The Dark Knight and His Competitive Spirit

There have been a lot of good times recently for the New York Mets, as they took over the lead in the National League East a few weeks ago as they try to make their first postseason appearance since 2006. They have a gaggle of young arms that any team in baseball would drool over if they had in their possession. They even acquired Yoenis Cespedes to help in their playoff run, hoping his impact bat and shotgun arm can help lead them to the ‘Promised Land’. But not so fast; Matt Harvey isn’t sure he can pitch much more this year.

This all began earlier this week when Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras, claimed that Harvey had a pitch limit this year that the Mets didn’t agree with. In fact Boras claimed it was the doctors who were imposing that limit:

 “This is not a club’s decision. This is a doctor’s decision,” Boras said. “Any club that chooses to defy a surgeon’s wishes is putting the player in peril.”

Obviously, Mets GM Sandy Alderson disagrees:

Alderson’s position seems to be that he intends to keep pitching Harvey, except for one more missed start, and that they would watch him closely and take it on a “case-by-case basis” should the Mets get deep into October. Alderson said it has been his understanding that they mostly need to avoid “fatigue” or a loss of “rhythm” (that means he can’t be expected to pick up and pitch after a lengthy layoff).

The Mets have been very cautious with Harvey so far this year, his first back from Tommy John Surgery, even going so far as using a six man rotation for a portion of the season(despite Harvey’s insistence it was “robbing him of innings). What is most interesting is that Boras says it’s the doctors who have laid down this innings limit:

In fact, it seems like no one can agree on what, if any limit, should be imposed on a pitcher returning from this invasive surgery:

Okay. So we know what the Mets think, and we know what Boras thinks. What about Harvey? In an article by Jon Heyman on Friday, he wrote this about Harvey:

“Both men do agree on one thing, and that is that Harvey badly wants to pitch. Alderson suggests this is all about Boras trying to limit the innings. But Boras said he has nothing to do with the number.”

So Matt wants to pitch, even using the word ‘badly’. Ummm, about that…

Word got out on Saturday that Harvey agreed with the innings limit Boras was discussing earlier in the week:

Wow. Just wow. Here is a full comment that Harvey made:

“I’m the type of person, I never want to put the ball down. Obviously I hired Scott, my agent, and went with Dr. Andrews as my surgeon because I trusted them to keep my career going and keep me healthy. As far as being out there, being with my teammates and playing, I’m never going to want to stop. 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 that.  Like I said, I hired Dr. Andrews to do my surgery. I hired Scott for a reason, and that’s to prolong my career and put me in the best possible position. Moving forward with that, I have one start in mind, and that’s Tuesday.”

Okay. So Harvey sounds very political here, almost like he doesn’t want to anger anyone involved. But it also sounds like someone got to him, like his agent. Let’s all be honest here; Scott Boras is known to put his wants and needs in front of his clients. Oh sure, he will tell you he is trying to do what is best for his client by putting them in a situation where that player can get above market value dollar wise. But who does that also benefit? Scott Boras. This feels like Boras convinced Harvey that the safer thing to do is stop now, for his future and his career. He might have even convinced him that Dr. Andrews had him on a pitch limit. But it doesn’t sound like this decision was made solely by Matt Harvey and Matt Harvey alone. So there is another question; is Harvey hurt?

Harvey seems like a competitive guy and would want to be a part of the Mets playoff run if he could be. So this response makes one think he might just be hurt:

I’m not so sure we would even be debating this topic but Harvey has always struck me as a guy who was competitive to no end. But his comments on Saturday didn’t seem like someone who wanted to garner some postseason experience: Harvey was asked if he was hurt and replied “No. Not at all.” At this point we have to assume that he is telling the truth and his reconstructed elbow feels fine. Hey, if he is hurt then I have no issue with Harvey saying so and wanting to not push it. But if he isn’t then it seems odd that such a top level player would rather not take part in the playoffs, the whole reason most players even play the game.  If all this is so, it is easy to ask: how long will Matt Harvey still be a New York Met?

It’s obvious the relationship between Harvey and the Mets is damaged. The Mets have been playing all season like Harvey could be a part of the team if October came calling. Now, not so much. Bob Klapisch wrote about this scarred relationship between the Mets and their star player. It’s apparent to everyone that Harvey seems out for himself:

“It tells you plenty about what comes first for Harvey: he wants to win, but not without prolonging his career. Harvey is not about finishing off this mini-miracle season in Flushing, but about his next stop, his next contract and perhaps his next team.”

Klapisch also goes on to mention that Mets management has never been too overly fond of Harvey:

“He could easily be traded. Look, Mets’ ownership has never been particularly fond of Harvey; they’ve never loved him the way they do David Wright, the ultimate company man. Harvey has always given off the vibe of an independent contractor. Fierce, but in it for himself.”

So with the Mets loaded in young arms like Jacob DeGrom and Noah Syndergaard, it is logical to think Harvey could be traded for a solid bat for the middle of their order. You hate to get rid of a top level arm like Harvey has, but one wonders if the damage to this relationship is severed so far it can’t be undone.

One more topic that should be brought up to this argument; innings pitched might not be the proper barometer to measure how far Harvey should go this season. In fact, it would appear the better argument is pitches thrown.

Boras was comparing Harvey to other pitchers who returned from Tommy John Surgery and the differences between problems they have and the innings pitched by each pitcher. So instead of innings, what would total pitches look like?

You can even say that he hasn’t even gotten yet to his total thrown from 2013:

Look, going by pitches gives you a better idea of how much stress has been put on the arm and especially if you break it down farther by taking into accounts pitches per inning. The innings limit is nice, but if you really want to make sure Harvey stays healthy, wouldn’t this be a better way to keep track of his arm?

So where do the Mets go from here? I have to believe there is still an outside chance Harvey pitches in October, maybe as a reliever, but pitches nonetheless. But what this issue has brought to the forefront is that Matt Harvey isn’t the team player he had been potraying himself to be. Instead, he is focused on contracts and what his total earnings will be at the end of the day. It also shows you the weight that an agent can have on a player. There are certain teams that Scott Boras is on good terms with and tends to do a lot of business with…and then there are the Mets. I can’t imagine Harvey will feel much love from much of anyone anytime soon, as he has put himself on an island by himself:

What I can promise you at this point is that this won’t be forgotten anytime soon by Mets executives or fans. I guess both can take solace in the fact they still have Bartolo Colon:

Sure seems a long ways from this:

Trust me Matt, Mets fans will remember what you look like now. Oh, they will remember.