Suddenly, after 149 games of the 2015 MLB season, the New York Mets deserve to lose due to irresponsible actions across the board.
By Robby Sabo
As Matt Harvey was breezing through the New York Yankees lineup during Sunday night’s rubber game of the most important regular season Subway Series in history, the all-important question loomed: When would the face of the franchise get yanked from the game?
Thanks to his camp – namely Scott Boras – the number of 180 has never been so important in New York City, or to the New York Mets.
Don’t be confused either. When Harvey’s “camp” is referenced it means Harvey is the captain, the leader of the 180-inning campaign. There is no chance Boras intentionally made such a headlines splash as he did without Harvey’s full consent.
Boras is an employee of Harvey and if he did says anything other than Harvey’s word he’d be looking for another client to fill Harvey’s future phenomenal payday.
Naturally, due to the now dreaded number of 180, Harvey was pulled after just five stellar no-run innings on Sunday night. It led to a Yankees onslaught of the Mets bullpen and an 11-2 victory.
It’s certainly not fair to Mets fans, but the ultimate fact holds true: The Mets do not deserve to win.
Rewind the clock to 2012. Mike Rizzo’s Washington Nationals were the new kids on the block. They won 98 games en route to their first playoff appearance in D.C. franchise history.
Then they decided to get cute by shutting down Stephen Strasburg during the stretch run. He was absent in October and now three years later Nats fans realize they wasted their best chance of wining a World Series.
The first question as it relates to the Mets current situation comes down to blame. Who is at fault here?
If the 180-inning max was apparent all season long, then who screwed the pooch? Was it the Mets who never thought they’d be in contention this late in the season? Did Sandy Alderson actually feel pitching Harvey from the get-go and shutting him down in September work due to not contending? Or did Harvey always act like his usual bulldog-self and get cold feet these last several weeks?
Or could it be Harvey looking to create an even more romanticized version of himself? Announcing the 180 mark and then pitching through it in an almost heroic fashion would increase his stock ten-fold.
Harvey’s demeanor in the dugout after getting pulled after five-innings made no sense. He was ticked off after Collins pulled him even though he’s the one who brought up the 180-inning max to begin with.
Something is missing here.
The bulldog version of Harvey, the guy who always demanded the ball and would pitch through any element possible has now fully melted away.
Even still, Harvey is their best pitcher at the moment. And even worse, what Alderson accomplished the last several seasons was brilliant. It was brilliant in relation of long-term success for an organization. They’re now loaded with young power arms (the most valuable commodity in MLB) while filling lineup holes brilliantly during the 2015 trade deadline.
That’s what’s so painful for fans at the moment. All of those years waiting and all of the great karma in building something special over the last couple months is slowly starting to fade away.
Even though the Mets will, indeed, win the NL East due to the dread they’ll face over their last 13 games (Braves, Reds, Phillies), they’re messing around with good vibes to the point it makes life for the Mets fan seem totally screwed up.
For once the Amazin’s had everything rolling for them. But in typical Mets fashion they’ve halted that energy through Harvey’s question marks.
The Harvey issue alone brings up such an eerie feeling during what should be a comfortable, celebratory run to the NL East championship – their first since 2006.
Mix in the fact Jacob deGrom has pitched to a 5.50 ERA in August and Noah Syndergaard was bombed for five runs Saturday night, the suddenly pitching rich club that would scare the boots off every NL team is virtually non-existent.
It’s such a cruel world. No fan-base in baseball deserves to see a championship more than the Met fan. At the same time, there isn’t a team in MLB who now deserves to lose more than the Mets.
You simply don’t tinker with good vibes and success. It will kill you in the end.
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