Edgy MD

A Wall Street Journal report on the Harvey dilemma. Pretty boilerplate stuff until you get to the very bottom. The Mets' Matt Harvey Conundrum By BRIAN COSTA ATLANTA�If the Mets were in full rebuilding mode, or if they seemed primed for a championship run, the decisions would be easier this time of year. But like most teams, they reside in the vast, murky area in between. Enlarge Image Associated Press Mets prospect Matt Harvey in February And so they must choose between the needs of the future and the demands of the present, balancing both but ultimately giving more weight to one or the other. That will be true as they approach the trade deadline at the end of the month. And it is especially true now, as they grapple with the question of the moment: What to do with Matt Harvey? If all had gone to plan, no one would be asking. Harvey, one of the Mets' top pitching prospects, would continue to hone his skills at Triple-A Buffalo. And the Mets' starting rotation, their biggest strength in the first half, would remain intact. But with Dillon Gee set to undergo surgery Friday that will keep him out at least until late September, the Mets need to plug a hole. And that's where Harvey comes in. If the Mets want to call up a starter from the minors, there is no debating what their best option would be. Harvey, the Mets' first-round draft pick in 2010, has a 3.39 ERA in 18 starts at Buffalo and ranks second in the International League with 102 strikeouts. But if the priority is Harvey's development�if it is ensuring he can not only survive but thrive in the majors before he gets there�the Mets believe there is reason to wait, if only a little longer. His command has been inconsistent, evidenced by both his walk rate (3.8 per nine innings) and an untold number of balls left up in the strike zone. A Mets official said a promotion for Harvey, 23, is not imminent, but manager Terry Collins said there is "a remote possibility" he starts for the Mets on Wednesday in Washington. "We're not sure he's ready just yet, but who knows? There may be a force feed," Collins said Thursday after a team workout at Turner Field. "If the people that see him say he's ready, bring him up. I'm all for it." The Mets have seen the ills of pushing prospects too quickly to fill a major-league need, notably with Jenrry Mejia two years ago. But Mejia, who hasn't made it back to the majors since 2010, was 20 years old then and had never pitched above Double-A. Harvey is older, more experienced and more polished. Even team officials who prefer a conservative approach don't believe he's far from major-league ready. Before his team's game in Pawtucket, R.I., on Thursday, Buffalo manager Wally Backman said Harvey has made major strides in the past month, keeping his emotions in check and keeping the ball down in the strike zone. "I think if Matt were to go up there tomorrow, he's definitely not going to embarrass himself, without question," Backman said. "He's going to go up there and he's going to compete. He's learned a lot. There's still a lot for him to learn." And therein lies the Mets' dilemma. How ready does Harvey need to be before he's deemed ready? And at what point does that become secondary to the reality facing the major-league team? At 46-40, the Mets will return from the All-Star break Friday and begin a potentially pivotal stretch against other contending teams, including the Braves, Nationals, Dodgers and Giants. They can avoid using a fifth starter until July 21, if necessary. But they cannot get by with a four-man rotation. And their best internal option other than Harvey is swingman Miguel Batista, who doesn't inspire dread but doesn't inspire an abundance of confidence either�not as a permanent solution. As talk of a possible promotion swirls around him, Harvey said he's trying to remain focused on his next scheduled start Monday for Buffalo. He said his only reaction to this week's events is sympathy for Gee, whom he became friends with during spring training. "You just feel sorry for him and wish the best for him," Harvey said. "That's all that I got out of the whole thing." But it could mean far more for Harvey than he is letting on. �Jared Diamond contributed to this article. Write to Brian Costa at brian.costa@wsj.com Jared Diamond?! Stringing for the WSJ Mets beat?!

