A Few Thoughts on Matt Harvey

I couldn't fit this thought into 140 characters, so I've taken to the blog...

Fans have been calling for Matt Harvey to be called up for some time now. Many were upset when the Mets announced that Miguel Batista would get the start on Saturday instead of Harvey.

Looking back, would it really have made that much of a difference?

While Batista was stinkin' up the joint in Queens, Harvey was doing the same up in Buffalo.

Let's say the team's decision had been different. Harvey was called up and he got the start yesterday. What if he pitched the same way for the big league club as he did for Buffalo? What help would he have been?

His confidence would no doubt have taken a slight blow, and lord knows the nonsense that would have been talked about on Twitter and throughout the media.

I'm not saying that I expect Harvey to never struggle. He will. It's just a part of baseball and a part of life. Everyone struggles sometimes.

The Mets were on hand to evaluate Harvey's previous start, and they apparently weren't impressed enough with what they saw.

I'm going to go ahead and guess that they know more about Harvey and the situation than you or I.

If he hasn't been called up, and doesn't get called up, there's probably a good reason for it.

He's not the savior. He shouldn't be treated as such.

You know that if he gets called up, is put on this pedestal, and fails miserably, fans will be enraged wondering why the team would put him in such situations and how he was thrust into a position when he wasn't ready.

Don't deny it. You know it would happen.

ICYMI: The Week In Review

It's almost Harvey-Time. With Dillon Gee undergoing what could be season ending surgery, all eyes will be on Matt Harvey Monday night as he auditions for a spot in the rotation. A number of Mets executives will be on hand for his start Monday, which can be seen on SNY.

According to Terry Collins, with Gee out for the foreseeable future, his choice of replacement has been narrowed down to Harvey and Miguel Batista. 

The Mets called up left-handed reliever Josh Edgin from Buffalo. Don't let his line fool you. Despite posting a 7.71 ERA in 2.1 innings of work, he has been impressive, striking out six batters, five of which were lefties.

R.A. Dickey may find himself working a little more as the season goes on. Terry Collins has suggested that after August 1, if the Mets are still in the race, Dickey could begin pitching on short rest.

Speaking of Dickey, the knuckleballer made his first-ever All-Star appearance this week. He allowed a leadoff single to the Angels' Mike Trout, but went on to pitch a scoreless sixth inning.

Of course, this year's All-Star Game was not without its controversy. National League manager Tony LaRussa chose to start San Francisco's Matt Cain over Dickey because starting catcher, Buster Posey, couldn't catch a knuckleball.

David Wright made his sixth All-Star Game appearance. He went 0-2.

Terry Collins, who was selected by Tony LasRussa to join the National League coaching staff for this year's game, coached first base and made a pitching change late in the game.

The Mets and Yankees will play fewer games against each other starting next season. Instead of the usual six games, the two will play just three or four games.

Chris Schwinden is back with the Mets. After the Mets dumped him earlier in the season, he has since played with the Blue Jays, Indians, and Yankees. He is now back with Buffalo as a non-40 man roster player.

On the injury front...

Dillon Gee underwent surgery on Friday to replace part of a damaged artery in his right shoulder. Gee was hospitalized earlier in the week with a blood clot. Doctors used a catheter to break up the clot. He could begin throwing in about eight weeks, but all signs indicate that Gee is done for the season.

Frank Francisco was shut down this week after he continued to feel discomfort in his oblique.

Jason Bay has moved his rehab assignment to Triple-A Buffalo. He went 1-4 with a walk and two strikeouts for Buffalo. He did not play in the outfield. He could return to the Mets on Tuesday.

Mike Baxter is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment in St. Lucie today.

Lucas Duda will sit out of today's game with a strained left hamstring. It had been bothering him for over a week, but the All-Star break did not help him any.

Harvey: He's Not Ready, So Stop Asking

"He's not ready."

It's a pretty simple sentence that I don't find to be too complicated to understand. But for some reason, there is an alarmingly large group of Mets fans out there that can't comprehend this fact about prospect Matt Harvey.

