Harvey to testify in Skaggs case

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Our friend Matt Hovvey is expected to take the stand today in a case involving the former Angels' staffer accused of providing the drugs that killed Tyler Skaggs in 2019.



One thing he'll be asked about is a test message exchange with Skaggs wherein Skaggs asked Harvey for something that would help him be "loosey-goosey." Harvey's not facing any charges (at this time) but who knows what'll come out. He knows a few things about drugs, that's for sure.

[kcmets]

Sportico:

https://www.sportico.com/law/analysis/2022/matt-harvey-drug-allegation-1234661641/MATT HARVEY DRUG ALLEGATION IN SKAGGS TRIAL RAISES CONCERNS FOR MLB

[Edgy MD]

Harvey and Skaggs had adjoining lockers. Harvey may have noting to do this. But the idea that a young, borderline starting pitcher careening toward an early end looked to Harvey as a mentor was the least surprising thing ever.



It's a strange part of me that's still rooting for the guy.

[kcmets]

I don't really know what to make of it all at this point. If Harvey is handing out non-

prescription Percocet to teammates then boo on him. Let guys find their own dope.



I'm not rooting against him, but jeez it's one thing after another for like a decade.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I have no doubt Harvey was a heavy user of Coke and who knows what else as a Met. Remember the bloody nose game?!



I am sure it reveals a lot of internal turmoil I'm sure he struggled with a lot and shouldn't be looked at as a character flaw, necessarily but one of many signals of how unreliable and fragile he was

[Edgy MD]

What always got to me was, in all those photos of him stepping out with professionally beautiful women, how insecure and misbegotten he always seemed as he tried to project a cool smoothness.



[FIMG=400]https://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/oR9HDf_Ui-lpUqFUl_iJHQDYzzY=/1200x0/top/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/53VKCGQXLVDVS64AIXJJ2GFTJE.jpg[/FIMG]



[FIMG=400]https://data.sportsworldnews.com/data/thumbs/full/31340/830/415/48/13/matt-harvey.jpg[/FIMG]



I always got the idea that he was about to throw up.



[FIMG=400]https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/711x1066/https://blogs-images.forbes.com/josephdeacetis/files/2016/03/x-4.jpg?width=960[/FIMG]



Breathe, man.

[G-Fafif]

[G-Fafif]

[G-Fafif]

[Edgy MD]

Is it the reporter's role to sit on such information or to pursue and report?



I realize it's not his gig anymore, but I'm not sure "I'll say this and then stop" works.

[Edgy MD]

"http://archives.thecranepool.net/23700/f1_t23723.shtmlMatt Harvey and White Lines"

[stevejrogers]

Edgy MD wrote: Is it the reporter's role to sit on such information or to pursue and report? I realize it's not his gig anymore, but I'm not sure "I'll say this and then stop" works.

On the Devil's Advocate side, it probably is a “behind closed doors” until it becomes a legal issue or a flunked MLB drug test issue.



Once it becomes a bigger story than say one fucked up night and miscommunications then it's no longer a case of “well, he's barely handling it, but it seems he's handling his high.”



So I can see why journalists covering the team saw it more of a private matter than something you'd see Deadspin or TMZ jump at the first whisper of an issue.

[MFS62]

Edgy MD wrote: "http://archives.thecranepool.net/23700/f1_t23723.shtmlMatt Harvey and White Lines"

That brings to mind something a CPF-er wrote at the time (And stuck in my mind) "Harvey sniffing coke off a model's ass in the back of an Escalade".

Tough to forget a great line (no pun intended) like that.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Well, there's a middle ground between ignore and "jump at the first whisper of an issue," and that's pursuing the facts and reporting responsibly.



Whatever the Mets source gave him was probably officially off the record, but it's still information you can follow up on.



I am certainly sympathetic to the idea that it's a "private matter," but when it's a public figure and you have information about an illegal matter that is affecting his public performance of a job people have an investment in, that can change. I don't know at what point it changes, but presumably, there's something like an authoritative journalistic playbook that clarifies that.



Anyhow, it's certainly something I'm curious about.

[stevejrogers]

Edgy MD wrote: Well, there's a middle ground between ignore and "jump at the first whisper of an issue," and that's pursuing the facts and reporting responsibly. Whatever the Mets source gave him was probably officially off the record, but it's still information you can follow up on. I am certainly sympathetic to the idea that it's a "private matter," but when it's a public figure and you have information about an illegalmatter that is affecting his public performance of a job people have an investment in, that can change. I don't know at what point it changes, but presumably, there's something like an authoritative journalistic playbook that clarifies that. Anyhow, it's certainly something I'm curious about.

