Harvey's innings

[Edgy MD]

Chad Ochoseis wrote: s far as 2, Harvey has frequently shown himself to be a self-centered douchebag, but he's never shown himself to be a fool when it comes to managing his image.

I would question that assertion. So would Qualcomm.

I'm inclined to think, though, that yes, he will be pitching in the post-season, provided there is one to pitch in.

[nymr83]

Fuck Boras. and the Mets should run Harvey into the ground if it means a shot at a world series - THAT is the goal, not keeping pitchers arms in better shape for their next employer.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm totally down with Ken Davidoff's suggestion. It's long been my feeling that the Mets should trade Harvey after the 2016 season, but given recent developments I'm perfectly okay with advancing that to after the 2015 season. I really hope it happens.

Ken Davidoff, The New York Post wrote: The Mets have the perfect opening to trade Matt Harvey MIAMI � Down the road, we might look back on what transpired Saturday and realize Matt Harvey did the Mets a favor. The diva right-hander just made it 180 times easier for the Mets, ever aware of how their actions play on the streets, to do what they should have done, anyway, this coming offseason. Yes, it�s time to start working on a Harvey trade. Harvey dropped a cartoon-sized bomb on his employers Saturday, one that will produce consequences both short-term and long-term. In the dispute between Harvey�s agent Scott Boras and the Mets concerning the 26-year-old�s workload, Harvey sided decisively with his representative, refusing to say he would pitch beyond 180 innings this season and even offering that orthopedist James Andrews, who performed Harvey�s 2013 Tommy John surgery, told him personally of that hard, 180-innings threshold Boras first revealed on Friday (and which the Mets dispute). �I hired Dr. Andrews to do my surgery, and I hired Scott, for a reason,� Harvey, who currently has 166�/3 innings pitched on the season, said before Bartolo Colon and the Mets blanked the Marlins, 7-0, at Marlins Park. �That�s to prolong my career and get in the best possible position moving forward.� Hence the Mets have a crisis on their hands. General manager Sandy Alderson, who thought that he had the Harvey-innings situation under control, will meet with Harvey on Monday in Washington and seek resolution. At the moment, though, you wonder a) whether Harvey will suit up at all in the postseason, and how much that hinders the team�s chances, or even c) if this drama will sap the Mets of energy they need merely to qualify for the playoffs. In crisis, the Mets must view opportunity. Until quite recently, too, most of the Mets� fan base seemed enamored with Harvey and willfully blind to his dark side. On Saturday, Harvey couldn�t have showcased his dark side any more prominently. Burning a Mike Piazza jersey on the Citi Field grass would have been subtle by comparison. But Harvey�s personality didn�t magically become a problem overnight. Few have embraced celebrity and its many trappings as quickly as did Harvey, and with that has arrived a high-maintenance personality. Really, what�s most galling about Harvey�s change of heart � his 180, if you will � is that he led the revolt earlier this season against the Mets� six-man starting rotation, a plan designed expressly to help manage the innings of Harvey and his fellow youngsters. Don�t hate on Boras for doing his job as player advocate. It�s Harvey who constructed the Tough Guy narrative, only to jettison it in crunch time. So Harvey, even if he turns back around and retreats from his retreat, has seriously damaged his standing in Flushing. In the baseball industry? Eh. While no club will take the player�s side in this dispute, none would offer a flat �No� on a pitcher who currently owns a 145 ERA+ in those 166?�/3 innings and has three years of control left before free agency. The Mets should go through on this because they have stockpiled enough starting pitching to envision perennial competition without Harvey. Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Jon Niese and Noah Syndergaard fronting a rotation to kick off 2016, with Zack Wheeler working to return midseason? Yup, that�d work � assuming the Mets score runs more like August and September and less like April through July. And the best way to beef up that offense, what with rentals Yoenis Cespedes, Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe as well as homegrown Daniel Murphy all likely to depart? Use Harvey to get someone impactful in return. How about Colorado outfielder Carlos Gonzalez? Or Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford? Or Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain? Or Twins second baseman Brian Dozier? Just spitballing here; the Mets can do the actual legwork. Alderson owns a pretty good track record when it comes to trades. We have arrived at the scene when the Dark Knight becomes the villain. If the Mets are feeling particularly feisty, they can work to ship Harvey to a small market, a place where media suck-ups and supermodels are in short supply. Or they could be grateful to the big fella for helping everyone see the light.

[Edgy MD]

Nonetheless, this is probably getting at least a little overblown.

