Jerry Crasnick of ESPN listed righthander Matt Harvey among his 15 Most Interesting People of 2015.
“After six straight losing seasons and some serial belt-tightening under the Wilpon family, the Mets have legitimate reason for excitement behind their young pitching nucleus.”
“A lot hinges on the performance of Harvey, who displayed ace-caliber stuff and serious star quality before blowing out his elbow and undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2013. He’ll try to return to top form amid a Stephen Strasburg-type innings watch this season.”
Last month, Kevin Kernan of the NY Post caught up with soon to be Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, who is very impressed with Harvey, calling the Mets ace “as good as anyone in the game.”
“He’s got everything he needs. He’s got toughness, he’s got desire, he’s got fire, he knows how to pitch, he is a competitor and he is smart. He has the entire package. Harvey is the key to the Mets in every way.”
Pedro added that he enjoys watching Harvey pitch and gets excited when he catches one of his starts.
The plan for Harvey according to Terry Collins is to hold him back until the Mets home opener at Citi Field on April 13 against the Phillies.
The Mets will also pitch him on five days rest occasionally, and may consider shutting him down for two weeks around the All Star break so he would be available to pitch in the postseason should the team make it that far.
I’ll tell you one thing, count me among those who are anxiously awaiting the return of Harvey Days. There was something special about watching every one of his starts that hearkened back to the way I felt whenever Tom Seaver used to take the mound. That confident swagger that you just can’t teach. I wish the 2015 season would hurry up and get here already!
