As I watched Matt Harvey pitch for the Mets on Saturday against the Yankees, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was he showing off for his future bosses? I have little doubt from his body language there’s little question to the matter of showing up his current boss.
Please don’t say Harvey someday toiling for the Yankees has not crossed your mind. How could it not? It definitely must have crossed the minds of GM Sandy Alderson and the Wilpons.
Harvey, who makes no secret he grew up in Connecticut a passionate Yankees fan, was superb in toying with his boyhood team for the better part of 8.2 innings as he gave up two runs on five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. He walked back to the dugout to a loud standing ovation as Mets fans made their presence felt in Yankee stadium.
The Mets are 14-4, the best record in baseball, and Harvey has four of those wins.
What tells me Harvey will someday be gone is: 1) his youthful affection for the Yankees, which culminated in being photographed watching Derek Jeter last season from the stands when he was on the disabled list; 2) his attraction, like a moth to a light bulb, to the New York nightlife, which always has the light shining brightest on the Yankees; 3) his agent, Scott Boras, who has a reputation of getting every last dollar, and we all know the Yankees will outspend the Mets; and 4) we’ve never heard him passionately say he wants to finish his career in a Mets’ uniform.
He had a chance Saturday to say something about that, but passed.
And finally, Mets’ management appears to be afraid to challenge their young, stud pitcher, who consistently pushes the envelope on about every issue. He sparred with Alderson as to where he would do his rehab and the issue of wanting to pitch last season.
Despite lip service in spring training, Harvey did nothing to dispel the notion there’s a divide when he refused to give up his start last Sunday despite being ill, and pitching the last month with a sprained ankle. Collins said he didn’t know about it until the middle of last week, which is unfathomable.
Harvey flat out said he didn’t want to give up the start last week and it was obvious he did not like Collins pulling him today. Even after Collins made up his mind, Harvey fought to stay in the game. Then, as he walked into the dugout he could be seen shaking his head.
Finally, in the handshake line after the game, he shook hands with Collins, but breezed past him and didn’t acknowledge what the manager said.
“I wish I could have finished but there will be other times,’’ Harvey said.
“I didn’t look at the board once to see how many pitches I had. I still felt good, I still felt strong. I thanked them for letting me come out for the ninth.”
The gratitude did not sound convincing.
Collins did all he could after the game to boost up Harvey and gave the impression nothing was wrong, saying he had a limit of 105 pitches. This was despite Collins saying coming out of spring training he’d try to limit him to 90 to 95 pitches.
Collins said he chose to leave Harvey in after he left the mound following the eighth inning when the pitcher said, “I want this one.”
“I went out and he said, ‘You’ve just got to let me have the last guy,’ I said, ‘Matt, I can’t. As much as I want to, I can’t.”
Managers often acquiesce to such requests, but usually not those coming off Tommy John surgery.
I appreciate the difficulty of Collins’ position, but fault him and Alderson for not defining a position for Harvey prior to the season. Had they been decisive then, this wouldn’t be an issue today. Because they didn’t, Harvey’s innings will come to the forefront with every start.
Since Alderson and Collins have no intent to do something definitive with Harvey’s workload, I would have appreciated them not blowing smoke saying they wanted to conserve his innings, especially that for Harvey’s second straight start they didn’t take advantage of pulling him from a blowout victory.
They could have saved two innings last Sunday and three today. That’s five innings – enough for another start – they could have saved for September. Tell me, wouldn’t you rather have Harvey save his bullets now and use them later in a pennant race?
Growing up in Connecticut, Harvey watched Jeter, Paul O’Neill and Bernie Williams involved in pennant races and undoubtedly thought someday of pitching for them in the playoffs.
However on Saturday, at least Harvey was smart enough to not let his past conflict with what’s happening around them today.
“I’m playing for the Mets, that’s who I play for,’’ Harvey said. “I’m a New York Met.’’
One almost expected to hear, “for now.’’
That said, the Mets won’t have to confront the issue for four years or more likely three. Because if they can’t work out an extension, it’s likely Harvey is traded before his walk year.
But sticking to the here and now, was it prudent to let Harvey go as long as he did on a particularly cold April night in a blowout victory?
Or does Collins deserve the scathing rebukes he got on MLB Network, the YES Network and both WFAN and WOR Radio?