Simplest explanation being the most likely, Harvey is probably just being politic and failing. Successfully coming down on both sides of an issue is hard enough for normal people, let alone a self-impressed jockface.

Mike Puma's report this morning says that sources from both the team and the man say he's available to pitch in the playoffs, should there be playoffs. So what do we have that's new? A vain, over-celebrated athlete who has gotten the idea that he's smartest guy in the room when he's totally not. And that ain't new.

[dgwphotography]

So, Harvey is more interested in his future earning potential than helping this team win?

1. F'n shocker
2. He's Roger fucking Dorn

[RealityChuck]

Did anyone here actually read what Harvey said?

Here it is:

�I�m going to always play, but like I said, I hired Dr. Andrews to do my surgery and I hired Scott for a reason and that�s to prolong my career and put me in the best possible position,� Harvey said before the Mets faced the Marlins on Saturday. �Moving forward with that I have one start in mind and that�s Tuesday [against Washington]. �I�m the type of person I never want to put the ball down. I hired Scott and went with Dr. Andrews because I trusted them to keep my career going and keep me healthy,� Harvey said. �As far as being out there, being with my teammates and playing, I�m never going to want to stop, but as far as the surgeon and my agent having my back and kind of looking out for the best of my career they�re obviously speaking their mind about it.� (italics added)

This may be the most noncommittal answer in the history of sports. But there's one very important thing left out: that he was going to follow Boras's and Andrews's advice on innings. It clearly sounds like a statement where he doesn't agree with Boras and also doesn't want to mess up their working relationship. It's also obvious from the italicized portion that he's dissociating himself from Boras's statement.

It's also untrue that Harvey was unhappy about the six-man rotation. He made a comment to the effect that it messed up his routine, but never indicated that he was against the idea.

The entire affair is just a way for the tabloids to sell newspapers. The facts are that Harvey wants to pitch and is not talking about shutting himself down.

[TransMonk]

I remember watching this Sandy interview live on 02/20/15.

http://m.mlb.com/nym/video/v37913883/alderson-sees-harvey-as-full-contributor-all-season

I think this is a pretty clear documentation of what the Mets intended to do (and have done) with Harvey this season. I'm not sure where any confusion on either Matt or Boras' part could have occurred.

That being said, I believe Matt will keep pitching. If he does shut it down before the club's season is over, he would become one of the more hated players, not only with Mets fans, but in all of MLB.

[ashie62]

Harvey will make a great MFY.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Did anyone here actually read what Harvey said? Here it is: ... It's also obvious from the italicized portion that he's dissociating himself from Boras's statement.... The facts are that Harvey wants to pitch and is not talking about shutting himself down.

So then why doesn't Harvey come out and say what you claim he said? He's had a gazillion [/hype] microphones stuck in his face in the past 24 hours. He's had every chance to clarify this story.

Me, I think Harvey's been handled poorly and also, that he can't help himself because he's a major stupid dope with barely any saavy. That dope point, I thought so from his breakout season. But I'm not surprised that he cares more about his future earnings than the Mets post-season chances of success. I believe that every player would prefer tens and tens of millions of dollars over a World Series ring. It's just that Harvey appears to be the first active player, as far as I can remember, to be dumb enough to more or less admit this.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Chad Ochoseis wrote: There are three possibilities I see here: 1. The Mets never properly documented the discussions with Harvey and the medical staff about innings limits and/or never had these discussions. Unlikely, but the Mets haven't earned the benefit of my doubt on much. Barring this, 2. If Harvey has now decided that he will not pitch after 180 innings, he is an insubordinate employee. The Mets will suspend his ass, dock his pay, and do who knows what. The union will file a grievance, which the Mets should win (barring the circumstances of #1 above or #3 below), and the Mets will need to trade him this offseason. Harvey becomes Mets fan enemy no. 1. 3. Harvey is in some fashion hurt. This is why this story is so puzzling. 1 would require way too much stupidity on the part of Mets management. As far as 2, Harvey has frequently shown himself to be a self-centered douchebag, but he's never shown himself to be a fool when it comes to managing his image. He'd have to know the kind of shitstorm that would result from him telling a writer that he wasn't planning to pitch more than 180 innings this season. Even if he really wants to sit out the playoffs, he's smart enough to keep his mouth shut and let Boras take the blame. For 3, it would be easier just to say "Harvey's hurt" and be done with it. So I dunno. I'm guessing 4 - the media took a Harvey quote out of context and ran with it, Harvey will be there for the postseason, and there's nothing to see here.

