Tonight, Matt Harvey made his much-anticipated return to the mound tonight. After nearly a week full of drama and full on media exposure, he was ready to focus on just pitching. For five innings, his performance on the mound wasn’t the worst. He struck out six and allowed a Montero-esque five walks. And then in the sixth, Harvey let the game slip away. His weakness this season has been giving up the long ball, and that showed. Harvey let up back to back home runs, the first being a two-run shot off the bat of the catcher, Jett Bandy. The second of the back to back was the third Harvey gave up on the night. It was a disappointing outing for Harvey, who could have used a strong outing to prove he wants to be a part of this organization.
On the offensive side of the ball, Neil Walker drove in two of the runs for the Mets. He slugged a solo home run, while also driving in a run with a single. He also hit a single in the ninth, giving him a perfect three for three evening. Asdrubal Cabrera contributed a double, while both T.J and Rene Rivera each hit a single. The Mets showed signs of life in the top of the ninth, with Granderson and Duda each hitting a double. They were only able to tack on two runs though, and the Mets fell short for a final of 7-4. An interesting moment happened in the bottom of the eighth inning. Down 7-2 with one out, Terry Collins called upon Jose Reyes to get the bats rolling. Reyes hit a slow grounder to first, and while running to first, he appeared to give up on the play. Not only was this disappointing to see as a fan of baseball, but also frustrating to see that he gave up so easily with his team down. That is not the best look for a player who is batting .182 and may be in jeopardy of losing his job in the lineup to T.J Rivera.
In relief, both Josh Edgin and Rafael Montero surrendered a run. Paul Sewald did not allow a run in his inning pitched. With the recent injury of Familia, it will be interesting to see how the Mets will attempt to bolster their bullpen. My gut reaction is that it is too early in the season to find an external trade option, so they will find a solution internally. Tomorrow, Zach Wheeler takes the hill to try to even up the series against the Brewers at 7:10.
Matt Harvey is struggling with command and endurance. Five respectable innings at 97 pitches but could not compete in the sixth after a clean 5th inning. TC was not going to pull him after 5 innings and although in did not work out, it was the right choice. Until they get more distance from their starters, the season will continue to be a struggle.
The offense is doing fine. TJ over Reyes was the proper play. Even though Granderson is thawing, Duda has earned the fifth spot.
Gsellman has only pitched into the sixth inning once this season. Tonight would be a good night to start getting distance from him.
The only starter I have seen this season with some ounce of endurance has been Jacob deGrom, and it has been limited at times.
Matt just needs a little more time I hope. Lets see how he progresses. I’m hoping by mid June he’s rolling.
like i said weeks ago, our starting pitching is the weakest link in the chain. While i never have viewed Familia as elite, his loss adds to real relief pitcher crisis.
Re: Harvey. Didn’t watch the game but was checking in on twitter. Saw he was at/around 97 pitches after 5. I understand the bullpen concerns but Matt Harvey cannot go past the 100 pitch mark. The stats are there, he’s terrible after that milestone. If the strength wasn’t there with all his ribs then it’s not there now either.
Re: Bullpen. Has a closer been officially chosen? Personally I’d like to see what Robles can do. Has the ability to come in mid inning for a four out save. I don’t trust Reed like that. If Matz and Lugo come back soon maybe shift Wheeler to the pen and eventually a shot at closing?
I would take Reed over Robles as a closer, but no decision has been made yet.
Add Mechanics to Harvey’s To Do list. He’s a Mess.
I was listening to Francessa and Yanks fans debating “greatest Yankees…. Yankee Teams…Yankee Pitchers..”
27 World Championships, and their “greatest Pitchers list” is more “really really good” versus “Great”—and a good bit of the greatness is Relief pitching.
Their DNA has been depth and Hammer Relief…going back a long way. Of course, it’s alo been a fact that their positional players have been awesome!….many, many of the Greatest of the Great players!
Great Starting Pitchers are hard to find, maintain, replace……. and the best of the best are pushing 6-7 innings per start.
It’s really turning this old fan’s mentality about the way to build out a team.
While teams don’t normally make trades at this time, some do make transactions. This club needs a jolt. They don’t need a closer, but they do need another quality arm in the pen.
What does it say about the Mets farm system when their most interesting reliever, Alberto Baldonado, is a holdover from the Minaya Era?
With the WC in play, bad teams can make the playoffs with one good six-week stretch. Mets need to get to .500 or a touch above by end of the month. They have the talent to play at that level. They just need to hang in there.
Disturbing observation about Reyes, didn’t see it. I think it’s time for a clear shift away from Reyes and Granderson, away from the older guys. I don’t mean resting them a bit more. I mean clearly making them backup players. In the case of Curtis — who I really respect — this waits until Yoenis comes back. I don’t want him in the rotation of four outfielders. I want him to be #4 while the other three are the starters.
In order for Reyes to sit, Mets must bring up Rosario — and soon — and must shift Cabrera to 3B. I understand that Cabrera might be resistant to this move, but tough. He can do it or go away. And I really, really like Astrubal Cabrera. The other approach is to find a real guy who can field at 3B. Not another lousy glove.
Organization has to stay on track, stay focused, keep clawing away, but also needs to make a few meaningful adjustments if they wish to move forward. I don’t think they can just sit back and wait.
I keep wondering if you can flip Neil Walker at the deadline.
I understand that Collins and fans alike respect the veterans like Granderson, but at this point it is strictly about winning. For the Mets to win, they can’t be starting Reyes and Granderson.
12 holes…10 fingers…not much to do but claw and hope. You fix and finish a team with 1/2/3 moves—-this team doesn’t have a clean “fix’ right now.
I’ll go on record again..Harvey has better pitching days ahead! I won’t pretend to understand the Mechanics, but he’s obviously a Mess… the “pulled/choked” deliveries to his glove side and the lack of any command or location on his fastball tell you that he’s really inconsistent.
The test ahead is for him to find an effective Muscle Memory in his delivery…and to absorb the failure that comes with long layoffs.
Harvey did not look right to me. I’m not talking about mechanics. He looked pale, thin for him, sweaty – like he was getting over the flu or something. I know there’s been speculation, but I don’t want to go there. He’s clearly not himself. His control is off. The only pitch that looked good was the changeup. His 4-seam fastball is not just a few ticks below where it belongs, but it doesn’t have hop. He has little control or confidence over his slider or two-seamer. And his curve, while a decent pitch, was never an out pitch for Harvey. Harvey, at his best, had a 98 mph fastball with a lot of late life. It jumped. He had a hard, biting wipeout slider that was a great strikeout pitch. And he had excellent control and confidence to spare. Will he ever bounce back or at least adjust enough to be a good pitcher, stay tuned – same bat time, same bat channel.