On Wednesday afternoon, Matt Harvey acknowledged to reporters at Citi Field that he will not pitch 200 innings in 2015 and that he’s completely on board with however the front office plans to limit his innings next season.
“You know what? I’m going to be happy to throw an entire year,” Harvey said. “Whatever they decide, it’s in the best interests of both the team and me moving forward. I can’t wait to throw every five days and just be healthy for a full season.”
Despite the frigid temperatures, Harvey has been throwing on flat ground at Citi Field six days a week, but plans to resume throwing off a mound in about two weeks for the first time since the regular season.
Harvey also said he plans to report to spring training about Feb. 1 and will face batters for the first time since the elbow surgery.
Sandy Alderson plans to have Harvey skip some turns during the regular season and give him a two-week break during the summer, to ensure his ace can pitch in October should the Mets make the postseason.
December 1
During an appearance on MLB Network Radio this weekend, Mets GM Sandy Alderson was asked to share his thoughts about the celebrity status of righthander Matt Harvey.
“I think you have to recognize that there are pluses and minuses associated with that kind of celebrity,’ Alderson said. “It brings a certain amount of attention that wouldn’t otherwise exist.”
“I remember years ago I had to cautioned a player ‘You’ve become a celebrity but don’t forget you’re a baseball player first and that the celebrity is predicated on that'”
Alderson says that based on what he’s seen so far, Harvey is focused on getting back to where he was before being undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2013.
“Obviously when you have that kind of celebrity you put yourself on the line. To maintain that celebrity status he needs to perform back to previous levels. We’re all hopeful that will happen.”
Last week, Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog reported that several people in the organization including “prominent Mets players, coaches and people in the front office were not happy” when Harvey was at Yankee Stadium for Derek Jeter’s last game, despite what they said in public.
“They had a similar reaction when he requested time off from his rehab, then turned up in New England hanging out with friends. The same can be said about how they’ve reacted to his rogue magazine features, his endorsements, use of social media and how he’s expressed dissatisfaction in public about his rehab.”
New York City has always been the perfect place for big sports personalities to shine on the diamond, the court, or the gridiron, all while enjoying a celebrity lifestyle that frequently lands them on Page Six, being followed at night by paparazzi, and sharing the limelight with other big music and movie stars.
The problem as I see it, is that the Wilpons have always preferred their players to refrain from that kind of glittery lifestyle and to instead adhere to their idealistic, wholesome, clean-cut, choir boy image they want to present publicly.
By the way, Harvey was also on the radio over the weekend and he told WFAN he feels great and expects to be 100 percent ready when he reports to camp in February.
“It’s nice going into the offseason as a normal player,” Harvey said. “Spring Training can’t get here quick enough for me. My whole goal is to be able to face hitters in February as soon as I get down to Florida.”
(Updated 12/1)
