Coleman: Mets Ace Matt Harvey Hasn't Lost His Edge

By Ed Coleman
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Matt Harvey? Present -- and definitely accounted for. The Mets pitching phenom met the press on Saturday after the first official workout for pitchers and catchers, and declared how nice it was to just be one of the guys.

Harvey will likely draw boatloads of attention during his comeback, but for him, this is just a normal spring training.

General manager Sandy Alderson has already discussed his hope and desire for a 10-game or so improvement over last year's 79 wins, and Harvey, for one, doesn't mind the high expectations.

OK -- let's paint a scenario. The Mets have an 8-0 lead after five innings with Harvey on the mound who's obviously pitching well. Manager Terry Collins comes over and says "We're pulling you to save some of those innings for later in the season." Harvey's response?

Yes, there will be some tweaks, some subtle changes to Harvey's routine between games this year coming off Tommy John surgery.

Harvey was asked if he was looking forward to anything in particular, or was trying to be careful with anything.

Naturally, the innings limit, which nobody really knows (actually, it will very likely fall between the 178 innings Harvey logged in 2013 and 200 innings) had to be broached.

It wasn't all peaches and cream. Harvey is a feisty competitor, and got a little testy when questioned about the turbulence or noise that arose while rehabbing last season between him and the Mets hierarchy.

Aahh, the feistiness is still there. And that's probably a very good sign. Harvey closed by saying that his level of appreciation for the game had definitely increased while being away.

Welcome back, big boy!

C U soon
Eddie C.

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