Sandy Alderson has said himself that Harvey is not ready, and that the organization is not even looking to bring him up any time soon.

With the loss of Mike Pelfrey to Tommy John surgery, and the disaster that followed with Chris Schwinden, I still see fans asking about Harvey.

Right now the Mets need a stopper. Someone who can fill the void until someone is ready to be in the starting rotation long-term.

If I had to guess, I would say Chris Young will get the spot in the rotation as soon as he is done rehabilitating his shoulder.

To date, Harvey has just 30 innings under his belt at Triple-A. His first few starts for Buffalo were ugly, and he has just recently found his groove.

The same thing happened last season when he was called up to Double-A Binghamton. He struggled in his first few starts before finding success.

I don't know about you, but I'm sensing a pattern here.

If Harvey were to get called up now, I'd bet that this pattern continues. He'll probably get shelled in his first few starts, and hopefully straighten things out.

He still has things he needs to work on, and I think we can all agree that the Major Leagues is not a place to learn as a young player.

I understand that fans want to see him pitch, but now is not the time.

He's not ready.

Mets Morning News 2-26-12

The Mets released this image of the patch yesterday. 

The Mets announced Saturday that the team will wear a patch on their uniforms to honor the late Gary Carter. The patch features a home plate with "The Kid" and the No. 8 in the middle.

Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger did a Q & A with Jason Bay to find out more about his friendship with Eddie Vedder.

"I was a huge Pearl Jam fan … Eddie’s a huge baseball fan. Huge Cubs fan. There’s a lot of guys who have met him. Sean Casey, who’s a diehard Pearl Jam fan, he’s hung out with Eddie numerous times. When I got traded to Boston, we played a game and that night Eddie was playing somewhere in Boston on his solo tour. And he signed this poster, 'Hey, Jason, welcome to the Red Sox.' And then Casey gave me his number. So we text back and forth."

"I’ve never met him. I’ve never actually technically met him. And that’s the funny part. Casey was like, 'Hey, here’s his number, he said text him.' So he was like 'Hey, sounds good, man. If I’m ever up in Seattle recording …' He’s never up there. He’s got a lot going on. I’m probably the last person (on his mind). 'Oh, I’ve got to call Jason Bay!'"

Pitching prospect Matt Harvey threw his first live batting practice Saturday. According to David Lennon, Harvey is expected to begin the season with Double-A Binghamton, but he writes, "plans are subject to change."

"Obviously, that's a pretty impressive-looking pitcher," manager Terry Collins said. "When you stand behind there, he's got a feel for it all. He's got tremendous rotation on his breaking ball, got a good slider, knows how to sink it. We all know he can throw hard. Now it's a matter of dealing with the process, and that's getting better command and more consistency. I truly believe in the process."

Andrew Keh of the New York Times profiles prospect Kirk Nieuwenhuis who discussed past injuries and his future.

"There’s no doubt this is an important spring for him because of the situation we’re looking at, with us in desperate need of guys who can play outfield," ManagerTerry Collins said of Nieuwenhuis. "We’re going to give him a lot of playing time. He’s going to get plenty of chances to prove himself."

Mike Pelfrey did not do well last season. We know it, and he knows it. David Wright is standing up for Pelfrey though, telling Mike Kerwick of The Record:

"He was coming off a good year," Wright said, "and then all of a sudden just because he's named the opening day starter … a lot of times he got matched up with [Roy] Halladay and Josh Johnson."

He deserved better, Wright said.

"There was numerous times where he pitched well and should have gotten a win," Wright said. "There were a couple times where we blew leads for him late. There were a couple times where he just had some bad luck because he's going up against other team's No. 1."

Mets Morning News: Wheeler Tweets His Life Away, Dickey Is MLB's LoneKnuckleballer

Terry Collins will hold his first official press conference of Spring Training at 10 a.m. It will be aired live on SNY.

