Matt Harvey is the ace of the New York Mets, no if ands or butts about it. Sure, he may not be the best pitcher on the Mets’ staff this season, but there is no rule saying a team cannot have two aces. Last night, Harvey pitched against the Washington Nationals, and went 5.1 innings with 6 strikeouts and allowed 7 runs…but that’s beside the fact. When looking at his season statistics, he has clearly been phenomenal considering this is his first season returning from Tommy John’s Surgery. Harvey is one of the main reasons the Mets are where they are today…atop the National League Eastern Division. However, for some reason, nobody has anything good to say about him any more.
The drama concerning Harvey began when he expressed that he was not planning on pitching over 180.0 innings this season. With one start left, if even, Harvey will reach the 180.0 innings limit without a problem, which has raised some eyebrows because of his timing in which he made the comment. Was this the best time to make such a comment? No! Harvey should have said it months ago so the Mets could deal with it before it became such a problem. But why do we have to blow this out of the water? It is not like Harvey has the reputation of saying the right thing at the right time. He has been the center of controversy since his first season in the big leagues, and what makes people think that would have suddenly change?
On Tuesday September 8, a report was published saying that Harvey’s innings limit has been pushed to 200.0 innings including the playoffs. This should have brought happiness to so many Mets fans, because it means their ace will be available more as the season ends and post season begins. But for some reason, Mets fans are still annoyed with the entire situation! Finally…there is a solution to the problem. Harvey can pitch, which will help the team, and increase their chances of getting to and far in the post season! So as a Mets fans, we should all be thrilled that this has happened…
Of course the Mets cannot push him farther than his comfort zone, because he is coming off of a surgery that can affect a pitcher’s career. Coming back from such a surgery the way Harvey has is beyond amazing, and the Mets need to preserve that in order to keep his career on track. Even Jordan Zimmermann of the Washington Nationals, who also had Tommy John’s Surgery in his career, has said Harvey should be pitching far less than number of innings he is set to pitch, and this was not said in a rival way. Believe it or not, players care about each other…no matter what team they are on.
Was Harvey right to say what he did, when he did? Not exactly, but Mets fans need to stop making it into such a negative situation. In fact, perhaps what he said will help the Mets in the post season. Such a big deal has been made about the Mets’ bullpen situation, and a few of their starters need to be put into the pen in order to fulfill a complete playoff rotation. Therefore, why not move Harvey into the bullpen? Imagine a game where a team has to face deGrom for five innings, and then has to face Harvey for two innings, Tyler Clippard for one inning, and Jeurys Familia one inning! The Mets can even move into a Madison Bumgarner World Series Game Seven situation, where Terry Collins starts one starter for only a few innings, and then gives the ball to Harvey to complete the game! Plus, the Mets can still use him as a starter if they would like, because there is nothing saying a relief pitcher cannot make a start if the team needs him to do so.
Great article Daniel! I really like the way you wrote the reasons to not be mad at our ace!
Hi Harvey’s Mom.
Awesome Name!
Nice little bit of revisionist history. The fact remains he let his agent tell him what to do, he did! He then threw his team under the bus, acting like the issue hadn’t been discussed before.! Fact is Matt quickly changed his tune once the shit hit the fan (so to soeak). Now he just needs to pitch when called upon.
Collins has said that neither Harvey nor Matz will be in the pen because the warm up for relievers is so different and especially hard on TJ patients.
i.e.: Parnell?
I agree, poor timing on Matt’s announcement of 180 innings pitched. If it was a firm number then it should have been worked on in April. The Mets never thought that there was a firm number especially when Harvey complained about skipping turns and a six man rotation. The blame sits squarely it the Harvey camp.