Fair enough that illegal recreational drugs like coke, meth, weed, heroin, etc should carry more weight when hearing “there's a problem here” than alcohol.



But at the same time, as far as anyone knows, Lenny, Doc and Darryl were the only members of the 1986 Mets that could not handle the highs of substance abuse, or keep things off of the law's radar.



So that year's team copious drug use is still looked at in “no big deal” veins, including wondering if it's the ticket for current rosters to get over the hump!



Never mind this summer the Mets are supposed to retiring the number of a guy they got dirt cheap from a division rival due to his love of cocaine, despite never once, that we know of, entering rehab or at least acknowledging that it was a crippling “habit” and his life has been improved since not using it as regularly as he did during his playing days.



There certainly is a mass pop culture trend, well it's been in place since music artists of the 1930s to make less hard rec drugs like coke and weed be on the same level as alcohol when it comes to how serious addictions of them that aren't destructive to the user and/or others should be taken, I mean look at how many states now legalize weed.



So IDK, the point still stands that it was more along the lines of a “has the line (no pun intended) been crossed yet where this has to be exposed by someone in my beat reporter position” than something happening with graver, and more legal consequences.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

Edgy MD wrote: Well, there's a middle ground between ignore and "jump at the first whisper of an issue," and that's pursuing the facts and reporting responsibly. Whatever the Mets source gave him was probably officially off the record, but it's still information you can follow up on. I am certainly sympathetic to the idea that it's a "private matter," but when it's a public figure and you have information about an illegal matter that is affecting his public performance of a job people have an investment in, that can change. I don't know at what point it changes, but presumably, there's something like an authoritative journalistic playbook that clarifies that. Anyhow, it's certainly something I'm curious about.

Had he reported about it at the time, getting it out there might have forced changes that saved Harvey's career. I don't know of drug use contributed to his arm and chest issues, but they sure aren't good for you.



Seems odd that reporters will go to the mat to beat the truth out of people about if Lindor and McNeill were really looking at a raccoon when they were obviously fighting, but not about something like this.

[stevejrogers]

=Marshmallowmilkshake post_id=85888 time=1644960617 user_id=119]
Had he reported about it at the time, getting it out there might have forced changes that saved Harvey's career. I don't know of drug use contributed to his arm and chest issues, but they sure aren't good for you.



Seems odd that reporters will go to the mat to beat the truth out of people about if Lindor and McNeill were really looking at a raccoon when they were obviously fighting, but not about something like this.

[batmagadanleadoff]

=stevejrogers post_id=85891 time=1644961734 user_id=57]


It might be orange and blue colored glasses but I think Doc's downfall was more due to the pitches and innings logged on his arm, much more than losing battles to his addictions.

[Edgy MD]

So that year's team copious drug use is still looked at in “no big deal” veins, including wondering if it's the ticket for current rosters to get over the hump!

That's firstly assigning a consensus point of view to your own perspective.



Secondly, it's speculative.



Thirdly, to the extent that it is looked at as no big deal, it's a closed book from 37 years ago. I'm trying to considering what a reporter's role is when it is current information he discovers on his beat.



As for "no big deal," the choices made by that team left behind a lot of human wreckage. It still does. It is, in fact it is the human wreckage of a young man's fatal fentanyl overdose that has Harvey in court in the first place.



I'm not looking for Harvey's head on a platter here, but yeah, I don't know that a reporter is doing his or her job if he or she sits on that story. And as (mostly) a fan of Adam Rubin's work, I'd like the conversation to go beyond "I'll say this and stop."

[Frayed Knot]

I think it's likely as simple as Rubin being told in confidence at the time, with the agreement that he was Not allowed to repeat it, and now feels free to say so because he's

only commenting on what has (just now) become public knowledge, particularly since today's testimony included admission of cocaine use as a NYM.

[Edgy MD]

I think so also.

[stevejrogers]

Edgy MD wrote: Thirdly, to the extent that it is looked at as no big deal, it's a closed book from 37 years ago. I'm trying to considering what a reporter's role is when it is current information he discovers on his beat. As for "no big deal," the choices made by that team left behind a lot of human wreckage. It still does. It is, in fact it is the human wreckage of a young man's fatal fentanyl overdose that has Harvey in court in the first place. I'm not looking for Harvey's head on a platter here, but yeah, I don't know that a reporter is doing his or her job if he or she sits on that story. And as (mostly) a fan of Adam Rubin's work, I'd like the conversation to go beyond "I'll say this and stop."

