If the umpires feel that the Mets have revenge on their minds, they may opt to warn both benches prior to the club's Game 3 meeting with the Dodgers on Monday. It could prove detrimental to New York ace Matt Harvey, but it could also give him a built-in excuse.
The NLDS matchup between the two teams took an ugly turn in Game 2 on Saturday when Chase Utley's late take-out slide broke Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada's leg. The Dodgers went on to win the game, 5-2, evening up the best-of-five series, which is set to shift to New York Monday night for Game 3. The MLB suspended Utley for two games, but he plans to appeal.
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Now, the belief is that the Mets may seek to gain some revenge at Citi Field and Harvey's cryptic comments laid credence to the rumors.
"Doing what's right is exactly what I'm going to do," Harvey said via MLB.com.
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The Mets just hope that Harvey shows up on time after he missed last Tuesday's workout at Citi Field due to either oversleeping, being stuck in traffic or losing track of time, depending who you ask. The right-hander has been the center of controversy this season, especially when it comes to his innings limit, but the drama that would come from him hitting a Los Angeles batter could change the complexion of the series.
There is a possibility the umpires warn both benches prior to the game -- which is rare -- in order to keep things from getting out of hand. Mets manager Terry Collins would not be a fan of that as it would potentially change Harvey's game plan of trying to pitch batters inside.
"I've got to let Major League Baseball make the decisions, but I would personally hope that there wouldn't be such an issue, only because the impact it would have on the entire game itself," Collins told MLB.com. "It would change the way the game's supposed to be played. And I'm not saying we're trying to protect anybody, but in the game of baseball, we do ask our pitchers to pitch inside once in a while. The last thing we need is an umpire to take the games into his hands where he thinks it was a purpose [pitch]."
Harvey is making his highly-anticipated playoff debut, but should the umpires decide to eliminate the revenge element, he could have a built-in excuse if he falters in Game 3.
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