I've been in New York now for almost a week. Since I have been home all I keep hearing on TV and radio is the on-going Matt Harvey soap opera about his supposed innings limit. I gotta tell you, I am OVER IT. I understand the issue at hand here, but I still say this is a bunch of crap.
This isn't a new issue here. Baseball fans hear about innings limits all the time. A team doesn't want to burn out a young arm or overwork a player coming back from extensive surgery so they cap his workload. It's the business of baseball and protecting an investment. Harvey's doctors have advised him not to pitch more that 180 innings this season, fine. But Harvey dug himself his own grave here.
On Saturday, Harvey wouldn't commit to pitching beyond the magic 180 pitch mark, but also tried to smooth over the issue by saying he would continue to take the mound as long as Mets brass asks him too. Apparently, his agent Scott Boras has been reminding the Mets that they would be potentially putting Harvey in danger if they did exceed the innings restriction but the Mets somehow didn't know about this, read that HERE. Now, the fact that Harvey couldn't give a straight answer to this and just say what was on his mind is the real issue here.
“I’m the type of person, I never want to put the ball down. 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 are obviously speaking their mind about that.”
So my take from this is Harvey is scared to pitch beyond his 180 limit, fine I understand that. He has three years yet until he becomes a free agent and wants to protect his future. But you can't dance around the issue like this in New York. It doesn't work like that here. So now, to try and diffuse the situation he speaks out on The Players' Tribune, a sports journalism website founded by Derek Jeter that gives first person stories directly from athletes themselves. You can read Harvey's contribution in its entirety HERE but in a nut shell his story has changed.
"I am communicating with my agent, my doctor, Sandy and the entire Mets organization. I can assure everyone that we’re all on the same page.
I understand the risks. I am also fully aware of the opportunity the Mets have this postseason. Winning the division and getting to the playoffs is our goal. Once we are there, I will be there."
At this point, I really think Harvey he just needs to shut his trap. I think his ego is getting in the way and I am tired of hearing about it! So Mr Harvey...a.k.a The Players' Tribune "New York City Bureau Chief" a word of advice....stop talking to the media and just let your pitching do the talking because right now you look foolish.
--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ
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