Palladino: Consoling Words Do Mets' Harvey More Harm Than Good
By Ernie Palladino
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From the Mets greats of 30 years ago to his current manager and teammates, everybody seems to want to help Matt Harvey get out of his terrible slump.
Maybe that's the problem; too many voices directed into the ear and mind of the only man who can truly help Harvey resurrect that quality pitcher the Mets count on.
Himself.
Doc Gooden, the ace of the '86 staff, admitted he recently reached out to the struggling right-hander to offer encouragement and consolation. Terry Collins has provided a constant stream of confidence as his "Dark Knight" went about finding a foothold that will begin his climb back from his awful 3-7 record and 6.08 ERA. His teammates have remained fully behind him in emphasizing that Harvey's problems are fleeting blips on the radar.
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While there is little doubt that Harvey appreciates the back pats and understanding, he must ultimately know that he is the only one who can fix himself. And he must also understand that if he produces another embarrassing outing this Memorial Day afternoon against the slumping White Sox, all the happy talk in the world won't prevent Collins from taking the next necessary step.
That would involve taking Harvey away from all the noise, locking him and his cluttered mind away in the closet of the disabled list or formal demotion to the minors, there to work out his problems in mental peace.
With the clock ticking ever louder on that matter, the time has just about arrived for the radical option. This game could prove the tipping point. Another five-run, five-inning bomb like his last outing against the Nationals could leave Collins with limited choices.
It would be the right thing to do. Sometimes, a player needs to get away from it all, away from the jeers of the peanut gallery and the gassy radio hosts who bang away at the obvious.
For the good of both the player and the team, taking Harvey away from all the voices -- good and bad -- might be the best thing for him. It would give him a chance to get out of his own head, a scary place right now.
All this assumes Harvey doesn't find his answer before a White Sox team whose .249 batting average sits in the lower half of the majors. But the Mets haven't hit well, either, which means Harvey will have little room for error if his offense can't knock a few homers off Chicago starter Jose Quintana.
Add to that the mysterious disappearance of feel for his breaking pitches as he progresses through the game, a loss of velocity his second and third time through the batting order, and a predictability in key counts.
As MLB's Joe Trezza pointed out Sunday, teams have a .241/.292/3.73 slash line the first time though the order against Harvey, but improve to .301/.326/.518 the second time through.
And, oh boy, they have a real feast the third time through at .509/.563/.764 clip.
If Harvey hasn't solved that, Collins may have limited options.
In the meantime, the voices close to the Mets organization have been nothing but supportive. While refusing to reveal exactly what Gooden told him, the good "Dr. K" said that Harvey's previous successes figure big into his current problems.
"You get accustomed to that, and then you expect it all the time," Gooden offered for public consumption. "And when it don't happen, a lot of times you lose confidence."
Collins has always had Harvey's back, calling him a competitor and a battler.
But the praise comes with conditions. Collins has to think about the team, too.
If Harvey flops again, Collins may have to remove him entirely form the rotation.
It would be the right thing to do, if only to get Harvey away from all the noise.
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