Recently, we Met fans have been reminded – emphatically and painfully – that Matt Harvey is human after all. His start to this season caused everyone to forget that he was only 19 months removed from Tommy John surgery. In his first eight 2015 starts, he was the Harvey of old, racking up a 5-1 record, while striking out the world and walking no one. He carried the “swagger” from his 2013 season – an element that was sorely missed in 2014. To wit: plunking Chase Utley in defense of his mates during the first week of the season; taming the Yankees following a Jacob deGrom melt-down in the Bronx; holding the Cubs and Cardinals to one run apiece in two eventual, excruciating losses. Yes, Harvey was back and if not better than ever, at least the equal to the man who lit us all up in an otherwise forgettable 2013 campaign. Until Memorial Day weekend, that is.
In his last four starts, Harvey has been the one being lit up. Like Luna Park. In 25 innings over this span, he’s been touched up for eight home runs – one more than the total he surrendered in the entire 2013 season. In his first loss of the stretch, he was battered by the Pirates – a robust hitting team, for sure, but not exactly the ’61 Yankees. Next, he was out-dueled by Dan Haren at Citi Field, a game Harvey pitched well, but was clearly missing something – as witnessed by your intrepid columnist with his own peepers. He got the win in the opener of a four-game set in Arizona, but when he was hit, he was hit hard.
Finally, there was “The Day After.” The Mets had been no-hit on June 9 by hitherto non-descript hurler Chris Heston, making his thirteenth major league start. In the aftermath, it was seen as something of a foregone conclusion that Harvey would roar out to the mound and deliver a gem of his own. That’s his rep, that’s his motivation: win and lift the entire team up right along with him. That’s that Seaver-esque quality we all marveled at two years ago. Harvey on the mound after a loss like that? Money in the bank. Except it wasn’t. He served up a two-run homer to Joe Panik in the top of the first. OK, it happens and the Mets were able to get them both back, despite some base path antics by Curtis Granderson. In fact, the Mets’ offense later “erupted” for two more runs and the lead entering the sixth. This is where Harvey shines, usually. Instead, a single, a walk, two doubles and two homeruns later, the Mets trailed 7-4. This caused me to Tweet out “OK, who’s this [imposter] wearing Harvey’s uniform?”
After the game, Harvey was his usual self: blunt and excuse-free. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and it starts tomorrow.” The velocity was there – he touched 99 mph on the radar guns. He says he’s not feeling any pain in his elbow. But as Ron Darling lamented repeatedly during the game telecast, “Hitters are taking too many comfortable swings against Matt lately.” And it’s true. During his homerun binge, he’s given up taters to four guys you would consider “elite” power hitters: Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Paul Goldschmidt and Brandon Belt. The others have come from the likes of Justin Bour, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Panik and Justin Maxwell.
If Matt Harvey is going to struggle, if he continues to get blasted by humpty-dumpty hitters, the Mets stand no chance at all in this NL East race. Yes, they’re only a half-game from first place and only surrendered it last night, but that says more about the Washington Nationals’ inconsistency and injury woes than it does about the quality of the Mets’ play. And don’t look now, but the Atlanta Braves are suddenly breathing down the Mets’ collective neck. Even while Harvey was dominating this season, the Mets’ Gandhian offense – devout practitioners of non-violence – could offer little to no support. Harvey simply being on the hill didn’t automatically mean a win anymore. Now, at less than his best, it’s a less than 50-50 shot.
There are signs he will come out of this. During this rough patch, he has maintained a still-good 9.36 K/9-inning ratio. He still is not walking anybody. He’s got that bulldog mentality and if there’s anybody who can get this figured out for himself, it is Matt Harvey. The attitude will go a long way to determining his fortunes the rest of the way.
Here’s hoping he finds the answer soon.
Follow me on Twitter @CharlieHangley .
Too many home runs on 0-2 counts. That’s on the catcher. TDA needs to remind Harvey to throw high and tight so that the hitters aren’t just standing there waiting for what they know is coning. Wild in the strike zone? Too much of the plate? Perhaps. d’Arnaud needs to keep the hitters off balance with just enough doubt so their not sitting on Harvey’s fastball.
Harvey has spoiled the Met fan this year. His first spring training game, he strikes out the side! Then, he starts the year off with a bang. However, what were we warned about for those recovering from TJ surgury? We were told their control will come back to them last.
Harvey is recovering and should be allowed to do so. I vehemently disagree that Harvey is the one and only, as there are four other starters that have talent and can help pull the chariot of the Mets’ season until Matt finds his way. As last year the Giants lost their Matt (Cain) and still won the championship, so can this team use Jacob, Noah, Steven, and whomever is left after the trading purge to carry the torch while Harvey recovers.
What the Met fan must hope for is that Washington continues to be stymied by certain players coming down to earth from last year’s high, such as JZim, Rendon, and Desmond. However, we can’t count on this happening forever, so we better get our house in order ASAP because being ten games under .500 for almost two months of games played is a telling sign that the Mets aren’t cut out to be in the playoffs.
No, Harvey is not the “one & only.” I was thinking more along the lines of that scene in “The Godfather,” when the Corleones don’t know yet that Luca Brassi has been killed: “If we lose Luca, we’re in big trouble…”
And if Cuddyer and Granderson don’t get the occasional day of rest they’ll be burnt out by the All-Star break. The Met’s need Duda to carry his share of the offense especially now that Murphy’s out. The Nat’s will recover and have their usual second half surge. The Met’s I’m afraid will do nothing and implode waiting for reinforcements to come from the DL not via trades. Can anyone say third place? The Braves are on the radar and have no pressure or expectations.
You had me at “Gandhian offense”
I have extreme faith that Harvey will auto-correct, and a lot of these home runs will disappear. I’d also like to see Syndy throw a few more hammers his next time out, but I’m not a pitching coach. This team can get on a roll quickly with its pitching potential. It just has to, you know, actually do it.