The prudent thing to have done was to limit Harvey to 180 total innings and no more than 105 pitches per game from the very beginning.This is the general conservative medical consensus. It is funny how miraculously playoff innings don’t count. The initial split should have been 159 innings for the regular season and 21 more for the playoffs . If the Mets weren’t going to the playoffs in 2015,( which may have happened with Harvey only getting 24 starts,) then they could have added another late season start. The Harvey camp should have insisted on this at the beginning, but they didn’t and the fire storm that followed is their doing. I would have defended Harvey if he proposed this early but not on August 31st in a pennant race.
If this race tightens, I would expect Harvey to pitch us into the playoffs and then if those 180 innings are so important step down and give his roster spot to some one else in the playoffs.
Fortunately, we may not have to cross that bridge.
Given 10 minutes, any 5th grader can drive huge holes through the 180 innings limit. Where does pitch count come in? I’ve seen numbers that show Matt has thrown far fewer pitches per inning than he did in 2013, and that on his current pace he’d still be 130 pitches short of the 2013 total when he reaches 180 innings in ’15. That is, it could take him up to 190 IP to equal the pitch count he reached in 2013 at 178 IP.
In addition, doesn’t time and rest factor into it. If 180 IP over 6 months is okay, why not 210 over 7 months?
And on and on it goes. It’s all a wild guess, even the number 180 itself.
My only defense of Harvey is the recognition that he’s in a hard place. And he is, in fact, a pitcher still in recovery from a traumatic, career-threatening injury. It is understandable to be cautious. Whatever risk might be there would be entirely taken on by Matt Harvey. No one else. I don’t think he’s in an easy position. I believe there’s a big part of him, maybe the pre-injury part, that would love to be the hero, take the ball and push this to the outer limits. But now there are other voices in his head, and he’s trying to be smart and thinking beyond the moment.
While I am disappointed in how this has played out, and how he’s dealt with much of it, I don’t see him as the villain that some purport him to be.
Good article by Ted Berg:
Good article. I only referenced innings because that is the standard that Boras chose. The amount of pitches are more important game wise and season wise. Fatigue should be avoided at all costs. I also don’t see him as the villain either but his poor judgement has put the Mets in a possible unneeded predicament. The Harvey camp is to blame, not the Met front office that has been careful with the situation and obviously would have adjusted it if the concern was brought forth earlier.
Nice try, Dan. But not even close. First off, there is no way Harvey will pitch out of the bullpen, even in October (unless he calls Boras for permission in the middle of a game) Second, he had a chance to prove he is the ace you claim him to be, and he spit the bit big time in the only truly important game he has ever started. How in the world do you defend all of that in light of the disgraceful distraction that, for now at least, has put the lie to this Dark Knight image he has embraced?
Don’t think he’s a villain, that’s a ridiculously harsh term to use. What he did was show immaturity and a certain lack of resolve by letting Boras dictate to him what should do and say. Funny we haven’t heard from Mr. Boras lately.
He got his way. Back into his little closet…
I’m very disappointed in Harvey. Disappointed he misspoke and didn’t think for himself and disappointed that he didn’t come through in a big game. Very un-Batman like. He will have a chance to redeem himself. I still believe that he is a special talent and should have a long career in NY.
Harvey is arb eligible for 16,17,18…. i wonder whether the Mets considered 30-40 million to buy him out over the ’15 season and the next 3?… before they knew he was healthy.
Beyond it being his arm, it is his Money Maker and his entire identity. I expect them all to play hard when healthy. For pitchers, that includes management of the arm…especially post injury.
We don’t know exact causes, but it is virtually universally demonstrated that Pitching Arms are always breaking…little breaks to big ones…and they almost all end Broken.
He’s gonna be well past his limit…no doubt at further risk. I wonder if the Wilpons will write him a check in Good Faith…??
I wonder if Boras will agree to that Eraff?
Just a side note Dan. If Cespedes properly plays the single to center, Harvey gives up only 4 runs. But that’s baseball. And yes I agree with your points. But Harvey is coming back from TJ surgery after 18? months not the usual 12-13 months most pitchers go through. I would use him in the pen if the Met’s have a lead in a series. If not 5 innings of Harvey is better than any alternative the Met’s have to offer.