discussed now only for lack of other things to discuss.

Collins called himself “selfish” for being annoyed with his young shortstop, and admitted that he never told Tejada to arrive early — only suggested it. Plus, though Tejada will be paid handsomely to play for the Mets in 2012 and that implies some responsibility to the team, he’s obligated to show up Saturday, not before.

Also, here’s the other thing: Ruben Tejada is 22. Granted, I realize there are plenty of super-important, powerful and eminently responsible 22-year-olds, and we rely on people even younger than 22 to elect leaders and fight wars. But though I can’t speak for Tejada or any other 22-year-old, I can say that at that age, I:

– Nearly set my house on fire three different times.
– Tricked my roommate into eating dog food, filmed it and broadcast it.
– Racked up double-digit campus parking tickets that are, to date, unpaid.
– Tackled some dude at a party.
– Blew up tons of stuff in my backyard.
– Engaged a bandmate in some mild, unreciprocated knifeplay.
– Drove several months on a donut tire with a duct-taped back window.
– Destroyed much of the leftover furniture in my house with a baseball bat to spite the next tenants who were unwilling to pay us for it.
– Launched water balloons into the outdoor patio of a local bar, occasionally from an elevated train trestle.
– Countless other things I’m not willing to publicly admit.

If you are currently castigating Tejada for his failure to show up early to Port St. Lucie, I urge you to at least consider some of the dumb things you probably did at 22, and how innocuous a missed appointment seems in comparison. Yes, Tejada signed up for this scrutiny when he inked his contract, but 22-year-olds be 22-year-olds.

Also worth noting: When I first spoke to Tejada (through a translator) in Binghamton in 2009, I asked him what he found to be the biggest adjustment he needed to make in Double-A — expecting he’d say that the pitchers are better, like most players say. He said he was still getting used to being away from his family.

Things that seem really important to many baseball fans right now that probably won’t in a little over a month when actual games start happening:

1. Whether Ryan Braun was exonerated “on a technicality” or because of a legit claim that scientific protocol was breached
2. #CopterGate
3. Pretty much everything besides actual baseball games happening

Sorry if you hoped I’d have my ire up about either of the first two things on that list. I don’t. I think sometimes the reactions and overreactions and backlash and counter-backlash and counter-counter-backlash to every bit of news that hits the Internet get so overwhelming that they numb me to any real thoughts or feelings I should be having about whatever actually happened.

Ryan Braun is an awesome baseball player. I like awesome baseball players and I’m excited that Braun will be playing a full season in 2012. I’m even more excited that on Tuesday I’ll be flying (coach, not chopper) to Port St. Lucie to see some other baseball players doing baseball stuff.

Context: David Wright has an .887 career OPS. But from 2005-2008, when the Mets played at Shea Stadium, he posted a .921 mark in the stat. In the three seasons since the team moved to Citi Field in 2009 — whether due to that move or a series of coincidences — Wright has an .828 OPS. In 2012, the stadium will feature adjusted dimensions that many believe will benefit Wright’s offensive game.

[poll id=”61″]

Context: Right-handed pinch-hitter extraordinaire Scott Hairston is one of the Mets’ most pull-heavy hitters in recent memory. All seven of his home runs in 2011 went toward left field, as did all 10 of his home runs with the Padres in 2010. His last opposite-field shot came off Jason Grilli in Colorado in 2009, though by this chart he did hit one fly to right in 2011 that died in Citi Field’s now-adjusted Mo’s Zone.

[poll id=”65″]