BK METS wrote:Harvey Dent.jpeg
Mets fans know who their heroes are. They love guys like Wilmer Flores. A guy who let his emotions openly show how much he wanted to be a Met. He is a folk hero and he did very little, prior to that event, to show how good of a baseball player he was. Only how much passion he had to be a Met.
Then there is Matt "Harvey" Dent. The two-face hero, who was going to change the Mets franchise into a winner, with his passion to play and desire to never come out of a game. Most of us Mets fans bought into his act. He openly complained about being taken out of games too early, being skipped in the rotation, and the Mets utilizing a 6-man rotation. All because he wanted to pitch. He wanted to be out there and help the Mets win.
All along the way, he said nothing about an innings limit. Nothing about the doctor imposing a 180 innings limit. Nothing was said, neither from the idiot agent or Matt himself. Now, after 166+ innings, Boras decides to impose a 180 pitch limit, in the middle of a pennant race in September and when asked about the Boras imposition, Harvey didnt fight to pitch and didnt explain the reasoning. He hid in a corner and skated the issue and deferred to his agent. Talk about a 180. This will be the downfall of Harvey as a New York Met. He will never be loved again by Mets fans, like he was. This will hang over him for the rest of his career. mark my words. This will never be forgotten. Don't get me wrong, if he helps the Mets win a championship, they will cheer him. But it won't be like it was before.
He is no longer the Dark Knight. No longer the Mets savior. He is Matt "Harvey" Dent. The man who gives up on his team, with a flip of the coin. Maybe he pitches in October and maybe he doesn't. But watch for a big trade this off-season. Mets fans know a two-face, when they see one.
I'm obviously a Yankees fan, but I totally agree. This has been mishandled all the way around, but for Harvey to complain about being pulled from games and a six-man rotation to now claim a 180-innings pitching limit is absurd and two-faced. Also, I don't want to hear folks blaming Boras, who is an ass and not helping matters. Harvey is a big boy and, last time I checked, Boras works for Harvey, not vice versa. In retrospect, the Mets probably should've had a better laid out plan for Harvey, or perhaps they did and it was all in-house. Nevertheless, for "Team Harvey" to now put the breaks on, one month before the play-offs, is outrageous. The Mets were managing his innings, particularly in light of a possible (now likely) play-off run. Team Harvey apparently said nothing until only recently.
I think this is the Mets' call. If Harvey is healthy, they should use him. If Harvey refuses to pitch, suspend him and stop paying him for the remainder of the season. Don't worry about maintaining the relationship, because that will get you nothing when dealing with Boras, who will push Harvey to free agency anyway, and it now is clear that Harvey either has drunk Boras' kool-aid or is thinking like this himself. The Mets should not be bullied into making this a mutual decision. Either make Harvey pitch or make him be the one to stop pitching.
Who knows what will happen in the future, but I'm definitely of the school of thought that you play to win the World Series. I can't but think of how many rings Strasburg has won (zero). Although that apparently was the Nationals' call and not Strasburg's call (although who knows because wasn't Boras involved there, too), that may have been Strasburg's (and the Nats') last, best chance for a ring and they went out there without their best team. He may never get to the play-offs again for all we know.
Sadly, Mets fans (and baseball fans) now know more about Matt Harvey's priorities than they probably wanted to know .... I don't blame Mets fans for being pissed.
Mike