Mets’ Harvey implies he’s on board with 180 inning limit

By Danny Abriano | Sep 5, 2015

Matt Harvey implied on Saturday that he’s on board with the 180 inning limit that Scott Boras alluded to on Friday.

“I’ve been on the phone with Dr. Andrews. I’ve been on the phone with Scott,” Harvey said. “Dr. Andrews said his limit was 180. That’s what Scott, or Dr. Andrews had said. But, for me, I’ve got 166 innings. I don’t know any much more than what I have to do Tuesday. And that’s go out and beat the Nationals.”

When asked whether he would pitch in the playoffs, Harvey dodged the question.

The Mets said on Friday that the plan was for Harvey to pitch through the potential postseason, and have maintained since this past winter that the goal was to have Harvey pitch the entire season while conserving his innings at times.

During an interview a few weeks ago, Harvey said that he had “no idea” whether he had an innings limit and said that he doesn’t believe in inning limits.

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Thoughts:

It certainly sounds as if Matt Harvey is preparing to shut himself down for the year once he reaches 180 innings. And if that’s the case, and Harvey is not doing this to cover up an injury, it will be an absolute disgrace.

The Mets have operated all season under the assumption that Harvey was on board with their plan. That they would limit Harvey as the season went along and that he would pitch in the playoffs should they make it. Now, less than a month before the regular season ends, Harvey — perhaps persuaded by Scott Boras — has seemingly changed his mind. Either that, or this has been the case all along and Harvey and Boras kept the Mets in the dark.

There are those saying Harvey must be hurt or fatigued, and that that’s the reason why he changed his mind. However, if that was the case, he could simply come out and say so — especially when the alternative is vilifying himself. Additionally, if Harvey is hurt or fatigued to the point where he wants to shut himself down, why would be be pitching on Tuesday?

If Harvey does shut himself down, he will have exposed himself as both a liar and a phony. And as someone who couldn’t give less of a damn about his teammates or the fans.

The fact that Harvey was against a six-man rotation — which would’ve conserved tons of innings for the majority of the season — makes this so much worse. If Harvey knew all along that he was shutting himself down at 180 (and didn’t tell the Mets), the fact that he fought against the six-man rotation is outrageous. If Harvey changed his mind recently, he would still look bad for being against the six-man rotation, since it would’ve likely prevented this potential fiasco.

Either way, if the Mets had known all along that 180 innings was the hard limit (as Boras claimed has always been the case), they could’ve handled this differently, skipping more starts and limiting Harvey’s innings in-game. Instead, they found out when it was too late.

This reeks of Boras convincing Harvey, with Harvey then lying about 180 always being the limit. Both Harvey and Boras are prioritizing money over all else. And that’s fine. But to have gone about it this way is both unacceptable and a slap in the face to both the fans and the organization.

With the Mets so close to reaching the playoffs, the man who fancies himself a superhero is about to let down his teammates by shutting himself down. I’d be disgusted if I was his teammate. Frankly, I wouldn’t even want him around the team.

If I’m the Mets, and Harvey does indeed intend on exceeding no more than 180 innings, this is what I’d do…

I would put Harvey in the bullpen immediately and use him as a setup man for the remainder of the month.

In the offseason, I would trade Harvey for offense.

Mets fans pour their heart and soul into this team, and the support that’s been shown to Harvey throughout the season has been incredible. For him to potentially repay the fans like this is both stunning and upsetting.

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