Norfolk/Tidewater/Virginia Beach = largest metropolitan area in the US without a big league sports franchise.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: But wouldn't the Mets' trading partner also incur the same risks inherent in this "perilous business" of trading? And if each trader risks the same peril, then doesn't each trader, just the same, chance the same reward? Doesn't it all balance out, all things being equal? Or are you saying that the Mets aren't as good at trading as their competitors? Sure, which leaves it as a random and volatile hit-or-miss prospect. We can do better. We must. batmagadanleadoff wrote: Because if the Mets can't be trusted to make a trade, why should we credit their evaluation of their prospects? Well, historically, they've been just about the worst trading team ever, but it's not a question of trusting the people, but rather whether you trust the process. I don't. One process (improving via the trade table) is a short-term judgment, gun to your head, competing against other smart guys in a zero sum game. The other (developing your talent within) is a drawn out and deliberate one, developing talent with your own processes and your own innovations. The former is a confession of lost faith in the latter. Before Adam Smith, the wealth of nations was measured in silver and gold. With a finite amount of such treasure in the world, it was for nations to race and fight and betray each other to secure their share at the expense of everyone else --- and the great risk of putting your treasure on the line to seize greater treasure, exposing yourself to the murderous greed of others as desperate as you. What Smith made clear was that a nation that sees past this rat race was the nation that expanded the wealth within it's territory by freeing its people's minds to recognize new ways to recombine the nation's resources and apply the nation's technology. With the likes of Tejada, Murphy, and Dickey --- and countless others --- the Mets are growing their wealth from resources few saw value in. Now an important part of Smith's principles is also exploiting the demands of the expanding market, but I would recommend they wait until their treasure room is bursting and let the other teams come crawling to them. (And MLB teams don't represent a growing market, but an artificially constrained one.) The Mets were ripped for not acquiring a veteran lefthanded batter for the bench, but the inexperienced lefty benchie they threw out there --- Mike Baxter --- turned out to be better than any of the vet options. The Mets were ripped for not resigning Jos� Reyes, but Tejada and the backups they've used have gotten them decidedly more production at short than the Marlins have had --- at a laughable fraction of the financial commitment. They recognized their resources without compromising them in a standoff at the trade table. Similarly, I think it's real shortsighted for a team with Pedro Beato in their right pocket and Josh Edgin in their left and Matt Harvey in their carryon luggage would give anything up for Huston Street. Innovate, innovate, innovate. They've been thinking since 2006 that the problem with their bullpen is the personnel. It's the usage. Innovate. I have, quite admittedly, a dim understanding of the economic theories that I'm brandishing. But Alderson and his team have changed the course of this team in a very short time with very little attention to the trade market and virtually no pursuit of other teams' competitively priced free-agents --- and I salute them for it.

Well, I don't know about Adam Rubin's sexual tastes, but it doesn't take a scout to observe that a guy in the International League may be closer to the bigs than a guy in the same role riding buses in the Eastern League.

Callis says sources have Stanky willing to go at slot level ($680,400), but the Mets haven't offered that.

Well, Colio was smacking at .342 /.410 / .493 // .903 in 19 games, so there's that. Plus, at 22, Old King Cole was getting a little long in the tooth for tooling around the boardwalk looking for a good egg cream.

That's a clown question, bfmc! Of course I can!

Thirdbaseman Aderlin Rodriguez to St. Lucie from Savannah, and firstbaseman Cole Frenzel from Brooklyn to Savannah. Aderlin slashing at .274 / .336 / .497 / .833. Took 220 games for him to escape Savannah.

Well, that's one funny thing about the slots --- more than creating an artificial ceiling, it creates something of an artificial floor. I hope the whole system explodes.

Yeah, when it comes to Hall of Famers, I think Reggie is smarter than most. But conversely, he strikes me as wiser than very few. He'd do well if his apology came with a meaningful donation to the Gary Carter foundation or to support myeloma research.

Want to expand to the Latin American world but fear instability and economic scarcity, there's always Costa Rica, where lots of Americans Call themselves the Nahuatl.

Mets likely to stay in Binghamton.

"Hii, I'm Karim Garcia! You may remember me from such films of My Enemy, Pedro and Squirting in the Parking Lot!. Today I'm here to tell you about me hitting .346 / .392 / .607 // 1.001 for Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. �Ol�!"

The man himself and our new catching candidate: [youtube:2gogykd5]5d1x-oE2RKU[/youtube:2gogykd5]

Yeah, I salute the initiative, but not the execution.

Sounds like Klapish with the hostile fan-baiting stuff. Don't drink and tweet, Adam.

I don't think so. My fundamentally ethical objections to trading aside, giving up talent is always a perilous business that places more faith in a rushed late judgement than the deliberate, focused, and strategic judgement that had been governing the organization up to that point.

Bloody brilliant.

Couldn't there have been a little more wordplay in an R.A. Star Wars shirt?

I associate lefties with odd numbers. Particularly sevens. Numbers 27, 47 and 57 are taken, while 17 seems to be on the shelf and 37 retired. Carrasco left 77 kind of unapproachable for the time being, so I'm going with 72. That's right --- the first ever 72.

They don't need to go hunting. The answers are in the system. Really, every year you can expect 20% of the pitchers to go down with elbow woes and need Tommy John surgery, and 20% more to have some other catastrophic injury that costs them at least half the year and threatens their careers. If you're not ready for that, it's your own fault. Every second is a forking path.

