NEW YORK (WFAN) -- It's been a dreadful season for Mets first baseman Ike Davis.

And after being sent down by general manager Sandy Alderson, the slugger find himself under the tutelage of Wally Backman, the former Met and current manager of the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s.

With Davis now on the West Coast, how is Backman planning to get the 26-year-old back on track?

By Joe Giglio
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Ike Davis’ season is spiraling out of control, leaving Met fans and baseball analysts to dissect his game on an at-bat by at-bat basis. His fall from the 32 HR, 90 RBI slugger that emerged in the second half of 2012 to the listless, confused shell of himself has spurred endless discussion about a possible demotion to Las Vegas…

- Ted Berg at USA Today has a wonderful in-depth look at how difficult Las Vegas is for player development thanks to its offensive friendly ways.

A few great quotes:

"Breaking balls don't break that well," 51s manager Wally Backman says. "Guys come in who are supposed to have good breaking balls, and the breaking ball isn't doing much. The high altitude has an effect on all that stuff."

AAA: Las Vegas 51s 6, @ Sacramento RiverCats (OAK) 1 

Collin McHugh was sharp to help the 51s improve to 3-0. McHugh's line: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. He threw 60% of his pitches for strikes (56 of 93).

Offensively, the big names (Juan Lagares, Travis d'Arnaud and Wilmer Flores) were all o-for. Instead, the offense came from SS Brian Bixler (2B, 3B), DH Andrew Brown (3-for-4), Josh Satin (HR, 2 RBI) and…

SURPRISE/LAS VEGAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - The Rangers enjoyed an up and down Saturday against two of baseball's storied franchises.

While one split squad team beat the Dodgers, the other lost to the Cubs.

In Surprise, Clayton Kershaw allowed two singles in six stellar innings, but the Rangers scored four runs immediately after he departed and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0.

By Spike Eskin

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Spring Training is a time for hope in Major League Baseball. The Phillies haven't lost a game that counts, and every "if" you can imagine is a half-full glass.

Michael Young may have that bounce back season, Roy Halladay will age gracefully, Chase Utley will stay healthy and Ryan Howard will return to MVP form.

PHOENIX (CBSSPORTS.COM) - Team USA is missing maybe the best five American pitchers -- Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, CC Sabathia and Jered Weaver -- as it tries to buck its stunningly mediocre World Baseball Classic record and win in the sport America invented.

But say this for this team: They brought a group with an uncommonly patriotic bent.

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Cliff Lee looked sharp in his spring debut for Philadelphia and Miguel Cabrera homered again for the Detroit Tigers in a 10-1 win Monday over the Phillies.

Lee pitched two hitless innings and struck out his final two batters. The former Cy Young Award winner had only one blemish, a walk to Cabrera.

Cabrera, the reigning American League MVP and Triple Crown winner, launched a booming, three-run homer off closer Jonathan Papelbon in a six-run fifth inning.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In his memoir, "Long Shot," Mike Piazza admits to using substances later banned by baseball.

But the Mets great says he never took illegal steroids. In published excerpts, Piazza wrote that he "was into power, not prison.”

"In my opinion -- I want to be very clear about how I present this, OK? -- if you don't think that Mike Piazza did some type of steroid, you are crazy," WFAN co-host Craig Carton said Monday morning.