I hope it's #4, but I could see Harvey getting shutdown and saying that he's not injured necessarily, but he wasn't 100%. Boras could cite when Harv recently had dead-arm and got battered as proof that he needs to powered off. None of that shit would surprise me.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Harvey is a moron without the slightest clue how to get a message across. You could probably replace "Tuesday " with "Qualcomm" and get the same idea.

[Elster88]

Did anyone here actually read what Harvey said? Here it is: �I�m going to always play, but like I said, I hired Dr. Andrews to do my surgery and I hired Scott for a reason and that�s to prolong my career and put me in the best possible position,� Harvey said before the Mets faced the Marlins on Saturday. �Moving forward with that I have one start in mind and that�s Tuesday [against Washington]. �I�m the type of person I never want to put the ball down. I hired Scott and went with Dr. Andrews because I trusted them to keep my career going and keep me healthy,� Harvey said. �As far as being out there, being with my teammates and playing, I�m never going to want to stop, but as far as the surgeon and my agent having my back and kind of looking out for the best of my career they�re obviously speaking their mind about it.� (italics added) This may be the most noncommittal answer in the history of sports. But there's one very important thing left out: that he was going to follow Boras's and Andrews's advice on innings. It clearly sounds like a statement where he doesn't agree with Boras and also doesn't want to mess up their working relationship. It's also obvious from the italicized portion that he's dissociating himself from Boras's statement. It's also untrue that Harvey was unhappy about the six-man rotation. He made a comment to the effect that it messed up his routine, but never indicated that he was against the idea. The entire affair is just a way for the tabloids to sell newspapers. The facts are that Harvey wants to pitch and is not talking about shutting himself down.

Thanks you for this dose of reality, Chuck. I feel much better now.

[Elster88]

Did anyone here actually read what Harvey said? Here it is: ... It's also obvious from the italicized portion that he's dissociating himself from Boras's statement.... The facts are that Harvey wants to pitch and is not talking about shutting himself down. So then why doesn't Harvey come out and say what you claim he said? He's had a gazillion [/hype] microphones stuck in his face in the past 24 hours. He's had every chance to clarify this story. Me, I think Harvey's been handled poorly and also, that he can't help himself because he's a major stupid dope with barely any saavy. That dope point, I thought so from his breakout season. But I'm not surprised that he cares more about his future earnings than the Mets post-season chances of success. I believe that every player would prefer tens and tens of millions of dollars over a World Series ring. It's just that Harvey appears to be the first active player, as far as I can remember, to be dumb enough to more or less admit this.

"Why doesnt Harvey come out and say what you claim he said?" he's a "major stupid dope"

If he is a dope, it seems like you answered your own question.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Did anyone here actually read what Harvey said? Here it is: ... It's also obvious from the italicized portion that he's dissociating himself from Boras's statement.... The facts are that Harvey wants to pitch and is not talking about shutting himself down. So then why doesn't Harvey come out and say what you claim he said? He's had a gazillion [/hype] microphones stuck in his face in the past 24 hours. He's had every chance to clarify this story. Me, I think Harvey's been handled poorly and also, that he can't help himself because he's a major stupid dope with barely any saavy. That dope point, I thought so from his breakout season. But I'm not surprised that he cares more about his future earnings than the Mets post-season chances of success. I believe that every player would prefer tens and tens of millions of dollars over a World Series ring. It's just that Harvey appears to be the first active player, as far as I can remember, to be dumb enough to more or less admit this. "Why doesnt Harvey come out and say what you claim he said?" he's a "major stupid dope" If he is a dope, it seems like you answered your own question.

That's right. And your point is ....?

Hey, didja get a load of all the magic number and NHOP talk going on around here lately? Think you can handle it?

[Frayed Knot]

As with all problems in life Derek Jeter comes to the rescue (well, this is from his website anyway so he gets all the credit)

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

He needs a nice hot cup of STFU. Made himself and the club look awful again, caused completely unnecessary drama for a team that was riding great MOJO but up against it with doodoo, cuddy and muffy out. FUCK YOU HARVEY. I hope he tears a rotator cuff.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I expect the Mets finish the season with a 6 man rotation (Harvey, DeGrom, Syndergaard, Niese, Matz, and Colon) for the remainder of the season and limit most of Harvey's starts to 5 or 6 innings. If the Mets get through the upcoming 10-12 games in good position, I wouldn't be surprised to see them skip Harvey's spot in the rotation again to reduce his innings.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: He needs a nice hot cup of STFU. Made himself and the club look awful again, caused completely unnecessary drama for a team that was riding great MOJO but up against it with doodoo, cuddy and muffy out. FUCK YOU HARVEY. I hope he tears a rotator cuff.

