For the first time in Matt Harvey's career, Harvey Day came with a side of discontent from Mets fans before a pitch was even thrown, and for him at least, the outing ended with a whimper.
Harvey's agent Scott Boras turned the rare September glee that was filling the flushing faithful into angst when he publicly called out general manager Sandy Alderson for mismanagement of Harvey last week.
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Boras stated that 180 innings was a hard cap and the Mets brass would "imperil" the young right-hander if he surpassed that innings limit, while Alderson maintained it was just a soft projection. With Harvey sitting at 166 1/3 innings pitched prior to the statement, it seemed appearing in the playoffs wasn't even an option.
The public bickering between the agent and the team played out through the media with most hoping that Harvey would clear things up. The belief was Harvey would emphatically state that at age 26 he has yet to experience playoff baseball and as the team's ace it was his job to take the ball in October and try to lead the club to its first World Series title since 1986.
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Harvey didn't exactly say that.
After speaking out against the Mets for their methods of protecting him in the past by railing against being taken out of games early and showing frustration about a six-man rotation, Harvey sided with Boras in the shutdown debate.
The ace looked toward the piles of money he hopes to make in the future, something that drew the ire of Mets fans who want him to focus on getting the team to the playoffs this season for the first time since 2006. Harvey publicly agreed on Saturday that 180 innings was the cap given to him by doctors and that he thought that he would stick to it.
While many scratched their heads over how this discussion could start in September with the team leading the NL East and trying to ward off the Nationals, the social media outburst led to Harvey clarifying that he will pitch in the postseason and that all the other parties will work out a plan.
Though it was too little, too late for Harvey to save face, he took the ball against the Nationals, with his mind probably still rattled by the outburst from fans, and looked to give the Mets their second straight win against second-place Washington on Tuesday.
Harvey was awful in the game at Nationals Park, tying a career-high by yielding seven runs (aided by a Yoenis Cespedes miscue) on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, not living up to his "Dark Knight" moniker.
New York posed a crazy comeback to win the game 8-7 with Kirk Nieuwenhuis of all people hitting a solo homer for what proved to be the game-winner. But despite all the celebrating and the Mets' six-game lead over the Nationals atop the division, the question over how the Amazin's should go about treating Harvey the rest of the way remains a persisting distraction.
There is no doubt that the right-hander is talented as his 12-7 record and 2.88 ERA proves, but the latest off-field controversy in a line of several coupled with the poor performance in a huge game Tuesday has to lead the team to wonder if its other young stars are enough to propel them deep into October baseball.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom (12-7, 2.40 ERA) has had a tremendous season, while flame-thrower Noah Syndergaard (8-5, 3.31) has also made his presence felt in his first year in the majors.
Steven Matz (2-0, 1.89) just returned from a lat injury, but has looked excellent in his first three MLB starts and as a lefty, could replace the struggling Jon Niese in a potential postseason rotation. Add on top of that the ageless wonder Bartolo Colon, and the Mets may not need Harvey.
On the other hand, Harvey is a stabilizing presence in the Mets rotation and it could be foolish to punish him for the controversy as it would be spiteful and could alter a playoff run. If Harvey does have serious health concerns, however, perhaps the Mets would be better served to shut him down.
Still, Harvey is a more dependable option than Colon (age 42) and gives the Mets yet another young arm on top of deGrom (27), Matz (24) and Syndergaard (23). It also would be harsh to judge him on a flop in one big game.
While there's no clear-cut answer with how to resolve the Harvey conundrum or no telling how he'll pitch if the Mets sit him until the playoffs start, this issue was a terribly-handled distraction that sidetracked a surprisingly wonderful season for New York.
Then again, if Harvey takes the ball in Game 7 of the World Series and carries the Mets to their first world championship in 29 years, perhaps there will be a reason to celebrate Harvey Day all over again.
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