It was a greeting that Mets fans would commonly use to one another over the past few seasons. When their ace was on the mound, a simple “Happy Harvey Day” was uttered and any Mets fan within listening radius would respond in kind. But through a month and change of the 2016 season, those days have been anything but happy thus far for Matt Harvey and the faithful for the Amazin’ Mets. The Dark Knight has brought dark days to an otherwise bright start to the season for the defending NL Champions.
Harvey was the leader of the new golden generation of Mets pitchers. His first full year in Queens was nothing short of sensational as he was an All-Star and finished fourth in the NL Cy Young voting. That fire was quickly snuffed out by a lost season to Tommy John surgery, but he returned last year showing no signs of rust. So why has he been so corrosive thus far in 2016?
Some say that he has just been surpassed by his just as talented counterparts Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, and Steven Matz. Others believe that Harvey and agent Scott Boras have their eyes on 2019, when he finally becomes a free agent, rather than the present. Neither sounds like a valid excuse for such an abrupt dip in form for the right hander, but both are more palatable than him playing through an injury or just an overall lack of dedication to his craft.
Harvey is responsible for nearly half (4) of the Mets’ nine losses on the season. In this day and age it seems to be blasphemous to bring up wins and losses as an indicator of anything, but his inability to get wins is indicative of a few gaping holes in his 2016 performance. For one, he has yet to breach the six inning mark in any of his six starts. That is fine for a fourth or fifth starter, but your supposed ace should not be taxing half your bullpen every night out.
Even when the bullpen comes in, they aren’t being given much chance to maintain a turnaround. Harvey’s WHIP is a ghastly 1.56 at the moment due to career worsts in hits per 9 innings (11.1) and strikeouts per 9 innings (6.6). He’s not missing bats and the balls hitting those bats are doing damage. Now there is usually a regression to the mean in terms of FIP and BABIP for a player of his caliber, but this month has lacked that typical Harvey fire. That will need to change as the team embarks on a lengthy West Coast road trip and then gets six vital games with their division rival Nationals. If he’s trying to keep his “spot” by working out the kinks, injury or mechanics wise, during games, that’s a problem. It is even worse though if he’s become nonchalant to the results of his outings. Like I said before, Mets fans, as well as manager Terry Collins, are hoping that this is just a slump and neither one of those undesirable scenarios.
As I am prone to do, let’s make a cinematic route with what Matt Harvey’s career trajectory is heading towards. It is fitting that he has the nickname The Dark Knight, because it is a quote from that very film that resonates all too often in the world of sport. When Harvey Dent is talking to Bruce Wayne about the need for Batman in Gotham City, he utters the phrase “you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” I’ve said it before about another hate him or love him New York athlete, Alex Rodriguez, but now it seems the Mets have their own entry. Can Matt Harvey shake this early funk and shed the developing persona of not being a team player? Or has he broken through to the point of no return which may force the hand of GM Sandy Alderson to trade their prized arm before the cancer spreads? The Mets know their championship clock is ticking, so they have to make a decision sooner rather than later whether or not they have a Dent on their hands, or if it is just Bruce Wayne with a broken back.