Top prospect Zack Wheeler is quite the tweeter. As Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger writes, the 21-year-old right-hander is not afraid to tweet about his life, not matter how boring it may be.

His public persona creates a contrast with fellow hard-throwing prospect Matt Harvey. "People have asked me that before," Harvey said. "'Why aren’t you on Twitter?'" He shrugged. "I don’t really like people knowing what I’m doing all the time."

Wheeler harbors none of those inhibitions. Each day he provides updates on his life. On Mondays, he likes to visit Moe’s Southwest Grill for their $5 burritos. He shoots pictures of his offseason bullpen sessions and provides running commentary during the Grammys. He watches "Eastbound and Down" and "Swamp People."

R.A. Dickey expressed how lonely he is now that fellow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield has retired.

"I’m sad because I want [Wakefield] around — it’s fun to watch somebody who does what you do," Dickey said. "In the past he has lent me some things I needed to see, but now, I’ve got to go to the film and watch him pitch instead of seeing him get to throw a bullpen.

"I don’t know if there’s anyone outside of [Haeger] even tinkering with it. It’s fairly lonely. I feel a little bit of loneliness. My hope is someone is going to see the real value in it and want to keep doing it. There’s a lot of adversity that comes with it."

Mets Morning News: Murphy And Duda Are Corner Infielders, Ignoring OffField Distractions, & Pitching Prospects

Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that Mets officials believe Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda are best suited as corner infielders.

"The Mets also privately fret if Davis will hit lefties consistently; something they have far less concern about with Duda. What worries them with Duda is if he will subtract from his offensive value — which even executives around the league believe is legit — by being such a defensive liability in right. Murphy, meanwhile, has been seriously injured each of the past two seasons turning pivots at second.

Thus, the Mets want to verify their beliefs that Duda and Murphy are above-average hitters. If so, they will at least have the option to consider dealing Wright and/or Davis to continue to deepen the young talent base."

Terry Collins sat down with The Star-Ledger to discuss the 2012 season. He won't let his players feel sorry for themselves or be distracted with off the field issues.

"You know what? Jose’s not here...The first time I hear someone say, 'Oh, Jose would have caught that ball,' we've got problems...So our payroll’s down...How many guys here care what our payroll is?"

David Lennon of Newsday writes of how the trio of Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, and Zack Wheeler shouldn't be labeled the next Generation K. Also, don't expect to see any of them called up before their time.

"The temptation with those three guys doesn't really exist at the moment," [Sandy] Alderson said. "Obviously, when you bring somebody up -- whenever you do -- they still have to perform. So on the one hand, you're tempted to bring somebody up to fill innings, but on the other hand, they better be ready. Because if they're not, there are obviously consequences to that, too."

Mets Minor League Update: Mets Top Pitching Prospects Dominate, NewMets Start Their Careers

There  is only one week left in the minor league regular season. For some, the development on the field is coming to a close and the offseason is here, but for others, with September and expanded rosters around the corner, the excitement is just beginning.

Buffalo Bisons: 9 – 4

The Bisons have been playing some of their best ball of the season these last two weeks, a lot of which is due to some of its more high profile players.

Josh Satin has not flinched since his call-up to AAA. He is now hitting .325 in 120 at-bats with the Bisons, and a strong .342 over his last ten games. One thing he needs to work on is his power, as he only has one home run in Buffalo, after hitting 11 with AA Binghamton. Despite that, he is a player you can expect to see in Flushing when the rosters expand in September.

Another player you might see is Zach Lutz. As with many of the top players in the Mets system, Lutz has shown the tools, but he struggles mightily to stay on the field. This season he is hitting .298 with a .502 SLG, improving to a .615 slugging over his last ten games, but he has only accumulated 205 at-bats this season. He has not played 20 games in any month this season, so the Mets may prefer to keep him out in September, and then send him to either the Arizona Fall League, or winter ball.

As for an update on the recently promoted Jordany Valdespin, he started off slow in AAA but has picked it up recently. He is hitting .296 in his last six games with four extra base hits, to bring his AAA average up to .237.