The Mets have made the wrong decision to give Matt Harvey another shot Monday. In fact, it should actually be Matt who makes the choice for himself. He needs to take some time to go to AAA and get right. It could be a watershed selfless moment for him.
The competitor in him should realize, “Okay, I can NOT put my team in this position every fifth day. I have to fix this, because I want to be great, and I’m not right now.” Matt Harvey is 1/3 of the way through an absolutely disastrous season.
In true Harvey fashion, he spoke up and asked for a chance to get a start against the Nationals on Tuesday; and got it. He did not deliver. Not even close. Bailed out by some timely defensive plays, including a first inning DP, Matt Harvey laid an egg out there again.
Early on he only had command with his fastball, but bullishly threw two hanging changes that were obliterated by successive hitters, and was later taken deep by an animated Daniel Murphy.
In this, the 75th start of his dramatic career, it was the first time he struck out less than two hitters.
Even worse? He only had FOUR swings and misses by the Nationals.
Whats more? After a great win on Monday, a loss like Tuesday can be deflating to the ball club. The postgame locker room air was tense, with more questions asked then answers given. All this with the quick turnaround rubber match Wednesday that ended up being successful thanks to another strong showing by Steven Matz.
The Mets have decided to allow Matt Harvey to make his next start at home on Monday against the Chicago White Sox, a team sitting atop the standings in the AL Central.
The longer Matt Harvey sticks around and is ineffective, the longer it is a thing. When you have a mess, you don’t let it sit and fester. You must clean it up and get it out of sight, before it begins to effect the team adversely. The Mets do not have games built into their schedule that can be used as experiments.
Matt Harvey asked for the ball Tuesday and put his teammates in an awful position on the field. Off the field he left their flank open by leaving them to answer the postgame questions when he inexcusably left the park failing to make himself available to the media. This is a huge clubhouse no-no that anyone who played ball will tell you.
For better or worse, you face the music. If you don’t, you lose the respect of the group.
It is not up for the fan base to ponder WHY this is happening. The possibilities are endless. Mechanics? Mentality? I believe he is physically healthy. It’s almost June, so I also believe he is physically in shape despite what people would have you believe.
I honestly worry personally that the ninth inning of Game 5 really got to him, but again, that is not for us to debate.
As I said in Tuesday’s pregame post, the Mets organization can not waver after a performance like this. They also can not play any shorter on this roster as they navigate the daily uncertainty of David Wright. Bring up a fresh body who can give the club a chance to win.
The way Matt Harvey looks when contact is made, it is almost as if he is expecting a negative outcome. I never thought I would ever see someone look as physically unsettled on the mound as Aaron Heilman or as uncomfortable as Mike Pelfrey all rolled into one. Far from the bloody nosed boss that toed the rubber at Citi Field in 2012.
Take a page from Bobby Jones and Steve Trachsel. Two veterans that took a trip to the minor leagues amd came back right as rain.
Go for the temporary change of scenery, go work with highly regarded pitching coach Frank Viola, and then enter Flushing in July like Caesar coming back into Rome. They will hand you the Empire, if you can carry it.
