Buzz (bz)
v. buzzed, buzz·ing, buzz·es
v.intr.
1. To make a low droning or vibrating sound like that of a bee.
2.
a. To talk, often excitedly, in low tones.
b. To be abuzz; hum: The department was buzzing with rumors.
3. To move quickly and busily; bustle.
4. To make a signal with a buzzer.
Definition courtesy of thefreedictionary.com
To say that Matt Harvey is creating a buzz in Queens, would be akin to saying that men like beer. At this point it’s an indubitable truth.
The palpable energy and excitement that Harvey brings with each start he makes is starting to envelop the New York sports landscape. Yes, it is an event nowadays, as Charlie Hangley eloquently states.
That was never truer than on Friday night, as the Washington Nationals came to town.
As you probably know, Harvey was being opposed by the National’s whiz kid and uber-pitching sensation Stephen Strasburg. Maybe outside of Knicks’ playoff games, there was no hotter ticket in town than Friday’s matchup between two supremely talented and young pitchers. From all accounts, Citi Field was an electric force field with an unmatched energy that the young park has never been witness to (save for Johan Santana’s no-hitter and R.A. Dickey’s quest for 20 wins last year). Heck, the crowd was so energized they started-which has now become the famous-“Harvey’s better” chant.
And while Strasburg struggled (6 innings, four runs-2 earned), Harvey delivered the goods in the Mets’ 7-1 victory.
Harvey went a strong seven innings while allowing one run on just four hits, although he did issue three walks. Harvey is now 4-0 with a microscopic 0.93 ERA and 0.66 WHIP. Harvey has also amassed 32 strikeouts in 29 innings.
Harvey is your ultimate gamer and bulldog who just absolutely refuses to lose. That was never more evident than in the 7th inning in Friday’s game, when Harvey ran into his first trouble of the season.
With the Mets up 4-0, Harvey led off the inning by walking Adam LaRoche before Ian Desmond followed with a single to left field. Chad Tracy would then drive in LaRoche to make it a 4-1 game. At this point Harvey’s pitch count was approaching 100 pitches and many were thinking Harvey was running out of gas. It was a natural assumption, since Harvey was amped from the start and used a lot of energy in the early innings.
Harvey then induced a ground ball to second base which could have conceivably led to a double play, but Daniel Murphy botched the throw to second base while pulling Ruben Tejada off the bag. So that packed the bags loaded with no outs and the Mets clinging to a three-run lead. Suddenly, Harvey and the Mets were vulnerable.
Surely, Harvey would crack under the pressure.
Harvey was determined to get out of the jam, though, and he would not be satisfied until he completed the task. Terry Collins would not dare take Harvey out. Harvey had to get out of this mess himself.
Harvey would promptly strike out Kurt Suzuki in easy fashion. Harvey would then jam Roger Bernadina into popping out to John Buck. Then with two outs, he made Denard Span hit a weak grounder to second. Inning over and Harvey did what he had to do.
Harvey escaped the jam and the collective roar from the Citi Field crowd was heard throughout each borough and surrounding towns. The expression on Harvey’s face after he escaped the jam encapsulated his toughness and competitiveness. It was sheer relief on top of unbridled enthusiasm.
This night, on many fronts, was a test and Harvey aced it.
The hype and buzz will continue to surround Harvey for each start he makes. Harvey seems unfazed by all of the hype. In fact, he seems to thrive on it. So, it may not be hyperbole after all to compare the exploits of Harvey to former Mets’ show-stoppers Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden.
Harvey has been as good as advertised. Actually, he may have been a bit undersold, as Harvey is showing another gear in the majors I don’t think many of us thought was possible.
Yes, the buzz is strong with Harvey and his legend will only continue to grow.
Honest question: Is Harvey getting too many innings/pitches? He’s averaging over 100 pitches a a game.
There has to be some sort of database to mine to find all the players that have thrown 220 IP as a 24 year old, that are power pitchers, that were very successful early in their careers and what happened subsequently.
This cat … he’s a special animal. He’s Verlander-esque … his best stuff comes out in the 7th inning. I just worry that some day he’s going to reach back for that 98 heater and something’s going to go pop.
Til then … *hello, 1985*!
More like hello 1967, your battery mate answers your question. He pitched 12 seasons before he pitched less than 220 innings (he pitched 215 in season 13) with it all starting at age 22.
Harvey isn’t Seaver, Harvey is Harvey just like Juan Marichal wasn’t Carl Hubble or Don Sutton wasn’t Don Drysdale.
I was kinda surprised at the low attendance at Citi Field (about 26 thousand), but then again there were a couple factors working against it.
The Mets were just completing a long middle of the country road trip.
The rotation wasn’t set (because of the wacky weather) and as a result people weren’t sure it was going to be Harvey vs Strasburg so not that much hype time.
It is still April and kids are still in school.
This was only Harvey’s 2nd start at Citi Field so casual fans may not have noticed his exceptional start yet. Perhaps next time around people will start to come out.
Most people still have dismal outlooks for the Mets.
But then again, it was a decent Friday night and it was pretty pleasant (upper 60’s/low 70’s).
I guess I would have to see the historical data of April Friday night’s with similar weather to see if turnout was as disappointing as I thought.
Only 26,000 people there?? Are you sure.
I’m surprised by that number. I thought it looked crowded there. People almost had a week to prepare for it, that matchup was set in stone and TC was not going to move up Harvey in Colorado.
I guess it got lost in the shuffle with all the inclement weather.
Every day it seemed to be weather, weather, weather.
It wasn’t really until Thursday that they were finally able to get that out of the way and shift our attention to Harvey-Strasburg.
Even though not many Met fans came out, i’m sure many big baseball people were watching the game.