Mets take the day off as Dickey and Wright help the National League clobber the American League Bisons take the day off as part of the AAA All-Star Break. B-Mets take the day off as part of the AA All-Star Break Lucies take the day off, along with the rest of the Florida State League. Sand Gnats shut out Delmarva, 2-0, behind the complete game shutout pitching of Logan Verrett, who allowed six hits and a walk while striking out seven. Cyclones get the day off, along with the rest of the New York-Penn League. And in some sort of universal tribute the All-Star Game, the K-Mets take a rest as well. So I present the Mets organization with the Cheap Sweep Award for perhaps their cheapest sweep ever. (Wasn't cheap for Logan Verrett, though.)

Big shot in Buffalo.

You didn't get the attachment?

Hey, yeah, you're right. Thanks. 2012 Mets (Orange Indicates Players Have Options) Starting Pitchers 47 Miguel Batista DoB: 2/19/1971 43 R.A. Dickey DoB: 10/29/1974 49 Jonathon Niese DoB: 10/27/1986 57 Johan Santana DoB: 3/13/1979 55 Chris Young DoB: 5/25/1979Relief Pitchers 27 =#FF8000]Pedro Beato DoB: 10/27/1986 40 Tim Byrdak DoB: 10/31/1973 ?? =#FF8000]Josh Edgin DoB: 12/17/1986 39 Bobby Parnell DoB: 9/8/1984 52 Ram�n Ram�rez DoB:8/31/1981Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders 60 John Rauch DoB:9/27/1978 4 =#FF8000]Mike Nickeas DoB: 2/13/1983 30 Josh Thole DoB: 4/28/1986 13 Ronny Cede�o DoB: 2/2/1983 29 =#FF8000]Ike Davis DoB: 3/22/1987Infielders 28 Daniel Murphy DoB: 4/1/1985 6 Omar Quintanilla DoB: 10/24/1981 11 Ruben Tejada DoB: 10/27/1989 2 Justin Turner DoB: 11/23/1984 5 David Wright DoB: 12/20/1982Outfielders 21 =#FF8000]Lucas Duda DoB: 2/3/1986 12 Scott Hairston DoB: 5/25/1980 9 =#FF8000]Kirk Nieuwenhuis DoB: 8/7/1987 56 Andr�s Torres DoB:1/26/1978 1 =#FF8000]Jordany Valdespin DoB: 12/23/1987 Also on 40-Man Roster Starting PitchersRelief Pitchers 75 =#FF8000]Jeurys Familia DoB: 10/10/1989 =#008000]In Buffalo 53 =#FF8000]Jeremy Hefner DoB: 3/11/1981 =#008000]In Buffalo 32 =#FF8000]Jennry Mejia DoB: 10/11/1989 =#008000]In St. Lucie 34 Mike Pelfrey DoB: 1/14/1984 =#FF0000]On 60-Day DL 73 =#FF8000]Robert Carson DoB: 1/23/1989 =#008000]In BuffaloRelief Pitchers Catchers Infielders 48 Frank Francisco DoB: 9/11/1979 =#FF0000]On 15-Day DL 62 Elvin Ramirez DoB: 10/10/1962 =#008000]In Buffalo 16 Rob Johnson DoB: 7/22/1982 =#008000]In Buffalo 71 =#FF8000]Wilmer Flores DoB: 8/6/1991 =#008000]In Binghamton 74 =#FF8000]Reese Havens DoB: 10/20/1986 =#008000]In BinghamtonInfieldersOutfielders 65 =#FF8000]Zach Lutz DoB: 6/3/1986 =#008000]In St. Lucie 23 =#FF8000]Mike Baxter DoB: 12/7/1984 =#FF0000]On DL 44 Jason Bay DoB: 9/20/1978 =#FF0000]On DL 76 =#FF8000]Juan Lagares DoB: 3/17/1989 =#008000]In Binghamton 67 =#FF8000]Cesar Puello DoB: 4/1/1991 =#008000]In St. Lucie Coaching Staff ManagerBench CoachBatting CoachPitching CoachThird Base Coach 10 Terry Collins DoB: 5/27/1949 7 Bob Geren DoB: 9/22/1959 51 Dave Hudgens DoB: 12/5/1956 59 Dan Warthan DoB: 12/1/1952 18 Tim Teufel DoB: 7/7/1958First Base CoachBullpen CoachBullpen CatchersHead Trainer 26 Tom Goodwin DoB: 8/27/1968 25 Ricky Bones DoB: 4/7/1969 78 Eric Langill DoB: 4/9/1979 79 Dave Racaniello DoB: 10/15/1981 Ray Ramirez =#BF8080].Assistant Trainer Brian Chicklo