I hope not. At least not until after we trade him this off-season for a quality bat.

[Lefty Specialist]

The Daily Jeter piece is a lame attempt at ass-covering. I'm suuuure he wrote it himself.

You know, if he pitches like crap on Tuesday, it'll get very ugly. All the spin and damage control won't help. And he'll have no one to blame but himself.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: As with all problems in life Derek Jeter comes to the rescue (well, this is from his website anyway so he gets all the credit)

You DO realize that when you click on that website, it gives captain perfect money, don't you?
I feel used, and dirty.
Next time, please paraphrase or summarize, and cite without a link, lest we get a rash.

Later

[batmagadanleadoff]

Matt Harvey: Bureau Chief.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

MFS62 wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: As with all problems in life Derek Jeter comes to the rescue (well, this is from his website anyway so he gets all the credit) You DO realize that when you click on that website, it gives captain perfect money, don't you? I feel used, and dirty. Next time, please paraphrase or summarize, and cite without a link, lest we get a rash. Later

That article is actually posted on MLB site. Likely where Jeter's site purloined it from without giving appropriate credit.

[G-Fafif]

Alderson today said six man rotation in effect...with Verrett rather than Harvey. Matt pitches tomorrow, pitches in final Nat series if meaningful, is available for prospective playoffs (I think...seems fluid). Nothing else explicit, including those pesky other games Mets might need to succeed.

"Oy," says one observer who is trying to make like Judy if not Terry Collins and see both sides now.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Guest

[Lefty Specialist]

Boras wins. The Mets lose. It's like he's got a lot of money riding in Vegas on the Nats.

[Edgy MD]

G-Fafif wrote: Alderson today said six man rotation in effect...with Verrett rather than Harvey. Matt pitches tomorrow, pitches in final Nat series if meaningful, is available for prospective playoffs (I think...seems fluid). Nothing else explicit, including those pesky other games Mets might need to succeed. "Oy," says one observer who is trying to make like Judy if not Terry Collins and see both sides now.

The thing is, this would make a lot of sense ... if it came under spontaneous initiative from the Mets themselves. That the announcement came after Boras played the part of game master, it sucks.

Even coming after this series would have been better.

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

Haven't really been following this, but according to Twitter it looks like we're all supposed to hate Harvey now, yes? Like we hated Reyes in 2007? And hated Piazza in 1998? It's good to keep the tradition alive of Mets fans hating our best players

[Zvon]

G-Fafif wrote: "Oy," says one observer who is trying to make like Judy if not Terry Collins and see both sides now.

That's suite.

[stevejrogers]

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Haven't really been following this, but according to Twitter it looks like we're all supposed to hate Harvey now, yes? Like we hated Reyes in 2007? And hated Piazza in 1998? It's good to keep the tradition alive of Mets fans hating our best players

Harvey is very much earning it with this act, I forget the Reyes in 2007 hate, maybe you mean the hate after his sitting down after clinching his batting title during his final game as a Met?

[Elster88]

Did anyone here actually read what Harvey said? Here it is: ... It's also obvious from the italicized portion that he's dissociating himself from Boras's statement.... The facts are that Harvey wants to pitch and is not talking about shutting himself down. So then why doesn't Harvey come out and say what you claim he said? He's had a gazillion [/hype] microphones stuck in his face in the past 24 hours. He's had every chance to clarify this story. Me, I think Harvey's been handled poorly and also, that he can't help himself because he's a major stupid dope with barely any saavy. That dope point, I thought so from his breakout season. But I'm not surprised that he cares more about his future earnings than the Mets post-season chances of success. I believe that every player would prefer tens and tens of millions of dollars over a World Series ring. It's just that Harvey appears to be the first active player, as far as I can remember, to be dumb enough to more or less admit this. "Why doesnt Harvey come out and say what you claim he said?" he's a "major stupid dope" If he is a dope, it seems like you answered your own question. That's right. And your point is ....? Hey, didja get a load of all the magic number and NHOP talk going on around here lately? Think you can handle it?

Way to let stuff go buddy. But since you asked I love the magic number talk and I don't think the Nats stand a chance.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Guest

[Elster88]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: He needs a nice hot cup of STFU. Made himself and the club look awful again, caused completely unnecessary drama for a team that was riding great MOJO but up against it with doodoo, cuddy and muffy out. FUCK YOU HARVEY. I hope he tears a rotator cuff.

Yup. Well except for the rotator cuff part