I’ve run out of superlatives to describe how incredible Matt Harvey is. After every start he gives me more to love about him. Last night, it was three things; how he battled Robinson Cano, how he reacted after giving up that run off a changeup, and how he was the first Met out of the dugout to congratulate Lucas Duda and David Wright.
“Even if I don’t get the win, we’re winning as a team,” Harvey said. “That’s the biggest thing. Obviously I wish I could take the run back that I gave up. But the two runs that we got in the ninth is all that matters.”
We’ve waited far too long for a homegrown pitcher with this kind of drive, intensity and warrior-like mentality. Is there any among you who would disagree that he should be 9-0 right now?
It’s very sad that Harvey has to practically pitch a shutout for any real chance to earn a win. His team has seen fit to score just eleven runs for him in his last eight starts. It’s a pathetic display of just how bad this team really is. The flaws are too many in this ill-conceived roster that has six of their eight regular position players are batting under .250 led by John Buck (.219), Ruben Tejada (.205) and Ike Davis (.152).
When Harvey flung his glove against the railing when he returned to the dugout after giving up that run in the sixth, I shared his frustration. He knew he had to be perfect to have any chance of winning that game and if not for that improbable comeback, he would have suffered his first loss of the season. An undeserving loss at that.
“It was a bad pitch. I should have thrown him a fastball,” Harvey said. “I didn’t think it was a bad changeup. But as soon as I let it go, it was one of those I wished I could take back. I could kind of tell when I released it that he was waiting for it. I got a piece of the glove on it, and wish I had stuck it up a little quicker.”
It was the second time this season that Harvey struck out 10 or more, walked none, pitched seven innings and limited the opponent to two runs or fewer and failed to get a win, the last time was on May 7.
It’s sad that he has nothing to show for two dominating performances like that and sadder still that in three offseasons, not one position player has been added to the MLB roster to remedy an otherwise dire situation. Not one.
Matt Harvey deserves better and it’s no wonder his agent Scott Boras shot down any talk of him ever signing a deal to buy out any of his arbitration or free agent years.
“I don’t think there’s any question that the reason a club offers a player guarantees when they don’t have to is they deem it to be beneficial to them — just by the nature that they offer them,” Boras said. “So if the club is doing something beneficial for the club, obviously most likely it’s not beneficial to the player.”
“They’re so starved position-player-wise, which is a problem, so they’ve got a lot of work to do in free agency.”
Starved is putting it mildly and when the time comes you can be sure Boras will have the team Harvey grew up rooting for in the Bronx as one of his main suitors when he becomes a free agent.
For now, just enjoy the time Harvey still has with us and hope Sandy Alderson gives him six more reasons to want to stay – all of them position players.
Harvey is a winner and hates to lose, this much is clear.
