Slumping Ike Davis Forces Mets to Consider Options PITTSBURGH - Mets Manager Terry Collins acknowledged last weekend that Ike Davis could be sent to the minors if he continued to struggle. He said, too, that the Mets would do everything in their power to get him going to avoid such a move. To that end, Collins benched Davis on Monday night for the Mets" game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the left-hander Erik Bedard. Though Collins said over the weekend that he wanted to play Davis at PNC Park, a relatively hitter-friendly stadium, he said Monday that it was not worth putting Davis into counterproductive situations. Left-handed batters were hitting .161 against Bedard through his first eight starts this year. Davis was hitting .163 and had just two hits in his previous 26 at-bats. He was hitting .188 against lefties and .149 against righties. "When you've got a guy who's dominating left-handed hitters, and you've got a guy who's struggling, that's a bad match," Collins said. And so the worst thing I'd want to do is put this guy in a situation where he's going to fail. Collins said on Sunday that when it came to Davis or any player, "nothing is etched in stone." Davis agreed. "It's a true statement," Davis said Monday . I don't know what to tell you guys. I'm just going to play until something happens. Davis was also fighting a cold - illness has been rampant in the Mets" clubhouse the last two weeks - but said he was well enough to play. And again, both he and Collins said the valley fever he was believed to have contracted over the winter was not an issue. Collins said there was not much wrong mechanically with Davis. Dave Hudgens, the Mets" hitting coach, noticed Davis was letting his body get ahead of his bat at times but not overwhelmingly so. As he has throughout his slow start, Davis attributed his poor numbers in part to bad luck. "The last like five or six games, I've hit the ball solid, but I just haven't got hits," Davis said. If a couple of those fall, it's a different story. Collins said the Mets would "absolutely" show more patience for a player like Davis, who has distinguished himself as one of the Mets" best young players in the last couple of years. Davis missed most of the 2011 season with an ankle injury, but he hit .264 with 19 homers and 71 runs batted in the season before as a rookie. Still, Collins acknowledged the difficulty in balancing the hope that Davis would get hot with the dour reality of his numbers "It is tough," Collins said of determining a breaking point. You never know when it's going to happen, when he's going to all of a sudden get it centered and start to make that solid contact. Still, the team could be forced into a decision on him soon as several injured players appear close to returning. Jason Bay, who fractured a rib while attempting a diving catch on April 23, had been traveling with the Mets on this trip, and he hit off a tee and through soft toss here Monday. Afterward, he boarded a flight to Port St. Lucie, Fla., to increase his rehabilitation work. Collins said Bay was expected to begin batting practice Wednesday, but he hesitated to predict when Bay would begin playing in games. "If there's some type of setback where he starts to swing aggressively and his ribs are sore, he'll be stopped," Collins said. So the timetables can certainly be halted. Josh Thole, who sustained a concussion after a home-plate collision May 7, was also headed to Florida on Monday after passing his latest tests. Thole, who had several concussions in the past, was able to run and ride a stationary bike without any headaches, and has been cleared to begin baseball activities. Collins said the Mets were hopeful that Thole could begin catching games - five innings at a time at first - by May 28. Collins added that Ruben Tejada, who strained his right quadriceps May 6, could be back with the Mets this weekend if he can get into some games by midweek. All of which means the window for Davis to prove himself could be narrowing. For now, though, he has not lost his faith. "Ike Davis is a strong-willed, strong-minded guy," Collins said. The Mets recalled Vinny Rottino from Class AAA. Rottino, who can play the corner positions in the outfield and the infield, as well as behind the plate, was in the lineup Monday, batting sixth and playing first base. The right-hander Chris Schwinden was optioned to the minors.