I agree, but a point I was trying to make in the word salad was the notion of how at least cocaine and marijuana are seen as on the level of alcohol in terms of “acceptable” recreational drugs. Hell weed is legal in quite a few states now.



Which, and while I agree with FK it could have been told to Rubin in confidence, with an agreement not to discuss it, probably leads situations like “I don't think this guy is handling his high well at all” to be sat on until legal and/or horrific personal consequences start to arise.

[G-Fafif]

Terry tells what he knows to Puma of the Post.

Reached by phone, Harvey's manager for most of his Mets tenure, Terry Collins, was asked if he was surprised to hear the pitcher had admitted to cocaine usage. “The answer is, probably not,” Collins told The Post. “There was a testing program going on throughout Major League Baseball. We weren't allowed to do any of our own stuff. There were accusations that were being thrown around the clubhouse, for sure, but I had no proof of it at all. I can just tell you what guys were saying. “There was a time I addressed an off-the-field issue with one of the other guys on the team and his statement was, ‘Well, I'm not doing what Matt Harvey is doing.' I said, ‘This isn't about Matt Harvey, this is about you.' I tried to get off that subject as fast as I could. Was there knowledge in the clubhouse? Without question.” MLB's testing program at the time — it has been amended since Skaggs' death — did not test players for “drugs of abuse” (including cocaine) without reasonable cause that a player had used, sold or distributed such a drug in the previous 12-month period. Reasonable cause extended beyond rumors, and to be established needed eyewitness testimony or evidence. Harvey's tumultuous Mets tenure included a missed game, for which he was suspended, after a night of partying in 2017 and instances of reporting late to the ballpark. Harvey notably went AWOL from the Mets workout at Citi Field before the team traveled to Los Angeles for the NL Division Series in 2015. Sandy Alderson, the Mets general manager during most of Harvey's Mets tenure — he has since returned to the organization as team president — declined comment through a team spokesman as did GM Billy Eppler, who served in the same role for the Angels at the time of Skaggs' death. Former Mets COO Jeff Wilpon also declined comment. Collins said the Mets tried to address Harvey's rumored cocaine usage without accusing him of it. “Was there a time someone said, ‘Are you on something?' without naming anything? That was probably brought up,” Collins said. “But pretty much you addressed it as, ‘Look, you have got to clean up your off-the-field situation.' That was it.” Harvey was so despondent at times that he openly talked about killing himself, according to a source. Collins acknowledged Monday that Harvey's behavior was erratic enough to warrant counseling with the Mets' mental skills coach. “Certainly, that was addressed,” Collins said. “Again, it's Matt, and one time he talked about, ‘I should just kill myself.' That's kind of a common excuse. You try to deal with it the best you can. We certainly tried to get him help, get him some assistance.”

https://nypost.com/2022/02/15/matt-harvey-talked-about-killing-himself-while-with-the-mets/https://nypost.com/2022/02/15/matt-harvey-talked-about-killing-himself-while-with-the-mets/

[Fman99]

Christ, that's terrible. Like so many other gifted athletes and artists who preceded him. Demons come up from behind you and they don't care about your resume, your Grammys, or your ERA titles or All Star games or any of that. They just pounce.

[Edgy MD]

Sounds like Terry is about as awkward at confronting such issues as most people. Look at him being indirect about being indirect.

[LWFS]

Um... why exactly is Collins talking about Harvey's suicidal ideation, depression, and other matters presumably spoken in confidence to a trusted mentor? Why is he answering these press calls and talking about this stuff today, of all days?



For God's sake... why is Collins saying ANYTHING right now?

[Edgy MD]

A worthwhile point to make.



I think the answer is that he feels a tad defensive.

[LWFS]

Unless there's a better answer somewhere to be found, I'm starting to think the clubhouses that turned on him were right.



And speaking of which... yay, Sandy! [sarcastic applause]

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: A worthwhile point to make. I think the answer is that he feels a tad defensive.

Perhaps Collins believed that Harvey opened the door by testifying (i.e., going public and on the record). BTW, Harvey was granted immunity for his testimony.

[bmfc1]

Why did SNY put Terry on the spot? Terry might have felt obligated to respond as he is likely on the SNY payroll.